A Russian in Malaya: Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay’s Expedition to the Malay Peninsula and the Early Anthropology of Orang Asli

This article presents a critical overview of the newly translated diary of Russian anthropologist Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay's expedition to the Malay Peninsula(November 1874 – October 1875) to study its indigenous peoples, today known as Orang Asli. At the forefront of modern anthropological practice, Maclay spent long periods of time in the field in order to study different peoples and cultures during the nineteenth century. His expeditions to New Guinea, Australia and Melanesia are well-known in the history of anthropology but his travels in the Malay Peninsula remain poorly understood and little studied. Govor and Manickam present an analysis of their new translation and annotation of the diary, highlighting its contribution to racial theories of the region and to understanding the dynamics of Malay statecraft and British colonialism on the peninsula. The diary is also one of the earliest studies of indigenous people of the Malay Peninsula, thus giving historians and anthropologists alike a glimpse into indigenous life in the late-nineteenth century. The article will present excerpts from the diary that illustrate the main themes while framing the material within the history of anthropology of Orang Asli and of colonialism in the area

Experiment for Testing Special Relativity Theory

An experiment aimed at testing special relativity via a comparison of the velocity of a non matter particle (annihilation photon) with the velocity of the matter particle (Compton electron) produced by the second annihilation photon from the decay Na-22(beta^+)Ne-22 is proposed.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, Report on the Conference of Nuclear Physics Division of Russian Academy of Science "Physics of Fundamental Interactions", ITEP, Moscow, November 26-30, 200

Strong fragmentation of low-energy electromagnetic excitation strength in 117^{117}Sn

Results of nuclear resonance fluorescence experiments on $^{117}$Sn are reported. More than 50 $\gamma$ transitions with $E_{\gamma} < 4$ MeV were detected indicating a strong fragmentation of the electromagnetic excitation strength. For the first time microscopic calculations making use of a complete configuration space for low-lying states are performed in heavy odd-mass spherical nuclei. The theoretical predictions are in good agreement with the data. It is concluded that although the E1 transitions are the strongest ones also M1 and E2 decays contribute substantially to the observed spectra. In contrast to the neighboring even $^{116-124}$Sn, in $^{117}$Sn the $1^-$ component of the two-phonon $[2^+_1 \otimes 3^-_1]$ quintuplet built on top of the 1/2$^+$ ground state is proved to be strongly fragmented.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Search for the electric dipole excitations to the 3s1/2⊗[21+⊗31−]3s_{1/2} \otimes [2^{+}_{1} \otimes 3^{-}_{1}] multiplet in 117^{117}Sn

The odd-mass $^{117}$Sn nucleus was investigated in nuclear resonance fluorescence experiments up to an endpoint energy of the incident photon spectrum of 4.1 MeV at the bremsstrahlung facility of the Stuttgart University. More than 50 mainly hitherto unknown levels were found. From the measurement of the scattering cross sections model independent absolute electric dipole excitation strengths were extracted. The measured angular distributions suggested the spins of 11 excited levels. Quasi-particle phonon model calculations including a complete configuration space were performed for the first time for a heavy odd-mass spherical nucleus. These calculations give a clear insight in the fragmentation and distribution of the $E1$, $M1$, and $E2$ excitation strength in the low energy region. It is proven that the $1^{-}$ component of the two-phonon $[2^{+}_{1} \otimes 3^{-}_{1}]$ quintuplet built on top of the $1/2^{+}$ ground state is strongly fragmented. The theoretical calculations are consistent with the experimental data.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

NEUTRON DIFFRACTION STUDY OF MAGNETIC AND CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC PHASE TRANSFORMATION IN MANGANESE ARSENIDE AS A FUNCTION OF TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE

Le diagramme des phases cristallographiques et magnétiques de l'arséniure de manganèse a été établi par diffraction neutronique dans l'intervalle de températures entre 100 et 400 °K et de pressions entre 0 et 9 000 bars. Pour la phase ferromagnétique qui existe aux conditions normales de température et de pression, le calcul de la densité électronique radiale montre un empiétement appréciable des électrons 3 d de Mn selon l'axe C. La transition ferromagnétique-paramagnétique qui a lieu à P = 0 et 318 °K correspond à une diminution, due à la dilatation du réseau, de l'empiétement d'électrons dans la direction C ; l'apparition d'une deuxième phase ferromagnétique à haute pression et basse température correspond à une augmentation de l'empiétement 3 d dans le plan de base.The magnetic and structure phase diagram of manganese arsenide has been established by neutron diffraction studies over the temperature range 100-400 °K and the pressure range 0-9 000 bars. For the ferromagnetic phase that exists at normal temperature and pressure, calculation of the electron density distribution shows appreciable overlap of the Mn 3 d-electrons along the c axis. The ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic transition that occurs at P = 0 and 318 °K corresponds to decreased electron overlap in the C direction due to lattice expansion ; the appearance of a second ferromagnetic phase at high pressure and low temperature corresponds to increased 3 d overlap in the basal plane