Photoproduction of and of high mass in ultra-peripheral Au + Au collisions at

We present the first measurement of photoproduction of J/ψ and of two-photon production of high-mass e⁺e⁻ pairs in electromagnetic (or ultra-peripheral) nucleus–nucleus interactions, using Au + Au data at . The events are tagged with forward neutrons emitted following Coulomb excitation of one or both Au nuclei. The event sample consists of 28 events with m_e⁺e⁻>2 GeV/c² with zero like-sign background. The measured cross sections at midrapidity of and for m_e⁺e⁻[2.0,2.8] GeV/c² have been compared and found to be consistent with models for photoproduction of J/ψ and QED based calculations of two-photon production of e⁺e⁻ pairs.     

Reactivity of (H)(e) color centers at the MgO surface: formation of O2 and N2 radical anions

We have considered the interaction of O₂ and N₂ molecules with electrons trapped at the surface of MgO by performing embedded cluster DFT calculations. Trapped electrons at the surface of MgO react instantaneously with O₂ and N₂ leading to the formation of the corresponding O₂⁻ and N₂⁻ molecular anions stabilized at specific surface sites. So far, the atomistic model for this process was based on the idea that the electrons are trapped at oxygen vacancies, the F_S⁺ centers. Recently, it has been shown that morphological sites at the MgO surface like a reverse corner, a step or a corner, can adsorb hydrogen and stabilize (H⁺)(e⁻) pairs giving rise to a new class of paramagnetic color centers. Here we show that these centers exhibit reactivity towards O₂ and N₂, which is fully consistent with the experimental observations, providing further support to the new model of electron traps at the MgO surface.     

The plasma oxidation of Pd(1 0 0)

The oxidation of Pd(1 0 0) by an oxygen plasma was characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), low energy ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS), temperature programmed desorption (TPD), and low energy electron diffraction (LEED). The oxygen uptake followed a typical parabolic profile with oxygen coverages reaching 32 ML after 1 h in the plasma; a factor of 40 higher than could be achieved by dosing molecular oxidants in ultra high vacuum. Even after adsorbing 32 ML of oxygen, XPS revealed both metallic Pd and PdO in the surface region. The R27^o LEED pattern previously attributed to a surface oxide monolayer, slowly attenuated with oxygen coverage indicating that the PdO formed poorly ordered three dimensional clusters that slowly covered the ordered surface oxide. While XPS revealed the formation of bulk PdO, only small changes in the ISS spectra were observed once the surface oxide layer was completed. The leading edges of the O₂ TPD curves showed only small shifts with increasing oxygen coverage that could be explained in terms of the lower thermodynamic stability of small oxide clusters. The desorption curves, however, could not be adequately described as simple zero order decomposition of PdO. There has been an ongoing debate in the literature about the relative catalytic activities of PdO and oxygen phases on Pd, the results indicate that any differences in the reactivity between bulk PdO and surface oxides are not associated with differences in the density of exposed Pd atoms or the decomposition kinetics of these two phases.     

Photo-absorption spectra of small hydrogenated silicon clusters using the time-dependent density functional theory

We present a systematic study of the photo-absorption spectra of various Si_nH_m clusters using the time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The method uses a real-time, real-space implementation of TDDFT involving full propagation of the time dependent Kohn-Sham equations. Our results for SiH₄ and Si₂H₆ show good agreement with the earlier calculations and experimental data. We study the photo-absorption spectra of silicon clusters as a function of hydrogenation. For single hydrogenation, we find that in general, the absorption optical gap decreases showing a significant red shift for small sized clusters and as the number of silicon atoms increases the effect of a single hydrogen atom on the optical gap diminishes. For further hydrogenation the optical gap increases and for the fully hydrogenated clusters the optical gap is larger compared to corresponding pure silicon clusters corresponding to a blue shifted spectra.     

XPS and ab initio study of the interaction of PbTe with molecular oxygen

Density functional (B3LYP) calculations have been performed to investigate the adsorption of molecule on the surface of cluster (PbTe)₄. To study the influence of point defects (namely, impurity atoms and cation and anion vacancies) on the reactivity of PbTe surface, clusters (PbTe)₃GeTe, (PbTe)₃GaTe, (PbTe)₃Te, and (PbTe)₃(Pb) were investigated. The adsorption of oxygen on the surface of (PbS)₄ cluster was calculated to evaluate the role of anions in the adsorption process. It was shown that the formation of the peroxide-like complex is the first step of adsorption. The calculated tendency to surface oxidation increases in sequence: PbTe with cation vacancies <PbS < pure PbTe < PbTe doped with Ga < PbTe doped with Ge < PbTe with anion vacancies. The results of quantum-chemical calculations correlate with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data.     

Theory of antiferromagnetic exchange interaction for mixed-valent FeFe spin cluster in model complex of semimethemerythrin

The antiferromagnetic phenomena of both mixed valent Fe^IIIFe^II spin clusters and homodinuclear Fe^IIIFe^III clusters in complexes have been studied by means of our covalent magnetic exchange theoretical method. The sensitive relations between the exchange parameter J and the covalent factors N_A (for Fe^III) and N_B (for Fe^II) and the Fe?Fe separation R have been derived by use of our double-Slater function calculation procedure, the corresponding theoretical curve of J vs. N_A,N_B and R has been obtained. By taking the typical covalent factors of Fe^III and Fe^II, and using the observed Fe-O bond lengths: for Fe^III-O-Fe^II cluster in model complex {[Fe(acacen)]₂ONa}₂; for Fe^III-O-Fe^III cluster in oxyhemerythrin, we obtained the theoretical values: for Fe^III-O-Fe^II cluster and for Fe^III-O-Fe^III cluster. These are in good agreement with the corresponding experimental findings in {[Fe(acacen)]₂ONa}₂ and in oxyhemerythrin, respectively.     

Complexes of an argon atom with linear cations: results of coupled cluster calculations

Large-scale coupled cluster calculations have been carried out for complexes between an argon atom and four different linear cations (HCNH⁺, HC₃NH⁺, HCCH⁺, and HC₄H⁺). The two former closed-shell species have hydrogen-bonded linear forms, with nitrogen acting as proton donor, as the energetically most stable isomers. Their dissociation energies (D₀) are predicted to be 1261 and , respectively. For Ar?HCCH⁺, the T-form with symmetry is the absolute energy minimum of the potential energy surface, lying below the fragments at infinite separation. Ar?HC₄H⁺ has a dissociation energy less than half as large and slightly prefers the linear structure. Various spectroscopic properties are predicted for the closed-shell complexes under investigation.     

Dilepton mass spectra in collisions at and the contribution from open charm

PHENIX has measured the electron–positron pair mass spectrum from 0 to 8 GeV/c² in p+p collisions at . The contributions from light meson decays to e⁺e⁻ pairs have been determined based on measurements of hadron production cross sections by PHENIX. Within the systematic uncertainty of 20% they account for all e⁺e⁻ pairs in the mass region below 1 GeV/c². The e⁺e⁻ pair yield remaining after subtracting these contributions is dominated by semileptonic decays of charmed hadrons correlated through flavor conservation. Using the spectral shape predicted by PYTHIA, we estimate the charm production cross section to be 544±39(stat)±142(syst)±200(model) μb, which is consistent with QCD calculations and measurements of single leptons by PHENIX.     

Application of129Xe NMR spectroscopy and EXAFS to probe the formation of a bimetallic cluster in zeolite Y

Palladium was supported on CaY zeolite by ion exchange of Pd(NH₃) ₄ ²⁺ into CaY zeolite, calcination in O₂ and subsequent reduction with H₂. Platinum and silver were added to this Pd/CaY zeolite by ion exchange of Pt(NH₃) ₄ ²⁺ and Ag⁺, respectively, and subsequent reduction with Hg. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure of these metals indicates that the successive metal-loading treatments lead first to the formation of a 1-nm Pd cluster inside the supercage of CaY zeolite and to the subsequent formation of bimetallic clusters through incorporation of Pt and Ag atoms into the small Pd cluster. The line width and chemical shift of¹²⁹Xe NMR spectrum of xenon gas adsorbed on the zeolite show dramatic changes during the metal clustering procedure, which indicates that¹²⁹Xe NMR spectroscopy can be used to probe the formation of bimetallic clusters.     

4-benzyl pyridinium dihydrogenmonophosphate C6H5CH2C5H4NHH2PO4 : Single-crystal structure and its conductivity in polycrystalline form

The salt 4-benzyl pyridinium dihydrogenmonophosphate is monoclinic P2₁/c with the following unit cell dimensions: ; ; ; and β=97.328(11). Also, , D_x=1.403, , F(000)=560; ; and R=0.0495 and R_w=0.0964 for 3733 independent reflections. The structure consists of infinite parallel two-dimensional planes built of H₂PO₄⁻ anions and C₆H₅CH₂C₅H₄NH⁺ cations mutually connected by strong O-H ?O and N-H ?O hydrogen bonding. There are no contacts other than the normal Van der Waals interactions between the layers. The conductivity relaxation parameters associated with some H⁺ conduction have been determined from an analysis of the spectrum measured in a wide temperature range.     

Search for the rare decays , , and

Rare decay modes , J/ψ→D⁻π⁺+c.c., and are searched for using events collected with the BESII detector at the BEPC. No signal above background is observed. We present upper limits on the branching fractions of , B(J/ψ→D⁻π⁺)<7.5×10⁻⁵, and at the 90% confidence level.     

On the theoretical description of the chemisorption of the hydrogen atom on the metallic surface. Calculation of energy interaction of H with hcp Co and Ni surface clusters

A model, based on the generalized valence bond theory, capable of describing the interaction of hydrogen atom (H) with large molecular systems is proposed. The accuracy of the model has been checked by calculating the and H₂ systems. Atomic spin densities for clusters having 1243 atoms have been obtained. The surface magnetic and chemisorption property differences between the Ni and Co metals have been analyzed. An extrapolation scheme suitable to obtain H chemisorption energies on infinite systems from the finite ones has been proposed. Size-converged results have been obtained for the Co. Potential energy surfaces of hydrogen, on and below, the Co surface have been provided.     

MRCI studies on the electronic structure of AlN and AlN, and the electron affinity of AlN

Using multireference configuration-interaction methods and double to triple-zeta basis sets with semidiffuse and polarization functions, potential energies and spectroscopic constants for low-lying doublet, and quartet states of AlN⁻ were calculated. has R_e=3.280 bohr and . lies 0.17 eV above the ground state. Using an estimated electron affinity of 2.1 eV for AlN, four states of AlN⁻ are found to be stable, namely , , , and . Comparisons with the isovalent anions BN⁻ (three stable states) and AlP⁻ (seven stable states) are made. Photo-detachment of an electron from the state of AlN⁻ can lead to an accurate determination of the energy difference between the two close-lying lowest states of AlN, and , predicted here to be 0.09 eV apart.     

High-spin metal-cyanide clusters: species incorporating [Mn(salen)] complexes as a source of anisotropy

The use of N,N′-ethylenebis(salycylideneiminato) (salen) complexes of Mn^III in assembling high-spin metal-cyanide coordination clusters with significant magnetic anisotropy is demonstrated. The reaction of [Mn(salen)(H₂O)₂]⁺with [Cr(CN)₆]³⁻ in aqueous solution generates {Cr[CNMn(salen)(H₂O)]₆}[Cr(CN)₆]·6H₂O (1), a previously reported compound featuring a heptanuclear cluster with a distorted octahedral geometry. A fit to the variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility data for 1 revealed the presence of weak antiferromagnetic coupling of within the cluster, giving rise to an S=21/2 ground state. In addition, variable-field magnetization data collected at low temperatures revealed the presence of magnetic anisotropy in the ground state, with the best fit yielding zero-field splitting parameters of D=+0.19 cm⁻¹ and A reaction intended to produce a direct analogue of 1 by employing [Fe(CN)₆]³⁻ in place of [Cr(CN)₆]³⁻ instead gave an unusually complex compound of formula {Fe(CN)₄[CNMn(salen)(MeOH)]₂}{[Mn(salen)(H₂O)]₂}[Mn(salen)(H₂O)(MeOH)]₂[Fe(CN)₆]·4H₂O (2). The crystal structure and magnetic properties of this compound are reported.     

Vibronic transition moments and line intensities for H2O

Ab initio calculations of the electronic dipole moment components for the and electronic states and the electronic transition moment for the - transition of H₂O⁺ have been carried out. Parameterized analytical functions have been fitted through the computed ab initio data points, and the resulting dipole moment and transition moment surfaces have been used, along with potential energy surfaces derived from the ab initio results of Brommer et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 98 (1993) 5222], to simulate H₂O⁺ spectra and to generate an extensive set of vibronic transition moments for the and band systems of H₂O⁺. The work is made with the dual purpose of facilitating further assignments of high-resolution spectra [J. Mol. Spectrosc. 219 (2003) 258] and of allowing cometary spectra of H₂O⁺ to be simulated [Ap. J. 574 (2002) L183].     

Reactivity to sulphur of clean and pre-oxidised Cu(1 1 1) surfaces

The reactivity of clean and pre-oxidised Cu(1 1 1) surfaces exposed to sulphur (H₂S) has been studied at room temperature by Auger electron spectroscopy, low energy electron diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy. On the clean surface, the sulphur-saturated surface structure is dominated by the or so-called “zigzag” superstructure. It is shown that a single orientation domain is favoured by the slight misorientation (∼2°) of the surface with respect to the (1 1 1) plane. Scanning tunneling microscopy measurements also revealed two minority structures. Pre-oxidation was performed by exposure to 1.5 × 10⁴ L of O₂ at 300 °C. Under exposure to H₂S (1 × 10⁻⁷ mbar) at room temperature, the oxygen is totally substituted by sulphur. Once initiated, sulphur adsorption seems to propagate to cover the whole surface on the O-covered surface faster than on the clean Cu(1 1 1). At saturation by adsorbed sulphur, the surface is completely covered by the superstructure of highest coverage. This enhanced uptake of sulphur is assigned to the surface reconstruction of the copper surface induced by the pre-oxidation, causing a stronger reactivity of the Cu atoms released by the decomposition of the oxide.     

Density and well width dependences of the effective mass of two-dimensional holes in (100) GaAs quantum wells measured using cyclotron resonance at microwave frequencies

Cyclotron resonance at microwave frequencies is used to measure the band mass (m_b) of the two-dimensional holes (2DHs) in carbon-doped (100) GaAs/ Al_xGa_1−xAs heterostructures. The measured m_b shows strong dependences on both the 2DH density (p) and the GaAs quantum well width (W). For a fixed W, in the density range (0.4×10¹¹ to 1.1×10¹¹ cm⁻²) studied here, m_b increases with p, consistently with previous studies of the 2DHs on the (311)A surface. For a fixed , m_b increases from 0.22m_e at to 0.50m_e at , and saturates around 0.51m_e for .     

Radiation and thermally induced effects in YAlO3:Mn crystals

We have studied effects induced by γ-radiation and temperature in Mn-doped YAlO₃ crystals. The studies have been performed by means of optical spectroscopy that include measuring of optical absorption changes induced by γ-radiation and elevated temperature as well as thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL). It has been shown that under γ-irradiation of YAlO₃:Mn crystals, along with the ionization of Mn_Al⁴⁺ ions (Mn_Al⁴⁺→Mn_Al⁵⁺+e⁻), some additional coloration processes take place. This additional coloration is characterized by a wide intense band centered at 26,000- that is ascribed to color centers intrinsic to YAlO₃ lattice. This coloration is removed by the way of crystal warming at , while the coloration caused by Mn_Al⁵⁺ ions is removed at higher temperature . The observed TSL glow of irradiated crystals reveals three peaks near 360, 400 and that correspond to three types of traps. Parameters of the traps have been determined. The TSL emission corresponds to intra-center luminescence of Mn_Al⁴⁺ and Mn_Y²⁺ ions. The possible ionization and trapping mechanisms in YAlO₃:Mn crystals are discussed.