Confronting Finsler space–time with experiment

Within all approaches to quantum gravity small violations of the Einstein Equivalence Principle are expected. This includes violations of Lorentz invariance. While usually violations of Lorentz invariance are introduced through the coupling to additional tensor fields, here a Finslerian approach is employed where violations of Lorentz invariance are incorporated as an integral part of the space–time metrics. Within such a Finslerian framework a modified dispersion relation is derived which is confronted with current high precision experiments. As a result, Finsler type deviations from the Minkowskian metric are excluded with an accuracy of 10⁻¹⁶.     

Measurement of deeply virtual compton scattering with a polarized-proton target

The longitudinal target-spin asymmetry AUL for the exclusive electroproduction of high-energy photons was measured for the first time in ep-->e;'pgamma. The data have been accumulated at JLab with the CLAS spectrometer using 5.7 GeV electrons and a longitudinally polarized NH3 target. A significant azimuthal angular dependence was observed, resulting from the interference of the deeply virtual Compton scattering and Bethe-Heitler processes. The amplitude of the sinvarphi moment is 0.252+/-0.042stat+/-0.020sys. Theoretical calculations are in good agreement with the magnitude and the kinematic dependence of the target-spin asymmetry, which is sensitive to the generalized parton distributions H and H.     

Synthesis of Various Water Soluble and Stable Copper Complexes Bearing N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Ligands and Their Activity in DNA Alkylation

We report here the synthesis and catalytic evaluation in DNA alkylation of a series of water‐soluble copper complexes bearing N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands. The NHC ligands were chosen to cover the gamut of commonly used scaffold variations, but in many cases, copper complexes could not be obtained or were unstable. Nevertheless, we identified several complexes that were both stable and catalytically active. Our studies provide guidance and starting scaffolds for any researchers interested in aqueous copper(I) catalysis. A key practical aspect of our findings is that azide‐bearing copper‐NHC complexes are excellent substrates for the azide‐alkyne cycloaddition, which allows late‐stage tailoring of the copper complexes.     

Ultraviolet discharges from a radio-frequency system for potential biological/chemical applications

In this work, we describe a new electrode-less radio-frequency(RF) excitation technique for generating excimers in the vacuum ultraviolet(VUV) and ultraviolet(UV) spectral regions for potential biological/chemical applications. Spectra data of Xe~*_2, XeI~*, and KrI~* generated by this new technique are presented. Optical efficiency of the lamp system ranges from 3% to 6% for KrI~*, 7% to 13% for XeI~*, and 15% to 20% for Xe~*_2. Also, results of irradiating E-coli with XeI~*discharge from this lamp system is presented to show one of the promising applications of such electrode-less apparatus.This new RF lamp system offers an interesting addition to the already existing technologies for generating VUV and UV light for various biological, physical, and chemical processes especially those requiring large area for high productivity.     

Topology-Preserving Geodesic Active Contours for Segmentation of High Content Fluorescent Cellular Images

In this paper a method for segmentation of fluorescent cellular images is introduced, which uses geodesic active contours. After segmentation of the nuclei by a thresholding algorithm, the appropriate whole cells are detected by inflation of the nuclei masks and gradient information. Because the implicit level set formulation provides topological changes and the topology of the nuclei and the whole cells is equal, a topology–preserving modification is necessary. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Particle tracking velocimetry of the flow field around a collapsing cavitation bubble

The velocity field in the vicinity of a laser-generated cavitation bubble in water is investigated by means of particle tracking velocimetry (PTV). Two situations are explored: a bubble collapsing spherically and a bubble collapsing aspherically near a rigid wall. In the first case, the accuracy of the PTV method is assessed by comparing the experimental data with the flow field around the bubble as obtained from numerical simulations of the radial bubble dynamics. The numerical results are matched to the experimental radius–time curve extracted from high-speed photographs by tuning the model parameters. Trajectories of tracer particles are calculated and used to model the experimental process of the PTV measurement. For the second case of a bubble collapsing near a rigid wall, both the bubble shape and the velocity distribution in the fluid around the bubble are measured for different standoff parameters γ at several instants in time. The results for γ > 1 are compared with the corresponding results of a boundary-integral simulation. For both cases, good agreement between simulation and experiment is found.     

Kinetic study of semifluorinated arylene vinylene ether polymers

Fluorinated arylene vinylene ether (FAVE) polymers were prepared from the base‐promoted addition of commercial 2,2‐bis(4‐hydroxyphenyl)hexafluoropropane (6F bisphenol A) to aryl trifluorovinyl ether (TFVE), 2,2′‐bis(4‐trifluorovinyloxybiphenyl)‐1,1,1,3,3,3‐hexafluoropropane. The step‐growth polymerization kinetics by using stoichiometric NaH and catalytic Cs₂CO₃ were investigated by monitoring the ¹⁹F NMR signals of the aryl TFVEs. The nth order kinetic model was used to determine rate constants over a series of programmed temperatures. Polymerization using stoichiometric NaH resulted in second‐order kinetics with an activation energy of 59 kJ/mol. This model kinetic study provided insight into the mechanistic pathways of the FAVE polymer system that has recently shown a lot of interest in many areas of materials science. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Experimental investigation of steel spheres as a passive enhancement technique for flash boiling of HCFC-22

An experimental investigation was conducted to study the influence of a layer of 3.6-mm-diameter steel spheres on the mass flow during flash boiling in a glass pressure vessel. It was observed that the steel spheres added numerous heterogeneous nucleation sites within the liquid and promoted abundant vapor bubble growth during depressurization. The steel spheres were in contact with each other and with the interior of the glass vessel. The data from these experiments were compared with baseline experimental results primarily with regard to the mass flow. Each test was run for 60 s, using controlled variables of orifice diameters (1.59 and 5.56 mm), initial refrigerant amounts (0.23, 0.45, and 0.68 kg), initial pressures (575 and 840 kPa), and vessel geometries (665 and 1110 ml). Pressures, temperatures, and mass flow rates, along with calculated saturation temperatures, amount of superheat, mass flux, and total mass flashed, were used to compare the baseline experiments with the enhanced boiling method. Results showed an increase in the total mass flashed at each test condition, ranging from an average of 22% to 81% with respect to baseline experiments.     

Electronic spectroscopy of the previously unknown arsenic carbide (AsC) free radical

The previously unknown arsenic carbide (AsC) free radical has been identified in the gas phase through a combination of laser-induced fluorescence (LIF), single vibronic level emission, and stimulated emission pumping (SEP) spectroscopy in a supersonic expansion. The As(12)C and As(13)C isotopologues have been detected as products of an electric discharge in mixtures of arsine (AsH(3)) and carbon dioxide ((12)CO(2) or (13)CO(2)) in high pressure argon. The B (2)Σ(+)-X (2)Σ(+) band system was recorded by LIF spectroscopy and emission transitions from the B state down to the ground state and to the low-lying A (2)Π(i) state were observed. High resolution studies of the B-X 0-0 band by LIF and the B-A 0-0 band by SEP spectroscopy enabled a determination of the molecular structures in the three states. Although CN, CP, and AsC have similar X (2)Σ(+) and A (2)Π(i) states, the B (2)Σ(+) state molecular orbital configuration of CP and AsC differs from that of the CN free radical.