2,650 research outputs found
Dissolution Rates of Allophane, Fe-Allophane, and Hisingerite and Implications for Aqueous Alteration on Mars and in Potential Returned Martian Samples
Recent measurements from Mars document X-ray amorphous/nano-crystalline materials in multiple locations across the planet. However, despite their prevalence, little is known about these materials or what their presence implies for the history of Mars. The amorphous component of the martian soil in Gale Crater has an X-ray diffraction pattern that can be partially fit with allophane (approximately Al2O3•(SiO2)1.3-2•(H2O)2.5-3), as well as low-temperature water release consistent with allophane. The chemical data from Gale Crater suggest that other silicate phases similar to allophane, such as Fe-substituted allophane (here, approximately (Fe2O3)0.01(Al2O3)0.99(SiO2)2•3H2O) and hisingerite (approximately Fe3+2Si2O5(OH)4•(H2O)), may also be present. In order to investigate the properties of these poorly crystalline components of the martian soil, we synthesized allophane, Fe-substituted allophane, and hisingerite; characterized the synthetic materials by infrared spectroscopy, electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and evolved gas analysis; and performed dissolution experiments at acidic, near-neutral, and alkaline conditions in order to determine dissolution kinetics and alteration phases for these poorly crystalline materials. Our analyses demonstrate that allophane, Fe-allophane, and hisingerite are appropriate analogs for silicate phases in the martian amorphous soil component. These poorly crystalline materials dissolve rapidly at all experimental pH conditions, indicating that similar materials on Mars must have had limited interaction with liquid water since their formation. For allophane, logrdiss = -11.05 – 0.088 × pH; for Fe-allophane, logrdiss = -11.09 – 0.091 × pH; and for hisingerite, logrdiss = -11.49 – 0.032 × pH. Additionally, incipient phyllosilicate phases form in hisingerite and allophane under high pH conditions, but are much more sparse at low pH, which, combined with the enrichment of Fe expected from weathering, may be a useful tool for examining returned samples of martian soils for evidence of past aqueous alteration
Hadron Helicity Violation in Exclusive Processes: Quantitative Calculations in Leading Order QCD
We study a new mechanism for hadronic helicity flip in high energy hard
exclusive reactions. The mechanism proceeds in the limit of perfect chiral
symmetry, namely without any need to flip a quark helicity. The fundamental
feature of the new mechanism is the breaking of rotational symmetry of the hard
collision by a scattering plane in processes involving independent quark
scattering. We show that in the impulse approximation there is no evidence for
of the helicity violating process as the energy or momentum transfer is
increased over the region 1 GeV^2 < Q^2 < 100 GeV^2. In the asymptotic region
Q^2> 1000 GeV^2, a saddle point approximation with doubly logarithmic accuracy
yields suppression by a fraction of power of Q^2. ``Chirally--odd" exclusive
wave functions which carry non--zero orbital angular momentum and yet are
leading order in the high energy limit, play an important role.Comment: uuencoded LaTeX file (21 pages) and PostScript figure
The Virgo Alignment Puzzle in Propagation of Radiation on Cosmological Scales
We reconsider analysis of data on the cosmic microwave background on the
largest angular scales. Temperature multipoles of any order factor naturally
into a direct product of axial quantities and cosets. Striking coincidences
exist among the axes associated with the dipole, quadrupole, and octupole CMB
moments. These axes also coincide well with two other axes independently
determined from polarizations at radio and optical frequencies propagating on
cosmological scales. The five coincident axes indicate physical correlation and
anisotropic properties of the cosmic medium not predicted by the conventional
Big Bang scenario. We consider various mechanisms, including foreground
corrections, as candidates for the observed correlations. We also consider
whether the propagation anomalies may be a signal of ``dark energy'' in the
form of a condensed background field. Perhaps {\it light propagation} will
prove to be an effective way to look for the effects of {\it dark energy}.Comment: 24 pages, 4 figures, minor changes, no change in result or
conclusions. to appear in IJMP
Systematic Analysis Method for Color Transparency Experiments
We introduce a data analysis procedure for color transparency experiments
which is considerably less model dependent than the transparency ratio method.
The new method is based on fitting the shape of the A dependence of the nuclear
cross section at fixed momentum transfer to determine the effective attenuation
cross section for hadrons propagating through the nucleus. The procedure does
not require assumptions about the hard scattering rate inside the nuclear
medium. Instead, the hard scattering rate is deduced directly from the data.
The only theoretical input necessary is in modelling the attenuation due to the
nuclear medium, for which we use a simple exponential law. We apply this
procedure to the Brookhaven experiment of Carroll et al and find that it
clearly shows color transparency: the effective attenuation cross section in
events with momentum transfer is approximately $40\ mb\ (2.2\
GeV^2/Q^2)$. The fit to the data also supports the idea that the hard
scattering inside the nuclear medium is closer to perturbative QCD predictions
than is the scattering of isolated protons in free space. We also discuss the
application of our approach to electroproduction experiments.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures (figures not included, available upon request),
report # KU-HEP-92-2
Evidence for Adsorption of Chlorine Species on Iron(III) (hydr)oxides in the Sheepbed Mudstone, Gale Crater, Mars
Chlorine is a widespread element on Mars present in dust, soils and rocks, including the Sheepbed mudstone at Yellowknife Bay, Gale crater. Combined elemental and volatile analyses of two drilled samples, Cumberland and John Klein, indicated that chloride (Cl-) and perchlorate (ClO4 -) are likely present in the mudstone. The nature of chlorine species in Sheepbed mudstone is still not well constrained. It has been proposed that both are present as amorphous or crystalline salts physically mixed with mudstone minerals. We alternatively hypothesize that adsorbed perchlorate and chloride exist in the mudstone and adsorption could occur, in particular, on Fe(III) (hydr)oxide phases as supported by laboratory observations on terrestrial materials. Mineralogical and compositional analyses of the drilled Cumberland mudstone sample revealed the presence of ~30 wt% of a Fe-rich X-ray amorphous phase. Ferrihydrite has been proposed as a component of the Fe-rich X-ray amorphous material. The objectives of this work were to determine adsorption of perchlorate and chloride on ferrihydrite and to enable data comparison by characterizing adsorbed chloride and perchlorate with thermal and evolved gas analysis run under operating conditions similar to the SAM instrument onboard the Curiosity rover
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Advancements and Application of Microsecond Synchrotron X-ray Footprinting at the Advanced Light Source
The method of synchrotron X-ray protein footprinting (XF-MS) is used to determine protein conformational changes, folding, protein-protein and protein-ligand interactions, providing information which is often difficult to obtain using X-ray crystallography and other common structural biology methods [1–3]. The technique uses comparative in situ labeling of solvent-accessible side chains by highly reactive hydroxyl radicals (•OH) in buffered aqueous solution under different assay conditions. In regions where a protein is folded or binds a partner, these •OH susceptible sites are inaccessible to solvent, and therefore protected from labeling. The •OH are generated by the ionization of water using high-flux-density X-rays. High-flux density is a key factor for XF-MS labeling because obtaining an adequate steady-state concentration of hydroxyl radical within a short irradiation time is necessary to minimize radiation-induced secondary damage and also to overcome various scavenging reactions that reduce the yield of labeled side chains
Exclusive Hadronic Processes and Color Transparency
We review the current status of high energy exclusive processes and color
transparency.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, based on talk given at International Symposium
on Nuclear Physics, Mumbai, Dec 18-22, 200
Anisotropy in the Distribution of Galactic Radio Polarizations
Radiation traversing the observable universe provides powerful ways to probe
anisotropy of electromagnetic propagation. A controversial recent study claimed
a signal of dipole character. Here we test a new and independent data set of
361 points under the null proposal of {\it statistical independence} of linear
polarization alignments relative to galaxy axes, versus angular positions. The
null hypothesis is tested via maximum likelihood analysis of best fits among
numerous independent types of factored distributions. We also examine
single-number correlations which are parameter free, invariant under coordinate
transformations, and distributed very robustly. The statistics are shown
explicitly not to depend on the uneven distribution of sources on the sky.
We find that the null proposal is not supported at the level of less than 5%
to less than 0.1% by several independent statistics. The signal of correlation
violates parity, that is, symmetry under spatial inversion, and requires a
statistic which transforms properly. The data indicate an axis of correlation,
on the basis of likelihood determined to be , .Comment: 10 pages, Late
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