3,312 research outputs found
Z-dependent Barriers in Multifragmentation from Poissonian Reducibility and Thermal Scaling
We explore the natural limit of binomial reducibility in nuclear
multifragmentation by constructing excitation functions for intermediate mass
fragments (IMF) of a given element Z. The resulting multiplicity distributions
for each window of transverse energy are Poissonian. Thermal scaling is
observed in the linear Arrhenius plots made from the average multiplicity of
each element. ``Emission barriers'' are extracted from the slopes of the
Arrhenius plots and their possible origin is discussed.Comment: 15 pages including 4 .ps figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Letters.
Also available at http://csa5.lbl.gov/moretto
Modeling a Slicer Mirror Using Zemax User-Defined Surface
A slicer mirror is a complex surface composed by many tilted and decentered
mirrors sub-surfaces. The major difficulty to model such a complex surface is
the large number of parameters used to define it. The Zemax's
multi-configuration mode is usually used to specify each parameters (tilts,
curvatures, decenters) for each mirror sub-surface which are then considered
independently. Otherwise making use of the User-Defined Surface (UDS-DLL) Zemax
capability, we are able to consider the set of sub-surfaces as a whole surface.
In this paper, we present such a UDS-DLL tool comparing its performance with
those of the classical multi-configuration mode. In particular, we explore the
use of UDS-DLL to investigate the cross-talk due to the diffraction on the
slicer array mirrors which has been a burden task when using
multi-configuration mode.Comment: Submitted to the proceedings of the Durham Integral Field
Spectroscopy Workshop July 4th-8th 200
Compound nuclear decay and the liquid to vapor phase transition: a physical picture
Analyses of multifragmentation in terms of the Fisher droplet model (FDM) and
the associated construction of a nuclear phase diagram bring forth the problem
of the actual existence of the nuclear vapor phase and the meaning of its
associated pressure. We present here a physical picture of fragment production
from excited nuclei that solves this problem and establishes the relationship
between the FDM and the standard compound nucleus decay rate for rare particles
emitted in first-chance decay. The compound thermal emission picture is
formally equivalent to a FDM-like equilibrium description and avoids the
problem of the vapor while also explaining the observation of Boltzmann-like
distribution of emission times. In this picture a simple Fermi gas thermometric
relation is naturally justified and verified in the fragment yields and time
scales. Low energy compound nucleus fragment yields scale according to the FDM
and lead to an estimate of the infinite symmetric nuclear matter critical
temperature between 18 and 27 MeV depending on the choice of the surface energy
coefficient of nuclear matter.Comment: Five page two column pages, four figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
An instructional experience for pre-service teachers: integrating simulations and hands-on activities in physics teaching
Simulations are a valuable tool in teaching modern science. We report on an experiment in a physics laboratory on electricity using both simulations as well as hands-on activities. The laboratory was implemented as part of a course for pre-service secondary school physics teachers. The 45 participants were divided into two groups, one performing first simulations and then hands-on activities, the other in the reversed order. The laboratory activities focused on DC circuits related to real-life situations, like a multiple socket or a chandelier modeled with simple wires, batteries and bulbs. The participants were asked to make predictions of the outcome before conducting each task and to compare their predictions with the observations and measurements they made during the activities. The participants were asked to make predictions of the outcome before conducting each task and to compare their predictions with the observations and measurements they made during the activities. No significant differences in performance were observed between the two groups, suggesting that in this experiment simulations did not help the pre-service teachers in transferring their conceptual knowledge to practical application
Competitive Interactions Between Palatable and Unpalatable Grasses: Effects of Selective Defoliations of the Palatable Grasses
Selective herbivory of the palatable species appears to be a dominant mechanisms contributing to species competitive replacement in grasslands. Selective herbivory of the palatable species allows unpalatable species to realize a competitive advantage within the community. To test this hypothesis we compare the competitive ability of the unpalatable grasses Stipa trichotoma or S. gyneriodes in the presence of nondefoliated and defoliated plants of the palatable grass S. clarazii. The three species are native to a temperate semiarid grassland of Argentina. The response variables estimated in S.trichotoma and S.gynerioides, at both plant and tiller levels, were higher (P \u3c 0.05) in the presence of defoliated than in the presence of undefoliated plants of S.clarazii. These results support the hypothesis that selective herbivory of the palatable species confers unpalatable species a competitive advantages, contributing to species competitive replacement within the community
Microcanonical Lattice Gas Model for Nuclear Disassembly
Microcanonical calculations are no more difficult to implement than canonical
calculations in the Lattice Gas Model. We report calculations for a few
observables where we compare microcanonical model results with canonical model
results.Comment: 7 pages, Revtex, 3 postscript figure
The Role of Surface Entropy in Statistical Emission of Massive Fragments from Equilibrated Nuclear Systems
Statistical fragment emission from excited nuclear systems is studied within
the framework of a schematic Fermi-gas model combined with Weisskopf's detailed
balance approach. The formalism considers thermal expansion of finite nuclear
systems and pays special attention to the role of the diffuse surface region in
the decay of hot equilibrated systems. It is found that with increasing
excitation energy, effects of surface entropy lead to a systematic and
significant reduction of effective emission barriers for fragments and,
eventually, to the vanishing of these barriers. The formalism provides a
natural explanation for the occurrence of negative nuclear heat capacities
reported in the literature. It also accounts for the observed linearity of
pseudo-Arrhenius plots of the logarithm of the fragment emission probability
{\it versus} the inverse square-root of the excitation energy, but does not
predict true Arrhenius behavior of these emission probabilities
Laser-induced electron emission from a tungsten nanotip: identifying above threshold photoemission using energy-resolved laser power dependencies
We present an experiment studying the interaction of a strongly focused 25 fs
laser pulse with a tungsten nanotip, investigating the different regimes of
laser-induced electron emission. We study the dependence of the electron yield
with respect to the static electric field applied to the tip. Photoelectron
spectra are recorded using a retarding field spectrometer and peaks separated
by the photon energy are observed with a 45 % contrast. They are a clear
signature of above threshold photoemission (ATP), and are confirmed by
extensive spectrally resolved studies of the laser power dependence.
Understanding these mechanisms opens the route to control experiment in the
strong-field regime on nanoscale objects.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
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Dissecting how modular polyketide synthase ketoreductases interact with acyl carrier protein-attached substrates
Interaction studies using fragments excised from the modular mycolactone polyketide synthase show that ketoreductase domains possess a generic binding site for acyl carrier protein domains and provide evidence that the pendant 5′-phosphopantetheine prosthetic group plays a key role in delivering acyl substrates to the active site in the correct orientation.The authors would like to thank the Wellcome Trust (grant number 094252/Z/10/Z) for funding this research. LM was supported by an EPSRC PhD studentship
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