Gamow-teller strengths of the inverse beta transition 176Yb-->176Lu for spectroscopy of proton-proton and other sub-MeV solar neutrinos

Discrete Gamow-Teller (GT) transitions 176Yb-->176Lu at low excitation energies have been measured via the ( 3He,t) reaction at 450 MeV and at 0 degrees. For 176Yb, two low-lying states are observed, setting low thresholds Q(nu) = 301 and 445 keV for neutrino ( nu) capture. Capture rates estimated from the measured GT strengths, the simple two-state excitation structure, and the low Q(nu) in Yb-Lu indicate that Yb-based nu detectors are well suited for a direct measurement of the sub-MeV solar electron-neutrino ( nu(e)) spectrum including pp neutrinos.     

Measurement of non-DLVO force on a silicon substrate coated with ammonium poly(acrylic acid) using scanning probe microscopy

The repulsive force originating from steric hindrance of polymers in aqueous solvent was investigated using scanning probe microscopy (SPM). The contact angle (CA) of ammonium poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) solution on the Si surface was measured to estimate the state of the Si substrate. Results of CA measurement show that the Si surface was fully covered with PAA at 0.1 mass% in aqueous solution. The interaction force between the Si tip and the wafer was estimated using the SPM force curve mode. The force curve measured in the ion-exchanged purified water showed the typical relation predicted by Derjaguin-Landau-Verway-Overbeek (DLVO) theory. However, the force curve shape in the 0.1 mass% PAA solution was significantly different. Only a repulsive force was observed at less than about 4 nm of separation distance between the Si wafer and cantilever tip. This distance originated from the steric repulsions of PAA adsorbed onto the Si wafer and cantilever tip.     

Network images of drainage channels in sea spray icing by MR microscopy

An MR imaging system was developed to visualize brine drainage channels in sea spray icing. Brine pockets trapped in spray-ice matrices during ice growth are structural features of sea spray icing. Brine in the spray ice sample had drained out; therefore, using a suction pump, we filled the air gaps in the drainage channels with dodecane. In the experiments, 0.5-1.0 h was necessary to accumulate signals sufficient to obtain a 3-D micro-image; the image matrix comprised 128(3) voxels (each voxel was 200 microm per side). The MIP view showed that sea spray icing has a developed drainage-channel network structure.     

Wetting mode transition of nanoliter scale water droplets during evaporation on superhydrophobic surfaces with random roughness structure

During evaporation, shape changes of nanoliter-scale (80-100 nL) water droplets were evaluated on two superhydrophobic surfaces with different random roughness (nm-coating, μm-coating). The square of the contact radius and the square of the droplet height decreased linearly with evaporation time. However, trend changes were observed at around 170 s (nm-coating) and around 150 s (μm-coating) suggesting a wetting mode transition. The calculated droplet radii for the wetting mode transition from the average roughness distance and the average roughness height of these surface structures were approximately equal to the experimental values at these trend changes. A certain level of correlation between the roughness size and droplet radius at the wetting mode transition was confirmed on surfaces with random roughness.     

A simple Marquardt algorithm for the nonlinear least-squares problem

A new implementation of the Marquardt method for the nonlinear least-squares problem is presented. The algorithm is very simple but its performance with nine test functions is at least comparable with either Davidon-Fletcher-Powell's method or Moré's adaptive Marquardt method.     

Structural study of self-assembled monolayers of ferrocenylalkanethiols on gold by angleresolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

An angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic study has been performed on structures of self-assembling systems, viz ferrocenylthiols on a gold (111) crystal. The angular dependence of the intensities of photoemission reveals that ferrocenyl groups are on the outermost layer, separated from the gold substrate by hydrocarbon chains of the thiol groups.     

Functional organic gels. Enantioselective elution using chiral gels from amino acid-derived lipids

The L-glutamic acid-derived lipids form organic gels in benzene, which show enantioselective elution of N-dansyl L-phenylalanine from organic gels to aqueous phases. Differential scanning calorimetry and circular dichroism measurements demonstrate that this enantioselectivity occurred through highly-oriented structures of aggregated lipids like those of aqueous lipid membrane systems.     

On kinematical invariances of the equations of motion

Invariance properties of the equations of motion are considered from the differential geometric viewpoint, on making use of vector fields and differential forms. It will be shown that the kinematical symmetries generated from first integrals and the invariance such as the dilation can be treated on an equal footing.     

Explosive fragmentation of a thin ceramic tube using pulsed power

This study experimentally examined the explosive fragmentation of thin ceramic tubes using pulsed power. A thin ceramic tube was threaded on a thin copper wire, and high voltage was applied to the wire using a pulsed power generator. This melted the wire and the resulting vapor put pressure on the ceramic tube, causing it to fragment. We examined the statistical properties of the fragment mass distribution. The cumulative fragment mass distribution obeyed the double exponential or power law with exponential decay. Both distributions agreed well with the experimental data. Finally, we obtained universal scaling for fragmentation, which is applicable to both impact and explosive fragmentation.