Properties of isolated DNA bases, base pairs and nucleosides examined by laser spectroscopy

The vibronic spectra of laser desorbed and jet cooled guanine (G) adenine (A), and cytosine (C) consist of bands from four, two and two major tautomers respectively, as revealed by UV-UV and IR-UV double resonance spectroscopy. The vibronic spectrum of adenine around 277 nm consists of weak nπ^* and strong ππ^* transitions, based on IR-UV and deuteration experiments. Precise ionization potentials of G and A were determined with 2-color, 2-photon ionization. We also measured vibronic and IR spectra of several base pairs. GC exhibits a HNH ^... OH/NH ^... N/C=O ^... HNH bonding similar to the Watson-Crick GC base pair but with C as enol tautomer. One GG isomer exhibits non-symmetric hydrogen bonding with HNH ^... N/NH ^... N/C=O ^... HNH interactions. A second observed GG isomer has a symmetrical hydrogen bond arrangement with C=O ^... NH/NH ^... O=C bonding. Two CC isomers were observed with symmetrical C=O ^... NH/NH ^... O=C bonding and nonsymmetrical C=O ^... HNH/NH ^... N interaction, respectively. Guanosine (Gs), 2-DeoxyGs und 3-DeoxyGs each exhibit only one isomer in the investigated wavelength range around 290 nm with a strong intramolecular sugar(5-OH) ^... enolguanine(3-N) hydrogen bond. Received 16 June 2002 / Received in final form 15 July 2002 Published online 13 September 2002     

Parton-hadron duality in event generators

The validity of local parton-hadron duality within the framework of HERWIG and JETSET event generators is investigated. We concentrate one ⁺ e ^– annihilations in LEP 2 energy range as these interactions provide theoretically the cleanest condition for the discussion of this concept. We conclude that the concept of local parton-hadron duality is not valid in either of the two generators considered.     

Morphological and elemental characterisation with the high-energy ion-nanoprobe LIPSION

This contribution deals with the morphological and elemental characterisation with high-energy (MeV) focused ion beams (in particular protons) with special emphasis on high spatial resolution in the sub-micrometer regime and very low minimum detection limits (sub-ppm) in trace element analysis. The most important methods like particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), as well as scanning transmission ion microscopy (STIM) and STIM-tomography will be illustrated by examples from material and life sciences.     

Kink propagation induced by multiplicative noise

The influence of spatio-temporal external multiplicative fluctuations on a single kink in a bistable distributed system is studied. For this purpose we derive a stochastic dynamic equation for the position of the shifted kink. An analytical estimate for spatio-temporally uncorrelated fluctuations is represented and discussed. We draw the conclusion that multiplicative noise induces a propagation of the most probable kink into the region of larger noise. This effect is demonstrated in numerical simulations.     

Of Dogs and Fleas: The Dynamics of N Uncoupled Two-State Systems

The historical Ehrenfest model dating back to 1907 describes the process of equilibration together with fluctuations around the thermal equilibrium. This approach represents a special case in the dynamics of N uncoupled two-state systems. In this article we present a generalization of the original model by introducing an additional parameter p which denotes the probability of a single state change. Analytical solutions for the probability distribution of the system's state as well as the fluctuation distribution are derived. Interestingly, close inspection of the fluctuation distribution reveals an intrinsic time scale. Sampling the system's state at much slower rates yields the familiar macroscopic exponential distribution for equilibrium processes. For faster measurements a power law extends roughly over log₁₀ N orders of magnitude followed by an exponential tail. At some point, further increases of the sampling rate merely result in a shift of the fluctuation distribution towards higher values leaving plateau at small fluctuation sizes behind. Since the generic solution is rather unwieldy, we derive and discuss simple and intuitive analytical solutions in the limit of small p and large N. Furthermore, we relax the quantization of time by considering a complementary approach in continuous time. Finally we demonstrate that the fluctuation distributions resulting from the two different approaches bear identical characteristic features.     

Baseline studies of radon/thoron concentration levels in and around the Lambapur and Peddagattu areas in Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh, India

Studies conducted by Atomic Minerals Directorate of Exploration and Research (AMD) of Hyderabad, India had established the presence of higher concentrations of uranium in Lambapur and Peddagattu areas of Nalgonda district, AP, India and it was estimated that it could be a viable source for commercial extraction. The envisaged extraction process involves dispersion of radioactive particulate matter into atmosphere. Environmental radioactive studies in and around proposed mining areas at this point of time will be extremely useful for establishing base line data before a large scale uranium extraction process comes into existence. To this end, Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors were installed to evaluate indoor radon and thoron concentration levels in the dwellings of the area. The geometric means of radon and thoron concentration levels were found to be (7.1±0.2)×10¹ and (6.7±0.3)×10¹ Bq/m³, respectively. Simultaneously, natural background radiation measurements were also made and these levels are found to vary from 770 to 3995 μGy/y in the spatial distribution.     

High-energy gamma-rays accompanying the spontaneous fission of 252Cf

The γ-ray spectrum of ²⁵²Cf(sf) was measured in the Darmstadt-Heidelberg Crystal Ball spectrometer, with a double ionization chamber mounted inside to detect the fission fragments. The measurement was aimed at a better understanding of an unusual component found in the high-energy region between 3 and 8 MeV, with fragment mass splits near symmetry. This component was proved to be predominantly emitted by the heavier fragment, to reach its highest intensity at a fragment mass split of 132:120, and to have an almost isotropic angular distribution. Calculations with the statistical code CASCADE could reproduce the main features.     

Penetration of a magnetic field into a thin unclosed ellipsoidal sheath in the presence of a thick-walled conducting spherical sheath

The solution of the problem of magnetic field penetration into a conducting unclosed ellipsoidal sheath in the presence of a conducting thick-walled spherical sheath is reduced to the solution of the integral Fredholm equation of the second kind. The effect of the apex angle of the unclosed ellipsoidal sheath, geometric parameters of the screens, and electrophysical properties of the spherical sheath material on the field attenuation coefficient inside the ellipsoidal sheath is studied numerically.     

Nonrelativistic polarization operator of a photon in an external nonabelian field of magnetic type

The photon polarization operator is computed in the presence of a constant external chromomagnetic field in nonrelativistic approximation. The found branching points of the polarization operator are compared with the minimal energy necessary for creation of scalar colored particles. The absence of confinement for such quarks in the field under consideration is noted.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 10, pp. 23–26, October, 1990.