Present and future experiments with stored exotic nuclei at relativistic energies

Pioneering experiments with stored and cooled exotic nuclei at relativistic energies have been performed using the combination of the fragment separator FRS with the storage-cooler ring ESR. Exotic nuclei created in peripheral collisions are spatially separated in-flight and injected into the storage ring for high-precision mass and unique lifetime measurements. Lifetimes of stored bare and few-electron nuclei have been measured to study the influence of the electron density on the β decay. This condition, relevant for stellar plasma, can now be systematically investigated in the laboratory for the first time. Characteristic experiments of the present FRS-ESR system are presented and perspectives for a next-generation facility are briefly outlined. Received: 1 May 2001 / Accepted: 4 December 2001     

Picosecond time-resolved nonresonant ionization detected IR spectroscopy on 7-azaindole dimer

The picosecond time-resolved IR spectrum of the 7-azaindole dimer has been measured by picosecond time-resolved nonresonant ionization detected IR spectroscopy. This new time-resolved technique was developed by combining nonresonant ionization detected IR (NID-IR) spectroscopy with tunable picosecond IR and UV lasers. The time-resolved NID-IR spectrum from 2 600 cm^-1 to 3 800 cm^-1 shows a drastic change from 1.5 ps to 11 ps time evolution. A mode-specific vibrational redistribution has been suggested. Received 14 May 2002 / Received in final form 11 June 2002 Published online 13 September 2002     

New results on elements 111 and 112

Experiments on the synthesis and identification of the nuclei ²⁷²111 and ²⁷⁷112 were performed in order to confirm previous results. Three additional decay chains were measured in the reaction ⁶⁴Ni + ²⁰⁹Bi →²⁷³111^*. The study revealed considerably improved data on the decay chain originating from ²⁷²111. One additional chain was measured in the reaction ⁷⁰Zn + ²⁰⁸Pb →²⁷⁸112^*. The decay properties of the chain starting at ²⁷⁷112 are in excellent agreement with the second chain of the first experiment down to ²⁶⁵Sg, where the new chain ends by a previously unknown spontaneous-fission branch. A re-analysis of all the data on elements 110, 111, and 112 measured at GSI since 1994 (a total of 34 decay chains was investigated) revealed that for 2 chains (the second chain of ²⁶⁹110 measured in 1994 and the first chain of ²⁷⁷112 measured in 1996) the results of the new analysis differed from the previous one. In all other cases the earlier data are exactly reproduced. Received: 21 December 2001 / Accepted: 15 January 2002     

Line shape analysis of two-colour photoassociation spectra on the example of the Cs ground state

Two-photon photoassociation spectra in a Λ-type excitation scheme are analysed under the systematically varied experimental conditions of frequency detunings and laser intensities. Line shape fits are presented as well as the investigation of intensity and detuning dependent line shifts. From both we determine the attained spectroscopic precision, that is corrected for a systematic line shift due to the thermal distribution of atoms in the trap. An energy correction for this effect is given. Information about the feasibility of generating translationally cold molecules in a well defined rotational and vibrational level by the photoassociation process is derived from the analysis. Received 21 May 2002 Published online 15 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"Current address e-mail: christian.lisdat@ptb.de RID="b" ID="b"e-mail: pierre.pillet@lac.u-psud.fr     

Carbon clusters for absolute mass measurements at ISOLTRAP

The cyclotron frequencies of singly charged carbon clusters C_n ⁺ (n ≥ 2) were measured with the Penning-trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at ISOLDE/CERN. The present limit of mass accuracy δm/m = 1.2 ^. 10^-8 and the extent of the mass-dependent systematic shift (δm/m)_sys = 1.7(0.6) ^. 10^-10/u ^. (m - m _ref) of the setup were investigated for the first time. In addition, absolute mass measurements by use of pure clusters of the most abundant carbon isotope ¹²C are now possible at ISOLTRAP. Received: 21 March 2002 / Accepted: 16 May 2002 / Published online: 31 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"Present address: CERN, CH-1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland; e-mail: klaus.blaum@cern.ch     

Derivation of a new class of distributions for the microcanonical ensemble

A new class of distributions for the microcanonical ensemble, which are shown to be stable laws, are derived by applying the central limit theorem to the canonical ensemble. This opens up a whole new host of phenomena that can be treated from a unified thermodynamic point of view. Pressure broadening of line shapes is used as an illustration.1. Work supported, in part, by contributions from the Consiglio Nazionale di Ricerche and the Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica.2. The interaction parameterC is proportional to the mean square dipole moment. As an order of magnitude of the dipole moment, we can take it as the product of the electric charge and a typical atomic radius for a moderately excited state, which is several times the Bohr radius. Multiplication by the fine structure constant converts the Bohr radius into the Compton wavelength, thereby reducing the magnitude of the interaction by 1/137.     

CARS difference spectroscopy

Summary In this paper we present a vibrational-spectroscopy technique which combines the advantages of coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) and linear Raman difference spectroscopy. The method which we call CARS difference spectroscopy can be applied for the study of small frequency shifts and/or bandwidth changes in the CARS spectra of liquid mixtures and solutions. First we develop the theory necessary for the interpretation of experimental data obtained from CARS difference measurements of mixtures of two Raman-active liquids and present some model calculations for benzene-toluene mixtures of different concentrations. Then the experimental arrangement used for CARS difference measurements as well as some examples of recorded spectra are described. We show that it is possible to observe the effects of dilution on CARS spectra with high accuracy by applying the discussed technique. Paper presented at the “XI European CARS Workshop”, Florence, Italy, 23–25 March, 1992.     

Noise and conductance in one-dimensional systems

Summary We derive an explicit form for the current correlation function of a Fermi gas in a finite sample at arbitrary degree of degeneracy. The expression so found enables a continuous investigation from diffusive to ballistic transport regimes to be carried out. For degenerate one-dimensional conductors under ballistic regime we find that the noise spectral density exhibits characteristic geometrical resonances and its low-frequency value has the universal formS _I (0)=8e ² KT/h, implying a universal conductanceG=2e ²/h.     

An adaptive filter for gravitational-wave antennas

Summary We report on the development of an adaptive optimum filter for processing the data of a resonant bar gravitational-wave detector. This filter, based on the matched-filter theory, is adaptive in the sense that the function it realizes is derived from the actual noise spectrum of the data being analysed (instead from an idealized model of the noise). Its implementation is mostly based on frequency domain techniques. We also report on the application of the new filter to the data of the cryogenic antenna Explorer of the Rome group, with particular reference to the comparison between its performance and that of an otpimum filter with fixed values of the parameters.