Observation of power-Law scaling for phase transitions in linear trapped ion crystals

We report an experimental confirmation of the power-law relationship between the critical anisotropy parameter and ion number for the linear-to-zigzag phase transition in an ionic crystal. Our experiment uses laser cooled calcium ions confined in a linear radio-frequency trap. Measurements for up to ten ions are in good agreement with theoretical and numeric predictions. Implications on an upper limit to the size of data registers in ion trap quantum computers are discussed.     

Correlating the scattered intensities of P3HT and PCBM to the current densities of polymer solar cells

Grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction and rocking scans have quantified the structure of poly(3-hexylthiophene) and [6,6]-phenyl-C(61)-butyric acid methyl ester in the active layers of organic solar cells. Our study reveals that the device J(SC) correlates with the local structural development of pure PCBM and, to second order, the extent of out-of-plane P3HT π-stacking.     

Magnetic susceptibility measurement with a Dupont's thermogravimetric analyser

The adaptation of a Du Pont Thermogravimetric Analyser for the measurement of magnetic susceptibility as a function of temperature in the range – 80 °C to 300 °C is described.

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Zusammenfassung Die Adaptation des Du Pont's Thermogravimetric Analyzer zur Messung der magnetischen Suszeptibilität in Abhängigkeit von der Temperatur im Bereich von – 80° bis 300 °C wird mitgeteilt.

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–80°–300 °.

     

Composition assessment of ferric oxide by accurate peak fitting of the Fe 2p photoemission spectrum

A quantitative study of the surface composition of ferric oxide employing photoemission spectra is presented. It was possible to accurately reproduce the expected composition (Fe_2.00±0.05O₃) by modeling the background as a combination of Shirley‐type (Shirley–Vegh–Salvi–Castle) and slope backgrounds through the active approach. The line‐shape employed to fit apparent peak asymmetries was the double‐Lorentzian. It was possible to resolve a previously unreported satellite located at ~729 eV. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implementation of a genetically tuned neural platform in optimizing fluorescence from receptor-ligand binding interactions on microchips

This paper describes the use of a genetically tuned neural network platform to optimize the fluorescence realized upon binding 5-carboxyfluorescein-D-Ala-D-Ala-D-Ala (5-FAM-(D-Ala)(3) ) (1) to the antibiotic teicoplanin from Actinoplanes teichomyceticus electrostatically attached to a microfluidic channel originally modified with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. Here, three parameters: (i) the length of time teicoplanin was in the microchannel; (ii) the length of time 1 was in the microchannel, thereby, in equilibrium with teicoplanin, and; (iii) the amount of time buffer was flushed through the microchannel to wash out any unbound 1 remaining in the channel, are examined at a constant concentration of 1, with neural network methodology applied to optimize fluorescence. Optimal neural structure provided a best fit model, both for the training set (r(2) = 0.985) and testing set (r(2) = 0.967) data. Simulated results were experimentally validated demonstrating efficiency of the neural network approach and proved superior to the use of multiple linear regression and neural networks using standard back propagation.     

Accurate control of a liquid-crystal display to produce a homogenized Fourier transform for holographic memories

We show an accurate procedure to obtain a Fourier transform (FT) with no dc term using a commercial twisted-nematic liquid-crystal display. We focus on the application to holographic storage of binary data pages, where a drastic decrease of the dc term in the FT is highly desirable. Two different codification schemes are considered: binary pi radians phase modulation and hybrid ternary modulation. Any deviation in the values of the amplitude and phase shift generates the appearance of a strong dc term. Experimental results confirm that the calculated configurations provide a FT with no dc term, thus showing the effectiveness of the proposal.     

Enhanced fusion-evaporation cross sections in neutron-rich 132Sn on 64Ni

Evaporation residue cross sections have been measured with neutron-rich radioactive 132Sn beams on 64Ni in the vicinity of the Coulomb barrier. The average beam intensity was 2 x 10(4) particles per second and the smallest cross section measured was less than 5 mb. Large sub-barrier fusion enhancement was observed. Coupled-channel calculations taking into account inelastic excitation significantly underpredict the measured cross sections below the barrier. The presence of several neutron transfer channels with large positive Q values suggests that multinucleon transfer may play an important role in enhancing the fusion of 132Sn and 64Ni.     

Comparison of quantum,semi-classical and classical methods in the calculation of nitrogen self-broadened linewidths

We perform dynamical calculations on two robust N₂–N₂ potential energy surfaces in order to intercompare pressure broadening coefficients derived from close coupling and coupled states quantum dynamical methods, the semi-classical model of Robert and Bonamy and a full classical method. The coupled states and full classical results compare well with the experimental results or with close coupling values when available. This study confirms that the classical method is a good alternative at room and high temperatures to quantum dynamical methods. The results obtained using the semi-classical method however deviate from the other sets of data at all temperatures considered here (77–2400 K).