395 research outputs found

    High-speed imaging upgrade for a standard sample scanning atomic force microscope using small cantilevers

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    We present an atomic force microscope (AFM) head for optical beam deflection on small cantilevers. Our AFM head is designed to be small in size, easily integrated into a commercial AFM system, and has a modular architecture facilitating exchange of the optical and electronic assemblies. We present two different designs for both the optical beam deflection and the electronic readout systems, and evaluate their performance. Using small cantilevers with our AFM head on an otherwise unmodified commercial AFM system, we are able to take tapping mode images approximately 5-10 times faster compared to the same AFM system using large cantilevers. By using additional scanner turnaround resonance compensation and a controller designed for high-speed AFM imaging, we show tapping mode imaging of lipid bilayers at line scan rates of 100-500 Hz for scan areas of several micrometers in size

    Holographic analysis of diffraction structure factors

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    We combine the theory of inside-source/inside-detector x-ray fluorescence holography and Kossel lines/x ray standing waves in kinematic approximation to directly obtain the phases of the diffraction structure factors. The influence of Kossel lines and standing waves on holography is also discussed. We obtain partial phase determination from experimental data obtaining the sign of the real part of the structure factor for several reciprocal lattice vectors of a vanadium crystal.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitte

    Carma CO observations of three extremely metal-poor, star-forming galaxies

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    We present sensitive CO (J = 1 0) emission line observations of the three metal-poor dwarf irregular galaxies Leo P (Z ∼ 3% Zo), Sextans A (Z ∼ 7.5% Zo), and Sextans B (Z ∼ 7.5% Zo), all obtained with the Combined Array for Millimeter-wave Astronomy interferometer. While no CO emission was detected, the proximity of the three systems allows us to place very stringent (4σ) upper limits on the CO luminosity (LCO) in these metal-poor galaxies. We find the CO luminosities to be LCO < 2900 K km s-1 pc2 for Leo P, LCO < 12,400 K km s-1 pc2 for Sextans A, and LCO < 9700 K km s-1 pc2 for Sextans B. Comparison of our results with recent observational estimates of the factor for converting between LCO and the mass of molecular hydrogen, as well as theoretical models, provides further evidence that either the CO-to-H2 conversion factor increases sharply as metallicity decreases, or that stars are forming in these three galaxies very efficiently, requiring little molecular hydroge

    Coherent control of pulsed X-ray beams

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    Synchrotrons produce continuous trains of closely spaced X-ray pulses. Application of such sources to the study of atomic-scale motion requires efficient modulation of these beams on timescales ranging from nanoseconds to femtoseconds. However, ultrafast X-ray modulators are not generally available. Here we report efficient subnanosecond coherent switching of synchrotron beams by using acoustic pulses in a crystal to modulate the anomalous low-loss transmission of X-ray pulses. The acoustic excitation transfers energy between two X-ray beams in a time shorter than the synchrotron pulse width of about 100 ps. Gigahertz modulation of the diffracted X-rays is also observed. We report different geometric arrangements, such as a switch based on the collision of two counter-propagating acoustic pulses: this doubles the X-ray modulation frequency, and also provides a means of observing a localized transient strain inside an opaque material. We expect that these techniques could be scaled to produce subpicosecond pulses, through laser-generated coherent optical phonon modulation of X-ray diffraction in crystals. Such ultrafast capabilities have been demonstrated thus far only in laser-generated X-ray sources, or through the use of X-ray streak cameras(1-6).Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62852/1/413825a0.pd

    Inflation with Ω1\Omega \not = 1

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    We discuss various models of inflationary universe with Ω1\Omega \not = 1. A homogeneous universe with Ω>1\Omega > 1 may appear due to creation of the universe "from nothing" in the theories where the effective potential becomes very steep at large ϕ\phi, or in the theories where the inflaton field ϕ\phi nonminimally couples to gravity. Inflation with Ω<1\Omega < 1 generally requires intermediate first order phase transition with the bubble formation, and with a second stage of inflation inside the bubble. It is possible to realize this scenario in the context of a theory of one scalar field, but typically it requires artificially bent effective potentials and/or nonminimal kinetic terms. It is much easier to obtain an open universe in the models involving two scalar fields. However, these models have their own specific problems. We propose three different models of this type which can describe an open homogeneous inflationary universe.Comment: 29 pages, LaTeX, parameters of one of the models are slightly modifie

    Heavy-quark mass dependence in global PDF analyses and 3- and 4-flavour parton distributions

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    We study the sensitivity of our recent MSTW 2008 NLO and NNLO PDF analyses to the values of the charm- and bottom-quark masses, and we provide additional public PDF sets for a wide range of these heavy-quark masses. We quantify the impact of varying m_c and m_b on the cross sections for W, Z and Higgs production at the Tevatron and the LHC. We generate 3- and 4-flavour versions of the (5-flavour) MSTW 2008 PDFs by evolving the input PDFs and alpha_S determined from fits in the 5-flavour scheme, including the eigenvector PDF sets necessary for calculation of PDF uncertainties. As an example of their use, we study the difference in the Z total cross sections at the Tevatron and LHC in the 4- and 5-flavour schemes. Significant differences are found, illustrating the need to resum large logarithms in Q^2/m_b^2 by using the 5-flavour scheme. The 4-flavour scheme is still necessary, however, if cuts are imposed on associated (massive) b-quarks, as is the case for the experimental measurement of Z b bbar production and similar processes.Comment: 40 pages, 11 figures. Grids can be found at http://projects.hepforge.org/mstwpdf/ and in LHAPDF V5.8.4. v2: version published in EPJ

    SU(4) Chiral Quark Model with Configuration Mixing

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    Chiral quark model with configuration mixing and broken SU(3)\times U(1) symmetry has been extended to include the contribution from c\bar c fluctuations by considering broken SU(4) instead of SU(3). The implications of such a model have been studied for quark flavor and spin distribution functions corresponding to E866 and the NMC data. The predicted parameters regarding the charm spin distribution functions, for example, \Delta c, \frac{\Delta c}{{\Delta \Sigma}}, \frac{\Delta c}{c} as well as the charm quark distribution functions, for example, \bar c, \frac{2\bar c}{(\bar u+\bar d)}, \frac{2 \bar c}{(u+d)} and \frac{(c+ \bar c)}{\sum (q+\bar q)} are in agreement with other similar calculations. Specifically, we find \Delta c=-0.009, \frac{\Delta c}{{\Delta \Sigma}}=-0.02, \bar c=0.03 and \frac{(c+ \bar c)}{\sum (q+\bar q)}=0.02 for the \chiQM parameters a=0.1, \alpha=0.4, \beta=0.7, \zeta_{E866}=-1-2 \beta, \zeta_{NMC}=-2-2 \beta and \gamma=0.3, the latter appears due to the extension of SU(3) to SU(4).Comment: 10 RevTeX pages. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

    Measurement of the Neutron Spin Structure Function g1ng_1^n with a Polarized ^3He Target

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    Results are reported from the HERMES experiment at HERA on a measurement of the neutron spin structure function g1n(x,Q2)g_1^n(x,Q^2) in deep inelastic scattering using 27.5 GeV longitudinally polarized positrons incident on a polarized 3^3He internal gas target. The data cover the kinematic range 0.023<x<0.60.023<x<0.6 and 1(GeV/c)2<Q2<15(GeV/c)21 (GeV/c)^2 < Q^2 <15 (GeV/c)^2. The integral 0.0230.6g1n(x)dx\int_{0.023}^{0.6} g_1^n(x) dx evaluated at a fixed Q2Q^2 of 2.5(GeV/c)22.5 (GeV/c)^2 is 0.034±0.013(stat.)±0.005(syst.)-0.034\pm 0.013(stat.)\pm 0.005(syst.). Assuming Regge behavior at low xx, the first moment Γ1n=01g1n(x)dx\Gamma_1^n=\int_0^1 g_1^n(x) dx is 0.037±0.013(stat.)±0.005(syst.)±0.006(extrapol.)-0.037\pm 0.013(stat.)\pm 0.005(syst.)\pm 0.006(extrapol.).Comment: 4 pages TEX, text available at http://www.krl.caltech.edu/preprints/OAP.htm
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