OnD→ππ andK\bar K decays

We have analysed the recent data onD→ππ and \(K\bar K\) decays from ARGUS, CLEO and E691. (i) We find that Bauer, Stech and Wirbel (BSW) model does fairly well in explaining all data if we assume that final state interactions simply rotate the amplitudes in the complex plane. However, to get a good fit one needs to raiseD→K transition amplitudes by (5–10)% over the BSW values and lowerD→π amplitudes by a similar amount. (ii) We show that all the data can also be understood in a coupled channel inelastic model. (iii) We also find that the Isgur, Scora, Grinstein and Wise (ISGW) model-form factors, if extrapolated to small momentum transfers (t) by a single pole formula, yield branching ratios too small in comparison to data. We propose an alternate scheme to interpolate between BSW form factors att=0 and ISGW form factors att=t _max.     

Characterization of CaTi0.9Fe0.1O3/La0.98Mg0.02NbO4 composite

A composite of CaTi_0.9Fe_0.1O₃ and electrolyte material, i.e. magnesium doped La_0.98Mg_0.02NbO₄ was prepared and studied. The phase content and the sample microstructure was examined by an X-ray diffraction method and scanning electron microscopy. EDS measurements were done both for composite samples and the diffusion couple. The electrical properties were studied by four terminal DC method. The high-temperature interaction between the two components of the composite has been observed. It has been suggested that lanthanum diffused into the perovskite phase and substituted for calcium whereas calcium and niobium formed the Ca₂Nb₂O₇ pyrochlore phase. At 1500°C very large crystallites of the pyrochlore were observed. Regardless of strong interaction between the composite components, its total conductivity was weakly dependent on the sintering temperature.     

Quantum Riemann surfaces I. The unit disc

We construct a non-commutative ^*-algebra which is a quantum deformation of the algebra of continuous functions on the closed unit disc . is generated by the Toeplitz operators on a suitable Hilbert space of holomorphic functions onU.Supported in part by the National Science Foundation under grant DMS/PHY 88-16214     

In situ X‐ray data collection and structure phasing of protein crystals at Structural Biology Center 19‐ID

A prototype of a 96‐well plate scanner for in situ data collection has been developed at the Structural Biology Center (SBC) beamline 19‐ID, located at the Advanced Photon Source, USA. The applicability of this instrument for protein crystal diffraction screening and data collection at ambient temperature has been demonstrated. Several different protein crystals, including selenium‐labeled, were used for data collection and successful SAD phasing. Without the common procedure of crystal handling and subsequent cryo‐cooling for data collection at T = 100 K, crystals in a crystallization buffer show remarkably low mosaicity (<0.1°) until deterioration by radiation damage occurs. Data presented here show that cryo‐cooling can cause some unexpected structural changes. Based on the results of this study, the integration of the plate scanner into the 19‐ID end‐station with automated controls is being prepared. With improvement of hardware and software, in situ data collection will become available for the SBC user program including remote access.     

Experimental confirmation by galvanomagnetic methods of a complex transport model in In0.53Ga0.47As layers deposited by MBE on SI-InP

At low temperatures In_0.53Ga_0.47As samples show an increase of carrier concentration, which can be explained in terms of a two carriers transport model. This type of problem exists since the beginning of the semiconductor era, dating back to monocrystalline germanium.We propose that in all the investigated layers, there are X atoms or charged dislocations in the region of the first monolayers, which are built in during epitaxial growth. The layers were intentionally undoped. They form an impurity band in which low mobility carriers dominate over the localised electron scattering due to the s-d exchange interaction. These carriers do not freeze out at liquid helium temperature and give rise to two transport media for electrons; a conduction band at higher temperatures and an impurity band at lower temperatures. The electron which fall down onto the previously ionised X atoms, then move by thermally activated hopping. We show that the two carriers model for In_0.53Ga_0.47As epitaxial layers are confirmed by the carrier concentration-temperature, carrier concentration-magnetic field, resistivity-magnetic field behaviour, and also by YKA theory also. The differences between the two transport models are so distinctive that observed phenomena may exist. This paper presents experimental results, which constitute comprehensive evidence for the complicated structure of the semiconductor epitaxial layers on the sample of n-type In_0.53Ga_0.47As/InP layer with n=2.2×10¹⁵/cm³.     

Reflective and photoacoustic infrared spectroscopic techniques in assessment of binding media in paintings

This study proposes a method to estimate the lipid content in binding media in paintings that can be used at any laboratory equipped with an infrared spectrometer. The lipid content estimator, termed greasiness index (GI), is defined as a ratio of lipid ν(C=O) and protein amide I bands at 1743 and 1635 cm⁻¹, respectively. Three Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) sampling techniques were evaluated for GI determination: reflective attenuated total reflection—ATR, specular reflection microscopy—μSR and photoacoustic—PAS. A set of model painting samples containing three tempera binding media (casein, egg, egg + oil), seven pigments and one varnish type were used in the study. Multivariate analysis was used to evaluate the resulting data. A good reproducibility of GI was obtained by ATR and PAS but not with μSR. The discriminative power of the technique is higher for unvarnished samples, but, generally, the GI estimator can be used for the categorisation of binding media in large populations of painting samples analysed with the same FTIR technique (sampling technique, detection, etc.).     

Heavy-to-light-quark decays with two-loop accuracy

We present a determination of a new class of three-loop Feynman diagrams describing heavy-to-light transitions. We apply it to find the O(alpha2(s)) corrections to the top quark decay t --> bW and to the distribution of lepton invariant mass in the semileptonic b quark decay b --> ulnu. We also confirm the previously determined total rate of that process as well as the O(alpha2) corrections to the muon lifetime.     

Noise-induced global asymptotic stability

We prove analytically that additive and parametric (multiplicative) Gaussian distributed white noise, interpreted in either the Itô or Stratonovich formalism, induces global asymptotic stability in two prototypical dynamical systems designated as supercritical (the Landau equation) and subcritical, respectively. In both systems without noise, variation of a parameter leads to a switching between a single, globally stable steady state and multiple, locally stable steady states. With additive noise this switching is mirrored in the behavior of the extrema of probability densities at the same value of the parameter. However, parametric noise causes a noise-amplitude-dependent shift (postponement) in the parameter value at which the switching occurs. It is shown analytically that the density converges to a Dirac delta function when the solution of the Fokker-Planck equation is no longer normalizable.     

3D MR imaging of dental cavities-an in vitro study

A 3D spin-echo (3D SE) pulse sequence was used on a 4.7 T research MRI system to produce images of extracted human first molar tooth placed in CuSO4 water solution. The maximal resolution achieved was 35 x 63 x 300 microm3 in read and two phase directions, respectively. The high-intensity signal from water in solution together with the lack of signal from mineralized tooth tissue produce very good contrast allowing to visualize topography of outer and inner surfaces of the tooth. The 3D MR data were median filtered, binarized and then divided into separate segments corresponding to the inner tooth cavities and the hard tooth tissue. The topography of the root canals was visualized and the canals volume was calculated. The presented technique may be used for quantitative analysis of the root canal cavities shape and volume. The results of such an analysis may be applied for estimation of the quality of the impressional mapping methods in restorative dentistry or as an alternative non-impressional 3D mapping method.