Experimental study of the decay φ→ηγ in multiphoton final state

The φ(1020)→ηγ→3π ⁰ γ decay is studied in the SND experiment at the VEPP-2M e ⁺ e ⁻ collider. The measurements give a branching ratio Bφ→ ηγ)=(1.246±0.025±0.057)%. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 68, No. 7, 549–551 (10 October 1998) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Relaxation and shift of the precession frequency of the spin of a negative muon in n-type silicon

The residual polarization of negative muons in n-type silicon with impurity density (1.6±0.2) · 10¹³ cm⁻³ is investigated as a function of temperature in the range 10–300 K. The measurements are performed in an external magnetic field of 0.08 T oriented transversely to the spin of the muons. Relaxation of the muon spin and a shift of the precession frequency are observed at temperatures below 30 K. The relaxation rate at 30 K equals 0.25±0.08 μs⁻¹. The shift of the precession frequency at 20 K equals 7 · 10⁻³. Both the relaxation rate and the shift of the precession frequency increase as the temperature decreases. At temperatures below 30 K the relaxation rate is described well by the relation Λ=bT ^−q , where q=2.8±0.2. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 63, No. 7, 539–543 (10 April 1996)     

Total rates of nuclear capture of negative muons in the isotopes 132Xe and 40Ar

The lifetimes of a negative muon in the isotopes ¹³²Xe and ⁴⁰Ar in the solid phase are measured. The lifetime of μ ⁻ in the 1s state of the isotope ¹³²Xe is τ(¹³²Xe)=101.7±1.7 ns, which corresponds to a total nuclear capture rate Λ_c(¹³²Xe)=9.4±0.2 μs⁻¹. The lifetime of μ ⁻ in the isotope ⁴⁰Ar, viz., τ (⁴⁰Ar)=568±6 ns, corresponding to a capture rate Λ_c(⁴⁰Ar)=1.31±0.01 μs⁻¹, is obtained to several times better accuracy as compared to previously published results. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 69, No. 3, 181–183 (10 February 1999)     

Spin susceptibility of neutron-irradiation-disordered YBa2Cu3O6.9 in the normal and superconducting states

The spin-spin relaxation rate ⁶³ T ₂ ⁻¹ of ⁶³Cu nuclei in CuO₂ layers is measured in the normal and superconducting states of the compound YBa₂Cu₃O_6.9 (T _c ^onset =94 K) subjected to radiation-induced disordering by a fast-neutron flux Φ to T _c ^onset =68 K (Φ=7×10¹⁸ cm⁻²) and T _c ^onset <4 K (Φ=12×10¹⁸ cm⁻²). It is found that as the structural disorder increases, the contribution of the indirect spin-spin interaction ⁶³ T _2G ⁻¹ , which is related to the value of the spin susceptibility at the boundary of the Brillouin zone of the copper planes χ_s(q={π/a; π/a}), decreases slightly at the transition to the superconducting state for the initial sample and remains unchanged for the weakly disordered sample. This behavior of the short-wavelength contribution to the spin susceptibility attests to the stability of the x ²−y ² symmetry of the energy gap against structural disorder, in accordance with proposed theoretical models of Cooper pairing for high-T _c cuprates. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 3, 172–177 (10 February 1998)     

Fine structure of splitting of the separatrix of a nonlinear resonance

This report is a continuation of an analysis, initiated elsewhere V.V. Vecheslavov and B. V. Chirikov, Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 114, 1516 (1998) [JETP 86, 823 (1998)], of the effect of splitting of the separatrix of a nonlinear resonance for the model of standard mapping, based on results of direct measurements of the splitting angle α(K), where K is the system parameter. Measurements were made in the previously used wide range 0.1≳α≳10⁻²⁰⁸ (1⩾K⩾0.0004), but with significantly higher relative (better than 10⁵⁰) and average (∼10⁻⁵⁵) accuracy. This procedure made it possible to substantially refine the effects observed in Ref. 1 and construct qualitatively new empirical dependences providing reliable extrapolation of the data obtained for the angle and the invariant in the intermediate asymptotic limit K≲10⁻² beyond the limits of the investigated region. The results obtained by us can be useful for further development of the theory of separatrix splitting and formation of the stochastic layer of a nonlinear resonance. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 116, 336–346 (July 1999)     

Progress in pion-decay channelling: Refractory bcc metals at high and low temperatures

By means of π⁺/μ⁺ channelling, positive pions (π⁺) implanted intoTa, Mo, andW are investigated up to high temperatures. A striking observation is that the channelling effect disappears in a rather narrow temperature interval centred at 0.26 (Ta) to 0.51 (W) of the melting temperature. From studies of π⁺ trapping by oxygen atoms inTa estimates for the low-temperature π⁺ diffusivity inTa [D _π(23K)=1.4·10^−10±0.3 m²s⁻¹,D _π(47K)=5.7·10^−10±0.3 m²s⁻¹] as well as for the binding enthalpy of π⁺ to 0 atoms (H _B=7·10⁻² eV) have been obtained. The diffusion data are in reasonable agreement with the theory of phonon-assisted tunnelling.     

Molecular Stark effect spectroscopy of diflavonol and inhomogeneous broadening of its electronic spectra in erythrocyte membranes

Using spectroscopy of the molecular Stark effect and fluorescence spectroscopy, we study the characteristics of diflavonol 3,7-dihydroxy-2,8-di(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-4H,6H-pyrano[3,2-g]chromene-4,6-dione (DFME), which demonstrates intramolecular charge and proton phototransfer. In the ground state, this dye has only one form and, in the excited state, it has two forms, i.e., normal and phototautomeric. We found that, for the normal form of DFME, the transition dipole moment that is responsible for the absorption (m _a ), the dipole moment in the equilibrium ground state (μ _g ), and the change of the dipole moment upon transition of the molecule in the excited Franck-Condon state (Δ ^a μ) are parallel. In the ground equilibrium state, the dipole moments in 1,4-dioxane and cyclohexane are equal to μg = 12.2 × 10⁻³⁰ C m and μ _g = 11.0 × 10⁻³⁰ C m, respectively. Upon excitation, they increase by Δ ^a μ = 61 × 10⁻³⁰ C m and Δ ^a μ = 50.2 × 10⁻³⁰ C m in these solvents. We study the spectral characteristics of DFME in organic solvents and erythrocyte membranes. A spectral inhomogeneity of DFME in erythrocyte ghosts is found. The inhomogeneous broadening of fluorescence spectra is manifested as a long-wavelength shift of the band of the normal form of DFME by 1640 cm⁻¹ upon excitation at the red edge of the absorption spectrum.     

Symmetries and causes of the coincidence of the emission spectra of mirrors and charges in 1+1 and 3+1 spaces

This paper discusses the symmetry of the wave field that lies to the right and left of a two-sided accelerated mirror in 1+1 space and satisfies a single condition on it. The symmetry is embodied in the Bogolyubov matrix coefficients α and β that connect the two complete sets of solutions of the wave equations. The amplitudes of the quantum processes in the right and left half-spaces are expressed in terms of α and β and are related to each other by the transformation (12). The coefficient β _ω′ω ^* plays the role of the source amplitude of a pair of oppositely directed particles with frequencies ω and ω′ of which one is in the left half-space and the other is in the right half-space because one of them has undergone reflection. Such an interpretation makes β _ω′ω ^* observable and explains why, as shown by Eq. (1) and found earlier by Nikishov and Ritus [Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 108, 1121 (1995); transl. JETP 81, 615 (1995)] and by Ritus [Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 110, 526 (1996); transl. JETP 83, 282 (1996)], the emission spectra of a mirror in 1+1 space coincide with those of charges in 3+1 space. The reason is that the angular momentum of the pair emitted by the mirror coincides with the angular momentum of the single particle emitted by the charge. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 114, 46–62 (July 1998)     

Crystallization of a dusty plasma in the positive column of a glow discharge

The formation of macroscopic ordered structures in the standing striations of a stationary glow discharge in Ne is observed. A Coulomb quasicrystal is formed by spherical glass particles with diameters of 50–63 μm and charge Z _p~7·10⁵ e. The interparticle distance is approximately 300 μm. This corresponds to a nonideality parameter Γ~5·10⁴, which leads to crystallization in the Yukawa model. The factors leading to the formation of a quasicrystal in the striations are discussed. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 2, 86–91 (25 July 1996)     

Investigation of the turbulent mixing of thin layers of materials of different density during the laser acceleration of flat multilayer targets in the Iskra-4 facility

The results of the first experiments devised to investigate the mixing of thin layers of Al and Au during the laser acceleration of flat three-layer targets of Si (5 μm), Al (2 μm), and Au (0.05–0.26 μm) by radiation converted to the second harmonic from the Iskra-4 iodine laser with an intensity of 4×10¹³−7×10¹³ W/cm² (τ _0.5∼1 ns), which acts on the Si side of the target. A method for detecting the occurrence of mixing is developed. It is established that under the experimental conditions the thickness of the mixing region is at least ∼0.15 μm. The results of a theoretical analysis of the evolution of the disturbances leading to mixing are presented. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 111, 882–888 (March 1997) Deceased.     

Relaxation of the conductivity of CsI-Tl after excitation by subnanosecond electron pulses

The pulsed conductivity is investigated for a CsI-Tl crystal having a Tl⁺ concentration N=8×10¹⁷cm⁻³ and excited by an electron beam (0.2 MeV, 50 ps, 10²–10⁴ A/cm ²). It is shown that the amplitude of the conduction current pulse is almost an order of magnitude lower than for “pure” CsI crystals irradiated under like conditions. The conduction current relaxation time is preserved up to τ=100 ps in this case. Under the experimental conditions, therefore, the lifetime of electrons in the conduction band is controlled by trapping at Tl⁺ centers. The electron capture cross section at a Tl⁺ center is determined: σ=7×10⁻¹⁶ cm², which agrees in order of magnitude with estimates of the capture cross section for a neutral trapping center. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 66–67 (January 1998)     

Determination of the neutron electric form factor from the reaction 3 He(e,e'n) at medium momentum transfer

The electric form factor of the neutron G_En has been determined in double polarized exclusive ³ He(e,e'n) scattering in quasi–elastic kinematics by measuring asymmetries A _⊥, A _∥ of the cross section with respect to helicity reversal of the electron, with the nuclear spin being oriented perpendicular to the momentum transfer q in case of A_⊥ and parallel in case of A_∥. The experiment was performed at the 855 MeV c. w. microtron MAMI at Mainz. The degree of polarization of the electron beam and of the gaseous ³ He target were each about 50%. Scattered electrons and neutrons were detected in coincidence by detector arrays covering large solid angles. Quasi–elastic scattering events were reconstructed from the measured electron scattering angles ϑ_e, φ_e and the neutron momentum vector p _n ^′ in the plane wave impulse approximation. We obtain the result <G _En>_{(0.27 < Q2c2/GeV2 < 0.5)}= 0.0334 ± 0.0033_stat± 0.0028_syst which is averaged over the indicated range of Q ², the squared momentum transfer. This G _En value is significantly smaller than measured from the D(e,e'n) reaction under similar kinematical conditions. To what extent final state interactions in ³He quench the G _En result is subject of calculations currently in progress elsewhere. Received: 29 April 1999     

Photophysics and Electrochemistry of some Thione Far-Red/Near-IR Triplet Emitters

The photophysics and cyclic voltammetry of two novel phosphorescent thiones, 2,2-dimethyl-indan-1-one-3-thione (DMIKT) and 2,2-dimethyl-indan-1,3-dithione (DMIDT), and three known phosphorescent thiones, 4H-pyran-4-thione (PT), 4H-1-benzopyran-4-thione (BPT) and 2,2-dimethylindan-1-thione (DMIT), have been characterised and compared. The phosphorescence emission of DMIT, DMIKT and DMIDT extends from the red into the near-IR spectral region. The additional carbonyl or thione group of DMIKT and DMIDT causes a significant shift in the emission maxima to 680 nm compared to that of DMIT, at 637 nm, in perfluorinated hydrocarbons. In acetonitrile the emission maxima of DMIKT and DMIDT are at 696 and 706 nm, respectively, and the spectra show vibronic bands which extend out beyond 850 nm. There is a significant reduction in triplet lifetime along this series (from 44 (±2) μs (DMIT) to 10 ((±0.8) μs (DMIKT) in perfluorinated solvents, and 8.6 (±0.5) (DMIT), 1.3 (±0.5) (DMIKT) and 0.35 (±0.07) μs (DMIDT) in acetonitrile), as well as a reduction in the rate constant for ground-state quenching of the triplet, (from 9.8 ((±0.9) to 3.5 ((±0.6) and 1.3 ((±0.2) × 10⁹ mol⁻¹ dm³ s⁻¹ for the same compounds). The addition of the C=O or C=S groups also causes a decrease in phosphorescence quantum yield with the highest emission quantum yield obtained for DMIT (Φ _P = 0.149 (±0.015)). Electrochemical studies show that while PT and BPT exhibit irreversible redox behaviour, DMIT, DMIKT and DMIDT all show at least one reversible reduction wave attributed to a one-electron process centred on the C=S moiety. The suitability of these lumophores for use in OLEDs is discussed.     

Experimental determination of the rate constant for spin exchange in collisions of polarized metastable helium atoms with ground-state cesium atoms

The rate constant for spin exchange in a system consisting of a metastable helium atom and an alkali-metal atom is determined. An experiment on optical orientation of atoms established that the rate constant for spin exchange in a collision of a metastable 2³ S ₁ helium atom with a cesium atom in the 6² S _1/2 ground state equals (2.8±0.8)×10⁻⁹ cm³ s⁻¹. The rate constant for chemoionization of cesium atoms by metastable helium atoms was determined at the same time to be (1.0±0.3)×10⁹ cm³s⁻¹. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 66, No. 3, 145–148 (10 August 1997)     

Effect of magnetic field on the sound velocity of a dilute Kramers-ion glass at low temperature

Recent results on the effect of magnetic field on the sound velocity V in aluminosilicate glasses doped with dysprosium are analyzed on the basis of a minimal model for the ground state of Dy³⁺ (Kramers ion with J=15/2) described by a wave function ϕ _± = ϕ _± J _m + ηϕ _{± 1/2}. The first term represents a state with a large J projection on the local crystal field axis and the random parameter η(〈η〉=0, 〈η ²〉≪1) introduces a small admixture of the state ϕ _±1/2 into the ground state. The relative variation of V due to the resonance interaction of sound waves with this state split by H is determined as a function of H and T. It possesses a universal asymptotic behavior. Our results are in reasonable agreement with the experiment. A possible structure of the crystal fields that can induce this state is discussed. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 65, No. 4, 341–346 (25 February 1997) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Bound states of the muon-antimuon system: Lifetimes and hyperfine splitting

We examine the properties of an atomic system consisting of a muon and antimuon. Expressions are derived for the probability of decay and the hyperfine splitting of the lower levels with allowance for the leading radiative corrections, which are of relative order α. The results for the lifetimes and the ground-state energy are τ(1³ S ₁)=1.7907(8)×10⁻¹² s, τ(1¹ S ₀)=0.59547(33)×10⁻¹² s, and E _hfs (1s)=4.23284(35)×10⁷ MHz. The relative probabilities for the various decay channels are calculated; in particular, for the 1 ³ S ₁ level it is found that Γ (μμ→eeγ)/Γ(μμ→ee)≈15%. Finally, possible applications are discussed. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 113, 409–431 (February 1998)     

Born Reciprocity and the 1/r Potential

Many structures in nature are invariant under the transformation pair, (p,r)→(b  r,−p/b), where b is some scale factor. Born’s reciprocity hypothesis affirms that this invariance extends to the entire Hamiltonian and equations of motion. We investigate this idea for atomic physics and galactic motion, where one is basically dealing with a 1/r potential and the observations are very accurate, so as to determine the scale b≡mΩ. We find that an Ω∼1.5×10⁻¹⁵ s⁻¹ has essentially no effect on atomic physics but might possibly offer an explanation for galactic rotation, without invoking dark matter.     

Temporal structure of the muon disk at large distances from the axis of extensive air showers with E 0⩾6 ×1016eV

Preliminary results are reported from an investigation of the temporal structure of the muon disk in extensive air showers (EASs) with primary energy E ₀≥6×10¹⁶eV at distances 100–1500 m from the axis. The investigation is performed at the Yakutsk array using the large muon detector, which commenced operation in November 1995, with a planned area 184 m² and a detection threshold E _μ≈0.5· sec θ GeV. For E ₀>10¹⁸eV it is found that the thickness of the muon disk tends to decrease. This requires substantial changes in our notions of the development of EASs. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 6, 361–366 (25 March 1998)     

The ρ ±−ρ 0 mass splitting problem

The problem of the ρ ^±−ρ ⁰mass splitting is discussed. It is suggested to use the φ→ρπ→3π decay to measure the ρ ^±−ρ ⁰ mass splitting. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 69, No. 1, 8–11 (10 January 1999) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Polarization of leading Λ hyperons produced by neutrons on target nuclei

The polarization of the leading Λ hyperons produced on carbon and lead target nuclei by 4–10 GeV neutrons in the angle range Θ<8.5° with respect to the beam and with only neutral-particle accompaniment is measured: 〈Π〉=−0.096±0.018 for C and 〈Π〉=− 0.128±0.047 for Pb. The dependence of the polarization on the transverse momentum and the Feynman variable is measured. The normalized invariant cross section as a function of p _⊥ ² is found to be approximated by the function A exp(−Bp _⊥ ² ), where the parameter B is independent of the kind of nucleus (B=8.71±0.09 (GeV/c)⁻² for carbon and B=8.83±0.18 (GeV/c)⁻² for lead). Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 4, 237–240 (25 August 1996)