Indivisibility of Class Numbers of Real Quadratic Fields

Let D denote the fundamental discriminant of a real quadratic field, and let h(D) denote its associated class number. If p is prime, then the Cohen and Lenstra Heuristics give a probability that ph(D). If pgt;3 is prime, then subject to a mild condition, we show that

ESR studies on the formation of p-benzosemiquinone anions over manganese dioxide

The reaction between a hydroquinone aqueous solution and manganese dioxide has been investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. A very stable p-benzosemiquinone anion is formed when an aqueous solution of hydroquinone is passed through a column of manganese dioxide. The kinetics for the reaction between hydroquinone and manganese dioxide follow the equation where A₀ is the initial concentration of hydroquinone, C is the concentration of p-benzosemiquinone anions, W is the amount of manganese dioxide, F is the feed rate of a hydroquinone aqueous solution, and k₁⁰ and k₂⁰ are constants; k₁⁰ = 3.1 × 10^?2 (cm³/g MnO₂· min), k₂⁰ = 3.2 (cm³/g MnO₂·min). A mechanism for the reaction is proposed such that Mn(IV) in manganese dioxide is reduced to Mn (II) with hydroquinone from which the semiquinone anion is formed via a neutral semiquinone. The formation of semiquinone anions from several substituted hydroquinones is also discussed.     

Water content distribution in a polymer electrolyte membrane for advanced fuel cell system with liquid water supply

To better understand the operation of a new fuel cell design, we used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the water content distribution in a polymer electrolyte membrane under fuel cell operation with and without a supply of liquid water. The supply of liquid water to the membrane improved the cell performance by increasing the water content in the membrane and thus reducing the electrical resistance of the membrane. The study also showed that MRI is a promising method to investigate the distribution of water in the membrane of a fuel cell under operating conditions.     

Subwavelength optical imaging through a metallic nanorod array

We propose a subwavelength imaging system without a lens or a mirror but with an array of metallic nanorods. The near-field components of dipole sources were plasmonically transferred through the rod array to reproduce the source distribution in the other side. We calculated the field distribution at the different planes of imaging process using the finite-difference time-domain algorithm and found that the spatial resolution was 40 nm given by the rod size and spacing. A typical configuration is a hexagonal arrangement of silver rods of 50 nm height and 20 nm diameter. We also show that the image formation highly depends on the coherence and the polarization of the source distribution and the source-array distance.     

Direct observation of excitons and a continuum of one-dimensional Mott insulators: a reflection-type third-harmonic-generation study of Ni-halogen chain compounds

The third-harmonic-generation (THG) spectrum was measured for a NiBr-chain compound, which is a one-dimensional Mott insulator, in a reflection configuration. A sharp peak and a shoulder structure in the THG spectrum are attributed to three-photon resonance to an exciton and a continuum, respectively. The band-edge energy, the exciton binding energy, and the spectral weights for the exciton and the continuum were determined from comparative studies of linear absorption, THG, and electroreflectance spectra. The excitonic effect is more pronounced in the NiCl chain than in the NiBr chain.     

Evolution of the Hall coefficient and the peculiar electronic structure of the cuprate superconductors

Although the Hall coefficient R(H) is an informative transport property of metals and semiconductors, its meaning in the cuprate superconductors has been ambiguous because of its unusual characteristics. Here we show that a systematic study of R(H) in La2-xSrxCuO4 single crystals over a wide doping range establishes a qualitative understanding of its peculiar evolution, which turns out to reflect a two-component nature of the electronic structure caused by an unusual development of the Fermi surface recently uncovered by photoemission experiments.