Atom-molecule collisions in an optically trapped gas

Cold inelastic collisions between confined cesium (Cs) atoms and Cs$\_2$ molecules are investigated inside a CO$\_2$ laser dipole trap. Inelastic atom-molecule collisions can be observed and measured with a rate coefficient of $\sim 2.5 \times 10^{-11}$cm$^3$ s$^{-1}$, mainly independent of the molecular ro-vibrational state populated. Lifetimes of purely atomic and molecular samples are essentially limited by rest gas collisions. The pure molecular trap lifetime ranges 0,3-1 s, four times smaller than the atomic one, as is also observed in a pure magnetic trap. We give an estimation of the inelastic molecule-molecule collision rate to be $\sim 10^{-11}$ cm$^{3}$ s$^{-1}$

Carbonation cell materials compatibility

Material test and evaluation program for compatibility of materials with alkaline and acid electrolyte environments of carbonation cell syste

Kondo Insulator description of spin state transition in FeSb2

The thermal expansion and heat capacity of FeSb2 at ambient pressure agrees with a picture of a temperature induced spin state transition within the Fe t_{2g} multiplet. However, high pressure powder diffraction data show no sign of a structural phase transition up to 7GPa. A bulk modulus B=84(3)GPa has been extracted and the temperature dependence of the Gruneisen parameter has been determined. We discuss here the relevance of a Kondo insulator description for this material.Comment: Physical Review B in press (2005

The sulfur cycle

Author Posting. © Oceanography Society, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 20, 2 (2007): 117-123.The ocean represents a major reservoir of sulfur on Earth, with large quantities in the form of dissolved sulfate and sedimentary minerals (e.g., gypsum and pyrite). Sulfur occurs in a variety of valence states, ranging from –2 (as in sulfide and reduced organic sulfur) to +6 (as in sulfate). Sulfate is the most stable form of sulfur on today’s oxic Earth; weathering and leaching of rocks and sediments are its main sources to the ocean. In addition, the reduced inorganic forms of sulfur, with oxidation states of –2 and 0 (as in elemental sulfur) are quite common in anoxic environments, with sulfur compounds of mixed valence states (e.g., thiosulfate and polythionates) produced transiently. The natural release of volatile organic sulfur compounds from the ocean, mainly as dimethyl sulfide (DMS), transports sulfur from the ocean to terrestrial regions, and it also affects atmospheric chemistry and the climate system. While they remain very important, natural sulfur emissions have currently been overtaken by anthropogenic emissions, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels.Preparation of this manuscript was partially supported by National Science Foundation grant OCE-0452333 and a fellowship from the Hanse- Wissenschaftskolleg (http://www. h-w-k.de) to SMS, National Science Foundation grants OPP-0230497 and OPP-0083078 to RPK, as well as the Research Center Ocean Margins (RCOM) of the University of Bremen (Germany) to HNSV (RCOM-Nr. 0476)

Augmented Reality in Astrophysics

Augmented Reality consists of merging live images with virtual layers of information. The rapid growth in the popularity of smartphones and tablets over recent years has provided a large base of potential users of Augmented Reality technology, and virtual layers of information can now be attached to a wide variety of physical objects. In this article, we explore the potential of Augmented Reality for astrophysical research with two distinct experiments: (1) Augmented Posters and (2) Augmented Articles. We demonstrate that the emerging technology of Augmented Reality can already be used and implemented without expert knowledge using currently available apps. Our experiments highlight the potential of Augmented Reality to improve the communication of scientific results in the field of astrophysics. We also present feedback gathered from the Australian astrophysics community that reveals evidence of some interest in this technology by astronomers who experimented with Augmented Posters. In addition, we discuss possible future trends for Augmented Reality applications in astrophysics, and explore the current limitations associated with the technology. This Augmented Article, the first of its kind, is designed to allow the reader to directly experiment with this technology.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap&SS. The final publication will be available at link.springer.co

Screening and Anti-Screening Effects in J/psi Production on Nuclei

The nuclear effects in J/psi hadro- and electroproduction on nuclei are considered in framework of reggeon approach. It is shown that screening regime which holds for electroproduction at x_F > 0.7 and for hadroproduction at x_F > -(0.3-0.4) is changed with anti-screening regime for smaller x_F values.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures. Small changes in wordin

Star clusters dynamics in a laboratory: electrons in an ultracold plasma

Electrons in a spherical ultracold quasineutral plasma at temperature in the Kelvin range can be created by laser excitation of an ultra-cold laser cooled atomic cloud. The dynamical behavior of the electrons is similar to the one described by conventional models of stars clusters dynamics. The single mass component, the spherical symmetry and no stars evolution are here accurate assumptions. The analog of binary stars formations in the cluster case is three-body recombination in Rydberg atoms in the plasma case with the same Heggie's law: soft binaries get softer and hard binaries get harder. We demonstrate that the evolution of such an ultracold plasma is dominated by Fokker-Planck kinetics equations formally identical to the ones controlling the evolution of a stars cluster. The Virial theorem leads to a link between the plasma temperature and the ions and electrons numbers. The Fokker-Planck equation is approximate using gaseous and fluid models. We found that the electrons are in a Kramers-Michie-King's type quasi-equilibrium distribution as stars in clusters. Knowing the electron distribution and using forced fast electron extraction we are able to determine the plasma temperature knowing the trapping potential depth.Comment: Submitted to MNRA

On the Solutions of the Lorentz-Dirac Equation

We discuss the unstable character of the solutions of the Lorentz-Dirac equation and stress the need of methods like order reduction to derive a physically acceptable equation of motion. The discussion is illustrated with the paradigmatic example of the non-relativistic harmonic oscillator with radiation reaction. We also illustrate removal of the noncasual pre-acceleration with the introduction of a small correction in the Lorentz-Dirac equation.Comment: 4 eps figs. to be published in GR