A preliminary assessment of microstructural and compositional characteristics of two variants of precarbonated and postcarbonated concrete mixes

The hydration, precarbonation, and postcarbonation microstructural and compositional attributes of 2 variants of concrete were studied using scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X‐ray diffraction techniques. Results obtained showed presence of large number of diffraction peaks indicative of SiO₂ as major phase. Higher pH, alkalinity, and absence of effects of carbonation were suggested from the presence of portlandite peaks. Evidence of effect of carbonation was studied through the analysis of the experimental diffraction peaks obtained postexposure to accelerated carbonation in a controlled environment. Presence of all the 3 polymorphs of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) such as aragonite, vaterite, and calcite depending upon the moisture content and the material constituting the concrete sample were envisaged signifying carbonation. Precipitation of these CaCO₃ crystals was responsible for depletion of CH as well as calcium–silicate–hydrate, ettringite with the progress of carbonation as suggested by their absence in the X‐ray diffraction diffractograms of the carbonated samples. The crystal structure of the newly formed minerals in both the variants of concrete sample was highly controlled by the stages of carbonation, with development of amorphous CaCO₃ (amalgamated with that of calcium hydrates) in early stages of carbonation as well as fully developed rhombohedral CaCO₃ crystals in later stages.     

Simultaneous velocity and temperature measurements in gaseous flow fields using the VENOM technique

We present an initial demonstration of simultaneous velocity and temperature mapping in gaseous flow fields using a new nitric oxide planar laser-induced fluorescence-based method. The vibrationally excited NO monitoring (VENOM) technique is an extension of two-component velocimetry using vibrationally excited NO generated from the photodissociation of seeded NO(2) [Appl. Opt. 48, 4414 (2009)], where the two sequential fluorescence images are obtained probing two different rotational states to provide both velocity and temperature maps. Comparisons to computational fluid dynamics simulations show that the initial VENOM measurements provide good velocity and temperature maps in the relatively high-density regions of the flow, where the rms uncertainties are approximately 5% for velocity and 9% for temperature.     

A unified treatment of the groups SO(4) and SO(3,1)

The irreducible representations of the group SO(4) in which the SO(3) subgroup is reduced are studied by an explicit construction of the operators and the basis in the spinor representation. The basis function which is formally identical with that for the coupling of two angular momentaj ₁ andj ₂ is expressible in terms of a hypergeometric function and strongly resembles the one for the irreducible representations of the groups SO(3,1). For the Lorentz group, the bases for the unitary representations which require unphysical values ofj ₁ andj ₂ are found to be analytic continuation of those for SO(4). The realization of the unitary irreducible representations of the group SO(4) in the Hilbert space of these functions leads, for appropriate unphysical values ofj ₁,j ₂, to the Gelfand-Naimark formula for the principal and complementary series of the representations of SO(3;1). The matrix elements for finite transformations of SO(4) and SO(3,1) can be evaluated, in this approach, in a unified manner by using standard properties of the hypergeometric function. These turn out to be a finite sum of₃ F ₂-functions which, as expected, are polynomials for SO(4) and infinite series for SO(3,1). A number of special matrix elements are calculated from the general formula and these agree with the results obtained previously.The authors are deeply indebted to Professor S.Dutta Majumdar fo many important suggestions and clarifications.     

Vortices in Bose-Einstein condensates: A review of the experimental results

Rotating dilute Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) of alkali atoms offer a testing ground for theories of vortices in weakly interacting superfluids. In a rotating super-fluid, quantised vortices, with a vorticity h/m, form above a critical velocity. Such vortices have been generated in BEC of alkali atoms by different techniques such as (a) wave function engineering of a two-component BEC, (b) decay of solitons, (c) rotation of a thermal cloud before cooling it below the condensation temperature, (d) stirring with an ‘optical’ spoon, (e) rotating a deformation in the anisotropic trap in which the condensate is trapped and (f) by creating Berry phase by adiabatically reversing the axial magnetic field. Since the core of a vortex is a fraction of a micrometer in diameter, it cannot be directly imaged optically. The condensate with vortices is allowed to ballistically expand till the size increases by one order before the vortices are imaged. Surface wave spectroscopy and the change in aspect ratio of a rotating cloud are the other techniques used. Studies have been made on the creation and dynamics of single vortex and on systems with more than a hundred vortices. Results have been obtained on vortex nucleation, stability of vortex structures, nature of the vortex lattice and defects in such a lattice. Important results are: (a) evidence exists that vortex nucleation takes place by a surface mode instability; but this is not the only mechanism; (b) the vortex lattice is perfectly triangular right up to the edge; (c) in the initial stages of rotation of the cloud a tangled web of vortices is seen; it takes a few hundred milliseconds before the vortices arrange themselves in a lattice; this time appears to be independent of temperature; (d) the decay of vortices appears to arise from the transfer of energy to the rotating thermal component and is dependent on temperature; (e) defects in the lattices such as dislocations and grain boundaries are seen; (f) transverse oscillations (Tkachenko modes) of the vortex lattice have been observed; and (g) giant vortices have been produced. These will be discussed.     

An efficient synthesis of 1,8-dioxo-octahydro-xanthene derivatives promoted by a room temperature ionic liquid at ambient conditions under ultrasound irradiation

The condensation reaction involving an aldehyde and diketone was efficiently promoted by the Ionic liquid, [Hbim]BF(4) (IL) as a reaction medium with methanol as co-solvent at ambient temperature under ultrasonic irradiation to afford the corresponding 1,8-dioxo-octahydro-xanthene (xanthene) derivatives in excellent yields. The advantages of this method include among others the use of a recyclable, non-volatile ionic liquid, which promotes this protocol under ambient temperature without the requirement of any added catalyst. The reaction times and yields are compared with p-TSA catalyzed synthesis of xanthenes under thermal conditions, which is also reported for the first time under our reaction conditions.     

A comparative study of myo-inositol quantification using LCmodel at 1.5 T and 3.0 T with 3 D 1H proton spectroscopic imaging of the human brain

Myo-inositol is a strongly coupled system and resonates at four chemical shift positions. At 1.5 T, only the singlet component at 3.57 ppm is detected. However, at 3 T this resonance is resolved into its components at 3.55 ppm and 3.61 ppm. Due to the increased spectral resolution and signal-to-noise ratio, it is anticipated that the quantification of myo-inositol should improve at 3 T. Using data from normal controls and the LCmodel quantification procedure, we found that the quantification precision, reproducibility and detection sensitivity of myo-inositol is significantly better at 3 T relative to 1.5 T.     

Fluorescence from doubly driven four-level atoms

The unusually narrow features in the fluorescence from ⁸⁵Rb driven by two laser fields L1 and L2, reported in [1], are explained on the basis of a four-level density matrix calculation. The L2 laser enables atom transfer to the fluorescing levels connected by the strong L1 laser. In turn the L1 laser causes the Autler-Townes splitting of the upper levels connected by L2 laser. These two effects are shown to maximise fluorescence within a narrow spectral range of the scanned L2 laser due to velocity selection of atoms from co-propagating and counter propagating L1 and L2 lasers. The analysis reveals the existence of narrow spectral features from a collection of atoms at room temperature even in the absence of induced coherences between the levels.Received: 2 July 2004, Published online: 21 September 2004PACS: 42.50.Hz Strong-field excitation of optical transitions in quantum systems; multiphoton processes; dynamic Stark shift - 32.80.Bx Level crossing and optical pumping     

Bis-4,4′-biphenyl Ring Embedded Octaphyrin with Three Distinct Conformational Structures

Three distinct conformational structures of carbaoctaphyrins were prepared by incorporating bis-4,4'-biphenyl units in the macrocyclic core. The free-base form adopts a figure-eight conformation, whereas the protonation triggers a conformational change with a pyrrole ring inversion and acquires an open-framework structure. The insertion of bis-Rh^I metal ion in the macrocyclic core affords a singly twisted conformational structure. Furthermore, the local aromaticity in the bis-4,4'-biphenyl ring dominates the overall macrocyclic aromaticity in all three forms, and thus adopts nonaromatic characteristics. These results are supported by spectral as well as theoretical studies, and they are unambiguously confirmed by X-ray crystal analyses.     

Temperature dependence of the ESR spectra of Mn2+ in iron pyrite (FeS2)

The first observation of the ESR spectra of Mn²⁺, entering substitutionally for Fe²⁺ in the Van Vleck paramagnet FeS₂ (polycrystals), is reported. The data from 5 to 295 K fits the spin-Hamiltonian $\text{h}{}_{\mathrm{s}}\text{= gβ}\text{H}\text{·}\text{S}$ + $\text{[S}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>2</mtext>}}{}_{\mathrm{z}}\text{?}\text{1}\text{3}\text{S(S + 1)] + A}\text{S}\text{·}\text{I}$, with g = 2.000 ± 0.001, A/β = ?95.0 ± 0.5 Oe and D/β varying from 50 Oe (5K) to 59 Oe (295 K). The temperature dependence of D can be described in terms of a single phonon-mode with frequency ? 145 cm^?1.