On the Stability of Ballooning Modes in the Boundary Layers of a Gas Insulated Plasma

In order to fulfill power density requirements in future steady-state fusion reactors the ion density in central parts must be of the order 10²⁰–10²¹–m^?3. In such systems high density neutral gas may surround the hot plasma, whether introduced on purpose or not, provided the neutral gas flux from the plasma is not continuously removed by external means. In gas insulated plasmas large density and pressure gradients will arise close to the boundaries on account of plasma neutral gas interaction effects. In this paper the stability of gravity driven ballooning modes in the boundary region is investigated. In particular, the coupling between plasma and neutral gas investigated in previous stability analysis is reconsidered. Also effects previously neglected for example the Nernst effect is taken into account.     

Analysis of a three flavor neutrino oscillation fit to recent Super-Kamiokande data

We have analyzed the most recent available Super-Kamiokande data in a three flavor neutrino oscillation model. We have here neglected possible matter effects and we performed a fit to atmospheric and solar Super-Kamiokande data. We have investigated a large parameter range where the mixing angles were restricted to , , and the mass squared differences were taken to be in the intervals and , i.e., the hierarchy between the mass squared differences is not completely determined. This yielded a best solution characterized by the parameter values , , , , and , which shows that the analyzed experimental data speak in favor of a bimaximal mixing scenario with one of the mass squared differences in the “just-so” domain and the other one in the range capable of providing a solution to the atmospheric neutrino problem. Received: 4 July 2000 / Published online: 27 October 2000     

Microchip electroseparation of proteins using lipid-based nanoparticles

Porous liquid crystalline lipid-based nanoparticles are shown here to enable protein analysis in microchip electroseparation by reducing sample adsorption. Additionally, higher stability and reproducibility of the separations were observed. The method was tested by separating green fluorescent protein (GFP) in hot embossed cyclic olefin polymer microchips with integrated fiber grooves for LIF detection. The sample adsorption was indirectly quantified by measuring the height, width and asymmetry of the separation peaks for various concentrations of nanoparticles in the sample and background electrolyte. Without nanoparticles, electropherograms displayed typical signs of extensive adsorption to the channel walls, with low, broad tailing peaks. Higher, narrower more symmetric peaks were generated when 0.5-10% nanoparticles were added, showing a dramatic reduction of sample adsorption. The current through the separation channel decreased with nanoparticle concentration, reducing to half its value when the nanoparticle concentration was increased from 0.5 to 4%. Addition of nanoparticles enabled separations that were otherwise hindered by extensive adsorption, e.g. separation of GFP mutants differing by only one amino acid. It was also observed that increasing the nanoparticle concentration increased the number of impurities that could be resolved in a GFP sample. This indicates that the adsorption is further reduced, and/or that the nanoparticles provide an interacting pseudostationary phase for electrochromatography.