Electronic structure of hexagonal rare-earth manganites RMnO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

The optical spectra of single crystals of hexagonal rare-earth manganites RMnO₃ (R=Sc, Y, Er) are studied in the range from 0.7 to 5.4 eV. It is found that the spectra substantially differ from the spectra of orthorhombic manganites in both the positions of spectral features and their polarization anisotropy. It is shown that the optical absorption edge is determined by an abnormally strong (k?1) and narrow electric dipole transition with the center at approximately 1.6 eV with light polarization in the basal plane of the crystal. This transition can be treated with confidence as charge transfer from oxygen to manganese. The experimental results are in many instances substantially different from the first-principles calculations of the electronic structure of YMnO₃ published recently and, hence, may serve as a reliable basis for the further improvement of computational methods.     

Search for the NN → 6q phase transition in the np-polarized measurements at T kin = 1–6 GeV

The measurements of np-spin observables at 0° have been performed for the first time on the Delta-Sigma experimental facility of LHE JINR up to P _n = 4.5 GeV/c using the monochromatic neutron beam. They include detailed measurements of the Δσ _L(np) spin differences and the study of the np → pn elastic charge-exchange process. In the Δσ _L(np) and −Δσ _L(I = 0) energy dependencies over the energy region T_kin = 1.2–3.7 GeV the peculiarity at 1.8 GeV was observed. Such energy behavior was predicted by the QCD approach as a signal of the NN → 6q phase transition. For the exhaustive investigation of this effect it is necessary to measure the energy dependence of the complete set of np observables with both longitudinal (L) and transverse (T) polarizations of the neutron beam and proton target. This will allow Direct Reconstruction of all three NN forward Scattering Amplitudes (DRSA) to be performed, and the observed peculiarity to be checked around T_kin = 1.8 GeV and at the higher energies using the Argand diagrams method.     

Polarimetry of the polarized proton and deuteron beams at intermediate energies

Method and results of the beam polarization measurements are presented. The measurements were carried out at the proton polarized beam of Saturne-II accelerator as well as at the JINR (Dubna) synchrophasotron vector polarized deuteron beam. The analysis of the elastic (quasi-elastic) pp-scattering polarization is used as a method of the polarization measurements. The energy range of the measurement is 1.0≤T _p ≤2.8 GeV for polarized proton and 1.66≤T _d ≤7.3 GeV for polarized deuteron beams.     

Interaction of silver nanoparticles with ozone in aqueous solution

The interaction between ozone and silver nanoparticles stabilized with sodium polyphosphate is studied in aqueous solutions. The process of ozone decomposition is established to have a chain character. The oxidation of one silver atom initiates the decomposition of about three ozone molecules. The stability of colloidal silver decreases upon the oxidation, which leads to its partial aggregation.     

Quantum chromodynamics: Working group report

This is the report of the QCD working group at WHEPP-6. Discussions and work on heavy ion collisions, polarized scattering, and collider phenomenology are reported.     

Second harmonic generation in the centrosymmetric antiferromagnet NiO

In spite of the fact that inversion is a symmetry operation of both the crystalline and the magnetic lattice of NiO, second harmonic generation (SHG) has been observed below the Néel temperature. A spectroscopic study shows that the signal is due to combined magnetic-dipole and electric-dipole transitions between the (3d)(8) levels of the Ni(2+) ion in the crystal field. The SHG is resonant in both the incoming and the outgoing light waves and thus greatly enhanced. A quadratic coupling of the nonlinear polarization to the order parameter was found. This allows the investigation of individual domains.     

The ratio R dp of the quasielastic nd → p(nn) to the elastic np → pn charge-exchange-process yields at the proton emitting angle θ p,lab = 0° over 0.55–2.0 GeV neutron beam energy region. Experimental results

New experimental results on ratio R _dp of the quasielastic charge-exchange yield at the outgoing proton angle θ _p,lab = 0° for the nd → p(nn) reaction to the elastic np → pn charge-exchange yield, are presented. The measurements were carried out at the Nuclotron of the Veksler and Baldin Laboratory of High Energies of the JINR (Dubna) at the neutron-beam kinetic energies of 0.55, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.8, and 2.0 GeV. The intense neutron beam with small momentum spread was produced by breakup of deuterons which were accelerated and extracted to the experimental hall. In both reactions mentioned above the outgoing protons with the momenta p _p approximately equal to the neutron-beam momentum p _n,beam were detected in the directions close to the direction of incident neutrons, i.e., in the vicinity of the scattering angle θ _p,lab = 0°. Measured in the same data-taking runs, the angular distributions of the charge-exchange-reaction products were corrected for the well-known instrumental effects and averaged in the vicinity of the incident-neutron-beam direction. These corrected angular distributions for every of nd → p(nn) and np → pn charge-exchange processes were proportional to the differential cross sections of the corresponding reactions. The data were accumulated by Delta-Sigma setup magnetic spectrometer with two sets of multiwire proportional chambers located upstream and downstream of the momentum analyzing magnet. Inelastic processes were considerably reduced by the additional detectors surrounding the hydrogen and deuterium targets. The time-of-flight system was applied to identify the detected particles. The accumulated data treatment and analysis, as well as possible sources of the systematic errors are discussed. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Complex formation of daunomycin with poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and poly(ethylene glycol)

Russian Journal of General Chemistry - Complexes of the anthracycline antitumor antibiotic daunomycin with biocompatible polymer carriers, poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and poly(ethylene glycol), have...     

IR Study of a Polymer Proton-Conducting Electrolyte Based on Poly(vinyl alcohol) and Phenol-2,4-Disulfonic Acid

The structure and hydration of phenol-2,4-disulfonic acid in the individual state and in the system with poly(vinyl alcohol) at low and high humidity levels are studied by IR spectroscopy. It is shown that all characteristic features of the electrolytic dissociation of phenol-2,4-disulfonic acid via proton transfer from acid molecules to the molecules of water in the liquid phase of the binary system phenol-2,4-disulfonic acid–water are also observed for the viscous solutions of the triple system poly(vinyl alcohol)–phenol-2,4-disulfonic acid–water, although differences make themselves evident if water molecules are in deficiency. It is found that evacuation of the phenol-2,4-disulfonic acid film for several hours at room temperature leads to its dehydration and eventually causes formation of molecular dimers [C₆H₃OH(SO₂OH)₂]₂. A similar operation with the poly(vinyl alcohol)–phenol-2,4-disulfonic acid film is completed by the transfer of a proton from the acid molecule to the–ОН group of poly(vinyl alcohol) according to the following scheme: nC₆H₃OH(SO₂OH)₂ + (–CH₂OH) _n → nC₆H₃OH(SO₃)(SO₂OH)^– + (–CH₂OH₂) _n ⁺ .