Magnetic deflection of neutral metal clusters in a beam

A new apparatus for measuring the magnetic properties of metal clusters has been constructed. The technique involves the conventional Stern-Gerlach deflection scheme together with modern pulsed laser vaporization source technology and time of flight mass spectrometry. High field seeking monodirectional deflections have been measured for cobalt clusters containing between 40 and 400 atoms. The measured magnetic moments per atom are found to be lower than the known values for the bulk. Special attention has been given to velocity measurements of the metal clusters and the carrier gas atoms in the beam. The residence time of the particles in the source cavity has been measured.     

Measurement of the transverse Doppler shift using a stored relativistic7Li+ ion beam

We have performed for the first time precision spectroscopy on a coasting fast⁷Li⁺ ion beam in a storage ring. The ion beam moving with 6.4% speed of light was first electron cooled and then merged with two counterpropagating laser beams acting on two different hyperfine transitions sharing a common upper level (λ-system). One laser was frequency locked to thea ₃ ¹²⁷J₂ hfs frequency component established as a secondary frequency standard at 514 nm. The second laser was tuned over theλ-resonance, which was recorded relative to¹²⁷J₂ hfs components. This experiment is sensitive to the time dilation in fast moving frames and will lead to new limits for the verification of special relatively. The present status of the experiment and perspectives in accuracy are discussed.     

Inversion of the density gradient and the diffusion “gate” in isothermal mixing of gases

The stable quasistationary mixing of ternary gas mixtures in a system of two chambers connected by a capillary is described by a theoretical model which predicts the density distribution of the mixture along the length of the diffusion channel. It is demonstrated that inversion of the density gradient can occur due to a nonlinear concentration distribution of the heavy component in a diffusion “gate” effect. The results obtained using this model are compared with the experimental data. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 14–17 (May 1998)     

Principal components and spatial patterns of rain over Northern Italy, in relation to wind and geopotential fields

Summary A statistical study of precipitation over the Po Valley and the Alps during four winters, based on the application of a principal component (p.c.) method, exhibited a good correlation between the first three rotated eigenvectors of the cross-product matrix (between time series of data recorded at 70 stations) and three typical atmospheric circulation schemes over Northern Italy. The study is here continued, by relating these results to meteorological fields evaluated over a region wider than the area previously considered. Our attention mainly concentrated on the fields of time trend of geopotential height at 850 hPa over Europe, between latitude 34.5 and 51 degrees North and longitudes 0 and 21 degrees East. This was suggested by some peculiar relationships shown by the statistical distributions of geopotential height and wind direction and speed with respect to the first three p.c.’s. These relationships made us think of the possibility to use those trends as predictors of precipitation fields. Our analysis puts into evidence that three spatial patterns of geopotential, height time trend can be safely associated to the first three p.c.’s and, as a consequence, to the three precipitation modes corresponding to the spatial distributions of the eigenvectors, previously identified by us. They can therefore be considered meaningful precursors of precipitation field patterns over Northern Italy and Alpine regions.

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Riassunto Uno studio statistico della precipitazione sulla pianura padana e sulle Alpi durante quattro inverni, basato sull’applicazione del metodo delle componenti principali (c.p.), ha mostrato una buona correlazione fra i primi tre autovettori rotati della matrice dei prodotti incrociati (fra le serie temporali dei dati registrati in 70 stazioni) e tre tipici schemi di circolazione atmosferica sull’Italia del Nord. Lo studio viene qui prosequito, mettendo in relazione tali risultati con campi meteorologici valutati su una zona piú ampia di quella precedentemente considerata. La nostra attenzione si è prevalentemente concentrata sui campi di tendenza temporale dell’altezza di geopotenziale a 850 hPa sull’Europa, a latitudini comprese tra 34.5 e 51 gradi Nord e longitudini fra 0 e 21 gradi Est. Ciò è stato suggerito da alcune relazioni peculiari mostrate dalle distribuzioni statistiche di altezza di geopotenziale e di direzione ed intensità del vento rispetto alle prime tre c.p., che ci hanno fatto pensare alla possibilità di usare tali tendenze come predittori del campo di precipitazione. La nostra analisi ha messo in evidenza il fatto che tre distribuzioni spaziali di tendenza temporale del campo di altezza di geopotenziale possono essere con sicurezza associate alle prime tre c.p. e., quindi, ai tre modi di precipitazione corrispondenti alle distribuzioni spaziali degli autovettori precedentemente da noi identificati. Essi possono pertanto essere considerati significativi precursori del campo di precipitazione sull’Italia del Nord e sulle regioni alpine.

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Резюме Статистическое исследование выпадения осадков над долиной реки По и Альпами в течение четырех зим, основанное на применении метода главных компонент, обнаруживает хорошую корреляцию между первыми тремя вращающимися собственными векторами матрицы векторного произведения (между временными последовательностями данных, зарегистрированных на 70 станциях) и тремя схемами типичной атмосферной циркуляции над Северной Италией. В этой работе продолжены исследования. Полученные результаты связывайотся с метеорологическими полями, вычисленными над областью, которая шире ранее рассмотренной области. Главное внимание мы обращаем на поля временного хода для геопотенциальной высоты при 850гПа над Европой, между 34.5^щ и 51^щ северной широты и между 0^щ и 21^щ восточной долготы. Это следует из специальных соотношений, полученных с помощью статистических распределений геопотенциальной высоты и направления и скорости ветра относительно первых трех главных компонент. Эти соотношения позволяют нам использовать исследованные тенденции, как предсказатели полей вьшадения осадков. Нам анализ подтверждает, что три пространственным распределения временного хода для геопотенциальной высоты могут быть связаны с первыми тремя главными компонентами и, как следствие, с тремя моделями выцадения осадков, которые соответствуют пространственным распределениям собственных векторов, ранее идентифицированных в работе [Ш]. Следовательно, они могут рассматриватяся как предвестники для распределений полей осадков над Северной Италией и над Альпами.

     

Influence of surface energy and relative humidity on AFM nanomechanical contact stiffness

The effects of surface functionality and relative humidity (RH) on nanomechanical contact stiffness were investigated using atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM), a contact scanned-probe microscopy (SPM) technique. Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) with controlled surface energy were studied systematically in a controlled-humidity chamber. AFAM amplitude images of a micropatterned, graded-surface-energy SAM sample revealed that image contrast depended on both ambient humidity and surface energy. Quantitative AFAM point measurements indicated that the contact stiffness remained roughly constant for the hydrophobic SAM but increased monotonically for the hydrophilic SAM. To correct for this unphysical behavior, a viscoelastic damping term representing capillary forces between the tip and the SAM was added to the data analysis model. The contact stiffness calculated with this revised model remained constant with RH, while the damping term increased strongly with RH for the hydrophilic SAM. The observed behavior is consistent with previous studies of surface energy and RH behavior using AFM pull-off forces. Our results show that surface and environmental conditions can influence accurate measurements of nanomechanical properties with SPM methods such as AFAM.     

Isobar separation at FRS-ESR – a development towards pure isomeric stored beams

One important goal of the ILIMA project at FAIR is the study of masses and decay properties of relativistic isomeric beams stored and cooled in the planned storage-ring complex. A new scheme is described, where a storage-cooler ring is used for high-resolution mass separation. Experimental results on the separation of the isobaric pair ¹⁴⁰Pr-¹⁴⁰Ce are presented. P. Beller, deceased.