Emittance measurement & optimization for the photocathode RF gun with laser profile shaping

The Laser Undulator Compact X-ray source(LUCX) is a test bench for a compact high brightness X-ray generator,based on inverse Compton Scattering at KEK,which requires high intensity multi-bunch trains with low transverse emittance.A photocathode RF gun with emittance compensation solenoid is used as an electron source.Much endeavor has been made to increase the beam intensity in the multi-bunch trains.The cavity of the RF gun is tuned into an unbalanced field in order to reduce space charge effects,so that the field gradient on the cathode surface is relatively higher when the forward RF power into gun cavity is not high enough.A laser profile shaper is employed to convert the driving laser profile from Gaussian into uniform.In this research we seek to find the optimized operational conditions for the decrease of the transverse emittance.With the uniform driving laser and the unbalanced RF gun,the RMS transverse emittance of a 1 nC bunch has been improved effectively from 5.46 πmm.mrad to 3.66 πmm.mrad.     

Biaxial nematic phase of crank-like bis(β-diketonato)copper(II) complexes established by X-ray diffraction and Z-value calculations

We have synthesized a series of six novel bis(β-diketonate)copper (II) complexes, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, and 3b, substituted by two bulky substituents in the short molecular axis direction to investigate their mesomorphism. The m,p,m'-trimethoxylphenyl-substituted derivatives, 2a and 2b, and the m,p-dimethoxylphenyl-substituted derivatives, 3a and 3b, did not show mesomorphism, whereas each of the p-methoxyphenyl-substituted derivatives 1a and 1b only showed a nematic phase, which was revealed from polarizing microscopic observations. We established from X-ray diffraction and Z-value calculations that each of the crank-like derivatives 1a and 1b forms a rectangular parallelepiped dimer and shows a biaxial nematic phase.     

Interaction of bathocuproine with metals (Ca, Mg, Al, Ag, and Au) studied by density functional theory

Electronic structure of the interface between a bathocuproine (BCP) molecule and metal surface was studied by density functional theory. The bond energy of BCP with metal surface increased with decreasing work function of metals, that is, Au, Ag, Al, Mg, and Ca in this order. The charge transfer also increased with decreasing metal work function. It was analyzed that the Fermi level and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of BCP are composed of both BCP and metal orbital component, and electron transport properties across the BCP and metal is discussed based on these analyses.     

Erratum to "Aerosol pollution in China: Present and future impact on environment"

PARTICUOLOGY regrets that the above paper was mistakenly classified as a ‘Review’ rather than an ‘Invited paper’ when originally published in volume 7, issue 6, 426–431.     

First observation of a smectic A-cholesteric phase transition in a thermotropic liquid crystal consisting of a rigid-rod helical polysilane

A smectic A-cholesteric phase transition for a rigid-rod helical polymer, poly[n-decyl-(S)-2-methylbutylsilane] (PD2MBS), with a narrow molecular weight distribution, has been observed for the first time. Polarizing optical microscopy showed that the fan-shaped texture of the smectic A phase turned into the characteristic planar texture of the cholesteric phase upon heating. The positive CD band, which corresponds to the reflection band of the cholesteric phase, gradually decreased in intensity within a range 30°C below the transition temperature on cooling, while the peak maximum shifted towards shorter wavelengths. It was concluded that the system has a very wide temperature region over which the cholesteric-smectic A phase transition occurs and in which the cholesteric pitch varies with temperature.     

Phase transition of layer structure of poly(p-benzenedithiol-co-p-diethynylbenzene) by heat or photon mode

Phase transition of the layer structure of poly(p-benzenedithiol-co-p-diethylbenzene) obtained in solid state polymerization was studied by a thermal treatment or UV irradiation under a nitrogen atmosphere. The peak intensities in the X-ray diffraction diagram of polymers gradually decreased with the thermal treatment time above 55°C. Below 50°C the layer structure of polymers hardly changed. The apparent activation energy for the phase transition was about 15 Kcal/mol [63 KJ/mol] at the initial stage and gradually decreased to a few Kcal/mol [ca. 2 KJ/mol]. UV light from a high-pressure mercury lamp also gradually induced the phase transition from the layer structure to an amorphous one. The pristine polymer possesses phase transition points at 75, 95 and 130°C. The exothermic transition at 75°C can be understood as the thermal destruction of the semistable layer structure. The exothermic transition at 95°C may be correspond to the cis → trans thermal isomerization of the C?°C bond in the polymer main chain. The diffuse reflectance spectrum of the pristine polymer differed from that of the amorphous polymer obtained by the thermal treatment of the pristine polymer. SEM photographs of the pristine polymer showed a particular surface structure, i.e. entangled fibrous material. TEM photographs of the pristine polymer exhibited a bright valley-and-hill structure, whereas that of the amorphous polymer obtained by thermal treatment exhibited a plain surface.     

Hydrogen-induced reordering of the surface

Using elastic recoil detection analysis and low energy electron diffraction we have investigated the adsorption process of hydrogen on the surface. We find that (1) room temperature adsorption of atomic hydrogen induces a structure transformation from the to Si(111)-1 × 1-Ag(H) structures, (2) a saturation coverage of hydrogen is 1.5 monolayer, which almost coincides with the one on a clean 7 × 7 surface, and (3) thermal desorption of hydrogen from the ordered 1 × 1-Ag(H) surface results in the recovery of the original surface.     

Mössbauer study on a two-dimensional triangular antiferromagnet YFeMnO4

Magnetic ordering of YFeMnO₄ has been studied with Mössbauer spectroscopy in the temperature range between 4.2 K and 300 K on the conditions of gamma rays parallel to and perpendicular to thec-axis. It is revealed that the spin system orders like a Heisenberg spin system in a triangular antiferromagnet with an anisotropic axis parallel to thec-axis.     

Frequency-dependent changes in absolute hearing threshold caused by perception of a previous sound

This study investigated effects of a previous sound presentation at the absolute threshold of hearing. Changes in threshold were measured when a pure tone at 60 dB SPL preceded a test tone in the contra- or ipsilateral ear. When the previous and test sounds both had the same frequency of 500 Hz, threshold decreased approximately 2 dB in the contralateral ear, and increased slightly in the ipsilateral ear. On the other hand, when the frequency of the previous sound differed from that of the test sound, the threshold was decreased slightly in the ipsilateral ear.     

Microwave-resonance-induced resistivity: evidence of ultrahot surface-state electrons on liquid 3He

Measurements of the dc resistivity of surface-state electrons on liquid helium exposed to microwave radiation are reported. It is shown that the resonant microwave excitation of surface-state electrons is accompanied by a strong increase in their resistivity, which is opposite to the result expected from the previously used two-level model. We show that even a very small fraction of electrons excited to the first excited state and decaying back due to vapor-atom scattering strongly heat the electron system, causing a population of higher subbands. The calculated resistivity change is in good agreement with the observed data.