Explicitly correlated trial wave functions in Quantum Monte Carlo calculations of excited states of Be and Be-

We present a new form of explicitly correlated wave function whose parameters are mainly linear, to circumvent the problem of the optimization of a large number of non-linear parameters usually encountered with basis sets of explicitly correlated wave functions. With this trial wave function we succeeded in minimizing the energy instead of the variance of the local energy, as is more common in quantum Monte Carlo methods. We applied this wave function to the calculation of the energies of Be 3P (1s22p2) and Be- 4So (1s22p3) by variational and diffusion Monte Carlo methods. The results compare favorably with those obtained by different types of explicitly correlated trial wave functions already described in the literature. The energies obtained are improved with respect to the best variational ones found in literature, and within one standard deviation from the estimated non-relativistic limitsComment: 19 pages, no figures, submitted to J. Phys.

Low-energy Antiproton Interaction with Helium

An ab initio potential for the interaction of the neutral helium atom with antiprotons and protons is calculated using the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. Using this potential, the annihilation cross section for antiprotons in the energy range 0.01 microvolt to 1 eV is calculated.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, LaTe

The Increase in Thickness Uniformity of Films Obtained by Magnetron Sputtering with Rotating Substrate

The titanium thin films obtained by magnetron sputtering with the rotating substrate at different distances between the substrate and magnetron centers were studied with regard to the uniformity of the film thickness distribution. On the basis of the experimental data obtained, the model for the magnetron film deposition during substrate rotation was developed. The analysis of the simulation results shows that the model error is not greater than 10%

Atomic Oxygen and Space Environment Effects on Aerospace Materials Flown with EOIM-3 Experiment

Polymer materials samples mounted on a passive carrier tray were flown aboard the STS-46 Atlantis shuttle as complement to the EOIM-3 (Evaluation of Oxygen Interaction with Materials) experiment to evaluate the effects of atomic oxygen on the materials and to measure the gaseous shuttle bay environment. The morphological changes of the samples produced by the atomic oxygen fluence of 2.07 x 10(exp 20) atoms/cm(exp 2) are being reported. The changes have been verified using Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis (ESCA), gravimetric measurement, microscopic observations and thermo-optical measurements. The samples, including Kapton, Delrin, epoxies, Beta Cloth, Chemglaze Z306, silver Teflon, silicone coatings, 3M tape and Uralane and Ultem, PEEK, Victrex (PES), Polyethersulfone and Polymethylpentene thermoplastic, have been characterized by their oxygen reaction efficiency on the basis of their erosion losses and the oxygen fluence. Those efficiencies have been compared to results from other experiments, when available. The efficiencies of the samples are all in the range of E-24 g/atom. The results indicate that the reaction efficiencies of the reported materials can be grouped in about three ranges of values. The least affected materials which have efficiencies varying from 1 to 10(exp 25) g/atom, include silicones, epoxies, Uralane and Teflon. A second group with efficiency from 10 to 45(exp 25) g/atom includes additional silicone coatings, the Chemglaze Z306 paint and Kapton. The third range from 50 to 75(exp 25) includes organic compound such as Pentene, Peek, Ultem, Sulfone and a 3M tape. A Delrin sample had the highest reaction efficiency of 179(exp 25) g/atom. Two samples, the aluminum Beta cloth X389-7 and the epoxy fiberglass G-11 nonflame retardant, showed a slight mass increase

Two-Center Integrals for r_{ij}^{n} Polynomial Correlated Wave Functions

All integrals needed to evaluate the correlated wave functions with polynomial terms of inter-electronic distance are included. For this form of the wave function, the integrals needed can be expressed as a product of integrals involving at most four electrons

Quantum and Classical Orientational Ordering in Solid Hydrogen

We present a unified view of orientational ordering in phases I, II, and III of solid hydrogen. Phases II and III are orientationally ordered, while the ordering objects in phase II are angular momenta of rotating molecules, and in phase III the molecules themselves. This concept provides quantitative explanation of the vibron softening, libron and roton spectra, and increase of the IR vibron oscillator strength in phase III. The temperature dependence of the effective charge parallels the frequency shifts of the IR and Raman vibrons. All three quantities are linear in the order parameter.Comment: Replaced with the final text, accepted for publication in PRL. 1 Fig. added. Misc. text revision

Antiproton-Hydrogen annihilation at sub-kelvin temperatures

The main properties of the interaction of ultra low-energy antiprotons ($E\le10^{-6}$ a.u.) with atomic hydrogen are established. They include the elastic and inelastic cross sections and Protonium (Pn) formation spectrum. The inverse Auger process ($Pn+e \to H+\bar{p}$) is taken into account in the framework of an unitary coupled-channels model. The annihilation cross-section is found to be several times smaller than the predictions made by the black sphere absorption models. A family of $\bar{p}H$ nearthreshold metastable states is predicited. The dependence of Protonium formation probability on the position of such nearthreshold S-matrix singularities is analysed. An estimation for the $H\bar{H}$ annihilation cross section is obtained.Comment: latex.tar.gz file, 22 pages, 9 figure