In-medium properties of the D13(1520) nucleon resonance

The in-medium properties of the D13(1520) nucleon resonance were studied via photoproduction of pi(0) mesons from nuclei (C, Ca, Nb, Pb) with the TAPS detector at the Mainz Microton accelerator. The inclusive (single and multiple pion production) data disagree with model predictions which explain the disappearance of the second resonance bump in total photoabsorption via a medium modification of the D13-->Nrho decay. The exclusive single pi(0) production data show no broadening of the resonance structure beyond Fermi smearing. Both results together cast doubt on attempts to explain the vanishing of the second resonance bump for nuclei by a broadening of the D13 resonance.     

Generalized M/G/C/C state dependent queueing models and pedestrian traffic flows

The generality and usefulness ofM/G/C/C state dependent queueing models for modelling pedestrian traffic flows is explored in this paper. We demonstrate that the departure process and the reversed process of these generalizedM/G/C/C queues is a Poisson process and that the limiting distribution of the number of customers in the queue depends onG only through its mean. Consequently, the models developed in this paper are useful not only for the analysis of pedestrian traffic flows, but also for the design of the physical systems accommodating these flows. We demonstrate how theM/G/C/C state dependent model is incorporated into the modelling of large scale facilities where the blocking probabilities in the links of the network can be controlled. Finally, extensions of this work to queueing network applications where blocking cannot be controlled are also presented, and we examine an approximation technique based on the expansion method for incorporating theseM/G/C/C queues in series, merge, and splitting topologies of these networks.     

A particle-wave steering mechanism

A freely-moving electron cannot emit a photon, but it can emit a tachyon. If the momentum transfer in this process is small, then the tachyon travels forward at the de Broglie phase velocity. This suggests a particle-wave steering mechanism, with an exchange of momentum between the electron and its de Broglie phase wave. Using this steering mechanism, we calculate the electron trajectories in a virtual-double-slit experiment. These calculations demonstrate the distinction between channel trapping and channel focusing. The trajectories obtained here are different from the double-slit deterministic trajectories calculated using the de Broglie-Bohm quantum potential.     

Thin film MRI-high resolution depth imaging with a local surface coil and spin echo SPI

A multiple echo, single point imaging technique, employing a local surface coil probe, is presented for examination of thin film samples. Depth images with a nominal resolution of 5 microm were acquired with acquisition times on the order of 10 min. The method may be used to observe dynamic phenomenon such as polymerization, wetting, and drying in thin film samples. It is readily adapted to spatially resolved diffusion coefficient and T2 relaxation time mapping.     

Prototypal dithiazolodithiazolyl radicals: synthesis, structures, and transport properties

New synthetic routes to 1,2,3-dithiazolo-1,2,3-dithiazolylium salts, based on double Herz condensations of N-alkylated 2,6-diaminopyridinium salts with sulfur monochloride, have been developed. The two prototypal 1,2,3-dithiazolo-1,2,3-dithiazolyl radicals HBPMe and HBPEt have been prepared and characterized in solution by cyclic voltammetry and EPR spectroscopy. Measured electrochemical cell potentials and computed (B3LYP/6-31G) gas-phase disproportionation enthalpies favor a low on-site Coulombic repulsion energy U in the solid state. The crystal structures of HBPR (R = Me, Et) have been determined by X-ray crystallography (at 293 K). Both consist of slipped pi-stacks of undimerized radicals, with many close intermolecular S- - -S contacts. Magnetic, conductivity, and optical measurements have been performed and the results interpreted in light of extended Hückel band calculations. The crystalline materials are paramagnetic above 100 K, with room-temperature conductivities sigma(RT) of 10(-5)-10(-6) S cm(-1); the slightly greater conductivity of the R = Et compound can be associated with a more well developed band structure. We suggest a Mott-Hubbard insulator ground state for these materials, with an on-site Coulomb repulsion energy U of about 1.0 eV.     

Resonance-stabilized 1,2,3-dithiazolo-1,2,3-dithiazolyls as neutral pi-radical conductors

Alkylation of the zwitterionic heterocycle 8-chloro-bis[1,2,3]dithiazolo[4,5-b:5',4'-e]pyridine (ClBP) with alkyl triflates affords 8-chloro-4-alkyl-4H-bis[1,2,3]dithiazolo[4,5-b:5',4'-e]pyridin-2-ium triflates [ClBPR][OTf] (R = Me, Et, Pr). Reduction of these salts with decamethylferrocene affords the corresponding ClBPR radicals as thermally stable crystalline solids. The radicals have been characterized in solution by cyclic voltammetry and EPR spectroscopy. Measured electrochemical cell potentials and computed (B3LYP/6-31G) gas-phase disproportionation enthalpies are consistent with a low on-site Coulombic barrier U to charge transfer in the solid state. The crystal structures of ClBPR (R = Me, Et, Pr) have been determined by X-ray crystallography (at 293 K). All three structures consist of slipped pi-stacks of undimerized radicals, with many close intermolecular S.S contacts. ClBPMe undergoes a phase transition at 93 K to a slightly modified slipped pi-stack arrangement, the structure of which has also been established crystallographically (at 25 K). Variable-temperature magnetic and conductivity measurements have been performed, and the results interpreted in light of extended Hückel band calculations. The room-temperature conductivities of ClBPR systems (sigma(RT) approximately 10(-)(5) to 10(-)(6) S cm(-)(1)), as well as the weak 1D ferromagnetism exhibited by ClBPMe, are interpreted in terms of weak intermolecular overlap along the pi-stacks. The latter is caused by slippage of the molecular plates, a feature necessitated by the steric size of the R and Cl groups on the pyridine ring.     

Determination of the enantiomeric composition of samples of cocaine by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the quantitation of the enantiomers of cocaine. Mixtures of the naturally occurring (−)-cocaine and synthetically produced (+)-cocaine were hydrolysed in water to (+) and (−)-benzoyl ecgonine. Esterification with an optically pure 2-octanol resulted in diastereoisomers that could be separated on bare silica gel using an acetonitrile-aqueous ammonium phosphate mobile phase.     

Thermal and real-time FTIR spectroscopic analysis of the photopolymerization of diepoxide-vinyl ether mixtures

Both epoxides and vinyl ethers can be polymerized cationically albeit through different intermediates. However, in the case of epoxide-vinyl ether mixtures the exact mechanism of cationically initiated polymerization is unclear. Thus, although vinyl ethers can be used as reactive diluents for epoxides it is uncertain how they would affect their reactivity. Cationic photocuring of diepoxides has many industrial applications. Better understanding of the photopolymerization of epoxy-vinyl ether mixtures can lead to new applications of cationically photocured systems. In this work, photo-DSC and real-time Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (RT-FTIR) were used to study cationic photopolymerization of diepoxides and vinyl ethers. In the case of mixtures of aromatic epoxides with tri(ethylene glycol) divinyl ether, TEGDVE, photo-DSC measurements revealed a greatly reduced reactivity in comparison to the homopolymerizations and suggested the lack of copolymerization between aromatic epoxides and TEGDVE. On the other hand, for mixtures of 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl-3',4'-epoxycyclohexane carboxylate, ECH, with TEGDVE the results indicated high reactivity of the blends. The polymerization mechanism might include copolymerization. To examine this mechanism, mixtures of the ECH with a tri(ethylene glycol) mono-vinyl ether, TEGMVE, were studied by both photo-DSC and RT-FTIR. Principal component analysis (PCA) proved to be an efficient tool in analyzing a large matrix of the spectral data from the polymerization system. PCA was able to provide insight into the reasons for the differences among replicated experiments with the same composition ratio and supported the hypothesis of copolymerization in the ECH/TEGMVE system. Thus, blends of cycloaliphatic epoxides and vinyl ethers seem to have a great potential for applications in high-productivity industrial photopolymerization processes. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.