Laboratory studies of infrared absorption by NO2 and HNO3

Data concerning the quantitative absorption in the 11 and 22 micron region by HNO3 were obtained. Results are presented indicating the temperature dependence of these bands of HNO3 vapor. The 21.8 micron absorption bands of HNO3 vapor at 40 C are discussed along with the integrated intensity and line parameters for the 6.2 micron band of NO2

Probing topology by "heating": Quantized circular dichroism in ultracold atoms

We reveal an intriguing manifestation of topology, which appears in the depletion rate of topological states of matter in response to an external drive. This phenomenon is presented by analyzing the response of a generic 2D Chern insulator subjected to a circular time-periodic perturbation: due to the system's chiral nature, the depletion rate is shown to depend on the orientation of the circular shake. Most importantly, taking the difference between the rates obtained from two opposite orientations of the drive, and integrating over a proper drive-frequency range, provides a direct measure of the topological Chern number of the populated band ($\nu$): this "differential integrated rate" is directly related to the strength of the driving field through the quantized coefficient $\eta_0\!=\!\nu /\hbar^2$. Contrary to the integer quantum Hall effect, this quantized response is found to be non-linear with respect to the strength of the driving field and it explicitly involves inter-band transitions. We investigate the possibility of probing this phenomenon in ultracold gases and highlight the crucial role played by edge states in this effect. We extend our results to 3D lattices, establishing a link between depletion rates and the non-linear photogalvanic effect predicted for Weyl semimetals. The quantized circular dichroism revealed in this work designates depletion-rate measurements as a universal probe for topological order in quantum matter.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures (including Sup. Mat.). Revised version, accepted for publicatio

Valence Quark Distribution in A=3 Nuclei

We calculate the quark distribution function for 3He/3H in a relativistic quark model of nuclear structure which adequately reproduces the nucleon approximation, nuclear binding energies, and nuclear sizes for small nuclei. The results show a clear distortion from the quark distribution function for individual nucleons (EMC effect) arising dominantly from a combination of recoil and quark tunneling effects. Antisymmetrization (Pauli) effects are found to be small due to limited spatial overlaps. We compare our predictions with a published parameterization of the nuclear valence quark distributions and find significant agreement.Comment: 18pp., revtex4, 4 fig

Stratospheric constituent measurements using UV solar occultation technique

The photochemistry of the stratospheric ozone layer was studied as the result of predictions that trace amounts of pollutants can significantly affect the layer. One of the key species in the determination of the effects of these pollutants is the OH radical. A balloon flight was made to determine whether data on atmospheric OH could be obtained from lower resolution solar spectra obtained from high altitude during sunset

Evidence of Spatially Inhomogeous Pairing on the Insulating Side of a Disorder-Tuned Superconductor-Insulator Transition

Measurements of transport properties of amorphous insulating indium oxide thin films have been interpreted as evidence of the presence of superconducting islands on the insulating side of a disorder-tuned superconductor-insulator transition. Although the films are not granular, the behavior is similar to that observed in granular films. The results support theoretical models in which the destruction of superconductivity by disorder produces spatially inhomogenous pairing with a spectral gap.Comment: Revised title and content/argument. Totals: 4 pages, 3 figure

Kinetics of the helix-coil transition

Based on the Zimm-Bragg model we study cooperative helix-coil transition driven by a finite-speed change of temperature. There is an asymmetry between the coil-to-helix and helix-to-coil transition: the latter is displayed already for finite speeds, and takes shorter time than the former. This hysteresis effect has been observed experimentally, and it is explained here via quantifying system's stability in the vicinity of the critical temperature. A finite-speed cooling induces a non-equilibrium helical phase with the correlation length larger than in equilibrium. In this phase the characteristic length of the coiled domain and the non-equilibrium specific heat can display an anomalous response to temperature changes. Several pertinent experimental results on the kinetics helical biopolymers are discussed in detail.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figure

Color Magnetic Corrections to Quark Model Valence Distributions

We calculate order $\alpha_s$ color magnetic corrections to the valence quark distributions of the proton using the Los Alamos Model Potential wavefunctions. The spin-spin interaction breaks the model SU(4) symmetry, providing a natural mechanism for the difference between the up and down distributions. For a value of $\alpha_s$ sufficient to produce the $N-\Delta$ mass splitting, we find up and down quark distributions in reasonable agreement with experiment.Comment: 25 Pages, LA-UR-93-132