658 research outputs found
Test of Time Dilation Using Stored Li+ Ions as Clocks at Relativistic Speed
We present the concluding result from an Ives-Stilwell-type time dilation
experiment using 7Li+ ions confined at a velocity of beta = v/c = 0.338 in the
storage ring ESR at Darmstadt. A Lambda-type three-level system within the
hyperfine structure of the 7Li+ triplet S1-P2 line is driven by two laser beams
aligned parallel and antiparallel relative to the ion beam. The lasers' Doppler
shifted frequencies required for resonance are measured with an accuracy of < 4
ppb using optical-optical double resonance spectroscopy. This allows us to
verify the Special Relativity relation between the time dilation factor gamma
and the velocity beta to within 2.3 ppb at this velocity. The result, which is
singled out by a high boost velocity beta, is also interpreted within Lorentz
Invariance violating test theories
Dielectronic Recombination (via N=2 --> N'=2 Core Excitations) and Radiative Recombination of Fe XX: Laboratory Measurements and Theoretical Calculations
We have measured the resonance strengths and energies for dielectronic
recombination (DR) of Fe XX forming Fe XIX via N=2 --> N'=2 (Delta_N=0) core
excitations. We have also calculated the DR resonance strengths and energies
using AUTOSTRUCTURE, HULLAC, MCDF, and R-matrix methods, four different
state-of-the-art theoretical techniques. On average the theoretical resonance
strengths agree to within <~10% with experiment. However, the 1 sigma standard
deviation for the ratios of the theoretical-to-experimental resonance strengths
is >~30% which is significantly larger than the estimated relative experimental
uncertainty of <~10%. This suggests that similar errors exist in the calculated
level populations and line emission spectrum of the recombined ion. We confirm
that theoretical methods based on inverse-photoionization calculations (e.g.,
undamped R-matrix methods) will severely overestimate the strength of the DR
process unless they include the effects of radiation damping. We also find that
the coupling between the DR and radiative recombination (RR) channels is small.
We have used our experimental and theoretical results to produce
Maxwellian-averaged rate coefficients for Delta_N=0 DR of Fe XX. For kT>~1 eV,
which includes the predicted formation temperatures for Fe XX in an optically
thin, low-density photoionized plasma with cosmic abundances, our experimental
and theoretical results are in good agreement. We have also used our R-matrix
results, topped off using AUTOSTRUCTURE for RR into J>=25 levels, to calculate
the rate coefficient for RR of Fe XX. Our RR results are in good agreement with
previously published calculations.Comment: To be published in ApJS. 65 pages with 4 tables and lots of figure
Enhanced dielectronic recombination of lithium-like Ti19+ ions in external ExB fields
Dielectronic recombination(DR) of lithium-like Ti19+(1s2 2s) ions via 2s->2p
core excitations has been measured at the Heidelberg heavy ion storage ring
TSR. We find that not only external electric fields (0 <= Ey <= 280 V/cm) but
also crossed magnetic fields (30 mT <= Bz <= 80 mT) influence the DR via high-n
(2p_j nl)-Rydberg resonances. This result confirms our previous finding for
isoelectronic Cl14+ ions [Bartsch T et al, PRL 82, 3779 (1999)] that
experimentally established the sensitivity of DR to ExB fields. In the present
investigation the larger 2p_{1/2}-2p_{3/2} fine structure splitting of Ti19+
allowed us to study separately the influence of external fields via the two
series of Rydberg DR resonances attached to the 2s -> 2p_{1/2} and 2s ->
2p_{3/2} excitations of the Li-like core, extracting initial slopes and
saturation fields of the enhancement. We find that for Ey > 80 V/cm the field
induced enhancement is about 1.8 times stronger for the 2p_{3/2} series than
for the 2p_{1/2} series.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Journal of Physics B, see
also http://www.strz.uni-giessen.de/~k
The renal arterial resistance index and renal allograft survival
BACKGROUND: Most renal transplants fail because of chronic allograft nephropathy or because the recipient dies, but no reliable factor predicting long-term outcome has been identified. We tested whether a renal arterial resistance index of less than 80 was predictive of long-term allograft survival. METHODS: The renal segmental arterial resistance index (the percentage reduction of the end-diastolic flow as compared with the systolic flow) was measured by Doppler ultrasonography in 601 patients at least three months after transplantation between August 1997 and November 1998. All patients were followed for three or more years. The combined end point was a decrease of 50 percent or more in the creatinine clearance rate, allograft failure (indicated by the need for dialysis), or death. RESULTS: A total of 122 patients (20 percent) had a resistance index of 80 or higher. Eighty-four of these patients (69 percent) had a decrease of 50 percent or more in creatinine clearance, as compared with 56 of the 479 patients with a resistance index of less than 80 (12 percent); 57 patients with a higher resistance index (47 percent) required dialysis, as compared with 43 patients with a lower resistance index (9 percent); and 36 patients with a higher resistance index (30 percent) died, as compared with 33 patients with a lower resistance index (7 percent) (P<0.001 for all comparisons). A total of 107 patients with a higher resistance index (88 percent) reached the combined end point, as compared with 83 of those with a lower resistance index (17 percent, P<0.001). The multivariate relative risk of graft loss among patients with a higher resistance index was 9.1 (95 percent confidence interval, 6.6 to 12.7). Proteinuria (protein excretion, 1 g per day or more), symptomatic cytomegalovirus infection, and a creatinine clearance rate of less than 30 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area after transplantation also increased the risk. CONCLUSIONS: A renal arterial resistance index of 80 or higher measured at least three months after transplantation is associated with poor subsequent allograft performance and death
Long-term effects of chronic light pollution on seasonal functions of European blackbirds (turdus merula)
Light pollution is known to affect important biological functions of wild animals, including daily and annual cycles. However, knowledge about long-term effects of chronic exposure to artificial light at night is still very limited. Here we present data on reproductive physiology, molt and locomotor activity during two-year cycles of European blackbirds (Turdus merula) exposed to either dark nights or 0.3 lux at night. As expected, control birds kept under dark nights exhibited two regular testicular and testosterone cycles during the two-year experiment. Control urban birds developed testes faster than their control rural conspecifics. Conversely, while in the first year blackbirds exposed to light at night showed a normal but earlier gonadal cycle compared to control birds, during the second year the reproductive system did not develop at all: both testicular size and testosterone concentration were at baseline levels in all birds. In addition, molt sequence in light-treated birds was more irregular than in control birds in both years. Analysis of locomotor activity showed that birds were still synchronized to the underlying light-dark cycle. We suggest that the lack of reproductive activity and irregular molt progression were possibly the results of i) birds being stuck in a photorefractory state and/or ii) chronic stress. Our data show that chronic low intensities of light at night can dramatically affect the reproductive system. Future studies are needed in order to investigate if and how urban animals avoid such negative impact and to elucidate the physiological mechanisms behind these profound long-term effects of artificial light at night. Finally we call for collaboration between scientists and policy makers to limit the impact of light pollution on animals and ecosystems
Image equalisation using an external brightness reference
After more than ten years in orbit at Mars, the coverage from the High
Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on the European Space Agency’s Mars Express is
sufficient to begin constructing mosaic products on a global scale. We
describe our systematic processing procedure and, in particular, the technique
used to bring images affected by atmospheric dust into visual consistency with
the mosaic. We outline how the same method is used to produce a relative
colour mosaic which shows local colour differences. We demonstrate the results
and show that the techniques may also be applied to images from other orbital
cameras
Standard Model tests with trapped radioactive atoms
We review the use of laser cooling and trapping for Standard Model tests,
focusing on trapping of radioactive isotopes. Experiments with neutral atoms
trapped with modern laser cooling techniques are testing several basic
predictions of electroweak unification. For nuclear decay, demonstrated
trap techniques include neutrino momentum measurements from beta-recoil
coincidences, along with methods to produce highly polarized samples. These
techniques have set the best general constraints on non-Standard Model scalar
interactions in the first generation of particles. They also have the promise
to test whether parity symmetry is maximally violated, to search for tensor
interactions, and to search for new sources of time reversal violation. There
are also possibilites for exotic particle searches. Measurements of the
strength of the weak neutral current can be assisted by precision atomic
experiments using traps of small numbers of radioactive atoms, and sensitivity
to possible time-reversal violating electric dipole moments can be improved.Comment: 45 pages, 17 figures, v3 includes clarifying referee comments,
especially in beta decay section, and updated figure
Interference effects in the photorecombination of argonlike Sc3+ ions: Storage-ring experiment and theory
Absolute total electron-ion recombination rate coefficients of argonlike
Sc3+(3s2 3p6) ions have been measured for relative energies between electrons
and ions ranging from 0 to 45 eV. This energy range comprises all dielectronic
recombination resonances attached to 3p -> 3d and 3p -> 4s excitations. A broad
resonance with an experimental width of 0.89 +- 0.07 eV due to the 3p5 3d2 2F
intermediate state is found at 12.31 +- 0.03 eV with a small experimental
evidence for an asymmetric line shape. From R-Matrix and perturbative
calculations we infer that the asymmetric line shape may not only be due to
quantum mechanical interference between direct and resonant recombination
channels as predicted by Gorczyca et al. [Phys. Rev. A 56, 4742 (1997)], but
may partly also be due to the interaction with an adjacent overlapping DR
resonance of the same symmetry. The overall agreement between theory and
experiment is poor. Differences between our experimental and our theoretical
resonance positions are as large as 1.4 eV. This illustrates the difficulty to
accurately describe the structure of an atomic system with an open 3d-shell
with state-of-the-art theoretical methods. Furthermore, we find that a
relativistic theoretical treatment of the system under study is mandatory since
the existence of experimentally observed strong 3p5 3d2 2D and 3p5 3d 4s 2D
resonances can only be explained when calculations beyond LS-coupling are
carried out.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 3 tables, Phys. Rev. A (in print), see also:
http://www.strz.uni-giessen.de/~k
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