Prospects for measuring the 229Th isomer energy using a metallic magnetic microcalorimeter

The Thorium-229 isotope features a nuclear isomer state with an extremely low energy. The currently most accepted energy value, 7.8 +- 0.5 eV, was obtained from an indirect measurement using a NASA x-ray microcalorimeter with an instrumental resolution 26 eV. We study, how state-of-the-art magnetic metallic microcalorimeters with an energy resolution down to a few eV can be used to measure the isomer energy. In particular, resolving the 29.18 keV doublet in the \gamma-spectrum following the \alpha-decay of Uranium-233, corresponding to the decay into the ground and isomer state, allows to measure the isomer transition energy without additional theoretical input parameters, and increase the energy accuracy. We study the possibility of resolving the 29.18 keV line as a doublet and the dependence of the attainable precision of the energy measurement on the signal and background count rates and the instrumental resolution.Comment: 32 pages, 8 figures, eq. (3) correcte

The Los Alamos Trapped Ion Quantum Computer Experiment

The development and theory of an experiment to investigate quantum computation with trapped calcium ions is described. The ion trap, laser and ion requirements are determined, and the parameters required for quantum logic operations as well as simple quantum factoring are described.Comment: 41 pages, 16 figures, submitted to Fortschritte der Physi

Seasonal trends in PM2.5 source contributions in Beijing, China

The 24-h PM2.5 samples (particles with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less) were taken at 6-day intervals at five urban and rural sites simultaneously in Beijing, China for 1 month in each quarter of calendar year 2000. Samples at each site were combined into a monthly composite for the organic tracer analysis by GC/MS (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry). Compared to the data obtained from other metropolitan cities in the US, the PM2.5 mass and fine organic carbon (OC) concentrations in Beijing were much higher with an annual average of 101 and 20.9 μg m^(−3), respectively. Over one hundred organic compounds including unique tracers for important sources were quantified in PM2.5 in Beijing. Source apportionment of fine OC was conducted using chemical mass balance receptor model (CMB) in combination with particle-phase organic compounds as fitting tracers. Carbonaceous aerosols and major ions (sulfate, nitrate and ammonium) constituted 69% of PM2.5 mass on average. The major sources of PM2.5 mass in Beijing averaged over five sites on an annual basis were determined as dust (20%), secondary sulfate (17%), secondary nitrate (10%), coal combustion (7%), diesel and gasoline exhaust (7%), secondary ammonium (6%), biomass aerosol (6%), cigarette smoke (1%), and vegetative detritus (1%). The lowest PM2.5 mass concentration was found in January (60.9 μg m^(−3)), but the contribution of carbonaceous aerosol to PM2.5 mass was maximal during this season, accounting for 57% of the mass. During cold heating season, the contributions from coal combustion and biomass aerosol to PM2.5 mass increased, accounting for 20.9% of fine particle mass in October and 24.5% in January. The contribution of the biomass aerosols peaked in the fall. In April 2000, the impact of dust storms was so significant that dust alone constituted 36% of PM2.5 mass. On average, the model resolved 88% of the sources of the PM2.5 mass concentrations in Beijing

Establishment and Persistence of Yellow-Flowered Alfalfa No-Till Interseeded into Crested Wheatgrass Stands

Crested wheatgrass [Agropyron cristatum (L.) Gaertn., A. desertorum (Fisch. ex Link) Schult., and related taxa] often exists in near monoculture stands in the northern Great Plains. Introducing locally adapted yellow-flowered alfalfa [Medicago sativa L. subsp. falcata (L.) Arcang.] would complement crested wheatgrass. Our objective was to evaluate effects of seeding date, clethodim {(E) -2-[1-[[(3-chloro-2-propenyl)oxy]imino] propyl]-5-[2-(ethylthio)propyl]-3-hydroxy-2-cyclohexen-1-one} sod suppression, and seeding rate on initial establishment and stand persistence of Falcata, a predominantly yellow-flowered alfalfa, no-till interseeded into crested wheatgrass. Research was initiated in August 2008 at Newcastle, WY; Hettinger, ND; Fruitdale, SD; and Buffalo, SD. Effects of treatment factors on plant frequency during initial establishment were influenced by site environments. Late summer and spring were suitable seeding dates. Clethodim sod suppression increased seedling frequency in most cases. Seedling frequency increased as seeding rate increased from 0.56 to 7.84 kg pure live seed (PLS) ha–1. Specific seeding dates, clethodim sod suppression, and high seeding rates did not greatly improve initial establishment when site environments were poor. Residual effects of seeding date and sod suppression post establishment were not significant at most locations, but seeding rate effects were evident. Initial establishment and persistence of Falcata alfalfa was successful at Newcastle, indicating that interseeding in late summer or spring using low seeding rates (≤3.36 kg PLS ha–1) without clethodim can be effective. Assessing grass canopy cover, soil texture, and management (e.g., haying) is necessary to determine the suitability of crested wheatgrass sites for interseeding

Quantum Cryptography

Quantum cryptography is a new method for secret communications offering the ultimate security assurance of the inviolability of a Law of Nature. In this paper we shall describe the theory of quantum cryptography, its potential relevance and the development of a prototype system at Los Alamos, which utilises the phenomenon of single-photon interference to perform quantum cryptography over an optical fiber communications link.Comment: 36 pages in compressed PostScript format, 10 PostScript figures compressed tar fil

MRI sensing based on the displacement of paramagnetic ions from chelated complexes

We introduce a mechanism for ion sensing by MRI in which analytes compete with paramagnetic ions for binding to polydentate chelating agents. Displacement of the paramagnetic ions results in alteration of solvent interaction parameters and consequent changes in relaxivity and MRI contrast. The MRI changes can be tuned by the choice of chelator. As an example, we show that calcium-dependent displacement of Mn[superscript 2+] ions bound to EGTA and BAPTA results in a T[subscript 1]-weighted MRI signal increase, whereas displacement from calmodulin results in a signal decrease. The changes are ion selective and can be explained using relaxivity theory. The ratio of T[subscript 2] to T[subscript 1] relaxivity is also calcium-dependent, indicating the feasibility of “ratiometric” analyte detection, independent of the probe concentration. Measurement of paramagnetic ion displacement effects could be used to determine analyte ion concentrations with spatial resolution in opaque specimens.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant DP2-OD2441)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant R01-GM65519)McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT. Neurotechnology (MINT) Progra

Rural continental aerosol properties and processes observed during the Hohenpeissenberg Aerosol Characterization Experiment (HAZE2002)

International audienceDetailed investigations of the chemical and microphysical properties of rural continental aerosols were performed during the HAZE2002 experiment, which was conducted in May 2002 at the Meteorological Observatory Hohenpeissenberg (DWD) in Southern Germany. Online measurements included: Size-resolved chemical composition of submicron particles; total particle number concentrations and size distributions over the diameter range of 3 nm to 9 ?m; gas-phase concentration of monoterpenes, CO, O3, OH, and H2SO4. Filter sampling and offline analytical techniques were used to determine: Fine particle mass (PM2.5), organic, elemental and total carbon in PM2.5 (OC2.5, EC2.5, TC2.5), and selected organic compounds (dicarboxylic acids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, proteins). Overall, the non-refractory components of submicron particles detected by aerosol mass spectrometry (PM1, 6.6±5.4 ?g m?3, arithmetic mean and standard deviation) accounted for ~62% of PM2.5 determined by filter gravimetry (10.6±4.7 ?g m?3). The relative proportions of non-refractory submicron particle components were: (23±39)% ammonium nitrate, (27±23)% ammonium sulfate, and (50±40)% organics (OM1). OM1 was closely correlated with PM1 (r2=0.9) indicating a near-constant ratio of non-refractory organics and inorganics. The average ratio of OM1 to OC2.5 was 2.1±1.4, indicating a high proportion of heteroelements in the organic fraction of the sampled rural aerosol. This is consistent with the high ratio of oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA) over hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol (HOA) inferred from the AMS results (4:1), and also with the high abundance of proteins (~3%) indicating a high proportion of primary biological material (~30%) in PM2.5. This finding was confirmed by low abundance of PAHs (?3) and EC (?3) in PM2.5 and detection of several secondary organic aerosol compounds (dicarboxylic acids) and their precursors (monoterpenes). New particle formation was observed almost every day with particle number concentrations exceeding 104 cm?3 (nighttime background level 1000?2000 cm?3). Closer inspection of two major events indicated that the observed nucleation agrees with ternary H2SO4/H2O/NH3 nucleation and that condensation of both organic and inorganic species contributed to particle growth

An Evolutionary Cancer Epigenetic Approach Revealed DNA Hypermethylation of Ultra-Conserved Non-Coding Elements in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Different Mammalian Species

BACKGROUND: Ultra-conserved non-coding elements (UCNEs) are genomic sequences that exhibit > 95% sequence identity between humans, mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish. Recent findings reported their functional role in cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the DNA methylation modifications of UNCEs in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) from different mammal species. METHODS: Fifty SCCs from 26 humans, 17 cats, 3 dogs, 1 horse, 1 bovine, 1 badger, and 1 porcupine were investigated. Fourteen feline stomatitis and normal samples from 36 healthy human donors, 7 cats, 5 dogs, 5 horses, 2 bovines and 1 badger were collected as normal controls. Bisulfite next generation sequencing evaluated the DNA methylation level from seven UCNEs (uc.160, uc.283, uc.416, uc.339, uc.270, uc.299, and uc.328). RESULTS: 57/59 CpGs were significantly different according to the Kruskal-Wallis test (p < 0.05) comparing normal samples with SCC. A common DNA hypermethylation pattern was observed in SCCs from all the species evaluated in this study, with an increasing trend of hypermethylation starting from normal mucosa, through stomatitis to SCC. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that UCNEs are hypermethylated in human SCC, and this behavior is also conserved among different species of mammals

Observation of power-law scaling for phase transitions in linear trapped ion crystals

We report an experimental confirmation of the power-law relationship between the critical anisotropy parameter and ion number for the linear-to-zigzag phase transition in an ionic crystal. Our experiment uses laser cooled calcium ions confined in a linear radio-frequency trap. Measurements for up to 10 ions are in good agreement with theoretical and numeric predictions. Implications on an upper limit to the size of data registers in ion trap quantum computers are discussed.Comment: Physical Review Letters in press, 4 pages, 4 figure