A broadband excimer source of visible radiation with barrier discharge pumping

We investigate the characteristics of a broadband cylindrical excimer source of visible radiation with a surface area of 230 cm² excited by a pulse-periodic barrier discharge based on multicomponent mixtures (mercury diiodide and dibromide with helium and admixtures of molecular nitrogen and xenon). The working mixture components were excited by a pulse-periodic (pulse repetition rate 500–5000 Hz, pulse duration ～150 ns) barrier discharge. We detected radiation from excimer HgI* and HgBr* molecules, the second positive system of molecular nitrogen, and mercury and xenon atoms. The amplitude, duration, and trailing edge of the radiation pulses in the HgI₂:HgBr₂:Xe:He and HgI₂: HgBr₂:N₂:He mixtures with admixtures of xenon and molecular nitrogen were found to change compared to the HgI₂:HgBr₂:He mixture. The optimal partial pressure of helium lies within the range 162–195 kPa. The most intense radiation from HgI* and HgBr* molecules (in a ratio of more than 3: 1) is observed in the HgI₂:HgBr₂: Xe:He mixture. The mean and pulse radiation powers are 45 W and 93 kW, respectively, at a pumping pulse repetition rate of 5000 Hz and an efficiency of 30%. We discuss the spectral and temporal characteristics of the radiation source and the dependence of the radiation intensity of excimer molecules of mercury monoiodide and monobromide on the partial pressures of xenon and nitrogen. We point out that the radiation source is of considerable interest for applications in biotechnology and medicine.     

The preparation of chloroplatinic acid labelled with platinum radioisotopes

A procedure has been worked out for the preparation of chloroplatinic acid from natural metallic platinum irradiated in a nuclear reactor and purified from¹⁹⁹Au impurities by extraction from acidic solutions with ethyl acetate. It was shown that the effective K X-ray activity of natural platinum on irradiation with moderate neutron fluxes /3×10¹³/ was comparable with that of^195mPt obtained from 100%¹⁹⁴Pt/with identical neutron fluxes/. Contaminations from¹⁹³Pt /50 years/ is insignificant and do not produce noticeable radiation loads on the organism on medical tests in vivo.     

Influence of electron irradiation on the properties of α-aluminum hydride polymorph

Russian Chemical Bulletin - Changes in dielectric properties and thermal stability of the alpha-aluminum hydride polymorph (α-AlH3) after irradiation with electrons with an energy of 7 MeV...     

Calculations of LPE layer thickness

Three basic cases of LPE growth with and without nucleation were examined. The expressions for layer thickness and growth efficiency calculations were developed. Criteria for LPE growth classification were obtained. It was shown the nucleation takes place at critical values of supersaturation of the solution. The values of critical supersaturation may be calculated from growth efficiency experimental data for LPE growth.     

Spectroscopic diagnostics of barrier discharge plasmas in mixtures of zinc diiodide with inert gases

The spectral characteristics of the emission of gas discharge atmospheric pressure plasmas in mixtures of zinc diiodide vapor with inert gases (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe) are investigated. The formation of a gas discharge plasma and the excitation of the components of a working mixture were performed in a high-frequency (with a repetition frequency of sinusoidal voltage pulses of 100 kHz) barrier discharge. The gas discharge emission was analyzed in the spectral range 200–900 nm with a resolution of 0.05 nm. Emission bands of ZnI(B-X) exciplex molecules and I₂* excimer molecules, lines of inert gases, and emission bands of XeI* exciplex molecules (in Xe-containing mixtures) were revealed. It is ascertained that the strongest emission of ZnI* molecules is observed in ZnI₂/He(Ne) mixtures. The regularities in the spectral characteristics of the gas discharge plasma emission are considered.     

Astroparticle physics with AMS-02

The main physics goals of the AMS-02 experiment in the astroparticle domain are searches for antimatter and dark matter. The discovery potential of primordial antimatter by AMS-02 is presented, emphasizing the completeness of the AMS-02 detector for these searches. Meanwhile, antiproton detection suffers from a large secondary interaction background; the anti-⁴He or anti-³He signal would allow one to probe the Universe for existence of antimatter. The expected signal in AMS-02 is presented and compared to results from present experiments. The e⁺ and antiproton channels will contribute to the dark matter detection studies. A SUSY neutralino candidate is considered. The expected flux sensitivities in a three-year exposure for the e⁺/e^? ratio and antiproton yields as a function of energy are presented and compared to other direct and indirect searches.     

Galois Stability, Integrality and Realization Fields for Representations of Finite Abelian Groups

For a given field F of characteristic 0 we consider a normal extension E/F of finite degree d and finite Abelian subgroups GGL _n (E) of a given exponent t. We assume that G is stable under the natural action of the Galois group of E/F and consider the fields E=F(G) that are obtained via adjoining all matrix coefficients of all matrices gG to F. It is proved that under some reasonable restrictions for n, any E can be realized as F(G), while if all coefficients of matrices in G are algebraic integers, there are only finitely many fields E=F(G) for prescribed integers n and t or prescribed n and d.     

Phase transition to anticlinic texture in free-standing smectic c films

Experimental data on the optical reflectance of free-standing smectic C films were analyzed within the framework of a phenomenological Landau approach. At a certain temperature T _0N (determined from experimental data), which exceeds the known temperature T _c of the volume phase transition from smectic A to smectic C state, a surface phase transition takes place whereby molecules in the surface layer become sloped relative to the normal of the smectic layers. The transition temperatures T _0N ^s,a for N-layer films possessing synclinic (symmetric) and anticlinic (antisymmetric) textures of the order parameter (tilt angle θ) were determined. A comparison of the theoretical and experimental data allowed all parameters of the model to be determined (including critical indices of the correlation length and the surface order parameter). Three possible models of the transition from the state with transverse polarization (perpendicular to the molecular tilt plane) to the state with longitudinal polarization (parallel to this plane) are analyzed. The transition takes place at low (°–°) values of the order parameter θ in the middle layer of the film.