Nuclear spin relaxation induced by a mechanical resonator

We report on measurements of the spin lifetime of nuclear spins strongly coupled to a micromechanical cantilever as used in magnetic resonance force microscopy. We find that the rotating-frame correlation time of the statistical nuclear polarization is set by the magnetomechanical noise originating from the thermal motion of the cantilever. Evidence is based on the effect of three parameters: (1) the magnetic field gradient (the coupling strength), (2) the Rabi frequency of the spins (the transition energy), and (3) the temperature of the low-frequency mechanical modes. Experimental results are compared to relaxation rates calculated from the spectral density of the magnetomechanical noise.     

Nuclear reactions triggered by laser-accelerated high-energy ions

A technique is suggested for triggering nuclear reactions by accelerating ions with a powerful ultrashort laser pulse in a plasma. The underlying idea of the suggested compact “reactor” is utilization of high-energy ions accelerated by the charge-separation electrostatic field in the direction perpendicular to the laser beam axis in a gas-filled capillary. Accelerated ions with energies of several MeV penetrating the target from the inside surface of a channel give rise to nuclear reactions which can be used to create a compact source of fast neutrons and neutrons of intermediate energies for generating various (short-and long-lived, light and heavy) isotopes, for generating gamma radiation over a broad energy range, for making sources of light ion and induced radioactivity. The yield of the corresponding nuclear reactions as a function of the laser beam parameters has been investigated. The suggested technique for triggering nuclear reactions provides a practical tool for studies of nuclear transformation on the pico-and nanosecond scales, which cannot be achieved using other methods. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 2080–2090 (June 1999)     

Nuclear reactions induced by stopped negative pions in133Cs,93Nb and45Sc

The energy and angular distributions ofp, d, t,³He and⁴He from the three targets Cu, Ag and Au were measured at five different angles for bremsstrahlung with peak energy 500MeV. The measurements were made using a telescope consisting of four surface-barrier detectors. The experimental data are compared with cascade-evaporation calculations. For the⁴He-distributions the calculations were extended to include the contribution from knock-out of surface alphas by the cascade nucleons. The comparison shows that the main contribution comes from evaporation but that there is a direct component of the order of 10%.     

Nuclear reactions triggered by laser-accelerated relativistic electron jets

A relativistic electron beam, generated by relativistic self-focusing of an ultra-high-intensity laser pulse in a He gas jet, was targeted onto high-Z materials for conversion to high-energy bremsstrahlung. Nuclear reactions in the primary converter materials as well as in secondary and tertiary targets placed directly behind the converter were analyzed with time-resolved -spectroscopy. The electron-jet temperature of more than 35 MeV, matching the giant dipole resonances of heavy nuclei, enabled us to efficiently generate photo-induced nuclear reactions. The measured temperatures are significantly higher than suggested by ponderomotive scaling. We supplemented our earlier measurement of the (, n) reaction cross section of ¹²⁹I with a method solely based on nuclear reactions. The photo-induced transmutation yields were increased by two orders of magnitude compared to earlier experiments. Simulations with the Monte Carlo code MCNPX confirm the experimental results . PACS 52.38.Ph; 25.20.Lj     

Nuclear reactions in a cold dense magnetized material

The probability of a pycnonuclear reaction in the synthesis of light elements depending on the mass density of the material and the magnetic field strength for a specified chemical composition of the medium is calculated. It is shown that magnetic fields with H10¹⁴ G considerably reduce the probability of pycnonuclear reactions for light elements. The threshold values of the density for which specified nuclei disappear from the composition of the magnetized material after a time of 10⁷-10⁹ years forming heavier nuclei as a result of pycnonuclear reactions are estimated. It is also shown that intense magnetic fields shift the threshold at which the light nuclei disappear towards higher densities.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 22–27, 1980.The authors thank V. A. Malyshev for useful discussions.     

Remote sensing of temperature by a TGS pyroelectric detector

Use of a TGS pyroelectric detector has been made for remote sensing of temperature. Radiant power is measured in terms of electrical quantities. The system is so designed that the ambient conditions do not effect the measurements.     

Fusion-fission reactions induced by 6He-ions

The experimentally measured excitation functions for the fission and 4n evaporation channels are presented for the ⁶He + ²⁰⁹Bi reaction. The secondary ⁶He beam was produced using the special beam line (Q4DQ-spectrometer) of the U400M accelerator at FLNR, JINR. The comparison of the obtained experimental data with similar results for the ⁴He + ²⁰⁹Bi reaction shows that in the case of the ⁶He + ²⁰⁹Bi reaction a significant enhancement of the cross-section is observed for energies above the barrier. In order to get an agreement between the experimental data and the theoretical calculations it is necessary to reduce the Coulomb barrier by 15-20% , which corresponds to an increase of the parameter r₀ of the nuclear potential up to 1.5-1.6 fm. Received: 1 May 2001 / Accepted: 4 December 2001     

Transient electromagnetic radiation induced by an electron beam at the exit of a linear accelerator

The parameters of radio radiation generated in an air medium by an electron beam from a RELUS-1 small electron accelerator (Radiation Acceleration Center, MIFI) were studied theoretically and experimentally. Theoretical models for the generation of electromagnetic fields over the frequency range 10–3000 MHz induced by an electron beam were developed and studied. Electromagnetic fields from a beam of electrons were recorded over the frequency ranges 140–160 and 2794–2804. The discrepancy between theoretical estimates and recorded values was less than 50%.     

Real-time, continuous-wave terahertz imaging by a pyroelectric camera

Real-time, continuous-wave terahertz (THz) imaging is demonstrated. A 1.89-THz optically-pumped farinfrared laser is used as the illumination source, and a 124 × 124 element room-temperature pyroelectric camera is adopted as the detector. With this setup, THz images through various wrapping materials are shown. The results show that this imaging system has the potential applications in real-time mail and security inspection.     

Nuclear reactions with core excitation

The transition amplitudes for nucleon scattering, stripping, pick-up, and break-up reactions are derived in the framework of a three-body model. The model consists of two nucleons and a core. The core is assumed to have a discret excitation spectrum. The nucleon-core interactions give rise to the excitation and subsequent deexcitation of the core. The energy averaged transition amplitudes are obtained by iteration from Faddeevtype integral equations. The lowest order terms correspond to the DWBA and the higher order terms describe the multistep processes.     

Nuclear reactions between oxygen isotopes

Elastic and inelastic cross sections have been measured for the system ¹⁶O + ¹⁷O at c.m. energies from 12.5 to 15.5 MeV, and for ¹⁶O + ¹⁸O at c.m. energies from 12 to 20 MeV, at angles between 60° and 125°. Position-sensitive detectors were employed, using the kinematic coincidence technique. The data have been analyzed with particular attention to the contributions of multiple-exchange processes.     

Nuclear reactions with resonant-particle production

The observation of resonant-state products in nuclear reactions by measurements of coincidences between decay partners is proposed as a general spectroscopic tool for nuclear physics. The importance of the kinematic confinement of final-state resonant systems to a cone in the laboratory system is discussed and applied to various resonant particles. Several nuclear reactions leading to such resonant particles as final-state products are suggested and a brief discussion of the general nature of resonant-particle spectroscopic studies is presented.     

Solid state reactions induced by ball milling

Ball milling can be used to induce solid state reactions in a variety of technologies, including the activation of silicates, inorganic synthesis, and mechanical alloying. Mössbauer spectroscopy is a powerful tool to study these processes. Some typical examples are discussed in this paper, concerning disordering, alloying, and simple chemical reactions. Many more industrial applications are possible, with ample opportunity for meaningful Mössbauer investigations.     

On the decay of the polarization charge on zinc oxide induced by the pyroelectric effect

Using a method which was mainly developed to measure surface charges on insulators, the decay of pyroelectrically induced polarization charges on zinc oxide was studied. If no charge carriers were injected into the crystal, the decay of the charge was found to obey a logarithmic time law. Since field dependent processes could be ruled out to cause the decay, this law is indicative for processes, the thermal activation energies of which are continuously distributed.     

Nuclear fusion induced by a super-intense ultrashort laser pulse in a deuterated glass aerogel

A SiO₂ aerogel with absorbed deuterium is proposed as a target for the fusion reaction d + d → He³ + n induced by a superintense ultrashort laser pulse. The multiple inner ionization of oxygen and silicon atoms in the aerogel skeleton occurs in the superintense laser field. All the formed free electrons are heated and removed from the aerogel skeleton by the laser field at the front edge of the laser pulse. The subsequent Coulomb explosion of the deuterated charged aerogel skeleton propels the deuterium ions up to kinetic energies of ten keV and higher. The neutron yield is estimated at up to 10⁵ neutrons per laser pulse for ～200–500 ps if the peak intensity is 10¹⁸ W/cm² and the pulse duration is 35 fs.     

Carbon multi-walled nanotubes grown by HWCVD on a pyroelectric detector

Carbon multi-wall nanotubes (MWNTs) were grown on a lithium niobate (LiNbO₃) pyroelectric detector with a nickel film as the catalyst by hot-wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD). Two detectors are documented, each with slightly different deposition conditions. The absolute spectral responsivity of each device was measured from 600 nm to 1800 nm and indicates that the MWNT-coating absorptance is spectrally uniform, with variations of only a few percent. We also discuss growth of MWNTs on LiTaO₃ by CVD and the limitations presented by the Curie temperature of the pyroelectric material.     

Predictions for inclusive particle-nucleus reactions at accelerator and cosmic-ray energies

Using a recently developed theory of inclusive scattering on nuclei and the assumption that the primary collision mechanism is incoherent (e.g. multiperipheral), we derive some quantities of immediate experimental interest in inclusive hadron-nucleus scattering.