1,186 research outputs found
Experimental Measurement of the Berry Curvature from Anomalous Transport
Geometrical properties of energy bands underlie fascinating phenomena in a
wide-range of systems, including solid-state materials, ultracold gases and
photonics. Most famously, local geometrical characteristics like the Berry
curvature can be related to global topological invariants such as those
classifying quantum Hall states or topological insulators. Regardless of the
band topology, however, any non-zero Berry curvature can have important
consequences, such as in the semi-classical evolution of a wave packet. Here,
we experimentally demonstrate for the first time that wave packet dynamics can
be used to directly map out the Berry curvature. To this end, we use optical
pulses in two coupled fibre loops to study the discrete time-evolution of a
wave packet in a 1D geometrical "charge" pump, where the Berry curvature leads
to an anomalous displacement of the wave packet under pumping. This is both the
first direct observation of Berry curvature effects in an optical system, and,
more generally, the proof-of-principle demonstration that semi-classical
dynamics can serve as a high-resolution tool for mapping out geometrical
properties
Probing elastic and inelastic breakup contributions to intermediate-energy two-proton removal reactions
The two-proton removal reaction from 28Mg projectiles has been studied at 93
MeV/u at the NSCL. First coincidence measurements of the heavy 26Ne projectile
residues, the removed protons and other light charged particles enabled the
relative cross sections from each of the three possible elastic and inelastic
proton removal mechanisms to be determined. These more final-state-exclusive
measurements are key for further interrogation of these reaction mechanisms and
use of the reaction channel for quantitative spectroscopy of very neutron-rich
nuclei. The relative and absolute yields of the three contributing mechanisms
are compared to reaction model expectations - based on the use of eikonal
dynamics and sd-shell-model structure amplitudes.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review C (Rapid Communication
Elastic breakup cross sections of well-bound nucleons
The 9Be(28Mg,27Na) one-proton removal reaction with a large proton separation
energy of Sp(28Mg)=16.79 MeV is studied at intermediate beam energy.
Coincidences of the bound 27Na residues with protons and other light charged
particles are measured. These data are analyzed to determine the percentage
contributions to the proton removal cross section from the elastic and
inelastic nucleon removal mechanisms. These deduced contributions are compared
with the eikonal reaction model predictions and with the previously measured
data for reactions involving the re- moval of more weakly-bound protons from
lighter nuclei. The role of transitions of the proton between different bound
single-particle configurations upon the elastic breakup cross section is also
quantified in this well-bound case. The measured and calculated elastic breakup
fractions are found to be in good agreement.Comment: Phys. Rev. C 2014 (accepted
Spectroscopic, Morphological and Mechanistic Investigation of the Solvent.Promoted Aggregation of Porphyrins Modified in meso-positions by Glucosylated steroids
Solvent-driven aggregation
of a series of porphyrin derivatives was
studied by UV/Vis and circular dichroism
spectroscopy. The porphyrins are
characterised by the presence in the
meso positions of steroidal moieties
further conjugated with glucosyl
groups. The presence of these groups
makes the investigated macrocycles
amphiphilic and soluble in aqueous solvent,
namely, dimethyl acetamide/
water. Aggregation of the macrocycles
is triggered by a change in bulk solvent
composition leading to formation of
large architectures that express supramolecular
chirality, steered by the presence
of the stereogenic centres on the
periphery of the macrocycles. The aggregation
behaviour and chiroptical
features of the aggregates are strongly
dependent on the number of moieties
decorating the periphery of the porphyrin
framework. In particular, experimental
evidence indicates that the
structure of the steroid linker dictates
the overall chirality of the supramolecular
architectures. Moreover, the porphyrin
concentration strongly affects
the aggregation mechanism and the
CD intensities of the spectra. Notably,
AFM investigations reveal strong differences
in aggregate morphology that
are dependent on the nature of the appended
functional groups, and closely
in line with the changes in aggregation
mechanism. The suprastructures
formed at lower concentration show a
network of long fibrous structures
spanning over tens of micrometres,
whereas the aggregates formed at
higher concentration have smaller rodshaped
structures that can be recognised
as the result of coalescence of
smaller globular structures. The fully
steroid substituted derivative forms
globular structures over the whole concentration
range explored. Finally, a rationale
for the aggregation phenomena
was given by semiempirical calculations
at the PM6 level
Correlations in Intermediate Energy Two-Proton Removal Reactions
We report final-state-exclusive measurements of the light charged fragments in coincidence with Ne26 residual nuclei following the direct two-proton removal from a neutron-rich Mg28 secondary beam. A Dalitz-plot analysis and comparisons with simulations show that a majority of the triple-coincidence events with two protons display phase-space correlations consistent with the (two-body) kinematics of a spatially correlated pair-removal mechanism. The fraction of such correlated events, 56(12)%, is consistent with the fraction of the calculated cross section, 64%, arising from spin S=0 two-proton configurations in the entrance-channel (shell-model) Mg28 ground state wave function. This result promises access to an additional and more specific probe of the spin and spatial correlations of valence nucleon pairs in exotic nuclei produced as fast secondary beams. � 2012 American Physical Society
Correlations in intermediate-energy two-proton removal reactions
We report final-state-exclusive measurements of the light charged fragments
in coincidence with 26Ne residual nuclei following the direct two-proton
removal from a neutron-rich 28Mg secondary beam. A Dalitz-plot analysis and
comparisons with simulations show that a majority of the triple- coincidence
events with two protons display phase-space correlations consistent with the
(two-body) kinematics of a spatially-correlated pair-removal mechanism. The
fraction of such correlated events, 56(12) %, is consistent with the fraction
of the calculated cross section, 64 %, arising from spin S = 0 two-proton
configurations in the entrance-channel (shell-model) 28Mg ground state wave
function. This result promises access to an additional and more specific probe
of the spin and spatial correlations of valence nucleon pairs in exotic nuclei
produced as fast secondary beams.Comment: accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter
Time-of-flight mass measurements of neutron-rich chromium isotopes up to N = 40 and implications for the accreted neutron star crust
We present the mass excesses of 59-64Cr, obtained from recent time-of-flight
nuclear mass measurements at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory
at Michigan State University. The mass of 64Cr is determined for the first
time, with an atomic mass excess of -33.48(44) MeV. We find a significantly
different two-neutron separation energy S2n trend for neutron-rich isotopes of
chromium, removing the previously observed enhancement in binding at N=38.
Additionally, we extend the S2n trend for chromium to N=40, revealing behavior
consistent with the previously identified island of inversion in this region.
We compare our results to state-of-the-art shell-model calculations performed
with a modified Lenzi-Nowacki-Poves-Sieja interaction in the fp shell,
including the g9/2 and d5/2 orbits for the neutron valence space. We employ our
result for the mass of 64Cr in accreted neutron star crust network calculations
and find a reduction in the strength and depth of electron-capture heating from
the A=64 isobaric chain, resulting in a cooler than expected accreted neutron
star crust. This reduced heating is found to be due to the >1-MeV reduction in
binding for 64Cr with respect to values from commonly used global mass models.Comment: Accepted to Physical Review
Matrix Models and D-branes in Twistor String Theory
We construct two matrix models from twistor string theory: one by dimensional
reduction onto a rational curve and another one by introducing noncommutative
coordinates on the fibres of the supertwistor space P^(3|4)->CP^1. We comment
on the interpretation of our matrix models in terms of topological D-branes and
relate them to a recently proposed string field theory. By extending one of the
models, we can carry over all the ingredients of the super ADHM construction to
a D-brane configuration in the supertwistor space P^(3|4). Eventually, we
present the analogue picture for the (super) Nahm construction.Comment: 1+37 pages, reference added, JHEP style, published versio
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