Study of the charge-exchange reactions\pi ^ - p \to (\pi ^0 ,\eta ,\eta \prime )n at 63 GeV

Muon electron pairs were detected in an Al multiplate spark chamber, exposed to a neutrino beam from the CERN PS. The leptons were not accompanied by other particles, except occasionally by protons. The background came mainly from muon associated π⁰ production, with one decay gamma lost. It was determined empirically, together with the small contribution from υ _e reactions. For electron energies above 2 GeV the background is 5.7±1.5 events, whereas 18 (μe)-candidates have been observed. Hence the effect is established, with a rate of about 10^?4 as compared to the muonic reactions above 3 GeV. Charm creation as the origin of this (μe)-production process is excluded; heavy neutral lepton production does not fit the kinematics observed. Instead the events are compatible with the two-body decay of an object with variable invariant mass of order 1 GeV, possibly resulting from axion interactions.     

Fine Dry Grinding of Zeolite in a Laboratory Ball Mill

This paper presents the importance and usage of natural zeolites, which was recently recognized in the industry. Therefore, the grinding properties of natural zeolite were studied with the emphasis on a kinetic study in a ball mill. The experimental mill employed was laboratory sized, 200 mm diameter, 191 mm length, providing a total mill volume of 6000 cm³, with a total mass of 5.62 kg of steel balls of 25 mm diameter with a charge of 20% of the mill volume and with a rotation speed of 76 rpm. The breakage parameters were determined by using single sized feed fractions of ?850+600 μm, ?600+425 μm, and ?425+300 μm for the zeolite samples. The S_i (specific rate of breakage) and B_{i, j} (primary breakage distribution) values were obtained for those feed size fractions in order to predict the product size distributions by simulation for comparison to the experimental data. From the experimental results, S_i values increased as the feed sizes became coarser, i.e., the highest S_i value was 0.85 min^?1 for ?850+600 μm, while the lowest S_i value was 0.65 min^?1 for ?425+300 μm feed ground in the mill. The B_{i, j} values obtained for the zeolite sample were γ=0.84, ?=0.61, and β=4.25. The breakage parameters obtained showed that the zeolite is broken faster than quartz and slower than calcite and barite in terms of the a_T values reported previously at the same experimental conditions. The simulations of the product size distributions of zeolite were in good agreement with the experimental data using a standard ball mill simulation program. The slowing‐down effect was also seen in the mill after 4 min. of grinding.     

On Extracting Maximum Stable Sets in Perfect Graphs Using Lovász's Theta Function

We study the maximum stable set problem. For a given graph, we establish several transformations among feasible solutions of different formulations of Lovász's theta function. We propose reductions from feasible solutions corresponding to a graph to those corresponding to its induced subgraphs. We develop an efficient, polynomial-time algorithm to extract a maximum stable set in a perfect graph using the theta function. Our algorithm iteratively transforms an approximate solution of the semidefinite formulation of the theta function into an approximate solution of another formulation, which is then used to identify a vertex that belongs to a maximum stable set. The subgraph induced by that vertex and its neighbors is removed and the same procedure is repeated on successively smaller graphs. We establish that solving the theta problem up to an adaptively chosen, fairly rough accuracy suffices in order for the algorithm to work properly. Furthermore, our algorithm successfully employs a warm-start strategy to recompute the theta function on smaller subgraphs. Computational results demonstrate that our algorithm can efficiently extract maximum stable sets in comparable time it takes to solve the theta problem on the original graph to optimality. This work was supported in part by NSF through CAREER Grant DMI-0237415. Part of this work was performed while the first author was at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statisticsat Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.     

Characterization of active sites over reduced Ni-Mo/Al(2)O(3) catalysts for hydrogenation of linear aldehydes

Reduced Ni-Mo/Al(2)O(3) catalysts exhibit a behavior analogous to that of sulfided Ni-Mo/Al(2)O(3) catalysts in hydrogenation of linear aldehydes to alcohols. Similar to what has been previously reported for sulfided catalysts, NO and CO(2) can be used over the reduced Ni-Mo catalysts as probe molecules for the active sites responsible for two competing reactions -- aldehyde hydrogenation to alcohols and condensation reactions to heavy products, respectively. Reduced catalysts have a higher aldehyde conversion activity and alcohol selectivity than their sulfided counterparts. The reduction temperature has a strong effect on the surface density of anion vacancies, which are responsible for alcohol formation. Reduction temperature also plays a role in determining the abundance of OH groups on the alumina surface. The effect of reduction temperature also manifests itself through the differences seen in the oxidation states of Mo and Ni species.     

Determination of the critical surface tension of wetting of minerals treated with surfactants by shear flocculation approach

This paper contributes the shear flocculation method as a new approach to determine the critical surface tension of wetting of minerals treated with surfactants. This newly developed approach is based on the decrease of the shear flocculation of the mineral suspension, with decreasing of the surface tension of the liquids used. The solution surface tension value at which shear flocculation does not occur can be defined as the critical surface tension of wetting (gamma c) of the mineral. By using the shear flocculation method, the critical surface tensions of wetting (gamma c) for calcite and barite minerals, treated with surfactants, were obtained as 30.9 and 35.0 mN/m, respectively. These values are in good agreement with data reported previously on the same minerals obtained by the contact angle measurement and flotation methods. The chemical agents used for the treatment of calcite and barite particles were sodium oleate and sodium dodecyl sulfate, respectively.     

Development of chromium-free iron-based catalysts for high-temperature water-gas shift reaction

Chromium-free iron-based catalysts were prepared and studied in regard to their performance in the high-temperature water-gas shift reaction (HTS). The effects of various catalyst preparation variables (i.e., Fe/promoter ratio, pH of precipitation medium, calcination and reduction temperatures) and preparation methods were investigated. Aluminum is a potential chromium replacement in HTS catalysts. Further improvement in WGS activity of Fe–Al catalysts can be achieved by the addition of small amounts of copper or cobalt. Catalysts were characterized using BET surface area measurements, temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS). As a textural promoter, aluminum and chromium prevent the sintering of iron oxides and stabilize magnetite phase by retarding its further reduction to FeO and metallic Fe. The promotional effect of Cu is found to be strongly dependent on the preparation method.     

Palladium-catalyzed cyclocarbonylation of o-iodoanilines with heterocumulenes: regioselective preparation of 4(3H)-quinazolinone derivatives

A catalyst system comprising palladium acetate-bidentate phosphine is effective for the cyclocarbonylation of o-iodoanilines with heterocumulenes at 70-100 degrees C for 12-24 h to give the corresponding 4(3H)-quinazolinone derivatives in good yields. Utilizing o-iodoaniline with isocyanates, carbodiimides, and ketenimines for the reaction, 2,4-(1H,3H)-quinazolinediones, 2-amino-4(3H)-quinazolinones and 2-alkyl-4(3H)-quinazolinones were obtained, respectively. The nature of the substrates including the electrophilicity of the carbon center of the carbodiimide, and the stability of the ketenimine, influence the product yields of this reaction. Urea-type intermediates are believed to be generated first in situ from the reaction of o-iodoanilines with heterocumulenes, followed by palladium-catalyzed carbonylation and cyclization to yield the products.     

The selective reductive acylation of a-keto imines

Reaction of α-keto imines with the $\text{in}$$\text{situ}$ generated acetylcobalt tetracarbonyl occurs only at the carbon—nitrogen double bond to give β-keto amides. An unexpected by-product was formed in several instances.