General difference calculus and its application to functional equations of the second order

One investigates a generalization of difference calculus and applies it to solve the functional equations of second order. Presented at the 11th Colloquium “Quantum Groups and Integrable Systems”, Prague, 20–22 June 2002. This work is supported in part by KBN grant 2 PO3 A 012 19.     

Evidence of the electric quadrupole coupling of 57Fe implanted in silicon

The conversion electron Mössbauer spectra of ⁵⁷Fe implants in silicon were measured in an applied strong magnetic field. The existence of axial, positive quadrupole coupling at iron nuclei was established.     

Analysis of the urban atmosphere and air pollution source effluents for Phenalen-1-one and 7 H-benz(de)anthracen-7-one

Summary Through the use of one- and two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography and direct spectrophotofluorometric examination of thin-layer plates, two members of a new family of compounds have been found in the atmosphere. Phenalen-1-one and 7 H-benz(de)anthracen-7-one were identified and determined in particulates obtained from urban atmospheres and air pollution source effluents. Scanning techniques and other methods of analysis were also used in characterization and estimation. Two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography followed by direct spectrophotofluorometric analysis appears to be the most promising chromatographic method for the routine analysis of chemical compounds in complex mixtures. It approaches colorimetric analysis in simplicity and speed and surpasses it in sensitivity, selectivity and the amount of information that can be obtained from one analysis.

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Zusammenfassung Durch ein und zweidimensionale Dünnschichtchromatographie und direkte Spektralfluoreszenzanalyse der Dünnschichtplatten wurden zwei Vertreter einer neuen Verbindungsklasse in der Atmosphäre gefunden. Phenalen-1-on und 7 H-benz(de)anthracen-7-on wurden identifiziert und in Partikeln bestimmt, die aus Stadtatmosphäre bzw. aus Quellen der Luftverunreinigung gewonnen wurden. Scanning-Verfahren und andere Analysenmethoden wurden zur Charakterisierung und Bestimmung gleichfalls herangezogen. Die zweidimensionale Dünnschichtchromatographie mit nachfolgender direkter Fluoreszenzmessung scheint jedoch für Routine-untersuchungen das beste chromatographische Verfahren für komplexe Gemische zu sein. Es entspricht an Einfachheit und Schnelligkeit der Kolorimetrie und übertrifft diese an Empfindlichkeit, Selektivität und Aussagokraft bei Durchführung einer einzigen Bestimmung.

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Résumé On a découvert dans l'atmosphère une nouvelle famille de composés en utilisant la Chromatographie en couche mince, uni et bidimensionnelle et l'examen direct spectrofluorimétrique des plaques avec couches minces. On a identifié la phénalène one-1 et la benzo(de) anthracène-7 H one-7 et on en a fait le dosage dans les particules prélevées dans l'atmosphère urbaine et dans les effluents des sources de pollution de l'air. On a utilisé des techniques d'examen et d'autres méthodes d'analyse pour la caractérisation et l'estimation. La Chromatographie en couche mince bi-dimensionnelle suivie d'une analyse spectrofluorimétrique directe semble être la méthode chromatographique la plus prometteuse pour l'analyse en série de composés chimiques en mélanges complexes. Elle se rapproche de l'analyse colorimétrique par sa simplicité et sa vitesse et la dépasse en sensibilité, en sélectivité et par le nombre de renseignements que l'on peut tirer d'une seule analyse.

     

Conversion electron Mossbauer spectra of very thin gold films

Conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy of the 77.3 keV transition in¹⁹⁷Au is shown to be three orders of magnitude more sensitive than the usual gamma-ray transmission technique. CEMS spectra of metallic gold films as thin as 10–100 μg/cm² (i.e. 5–50 nm) were measured.     

Auditory perception of sound source velocity

In this study we investigate the perception of the velocity of linearly moving sound sources passing in front of a listener. The binaural simulation of motion used in two psychoacoustical experiments includes changes in the overall sound pressure level, the Doppler effect, and changes in interaural time differences. These changes are considered as cues for the perception of velocity. The present experiments are an extension of the experiments performed by Lutfi and Wang [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 106, 919-928 (1999)]. The results of Experiment I show that the differential velocity threshold is independent of the reference velocity (10, 20, 30, and 40 m/s), varying across listeners from 1.5 to 4.6 m/s. In Experiment II, a method based on the successive elimination of cues in compared pairs of signals was employed to estimate the weights of potential cues for velocity discrimination. The magnitudes of all underlying cues at thresholds are reported. The experimental results show the subject's preference for the Doppler cue and a weakest sensitivity to the cue related with interaural time differences. Finally, it was found that spatial differences in the source location at the endpoints of the motion trajectory are not a significant factor in the velocity discrimination task.     

On Mobility and Einstein Relation for Tracers in Time-Mixing Random Environments

In this paper we rigorously establish the existence of the mobility coefficient for a tagged particle in a simple symmetric exclusion process with adsorption/desorption of particles, in a presence of an external force field interacting with the particle. The proof is obtained using a perturbative argument. In addition, we show that, for a constant external field, the mobility of a particle equals to the self-diffusivity coefficient, the so-called Einstein relation. The method can be applied to any system where the environment has a Markovian evolution with a fast convergence to equilibrium (spectral gap property). In this context we find a necessary relation between forward and backward velocity for the validity of the Einstein relation. This relation is always satisfied by reversible systems. We provide an example of a non-reversible system, where the Einstein relation is valid.This revised version was published online in March 2005 with corrections to the page numbers.