213 research outputs found
Infrared spectroscopic studies on unoriented single-walled carbon nanotube films under hydrostatic pressure
The electronic properties of as-prepared and purified unoriented
single-walled carbon nanotube films were studied by transmission measurements
over a broad frequency range (far-infrared up to visible) as a function of
temperature (15 K - 295 K) and external pressure (up to 8 GPa). Both the
as-prepared and the purified SWCNT films exhibit nearly temperature-independent
properties. With increasing pressure the low-energy absorbance decreases
suggesting an increasing carrier localization due to pressure-induced
deformations. The energy of the optical transitions in the SWCNTs decreases
with increasing pressure, which can be attributed to pressure-induced
hybridization and symmetry-breaking effects. We find an anomaly in the
pressure-induced shift of the optical transitions at 2 GPa due to a
structural phase transition.Comment: 13 pages, 15 figure
Contacting single bundles of carbon nanotubes with alternating electric fields
Single bundles of carbon nanotubes have been selectively deposited from
suspensions onto sub-micron electrodes with alternating electric fields. We
explore the resulting contacts using several solvents and delineate the
differences between Au and Ag as electrode materials. Alignment of the bundles
between electrodes occurs at frequencies above 1 kHz. Control over the number
of trapped bundles is achieved by choosing an electrode material which
interacts strongly with the chemical functional groups of the carbon nanotubes,
with superior contacts being formed with Ag electrodes.Comment: 4 pages, RevTe
Beta-decay of nuclei around Se-90. Search for signatures of a N=56 sub-shell closure relevant the r-process
Nuclear structure plays a significant role on the rapid neutron capture
process (r-process) since shapes evolve with the emergence of shells and
sub-shells. There was some indication in neighboring nuclei that we might find
examples of a new N=56 sub-shell, which may give rise to a doubly magic Se-90
nucleus. Beta-decay half lives of nuclei around Se-90 have been measured to
determine if this nucleus has in fact a doubly-magic character. The
fragmentation of Xe-136 beam at the National Superconducting Cyclotron
Laboratory at Michigan State University was used to create a cocktail of nuclei
in the A=90 region. We have measured the half lives of twenty-two nuclei near
the r-process path in the A=90 region. The half lives of As-88 and Se-90 have
been measured for the first time. The values were compared with theoretical
predictions in the search for nuclear-deformation signatures of a N=56
sub-shell, and its possible role in the emergence of a potential doubly-magic
Se-90. The impact of such hypothesis on the synthesis of heavy nuclei,
particularly in the production of Sr, Y and Zr elements was investigated with a
weak r-process network. The new half lives agree with results obtained from a
standard global QRPA model used in r-process calculations, indicating that
Se-90 has a quadrupole shape incompatible with a closed N=56 sub-shell in this
region. The impact of the measured Se-90 half-life in comparison with a former
theoretical predication associated with a spherical half-life on the
weak-r-process is shown to be strong
Quantum interference from remotely trapped ions
We observe quantum interference of photons emitted by two continuously
laser-excited single ions, independently trapped in distinct vacuum vessels.
High contrast two-photon interference is observed in two experiments with
different ion species, calcium and barium. Our experimental findings are
quantitatively reproduced by Bloch equation calculations. In particular, we
show that the coherence of the individual resonance fluorescence light field is
determined from the observed interference
A diode laser stabilization scheme for 40Ca+ single ion spectroscopy
We present a scheme for stabilizing multiple lasers at wavelengths between
795 and 866 nm to the same atomic reference line. A reference laser at 852 nm
is stabilized to the Cs D2 line using a Doppler-free frequency modulation
technique. Through transfer cavities, four lasers are stabilized to the
relevant atomic transitions in 40Ca+. The rms linewidth of a transfer-locked
laser is measured to be 123 kHz with respect to an independent atomic
reference, the Rb D1 line. This stability is confirmed by the comparison of an
excitation spectrum of a single 40Ca+ ion to an eight-level Bloch equation
model. The measured Allan variance of 10^(-22) at 10 s demonstrates a high
degree of stability for time scales up to 100 s.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figure
Probing the structure of giant fullerenes by high resolution trapped ion mobility spectrometry
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