Present and Future Cryogenic Experiments on Double-Beta Decay

Thermal detectors are introduced and their possible impact on neutrinoless double-beta-decay (20) search is discussed. The thermal experiment MIBETA is described, reporting the up-to-date limits on ¹³⁰Te and ¹²⁸Te. A new generation experiment, consisting in a large expansion of MIBETA and known as CUORE, is presented and discussed.     

Qualitative properties of modified equations

Suppose that a consistent one-step numerical method of orderr is applied to a smooth system of ordinary differential equations.Given any integer m 1, the method may be shown to be of orderr + m as an approximation to a certain modified equation. Ifthe method and the system have a particular qualitative propertythen it is important to determine whether the modified equationsinherit this property. In this article, a technique is introducedfor proving that the modified equations inherit qualitativeproperties from the method and the underlying system. The techniqueuses a straightforward contradiction argument applicable toarbitrary one-step methods and does not rely on the detailedstructure of associated power series expansions. Hence the conclusionsapply, but are not restricted, to the case of Runge-Kutte methods.The new approach unifies and extends results of this type thathave been derived by other means: results are presented forintegral preservation, reversibility, inheritance of fixed points.Hamiltonian problems and volume preservation. The techniquealso applies when the system has an integral that the methodpreserves not exactly, but to order greater than r. Finally,a negative result is obtained by considering a gradient systemand gradient numerical method possessing a global property thatis not shared by the associated modified equations.     

How Fast can a Subharmonic Function Decay Along a Ray?

Much is known about the connection between the growth and decayof subharmonic functions. The results indicate that there isa general principle: asubharmonic function cannot decay ‘toofast’ relative to its growth.Three theorems are provedwhich, together with work previously published elsewhere, givea fairly complete account of how this principle works out fora subharmonic function having extremal decay along a ray. 1991Mathematics Subject Classification: 30D20, 31A05.     

Correlation between dielectric/organic interface properties and key electrical parameters in PPV-based OFETs

We report on the influence of the dielectric/organic interface properties on the electrical characteristics of field-effect transistors based on polyphenylenevinylene derivatives. Through a systematic investigation of the most common dielectric surface treatments, a direct correlation of their effect on the field-effect electrical parameters, such as charge carrier mobility, On/Off current ratio, threshold voltage, and current hysteresis, has been established. It is found that the presence of OH groups at the dielectric surface, already known to act as carrier traps for electrons, decreases the hole mobility whereas it does not substantially affect the other electrical characteristics. The treatment of silicon dioxide surfaces with gas phase molecules such as octadecyltrichlorosilane and hexamethyldisilazane leads to an improvement in hole mobility as well as to a decrease in current hysteresis. The effects of a dielectric polymer layer spin coated onto silicon dioxide substrates before deposition of the semiconductor polymer can be related not only to the OH groups density but also to the interaction between the dielectric and the semiconductor molecules. Specifically, the elimination of the OH groups produces the same effect observed with hexamethyldisilazane. The hole mobility values obtained with hexamethyldisilazane and polymer dielectrics are the highest reported to date for PPV-based field-effect transistors.     

Molecular packing effects on the optical spectra and triplet dynamics in oligofluorene films

We report on the triplet spectra and dynamics in two types of oligomeric films deposited by two different techniques: thermal evaporation and spin coating. The different molecular arrangement in both films is manifested in a red shift of the absorption, PL, and T1-Tn absorption spectra of the sublimated film relative to the spin-coated one. Triplet recombination dynamics studied with steady-state photoinduced absorption (PA) spectroscopy follow a dispersive bimolecular recombination model away from the trap filling regime. We obtained values for the triplet bimolecular recombination ratio (beta) of 3.4 x 10 (-14) and 1.1 x 10 (-15) cm3 s (-1) for evaporated and spin-coated film, respectively, the difference being attributed to diverse molecular arrangement in both films.     

Chemistry of nitrated lipids: remarkable instability of 9-nitrolinoleic acid in neutral aqueous medium and a novel nitronitrate ester product by concurrent autoxidation/nitric oxide-release pathways

Despite the mounting interest in nitrolinoleic acids and related nitrated polyunsaturated fatty acids as a novel class of bioactive signaling lipids, their chemistry and metabolic fate have remained poorly elucidated. Herein, we report an expedient nitroselenenylation/oxidation route to 9-nitrolinoleic acid (1) and 10-nitrolinoleic acid (2), which enabled comparative product studies under physiologically relevant conditions. Under biomimetic conditions, 1 decayed at an unusually fast rate to give the hydroxy-, keto-, and nitronitrate ester derivatives 3, 4, and 5 as main products, identified by ESI-MS and 2D NMR spectroscopy, including (1)H, (15)N HMBC experiments on the (15)N-labeled derivatives. The 13-nitrato functionality in 5 suggested partitioning of 1 between concurrent peroxidation and nitric oxide (NO)-release pathways. Lipid 2 decayed at a much slower rate giving only the hydroxynitro derivative 6 as an isolable product. Diphenylpicrylhydrazide (DPPH) radical quenching experiments and DFT computations concurred to support a higher H-atom donating ability of 1 versus 2, due to more effective stabilization of the resulting pentadienyl radical by the terminal nitro group. The markedly different stability of isomeric nitrolinoleic acids disclosed in the present study may provide an explanation for the previous identification of 2, but not 1, in body fluids and offers a key for future insights into the biological activities of nitrated lipids.     

Neutron powder diffraction study of the ternary RMgSn (R=Ce-Nd, Tb-Tm, Yb) compounds

The ternary intermetallic RMgSn compounds are studied by neutron powder diffraction. The CeScSi-type PrMgSn and NdMgSn compounds present a commensurate antiferromagnetic structure, while the (Tb-Tm)MgSn are characterized by an incommensurate sine-wave modulated magnetic structure, which can tend to a square-modulated arrangement at low temperature due to appearance of higher odd integer harmonics. The TiNiSi-type CeMgSn compound is also characterized by an incommensurate sine-wave modulated magnetic structure, while PrMgSn exhibits a ferromagnetic arrangement with a canting at low temperature. Finally, the ZrNiAl-type YbMgSn compound evidences no magnetic ordering. These results are discussed and compared with those published for the other CeScSi-type compounds.