Measurement of the ground state 2n pickup probability for 28Si+68Zn and its role in sub-barrier fusion enhancement

The ground state and excited state transfer yields for the 2-neutron pickup channel in the ²⁸Si+⁶⁸Zn system have been measured explicitly. The recoil mass separator at the nuclear Science Centre, New Delhi was used for the measurement. A NaI(T1) detector was used for detecting the deexcitation γ’s from the transfer products. The kinematic coincidence technique was employed for the transfer measurement. Simplified coupled channels calculations show that out of all transfer channels the major contribution to the sub-barrier enhancement comes from the ground state 2 neutron pickup channel with a ground state Q-value of+1.83 MeV.     

Comparison of thermomagnetic history effects in weakly pinned single crystals of R 3Rh4Sn13 (R=Yb, Ca)

A comparative study of the thermomagnetic memory effects of J _c in two weakly pinned low T _c superconductors, Ca₃Rh₄Sn₁₃ (CaRhSn) and Yb₃Rh₄Sn₁₃ (YbRhSn), is presented. In both the systems, the peak effect (PE) phenomenon appears as an order-disorder transformation through stepwise amorphization of the flux line lattice (FLL). However, in CaRhSn. we can witness another disorder-driven transition (Bragg glass (BG) to a vortex glass (VG) in a distinct manner as in a single crystal of high T _c YBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ for H‖c.     

Gaussian Time-Dependent Variational Principle for Bosons

We investigate the Dirac time-dependent variational method for a system of non-ideal Bosons interacting through an arbitrary two body potential. The method produces a set of non-linear time dependent equations for the variational parameters. In particular we have considered small oscillations about equilibrium. We obtain generalized RPA equations that can be understood as interacting quasi-bosons, usually mentioned in the literature as having a gap. The result of this interaction provides us with scattering properties of these quasi-bosons including possible bound-states, which can include zero modes. In fact the zero mode bound state can be interpreted as a new quasi-boson with a gapless dispersion relation. Utilizing these results we discuss a straightforward scheme for introducing temperature.     

Shape transition in the neutron rich sodium isotopes

Mass spectrometer measurements of the neutron rich sodium isotopes show a sudden increase at ³¹Na in the values of the two-neutron separation energies. The spherical shell model naturally predicts a sudden decrease at ³²Na after the N = 20 shell closure. We propose that the explanation for this disagreement lies in the fact that sodium isotopes in this mass region are strongly deformed due to the filling of negative parity orbitais from the 1f_{$\text{7}\text{2}$} shell. Hartree-Fock calculations are presented in support of this conjecture.     

Functional integral representation of the nuclear many-body grand partition function

A local functional integral formulation of the nuclear many-body problem is proposed which is a generalization of the method previously developed [Ann. Phys. (N.Y.)148 (1983), 436; Phys. Rev. C24 (1981), 1029]. Its most interesting feature is that it allows an expansion of the many-body evolution operator around any arbitrary mean-field which takes into account the pairing correlations between the nucleons. This is explicitly illustrated for the nuclear many-body grand partition function for which special attention is paid to the static temperature-dependent Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov (H.F.B.) approximation. Indeed, the temperature-dependent H.F.B. configuration appears to be the optimal choice from a variational point of view among all the possible independent quasi-particle motion approximations. An analytic approximation of the energy level density p(E,A) is given using explicitly the arbitrariness in the choice of the mean-field and a possible numerical application is proposed. Finally, a new compact formulation of our functional integral that might be useful for future Monte Carlo calculations is proposed.     

Beyond optical molasses: 3D raman sideband cooling of atomic cesium to high phase-space density

We demonstrate a simple, general purpose method to cool neutral atoms. A sample containing 3x10(8) cesium atoms prepared in a magneto-optical trap is cooled and simultaneously spin polarized in 10 ms at a density of 1.1x10(11) cm (-3) to a phase space density nlambda(3)(dB) = 1/500, which is almost 3 orders of magnitude higher than attainable in free space with optical molasses. The technique is based on 3D degenerate Raman sideband cooling in optical lattices and remains efficient even at densities where the mean lattice site occupation is close to unity.     

Amyloid-beta detection with saccharide immobilized gold nanoparticle on carbon electrode

The electrochemical sensing of saccharide-protein interactions using a couple of sialic acid derivatives and Alzheimer's amyloid-beta (Abeta) is described. The densely-packed saccharide area for recognition of protein was fabricated onto a carbon electrode by three steps, which were electrochemical deposition of Au nanoparticles on a screen printed strip, self-assembled monolayer (SAM) formation of the acetylenyl group on Au nanoparticles, and the cycloaddition reaction of an azide-terminated sialic acid to the acetylenyl group. The attachment of Abeta peptides to the sialic acid layer was confirmed by electrochemistry and atomic force microscopy imaging. The intrinsic oxidation signal of the captured Abeta(1-40) and (1-42) peptides, containing a single tyrosine (Tyr) residues, was monitored at a peak potential of 0.6 V (vs Ag/AgCl within this sensor) in connection with differential pulse voltammetry. The peak current intensities were concentration dependent. The proposed process provides new routes for analysis of saccharide-protein interactions and electrochemical biosensor development.     

DNA and PNA sensing on mercury and carbon electrodes by using methylene blue as an electrochemical label

Described here are the electrochemical parameters for MB on binding to DNA at hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE), glassy carbon electrode (GCE), and carbon paste electrode (CPE) in the solution and at the electrode surface. MB, which interacts with the immobilized calf thymus DNA, was detected by using single-stranded DNA-modified HMDE or CPE (ssDNA-modified HMDE or CPE), bare HMDE or CPE, and double-stranded DNA-modified HMDE or CPE (dsDNA-modified HMDE or CPE) in combination with adsorptive transfer stripping voltammetry (AdTSV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), and alternating current voltammetry (ACV) techniques. The structural conformation of DNA and hybridization between synthetic peptide nucleic acid (PNA) and DNA oligonucleotides were determined by the changes in the voltammetric peak of MB. The PNA and DNA probes were also challenged with excessive and equal amount of noncomplementary DNA and a mixture that contained one-base mismatched and target DNA. The partition coefficient was also obtained from the signal of MB with probe, hybrid, and ssDNA-modified GCEs. The effect of probe, target, and ssDNA concentration upon the MB signal was investigated. These results demonstrated that MB could be used as an effective electroactive hybridization indicator for DNA biosensors. Performance characteristics of the sensor are described, along with future prospects.     

New obstructions to symplectic embeddings

In this paper we establish new restrictions on the symplectic embeddings of basic shapes in symplectic vector spaces. By refining an embedding technique due to Guth, we also show that they are sharp.