Angular distribution measurements of Li(p,α)He reaction at 140 keV proton energy using nuclear track detectors

Angular distributions of a ⁶Li(p,α) ³He reaction were measured at six angles for 140 keV proton energy using nuclear track detectors (NTDs). The measurements were carried out over 60°–160° lab. angles in 20° increments using a scattering chamber of 80° beam line of the 350 kV accelerator. A semiconductor silicon surface barrier (SSB) detector was placed at +160° and was used as a monitor. The results have shown that the CR-39 detector has excellent capabilities to distinguish 1.4–2.7 MeV α+ ³He particles from the ⁶Li(p,α) ³He reaction and 8–9.4 MeV α-particles from the ⁷Li(p,α) ⁴He reaction through their track diameters. However, it was not possible to distinguish between the 2.3 MeV ³He ions and the 1.7 MeV ⁴He ions from the ⁶Li(p,α) ³He reaction from their track diameter measurements, but it was possible to differentiate between the two, from the darker contrast of the ³He particles caused by its deeper tracks as compared to those of ⁴He.     

Al Chemical Shielding Anisotropy

Accurate values for the²⁷Al chemical shielding anisotropy (CSA) are reported for sapphire (α-Al₂O₃). The values (δ_σ= −17.3 ± 0.6 ppm, η_σ= 0.03 ± 0.06) are obtained from single-crystal²⁷Al NMR and appear to be the first convincing determination of an²⁷Al CSA.     

Experimental determination of CR-39 counting efficiency to α particles to design the holder of a new radon gas dosemeter

To design a new radon gas dosemeter, the knowledge of the SSNTD α counting efficiency is essential. It depends primarily on the energy and incidence angle into the detector, then on the etching conditions and finally on the track counting procedure. Therefore the elicited efficiency function represents all these factors. The detectors were exposed to α particles at different angles of incidence and energies, by using a ²⁴⁴Cm source; two alternative NaOH solution etching conditions were tested, 6.25 N 70°C at 6 and 12 h, respectively. The counting was performed with a light microscope, 267×, and with an automatic track analysis procedure. The critical incidence angle dependance on energy, in our standard condition (6 h), resulted θ_C(E)=380.0e^{(−0.286•(E−0.050))}(1−e^{(−0.186•(E−0.050))}), and it was used to design our new radon gas holder.     

Quasi-α-particle mechanism of pion double charge exchange on light nuclei

A microscopic theory of π-meson double charge exchange (DCE) on light nuclei has been suggested and developed on the supposition that the corresponding elementary process proceeds by quasi-α-particle formation within the nucleus. Light nuclei consisting of both α-particles and α-particles and clusters of other kinds are considered. To describe the bound state of the quasi-α- particle and the continuum spectrum state of four identical nucleons, the four-body hyperspherical basis has been applied, while to obtain the wave functions of the centers of mass of the cluster relative motion we solve either the three-body Schrödinger equation (in the case of a three-body cluster configuration) or the two-body Schrödinger equation (in the case of a two-body cluster configuration). The reactions π^± + ¹²C → π + 4p(4n) + 2α, π⁻ + ⁷Li → π⁺ + 4n + ³H, π^± + ⁶Li → π + 4p(4n) + n + p, π^± + ⁶Li → π + 4p(4n) + d are investigated. It is shown that the effect of the final-state interaction between the four nucleons emitted by the nucleus in the process of π-meson DCE is rather important. The available experimental data on the ⁷Li nucleus can be explained quite satisfactorily on the supposition that this nucleus has a two-body cluster structure, and, hence, the π-meson DCE process occurs only on the α-particle.The differential and total cross sections of the reactions under investigation calculated as functions of the incident pion energy are essentially different for different nucleon-nucleon potentials. Experimental study of DCE on α-particle nuclei is shown to be a timely problem.     

Determination of the (Na) Sternheimer antishielding factor by Na NMR spectroscopy on sodium oxide chloride, Na3OCl

The (Na⁺) Sternheimer antishielding factor γ_∞ (Na⁺) was determined by ²³Na NMR spectroscopy on sodium oxide chloride, Na₃OCl. The quadrupolar coupling constant of the sodium ion in Na₃OCl was determined to QCC=11.34 MHz, which presents the largest coupling constant of a sodium nucleus observed so far. Applying a simple point charge model, the largest principal value of the electric field gradient at the sodium site was calculated to V_zz=−6.76762·10²⁰ V/m². From these values we calculated the (Na⁺) Sternheimer antishielding factor to γ_∞ (Na⁺)=−5.36. In sodium oxide, Na₂O, we observed an isotropic chemical shift of δ_CS=55.1 ppm, referenced to 1 M aqueous NaCl (δ=0 ppm).     

Measurement of the WWγ cross section and direct limits on anomalous quartic gauge boson couplings at LEP

The process e⁺e⁻→W⁺W⁻γ is analysed using the data collected with the L3 detector at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 176.8 pb⁻¹. Based on a sample of 42 selected W⁺W⁻ candidates containing an isolated hard photon, the W⁺W⁻γ cross section, defined within phase-space cuts, is measured to be: σ_WWγ=290±80±16 fb, consistent with the Standard Model expectation. Including the process , limits are derived on anomalous contributions to the Standard Model quartic vertices W⁺W⁻γγ and W⁺W⁻Zγ at 95% CL: −0.043 GeV⁻²<a₀/Λ²<0.043 GeV⁻², −0.08 GeV⁻²<a_c/Λ²<0.13 GeV⁻², −0.41 GeV⁻²<a_n/Λ²<0.37 GeV⁻².     

Measurement of the mass of the Λb baryon

In a data sample of four million hadronic Z decays collected with the ALEPH detector at LEP, four Λ_b baryon candidates are exclusively reconstructed in the Λ_b → Λ_c⁺π⁻ channel, with the Λ_c⁺ decaying into pK⁻π⁺, , or Λπ⁺π⁺π⁻. The probability of the observed signal to be due to a background fluctuation is estimated to be 4.2 × 10⁻⁴. The mass of the Λ_b is measured to be 5614±21 (stat.) ± 4 (syst.) MeV/c².     

Isotope Effects on theO,H Coupling Constant and theO–{H} Nuclear Overhauser Effect in Water

The NMR spectra of solutions of 30%¹⁷O-enriched H₂O and D₂O in nitromethane display the resonances of the three isotopomers H₂O, HDO, and D₂O. All¹⁷O,¹H and¹⁷O,²H coupling constants and the primary and secondary isotope effects onJ(¹⁷O,¹H) have been determined. The primary effect is −1.0 ± 0.2 Hz and the secondary effect is −0.07 ± 0.04 Hz. Using integrated intensities in the¹⁷O NMR spectra, the equilibrium constant for the reaction H₂O + D₂O 2HDO is found to be 3.68 ± 0.2 at 343 K. From the relative integrated intensities of proton-coupled and -decoupled spectra the¹⁷O–{¹H} NOE is estimated for the first time, resulting in values of 0.908 and 0.945 for H₂O and HDO, respectively. This means that dipole–dipole interactions contribute about 2.5% to the overall¹⁷O relaxation rate in H₂O dissolved in nitromethane.     

Detection and Characterization of Boric Acid and Borate Ion Binding to Cytochrome c Using Multiple Quantum Filtered NMR

The application of multiple quantum filtered (MQF) NMR to the identification and characterization of the binding of ligands containing quadrupolar nuclei to proteins is demonstrated. Using relaxation times measured by MQF NMR multiple binding of boric acid and borate ion to ferri and ferrocytochrome c was detected. Borate ion was found to have two different binding sites. One of them was in slow exchange, k_diss = 20 ± 3 s⁻¹ at 5°C and D₂O solution, in agreement with previous findings by ¹H NMR (G. Taler et al., 1998, Inorg. Chim. Acta 273, 388–392). The triple quantum relaxation of the borate in this site was found to be governed by dipolar interaction corresponding to an average B–H distance of 2.06 ± 0.07 Å. Other, fast exchanging sites for borate and boric acid could be detected only by MQF NMR. The binding equilibrium constants at these sites at pH 9.7 were found to be 1800 ± 200 M⁻¹ and 2.6 ± 1.5 M⁻¹ for the borate ion and boric acid, respectively. Thus, detection of binding by MQF NMR proved to be sensitive to fast exchanging ligands as well as to very weak binding that could not be detected using conventional methods.     

One- and two-dimensional C–H/N–H dipolar correlation experiments under fast magic-angle spinning for determining the peptide dihedral angle φ

A recently proposed ¹³C–¹H recoupling sequence operative under fast magic-angle spinning (MAS) [K. Takegoshi, T. Terao, Solid State Nucl. Magn. Reson. 13 (1999) 203–212.] is applied to observe ¹³C–¹H and ¹⁵N–¹H dipolar powder patterns in the ¹H–¹⁵N–¹³C–¹H system of a peptide bond. Both patterns are correlated by ¹⁵N-to-¹³C cross polarization to observe one- or two-dimensional (1D or 2D) correlation spectra, which can be simulated by using a simple analytical expression to determine the H–N–C–H dihedral angle. The 1D and 2D experiments were applied to N-acetyl[1,2-¹³C,¹⁵N] -valine, and the peptide φ angle was determined with high precision by the 2D experiment to be ±155.0°±1.2°. The positive one is in good agreement with the X-ray value of 154°±5°. The 1D experiment provided the value of φ=±156.0°±0.8°.     

Investigations on the scattering of α-particles on Li

Excitation functions of α-scattering on ⁷Li leading to the ground and first excited states have been measured in the bombarding energy regions 8.6–12.5 MeV and 17.0–22.5 MeV at c.m. scattering angles of 54.2°, 72.4° and 89.8°. A systematic deviation from smooth behaviour is revealed which, because of its regularity, is attributed to the exchange of a triton cluster between two α-particles.     

Evolution of chirality from γ soft Ru to triaxial Ru

Rotational bands in ^108,110,112Ru have been investigated by means of γ–γ–γ and γ–γ(θ) coincidences of prompt γ rays emitted in the spontaneous fission of ²⁵²Cf. The positive parity bands are described by different versions of IBA, where ¹⁰⁸Ru is best described as a γ-soft nucleus whereas ^110,112Ru are more like rigid triaxial rotors. New ΔI=1 negative parity doublet bands are found. In case of ^110,112Ru, these are interpreted as soft chiral vibrations. Many of the experimental findings can be explained by microscopic calculations that combine the TAC mean-field with random phase approximation but a simple geometrical explanation is not apparent.     

Quantitative Evaluation of the Lactate Signal Loss and Its Spatial Dependence in PRESS Localized H NMR Spectroscopy

Localized ¹H NMR spectroscopy using the 90°−t₁−180°−t₁+t₂−180°−t₂−Acq. PRESS sequence can lead to a signal loss for the lactate doublet compared with signals from uncoupled nuclei which is dependent on the choice of t₁ and t₂. The most striking signal loss of up to 78% of the total signal occurs with the symmetrical PRESS sequence (t₁=t₂) at an echo time of 2/J (290 ms). Calculations have shown that this signal loss is related to the pulse angle distributions produced by the two refocusing pulses which leads to the creation of single quantum polarization transfer (PT) as well as to not directly observable states (NDOS) of the lactate AX₃ spin system: zero- and multiple-quantum coherences, and longitudinal spin orders. In addition, the chemical shift dependent voxel displacement (VOD) leads to further signal loss. By calculating the density operator for various of the echo times TE=n/J, n=1, 2, 3, …, we calculated quantitatively the contributions of these effects to the signal loss as well as their spatial distribution. A maximum signal loss of 75% can be expected from theory for the symmetrical PRESS sequence and TE=2/J for Hamming filtered sinc pulses, whereby 47% are due to the creation of NDOS and up to 28% arise from PT. Taking also the VOD effect into account (2 mT/m slice selection gradients, 20-mm slices) leads to 54% signal loss from NDOS and up to 24% from PT, leading to a maximum signal loss of 78%. Using RE-BURP pulses with their more rectangular pulse angle distributions reduces the maximum signal loss to 44%. Experiments at 1.5 T using a lactate solution demonstrated a maximum lactate signal loss for sinc pulses of 82% (52% NDOS, 30% PT) at TE=290 ms using the symmetrical PRESS sequence. The great signal loss and its spatial distribution is of importance for investigations using a symmetrical PRESS sequence at TE=2/J.     

Search for anomalous production of single photons at and 136 GeV

This letter reports the results of the measurement of single photon production in the reaction e⁺e⁻ → γ+ invisible particles at centre-of-mass energies and 136 GeV and an integrated luminosity of 5.83 pb⁻¹, collected with the DELPHI detector at LEP. The signal is compatible with the prediction of the Standard Model for the process , and the number of neutrino families has been determined to be N_ν = 3.1 ± 0.6. Limits have been derived on anomalous neutral gauge boson couplings and on compositeness in the framework of a specific model.     

Elementary reactions of formyl (HCO) radical studied by laser photolysis—transient absorption spectroscopy

Several elementary reactions of formyl radical of combustion importance were studied using pulsed laser photolysis coupled to transient UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy: HCO → H + CO (1), HCO + HCO → products (2), and HCO + CH₃ → products (3). One-pass UV absorption, multi-pass UV absorption as well as cavity ring-down spectroscopy in the red spectral region were used to monitor temporal profiles of HCO radical. Reaction (1) was studied over the buffer gas (He) pressure range 0.8–100 bar and the temperature range 498–769 K. Reactions (2a), (2b), (2c), (3a) and (3b) as well as the UV absorption spectrum of HCO, were studied at 298 and 588 K, and the buffer gas (He) pressure of 1 bar. Pulsed laser photolysis (308, 320, and 193 nm) of acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, and acetone was used to prepare mixtures of free radicals. The second-order rate constant of reaction (1) obtained from the data at 1 bar is: k₁(He) = (0.8 ± 0.4) × 10⁻¹⁰exp(−(66.0 ± 3.4) kJ mol⁻¹/RT) cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹. The HCO dissociation rate constants measured in this work are lower than those reported in the previous direct work. The difference is a factor of 2.2 at the highest temperature of the experiments and a factor of 3.5 at the low end. The experimental data indicate pressure dependence of the rate constant of dissociation of formyl radical 1, which was attributed to the early pressure fall-off expected based on the theory of isolated resonances. The UV absorption spectrum of HCO was revised. The maximum absorption cross-section of HCO is (7.3 ± 1.2) × 10⁻¹⁸ cm² molecule⁻¹ at 230 nm (temperature independent within the experimental error). The measured rate constants for reactions (2a), (2b), (2c), (3a) and (3b) are: k₂ = (3.6 ± 0.8) × 10⁻¹¹ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹ (298 K); k₃ = (9.3 ± 2.3) × 10⁻¹¹ cm³ molecule⁻¹ s⁻¹(298 and 588 K).     

N Chemical Shift Tensor Magnitude and Orientation in the Molecular Frame of Uracil Determined via MAS NMR

The potential of heteronuclear MAS NMR spectroscopy for the characterization of ¹⁵N chemical shift (CS) tensors in multiply labeled systems has been illustrated, in one of the first studies of this type, by a measurement of the chemical shift tensor magnitude and orientation in the molecular frame for the two ¹⁵N sites of uracil. Employing polycrystalline samples of ¹⁵N₂ and 2-¹³C,¹⁵N₂-labeled uracil, we have measured, via ¹⁵N–¹³C REDOR and ¹⁵N–¹H dipolar-shift experiments, the polar and azimuthal angles (θ, ψ) of orientation of the ¹⁵N–¹³C and ¹⁵N–¹H dipolar vectors in the ¹⁵N CS tensor frame. The (θ_NC, ψ_NC) angles are determined to be (92 ± 10°, 100 ± 5°) and (132 ± 3°, 88 ± 10°) for the N1 and N3 sites, respectively. Similarly, (θ_NH, ψ_NH) are found to be (15 ± 5°, −80 ± 10°) and (15 ± 5°, 90 ± 10°) for the N1 and N3 sites, respectively. These results obtained based only on MAS NMR measurements have been compared with the data reported in the literature.     

A new level at 192.5 keV in Ge

In the experiments on ⁷⁴Ge(d, pγ)⁷⁵Ge, a 52.5±0.1 keV γ-ray was found in ⁷⁵Ge with a half-life of 216±5 ns. From the analysis of the γ-ray spectra the conversion coefficient of the 52.5 keV γ-ray was determined. Then, a new level of is confirmed to exist at 192.5 keV. The reduced transition probabilities of the 52.5 keV transition are deduced to be (6.9^+5.6 _−2.1) × 10⁻⁵ for B(M1) and 31⁺³ ₋₂ for B(E2) in Weisskopf units.     

Microfabricated evanescent-light funnel with high-intensity cold atom flux

We process a silicon-on-insulator substrate into a funnel with a 25-μm-side square-shaped outlet by photolithography and anisotropic chemical etching. The funnel is utilized to form a cold atomic beam by means of reflection and cooling on repulsive evanescent light. Monte Carlo simulations show that the flux intensity of emitted cold Rb atoms reaches 10¹² cm⁻² s⁻¹. The mean horizontal velocity is estimated to be below 10 cm/s, while the mean vertical velocity decreases in proportion to the outlet side. The evanescent-light funnel can be developed to concentrate 80% of Rb atoms falling from a standard magneto-optical trap.     

Observation of the π(1800) and (1880) mesons in decay

A partial-wave analysis of the reaction π⁻p→ηηπ⁻p at 18 GeV/c has been performed on a data sample of approximately 4000 events obtained by Brookhaven experiment E852. The J^PC=0⁻⁺π(1800) state is observed in the a₀(980)η and f₀(1500)π decay modes. It has a mass of 1876±18±16 MeV/c² and a width of 221±26±38 MeV/c². The J^PC=2⁻⁺π₂(1880) meson is observed decaying through a₂(1320)η. It has a mass of 1929±24±18 MeV/c² and a width of 323±87±43 MeV/c². Both states are potential candidates for non-exotic hybrid mesons.     

Preequilibrium α-emission in the Au(p,αx)-reaction at Ep = 72 MeV

Proton-induced α-spectra from ¹⁹⁷Au have been measured at E_p = 72.3 MeV and the angle-integrated cross section is compared to an exciton model Monte-Carlo calculation and to the spectral distribution of α-particles emitted after the absorption of negative pions at rest.