Mechanism of formation and decay of the compound nuclei150Gd produced by two entrance channels (16O+134Ba) and (40Ar+110Pd)

Excitation functions have been drawn for evaporation residues issued from¹⁵⁰Gd, a compound nucleus produced either by¹⁶O ions on¹³⁴Ba, or by⁴⁰Ar on¹¹⁰Pd. Absolute cross sections were measured for^145–147Gd,^145–147Eu,^141m Sm,^143m Sm,^140m Pm and^139m Nd. Complete fusion cross sections have been obtained and compared to calculated estimations based, at low energies, on the simple expressionσ _CF=πR _Fuss ² (1?V _Fus/E) whereR _Fus andV _Fus are respectively the distance and the potential for fusion atdV/dr=0. For high energies σ_CF=πR _cr ² (1?V_cr/E) with the model of critical distanceR _cr and critical potentialV _cr. Thresholds energies have been determined with a particular care. The analysis of the shape and the width of excitation functions, particularly for the emission of 4 and 5 neutrons, has been carried out and compared to calculated values. The difference between argon and oxygen induced reactions has been attributed to the difference inl population in the entrance channel.     

Production of vector and tensor mesons in proton-proton collisions at\sqrt s = 52.5 GeV

Inclusive production of ?⁰,f, andg ⁰ mesons and ofK _s ⁰ ,K ^*0 (892), ? andK ^*0(1430)mesons has been measured at <y>～2.6 and <p _T >～1.1 GeV/c in proton-proton interactions at \(\sqrt s = 52.5\) GeV. The negative particle from the two-body decays of these resonances were identified by a threshold Cerenkov counter and used for triggering. Starting from the measured differential cross section, total inclusive cross sections for the vector and tensor mesons were determined using various parametrizations for they andp _T dependence of the differential cross section. The experimental results are discussed in the framework of production models based on the parton picture. The strangeness suppresion factor λ=(0.30±0.10) due toSU(3) symmetry breaking of the quark sea is derived.     

Study of double pomeron exchange in pp collisions at √s=31GeV

The reaction pp→ppπ⁺π^? at √s=31GeV was studied at the Split Field Magnet Facility of the CERN-ISR. Selecting events with two leading protons of x>0.9 and a rapidity gap Δy>2 between the protons and both pions a sample of 720 events is obtained representing a cross section of 25±10μb. The mass distribution of the dipion system, x and p_T distributions for the protons are presented and analyzed for the presence of double pomeron exchange.     

Comparison between experimental decay of the compound nuclei150Gd and evaporation calculations

The deexcitation of the compound nucleus¹⁵⁰Gd formed by¹⁵⁶O+¹³⁴Ba and⁴⁰Ar+¹¹⁰Pd have been studied. Excitation functions were determined for various exit channels: (HI, × n) withx=3, 4, 5 (HI, pxn) withx=2, 3, 4 (HI, axn) withx=3 and 5. A systematic comparison has been made between these experimental data and the results of evaporation calculation using the ALI CE code. The very good agreement obtained for the total residue cross section disappears completely when a more detailed analysis of the different contributions is performed. Absolute and relative cross sections are not reproduced; excitation functions of each individual channel (HI, 3n), (HI, 4n) etc. ... are not found at the right place in energy. A very preliminary explanation for such a shift towards higher energies is suggested.     

Observation of leading particles in pp interactions with large transverse momentum secondaries at the CERN-ISR

Events with a positive particle of large transverse momentum emitted at medium angles have been studied using the split field magnet spectrometer at the CERN-ISR at a c.m. energy of √s = 52.5 GeV. Positive particles with large longitudinal momentum, |x| > 0.5, i.e., leading particles, associated to large p_T events, are analysed.     

Q β measurements and mass excess values for neutron deficient isotopes nearN∼Z∼40

Neutron deficient isotopes of⁸⁶Nb,⁸⁷Nb,⁸⁷Mo and⁸⁸Mo have been produced and identified. Their total decay positron energy have been measured and used to deduce mass excesses.     

Mapping Dicorynia guianensis Amsh. wood constituents by submicron resolution cluster‐TOF‐SIMS imaging

The preparation of tropical wood surface sections for time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging is described, and the use of delayed extraction of secondary ions and its interest for the analysis of vegetal surface are shown. The method has been applied to the study by time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry imaging with a resolution of less than one micron of a tropical wood species, Dicorynia guianensis, which is one of the most exploited wood in French Guiana for its durable heartwood. The heartwood of this species exhibits an economical importance, but its production is not controlled in forestry. Results show an increase of tryptamine from the transition zone and a concomitant decrease of inorganic ions and starch fragment ions. These experiments lead to a better understanding of the heartwood formation and the origin of the natural durability of D. guianensis. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fullerene Derivatives Embedded in Hybrid Sol-Gel Glasses: Nonlinear Optical Properties and Optical Limiting Performances

Hybrid organic-inorganic materials are investigated as suitable materials for inclusion of fullerene derivatives and for fabrication of laser protection devices. A specific synthesis has been developed in order to optimize non-linear optical performances of fullerene derivatives. 3-glicydoxypropyltrymethoxysilane has been used as an inorganic and organic network former to obtain the host material. The sol-gel synthesis consists of the hydrolysis and condensation in acidic conditions of the inorganic network. Epoxy polymerization has been achieved by using zirconium or BF₃ alkoxides precursors. Bulk and multilayer materials doped with a fullerene derivative have been fabricated. They show good optical requirements: high fullerenes concentration, high microstructural homogeneity, high laser damage threshold and high optical limiting efficiency. Optical limiting (OL) mechanisms have been investigated. The most effective in the sol-gel materials is the reverse saturable absorption (RSA) one. However, different mechanisms, like non-linear (NL) scattering and NL refraction contribute to a different extent. Open- and closed-aperture OL and z-scan measurements on sol-gel samples show the contribution of NL scattering and NL refraction at 690 nm. Laser damage threshold has been characterized as a function of the structure of the samples and of the optical configurations (f/66 and f/5).