Alpha decay of 109I and its implications for the proton decay of 105Sb and the astrophysical rapid proton-capture process

An alpha-decay branch of (1.4+/-0.4) x 10(-4) has been discovered in the decay of 109I, which predominantly decays via proton emission. The measured Q(alpha) value of 3918+/-21 keV allows the indirect determination of the Q value for proton emission from 105Sb of 356+/-22 keV, which is approximately of 130 keV more bound than previously reported. This result is relevant for the astrophysical rapid proton-capture process, which would terminate in the 105Sn(p,gamma)106Sb(p,gamma)107Te(alpha decay)103Sn cycle at the densities expected in explosive hydrogen burning scenarios, unless unusually strong pairing effects result in a 103Sn(p,gamma)104Sb(p,gamma)105Te(alpha decay)101Sn) cycle.     

Spontaneous generation of self-organized solitary wave structures at earth's magnetopause

Spontaneous formation of solitary wave structures has been observed in Earth's magnetopause, and is shown to be caused by the breakup of a zonal flow by the action of drift wave turbulence. Here we show matched observations and modeling of coherent, large-scale solitary electrostatic structures, generated during the interaction of short-scale drift wave turbulence and zonal flows at the Earth's magnetopause. The observations were made by the Cluster spacecraft and the numerical modeling was performed using the wave-kinetic approach to drift wave-zonal flow interactions. Good agreement between observations and simulations has been found, thus explaining the emergence of the observed solitary structures as well as confirming earlier theoretical predictions of their existence.     

Nuclear moments of the neutron-deficient thallium isotopes

The nuclear moments of the neutron-deficient^187,188Tl isotopes were determined by measuring the hyperfine structure splittings of the λ=535 nm line in neutral thallium. An optical efficiency of 2×10⁻⁴ photons per radioactive ion was achieved using collinear fast beam laser spectroscopy with a large solid angle fiber optical array detector. Most of the moments can be interpreted fairly well in the single particle model.     

The hyperfine interaction of Ho3+ in gold

Summary Ho in Au exhibits interesting paramagnetism. The full J=8 angular momentum is partially quenched by the crystal field. At sufficiently low temperatures, however, the ion acts like a Van Vleck paramagnet although it has a non-magnetic doublet at ground state instead of a singlet ground state. An applied magnetic field definitely is enhanced by the large hyperfine interaction and excited ground state mixing. This results in anisotropy all the way up to 1 K which makes^166m HoAu an excellent candidate for a secondary thermometer in the 10mK-1 K region. The complete interpretation of the^166m Ho³⁺ Au experiments will require sizeable computing times.     

Pion and nucleon dissociation in π−p→π−π+π−p at 205 GeV/c

In a 48 000-picture exposure of the Fermilab 30-inch hydrogen bubble chamber to a 205 GeV/cπ^?beam, we have measured 169 events of the reaction, π^?p→π^?π⁺π^?p, with a cross section of 635 ± 61 μb. This reaction proceeds almost entirely via low mass π^? → 3π and p → pππ dissociation. Factorization is satisfied for p → pππ dissociation in πp and pp interactions.     

Using high-power lasers for detection of elastic photon-photon scattering

The properties of four-wave interaction via the nonlinear quantum vacuum is investigated. The effect of the quantum vacuum is to generate photons with new frequencies and wave vectors, due to elastic photon-photon scattering. An expression for the number of generated photons is derived, and using state-of-the-art laser data it is found that the number of photons can reach detectable levels. In particular, the prospect of using the high-repetition Astra Gemini system at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory is discussed. The problem of noise sources is reviewed, and it is found that the noise level can be reduced well below the signal level. Thus, detection of elastic photon-photon scattering may for the first time be achieved.     

Analysing the output from primary screening

From a perspective of process knowledge and enhancement, the analysis of the results of biological screening should not be limited to the outcome of specific projects, but additionally encompass a process centric view. Summarising outcomes across multiple projects is a powerful tool to gain a greater understanding of biological screening that will also enable optimisation of the strategy for specific projects or target classes. We have analysed a set of 73,651 compounds with reproducible (confirmed) results from 63 high-throughput screening (HTS) campaigns to reveal the underlying trends in the population of active compounds. We have focused on the overall physico-chemical profile of compound populations derived from biological screening since the in vivo activity of drug molecules is the result of physico-chemical and structural properties of the compound.