Coulomb corrections to Delbrück scattering

The emission of high-energy-rays in the deexcitation of hot⁴⁰Ca and³⁹K nuclei formed in heavy-ion fusion reactions at excitation energyE _x 90 MeV has been studied. The high energy-rays were measured in coincidence with evaporation residues or light charged particles. The spectrum from the self-conjugated compound nucleus⁴⁰Ca shows an appreciable yield suppression in the Giant Dipole Resonance (GDR) energy region with respect to the³⁹K, due to isospin selection rules in the dipole-decay. The spectral line shapes of the spectra are well reproduced by using a statistical code which treats explicitly the isospin quantum number in evaluating level densities and transmission coefficients. The GDR parameters determined from the present coincidence measurements are in good agreement with the systematic in theA 40 mass region at lower bombarding energy based on the analysis of inclusive spectra.We thank M. Caldogno for technical support in the development of evaporation residues detectors. We acknowledge the participation of M. Anghinolfi, P. Corvisiero, M. Taiuti and A. Zucchiatti in the early stages of this work. Thanks are due to M. Kicinska-Habior for providing the isospin-dependent code. Discussions with B. Fornal are also gratefully acknowledged.     

Excimer-laser-assisted RF glow-discharge deposition of amorphous and microcrystalline silicon thin films

We combine the deposition of Hydrogenated amorphous Silicon (a-Si:H) by rf glow discharge with XeCl-excimer laser irradiation of the growing surface in order to obtain different kinds of silicon films in the same deposition system. In-situ UV-visible ellipsometry allows us to measure the optical properties of the films as the laser fluence is increased from 0 up to 180 mJ/cm² in separate depositions. For fixed glow-discharge conditions and a substrate temperature of 250° C we observe dramatic changes in the film structure as the laser fluence is increased. With respect to a reference a-Si:H film (no laser irradiation) we observe at low laser fluences (15–60 mJ/cm²) that the film remains amorphous but demonstrates enchanced surface roughness and bulk porosity. At intermediate fluences (80–165 m/Jcm²), we obtain an amorphous film with an enhanced density with respect to the reference film. Finally, at high fluences (165–180 mJ/cm²), we obtain microcrystalline films. The in-situ ellipsometry measurements are complemented by ex-situ measurements of the dark conductivity, X-ray diffraction, and Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA). Simulation of the temperature profiles for different film thicknesses and for three laser fluences indicates that crystallization occurs if the surface temperature reaches the melting point of a-Si:H ( 1420 K). The effects of laser treatment on the film properties are discussed by taking into account the photonic and thermal effects of laser irradiation.Presented at LASERION 93, Munich, June 21–23, 1993     

Production of fast evaporation residues by the reaction20Ne+208Pb at projectile energies of 8.6, 11.4 and 14.9 A.MeV

Velocity distributions and production cross sections of evaporation residues have been measured in the reaction²⁰Ne+²⁰⁸Pb at projectile energies of 8.6, 11.4, 14.9 A.MeV. Essential deviations from statistical model of deexcitation have been observed. Monte Carlo simulations involving emission of non-equilibrium particles have been used in order to reproduce experimental velocity, charge and mass distributions of evaporation residues and to estimate indirectly multiplicities of pre-equilibrium particles. Communicated by V. Metag     

Lateral growth rates in laser CVD of microstructures

Lateral growth rates of Ni spots deposited on absorbing substrates by decomposition of Ni(CO)₄ with visible Kr⁺ laser light have been measured. The experimental data are consistent with the calculated temperature distributions. The mechanism of decomposition is thermal with an apparent chemical activation energy of 22±3 kcal/mole for the temperature range 350 KT500 K.     

Laser-induced CVD of rhodium

Stripes of rhodium metal were deposited by focusing an Ar⁺ laser (514.5 nm) onto glass and polyimide substrates in a heated vacuum cell that contained Rh(CO)₂acac vapor. Stripes were characterized by scanning profilometry, electrical resistivity, SEM and Auger measurements. Most stripes were 100–200 m wide and 1–3 m high. Very broad stripes (>500 m) were deposited when the Rh(CO)₂acac vapor pressure was greater than 1 Torr and when the laser power was more than 200 mW. Stripe resistivities were in general around 30 times that of the bulk material. Auger spectra show the presence of carbon in the stripes.     

Detrending the realized volatility in the global FX market

There has been growing interest in realized volatility (RV) of financial assets that is calculated using intra-day returns. The choice of optimal time grid for these calculations is not trivial and generally requires analysis of RV dependence on the grid spacing (so-called RV signature). Typical RV signatures have a maximum at the finest time grid spacing available, which is attributed to the microstructure effects. This maximum decays into a plateau at lower frequencies, which implies (almost) stationary return variance. We found that the RV signatures in the modern global FX market may have no plateau or even have a maximum at lower frequencies. Simple averaging methods used to address the microstructure effects in equities have no practical effect on the FX RV signatures. We show that local detrending of the high-frequency FX rate samples yields RV signatures with a pronounced plateau. This implies that FX rates can be described with a Brownian motion having non-stationary trend and stationary variance. We point at a role of algorithmic trading as a possible cause of micro-trends in FX rates.     

Constraints on an asymptotic safety scenario for the Wess–Zumino model

Using the nonrenormalization theorem and Pohlmeyer's theorem, it is proven that there cannot be an asymptotic safety scenario for the Wess–Zumino model unless there exists a non-trivial fixed point with (i) a negative anomalous dimension (ii) a relevant direction belonging to the Kähler potential.     

”Illusion of control” in Time-Horizon Minority and Parrondo Games

Human beings like to believe they are in control of their destiny. This ubiquitous trait seems to increase motivation and persistence, and is probably evolutionarily adaptive [J.D. Taylor, S.E. Brown, Psych. Bull. 103, 193 (1988); A. Bandura, Self-efficacy: the exercise of control (WH Freeman, New York, 1997)]. But how good really is our ability to control? How successful is our track record in these areas? There is little understanding of when and under what circumstances we may over-estimate [E. Langer, J. Pers. Soc. Psych. 7, 185 (1975)] or even lose our ability to control and optimize outcomes, especially when they are the result of aggregations of individual optimization processes. Here, we demonstrate analytically using the theory of Markov Chains and by numerical simulations in two classes of games, the Time-Horizon Minority Game [M.L. Hart, P. Jefferies, N.F. Johnson, Phys. A 311, 275 (2002)] and the Parrondo Game [J.M.R. Parrondo, G.P. Harmer, D. Abbott, Phys. Rev. Lett. 85, 5226 (2000); J.M.R. Parrondo, How to cheat a bad mathematician (ISI, Italy, 1996)], that agents who optimize their strategy based on past information may actually perform worse than non-optimizing agents. In other words, low-entropy (more informative) strategies under-perform high-entropy (or random) strategies. This provides a precise definition of the “illusion of control” in certain set-ups a priori defined to emphasize the importance of optimization. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Volatility return intervals analysis of the Japanese market

We investigate scaling and memory effects in return intervals between price volatilities above a certain threshold q for the Japanese stock market using daily and intraday data sets. We find that the distribution of return intervals can be approximated by a scaling function that depends only on the ratio between the return interval τ and its mean 〈τ〉. We also find memory effects such that a large (or small) return interval follows a large (or small) interval by investigating the conditional distribution and mean return interval. The results are similar to previous studies of other markets and indicate that similar statistical features appear in different financial markets. We also compare our results between the period before and after the big crash at the end of 1989. We find that scaling and memory effects of the return intervals show similar features although the statistical properties of the returns are different.     

Flexible a‐Si:H/nc‐Si:H tandem thin film silicon solar cells on plastic substrates with i ‐layers made by hot‐wire CVD

In this letter we report the result of an a‐Si:H/nc‐Si:H tandem thin film silicon solar mini‐module fabricated on plastic foil containing intrinsic silicon layers made by hot‐wire CVD (efficiency 7.4%, monolithically series‐connected, aperture area 25 cm²). We used the Helianthos cell transfer process. The cells were first deposited on a temporary aluminum foil carrier, which allows the use of the optimal processing temperatures, and then transferred to a plastic foil. This letter reports the characteristics of the flexible solar cells obtained in this manner, and compares the results with those obtained on reference glass substrates. The research focus for implementation of the hot‐wire CVD technique for the roll‐to‐roll process is also discussed. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)