Calculation of quantum tunneling for a spatially extended defect: the dislocation kink in copper has a low effective mass

Several experiments indicate that there are atomic tunneling defects in plastically deformed metals. How this is possible has not been clear, given the large mass of the metal atoms. Using a classical molecular-dynamics calculation, we determine the structures, energy barriers, effective masses, and quantum tunneling rates for dislocation kinks and jogs in copper screw dislocations. We find that jogs are unlikely to tunnel, but the kinks should have large quantum fluctuations. The kink motion involves hundreds of atoms each shifting a tiny amount, leading to a small effective mass and tunneling barrier.     

Compactifying sufficiently regular covering spaces of compact 3-manifolds

In this paper it is proven that if the group of covering translations of the covering space of a compact, connected, -irreducible 3-manifold corresponding to a non-trivial, finitely-generated subgroup of its fundamental group is infinite, then either the covering space is almost compact or the subgroup is infinite cyclic and has normalizer a non-finitely-generated subgroup of the rational numbers. In the first case additional information is obtained which is then used to relate Thurston's hyperbolization and virtual bundle conjectures to some algebraic conjectures about certain 3-manifold groups.     

Development and use of a virtual NMR facility

We have developed a "virtual NMR facility" (VNMRF) to enhance access to the NMR spectrometers in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL). We use the term virtual facility to describe a real NMR facility made accessible via the Internet. The VNMRF combines secure remote operation of the EMSL's NMR spectrometers over the Internet with real-time videoconferencing, remotely controlled laboratory cameras, real-time computer display sharing, a Web-based electronic laboratory notebook, and other capabilities. Remote VNMRF users can see and converse with EMSL researchers, directly and securely control the EMSL spectrometers, and collaboratively analyze results. A customized Electronic Laboratory Notebook allows interactive Web-based access to group notes, experimental parameters, proposed molecular structures, and other aspects of a research project. This paper describes our experience developing a VNMRF and details the specific capabilities available through the EMSL VNMRF. We show how the VNMRF has evolved during a test project and present an evaluation of its impact in the EMSL and its potential as a model for other scientific facilities. All Collaboratory software used in the VNMRF is freely available from www.emsl.pnl.gov:2080/docs/collab.     

Characterization of the near-surface region of glass implanted with light elements

Ion-implantation of glasses modifies physical properties such as density, refractive index, surface stress, hardness, and chemical durability. Compositional changes can also occur due, e.g., to radiation-enhanced diffusional losses of alkali ions, crystallization, phase separation, and H incursion. Quantitative depth-profiling of the implanted ion distributions and changes in elemental constituent concentrations can be accomplished by means of ion-beam analysis. Elastic recoil detection (ERD) is used for light elements (H to N) while Rutherford backscattering (RBS) is utilized for larger masses. Chemical information from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) supplements the compositional information obtained from ERD and RBS to supply detailed data about the surface region or in-depth after sputter etching. These techniques, have been utilized, in combination with optical spectroscopy, to study the effects of ion-implanted H, Li, B, N, O, and Si on fused silica. Evidence has been obtained for the chemical incorporation of these elements in the silica network. The results allow deeper understanding of the relationship of structure to implant incorporations, as is important for the application of ion implantation wave guide formation in optoelectronic applications.     

Die Bestimmung des Cholesterins

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Extending reference scan drift correction to high-magnification high-cone-angle tomography

The reference scan method is a simple yet powerful method for measuring spatial drift of the x-ray spot during a low-cone-angle μ-CT experiment. As long as the drift is smooth, and occurring on a time scale that is long compared to the acquisition time of each projection, this method provides a way to compensate for the drift by applying 2D in-plane translations to the radiographs. Here we show that this compensation may be extended to the regime of high-magnification, high-cone-angle CT experiments where source drift perpendicular to the detector plane can cause significant magnification changes throughout the acquisition.     

Precision atomic mass spectrometry with applications to fundamental constants, neutrino physics, and physical chemistry

We present a summary of precision atomic mass measurements of stable isotopes carried out at Florida State University. These include the alkalis ⁶Li, ²³Na, ^39,41K, ^85,87Rb, ¹³³Cs; the rare gas isotopes ^84,86Kr and ^{129,130,132,136}Xe; ^17,18O, ¹⁹F, ²⁸Si, ³¹P, ³²S; and various isotope pairs of importance to neutrino physics, namely ^74,76Se/^74,76Ge, ¹³⁰Xe/¹³⁰Te, and ¹¹⁵In/¹¹⁵Sn. We also summarize our Penning trap measurements of the dipole moments of PH^?+? and HCO^?+?.