First observation of medium-spin excitations in the <Superscript>138</Superscript>Cs nucleus

The Penning trap mass spectrometer JYFLTRAP, coupled to the Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line (IGISOL) facility at Jyv?skyl?, was employed to measure the atomic masses of neutron-rich ^70-73Ni and ^{73, 75}Cu isotopes with a typical accuracy less than 5keV. The mass of ⁷³Ni was measured for the first time. Comparisons with the previous data are discussed. Two-neutron separation energies show a weak subshell closure at ⁶⁸ ₂₈Ni₄₀ . A well established proton shell gap is observed at Z = 28 .     

The neutron and proton two-particle nucleus 134Sb: New low-spin states observed in the decay of 134Sn and an estimate of the energy of the 7- isomer

Excited states in the ¹³⁴Sb nucleus, populated in the β^--decay of ¹³⁴Sn, have been studied at the mass separator OSIRIS. The ¹³⁴Sn activity was produced via fast neutron-induced fission of ²³⁸U target. A main result was the discovery of a very low-lying first-excited state of ¹³⁴Sb, at 13keV, which has led to a strong revision of the level scheme. The new results are compared with different theoretical calculations and with the known data for the analogous neutron and proton two-particle nucleus in the ²⁰⁸Pb region. On the basis of this comparison, the energy of the ( πg _7/2νf _7/2)_7- isomer is estimated to be about 250keV, some 100keV lower than previously reported. Received: 21 March 2002 / Accepted: 16 May 2002 / Published online: 31 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: anovak@fuw.edu.pl     

Heavy-ion in-beam studies of the nucleus87Nb

High spin states in the transitional nucleus⁸⁷Nb up to 14 MeV excitation have been established for the first time via the reactions⁴⁰Ca(⁵⁰Cr, 3p)⁸⁷Nb and⁵⁸Ni (³²S, 3p)⁸⁷Nb. The⁸⁷Nbγ-radiations have been identified throughγ-ray spectra taken in coincidence with the evaporation residues detected in the Daresbury recoil separator or with multiple proton emission. Gamma-gamma coincidences, DCO ratios,γ-ray angular distributions and lifetimes have been measured. A total of some 100 transitions have been placed into a level scheme comprising of sixty states. The one-quasiparticle (1qp) bands of either parity and several other band-like structures have been identified, some containing alignedg _9/2 nucleons. Moderately enhancedE2 in-band transitions of 13–48 W.u. as well as several weakE2 yrast transitions connecting bands with different quasiparticle numbers have been found. Similarities with respect to theN=46 isotones⁸³Rb,⁸⁴Sr,⁸⁵Y,⁸⁶Zr and⁸⁸Mo are discussed.     

Alignment delays in the N = Z nuclei (72)Kr, (76)Sr, and (80)Zr

The ground state rotational bands of the N = Z nuclei (72)Kr, (76)Sr, and (80)Zr have been extended into the angular momentum region where rotation alignment of particles is normally expected. By measuring the moments of inertia of these bands we have observed a consistent increase in the rotational frequency required to start pair breaking, when compared to neighboring nuclei. (72)Kr shows the most marked effect. It has been widely suggested that these "delayed alignments" arise from np-pairing correlations. However, alignment frequencies are very sensitive to shape degrees of freedom and normal pairing, so the new experimental observations are still open to interpretation.     

Simultaneousg 9/2 proton and neutron alignments in76Kr

Yrast states with spins as high as 22 ? have been identified in⁷⁶Kr with the reactions⁵⁸Ni(²⁴Mg,α2p) at 110 MeV and⁴⁰Ca (⁴⁰Ca, 4p) at 155 MeV. Simultaneous band crossings due to g_9/2 proton and neutron quasiparticles have been observed in the frequency range 0.60≦?ω≦0.75 MeV. The moment of inertia increases rapidly at the crossing frequency. The systematics of proton and neutron alignments in the Kr isotopes are discussed.     

An alternative construction of the Percus-Yevick equation based on the equilibrium BBGKY hierarchy

The existing derivations of the Percus-Yevick equation are not readily extendable into the nonequilibrium domain. In particular, the elegant Percus functional construction relies on a test particle theorem which lacks an exact nonequilibrium generalization. We propose here a new construction which utilizes some elementary ideas of functional expansions together with the equilibrium BBGKY hierarchy of equations. Also, we feel this new construction provides fresh insight into the physical basis of the equilibrium Percus-Yevick equation.This research was supported in part by a grant from the Faculty Research Award Program of the City University of New York.     

A generalized Faxén theorem for two-dimensional Brownian motion

The induced force method developed by Mazur and Bedeaux is applied here to two-dimensional Brownian motion. We obtain a generalized Faxén theorem which reduces to the Stokes-Basset drag force on a nonuniformly moving cylinder or disk in the special case where the fluid fluctuations are neglected. The resulting modified Langevin equation is solved numerically for the velocity autocorrelation Ø(t) and the expected long time result Ø(t)～1/t is obtained. It is perhaps surprising that the short time behavior of Ø(t) deviates considerably from that predicted on the basis of a modified Langevin equation incorporating the classic Oseen-Lamb drag force on a cylinder.     

Long Eddies in Sheared Flows

The characteristic feature of the wide variety of hydraulic shear flows analyzed in this study is that they all contain a critical level where some of the fluid is turned relative to the ambient flow. One example is the flow produced in a thin layer of fluid, contained between lateral boundaries, during the passage of a long eddy. The boundaries of the layer may be rigid, or flexible, or free; the fluid may be either compressible or incompressible. A further example is the flow produced when a shear layer separates from a rigid boundary producing a region of recirculating flow. The equations used in this study are those governing inviscid hydraulic shear flows. They are similar in form to the classical boundary layer equations with the viscous term omitted. The main result of the study is to show that when the hydraulic flow is steady and contained between lateral boundaries, the variation of vorticity ω(ψ) cannot be prescribed at any streamline which crosses the critical level. This variation is, in fact, determined by (1) the vorticity distribution at all streamlines which do not cross the critical level, by (2) the auxiliary conditions which must be satisfied at the boundaries of the fluid layer, and by (3) the dimensions of the region containing the turned flow. If at some instant the vorticity distribution is specified arbitrarily at all streamlines, generally the subsequent flow will be unsteady. In order to emphasize this point, a class of exact solutions describing unsteady hydraulic flows are derived. These are used to describe the flow produced by the passage of a long eddy which distorts as it is convected with the ambient flow. They are also used to describe the unsteady flow that is produced when a shear layer separates from a boundary. Examples are given both of flows in which the shear layer reattaches after separation and of flows in which the shear layer does not reattach. When the shear layer vorticity distribution has the form ωαyⁿ, where y is a distance measure across the layer, the steady flows are of Falkner-Skan type inside, and adjacent to, the separation region. The unsteady flows described in this paper are natural generalizations of these Falkner-Skan flows. One important result of the analysis is to show that if the unsteady flow inside the separation region is strongly sheared, then the boundary of the separation region moves upstream towards the point of separation, forming large transverse currents. Generally, the assumption of hydraulic flow becomes invalid in a finite time. On the other hand, if the flow inside the separation region is weakly sheared, this region is swept downstream and the flow becomes self-similar.     

Quantum design of ionic liquids for extreme chemical inertness and a new theory of the glass transition

In many modern technologies (such as batteries and supercapacitors), there is a strong need for redox-stable ionic liquids. Experimentally, the stability of ionic liquids can be quantified by the voltage range over which electron tunneling does not occur, but so far, quantum theory has not been applied systematically to this problem. Here, we report the electrochemical reduction of a series of quaternary ammonium cations in the presence of bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (TFSI) anions and use nonadiabatic electron transfer theory to explicate the results. We find that increasing the chain length of the alkyl groups confers improved chemical inertness at all accessible temperatures. Simultaneously, decreasing the symmetry of the quaternary ammonium cations lowers the melting points of the corresponding ionic liquids, in two cases yielding highly inert solvents at room temperature. These are called hexyltriethylammonium TFSI (HTE-TFSI) and butyltrimethylammonium TFSI (BTM-TFSI). Indeed, the latter are two of the most redox-stable solvents in the history of electrochemistry. To gain insight into their properties, very high precision electrical conductivity measurements have been carried out in the range +20 °C to +190 °C. In both cases, the data conform to the Vogel-Tammann-Fulcher (VTF) equation with “six nines” precision (R ²?>?0.999999). The critical temperature for the onset of conductivity coincides with the glass transition temperature T _g. This is compelling evidence that ionic liquids are, in fact, softened glasses. Finally, by focusing on the previously unsuspected connection between the molecular degrees of freedom of ionic liquids and their bulk conductivities, we are able to propose a new theory of the glass transition. This should have utility far beyond ionic liquids, in areas as diverse as glassy metals and polymer science.