Evidence for suppressed screening on the surface of high temperature La(2-x)SrxCuO4 and Nd2(2-x)CexCuO4 superconductors

Hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (PES) of Cu core electronic states, with a probing depth of approximately 60 A, is used to show that the Zhang-Rice singlet feature is present in La2CuO4 but is absent in Nd2CuO4. Hole and electron doping in La(2-x)SrxCuO4 (LSCO) and Nd(2-x)CexCuO4 (NCCO) result in new well-screened features which are missing in soft x-ray PES. Impurity Anderson model calculations establish screening from doped states as its origin, which is strongly suppressed within 15 A of the surface. Complemented with x-ray absorption spectroscopy, the small chemical-potential shift in core levels (approximately 0.2 eV) are shown to be consistent with modifications of valence and conduction band states spanning the band gap (approximately 1 eV) upon hole and electron doping in LSCO and NCCO.     

Two- to three-dimensional crossover in the electronic structure of (Bi, Pb)2(Sr, La)2CuO(6+delta) from angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy

The hole-concentration (x) dependence of the three-dimensional energy-momentum dispersion in (Bi, Pb)2(Sr, La)2CuO(6+delta) has been investigated by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. For a heavily overdoped sample of T(c) < or = 0.5 K, an energy dispersion of approximately 10 meV in width is observed in the vicinity of the (pi, 0) point with varying momentum along the c axis (k(z)). This k(z) dispersion is zero for underdoped, optimally doped, and slightly overdoped samples up to a doping level corresponding to T(c) = 22 k. At higher doping levels we observe significant dispersion of the order of 10 meV (sample with T(c) < or = 0.5 K). This is clear evidence that at a doping value corresponding to T(c) = 22 K, a crossover from two- to three-dimensional electronic structure occurs.     

Spin-echo fluorine magnetic resonance imaging at 2 T: in vivo spatial distribution of halothane in the rabbit head

Spin-echo 19F magnetic resonance imaging was performed at 2.0 T to explore the in vivo spatial distribution of halothane in the rabbit head. Because the halothane concentration is low in vivo, and because the measured relaxation times of the 19F resonance peak for halothane were T1 approximately equal to 1.0 sec and T2 approximately equal to 3.5-65 msec, 1-3-h imaging times were required (TR = 1 sec, TE = 9 msec) in order to obtain adequate images with a 64 X 256 raw data matrix and a 20-mm slice thickness. With this technique, halothane was primarily detected in lipophilic regions of the rabbit head, but little or no halothane was observed in brain tissue. Because T2 was shorter in brain tissue than in surrounding fat, a shorter TE than we could obtain is needed for optimal spin-echo imaging of brain halothane.     

Construction of phase cycles of minimum cycle length: MakeCycle

A magnetic resonance imaging method is presented for imaging of heterogeneous broad linewidth materials. This method allows for distortionless relaxation weighted imaging by obtaining multiple phase encoded k-space data points with each RF excitation pulse train. The use of this method, turbo spin echo single-point imaging-(turboSPI), leads to decreased imaging times compared to traditional constant-time imaging techniques, as well as the ability to introduce spin-spin relaxation contrast through the use of longer effective echo times. Imaging times in turboSPI are further decreased through the use of low flip angle steady-state excitation. Two-dimensional images of paramagnetic doped agarose phantoms were obtained, demonstrating the contrast and resolution characteristics of the sequence, and a method for both amplitude and phase deconvolution was demonstrated for use in high-resolution turboSPI imaging. Three-dimensional images of a partially water-saturated porous volcanic aggregate (T(2L) approximately 200 ms, Deltanu(1/2) approximately 2500 Hz) contained in a hardened white Portland cement matrix (T(2L) approximately 0.5 ms, Deltanu(1/2) approximately 2500 Hz) and a water-saturated quartz sand (T(2) approximately 300 ms, T(2)(*) approximately 800 microseconds) are shown.     

Effects of osmotic manipulation of intracellular hydration of HeLa S-3 cells on their proton NMR relaxation times

Pellets of HeLa from suspension cultured cells in isotonic medium (300 mosmolar) were introduced into a Bruker CXP100 NMR spectrophotometer at 80 mHz within 5 min of the start of centrifugation. T1 and T2 times were measured within a total elapsed time of 20-25 min at 80 mHz and 37 degrees C, and averaged 1430 msec and 120 msec, respectively. Extrapolation to zero extracellular space gave a corrected T1 of 1370 msec. For cells collected after 10 min in hypotonic medium (down to 30 mosmolar) increased proton density correlated well with increased cell water content, but relaxation times did not rise in proportion to that predicted for the entry of "bulk" water (T1 of 4700 msec), except when swelling approached lysis point. Cells partially dehydrated by 10 min in hypertonic medium of up to 1500 mosmolar have also been analyzed, but once again the shortening of T1 was not proportional to the loss of "free" (bulk phase) water. At the upper limit of hypertonic treatment, lacunae or vacuoles of a watery nature separated within the cytomatrix, preventing maximum dehydration. The relationship of cell water to T1 is complex over the whole range of tonicity that HeLa S-3 cells tolerate. The data indicate, however, that hypotonically induced water probably has an average T1 time considerably lower than bulk phase water. In contrast, raising the total extracellular volume with medium had precisely the predicted effect on T1 time, further strengthening the case that water taken up by cell acquires a shorter T1 time. Cells adapting to hypotonic conditions oscillated in size and water content over 2-3 hr before returning to near their initial volume. Under these circumstances, T1 oscillated in the same way but with a reduced amplitude, consistent with the above findings.     

Methodology for the measurement and analysis of relaxation times in proton imaging

Measurements of proton T1 and T2 were performed on GdCl3 solutions (20 less than T2 less than 500 msec, 90 less than T1 less than 1000 msec) on large-bore NMR imaging systems operating at 1.0T and 1.5T. CPMG multi-echo (ME), multiple saturation recovery (MSR) and modified fast inversion recovery (MFIR) pulse sequences as well as a sequence that combines and interleaves T1 and T2 weighted data acquisition (which we call "multiple saturation-recovery multiple-echo" (MSRME) were used. The relaxation data are compared to those obtained on a small bore NMR spectrometer operated at 1.5T. T1 and T2 values for the solutions were found to be the same within 10% for the two fields. Reproducibility of measurements of T1, T2 and the unnormalized spin density of the solutions was better than 5%. Systematic errors, amenable to correction through calibration, are noted in the imager T1 and T2 values. T1 and T2 values for some typical neural tissues at 1.5T and body tissue at 1.0T for human volunteers were obtained and are tabulated.     

Phase-encoding strategies for optimal spatial resolution and T1 accuracy in 3D Look-Locker imaging

The Look-Locker (LL) imaging method provides an accurate and efficient approach for mapping the spin-lattice relaxation time, T(1). However, the same recovery of signal during LL image acquisition required to estimate T(1) also results in unwanted modulation of k-space. This is particularly problematic with 3D LL imaging as the number of phase-encoding steps during the recovery interval (e.g., 16) increases in an effort to reduce imaging times. This modulation of k-space has the effect of introducing a point spread function (PSF), which can lead to either image blurring (if the earlier tip angles are assigned to the centre of k-space) or edge enhancement (if the earlier tip angles are assigned to the edges of k-space), thus corrupting T(1) estimation, particularly for small objects. In this study, the PSF and its effect on the acquired images for four different interleaved phase-encode schemes (centric-in, centric-out, sequential and hybrid-sequential) are simulated for a range of T(1), tip angle and 3D LL acquisition parameters expected in practice. It is shown by simulation and confirmed experimentally in phantoms that a hybrid sequential phase-encoding scheme reduces image blurring while maintaining T(1) accuracy ( approximately 2%) and precision (2%) over a range of object sizes down to 2 pixels (2 mm).     

Metallic mean-field stripes,incommensurability, and chemical potential in cuprates

We perform a systematic slave-boson mean-field analysis of the three-band model for cuprates with first-principle parameters. Contrary to widespread belief based on earlier mean-field computations low doping stripes have a linear density close to 1/2 added hole per lattice constant. We find a dimensional crossover from 1D to 2D at doping approximately 0.1 followed by a breaking of particle-hole symmetry around doping 1/8 as doping increases. Our results explain in a simple way the behavior of the chemical potential, the magnetic incommensurability, and transport experiments as a function of doping. Bond centered and site-centered stripes become degenerate for small overdoping.     

An MRI tissue equivalent lesion phantom using a novel polysaccharide material

A new polysaccharide material, TX-150, and method is described which will potentially allow formation of stable, multi-compartment MRI phantoms constructed without intervening septa. TX-150 can be made into water based gels which are nominally tissue equivalent. Although contiguous regions of different water content are not possible, as water diffusion will occur until equilibrium is reached, TX-150 gel T1 and T2 values can be adjusted independently, while maintaining a constant water composition, by appropriate additives. Unlike paramagnetic ions and chelates, metal phthalocyanines have been found to bind tightly to TX-150, thus, permitting formation of stable contiguous regions of differing T1 relaxation properties. Phantom T2 values can be effectively modified with 2-2-diphenyl-1 picrylhydrazyl, which has little affect on gel T1 values, to form septumless lesion phantoms of varying T1 and T2.     

Inhomogeneous level splitting in Pr 2-x BixRu2O7

We report that Bi doping drives Pr 2-x BixRu2O7 from an antiferromagnetic insulator (x = 0) to a metallic paramagnet (x approximately 1) with a broad low T maximum in C/T. Neutron scattering reveals local low energy spin excitations (variant Planck's omega approximately 1 meV) with a spectrum that is unaffected by heating to k(B)T > variant Planck's omega. We show that a continuous distribution of splittings of the non-Kramers Pr3+ ground-state doublet such as might result from various types of lattice strain can account for all the data.     

d-wave superconductivity in the hubbard model

The superconducting instabilities of the doped repulsive 2D Hubbard model are studied in the intermediate to strong coupling regime with the help of the dynamical cluster approximation. To solve the effective cluster problem we employ an extended noncrossing approximation, which allows for a transition to the broken symmetry state. At sufficiently low temperatures we find stable d-wave solutions with off-diagonal long-range order. The maximal T(c) approximately 150 K occurs for a doping delta approximately 20% and the doping dependence of the transition temperatures agrees well with the generic high- T(c) phase diagram.     

Emergence of Fermi pockets in a new excitonic charge-density-wave melted superconductor

A superconducting state (T(c) approximately 4.2 K) has very recently been observed upon successful doping of the charge-density-wave (CDW) ordered triangular lattice TiSe(2), with copper. Using state-of-the-art photoemission spectroscopy we identify, for the first time, momentum-space locations of doped electrons that form the Fermi sea of the superconductor. With doping, we find that kinematic nesting volume increases, whereas coherence of the CDW collective order sharply drops. In superconducting doping, as chemical potential rises, we observe the emergence of a large density of states in the form of a narrow electron pocket near the L point of the Brillouin zone with d-like character. The k-space spectral evolution directly demonstrates, for the first time, that the CDW order parameter microscopically competes with superconductivity in the same band.     

In vivo evaluation of the reproducibility of T1 and T2 measured in the brain of patients with multiple sclerosis.

The precision (reproducibility) of relaxation times derived from magnetic resonance images of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) were investigated. Measurements of 10 MS patients were performed at 1.5 T on two occasions within 1 wk. T1 and T2 was measured using a partial saturation inversion recovery sequence (6 points) and a Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill phase alternating-phase shift multiple spin-echo sequence with 32 echoes. Regions of interest (ROI) were placed both in apparently normal white matter and plaques. The precision (+/- 1.96 SD) and the confidence intervals for T1 and T2 for white matter and plaques were calculated. The precision of T1 for white matter and plaques was respectively +/- 94 msec and +/- 208 msec. The precision of T2 for white matter and plaques was respectively +/- 18 msec and +/- 26 msec. For all measurements the coefficient of variation was about 9%. Judging from our own study and others as well, a precision better than 10% for T1 and T2 would seem unrealistic at present.     

Direct comparison of two methods to measure T1: in vitro and in vivo values by echo-planar imaging and by segmented k-space imaging

We test a hypothesis that proton T(1) is accurately measured independent of the physics inherent to the method. We used two well-validated but quite different imaging methods to measure T(1) in phantoms and in humans; an echo-planar imaging T-one measurement (EPITOME) method, and a segmented k-space acquisition precise and accurate inversion recovery (TurboPAIR) method. Agreement between the methods was generally excellent; the square of the correlation coefficient (r(2)) in phantoms was 0.9996. The r(2) in brain tissue of volunteers was 0.79 overall, and 0.85 if cortical gray matter and corpus callosum were excluded. Nevertheless, small but significant differences were observed between methods in vivo and T(1) measurements were sensitive to tissue type, although measurements could be made comparable. The major difference between the methods is that EPITOME takes 97 s to image 15 slices at low resolution, while TurboPAIR takes 240 s to image one slice at high resolution.     

Anomalous electronic Raman scattering in NaxCoO2.yH2O

Raman scattering experiments on NaxCoO2.yH2O single crystals show a broad electronic continuum with a pronounced peak around 100 cm(-1) and a cutoff at approximately 560 cm(-1) over a wide range of doping levels. The electronic Raman spectra in superconducting and nonsuperconducting samples are similar at room temperature, but evolve in markedly different ways with decreasing temperature. For superconducting samples, the low-energy spectral weight is depleted upon cooling below T* approximately 150 K, indicating the opening of a pseudogap that is not present in nonsuperconducting materials. Weak additional phonon modes observed below T* suggest that the pseudogap is associated with charge ordering.     

铁电纳米材料BaTiO_3的激光拉曼光谱分析

铁电纳米材料BaTiO_3具有尺寸均匀,形貌统一的单晶纳米立方体结构。以LRS-Ⅲ型激光拉曼/荧光光谱仪为测量仪器研究其在固体纳米材料BaTiO_3分析中的应用。用碱热法制作得到4种无掺杂铁电纳米材料BaTiO_3,分别标记为纯1、纯2、纯3、纯4,将四种固体纳米材料作为标样待测;另取两个不同浓度Eu(铕)元素掺杂的材料分别标记为掺杂1、掺杂2待测。本实验中,不仅对比分析了不同烧结温度和时间下的固体纳米材料BaTiO_3激光拉曼光谱,并做出了相应的解释说明。与此同时,对掺杂BaTiO_3的也做了拉曼光谱对比分析,研究掺杂对固体材料拉曼谱线的影响。研究结果表明,含有相同成分的固体材料其拉曼谱线相似,且不同掺杂引起拉曼谱线的变化不同。最后用相关系数对掺杂材料和无掺杂材料做了进一步分析。从总体来看类内相关系数较高而类间相关系数较低,但即便掺杂的量比较少,对相关系数也有明显的影响。结合相关系数可以明确地判断出两种物质是否同类,如果已知某一种没有掺杂,那么,就可以很容易地判断出另一种材料中是否有掺杂。     

Dramatic changes in the magnetic coupling mechanism for La-doped CaMnO3

The exchange interactions in polycrystalline samples of Ca1-xLaxMnO3 (0.00< or =x< or =0.05) are studied by means of Raman scattering and electron paramagnetic resonance. Dramatic reductions in the spin-phonon interactions and magnetic correlations are observed for La doping levels as small as approximately 2%-3%. These results show that the charge carriers play an important role in the overall exchange coupling in the electron-doped manganites, even at very low doping levels.     

Relaxation effects in the quantification of fat using gradient echo imaging

Quantification of fat has been investigated using images acquired from multiple gradient echoes. The evolution of the signal with echo time and flip angle was measured in phantoms of known fat and water composition and in 21 research subjects with fatty liver. Data were compared to different models of the signal equation, in which each model makes different assumptions about the T1 and/or T2* relaxation effects. A range of T1, T2*, fat fraction and number of echoes was investigated to cover situations of relevance to clinical imaging. Results indicate that quantification is most accurate at low flip angles (to minimize T1 effects) with a small number of echoes (to minimize spectral broadening effects). At short echo times, the spectral broadening effects manifest as a short apparent T2 for the fat component.     

Temperature-dependent chemical shift and relaxation times of (23)Na in Na(4)HTm[DOTP

We describe the characterization of a (23)Na temperature-dependent chemical shift and relaxation rates in the complex, Na(4)HTm[DOTP]. This is the first characterization of a (23)Na temperature-dependent chemical shift in a nonmetallic sample. The (23)Na temperature-dependent chemical shift coefficient is approximately -0. 5 PPM/ degrees C for both an aqueous solution and a 6% agarose gel of this compound. This is 50 times the magnitude of the temperature-dependent chemical shift coefficient of water protons. The relaxation times, T(1), T(2f), and T(2s) increased by 0.1, 0.01, and 0.05 ms/ degrees C, respectively. Applications of these unique properties for designing an MRI technique for monitoring heat deposition in tissue and tissue phantoms are discussed.     

Disordered nanocrystalline superconducting PbMo6S8 with a very large upper critical field

Large increases in the upper critical field B(C2)(0) are reported in bulk superconductors that demonstrate another novel property for nanocrystalline materials. Disordered nanocrystalline PbMo6S8 superconductors were fabricated by mechanical milling and hot isostatic pressing. Conventional PbMo6S8 has B(C2)(0) approximately 50 T. The nanocrystalline materials have higher resistivity (rho(N)) and B(C2)(0) approximately 100 T. The disorder produced in these nanocrystalline materials is significantly different from that produced by doping because it increases rho(N) and, hence, B(C2)(0) without significantly reducing the electronic density of states or superconducting transition temperature (T(C)). Furthermore, the disorder reduces the electron mean-free path to approximately 1 nm which is more than an order of magnitude smaller than the grain size and necessary to achieve the unprecedented increase in B(C2)(0).