Energy flow and multiplicity measurement in ultra-relativistic nucleus-nucleus collisions

Experimental results from the HELIOS set-up (High Energy Lepton and Ion Spectrometer, in operation at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron to study high-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions) are presented and discussed. The transverse energy differential cross section can be parametrized by a geometrical model. The energy density reached in these collisions is much larger than that inside the nucleon and is in the region of the critical value 2·5 GeV/fm³ obtained from lattice QCD calculations for the deconfinement transition. The transverse momentum spectra of photons agree in shape and absolute cross section with the photon spectra expected from hadronic sources.Presented at the IIIrd International Symposium High Energy Experiments And Methods (HEXAM '89), Bechyn, Czechoslovakia, June 25–30, 1989.I would like to thank the organizers of the HEXAM'89 Symposium in Bechyn for giving me the opportunity to participate in this very pleasant and stimulating conference and the hospitality they have extended. This work was supported in part by the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).     

Kinetics of the reactions of [p-nitrophenoxy(phenyl)carbene]pentacarbonylchromium(0) with aryloxide ions, hydroxide ion, and water in aqueous acetonitrile. Concerted or stepwise?

The main question addressed in this paper is whether the nucleophilic substitution of the p-nitrophenoxy group in (CO)5Cr=C(OC6H4-4-NO2)Ph (1-NO2) by a series of substituted phenoxide ions is concerted or stepwise. Rate constants, kArO, for these substitution reactions were determined in 50% MeCN-50% water (v/v) at 25 degrees C. A Br?nsted plot of log kArO versus pKa(ArOH) s consistent with a stepwise mechanism. This contrasts with reactions of aryl oxide ions with p-nitrophenyl acetate and with similar acyl transfers which are concerted. The reason for the contrast is that the tetrahedral intermediates formed in the reactions of 1-NO2 are much more stable than those in acyl transfers and the intrinsic barriers to their decomposition are higher than for the ester reactions. The points on the Br?nsted plots for which pKa(ArOH) > or = pKa(PNP) define a straight line with beta(nuc) = -0.39, suggesting that bond formation has made very little progress at the transition state and that partial desolvation of the nucleophile is part of the activation process. The hydrolysis of 1-NO2 and of the unsubstituted analogue (1-H) has also been studied over a wide pH range, providing rate constants for nucleophilic attack by hydroxide ion (kOH), by water (kH2O), and by general base-catalyzed reaction with water (kB). Furthermore, kH2O values were obtained for the hydrolysis of (CO)5Cr=C(OC6H4X)Ph (1-X) as a byproduct of the reactions of 1-NO2 with aryl oxide ions. Structure-reactivity relationships for these reactions are discussed in terms of inductive, pi-donor, and steric effects.     

Differentiation of isomeric 5- and 7-oxo derivatives of tetrahydrothiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine by electron impact mass spectrometry

The electron impact mass spectra of two series of 5-oxo-tetrahydro-5H-thiazolo [3,2-a]pyrimidine-6-ethylcarboxylates and 7-oxo-tetrahydro-7H-thiazolo [3,2-a]pyrimidine-6-ethylcarboxylates were measured and fragmentation patterns examined. Structures were assigned from analysis of oxo molecular ion fragmentations. Compounds of the 5-oxo series gave an [M – CO₂C₂H₅]⁺ fragmentation whereas compounds of the 7-oxo series gave three characteristic cleavages. This decomposition was confirmed for one pair of isomers by high-resolution mass spectrometry and unimolecular mass-analysed ion kinetic energy spectrometry. Electron impact mass spectrometry is a convenient method for assigning structures of 5- and 7-oxo regioisomers of tetrahydrothiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine-6-carboxylates.     

Di-organoiron mixed valent complexes featuring "(eta2-dppe)(eta5-C5Me5)Fe" endgroups: smooth class-III to class-II transition induced by successive insertion of 1,4-phenylene units in a butadiyne-diyl bridge

The synthesis and study of a new redox family of symmetric dinuclear iron(II/III) complexes featuring "(eta(2)-dppe)(eta(5)-C(5)Me(5))Fe(CC)" endgroups connected by a bis(diethynyl)-4,4'-biphenyl spacer are reported. The solid-state structures were determined (X-rays) for the homovalent Fe(II)/Fe(II) and Fe(III)/Fe(III) parents. In contrast, the mixed valent (MV) complex 5[PF(6)] has a low thermodynamic stability (Kc around 10) and cannot be isolated in a pure form, but was studied in solution. According to the Robin and Day classification, it constitutes a remarkable example of well-behaved weakly coupled class-II organometallic MV compound. The photodriven metal-metal electron-transfer process takes place over ca. 16 A and corresponds to an electronic coupling of ca. 150 cm(-1) with a reorganization energy of ca. 6250 cm(-1) in dichloromethane. A similar investigation was also conducted in the near-IR range for the known and much more stable MV analogue 3[PF(6)] featuring the 1,4-phenyl unit instead of the 4,4'-biphenyl one (K(c) = 2.6 10(4)). The latter also exhibits a localized valency, but presents a very intense intervalence charge-transfer band (IVCT) with a cutoff on the low-energy side. A much stronger electronic coupling is derived (ca. 1700 cm(-1)) from the band shape for this MV complex in the frame of the two-level model. Although slowed, the electron exchange is not disrupted by insertion of an additional para-phenylene moiety into a 1,4-diethynylaryl bridge. Thus, starting from a compound with a butadiyne-diyl spacer, stepwise para-phenylene insertions in the bridge produce a smooth Class-III to Class-II transition for the corresponding MV complexes.     

Neural activity associated with distinguishing concurrent auditory objects

The neural processes underlying concurrent sound segregation were examined by using event-related brain potentials. Participants were presented with complex sounds comprised of multiple harmonics, one of which could be mistuned so that it was no longer an integer multiple of the fundamental. In separate blocks of trials, short-, middle-, and long-duration sounds were presented and participants indicated whether they heard one sound (i.e., buzz) or two sounds (i.e., buzz plus another sound with a pure-tone quality). The auditory stimuli were also presented while participants watched a silent movie in order to evaluate the extent to which the mistuned harmonic could be automatically detected. The perception of the mistuned harmonic as a separate sound was associated with a biphasic negative-positive potential that peaked at about 150 and 350 ms after sound onset, respectively. Long duration sounds also elicited a sustained potential that was greater in amplitude when the mistuned harmonic was perceptually segregated from the complex sound. The early negative wave, referred to as the object-related negativity (ORN), was present during both active and passive listening, whereas the positive wave and the mistuning-related changes in sustained potentials were present only when participants attended to the stimuli. These results are consistent with a two-stage model of auditory scene analysis in which the acoustic wave is automatically decomposed into perceptual groups that can be identified by higher executive functions. The ORN and the positive waves were little affected by sound duration, indicating that concurrent sound segregation depends on transient neural responses elicited by the discrepancy between the mistuned harmonic and the harmonic frequency expected based on the fundamental frequency of the incoming stimulus.     

Two-dimensional visualization of liquid layers on transparent walls

A new two-dimensional visualization technique based on laser-induced fluorescence for investigation of liquid-fuel films on transparent walls was applied in an SI engine. For optical access the upper part of the engine cylinder is replaced with a quartz ring. An UV laser beam is coupled into the ring, forcing total reflection at quartz-air interfaces. Because of the similar indices of refraction of quartz and fuel, laser light penetrates into the liquid. The corresponding fluorescence signal visualizes areas where wall film is present. It is shown that the technique is an excellent tool for investigation of wall-film development in combustion engines.     

Dwork cohomology and algebraic ${\Cal D}$-modules

Using local cohomology and algebraic -Modules, we generalize a comparison theorem between relative de Rham cohomology and Dwork cohomology due to N. Katz, P. Monsky, A. Adolphson and S. Sperber. Received June 10, 1999 / Published online July 20, 2000     

Hedetniemi's Conjecture and the Retracts of a Product of Graphs

We show that every core graph with a primitive automorphism group has the property that whenever it is a retract of a product of connected graphs, it is a retract of a factor. The example of Kneser graphs shows that the hypothesis that the factors are connected is essential. In the case of complete graphs, our result has already been shown in [4, 17], and it is an instance where Hedetniemi's conjecture is known to hold. In fact, our work is motivated by a reinterpretation of Hedetniemi's conjecture in terms of products and retracts.     

The property and the reals

The property may be generalized by using filters on in a very natural way. We analyze the necessary requirements for a space to have property for a filter . We construct special filters for which has the property, in particular a P-point and a Q-point.

     

Polynômes Harmoniques sur L'Espace du Bruit Blanc

Let denote the space of harmonic polynomial of . We study some properties of on the white noise space. We show that harmonic polynomials are characterized by an invariance property with respect to the S-transform, and that the closure (S)harm of harm in Hida's test-functionnals topology is exactly the kernel of the Gross Laplacian G. Lastly we show that Ker G is strictly contained in the space of functionnals of (S) which remain fixed under S-transform.