Theoretical study of the structural dependence of nuclear quadrupole frequencies in high-T_c superconductors

The remarkable difference between the nuclear quadrupole frequencies v_Q of Cu(1) and Cu(2) in YBa_2Cu_3O_6 and YBa_2Cu_3O_7 is analyzed. We calculate the ionic contribution to the electric field gradients and estimate, by using experimental results for Cu_2O and La_2CuO_4, the contribution of the d valence electrons. Thus, we determine v_Q1, v_Q2, and the asymmetry parameter η for YBa_2Cu_3O_6 and YBa_2Cu_3O_7. The number of holes in dthe Cu-O planes and chains is found to be important for the different behavior of v_Q1 and v_Q2.

Threshold behaviour of L x-ray excitation in Xe - Ag collisions

In the collision system Xe - Ag, the thresholds for excitation of quasimolecular L radiation and characteristic Ag L radiation have been found to lie at about 5 MeV and 1 MeV, respectively. These results are discussed on the basis of ab initio calculations of the screened interaction potential and the electron-correlation diagram.

New calculations of P(b) curves for 1s_\sigma excitation in low-Z (Z\le10) ion-atom scattering

Ab initio fully relativistic SCF molecular calculations of energy eigenvalues as well as coupling-matrix elements are used to calculate the 1s_\sigma excitation differential cross section for Ne-Ne and Ne-O in ion-atom collisions. A relativistic perturbation treatment which allows a direct comparison with analogous non-relativistic calculations is also performed.

Nuclear charge radii from X-ray transitions in muonic atoms of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen

Energies of muonic X-rays of the K-series of carbon, nitrogen and oxygen have been measured with an accuracy of about 15 eV. Root mean square radii of the nuclear charge distributions were deduced. The results 2.49±0.05 fm for carbon, 2.55 ±0.03 fm for nitrogen and 2.71 ±0.02 fm for oxygen are in good agreement at comparable accuracy with recent electron scattering data.

Equilibrium K-shell excitation of highly ionized neon

Augerelectron emission from foil-excited Ne-ions (6 to 10 MeV beam energy) has been measured. The beam-foil time-of-flight technique has been applied to study electronic transitions of metastable states (delayed spectra) and to determine their lifetimes. To achieve a line identification for the complex structure observed in the prompt spectrum, the spectrum is separated into its isoelectronic parts by an Augerelectron-ion coincidence correlating the emitted electrons and the emitting projectiles of well defined final charge states q_f. Well resolved spectra were obtained and the lines could be identified using intermediate coupling Dirac-Fock multiconfiguration calculations. From the total KLL-Augerelectron transition probabilities observed in the electronion coincidence experiment for Ne (10 MeV) the amount of projectiles with one K-hole just behind a C-target can be estimated. For foil-excited Ne-projectiles in contrast to single collision results the comparison of transition intensities for individual lines with calculated transition probabilities yields a statistical population of Li- and Be-like configurations.

Two-photon decay of the 1s2s ^1S_0 state in _36Kr^34+ produced by resonant transfer and excitation

The doubly excited 2s2p ^1P_1 level of Kr^{34+} populated via resonant transfer and excitation (RTE) feeds selectively the metastable ls2s ^1 S_0 state which can only decay via simultaneous emission of two photons to the ground state 1s^2 ^1 S_0. X-ray/X-ray coincidence measurements in heavy ionatom collisions enable the direct measurement of the spectral distribution of the two-photon decay in He-like ions. In addition, we observe strong photon cascades indueed by radiative electron capture.

Elastic nuclear scattering at intermediate and relativistic energies

The classical scattering cross section of two colliding nuclei at intermediate and relativistic energies is reevaluated. The influence of retardation and magnetic field effects is taken into account. Corrections due to electron screening as well as due to attractive nuclear forces are discussed. This paper represents an addendum to [l].

The Li-like KLL-Auger spectrum of foil excitation Ne-projectiles

KLL-Auger transitions of the three electron system in Ne have been recorded in a coincidence experiment frec of contaminants from other systems. Energies as well as intensities are compared with calculated values.

Effect of nuclear motion on the energy eigenvalues in muonic atoms

I have investigated the effect of the nuclear motion on the energy eigenvalues in muonic atoms. In addition to the usually used reduced-mass correction, I have calculated the relativistic influences including the magnetic and retardation interaction between the nucleus and the muon for the inner orbitals of muonic atoms.

Femtosecond real-time probing of reactions

Femtosecond reaction dynamics of OClO in a supersonic molecular beam are reported. The system is excited to the A^2A_2 state with a femtosecond pulse, covering a range of excitation in the symmetric stretch between v_1 = 17 to v_1 = 11 (308-352 nm). A time-delayed femtosecond probe pulse ionizes the OClO, and OClO^+ is detected. This ion has not been observed in previous experiments because of its ultrafast fragmentation. Transients are reported for the mass of the parent OClO as well as the mass of the ClO. Apparent biexponential decays are observed and related to the fragmentation dynamics: OClO+hv \rightarrow (OClO)^{(++)*} \rightarrow ClO+O \rightarrow Cl+O_2. Clusters of OClO with water (OClO)_n (H_2 0)_m with n from 1 to 3 and m from 0 to 3 are also observed. The dynamics of the fragmentation reveal the nuclear motions and the electronic coupling between surfaces. The time scale for bond breakage is in the range of 300-500 fs, depending on v_1; surface crossing to form new intermediates is a pathway for the two channels of fragmentation: ClO+O (primary) and Cl+O_2 (minor). Comparisons with results of ab initio calculations are made.

Nuclear organisation and epigenetic regulation of gene expression in Dictyostelium discoideum

A series of vectors for the over-expression of tagged proteins in Dictyostelium were designed, constructed and tested. These vectors allow the addition of an N- or C-terminal tag (GFP, RFP, 3xFLAG, 3xHA, 6xMYC and TAP) with an optimized polylinker sequence and no additional amino acid residues at the N or C terminus. Different selectable markers (Blasticidin and gentamicin) are available as well as an extra chromosomal version; these allow copy number and thus expression level to be controlled, as well as allowing for more options with regard to complementation, co- and super-transformation. Finally, the vectors share standardized cloning sites, allowing a gene of interest to be easily transfered between the different versions of the vectors as experimental requirements evolve. The organisation and dynamics of the Dictyostelium nucleus during the cell cycle was investigated. The centromeric histone H3 (CenH3) variant serves to target the kinetochore to the centromeres and thus ensures correct chromosome segregation during mitosis and meiosis. A number of Dictyostelium histone H3-domain containing proteins as GFP-tagged fusions were expressed and it was found that one of them functions as CenH3 in this species. Like CenH3 from some other species, Dictyostelium CenH3 has an extended N-terminal domain with no similarity to any other known proteins. The targeting domain, comprising α-helix 2 and loop 1 of the histone fold is required for targeting CenH3 to centromeres. Compared to the targeting domain of other known and putative CenH3 species, Dictyostelium CenH3 has a shorter loop 1 region. The localisation of a variety of histone modifications and histone modifying enzymes was examined. Using fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) and CenH3 chromatin-immunoprecipitation (ChIP) it was shown that the six telocentric centromeres contain all of the DIRS-1 and most of the DDT-A and skipper transposons. During interphase the centromeres remain attached to the centrosome resulting in a single CenH3 cluster which also contains the putative histone H3K9 methyltransferase SuvA, H3K9me3 and HP1 (heterochromatin protein 1). Except for the centromere cluster and a number of small foci at the nuclear periphery opposite the centromeres, the rest of the nucleus is largely devoid of transposons and heterochromatin associated histone modifications. At least some of the small foci correspond to the distal telomeres, suggesting that the chromosomes are organised in a Rabl-like manner. It was found that in contrast to metazoans, loading of CenH3 onto Dictyostelium centromeres occurs in late G2 phase. Transformation of Dictyostelium with vectors carrying the G418 resistance cassette typically results in the vector integrating into the genome in one or a few tandem arrays of approximately a hundred copies. In contrast, plasmids containing a Blasticidin resistance cassette integrate as single or a few copies. The behaviour of transgenes in the nucleus was examined by FISH, and it was found that low copy transgenes show apparently random distribution within the nucleus, while transgenes with more than approximately 10 copies cluster at or immediately adjacent to the centromeres in interphase cells regardless of the actual integration site along the chromosome. During mitosis the transgenes show centromere-like behaviour, and ChIP experiments show that transgenes contain the heterochromatin marker H3K9me2 and the centromeric histone variant H3v1. This clustering, and centromere-like behaviour was not observed on extrachromosomal transgenes, nor on a line where the transgene had integrated into the extrachromosomal rDNA palindrome. This suggests that it is the repetitive nature of the transgenes that causes the centromere-like behaviour. A Dictyostelium homolog of DET1, a protein largely restricted to multicellular eukaryotes where it has a role in developmental regulation was identified. As in other species Dictyostelium DET1 is nuclear localised. In ChIP experiments DET1 was found to bind the promoters of a number of developmentally regulated loci. In contrast to other species where it is an essential protein, loss of DET1 is not lethal in Dictyostelium, although viability is greatly reduced. Loss of DET1 results in delayed and abnormal development with enlarged aggregation territories. Mutant slugs displayed apparent cell type patterning with a bias towards pre-stalk cell types.

Electron-Nuclear Correlation in Laser-Driven Diatomic Molecules

The interaction of short intense laser pulses with atoms/molecules produces a multitude of highly nonlinear processes requiring a non-perturbative treatment. Detailed study of these highly nonlinear processes by numerically solving the time-dependent Schrodinger equation becomes a daunting task when the number of degrees of freedom is large. Also the coupling between the electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom further aggravates the computational problems. In the present work we show that the time-dependent Hartree (TDH) approximation, which neglects the correlation effects, gives unreliable description of the system dynamics both in the absence and presence of an external field. A theoretical framework is required that treats the electrons and nuclei on equal footing and fully quantum mechanically. To address this issue we discuss two approaches, namely the multicomponent density functional theory (MCDFT) and the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree (MCTDH) method, that go beyond the TDH approximation and describe the correlated electron-nuclear dynamics accurately. In the MCDFT framework, where the time-dependent electronic and nuclear densities are the basic variables, we discuss an algorithm to calculate the exact Kohn-Sham (KS) potentials for small model systems. By simulating the photodissociation process in a model hydrogen molecular ion, we show that the exact KS potentials contain all the many-body effects and give an insight into the system dynamics. In the MCTDH approach, the wave function is expanded as a sum of products of single-particle functions (SPFs). The MCTDH method is able to describe the electron-nuclear correlation effects as the SPFs and the expansion coefficients evolve in time and give an accurate description of the system dynamics. We show that the MCTDH method is suitable to study a variety of processes such as the fragmentation of molecules, high-order harmonic generation, the two-center interference effect, and the lochfrass effect. We discuss these phenomena in a model hydrogen molecular ion and a model hydrogen molecule. Inclusion of absorbing boundaries in the mean-field approximation and its consequences are discussed using the model hydrogen molecular ion. To this end, two types of calculations are considered: (i) a variational approach with a complex absorbing potential included in the full many-particle Hamiltonian and (ii) an approach in the spirit of time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT), including complex absorbing potentials in the single-particle equations. It is elucidated that for small grids the TDDFT approach is superior to the variational approach.

Excitation of Phonons in Solids and Nanostructures by Intense Laser and XUV Pulses and by Low Energy Atomic Collision

Intensive, ultrakurze Laserpulse regen Festkörper in einen Zustand an, in dem die Elektronen hohe Temperaturen erlangen, während das Gitter kalt bleibt. Die heißen Elektronen beeinflussen das sog. Laser-angeregte interatomare Potential bzw. die Potentialenergiefläche, auf der die Ionen sich bewegen. Dieses kann neben anderen ultrakurzen Prozessen zu Änderungen der Phononfrequenzen (phonon softening oder phonon hardening) führen. Viele ultrakurze strukturelle Phänomene in Festkörpern hängen bei hohen Laseranregungen von Änderungen der Phononfrequenzen bei niedrigeren Anregungen ab. Um die Laser-bedingten Änderungen des Phononenspektrums von Festkörpern beschreiben zu können, haben wir ein auf Temperatur-abhängiger Dichtefunktionaltheorie basierendes Verfahren entwickelt. Die dramatischen Änderungen nach einer Laseranregung in der Potentialenergiefläche werden durch die starke Veränderung der Zustandsdichte und der Besetzungen der Elektronen hervorgerufen. Diese Änderungen in der Zustandsdichte und den Besetzungszahlen können wir mit unserer Methode berechnen, um dann damit das Verhalten der Phononen nach einer Laseranregung zu analysieren. Auf diese Art und Weise studierten wir den Einfluss einer Anregung mit einem intensiven, ultrakurzen Laserpuls auf repräsentative Phonon Eigenmoden in Magnesium, Kupfer und Aluminium. Wir stellten dabei in manchen Gitterschwingungen entweder eine Abnahme (softening) und in anderen eine Zunahme (hardening) der Eigenfrequenz fest. Manche Moden zeigten bei Variation der Laseranregungsstärke sogar beide Verhaltensweisen. Das eine Phonon-Eigenmode ein hardening und softening zeigen kann, wird durch das Vorhandensein von van Hove Singularitäten in der elektronischen Zustandsdichte des betrachteten Materials erklärt. Für diesen Fall stellt unser Verfahren zusammen mit der Sommerfeld-Entwicklung die Eigenschaften der Festkörper Vibrationen in Verbindung mit den Laser induzierten Veränderungen in den elektronischen Besetzungen für verschiedene Phonon-eingefrorene Atomkonfigurationen. Auch die absolute Größe des softening und hardening wurde berechnet. Wir nehmen an, dass unsere Theorie Licht in die Effekte der Laseranregung von verschiedenen Materialien bringt. Außerdem studierten wir mit Hilfe von Dichtefunktionaltheorie die strukturellen Material-Eigenschaften, die durch kurze XUV Pulse induziert werden. Warme dichte Materie in Ultrakurzpuls angeregten Magnesium wurde analysiert und verglichen mit den Ergebnissen bei durch Laser Anregung bedingten Änderungen. Unter Verwendung von elektronischer-Temperatur-abhängiger Dichtefunktionaltheorie wurden die Änderungen in den Bindungseigenschaften von warmen dichten Magnesium studiert. Wir stellten dabei beide Effekte, Verstärkung und Abschwächung von Bindungen, bei jeweils verschiedenen Phonon Eigenmoden von Magnesium auf Grund von der Erzeugung von Rumpflöchern und dem Vorhandensein von heißen Elektronen fest. Die zusätzliche Erzeugung von heißen Elektronen führt zu einer Änderung der Bindungscharakteristik, die der Änderung, die durch die bereits vorhandenen Rumpflöcher hervorgerufen wurde, entgegen wirkt. Die thermischen Eigenschaften von Nanostrukturen sind teilweise sehr wichtig für elektronische Bauteile. Wir studierten hier ebenfalls den Effekt einer einzelnen Graphen Lage auf Kupfer. Dazu untersuchten wir mit Dichtefunktionaltheorie die strukturellen- und Schwingungseigenschaften von Graphen auf einem Kupfer Substrat. Wir zeigen, dass die schwache Wechselwirkung zwischen Graphen und Kupfer die Frequenz der aus der Ebene gerichteten akustischen Phonon Eigenmode anhebt und die Entartung zwischen den aus der Ebene gerichteten akustischen und optischen Phononen im K-Punkt des Graphen Spektrums aufhebt. Zusätzlich führten wir ab initio Berechnungen zur inelastischen Streuung eines Helium Atoms mit Graphen auf einem Kuper(111) Substrat durch. Wir berechneten dazu das Leistungsspektrum, das uns eine Idee über die verschiedenen Gitterschwingungen des Graphene-Kuper(111) Systems gibt, die durch die Kollision des Helium Atom angeregt werden. Wir brachten die Positionen der Peaks im Leistungsspektrum mit den Phonon Eigenfrequenzen, die wir aus den statischen Rechnungen erhalten haben, in Beziehung. Unsere Ergebnisse werden auch verglichen mit den Ergebnissen experimenteller Daten zur Helium Streuung an Graphen-Kupfer(111) Oberflächen.