379 research outputs found
Lithium distribution across the membrane of motoneurons in the isolated frog spinal cord
Lithium sensitive microelectrodes were used to investigate the transmembrane distribution of lithium ions (Li+) in motoneurons of the isolated frog spinal cord. After addition of 5 mmol·lâ1 LiCl to the bathing solution the extracellular diffusion of Li+ was measured. At a depth of 500 m, about 60 min elapsed before the extracellular Li+ concentration approached that of the bathing solution. Intracellular measurements revealed that Li+ started to enter the cells soon after reaching the motoneuron pool and after up to 120 min superfusion, an intra â to extracellular concentration ratio of about 0.7 was obtained. The resting membrane potential and height of antidromically evoked action potentials were not altered by 5 mmol·lâ1 Li+
Supernova explosions and the birth of neutron stars
We report here on recent progress in understanding the birth conditions of
neutron stars and the way how supernovae explode. More sophisticated numerical
models have led to the discovery of new phenomena in the supernova core, for
example a generic hydrodynamic instability of the stagnant supernova shock
against low-mode nonradial deformation and the excitation of gravity-wave
activity in the surface and core of the nascent neutron star. Both can have
supportive or decisive influence on the inauguration of the explosion, the
former by improving the conditions for energy deposition by neutrino heating in
the postshock gas, the latter by supplying the developing blast with a flux of
acoustic power that adds to the energy transfer by neutrinos. While recent
two-dimensional models suggest that the neutrino-driven mechanism may be viable
for stars from about 8 solar masses to at least 15 solar masses, acoustic
energy input has been advocated as an alternative if neutrino heating fails.
Magnetohydrodynamic effects constitute another way to trigger explosions in
connection with the collapse of sufficiently rapidly rotating stellar cores,
perhaps linked to the birth of magnetars. The global explosion asymmetries seen
in the recent simulations offer an explanation of even the highest measured
kick velocities of young neutron stars.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, 19 ps files; to be published in Proc. of Conf.
"40 Years of Pulsars: Millisecond Pulsars, Magnetars, and More", August
12-17, 2007, McGill Univ., Montreal, Canada; high-resolution images can be
obtained upon request; incorrect panel in fig.8 replace
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
Neutrino fluence after r-process freeze-out and abundances of Te isotopes in presolar diamonds
Using the data of Richter et al. (1998) on Te isotopes in diamond grains from
a meteorite, we derive bounds on the neutrino fluence and the decay timescale
of the neutrino flux relevant for the supernova r-process. Our new bound on the
neutrino fluence F after freeze-out of the r-process peak at mass number A =
130 is more stringent than the previous bound F < 0.045 (in units of 10**37
erg/cm**2) of Qian et al. (1997) and Haxton et al. (1997) if the neutrino flux
decays on a timescale tau > 0.65 s. In particular, it requires that a fluence
of F = 0.031 be provided by a neutrino flux with tau < 0.84 s. Such a fluence
may be responsible for the production of the solar r-process abundances at A =
124-126 (Qian et al. 1997; Haxton et al. 1997). Our results are based on the
assumption that only the stable nuclei implanted into the diamonds are retained
while the radioactive ones are lost from the diamonds upon decay after
implantation (Ott 1996). We consider that the nanodiamonds are condensed in an
environment with C/O > 1 in the expanding supernova debris or from the exterior
H envelope. The implantation of nuclei would have occurred 10**4-10**6 s after
r-process freeze-out. This time interval may be marginally sufficient to permit
adequate cooling upon expansion for the formation of diamond grains. The
mechanisms of preferential retention/loss of the implanted nuclei are not well
understood.Comment: AASTeX, 11 pages, 3 Postscript figure
Asymmetric neutrino emission due to neutrino-nucleon scatterings in supernova magnetic fields
We derive the cross section of neutrino-nucleon scatterings in supernova
magnetic fields, including weak-magnetism and recoil corrections. Since the
weak interaction violates the parity, the scattering cross section
asymmetrically depends on the directions of the neutrino momenta to the
magnetic field; the origin of pulsar kicks may be explained by the mechanism.
An asymmetric neutrino emission (a drift flux) due to neutrino-nucleon
scatterings is absent at the leading level of , where
is the nucleon magneton, is the magnetic field strength, and is
the matter temperature at a neutrinosphere. This is because at this level the
drift flux of the neutrinos are exactly canceled by that of the antineutrinos.
Hence, the relevant asymmetry in the neutrino emission is suppressed by much
smaller coefficient of , where is the nucleon mass;
detailed form of the relevant drift flux is also derived from the scattering
cross section, using a simple diffusion approximation. It appears that the
asymmetric neutrino emission is too small to induce the observed pulsar kicks.
However, we note the fact that the drift flux is proportional to the deviation
of the neutrino distribution function from the value of thermal equilibrium at
neutrinosphere. Since the deviation can be large for non-electron neutrinos, it
is expected that there occurs cancellation between the deviation and the small
suppression factor of . Using a simple parameterization,
we show that the drift flux due to neutrino-nucleon scatterings may be
comparable to the leading term due to beta processes with nucleons, which has
been estimated to give a relevant kick velocity when the magnetic field is
sufficiently strong as -- G.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figure. Accepted by Physical Review
Neutrino capture by r-process waiting-point nuclei
We use the Quasiparticle Random Phase Approximation to include the effects of
low-lying Gamow-Teller and first forbidden strength in neutrino capture by very
neutron-rich nuclei with N = 50, 82, or 126. For electron neutrinos in what is
currently considered the most likely r-process site the capture cross sections
are two or more times previous estimates. We briefly discuss the reliability of
our calculations and their implications for nucleosynthesis.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Ligand hydrogenation during hydroformylation catalysis detected by in-situ high-pressure infra-red spectroscopic analysis of a rhodium/phospholene-phosphite catalyst
Phospholane-phosphites are known to give highly unusual selectivityâs towards branched aldehydes in the hydroformylation of terminal alkenes. This paper describes the synthesis of hitherto unknown unsaturated phospholene-borane precursors and their conversion to the corresponding phospholene-phosphites. The relative stereochemistry of one of these ligands, and itâs Pd complex was assigned with the aid of X-ray crystal structure determinations. These ligands were able to approach the level of selectivity observed for phospholane-phosphites in the rhodium catalysed hydroformylation of propene. High-Pressure-Infra-Red (HPIR) spectroscopic monitoring of the catalyst formation revealed that whilst the catalysts show good thermal stability with respect to fragmentation, the C=C bond in the phospholene is slowly hydrogenated in the presence of rhodium and syngas. The ability of this spectroscopic tool to detect even subtle changes in structure, remote from the carbonyl ligands underlines the usefulness of HPIR spectroscopy in hydroformylation catalyst development.Peer reviewe
Effect of ligand backbone on the selectivity and stability of rhodium hydroformylation catalysts derived from phospholane-phosphites
We thank the Eastman Chemical Company for funding and permission to publish. M.B. thanks the School of Chemistry and EaStCHEM for support.A study on how ligand backbone structure has an impact on selectivity, rate, and catalyst stability of hydroformylation catalysts was prompted by some longer-term stability issues being discovered for a phospholane-phosphite with a [âCH2Oâ] backbone. A series of phospholane-phosphite ligands were synthesized. Catalysts made in situ from these ligands and [Rh(acac)(CO)2] were found to give iso-butanal selectivities up to 75% at temperatures between 75 and 105 °C: the latter being a benchmark for iso-selectivity in reactions conducted at industrially meaningful temperatures. A racemic rhodium complex of a bidentate phospholane-phosphite from a tropos-biphenol with an extended backbone showed unusually high stability at high temperatures, combined with even better iso-selectivity in propene hydroformylation relative to the original complex. A related ligand with an electron-withdrawing group maintained the unusually high stability and improved activity. Characterization of the precatalysts of type [RhH(CO)2(L)] was accomplished using in situ HPIR spectroscopy and backed up by density functional theory calculations (B3PW91-D3 level) and by NMR studies; the latter showed that the variation of the backbone also had a pronounced impact on the precatalyst structure. A key finding is that it is now possible to prepare phospholane-phosphite ligands that deliver high iso-butanal selectivity and that show no signs of degradation after several days even above typical reaction temperatures. In one stability test, several kilograms of aldehydes were produced with TOF and selectivity being consistent over several days.PostprintPeer reviewe
Neutrino-induced neutron spallation and supernova r-process nucleosynthesis
In order to explore the consequences of the neutrino irradiation for the
supernova r-process nucleosynthesis, we calculate the rates of charged-current
and neutral-current neutrino reactions on neutron-rich heavy nuclei, and
estimate the average number of neutrons emitted in the resulting spallation.
Our results suggest that charged-current captures can be important in
breaking through the waiting-point nuclei at N=50 and 82, while still allowing
the formation of abundance peaks. Furthermore, after the r-process freezes out,
there appear to be distinctive neutral-current and charged-current
postprocessing effects. A subtraction of the neutrino postprocessing effects
from the observed solar r-process abundance distribution shows that two mass
regions, A=124-126 and 183-187, are inordinately sensitive to neutrino
postprocessing effects. This imposes very stringent bounds on the freeze-out
radii and dynamic timescales governing the r-process. Moreover, we find that
the abundance patterns within these mass windows are entirely consistent with
synthesis by neutrino interactions. This provides a strong argument that the
r-process must occur in the intense neutrino flux provided by a core-collapse
supernova.Comment: 34 pages, 4 PostScript figures, RevTe
Signal for supernova and neutrinos in water \v{C}erenkov detectors
We suggest that photons with energies between 5 and 10 MeV, generated by the
() and () reactions on O, constitute a
signal which allows a unique identification of supernova and
neutrinos in water \v{C}erenkov detectors. We calculate the yield of
such events and estimate that a few hundred of them would be detected
in Superkamiokande for a supernova at 10 kpc distance.Comment: 8 pages, RevTex 3.0, figures and text available at
http://www.krl.caltech.edu/preprints/MAP.htm
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