Limits on equal energy back-to-backγ-rays in252Cf decay

A search has been made for coincident, equal-energy, 180° correlatedγ-rays from²⁵²Cf fission decay. Theseγ-rays may arise if new neutral particles are produced in fission, and if they decay byγ-emission. The fraction of fissions which give rise to particles at rest with masses between 1.4 and 2.0 MeV, which then decay into twoγ-rays in a time ? 10^?19s, is less than 8 × 10^?7 at the 95% confidence level.     

Diffusion-induced Ramsey narrowing

Diffusion-induced Ramsey narrowing is characterized and identified as a general phenomenon, in which diffusion of coherence in and out of an interaction region such as a laser beam induces spectral narrowing of the associated resonance line shape. Illustrative experiments and an intuitive analytical model are presented for this spectral narrowing effect, which occurs commonly in optically interrogated atomic systems and may also be relevant to quantum dots and other solid-state spin systems.     

Cancellation of light shifts in an N-resonance clock

We demonstrate that first-order light shifts can be canceled for an all-optical, three-photon-absorption resonance (N-resonance) on the D1 transition of 87Rb. This light-shift cancellation facilitates improved frequency stability for an N-resonance clock. For example, by using a tabletop apparatus designed for N-resonance spectroscopy, we measured a short-term fractional frequency stability (Allan deviation) of approximately/= 1.5 x 10(-11) tao1/2 for observation times of 1 s < or = tao < or = 50 s. Further improvements in frequency stability should be possible with an apparatus designed as a dedicated N-resonance clock.     

A Definitive Example of Aluminum-27 Chemical Shielding Anisotropy

Solid-state²⁷Al NMR spectra have been obtained for a crystalline 1:1 complex of AlCl₃and OPCl₃. Aluminum chloride phosphoryl chloride, AlCl₃· OPCl₃(1), is unusual in that the Al–O–P bond angle is close to 180°. From analysis of the²⁷Al MAS NMR spectra, it was determined that the²⁷Al nuclear quadrupole coupling constant is 6.0(1) MHz, the asymmetry in the electric field gradient (efg) tensor is 0.15(2), and the isotropic chemical shift, δ_iso(²⁷Al), is 88(1) ppm. Solid-state²⁷Al NMR of a stationary sample reveals a line shape affected by a combination of anisotropic chemical shielding and second-order quadrupolar interactions. Analysis of this spectrum yields a chemical shift anisotropy of 60(1) ppm and orientations of the chemical shift and electric field gradient tensors in the molecular frame. Experimental results are compared with those calculated usingab initioHartree–Fock and density functional theory.     

Structural investigations of silicon nanostructures grown by self-organized island formation for photovoltaic applications

The self-organized growth of crystalline silicon nanodots and their structural characteristics are investigated. For the nanodot synthesis, thin amorphous silicon (a-Si) layers with different thicknesses have been deposited onto the ultrathin (2 nm) oxidized (111) surface of Si wafers by electron beam evaporation under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. The solid phase crystallization of the initial layer is induced by a subsequent in situ annealing step at 700 °C, which leads to the dewetting of the initial a-Si layer. This process results in the self-organized formation of highly crystalline Si nanodot islands. Scanning electron microscopy confirms that size, shape, and planar distribution of the nanodots depend on the thickness of the initial a-Si layer. Cross-sectional investigations reveal a single-crystalline structure of the nanodots. This characteristic is observed as long as the thickness of the initial a-Si layer remains under a certain threshold triggering coalescence. The underlying ultra-thin oxide is not structurally affected by the dewetting process. Furthermore, a method for the fabrication of close-packed stacks of nanodots is presented, in which each nanodot is covered by a 2 nm thick SiO₂ shell. The chemical composition of these ensembles exhibits an abrupt Si/SiO₂ interface with a low amount of suboxides. A minority charge carrier lifetime of 18 µs inside of the nanodots is determined.     

Transverse beam spin asymmetries at backward angles in elastic electron-proton and quasielastic electron-deuteron scattering

We have measured the beam-normal single-spin asymmetries in elastic scattering of transversely polarized electrons from the proton, and performed the first measurement in quasielastic scattering on the deuteron, at backward angles (lab scattering angle of 108°) for Q2 = 0.22 GeV2/c2 and 0.63 GeV2/c2 at beam energies of 362 and 687 MeV, respectively. The asymmetry arises due to the imaginary part of the interference of the two-photon exchange amplitude with that of single-photon exchange. Results for the proton are consistent with a model calculation which includes inelastic intermediate hadronic (πN) states. An estimate of the beam-normal single-spin asymmetry for the scattering from the neutron is made using a quasistatic deuterium approximation, and is also in agreement with theory.     

Spin relaxation by transient monopolar and bipolar optical orientation

We have used two-color time-resolved spectroscopy to measure the relaxation of electron spin polarizations in a bulk semiconductor. The circularly polarized pump beam induces a polarization either by direct excitation from the valence band, or by free-carrier (Drude) absorption when tuned to an energy below the band gap. We find that the spin relaxation time, measured with picosecond time resolution by resonant induced Faraday rotation in both cases, increases in the presence of photogenerated holes. In the case of the material chosen, n-InSb, the increase was from 14 to 38 ps.     

Stimulated terahertz stokes emission of silicon crystals doped with antimony donors

Stimulated Stokes emission has been observed from silicon crystals doped by antimony donors when optically excited by radiation from a tunable infrared free electron laser. The photon energy of the emission is equal to the pump photon energy reduced by the energy of the intervalley transverse acoustic (TA) g phonon in silicon (approximately 2.92 THz). The emission frequency covers the range of 4.6-5.8 THz. The laser process occurs due to a resonant coupling of the 1s(E) and 1s(A1) donor states (separation approximately 2.97 THz) via the g-TA phonon, which conserves momentum and energy within a single impurity center.     

Metallic normal state of Y1Ba2Cu3O(7-delta)

Flux flow was studied over an entire temperature range down to T approximately 2% of T(c) by using intense pulsed current densities to overcome flux-vortex pinning. The resistivity at high vortex velocities is proportional to B and roughly follows rho approximately rho(n)B/H(c2), with a prefactor of order unity. Contrary to some speculation, rho(n) saturates to a finite residual value as T-->0, indicating a metallic (rho-->finite) rather than insulating (rho-->infinity) normal state, and the vortex dissipation continues to be conventional as T-->0.