Invisible gold in Colombian auriferous soils

Optic microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Mössbauer spectroscopy (MS), Electron microprobe analysis (EPMA) and secondary ions mass spectroscopy (SIMS) were used to study Colombian auriferous soils. The auriferous samples, collected from El Diamante mine, located in Guachavez-Nariño (Colombia), were prepared by means of polished thin sections and polished sections for EPMA and SIMS. Petrography analysis was made using an optical microscope with a vision camera, registering the presence, in different percentages, of the following phases: pyrite, quartz, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena. By XRD analysis, the same phases were detected and their respective cell parameters calculated. By MS, the presence of two types of pyrite was detected and the hyperfine parameters are: δ ₁ = 0.280 ± 0.01 mm/s and ΔQ ₁ = 0.642 ± 0.01 mm/s, δ ₂ = 0.379 ± 0.01 mm/s and ΔQ ₂ = 0.613 ± 0.01 mm/s. For two of the samples MS detected also the arsenopyrite and chalcopyrite presence. The mean composition of the detected gold regions, established by EPMA, indicated 73% Au and 27% Ag (electrum type). Multiple regions of approximately 200 × 200 μm of area in each mineral sample were analyzed by SIMS registering the presence of “invisible gold” associated mainly with the pyrite and occasionally with the arsenopyrite.     

Structural and Electronic Properties Study of Colombian Aurifer Soils by Mössbauer Spectroscopy and X-ray Diffraction

In this work a study on gold mineral samples is reported, using optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Mössbauer spectroscopy (MS). The auriferous samples are from the El Diamante mine, located in Guachavez-Nariño (Colombia) and were prepared by means of polished thin sections. The petrography analysis registered the presence, in different percentages that depend on the sample, of pyrite, quartz, arsenopyirite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena. The XRD analysis confirmed these findings through the calculated cell parameters. One typical Rietveld analysis showed the following weight percent of phases: 85.0% quartz, 14.5% pyrite and 0.5% sphalerite. In this sample, MS demonstrated the presence of two types of pyrite whose hyperfine parameters are δ ₁ = 0.280 ± 0.002 mm/s and Δ ₁ = 0.642 ± 0.002 mm/s, δ ₂ = 0.379 ± 0.002 mm/s and Δ ₂ = 0.613 ± 0.002 mm/s.     

用电子探针对广西金牙微细粒金矿金赋存状态的研究

微细粒金赋存状态的研究，对搞清此类金矿的成因，指导这类金矿的勘探、开采和选冶有着重要意义，本文报道了用电子探针对广西金牙微细粒金矿的矿石进行了观察分析，首次在金牙金矿床含金矿化物表面发现了含铂汞金矿、汞金矿、铂金太航自然金，并确定出它们的尺度。     

Mössbauer analysis of BIOX treatment of ores at Wiluna gold mine, Western Australia

Mössbauer phase analysis of samples taken from nine stages of the bacterial oxidation processing of gold ore at the Wiluna Gold Mine followed the transformation of the arsenopyrite/pyrite minerals. The principal end-stage phases were szomolnokite, ferric oxyhydroxides, ferric arsenates, jarosite and incompletely transformed pyrite, with higher hydrates of ferrous sulphate being created and then dehydrating to szomolnokite during the processing.     

Nanosensors having dipicolinic acid imprinted nanoshell for Bacillus cereus spores detection

Molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs) as a recognition element for sensors are increasingly of interest and MIP nanoclusters have started to appear in the literature. In this study, we have proposed a novel thiol ligand-capping method with polymerizable methacryloylamido-cysteine (MAC) attached to gold–silver nanoclusters, reminiscent of a self-assembled monolayer and have reconstructed surface shell by synthetic host polymers based on molecular imprinting method for recognition. In this method, methacryloylamidoantipyrine–terbium ((MAAP)₂–Tb(III)) has been used as a new metal-chelating monomer via metal coordination–chelation interactions and dipicolinic acid (DPA) which is main participant of Bacillus cereus spores used as a model. Nanoshell sensors with templates give a cavity that is selective for DPA. The DPA can simultaneously chelate to Tb(III) metal ion and fit into the shape-selective cavity. Thus, the interaction between Tb(III) ion and free coordination spheres has an effect on the binding ability of the gold–silver nanoclusters nanosensor. The binding affinity of the DPA imprinted nanoclusters has been investigated by using the Langmuir and Scatchard methods, and the respective affinity constants (K _affinity) determined were found to be 1.43 × 10⁴ and 9.1 × 10⁶ mol L^?1.     

The performances of silicon solar cell with core–shell p-n junctions of micro-nano pillars fabricated by cesium chloride self-assembly and dry etching

Silicon micro-nano pillars are cost-efficiently integrated using twice cesium chloride (CsCl) islands lithography technique and dry etching for solar cell applications. The micro PMMA islands are fabricated by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) dry etching with micro CsCl islands as masks, and the nano CsCl islands with nano sizes then are made on the surface of micro PMMA islands and silicon. By ICP dry etching with the mask of micro PMMA islands and nano CsCl islands, the micro-nano silicon pillars are made and certain height micro pillars are randomly positioned between dense arrays of nano pillars with different morphologies by controlling etching conditions. With 300 nm depth p-n junction detected by secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), the micro pillars of the diameter about 1 μm form the core–shell p-n junction to maximize utility of p-n junction interface and enable efficient free carrier collection, and the nano tapered pillars of 150 nm diameter are used to decrease reflection by a graded-refractive-index. Compared to single micro or nano pillar arrayed cells, the co-integrated solar cell with micro and nano pillars demonstrates improved photovoltaic characteristic that is a photovoltaic conversion efficiency (PCE) of 15.35 % with a short circuit current density (J _sc) of 38.40 mA/cm² and an open circuit voltage (V _oc) of 555.7 mV, which benefits from the advantages of micro-nano pillar structures and can be further improved upon process optimization.     

Mössbauer investigation of gold-bearing pyrite-rich concentrates

A gold-bearing pyrite-rich concentrate of a refractory ore from the Golden Bear mine, northwestern British Columbia, and a pyrite-rich concentrate from Newhawk's west zone, Brucejack Lake area, northern British Columbia, containing 38 and 316 ppm Au and 0.57% and 0.19% As, respectively, have been investigated using¹⁹⁷Au and⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. In the Golden Bear sample, the gold is mainly chemically bound in the pyrite with minor amounts present as an Au-Ag alloy, whereas in the Newhawk sample, the gold occurs mainly as an Au-Ag alloy with a composition close to Au_0.5Ag_0.5 and is only partly bound in the pyrite. Having mean isomer shifts of +3.2 and +4.0 mm/s with respect to a Pt metal source, the gold in pyrite exhibits shifts similar to those observed for gold in arsenopyrite. The nature of the lattice sites occupied by the gold in pyrite is discussed.     

Influence of differential stress on the galvanic interaction of pyrite–chalcopyrite

The effect of stress action on pyrite–chalcopyrite galvanic corrosion was investigated using polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. When stress increased from 0 to 4?×?10⁵ Pa, the corrosion current density of pyrite–chalcopyrite increased from 5.678 to 6.719 μA cm^?2, and the corrosion potential decreased from 281.634 to 270.187 mV, accompanied by a decrease in polarization resistance from 25.09 to 23.79 Ω·cm². EIS results show there have three time constants in the Nyquist diagrams, which indicated the presence of different steps during the corrosion process. Stress dramatically enhanced pyrite–chalcopyrite galvanic corrosion by affecting the Cu_1???x Fe_1???y S₂ film and the double layer, whereas had little impact on the adsorption species. When the stress changed from 0 to 4?×?10⁵ Pa, the pore resistance and capacitance of the Cu_1???x Fe_1???y S₂ film, R _p and Q _p, changed by 25.72 and 72.28 %, respectively. The adsorption species resistance, R _sl, and capacitance, Q _sl, only changed by 9.77 and 2.31 %, respectively.     

Trace element zoning in pyrite determined by PIXE elemental mapping: evidence for varying ore–fluid composition and electrochemical precipitation of gold at the Spitskop deposit,Saldania Belt,South Africa

The geochemistry of pyrite associated with mesothermal ‘invisible’ gold mineralization in the Neoproterozoic Saldania Belt was studied with micro‐PIXE. The petrologically observed weak zoning of pyrite was clearly visible on elemental maps generated by this analytical method. It also allowed the positive identification of two generations of pyrite. Early, irregular pre‐ to syn‐tectonic grains are As‐poor and display strongly zoned later, possibly post‐tectonic, overgrowths rich in As, Ni, Sb and Pb. This late phase also produced a generation of individual, distinctly zoned euhedral grains of similar composition. Gold is extremely fine‐grained and hosted by the zoned pyrite grains as submicroscopic specks located on the boundary between As‐poor and As‐rich bands. This association is indicative of the electrochemical precipitation of gold. Zoning of the elements Ni, Sb and Pb in the late‐stage pyrite is attributed to selective precipitation in response to changes in composition and physico‐chemical conditions of the mineralizing fluids that have been derived from devolatilization of the enclosing metamorphosed volcano‐sedimentary pile. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The size of the proton

The root-mean-square (rms) charge radius r _p of the proton has so far been known only with a surprisingly low precision of about 1% from both electron scattering and precision spectroscopy of hydrogen. We have recently determined r _p by means of laser spectroscopy of the Lamb shift in the exotic “muonic hydrogen” atom. Here, the muon, which is the 200 times heavier cousin of the electron, orbits the proton with a 200 times smaller Bohr radius. This enhances the sensitivity to the proton’s finite size tremendously. Our new value r _p?=?0.84184 (67) fm is ten times more precise than the generally accepted CODATA-value, but it differs by 5 standard deviations from it. A lively discussion about possible solutions to the “proton size puzzle” has started. Our measurement, together with precise measurements of the 1S–2S transition in regular hydrogen and deuterium, also yields improved values of the Rydberg constant, R _?∞??=?10,973,731.568160 (16) m^???1.     

Simulation of silicon nanoparticles stabilized by hydrogen at high temperatures

The stability of different silicon nanoparticles are investigated at a high temperature. The temperature dependence of the physicochemical properties of 60- and 73-atom silicon nanoparticles are investigated using the molecular dynamics method. The 73-atom particles have a crystal structure, a random atomic packing, and a packing formed by inserting a 13-atom icosahedron into a 60-atom fullerene. They are surrounded by a “coat” from 60 atoms of hydrogen. The nanoassembled particle at the presence of a hydrogen “coat” has the most stable number (close to four) of Si–Si bonds per atom. The structure and kinetic properties of a hollow single-layer fullerene-structured Si₆₀ cluster are considered in the temperature range 10 K ≤ T ≤ 1760 K. Five series of calculations are conducted, with a simulation of several media inside and outside the Si₆₀ cluster, specifically, the vacuum and interior spaces filled with 30 and 60 hydrogen atoms with and without the exterior hydrogen environment of 60 atoms. Fullerene surrounded by a hydrogen “coat” and containing 60 hydrogen atoms in the interior space has a higher stability. Such cluster has smaller self-diffusion coefficients at high temperatures. The fullerene stabilized with hydrogen is stable to the formation of linear atomic chains up to the temperatures 270-280 K.     

Exact compositional analysis of SiGe alloys by matrix effect compensated MCs+-SIMS

SiGe alloy, owing to its high electron and hole mobility, has potential applications in high-speed microelectronic device technology. The optimization of such technology requires the precise determination of Ge concentration in the full range of composition and the understanding and control of the Ge–Si interdiffusion phenomenon. The most appropriate analytical technique with highest detection sensitivity (～subparts per billion) for measuring elemental concentration is secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). However, strong compositional dependence of secondary ion yield, i.e. “matrix effect,” has always made SIMS quantification extremely difficult. A procedure for the accurate quantification of Ge concentration in molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)-grown Si_1?x Ge _x (0<x<0.72) alloys based on MCs⁺-SIMS approach has been proposed. The “matrix effect” is shown to be completely suppressed for all Ge concentrations irrespective of impact Cs⁺ ion energies. The novel methodology has successfully been applied for direct quantitative composition analysis of Si/Ge multilayer structure.     

Axion depending on the Higgs sector inSU(2)L×SU(2)R×U(1)

Using Higgses with quantum numbers of fermion bilinears we discuss the axion in four different Higgs sectors inSU(2)_L×SU(2)_R×U(1). Three of the cases are similar to the “standard axion” in the Salam-Weinberg model and in one case the axion can be made invisible.     

Water cleaning ability and local structure of iron-containing soda-lime silicate glass

A relationship between waste-water cleaning ability and local structure of iron-containing soda-lime silicate glass, 15Na₂O·15CaO·xFe₂O₃·(70-x)SiO₂ (x?= 10–50 in mass%), abbreviated as NCFSx glass, was investigated by means of ⁵⁷Fe-Mössbauer spectroscopy, redox titration with KMnO₄ for the determination of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Mössbauer spectra of NCFSx glass with “x” of 10 and 30 were composed of two doublets: one due to Fe^IIIO₄ tetrahedra (T _d) with isomer shift (δ) of 0.23–0.26 mm s^???1 and quadrupole splitting (Δ) 1.01–1.04 mm s^???1, and the other due to Fe^IIO₆ octahedra (O _h) with δ of 1.00–1.03 mm s^???1 and Δ of 2.03–2.05 mm s^???1. Absorption area for Fe^II(T _d) was decreased from 9.7 to 6.5 and 0.0 % when “x” was increased from 10 to 30 and 50. A leaching test performed with 500 mL of artificial waste water and 2.0 g of NCFS50 revealed waste-water cleaning ability of soda-lime glass, e.g., COD was reduced from 280 to 55.2 mg L^???1 after 10 day-leaching. After 10 day-leaching, it proved that iron was dissolved into waste water to a level of 5.3 $_{7} \times 10^{-1}$  mg L^???1. These results prove that organic matter could be effectively decomposed with iron-containing soda-lime silicate glass.     

Optical chirality of the double “L” structure

The optical chirality of the double “L” structures is investigated by the finite element method in this paper. The simulated results show that the double “L” structure has distinct chiral effect for the distance less than 300 nm. For the double “L” structure with the angle of 90°, the peak wavelength of the extinction coefficient for the left circular polarized light is larger than it for the right circular polarized light. The CD spectra are almost at the same wavelength for the distance 175–300 nm, while its wavelength increases with the decrease of the distance from 175 to 100 nm. Although the chiral effect of the double “L” structure for the angle 75° is similar with the structure for the angle 90°, the chiral effect of the structure with the angle 105° is opposite with the structure for the angle 75° and 90°.     

Mössbauer effect study of ferric arsenates from an abandoned gold mine

⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer measurements have been used to determine the iron phases resulting from weathering of arsenopyrite ore from an abandoned gold mine stockpile. The principal product is the basic ferric arsenate, pharmacosiderite, with smaller amounts of scorodite, ferrihydrite and goethite and some untransformed pyrite and clay minerals. The broadened low temperature spectra of pharmacosiderite suggest that the onset of magnetic ordering is hampered by disorder in the crystal structure.     

Sudden death and birth of two-atom entanglement with two thermal fields in coupled cavities

In this work, we extend our recent study [J.I. Rodríguez, J. Autschbach, F.L. Castillo-Alvarado, M.I. Baltazar-Méndez, J. Chem. Phys. 135, 034109 (2011)] to quantify the isomer structure effects on the atom-in-cluster polarizabilities of medium size gold clusters Au (n = 6, 12, 20, 34, 54). For three isomers for each cluster size, a density functional perturbation theory calculation was performed to compute the cluster polarizability and the polarizability of each atom in the cluster using Bader’s “quantum theory of atoms in molecules” formalism. The cluster polarizability tensor is expressed as a sum of the atom-in-cluster atomic tensors. We found that the strong quadratic correlation (R ² = 0.98) in the isotropic polarizability of atoms in the cluster and their distance to the cluster center of mass reported before holds independently of the cluster structure.     

Approximate Lifshitz Law for the Zero-Temperature Stochastic Ising Model in any Dimension

We study the Glauber dynamics for the zero-temperature stochastic Ising model in dimension d ≥ 4 with “plus” boundary condition. Let ${\mathcal{T}_+}$ be the time needed for an hypercube of size L entirely filled with “minus” spins to become entirely “plus”. We prove that ${\mathcal{T}_+}$ is O(L ²(log L) ^c ) for some constant c, not depending on the dimension. This brings further rigorous justification for the so-called “Lifshitz law” ${\mathcal{T}_{+} = O(L^{2})}$ (Fischer and Huse in Phys Rev B 35:6841–6848, 1987; Lifshitz in Sov Phys JETP 15:939–942, 1962) conjectured on heuristic grounds. The key point of our proof is to use the detailed knowledge that we have on the three-dimensional problem: results for fluctuation of monotone interfaces at equilibrium and mixing time for monotone interfaces dynamics extracted from Caputo et al. (Comm Pure Appl Math 64:778–831, 2011) to get the result in higher dimension.     

Conformal Loop Ensembles and the Stress–Energy Tensor

We give a construction of the stress–energy tensor of conformal field theory (CFT) as a local “object” in conformal loop ensembles CLE _κ , for all values of κ in the dilute regime 8/3 < κ ≤ 4 (corresponding to the central charges 0 < c ≤ 1 and including all CFT minimal models). We provide a quick introduction to CLE, a mathematical theory for random loops in simply connected domains with properties of conformal invariance, developed by Sheffield and Werner (Ann Math 176, 1827–1917, 2012). We consider its extension to more general regions of definition and make various hypotheses that are needed for our construction and expected to hold for CLE in the dilute regime. Using this, we identify the stress–energy tensor in the context of CLE. This is done by deriving its associated conformal Ward identities for single insertions in CLE probability functions, along with the appropriate boundary conditions on simply connected domains; its properties under conformal maps, involving the Schwarzian derivative; and its one-point average in terms of the “relative partition function”. Part of the construction is in the same spirit as, but widely generalizes, that found in the context of SLE_8/3 by the author, Riva and Cardy (Commun Math Phys 268, 687–716, 2006), which only dealt with the case of zero central charge in simply connected hyperbolic regions. We do not use the explicit construction of the CLE probability measure, but only its defining and expected general properties.     

Nanostars on a fiber facet with near field enhancement for surface-enhanced Raman scattering detection

A 4-pointed gold nanostar is proposed to form the array on a fiber facet to achieve a greatly enhanced near field intensity for Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) detection. The proposed gold nanostar array has a Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) peaked at a wavelength of ～650 nm with up to 45 times electric field intensity enhancement compared with the state-of-the-art nanorod design. It has a wideband SPR field enhancement spanned from 600 to 720 nm, which covers the wavelengths for both the excitation light (632.8 nm) and the Raman signal of the analytes (675–706 nm); With symmetrical structure it forms four hot spots in every unit cell and can detect best for light polarized horizontal or perpendicular to the waist of the nanostars. It also could be altered to tune the SPR and allows the fiber sensor to resonate at different wavelengths, as demonstrated by an example at 533 nm. All the above features make the gold nanostar-based compact and portable fiber sensor an attractive solution for SERS detection.