Mg 2p shallow core-level and local atomic structure of i-ZnMgRE quasicrystals

We present a detailed analysis of the Mg 2p shallow core-levels measured on icosahedral single-grain ZnMgY, ZnMgHo, and ZnMgEr quasicrystals during a photoelectron microscopy study. The synchrotron radiation photoemission measurements were performed on in situ cleaved samples at a pressure of 10⁻¹⁰ mbar and at low temperature, typically 90-150 K. The Mg 2p photoemission lines are essentially broadened as compared to those of the Mg 2p spin-orbit doublet recorded on the Zn₂Mg crystalline Laves phase. The broadening is associated to the coordination shifts of the Mg 2p level due to the inequivalent magnesium sites in the quasicrystalline lattice. The coordination shifts are calculated on the basis of i-ZnMg(Ho, Y) atomic structure data, recently determined from the pair distribution function analysis. The coordination shifts obtained are up to 0.2 eV. The Mg 2p experimental spectral intensity is nicely reproduced by a superposition of coordination-shifted Mg 2p spin-orbit doublets.     

Synthesis of metabolites of 3-O-t-butylmorphine

The synthesis of 2-hydroxymethyl-2-propylmorphine ( 5 ) and 2-hydroxymethyl-2-propylnormorphine ( 7 ), the major rat urinary metabolites of 3-O-t-butylmorphine ( 3 ) are described.     

Near-infrared laser photoacoustic detection of methane: the impact of molecular relaxation

A photoacoustic sensor has been developed for trace-gas monitoring using a near-infrared semiconductor laser emitting in the 2ν₃ band of methane at 1.65 μm. The apparatus was designed for on-line process control in the manufacturing of the novel low-water-peak fibres developed for optical telecommunications. The importance of collisional relaxation processes in the generation of the photoacoustic signal is reported in the particular case of CH₄ detection in dry O₂ and O₂–N₂ mixtures. The negative influence of these effects results in a strongly reduced and phase-shifted photoacoustic signal, induced by a fast resonant coupling between the vibrational states of methane and oxygen, associated with the slow relaxation of the excited oxygen molecules. An unusual parabolic response of the sensor with respect to the methane concentration has been observed and is discussed. Finally, the beneficial effect of several species, including water vapour and helium, acting as a catalyst to hasten the relaxation of the CH₄–O₂ system, is demonstrated. PACS 42.62.Fi; 33.20.Ea; 34.50.Ez     

Trimeric liquid crystals containing lateral alkyl chains

The first twelve members of the n-alkyl 2,5-bis-(4'-cyanobiphenyloxybutyloxy)-benozates have been prepared. The compounds are nematogenic; in addition the first three members exhibit a smectic A phase. The nematic-isotropic transition temperatures decrease with little or no alternation on increasing the number of methylene groups in the lateral chain; this is analogous to the behaviour found in monomeric and polymeric mesogens possessing lateral alkyl chains.     

Coercivity analysis in R17Fe83−χBχ magnets

We studied the coercivity in magnets of composition R₁₇Fe_83−χB_χ (R = Nd, Pr and χ = 8, 30), using measurements of the coercive field H_c, its angular dependence, and the magnetic viscosity coefficient S_v, for temperatures between 4.2 and 500 K. The results are discussed in relation to a model which does not specifically consider the detailed mechanisms involved in magnetization reversal, but which provides information about the magnetic properties in the activation volume v where magnetization reversal is initiated. It is concluded that the ordering temperature in v tends to be slightly smaller than in the bulk and that the room temperature anisotropy in v is not strongly reduced with respect to the bulk value. Finally, a direct evaluation of the dipolar interactions is in good agreement with results obtained from H_c(T).     

Deuteron and neutron structure functions and the effect of relativistic Fermi motion

The deep-inelastic deuteron structure function (SF) F₂^D in the covariant approach in the light-cone variables is considered. The neutron SF F₂ⁿ is extracted from the deuteron and proton experimental data taking into account the relativistic deuteron model and the parametrization of F₂ⁿ is obtained. The effect of the relativistic Fermi motion is estimated to be 6% at x0.7. The extracted neutron SF is used to verify the Gottfried sum rule. It is shown that the violation of the flavour symmetry of the sea can be large with increasing Q².