A non-LTE study of neutral and singly-ionized iron line spectra in 1D models of the Sun and selected late-type stars

A comprehensive model atom for Fe with more than 3000 energy levels is presented. As a test and first application of this model atom, Fe abundances are determined for the Sun and five stars with well determined stellar parameters and high-quality observed spectra. Non-LTE leads to systematically depleted total absorption in the Fe I lines and to positive abundance corrections in agreement with the previous studies, however, the magnitude of non-LTE effect is smaller compared to the earlier results. Non-LTE corrections do not exceed 0.1 dex for the solar metallicity and mildly metal-deficient stars, and they vary within 0.21 dex and 0.35 dex in the very metal-poor stars HD 84937 and HD 122563, respectively, depending on the assumed efficiency of collisions with hydrogen atoms. Based on the analysis of the Fe I/Fe II ionization equilibrium in these two stars, we recommend to apply the Drawin formalism in non-LTE studies of Fe with a scaling factor of 0.1. For the Fe II lines, non-LTE corrections do not exceed 0.01 dex in absolute value. The solar non-LTE abundance obtained from 54 Fe I lines is 7.56+-0.09 and the abundance from 18 Fe II lines varies between 7.41+-0.11 and 7.56+-0.05 depending on the source of the gf-values. Thus, gf-values available for the iron lines are not accurate enough to pursue high-accuracy absolute abundance determinations. Lines of Fe I give, on average, a 0.1 dex lower abundance compared to those of Fe II lines for HD 61421 and HD 102870, even when applying a differential analysis relative to the Sun. A disparity between Fe I and Fe II points to problems of stellar atmosphere modelling or/and effective temperature determination.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, online material, accepted by A&

Possible nodal superconducting gap emerging at the Lifshitz transition in heavily hole-doped Ba0.1K0.9Fe2As2

We performed a high energy resolution ARPES investigation of over-doped Ba0.1K0.9Fe2As2 with T_c= 9 K. The Fermi surface topology of this material is similar to that of KFe2As2 and differs from that of slightly less doped Ba0.3K0.7Fe2As2, implying that a Lifshitz transition occurred between x=0.7 and x=0.9. Albeit for a vertical node found at the tip of the emerging off-M-centered Fermi surface pocket lobes, the superconducting gap structure is similar to that of Ba0.3K0.7Fe2As2, suggesting that the paring interaction is not driven by the Fermi surface topology.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Microbubble Cavitation Imaging

Ultrasound cavitation of microbubble contrast agents has a potential for therapeutic applications such as sonothrombolysis (STL) in acute ischemic stroke. For safety, efficacy, and reproducibility of treatment, it is critical to evaluate the cavitation state (moderate oscillations, stable cavitation, and inertial cavitation) and activity level in and around a treatment area. Acoustic passive cavitation detectors (PCDs) have been used to this end but do not provide spatial information. This paper presents a prototype of a 2-D cavitation imager capable of producing images of the dominant cavitation state and activity level in a region of interest. Similar to PCDs, the cavitation imaging described here is based on the spectral analysis of the acoustic signal radiated by the cavitating microbubbles: ultraharmonics of the excitation frequency indicate stable cavitation, whereas elevated noise bands indicate inertial cavitation; the absence of both indicates moderate oscillations. The prototype system is a modified commercially available ultrasound scanner with a sector imaging probe. The lateral resolution of the system is 1.5 mm at a focal depth of 3 cm, and the axial resolution is 3 cm for a therapy pulse length of 20 mu s. The maximum frame rate of the prototype is 2 Hz. The system has been used for assessing and mapping the relative importance of the different cavitation states of a microbubble contrast agent. In vitro (tissue-mimicking flow phantom) and in vivo (heart, liver, and brain of two swine) results for cavitation states and their changes as a function of acoustic amplitude are presented

Effects Of Attenuation And Thrombus Age On The Success Of Ultrasound And Microbubble-Mediated Thrombus Dissolution

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of applied mechanical index, incident angle, attenuation and thrombus age on the ability of 2-D vs. 3-D diagnostic ultrasound and microbubbles to dissolve thrombi. A total of 180 occlusive porcine arterial thrombi of varying age (3 or 6 h) were examined in a flow system. A tissue-mimicking phantom of varying thickness (5 to 10 cm) was placed over the thrombosed vessel and the 2-D or 3-D diagnostic transducer aligned with the thrombosed vessel using a positioning system. Diluted lipid-encapsulated microbubbles were infused during ultrasound application. Percent thrombus dissolution (%TD) was calculated by comparison of clot mass before and after treatment. Both 2-D and 3-D-guided ultrasound increased %TD compared with microbubbles alone, but %TD achieved with 6-h-old thrombi was significantly less than 3-h-old thrombi. Thrombus dissolution was achieved at 10 cm tissue-mimicking depths, even without inertial cavitation. In conclusion, diagnostic 2-D or 3-D ultrasound can dissolve thrombi with intravenous nontargeted microbubbles, even at tissue attenuation distances of up to 10 cm. This treatment modality is less effective, however, for older aged thrombi. (E-mail: [email protected]) (C) 2011 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology

Nodeless superconductivity in the noncentrosymmetric Mo3_3Rh2_2N superconductor: a μ\muSR study

The noncentrosymmetric superconductor Mo$_3$Rh$_2$N, with $T_c = 4.6$ K, adopts a $\beta$-Mn-type structure (space group $P$4$_1$32), similar to that of Mo$_3$Al$_2$C. Its bulk superconductivity was characterized by magnetization and heat-capacity measurements, while its microscopic electronic properties were investigated by means of muon-spin rotation and relaxation ($\mu$SR). The low-temperature superfluid density, measured via transverse-field (TF)-$\mu$SR, evidences a fully-gapped superconducting state with $\Delta_0 = 1.73 k_\mathrm{B}T_c$, very close to 1.76 $k_\mathrm{B}T_c$ - the BCS gap value for the weak coupling case, and a magnetic penetration depth $\lambda_0 = 586$ nm. The absence of spontaneous magnetic fields below the onset of superconductivity, as determined by zero-field (ZF)-$\mu$SR measurements, hints at a preserved time-reversal symmetry in the superconducting state. Both TF-and ZF-$\mu$SR results evidence a spin-singlet pairing in Mo$_3$Rh$_2$N.Comment: 5 figures and 5 pages. Accepted for publication as a Rapid Communication in Phys. Rev.