Texture investigations of Mn?Al magnets by neutron time-of-flight diffraction

In the present work the connection between magnetic properties and texture of two samples of the tetragonal Mn Al phase is investigated. The specimens have been prepared by different cold deformation methods to get various texture types. For texture analysis neutron time-of-flight technique has been applied. Some aspects of the mathematical treatment of experimental data has been discussed. The main texture components in the inverse pole figures are inclined with respect to the direction of easy magnetization. Therefore, improved magnetic properties of the material can be expected using more optimal preparation techniques.     

Quantitative analysis of the fibre texture of zirconium by time-of-flight neutron diffraction

Quantitative analysis of the fibre texture of zirconium has been performed by the neutron time-of-flight method. On the pulsed reactor IBR-30 16 diffraction spectra were measured for each of the three deformation states of the sample. Pole figures and inverse pole figures have been determined from the experimental spectra for all deformation states investigated. The development of preferred orientation of the (101 0) lattice plane in the direction of the fibre axis in dependence on increasing deformation has been found.     

Dynamic light scattering method of polymer solutions

The main features of dynamic light scattering are briefly outlined. The capability of this method to characterizing molar mass distributions and to distinguishing different molecular architectures is demonstrated with some examples. Special attention is given to the question of internal mobility and the spectrum of relaxation times. Recent results on asymptotic behavior are presented and discussed. Scaling behavior of the first cumulant with respect of space and of the time correlation function with respect of time (shape function) is found. All examples studied so far demonstrate the dynamic scaling of Zimm-Rouse chains, but the prefactors strongly depend on branching and crosslinking.     

Investigation of polynuclear Zr(IV) hydroxide complexes by nanoelectrospray mass-spectrometry combined with XAFS

Polynuclear species of zirconium in acidic aqueous solution are investigated by combining X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAFS) and nanoelectrospray mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Species distributions are measured between pH_C 0 and pH_C 3 for [Zr] = 1.5–10 mM. While the monomer remains a minor species, with increasing pH the degree of polymerization increases and the formation of tetramers, pentamers, octamers, and larger polymers is observed. The high resolution of the mass spectrometer permits the unambiguous determination of polynuclear zirconium hydroxide complexes by means of their isotopic patterns. The relative abundances of mononuclear and polynuclear species present simultaneously in solution are measured, even if one of the species contributes only 0.1% of the Zr concentration. For the first time it has been directly observed that the hydrolysis of polynuclear Zr species is a continuous process which leads to charge compensation through the sequential substitution of water molecules by hydroxide ligands until doubly charged polymers dominate at conditions (H⁺ and Zr concentrations) close to the solubility of Zr(OH)₄(am). The invasiveness of the electrospray process was minimized by using very mild declustering conditions, leaving the polynuclear species within a solvent shell of approximately 20 water molecules. Figure Schematic Diagram of Multiplexed Measurement of 9 Anti-Nuclear Antibodies Using the AtheNa Multilyte Assay     

Towards an efficient atomic frequency comb quantum memory

We present an efficient photon-echo experiment based on atomic frequency combs [Phys. Rev. A 79 (2009) 052329]. Echoes containing an energy of up to 35% of that of the input pulse are observed in a Pr³⁺-doped Y₂SiO₅ crystal. This material allows for the precise spectral holeburning needed to make a sharp and highly absorbing comb structure. We compare our results with a simple theoretical model with satisfactory agreement. Our results show that atomic frequency combs has the potential for high-efficiency storage of single photons as required in future long-distance communication based on quantum repeaters.     

Synchronous, dual-wavelength, injection-seeded amplification of 5-ns pulses in a flash-lamp-pumped Ti:sapphire laser

The outputs of two cw diode lasers are coupled into a flash-lamp-pumped Ti:sapphire laser cavity for regenerative amplification. Slices of each seed beam are simultaneously trapped in the cavity and amplified for approximately 33 round trips. The output is a 4.7-ns pulse, the total pulse energy is 110 mJ, and linewidths are only 50% greater than the Fourier-transform limit. The timing jitter between the pulses at the two wavelengths is less than +/-75 ps , and their relative energy is controlled by adjustment of the seed power of the cw diode lasers. Gain competition between the two frequencies does not lead to instabilities.