Laser instability below threshold

The zero solution of a semiclassical set of equations describing a perfectly tuned laser-saturable absorber system may not be stable below the previously found threshold. A new type of steady-state solution which oscillates with intensity-dependent frequency has been found.     

Dielectrophoresis in particle confinement: Aligned carbon particles in polymer matrix below percolation threshold

We review preparation and properties of confined, aligned string-like particle assemblies formed by dielectrophoresis under alternating electric fields. Particular attention is placed on carbon particles aligned in the oligomer matrix. In these systems the particle fraction is low, below the isotropic percolation threshold. The matrix is polymerized after alignment, which locks the aligned strings in place. Application examples are discussed including particle separation, conductivity enhancement and piezoresistive sensors.     

Search for charm production in neutron interactions near 250 GeV/c

We have searched for narrow two-body enhancements produced in the forward direction in n-Be interactions near 250 GeV/c. We find no significant signal in any channel and report upper limits for charm production times branching rate to be 200–1000 nb/nucleon for masses in the range 1.7 ? m ? 3.5 GeV/c².     

Direct observations of the decay of beauty particles into charm particles

The associated production of a pair of beauty particles B^? and $\text{B}{}^0$ by a 350 GeV π^? interaction has been observed in an emulsion target inserted in an array of silicon microstrip detectors. Both beauty particles decay into charm particles, both of which are also observed to decay in the emulsion. Two negative muons were identified and their momenta measured in a large muon spectrometer. One muon has a p_T of 1.9 GeV/c and is associated with a beauty particle decay. The other, with a p_T of 0.45 GeV/c is associated with a charm particle decay. The flight times of the two beauty particles are respectively (0.8 ± 0.1) × 10^?13 s and (5⁺²_?1) × 10^?13 s. Alternative interpretations of this event have negligible probability.     

Search for superconductivity in pure Au below 1 mK

An experiment is reported in which a polycrystalline sample of 99.9999% Au was cooled to 0.22 mK in a residual magnetic field of 0.32 mG. No superconductivity was seen.     

Search for charged massive long-lived particles

We report on a search for charged massive long-lived particles (CMLLPs), based on 5.2 fb(-1) of integrated luminosity collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron pp collider. We search for events in which one or more particles are reconstructed as muons but have speed and ionization energy loss (dE/dx) inconsistent with muons produced in beam collisions. CMLLPs are predicted in several theories of physics beyond the standard model. We exclude pair-produced long-lived gauginolike charginos below 267 GeV and Higgsino-like charginos below 217 GeV at 95% C.L., as well as long-lived scalar top quarks with mass below 285 GeV.     

Nuclear electroproduction of negative pions below threshold

We calculate the electroproduction of negative pions into bound atomic states. The effect of the strong π-nucleus interaction is included in the calculation.     

Search for fractional-charge particles in meteoritic material

We have used an automated Millikan oil drop method to search for free fractional-charge particles in a sample containing in total 3.9 mg of pulverized Allende meteorite suspended in 259 mg of mineral oil. The average diameter of the drops was 26.5 microm with the charge on about 42 500 000 drops being measured. This search was motivated by the speculation that isolatable, fractional-charge particles produced in the early Universe and present in our Solar System are more likely to be accumulated in asteroids than on Earth's surface. No evidence for fractional-charge particles was found. With 95% confidence, the concentration of particles with fractional-charge more than 0.25 e (e being the magnitude of the electron charge) from the nearest integer charge is less than 1.3 x 10(-21) particles per nucleon in the meteoritic material and less than 1.9 x 10(-23) particles per nucleon in the mineral oil.