The influence of substrate material and annealing procedure on the properties of superconducting thin films

Thin layers YBa₂Cu₃O_7–x. are deposited by a laser ablation technique using a pulsed excimer laser operating at 308 nm. The influence of the substrate material and the annealing procedure on the superconducting behaviour of the 123 film and the reactions between the film and the substrate are studied by resistance, X-ray patterns and TEM measurements. The best results are obtained for deposition on (100) SrTiO₃ substrates. The resistance of the 1 m thick film shows a metallic behaviour, an onset in superconductivity at a temperature of 90 K, and has zero resistance at 86 K. The 123 material has a preferential oriented c-axis perpendicular to the surface plane.     

Forward-backward multiplicity correlations in σ+ p,K + p andpp collisions at 250 GeV/c

Forward-backward multiplicity correlations in σ⁺,K ⁺ p andpp collisions at 250 GeV/c ( \(\sqrt s \) =22 GeV) are given for all charges and for the different charge combinations. The correlations are found to be caused predominantly by centrally produced particles. It is demonstrated that this result is an agreement with observations at the ISR and the CERNp \(\bar p\) -Collider. The results are compared to expectations from LUND, DPM and FRITIOF Monte Carlo models and a geometrical picture relating correlations in hadron-hadron collisions toe ⁺ e ^? data in terms of impact parameters is tested.     

Spatial fluctuations in reaction-limited aggregation

A general method is used for describing reaction-diffusion systems, namely van Kampen's method of compounding moments, to study the spatial fluctuations in reaction-limited aggregation processes. The general formalism used here and in subsequent publications is developed. Then a particular model is considered that is of special interest, since it describes the occurrence of a phase transition (gelation). The corresponding rate constants for the reaction between two clusters of sizei and sizej areK _ij=ij (i, j=1, 2,). For thediffusion constants D _j of clusters of sizej the following class of models is considered:D _j=D if 1Js andD _j=0 ifj>s. The casess= ands< are studied separately. For the models= the equal-time and the two-time correlation functions are calculated; this modelbreaks down at the gel point. The breakdown is characterized by a divergence of the density fluctuations, and is caused by the large mobility of large clusters. For all models withs< the density fluctuations remain finite att _c, and the equal-time correlation functions in the pre- and in the post-gel stage are calculated. Many explicit and asymptotic results are given. From the exact solution the upper critical dimension in this gelling model isd _c=2.     

Scattering theory relevant to the linear transport of particle swarms

The long-time behavior of the velocity distribution of a spatially uniform diluted guest population of charged particles moving within a host medium under the influence of a D.C. electric field is studied within the framework of scattering theory. We prove the existence of wave and scattering operators for a simplified one-dimensional model of the linearized Boltzmann equation. The theory is applied to the study of the long-term behavior of electrons and the occurrence of traveling waves in runaway processes.     

A neutral gas model for electron swarms

A BGK-type Boltzmann equation for a neutral gas is considered as a model for electron swarms, because the gas and the electron Boltzmann equation have a common diffusion approximation. Both full- and half-range theory are developed using orthogonality methods of solution. Preliminary comparisons with diffusion theory are presented.     

Nanoscale organization of the pathogen receptor DC-SIGN mapped by single-molecule high-resolution fluorescence microscopy.

DC-SIGN, a C-type lectin exclusively expressed on dendritic cells (DCs), plays an important role in pathogen recognition by binding with high affinity to a large variety of microorganisms. Recent experimental evidence points to a direct relation between the function of DC-SIGN as a viral receptor and its spatial arrangement on the plasma membrane. We have investigated the nanoscale organization of fluorescently labeled DC-SIGN on intact isolated DCs by means of near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) combined with single-molecule detection. Fluorescence spots of different intensity and size have been directly visualized by optical means with a spatial resolution of less than 100 nm. Intensity- and size-distribution histograms of the DC-SIGN fluorescent spots confirm that approximately 80 % of the receptors are organized in nanosized domains randomly distributed on the cell membrane. Intensity-size correlation analysis revealed remarkable heterogeneity in the molecular packing density of the domains. Furthermore, we have mapped the intermolecular organization within a dense cluster by means of sequential NSOM imaging combined with discrete single-molecule photobleaching. In this way we have determined the spatial coordinates of 13 different individual dyes, with a localization accuracy of 6 nm. Our experimental observations are all consistent with an arrangement of DC-SIGN designed to maximize its chances of binding to a wide range of microorganisms. Our data also illustrate the potential of NSOM as an ultrasensitive, high-resolution technique to probe nanometer-scale organization of molecules on the cell membrane.