Frequency dependence of the electrical conductivity in Ag/PAN nanocomposites

The frequency dispersion of the electrical conductivity of silver/polyacrylonitrile nanocomposite films is studied at various temperatures and AgNO₃ contents in an initial mixture. The frequency dependences of the nanocomposites in the range 10³?C10⁶ Hz are found to be well described by power law f ^0.8. A charge transfer mechanism responsible for the conductivity of the nanocomposites is proposed. Silver clusters Ag ₄ ²⁺ and Ag ₈ ²⁺ are assumed to be present in the polymer.     

Structural analysis of three-spin systems of photosystem II by PELDOR

The pulsed electron electron double resonance (PELDOR) pulse sequence is applied to a three-spin system consisting of three radicals (Y _D ^· , Y _Z ^· and Q _A ^? ) generated in spinach PS II. The distance between Y_Z and Q_A has been determined to be 3.4 nm with the previously derived distances of the other radical pairs, 2.9 nm for Y _D ^· -Y _Z ^· and 3.9 nm for Y _D ^· -Q _A ^? . This distance has been derived from the Y _Z ^· -Q _A ^? radical pair trapped in Y_D-less mutants ofChlamydomonas reinhardtii. Furthermore the method was applied to the Y _D ^· -Q _A ^? -Chl _Z ⁺ system to find the unknown distance between Q_A and Chl_Z. The derived distance was 3.4 nm. A triangular configuration was found in the membrane system that gives the relative positions of the electron transfer components.     

35Cl NQR spectra of group 1 and silver dichloromethanesulfonates

The dichloromethanesulfonates of silver and other +1-charged cations, M ^?+?(Cl₂CHSO $_{3}^{-})$ (M = Ag, Tl, Li, Na, K, Rb, Cs) were synthesized and studied by ³⁵Cl NQR. Dichloromethanesulfonic acid was prepared by the methanolysis of dichloromethanesulfonyl chloride, and was then neutralized with the carbonates of the +1-charged cations to produce the corresponding dichloromethanesulfonate salt. This NQR study completed the investigation of the chloroacetates and chloromethanesulfonates of silver, Ag^?+?(Cl _x CH_3???x SO $_{3}^{-})$ and Ag^?+?(Cl _x CH_3???x CO $_{2}^{-})$ , and suggests (1) that the ability of organochlorine atoms to coordinate to silver decreases as the number of electron-withdrawing groups (Cl, SO $_{3}^{-}$ , CO $_{2}^{-})$ attached to the carbon atom increases; (2) that the unusually large NQR spectral width found among M ^?+?(Cl₂CHCO $_{2}^{-})$ salts is not present among M ^?+?(Cl₂CHSO $_{3}^{-})$ salts, and therefore is not generally characteristic of the dichloromethyl group in salts.     

The role of additional anions in microporous aluminosilicates with cancrinite-type framework

Microporous framework aluminosilicates with the cancrinite- and sodalite-type structures containing NO ₃ ^? , CO ₃ ^2? , SO ₄ ^2? and PO ₄ ^3? , as extra-framework anions were synthesized under hydrothermal conditions at temperatures from 160 to 200°C. SO ₄ ^2? exhibits the highest affinity to cancrinite structure at the competition of various X anions. Chemical composition, X-ray diffractometry characteristics, and IR spectra of the compounds obtained, as well as kinetics and mechanism of thermal transformations of nitrate counterpart of cancrinite, were studied.     

Laser nanoablation of graphite

Experimental data on laser ablation of highly oriented pyrolitic graphite by nanosecond pulsed UV ( $\lambda =193$  nm) and green ( $\lambda =532$  nm) lasers are presented. It was found that below graphite vaporization threshold $\approx $ 1 J/cm $^{2}$ , the nanoablation regime can be realized with material removal rates as low as 10 $^{-3}$  nm/pulse. The difference between physical (vaporization) and physical–chemical (heating + oxidation) ablation regimes is discussed. Special attention is paid to the influence of laser fluence and pulse number on ablation kinetics. Possibility of laser-induced graphite surface nanostructuring has been demonstrated. Combination of tightly focused laser beam and sharp tip of scanning probe microscope was applied to improve material nanoablation.     

COLTRAP: a 22-pole ion trapping machine for spectroscopy at 4 K

Two similar 4 K 22-pole trapping machines have been recently completed in our laboratory. As a first experimental test in one of them, CH ₅ ⁺ and H₃O⁺ ions have been trapped in the presence of helium gas at 3.8 K and the kinetics and temperature dependence of He tagging investigated. A first shell closure with 5 and (3 + 2) attached He atoms, respectively, is observed for both species. Applying IR radiation in the 3 μm region, helium attachment to CH ₅ ⁺ is hindered by exciting CH-stretches of CH ₅ ⁺ prior to attachment. The resulting spectroscopic signal shows that the kinetic temperature of the stored CH ₅ ⁺ ensemble is below 12 K.     

Electrochemical behavior and DNA-binding properties of binuclear copper(II) complex containing mixed ligands of N-hydroxyethylaminoethyl oxamido and 2,2′-bipyridine

The electrochemical property of dinuclear copper(II) complex containing mixed ligands of N-hydroxyethylaminoethyl oxamido and 2,2′-bipyridine [Cu₂(bpy)₂(HAO) ₂ ²⁺ ] was studied with cyclic voltammetry. Cu₂(bpy)₂(HAO) ₂ ²⁺ had irreversible oxidation peaks in 0.1 mol/L NaCl solution at the stearic acid-modified carbon paste electrode. Cyclic voltammetry and absorption spectra measurements were used to study the interaction between Cu₂(bpy)₂(HAO) ₂ ²⁺ and herring fish sperm DNA. All the experimental results showed that Cu₂(bpy)₂(HAO) ₂ ²⁺ interacted with DNA mainly through electrostatic affinity to make tiny difference between Cu₂(bpy)₂(HAO) ₂ ²⁺ –ssDNA and Cu₂(bpy)₂(HAO) ₂ ²⁺ –dsDNA. The binding ratio and the binding constant of DNA–Cu₂(bpy)₂(HAO) ₂ ²⁺ were calculated as 1:1 and 6.41?×?10⁴, respectively. The redox peak current of Cu₂(bpy)₂(HAO) ₂ ²⁺ decreased markedly after its interaction with DNA. This was used to detect the concentration of DNA quantitatively.     

Phosphorus clusters: Synthesis in the gas-phase and possible cagelike and chain structures

Experimental results on the gas-phase formation of neutral and cationic phosphorus clusters are presented. The clusters were synthesized by visible (532 nm) or UV (193 nm) laser ablation of crystalline red phosphorus under high vacuum conditions and were analyzed using TOF mass spectrometry. Neutral P_n clusters produced by 532-nm ablation are found to be even-numbered while P _n ⁺ cations are mainly odd-numbered, with P ₇ ⁺ and P ₂₁ ⁺ being the most abundant ions. For UV laser ablation, stable compound clusters, neutral P₇H₃ and P₂₃H₅, and cations P₂₃H ₆ ⁺ were synthesized for the first time. The formation of P_n clusters by thermal vaporization of red phosphorus into a cold He gas was also investigated and only small clusters (n<6) were found. Possible structures of the observed phosphorus clusters, as well as their formation mechanisms under different conditions, are discussed.     

Pion photoproduction on197Au to ground and isomeric states in197Hg

The lifetime of the 331.3 keV 0 ₂ ⁺ state in¹⁰⁰Zr has been measured at the gas-filled recoil separator for fission products JOSEF. By observing the delayed coincidences between theβ-particles populating the level and theE0 conversion electrons from its decay into the ground state, a half-life of 3.37±0.30 ns has been obtained. From the measured lifetime and the relative intensities of the 0 ₂ ⁺ →0 ₁ ⁺ and 0 ₂ ⁺ →2 ₁ ⁺ transitions, values of 0.493±0.015 for theE0 strength parameterρ, and of 16 single particle units forB(E2,2 ₁ ⁺ → 0 ₂ ⁺ ) have been deduced. The enhanced nature of theE0 transitions suggests mixing of the 0 ₁ ⁺ and 0 ₂ ⁺ states which may be estimated by comparing the experimentalB(E2) values for the 2 ₁ ⁺ →0 ₁ ⁺ and 2 ₁ ⁺ →0 ₂ ⁺ transitions with the predictions of the asymmetric VMI model.     

Gyromagnetic ratios of excited states in186W

The gyromagnetic ratios of the 4 ₁ ⁺ , 6 ₁ ⁺ , and 2 ₂ ⁺ states in¹⁸⁶W were measured relative to that of the 2 ₁ ⁺ level by means of the transient field implantation perturbedγ-ray angular distribution technique. The nuclei in the states of interest were Coulomb excited using a beam of 220-MeV⁶³Cu projectiles and recoiled swiftly through a thin, polarized Fe foil. The present measurements yielded ratiosg(4 ₁ ⁺ )/g(2 ₁ ⁺ )=1.04±0.07,g(6 ₁ ⁺ )/g(2 ₁ ⁺ )=1.03 ±0.20 andg(2 ₂ ⁺ )/g(2 ₁ ⁺ )=0.63±0.13. The sizable disparity between the measuredg-factors of the ground- and excited-band is examined within the context of the interacting boson approximation model.     

Luminescence of Sc3+ and La3+ isoelectronic impurities in Lu3Al5O12 single-crystal films

The time-resolved luminescence and luminescence excitation spectra, and luminescence decay kinetics at 8 and 300 K of Lu₃A₁₅O₁₂ (LuAG) single-crystal films doped with Sc³⁺ and La³⁺ isoelectronic impurities and excited by synchrotron radiation are investigated. It is established that the La³⁺ isoelectronic impurity in the ?ub;c?ub; positions of the garnet lattice forms La _Lu ³⁺ luminescence centers emitting in the band with λ_max = 280 nm and the decay time of the main component τ = 300 ns at 300 K. The Sc³⁺ isoelectronic impurity located in the ?ub;c?ub; and (a) positions of the LuAG lattice forms two luminescence centers, Sc _Lu ³⁺ and Sc _Al ³⁺ , emitting in the bands with λ_max = 290 nm and τ = 240 ns and λ_max = 335 nm and τ = 375 ns, respectively, at 300 K. It is shown that the luminescence excitation of the La³⁺ and Sc³⁺ isoelectronic impurities in LuAG single-crystal films occurs through radiative decay of excitons localized near La _Lu ³⁺ , Sc _Lu ³⁺ , and Sc _Al ³⁺ centers. The energies of formation of these excitons are determined to be 6.8, 6.88, and 7.3 eV, respectively. It was found that the excited state of the excitons genetically related to the La _Lu ³⁺ , Sc _Lu ³⁺ , and Sc _Al ³⁺ enters has two radiative levels with different transition probabilities. This configuration leads to the presence of fast (2.3–8.4 ns) and slow (150–375 ns) main components in the luminescence of the centers formed by isoelectronic impurities in garnets.     

Mößbauereffekt in157Gd und155Gd

Using the Mössbauer technique electric hyperfine interactions of the first excited non-rotational states at 64 keV in¹⁵⁷Gd and at 86.5 keV in¹⁵⁵Gd have been determined in GdF₃ and GdCl₃· 6H₂O. For the ratio of quadrupolmoments the ratiosQ ₆₄ ¹⁵⁷ /Q _g ¹⁵⁷ =1.74±0.04,Q _86.5 ¹⁵⁵ /Q _g ¹⁵⁷ =?0.07 ± 0.21 andQ _g ¹⁵⁵ /Q _g ¹⁵⁷ =0.78 ± 0.06 were found. In addition isomer shifts were observed from which a ratio δ〈r²〉 ₆₄ ¹⁵⁷ /δ〈r²〉 _86.5 ¹⁵⁵ =?2.6±0.15 can be inferred.     

\mathrm{CO}_{2}^{*} chemiluminescence study at low and elevated pressures

Chemiluminescence experiments have been performed to assess the state of current $\mathrm{CO}_{2}^{*}$ kinetics modeling. The difficulty with modeling $\mathrm{CO}_{2}^{*}$ lies in its broad emission spectrum, making it a challenge to isolate it from background emission of species such as CH^? and CH₂O^?. Experiments were performed in a mixture of 0.0005H₂+0.01N₂O+0.03CO+0.9595Ar in an attempt to isolate $\mathrm{CO}_{2}^{*}$ emission. Temperatures ranged from 1654 K to 2221 K at two average pressures, 1.4 and 10.4 atm. The unique time histories of the various chemiluminescence species in the unconventional mixture employed at these conditions allow for easy identification of the $\mathrm{CO}_{2}^{*}$ concentration. Two different wavelengths to capture $\mathrm{CO}_{2}^{*}$ were used; one optical filter was centered at 415 nm and the other at 458 nm. The use of these two different wavelengths was done to verify that broadband $\mathrm{CO}_{2}^{*}$ was in fact being captured, and not emission from other species such as CH^? and CH₂O^?. As a baseline for time history and peak magnitude comparison, OH^? emission was captured at 307 nm simultaneously with the two $\mathrm{CO}_{2}^{*}$ filters. The results from the two $\mathrm{CO}_{2}^{*}$ filters were consistent with each other, implying that indeed the same species (i.e., $\mathrm{CO}_{2}^{*}$ ) was being measured at both wavelengths. A first-generation kinetics model for $\mathrm{CO}_{2}^{*}$ and CH₂O^? was developed, since no comprehensively validated one exists to date. CH₂O^? and CH^? were ruled out as being present in the experiments at any measurable level, based on calculations and comparisons with the data. Agreement with the $\mathrm{CO}_{2}^{*}$ model was only fair, which necessitates future improvements for a better understanding of $\mathrm{CO}_{2}^{*}$ chemiluminescence as well as the kinetics of the ground state species.     

Symmetric and asymmetric fission of charged sodium clusters

A deformed-jellium model is used to calculate the fission barrier height of Na ₂₄ ²⁺ → Na ₂₁ ⁺ +Na ₃ ⁺ and Na ₄₂ ²⁺ → 2Na ₂₁ ⁺ within the Kohn—Sham Density Functional Theory (i.e., including shell effects). Although the shape of the barrier obviously depends on the parametrization of the fission path, we have found that the barrier maximum corresponds to a configuration in which the emerging fragments are already formed and rather well apart. The two examples chosen serve to illustrate the influence of the electronic shell effects.     

Ionization and dissociative ionization of methane molecules

A technique for mass-spectrometric investigation of the yield of positive ions produced by direct and electron-impact dissociative ionization of methane molecules is described, and respective experimental data are presented. Doubly charged C ₂ ⁺ , CH ₃ ²⁺ , and CH ₄ ²⁺ ions, as well as singly charged D ₂ ⁺ , CD ₃ ⁺ , and CD ₄ ⁺ ions, are detected in the mass spectrum of a methane molecule at electron energy U _e = 90 eV for the first time. From ionization efficiency curves, the ionization energy of the parent molecule and the appearance energy of fragment ions are determined. The ionization energy of the CH₄ molecule is found to be 12.62 ± 0.20 eV. Electron-molecular reactions that may take place when a low-energy electron beam interacts with a methane molecule are analyzed. The ionization process and the formation of methane molecule fragments are studied.     

E2 andE3 transition strengths in some rare-earth nuclei

Coulomb excitation byα-particles of vibrational-like states in even-mass rare-earth nuclei is used to determine the reduced transition probabilitiesB(E2; 0 _gs ⁺ →2 _γ ⁺ ),B(E2; 0 _gs ⁺ →2 _β ⁺ ),B(E2; 2 _gs ⁺ →0 _β ⁺ ) andB(E2; 0 _gs ⁺ →3 _oct ^? ) in¹⁵⁰Nd,^{152, 154}Sm,^{154, 158}Gd,¹⁶⁴Dy and¹⁶⁶Er. TheB(Eλ; 0 _gs ⁺ →I=λ)-values range from 2.4 to 6.5 single-particle units for transitions to the 2 _γ ⁺ -states, 0.8 single-particle units for the 2 _β ⁺ -states and from 14.1 to 21.7 single-particle units for the 3^?-states.     

Alteration of the Axial Met Ligand to Electron Acceptor A0 in Photosystem I: Effect on the Generation of P 700 ·+ A 1 ·− Radical Pairs as Studied by W-band Transient EPR

Photosystem I (PS I) mutants from the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 bearing point mutations to the axial ligands of A_0A (M688N_PsaA) and A_0B (M668N_PsaB) were studied by high-field W-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. It was found that the EPR observables of PS I from the M668N_PsaB mutant were virtual identical to that of the wild type (WT), and are clearly distinct from the M688N_PsaA mutant. In particular, the P ₇₀₀ ^·+ decay kinetics in the M688N_PsaA mutant is significantly slower than in the WT or the M668N_PsaB mutant. The analysis of the out-of-phase electron–electron dipolar electron spin echo envelope modulation shows that in the M668N_PsaB mutant, the estimated distance of 26.0 ± 0.3 Å agrees well with the 25.8 Å distance for the P ₇₀₀ ^·+ A _1A ^·? radical pair measured in the X-ray crystal structure. In the M688N_PsaA mutant, two populations are found with estimated distances of 26.0 ± 0.3 and 25.0 ± 0.3 Å in a ratio of 0.7–0.3, which agree well with the 25.8 Å distance for the P ₇₀₀ ^·+ A _1A ^·? radical pair and the 24.6 Å distance for the P ₇₀₀ ^·+ A _1B ^·? radical pair measured in the X-ray crystal structure. The data confirm that under the experimental conditions employed in this work, which involve dark-adapted samples without the pre-reduction of the iron–sulfur clusters, electron transport in cyanobacterial PS I is asymmetrical at 100 K, with the majority of electron transfer taking place through the A-branch of cofactors.     

The Kepler-Coulomb problem on SO(2, 2) hyperboloid

In this note the Kepler-Coulomb problem in hyperbolic space H ₂ ² : z ₀ ² + z ₁ ² ? z ₂ ² ? z ₃ ² = R ² is discussed.     

Relative tensor calculus and the tensor time derivative

A relative tensor calculus is formulated for expressing equations of mathematical physics. A tensor time derivative operator ▽ _b ^a is defined which operates on tensors λ^ia...ib. Equations are written in a rigid, flat, inertial or other coordinate system a, altered to relative tensor notation, and are thereby expressed in general flowing coordinate systems or materials b, c, d, .... Mirror tensor expressions for ▽ _b ^a λ^ic...id and ▽ _b ^a λ_ic...id exist in a relative geometry G if and only if a rigid coordinate system a exists in G, where ▽ _b ^a λ^ic = λ _,0c ^ic + λ^kev _ckc ^aic + λ _kc ^ic v _b ^ckc , ▽_jcλ^ic = λ _,jc ^ic + λ^kcΓ _{jc kc} ^ie , and v _b ^aic is the velocity of b relative to a with components in c. These operators are convenient in theoretical analyses and can be incorporated into machine programs for the numerical solution of physical problems.     

Phenomenology of composite colored weak bosons

In composite models of quarks, leptons and weak bosons whereW-constituents are colored objects, color octet partners ofW ^± andZ ⁰ are predicted. We study in detail the phenomenology of these particles. Independent of the specific model one expects a color octet isotriplet of vector bosons (W ₈ ^± ,Z ₈ ⁰ ) with mass in the range of 100–200 GeV, and a color octet isosinglet vector bosonV ₈ ⁰ with substantially larger mass, due to mixing with the gluon. Moreover, relatively light color octet excitations of the leptons appear, while the existence of “color exotic” partners of the quarks is model dependent. These particles decay mainly into a lepton (quark) and a gluon. We construct the couplings ofW ₈ ^± ,Z ₈ ⁰ andV ₈ ⁰ to ordinary and “color exotic” fermions. The signals of color octet weak bosons in low energy weak reactions are explored in detail. The production cross section ofW ₈ ^± (Z ₈ ⁰ ) in hadron-hadron collisions is calculated for \(0.54TeV \leqq \sqrt s \leqq 20TeV\) . Various decay modes of colored weak bosons are studied. The most prominent decay signatures ofW ₈ ^± andZ ₈ ⁰ are events of the type (l ^+-: charged lepton;j: hadronic jet; : missing transverse momentum). The present CERN \(p\bar p\) collider data on such events are discussed in the light ofW ₈ ^± andZ ₈ ⁰ decays. If colored weak bosons are not found with a mass less than ～250 GeV composite model building will be strongly restricted.