A Conversation with William A. Fowler – Part I

Nobel laureate William A. Fowler recalls his early education in physics; his part in the history of nuclear physics at the California Institute of Technology in the 1930s; parallel efforts elsewhere, particularly at Berkeley and the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism in Washington,D.C.; his contacts with J. Robert Oppenheimer; and his work with Charles C. Lauritsen and Tommy Lauritsen before and after World War II.John Greenberg received his Ph.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin and was Caltech research fellow in history from 1980–1984. The Editors were saddened to learn that he died while this interview was in press. Requests for reprints may be directed to Judith R. Goodstein, Institute Archives 015A-74, Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125 USA; e-mail: jrg@caltech.edu.     

Large scale silver nanowires network fabricated by MeV hydrogen(H~+) ion beam irradiation

A random two-dimensional large scale nano-network of silver nanowires(Ag-NWs) is fabricated by MeV hydrogen(H~+) ion beam irradiation. Ag-NWs are irradiated under H~+ion beam at different ion fluences at room temperature. The Ag-NW network is fabricated by H~+ion beam-induced welding of Ag-NWs at intersecting positions. H~+ion beam induced welding is confirmed by transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and scanning electron microscopy(SEM). Moreover, the structure of Ag NWs remains stable under H~+ion beam, and networks are optically transparent. Morphology also remains stable under H~+ion beam irradiation. No slicings or cuttings of Ag-NWs are observed under MeV H~+ion beam irradiation.The results exhibit that the formation of Ag-NW network proceeds through three steps: ion beam induced thermal spikes lead to the local heating of Ag-NWs, the formation of simple junctions on small scale, and the formation of a large scale network. This observation is useful for using Ag-NWs based devices in upper space where protons are abandoned in an energy range from MeV to GeV. This high-quality Ag-NW network can also be used as a transparent electrode for optoelectronics devices.     

Partial least squares for discrimination in fMRI data

Multivariate methods for discrimination were used in the comparison of brain activation patterns between groups of cognitively normal women who are at either high or low Alzheimer's disease risk based on family history and apolipoprotein-E4 status. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was preceded by dimension reduction using principal component analysis (PCA), partial least squares (PLS) or a new oriented partial least squares (OrPLS) method. The aim was to identify a spatial pattern of functionally connected brain regions that was differentially expressed by the risk groups and yielded optimal classification accuracy. Multivariate dimension reduction is required prior to LDA when the data contain more feature variables than there are observations on individual subjects. Whereas PCA has been commonly used to identify covariance patterns in neuroimaging data, this approach only identifies gross variability and is not capable of distinguishing among-groups from within-groups variability. PLS and OrPLS provide a more focused dimension reduction by incorporating information on class structure and therefore lead to more parsimonious models for discrimination. Performance was evaluated in terms of the cross-validated misclassification rates. The results support the potential of using functional magnetic resonance imaging as an imaging biomarker or diagnostic tool to discriminate individuals with disease or high risk.     

Dynamics of vibrational chaos and entanglement in triatomic molecules： Lie algebraic model

In this paper, the dynamics of chaos and the entanglement in triatomic molecular vibrations are investigated. On the classical aspect, we study the chaotic trajectories in the phase space. We employ the linear entropy to examine the dynamical entanglement of the two bonds on the quantum aspect. The correspondence between the classical chaos and the quantum dynamical entanglement is also investigated. As an example, we apply our algebraic model to molecule H2O.     

检测活性氧的荧光探针新进展

活性氧对于人体是十分重要的。然而,过量的活性氧是相当有害的,它们会对人体产生氧化损伤,导致细胞死亡。活性氧现在已经引起了化学、生物、医药等多个领域学者的浓厚兴趣,它们被认为和多种病理条件有密切的联系。由于活性氧寿命短、反应活性高,并且大部分都存在于体内很难被捕获,因此它们的分析测定是一项国际性难题。荧光探针作为活性氧的高灵敏的检测分析物,已经得到越来越广泛和深入的研究。由于每一种活性氧都有它独特的生理学活性,因此设计高选择性的,能够检测具体一种活性氧的荧光探针分子就显得十分重要。本文主要对近三年来检测单线态氧、过氧化氢、超氧阴离子和羟自由基这四种活性氧的荧光探针的研究进展进行综述,关注这类荧光探针的检测机理以及具体应用。     

K(6S)+H2→K(4D)+H2的碰撞能量转移

激光双光子激发K原子至6s或4D态,测鼍了K(6S,4D)与H2的碰撞转移截面.池温在413K,H2气压在4～40 Pa范围内,K(6S,4D)-K的碰撞效应可略去.在激发6S态的情况下,记录6S→4P时间分辨荧光信号,从荧光强度的对数描绘出的直线斜率得到6S态的有效寿命,而4D态的布居随H2的增加而增加,因此引起4D→4P跃迁谱线的增强.在激发4D态的情况下,采用类似方法得到4D态的有效寿命,由Stern Volmet方程,测得6S和4D态的辐射寿命分别为(97±15)ns和(300±45)ns.激发态K原子总的碰撞去佰居截面为(1.6±0.3)×10-14cm2(对6S态)和(40±6)×10-16cm2(对4D态).该总截面中包含向K原子激发态的非反应碰撞转移截面以及与H2反应生成KH的反应截面.激发6S态,测量4D→4P的时间积分荧光强度随H2气压的变化,得到6S→4D的碰撞转移截面为(1.4±0.3)×10-14cm2.由此得到结论:K(6S)态主要是通过物理猝灭到K(4D)态,虽然在K(6S)+H2的碰撞中,观察到了由于化学反应生成的KH的存在.     

Effects of oxygen-containing defect complex on the electronic structures and transport properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes

The electronic structures and transport properties of (10,0)$(10,0)$ single-walled carbon nanotube ((10,0)$(10,0)$ (SWNT)) with oxygen-containing defect complex are investigated using density functional theory in combination with nonequilibrium Green?s function method. The complex delocalizes the local states of (10,0)$(10,0)$ SWNT induced by mono- and di-vacancy but strengthens the localization of the states induced by the Stone–Wales defect. As a result, the complex partially restores the transport properties of (10,0)$(10,0)$ SWNT with vacancies, but reduces the transmission of (10,0)$(10,0)$ SWNT with Stone–Wales defect. However, the oxygen-containing defect complex only slightly influences the transmission gap and threshold voltage of the system.     

Selective surface chemistry of allyl alcohol and allyl aldehyde on Si(1 0 0)2×1: Competition of [2 + 2] CC cycloaddition with O-H dissociation and with [2 + 2] CO cycloaddition in bifunctional molecules

Competition between the CC functional group with the OH group in allyl alcohol and with the CO group in allyl aldehyde in the adsorption and thermal chemistry on Si(1 0 0)2×1 has been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and temperature-programmed desorption (TPD), as well as density-functional theory (DFT) calculations. The similarities found in the C 1s and O 1s spectra for both molecules indicate that the O-H dissociation product for allyl alcohol and [2 + 2] CO cycloaddition product for allyl aldehyde are preferred over the corresponding [2 + 2] CC cycloaddition products. Temperature-dependent XPS and TPD studies further show that thermal evolution of these molecules gives rise to the formation of ethylene, acetylene, and propene on Si(1 0 0)2×1, with additional CO evolution only from allyl alcohol. The formation of these desorption products also supports that the [2 + 2] CC cycloaddition reaction does not occur. In addition, the formation of SiC at 1090 K is observed for both allyl alcohol and allyl aldehyde. We propose plausible surface-mediated reaction pathways for the formation of these thermal evolution products. The present work illustrates the crucial role of the Si(1 0 0)2×1 surface in selective reactions of the Si dimers with the O−H group in allyl alcohol and with the CO group in allyl aldehyde over the CC functional group common to both molecules.     

a-C:N:H纳米尖端荧光产生的机理

用CH4,H2和NH3为反应气体,利用等离子体增强热丝化学气相沉积在沉积有碳膜的Si衬底上制备了a-C:N:H纳米尖端,并用扫描电子显微镜和微区Raman光谱仪对碳膜和纳米尖端进行了表征。结果表明:Raman谱中含有与碳和氮相关的峰,且纳米尖端的Raman谱比碳膜的Raman谱有很强的荧光背景。Raman谱中的峰说明沉积的碳膜和纳米尖端是a-C:N:H薄膜和a-C:N:H尖端。a-C:N:H纳米尖端的Raman谱中强荧光背景的产生表明其在激发光源照射的过程中发射了强荧光,对a-C:N:H纳米尖端产生强荧光的机理进行了探讨。