Cross sections for multi-particle final states at a linear collider

In this paper total cross sections for signals and backgrounds of top- and Higgs-production channels in e ⁺ e^- collisions at a future linear collider are presented. All channels considered are characterized by the emergence of six-particle final states. The calculation takes into account the full set of tree-level amplitudes in each process. Two multi-purpose parton level generators, HELAC/PHEGAS and AMEGIC + + , are used, and their results are found to be in perfect agreement.Received: 26 November 2003, Revised: 15 January 2004, Published online: 3 March 2004     

Monitoring of ionic concentrations in airborne particles and rain water in an urban area of central Germany

The primary objective of this investigation was to document fluctuations of levels of ions in airborne particles and in rain water with the help of ion chromatography. The environmental emission situation in the investigated geographic area is characterized by a widespread use of domestic coal-burning furnaces. The use of a parallel impactor for particulate sampling permits the results to be interpreted additionally in terms of particle size. The anions and cations were extracted from the filters in the sampling devices into ethanol-water mixtures by sonication. Rain water samples were analysed after a simple dilution step. The data obtained on ionic fluctuations are compared with similar data sets published by other laboratories.     

Reduction of aromatic ketones with the (dpp-BIAN)AlI(Et2O) complex

Reduction of benzophenone and 4,4′-bis(methoxy)benzophenone with the aluminum complex (dpp-BIAN)AlI(Et₂O) (1) containing the dianionic dpp-BIAN ligand (dpp-BIAN is 1,2-bis[(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imino]acenaphthene) affords the pinacolate complexes [(dpp-BIAN)AlI]₂[μ-O₂C₂Ph₄] (2) and [(dpp-BIAN)AlI]₂[μ-O₂C₂(C₆H₄OMe)₄] (3), respectively, which undergo the pinacolone rearrangement upon prolonged storage in diethyl ether to form [(dpp-BIAN)AlI]₂O (4). The reaction of 1 with fluoren-9-one produces stable pinacolate (dpp-BIAN)Al[μ-O₂(C₁₃H₈)₂] (7) and the (dpp-BIAN)AlI₂ complex (8). Compounds 2—4, 7, and 8 were characterized by ESR spectroscopy. Hydrolysis products of compounds 2 and 3 were characterized by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The structures of complexes 4 and 7 were established by X-ray diffraction. dpp-BIAN is 1,2-bis[(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imino]acenaphthene Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 7, pp. 1134–1140, July, 2006.     

Reactions of neodymium(ii), dysprosium(ii), and thulium(ii) diiodides with cyclopentadiene. Molecular structures of complexes CpTmI2(THF)3 and [NdI2(THF)5]+[NdI4(THF)2]–

The reactions of LnI₂ (Ln = Nd (1) or Dy (2)) with cyclopentadiene (CpH) in THF at 0 °C afforded the CpLnI₂(THF)₃ complexes in 65—67% yields. The reaction of thulium diiodide (3) with an excess of CpH at 60 °C produced CpTmI₂(THF)₃, Cp₂TmI(THF)₂, and TmI₃(THF)₃ in 21, 58, and 63% yields, respectively. The reactions of 1 and 2 with pentamethylcyclopentadiene (Cp*H) in THF were accompanied by disproportionation giving rise to the Cp*₂LnI(THF)₂ and LnI₃(THF) _x complexes. Neodymium triiodide was isolated in the ionic form [NdI₂(THF)₅]⁺[NdI₄(THF)₂]^–. Its structure and the structure of CpTmI₂(THF)₃ were established by X-ray diffraction analysis.     

Characterization of iron-silicon thin films by means of electron diffraction and X-ray spectroscopy

Iron-silicon thin films have been characterized by means of analytical transmission electron microscopic methods. Under certain conditions — composition and annealing temperature — these films exhibit thermoelectric behavior. In particular, the morphology and phase formation which results from annealing of these films, and doping with oxygen and nitrogen, are of interest. The thermoelectric phase -FeSi₂ is formed at temperatures above 500°C. This phase is transformed into electrically conducting phases at about 1000°C. A small oxygen content does not influence this crystallization process. If the oxygen content is higher than 15 atom-% the electrically conducting phases exist even at 500°C. The presence of a small nitrogen content inhibits the formation of the -FeSi₂ phase. The development of silicon and iron nitrides is possible.     

Stereoselective formation of ansa-metallocenes in reactions of radical-anionic salts of acenaphthylene with lanthanide and calcium halides

ansa-Metallocenes (⁵:⁵-C₂₄H₁₆)M(THF)₂ (M = Sm (1), Yb (2), Ca (3)) and (⁵:⁵-C₂₄H₁₆)MI(THF) (M = Dy (8), Er (9), Tm (10), Lu (11)) were prepared in 50—90% yields by the in situ reactions of two equivalents of potassium acenaphthylenide K⁺C₁₂H₈ ^– with MI₂ or MI₃, respectively. Complexes 2 and 3 were also obtained by direct reduction of acenaphthylene with ytterbium and calcium naphthalenides, respectively. An ESR signal of the acenaphthylene radical anion, which was observed upon dissolution of compound 2 in THF, indicates that the [C₂₄H₁₆]^2– ansa-ligand dissociated into two [C₁₂H₈]^·– radical anions. Hydrolysis of complex 2 in benzene afforded 1,1",3,3"-tetrahydro-3,3"-biacenaphthylene (4) and 3,3",4,4"-tetrahydro-3,3"-biacenaphthylene (5). The reaction of complex 2 with ZrCl₄ and the reaction of compound 3 with Me₃SiCl proceeded with the cleavage of the C—C bond between two acenaphthylene fragments of the [C₂₄H₁₆]^2– ansa-ligand to produce (²-C₁₂H₈)ZrCl₂(THF)₃ (6) and bis(trimethylsilyl)acenaphthene (Me₃Si)₂C₁₂H₈ (7), respectively. Compounds 1—3, 6, 7, and 11 were characterized by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The temperature dependence of the ¹H NMR spectrum of compound 11 in tetrahydrofuran is indicative of the dynamic exchange of the solvent molecules in the coordination sphere of the Lu atom. After cooling of the solution to 210 K, the dynamic process was terminated as evidenced by the nonequivalence of the ¹H signals of two acenaphthylene fragments. According to the X-ray diffraction data for complex 11, dimerization of two acenaphthylene radical anions at the Lu atom gave rise to the rac-ansa-metallocene structure. In compound 11, the Lu atom is ⁵-coordinated by two five-membered rings of the acenaphthylene ligands and also by the I atom and the THF molecule. The coordination environment about the Lu atom is a distorted tetrahedron. The average distance between the lutetium atom and the carbon atoms of the five-membered rings is 2.623 .     

Determination of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol in water using solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-chemical ionisation/electron impact ionisation-ion-trap mass spectrometry

A method for the determination of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) in water by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is presented. Various SPME fibre chemistries have been compared for their efficiency in extracting MIB from water. Extraction conditions including the extraction time and temperature have been optimised. A 30 ml water sample is extracted for 20 min at 60 degrees C using a divinylbenzene fibre, and the extract analysed by gas chromatography with ion-trap mass spectrometry detection. d5-Geosmin and d3-MIB are added as internal standards to compensate for any variability in the SPME process which is not carried out to equilibrium. Chemical ionisation, using acetonitrile as the reagent gas, was found to give superior sensitivity to electron impact ionisation (EI) for the detection of MIB. EI was used as the ionisation mode for detection of geosmin. The method shows good linearity over the concentration range 5-40 ng l-1 and gives detection limits of 1 ng l-1 for both geosmin and MIB. Recovery (93-110%) and precision (3-12%) over this concentration range, for both raw and treated drinking waters, are comparable to currently employed methods such as closed-loop stripping analysis (CLSA). The method offers the advantage of being simple to use, with much shorter analysis times in comparison to CLSA.