(e, 3e) test on e-e correlations in helium

The angular variations of the five-fold differential cross section obtained by using different wave functions of helium are compared with experimental data. It is found that in the coplanar geometry two kinematical arrangements, (i) equal energy sharing between the two ejected electrons with one of them ejected along the momentum transfer direction and the other along varying direction and (ii) the Bethe ridge condition with fixed sum of ejected electron energies and varying angle between them, are very sensitive to e-e correlations contained in the target wave function. This comparison has been used to show that open-shell class of wave functions better incorporate e-e correlations than the closed-shell class.     

Unexpected consequences of block polydispersity on the self-assembly of ABA triblock copolymers

Controlled/"living" polymerizations and tandem polymerization methodologies offer enticing opportunities to enchain a wide variety of monomers into new, functional block copolymer materials with unusual physical properties. However, the use of these synthetic methods often introduces nontrivial molecular weight polydispersities, a type of chain length heterogeneity, into one or more of the copolymer blocks. While the self-assembly behavior of monodisperse AB diblock and ABA triblock copolymers is both experimentally and theoretically well understood, the effects of broadening the copolymer molecular weight distribution on block copolymer phase behavior are less well-explored. We report the melt-phase self-assembly behavior of SBS triblock copolymers (S = poly(styrene) and B = poly(1,4-butadiene)) comprised of a broad polydispersity B block (M(w)/M(n) = 1.73-2.00) flanked by relatively narrow dispersity S blocks (M(w)/M(n) = 1.09-1.36), in order to identify the effects of chain length heterogeneity on block copolymer self-assembly. Based on synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy analyses of seventeen SBS triblock copolymers with poly(1,4-butadiene) volume fractions 0.27 ≤ f(B) ≤ 0.82, we demonstrate that polydisperse SBS triblock copolymers self-assemble into periodic structures with unexpectedly enhanced stabilities that greatly exceed those of equivalent monodisperse copolymers. The unprecedented stabilities of these polydisperse microphase separated melts are discussed in the context of a complete morphology diagram for this system, which demonstrates that narrow dispersity copolymers are not required for periodic nanoscale assembly.     

Theory of sheath in a collisional multi-component plasma

The aim of this brief report is to study the behaviour of sheath structure in a multi-component plasma with dust-neutral collisions. The plasma consists of electrons, ions, micron size negatively charged dust particles and neutrals. The sheath-edge potential and sheath width are calculated for collisionally dominated sheath. Comparison of collisionless and collisionally dominated sheath are made.     

(e, 3e) Differential cross section of He (21 S) and He (23 S)

The angular distribution of the five-fold differential cross section for the electron impact double ionization of He (2¹ S) and He (2³ S) has been studied. The kinematical conditions for maxima/minima in the angular distribution for the two cases have been compared. The two-step process for the double ionization is found to contribute very little in the triplet case.