Solid State Analysis with the New Leipzig High-Energy Ion Nanoprobe

 The high-energy ion nanoprobe LIPSION at the University of Leipzig has been operational since October 1998. The ultrastable single ended 3.5 MV SINLETRON^TM accelerator supplies the H⁺ or He⁺ ion beam. A magnetic scanning system moves the focused beam across the sample. At present, a resolution of 150 nm in the low current mode and 300 nm at 5 pA could be achieved. The UHV grade experimental chamber is equipped with electron-, energy dispersive X-ray-, and particle detectors. They can be used simultaneously to analyse the sample by means of PIXE (particle induced X-ray emission), RBS (Rutherford backscattering) and in the case of thin samples STIM (scanning transmission ion microscopy). A goniometer allows the application of channeling measurements in single crystals in combination with these methods. The detection limits depend on the elements to be analysed and range from (1000⋯1) μg/g relative and (1⋯0.01) pg absolute. The analysis is nondestructive, but the sample has to be vacuum resistant. Applications of the nanoprobe in the field of semiconductor research, biomedicine, and archaeology will be described.     

Application of the multicanonical multigrid Monte Carlo method to the two-dimensional φ4: Autocorrelations and interface tension: Autocorrelations and interface tension

We discuss the recently proposed multicanonical multigrid Monte Carlo method and apply it to the scalar ⁴ on a square lattice. To investigate the peformance of the new algorithm at the field-driven first-order phase transitions between the two ordered phases we carefully analyze the autocorrelations of the Monte Carlo process. Compared with standard mlticanonical simulations a real-time improvement of about one order of magnitude is established. The interface tension between the two ordered phases is extracted from highstatistics histograms of the magnetization applying histogram reweighting techniques.     

Production of a chromium Bose–Einstein condensate

The recent achievement of Bose–Einstein condensation of chromium atoms [1] has opened longed-for experimental access to a degenerate quantum gas with long-range and anisotropic interaction. Due to the large magnetic moment of chromium atoms of 6 μ_B, in contrast to other Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs), magnetic dipole-dipole interaction plays an important role in a chromium BEC. Many new physical properties of degenerate gases arising from these magnetic forces have been predicted in the past and can now be studied experimentally. Besides these phenomena, the large dipole moment leads to a breakdown of standard methods for the creation of a chromium BEC. Cooling and trapping methods had to be adapted to the special electronic structure of chromium to reach the regime of quantum degeneracy. Some of them apply generally to gases with large dipolar forces. We present here a detailed discussion of the experimental techniques which are used to create a chromium BEC and allow us to produce pure condensates with up to 10⁵ atoms in an optical dipole trap. We also describe the methods used to determine the trapping parameters.     

Thinner,Smaller, Faster: IR Techniques To Probe the Functionality of Biological and Biomimetic Systems

New techniques in vibrational spectroscopy are promising for the study of biological samples as they provide exquisite spatial and/or temporal resolution with the benefit of minimal perturbation of the system during observation. In this Minireview we showcase the power of modern infrared techniques when applied to biological and biomimetic systems. Examples will be presented on how conformational changes in peptides can be traced with femtosecond resolution and nanometer sensitivity by 2D IR spectroscopy, and how surface‐enhanced infrared difference absorption spectroscopy can be used to monitor the effect of the membrane potential on a single proton‐transfer step in an integral membrane protein. Vibrational spectra of monolayers of molecules at basically any interface can be recorded with sum‐frequency generation, which is strictly surface‐sensitive. Chemical images are recorded by applying scanning near‐field infrared microscopy at lateral resolutions better than 50 nm.     

Measuring hidden Higgs and strongly-interacting Higgs scenarios

Higgs couplings can be affected by physics beyond the Standard Model. We study modifications through interactions with a hidden sector and in specific composite Higgs models accessible at the LHC. Both scenarios give rise to congruent patterns of universal, or partially universal, shifts. In addition, Higgs decays to the hidden sector may lead to invisible decay modes which we also exploit. Experimental bounds on such potential modifications will measure the concordance of an observed Higgs boson with the Standard Model.