Gauge Dependence of the Effective Gravitational Field

We analyze the gauge ambiguity problem for the effective gravitational field from the standpoint of the measurement process. The motion of a test point particle playing the role of a measuring device is investigated in the field of a point gravitating mass in the one-loop approximation. We show that the gravitational field value determined from the effective equations of motion of the device explicitly depends on the Feynman gauge parameter. This dependence is essential in the sense that a gauge variation cannot be interpreted as a deformation of the reference frame, which leads to a gauge ambiguity in the values of observed quantities. In particular, this result disproves the hypothesis that gauge dependence is canceled in the effective equations of motion of a classical point particle.     

Photo-induced effect in the layered perovskite manganite La<Subscript>1.2</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>1.8</Subscript>Mn<Subscript>1.8</Subscript>Co<Subscript>0.2</Subscript>O<Subscript>7</Subscript>

It is helpful to study the photo-induced effect in the perovskite manganites not only for elucidating the mechanism of colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) effect but also for potential applications in technology. The laser-induced effect in the Co doping layered perovskite manganites La_1.2Sr_1.8Mn_1.8Co_0.2O₇, is studied in this paper and the obtained results are also compared with that gained in the Nd-doping manganites with cubic perovskite structure.     

The Rate Constant for Dissociative Electron Attachment to Ozone Revisited

The rate constant for dissociative electron attachment to ozone has been derived over the energy range from about 0 to 10 eV using recently measured and also corrected cross section data. The new rate constant data sets for two partial dissociative channels, as well as for the total dissociative electron attachment, are compared with previously reported values, and existing discrepancies are discussed.     

In vivo tibial lead measurement to assess the health hazard of Venezuelan workers

Gamma-ray induced X-ray emission (GIXE) technique for elemental lead in-vivo tibial measurement using a large volume hyper pure germanium detector is presented with the most convenient source-sample-detector geometry. The system operates advantageously when several parameters are considered for a lower dead time operation. The detection limit (DL) is better that 3.5 μg/g of Ca. Results of in-vivo average tibial lead concentration for some of the monitored groups are: control 7 μg of lead per g of Ca; gasoline filling attendants 6 μg/g of Ca; custom office workers near the DL; industrial workers range from DL up to 84±3 μg/g of Ca, suggesting that lead accumulation in the bone does not represent a major health risk This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the ferroelectric phase transition in [NH2(CH3)2]3[Sb2Cl9]

The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the ferroelectric phase transition temperature in [NH₂(CH₃)₂]₃[Sb₂Cl₉] (DMACA) has been studied by electric permittivity measurements at pressures up to 400 MPa. The pressure-temperature phase diagram is given. The phase transition temperature (T_c) increases with increasing pressure up to 150 MPa, passes through a maximum and then decreases with a further increase of pressure. The unexpected nonlinear decrease in T_c with pressure increasing above 150 MPa suggests that the mechanism of ferroelectric phase transition in DMACA is different from hitherto assumed.     

Formation of metallic NbSe2 nanotubes and nanofibers

We succeed in synthesizing NbSe₂ nanotubes along with nanofibers by chemical vapor transportation. They are stable crystalline systems and can be synthesized reproducibly in a nearly equilibrium reacting process. We have investigated these nanosize structures of NbSe₂ by transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction. Both of the structures have a similar size of 100–200 nm in diameter. While nanotubes consist of rolled-up NbSe₂ layers, nanofibers are a pile of thin flat layers. We propose a mechanism of the formation of NbSe₂ nanotubes and nanofibers on the basis of deseleniditive transition from a NbSe₃ fiber-shaped crystal. We also measured electrical resistance of the nanofibers with conductive atomic force microscopy and demonstrated that the material show metallic behavior at room temperature.     

The effect of simultaneous temperature, pressure and stress on the experimental annealing of spontaneous fission tracks in apatite: a brief overview

Tracks made in minerals by the electronic stopping of uranium fission fragments provide a modern geological dating tool, and are believed also to yield specific information on the low-temperature thermal history of rocks. Experimental work showing that the damaged crystal lattice along a fission track recovers primarily as a function of temperature ignored the fact that the basic theory of atomic diffusion requires an exponential decrease in the intrinsic diffusion coefficient with increasing pressure. Here, fission track recovery was experimentally investigated in basic apatite under the simultaneous influences of temperature, pressure and stress. We show that track fading is a complex recovery mechanism responding to several environmental physical parameters simultaneously. In particular a strong decrease in the track recovery rate was observed as a function of increasing pressure. And a nearly temperature-independent recovery was observed in samples under stress.