4,103 research outputs found
Adding Salt to an Aqueous Solution of t-Butanol: Is Hydrophobic Association Enhanced or Reduced?
Recent neutron scattering experiments on aqueous salt solutions of
amphiphilic t-butanol by Bowron and Finney [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 89}, 215508
(2002); J. Chem. Phys. {\bf 118}, 8357 (2003)] suggest the formation of
t-butanol pairs, bridged by a chloride ion via
hydrogen-bonds, and leading to a reduced number of intermolecular hydrophobic
butanol-butanol contacts. Here we present a joint experimental/theoretical
study on the same system, using a combination of molecular dynamics simulations
and nuclear magnetic relaxation measurements. Both theory and experiment
clearly support the more intuitive scenario of an enhanced number of
hydrophobic contacts in the presence of the salt, as it would be expected for
purely hydrophobic solutes [J. Phys. Chem. B {\bf 107}, 612 (2003)]. Although
our conclusions arrive at a structurally completely distinct scenario, the
molecular dynamics simulation results are within the experimental errorbars of
the Bowron and Finney work.Comment: 15 pages twocolumn revtex, 11 figure
Spatial characterization of the magnetic field profile of a probe tip used in magnetic resonance force microscopy
We have developed the experimental approach to characterize spatial
distribution of the magnetic field produced by cantilever tips used in magnetic
resonance force microscopy (MRFM). We performed MRFM measurements on a well
characterized diphenyl-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) film and mapped the 3D field
profile produced by a Nd2Fe14B probe tip. Using our technique field profiles of
arbitrarily shaped probe magnets can be imaged.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Enhanced dynamic nuclear polarization via swept microwave frequency combs
Dynamic Nuclear Polarization (DNP) has enabled enormous gains in magnetic
resonance signals and led to vastly accelerated NMR/MRI imaging and
spectroscopy. Unlike conventional cw-techniques, DNP methods that exploit the
full electron spectrum are appealing since they allow direct participation of
all electrons in the hyperpolarization process. Such methods typically entail
sweeps of microwave radiation over the broad electron linewidth to excite DNP,
but are often inefficient because the sweeps, constrained by adiabaticity
requirements, are slow. In this paper we develop a technique to overcome the
DNP bottlenecks set by the slow sweeps, employing a swept microwave frequency
comb that increases the effective number of polarization transfer events while
respecting adiabaticity constraints. This allows a multiplicative gain in DNP
enhancement, scaling with the number of comb frequencies and limited only by
the hyperfine-mediated electron linewidth. We demonstrate the technique for the
optical hyperpolarization of 13C nuclei in powdered microdiamonds at low
fields, increasing the DNP enhancement from 30 to 100 measured with respect to
the thermal signal at 7T. For low concentrations of broad linewidth electron
radicals, e.g. TEMPO, these multiplicative gains could exceed an order of
magnitude.Comment: Contains supplementary inf
Charge degree of freedom and single-spin fluid model in YBa_2Cu_4O_8
We present a 17O nuclear magnetic resonance study in the stoichiometric
superconductor YBa_2Cu_4O_8. A double irradiation method enables us to show
that, below around 180 K, the spin-lattice relaxation rate of plane oxygen is
not only driven by magnetic, but also significantly by quadrupolar
fluctuations, i.e. low-frequency charge fluctuations. In the superconducting
state, on lowering the temperature, the quadrupolar relaxation diminishes
faster than the magnetic one. These findings show that, with the opening of the
pseudo spin gap, a charge degree of freedom of mainly oxygen character is
present in the electronic low-energy excitation spectrum.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, REVTE
Intense beam of metastable Muonium
Precision spectroscopy of the Muonium Lamb shift and fine structure requires
a robust source of 2S Muonium. To date, the beam-foil technique is the only
demonstrated method for creating such a beam in vacuum. Previous experiments
using this technique were statistics limited, and new measurements would
benefit tremendously from the efficient 2S production at a low energy muon
( keV) facility. Such a source of abundant low energy has
only become available in recent years, e.g. at the Low-Energy Muon beamline at
the Paul Scherrer Institute. Using this source, we report on the successful
creation of an intense, directed beam of metastable Muonium. We find that even
though the theoretical Muonium fraction is maximal in the low energy range of
keV, scattering by the foil and transport characteristics of the beamline
favor slightly higher energies of keV. We estimate that
an event detection rate of a few events per second for a future Lamb shift
measurement is feasible, enabling an increase in precision by two orders of
magnitude over previous determinations
Direct observation of non-local effects in a superconductor
We have used the technique of low energy muon spin rotation to measure the
local magnetic field profile B(z) beneath the surface of a lead film maintained
in the Meissner state (z depth from the surface, z <= 200 nm). The data
unambiguously show that B(z) clearly deviates from an exponential law and
represent the first direct, model independent proof for a non-local response in
a superconductor.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Quantum Critical Behavior in Disordered Itinerant Ferromagnets: Instability of the Ferromagnetic Phase
An effective field theory is derived that describes the quantum critical
behavior of itinerant ferromagnets as the transition is approached from the
ferromagnetic phase. This complements a recent study of the critical behavior
on the paramagnetic side of the phase transition, and investigates the role of
the ferromagnetic Goldstone modes near criticality. We find that the Goldstone
modes have no direct impact on the critical behavior, and that the critical
exponents are the same as determined by combining results from the paramagnetic
phase with scaling arguments.Comment: 11 pp., revtex4, no fig
Observation of non-exponential magnetic penetration profiles in the Meissner state - A manifestation of non-local effects in superconductors
Implanting fully polarized low energy muons on the nanometer scale beneath
the surface of a superconductor in the Meissner state enabled us to probe the
evanescent magnetic field profile B(z)(0<z<=200nm measured from the surface).
All the investigated samples [Nb: kappa \simeq 0.7(2), Pb: kappa \simeq 0.6(1),
Ta: kappa \simeq 0.5(2)] show clear deviations from the simple exponential B(z)
expected in the London limit, thus revealing the non-local response of these
superconductors. From a quantitative analysis within the Pippard and BCS models
the London penetration depth lambda_L is extracted. In the case of Pb also the
clean limit coherence length xi0 is obtained. Furthermore we find that the
temperature dependence of the magnetic penetration depth follows closely the
two-fluid expectation 1/lambda^2 \propto 1-(T/T_c)^4. While B(z) for Nb and Pb
are rather well described within the Pippard and BCS models, for Ta this is
only true to a lesser degree. We attribute this discrepancy to the fact that
the superfluid density is decreased by approaching the surface on a length
scale xi0. This effect, which is not taken self-consistently into account in
the mentioned models, should be more pronounced in the lowest kappa regime
consistently with our findings.Comment: accepted in PRB 14 pages, 17 figure
A suggested search for 207Pb nuclear Schiff moment in PbTiO3 ferroelectric
We suggest two types of experiments, NMR and macroscopic magnetometry, with
solid PbTiO3 to search for the nuclear Schiff moment of 207Pb. Both kinds of
experiments promise substantial improvement over the presently achieved
sensitivities. Statistical considerations show that the improvement of the
current sensitivity can be up to 10 orders of magnitude for the magnetometry
experiment and up to 6 orders of magnitude for the NMR experiment. Such
significant enhancement is due to the strong internal electric field of the
ferroelectric, as well as due to the possibility to cool the nuclear-spin
subsystem in the compound down to nanokelvin temperatures.Comment: 4 pages; revised sensitivity estimate for NMR experimen
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