Excitation functions of the analyzing power in elastic proton-proton scattering from 0.45 to 2.5 GeV

Excitation functions A_N(p_lab,_c.m.) of the analyzing power in elastic proton-proton scattering have been measured in an internal target experiment at the Cooler Synchrotron COSY with an unpolarized proton beam and a polarized atomic hydrogen target. Data were taken continuously during the acceleration and deceleration for proton kinetic energies T_lab (momenta p_lab) between 0.45 and 2.5 GeV (1.0 and 3.3 GeV/c) and scattering angles 30 ^° _c.m. 90^°. The results provide excitation functions and angular distributions of high precision and internal consistency. The data can be used as calibration standard between 0.45 and 2.5 GeV. They have significant impact on phase shift solutions, in particular on the spin triplet phase shifts between 1.0 and 1.8 GeV.     

Extracting the wavefunction of the LSP at the LHC

We consider associated production of squarks and gluinos with the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP), or states nearly degenerate in mass with it. Though sub-dominant to pair production of color SU(3)-charged superpartners, these processes are directly sensitive to the wavefunction composition of the lightest neutralinos. Exploiting event-shape variables - including some introduced here for the first time - we are able to identify the composition of the LSP by selecting events involving a single high-pT jet recoiling against missing transverse energy. We illustrate the proposed technique on a set of benchmark cases and propose methods for applying these results in more realistic experimental environments.     

Landau–Pomeranchuk–Migdal effect in a quark–gluon plasma and the Boltzmann equation

We show how the Landau–Pomeranchuk–Migdal effect on photon production rates in a quark–gluon plasma can be derived via the usual Boltzmann equation. To do this, we first derive the electromagnetic polarization tensor using linear response theory, and then formulate the Boltzmann equation including the collisions mediated by soft gluon exchanges. We then identify the resulting expression for the production rate with that obtained by the field-theoretic formalism recently proposed by Arnold, Moore and Yaffe. To illustrate the LPM effect we solve the Boltzmann equation in the diffusion approximation.     

Micromachined array tip for multifocus fiber-based optical coherence tomography

High-resolution optical coherence tomography demands a large detector bandwidth and a high numerical aperture for real-time imaging, which is difficult to achieve over a large imaging depth. To resolve these conflicting requirements we propose a novel multifocus fiber-based optical coherence tomography system with a micromachined array tip. We demonstrate the fabrication of a prototype four-channel tip that maintains a 9-14-microm spot diameter with more than 500 microm of imaging depth. Images of a resolution target and a human tooth were obtained with this tip by use of a four-channel cascaded Michelson fiber-optic interferometer, scanned simultaneously at 8 kHz with geometric power distribution across the four channels.     

Inhibition of the reduction of Cr(VI) at the magnetite–water interface by calcium carbonate coatings

The effect of calcium carbonate coatings on the reduction of aqueous chromate on the magnetite(1 1 1) surface has been investigated using a combination of synchrotron based X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (PES) and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy, along with laboratory-based powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). CaCO₃ coatings (dominantly calcite with minor quantities of aragonite and vaterite) of thicknesses ranging from 10 Å to 20 m were grown on magnetite(1 1 1) surfaces by exposure to supersaturated aqueous solutions followed by evaporation of the solution—a process that mimics pore-water evaporation in vadose zones leading to the formation of caliche and calcium carbonate coatings on mineral grains. Coating thicknesses were determined from attenuation of the Fe 2p photoemission signal by the carbonate coating. For coatings less than 15 Å thick, Cr 2p photoemission and Cr L_II, L_III-edge XANES spectra show that chromate is reduced by the underlying magnetite surface; however, as the minimum coating thickness increases beyond 15 Å, the magnetite surface becomes passivated and further chromate reduction ceases. Our findings suggest that carbonate coatings on natural magnetite grains can significantly reduce or eliminate their ability to reduce Cr(VI), which is a toxic and highly mobile environmental contaminant.     

Electron spin lifetimes in Hg0.78Cd0.22 Te and InSb

We have made direct pump–probe measurements of spin lifetimes in long wavelength narrow-gap semiconductors at wavelengths between 4 and 10 μm and from 4 to 300 K. In particular, we measure remarkably long spin lifetimes, τ_s300 ps, even at 300 K for epilayers of degenerate n-type InSb. In this material the mobility is approximately constant between 77 and 300 K, and we find that τ_s is approximately constant in this temperature range. In order to determine the dominant spin relaxation mechanism we have investigated the temperature dependence of τ_s in non-degenerate lightly n-type Hg_0.78Cd_0.22Te of approximately the same band gap as InSb, and find that τ_s varies from 356 ps at 150 K to 24 ps at 300 K. Our results, both in magnitude and temperature dependence of τ_s, imply that the Elliott–Yafet model dominates in these materials.     

Consequence for Wavefunction Collapse Model of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory Experiment

It is shown that data on the dissociation rate of deuterium obtained in an experiment at the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory provides evidence that the Continuous Spontaneous Localization wavefunction collapse model should have mass–proportional coupling to be viable.     

Parametric processes in microstructured and highly nonlinear optical fibres

Optical parametric amplification is an important nonlinear process in photonic crystal fibres driven by the small effective area and the special dispersion characteristics of these fibres. Aside from its role in supercontinuum generation, parametric amplification can lead to efficient wavelength conversion, limited primarily by the uniformity of the diameter of currently available fibres. The related Bragg scattering process can be used for both wavelength conversion and optical switching, again limited by the physical characteristics of the fibres used.     

Azobenzene-functionalized alkanethiols in self-assembled monolayers on gold

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of 4-trifluoromethyl-azobenzene-4′-methyleneoxy-alkanethiols (CF₃– C₆H₄–N=N–C₆H₄–O–(CH₂) _n –SH on (111)-oriented poly-crystalline gold films on mica were examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The spectra are analyzed with the help of density-functional-theory calculations of the isolated molecule. Only one doublet is detected in the sulphur 2p spectra of the investigated SAMs, consistent with a thiolate bond of the molecule to the gold surface. The C 1s XP spectra and the corresponding XAS π ^* resonance exhibit a rich structure which is assigned to the carbon atoms in the different chemical surroundings. Comparing XPS binding energies of the azobenzene moiety and calculated initial-state shifts reveals comparable screening of all C 1s core holes. While the carbon 1s XPS binding energy lies below the π ^*-resonance excitation-energy, the reversed order is found comparing core ionization and neutral core excitation of the nitrogen 1s core-hole of the azo group. This surprising difference in core-hole binding energies is interpreted as site-dependent polarization screening and charge transfer among the densely packed aromatic moieties. We propose that a quenching of the optical excitation within the molecular layer is thus one major reason for the low trans to cis photo-isomerization rate of azobenzene in aromatic-aliphatic SAMs.