Firing-Induced Microstructural Properties of Quasi-Diamagnetic Carbonate-Based Porous Ceramics: a <Superscript>1</Superscript>H NMR Relaxation Correlation Study

This study deals with the application of two-dimensional proton nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry (2D ¹H NMR-R) to the characterization of porous ceramics nearly free of magnetic compounds. Different microstructural properties were obtained by firing a diamagnetic mixture of kaolin, calcium, and magnesium carbonate over a wide range of maximum temperatures (600–1100 °C) and firing times at the maximum temperature (soaking times) (0–10 h). The 2D ¹H NMR-R method relies on the correlated measurement of ¹H longitudinal (T ₁) and transverse (T ₂) relaxation times of pore-filling water by which the properties of the interconnected pore space may be investigated. In the absence of significant magnetic susceptibility effect due to para- and ferro-magnetic compounds, the 2D ¹H NMR-R maps allow studying the conjoint effects on pore size distribution and inter-pore coupling due to the variations in both time and temperature of firing. The NMR experiments were performed with a low-field ¹H NMR sensor, which allows non-destructive and in situ analysis. For ceramic specimens fired at 600 and 700 °C, the fraction of smallest pores increases with firing time at the expenses of those with intermediate size. The pore shrinkage occurring at this stage, and likely associated with the transformation of kaolinite in metakaolinite, is affected in a similar way by soaking time and firing temperature, in line with the concept of equivalent firing temperature. At temperatures from 800 to 1100 °C, the structural modifications involving interconnectivity and average pore size are driven primarily by firing temperature and, secondarily, by soaking time. The 2D ¹H NMR-R results are confirmed by more traditional, but destructive, mineralogical, and structural analyses like X-ray powder diffraction, helium pycnometry, mercury intrusion porosimetry, and nitrogen adsorption/desorption method.     

Genuine quantum and classical correlations in multipartite systems

Generalizing the quantifiers used to classify correlations in bipartite systems, we define genuine total, quantum, and classical correlations in multipartite systems. The measure we give is based on the use of relative entropy to quantify the distance between two density matrices. Moreover, we show that, for pure states of three qubits, both quantum and classical bipartite correlations obey a ladder ordering law fixed by two-body mutual informations, or, equivalently, by one-qubit entropies.     

Magnetic field dependence of the maximum Josephson current in a double-barrier junction

The influence of a constant magnetic field on the maximum Josephson current of a double-barrier junction is studied. Owing to the peculiarity of the current–phase relation of this composite device, the resulting Fraunhofer-like pattern shows an overall enhancement of the maximum Josephson current with respect to the usual single-junction curves for very small difference in the coupling energies of the two pairs of adjacent layers in the system.     

High energy radiation fluences in the ISS-USLab: Ion discrimination and particle abundances

The ALTEA (Anomalous Long Term Effects on Astronauts) detector was used to characterize the radiation environment inside the USLab of the International Space Station (ISS), where it measured the abundances of ions from Be to Fe. We compare the ALTEA results with Alteino results obtained in the PIRS module of the Russian segment of the ISS, and normalize to the high energy Si abundances given by Simpson. These are the first particle spectral measurements, which include ions up to Fe, performed in the USLab. The small differences observed between those made inside the USLab and the Simpson abundances can be attributed to the transport through the spacecraft hull. However, the low abundance of Fe cannot be attributed to only this process.     

Ultrathin silver‐coated gold nanoparticles as suitable substrate for surface‐enhanced Raman scattering

Surface‐enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is an extremely powerful tool for the analysis of the composition of bimetallic nanoparticle (BNP) surfaces because of the different adsorption schemes adopted by several molecules on different metals, such as Au and Ag. The preparation of BNPs normally implies a change in the plasmonic properties of the core metal. However, for technological applications it could be interesting to synthesize core–shell structures preserving these original plasmonic properties. In this work, we present a facile method for coating colloidal gold nanoparticles (NPs) in solution with a very thin shell of silver. The resulting bimetallic Au@Ag system maintains the optical properties of gold but shows the chemical surface affinity of silver. The effectiveness of the coating method, as well as the progressive silver enrichment of the outermost part of the Au NPs, has been monitored through the SERS spectra of several species (chloride, luteolin, thiophenol and lucigenin), which show different behaviors on gold and silver surfaces. A growth mechanism of the Ag shell is proposed on the basis of the spectroscopic and microscopic data consisting in the formation and deposit of Ag clusters on the Au NP surface. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rapid and accurate measurement of transverse relaxation times using a single shot multi-echo echo-planar imaging sequence

Methods for making rapid and accurate measurements and maps of the transverse relaxation time from a single free induction decay (FID) are proposed. The methods use a multi-echo sequence in combination with B1 insensitive (hyperbolic secant or BIREF2b) refocusing pulses and rapid echo-planar imaging techniques. The results were calibrated against a single spin echo echo-planar imaging sequence using a phantom containing a range of CuSO4 concentrations. The mean percentage absolute difference between the multi-echo and single-echo results was 3% for the multi-echo sequence using the hyperbolic secant refocusing pulse, and 7% for the multi-echo sequence using the BIREF2b refocusing pulse, compared to 13% for a multi-echo sequence using a nonselective sinc refocusing pulse. The use of the sequences in vivo has been demonstrated in studies of gastric function, i.e., the measurement of gastric dilution and monitoring of formation of a raft of alginate polysaccharide within the stomach.     

Regularization of the collision in the electromagnetic two-body problem

We derive a differential equation that is regular at the collision of two equal-mass bodies with attractive interaction in the relativistic action-at-a-distance electrodynamics. We use the energy constant related to the Poincare invariance of the theory to define finite variables with finite derivatives at the collision. The collision orbits are calculated numerically using the regular equation adapted in a self-consistent minimization method (a stable numerical method that chooses only nonrunaway solutions). This dynamical system appeared 100 years ago as an example of covariant time-symmetric two-body dynamics and acquired the status of electrodynamics in the 1940s by the works of Dirac, Wheeler, and Feynman. We outline the method with an emphasis on the physics of this complex conservative dynamical system.     

Ising transition in the two-dimensional quantum J1-J2 Heisenberg model

We study the thermodynamics of the spin-S two-dimensional quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the square lattice with nearest (J1) and next-nearest (J2) neighbor couplings in its collinear phase (J(2)/J(1)>0.5), using the pure-quantum self-consistent harmonic approximation. Our results show the persistence of a finite-temperature Ising phase transition for every value of the spin, provided that the ratio J(2)/J(1) is greater than a critical value corresponding to the onset of collinear long-range order at zero temperature. We also calculate the spin and temperature dependence of the collinear susceptibility and correlation length, and we discuss our results in light of the experiments on Li2VOSiO4 and related compounds.     

Optimization of high-order harmonic generation by adaptive control of a sub-10-fs pulse wave front

We present a method for the optimization of high-order harmonic generation based on wave-front correction of the driving laser beam. The technique exploits wave-front adaptive control by means of a deformable mirror, governed by an optimization procedure.     

Boltzmann-Type Equation in Anelastic Case: A Convergence Result

In this Letter, a convergence result for the BBGKY hierarchy to a Boltzmann-like equation, in the case of an Anelastic collision, is shown. Boltzmann-like equations are often used to model dissipative dynamical systems such as granular media. This convergence result aims to make a contribution towards a mathematical foundation to these applications.