Coherent backscattering of electromagnetic waves in a magnetised plasma

Summary A microwave coherent backscattering experiment has been carried out on Mirabelle, a weakly ionised plasma device, with the objective of measuring the electron density fluctuation level. The experiment is a preliminary step in order to prepare the detection system for a microwave stimulated backscattering experiment. The incident electromagnetic wave is focused in front of a plane grid which excites ion acoustic or electron Bernstein waves inducing fluctuations in the plasma. The backscattering signal is collected by the launching circuit and detected by homodyne mixing. The typical ratio of the scattered power to the incident power is about 10⁻¹² and the relative density fluctuations are of the order of δn _e/n _e=10⁻³ against a background electron density ofn _e=1–5·10⁹ cm⁻³. The backscattering measurement is compared with Langmuir probe measurements. The spectral width of the backscattered signal has also been studied, by taking into account effects due to the incident wave focusing and plasma wave damping. The authors of this paper have agreed to not receive the proofs for correction     

Temperature dependence of electric resistance and magnetoresistance of pressed nanocomposites of multilayer nanotubes with the structure of nested cones

Bulk samples of carbon multilayer nanotubes with the structure of nested cones (fishbone structure) suitable for transport measurements, were prepared by compressing under high pressure (∼25 kbar) a nanotube precursor synthesized through thermal decomposition of polyethylene catalyzed by nickel. The structure of the initial nanotube material was studied using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. In the low-temperature range (4.2–100 K) the electric resistance of the samples changes according to the law ln R ∝ (T ₀/T)^1/3, where T ₀∼7 K. The measured magnetoresistance is quadratic in the magnetic field and linear in the reciprocal temperature. The measurements have been interpreted in terms of two-dimensional variable-range hopping conductivity. It is suggested that the space between the inside and outside walls of nanotubes acts as a two-dimensional conducting medium. Estimates suggest a high value of the density of electron states at the Fermi level of about 5×10²¹ eV⁻¹ cm⁻³. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 113, 2221–2228 (June 1998)     

Energy distribution of post-accelerated electrons field-emitted from carbon fibres

An electron gun system with post-acceleration is described suitable to operation with a carbon fibre field-emission tip. The system was tested in an electron optical bench with a vacuum pressure of about 10⁻⁶ torr. The electron current was most stable if the current to the extraction electrode was minimized. The half width of the energy distribution of the electrons accelerated up to 30 keV was 215 meV for small currents (≈10⁻⁹A). The half width of the distribution increases with growing emission current. This increase may be attributed to instabilities in the surface structure due to ion bombardment and to the circumstance that more than one emission centre contributes to the electron current.     

Fast determination of uranium and radium in waters of variable composition

The effects of uranium and its progeny radium are known to be harmful and their measurements in drinking water are necessary for careful monitoring. Fast and accurate methods for determination of uranium and radium in water samples with various salinity and activities concentrations have been developed. High Resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry is used for direct measurement of uranium. Calibration is performed with ²³⁸U standards and ²⁰⁹Bi is used as internal standard to correct the matrix effects and plasma instability. The radium is determined by photon electron rejected alpha liquid spectrometry after a chemical separation procedure that includes co-precipitation of radium with barium sulphate, transformation of the sulphate to carbonate and extraction of radium in the scintillation cocktail. The minimal detectable activities of 3.5×10⁻⁸ Bq kg⁻¹ for uranium and 2.3×10⁻⁴ Bq kg⁻¹ for radium are obtained.     

Electron temperature (T e) measurements by Thomson scattering system

Thomson scattering technique based on high power laser has already proved its superoirity in measuring the electron temperature (T _e and density (n _e) in fusion plasma devices like tokamaks. The method is a direct and unambiguous one, widely used for the localised and simultaneous measurements of the above parameters. In Thomson scattering experiment, the light scattered by the plasma electrons is used for the measurements. The plasma electron temperature is measured from the Doppler shifted scattered spectrum and density from the total scattered intensity. A single point Thomson scattering system involving a Q-switched ruby laser and PMTs as the detector is deployed in ADITYA tokamak to give the plasma electron parameters. The system is capable of providing the parameters T _e from 30 eV to 1 keV and n _e from 5 × 10¹²cm⁻³−5 × 10¹³cm⁻³. The system is also able to give the parameter profile from the plasma center (Z=0 cm) to a vertical position of Z=+22 cm to Z=−14 cm, with a spatial resolution of 1 cm on shot to shot basis. This paper discusses the initial measurements of the plasma temperature from ADITYA.     

Triboluminescence,a new tool to investigate fracture-initiation time of crystals under stress

The present paper reports that triboluminescence (TBL) does not appear at the instant of impact of the load but a certain time lag is required for its appearance which depends on the value of the stress applied to the crystal. Since TBL appears in sugar crystals during the creation of new surfaces, the fracture-initiation time of the crystal has been taken to be the delay time in observing TBL pulse after the application of stress. The dependence of fracture-initiation time,t _f ^σ , of crystals on the stress, σ, may be expressed ast _f ^σ =t _o exp (− ασ), wheret _o and α are constants. The values of the lattice energy, and the change in lattice energy per unit stress, of sugar crystals have been calculated from TBL measurements and they have been found to be 21·2 kcal mole⁻¹ and 0·41 × 10⁻⁸ kcal mole⁻¹ dyne⁻¹ cm² respectively.     

Effect of pressure on turnover behaviour inI–V characteristic curves in GeTeSe chalcogenide glass

Summary Thick layers of GeTeSe chalcogenide glass have been prepared and subjected to conduction measurements under the effect of both temperature and pressure. The results of theI–V characteristics exhibit transition from high-resistance state to differential negative resistance state through a turnover point. The application of uniaxial pressure shows the similar effect of temperature on that behaviour. Both current and voltage at the turnover point depend on pressure and ambient temperature. The rise of temperature in the conduction path due to joule heating and application of uniaxial pressure as well as the reduction in the energy gap width (β=2.87·10⁻¹²eV/N m⁻²) are estimated and discussed at the turnover point. This behaviour is explained according to the orientation of dipoles randomly dispersed in viscous amorphous matrix.     

Ion-electron transfer in solid solutions Rb2 ? 2xFe2 ? xPxO4

The rubidium monoferrite RbFeO₂-based solid solutions with the composition Rb_{2 − 2x} Fe_{2 − x} P _x O₄ have been synthesized, and their crystal structure and the temperature and concentration dependences of the total and electron conductivities have been studied. The introduction of P⁵⁺ ions has been found to sharply decrease the electron conductivity that prevails in pure rubidium monoferrite and, at the same time, to increase the ionic conductivity. The latter becomes dominant as the phosphorus concentration increases. The maximum rubidium-cation conductivity of the materials under study is ∼3 × 10⁻² S/cm at 300°C and ∼3 × 10⁻¹ S/cm at 700°C. The results have been compared with the previously obtained data for similar solid solutions based on rubidium monogallate and monoaluminate.     

New search for processes violating the Pauli exclusion principle in sodium and in iodine

In this paper a new search for non-Paulian nuclear processes, i.e. processes normally forbidden by the Pauli Exclusion Principle (PEP), is presented. It has been carried out at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory of the INFN by means of the highly radiopure DAMA/LIBRA set-up (sensitive mass of about 250 kg highly radiopure NaI(Tl)). In particular, a new improved upper limit for the spontaneous non-Paulian emission rate of protons with energy E _p ≥ 10 MeV in ²³Na and ¹²⁷I has been obtained: 1.63 × 10⁻³³ s⁻¹ (90% C.L.). The corresponding limit on the relative strength (δ ²) for the searched non-Paulian transition is δ ²≲(3–4)×10⁻⁵⁵ (90% C.L.). Moreover, PEP-violating electron transitions in iodine atoms have also been investigated. Lifetimes shorter than 4.7×10³⁰ s are excluded at 90% C.L.; this allows us to derive the limit δ _e ²<1.28×10⁻⁴⁷ (90% C.L.). This latter limit can also be related to a possible finite size of the electron in composite models of quarks and leptons providing superficial violation of the PEP; the obtained upper limit on the electron size is r ₀<5.7×10⁻¹⁸ cm (energy scale of E≳3.5 TeV).     

EPR of Fe3+ ion and symmetry of [AIF5·H2O]2? complex ion in (NH4)2AIF5·H2O single crystals

We used the spin-Hamiltonian method for the analysis of the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrum of Fe³⁺ as a probe ion in (NH₄)₂AlF₅·H₂O single crystalline basic material. The theoretical expressions for the magnetic field (at which the fine structure transition lines appear) versus the angle between the magnetic field and the axis of symmetry of the magnetic complex are also given. These values were calculated by applying the perturbation theory to the second-order terms. From the experimental results (at 300 K and 9.21 GHz), the spin-Hamiltonian parameters were deduced:D=(668±10)·10⁻⁴ T,E=(−56±10)·10⁻⁴ T,a=(−54±10)·10⁻⁴ T,F=(30±10)·10⁻⁴ T. An isotropic superhyperfine structure was evidenced for the five fluorine ions. The obtained EPR data were used to determine the local symmetry of the Al³⁺ ion. A good agreement with X-ray diffraction measurements was found.     

Influence of Ar, Ne, Xe, and CCl4 impurities on luminescence kinetics of Cd II ions (5s22D5/2-5p2P3/2 transition, λ = 441.6 nm) in He-Cd mixture

The luminescence kinetics of the Cd II ion at a wavelength of 441.6 nm has been studied experi-mentally in a high-pressure He-Cd mixture in the presence of Ar, Ne, Xe, and CCl₄ impurities. Cadmium ions were excited through the bombardment of a cadmium foil heated up to 240°C by a pulsed electron beam with an electron energy of 150 keV, a pulse duration of 3 ns, and a current of 500 A. The constants of collisional quenching of the Cd II 5s ^{2 2} D _5/2 level by Ar, Ne, and Xe atoms and CCl₄ molecules and the integral luminescence quenching constants of this level in the helium medium by these impurity gases have been determined. The constants of collisional quenching appeared to be 8.1 × 10⁻¹² (Ar), 1.2 × 10⁻¹² (Xe), 1.5 × 10⁻¹³ (Ne), and 1.8 × 10⁻¹⁰ cm³/s (CCl₄, for λ = 325 nm), while the integral constants were found to be, respectively, 4.1 × 10⁻¹¹, 3.4 × 10⁻¹¹, 9.5 × 10⁻¹², 1.4 × 10⁻⁹ cm³/s for Ar, Ne, Xe, and CCl₄ at a buffer gas pressure of 1 atm. Original Russian Text ? A.I. Miskevich, Liu Tao, 2009, published in Optika i Spektroskopiya, 2009, Vol. 107, No. 1, pp. 45–49.     

Addition and spin exchange rate constants by longitudinal field μSR: The Mu+NO reaction

The addition reaction Mu+NO+M→MuNO+M and the spin exchange reaction Mu(↑) +MO(↓)→Mu(↓)+NO(↑) have been measured by longitudinal field μSR at room temperature in the presence of up to 58 atm of N₂ as inert collider. The pressure dependence of the longitudinal relaxation rate due to the addition reaction (λ_c) demostrates that the system is still in the low pressure regime in this pressure range. The corresponding termolecular rate constant has been determined ask _0,Mu =(1.10±0.25)×10⁻³² cm⁶ molecules⁻² s⁻¹, almost 4 times smaller than the corresponding H atom reactionk _0,H=3.90×10⁻³² cm⁶ molecules⁻² s⁻¹ [I.M. Campbell et al., J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans. 1.71 (1975) 2097]. The average value of the spin exchange rate constants in the 2.5–58 atm pressure range,k _SE=(3.16±0.06)×10⁻¹⁰ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹, is in good agreement with previous values obtained by transverse field μSR [D.G. Fleming et al., J. Chem. Phys. 73 (1980) 2751].     

Effect of gas pressure on amplitude and duration of electron beam current in a gas-filled diode

The parameters of an electron beam generated in helium in the pressure range p = 10⁻⁴−12 atm are studied. Nanosecond high-voltage pulses are applied to a gap between a tubular cathode and planar anode, which is made of 45-μm-thick AlBe foil. Behind the anode, an electron beam is detected at a helium pressure of 12 atm. The pressure dependence of the beam current amplitude shows three peaks at p ≈ 0.01, ≈ 0.07, and ≈ 3 atm. The beam-induced glow of a luminescent film placed behind the foil and the discharge glow at different helium pressures in the gas-filled diode are photographed.     

Photoluminescence as a tool for the study of the electronic surface properties of gallium arsenide

Electronic surface parameters of GaAs have been determined from a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the relative photoluminescence intensity at 300 K. Characteristics of etched (100) surfaces ofn- andp-type liquid phase epitaxial GaAs have been found to be governed by negative surface charges. A density of charged surface states of about 10¹² cm⁻² and a band bending of 0.59 eV have been found forn-type material with an electron concentration of 1.1×10¹⁷ cm⁻³. Forp-type samples with hole densities ranging from 6×10¹⁵ to 4.3×10¹⁸ cm⁻³ the estimated density of negatively charged surface states was below 2×10¹¹ cm⁻², and the band bending was not more than a few kT.     

Target plasma formation by UHF power

The properties of plasma injected into an open magnetic trap of uniform field from an independent UHF source have been investigated. Plasma is created in the UHF source at the frequency of 2400 MHz (power input 150 W) in the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) regime at the pressure of neutral argon (10⁻⁵−10⁻²) torr. It is established that a rather quiescent target plasma with controlled density within the range of (2 × 10⁸−2 × 10¹²) cm⁻³ and temperature 2–3eV is accumulated in the trap. It turned out that plasma lifetime in the trap is determined by a classical mechanism of particle escape at the expense of collisions, at fixed value of magnetic field in the trap it practically is not changed with the variation of neutral gas pressure and reaches the value ≈ 4×10⁻³ s at the magnetic field strength in the trap equal 1600 Oe.     

Saturation of Coulomb sum rules in the <Superscript>6</Superscript>Li case

The Coulomb sums S _L(q) of the ⁶Li nucleus have been obtained from electron scattering measurements at 3-momentum transfers q = 1.125–1.625 fm⁻¹. It is found that at q > 1.35 fm⁻¹ the Coulomb sum of the nucleus becomes saturated: S _L(q) = 1 .     

Measurement of high-Q2 neutral current deep inelastic e?p?scattering cross sections with a longitudinally polarised electron?beam?at HERA

Measurements of the neutral current cross sections for deep inelastic scattering in e ⁻ p collisions at HERA with a longitudinally polarised electron beam are presented. The single-differential cross-sections d σ/dQ ², d σ/dx and d σ/dy and the double-differential cross sections in Q ² and x are measured in the kinematic region y<0.9 and Q ²>185 GeV ² for both positively and negatively polarised electron beams and for each polarisation state separately. The measurements are based on an integrated luminosity of 169.9 pb ⁻¹ taken with the ZEUS detector in 2005 and 2006 at a centre-of-mass energy of 318 GeV. The structure functions and xF ₃ ^{γ Z} are determined by combining the e ⁻ p results presented in this paper with previously measured e ⁺ p neutral current data. The asymmetry parameter A ⁻ is used to demonstrate the parity violating effects of electroweak interactions at large spacelike photon virtuality. The measurements agree well with the predictions of the Standard Model.     

High-precision measurement of separatrix splitting in a nonlinear resonance

We present the results of numerical modeling and a theoretical analysis of the splitting of a nonlinear-resonance separatrix in the intermediate asymptotic region for the standard-map model. Direct measurements of the splitting angle α(K), where K is the small parameter of the system, have been carried out over a huge range, 0.1≳α≳10⁻²⁰⁸ (1⩾K⩾0.0004), with a relative accuracy greater than one part in 10⁻²⁵ and an average accuracy of roughly one part in 10⁻³⁰. This made it possible to compare in detail our results with those of the existing asymptotic theory and to detect a number of new effects. We find a relatively simple empirical expression for the α vs. K dependence in the intermediate asymptotic region, and this region proves to be surprisingly broad: K≲10⁻². We also study the effect of noise, in particular, errors in measuring the angle, which proved to be much more significant and complicated than expected. Finally, we point out unresolved questions and possible directions of research involving this problem. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 114, 1516–1531 (October 1998)     

Doppler-free multiphotonic spectroscopy in hydrogen applications to Rydberg’s constant

We recall the principle and the general features of Doppler-free multiphotonic absorption. We discuss problems of lineshape and light shift, which are determinant for very high resolution measurements. We describe the recent application of the method on hydrogen atoms or deuterium atoms in an atomic beam experiment. The high precision obtained, of the order of 10⁻⁹, permits to confirm preceding measurements of the ratioM _p /M _e of the masses of proton and electron, and to deduce a new value of the Rydberg’s constant. Improvements of the experiment are in progress for the precision 10⁻¹⁰.     

Search for γ-Emission from Isomeric Nuclei Induced by MeV Electron Beams

In this paper we study the nuclear transitions induced by incident electrons having an energy of several MeV's. We measured the cross sections for the excitation of isomeric nuclear states by 7.7 MeV electrons. The cross sections were 1.2 μb for ^111m Cd, 5.5 μb for ^113m In and 7.0 μb for ^115m In. The peak activation rates were 1.8×10⁻¹² s⁻¹ for ^111m Cd, 8.1×10⁻¹² s⁻¹ for ^113m In and 1.0×10⁻¹¹ s⁻¹ for ^115m In, for a peak power of the electron beam of 1.8×10⁶ W cm⁻². Then we describe for the first time the results of a series of experiments in which samples containing the isomeric nuclei ^166m Ho and ^186m Re have been irradiated with MeV electron beams. An upper limit of 17 mb has been determined for the cross section of electron-induced γ-emission from ^166m Ho and an upper limit of 2.2 mb has been determined for the cross section of electron-induced γ-emission from ^186m Re. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.