Dielectric properties of high-kappa oxides: theory and experiment for Lu2O3

We present a combined experimental and theoretical analysis of the dielectric and vibrational properties of crystalline lutetium oxide in its ground-state bixbyite structure. The vibrational dielectric function of Lu2O3 thin films grown by atomic-layer deposition was studied by infrared transmission and reflection-absorption spectroscopies, selectively accessing transverse and longitudinal optical frequencies. The static dielectric constant is extracted analyzing the infrared response. We also present first-principles density-functional linear-response calculations, which are in close agreement with experiment, and provide insight into the microscopic nature of vibrational spectra and dielectric properties.     

Three-dimensional image fusion by use of multiwavelength digital holography

We present three-dimensional (3D) image fusion by use of digital holography. We demonstrate experimentally that, through the image fusion technique with multiresolution wavelet decomposition, it is possible to increase the details and contrast of 3D reconstructed images obtained by multiwavelength digital holography. Although there is substantial activity in the fields of image fusion and holography, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of 3D image fusion by use of digital holography.     

Electrochemical deposition and structural characterization of Au-Sn alloys

In the present work the electrochemical deposition of Au-Sn alloys is addressed and a cyanide-free process is presented. The electrolyte is an acidic thiourea solution containing gold as a Au[CS(NH₂)₂]⁺ complex and tin as stannous ions. Results concerning the plating process development and deposit characterization are reported. Au-Sn alloy films with a Sn content up to 50 at% and a single-phase structure can be obtained from the acidic thiourea–Au(I) solution under pulsed current plating conditions. Alloy deposits show three main crystal structures: a face centred cubic (fcc) Au(Sn) solid solution, extending up to 7 at% Sn; a hexagonal close-packed structure, of the same type as the metallurgical phase, up to about 18 at% Sn; and a NiAs-type structure, corresponding to the phase of the equilibrium diagram, with an enlarged homogeneity range. Mechanical properties of thin layers of Au-Sn alloys derived from micro-indentation measurements follow the structural modification with the alloy composition. The ordered intermetallic phases occurring in the equilibrium binary system, in particular the and phases at 8 at% and 16 at% Sn, respectively, are not detected in the electrodeposited alloys. The main factors controlling electrochemical phase formation are pointed out, considering the differences between the phase structure of the electrodeposited alloys and the equilibrium phase diagram.Presented at the 3rd International Symposium on Electrochemical Processing of Tailored Materials held at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry, 15–20 September 2002, Düsseldorf, Germany     

Selective n,n-dibenzylation of primary aliphatic amines with dibenzyl carbonate in the presence of phosphonium salts

In the presence of catalytic amounts of tetraalkylphosphonium salts and under solventless conditions, primary aliphatic amines (RNH(2): R = PhCH(2), Ph(CH(2))(2), n-decyl, and 1-naphthylmethyl) are efficiently N-benzylated to the corresponding RN(CH(2)Ph)(2), using dibenzyl carbonate as the benzylating reagent. Compared to the reaction run without salt, where the competitive formation of the benzyl carbamate is favored, the phosphonium salt promotes high selectivity toward the benzylated amine and an increase of the reaction rate as well. However, in a single case explored for an amino acidic compound, namely 4-(aminomethyl)benzoic acid [4-(NH(2)CH(2))C(6)H(4)CO(2)H], both N,N-dibenzylation and esterification of the acid group were observed. Analysis of the IR vibrational modes of benzylamine in the presence of tetrabutylphosphonium bromide supports the hypothesis that this enhanced selectivity may be due to an acid-base interaction between the salt and the amine, which increases the steric bulk of the amine and favors attack of the nucleophile on the less hindered alkyl terminus of dibenzyl carbonate.     

Gd-AAZTA]-: a new structural entry for an improved generation of MRI contrast agents

An innovative MRI contrast agent based on the unprecedented and easily obtained ligand AAZTA is described. The simple and straightforward synthesis of the ligand, together with the potentiometric and relaxometric behavior of the corresponding Gd(III) chelate, is reported. The complex [Gd(AAZTA)]- shows outstanding magnetic properties connected with high thermodynamic stability in aqueous solution and a nearly complete inertness toward the influence of bidentate endogenous anions, placing this compound as one of the most promising candidates for the development of high performance MRI contrast agents.     

Evidence for instanton-induced dynamics from lattice QCD

We perform a study of the nonperturbative dynamics of the light-quark sector of QCD, based on some recent results of lattice simulations with chiral fermions. We analyze some correlators that are designed to probe the Dirac structure of the quark-quark interaction at different scales. We show that, in the nonperturbative regime, such an interaction contains very large scalar and pseudoscalar components. We observe quantitative agreement between lattice QCD results and the predictions of the instanton liquid model. Moreover, we study how the quark-quark interaction is modified, when quark loops are suppressed. We observe a dramatic effect related to the loss of unitarity, which is naturally explained in the instanton picture. Such an effect cannot be explained in a Dyson-Schwinger equations (DSE) approach, if one assumes a vector quark-gluon coupling.     

Integral representation of linear functionals on spaces of unbounded functions

Let be a vector lattice of real functions on a set with , and let be a linear positive functional on . Conditions are given which imply the representation , , for some bounded charge . As an application, for any bounded charge on a field , the dual of is shown to be isometrically isomorphic to a suitable space of bounded charges on . In addition, it is proved that, under one more assumption on , is the integral with respect to a -additive bounded charge.

     

Noninvariant zeta-function regularization in quantum Liouville theory

We consider two possible zeta-function regularization schemes of quantum Liouville theory. One refers to the Laplace–Beltrami operator covariant under conformal transformations, the other to the naive noninvariant operator. The first produces an invariant regularization which however does not give rise to a theory invariant under the full conformal group. The other is equivalent to the regularization proposed by A.B. Zamolodchikov and Al.B. Zamolodchikov and gives rise to a theory invariant under the full conformal group.     

Inverse kinematics resonance scattering on thick target with EXCYT beams

The resonance scattering method in inverse kinematics on infinite target has been applied to two systems, ¹⁸O + α and ⁹Be + α, in order to test and to optimize an experimental apparatus in view of a set of resonance scattering experiments to be performed with ⁸Li and ⁹Li radioactive ion beams delivered by the facility EXCYT. The scattering excitation functions, deduced for the two systems, were compared with previous results reported in literature. Results show that reliable stopping power data are essential for the application of this technique.