Secondary ion yields produced by keV atomic and polyatomic ion impacts on a self-assembled monolayer surface

A suite of keV polyatomic or 'cluster' projectiles was used to bombard unoxidized and oxidized self-assembled monolayer surfaces. Negative secondary ion yields, collected at the limit of single ion impacts, were measured and compared for both molecular and fragment ions. In contrast to targets that are orders of magnitude thicker than the penetration range of the primary ions, secondary ion yields from polyatomic projectile impacts on self-assembled monolayers show little to no enhancement when compared with monatomic projectiles at the same velocity. This unusual trend is most likely due to the structural arrangement and bonding characteristics of the monolayer molecules with the Au(111). Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A 4-neutrino model with a Higgs triplet

We take as a starting point the Gelmini–Roncadelli model enlarged by a term with explicit lepton number violation in the Higgs potential and add a neutrino singlet field that is coupled via a scalar doublet to the usual leptons. This scenario allows us to take into account all three present indications in favor of neutrino oscillations provided by the solar, atmospheric, and LSND neutrino oscillation experiments. Furthermore, it suggests a model which reproduces naturally one of the two 4-neutrino mass spectra favored by the data. In this model, the solar neutrino problem is solved by large mixing MSW transitions, and the atmospheric neutrino problem by transitions of into a sterile neutrino. Received: 11 May 1999 / Published online: 3 February 2000     

Photoemission from multiply excited surface plasmons in Ag nanoparticles

Two-photon photoemission spectroscopy using femtosecond laser pulses is used to investigate the excitation and decay mechanisms of the surface plasmon resonance in Ag nanoparticles grown on graphite. The resonant excitation of this collective excitation leads to a two-orders-of-magnitude-enhanced two-photon photoemission yield from a graphite surface with Ag nanoparticles compared to the yield from pure graphite. From the shape of the photoemission spectra, the polarization dependence of the photoemission yield and the excitation probabilities for different excitation pathways we conclude that excitation with 400-nm femtosecond laser pulses leads to the coherent multiple excitation of the surface plasmon in the Ag nanoparticles. This multiply excited plasmon mode can decay via the coupling to a single-particle excitation leading to the emission of an electron if its final state is located in the continuum. The surface plasmon in metallic nanoparticles is a model system to investigate collective excitations in multiphoton processes. Received: 26 June 2000 / Accepted: 2 September 2000 / Published online: 12 October 2000     

Probing collective modes of correlated states of few electrons in semiconductor quantum dots

Low-lying collective excitations above highly correlated ground states of few interacting electrons confined in GaAs semiconductor quantum dots are probed by resonant inelastic light scattering. We highlight that separate studies of the changes in the spin and charge degrees of freedom offer unique access to the fundamental interactions. The case of quantum dots with four electrons is found to be determined by a competition between triplet and singlet ground states that is uncovered in the rich light scattering spectra of spin excitations. These light scattering results are described within a configuration-interaction framework that captures the role of electron correlation with quantitative accuracy. Recent light scattering results that reveal the impact of anisotropic confining potentials in laterally coupled quantum dots are also reviewed. In these studies, inelastic light scattering methods emerge as powerful probes of collective phenomena and spin configurations in quantum dots with few electrons.     

Synthesis,Crystal Structure and Properties of Na2MnO2

Na₂MnO₂ was prepared via the azide/nitrate route. Stoichiometric mixtures of the precursors (Mn₂O₃, NaN₃ and NaNO₃) were heated in an appropriate regime up to 390 °C and annealed at this temperature for 20 h, in specially designed silver containers. As the most prominent feature, the crystal structure of Na₂MnO₂ (C2/c, Z = 12, a = 12.5026(9), b = 12.1006(9), c = 6.0939(4) Å, β = 117.94(0)°, 1556 independent reflections, R₁ = 3.83 % (all data)) forms a three dimensional framework polyanion of corner sharing MnO₄‐tetrahedra. The connectivity pattern of the tetrahedral building units corresponds to the moganite structure, a rare SiO₂ modification. According to measurements of the magnetic susceptibility in the temperature range from 2 to 750 K, Na₂MnO₂ shows antiferromagnetic ordering below 250 K. Evaluation of the high temperature data employing the Curie‐Weiss law revealed a magnetic moment of μ_eff = 5.93 μ_B, confirming the presence of divalent manganese.     

The study of the changes in the thermal properties of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Labeo rohita</Emphasis> bones due to arsenic exposure

The paper presents the changes in the thermal properties of control, arsenic exposed and DMSA treated Labeo rohita bones by using thermo analytical techniques. The result shows that the mass loss due to the thermal decomposition occurs in three distinct steps due to loss of water, organic and inorganic materials. The arsenic exposed bones present a different thermal behaviour compared to the control bones. The residue masses are increased due to arsenic exposure, while the DMSA treatment reduces the residue mass level. These thermal characteristics can be used as a qualitative method to check the metal accumulation in samples.     

Decay spectroscopy of neutron-rich nuclei with A ≃ 100

We review structure data obtained by decay spectroscopy of neutron-rich nuclei of mass close to 100. Emphasis is put on the contribution of experiments at IGISOL in the nineties. They confirmed the earlier postulated shape coexistence in the fast shape-transition region between N = 58 (spherical ground states and low collectivity) and N = 60 (strong axial deformation). A detailed spectroscopic study of the A = 99 chain established the upper-Z limit of the N = 56 shell closure region with ⁹⁹Nb, owing to striking similarities with ⁹⁷Y. A consequence of the N = 56 closure is that the s _1/2 odd-neutron becomes the ground state of the most neutron-rich N = 57 isotones, starting with ⁹⁹Mo, instead of the degenerated d _5/2 and g _7/2 subshells familiar in the tin region. Consequences on the change of spin on astrophysical r-process calculations are briefly discussed. Finally, we say a few words about neutron-rich rhodium and palladium isotopes near the neutron midshell where regular and intruder states coexist very close to each other.     

Phytoestrogen biomonitoring: an extractionless LC-MS/MS method for measuring urinary isoflavones and lignans by use of atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI)

We present here a high-performance liquid chromatography−tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for quantifying phytoestrogenic isoflavones (daidzein, equol, genistein, and O-desmethylangolensin) and lignans (enterodiol and enterolactone) in urine without the use of extraction or the preconcentration techniques inherent in existing methods. The development of this concept was made possible by use of atmospheric pressure photoionization (APPI); an ionization technique that we found to improve analyte sensitivity relative to electrospray ionization and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization for this particular group of compounds. The analytical performance of this method was equal to or exceeded that of comparable methods. Between-run coefficients of variation (CVs) across three quality control (QC) pool levels analyzed in duplicate over 20 days were 3.1–5.8% CV; within-run CVs were 2.3–6.0%. Accuracy, as determined by average spike recovery in QC pools, was generally within ±10% of being quantitative (100%). Relative limits of detection were 0.04–0.4 ng/mL urine, with absolute detection limits as low as 0.1 pg. This method was applied to the analysis of >2,500 urine specimens for the 2005–2006 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The method was capable of quantifying these compounds in 95–100% of study samples. This work is the first ever report of using APPI for the LC-MS/MS determination of these compounds in urine. It is also the first method of its kind to do so without any need for analyte extraction or preconcentration prior to analysis.     

Energy considerations for frictional impacts

Many machine and mechanism processes are accompanied by impacts with friction. They arise by short-time contacts between two or more bodies, and they generate energy losses mainly due to friction in tangential contact directions. During the last two decades, a couple of impact models based on the theory of rigid body contact were established connected with the names of Moreau, Frémond, and Glocker, which all work quite satisfactorily with respect to practical applications, although some examples indicate deviations requiring more investigations with respect to the impact models and the type of examples considered. We shall focus on Glocker’s model, for which some experimental verifications are available by Beitelschmidt. A missing link are energy considerations, which are available, but nevertheless do not provide us with a complete information for all possible cases. The paper tries to fill a bit this gap by founding the investigations on a combined phenomenological and theoretical basis.