Energies and widths of atomic core-levels in liquid mercury

High-resolution measurements of the photoinduced X-ray emission of liquid mercury were performed, using a transmission DuMond-type crystal spectrometer for transitions above 11 keV and a reflection von Hamos-type crystal spectrometer for transitions below 11 keV. The target X-ray fluorescence was produced by irradiating the sample with the Bremsstrahlung from X-ray tubes. The energies and natural linewidths of 6 K-shell, 26 L-shell and 2 M-shell X-ray transitions were determined. Using a least-squares-fit method to solve the two sets of equations derived from the observed transition energies and transition widths the binding energies of the subshells K to M₅ and O₁ and the level widths of the subshells K to N₅ and O₁ could also be determined

Diagnostic performance of the WHO definition of probable dengue within the first 5 days of symptoms on Reunion Island.

The relevance of the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for defining probable dengue had not yet been evaluated in the context of dengue endemicity on Reunion Island. The objective of this retrospective diagnostic study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the 2009 WHO definition of probable dengue and to propose an improvement thereof. From the medical database, we retrieved the data of subjects admitted to the emergency department of the University Hospital of Reunion Island in 2019 with suspected dengue fever (DF) within a maximum of 5 days post symptom onset, and whose diagnosis was confirmed by a Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). The intrinsic characteristics of probable dengue definitions were reported in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR-), using RT-PCR as the gold standard. Of the 1,181 subjects who exhibited a positive RT-PCR, 652 (55%) were classified as probable dengue. The WHO definition of probable dengue yielded a sensitivity of 64% (95%CI 60-67%), a specificity of 57% (95%CI 52-61%), a LR+ of 1.49 (95%CI 1.33-1.67), and a LR- of 0.63 (95%CI 0.56-0.72). The sensitivity and LR- for diagnosing and ruling out probable dengue could be improved by the addition of lymphopenia on admission (74% [95%CI: 71-78%] and 0.54 [95%CI: 0.46-0.63] respectively), at the cost of slight reductions of specificity and LR+ (48% [95%CI: 44-53%] and 1.42 [95%CI: 1.29-1.57], respectively). In the absence of, or when rapid diagnostic testing is unreliable, the use of the improved 2009 WHO definition of probable dengue could facilitate the identification of subjects who require further RT-PCR testing, which should encourage the development of patient management, while also optimizing the count and quarantine of cases, and guiding disease control

Hypersatellite x-ray decay of 3d3d hollow-KK-shell atoms produced by heavy-ion impact

We report on the radiative decay of double K-shell vacancy states produced in solid Ca, V, Fe, and Cu targets by impact with about 10 MeV/amu C and Ne ions. The resulting K hypersatellite x-ray emission spectra were measured by means of high- energy-resolution spectroscopy using a von Hamos bent crystal spectrometer. The experiment was carried out at the Philips variable energy cyclotron of the Paul Scherrer Institute. From the fits of the x-ray spectra the energies, line widths, and relative intensities of the hypersatellite x-ray lines could be determined. The fitted intensities were corrected to account for the energy-dependent solid angle of the spectrometer, effective source size, target self-absorption, crystal reflectivity, and detector efficiency. The single-to-double K-shell ionization cross-section ratios were deduced from the corrected relative intensities of the hypersatellites and compared to theoretical predictions from the semiclassical approximation model using hydrogenlike and Dirac-Hartree-Fock wave functions and from classical trajectory Monte Carlo calculations

High energy resolution measurements of the radiative decay of double K-shell vacancies in 20 ≤ Z ≤ 29 elements bombarded by fast C and Ne ions

We report on high energy resolution measurements of the Kα hypersatellite x-ray spectra of Ca, V, Fe and Cu induced by impact with 144 MeV C and 180 MeV Ne ions

A chemical survey of exoplanets with ARIEL

Thousands of exoplanets have now been discovered with a huge range of masses, sizes and orbits: from rocky Earth-like planets to large gas giants grazing the surface of their host star. However, the essential nature of these exoplanets remains largely mysterious: there is no known, discernible pattern linking the presence, size, or orbital parameters of a planet to the nature of its parent star. We have little idea whether the chemistry of a planet is linked to its formation environment, or whether the type of host star drives the physics and chemistry of the planet’s birth, and evolution. ARIEL was conceived to observe a large number (~1000) of transiting planets for statistical understanding, including gas giants, Neptunes, super-Earths and Earth-size planets around a range of host star types using transit spectroscopy in the 1.25–7.8 μm spectral range and multiple narrow-band photometry in the optical. ARIEL will focus on warm and hot planets to take advantage of their well-mixed atmospheres which should show minimal condensation and sequestration of high-Z materials compared to their colder Solar System siblings. Said warm and hot atmospheres are expected to be more representative of the planetary bulk composition. Observations of these warm/hot exoplanets, and in particular of their elemental composition (especially C, O, N, S, Si), will allow the understanding of the early stages of planetary and atmospheric formation during the nebular phase and the following few million years. ARIEL will thus provide a representative picture of the chemical nature of the exoplanets and relate this directly to the type and chemical environment of the host star. ARIEL is designed as a dedicated survey mission for combined-light spectroscopy, capable of observing a large and well-defined planet sample within its 4-year mission lifetime. Transit, eclipse and phase-curve spectroscopy methods, whereby the signal from the star and planet are differentiated using knowledge of the planetary ephemerides, allow us to measure atmospheric signals from the planet at levels of 10–100 part per million (ppm) relative to the star and, given the bright nature of targets, also allows more sophisticated techniques, such as eclipse mapping, to give a deeper insight into the nature of the atmosphere. These types of observations require a stable payload and satellite platform with broad, instantaneous wavelength coverage to detect many molecular species, probe the thermal structure, identify clouds and monitor the stellar activity. The wavelength range proposed covers all the expected major atmospheric gases from e.g. H2O, CO2, CH4 NH3, HCN, H2S through to the more exotic metallic compounds, such as TiO, VO, and condensed species. Simulations of ARIEL performance in conducting exoplanet surveys have been performed – using conservative estimates of mission performance and a full model of all significant noise sources in the measurement – using a list of potential ARIEL targets that incorporates the latest available exoplanet statistics. The conclusion at the end of the Phase A study, is that ARIEL – in line with the stated mission objectives – will be able to observe about 1000 exoplanets depending on the details of the adopted survey strategy, thus confirming the feasibility of the main science objectives.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Double-K-shell ionization of Mg and Si induced in collisions with C and Ne ions

The satellite and hypersatellite K x-ray emission of a thin Mg foil and thick polycrystalline Si target bombarded by 34-MeV C and 50-MeV Ne ions was measured using high-resolution crystal diffractometry. The corresponding projectile reduced velocities v/vK were 1.09 and 0.92 for C ions and 1.02, 0.86 for Ne ions in case of Mg and Si targets, respectively. An energy resolution of approximately 0.5 eV enabled separation of contributions corresponding to states with different numbers of K- and L-shell vacancies. The relative intensities of satellite and hypersatellite lines were determined by fitting the measured spectra with line shapes calculated using the GRASP92 computer code. To determine the production yields of initial states from the measured x-ray yields, the total decay schemes of initial states were considered. The decay schemes were also used to determine the relative intensities of components contributing to the observed Kalpha satellites and hypersatellites and Kβ satellite intensities. Including theoretical predictions in the fitted model is crucial to analyze properly the Kα hypersatellite region which overlaps the Kβ satellites. The initial-state production yields were then used to determine the L-shell ionization probabilities and the double- to single-K-shell ionization ratio corresponding to the four investigated collisions. The experimental values were compared to the theoretical predictions obtained within the independent electron model using single-electron ionization probabilities calculated by the three-body classical trajectory Monte Carlo (CTMC) method. Since the targets used were thick enough, the equilibrium projectile charge-state distributions in the solid media were assumed. While for the double- to single-K-shell ionization ratios a satisfactory agreement was observed between the CTMC predictions and our experimental results, the L-shell ionization probabilities were found to be overestimated by the CTMC calculations by a factor of about 2

Spectroscopic characterization of two peptides derived from the stem of rabies virus glycoprotein

International audienceRabies virus glycoprotein (G) is a trimeric type I transmembrane glycoprotein that mediates both receptor recognition and low pH-induced membrane fusion. Electron microscopy has indicated that the ectodomain of protein G is made of a globular head and a stem. In order to characterize the putative stem region at the molecular level, we designed two peptides, P(S) and P(L), which were produced as GST fusion proteins in bacteria. Peptide P(S) extends from amino acid (aa) 374 to aa 428 whereas peptide P(L) extends from aa 368 down to the end of the ectodomain of G (aa 439). Their secondary and quaternary structures have been studied with spectroscopic and biophysical methods. We show that these isolated peptides are monomeric and poorly structured in aqueous solution. However, circular dichroism (CD) in presence of 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol and NMR data indicate that this region may adopt a alpha-helical conformation in the complete glycoprotein

High-resolution KMM radiative Auger x-ray emission spectra of calcium induced by synchrotron radiation

The KMM radiative Auger (RA) x-ray spectra of solid Ca were induced by monochromatic synchrotron radiation and measured with a high-resolution von Hamos bent crystal spectrometer. Two excitation energies were employed, one in the near K threshold region and the second well above the K absorption edge. The KMM RA spectral structure and relative intensity with respect to the diagram Kβ1,3 (K-M3,2) line are found to be independent of the excitation energy. The overall RA structure resembles the density of unoccupied s, p, and d states. Due to solid-state effects, however, spectral features resulting from the major discrete shake-up transitions could not be resolved. For the total KMM RA to Kβ1,3 yield ratio, a value of 0.053(3) is obtained. The latter is compared to theoretical predictions and available experimental data obtained by various types of target excitation

Natural widths of hypersatellite K-X-ray lines and lifetimes of double K-hole states in mid-Z atoms

K-X-ray spectra of Zr, Nb, Mo and Pd targets bombarded with 250 MeV carbon and 360 MeV oxygen ions are studied with high resolution diffraction spectrometry. Relative yields and natural widths of the Khα1,2 hypersatellite lines are determined and compared with those of the diagram lines. The widths of Khα1,2 lines are compared with the new phenomenological formula which takes into account the retardation of the Khα₁ transition in the LS coupling scheme. The data significantly exceed the expected values. Deduced lifetimes of the double K-hole states are shorter than expected