Potassium exchanged layered zirconium phosphate as catalyst in the preparation of 4H-chromenes

Substituted 4H-chromenes were easily prepared by reaction of salicylaldehydes and ethylcyanoacetate in solvent free conditions using potassium exchanged layered zirconium phosphate as catalyst.     

On the Dynamics of the Glass Transition on Bethe Lattices

The Glauber dynamics of disordered spin models with multi-spin interactions on sparse random graphs (Bethe lattices) is investigated. Such models undergo a dynamical glass transition upon decreasing the temperature or increasing the degree of constrainedness. Our analysis is based upon a detailed study of large scale rearrangements which control the slow dynamics of the system close to the dynamical transition. Particular attention is devoted to the neighborhood of a zero temperature tricritical point. Both the approach and several key results are conjectured to be valid in a considerably more general context. PACS Numbers:75.50.Lk (Spin glasses), 64.70.Pf (Glass transitions), 89.20.Ff (Computer science     

Photoluminescence emissions of ceramics: a marker of production technology

Photoluminescence (PL) measurements have been performed on different sets of ceramic shards; the results obtained from the ceramic bodies of lustred majolicas produced in Iraq, Italy and Spain are reported. Non-lustred samples are analysed for comparison. The spectra obtained from all the lustred samples show PL emission bands that are attributed to the presence of α-quartz and diopside. The photoluminescence of the lustre-decorated ceramics is possibly a fingerprint of the particular production technology of lustre. PACS 81.05.Mh; 78.55.Hx     

Turbo codes: the phase transition

Turbo codes are a very efficient method for communicating reliably through a noisy channel. There is no theoretical understanding of their effectiveness. In reference [1] they are mapped onto a class of disordered spin models. The analytical calculations concerning these models are reported here. We prove the existence of a no-error phase and compute its local stability threshold. As a byproduct, we gain some insight into the dynamics of the decoding algorithm. Received 14 March 2000     

First evidence of pep solar neutrinos by direct detection in Borexino

We observed, for the first time, solar neutrinos in the 1.0-1.5 MeV energy range. We determined the rate of pep solar neutrino interactions in Borexino to be 3.1±0.6{stat}±0.3{syst} counts/(day·100 ton). Assuming the pep neutrino flux predicted by the standard solar model, we obtained a constraint on the CNO solar neutrino interaction rate of <7.9 counts/(day·100 ton) (95% C.L.). The absence of the solar neutrino signal is disfavored at 99.97% C.L., while the absence of the pep signal is disfavored at 98% C.L. The necessary sensitivity was achieved by adopting data analysis techniques for the rejection of cosmogenic {11}C, the dominant background in the 1-2 MeV region. Assuming the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein large mixing angle solution to solar neutrino oscillations, these values correspond to solar neutrino fluxes of (1.6±0.3)×10{8} cm{-2}?s^{-1} and <7.7×10{8} cm{-2}?s{-1} (95% C.L.), respectively, in agreement with both the high and low metallicity standard solar models. These results represent the first direct evidence of the pep neutrino signal and the strongest constraint of the CNO solar neutrino flux to date.     

Neutron irradiation effects on martensitic iron-nickel alloys

Summary Iron-nickel alloys in the range from 29 to 32 wt.% Ni have been irradiated with an integral flux of 3·10¹⁸ n cm⁻² and then subjected to martensitic transformation. the resistivity, magnetoresistivity and Hall-effect measurements performed on the irradiated samples allow us to support the formation of iron-rich or nichel-rich ordered microstructures and additional α-phase from the supersaturated γ-matrix. The nickel content of the above-ordered region, is evaluated from the behaviour of the anomalous Hall effect in the irradiated specimens with different composition.

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Riassunto Leghe di ferro-nichel, con contenuto in Ni variabile dal 29% al 32%, sono state irradiate con un fascio di neutroni avente flusso integrale di 3·10¹⁸ n cm⁻² a 80°C e sono state successivamente sottoposte a trasformazione martensitica mediante raffreddamento. Le misure di resistività, di magnetoresistenza e di effetto Hall compiute sui campioni irradiati consentono di fare l'ipotesi della presenza nella fase supersatura γ di microstrutture ordinate, ricche di Fe o di Ni, oltre ad una fase α addizionale. Dal comportamento dell'effetto Hall anomalo nei campioni irradiati si è valutato il contenuto di Ni presente nelle regioni ordinate.