Investigation into the determination of trimethylarsine in natural gas and its partitioning into gas and condensate phases using (cryotrapping)/gas chromatography coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and liquid/solid sorption techniques

Speciation of trialkylated arsenic compunds in natural gas, pressurized and stable condensate samples from the same gas well was performed using (Cryotrapping) Gas Chromatography-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. The major species in all phases investigated was found to be trimethylarsine with a highest concentration of 17.8 ng/L (As) in the gas phase and 33.2 μg/L (As) in the stable condensate phase. The highest amount of trimethylarsine (121 μg/L (As)) was found in the pressurized condensate, along with trace amounts of non-identified higher alkylated arsines. Volatile arsenic species in natural gas and its related products cause concern with regards to environment, safety, occupational health and gas processing. Therefore, interest lies in a fast and simple field method for the determination of volatile arsenicals. Here, we use simple liquid and solid sorption techniques, namely absorption in silver nitrate solution and adsorption on silver nitrate impregnated silica gel tubes followed by total arsenic determination as a promising tool for field monitoring of volatile arsenicals in natural gas and gas condensates. Preliminary results obtained for the sorption-based methods show that around 70% of the arsenic is determined with these methods in comparison to volatile arsenic determination using GC-ICP-MS. Furthermore, an inter-laboratory- and inter-method comparison was performed using silver nitrate impregnated silica tubes on 14 different gas samples with concentrations varying from below 1 to 1000 μg As/m³ natural gas. The results obtained from the two laboratories differ in a range of 10 to 60%, but agree within the order of magnitude, which is satisfactory for our purposes.     

Random magnetic interactions and spin glass order competing with superconductivity: Interference of the quantum Parisi phase

We analyse the competition between spin glass (SG) order and local pairing superconductivity (SC) in the fermionic Ising spin glass with frustrated fermionic spin interaction and nonrandom attractive interaction. The phase diagram is presented for all temperatures T and chemical potentials μ. SC-SG transitions are derived for the relevant ratios between attractive and frustrated-magnetic interaction. Characteristic features of pairbreaking caused by random magnetic interaction and/or by spin glass proximity are found. The existence of low-energy excitations, arising from replica permutation symmetry breaking (RPSB) in the Quantum Parisi Phase, is shown to be relevant for the SC-SG phase boundary. Complete 1-step RPSB-calculations for the SG-phase are presented together with a few results for -step breaking. Suppression of reentrant SG-SC-SG transitions due to RPSB is found and discussed in context of ferromagnet-SG boundaries. The relative positioning of the SC and SG phases presents a theoretical landmark for comparison with experiments in heavy fermion systems and high superconductors. We find a crossover line traversing the SG-phase with as its quantum critical (end)point in complete RPSB, and scaling is proposed for its vicinity. We argue that this line indicates a random field instability and suggest Dotsenko-Mézard vector replica symmetry breaking to occur at low temperatures beyond. Received 26 November 1998 and Received in final form 25 January 1999     

Design and application of a femtosecond optical parametric oscillator for time-resolved spectroscopy of semiconductor heterostructures

Femtosecond pulses of a collinearly pumped Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) are applied for investigations of the carrier dynamics in ternary and quaternary semiconductor quantum wells. The design and the specifications of the OPO are given in detail. We show that no measurable jitter exists between the pump pulses and the output pulses of the OPO. Therefore, it is possible to use the OPO and its pump laser for two-color experiments with a time resolution limited by the pulse lengths. We present and discuss results of transient four-wave mixing experiments on (InGa) As/InP quantum wells, and find a new kind of polarization-dependent quantum beat phenomenon. In addition, non-degenerate experiments on quantum wells from the quaternary (InGaAl) As material system, using two pulses at different wavelengths (one from the OPO and one from the pump laser), are discussed as a novel experimental technique to study carrier trapping into quantum wells.     

The noise behavior of the wheel/rail-system— some supplementary results

Acoustical measurements were carried out on railroad coaches, on standard tracks and in the free field during test runs. In particular the influences of noise parameters like train speed, track condition, wheel type or locomotive propulsion were examined. Among other things, it appeared that the track conditions can vary considerably, a fact that has a great influence on all measurement values. One obtains a kind of “track profile” relatively independent of the train speed. Measurements both on the parts of the rail and in the free field during the pass-by of a train wheel, just as do the measurements of the wheel levels at the same time, indicate that the rail in the frequency range between 500 and 1200 Hz is the most important factor with regard to sound radiation. Only above this range is the wheel the essential radiator, mainly in the range around 2000 Hz. Further it could be ascertained that the total acceleration levels of the wheel rim have a greater speed exponent than the total acceleration levels of the rail. This can be important if one makes an extrapolation for high train speeds. Additional damping of coach wheels results in a greater noise reduction not only for the radiated sound but also for the structure-borne sound at the rails. This fact indicates the relatively strong coupling between rail and wheel. Furthermore it was ascertained that the levels generated by a locomotive in the upper frequency range are similar to those produced by damped coach wheels. A propulsion influence of an electrical locomotive on the radiated total sound level could not be ascertained. In the last section possible noise generating mechanisms are pointed out with regard to their importance as indicated by our present state of knowledge.     

über die Definition von effektiven Zufallstests

Summary We continue the discussion on the definition of random sequences from Part I. We will show that the idea of Kolmogoroff to characterize random sequences by their program complexity can be formulated in such a way as to let this definition coÏncide with the others given in Part I. Another equivalent definition of random sequences can be derived from the games of chance. A sequence is random, if and only if no player who calculates his pool by effective methods can raise his fortune indefinitely when playing on this sequence. Finally we will study transformations which preserve the random property of a sequence. We will prove that the original concept of v. Mises can also be modified in such a manner as to coÏncide with all our other definitions. A sequence is random, if and only if it satisfies the strong law of large numbers and if every sequence obtained from it by a constructive measure-preserving transformation is random, too.

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Die Arbeit stellt einen Teil der Habilitationsschrift dar, die der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen FakultÄt der UniversitÄt des Saarlandes vom Verfasser vorgelegt wurde.     

Very compact tunable solid-state laser utilizing a thin-film organic semiconductor

Optically pumped organic semiconductor lasers are fabricated by evaporation of a thin film of tris(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq(3)) molecularly doped with a laser dye on top of a polyester substrate with an embossed grating structure. We achieve low-threshold, longitudinally monomode distributed-feedback laser operation. By varying the film thickness of the organic semiconductor film, we can tune the wavelength of the surface-emitting laser over 44 nm. The low laser threshold allows the use of a very compact all-solid-state pump laser ( approximately 10 cm long). This concept opens up a way to obtain inexpensive lasers that are tunable over the whole visible range.     

Iyama’s finiteness theorem via strongly quasi-hereditary algebras

Let Λ be an artin algebra and X a finitely generated Λ-module. Iyama has shown that there exists a module Y such that the endomorphism ring Γ of X⊕Y is quasi-hereditary, with a heredity chain of length n, and that the global dimension of Γ is bounded by this n. In general, one only knows that a quasi-hereditary algebra with a heredity chain of length n must have global dimension at most 2n−2. We want to show that Iyama’s better bound is related to the fact that the ring Γ he constructs is not only quasi-hereditary, but even left strongly quasi-hereditary. By definition, the left strongly quasi-hereditary algebras are the quasi-hereditary algebras with all standard left modules of projective dimension at most 1.     

Magnetic irreversibility and metastability in a CuMn alloy

Our magnetic measurements on a CuMn alloy reveal that T_m, the temperature of the susceptibility peak, is marked by a qualitative change in the magnetization-vs.-field behavior. The magnetization process at and above T_m is reversible at all fields, whereas below T_m an irreversibility sets in at a threshold field H₁ and persists up to a second threshold field H₂. The irreversibility results in an isothermal remanence whose saturation value (attained when the field removed exceeds H₂) equals the saturation value of the thermoremanence (attained after cooling from above T_m in a field larger than H₂). Both states of remenence are characterized by a magnetization which is completely reversed by a small reverse field but returns to its original polarity when the field is removed. The hysteresis loop remains thus displaced as long as the cycling field is less than H₁.     

A geometrical measure for entropy changes

The geometrical approach to statistical mechanics is used to discuss changes in entropy upon sequential displacements of the state of the system. An interpretation of the angle between two states in terms of entropy differences is thereby provided. A particular result of note is that any state can be resolved into a state of maximal entropy (both states having the same expectation values for the constraints) and an orthogonal component. A cosine law for the general case is also derived.