A beaker without walls: formation of deeply supercooled binary liquid solutions of alcohols from nanoscale amorphous solid films

Layered nanoscale amorphous solid films of methanol and ethanol undergo complete intermixing prior to the onset of measurable desorption at 120 K. This intermixing precedes and inhibits crystallization. Subsequent desorption of the film is described quantitatively by a kinetic model describing evaporation from a continuously mixed ideal binary liquid solution. This occurs at temperatures below the melting point of the binary mixture, indicating ideal behavior for the supercooled liquid solution. This approach provides a new method for preparing and examining deeply supercooled solutions.     

The application of MAS recoupling methods in the intermediate motional regime

We present investigations concerning the effect of molecular motions on the experimental timescale upon the recoupling of anisotropic interactions under magic-angle spinning conditions. An approach for the efficient simulation of spin dynamics occurring during complex pulse sequences, based on a linearization of the general solution of the stochastic Liouville-von Neumann equation, was developed. Using (13)C CSA recoupling of the methyl carbon in dimethylsulfon as a sample interaction, we observed a characteristic signal decay under recoupling upon entering the intermediate motional regime, which can be well described by an apparent transverse relaxation time, T(2)(rcpl). This quantity does not depend on the spinning frequency to a first approximation. Specific recoupling experiments, namely the measurement of tensor parameters by spinning sideband analysis, and the determination of rate constants with the CODEX experiment, are discussed with respect to possibilities and limits of their application in the intermediate motional regime. Important conclusions are drawn with regards to the limited applicability of popular recoupling methods like REDOR to samples exhibiting intermediate mobility.     

Advantages and Limitations of Solid Layer Experiments in Muon Catalyzed Fusion

Since the discovery that muonic deuterium at energies near a few eV could travel distances of the order of 1 mm in condensed hydrogen, and in particular that muonic tritium and muonic deuterium could emerge from the surface of a solid hydrogen layer, the advantages of solid targets have enabled the study of several processes important in muon catalyzed fusion. A review of the results is presented, emphasizing the strengths and limitations of the use of solid hydrogen layer targets. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Bending insensitivity of fiber Bragg gratings in suspended-core optical fibers

This Letter presents simulation and experimental results that explore bending insensitivity of fiber Bragg gratings in suspended-core optical fibers. The implementation of thin silica bridge in the fibers enhances index contrast of the fiber core and reduces bending-induced strain transfer to the fiber core. This fiber design lead to a reduction of over 7 times in strain-induced fiber Bragg grating resonant peak shifts in the suspended-core fiber compared with that in standard telecommunication fiber, and an 0.14 dB bending loss at a bending radius of 6.35 mm.     

The effect of solvent upon molecularly thin rotaxane film formation

We have investigated variations in molecularly thin rotaxane films deposited by solvent evaporation, using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Small changes in rotaxane structure result in significant differences in film morphology. The addition of exo-pyridyl moietes to the rotaxane macrocycle results in uniform domains having orientations corresponding to the underlying substrate lattice, while a larger, less symmetric molecule results in a greater lattice mismatch and smaller domain sizes. We have measured differences in film heights both as a function of the solvent of deposition and as a function of surface coverage of rotaxanes. Based on these observations we describe how the use of solvents with higher hydrogen-bond basicity results in films which are more likely to favour sub-molecular motion.     

Magnetism in very thin films of permalloy measured by spin polarized cascade electrons

The spin polarizationP of the low energy cascade electrons excited with a primary unpolarized electron beam is measured with ultrathin films of permalloy (Ni₈₀Fe₂₀) as a function of film thickness, external magnetic field, and temperatureT. Surface adsorbates of small concentrations of less than 10% of a monolayer can change the Curie point and the saturation value ofP ₀(T0) by as much as 30%. The Ta-substrate induces a magnetically dead region in permalloy. Conventional spin wave theory cannot account for the observed smallT-dependence of the magnetizationM. Films on a nonmagnetic substrate are compared to similar films coupled to bulk permalloy over an interface of Ta. TheT-dependence ofM with the coupled films can be explained by spin wave theory. At lowT, the films coupled to the bulk exhibit a faster decrease ofM than the uncoupled films. We propose that this thermal stabilization of the magnetization in very thin ferromagnetic films is due to quenching of the long wavelength spin modes.     

Tracking regression and progression of atherosclerosis in human carotid arteries using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can accurately and reproducibly measure the volume of atherosclerotic plaque in human carotid arteries. Atherosclerotic plaques may either progress or regress over time, depending on individual risk factors and treatment regimens. This study was designed to determine if regression or progression of human carotid atherosclerosis in patients receiving statin therapy over 24 months can be detected by high-resolution MRI. METHODS: In 11 subjects who had undergone unilateral carotid endarterectomy and were on statin therapy, volumes for total carotid artery, concentric wall (normal wall), eccentric wall (plaque), and lumen were quantified at 0, 16 and 24 months using a 1.5-T human imager equipped with 6-cm phased array coils. RESULTS: The interobserver mean coefficient of variation (CV) was lowest for the lumen volume (3.1%) and highest for the plaque volume (9.8%). The interscan mean CV was lowest for the total artery volume (3.2%) and highest for the plaque volume (9.9%). As much as 26% regression and 35% progression were observed in individual subject's carotid artery eccentric wall (plaque) volumes over time. Mean eccentric wall volume increased 5% by 16 months and 8% by 24 months. Mean total wall volume increased slightly at both 16 and 24 months (+1.2% and +1.8%). CONCLUSIONS: High-resolution MRI provides a noninvasive reproducible method of tracking changes in carotid atherosclerosis. This pilot study detected changes in individual subjects at both 16 and 24 months. MRI tracking of changes in atherosclerotic plaques should prove useful in assessing vascular disease risk and monitoring the efficacy of interventions designed to induce regression or retard progression.     

Shock-wave velocity of a femtosecond-laser-produced plasma

Fluorescence measurements have been used to characterize the velocity of atoms in a femtosecond-laser-produced plasma. Nanogram amounts of a copper sample were ablated by the focused radiation (λ=775 nm) of an all-solid-state laser. The laser was operated at a pulse rate of 10 Hz with an energy of 200μJ per pulse. The microplasma expanded into a defined argon atmosphere of pressures between 0.02 and 850 mbar. Atomic fluorescence was excited in the laser plume by a dye-laser pulse with the wavelength set to the line Cu I 282.4 nm. The narrowed beam of the dye-laser was directed into the plasma at different heights above the sample surface. The fluorescence radiation was measured with an échelle-spectrometer, equipped with an intensified-charge-coupled device as the detector. The velocity depends strongly on the pressure of the ambient atmosphere and the distance from the sample surface. The highest velocity found at an argon pressure of 0.02 mbar was 1.0×10⁶ cm s⁻¹.     

Imaging intrinsic diffusion of bridge-bonded oxygen vacancies on TiO2(110)

We report the first measurements and calculations of the intrinsic mobility of bridge-bonded oxygen (BBO) vacancies on a rutile TiO2(110). The sequences of isothermal (340-420 K) scanning tunneling microscope images show that BBO vacancies migrate along BBO rows. The hopping rate increases exponentially with increasing temperature with an experimental activation energy of 1.15 eV. Density functional theory calculations are in very good agreement giving an energy barrier for hopping of 1.03 eV. Both theory and experiment indicate repulsive interactions between vacancies on a given BBO row.