720 research outputs found
Ab initio investigation of intermolecular interactions in solid benzene
A computational strategy for the evaluation of the crystal lattice constants
and cohesive energy of the weakly bound molecular solids is proposed. The
strategy is based on the high level ab initio coupled-cluster determination of
the pairwise additive contribution to the interaction energy. The
zero-point-energy correction and non-additive contributions to the interaction
energy are treated using density functional methods. The experimental crystal
lattice constants of the solid benzene are reproduced, and the value of 480
meV/molecule is calculated for its cohesive energy
Measurement of Magnetic-Field Structures in a Laser-Wakefield Accelerator
Experimental measurements of magnetic fields generated in the cavity of a
self-injecting laser-wakefield accelerator are presented. Faraday rotation is
used to determine the existence of multi-megagauss fields, constrained to a
transverse dimension comparable to the plasma wavelength and several plasma
wavelengths longitudinally. The fields are generated rapidly and move with the
driving laser. In our experiment, the appearance of the magnetic fields is
correlated to the production of relativistic electrons, indicating that they
are inherently tied to the growth and wavebreaking of the nonlinear plasma
wave. This evolution is confirmed by numerical simulations, showing that these
measurements provide insight into the wakefield evolution with high spatial and
temporal resolution
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High resolution monochromator for inelastic scattering studies of high energy phonons using undulator radiation at the advanced photon source
A monochromator for use at 13.84 keV with a calculated bandpass of 5.2 meV was designed built, and tested. Tuning was performed by rotating the inner crystal of a pair of nested silicon channel-cut crystals. The inner crystal employs the (884) reflection, and the outer crystal employs a collimating asymmetric (422) reflection (dynamical asymmetry factor, b, equal to {minus}17.5). Tests were done with a double-crystal Si(111) pre-monochromator situated upstream of the high resolution monochromator and a Si(777) backscattering crystal situated downstream. For this optical arrangement an ideal value of 6.3 meV as calculated by x-ray dynamical diffraction theory applies for the FWHM of the convolution of the net monochromator reflectivity function with that of the Si(777) reflection. This calculated value is to be compared to the value of 7.1 meV measured by tuning the high resolution monochromator. Measured efficiencies were less than ideal by a factor of 3.2 to 4.9, where the larger flux reduction factors were found with higher positron storage ring currents
Spectral shaping of laser generated proton beams
The rapid progress in the field of laser particle acceleration has stimulated a debate about the promising perspectives of laser based ion beam sources. For a long time, the beams produced exhibited quasi-thermal spectra. Recent proof-of-principle experiments demonstrated that ion beams with narrow energy distribution can be generated from special target geometries. However, the achieved spectra were strongly limited in terms of monochromacity and reproducibility. We show that microstructured targets can be used to reliably produce protons with monoenergetic spectra above 2 MeV with less than 10% energy spread. Detailed investigations of the effects of laser ablation on the target resulted in a significant improvement of the reproducibility. Based on statistical analysis, we derive a scaling law between proton peak position and laser energy, underlining the suitability of this method for future applications. Both the quality of the spectra and the scaling law are well reproduced by numerical simulations
Lattice dynamics and correlated atomic motion from the atomic pair distribution function
The mean-square relative displacements (MSRD) of atomic pair motions in
crystals are studied as a function of pair distance and temperature using the
atomic pair distribution function (PDF). The effects of the lattice vibrations
on the PDF peak widths are modelled using both a multi-parameter Born
von-Karman (BvK) force model and a single-parameter Debye model. These results
are compared to experimentally determined PDFs. We find that the near-neighbor
atomic motions are strongly correlated, and that the extent of this correlation
depends both on the interatomic interactions and crystal structure. These
results suggest that proper account of the lattice vibrational effects on the
PDF peak width is important in extracting information on static disorder in a
disordered system such as an alloy. Good agreement is obtained between the BvK
model calculations of PDF peak widths and the experimentally determined peak
widths. The Debye model successfully explains the average, though not detailed,
natures of the MSRD of atomic pair motion with just one parameter. Also the
temperature dependence of the Debye model largely agrees with the BvK model
predictions. Therefore, the Debye model provides a simple description of the
effects of lattice vibrations on the PDF peak widths.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figure
Common MicroRNA Signatures in Cardiac Hypertrophic and Atrophic Remodeling Induced by Changes in Hemodynamic Load
BACKGROUND: Mechanical overload leads to cardiac hypertrophy and mechanical unloading to cardiac atrophy. Both conditions produce similar transcriptional changes including a re-expression of fetal genes, despite obvious differences in phenotype. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are discussed as superordinate regulators of global gene networks acting mainly at the translational level. Here, we hypothesized that defined sets of miRNAs may determine the direction of cardiomyocyte plasticity responses. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We employed ascending aortic stenosis (AS) and heterotopic heart transplantation (HTX) in syngenic Lewis rats to induce mechanical overloading and unloading, respectively. Heart weight was 26±3% higher in AS (n = 7) and 33±2% lower in HTX (n = 7) as compared to sham-operated (n = 6) and healthy controls (n = 7). Small RNAs were enriched from the left ventricles and subjected to quantitative stem-loop specific RT-PCR targeting a panel of 351 miRNAs. In total, 153 miRNAs could be unambiguously detected. Out of 72 miRNAs previously implicated in the cardiovascular system, 40 miRNAs were regulated in AS and/or HTX. Overall, HTX displayed a slightly broader activation pattern for moderately regulated miRNAs. Surprisingly, however, the regulation of individual miRNA expression was strikingly similar in direction and amplitude in AS and HTX with no miRNA being regulated in opposite direction. In contrast, fetal hearts from Lewis rats at embryonic day 18 exhibited an entirely different miRNA expression pattern. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our findings demonstrate that opposite changes in cardiac workload induce a common miRNA expression pattern which is markedly different from the fetal miRNA expression pattern. The direction of postnatal adaptive cardiac growth does, therefore, not appear to be determined at the level of single miRNAs or a specific set of miRNAs. Moreover, miRNAs themselves are not reprogrammed to a fetal program in response to changes in hemodynamic load
Nuclear Inelastic X-Ray Scattering of FeO to 48 GPa
The partial density of vibrational states has been measured for Fe in
compressed FeO (w\"ustite) using nuclear resonant inelastic x-ray scattering.
Substantial changes have been observed in the overall shape of the density of
states close to the magnetic transiton around 20 GPa from the paramagnetic (low
pressure) to the antiferromagnetic (high pressure) state. Our data indicate a
substantial softening of the aggregate sound velocities far below the
transition, starting between 5 and 10 GPa. This is consistent with recent
radial x-ray diffraction measurements of the elastic constants in FeO. The
results indicate that strong magnetoelastic coupling in FeO is the driving
force behind the changes in the phonon spectrum of FeO.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Phonons and related properties of extended systems from density-functional perturbation theory
This article reviews the current status of lattice-dynamical calculations in
crystals, using density-functional perturbation theory, with emphasis on the
plane-wave pseudo-potential method. Several specialized topics are treated,
including the implementation for metals, the calculation of the response to
macroscopic electric fields and their relevance to long wave-length vibrations
in polar materials, the response to strain deformations, and higher-order
responses. The success of this methodology is demonstrated with a number of
applications existing in the literature.Comment: 52 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Review of Modern Physic
Study of photo-proton reactions driven by bremsstrahlung radiation of high-intensity laser generated electrons
Photo-nuclear reactions were investigated using a high power table-top laser. The laser system at the University of Jena ( I similar to 3-5 x 10(19) W cm(-2)) produced hard bremsstrahlung photons ( kT similar to 2(9 MeV) via a laser-gas interaction which served to induce ( gamma, p) and ( gamma, n) reactions in Mg, Ti, Zn and Mo isotopes. Several ( gamma, p) decay channels were identified using nuclear activation analysis to determine their integral reaction yields
Single hadron response measurement and calorimeter jet energy scale uncertainty with the ATLAS detector at the LHC
The uncertainty on the calorimeter energy response to jets of particles is
derived for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). First, the
calorimeter response to single isolated charged hadrons is measured and
compared to the Monte Carlo simulation using proton-proton collisions at
centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) = 900 GeV and 7 TeV collected during 2009
and 2010. Then, using the decay of K_s and Lambda particles, the calorimeter
response to specific types of particles (positively and negatively charged
pions, protons, and anti-protons) is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo
predictions. Finally, the jet energy scale uncertainty is determined by
propagating the response uncertainty for single charged and neutral particles
to jets. The response uncertainty is 2-5% for central isolated hadrons and 1-3%
for the final calorimeter jet energy scale.Comment: 24 pages plus author list (36 pages total), 23 figures, 1 table,
submitted to European Physical Journal
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