Evolution of level density step structures from 56,57-Fe to 96,97-Mo

Level densities have been extracted from primary gamma spectra for 56,57-Fe and 96,97-Mo nuclei using (3-He,alpha gamma) and (3-He,3-He') reactions on 57-Fe and 97-Mo targets. The level density curves reveal step structures above the pairing gap due to the breaking of nucleon Cooper pairs. The location of the step structures in energy and their shapes arise from the interplay between single-particle energies and seniority-conserving and seniority-non-conserving interactions.Comment: 9 pages, including 5 figure

Fragmentation and systematics of the Pygmy Dipole Resonance in the stable N=82 isotones

The low-lying electric dipole (E1) strength in the semi-magic nucleus 136Xe has been measured which finalizes the systematic survey to investigate the so-called pygmy dipole resonance (PDR) in all stable even N=82 isotones with the method of nuclear resonance fluorescence using real photons in the entrance channel. In all cases, a fragmented resonance-like structure of E1 strength is observed in the energy region 5 MeV to 8 MeV. An analysis of the fragmentation of the strength reveals that the degree of fragmentation decreases towards the proton-deficient isotones while the total integrated strength increases indicating a dependence of the total strength on the neutron-to-proton ratio. The experimental results are compared to microscopic calculations within the quasi-particle phonon model (QPM). The calculation includes complex configurations of up to three phonons and is able to reproduce also the fragmentation of the E1 strength which allows to draw conclusions on the damping of the PDR. Calculations and experimental data are in good agreement in the degree of fragmentation and also in the integrated strength if the sensitivity limit of the experiments is taken into account

Critical fluctuations in superconductors and the magnetic field penetration depth

The superconducting transition is studied within the one-loop renormalization group in fixed dimension $D=3$ and at the critical point. A tricritical behavior is found, and for $\kappa > \kappa_c$, an attractive charged fixed point, distinct from that of a neutral superfluid. The critical exponents of the continuous transition are evaluated, and it is shown that the anomalous dimension of the gauge field equals unity. This implies the proportionality of the magnetic field penetration depth and the superconducting correlation length below the transition. The penetration depth exponent is nonclassical. We argue that it can not be extracted from the dual theory in a straightforward manner since it is not renormalized by fluctuations of the dual field.Comment: 12 pages, LaTex, two figures available upon reques

Isospin Character of the Pygmy Dipole Resonance in 124Sn

The pygmy dipole resonance has been studied in the proton-magic nucleus 124Sn with the (a,a'g) coincidence method at E=136 MeV. The comparison with results of photon-scattering experiments reveals a splitting into two components with different structure: one group of states which is excited in (a,a'g) as well as in (g,g') reactions and a group of states at higher energies which is only excited in (g,g') reactions. Calculations with the self-consistent relativistic quasiparticle time-blocking approximation and the quasiparticle phonon model are in qualitative agreement with the experimental results and predict a low-lying isoscalar component dominated by neutron-skin oscillations and a higher-lying more isovector component on the tail of the giant dipole resonance

Reducing decoherence in optical and spin transitions in rare-earth-ion doped materials

In many important situations the dominant dephasing mechanism in cryogenic rare-earth-ion doped systems is due to magnetic field fluctuations from spins in the host crystal. Operating at a magnetic field where a transition has a zero first-order-Zeeman (ZEFOZ) shift can greatly reduce this dephasing. Here we identify the location of transitions with zero first-order Zeeman shift for optical transitions in Pr3+:YAG and for spin transitions in Er3+:Y2SiO5. The long coherence times that ZEFOZ would enable would make Pr3+:YAG a strong candidate for achieving the strong coupling regime of cavity QED, and would be an important step forward in creating long-lived telecommunications wavelength quantum memories in Er3+:Y2SiO5. This work relies mostly on published spin Hamiltonian parameters but Raman heterodyne spectroscopy was performed on Pr3+:YAG to measure the parameters for the excited state.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

PACAP-38 Signaling in \u3ci\u3eTetrahymena thermophila\u3c/i\u3e Involves NO and cGMP

Chemorepellents are signaling molecules, which have been shown to be important for mammalian neuronal development, and are presumed to have a role in protozoan defense. Tetrahymena thermophila represent a good model system in which to study repellents because of their ease of use in biochemical, behavioral, electrophysiological, and genetic analyses. In this study, we have used Tetrahymena as a model in which to study the chemorepellent, PACAP. Using behavioral and biochemical (EIA) assays, we have found that the NO/cGMP pathway plays an important role in PACAP signaling. An increase in intracellular calcium is also critical for PACAP avoidance, which appears to be mediated through a pertussis toxin-sensitive G-protein

Dual superfluid-Bose glass critical point in two dimensions and the universal conductivity

We study the continuum version of the dual theory for a system of two-dimensional, zero temperature, disordered bosons, interacting with short range repulsion and at a commensurate density. The dual theory, which describes vortices in the bosonic ground state, and has a form of 3D classical scalar electrodynamics in random, correlated magnetic field, admits a new disordered critical point within RG calculation at fixed dimension. The universal conductivity and the critical exponents at the superfluid-Bose glass critical point are calculated as series in fixed-point values of the dual coupling constants, to the lowest non-trivial order: $\sigma_c = 0.25 (2e)^2 /h$, $\nu=1.38$ and $z=1.93$. The comparison with numerical results and experiments is discussed.Comment: 8 pages, LaTex, some clarifications and references adde