Deuterium and hydrogen distribution in a stack of Ta|(CD2) n |Ta foils under the action of high-temperature pulsed nitrogen plasma

Using the method of the elastic recoil detection (ERD) of hydrogen nuclei and a Plasma Focus setup (PF-4), we study the processes of the storage and redistribution of hydrogen and deuterium atoms in a stack of two tantalum foils and a deuterated polyethylene film sandwiched between them under pulsed irradiation with hot nitrogen plasma. It is established that the redistribution of implanted deuterium and hydrogen occurs at greater depths in both tantalum foils after 30 pulses of nitrogen plasma. The maximum concentrations of hydrogen and deuterium, namely 7 and 45 at % are observed on the surface of the second tantalum foil which is more distant from the PF-4 setup. The redistribution of deuterium from deuterated polyethylene onto the surface and volume of both Ta foils is observed. The observed phenomenon can be explained by the breaking of chemical bonds in the deuterated polyethylene and the transfer of freed deuterium into the Ta foils under the action of strong shock waves formed in the structure, as well as the accelerated diffusion of hydrogen and deuterium in the stress field caused by the shock wave.     

Pion production of heavily ionizing particles from aluminum

Total cross sections for producing alpha particles in an energy range from 0.6 to 5 MeV and protons with equivalent energy losses have been measured for π meson beams incident on aluminum from 60 through 400 MeV. A simple in-beam measurement was accomplished by use of CR-39 track detector material. The large cross sections found indicate directly that an important means for energetic π mesons to induce damage in silicon semiconductor elements is by production of alpha particles, their subsequent energy loss in the material, and recoils of daughter nuclei.     

Giant monopole resonances in the statistical model

The strength functions fore ⁺ e ^– pair decay of the isoscalar and isovector giant monopole resonances in highly excited nuclei are derived and used in a statistical model calculation of thee ⁺ e ^– pair energy spectrum from compound nuclear decay in¹¹⁰Sn following a fusion evaporation reaction. This result is then compared to thee ⁺ e ^– spectrum derived from internal pair decay of the giant dipole and giant quadrupole resonances. The computation shows that the pair decay from the excited-state GDR dominates the pair spectrum over the region of all giant resonances, exceedingL=0 transitions by at least a factor of ten. We also compute the angular correlations betweene ⁺ ande ^– for theL=0, L=1 andL=2 transitions and estimate their power to discriminate between the various multipolarities.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. P. Kienle on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Evolution of the delta13C signature related to total carbon contents and carbon decomposition rate constants in a soil profile under grassland

Evolution of the total carbon (C) content and the (13)C enrichment (delta(13)C signature) of soil organic matter (SOM) with increasing depth in a soil profile under permanent grassland (C(3) vegetation) were investigated. The relationship between the total C content and the delta(13)C signature at different depths in the upper 30 cm of the soil profile could be well fitted by the Rayleigh equation (y = -29.8 - 2.3x, R(2) = 0.95, p < 0.001), describing the enrichment in (13)C as resulting from isotopic fractionation associated with C mineralization (isotope enrichment factor epsilon = -2.3 per thousand). Potential C dynamics of SOM in four depth intervals of the profile (0-10, 10-20, 20-30 and 30-40 cm depth) were investigated through an incubation study. The C decomposition rate constants decreased with increasing sampling depth from 0.0479 yr(-1) (0-10 cm sampling depth) to 0.0256 yr(-1) (30-40 cm sampling depth) and were highly correlated (y = 0.02 + 0.13x, R(2) = 0.93, p < 0.05) with the corresponding deltadelta(13)C values (average change of the delta(13)C signature per depth increment). These results suggest that changes of the delta(13)C signature of SOM in undisturbed soil profiles under continuous C(3) vegetation may serve as an indicator of the variation of SOM quality with increasing depth.     

Energy dependence of elliptic flow over a large pseudorapidity range in Au+Au collisions at the BNL relativistic heavy ion collider

This Letter describes the measurement of the energy dependence of elliptic flow for charged particles in Au+Au collisions using the PHOBOS detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Data taken at collision energies of square root of s(NN)=19.6, 62.4, 130, and 200 GeV are shown over a wide range in pseudorapidity. These results, when plotted as a function of eta(')=|eta|-y(beam), scale with approximate linearity throughout eta('), implying no sharp changes in the dynamics of particle production as a function of pseudorapidity or increasing beam energy.