Reactions of massive nuclei for the synthesis of heavy and superheavy nuclei

We study the effect of the entrance channel and the shell structure of reacting massive nuclei on the fusion mechanism and the formation of evaporation residues of heavy and superheavy nuclei. In the framework of the combined dinuclear system concept and advanced statistical model, we analyze the reactions ³²S+¹⁸²W, ⁴⁸Ti+¹⁶⁶Er and ⁶⁰Ni+¹⁵⁴Sm leading to ²¹⁴Th^*, and the reactions ⁴⁸Ca+²⁴⁸Cm and the ⁴⁸Ca+²⁴⁹Cf leading to the ²⁹⁶116 and ²⁹⁷118 compound nuclei, respectively.     

Decay kinetics of the green emission in tungstates and molybdates

Luminescence characteristics of a number of undoped and variously doped PbWO₄ crystals were studied at 0.4–400 K by the time-resolved spectroscopy and compared with those of ZnWO₄,CdWO₄ and PbMoO₄ crystals. Two types of green emission centres are detected in PbWO₄ crystals. The centres of the first type are responsible for the low-temperature 2.3–2.4 eV emission observed under excitation around 3.90–3.95 eV. The structure and parameters of their relaxed excited states were determined. It was concluded that the origin of defects responsible for the green emission of the first type could vary for different crystals. The centres of the second type with the emission around 2.5 eV appear in crystals containing oxygen vacancies after the thermal destruction of Pb⁺-WO₃ centres at T>180 K. Decomposition of the exciton and various defect-related states was also studied, and activation energies of this process were calculated.     

Forces along Equidistant Particle Paths

Two particles on the sphere leave the equator moving due south and travel at a constant and equal speed along a geodesic colliding at the south pole. An observer who is unaware of the curvature of the space will conclude that there is an attractive force acting between the particles. On the other hand, if particles travel at the same speed (initially parallel) along geodesics in the hyperbolic plane, then the particle paths diverge. Imagine two particles in the hyperbolic plane that are bound together at a constant distance with their center of mass traveling along a geodesic path at a constant velocity, then the force due to the curvature of the space acts to break the bond and increases as a quadratic function of the velocity. We consider this problem for the sphere and the hyperbolic plane and we give the exact formula for the apparent force between the particles. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Electron spin lifetimes in Hg0.78Cd0.22 Te and InSb

We have made direct pump–probe measurements of spin lifetimes in long wavelength narrow-gap semiconductors at wavelengths between 4 and 10 μm and from 4 to 300 K. In particular, we measure remarkably long spin lifetimes, τ_s300 ps, even at 300 K for epilayers of degenerate n-type InSb. In this material the mobility is approximately constant between 77 and 300 K, and we find that τ_s is approximately constant in this temperature range. In order to determine the dominant spin relaxation mechanism we have investigated the temperature dependence of τ_s in non-degenerate lightly n-type Hg_0.78Cd_0.22Te of approximately the same band gap as InSb, and find that τ_s varies from 356 ps at 150 K to 24 ps at 300 K. Our results, both in magnitude and temperature dependence of τ_s, imply that the Elliott–Yafet model dominates in these materials.     

Structural and vibrational properties of dilute GaNxAs1−x(P1−x)

We report a comprehensive analyzes of the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) absorption and Raman scattering data on the structural and vibrational properties of dilute ternary GaAs_1−xN_x,[GaP_1−xN_x] (x<0.03) alloys grown on GaAs [GaP] by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and solid source molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). By using realistic total energy and lattice dynamical calculations, the origin of experimentally observed N-induced vibrational features are characterized. Useful information is obtained about the structural stability, vibrational frequencies, lattice relaxations and compositional disorder in GaNAs (GaNP) alloys. At lower composition (x<0.015) most of the N atoms occupy the As [P] sublattice {N_As[N_P]}—they prefer moving out of their substitutional sites to more energetically favorable locations at higher x. Our results for the N-isotopic shifts of local mode frequencies compare favorably well with the existing FTIR data.     

Ultrafast softening in InMnAs

We have used two-color time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect spectroscopy to manipulate and detect dynamic processes of spin/magnetic order in a ferromagnetic semiconductor InMnAs. We observed ultrafast photo-induced “softening” (i.e., transient decrease of coercivity) due to spin-polarized transient carriers. This transient softening persists only during the carrier lifetime (2 ps) and returns to its original value as soon as the carriers recombine to disappear. Our data clearly demonstrates that magnetic properties, e.g., coercivity, can be strongly and reversibly modified in an ultrafast manner. We attribute the origin of this unusual phenomenon to carrier-mediated ferromagnetic exchange interactions between Mn ions. We discuss the dependence of data on the pump polarization, pump intensity, and sample temperature. Our observation opens up new possibilities for ultrafast optical manipulation of ferromagnetic order as well as providing a new avenue for studying the dynamics of long-range collective order in strongly correlated many-body systems.     

Symmetry properties of radioactive N=Z nuclei

Recent mass measurements of proton-rich nuclei close to the N=Z line were used for the calculation of the interaction strength δV _pn between valence protons and neutrons. When compared with δV _pn values calculated from mass values of the AME’95 mass tables, the breaking down of the SU(4) symmetry is verified at Z=32,33,34.     

Latest results on J/ϕ suppression

We present preliminary results on J/? production in Pb-Pb collisions at 158 GeV/nucleon, obtained in the analysis of the most recent data sample collected by NA50 experiment in year 2000. The results are compared with an updated absorption curve deduced from new high statistics protonnucleus data. The measurements reported here confirm the anomalous J/? suppression already observed by NA50 from previously collected data samples.     

A realistic coronary artery phantom for particle image velocimetry

Myocardial infarction results from the rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque, which occurs in response to both mechanical stress and inflammatory processes. In order experimentally observe flow into atherosclerotic coronary artery morphologies, a novel technique for molding realistic compliant phantom featuring injection-molded inclusions and multiple layers has been developed. This transparent phantom allows for particle image velocimetry (PIV) flow analysis and can supply experimental data to validate computational fluid dynamics algorithms and hypothesis.