Measurements of recombination of electrons with H3(plus) and H5(plus) ions

The electron-ion recombination coefficients for H3(+) and H5(+) ions were determined by means of a microwave afterglow/mass spectrometer apparatus. Measurements of electron density decays in helium-hydrogen mixtures are correlated with the decay of mass-identified ion currents to the wall of the microwave cavity. At low partial pressures of hydrogen in the mixture, the ion H3(+) dominates the ion composition and the ion wall current tracks the electron density decay curves. From recombination controlled electron density decay curves, the values alpha (H3(+)) = (2.9 + or - 0.3), (2.3 + or - 0.3), and (2.0 + or - 0.2) x 0.0000001 cu cm per sec, are obtained at 205, 300 and 450 K, respectively. At higher partial pressures of hydrogen and low temperatures, where (H5(+)) is the dominant ion, the value alpha (H5(+)) = (3.6 + or - 1.0) x 0.0000001 cu cm per sec is obtained at 205 K. The implications of these results concerning ionization levels in the atmospheres of the outer planets and in the interstellar medium are discussed

Mechanical properties testing and results for thermal barrier coatings

Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBC's) provide a significant challenge in the evaluation of their mechanical properties in ways that provide data that is not specimen dependent. The paper reviews various developments of the principal author over the past several years for both plasma sprayed and physical vapor deposited (PVD) materials, as well as new data on the fatigue behavior of one material system. The test methods that have been employed address tensile and compressive modulus and ultimate strength, tensile and compressive fatigue strength, and interfacial strength. This testing is now underway. Property testing is especially difficult for TBC's owing to the limitation on fabrication thickness of the coating. Bending tests are not used as these tests do not provide sufficiently uniform states of strain for property evaluations. Test specimens with uniform states of axial stress have been devised for each material system. The results show that the material property results between various experimenters and experimental methods are not yet consistent. However, the results provide critical design data at a suitable level of accuracy for life prediction. The paper will review both tensile and compressive mechanical testing of uniaxial specimens showing property dependencies on material density and temperatures for both material systems. Successful test results for both tensile and compressive fatigue loadings will be given. The test data shows that the fatigue strength of the TBC's is highly stress dependent in both loading conditions and is likely to depend on stress range and not mean stress. The fatigue strength of the plasma sprayed TBC's appears to increase with elevated temperatures in a range of temperatures below the creep activation temperature for the materials. The plasma sprayed TBC materials have been confirmed to have cyclic hysteresis at all temperature levels down to room temperature. Limited failure analysis data for various specimens suggest that the failure modes are driven by normal geometric discontinuities in the TBC's

Overvåking av forurensningssituasjonen i indre Oslofjord 1997

Vannkvaliteten i fjordens overflatelag sommeren 1997 var omtrent like bra som i 1996, som var et meget bra år sammenlignet med 1994 og 1995, hvor overløp og flom (1995) preget forholdene. Den milde vinteren var lite gunstig for dypvannsfornyelsen og det var meget liten vannfornyelse i Bunnefjorden. Det ble allikevel registrert oksygen i dypvannet selv om konsentrasjonene ble meget lave på høsten og klart lavere enn gjennomsnittlige forhold i perioden før det siste store anlegget med kjemisk rensing ble startet i 1982. I Vestfjorden var oksygenforholdene om høsten noe bedre. I Drøbaksundet ble det observert lave oksygenkonsentrasjoner sammenlignet med tidligere observasjoner, selv om nivået, som vanlig, var betydelig høyere enn i indre Oslofjord. Årsaken til de relativt lave oksygenkonsentrasjonene var en ekstra lang stagnasjonperiode. Observasjonene i 1997 bekrefter tidligere trender i fjordens forurensningsutvikling. Vannkvaliteten i overflatelaget har blitt bedre etter gjennomførte rensetiltak og det har vært en liten men positiv utvikling i dypvannet i Vestfjorden, men ikke i Bunnefjorden. På mellomdyp i Vestfjorden er det fortsatt ofte registrert dårligere oksygenforhold. De observerte forandringer skyldes ikke bare rensetiltak men også variasjoner i dypvannsfornyelser og andre klimaavhengige variasjoner

Spin-dynamic field coupling in strongly THz driven semiconductors : local inversion symmetry breaking

We study theoretically the optics in undoped direct gap semiconductors which are strongly driven in the THz regime. We calculate the optical sideband generation due to nonlinear mixing of the THz field and the near infrared probe. Starting with an inversion symmetric microscopic Hamiltonian we include the THz field nonperturbatively using non-equilibrium Green function techniques. We find that a self induced relativistic spin-THz field coupling locally breaks the inversion symmetry, resulting in the formation of odd sidebands which otherwise are absent.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure

Excitonic Dynamical Franz-Keldysh Effect

The Dynamical Franz-Keldysh Effect is exposed by exploring near-bandgap absorption in the presence of intense THz electric fields. It bridges the gap between the DC Franz- Keldysh effect and multi-photon absorption and competes with the THz AC Stark Effect in shifting the energy of the excitonic resonance. A theoretical model which includes the strong THz field non-perturbatively via a non-equilibrium Green Functions technique is able to describe the Dynamical Franz-Keldysh Effect in the presence of excitonic absorption.Comment: 4 pages in revtex with 5 figures included using epsf. Submitted to Physical Review Letter

Hamming weights and Betti numbers of Stanley-Reisner rings associated to matroids

To each linear code over a finite field we associate the matroid of its parity check matrix. We show to what extent one can determine the generalized Hamming weights of the code (or defined for a matroid in general) from various sets of Betti numbers of Stanley-Reisner rings of simplicial complexes associated to the matroid

No alignment of cattle along geomagnetic field lines found

This paper presents a study of the body orientation of domestic cattle on free pastures in several European states, based on Google satellite photographs. In sum, 232 herds with 3412 individuals were evaluated. Two independent groups participated in our study and came to the same conclusion that, in contradiction to the recent findings of other researchers, no alignment of the animals and of their herds along geomagnetic field lines could be found. Several possible reasons for this discrepancy should be taken into account: poor quality of Google satellite photographs, difficulties in determining the body axis, selection of herds or animals within herds, lack of blinding in the evaluation, possible subconscious bias, and, most importantly, high sensitivity of the calculated main directions of the Rayleigh vectors to some kind of bias or to some overlooked or ignored confounder. This factor could easily have led to an unsubstantiated positive conclusion about the existence of magnetoreception.Comment: Added electronic supplement with source dat

Retrospective evidence for a biological cost of vancomycin resistance determinants in the absence of glycopeptide selective pressures

To estimate the relative fitness differences between glycopeptide-resistant Enterococcus faecium (GREF) and glycopeptide-susceptible E. faecium (GSEF) from yearly surveillance data on the occurrence of GREF in Danish poultry farm environments. A population genetic model was adapted to retrospectively estimate the biological fitness cost of acquired resistance. Maximization of a likelihood function was used to predict the longitudinal persistence of acquired resistance. Our analysis suggests strong selection against GREF following the 1995 ban on the glycopeptide growth promoter avoparcin. However, parameterizing the model with two selection coefficients suggesting a reduced negative effect of the acquired resistance on bacterial fitness over time significantly improved the fit of the model. Our analyses suggest that the acquired glycopeptide resistance will persist for >25 years. Conclusions Acquired resistance determinants in commensal E. faecium populations in Danish farm environments are likely to persist for decades, even in the absence of glycopeptide use

Overvåking av vassdrag og marine resipienter i Meland kommune i 2000

Årsrapport 2002Rapporten presenterer resultater av resipientgranskinger i Meland kommune i 2000. Både sjø- og vassdragsresipienter ble undersøkt. Programmet var primært rettet mot effekter av kommunale kloakkutslipp, men i flere av vassdragene var også effekter av landbruksavrenning tydelige. I Herdlefjorden og Salhusfjorden er oksygenforholdene gode, mens det tidvis er lite oksygen i dypvannet i Rosslandspollen og Flatøyosen. Noe forhøyede konsentrasjoner av næringssalter og algebiomasse ble funnet i Rosslandspollen. Ingen vesentlig forurensning av bly, krom og kadmium ble funnet i sedimentene. Bunndyrundersøkelsen viste at Rosslandspollen var så godt som uten dyreliv og at dypområdene i Flatøyosen hadde en artsfattig fauna med arter tolerante for organisk belastning. I Salhusfjorden og Herdlefjorden var forholdene gode i kort avstand fra utslippspunktene for kloakk som viser at utslippene foregår til områder med god vannutskiftning. Blant de undersøkte vassdragene var tilstanden god i Rylandsvassdraget, som er lite belastet med forurensning. I Brakstadvassdraget, Mjåtveitvassdraget og Hoplandsvassdraget var tilstanden for næringsalter stort sett meget dårlig (store tilførsler), og varierte fra mindre god til dårlig for tarmbakterier. I Fosseelva og Kvernhusbekken var tilstanden dårlig til meget dårlig for begge virkningstyper. Eikelandsvatnet hadde mindre god tilstand for næringssalter, og god tilstand for tarmbakterier.Meland kommun

Quasienergy Spectroscopy of Excitons

We theoretically study nonlinear optics of excitons under intense THz irradiation. In particular, the linear near infrared absorption and resonantly enhanced nonlinear sideband generation are described. We predict a rich structure in the spectra which can be interpreted in terms of the quasienergy spectrum of the exciton, via a remarkably transparent expression for the susceptibility, and show that the effects of strongly avoided quasienergy crossings manifest themselves directly, both in the absorption and transmitted sidebands.Comment: 4 pages RevTex, 3 eps figs included, as publishe