Neutron spin-echo study of the critical dynamics of spin-5/2 antiferromagnets in two and three dimensions

We report a neutron spin-echo study of the critical dynamics in the $S=5/2$ antiferromagnets MnF$_2$ and Rb$_2$MnF$_4$ with three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) spin systems, respectively, in zero external field. Both compounds are Heisenberg antiferromagnets with a small uniaxial anisotropy resulting from dipolar spin-spin interactions, which leads to a crossover in the critical dynamics close to the N\'eel temperature, $T_N$. By taking advantage of the $\mu\text{eV}$ energy resolution of the spin-echo spectrometer, we have determined the dynamical critical exponents $z$ for both longitudinal and transverse fluctuations. In MnF$_2$, both the characteristic temperature for crossover from 3D Heisenberg to 3D Ising behavior and the exponents $z$ in both regimes are consistent with predictions from the dynamical scaling theory. The amplitude ratio of longitudinal and transverse fluctuations also agrees with predictions. In Rb$_2$MnF$_4$, the critical dynamics crosses over from the expected 2D Heisenberg behavior for $T\gg T_N$ to a scaling regime with exponent $z = 1.387(4)$, which has not been predicted by theory and may indicate the influence of long-range dipolar interactions

Epitaxial growth of deposited amorphous layer by laser annealing

We demonstrate that a single short pulse of laser irradiation of appropriate energy is capable of recrystallizing in open air an amorphous Si layer deposited on a (100) single-crystal substrate into an epitaxial layer. The laser pulse annealing technique is shown to overcome the interfacial oxide obstacle which usually leads to polycrystalline formation in normal thermal annealing

Inhibition of dengue virus replication by novel inhibitors of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase and protease activities

Dengue virus (DENV) is the leading mosquito-transmitted viral infection in the world. With more than 390 million new infections annually, and up to 1 million clinical cases with severe disease manifestations, there continues to be a need to develop new antiviral agents against dengue infection. In addition, there is no approved anti-DENV agents for treating DENV-infected patients. In the present study, we identified new compounds with anti-DENV replication activity by targeting viral replication enzymes – NS5, RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and NS3 protease, using cell-based reporter assay. Subsequently, we performed an enzyme-based assay to clarify the action of these compounds against DENV RdRp or NS3 protease activity. Moreover, these compounds exhibited anti-DENV activity in vivo in the ICR-suckling DENV-infected mouse model. Combination drug treatment exhibited a synergistic inhibition of DENV replication. These results describe novel prototypical small anti-DENV molecules for further development through compound modification and provide potential antivirals for treating DENV infection and DENV-related diseases

The first products made in space: Monodisperse latex particles

The preparation of large particle size 3 to 30 micrometer monodisperse latexes in space confirmed that original rationale unequivocally. The flight polymerizations formed negligible amounts of coagulum as compared to increasing amounts for the ground-based polymerizations. The number of offsize large particles in the flight latexes was smaller than in the ground-based latexes. The particle size distribution broadened and more larger offsize particles were formed when the polymerizations of the partially converted STS-4 latexes were completed on Earth. Polymerization in space also showed other unanticipated advantages. The flight latexes had narrower particle size distributions than the ground-based latexes. The particles of the flight latexes were more perfect spheres than those of the ground-based latexes. The superior uniformity of the flight latexes was confirmed by the National Bureau of Standards acceptance of the 10 micrometer STS-6 latex and the 30 micrometer STS-11 latexes as Standard Reference Materials, the first products made in space for sale on Earth. The polymerization rates in space were the same as those on Earth within experimental error. Further development of the ground-based polymerization recipes gave monodisperse particles as large as 100 micrometer with tolerable levels of coagulum, but their uniformity was significantly poorer than the flight latexes. Careful control of the polymerization parameters gave uniform nonspherical particles: symmetrical and asymmetrical doublets, ellipsoids, egg-shaped, ice cream cone-shaped, and popcorn-shaped particles

Properties of continuous Fourier extension of the discrete cosine transform and its multidimensional generalization

A versatile method is described for the practical computation of the discrete Fourier transforms (DFT) of a continuous function $g(t)$ given by its values $g_{j}$ at the points of a uniform grid $F_{N}$ generated by conjugacy classes of elements of finite adjoint order $N$ in the fundamental region $F$ of compact semisimple Lie groups. The present implementation of the method is for the groups SU(2), when $F$ is reduced to a one-dimensional segment, and for $SU(2)\times ... \times SU(2)$ in multidimensional cases. This simplest case turns out to result in a transform known as discrete cosine transform (DCT), which is often considered to be simply a specific type of the standard DFT. Here we show that the DCT is very different from the standard DFT when the properties of the continuous extensions of these two discrete transforms from the discrete grid points $t_j; j=0,1, ... N$ to all points $t \in F$ are considered. (A) Unlike the continuous extension of the DFT, the continuous extension of (the inverse) DCT, called CEDCT, closely approximates $g(t)$ between the grid points $t_j$. (B) For increasing $N$, the derivative of CEDCT converges to the derivative of $g(t)$. And (C), for CEDCT the principle of locality is valid. Finally, we use the continuous extension of 2-dimensional DCT to illustrate its potential for interpolation, as well as for the data compression of 2D images.Comment: submitted to JMP on April 3, 2003; still waiting for the referee's Repor

NbSe3: Effect of Uniaxial Stress on the Threshold Field and Fermiology

We have measured the effect of uniaxial stress on the threshold field ET for the motion of the upper CDW in NbSe3. ET exhibits a critical behavior, ET ~ (1 - e/ec)^g, wher e is the strain, and ec is about 2.6% and g ~ 1.2. This ecpression remains valid over more than two decades of ET, up to the highest fields of about 1.5keV/m. Neither g nor ec is very sensitive to the impurity concentraction. The CDW transition temperature Tp decreases linearly with e at a rate dTp/de = -10K/%, and it does not show any anomaly near ec. Shubnikov de-Haas measurements show that the extremal area of the Fermi surface decreases with increasing strain. The results suggest that there is an intimate relationship between pinning of the upper CDW and the Fermiology of NbSe3.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure