Penning trap mass measurements on nobelium isotopes

The Penning trap mass spectrometer SHIPTRAP at GSI Darmstadt allows accurate mass measurements of radionuclides, produced in fusion-evaporation reactions and separated by the velocity filter SHIP from the primary beam. Recently, the masses of the three nobelium isotopes No252-254 were determined. These are the first direct mass measurements of transuranium elements, which provide new anchor points in this region. The heavy nuclides were produced in cold-fusion reactions by irradiating a PbS target with a Ca-48 beam, resulting in production rates of the nuclei of interest of about one atom per second. In combination with data from decay spectroscopy our results are used to perform a new atomic-mass evaluation in this region.

Observation of charge-dependent azimuthal correlations and possible local strong parity violation in heavy-ion collisions

Parity (P)-odd domains, corresponding to nontrivial topological solutions of the QCD vacuum, might be created during relativistic heavy-ion collisions. These domains are predicted to lead to charge separation of quarks along the orbital momentum of the system created in noncentral collisions. To study this effect, we investigate a three-particle mixed-harmonics azimuthal correlator which is a P-even observable, but directly sensitive to the charge-separation effect. We report measurements of this observable using the STAR detector in Au + Au and Cu + Cu collisions at root s(NN) = 200 and 62 GeV. The results are presented as a function of collision centrality, particle separation in rapidity, and particle transverse momentum. A signal consistent with several of the theoretical expectations is detected in all four data sets. We compare our results to the predictions of existing event generators and discuss in detail possible contributions from other effects that are not related to P violation.

Spectra of identified high-p(T) pi(+/-) and p((p)over-bar ) in Cu + Cu collisions at root s(NN)=200 GeV

We report new results on identified (anti) proton and charged pion spectra at large transverse momenta (3 < p(T) < 10 GeV/c) from Cu + Cu collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV using the STAR detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). This study explores the system size dependence of two novel features observed at RHIC with heavy ions: the hadron suppression at high-p(T) and the anomalous baryon to meson enhancement at intermediate transverse momenta. Both phenomena could be attributed to the creation of a new form of QCD matter. The results presented here bridge the system size gap between the available pp and Au + Au data, and allow for a detailed exploration of the onset of the novel features. Comparative analysis of all available 200 GeV data indicates that the system size is a major factor determining both the magnitude of the hadron spectra suppression at large transverse momenta and the relative baryon to meson enhancement.

Charged and strange hadron elliptic flow in Cu plus Cu collisions at root s(NN)=62.4 and 200 GeV

We present the results of an elliptic flow, v(2), analysis of Cu + Cu collisions recorded with the solenoidal tracker detector (STAR) at the BNL Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at root s(NN) = 62.4 and 200 GeV. Elliptic flow as a function of transverse momentum, v(2)(p(T)), is reported for different collision centralities for charged hadrons h(+/-) and strangeness-ontaining hadrons K-S(0), Lambda, Xi, and phi in the midrapidity region vertical bar eta vertical bar < 1.0. Significant reduction in systematic uncertainty of the measurement due to nonflow effects has been achieved by correlating particles at midrapidity, vertical bar eta vertical bar < 1.0, with those at forward rapidity, 2.5 < vertical bar eta vertical bar < 4.0. We also present azimuthal correlations in p + p collisions at root s = 200 GeV to help in estimating nonflow effects. To study the system-size dependence of elliptic flow, we present a detailed comparison with previously published results from Au + Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV. We observe that v(2)(p(T)) of strange hadrons has similar scaling properties as were first observed in Au + Au collisions, that is, (i) at low transverse momenta, p(T) < 2 GeV/c, v(2) scales with transverse kinetic energy, m(T) - m, and (ii) at intermediate p(T), 2 < p(T) < 4 GeV/c, it scales with the number of constituent quarks, n(q.) We have found that ideal hydrodynamic calculations fail to reproduce the centrality dependence of v(2)(p(T)) for K-S(0) and Lambda. Eccentricity scaled v(2) values, v(2)/epsilon, are larger in more central collisions, suggesting stronger collective flow develops in more central collisions. The comparison with Au + Au collisions, which go further in density, shows that v(2)/epsilon depends on the system size, that is, the number of participants N-part. This indicates that the ideal hydrodynamic limit is not reached in Cu + Cu collisions, presumably because the assumption of thermalization is not attained.

Observation of pi(+)pi(-)pi(+)pi(-) photoproduction in ultraperipheral heavy-ion collisions at root s(NN)=200 GeV at the STAR detector

We present a measurement of pi(+)pi(-)pi(+)pi(-) photonuclear production in ultraperipheral Au-Au collisions at root s(NN) = 200 GeV from the STAR experiment. The pi(+)pi(-)pi(+)pi(-) final states are observed at low transverse momentum and are accompanied by mutual nuclear excitation of the beam particles. The strong enhancement of the production cross section at low transverse momentum is consistent with coherent photoproduction. The pi(+)pi(-)pi(+)pi(-) invariant mass spectrum of the coherent events exhibits a broad peak around 1540 +/- 40 MeV/c(2) with a width of 570 +/- 60 MeV/c(2), in agreement with the photoproduction data for the rho(0)(1700). We do not observe a corresponding peak in the pi(+)pi(-) final state and measure an upper limit for the ratio of the branching fractions of the rho(0)(1700) to pi(+)pi(-) and pi(+)pi(-)pi(+)pi(-) of 2.5% at 90% confidence level. The ratio of rho(0)(1700) and rho(0)(770) coherent production cross sections is measured to be 13.4 +/- 0.8(stat.) +/- 4.4(syst.)%.

Identified particle production, azimuthal anisotropy, and interferometry measurements in Au plus Au collisions at root s(NN)=9.2 GeV

We present the first measurements of identified hadron production, azimuthal anisotropy, and pion interferometry from Au + Au collisions below the nominal injection energy at the BNL Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collider (RHIC) facility. The data were collected using the large acceptance solenoidal tracker at RHIC (STAR) detector at root s(NN) = 9.2 GeV from a test run of the collider in the year 2008. Midrapidity results on multiplicity density dN/dy in rapidity y, average transverse momentum < p(T)>, particle ratios, elliptic flow, and Hanbury-Brown-Twiss (HBT) radii are consistent with the corresponding results at similar root s(NN) from fixed-target experiments. Directed flow measurements are presented for both midrapidity and forward-rapidity regions. Furthermore the collision centrality dependence of identified particle dN/dy, < p(T)>, and particle ratios are discussed. These results also demonstrate that the capabilities of the STAR detector, although optimized for root s(NN) = 200 GeV, are suitable for the proposed QCD critical-point search and exploration of the QCD phase diagram at RHIC.

Observation of an Antimatter Hypernucleus

Nuclear collisions recreate conditions in the universe microseconds after the Big Bang. Only a very small fraction of the emitted fragments are light nuclei, but these states are of fundamental interest. We report the observation of antihypertritons-comprising an antiproton, an antineutron, and an antilambda hyperon-produced by colliding gold nuclei at high energy. Our analysis yields 70 +/- 17 antihypertritons (3/Lambda(H) over bar) and 157 +/- 30 hypertritons (H-3(Lambda)). The measured yields of H-3(Lambda) (3/Lambda(H) over bar) and He-3 ((3)(He) over bar) are similar, suggesting an equilibrium in coordinate and momentum space populations of up, down, and strange quarks and antiquarks, unlike the pattern observed at lower collision energies. The production and properties of antinuclei, and of nuclei containing strange quarks, have implications spanning nuclear and particle physics, astrophysics, and cosmology.

Longitudinal scaling property of the charge balance function in Au plus Au collisions at root s(NN)=200 GeV

We present measurements of the charge balance function, from the charged particles, for diverse pseudorapidity and transverse momentum ranges in Au + Au collisions at root S-NN = 200 GeV using the STAR detector at RHIC. We observe that the balance function is boost-invariant within the pseudorapidity coverage vertical bar-1.3, 1.3 vertical bar. The balance function properly scaled by the width of the observed pseudorapidity window does not depend on the position or size of the pseudorapidity window. This scaling property also holds for particles in different transverse momentum ranges. In addition, we find that the width of the balance function decreases monotonically with increasing transverse momentum for all centrality classes. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Center of mass energy and system-size dependence of photon production at forward rapidity at RHIC

We present the multiplicity and pseudorapidity distributions of photons produced in Au + Au and Cu + Cu collisions at root(NN)-N-s = 62.4 and 200 GeV. The photons are measured in the region -3.7 < eta < -2.3 using the photon Multiplicity detector in the STAR experiment at RHIC. The number of photons produced per average number of participating nucleon pairs increases with the beam energy and is independent of (lie collision centrality. For collisions with similar average numbers of participating nucleons the photon multiplicities are observed to be similar for An + Au and Cu + Cu collisions at a given beam energy. The ratios of the number of charged particles to photons in the measured pseudorapidity range are found to be 1.4 +/- 0.1 and 1.2 +/- 0.1 for root(NN)-N-s = 62.4 and 200 GeV, respectively. The energy dependence of this ratio could reflect varying contributions from baryons to charged particles, while mesons are the dominant contributors to photon production in the given kinematic region. The photon pseudorapidity distributions normalized by average number of participating nucleon pairs, when plotted as a function of eta-Y-beam, are found to follow a longitudinal scaling independent of centrality and colliding ion species at both beam energies. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

高电荷态离子引起的富勒烯离子的碎裂研究

在里昂第一大学原子物理平台上，采用静电离子阱技术，我们在三个激发能区内研究了高电荷态离子与富勒烯作用后C603”离子的稳定性及其碎裂方式。在56 kev的Ars＋离子与富勒烯碰撞中，当碰撞参数很大时，稳定的C���离子被一个静电离子阱俘获，储存一段时间后存活的离子被探测器测量，实验结果显示C_16oll（l���＝2-5）离子的损失主要是由于与剩余气体发生电荷交换，其相对于碎裂衰变过程的寿命大于400毫秒。在‘擦边碰撞，过程条件下，研究了处于低激发态的C60r+离子在20微秒内蒸发CZ分子的过程。基于考虑了热辐射的统计模型，给出了碰撞产生的C60r+离子的激发能的分布。随着碰撞参数的减小，当入射离子穿过C6。分子时，由于电子阻止使C6厂离子处于高激发态。通过测量发射电子数目，实验上确定了C60r＋离子的初始电荷态，本工作分析了高激发态的C60r＋离子碎裂前的电荷态与入射离子速度之间的关系，发现C60r”离子的碎裂方式只与它的初始电荷态有关，而与入射离子速度无关；同时，发射电子的个数可以用来表征C60什离子的激发能的大小

Vc���步发酵一株新产酸菌的分子生物学特性

对最近分离到的一株能合成维生素C���体 - 2 -酮基 -L -古龙酸 (2 -KGA)的新产酸菌V6生物学和分子生物学特性进行了初步研究。该菌株为革兰氏阴性菌 ,细胞为短杆状 ,菌体大小为 0 .8- 1.0× 0 .4 - 0 .6 μm ,菌落为淡黄色 ,好氧 ,最适生长温度为 2 8～ 30℃ ,最适pH为 7.0～ 7.8,GCmol%含量为 5 3.1% ,不含质粒 ,能氧化葡萄糖、山梨醇和山梨糖合成 2 -KGA。 16SrDNA同源性分析发现 ,该产酸菌与以前报道的能合成 2 -KGA的三个属Ketogulonigenium属、Gluconobacter属和Acetobacter属的同源性分别是 98.9～ 99.3%、82～ 83%和 81～ 82 %。基于以上特性分析 ,该产酸菌在分类发育学上宜归为Ketogulonigenium属。

混合培养中巨大芽孢杆菌对氧化葡萄糖酸杆菌的作用

为查明维生素C���步发酵混合培养中巨大芽孢杆菌与氧化葡萄糖酸杆菌间的关系,通过生长曲线测定、静息细胞实验及摇瓶发酵实验研究了巨大芽孢杆菌对氧化葡萄糖酸杆菌生长和产生2酮基L���龙酸作用的影响;采用超滤分离、凝胶层析及聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳技术对巨大芽孢杆菌胞外液中具有促进氧化葡萄糖酸杆菌产酸作用的活性物质进行了分离和纯化.结果表明,大菌胞内液和胞外液均可促进小菌生长,大菌胞外液中具有该作用的组分分子量在100KDa以上;大菌胞外液具有促进小菌转化L���梨糖生成2酮基L���龙酸的作用,其胞内液无该作用;大菌胞外液中具有该活性作用的组分为30～50KDa和大于100KDa两个部分.其中30～50KDa范围的大菌胞外液中的活性组分为一种蛋白质,其表观分子量约为35KDa,由一种亚基构成,且该蛋白含金属铁和锌元素

Genomic organization, nucleotide sequence analysis of the core histone genes cluster in Chlamys farreri and molecular evolution assessment of the H2A and H2B

This work represents the nucleotide sequence of the core histone gene cluster from scallop Chlamys farreri. The tandemly repeated unit of 5671 bp containing a copy of the four core histone genes H4, H2B, H2A and H3 was amplified and identified by the techniques of homology cloning and genomic DNA walking. All the histone genes in the cluster had the structures in their 3' flanking region which related to the evolution of histone gene expression patterns throughout the cell cycle, including two different termination signals, the hairpin structure and at least one AATAAA polyadenylation signal. In their 5' region, the transcription initiation sites with a conserved sequence of 5'-PyATTCPu-3' known as the CAP site were present in all genes except to H2B, generally 37-45 bp upstream of the start code. Canonical TATA and CAAT boxes were identified only in certain histone genes. In the case of the promoters of H2B and H2A genes, there was a 5'-GATCC-3' element, which had been found to be essential to start transcription at the appropriate site. After this element, in the promoter of H2B, there was another sequence, 5'-GGATCGAAACGTTC-3', which was similar to the consensus sequence of 5'-GGAATAAACGTATTC-3' corresponding to the H2B-specific promoter element. The presence of enhancer sequences (5'-TGATATATG-3') was identified from the H4 and H3 genes, matching perfectly with the consensus sequence defined for histone genes. There were several slightly more complex repetitive DNA in the intergene regions. The presence of the series of conserved sequences and reiterated sequences was consistent with the view that mollusc histone gene cluster arose by duplicating of an ancestral precursor histone gene, the birth-and-death evolution model with strong purifying selection enabled the histone cluster less variation and more conserved function. Meanwhile, the H2A and the H2B were demonstrated to be potential good marks for phylogenetic analysis. All the results will be contributed to the characterization of repeating histone gene families in molluscs.

In-situ fabrication of hybrid polyoxometalate nanoparticles composite films

inorganic-organic hybrid nanoparticles multilayer films were fabricated by extending the method of nucleation and growth of particles in polymer assemblies. The polyelectrolyte matrix was constructed by layer-by-layer self-assembly method. Synthesis of polyoxometalate nanoparticles was achieved by alternately dipping the precursor polyelectrolyte matrix into AgNO3 and H4SiW12O40 aqueous solutions. Repeating the above synthesis process, Ag4SiW12O40 nanoparticles with controllable diameters of 20 to 77 nm were synthesized in the multilayer films in-situ. UV-vis absorption spectra indicate that the nanoparticles grew gradually in the synthesis process. Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the size and morphology of the nanoparticles.