Weed Control for Reduced Tillage Systems

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Phonon Density of States and Anharmonicity of UO2

Phonon density of states (PDOS) measurements have been performed on polycrystalline UO2 at 295 and 1200 K using time-of-flight inelastic neutron scattering to investigate the impact of anharmonicity on the vibrational spectra and to benchmark ab initio PDOS simulations performed on this strongly correlated Mott-insulator. Time-of-flight PDOS measurements include anharmonic linewidth broadening inherently and the factor of ~ 7 enhancement of the oxygen spectrum relative to the uranium component by the neutron weighting increases sensitivity to the oxygen-dominated optical phonon modes. The first-principles simulations of quasi-harmonic PDOS spectra were neutron-weighted and anharmonicity was introduced in an approximate way by convolution with wavevector-weighted averages over our previously measured phonon linewidths for UO2 that are provided in numerical form. Comparisons between the PDOS measurements and the simulations show reasonable agreement overall, but they also reveal important areas of disagreement for both high and low temperatures. The discrepancies stem largely from an ~ 10 meV compression in the overall bandwidth (energy range) of the oxygen-dominated optical phonons in the simulations. A similar linewidth-convoluted comparison performed with the PDOS spectrum of Dolling et al. obtained by shell-model fitting to their historical phonon dispersion measurements shows excellent agreement with the time-of-flight PDOS measurements reported here. In contrast, we show by comparisons of spectra in linewidth-convoluted form that recent first-principles simulations for UO2 fail to account for the PDOS spectrum determined from the measurements of Dolling et al. These results demonstrate PDOS measurements to be stringent tests for ab initio simulations of phonon physics in UO2 and they indicate further the need for advances in theory to address lattice dynamics of UO2.Comment: Text slightly modified, results unchange

Nuclear magnetic resonance-paramagnetic relaxation enhancements: Influence of spatial quantization of the electron spin when the zero-field splitting energy is larger than the Zeeman energy

Dissolved paramagnetic ions generally provide an efficient mechanism for the relaxation of nuclear spins in solution, a phenomenon called the nuclear magnetic resonance-paramagnetic relaxation enhancement (NMR-PRE). Metal ions with electron spins S ≥ 1S⩾1 exhibit rich NMR relaxation phenomena originating in the properties of the zero-field splitting (zfs) interaction, which vanishes for spin-½12 ions but which is nonzero for S ≥ 1S⩾1 ions in site symmetry lower than cubic. For S ≥ 1S⩾1 ions in the vicinity of the zfs-limit, i.e., at magnetic-field strengths low enough that the zfs energy exceeds the Zeeman energy, the NMR-PRE depends strongly on the detailed structure of the electron spin energy levels as well as on the spatial quantization of the spin motion. It is shown theoretically and experimentally that the NMR-PRE produced by integer spins can be influenced strongly by the small intradoublet zero-field splittings, i.e., the splittings between the components of the non-Kramers doublets, which are produced by noncylindrical components of the crystal field potential. These small splittings produce relatively low-frequency oscillations in the dipolar field associated with 〈〉〈Sẑ〉 (the spin component along the molecule-fixed ẑ axis). These motions decouple the nuclear spin from the electron spin, thereby depressing, in some cases very strongly, the NMR-PRE. The presence of a relatively small Zeeman field, comparable in magnitude to the intradoublet spacing but small compared to the larger interdoublet zfs splittings, causes a major change in the spin wave functions which has profound effects on the motions of the electron spin. When the Zeeman energy exceeds the small zfs splitting, the oscillatory motion of 〈〉〈Sẑ〉 damps out, with the result that the electron spin couples more effectively to the nuclear spin, providing a more efficient NMR relaxation pathway. NMR-PRE data are presented for the S = 1S=1 complex Ni(II)(o-pda)2Cl2Ni(II)(o-pda)2Cl2 (o-pda = ortho-phenylenediamine)(o-pda=ortho-phenylenediamine) which confirm the importance of the splitting of the mS = ±1mS=±1 non-Kramers doublet on the NMR relaxation efficiency. The zfs E-parameter was measured from the NMR data to be ∣E∣ = 0.26 cm−1.∣E∣=0.26cm−1. The S = 2S=2 spin system, Mn(III)Mn(III)-tetraphenylporphyrin sulfonate, exhibits a related phenomenon which arises from the effects of a small zfs splitting, Δϵ±2,Δϵ±2, of the mS = ±2mS=±2 non-Kramers doublet that is caused by a fourfold rotational component of the crystal field potential. The splitting Δϵ±2Δϵ±2 was measured from NMR data to be 0.20 cm−1.0.20cm−1. © 1998 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70721/2/JCPSA6-109-10-4035-1.pd

Electron-phonon coupling in the conventional superconductor YNi2_2B2_2C at high phonon energies studied by time-of-flight neutron spectroscopy

We report an inelastic neutron scattering investigation of phonons with energies up to 159 meV in the conventional superconductor YNi$_2$B$_2$C. Using the SWEEP mode, a newly developed time-of-flight technique involving the continuous rotation of a single crystal specimen, allowed us to measure a four dimensional volume in (Q,E) space and, thus, determine the dispersion surface and linewidths of the $A_{1g}$ (~ 102 meV) and $A_u$ (~ 159 meV) type phonon modes for the whole Brillouin zone. Despite of having linewidths of $\Gamma = 10 meV$, $A_{1g}$ modes do not strongly contribute to the total electron-phonon coupling constant $\lambda$. However, experimental linewidths show a remarkable agreement with ab-initio calculations over the complete phonon energy range demonstrating the accuracy of such calculations in a rare comparison to a comprehensive experimental data set.Comment: accepted for publication in PR

Doping and isolation of GaN, InGaN and InAlN using ion implantation

Both n- and p-type doping have been achieved in GaN using Si{sup +} or Mg{sup +}/P{sup +} implantation, respectively, followed annealing at {ge} 1050{degrees}C. Using proximity rapid thermal annealing (10sec) the GaN surface retains both smooth morphology and its original stoichiometry. Variable temperature Hall measurements reveal approximate energy levels of 62meV for the implanted Si and 171meV for the Mg, which are similar to their values in epitaxially grown GaN. Implant isolation of both n- and p-type GaN, and n-type In{sub 0.75}Al{sub 0.25}N with multiple energy inert species (e.g. N{sup +} or F{sup +}) produces high resistivity ({ge}10{sup 8}{omega}/{open_square}) after subsequent annealing in the range 600-700{degrees}C. Smaller increases in sheet resistance are observed for In{sub x}Ga{sup 1-x}N (x=0.33-0.75) under the same conditions due to the smaller energy bandgaps and the shallower energy levels of the damage-related states controlling the resistivity

Methane and Nitrogen Abundances On Pluto and Eris

We present spectra of Eris from the MMT 6.5 meter telescope and Red Channel Spectrograph (5700-9800 angstroms; 5 angstroms per pix) on Mt. Hopkins, AZ, and of Pluto from the Steward Observatory 2.3 meter telescope and Boller and Chivens spectrograph (7100-9400 angstroms; 2 angstroms per pix) on Kitt Peak, AZ. In addition, we present laboratory transmission spectra of methane-nitrogen and methane-argon ice mixtures. By anchoring our analysis in methane and nitrogen solubilities in one another as expressed in the phase diagram of Prokhvatilov and Yantsevich (1983), and comparing methane bands in our Eris and Pluto spectra and methane bands in our laboratory spectra of methane and nitrogen ice mixtures, we find Eris' bulk methane and nitrogen abundances are about 10% and about 90%, and Pluto's bulk methane and nitrogen abundances are about 3% and about 97%. Such abundances for Pluto are consistent with values reported in the literature. It appears that the bulk volatile composition of Eris is similar to the bulk volatile composition of Pluto. Both objects appear to be dominated by nitrogen ice. Our analysis also suggests, unlike previous work reported in the literature, that the methane and nitrogen stoichiometry is constant with depth into the surface of Eris. Finally, we point out that our Eris spectrum is also consistent with a laboratory ice mixture consisting of 40% methane and 60% argon. Although we cannot rule out an argon rich surface, it seems more likely that nitrogen is the dominant species on Eris because the nitrogen ice 2.15 micron band is seen in spectra of Pluto and Triton.Comment: The manuscript has 44 pages, 15 figures, and four tables. It will appear in the Astrophysical Journa

Binary Black Hole Mergers in the First Advanced LIGO Observing Run

The first observational run of the Advanced LIGO detectors, from September 12, 2015 to January 19, 2016, saw the first detections of gravitational waves from binary black hole mergers. In this paper, we present full results from a search for binary black hole merger signals with total masses up to 100M⊙ and detailed implications from our observations of these systems. Our search, based on general-relativistic models of gravitational-wave signals from binary black hole systems, unambiguously identified two signals, GW150914 and GW151226, with a significance of greater than 5σ over the observing period. It also identified a third possible signal, LVT151012, with substantially lower significance and with an 87% probability of being of astrophysical origin. We provide detailed estimates of the parameters of the observed systems. Both GW150914 and GW151226 provide an unprecedented opportunity to study the two-body motion of a compact-object binary in the large velocity, highly nonlinear regime. We do not observe any deviations from general relativity, and we place improved empirical bounds on several highorder post-Newtonian coefficients. From our observations, we infer stellar-mass binary black hole merger rates lying in the range 9–240 Gpc−3 yr−1. These observations are beginning to inform astrophysical predictions of binary black hole formation rates and indicate that future observing runs of the Advanced detector network will yield many more gravitational-wave detections

First Search for Gravitational Waves from the Youngest Known Neutron Star

We present a search for periodic gravitational waves from the neutron star in the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. The search coherently analyzes data in a 12 day interval taken from the fifth science run of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. It searches gravitational-wave frequencies from 100 to 300 Hz and covers a wide range of first and second frequency derivatives appropriate for the age of the remnant and for different spin-down mechanisms. No gravitational-wave signal was detected. Within the range of search frequencies, we set 95% confidence upper limits of (0.7-1.2) × 10 -24 on the intrinsic gravitational-wave strain, (0.4-4) × 10-4 on the equatorial ellipticity of the neutron star, and 0.005-0.14 on the amplitude of r-mode oscillations of the neutron star. These direct upper limits beat indirect limits derived from energy conservation and enter the range of theoretical predictions involving crystalline exotic matter or runaway rmodes. This paper is also the first gravitational-wave search to present upper limits on the r-mode amplitude