Reaction kinetics of sonochemical oxidation of potassium hexacyanoferrate(II) in aqueous solutions

We studied sonochemical reactions resulting from ultrasonic treatment of potassium hexacyanoferrate(II) in aqueous solutions using a custom-built apparatus working at 536 kHz. We concluded that primary reactions are completely dominated by oxidation of Fe(II) to Fe(III) and did not find any evidences for degradation of cyanide. At the highest concentration used in the present study (0.1 M) we detected formation of pentacyanoaquaferrate(II) complex, which is most probably formed in reactions between hexacyanoferrate(III) anions and hydrogen atoms or hydrated electrons formed in sonochemical processes. We also determined that hydroxyl radicals formation rate in our system, (8.7 ± 1.5)∙10⁻⁸ M∙s⁻¹, is relatively high compared to other reported experiments. We attribute this to focusing of the ultrasonic wave in the sample vessel. Finally, we suggest that oxidation rate of hexacyanoferrate(II) anions can be a convenient benchmark of efficiency of sonochemical reactors.     

Structure of Epitaxial Layers of KCl on Ag(100)

We investigated the epitaxial growth of thin KCl films on Ag(100) by spot-profile-analysis low energy electron diffraction (SPA-LEED) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). The structural relation of the (100)-oriented KCl film with respect to the Ag(100) surface is incommensurate, nevertheless the structural quality is very high and terraces with an average diameter of 250 Å are obtained. The unit cells of KCl and Ag(100) are aligned, and there is no rotational mosaicity as present in the case of NaCl on Ag(100). We attribute this to a small interaction between KCl and Ag(100) and growth starting at step edges of the metal substrate. In order to demonstrate the high structural quality of the KCl films, we deposited a monolayer of perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic acid dianhydride (PTCDA) on these films. We obtained the identical monolayer structure that was observed earlier on bulk KCl. We thus suggest that KCl/Ag(100) is ideal for surface experiments on thin dielectric films.     

Precession of classical spin and spin-orbit splitting

We present solutions of a fermion-boson model based on the supersymmetric (Susy) extension of theU(N) σ-models with the Wess-Zumino-Witten (WZW) term. We study some properties of these solutions. We point out that the obtained solutions are related to the components of the energy-momentum tensor of the purely bosonicU(N)σ-model and that some classes of these solutions are traceless.     

Laser control of magneto-polaron in transition metal dichalcogenides triangular quantum well

We study the dynamic of magneto-polaron condensate in monolayer two dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) materials of 2H types in triangular quantum well potential. Within both the quantum mechanical Schrödinger approach (QMSA) and the improved Wigner-Brillouin theory (IWBT), Landau energies levels (LELs) are derived. We have shown that the magneto-polaron condensation is enhanced in monolayer MoSe₂ compared to MoS₂, WS₂ and WSe₂. We derive various levels by increasing a magnetic field and laser parameter. We show that the quantum confinement lifts the degeneracy of the Landau levels (LLs) resulting in an anticrossing and crossing. The dephasing effect due to the quantum well potential's parameter plays an important role in the magneto-polaron energy corrections, which are also affected by the amplitude of the laser field. The system presents Stückelberg oscillations which is important for practical applications.     

Time resolved luminescence of CdS at high excitation

We report a study at low temperature of the time resolved luminescence of CdS, excited by two photon absorption. Concerning the so called EHP-LO and P bands, we confirm our results previously obtained on CdSe[1, 2]. (a) At high excitation a broad band (peak position at λ > 495 nm) occurs due to radiative recombination in an electron hole plasma, assisted by the emission of one LO phonon. (b) The simultaneous kinetics of the P line (λ ? 490.5 nm) and A-LO line (λ ? 492.5 nm) are conflicting with the interpretation of the P line as resulting of radiative exciton-exciton collisions. We interpret the P line as due to biexciton recombination.We have studied the luminescence in the (I₂-I₁) region (486nm < λ < 490nm) at low excitation. We observe clearly the following, (a) A broad band (488 nm < λ < 490.5 nm) which corresponds to the gain observed in previous experiments of pulse and probe spectroscopy and interpreted as direct recombination in an electron hole liquid (EHL). (b) After the disappearance of the EHL band, one single line (M_D), which shifts continuously towards the I₂ position during the time resolved kinetics. We suggest it to be connected with the high excitation effect on donor impurities (bound polyexcitons).     

On Poincaré gauge theory of gravity,its equations of motion,and Gravity Probe B

We discuss the structure of the Poincaré gauge theory of gravity (PG) that can be considered as the standard theory of gravity with torsion. We reconfirm that torsion, in the context of PG, couples only to the elementary particle spin and under no circumstances to the orbital angular momentum of test particles. We conclude that, unfortunately, the investigations of Mao et al. (2007) and March et al. (2011)—who claimed a coupling of torsion to orbital angular momentum, in particular in the context of the Gravity Probe B (GPB) experiment—do not yield any information on torsion.     

Symmetry breaking in a supersymmetric model of strong and electroweak interactions

We describe a supersymmetric model of strong and electroweak interactions based on the gauge groupSU(3)×SU(2)×U(1)×?(1). We concentrate on the pattern of the spontaneous symmetry breaking by the tree level scalar potential. It is possible to break the?(1) factor at superlarge energies relative to the simultaneous breaking scale ofSU(2)×U(1) and supersymmetry. The model has?(1) anomalies. Attempts to make an anomaly-free model based on the groupE ₆ are described. We also comment on possible modifications of the?(1) anomaly problem due to gravitational effects.     

A perturbative expansion of the Casimir energy

We consider the Casimir energyE _C of a medium with inhomogenous dielectric and diamagnetic constants, with the restriction ε(x)μ(x)=1. We expandE _C with respect to σ(x)=ln ε(x) and discuss the divergences of the second order contribution. We consider especially the transition to dielectrics with sharp boundaries.     

Determination of the timing properties of a pulsed positron lifetime beam by the application of an electron gun and a fast microchannel plate

We show that the timing properties of a pulsed low-energy positron lifetime beam can be conveniently tested by an electron beam. We apply this method to study the time resolution of the beam and electron scattering in flat and ‘sawtooth’ shaped choppers. The results show that (i) time resolution of 160 ps is obtained, (ii) the scattering of the electrons and the secondary electron yield of the flat chopper make the time resolution worse and background poor, and (iii) both these problems can be solved by using a ‘sawtooth’ shaped chopper. We also compare these results to beam simulations.     

Solutions of theU(N)σ models with the Wess-Zumino term

We study finite action classical solutions of the Euclidean two-dimensionalU(N) sigma models with the Wess-Zumino term. We show that these solutions are related to (and so can be derived from) the solutions of the Lax-pair problem for the correspondingU(N) sigma model (without the Wess-Zumino term). We discuss the value of the action for these solutions and prove that all these solutions are unstable.     

An STM study of the adsorption of Pb on Cu(100): formation of an ordered surface alloy

The adsorption of Pb on Cu(100) from 0 to 1 ML was investigated by UHV scanning tunneling microscopy. We obtained atomic resolution images of the different superstructures which appear at 300 K with increasing coverage (c(4 × 4), c(2 × 2) and c( √2)R45°). We confirm recent results and propose, partly on the basis of low temperature studies, new arguments in favour of an incorporation of lead atoms in the surface layer of copper for low coverage. We demonstrate that the c(4 × 4) superstructure corresponds to an ordered surface alloy of Pb₃Cu₄ composition, by investigating separately the alloying and de-alloying transitions. De-alloying occurs during the first-order transition between the c(4 × 4) and c(2 × 2) superstructures.     

The Renormalization Group and Optimization of Entropy

We illustrate the possible connection that exists between the extremal properties of entropy expressions and the renormalization group (RG) approach when applied to systems with scaling symmetry. We consider three examples: (1) Gaussian fixed-point criticality in a fluid or in the capillary-wave model of an interface; (2) Lévy-like random walks with self-similar cluster formation; and (3) long-ranged bond percolation. In all cases we find a decreasing entropy function that becomes minimum under an appropriate constraint at the fixed point. We use an equivalence between random-walk distributions and order-parameter pair correlations in a simple fluid or magnet to study how the dimensional anomaly at criticality relates to walks with long-tailed distributions.     

Solutions of theU(N)σ models with the Wess-Zumino term

We study finite action classical solutions of the Euclidean two-dimensionalU(N) sigma models with the Wess-Zumino term. We show that these solutions are related to (and so can be derived from) the solutions of the Lax-pair problem for the correspondingU(N) sigma model (without the Wess-Zumino term). We discuss the value of the action for these solutions and prove that all these solutions are unstable.     

Study of exclusive radiative B meson decays

We have studied exclusive, radiative B meson decays to charmless mesons in 9.7x10(6) B&Bmacr; decays accumulated with the CLEO detector. We measure B(B0-->K(*0)(892)gamma) = (4.55(+0.72)(-0. 68)+/-0.34)x10(-5) and B(B+-->K(*+)(892)gamma) = (3.76(+0.89)(-0. 83)+/-0.28)x10(-5). We have searched for CP asymmetry in B-->K(*)(892)gamma decays and measure A(CP) = +0.08+/-0.13+/-0.03. We report the first observation of B-->K(*)(2)(1430)gamma decays with a branching fraction of (1.66(+0.59)(-0.53)+/-0.13)x10(-5). No evidence for the decays B-->rhogamma and B0-->omegagamma is found and we limit B(B-->(rho/omega)gamma)/B(B-->K(*)(892)gamma)<0.32 at 90% C.L.     

Crystallization of D2O thin films on Ru(0 0 1) surfaces

The phase conversion of amorphous solid water (ASW) to crystalline ice (CI) has been investigated in the very thin (∼10 monolayers) film regime on a Ru(0 0 1) surface. We analyze the converted CI fraction with the Avrami model, and recognize that one-dimensional CI growth occurs, which can be contrasted to the three-dimensional CI growth generally established in the thick (≥50 monolayers) film regime. We evaluate activation energy for the ASW crystallization to be about 1.0 eV. We suggest that the ASW crystallization is not influenced by the substrate even near the substrate-ice interface.     

Early stages of vanadium deposition on Si(1 1 1)-7 × 7

We investigate the low-coverage regime of vanadium deposition on the Si(1 1 1)-7 × 7 surface using a combination of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and density-functional theory (DFT) adsorption energy calculations. We theoretically identify the most stable structures in this system: (i) substitutional vanadium atoms at silicon adatom positions; (ii) interstitial vanadium atoms between silicon adatoms and rest atoms; and (iii) interstitial vanadium - silicon adatom vacancy complexes. STM images reveal two simple vanadium-related features near the Si adatom positions: bright spots at both polarities (BB) and dark spots for empty and bright spots for filled states (DB). We relate the BB spots to the interstitial structures and the DB spots to substitutional structures.     

Measurement of the ratios of branching fractions and

We report an observation of the decay B(O)(S) --> D(-)(s)pi(+) in pp collisions at radical S = 1.96 TeV using 115 pb(-1) of data collected by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. We observe 83 +/- 11(stat) B(O)(s) --> D(-)(s)pi(+) candidates, representing a large increase in statistics over previous measurements and the first observation of this decay at a pp collider. We present the first measurement of the relative branching fraction Beta(B(O)(s) --> D(-)(s)pi(+))/Beta(B(0) --> D(-)(pi)(+)) = 1.32 +/- 0.18(stat) +/- 0.38(syst). We also measure Beta(B(+) --> D(0)pi(+))/Beta(B(0) -->D(-)pi(+)) = 1.97 +/- 0.10(stat) +/- 0.21(syst), which is consistent with previous measurements.     

Association of riboflavin,caffeine, and sodium salicylate in aqueous solution

We have used UV and visible spectrophotometry to study self-association of aromatic riboflavin molecules (RFN, vitamin B₂, 7,8-dimethyl-10-N-(1′-D-ribityl)isoalloxazine) in aqueous solution (pH 6.86) at T = 298 K, using a dimer model. We have determined the equilibrium dimerization constant for riboflavin, K_dB = 125 ± 40 M⁻¹. We have studied heteroassociation in the system of molecules of 7,8-dimethyl-10-ribitylisoalloxazine with 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine (caffeine) and sodium salicylate (NAS) in aqueous solution (pH 6.86; T = 298 K). We have determined the heteroassociation constants for RFN-NAS and RFN-caffeine molecules in the absence and in the presence of urea in solutions using a modified Benesi-Hildebrand equation: 25 ± 4, 17 ± 3, and 74 ± 11, 53 ± 7 M⁻¹ respectively. We have determined the dimerization constants for NAS (2.7 ± 0.5 M⁻¹) and caffeine (17.0 ± 1.5 M⁻¹). We conclude that heteroassociation of the aromatic molecules leads to a lower effective riboflavin concentration in solution, and the presence of urea in mixed solutions leads to an decrease in the complexation constants for the RFN-NAS and RFN-caffeine systems. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 74, No. 2, pp. 188–194, March–April, 2007.     

Observation of B(s)0-->K+ K- and measurements of branching fractions of charmless two-body decays of B0 and B(s)0 mesons in pp collisions at square root of s = 1.96 TeV

We search for decays of the type B(s)0-->h+ h'- (where h,h' = K or pi) in 180 pb(-1) of pp collisions collected at the Tevatron by the upgraded Collider Detector at Fermilab. We report the first observation of the new mode B(s)0-->K+ K- with a yield of 236+/-32 events, corresponding to (fs/fd) x B(B(s)0-->K+ K-)/B(B0-->K+ pi-) = 0.46+/-0.08stat+/-0.07syst, where fs/fd is the ratio of production fractions of B(s)0 and B0. We find results in agreement with world averages for the B0 modes, and set the following new limits at 90% C.L.: B(B(s)0-->K- pi+) < 5.6 x 10(-6) and B(B(s)0-->pi+ pi-) < 1.7 x 10(-6).     

Disordered Dirac fermions: the marriage of three different approaches

We compare the critical multipoint correlation functions for two-dimensional (massless) Dirac fermions in the presence of a random su(N) (non-Abelian) gauge potential, obtained by three different methods. We critically reexamine previous results obtained using the replica approach and in the limit of infinite disorder strength and compare them to new results (presented here) obtained using the supersymmetric approach to the N=2 case. We demonstrate that this ménage à trois of different approaches leads to identical results. Remarkable relations between apparently different conformal field theories (CFTs) are thereby obtained. We further establish a connection between the random Dirac fermion problem and the c=−2 theory of dense polymers. The presence of the c=−2 theory may be seen in all three different treatments of the disorder.