701 research outputs found
MS/MS studies on the selective on-line detection of sesquiterpenes using a Flowing Afterglow-Tandem Mass Spectrometer (FA-TMS)
A Flowing Afterglow-Tandem Mass Spectrometer (FA-TMS) was used to investigate the feasibility of selective on-line detection of a series of seven sesquiterpenes (SQTs). These SQTs were chemically ionized by either H3O+ or NO+ reagent ions in the FA, resulting among others in protonated SQT and SQT molecular ions, respectively. These and other Chemical Ionization (CI) product ions were subsequently subjected to dissociation by collisions with Ar atoms in the collision cell of the tandem mass spectrometer. The fragmentation spectra show similarities with mass spectra obtained for these compounds with other instruments such as a Proton Transfer Reaction-Linear Ion Trap (PTR-LIT), a Proton Transfer Reaction-Mass Spectrometer (PTR-MS), a Triple Quadrupole-Mass Spectrometer (QqQ-MS) and a Selected Ion Flow Tube-Mass Spectrometer (SIFT-MS). Fragmentation of protonated SQT is characterized by fragment ions at the same masses but with different intensities for the individual SQT. Distinction of SQTs is based on well-chosen intensity ratios and collision energies. The fragmentation patterns of SQT molecular ions show specific fragment ion tracers at m/z 119, m/z 162, m/z 137 and m/z 131 for alpha-cedrene, delta-neoclovene, isolongifolene and alpha-humulene, respectively. Consequently, chemical ionization of SQT by NO+, followed by MS/MS of SQT(+) seems to open a way for selective quantification of SQTs in mixtures
Ionization of Rydberg atoms embedded in an ultracold plasma
We have studied the behavior of cold Rydberg atoms embedded in an ultracold
plasma. We demonstrate that even deeply bound Rydberg atoms are completely
ionized in such an environment, due to electron collisions. Using a fast pulse
extraction of the electrons from the plasma we found that the number of excess
positive charges, which is directly related to the electron temperature Te, is
not strongly affected by the ionization of the Rydberg atoms. Assuming a
Michie-King equilibrium distribution, in analogy with globular star cluster
dynamics, we estimate Te. Without concluding on heating or cooling of the
plasma by the Rydberg atoms, we discuss the range for changing the plasma
temperature by adding Rydberg atoms.Comment: To be published in P.R.
Loading Stark-decelerated molecules into electrostatic quadrupole traps
Beams of neutral polar molecules in a low-field seeking quantum state can be
slowed down using a Stark decelerator, and can subsequently be loaded and
confined in electrostatic quadrupole traps. The efficiency of the trap loading
process is determined by the ability to couple the decelerated packet of
molecules into the trap without loss of molecules and without heating. We
discuss the inherent difficulties to obtain ideal trap loading, and describe
and compare different trap loading strategies. A new "split-endcap" quadrupole
trap design is presented that enables improved trap loading efficiencies. This
is experimentally verified by comparing the trapping of OH radicals using the
conventional and the new quadrupole trap designs
Direct measurement of the radiative lifetime of vibrationally excited OH radicals
Neutral molecules, isolated in the gas-phase, can be prepared in a long-lived
excited state and stored in a trap. The long observation time afforded by the
trap can then be exploited to measure the radiative lifetime of this state by
monitoring the temporal decay of the population in the trap. This method is
demonstrated here and used to benchmark the Einstein -coefficients in the
Meinel system of OH. A pulsed beam of vibrationally excited OH radicals is
Stark decelerated and loaded into an electrostatic quadrupole trap. The
radiative lifetime of the upper -doublet component of the level is determined as ms, in good
agreement with the calculated value of ms.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
A family of integrable maps associated with the Volterra lattice
Recently Gubbiotti, Joshi, Tran and Viallet classified birational maps in
four dimensions admitting two invariants (first integrals) with a particular
degree structure, by considering recurrences of fourth order with a certain
symmetry. The last three of the maps so obtained were shown to be Liouville
integrable, in the sense of admitting a non-degenerate Poisson bracket with two
first integrals in involution. Here we show how the first of these three
Liouville integrable maps corresponds to genus 2 solutions of the infinite
Volterra lattice, being the case of a family of maps associated with the
Stieltjes continued fraction expansion of a certain function on a hyperelliptic
curve of genus . The continued fraction method provides explicit
Hankel determinant formulae for tau functions of the solutions, together with
an algebro-geometric description via a Lax representation for each member of
the family, associating it with an algebraic completely integrable system. In
particular, in the elliptic case (), as a byproduct we obtain Hankel
determinant expressions for the solutions of the Somos-5 recurrence, but
different to those previously derived by Chang, Hu and Xin. By applying
contraction to the Stieltjes fraction, we recover integrable maps associated
with Jacobi continued fractions on hyperelliptic curves, that one of us
considered previously, as well as the Miura-type transformation between the
Volterra and Toda lattices
Photoassociation inside an optical dipole trap: absolute rate coefficients and Franck-Condon factors
We present quantitative measurements of the photoassociation of cesium
molecules inside a far-detuned optical dipole trap. A model of the trap
depletion dynamics is derived which allows to extract absolute photoassociation
rate coefficients for the initial single-photon photoassociation step from
measured trap-loss spectra. The sensitivity of this approach is demonstrated by
measuring the Franck-Condon modulation of the weak photoassociation transitions
into the low vibrational levels of the outer well of the 0g- state that
correlates to the 6s+6p3/2 asymptote. The measurements are compared to
theoretical predictions. In a magneto-optical trap these transitions have
previously only been observed indirectly through ionization of ground state
molecules
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