Dielectric investigation of the temperature dependence of the nonexponentiality of the dynamics of polymer melts

Using broad band dielectric spectroscopy (10(-5)-10(9) Hz), combining time domain and frequency domain techniques, we study the temperature dependence of the non-Debye character of the alpha relaxation of polymer melts in the glass transition temperature T(g) range. The alpha relaxation process is described in terms of the Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts relaxation function which has a single parameter beta to characterize the nonexponentiality of the relaxation. At high temperatures, beta remains nearly insensitive to temperature changes, whereas in the vicinity of T(g) a nearly linear increasing of beta with temperature is found. The temperature range where the change of the beta(T) behavior occurs is located for all the polymers investigated around 1.2T(g). Moreover, our results indicate a common value of beta approximately equal to 1/3 at the temperature where the relaxation time diverges. The beta(T) behavior near T(g) is discussed in terms of a "rugged landscape" phase space which allows us to rationalize both the beta(T) behavior observed as well as the similarities of our findings near T(g) with the results reported in simulations on Ising spin glasses and other model systems.     

Theoretical Study of the Electronic Structure of the KRb Molecule

Upon request of experimentalists now engaged in high-resolution spectroscopic investigations of the molecule KRb, we have determined the potential energy of electronic states (2S+1)Lambda((+)) correlating up to the limit K(5p) + Rb(5s) and of electronic states Omega((+/-)) correlating up to the limit K(4s) + Rb(4d(2)D(3/2)) in a large range of internuclear distance R. For the five states so far observed, the agreement between calculated and experimental molecular constants is good with DeltaR(e) < 0.08 ?, Deltaomega(e) < 6 cm(-1), and DeltaT(e) < 140 cm(-1). Extensive numerical data for energies versus R have been listed in a data base available at http://www.idealibrary.com. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Unraveling the symmetry of the hole states near the Fermi level in the MgB2 superconductor

We use x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) to study the fine structure at the K edge of boron in MgB(2). We observe in XAS a peak of width 0.7 eV at the edge threshold, signaling a narrow energy region with empty boron p states near the Fermi level. The changes in the near edge structure observed in EELS with direction of the momentum transfer imply that these states have p(x)p(y) symmetry. Our observations are consistent with electronic structure calculations indicating a narrow energy window of empty p(x)p(y) states that falls to zero at 0.8 eV above the Fermi level. The disappearance of the p(x)p(y) feature in EELS at grain boundaries suggests that this signature may become powerful in probing superconductivity at nanoscale.     

Change of the catalytic activity of copper(II) chelates in the decomposition of hydroperoxides depending on the nature of the solvent

A fundamental difference in the catalytic activity of complex compounds of copper(II), bis(2-phenyliminomethylene-3-hydroxybenzyl[b]thiophenate) copper(II) (CuL₂) and bis(2-acetylacetonate) copper(II) (Cu(acac)₂), in the decomposition of cyclohexenyl and tetralyl hydroperoxides in solvents of different natures is established. Aprotic solvent chlorobenzene and ethanol, capable of forming intermolecular hydrogen bonds, are used. In chlorobenzene, catalyst deactivation occurs at a small depth of conversion of hydroperoxides, while in alcohol, no deactivation is observed. A possible mechanism explaining the absence of catalyst passivation in an alcoholic medium is proposed.     

Determination of the width of the top quark

We extract the total width of the top quark, Γ(t), from the partial decay width Γ(t → Wb) measured using the t-channel cross section for single top-quark production and from the branching fraction B(t → Wb) measured in tt events using up to 2.3 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity collected by the D0 Collaboration at the Tevatron pp Collider. The result is Γ(t) = 1.99(-0.55)(+0.69) GeV, which translates to a top-quark lifetime of τ(t) = (3.3(-0.9)(+1.3)) × 10(-25) s. Assuming a high mass fourth generation b' quark and unitarity of the four-generation quark-mixing matrix, we set the first upper limit on |V(tb')| < 0.63 at 95% C.L.     

Consequences of the Noncompactness of the Lorentz group

The following four statements for indefinitemetrics of Lorentz signature do not possess an analogousstatement in the definite Euclidean signature case: (1)All curvature invariants of a gravitational wave vanish, in spite of the fact that itrepresents a nonflat spacetime. (2) The eigennullframecomponents of the curvature tensor (the Cartanscalars) do not represent curvaturescalars. (3) The Euclidean topology in the Minkowskispacetime doesnot possessa basis composedofLorentzinvariant neighborhoods. (4) There are pointsin the de Sitter spacetime which cannot be joined toeach other by any geodesic. We show that these fourstatements all follow from the noncompactness of theLorentz group. We conclude that the popular (and oftenuseful) imaginary-coordinate rotation from Euclidean to Lorentzian signature (called Wick rotation) isnot an isomorphism.     

Dependence of the anomalous fading of the TL and blue-OSL of fluorapatite on the occupancy of the tunnelling recombination sites

The anomalous fading (AF) of thermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) signals in Durango apatite is attributed to tunnelling effects. Electrons from the TL and OSL traps in this material are transferred, via a tunnelling effect, to the recombination sites. The availability of recombination sites for tunnelled electrons is of major importance for the degree of AF rate observed in this material. It is expected that a variation of the number of the electron recombination sites will be reflected in the experimentally measured AF rate. In the present work an investigation of the recombination sites for the tunnelled electrons is attempted by studying the AF effect using a special technique, in which the anomalously faded TL (OSL) is replaced by an equal amount of TL (OSL) induced by a beta dose.     

Higgs fields and the determination of the Weinberg angle

SU(2) × U(1) gauge theories, in which the Higgs fields transform as doublets under SU(2) are interpreted as pure Yang-Mills theories in six dimensions, the components of the gauge potentials in the extra dimensions playing the role of the Higgs' fields. Two consistent theories are discovered: one in which SU(2) × U(1) is embedded in SU(3) and the vector bosons remain massless - and another where SU(2) × U(1) is embedded in the graded Lie algebra SU(2|1), the symmetry is spontaneously broken in a natural fashion and the theory is equivalent to that of Weinberg and Salam, with a specific value 30° for the Weinberg angle and a prediction of the Higgs' mass.     

基于高光谱技术的厌氧发酵液固形物含量检测的研究

实时监测发酵液中固形物含量的变化,对控制厌氧发酵过程的稳定性具有重要作用。研究中采用近红外高光谱技术结合化学计量学方法,对水葫芦和稻草秸秆混合厌氧发酵过程中的固形物含量进行定量检测研究。与传统2540G(APHA,1990)标准方法相比,近红外高光谱技术具有无损、快速的优点。实验过程中,首先获取发酵液样本的高光谱信息,应用移动平均平滑法(MAS)进行光谱预处理,并采用竞争自适应重加权采样算法(CARS)、连续投影算法(SPA)和Random frog算法提取光谱特征信息,然后基于全谱和所选特征波长下的光谱信息分别建立总固形物含量(TS)和挥发性固形物含量(VS)的校正模型,建模方法包括偏最小二乘回归(PLSR)和最小二乘-支持向量机(LS-SVM)。研究表明,SPA-LS-SVM模型的预测结果最好,其中TS的预测均方根误差(RMSEP)及相关系数(R_p)分别为0.005 8和0.841;而VS的RMSEP和R_p分别为0.004 1和0.874。结果表明,利用近红外高光谱结合化学计量学方法可以实现厌氧发酵液中的固形物含量的检测,为布置光谱传感器以便定量检测厌氧发酵过程中的固形物含量奠定了理论依据。     

On the Similarity Between the Orientation of the Cross-Field Anisotropy of Small-Scale Irregularities and the Direction of the Plasma Drift in the Ionosphere Over Moscow

Radiophysics and Quantum Electronics - We collate the drift directions of medium-scale irregularities (MSI) and the orientation of the cross-field anisotropy of small-scale irregularities (SSI) in...     

Measurement of the muonic branching fractions of the narrow upsilon resonances

The decay branching fractions of the three narrow Upsilon resonances to mu(+)mu(-) have been measured by analyzing about 4.3 fb(-1) e(+)e(-) data collected with the CLEO III detector. The branching fraction B(Upsilon(1S)-->mu(+)mu(-))=(2.49+/-0.02+/-0.07)% is consistent with the current world average, but B(Upsilon(2S)-->mu(+)mu(-))=(2.03+/-0.03+/-0.08)% and B(Upsilon(3S)-->mu(+)mu(-))=(2.39+/-0.07+/-0.10)% are significantly larger than prior results. These new muonic branching fractions imply a narrower total decay width for the Upsilon(2S) and Upsilon(3S) resonances and lower other branching fractions that rely on these decays in their determination.     

Enhancing the superconducting transition temperature of the heavy fermion compound CeIrIn5 in the absence of spin correlations

We report on a pressure- (P-)induced evolution of superconductivity and spin correlations in CeIrIn(5) via the (115)In nuclear-spin-lattice-relaxation rate measurements. We find that applying pressure suppresses dramatically the antiferromagnetic fluctuations that are strong at ambient pressure. At P = 2.1 GPa, T(c) increases to T(c) = 0.8 K, which is twice T(c) (P = 0 GPa), in the background of Fermi-liquid state. This is in sharp contrast to the previous case in which a negative, chemical pressure (replacing Ir with Rh) enhances magnetic interaction and increases T(c). Our results suggest that multiple mechanisms work to produce superconductivity in the same compound CeIrIn(5).     

Finding the impedance of the organ of Corti

Measurements of the nonlinear response of the basilar membrane to a pure tone are shown to have a simple form for moderate membrane velocities: V(x,f;Vu)/Vu approximately [V(x,f)/Vu]v(x,f), f less than or equal to fc(x), where the response V is the velocity of the membrane at measurement position x, Vu is the umbo velocity, f is the frequency of the stimulus, and fc(x) is the local characteristic frequency. The frequency dependence of the functions v(x,f) and V(x,f) is determined from the data, and v(x,f) and ln V(x,f) are shown to be analytic functions in the lower half of the complex frequency plane, with Re [v(x,f)] a monotonically increasing function of f at fixed x. The linear limit of basilar membrane motion is characterized by a transfer function T(x,f) = (V/V1)v/(1-v), estimated by extrapolating V(x,f;Vu)/Vu to a small membrane velocity V1.T(x,f) and ln T(x,f) are shown to be analytic functions in the lower half of the complex frequency plane. The inverse of the amplitude of the transfer function, which has both a deep dip at f approximately fc(x) and a broad shoulder at lower frequencies, bears a striking resemblance to the neural threshold tuning curve. The functional form of T(x,f) is used to deduce the equation governing the motion of a section of the organ of Corti. Each section acts like a negatively damped harmonic oscillator stabilized at time t by a feedback force proportional to the velocity at the previous time t-tau. The time delay tau is proportional to the oscillator period [tau approximately 1.75/fc(x)]. Like a laser, the organ of Corti pumps energy into harmonic traveling waves. Unlike the laser, the direction of energy flow abruptly reverses as the traveling wave approaches the point of maximum membrane velocity [fc(x) approximately f]. All accumulated wave energy is then pumped back into a small section of the organ of Corti where transduction presumably occurs. Outer hair cells are conjectured to be active elements contributing to the negative damping and feedback of the cochlear amplifier.     

A study of the disintegration of highly excited nuclei with the Vlasov-Uehling-Uhlenbeck equation

The disintegration of hot and/or compressed nuclei is studied using (i) the Vlasov equation (VE) with imposed spherical symmetry, (ii) the VE in three dimensions (3D) and (iii) the VE in three dimensions supplemented by the Uehling-Uhlenbeck collision term (VUU). We find that case (ii) is slightly more unstable with respect to disintegration compared to case (i) whereas (iii) tends to make nuclei more stable. In all cases the thermal energies (15–20 MeV per nucleon) needed to totally disintegrate a nucleus seem to be higher than those found in static and hydrodynamic calculation. On the contrary, compressional energy very much helps disintegration. Some comments on the introduction of fluctuations and corresponding fragmentation are added.     

Measurement of the generalized forward spin polarizabilities of the neutron

The generalized forward spin polarizabilities gamma(0) and delta(LT) of the neutron have been extracted for the first time in a Q2 range from 0.1 to 0.9 GeV2. Since gamma(0) is sensitive to nucleon resonances and delta(LT) is insensitive to the Delta resonance, it is expected that the pair of forward spin polarizabilities should provide benchmark tests of the current understanding of the chiral dynamics of QCD. The new results on delta(LT) show significant disagreement with chiral perturbation theory calculations, while the data for gamma(0) at low Q2 are in good agreement with a next-to-leading-order relativistic baryon chiral perturbation theory calculation. The data show good agreement with the phenomenological MAID model.     

The link between the emergence of the GIM mechanism and the nature of the neutral-current parity violation

We show that minimization of the Higgs potential within the unifying symmetry [SU(4)]⁴ together with the requirement that the GIM mechanism should emerge as a consequence of spontaneous breakdown of the symmetry on the flavor side leaves us with onechoice regarding the nature of parity violation: charged current as well as neutral current parity violations must have one and the same origin; if the former is à la SU(2)_L×U(1), so must be the latter. Furthermore, there appear to be only two possible alternative forms for the low-energy electroweak symmetry: (i) the familiar SU(2)_L×U(1), and (ii) and extended symmetry SU(2)_L×U(1)_L×?(1)_R differing from the former only in the parity-conserving neutral current sector.     

Photodetachment of He- in the vicinity of the two-electron escape threshold

Recording the yield of He(1snl(3)L) Rydberg states for n=11-14, we measure the photodetachment cross sections of metastable He-(1s2s2p(4)P(o)) ions in the vicinity of the two-electron escape threshold. We observe a large number of double Rydberg He- quartet state resonances and report energies and widths of intrashell states in the n=13-15 manifolds. Sharp thresholds are measured at He((3)P(o)) and He((3)D(e)) Rydberg states with preference for population of the former, whereas the He((3)S(e)) states are not populated, in agreement with qualitative theoretical arguments.     

Origin of the enhanced copper spin echo decay rate in the pseudogap regime of the multilayer high-T(c) cuprates

We report measurements of the anisotropy of the spin echo decay for the inner layer Cu site of the triple layer cuprate Hg(0.8)Re(0.2)Ba(2)Ca(2)Cu(3)O(8) (T(c)=126 K). The angular dependence of the second moment (T(-2)(2M) identical with ) deduced from the decay curves indicates that T(-2)(2M) for H0 parallel c is enhanced in the pseudogap regime below T(pg) approximately 170 K, as seen in bilayer systems. Comparison of T(-2)(2M) between H0 parallel c and H0 perpendicular c indicates that this enhancement is caused by electron spin correlations between the inner and the outer CuO2 layers. The results provide the answer to the long-standing controversy regarding the opposite T dependences of (T1T)(-1) and T(-2)(2G) (T(2G): Gaussian component) in the pseudogap regime of multilayer systems.     

Exploring the low-Z shore of the island of inversion at n=19

The technique of invariant mass spectroscopy has been used to measure, for the first time, the ground state energy of neutron-unbound (28)F, determined to be a resonance in the (27)F+n continuum at 220(50) keV. States in (28)F were populated by the reactions of a 62 MeV/u (29)Ne beam impinging on a 288 mg/cm(2) beryllium target. The measured (28)F ground state energy is in good agreement with USDA/USDB shell model predictions, indicating that pf shell intruder configurations play only a small role in the ground state structure of (28)F and establishing a low-Z boundary of the island of inversion for N=19 isotones.     

NMR imaging study of the pharmacodynamics of polylysine-gadolinium-DTPA in the rabbit and the rat

The pharmacodynamics of polylysine-(Gd-DTPA) (Schering, Berlin, Germany), a new blood pooling contrast agent for MRI, were studied in the rabbit and the rat. Polylysine-(Gd-DTPA) is a compound with high LD50. Due to its high molecular weight (50.000) and physico-chemical properties, it remains in the vascular system; during the first hour, the plasma level is three times higher than for Gd-DTPA. MRI was performed at 1.5 T using a SE sequence with TR/TE = 300/15 or 20 msec. Signal intensities of muscle, liver and kidney were measured before and after intravenous injection of the contrast agent (0.1 mmol/kg) during 8 hours in the rat (n = 3) and up to 2 wk in the rabbit (n = 3). A dose response study in three additional rabbits confirmed that the 0.1 mmol/kg dose was optimal. The pharmacodynamics results show that the effects of polylysine-(Gd-DTPA) are similar in both the rabbit and the rat. The liver signal is enhanced by about 60% immediately after injection in both species. This enhanced signal decays to half its maximal value in about one hour, which makes the contrast agent useful for clinical applications at a dose of 0.1 mmol/kg. In the kidney medulla and cortex the signals are enhanced by much larger factors (about 3 to 4); it takes at least one day for the kidney to clear the contrast agent in both species.