Cross-channel coupling in positron-atom scattering

Coupled-state calculations including positronium channels are reported for positron scattering by atomic hydrogen, lithium and sodium. Integrated cross sections and total cross sections are presented for all three atoms. For lithium differential cross sections are also given. Throughout, comparison is made between results calculated with and without inclusion of the positronium channels. S-wave cross sections for positron scattering by atomic hydrogen in the Ps(1s, 2s, 2p)+H(1s, 2s, 2p) approximation show the high energy resonance first observed by Higgins and Burke in the coupled-static approximation. This resonance has now moved up to 51.05 eV and narrowed in width to 2.92 eV. Other pronounced structure is seen in the S-wave cross sections between 10 and 20 eV; it is tentatively suggested that this structure may be due to the formation of a temporary pseudo-molecular collision complex. Results calculated in the Ps(1s, 2s, , 2p, ,+H(1s, 2s, , 2p, approximation show convergence towards accurate values in the energy region below and in the Ore gap. Contrary to previous work on lithium using only an atomic basis, it is found that coupling to the 3d state of lithium is not so important when positronium channels are included; this is because a mixed basis of atom and positronium states gives a more rapidly convergent approximation than an expansion based on atom states alone. The threshold behaviour of the elastic cross section and the Ps(1s) formation cross section for lithium is investigated. Results in the Ps(1s, 2s, 2p)+Na(3s, 3p) approximation for sodium show good agreement with the total cross section measurements of Kwan et al.     

Bidirectional clear speech perception benefit for native and high-proficiency non-native talkers and listeners: intelligibility and accentedness

This study investigated how native language background interacts with speaking style adaptations in determining levels of speech intelligibility. The aim was to explore whether native and high proficiency non-native listeners benefit similarly from native and non-native clear speech adjustments. The sentence-in-noise perception results revealed that fluent non-native listeners gained a large clear speech benefit from native clear speech modifications. Furthermore, proficient non-native talkers in this study implemented conversational-to-clear speaking style modifications in their second language (L2) that resulted in significant intelligibility gain for both native and non-native listeners. The results of the accentedness ratings obtained for native and non-native conversational and clear speech sentences showed that while intelligibility was improved, the presence of foreign accent remained constant in both speaking styles. This suggests that objective intelligibility and subjective accentedness are two independent dimensions of non-native speech. Overall, these results provide strong evidence that greater experience in L2 processing leads to improved intelligibility in both production and perception domains. These results also demonstrated that speaking style adaptations along with less signal distortion can contribute significantly towards successful native and non-native interactions.     

Implementation of the Laser Diffraction Technique for Acoustic Cavitation Bubble Investigations

Knowledge of the acoustic cavitation cloud would be useful for improving ultrasound reactor design. Among the characterisation techniques, few are adapted to bubble investigations in an intense ultrasound field. Some problems raised by these measurements result from interactions between the acoustic pressure wave and the measuring light wave. This paper reports the implementation of the laser diffraction technique to determine the size and volume concentration of bubbles generated by a dipping horn operating at 20 kHz. Measurements were performed with a Malvern 2600 instrument. The size distribution, deduced from the diffraction pattern scattered by the bubble cloud crossed by a laser beam, is disturbed by the acoustic pressure wave involving deviation of a light beam at low diffusion angles (acousto‐optic effect). A bubble size correction procedure based on the subtraction of the light energy due to the ultrasound wave is described. The size measurements, and thus the correction procedure, were validated by a second laser technique based on a different measuring principle: phase Doppler interferometry. The measurement reliability was further confirmed by an original application of laser diffraction based on measurements performed just after sonication. These three methods lead to a mean bubble size (Sauter mean diameter) of about 10 μm at a high ultrasound power input. Concerning the void fraction, only measurements achieved after sonication and by laser diffraction predict a correct estimation of this parameter.     

Relation between structure and enthalpy for stacking interactions of aromatic molecules

An approximately linear correlation has been found between the enthalpy of complexation and the area of overlap of the chromophores using published structural and thermodynamical data on the self- and hetero-association of aromatic molecules measured under similar solution conditions. This finding is consistent with the assumption that short-range van-der-Waals forces dominate over other contributions to the enthalpy of stacking of aromatic molecules. It provides a ‘model-independent’ approach for a priori estimation of the enthalpy of aromatic–aromatic stacking interactions from knowledge of the structural properties or vice versa.     

Acetylene on Cu(111): imaging a molecular surface arrangement with a constantly rearranging tip

Acetylene on Cu(111) is investigated by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM); a surface pattern previously derived from diffraction measurements can be validated, if the variation of the STM image transfer function through absorption of an acetylene molecule onto the tip apex is taken into account. Density functional theory simulations point to a balance between short-range repulsive interactions of acetylene/Cu(111) associated with surface stress and longer range attractive interactions as the origin of the ordering.     

Charge density: A probe for the nuclear interaction in microscopic transport models

The transport properties of the ³⁶Ar +⁵⁸Ni system at measured with the INDRA array, are studied within the BNV kinetic equation. A general protocol of comparison between the N-body experimental fragment information and the one-body distribution function is developed using global variables, with a special focus on charge density. This procedure avoids any definition of sources and any use of an afterburner in the simulation. We shall discuss the feasibility of such an approach and the distortions induced by the finite detection efficiency and the completeness requirements of the data selection. The sensitivity of the different global observables to the macroscopic parameters of the effective nuclear interaction will be studied in detail.Received: 21 January 2003, Published online: 5 August 2003PACS: 25.70.-z Low and intermediate energy heavy-ion reactions - 24.10.-i Nuclear reaction models and methodsN. Le Neindre: Permanent address: Institut de Physique Nuclaire, IN2P3-CNRS, F-91406 Orsay cedex, France.     

Measuring hearing in the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina): comparison of behavioral and auditory brainstem response techniques

Auditory brainstem response (ABR) and standard behavioral methods were compared by measuring in-air audiograms for an adult female harbor seal (Phoca vitulina). Behavioral audiograms were obtained using two techniques: the method of constant stimuli and the staircase method. Sensitivity was tested from 0.250 to 30 kHz. The seal showed good sensitivity from 6 to 12 kHz [best sensitivity 8.1 dB (re 20 microPa2 x s) RMS at 8 kHz]. The staircase method yielded thresholds that were lower by 10 dB on average than the method of constant stimuli. ABRs were recorded at 2, 4, 8, 16, and 22 kHz and showed a similar best range (8-16 kHz). ABR thresholds averaged 5.7 dB higher than behavioral thresholds at 2, 4, and 8 kHz. ABRs were at least 7 dB lower at 16 kHz, and approximately 3 dB higher at 22 kHz. The better sensitivity of ABRs at higher frequencies could have reflected differences in the seal's behavior during ABR testing and/or bandwidth characteristics of test stimuli. These results agree with comparisons of ABR and behavioral methods performed in other recent studies and indicate that ABR methods represent a good alternative for estimating hearing range and sensitivity in pinnipeds, particularly when time is a critical factor and animals are untrained.