Demonstration of a compact 100 Hz, 0.1 J, diode-pumped picosecond laser

We have demonstrated an all-diode-pumped Yb:YAG chirped pulse amplification laser that produces 100 mJ pulses of 5 ps duration at 100 Hz repetition rate. The compact laser system combines a room-temperature Yb:YAG regenerative amplifier for increased bandwidth and a cryogenically cooled Yb:YAG four-pass amplifier for improved heat dissipation and increased efficiency. The optical efficiency of this amplifier is higher than that of other diode-pumped systems of comparable energy.     

On the microwave conductivity of α-AgI. part II: Complex conductivity by measurement of the complex transmission factor

The electrical conductivity and the dielectric constant of α-AgI are computed in the frequency region from 8.2 to 40 GHz from the complex transmission factor of polycrystalline samples, which totally fill the crossection of a rectangular waveguide. No frequency dependence of both the conductivity and the permittivity is found in the entire temperature range studied (400 K to 720 K). The high frequency values coincide with the static ones.     

A Nonlinear Elastic Beam System with Inelastic Contact Constraints

In this paper we study freely propagating inertial, i.e., unforced, waves, in an elastic beam constrained so that all motion takes place above and on a flat, rigid support surface, subject to a gravitational force and a compressive longitudinal load. Contact between the beam and the support surface is assumed to be completely inelastic. A nonlinear beam model is used, incorporating a quartic extension of the familiar quadratic potential energy functional for the standard Euler--Bernoulli model. After briefly reviewing the rationale for the model and some of its properties, as developed in earlier articles, we present existence and uniqueness results for the constrained system obtained with the use of a ``penalty function' approach involving the addition of a ``uni-directional friction' dissipative term, active only when the constraint is violated, to the unconstrained system.     

CE coupled with amperometric detection using a boron-doped diamond microelectrode: validation of a method for endogenous norepinephrine analysis in tissue

The level of endogenous norepinephrine (NE) in several tissue types was determined by CE with amperometric detection. We report herein on the method validation by HPLC using both amperometric and coulometric detection (CD). Keys to the method were the use of a diamond microelectrode for detection and off-line SPE for sample preparation. The run buffer was a 250 mM borate solution adjusted to pH 8.8 with potassium hydroxide. The diamond microelectrode exhibited a low and stable background current, and a low peak-to-peak noise < or =0.65 pA at the detection potential of +0.86 V versus Ag/AgCl. For standard solutions, the detector signal (i.e., oxidation current) changed linearly with the NE concentration (r(2) = 0.999) between 60 and 1000 nmol/L with an estimated LOD of 51 nmol/L (S/N = 3) and a response variability of 4.5% (RSD, n = 5). An Oasis MCX sorbent was used for SPE and the procedure produced an NE recovery of 95.1 +/- 5.6% (n = 6) from tissue homogenates. NE levels in the spleen, small intestine, and heart of a normotensive rat were found to be in the range of 0.77-0.97, 0.22-0.32, and 0.29-0.45 microg/g tissue (n = 3), respectively.     

Selective population and neutron decay of an excited state of 23O

We have observed a resonance in neutron-fragment coincidence measurements that is presumably the first excited state of 23O at 2.8(1) MeV excitation energy which decays into the ground state of 22O. This interpretation is consistent with theory. The reaction mechanism supports the assignment of the observed state as the 5/2+ hole state. This assignment and the recently observed 3/2+ particle state advance the understanding of 23O.     

Benefits of Important Industrial Tracer Applications in the GDR

Tracers can be used to label substances or objects in order to discriminate between them, to follow their movement, to record changes of concentration and distribution between phases, etc. The main advantages of tracer investigations are the contactless recording of signals without influencing the observed process (also under rigorous operation conditions), the high detection sensitivity, the large number of available tracer nuclides (problems of all branches of industry can be solved) and the fact that tracer investigation can be carried out on operating production units, so that they provide valuable checks of the validity of design and process data. The cost-to-benefit ratio can be as low as 1:50. In the following some selected examples of tracer applications carried out by the staff of the Central Institute of Isotope and Radiation Research and their benefits will be presented.     

Exploring the low-Z shore of the island of inversion at n=19

The technique of invariant mass spectroscopy has been used to measure, for the first time, the ground state energy of neutron-unbound (28)F, determined to be a resonance in the (27)F+n continuum at 220(50) keV. States in (28)F were populated by the reactions of a 62 MeV/u (29)Ne beam impinging on a 288 mg/cm(2) beryllium target. The measured (28)F ground state energy is in good agreement with USDA/USDB shell model predictions, indicating that pf shell intruder configurations play only a small role in the ground state structure of (28)F and establishing a low-Z boundary of the island of inversion for N=19 isotones.     

Selective separation of minor actinides and lanthanides using aromatic dithiophosphinic and phosphinic acid derivatives

A new extractant for the separation of actinide(III) and lanthanide(III) cations, bis(o-trifluoromethylphenyl) phosphinic acid (2) was synthesized. The synthetic route employed mirrors one that was employed to produce the sulfur containing analog bis(o-trifluoromethylphenyl) dithiophosphinic acid (1). Classic radiochemical methods and absorbance spectroscopy were used to study the coordination chemistry of the Am-dithiophosphinic acid and Am-phosphinic acid complexes.     

Viscosity destabilizes sonoluminescing bubbles

In single-bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) microbubbles are trapped in a standing sound wave, typically in water or water-glycerol mixtures. However, in viscous liquids such as glycol, methylformamide, or sulphuric acid it is not possible to trap the bubble in a stable position. This is very peculiar as larger viscosity normally stabilizes the dynamics. Suslick and co-workers call this new mysterious state of SBSL "moving-SBSL." We identify the history force (a force nonlocal in time) as the origin of this destabilization and show that the instability is parametric. A force balance model quantitatively accounts for the observed quasiperiodic bubble trajectories.