Breakup temperature of target spectators in 197Au + 197Au collisions at E/A = 1000 MeV

Breakup temperatures were deduced from double ratios of isotope yields for target spectators produced in the reaction ¹⁹⁷Au + ¹⁹⁷Au at 1000 MeV per nucleon. Pairs of ^3,4He and ^6,7Li isotopes and pairs of ^3,4He and H isotopes (p, d and d, t) yield consistent temperatures after feeding corrections, based on the quantum statistical model, are applied. The temperatures rise with decreasing impact parameter from 4 MeV for peripheral to about 10 MeV for the most central collisions. The good agreement with the breakup temperatures measured previously for projectile spectators at an incident energy of 600 MeV per nucleon confirms the universality established for the spectator decayat relativistic bombarding energies. The measured temperatures also agree with the breakup temperatures predicted by the statistical multifragmentation model. For these calculations a relation between the initial excitation energy and mass was derived which gives good simultaneous agreement for the fragment charge correlations. The energy spectra of light charged particles, measured at τ_lab = 150°, exhibit Maxwellian shapes with inverse slope parameters much higher than the breakup temperatures. The statistical multifragmentation model, because Coulomb repulsion and sequential decay processes are included, yields light-particle spectra with inverse slope parameters higher than the breakup temperatures but considerably below the measured values. The systematic behavior of the differences suggests that they are caused by light-charged-particle emission prior to the final breakup stage.     

Capillary electrophoretic study of the binding of zinc(II) ion to bacitracin A1 in water-2,2,2-trifluoroethanol

Binding of Zn(2+) to bacitracin A(1) was studied by capillary electrophoresis in water/2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (70/30 v/v) at different apparent pH values in order to estimate the association constant of metal, the acidic dissociation constants and the Stokes radii of both free and bounded peptide in apolar environment. The Stokes radii of the free peptide species were compared with those in aqueous solution, as obtained in a recent study performed by our group, indicating that apolar environment stabilizes bacitracin A(1) in a conformational structure with the lateral chain of apolar amino acids exposed on the external surface. This conformation of the macrocyclic dodecapeptide is ready to interact with Zn(2+) ion, as pointed out by the strong increase of the association constant measured in water/2,2,2-trifluoroethanol with respect to the value obtained in aqueous solution. In addition, whereas Zn(2+) ion binding in aqueous solution provides a sensible reduction of peptide Stokes radius, no sensible variations following to ion binding were observed in hydro-organic solution. The present results suggest that the apolar environment, rather than the metal ion binding, could be responsible for the conformational transition that brings bacitracin A(1) towards its biologically active structure.*     

Refined modeling of traveling-wave Ti:LiNbO3 channel waveguide modulator

A refined computation model for traveling-wave operation of external electro-optical phase modulators made of a single titanium in-diffused lithium niobate channel waveguide (Ti:LiNbO₃WG) is described. The modulator circuit model outlined as two traveling-wave coupled microstrips includes microwave losses and dispersion. In the optimization procedure, we consider different circuit load conditions. The influence of a dielectric overlay covering the electrodes is examined. The consolidated techniques of conformal mapping, multiple image, and finite element are used to investigate the microwave characteristics of the structure, and the refractive effective index method is used in calculating the characteristics of the diffused anisotropic optical channel. The performances of Y-cut and Z-cut substrate configurations are compared. We have verified that the Y-cut substrate modulator gives the best overall performance, and that the overlay presence causes significant improvements in the evaluated modulation efficiency and in the bandwidth. A model of the modulator that takes electrode thickness into account permits one to obtain a wider bandwidth.     

Design and demonstration of interferometric integrated-optic sensors in Ti:LiNbO3 waveguides

The design of an integrated optic Michelson interferometer sensor for stress, temperature, and microdisplacement measurements consisting of a semi-asymmetric X-junction made by Ti in-diffused LiNbO₃ waveguides is reported. The possibility of performing simultaneous measurements of strain and temperature is investigated, and different calibration schemes are proposed. Experimental results of displacement-only measurements show a 64% intensity modulation with 33-dB optical loss.