Development of a PIXE method at high energy with the ARRONAX cyclotron

The high energy PIXE (HEPIXE) method is a multi-elemental non-destructive ion beam analysis technique. It is based on the detection of the X-ray emitted due to the interaction of high energy particle beam with a sample. This technique is fast and allows the analysis of heavy and medium elements in thin (μm), thick (mm) and multilayer samples. At the ARRONAX facility (Nantes, France), the HEPIXE method has been used to determine the composition of natural and synthetic sodalites. Photochromic properties of these samples are supposed to come from the trace elements (concentration in the ppm range) present in the samples. Taking advantage of the 70 MeV proton beam available at our facility, the HEPIXE method has been also used to study multilayer samples. It has been shown that it is possible to determine the composition of each layer, their thicknesses and their depth position by analyzing the recorded X-ray spectra.     

Linear relativistic hamiltonians

A 2(2J + 1)-component relativistic Hamiltonian H that describes free particles of mass m and spin J is said to be linear if it has the form $\text{H = h}\text{x}\text{?}\text{·}\text{p}\text{+ gm}$, where $\text{x}\text{\_.}\text{= i[H,}\text{x}\text{]}{}_{\mathrm{?}}$, h is a numerical factor, and g commutes with x and p. All such Hamiltonians are found, provided that the metric is either the unit matrix or ?₃ and provided that the theory is invariant under the discrete symmetries. If the operator Γ in the generator $\text{K}\text{=}\text{1}\text{2}\text{[}\text{x}\text{, H]}{}_{\mathrm{+}}\text{+ Γ}$ of Lorentz boosts is required to be local, there are only two possibilities; either Γ = 0, which generalizes the Dirac spin-$\text{1}\text{2}$ theory, or $\text{Γ = ??}{}_3\text{(}\text{1}\text{2m}\text{)}\text{S × p}$, which generalizes the Sakata-Taketani spin-0 and spin-1 theories. The relationship to linear manifestly covariant equations and its significance is discussed.     

Magnetic properties of NdSb,GdSb, TbSb,DySb, HbSb and ErSb under hydrostatic pressure

The hydrostatic pressure dependence of magnetic properties are reported for antiferromagnetic RSb where R = Nd, Gd, Tb, Dy, HoorEr. Measurements were made for pressures 0 ≤ p ≤ 10 kbar, magnetic fields 0 ≤ H₀ ≤ 60 kG, and temperatures 1.4 K ≤ T ≤ 35 K. dT_N/dP shows no systematic trend and ranges from -0.038 K/kbar for DySb to + 0.21 K/kbar for NdSb. The magnetic properties of DySb are strongly P-dependent, whereas those of HoSb are P-independent, but sample-dependent.     

Syntheses, structure, magnetism, and optical properties of the interlanthanide sulfides δ-Ln2−xLuxS3 (Ln=Ce, Pr, Nd)

δ-Ln_2−xLu_xS₃ (Ln=Ce, Pr, Nd; x=0.67-0.71) compounds have been synthesized through the reaction of elemental rare-earth metals and S using a Sb₂S₃ flux at 1000 °C. These compounds are isotypic with CeTmS₃, which has a complex three-dimensional structure. It includes four larger Ln³⁺ sites in eight- and nine-coordinate environments, two disordered seven-coordinate Ln³⁺/Lu³⁺ positions, and two six-coordinate Lu³⁺ ions. The structure is constructed from one-dimensional chains of LnS_n (n=6-9) polyhedra that extend along the b-axis. These polyhedra share faces or edges with two neighbors within the chains, while in the [ac] plane they share edges and corners with other chains. Least square refinements gave rise to the formulas of δ-Ce_1.30Lu_0.70S₃, δ-Pr_1.29Lu_0.71S₃ and δ-Nd_1.33Lu_0.67S₃, which are consistent with the EDX analysis and magnetic susceptibility data. δ-Ln_2−xLu_xS₃ (Ln=Ce, Pr, Nd; x=0.67-0.71) show no evidence of magnetic ordering down to 5 K. Optical properties measurements show that the band gaps for δ-Ce_1.30Lu_0.70S₃, δ-Pr_1.29Lu_0.71S₃, and δ-Nd_1.33Lu_0.67S₃ are 1.25, 1.38, and 1.50 eV, respectively. Crystallographic data: δ-Ce_1.30Lu_0.70S₃, monoclinic, space group P2₁/m, a=11.0186(7), b=3.9796(3), c=21.6562(15) Å, β=101.6860(10), V=929.93(11), Z=8; δ-Pr_1.29Lu_0.71S₃, monoclinic, space group P2₁/m, a=10.9623(10), b=3.9497(4), c=21.5165(19) Å, β=101.579(2), V=912.66(15), Z=8; δ-Nd_1.33Lu_0.67S₃, monoclinic, space group P2₁/m, a=10.9553(7), b=3.9419(3), c=21.4920(15) Å, β=101.5080(10), V=909.47(11), Z=8.     

Very high field magnetization and AC susceptibility of native horse spleen ferritin

The magnetization of native horse spleen ferritin protein is measured in pulsed magnetic fields to 55 T at T=1.52 K. The magnetization rises smoothly with negative curvature due to uncompensated Fe³⁺ spins and with a large high field slope due to the underlying antiferromagnetic ferritin core. Even at highest fields the magnetic moment is only ∼4% of the saturation moment of the full complement of Fe³⁺ in the ferritin molecule. The AC magnetic susceptibility, χ_AC(T,f), responding to the uncompensated spins, reaches a maximum near the superparamagnetic blocking temperature with the temperature of the maximum, T_M, varying with excitation frequency, T_M⁻¹ α log f for 10?f?10⁴ Hz.