153 research outputs found
Our Burden of Burdens
Judge Lloyd L. Wiehl critically examines the different standards utiliced by the Washington Supreme Court to measure and describe the burden of proof in civil cases. He concludes that the present formulas should be converted into standards based on the probability theory
Instructing a Jury in Washington
One of the most burdensome, time-consuming and vexing aspects of a jury trial is the preparation of jury instructions. Several matters in the area of instructions are particularly troublesome in Washington, and the purpose of this article is to analyze some of them, point out certain pitfalls, and make certain suggestions, with emphasis on simplification and standardization
April 15, 2009
The properties of iron nanostructures prepared by shallow incidence molecular beam epitaxy on faceted ?-Al2O3 (100) (m plane) are described. Depending on the angle of deposition with regard to the sapphire surface, the morphology of the structures reaches from pearl-necklet-like strung nanodrops to laced nanowires. Crystallographic measurements reveal at least four epitaxial close to (211)-oriented twins. Magnetization measurements performed at room temperature in a vibrating sample magnetometer and magneto-optical Kerr rotation measurements reveal an easy axis of magnetization close to the facet ridges. Still, the shape of the hysteresis loops depends strongly on the morphology of the samples. The magnetization reversal process can be described by the formation of a magnetic vortex structure
Distinct magnetic regimes through site-selective atom substitution in the frustrated quantum antiferromagnet CsCuClBr
We report on a systematic study of the magnetic properties on single crystals
of the solid solution CsCuClBr (0 x 4), which
include the two known end-member compounds CsCuCl and CsCuBr,
classified as quasi-two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnets with different
degrees of magnetic frustration. By comparative measurements of the magnetic
susceptibility () on as many as eighteen different Br concentrations,
we found that the inplane and out-of-plane magnetic correlations, probed by the
position and height of a maximum in the magnetic susceptibility, respectively,
do not show a smooth variation with x. Instead three distinct concentration
regimes can be identified, which are separated by critical concentrations
x = 1 and x = 2. This unusual magnetic behavior can be explained
by considering the structural peculiarities of the materials, especially the
distorted Cu-halide tetrahedra, which support a site-selective replacement of
Cl- by Br- ions. Consequently, the critical concentrations x (x)
mark particularly interesting systems, where one (two) halidesublattice
positions are fully occupied.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure
Resistivity studies under hydrostatic pressure on a low-resistance variant of the quasi-2D organic superconductor kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br: quest for intrinsic scattering contributions
Resistivity measurements have been performed on a low (LR)- and high
(HR)-resistance variant of the kappa-(BEDT-TTF)_2Cu[N(CN)_2]Br superconductor.
While the HR sample was synthesized following the standard procedure, the LR
crystal is a result of a somewhat modified synthesis route. According to their
residual resistivities and residual resistivity ratios, the LR crystal is of
distinctly superior quality. He-gas pressure was used to study the effect of
hydrostatic pressure on the different transport regimes for both variants. The
main results of these comparative investigations are (i) a significant part of
the inelastic-scattering contribution, which causes the anomalous rho(T)
maximum in standard HR crystals around 90 K, is sample dependent, i.e.
extrinsic in nature, (ii) the abrupt change in rho(T) at T* approx. 40 K from a
strongly temperature-dependent behavior at T > T* to an only weakly T-dependent
rho(T) at T < T* is unaffected by this scattering contribution and thus marks
an independent property, most likely a second-order phase transition, (iii)
both variants reveal a rho(T) proportional to AT^2 dependence at low
temperatures, i.e. for T_c < T < T_0, although with strongly sample-dependent
coefficients A and upper bounds for the T^2 behavior measured by T_0. The
latter result is inconsistent with the T^2 dependence originating from coherent
Fermi-liquid excitations.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
An Improved Neutron Electric Dipole Moment Experiment
A new measurement of the neutron EDM, using Ramsey's method of separated
oscillatory fields, is in preparation at the new high intensity source of
ultra-cold neutrons (UCN) at the Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
(PSI). The existence of a non-zero nEDM would violate both parity and time
reversal symmetry and, given the CPT theorem, might lead to a discovery of new
CP violating mechanisms. Already the current upper limit for the nEDM
(|d_n|<2.9E-26 e.cm) constrains some extensions of the Standard Model.
The new experiment aims at a two orders of magnitude reduction of the
experimental uncertainty, to be achieved mainly by (1) the higher UCN flux
provided by the new PSI source, (2) better magnetic field control with improved
magnetometry and (3) a double chamber configuration with opposite electric
field directions.
The first stage of the experiment will use an upgrade of the RAL/Sussex/ILL
group's apparatus (which has produced the current best result) moved from
Institut Laue-Langevin to PSI. The final accuracy will be achieved in a further
step with a new spectrometer, presently in the design phase.Comment: Flavor Physics & CP Violation Conference, Taipei, 200
Cubic boron nitride: a new prospective material for ultracold neutron application
For the first time, the neutron optical wall-potential of natural cubic boron
nitride (cBN) was measured at the ultracold neutron (UCN) source of the
research reactor TRIGA Mainz using the time-of-flight method (TOF). The samples
investigated had a wall-potential of (305 +/- 15) neV. This value is in good
agreement with the result extracted from neutron reflectometry data and
theoretical expectations. Because of its high critical velocity for UCN and its
good dielectric characteristics, cubic boron nitride coatings (isotopically
enriched) will be useful for a number of applications in UCN experiments
The Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX)
Aims. The Spectrometer Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX) on Solar Orbiter is a hard X-ray imaging spectrometer, which covers the energy range from 4 to 150 keV. STIX observes hard X-ray bremsstrahlung emissions from solar flares and therefore provides diagnostics of the hottest (⪆10 MK) flare plasma while quantifying the location, spectrum, and energy content of flare-accelerated nonthermal electrons.
Methods. To accomplish this, STIX applies an indirect bigrid Fourier imaging technique using a set of tungsten grids (at pitches from 0.038 to 1 mm) in front of 32 coarsely pixelated CdTe detectors to provide information on angular scales from 7 to 180 arcsec with 1 keV energy resolution (at 6 keV). The imaging concept of STIX has intrinsically low telemetry and it is therefore well-suited to the limited resources available to the Solar Orbiter payload. To further reduce the downlinked data volume, STIX data are binned on board into 32 selectable energy bins and dynamically-adjusted time bins with a typical duration of 1 s during flares.
Results. Through hard X-ray diagnostics, STIX provides critical information for understanding the acceleration of electrons at the Sun and their transport into interplanetary space and for determining the magnetic connection of Solar Orbiter back to the Sun. In this way, STIX serves to link Solar Orbiter’s remote and in-situ measurements
Alpha-Photon Coincidence Spectroscopy Along Element 115 Decay Chains
Produced in the reaction 48Ca+243Am, thirty correlated α-decay chains were observed in an experiment conducted at the GSI Helmholzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt, Germany. The decay chains are basically consistent with previous findings and are considered to originate from isotopes of element 115 with mass numbers 287, 288, and 289. A set-up aiming specifically for high-resolution charged particle and photon coincidence spectroscopy was placed behind the gas-filled separator TASCA. For the first time, γ rays as well as X-ray candidates were observed in prompt coincidence with the α-decay chains of element 115
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