Working group report: Collider Physics

This is summary of the activities of the working group on collider physics in the IXth Workshop on High Energy Physics Phenomenology (WHEPP-9) held at the Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar, India in January 2006. Some of the work subsequently done on these problems by the subgroups formed during the workshop is included in this report.     

Toward understanding the ionization of biomarkers from micrometer particles by bio-aerosol mass spectrometry

The appearance of informative signals in the mass spectra of laser-ablated bio-aerosol particles depends on the effective ionization probabilities (EIP) of individual components during the laser ionization process. This study investigates how bio-aerosol chemical composition governs the EIP values of specific components and the overall features of the spectra from the bio-aerosol mass spectrometry (BAMS). EIP values were determined for a series of amino acid, dipicolinic acid, and peptide aerosol particles to determine what chemical features aid in ionization. The spectra of individual amino acids and dipicolinic acid, as well as mixtures, were examined for extent of fragmentation and the presence of molecular ion dimers, which are indicative of ionization conditions. Standard mixtures yielded information with respect to the significance of secondary ion plume reactions on observed spectra. A greater understanding of how these parameters affect EIP and spectra characteristics of bio-aerosols will aid in the intelligent selection of viable future biomarkers for the identification of bio-terrorism agents.     

On the singularity of Green's tensor for a perfectly conducting semi-infinite cone

This paper is intended to clarify a misunderstanding concerningthe source singularity of the electric Green's tensor for aperfectly conducting semi-infinite cone of circular cross-section.Tai's series expansion of the Green's tensor is known to lacka singular term at the source region. Jones has reconstructedthe solution to this problem and has pointed out the differencebetween his result and that of Tai. The aim of our paper isto demonstrate that, although Jones's closed-form solution iscorrect, there is a mistake in his comparison with Tai's seriessolution. We conclude that one of the two additional singularterms that Jones claims as missing from Tai's formula must beomitted. Besides, we compare Jones's closed-form solution withSmyshlyaev's solution to the very same problem. We concludethat the magnetic field expressions given by Jones and Smyshlyaevcoincide, but a singular term is missing from Smyshlyaev's expressionfor the electric field.     

Scattering by small defects in the neighbourhood of a fluid-solid interface

The scattering of incident plane elastic waves by a varietyof different defects that lie upon a fluid-solid interface isconsidered here using matched asymptotic expansions. The expansionscheme is developed in terms of a parameter , the ratio of typicaldefect length scale to a typical wavelength of the incidentfield, taken to be small. Three different canonical situations occur and these are illustratedvia three specific examples treated here: a rigid strut, anedge crack, and a rigid strip. In each case the leading-ordermatching is performed to identify the leading-order contributionof the defect to the acoustic field in the far field. In particular,each defect is identified with a source of dipole response ininterfacial stress of displacement. It is shown in the limit as s<<s1 that in the inner problemsthe fluid and solid pieces uncouple in a particularly convenientmanner allowing analytical solutions to be deduced. These arethen matched with appropriate outer solutions.     

B and collider physics: Working group report

This report summarises the work done during WHEPP-6 (Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, India, Jan 3–15, 2000) in Working group on ‘B and collider physics’.     

Ein Beitrag zum Einfluß des Stoffüberganges auf eine erzwungene Konvektion an einer fluiden Phasengrenze

The interfacial-dynamic behaviour of a fluid two-phase-system with mass transfer was investigated under influence of forced convection in the manner of flat jets directed to the interface. The tangential velocities were measured at a characteristic point near to the interface air/water or in the interface itself using a Laser-Doppler-Velocimeter in dependence on the velocities of jets into two phases in both cases with and without transfer of acetone. The variations of velocities due to the interfacial effects are only detectable at small velocities of the jets. They are discussed by model conceptions and compared with the results of a theoretical research of heat transfer in a fluid two-phase-system (Interfacial-dynamic surface renewal model).     

Online aerosol mass spectrometry of single micrometer-sized particles containing poly(ethylene glycol)

The analysis of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-containing particles by online single particle aerosol mass spectrometers equipped with laser desorption/ionization (LDI) is reported. We demonstrate that PEG-containing particles are useful in the development of aerosol mass spectrometers because of their ease of preparation, low cost, and inherently recognizable mass spectra. Solutions containing millimolar quantities of PEGs were nebulized and, after drying, the resultant micrometer-sized PEG-containing particles were sampled. LDI (266 nm) of particles containing NaCl and PEG molecules of average molecular weight<500 Da generated mass spectra reminiscent of mass spectra of PEG collected by other mass spectrometer platforms including the characteristic distribution of positive ions (Na+ adducts) separated by the 44 m/z units of the ethylene oxide units separating each degree of polymerization. PEGs of average molecular weight>500 Da were detected from particles that also contained the tripeptide tyrosine-tyrosine-tyrosine or 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, which were added to nebulized solutions to act as matrices to assist LDI using pulsed 266 nm and 355 nm lasers, respectively. Experiments were performed on two aerosol mass spectrometers, one reflectron and one linear, that each utilize two time-of-flight mass analyzers to detect positive and negative ions created from a single particle. PEG-containing particles are currently being employed in the optimization of our bioaerosol mass spectrometers for the application of measurements of complex biological samples, including human effluents, and we recommend that the same strategies will be of great utility to the development of any online aerosol LDI mass spectrometer platform.