The isotopes259106,260106, and261106

In irradiations of²⁰⁷Pb and²⁰⁸Pb, respectively, with⁵⁴Cr theα-decay of the isotopes²⁵⁹106,²⁶⁰106, and²⁶¹106 could be observed for the first time. For²⁶⁰106 a spontaneous fission branch of (50 _?20 ⁺³⁰ )% was observed. The isotopes were identified by genetic relationships of α-decay after separation in-flight with the velocity filter SHIP and implantation into a position-sensitive silicon surface-barrier detector. The measured partial fission halflife of the doubly even isotope²⁶⁰106 of (7.2 _?2.7 ^+4.8 )ms exceeds the predicted values by at least a factor of 40. This result could be explained by the high shell corrections of the ground state mass, derived from the measured α-decay energies. The experimental results show evidence for an island of purely shell stabilized nuclei in the region of deformed isotopes beyond the actinides.     

Coherence effects in low energy Na*(3p)+Na+ scattering: Experiment and semiclassical calculations

Pronounced polarization effects have been observed in inelastic collisions of laser state-prepared Na^*(3p,M _L) with Na⁺ leading to Na^*(3d) for the energy rangeE _CM=20–45 eV. Using linearly polarized light the dependence of the inelastic process on the alignment of the electronic charge cloud of the Na^*(3p) prior to the collision has been measured. In studies with left and right hand circularly polarized light the angular momentum transferred in the collision process has been determined. The results are compared with similar data for the 3p→3s deexitation process studied previously [6]. The density matrix of the Na^*(3p) state has been evaluated with respect to the collisional excitation to Na^*(3d). Semiclassical calculations based on the coupled channel impact parameter approximation using pseudopotentials [7] and nonadiabatic rotational coupling elements for the Na ₂ ^* system [12] have been performed. The agreement with the experimental results is good, in particular for the higher collision energies.     

Positron studies of hydrogen-defect interactions in proton irradiated molybdenum

Molybdenum single crystals are irradiated at 20 K with 6 MeV protons. The radiation damage and lattice defect annealing is studied by positron lifetime spectroscopy in the temperature range from 15 to 720 K. Loss of vacancies due to recombination with mobile interstitials is observed at 40 K (Stage I) in agreement with resistivity measurements. This is the first time Stage I is observed by positrons below 77 K. The implanted hydrogen decorates the vacancies around 100 K, which is consistent with a hydrogen migration energy in molybdenum:E _M ^H = 0.3–0.4 eV. Clustering of spatially correlated vacancies takes place in a wide temperature region below the usual vacancy clustering stage (Stage III). Stage III is observed at rather low temperatures (400–480 K) due to the very high vacancy concentration. Hydrogen bound to vacancies and vacancy clusters is released above 540 K, which puts an upper limit to the hydrogen binding energy:E _B ^H 1.4 eV. The present work emphasizes the advantage of employing a vacancy sensitive technique to study hydrogen in metals, where its intrinsic solubility is low. In such metals (as molybdenum) both the effective solubility and the effective mobility of hydrogen are strongly influenced by the presence of vacancies.     

Stark- and Zeeman-effect of resonance lines of Ba I

Laserspectroscopic investigations were performed on a collimated atomic beam of barium (natural isotope abundance). The metastable ground levels (³D_1,2,3 and ¹D₂) of the investigated lines were populated by a discharge burning in barium vapour directly in front of the oven hole. We could investigate 14 spectral lines between 580 and 690 nm. The tensor polarizabilities of the upper and the lower level as well as the differences in the scalar polarizabilities could be determined. Spectra in magnetic fields up to 0.03 Tesla showed no deviation from the pattern resulting from a simple Russell-Sounders coupling.     

Near infrared reflectance spectroscopy for the fast identification of PVC-based films

Near infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy was used to develop a non-destructive and rapid qualitative method for the analysis of plastic films used by the pharmaceutical industry for blistering. Three types of films were investigated: 250 microm PVC [poly(vinyl chloride)] films, 250 microm PVC films coated with 40 g m(-2) of PVDC [poly(vinylidene dichloride)] and 250 microm PVC films coated with 5 g m(-2) of TE (Thermoelast) and 90 g m(-2) of PVDC. Three analyses were carried out using different pre-treatment options and a PLS (partial least squares) algorithm. Each analysis was aimed at identifying one type of film and rejecting all types of false sample (different thickness, colour or layer). True and false samples from four plastics manufacturers were included in the calibration sets in order to obtain robust methods that were suitable regardless of the supplier. Specificity was demonstrated by testing validation sets against the methods. The tests showed 0% of type I (false negative identification) and 1% of type II errors (false positive identification) for the PVC method, 13 and 3%, respectively, for the PVC-PVDC method and no error for the PVC-TE-PVDC method. Type II errors, mostly due to the slight sensitivity of the methods to film thickness, are easily corrected by simple thickness measurements. This study demonstrates that NIR spectroscopy is an excellent tool for the identification of PVC-based films. The three methods can be used by the pharmaceutical industry or plastics manufacturers for the quality control of films used in blister packaging.     

Instrumental neutron activation analysis of Elbe river suspended particulate matter separated according to the settling velocities

Suspended particulate matter in Elbe river water near Hamburg has been separated into different fractions by pouring the samples into special sedimentation tubes called Atterberg cylinders. The fractions are obtained by decanting the water after different settling periods, and by filtrating the decanted part. The analysis is done by neutron activation in the absolute mode, after irradiation periods of 5 min and 3 days. Mean settling velocities of the SPM-mass and the elements determined have been calculated.     

The weakly bound He-HCCCN complex: high-resolution microwave spectra and intermolecular potential-energy surface

Rotational spectra of the weakly bound He-HCCCN and He-DCCCN van der Waals complexes were observed using a pulsed-nozzle Fourier-transform microwave spectrometer in the 7-26-GHz frequency region. Nuclear quadrupole hyperfine structures due to the 14N and D nuclei (both with nuclear-spin quantum number I = 1) were resolved and assigned. Both strong a and weaker b-type transitions were observed and the assigned transitions were used to fit the parameters of a distortable asymmetric rotor model. The dimers are floppy, near T-shaped complexes. Three intermolecular potential-energy surfaces were calculated using the coupled-cluster method with single and double excitations and noniterative inclusion of triple excitations. Bound-state rotational energy levels supported by these surfaces were determined. The quality of the potential-energy surfaces was assessed by comparing the experimental and calculated transition frequencies and also the corresponding spectroscopic parameters. Simple scaling of the surfaces improved both the transition frequencies and spectroscopic constants. Five other recently reported surfaces [O. Akin-Ojo, R. Bukowski, and K. Szalewicz, J. Chem. Phys. 119, 8379 (2003)], calculated using a variety of methods, and their agreement with spectroscopic properties of He-HCCCN are discussed.     

Branched Star-Type Polysilyllithium Compounds: The Effects of beta-Silyl Substitution and of Complexation on Their Molecular Structure

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