Microwave spectral emission from a glow discharge-filled 18–26 GHz fabry-perot cavity spectrometer

A Fabry-Perot semiconfocal cavity resonator containing air at reduced pressure forms part of a Stark-modulated microwave spectrometer operated near the water 22.235-GHz (6₁₆–5₂₃) and ammonia 23.870 GHz (J = 3, K = 3) absorption lines. A glow discharge is formed in the cavity by an 8.333-kHz sinusoidal electric field of strength up to 140 kV m^?1. Under these conditions in the pressure region near 0.01–1 mbar, microwave emission from water and ammonia is observed when microwave energy between 4 to 6 dBm (source output power) at frequencies near that of the line is coupled into the cavity. Spectral features indicate that the emitting molecules arise from recombination of H + OH and H + NH₂. Predischarge features indicate that H₂O is excited directly by electron impact with simultaneous dissociation to OH and its excitation. NH₃ appears to be excited indirectly by energy transfer possibly from a metastable state resulting in dissociation to radicals in the discharge. Significant signal/noise treatment of the signals is found, compared with signals arising from coventional rotational (H₂O) or inversion (NH₃) absorption at these lines.     

Mass spectrometry imaging of rat brain sections: nanomolar sensitivity with MALDI versus nanometer resolution by TOF–SIMS

Mass spectrometry imaging is becoming a more and more widely used method for chemical mapping of organic and inorganic compounds from various surfaces, especially tissue sections. Two main different techniques are now available: matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionizaton, where the sample, preliminary coated by an organic matrix, is analyzed by a UV laser beam; and secondary ion mass spectrometry, for which the target is directly submitted to a focused ion beam. Both techniques revealed excellent performances for lipid mapping of tissue surfaces. This article will discuss similarities, differences, and specificities of ion images generated by these two techniques in terms of sample preparation, sensitivity, ultimate spatial resolution, and structural analysis.     

Search for the Theta+ Pentaquark in the gammad--> DeltanK+ reaction measured with the CLAS spectrometer

For the first time, the reaction gammad-->DeltanK+ has been analyzed in order to search for the exotic pentaquark baryon Theta+(1540). The data were taken at Jefferson Laboratory, using the Hall-B tagged-photon beam of energy between 0.8 and 3.6 GeV and the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS). No statistically significant structures were observed in the nK+ invariant-mass distribution. The upper limit on the gammad-->DeltaTheta+ integrated cross section has been calculated and found to be between 5 and 25 nb, depending on the production model assumed. The upper limit on the differential cross section is also reported.     

Equilibrium phase diagram of polystyrene and 8CB

The experimental equilibrium phase diagram of a mixture of linear polystyrene of molecular weight M_w = 44,000 g/mol and 4‐cyano‐4′‐n‐octyl‐biphenyl (8CB) is established. The three transitions smectic A‐nematic, nematic‐isotropic, and isotropic‐isotropic are observed. The first two are observed both by optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) while the isotropic‐isotropic transition could be seen only via optical microscopy. Two series of samples with the same compositions were independently prepared and yielded consistent results both by microscopy and DSC. Measurements of sample compositions with less than 50 weight % of 8CB were influenced by the vicinity of the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the polymer in the mixture. This quantity is also determined by DSC as a function of composition. A single T_g is observed, which decreases with composition of the LC. Other thermodynamic quantities such as the enthalpy variations of LC in the nematic‐isotropic transition and the fraction of LC contained in the droplets are also considered. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 1841–1848, 1999     

Statics and dynamics of single chains in polymer blends and copolymer melts — results beyond the random phase approximation

We present new results on the behaviour of single chains in homo-and copolymer blends which are beyond the rendom phase approximation (RPA). The radius of gyration of a chain in the blend was found to depend strongly on the interactions as well as the effective diffusion constant of a single chain in the blend or copolymer melt. Note that these results cannot be obtained in the original formulation of the RPA. They are based on the effective Hamiltonian of the chain in the medium. In the equation found for the self diffusion constant of a single chain, D_s, the second term is directly the value of the effective potential at zero wave vector. Thus the measurement of D_s would detect the screened potential at q = 0. Experimental verification of these results is in progress.     

Dynamics of multicomponent polymer mixtures: theoretical models

Theoretical models describing the dynamics of multicomponent polymer mixtures are reviewed. Some detailed derivations are shown to make the basic assumptions clear and to ease the comparison between these models. The effects of random noise and memory functions on the time evolution of dynamical correlation functions are examined. The long-range hydrodynamic interactions or mode-coupling effects are also included. A possible extension of these models to the kinetics of spinodal decomposition in solutions of polymer mixtures is briefly discussed.