Nuclear charge radii of 8,9Li determined by laser spectroscopy

The 2s-->3s transition of (6,7,8,9)Li was studied by high-resolution laser spectroscopy using two-photon Doppler-free excitation and resonance-ionization detection. Hyperfine structure splittings and isotope shifts were determined with precision at the 100 kHz level. Combined with recent theoretical work, the changes in the nuclear-charge radii of (8,9)Li were determined. These are now the lightest short-lived isotopes for which the charge radii have been measured. It is found that the charge radii monotonically decrease with increasing neutron number from 6Li to 9Li.     

Spin and orbital magnetic moments of Fe3O4

We present measurements of the spin and orbital magnetic moments of Fe3O4 by using SQUID and magnetic circular dichroism in soft x-ray absorption. The measurements show that Fe3O4 has a noninteger spin moment, in contrast to its predicted half-metallic feature. Fe3O4 also exhibits a large unquenched orbital moment. Calculations using the local density approximation including the Hubbard U method and the configuration interaction cluster-model suggest that strong correlations and spin-orbit interaction of the 3d electrons result in the noninteger spin and large orbital moments of Fe3O4.     

First Measurement of the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn Sum Rule for 1H from 0.7 to 1.8 GeV at ELSA

To verify the fundamental Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn (GDH) sum rule for the first time experimentally, we measured the helicity dependent total photoabsorption cross section with circularly polarized real photons and longitudinally polarized nucleons in the photon energy range 0.68-1.82 GeV with the tagged photon facility at ELSA. The experiment was carried out with a 4pi detection system, a circularly polarized tagged photon beam, and a frozen spin polarized proton target. The contribution to the GDH sum rule in this photon energy range is [49.9+/-2.4(stat)+/-2.2(syst)] microb.     

Laser Stark spectroscopy of FCN

Using a CO₂ laser, Stark shifted resonances have been measured for the CF stretching fundamental (ν₃) of FCN near 9.3 μm, and for two nearby “hot” bands. The band centers measured are 1076.492007 ± 0.000013 cm^?1 for 00⁰1-00⁰0, 1085.741046 ± 0.000050 cm^?1 for 01¹1-01¹0, and 1091.16222 ± 0.00015 cm^?1 for 02⁰1-02⁰0. The ground state dipole moment of FCN is found to be 2.1203 ± 0.0010 D and dipole moments are also given for the other states observed. Values are given for the rotational constant and l-doubling constant for the 01¹1 state.     

NEXAFS measurements of the molecular ordering in the boundary layers of liquid crystalline free standing films

By near edge X-ray absorption fine-structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy a finite molecular tilt angle in the surface layer of a free standing film in the liquid crystalline smectic A phase of C7 was directly detected. Analysis of the angular dependent intensities of the oxygen K edge NEXAFS spectra leads to an average tilt angle of the molecules in the surface layer of about 34°, which is characteristic for the bulk smectic C* phase of C7.     

Self-organization of gold atoms on a polar FeO(111) surface

The spatial distribution of single Au atoms on a thin FeO film has been investigated by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. The adatoms preferentially adsorb on distinct sites of the Moiré cell formed by the oxide layer and the Pt(111) support and arrange into a well-ordered hexagonal superlattice with 25 angstroms lattice constant. The self-organization is the consequence of an inhomogeneous surface potential within the FeO Moiré cell and substantial electrostatic repulsion between the adatoms.     

A variational principle for the scattered wave

A Schwinger-type variational principle is presented for the scattered field in the case of scalar wave scattering with an arbitrary field incident on an object of arbitrary shape with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions. The result is variationally invariant at field points ranging from the surface of the scatterer to the farfield and is an important extension of the usual Schwinger variational principle for the scattering amplitude, which is a farfield quantity. Also, a generic procedure, physically motivated by the general principles of boundary conditions and shadowing, is presented for constructing simple trial functions to approximate the fields. The variational principle and the trial function design are tested for the special case of a spherical scatterer and accurate answers are found over the entire frequency range.     

Simulated caustic patterns for dynamic crack growth in a plate based on a three-dimensional numerical analysis

The rapid growth of a through-the-thickness crack in a nominally elastic plate under Mode I conditions is considered, with emphasis on the three-dimensional aspects of the elastodynamic crack growth process. For points near the crack edge, the assumptions on stress state consistent with plane stress analysis are not valid, and the possibility of an inertial effect associated with rapid lateral contraction must be considered. The steady crack growth process is analyzed here by means of the finite element method, and the degree to which the local fields are described by plane stress analysis is established. In addition, synthetic shadow spot patterns are generated from the numerical three-dimensional solutions. The inferred values of stress intensity factor are compared with the values of the corresponding plane stress dynamic stress intensity factor.     

Formaldehyde Formation on Vanadium Oxide Surfaces V2O3(0001) and V2O5(001): How does the Stable Methoxy Intermediate Form?

Hydroxy‐mediated methoxy formation or stabilization is probably an important process in many methanol adsorption systems. Hydrogen atoms originating from the scission of the methanol O? H bond react with the substrate and form water. This process may result 1) in the production of additional surface defects as reactive centers for methoxy formation and 2) in the stabilization of methoxy groups by suppression of methanol formation.

     

Analysis of the substrate specificity of the Dim-5 histone lysine methyltransferase using peptide arrays

Histone methylation is an epigenetic mark essential for gene regulation and development. We introduce peptide SPOT synthesis to study sequence specificity of the Dim-5 histone-3 lysine-9 methyltransferase. Dim-5 recognizes R8-G12 of the H3 tail with T11 and G12 being the most important specificity determinants. Exchange of H3 tail residue S10 and T11 by E strongly reduced methylation by Dim-5, suggesting that phosphorylation of S10 or T11 may regulate the activity of Dim-5. In the Dim-5/peptide structure, E227 interacts with H3R8 and D209 with H3-S10. Mutations of E227 or D209 caused predictable changes in the substrate preference, illustrating that peptide recognition of histone methyltransferases can be altered by protein design. Comparative analyses of peptide arrays with wild-type and mutant enzymes, therefore, are well suited to investigate the target specificity of protein methyltransferases and study epigenetic crosstalk.