Comparaison des méthodes magnétiques à fort et à faible champ pour l'étude de l'adsorption de H2 et de O2 par des catalyseurs NiSiO2

Magnetic properties of nickel catalysts vary by gas adsorption. In this paper, the variation of magnetic susceptibility and of saturation magnetization with chemisorption are derived taking into account the possibility of preferencial fixation on ferromagnetic particles of given size: high field techniques enable one to calculate a parameter α, the overal magnetic moment change in the fixation of one molecule; if the sample is superparamagnetic, low field techniques give (1 + A) α, where A depends upon the particle size distribution and upon a function which describes the preferencial adsorption. Experimental results concerning adsorption of O₂ and H₂ on NiSiO₂ catalysts are reported; they are interpreted by assuming that H₂ is uniformly adsorbed on the metal surface and that O₂ is preferencially fixed on small particles. Some comments are added about the adsorption of hydrocarbons on nickel.     

Magnetic fields associated with a nuclear magnetic resonance medical imaging system

Measurements were made of magnetic and electric field levels in and around a nuclear magnetic resonance imaging system undergoing a clinical trial. Magnetic field levels ranged from 0.04 tesla (T) in the imaging volume down to about 0.0006 T at the end of the patient table. The peak radio-frequency magnetic field level was 15 amperes per meter (A/m) in the imaging volume, while the rms value was 4.6 A/m. The specific absorption rate resulting from the radio-frequency magnetic field was calculated to be no more than 0.017 watts per kilogram (W/kg). The radio-frequency electric field was detectable only within a few centimeters of the coil assembly, and does not significantly contribute to the specific absorption rate. These exposure levels were much lower than existing guidelines for clinical NMR procedures.     

Ω− produced in K−p reactions at 4.2 GeV/c

Forty $\text{Ω}{}^{\mathrm{?}}$ events have been observed in a large (133 events/βb) experiment at 4.2 GeV/c incident K^? momentum. Thirty nine of the events come from the three-body reaction $\text{K}{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{p}\text{→Ω}{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{K}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{K}{}^0$. The $\text{Ω}{}^{\mathrm{?}}$ is mainly produced in the forward hemisphere (direction of the incident K^?). The lifetime is measured to be τ = (0.75 _+0.14?0.11 × 10^?10 sec substantially less than the Particle Data Group value of (1.3 _?0.3^+0.2) × 10^?10 sec. The mass is determined to be 1671.7 ± 0.6 MeV, in good agreement with other determinations. The decay asymmetry parameter α (for the decay mode $\text{Ω}{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{→ Λ}\text{K}{}^{\mathrm{?}}$) is found to be ?0.2 ± 0.4.     

Time-dependent neutron interferometry: Evidence against wave packet collapse?

If the energy-absorbing radio-frequency spin-flipping device used in perfect crystal neutron interferometry is an intermediate measuring device, then the experimental results contradict the associated wave packet collapse and support the real existence of the de Broglie pilot waves in both arms while the neutron travels in only one.On leave from the University of Crete, Physics Department, Heraklion, Crete, Greece, at Institut Henri Poincaré, Laboratoire de Physique Théorique, 11, Rue P. et M. Curie, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.     

Heat capacity study of double perovskite-like compounds BaTi<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Zr<Subscript>x</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>

The temperature dependence of the heat capacity of two compositions in the solid solution system BaTi_1?xZr_xO₃ (x = 0.25, 0.35) was measured using adiabatic calorimetry. In the T-x phase diagram, these compounds occupy positions near the crossover from conventional ferroelectric behavior to the relaxor state. Both compounds reveal diffuse heat capacity anomalies: two anomalies in the temperature ranges 250–350 and 150–200 K at x = 0.35 and one anomaly within the range ～150–320 K at x = 0.25. The results obtained are discussed together with structural and dielectric measurements.     

Role of A-site deficiency in the magneto-transport properties of Pr<Subscript>0.7</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>0.3</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> relaxed films

The magneto-transport properties of thick relaxed A-site deficient films having the composition Pr Sr_0.3MnO₃ (P_□SMO with the □ symbol for the Pr vacancy) and Pr_0.7Sr MnO₃ (PS_□MO) are studied. A direct comparison with a Pr_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ (PSMO)completely relaxed film, deposited under the same growth conditions, shows a reduction of the in-plane parameter a₁₀₀ associated to an enhancement of the out-plane parameter. The strains (bulk strain ε_B and biaxial Jahn-Teller strain ε_J-T) do vary with the nature of the cationic vacancy. For example, an enhancement of ε_B of 9% in the PS_□MO film (Sr deficient) produces a decrease of T_C of 30 K, whereas the Pr deficient P_□SMO film exhibits a large reduction of both ε_B (-16%) and ε_J-T (divided by a factor of 5), which enhances T_C of 12 K, similarly to previous observations on bulk ceramics. With a reduced resistivity (ρ<0.02 Ω cm), the obtained Pr-deficient film, P_□SMO, exhibits the best magneto-transport properties with a decreasing magnetoresistance sensitivity at low field.     

Attosecond electron wave packet dynamics in strong laser fields

We use a train of sub-200 attosecond extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulses with energies just above the ionization threshold in argon to create a train of temporally localized electron wave packets. We study the energy transfer from a strong infrared (IR) laser field to the ionized electrons as a function of the delay between the XUV and IR fields. When the wave packets are born at the zero crossings of the IR field, a significant amount of energy (approximately 20 eV) is transferred from the field to the electrons. This results in dramatically enhanced above-threshold ionization in conditions where the IR field alone does not induce any significant ionization. Because both the energy and duration of the wave packets can be varied independently of the IR laser, they are valuable tools for studying and controlling strong-field processes.     

Probing hot and dense laser-induced plasmas with ultrafast XUV pulses

In this Letter, we demonstrate the instantaneous creation of a hot solid-density plasma generated by focusing an intense femtosecond, high temporal contrast laser on an ultrathin foil (100 nm) in the 10(18) W/cm2 intensity range. The use of high-order harmonics generated in a gas jet, providing a probe beam of sufficiently short wavelengths to penetrate such a medium, enables the study of the dynamics of this plasma on the 100 fs time scale. The comparison of the transmission of two successive harmonics permits us to determine the electronic density and the temperature with accuracies better than 15%, never achieved up to this date in the regime of laser pulses at relativistic intensity.