Polarization of leading Λ hyperons produced by neutrons on target nuclei

The polarization of the leading Λ hyperons produced on carbon and lead target nuclei by 4–10 GeV neutrons in the angle range Θ<8.5° with respect to the beam and with only neutral-particle accompaniment is measured: 〈Π〉=−0.096±0.018 for C and 〈Π〉=− 0.128±0.047 for Pb. The dependence of the polarization on the transverse momentum and the Feynman variable is measured. The normalized invariant cross section as a function of p _⊥ ² is found to be approximated by the function A exp(−Bp _⊥ ² ), where the parameter B is independent of the kind of nucleus (B=8.71±0.09 (GeV/c)⁻² for carbon and B=8.83±0.18 (GeV/c)⁻² for lead). Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 4, 237–240 (25 August 1996)     

12 W mid-infrared output,singly resonant,continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator pumped by a Yb<Superscript>3+</Superscript>-doped fiber amplifier

We report a continuous-wave singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (SRO) with more than 12 W of idler power at 3414 nm when it was operated at 30°C. The SRO was directly pumped by a single-frequency, ytterbium-doped fiber laser with 49 W linear polarization pump powers, and based on 50 mm long periodically poled MgO:LiNbO₃ crystal (PPMgLN) in two-mirror linear cavity with 30.5 μm grating period. It’s pump power at threshold was 5.4 W. The slope-efficiency and quantum-limited performance reached 26 and 79.2%, respectively. The beam polarization matched the e → e + e interaction in crystal. The idler waves were temperature tuned in the range of 3654 to 3811 nm and 3248 to 3414 nm based on two 50 mm long PPMgLN with 29.5 and 30.5 μm grating period. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest continuouswave mid-IR output obtained for a fiber laser pumped optical parametric oscillator (OPO).     

Electric-Field Gradients at Group-III Sites on GaAs and InAs (111)B Surfaces

We report a comparison of electric-field gradients (EFGs) measured at the group-III sites on epitaxially-grown surfaces of 2×2-reconstructed GaAs and InAs crystals. For this purpose, we used ¹¹¹In→¹¹¹Cd perturbed-angular-correlation (PAC) spectroscopy. Sharp spectral lines characterize the perturbation functions corresponding to both surfaces. On GaAs surface, we observe only one well-defined nuclear electric-quadrupole interaction (NQI); and on the InAs surface, we observe a primary and a secondary NQI. Very similar but experimentally-distinguishable values of the EFG-parameters characterize the primary interactions corresponding to the GaAs and InAs surfaces. Specifically, for the GaAs and InAs surfaces, ω _Q =28.0±0.2 Mrad s⁻¹ and η=0.43±0.02 and ω _Q =28.8±0.2 Mrad s⁻¹ and η=0.39±0.02, and the angles between EFG z-axis and the (111) direction are 65°±3° and β=53°±3°, respectively. These unexpected results indicate that the so-called lattice contribution to the EFG is not significant. Moreover, for the primary NQIs on both surfaces, the similar parameter values demonstrate that chemical differences between the ¹¹¹In probe and the indigenous Ga surface atoms cause no large quantitative effects. This information indicates that impurity probes and PAC spectroscopy can be used effectively to investigate III–V surfaces. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Laser optogalvanic spectroscopy of argon in the wavelength region 605–740 nm

Two-photon optogalvanic transitions in Ar glow discharge with Nd: YAG laser pumped dye laser excitation in the frequency range 13520–16520 cm⁻¹ has been studied using linear and circular polarization. The intensities of two-photon optogalvanic transitions are very sensitive to changes in the incident laser power which is not the case with one-photon transitions. Intensity ratio for circular and linear polarized light for two photon transitions 6s′[1/2]°1←4s[3/2]°2, 6s′[1/2]°0←4s[3/2]°2, and 5d[1/2]°0←4s[3/2]°2, 5d[1/2]°1←4s[3/2]°2 are quite different from the other two-photon transitions. This has been explained as due to near one photon resonance of 4p′[3/2]1 level for the first pair and 4p′[1/2]1 for the second pair of transitions. The ratio of optogalvanic intensity for circular to linear polarized light has been theoretically estimated and compared with the observed results.     

Growth morphology of nanoscale sputter-deposited Au films on amorphous soft polymeric substrates

The growth of a room-temperature sputter-deposited thin Au film on two soft polymeric substrates, polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), from nucleation to formation of a continuous film is investigated by means of atomic force microscopy. In particular, we studied the surface morphology evolution of the film as a function of the deposition time observing an initial Au three-dimensional island-type growth. Then the Au film morphology evolves, with increasing deposition time, from hemispherical islands to partially coalesced worm-like island structures, to percolation, and finally to a continuous and rough film. The overall Au morphology evolution is discussed in the framework of the interrupted coalescence model, allowing us to evaluate the island critical radius for the partial coalescence R _c=8.7±0.9 nm for Au on PS and R _c=7.6±0.8 nm for Au on PMMA. Furthermore, the application of the kinetic freezing model allows us to evaluate the room-temperature surface diffusion coefficient D _s≈1.8×10⁻¹⁸ m²/s for Au on PS and D _s≈1.1×10⁻¹⁸ m²/s for Au on PMMA. The application of the Vincent model allows us, also, to evaluate the critical coverage (at which the percolation occurs) P _c=61% for Au on PS and P _c=56% for Au on PMMA. Finally, the dynamic scaling theory of a growing interface was applied to characterize the kinetic roughening of the Au film on both PMMA and PS. Such analyses allow us to evaluate the dynamic scaling, growth, and roughness exponents z=3.8±0.4, β=0.28±0.03, α=1.06±0.05 for the growth of Au on PS and z=4.3±0.3, β=0.23±0.03, α=1.03±0.05 for the growth of Au on PMMA, in agreement with a non-equilibrium but conservative and linear growth process in which the surface diffusion phenomenon plays a key role.     

Anharmonic force constants of GaSb from the measured third order elastic constants at 300°K

The third-order elastic constants of single crystal GaSb are determined using ultrasonic pulse interferometer at 10 MHz. The constants at 300°K, in units of 10¹¹ N.m.⁻², are C_l11 = ™ 4 ·75 ± 0·06 C₁₄₄ = + 0·50 ± 0·25 C₁₁₃ = ™ 3 ·08 ± 0·02 C₁₆₆ = ™ 2·16 ± 0·13 C₁₂₃ = ™ 0 ·44 ± 0·29 C₄₅₆ = ™ 0·25 ± 0·15 These constants are used to evaluate the three anharmonic first and second neighbour force constants based on modified Keating’s model. The constants are (in units of 10¹¹ N.m⁻²)γ=− 2·406;δ=0·407;ε=−0·222.     

On the activity and structure of the Quadrantid meteor stream

Summary The activity of the Quadrantid meteor stream is analysed on the basis of radar observations at Budrio (44.5°N, 11.6°E), Italy, in 1983, 1984 and 1987. The Quadrantids have appeared as a prominent meteor stream and the compound activity curve is symmetrical with the maximum at solar longitude 282.69°±0.06° (equinox 1950.0). The maxima in individual years vary and are consistent with visual observations in corresponding years. Mean orbit of the stream as well as the radiant area were derived from 54 photographic Quadrantid orbits compiled from Meteor Data Centre and Nippon Meteor Society. The mean radiant was found at α=230.8°, δ=49.5° and the radiant area is elongated covering an area of 8°×4°. The photographic orbital elements obtained over a period of almost 40 years follow the trend of orbital evolution of the stream proposed by Hugheset al. (1979).     

Third harmonic generation of CO2 laser radiation in AgGaSe2 crystal

Generation of third harmonic of CO₂ laser radiation has been obtained in a type-II, ϑ=57° cut 9 mm thick AgGaSe₂ crystal for the first time by sum-frequency-mixing of the fundamental with its second harmonic, the latter being obtained using another type-I, ϑ=55° cut 11 mm thick AgGaSe₂ crystal. The energy conversion efficiencies obtained for second harmonic and third harmonic generations are 6.3% and 2.4% respectively with the input fundamental pump power density of 5.9 MW/cm² only. The wavelength of the fundamental CO₂ laser radiation used for the generation of harmonics is 10.6 μm, P(20) line. A compact TEA CO₂ laser source has been built in the laboratory.     

TDPAC studies of Hf doped YBCO

Time differential perturbed angular correlation measurements of the 133–482 keVγ-γ cascade of¹⁸¹Ta in Hf-doped YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x are presented. The¹⁸¹Hf precurser nuclei are incorporated into the sample by thermal neutron irradiation. Two quadrupole interaction frequencies are observed in the as-irradiated sample:v _Q1=161±10 MHz with intensityf ₁=75%, asymmetry parameterη ₁=0.32 and damping parameter Λ₁=0.42, andv _Q2=1108±40 MHz withf ₂=25%,η ₂=0.62, and Λ₂=0.60. On annealing the sample in air at various temperaturesT _a and quenching to room temperature,f ₁ remained nearly constant forT _a<600°C andv _Q1 for all annealing temperatures indicating that these are insensitive to oxygen stoichiometry. This frequency is interpreted to be due to¹⁸¹Hf substitutingY sites. BeyondT _a=600°C,f ₁ increased and reached a constant value of 90% forT _a=800°C. The value ofv _Q2 showed a slight variation between 1086 and 1160 MHz, whilef ₂ remained nearly constant at 25% forT _a<600°C. This component is identified to be due to¹⁸¹Hf substituting Cu 1 sites in the Cu-O chains of YBCO. Above 600°Cv _Q2 decreased and reached a value of 808 MHz beyond 750°C.     

Θ+-Pentaquark parity from associative baryon production in πd collisions, π ± + d → Θ+ + Σ±

We derive, in model-independent way, the spin structure of the matrix element for the reaction of associative Θ⁺-pentaquark production, π ^± + d → Θ⁺ + Σ^±, in the threshold region and in collinear kinematics. The expressions for the polarization observables in this reaction are found assuming spin 1/2 and different parities for Θ⁺. We have proved that such a reaction can be used for a model-independent determination of the P parity of Θ⁺ only by measuring the Θ⁺ polarization. Other polarization observables, such as the dependence of the Σ^± polarization on the vector and tensor deuteron polarizations, are insensitive to the Θ⁺ parity under the considered kinematical conditions. The linear and quadratic relations between polarization observables in (Θ⁺ is unpolarized) do not depend on the parity of the Θ⁺ pentaquark. The analysis performed for this reaction is also applicable without any modification to the reaction K ⁺ + d → Θ⁺ + p. Using the pole model for the reaction mechanism, we estimated the value of the cross section for the reaction K ⁺ + d → Θ⁺ + p near the threshold. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Cross-sections of large-angle hadron production in proton– and pion–nucleus interactions II: beryllium nuclei and beam momenta from ±3 GeV/c to ±15 GeV/c

We report on double-differential inclusive cross-sections of the production of secondary protons and charged pions, in the interactions with a 5% λ _abs thick stationary beryllium target, of proton and pion beams with momentum from ±3 GeV/c to ±15 GeV/c. Results are given for secondary particles with production angles 20° <θ<125°.     

A Possible Nuclear Spin Dewar. Hyperfine Interactions of Short-Lived β Emitter 8Li and 12B in TiO2

It was confirmed by detecting the β-NMR of ¹²B (I ^π=1⁺, T _1/2=20.2 ms) in a TiO₂ (rutile) crystal that the nuclear spin polarization of ¹²B was totally maintained in the crystal as produced through a nuclear reaction before implantation. Two locations, site 1 and site 2, were found with the relative populations 9 and 1, respectively, and the electric field gradients (EFGs) at those sites were obtained to be q(site 1)=+(37.1±0.5)10¹⁵ V/cm², η(site 1)<0.03, q(site 2)=+(185±5)10¹⁵ V/cm² and η(site 2)=0.62±0.02. We also found that about 30% of the initial polarization of ⁸Li (I ^π=2⁺, T _1/2=838 ms) was maintained in the crystal. Since the polarizations of other β emitting nuclei, ^12,16N, ^13,19O, and ⁴¹Sc were also totally maintained in the crystal, the crystal can be a “Spin Dewar” in which many short-lived nuclides can be implanted with their polarizations totally maintained during their lifetimes for the studies not only on the electronic structure of impurities in it but also on the nuclear properties. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The cosmic background radiation temperature at 1.3 mm

Summary The cosmic background radiation temperature at 1.3 mm wavelength has been determined by studying the absorption lines of the interstellar CN toward the star HD 154 368. The resulting value of (2.832±0.072) K is consistent with the weighted average,T _CBR=(2.78±0.01) K of the results obtained at λ≥1.0 mm. To speed up publication, the proofs were not sent to the authors and were supervised by the Scientific Committee.     

Fitting Cosmological Data to the Function <Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">z</Emphasis>) from GR Theory: Modified Chaplygin Gas

In the Friedmann cosmology, the deceleration of the expansion q plays a fundamental role. We derive the deceleration as a function of redshift q(z) in two scenarios: ΛCDM model and modified Chaplygin gas (MCG) model. The function for the MCG model is then fitted to the cosmological data in order to obtain the cosmological parameters that minimize χ ². We use the Fisher matrix to construct the covariance matrix of our parameters and reconstruct the q(z) function. We use Supernovae Ia, WMAP5, and BAO measurements to obtain the observational constraints. We determined the present acceleration as q ₀ = − 0.65 ±0.19 for the MCG model using the Union2 dataset of SNeIa, BAO, and CMB and q ₀ = − 0.67 ±0.17 for the Constitution dataset, BAO and CMB. The transition redshift from deceleration to acceleration was found to be around 0.80 for both datasets. We have also determined the dark energy parameter for the MCG model: Ω _X0 = 0.81 ±0.03 for the Union2 dataset and Ω _X0 = 0.83 ±0.03 using the Constitution dataset.     

New phase transition in an easy-axis “triangular” antiferromagnet

The NMR of ⁵⁵Mn in the quasi-one-dimensional noncollinear anti-ferromagnet CsMnI₃ is investigated at T=1.3 K in magnetic fields up to ∼80 kOe and angles between the field and C ₆ axis ϕ≈ 0.5° and ϕ=7°. A new reorientational magnetic phase transition is observed in a field H _c1≈39.0 kOe. The magnetic structure for H>H _c1 is determined. The average Mn²⁺ spins of the magnetic sublattices in the new phase are determined from an analysis of the NMR spectrum to be 〈 S _C 〉=1.63 and 〈S _D 〉=1.72. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 12, 988–993 (25 June 1998)     

A study of the radiative KL→π±e?νγ decay and search for direct photon emission with the KLOE detector

We present a measurement of the ratio R=Γ(K⁰ _e3γ;E^* _γ > 30 MeV, θ^* _γ>20^°)/Γ(K⁰ _e3) and a first measurement of the direct emission contribution in semileptonic K_L decays. The measurement was performed at the DA NE φ factory by selecting φ→K_LK_S decays with the KLOE detector. We use 328 pb^-1 of data, corresponding to about 3.5 million K⁰ _e3 events and about 9000 K⁰ _e3γ radiative events. Our result is R=(924±23_stat±16_syst)×10^-5 for the branching ratio and 〈X〉=-2.3±1.3_stat±1.4_syst for the effective strength parameter describing direct emission. PACS  13.20.Eb     

Relaxation and shift of the precession frequency of the spin of a negative muon in n-type silicon

The residual polarization of negative muons in n-type silicon with impurity density (1.6±0.2) · 10¹³ cm⁻³ is investigated as a function of temperature in the range 10–300 K. The measurements are performed in an external magnetic field of 0.08 T oriented transversely to the spin of the muons. Relaxation of the muon spin and a shift of the precession frequency are observed at temperatures below 30 K. The relaxation rate at 30 K equals 0.25±0.08 μs⁻¹. The shift of the precession frequency at 20 K equals 7 · 10⁻³. Both the relaxation rate and the shift of the precession frequency increase as the temperature decreases. At temperatures below 30 K the relaxation rate is described well by the relation Λ=bT ^−q , where q=2.8±0.2. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 63, No. 7, 539–543 (10 April 1996)     

Inclusive production of neutral vector mesons in hadronic Z decays

A data sample of about 3.0 million hadronicZ decays collected by the ALEPH experiment at LEP in the years 1991 through 1994 is used to make an inclusive selection of B hadron events. In this event sample 4227±140±252B* mesons in the decayB*→Bγ and 1944±108±161B** _u,d mesons decaying into a B meson and a charged pion are reconstructed. Here and in the followingB** _u,d denotes the eightL=1(bū) and (bd) states and their charge conjugate. For the well establishedB* meson the following quantities are obtained:ΔM=M _B*−M_B=(45.30±0.35±0.87) MeV/c² andN _B*/(N _B+N _B*)=(77.1±2.6±7.0)%. The angular distribution of the photons in theB* rest frame is used to measure the relative contribution of longitudinalB* polarization states to beσ _L/(σ _L+σ _T)=(33±6±5)%.     

Performance of lithium-ion cells using 1 M LiPF<Subscript>6</Subscript> in EC/DEC (<Emphasis Type="Italic">v</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">v</Emphasis> = 1/2) electrolyte with ethyl propionate additive

In this work, 1 M LiPF₆:EC:DEC (v/v = 1/2) was used as a baseline electrolyte where EC is ethylene carbonate and DEC is diethyl carbonate. Ethyl propionate (EP) was used as an additive. The conductivity of the liquid electrolyte was obtained at ambient and elevated temperatures. The highest room temperature conductivity was observed at (8.05 ± 0.16) mS cm⁻¹ for the electrolyte containing 28.6 vol.% EP. Viscosity of the baseline and EP added baseline electrolytes have been measured at room and elevated temperatures. The electrolyte was also characterized by linear sweep voltammetry. The highest conducting electrolyte with 28.6 vol.% EP and the baseline electrolyte were used to fabricate several batteries. The batteries were charged and discharged at room temperature and at −20°C.     

Effects ofpH on the chromophore orientation in purple membrane

Summary Suspensions of purple-membrane fragments from Halobacterium halobium were oriented by a static electric field with intensity up to 25V/cm in the range ofpH from 4 to 9. It was found that the orientation of the transient dipole moment of the retinal chromophore for what concerns the permanent dipole moment of the membrane fragment undergoes a transition from (60±1)° atpH 5 to (71±1)° atpH 6. Moreover, the permanent dipole moment of the membrane fragments of 1.8·10⁻²³ C·m found at thepH values from 4 to 7 reduces to 1.3·10⁻²³ C·m atpH higher than 7.

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Riassunto Sospensioni di frammenti di membrana purpurea del Halobacterium halobium apH fra 4 e 9 furono orientati da un campo elettrico statico d’intensità fino a 25 V/cm. Fu trovato che l’orientazione del momento di transizione di dipolo del cromoforo, il retinale, rispetto al momento di dipolo permanente dei frammenti di membrana subisce una variazione da (60±1)°apH 5 a (71±1)° apH 6. Inoltre, il momento di dipolo permanente dei frammenti di membrana di 1.8·10⁻²³C·m trovato nell’intervallo dipH da 4 a 7 si riduce a 1.3·10⁻²³C·m per valori dipH delle sospensioni maggiori di 7.