Search results for "Metastability"
showing 10 items of 262 documents
Nuclear hyperpolarization of 3He by magnetized plasmas
2018
International audience; We describe a method, referred to as PAMP (polarization of atoms in a magnetized plasma), that allowshyperpolarization of 3He nuclear spins at high magnetic field solely by excitation of a rf gas discharge.A magnetized plasma is obtained when the mean free path of the free electrons is much larger than theirgyration radius in the rf gas discharge. Investigations of PAMP are carried out in the 1–15-mbar pressure rangewith rf excitation around 100 MHz. Quantitative NMR measurements at 4.7 T and room temperature showthat, for different cell sizes and gas densities, 3He nuclear polarizations in the 1 to 9% range are achieved(i.e., larger than the Boltzmann equilibrium sp…
A very short uranium-uranium bond: The predicted metastable U22+
2005
Quantum chemical calculations, based on multiconfigurational wave functions and including relativistic effects, show that the U(2)2+ system has a large number of low-lying electronic states with S of 0 to 2 and Lambda ranging from zero to ten. These states share a very small bond length of about 2.30 A, compared to 2.43 A in neutral U2. The Coulomb explosion to 2 U+ lowers the energy by only 1.6 eV and is separated by a broad barrier.
Fundamentals of metastability exchange optical pumping in helium
2010
21 pages; International audience; Advances in metastability exchange optical pumping (MEOP) at high laser powers, but also at high gas pressures and high magnetic field strengths, has provided strong motivation for revisiting the understanding of the limitations of this powerful technique. A comprehensive model has been developped for improved description of the combined effects of OP, ME, and relaxation, and of detailed MEOP features observed over the broad range of operating conditions. A brief description is provided, with illustrative comparisons of computed and experimental results. This improved tool is used to explain the excellent photon efficiency of OP obtained at all field streng…
An accurate optical technique for measuring the nuclear polarisation of 3He gas
2010
12 pages; International audience; In the metastability exchange optical pumping cells of our on-site production unit and of our other experimental set-ups, we use a light absorption technique to measure the 3He nuclear polarisation. It involves weak probe beams at 1083 nm, that are either perpendicular or parallel to the magnetic field and cell axis, with suitable light polarisations. When metastability exchange collisions control the populations of the sublevels in the 23S state, absolute values of the 3He ground state nuclear polarisation are directly inferred from the ratio of the absorption rates measured for these probe beams. Our report focuses on the transverse detection scheme for w…
Nucleation and accretion of bioelastomeric fibers at biological temperatures and low concentrations.
1988
Quasi-elastic light scattering (QELS) studies are reported, which address the early stages of aggregation of the polypentamer poly(VPGVG). This reflects the major primary structural feature of native elastin. The study is focused on the region of the phase diagram which in both its temperature and concentration range is closest to the state of affairs occurring in the course of bioelastogenesis by progressive synthesis of the precursor protein. Results here reported allow for the first time a self-consistent view of the physics of elastogenesis, and specify the role of the region of metastability and of that of instability of the phase diagram in the non-chaotic, orderly formation of elasto…
Crystal structure of a new polytype in the V–P–O system: is ω-VOPO4 a dynamically stabilised metastable network?
2001
Abstract ω-VOPO 4 has been prepared by thermal decomposition of different oxovanadium hydrogen phosphates, namely VO(HPO 4 ) n H 2 O ( n =2( α ), 2(β) and 4) and β-NH 4 (VO 2 )(HPO 4 ). The ω-VOPO 4 phase only remains well crystallised at relatively high temperatures. Its crystal structure has been determined ab initio from X-ray powder diffraction data collected at 475°C. The cell is tetragonal (space group P4 2 /mmc) with a =4.8552(3) A and c =8.4301(6) A. Starting positional parameters were obtained by direct methods, and the structure was refined using Rietveld profile refinement principles. Disorder of two oxygen sublattices is observed. To rationalise some features of the crystal stru…
MRI using hyperpolarized noble gases.
1998
The aim of this study was to review the physical basis of MRI using hyperpolarized noble gases as well as the present status of preclinical and clinical applications. Non-radioactive noble gases with a nuclear spin 1/2 (He-3, Xe-129) can be hyperpolarized by optical pumping. Polarization is transferred from circularly polarized laser light to the noble-gas atoms via alkali-metal vapors (spin exchange) or metastable atoms (metastability exchange). Hyperpolarization results in a non-equilibrium polarization five orders of magnitude higher than the Boltzmann equilibrium compensating for the several 1000 times lower density of noble gases as compared with liquid state hydrogen concentrations in…
A pseudo-Jahn–Teller model of the photochromic effect in sodium nitroprusside
2003
Abstract A new model for the photochromic effect in sodium nitroprusside Na2[Fe(CN)5(NO)]·2H2O based on the concept of the pseudo-Jahn–Teller effect is proposed. The model takes into account the electron transfer from the Fe2+ ion to the π* orbitals of the NO-ligand as well as the vibronic mixing of three electronic states of the Fe NO fragment through the non-symmetric and full-symmetric modes. The problem is solved within the adiabatic approximation. Under certain conditions the lower sheet of the adiabatic potential is shown to possess three minima with the increasing energies that correspond to the N-bound, sideways bound and O-bound NO group. The barriers between the minima are estimat…
Thermal and Light-Induced Spin Transition in the High- and Low-Temperature Structure of [Fe0.35Ni0.65(mtz)6](ClO4)2
1996
The thermal and light induced spin transition in [Fe(0.35)Ni(0.65)(mtz)(6)](ClO(4))(2) (mtz = 1-methyl-1H-tetrazole) was studied by (57)Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy and magnetic susceptibility measurements. In addition to the spin transition of the iron(II) complexes the compound undergoes a structural phase transition. The high-temperature structure could be determined by X-ray crystallography of the isomorphous [Fe(0.25)Ni(0.75)(mtz)(6)](ClO(4))(2) complex at room temperature. The X-ray structural analysis shows this complex to be rhombohedric, space group Rthremacr;, with a = 10.865(2) Å and c = 23.65(1) Å with three molecules in the unit cell. The transition to the low-temperature structur…
Compressibility and Structural Stability of Nanocrystalline TiO2 Anatase Synthesized from Freeze-Dried Precursors
2014
The high-pressure structural behavior of 30 nm nanoparticles of anatase TiO2 was studied under hydrostatic and quasi-hydrostatic conditions up to 25 GPa. We found that the structural sequence is not sensitive to the use of different pressure transmitting media. Anatase-type nanoparticles exhibit a phase transition beyond 12 GPa toward a baddeleyite-type structure. Under decompression this phase transition is irreversible, and a metastable columbite-type structure is recovered at ambient conditions. The bulk modulus of anatase-type nanoparticles was determined confirming that nanoparticles of TiO2 are more compressible than bulk TiO2. Similar conclusions were obtained after the determination…