Dark matter searches by the Boulby Collaboration and liquid xenon prototype development

The current status of direct dark matter searches by the Boulby Dark Matter Collaboration is presented with the latest result from the ZePLiN I liquid xenon detector. An upper limit in the interaction cross section per nucleon of ～1×10^?6 pb for a WIMP mass of 100 GeV is found. Details of ZePLiN’s II and III—two future liquid xenon dark matter are presented. Extensive two-phase liquid-gas xenon prototype work has been undertaken and results of characterization studies are presented. The detector response to internal alpha and external gamma and neutron sources is shown. The potential discrimination power of the two-phase technique is displayed. Finally, prospects for the future dark matter search program are discussed.     

Correlation between luminescent properties and structure organization in AlGaN/GaN superlattices annealed after erbium ion implantation

The evolution of the structure organization of MOCVD-grown AlGaN/GaN superlattices subjected to erbium ion implantation with an energy of 1 MeV and dose of 3 × 10¹⁵ cm^?2 and subsequent annealing is correlated with their photoluminescent properties. The structure organization is quantitatively estimated using parameter Δ (degree of violation of local symmetry), which is found via multifractal analysis of surface morphology patterns obtained with atomic force microscopy. It is shown that the implantation not only causes Ga segregation on the surface, but also changes the structure organization, which shows up in the finer grain structure compared with the starting one and disordering, as well as in an increase in Δ. As the annealing temperature rises from 700 to 800°C, Δ declines, indicating that the structure organization is improved, and the intensity of the dominating photoluminescence peak due to Er³⁺ ions (1.542 μm) grows. With a further increase in the annealing temperature to 1050°C, the structure organization degrades, domains get larger, voids 100–200 nm deep form, and the photoluminescence intensity drops. The formation of voids during high-temperature annealing is also substantiated by data for 230-keV proton scattering. It is thus established that the improvement of the superlattice structure organization activates erbium and causes the erbium-ion-related luminescence intensity to grow.     

On critical exponents for some quasilinear parabolic equations

We study the Cauchy problem for the quasilinear parabolic equation where p > 1 is a parameter and ψ is a smooth, bounded function on (1, ∞) with ? ? sψ′(s)/ψ(s) ? θ for some θ > 0. If 1 < p < 1 + 2/N, there are no global positive solutions, whereas if p > 1 + 2/N, there are global, positive solutions for small initial data.     

Observation and analysis ofE mesons in\bar p p annihilation at rest in H2 gas

Antiproton-proton annihilation at rest in a gaseous H₂ target at NTP into the final state π⁺ π^? K ^± π^? (K ⁰) with an undetectedK ⁰ or \(\bar K^0 \) has been investigated. We observe theE(1420) resonance in the invariant mass spectrum (K ⁰)_miss K ^± π^? with massM _E =1413±8 MeV/c² and widthГ ^E =62 ± 16MeV/c² and find evidence for the production of thef ₁(1285). The absolute branching ratio of \(\bar p\) p → π⁺ π^? E ⁰,E ⁰ →K ₀ ^L K ^± π ^? at (61±6)%P wave annihilation is (3.0±0.9)·10^?4 of all annihilations. The observed suppression of theE production fromP wave with respect to theS wave together with some simple selection rules suggest that the quantum numbers of theE(1420) areJ ^pc=0^?+ and not I⁺⁺.     

Evanescent fluorobiosensor for the detection of polyaromatic hydrocarbon based on DNA intercalation

A flow-injection analysis (FIA) system coupled with an evanescent wave (EW) Biosensor employing total internal reflection of fluorescence radiation (TIRF) for the detection of polyaromatic hydrocarbon that intercalates into DNA is reported. A highly fluorescent intercalator, “ethidium bromide,” has been used as the reference compound for detection. The EW Biosensor was developed according to the procedure described earlier (1,2). Data on the analysis of Naphthalene, 3-methy cholanthrene, 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene, 1,2-benzanthracene, and some standard reference materials supplied by the National Institute of Standards and Technology are reported. The relative ability of the polyaromatic hydrocarbon to displace ethidium bromide, based on the relative binding ratio, is found to be on the order of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene > 3-methylcholanthrene > 1,2-benzanthracene > napthalene.     

Synthesis,complexation, and photochemistry of benzobisthiazole-based bis(crown ether)

Benzobisthiazole-based bis(crown ether) was synthesized and its complexation with alkali and alkaline earth cations was studied. Photochemical transformations of the free ligand and its complexes with alkaline earth cations involve E,Z-photoisomerization and [2+2] photocycloaddition. Dedicated to Academician N. S. Zefirov on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 2056–2065, September, 2005.     

Preparation,properties and X-ray cystal structures of complexes of 4,4-diethylmorpholinium with 2,5-dibromo- and 2,5-dichloro-7,7,8,8-tetracyano-p-quinodimethane : DEM(TCNQBr2)2 and DEM-TCNQCl2

4,4-Diethylmorpholinium forms a 1:2 complex with 2,5-dibromo-TCNQ and a 1:1 complex with 2,5-dichloro-TCNQ; both are insulators at room temperature, and their single crystal $\text{X}$-ray structures have been determined at 293 K.     

Crystallographic parameters in α-UF5 and U2F9 by multiphase refinement of high-resolution neutron powder data

The crystal structures of α-UF₅ and U₂F₉ were refined with high-resolution neutron powder diffraction data from an $\text{α-}\text{UF}{}_5\text{U}{}_2\text{F}{}_9$ mixture. Refinement was achieved by a multiphase Rietveld profile refinement technique. The results are compared with previous X-ray and neutron powder studies.