Measurement of the neutron lifetime using a proton trap

We report a new measurement of the neutron decay lifetime by the absolute counting of in-beam neutrons and their decay protons. Protons were confined in a quasi-Penning trap and counted with a silicon detector. The neutron beam fluence was measured by capture in a thin 6LiF foil detector with known absolute efficiency. The combination of these simultaneous measurements gives the neutron lifetime: tau(n)=(886.8+/-1.2[stat]+/-3.2[syst]) s. The systematic uncertainty is dominated by uncertainties in the mass of the 6LiF deposit and the 6Li(n,t) cross section. This is the most precise measurement of the neutron lifetime to date using an in-beam method.     

Finiteness, 1/N expansion and supersymmetry breaking

The possibility of spontaneous supersymmetry breaking in the limit of large N, in models with an internal O(N) symmetry, is demonstrated by constructing an explicit example in two dimensions. The model is finite and this is shown to be important for the supersymmetry breaking. A general criterion for finiteness of scalar superfield theories in two dimensions is given. Finally, the generalization of our results to three dimensions, and their relevance to four-dimensional models, is discussed.     

A study of blast wave loading on cantilevers

A study has been made of the response of elastic-plastic and brittle circular-cross-section cantilevers when subjected to blast wave loading. It is demonstrated how the deformation or failure of such cantilevers enables them to be used as blast wave gauges. In addition, the deformation of cantilever-type structures can be used to assess the characteristics of accidental explosions. Two numerical models have been developed to describe the deformation of a dynamically loaded cantilever. Both models assume that the plastic deformation is localized in a region near the fixed end, and that the loading force is a function of the dynamic-pressure time-history and a variable drag coefficient, which depends on the Reynolds number, Mach number and angle of attack of each discretized element of the cantilever. The first model assumes a rigid-plastic response of the cantilever. It was found that this model accurately described the response of cantilevers made of 50/50 lead/tin alloy. It overestimated the deformation of cantilevers made of more elastic materials when exposed to blast waves from high explosives and in a shock tube. The second model assumes an elastic-plastic response. The algorithm is based on the premise that the elastic curvature of the cantilever is limited by the plastic yield stress of the material and that as the curvature approaches this limit the cantilever rotates by the amount needed to keep the curvature constant and equal to this maximum. It has been shown that this algorithm minimizes the curvature of the cantilever at the base. This model provided good predictions of the deformation of cantilevers made of aluminum and steel. The numerical models were evaluated by studying the response of cantilevers exposed to shock waves in a shock tube, and to the blast waves from two explosions of ammonium-nitrate/fuel-oil charges of approximately 2.5 kt. The response to the shock tube flows was recorded by high speed photography which showed good agreement between the observed modes of deflection and those predicted by the elastic-plastic model. The models also provided good predictions of the deformation of a wide range of cantilevers, made of a variety of materials and of different diameters and lengths, when exposed to the free field blast waves. It is demonstrated how the numerical models can be used to determine the type of cantilever that might be used as a gauge for monitoring the blast wave from an explosion, or for evaluating the deformation of a cantilever exposed to the blast wave from an accidental explosion so as to characterize the explosion. Received 23 September 1996 / Accepted 11 November 1996     

Symmetries and motions in manifolds

In these lectures the relations between symmetries, Lie algebras, Killing vectors and Noether's theorem are reviewed. A generalisation of the basic ideas to include velocity-dependent co-ordinate transformations naturally leads to the concept of Killing tensors. Via their Poisson brackets these tensors generate an a priori infinite-dimensional Lie algebra. The nature of such infinite algebras is clarified using the example of flat space-time. Next the formalism is extended to spinning space, which in addition to the standard real co-ordinates is parametrised also by Grassmann-valued vector variables. The equations for extremal trajectories (“geodesics”) of these spaces describe the pseudo-classical mechanics of a Dirac fermion. We apply the formalism to solve for the motion of a pseudo-classical electron in Schwarzschild space-time.     

Energy transfer studies from excited cyclobutane chemically activated by nuclear recoil reaction

Relative vibrational energy transfer efficiencies are determined for cyclobutane-t chemically activated to an average energy of 5 eV by recoil tritium replacement reaction. The pressure and composition dependence of the stabilization-decomposition ratio indicates relative efficiencies of 1.00, 1.05, and 0.32 for c-C₄H₈, CF₄, and Ne bath gases.     

A compact water-soluble porphyrin bearing an iodoacetamido bioconjugatable site

A broad range of applications requires access to porphyrins that are compact, water-soluble, and bioconjugatable. A symmetrically branched hydrocarbon chain ('swallowtail') bearing polar end groups imparts high (>10 mM) aqueous solubility upon incorporation at one of the meso positions of a trans-AB-porphyrin. Two such swallowtail-porphyrins (1a, 1b) equipped with a conjugatable group (carboxylic acid, bromophenyl) have been prepared previously. The synthesis of three new water-soluble trans-AB-porphyrins is reported, where each porphyrin bears a diphosphonate-terminated swallowtail group and an amino (2a), acetamido (2b), or iodoacetamido (2c) group. The amine affords considerable versatility for functionalization. The iodoacetamide provides a sulfhydryl-reactive site for bioconjugation. Porphyrins were fully characterized in aqueous solution by 1H NMR spectroscopy (in D2O), ESI-MS, static absorption spectroscopy, and static and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Porphyrins 2a-2c exhibit characteristic porphyrin absorption and emission bands in aqueous solution, with a strong, sharp absorption band in the blue region (approximately 401 nm) and emission in the red region (approximately 624, 686 nm). Porphyrin 2b in aqueous phosphate buffer or phosphate-buffered saline solution exhibits a fluorescence quantum yield of approximately 0.04 and an excited singlet-state lifetime of approximately 11 ns. Collectively, the facile synthesis, amenability to bioconjugation, large spacing between the main absorption and fluorescence features, and long singlet excited-state lifetime make this molecular design quite attractive for a range of biomedical applications.     

Temperature dependence of electron transfer to the M-side bacteriopheophytin in rhodobacter capsulatus reaction centers

Subpicosecond time-resolved absorption measurements at 77 K on two reaction center (RC) mutants of Rhodobacter capsulatus are reported. In the D(LL) mutant the D helix of the M subunit has been substituted with the D helix from the L subunit, and in the D(LL)-FY(L)F(M) mutant, three additional mutations are incorporated that facilitate electron transfer to the M side of the RC. In both cases the helix swap has been shown to yield isolated RCs that are devoid of the native bacteriopheophytin electron carrier HL (Chuang, J. I.; Boxer, S. G.; Holten, D.; Kirmaier, C. Biochemistry 2006, 45, 3845-3851). For D(LL), depending whether the detergent Deriphat 160-C or N-lauryl-N,N-dimethylamine-N-oxide (LDAO) is used to suspend the RCs, the excited state of the primary electron donor (P*) decays to the ground state with an average lifetime at 77 K of 330 or 170 ps, respectively; however, in both cases the time constant obtained from single-exponential fits varies markedly as a function of the probe wavelength. These findings on the D(LL) RC are most easily explained in terms of a heterogeneous population of RCs. Similarly, the complex results for D(LL)-FY(L)F(M) in Deriphat-glycerol glass at 77 K are most simply explained using a model that involves (minimally) two distinct populations of RCs with very different photochemistry. Within this framework, in 50% of the D(LL)-FY(L)F(M) RCs in Deriphat-glycerol glass at 77 K, P* deactivates to the ground state with a time constant of approximately 400 ps, similar to the deactivation of P* in the D(LL) mutant at 77 K. In the other 50% of D(LL)-FY(L)F(M) RCs, P* has a 35 ps lifetime and decays via electron transfer to the M branch, giving P+HM- in high yield (> or =80%). This result indicates that P* --> P(+)H(M)(-) is roughly a factor of 2 faster at 77 K than at 295 K. In alternative homogeneous models the rate of this M-side electron-transfer process is the same or up to 2-fold slower at low temperature. A 2-fold increase in rate with a reduction in temperature is the same behavior found for the overall L-side process P* --> P(+)H(L)(-) in wild-type RCs. Our results suggest that, as for electron transfer on the L side, the M-side electron-transfer reaction P* --> P(+)H(M)(-) is an activationless process.