Measurement of the νμ and νμ nucleon charged-current total cross sections,and the ratio of νμ neutron to νμ proton charged-current total cross sections

The total ν_μ and $\text{ν}{}_{\mathrm{\mu }}$ nucleon charged-current cross sections have been measured in BEBC filled with deuterium and exposed to the wide-band neutrino and antineutrino beams at the CERN-SPS. Assuming a linear energy dependence for the cross sections, σ = aE(?_ν, we obtained the coefficients , where the quoted error is mainly systematic. The ratio of the cross sections is $\text{σ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>\nu </mtext><mtext>N</mtext>}}\text{/σ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>\nu </mtext><mtext>N</mtext>}}\text{= 0.53 ± 0.03}$.We also determined the ratio of the charged-current cross section for neutrino interactions on neutrons and protons R = σ_νn/σ_νp = 2.10 ± 0.08 (statistical) ±0.22 (sysetmatic). The dependence of R on the variables x, y and E_ν is discussed.     

Ni-Zr alloys: relationship between surface characteristics and electrocatalytic behavior

A relationship between electrocatalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction and the surface composition of the electrode was established for Ni-Zr crystalline and amorphous alloys by means of secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Electrocatalytic activity was tested by means of cathodic polarization in 1 M KOH at 25 degrees C and the resulting exchange current density has been taken as a measure of catalytic efficiency. Surface activation treatment involved chemical etching in HF solutions; the consequent morphological and compositional surface changes were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The electrochemical behavior of the pure elements (Ni and Zr) was also considered for comparison. All samples submitted to chemical etching in HF solutions showed an increase in electrocatalytic activity, particularly the alloy with the highest Ni content. The beneficial effect of chemical etching is due to dissolution of the zirconium oxide layer and to the formation of nanocrystalline Ni on the surfaces.     

Clustering data by inhomogeneous chaotic map lattices

A new approach to clustering, based on the physical properties of inhomogeneous coupled chaotic maps, is presented. A chaotic map is assigned to each data point and short range couplings are introduced. The stationary regime of the system corresponds to a macroscopic attractor independent of the initial conditions. The mutual information between pairs of maps serves to partition the data set in clusters, without prior assumptions about the structure of the underlying distribution of the data. Experiments on simulated and real data sets show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.     

Experimental analysis of the properties of the five-pion effect observed in pp interactions near 1950 MeV/c2

The properties of the effect observed in the reaction $\text{p}\text{p}\text{→ π}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{π}{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{π}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{π}{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{π}{}^0\text{at}\text{1949 ± 10}\text{MeV}\text{/c}{}^2\text{(τ ? 80}\text{MeV}\text{/c}{}^2\text{)}$ are studied. The ω⁰?⁰, A₂⁰π⁺π^? and π⁺π^?π⁺π^?π⁰ (non-resonant) channels are found to be coupled with this object. The assignment I^G = 1^? is established and an analysis of the √s behaviour of the density matrix elements for the final state ω⁰?⁰ clearly favour J^P = 2⁺, 4⁺… Comparisons are made with present theoretical schemes describing this mass region.     

Combined use of surface and micro-analytical techniques for the study of ancient coins

By means of the combined use of surface and micro-analytical techniques the surface chemical composition of ancient coins and some aspects of their manufacturing techniques and of degradation mechanisms have been elucidated. Two case histories are described concerning silver Roman Republican coins and some coins plated with thin films of silver and gold. In particular, the coinage methods, the silvering and gilding techniques and the origin of the embrittlement of these selected Roman coins have been studied by means of the combined use of selected-area X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (SA-XPS) and scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectrometry (SEM+EDS). This innovative approach has been utilised in order to gain further insight into the microchemical structure of the external regions of the coins as well as of the bulk features. The results show the use of mercury to coat a copper or silver core with a thin film of precious metals that could be considered the most important advance in the technology of gilding to be made in antiquity. Furthermore, the microchemical investigation of brittle Roman silver coins has allowed us to identify the origin of this troublesome problem. The microchemical results indicate that brittleness is induced by the presence of a low amount of lead that is retained in supersaturated solution when the cast blank was produced. This latter element segregates at the grain boundaries during the coin production and the subsequent long-term ageing at room temperature, thus inducing the alloy fracturing along the weakened grain boundaries. PACS 68.55.Jk; 68.35.Dv; 68.37.Hk; 68.55.Nq; 81.05.Bx     

High frequency dynamics and structural relaxation process in liquid ammonia

The dynamic structure factor S(Q,omega) of liquid ammonia has been measured by inelastic x-ray scattering in the terahertz frequency region as a function of the temperature in the range of 220-298 K at a pressure P=85 bars. The data have been analyzed using the generalized hydrodynamic formalism with a three term memory function to take into account the thermal, the structural, (alpha) and the microscopic (mu) relaxation processes affecting the dynamics of the liquid. This allows to extract the temperature dependence of the structural relaxation time (tau(alpha)) and strength (Delta(alpha)). The former quantity follows an Arrhenius behavior with an activation energy E(a)=2.6+/-0.2 kcal/mol, while the latter is temperature independent suggesting that there are no changes in the interparticle potential and arrangement with T. The obtained results, compared with those already existing in liquid water and liquid hydrogen fluoride, suggest the strong influence of the connectivity of the molecular network on the structural relaxation.     

A finite volume method on general meshes for a degenerate parabolic convection–reaction–diffusion equation

We propose a finite volume method on general meshes for the discretization of a degenerate parabolic convection–reaction–diffusion equation. Equations of this type arise in many contexts, such as for example the modeling of contaminant transport in porous media. The diffusion term, which can be anisotropic and heterogeneous, is discretized using a recently developed hybrid mimetic mixed framework. We construct a family of discretizations for the convection term, which uses the hybrid interface unknowns. We consider a wide range of unstructured possibly nonmatching polyhedral meshes in arbitrary space dimension. The scheme is fully implicit in time, it is locally conservative and robust with respect to the Péclet number. We obtain a convergence result based upon a priori estimates and the Fréchet–Kolmogorov compactness theorem. We implement the scheme both in two and three space dimensions and compare the numerical results obtained with the upwind and the centered discretizations of the convection term numerically.     

Synthesis, Characterization, and Use of Nb(V) /Ce(IV) -Mixed Oxides in the Direct Carboxylation of Ethanol by using Pervaporation Membranes for Water Removal

New catalytic systems based on ceria have been used in the direct carboxylation of ethanol. The catalytic behavior of Al(2) O(3) and Nb(2) O(5) loaded ceria is compared, the latter showing a better performance. A morphological and structural study has been carried out on Nb(2) O(5) /CeO(2) catalysts in order to explain their behavior in catalysis. Pervaporation membranes have been used for water separation. The synthesis of diethylcarbonate (DEC) has been carried out either in a liquid phase (ethanol) pressurized with CO(2) or in supercritical conditions. A set-up has been developed that allows the production of quite pure DEC (>90?%) with recycling of CO(2) and ethanol.     

γ Radiolysis of C60 fullerene in water and water/ammonia mixtures: relevance of fullerene fate in ices of interstellar medium

The γ radiolysis of fullerene C₆₀ dispersed in H₂O, H₂O/NH₃, H₂O/methanol and H₂O/NH₃/methanol was studied at 250 and 500 kGy. It was found that C₆₀ originally insoluble in the above mentioned hosting matrix became soluble as a consequence of multiple hydroxylation and oxidation reaction produced by the free radicals generated by the radiolysis of the hosting matrix. The changes undergone by C₆₀ were studied by infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and by electronic absorption spectroscopy. The astrochemical consequences of the present study are that C₆₀ ejected in the interstellar medium for instance from protoplanetary and planetary nebulae can condense together with water and other ices in dense molecular clouds. Under the action of high energy radiation C₆₀ reacts with the free radicals generated from the matrix where it is embedded it is solubilized and consequently its carbon content becomes available for further abiotic processes of synthesis of molecules of astrobiological interest. The behavior of C₆₀ appears comparable to that of common PAHs which are also hydroxylated and oxidized under similar conditions.