Measurement of the electric form factor of the neutron at Q2 = 0.3-0.8 (GeV/ c) 2 ⋆

The electric form factor of the neutron, G_E,n, has been measured at the Mainz Microtron by recoil polarimetry in the quasielastic D(¯e, e¯n)p reaction. Three data points have been extracted at squared four-momentum transfers Q ² = 0.3, 0.6 and 0.8 (GeV/c)². Corrections for nuclear binding effects have been applied.This revised version was published online in March 2005. In the previous version, the email address of one author was inadvertently assigned to multiple authors.     

Magnetic anisotropy of Ni modified by extreme lattice expansion

The induced magnetism of isolated (Cd) adatoms, soft-landed onto ultrathin Ni layers grown pseudo-morphologically on Pd(001) (a_Pd = 3.8907 Å), was studied using the perturbed angular correlation (PAC) technique. The magnitude of the induced magnetic response (magnetic hyperfine field of |5.2| T) was found to be ca. 30% smaller than on bulk Ni (a_Ni = 3.524 Å) surfaces. This result is compared to ab initio calculations. Additionally, the magnetic anisotropy of the induced response was found to be modified as compared to bulk Ni surfaces and the induced hyperfine field was observed to emerge from the plane at an angle of 50(5)^○ to the surface normal. This canted magnetic anisotropy is attributed to the large lattice expansion of the ultrathin Ni film on Pd(001).     

Recovery of spectral features readout with frequency-chirped laser fields

A data-processing technique is proposed for use with conventional frequency-chirped absorption spectroscopy to ensure accurate mapping of spectral features into time-domain signatures with arbitrarily fast readout chirp rates. This technique recovers the spectrum from a signal that is distorted owing to the fast chirp rate and therefore facilitates fast measurement of the spectral features over a broad spectral range with high resolution. Both numerical simulations and experimental results are presented.     

Exactly solvable model of monomer-monomer reactions on a two-dimensional random catalytic substrate

We study the equilibrium properties of a monomer-monomer A+B--> reaction on a two-dimensional substrate containing randomly placed catalytic bonds. Interacting A and B species undergo continuous exchanges with particle reservoirs and react as soon as a pair of unlike particles appears on sites connected by a catalytic bond. For annealed disorder in the placement of catalytic bonds the model is mapped onto a general spin S=1 model and solved exactly for the pressure in a particular case. At equal activities of the two species a second order phase transition is revealed.     

Measurement of RLT and ATL in the 4He(e, e’p)3H reaction at pmiss of 130-300 MeV/ c

We have measured the ⁴He(e, ep)³H reaction at missing momenta of 130-300 MeV/c using the three-spectrometer facility at the Mainz microtron MAMI. Data were taken in perpendicular kinematics to allow us to determine the response function R_LT and the asymmetry term A_TL. The data are compared to both relativistic and non-relativistic calculations.     

Structural study of spirolide marine toxins by mass spectrometry

The spirolides are a family of marine biotoxins derived from the dinoflagellate Alexandrium ostenfeldii, recently isolated from contaminated shellfish and characterized. A crude phytoplankton extract has been extensively studied for mass spectrometric determination and characterization of several known spirolides and previously unreported compounds. The complex sample was initially analyzed by full-scan mass spectrometry in an ion-trap instrument, enabling identification of several components. Subsequent analysis by selected-ion monitoring in a triple-quadrupole instrument resulted in the confirmation of the identities of the compounds detected in the ion trap. Purification of the crude extract was performed using an automated mass-based fractionation system, yielding several fractions with different relative contributions of the spirolide components. Collision-induced dissociation (CID) in the triple-quadrupole instrument produced significant fragment ions for all identified species. Selective enrichment of some minor compounds in certain fractions enabled excellent CID spectra to be generated; this had previously been impossible, because of interferences from the major toxins present. Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) mass spectrometry was then performed for accurate determination of the masses of MH+ ions of all the species present in the sample. Additionally, infrared multiphoton dissociation in the FTICR instrument generated elemental formulae for product ions, including those formed in the previous collisional activation experiments. Collection of these results and the fragmentation scheme proposed for the main component of the extract, 13-desmethyl spirolide C, from part I of this study, enabled elucidation of the structures of some uncharacterized spirolides and some biogenetically related compounds present at previously unreported masses.     

Synthesis and unprecedented oxidation of a cationic Sb-analogue of an Arduengo's carbene

2-chloro-1,3,2-diazastibolenes react with Lewis acids either via Sb-Cl cleavage to yield stable Sb-analogues of an N-heterocyclic carbene, or via an unprecedented oxidative fragmentation to give a diazadiene-SbCl3 complex.     

Universal pion freeze-out in heavy-ion collisions

Based on an evaluation of data on pion interferometry and on particle yields at midrapidity, we propose a universal condition for thermal freeze-out of pions in heavy-ion collisions. We show that freeze-out occurs when the mean free path of pions lambda(f) reaches a value of about 1 fm, which is much smaller than the spatial extent of the system at freeze-out. This critical mean free path is independent of the centrality of the collision and beam energy from the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron to the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.