Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Nuclear quadrupole moment'

>Magister Scientiae - MSc
In this work we have determined the spectroscopic or static quadrupole moment of the rst excited state (QS (2+1) lying at 2230.6 keV in 32S using the reorientation e ect. The Coulomb-excitation experiment at safe bombarding energies was performed at iThemba LABS's AFRODITE vault, where 32S beams at 120.3 MeV were bombarded onto a 194Pt target of 1 mg/cm2 thickness. The beam energy has been chosen such that the separation between nuclear surfaces is greater than 6.5 fm at all scattering angles, in order to avoid nuclear interactions. A double-sided CD-type S3 silicon detector, with 24 rings and 32 sectors, has been placed upstream (at backward angles) to detect the scattered particles. Gamma rays have been detected with the AFRODITE clover array. This particle-gamma coincidence experiment allows for an angular distribution and Doppler correction of the gamma rays emitted at 9% the speed of light. The cross sections (or gamma-ray integrated yields) measured as a function of scattering angle at backward angles are sensitive to second-order perturbation e ects in Coulomb excitation, i.e., diagonal matrix elements which are directly related to the spectroscopic quadrupole moment. The gamma-ray integrated yields obtained from this experiment are compared with the GOSIA simulations, yielding a new measurement of QS (2+1) = 􀀀0:10 0:7 eb, which corresponds to a prolate shape in the intrinsic frame of the nucleus. The uncertainty of this measurement is limited by statistics. This result agrees with previous measurements and con rms the zig zag of shapes at the end of the sd shell when approaching the doubly-magic nucleus 40Ca. Nonetheless, the mystery continues as a prolate shape for the rst 2+ disagrees with modern theoretical mean- eld calculations and the pairing coupling model.

Hyperpolarized 83Kr has previously demonstrated MRI contrast that is sensitive to the chemical composition of the surface in a porous model system. One-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of hyperpolarized 83Kr has also revealed distinctive longitudinal relaxation times from selected regions of an ex vivo rat lung originating from differences in surface to volume ratio. However, at the time, MRI using longitudinal relaxation for contrast was not attempted due to limited signal intensities. Methodological advances of the spin exchange optical pumping process have led to a substantial increase in the 83Kr hyperpolarization and the resulting signal intensity. This methodology originates from a below-ambient pressure hyperpolarization technique explored and developed in this work. Using the improved methodology for spin exchange optical pumping of isotopically enriched 83Kr has resolved anatomical details of ex vivo rodent lungs using hyperpolarized 83Kr MRI for the first time. Different 83Kr longitudinal relaxation times were found between the main bronchi and the parenchymal regions of the lung. The T1 weighted hyperpolarized 83Kr MRI provided the first demonstration of surface quadrupolar relaxation pulmonary MRI contrast. Novel hyperpolarization techniques of 129Xe have also been explored resulting a study into the combustion process of methane. Using 129Xe as a probe into the combustion process permitted the first in situ MRI of combustion and enabled spatial-velocity profiles.

A química computacional apresenta a grande vantagem de prover informações fundamentais para espécies moleculares propostas, antes mesmo de sua síntese em laboratório. A Teoria do Funcional da Densidade é bastante utilizada nesta área, produzindo resultados satisfatórios para um grande número de propriedades e sistemas, mas com uma menor demanda por recursos computacionais que métodos mais avançados. Entretanto, o desenvolvimento de funcionais que incluem efeitos relativísticos ainda se encontra num estágio inicial. Em geral, tais efeitos são importantes em compostos de átomos pesados, embora devam ser considerados também em sistemas com átomos mais leves se a propriedade em estudo for particularmente sensível, como é o caso do gradiente de campo elétrico na posição de núcleos em moléculas. Assim, na primeira etapa desta dissertação foi avaliado o desempenho de funcionais comuns de troca-correlação não relativísticos, quando utilizados em conjunto com o formalismo de quatro componentes (tratamento relativístico), no estudo dos gradientes de campo elétrico em núcleos de átomos (índio, antimônio, iodo, lutécio e háfnio) constituindo moléculas diatômicas. Foram investigados funcionais baseados nas aproximações da densidade local e do gradiente generalizado, funcionais híbridos e que incluem correções em termos da atenuação com a distância. Nossos resultados, que estão em acordo com observações da literatura, ressaltam o melhor desempenho de funcionais híbridos e com correções de atenuação para esta propriedade e demonstram a importância do uso do método indireto. Posteriormente, foi feita uma nova parametrização de alguns dos melhores funcionais não relativísticos selecionados na etapa anterior (B3LYP, PBE0 e CAM-B3LYP), dentro do formalismo de quatro componentes, para uso no cálculo destes mesmos gradientes num grupo teste de átomos (cobre, iodo, lantânio e ouro) em moléculas lineares. Nestes casos, os funcionais modificados propostos tiveram um bom desempenho geral e foram particularmente bem sucedidos para cobre e ouro. Finalmente, é possível destacar o funcional híbrido PBE0 e sua modificação, proposta neste estudo, por conta de seu desempenho excelente, tanto para os metais como para os demais elementos que tiveram seus EFGs investigados aqui.
The computational chemistry has the great advantage of providing fundamental information for proposed molecular species even before their synthesis in laboratory. The Density Functional Theory is widely used in this area, producing satisfactory results for a large number of properties and systems, but with a lower demand for computational resources than that of more advanced methods. However, the development of functionals that include relativistic effects is still at an early stage. In general, these effects are important in compounds containing heavy elements, but they must also be considered in systems of lighter atoms if the studied property was particularly sensitive, as occurs for the electric field gradient at the position of nuclei in molecules. Thus, the first step of this dissertation was to evaluate the performance of common non-relativistic exchange-correlation functionals when used in conjunction with the four component formalism (relativistic treatment) in the study of electric field gradients at the nuclei of atoms (indium, antimony, iodine, lutetium and hafnium) forming diatomic molecules. Functionals based on the local density approximation and generalized gradient approximation, hybrid functionals and the ones that include attenuation corrections were investigated. Our results, which are in agreement with observations in the literature, highlight the best performance of hybrid functionals and attenuation corrections for this property and demonstrate the importance of using the indirect approach. Subsequently, there was a new parameterization of some of the best non-relativistic functionals selected in the previous step (B3LYP, PBE0 and CAM - B3LYP) within the four component formalism for calculations of these same gradients in a trial group of atoms (copper, iodine, lanthanum and gold) into linear molecules. In these cases, the modified functionals proposed had a satisfactory overall performance and were particularly successful for copper and gold. Finally, it is possible to mention the excellent performance of the hybrid functional PBE0 and its modification proposed in this study for both metals and the other elements that had their EFGs investigated here.

Nesta dissertação é apresentado um estudo dos compostos Li1-3xMgFexPO4 através de Ressonância Magnética Nuclear (7Li e 31P), no intervalo de temperatura de 150 a 410 K. Estudos desses compostos através de técnicas de difração de elétrons e efeito Mossbauer confirmam que os íons Fe entram na rede cristalina na forma Fe3+, substituindo os íons Li+. O comportamento dos espectros de RMN, dos tempos de relaxação spin-rede e da susceptibilidade magnética dos núcleos 7Li e 31P em função da temperatura, em conjunto com medidas de condutividade iônica, indicam que, mesmo com a adição de impurezas Fe3+ na rede, os íons Li+ pouca mobilidade dentro do intervalo de temperatura utilizado.
This work reports a 7Li and 31P nuclear magnetic resonance study in the Li1-3xMgFexPO4 phases between 150 and 410 K. This study, complementary to those made using Mössbauer and magnetic neutron diffraction experiments, confirms that the Fe3+ ions enter as in the lattice, and that they enter substituting Li ions. The behavior of the 7Li e 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, together with ionic conductivity measurements, show that no Li mobility occurs in temperature range studied even with the addition of the Fe impurity.

Momentos de quadrupólo elétricos de estados isoméricos nucleares com vidas médias entre 10 nanosegundos e 100 milisegundos podem ser medidos com o método Espectroscopia de Mistura de Níveis (Level Mixing Spectroscopy- LEMS), utilizando campos magnéticos variáveis aplicados em núcleos implantados em materiais hospedeiros que possuam gradientes de campo elétrico. O Campo magnético externo pode ser substituido pelo campo hiperfino de materiais ferromagnéticos e sua variação poderia ser controlada variando a temperatura. O objetivo deste trabalho é verificar a viabilidade desta substituição. Implementamos o método LEMS no Laboratório Pelletron usando como caso teste o estado isomérico de 398 KeV do 69Ge que possui todas as suas propriedades nucleares conhecidas (meia vida, spin, momento magnético, momento de quadrupolo elétrico). Ele foi produzido pela reação 56Fe(16O, 2pn)69Ge com o feixe de 16O à 53 MeV (LAB) de energia, e depois implantado em Gadolínio que é ferromagnético abaixo de Tc = 289K. Medimos a anisotropia da radiação gama emitida por esse núcleo em função da temperatura. A comparação entre as medidas da anisotropia em função da temperatura, com medidas da anisotropia em função do campo magnético externo, feita pelo grupo de Leuven/Bélgica, nos levou a duas interpretações possíveis. Na primeira, supondo a interação elétrica constante e independente da temperatura, obtemos um campo magnético hiperfino anômalo para o Gd. Na segunda análise, obtivemos o campo hiperfino variando linearmente com a magnetização, admitindo gradientes de campo elétrico dependentes da temperatura. Medidas futuras usando monocristal de Gd poderão resolver esta ambiguidade, bem como medidas TDPAD (Time Diferencial Perturbed Angular Distribuition) em função da temperatura, na qual se mede diretamente o campo hiperfino.
The Level Mixing Spectroscopy method allows to measure the eletric quadrupole moments of high spin isomeric nuclear states (10ns < t < 100ms) produced in nuclear reactions. The magnetic interaction is usualy created by an intense external magnetic field. The eletric quadrupole interaction can be created by recoi-implantation of the nuclei in non-cub crystals, used as hosts. The external magnetic field can then be replaced by the hiperfine fields of ferromagnetic materials, controling its intensity by temperature variation. The purpose of the research performed for this work is to verify the viability of this replacement. We adapt the LEMS method to be used in the Pelletron Laboratory. We choose the isomeric state at 398 KeV exitation energy in the 69Ge nucleus as a test case, because it has all nuclear properties well known (half-life, spin, magnetic moment, eletric quadrupole moment). It was produced by the 56Fe(16O, 2pn)69Ge reaction, with a 16O beam at 53 MeV, and implanted and stopped in a Gadolinium host, which is a ferromagnet from low temperatures up to Tc=289 K. We measure the anisotropy of the emitted gama ray as a function of the temperature of the host. The comparison of this measurement with another of the anisotropy as a function of an external magnetic field strength, done by the Leuven/Belgium group, show us two possibilities. In the first, we suppose that the eletric interaction is cosntant and independent of temprature and we obtain an anomalous magnetic hyperfine field for Gd. In the second one, we obtain a hyperfine field that follows the magnetization if we assume eletric field gradientes that are temperature dependent. New measurements by using Gd monocrystal and the TDPAD (Time Diferencial Perturbed Angular Distribution) method may solve this ambiguity.

The theory of the quadrupole interaction in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and relaxation measurements is presented in detail, with applications to ²H-NMR studies of order and dynamics in bilayers of deuterated lipids. Investigations of lipid-protein interactions in reconstituted membrane systems and intact biological membranes are reviewed. An experimental program is described which uses a synthetic amphiphilic polypeptide, with known geometry and variable length, to isolate questions about the geometrical interpretation of orientational order in lipid-protein interactions. A report is presented of an investigation of the effects of this polypeptide, Lys₂-Gly-Leu₂₀-Lys₂-Ala-amide, on the mixed bilayer system: Dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine Di-per-deuterio-myristoylphosphatidic Acid. The addition of the peptide was found to have little effect (≤5%) on the first and second moments of the distribution of quadrupole splittings in the liquid crystalline phase. Similarly, the spin-lattice relaxation time constants were affected by ≤10% in the liquid crystalline phase. The time constant for the decay of the quadrupole echo decreased dramatically above the phase transition with the addition of peptide, a phenomenon which is explained in terms of the presence of a new slow motion in the lipid-peptide systems. A simple model of the slow motion induced by the peptide is proposed, in which the lipid molecules undergo a rapid exchange between boundary and bulk sites. An effective correlation time is determined from an average over the rotations on each of these sites. Using this model, estimates are made of the change in the second moment brought about by the onset of the rotations, and. of the number of binding sites on the peptide. These estimates are found to be in agreement with independent measurements of the change in the second moment, and the number of binding sites is within the range predicted by simple considerations of charge balance. The change in the lineshape with the variation of the spacing of the pulses in the quadrupole echo experiment was investigated, and it was determined that the transverse relaxation time constants have a slight orientation dependence. It was also determined that the addition of the peptide has no significant effect on the variation of the lineshape. Some experiments which could answer some of the questions raised by these results are suggested.
Science, Faculty of
Physics and Astronomy, Department of
Graduate

Thesis (Ph.D.); Submitted to the University of California, Berkeley, CA (US); 21 Dec 2004.
Published through the Information Bridge: DOE Scientific and Technical Information. "LBNL--56768" Urban, Jeffry Todd. USDOE Director. Office of Science. Office of Basic Energy Sciences (US) 12/21/2004. Report is also available in paper and microfiche from NTIS.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, May 23, 2014.
A systematic experimental investigation was performed of the phenomenon of fine structure, with emphasis on the region of the Isoscalar Giant Quadrupole Resonance (ISGQR), in nuclei across stable even-even neodymium isotopes. The 200 MeV proton beams were delivered by the Separated Sector Cyclotron (SSC) facility of iThemba Laboratory for Accelerator Based Sciences (iThemba LABS). Measurements were made using the state-of-the-art K = 600 magnetic spectrometer, where unique high energy-resolution ( E ≈ 42 − 48 keV FWHM) proton inelastic scattering results were obtained on 142Nd, 144Nd, 146Nd, 148Nd and 150Nd targets. All measurements were taken at θLab = 8◦, where the cross-section of the ISGQR is at a maximum. An additional measurement was also made for the 142Nd at θLab = 7◦. Nuclei with mass number A ≈ 150 and neutron number N ≈ 90 are of special interest since they occupy that region of the nuclide chart wherein the onset of permanent prolate deformation occurs. The stable neodymium (Z = 60) isotopes have been chosen in the present study in order to investigate the effects accompanying the onset of deformation on the excitation energy spectra in the ISGQR region (9 ≤ Ex ≤ 15 MeV). The neodymium isotopes extend from the semi-magic N = 82 nucleus (142Nd) to the permanently deformed N = 90 (150Nd) nucleus. In order to emphasize the ISGQR in the measured excitation energy spectra, a Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) background subtraction was carried out. This model independent method for background determination decomposes the spectrum into various approximations and details through the application of high pass and low pass filters. A comparison of the resonance widths extracted shows a systematic broadening of the ISGQR (􀀀 = 3.220 MeV to 5.100 MeV), moving from spherical 142Nd to highly deformed 150Nd nuclei as has already been observed for the Isovector Giant Dipole Resonance (IVGDR) excited by γ-capture. Even though it is known that the IVGDR spectacularly splits and shows a double bump for the deformed 150Nd, no obvious splitting of the ISGQR was observed. In order to investigate the fine structure of the ISGQR, a theoretical microscopic calculation termed the Quasiparticle-Phonon Model (QPM) was applied to predict excitation energy spectra for 142−146Nd targets. These calculations were based on the one- plus two-phonon configuration. Characteristic energy scales were extracted for the resonance region using the Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) technique, on both experimental data and theoretical predictions. Comparison of the resulting characteristic energy scales suggests the coupling to low-lying collective vibrations as the dominant contributor to the ISGQR decay width. Level densities of 2+ states were extracted through the application of a fluctuation analysis technique, for full spectra from the ground state upwards in all five Nd targets. Comparisons are made with theoretical predictions from the Back Shifted Fermi Gas, Hartree-Fock-BCS and Hartree-Fock-Bogoluibov models. While there is generally an excellent agreement between experimental level densities and theoretical predictions from the ground state up to less than 10 MeV excitation, there is a marked disagreement beyond 10 MeV in all target nuclei. Comparison of the experimental results for the Nd isotope chain shows a clear systematic trend in which the onset of this disagreement occurs at lower and lower excitation energies, moving from low to high mass. For the spherical 142Nd nucleus the deviation occurs at about 9 MeV while in the case of the deformed 150Nd this occurs much earlier at about 4 MeV, all limited to a maximum of 103 MeV−1 by the energy resolution of the present experiment. Additionally, measurements of elastic scattering and inelastic excitation of lowlying collective states in 144−150Nd has also been possible. Excitation energy spectra in all targets predominantly exhibited various 2+ states, owing to the “spin-filter” effects. A single strong 3− 1 state, together with a weak 4+ 1 state were observed in each target nucleus. Angular distributions were obtained for the various ground and excited states by applying the optical model of elastic scattering and Distorted Wave Born Approximation (DWBA) of inelastic scattering. Deformation lengths δL were obtained for most of the states and these were in good agreement with previously obtained results from the literature.