Surface and Bulk Structure Characterization of Proton (3 MeV) Irradiated Polycarbonate

Polycarbonate (Makrofol‐N) thin films were irradiated with protons (3 MeV) under vacuum at room temperature with the fluence ranging from 1×10¹⁴ to 1×10¹⁵ protons cm^?2. The change in surface morphology, optical properties, degradation of the functional groups, and crystallinity of the proton‐irradiated polymers were investigated with atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV‐VIS, and Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) techniques, respectively. AFM shows that the root mean square (RMS) roughness of the irradiated polycarbonate surface increases with the increment of ion fluence. The UV‐VIS analysis revealed that in Makrofol‐N the optical band gap decreased by 30% at highest fluence of 1×10¹⁵ protons cm^?2. The band gap can be correlated to the number of carbon atoms, M, in a cluster with a modified Robertson's equation. The cluster size in the proton‐irradiated Makrofol‐N increased from 112 to 129 atoms with the increase of fluence from 1×10¹⁴ to 1×10¹⁵ protons cm^?2. FTIR spectra of proton (3 MeV) irradiated Makrofol‐N showed a strong decrease of almost all absorption bands at about 1× 10¹⁴ protons cm^?2. However, beyond a higher critical dose an increase in intensity of almost all characteristic bands was noticed. The appearance of a new peak at 3,500 cm^?1 (‐OH groups) was observed at the higher fluences in the FTIR spectra of proton‐irradiated polycarbonate. XRD measurements showed an increase of full width at half maximum (FWHM) and the average intermolecular spacing of the main peak, which may be due to the increase of chain scission and the introduction of ‐OH groups in the proton irradiated polycarbonate.     

The reaction of nitrous oxide with rhodium

A clean rhodium filament at room temperature is highly reactive towards nitrous oxide. The oxygen atom of the N₂O molecule is adsorbed with a sticking probability of 0.45 whilst the nitrogen atoms appear in the gas phase as molecular nitrogen. The room temperature uptake of oxygen is about 5 × 10¹⁴ atom cm^?2 and is independent of nitrous oxide pressure in the range 3.5 × 10^?8 to 1.1 × 10^?6 torr. The adsorption curve is of typical form with an initial region of essentially constant sticking probability. For the first 80% of adsorption at room temperature the shape is satisfactorily accounted for if molecules are able to visit 4–5 adsorption sites whilst held in a weakly-bonded precursor state.     

The influence of neutron and proton irradiation on the magnetization of biotite

This paper reports on the results of investigations into the field dependences of the magnetization for biotite in the initial state, after heat treatment at a temperature of 1000°C for 15 min, and after irradiation with 14-MeV neutrons at a dose of 1.2×10¹³ cm^?2 or with 3-MeV protons at a dose of 2.2×10¹⁴ cm^?2. It is demonstrated that the magnetization of biotite drastically increases after neutron and proton irradiation. This effect can be associated with the formation of oxide melt at radiation-induced thermal peaks and the freezing of high-temperature phase states corresponding to magnetite or magnetite-hematite solid solutions.     

First experimental evidence of D(p, γ)3He reaction in titanium deuteride in ultralow collision energy region

The article is devoted to the investigation of a pd-reaction (p + d → ³He + γ(5.5 MeV)) under-going in titanium deuteride in astrophysical collision energy region of protons and deuterons ranging from 5.3 to 10.5 keV. The experiments have been performed using the Hall NR TPU (Tomsk, Russia) pulsed plasma accelerator. The number of accelerated protons in 10 μs pulse was 5 × 10¹⁴ at a repetition rate of 7 × 10^?2 Hz. Detection of 5.5 MeV gamma rays was carried out using eight detectors based on crystals of NaI(Tl) (100 × 100 × 400 mm) placed around the TiD target. For the first time, the dependencies between the astrophysical S-factor and the effective cross section of the pd-reaction from proton-deuteron collision energy, and the potential electronic screening of the interacting protons and deuterons in titanium deuteride have been measured.     

Experimental observation of electron screening for the D(p, γ)3He nuclear reaction in titanium Deuteride TiD

Characteristics of the pd reaction (p + d → ³He + γ(5.5 MeV)) in titanium deuteride at astrophysical proton-deuteron collision energies ranging from 5.3 to 10.5 keV are investigated. Experiments are conducted on the pulsed plasma Hall accelerator at Tomsk Polytechnic University (Tomsk, Russia). The number of accelerated protons in a pulse 10 μs long is 5 × 10¹⁴ at a repetition rate of 7 × 10^?2 Hz. Gamma rays with an energy of 5.5 MeV are recorded by eight detectors based on NaI(Tl) crystals (100 × 100 × 400 mm) arranged around the TiD target. The dependence of the astrophysical S factor for the pd reaction on the proton-deuteron collision energy and the electron screening potential of protons interacting with deuterons in titanium deuteride are measured for the first time.     

The GaP(001) surface and the adsorption of Cs

GaP(001) cleaned by argon-ion bombardment and annealed at 500°C showed the Ga-stabilized GaP(001)(4 × 2) structure. Only treatment in 10^?5 Torr PH₃ at 500°C gave the P-stabilized GaP(001)(1 × 2) structure. The AES peak ratio $\text{P}\text{Ga}$ is 2 for the (4 × 2) and 3.5 for the (1 × 2) structure. Cs adsorbs with a sticking probability of unity up to 5 × 10¹⁴ Cs atoms cm^?2 and a lower one at higher coverages. The photoemission measured with uv light of 3660 Å showed a maximum at the coverage of 5 × 10¹⁴ atoms cm^?2. Cs adsorbs amorphously at room temperature, but heat treatment gives ordered structures, which are thought to be reconstructed GaP(001) structures induced by Cs. The LEED patterns showed the GaP(001)(1 × 2) Cs structure formed at 180°C for 10 h with a Cs coverage of 5 × 10¹⁴ atoms cm^?2, the GaP(001)(1 × 4) Cs formed at 210°C for 10 hours with a Cs coverage of 2.7 × 10¹⁴ atoms cm^?2, the GaP(001)(7 × 1) and the high temperature GaP(001)(1 × 4), the latter two with very low Cs content. Desorption measurements show three stability regions: (a) between 25–150°C for coverages greater than 5 × 10¹⁴ atoms cm^?2, and an activation energy of 1.2 eV; (b) between 180–200°C with a coverage of 5 × 10¹⁴ atoms cm^?2, and an activation energy of 1.8 eV; (c) between 210–400°C with a coverage of 2.7 × 10¹⁴ atoms cm^?2, and an activation energy of 2.5 eV.     

拟南芥胚的不同区域对MeV离子辐照的响应

利用不同能量的质子在大气环境中辐照拟南芥的含水种子，能量从1.1MeV到6.5MeV.根据模拟计算结果，相应能量的离子对种子的损伤区域分别为胚的浅层、胚的一半和整个胚.本实验中，具有较高能量的质子可以完全均匀地作用于拟南芥生长、发育及遗传密切相关的胚茎端分生组织，而能量较低的质子则不能直接作用于茎端分生组织.实验所用质子注量范围为4×10⁹ions/cm²—1×10¹⁴ions/cm².实验结果显示，虽然拟南芥种子的发芽率和幼苗存活率随离子注量增加都呈现下降的趋势，但对应于不同的胚损伤区域，即在不同的入射质子能量条件下，注量曲线具有各自的特征.实验结果显示，拟南芥种子中除了胚茎端分生组织作为对离子辐照敏感的辐射主靶外，茎端分生组织之外的胚区域可能作为离子辐射次靶，影响到最终的辐射生物学效应. 关键词： 离子辐照 拟南芥 胚区域 生物效应     

2.0-MeV Er+ implanted in silicon: depth distribution, damage profile and annealing behaviour

Si crystals were implanted with 2.0- MeV Er⁺ at the doses of 5×10¹² ions/cm², 1×10¹⁴ ions/cm², 5×10¹⁴ions/cm², 1×10¹⁵ ions/cm² and 2.5×10¹⁵ ions/cm². Conventional furnace thermal annealing was carried out in the temperature range from 600 °C to 1150 °C. The depth distribution of Er, associated damage profiles and annealing behavioar were investigated using the Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and channelling (RBS/C) technique. A proper convolution program was used to extract the distribution of Er from the experimental RBS spectrum. The obtained distribution parameters, projected range R_p, projected range straggling ΔR_p and skewness SK were compared with those of TRIM96 calculation.The experimental R_p and SK values agree well with the simulated values, while the experimental ΔR_p is larger than TRIM 96 simulated value by a factor of 18%. The damage profile of silicon crystal induced by 2.0-MeV Er⁺ at a dose of 1×10¹⁴ ions/cm² was extracted using the multiple-scattering dechannelling model based on Feldman’s method, which is in a good agreement with the TRIM96 calculation. For the samples with dose of 5×10¹⁴ ions/cm² and more, an abnormal annealing behavioar was found and a qualitative explaination has been given. Received: 11 October 1999 / Accepted: 28 March 2000 / Published online: 5 July 2000     

Enhanced radiation hardness of ZnO nanorods versus bulk layers

It is shown that ZnO nanorods grown by MOCVD exhibit enhanced radiation hardness against high energy heavy ion irradiation as compared to bulk layers. The decrease of the luminescence intensity induced by 130 MeV Xe⁺²³ irradiation at a dose of 1.5 × 10¹⁴ cm^–2 in ZnO nanorods is nearly identical to that induced by a dose of 6 × 10¹² cm^–2 in bulk layers. The change in the nature of electronic transitions responsible for luminescence occurs at an irradiation dose around 1 × 10¹⁴ cm^–2 and 5 × 10¹² cm^–2 in nanorods and bulk layers, respectively. High energy heavy ion irradiation followed by thermal annealing is also effective on the quality of ZnO nanorods grown by electrodeposition. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The adsorption of carbon monoxide on rhenium: Basal (0001) and stepped 14 (0001) × (101̄1) planes

The influence of surface defects on the adsorption of CO by rhenium is investigated using LEED, AES and linear temperature programmed desorption. On both surfaces, thermal desorption reveals two adsorption states, the lower temperature α state being resolved into two substates, and one β state, all desorbing with first order kinetics. The α state is unaffected by the surface texture, its maximum population being the same on both surfaces, around 4 × 10¹⁴ molecules cm^?2, similar to the value found for poly crystalline rhenium. On the other hand, the β state is strongly dependent on surface structure. On Re(0001) a maximum of 4 × 10¹³ molecules cm^?2 was found, and 2 × 10¹⁴ molecules cm^?2 on the stepped surface. The adsorption is activated and can be increased, by heating to 550 K, to 2 × 10¹⁴ molecules cm^?2 on the basal plane and 3.5 × 10¹⁴ molecules cm^?2 on the stepped surface. Ordered structures are now seen in LEED. Comparison of these results with previous results from polycrystalline rhenium indicate that the dissociation of β-CO on the latter surface must occur at defects other than steps.     

New search for processes violating the Pauli exclusion principle in sodium and in iodine

In this paper a new search for non-Paulian nuclear processes, i.e. processes normally forbidden by the Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP), is presented. It has been carried out at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory of the INFN by means of the highly radiopure DAMA/LIBRA set-up (sensitive mass of about 250 kg highly radiopure NaI(Tl)). In particular, a new improved upper limit for the spontaneous non-Paulian emission rate of protons with energy E _p ≥ 10 MeV in ²³Na and ¹²⁷I has been obtained: 1.63 × 10⁻³³ s⁻¹ (90% C.L.). The corresponding limit on the relative strength (δ ²) for the searched non-Paulian transition is δ ²≲(3–4)×10⁻⁵⁵ (90% C.L.). Moreover, PEP-violating electron transitions in iodine atoms have also been investigated. Lifetimes shorter than 4.7×10³⁰ s are excluded at 90% C.L.; this allows us to derive the limit δ _e ²<1.28×10⁻⁴⁷ (90% C.L.). This latter limit can also be related to a possible finite size of the electron in composite models of quarks and leptons providing superficial violation of the PEP; the obtained upper limit on the electron size is r ₀<5.7×10⁻¹⁸ cm (energy scale of E≳3.5 TeV).     

Muon content of ultrahigh-energy air showers: Yakutsk data versus simulations

A sample of 33 extensive air showers (EASs) with estimated primary energies above 2 × 10¹⁹ eV and high-quality muon data recorded by the Yakutsk EAS array is analyzed. The observed muon density is compared event-by-event to that expected from CORSIKA simulations for primary protons and iron using SIBYLL and EPOS hadronic interaction models. The study suggests the presence of two distinct hadronic components, “light” and “heavy.” Simulations with EPOS are in good agreement with the expected composition in which the light component corresponds to protons and the heavy component to iron-like nuclei. With SIBYLL, simulated muon densities for iron primaries are a factor of ∼ 1.5 less than those observed for the heavy component for the same electromagnetic signal. Assuming a two-component proton-iron composition and the EPOS model, the fraction of protons with energies E > 10¹⁹ eV is 0.52_−0.20^+0.19 at the 95% C.L. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Mobility and conductivity of ionic and bonded defects in hydrogen-bonded chains with nonlinear interactions

The proton conductivity and the mobility arising from motions of the ionic and bonded defects, in hydrogen-bonded molecular systems are investigated by means of the quantum mechanical method. Our two component model goes beyond the usual classical harmonic interaction by inclusion of a quartic interaction potential between the nearest-neighbor protons. Among the rich variety of soliton patterns obtained in this model, we focus our attention to compact kink (kinkon) solutions to calculate analytically, the mobility of the kinkon-antikinkon pair and the specific electrical-conductivity of the protons transfer in the hydrogen-bonded systems under an externally applied electrical-field through the dynamic equation of the kinkon-antikinkon pair. For ice, the mobility and the electrical conductivity of the proton transfer obtained are about 5.307×10^-7 m²  V^-1  s^-1 and 6.11×10^-4 Ω^-1 m^-1, respectively. The results obtained are in qualitative agreement with experimental data.     

Influence of irradiation damage on formation of iron nitrides in α-Fe

Pure iron foils were implanted with nitrogen ions at energy of 10 keV and with 1×10¹⁷N ions/cm². Doses of pre-self-implantation were 5×10¹⁶ and 3.7×10^{16 17}Fe ions/cm² respectively, and the iron ion energy was 27 keV. A comparison of iron nitrides formed on surfaces with and without pre-self-implantation has been obtained. The results show that radiation damage apparently influences the formation of iron nitrides. The formation and transformation of nitrides after N implantation or after annealing can be explained by a model of implantation-induced transformation.     

Third harmonic generation of laser radiation in Fe- and Zn-doped polyvinylpyrrolidone

The results of third-order nonlinear susceptibilities studies of Fe- and Zn-doped polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) aqueous solution in processes of third harmonic generation of Nd:YAG laser radiation are presented. Nonlinear susceptibilities of PVP:Fe and PVP:Zn were calculated to be 5×10^-13 esu and 3×10^-13 esu respectively. Third harmonic conversion efficiencies in these metallocomplexes were measured to be 8×10^-7 and 5×10^-7 respectively. The Z-scan method was applied to determine Kerr effect influence on frequency conversion process. The value of nonlinear refractive index of PVP:Fe at the wavelength of λ = 1064 nm was measured to be n ₂ = - 6.7×10^-13 esu. Received 30 November 2001 / Received in final form 27 March 2002 Published online 28 June 2002     

Proton-induced F-centers in LiF and MgF2

The growth of F-centers in LiF irradiated at room temperature with 40- and 85-MeV protons and with ⁹⁰Sr electrons was found to be proportional to the square root of the absorbed energy over the range 0.5 to 2.3 Mrad which corresponds to an F-center density range of 1 × 10¹⁶ to 1.5 × 10¹⁷ per cm³. The production efficiency was 5 × 10³eV per F-center at an absorbed energy of 2.3 Mrad. The density of F-centers produced in MgF₂ by 40- and 85-MeV protons was measured over an absorbed energy range of 0.2 to 29 Mrad which corresponds to a maximum F-center density of 2 × 10¹⁶ per cm³. The production efficiency for MgF₂ was 4 × 10⁵eV per F-center at an absorbed energy of 16 Mrad.     

Investigating the excitation of 8<Superscript>−</Superscript> isomers in the odd-odd nuclei of <Superscript>116–120</Superscript>Sb in the (<Emphasis Type="Italic">p,n</Emphasis>)-reaction

Isomeric cross-section ratios in ^116m,g Sb, ^118m,g Sb and ^120m,g Sb were measured in the (p, n)-reaction for an energy of protons of ∼6.7 MeV. Experimental values of σ ^m /σ ^g were obtained: (4.6 ± 0.4) × 10⁻⁴ for ¹¹⁶Sb, (5.4 ± 0.6) × 10⁻³ for ¹¹⁸Sb and (7.4 ± 0.7) × 10⁻³ for ¹²⁰Sb. Experimental values of the isomeric crosss-ection ratios are compared to the theoretical values calculated using the TALYS-1.0 code. The statistical nature of the (p, n) reaction is demonstrated in the excitation region of residual nuclei 0.8–3.5 MeV.     

Improved sensitivity in the search for a parity-violating energy difference in the vibrational spectrum of the enantiomers of CHFClBr

The theoretical prediction that enantiomers of chiral molecules have different spectra because of parity violation associated with neutral currents in the weak interaction has been experimentally looked for. Last searches of a frequency difference in the vibrational spectrum of the enantiomers of CHFClBr obtained with our infrared saturation spectrometer is presented. The frequencies of a saturation resonance of separated enantiomers of CHFClBr have been compared at a 5×10^-14 level. A residual pressure shift probably induced by uncontrolled impurities of the samples has been observed and found to limit our experimental sensitivity. Finally no parity violating frequency difference is observed within the present sensitivity of 2.5×10^-13. A new experimental scheme is proposed which should let the parity violation effect observable. Received 22 January 2002 Published online 19 July 2002     

First results of electron cooling experiments at LEAR

The first results are presented of electron cooling experiments in the Low-Energy Antiproton Ring (LEAR) at CERN, performed with a proton beam of about 50 and 21 MeV. The number of stored protons ranged from 10⁷ to 3 × 10⁹. Cooling times of the order 1 s and proton drag rates of up to 0.7 MeV/s were obtained. The capture of cooling electrons by protons producing hydrogen atoms was used to derive an effective electron temperature (0.25 eV). From the angular profile of the neutral hydrogen beam an upper limit of 3π mm.mrad could be deduced for the horizontal equilibrium proton-beam emittance. The lowest equilibrium momentum spread was 2 × 10⁵ (FWHM), as derived from the analysis of the longitudinal Schottky signal. This Schottky signal exhibited an unusual behaviour with beam intensity and under certain conditions showed a doublepeak structure which was associated with collective beam noise. For very cold beams transverse instabilities were observed, which resulted in a rapid spill-off of protons and a stabilization at lower intensities. The threshold of these instabilities was raised by heating the proton or the electron beam. The cooling of a bunched proton beam was investigated. The reduction of the proton momentum spread led to bunch lengths of about 2 m, containing 3 × 10⁸ protons.     

A novel inverse numerical modeling method for the estimation of water and salt mass transfer coefficients during ultrasonic assisted-osmotic dehydration of cucumber cubes

The objective of this paper was to study the moisture and salt diffusivity during ultrasonic assisted-osmotic dehydration of cucumbers. Experimental measurements of moisture and salt concentration versus time were carried out and an inverse numerical method was performed by coupling a CFD package (OpenFOAM) with a parameter estimation software (DAKOTA) to determine mass transfer coefficients. A good agreement between experimental and numerical results was observed. Mass transfer coefficients were from 3.5 × 10⁻⁹ to 7 × 10⁻⁹ m/s for water and from 4.8 × 10⁻⁹ m/s to 7.4 × 10⁻⁹ m/s for salt at different conditions (diffusion coefficients of around 3.5 × 10⁻¹²–11.5 × 10⁻¹² m²/s for water and 5 × 10⁻¹² m/s–12 × 10⁻¹² m²/s for salt). Ultrasound irradiation could increase the mass transfer coefficient. The values obtained by this method were closer to the actual data. The inverse simulation method can be an accurate technique to study the mass transfer phenomena during food processing.