The iso-butene oligomerization activity of pure and metal-substituted synthetic mica-montmorillonite (SMM) was studied by simultaneous thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA). The incorporation of matrix Ni and ion-exchanged Co, Ni and Zn into SMM increased its iso-butene oligomerization activity while the presence of water in the olefinic feed reduced activity. These findings corresponded to trends found in previous work on high pressure (50 MPa) propene oligomerization over SMM and metal-substituted SMM.

We investigate the nonlinear behaviour of the dynamically unstablerotating star for the bar mode by three dimensional hydrodynamics inNewtonian gravity. We find that an oscillation along the rotationaxis is induced throughout the growth of the unstable bar mode, andthat its characteristic frequency is twice as that of the bar mode,which oscillates mainly along the equatorial plane. The numericalresults also indicate that the vertical oscillation amplifies anotherwaves with odd azimuthal wave-numbers in the horizontal plane likeFaraday resonance. A possibility to observe Faraday resonance ingravitational waves is demonstrated and discussed.

A high-temperature nanoindentation measurement method has been developed for evaluating the hardness and modulus of low-k films when the temperature is raised from R.T. to 200°C. Thermal stability and chemical changes due to heating were investigated by Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis, and by thermal desorption spectroscopy, respectively. Two different classes of low-k materials, organic polyarylence ether film and methyl-hydrogen-silsesquioxane film, were examined. The hardness and modulus of the former film during heating increased due to water desorption in the lower temperature range, and then decreased due to the evolution of hydrocarbon gas from some unreacted components or solvent residuals in the higher temperature range. In regard to the latter film, the hardness and modulus of a specimen (A) having a higher hydrocarbon content decreased during heating and reached the lowest value at 200°C and then constantly remained at the lowest levels during cooling. In contrast, no significant changes in hardness and modulus were observed for a specimen (B) having a lower hydrocarbon content in either the heating or cooling process. The reduction of the hardness and modulus of specimen A was attributed to thermal decomposition of most of its Si-CH3 and SiH/SiH2 chains. These results revealed that the temperature dependence of the hardness and modulus of low-k films is significantly affected by physical and/or chemical changes during heating due to moisture absorption, thermal evolution of organic residuals and thermal decomposition, rather than other factors such as thermal stress.

Larvae of the hydrothermal vent barnacle Neoverruca sp. were reared under laboratory conditions and larval development was observed. Under these conditions, the larvae were released from adults as first-stage nauplii, although the larvae of other deep-sea barnacles have generally been considered to be released at a later larval stage such as the cyprid stage. The larvae of Neoverruca sp. were lecithotrophic through six naupliar stages and the subsequent cyprid stage. The larval period of Neoverruca sp. was more than 96 days under the present rearing conditions, which is the longest yet reported for barnacles. Most cyprid larvae, however, exhibited abnormal morphology and no larvae settled successfully on the substrate. These observations suggest that such a long larval period might enable neoverrucid barnacles to disperse between vent fields.

Silicone oil was photo-chemically oxidized to change into SiO2 on the crystal by using an ArF excimer laser; the protective moistureproof film has been developed for a nonlinear optical crystal that is deliquescent.

The nonlinear optical crystals such as CsLiB6O10 (CLBO) and KH2PO4 (KDP) are deliquescent, which causes their surfaces to be cloudy by absorbing moisture in the air. We, therefore, demonstrated the growth of the SiO 2 film directly on the crystal so as to be moistureproof.

Firstly, dimethylsiloxane silicone oil (-O-Si(CH3)2-O-)n was poured on the substrate and coated by a spinner for making the silicone oil thin layer. Then, the ArF excimer laser was vertically irradiated on the sample in oxygen atmosphere. The O atom on the substrate surface was photo-excited by the laser to generate a high active O atom. At the same time, the Si-CH3 bond of the silicone oil was photo-dissociated and the dangling bond of Si was linked with the active O atom to form a SiO 2 film on the crystal surface.

In short, the film formed by the new technology can be used as a protective coating, which has the moisture resistance and the UV permeability, for a nonlinear optical crystal.

The interaction process between fast heavy ions and dense plasma was experimentally investigated. We injected 4.3-MeV/u or 6.0-MeV/u iron ions into a z-pinch-discharge helium plasma and measured the energy loss of the ions by the time of flight method. The energy loss of 4.3-MeV/u ions fairly agreed with theoretical prediction when the electron density of the target was on the order of 1018 cm−3. With increasing electron density beyond 1019 cm−3, the difference between the experiment and the theory became remarkable; the experimental energy loss was 15% larger than the theoretical value at the peak density. For 6.0-MeV/u ions, the deviation from the theory appeared even at densities below 1019 cm−3. These discrepancies indicated that density effects such as ladderlike ionization caused the enhancement of the projectile mean charge in the target.

The charge-state distribution and the energy loss of oxygen ions in a laser-produced hydrogen plasma have been investigated experimentally. The plasma target had a maximum electron density of 5 × 1018 cm−3 and a maximum electron temperature of 13 eV. The mean charge state of the oxygen ions in the hydrogen plasma was measured to be 5.1, which was considerably higher than that in hydrogen gas. The energy loss of oxygen ions in the plasma of a density less than 1 × 1018 cm−3 in the plasma showed a large enhancement compared with that in hydrogen gas. However, the energy loss in the plasma of a density above 1 × 1018 cm−3 showed no enhancement.

This article reports on the interaction between slow ions and a partially ionized plasma. Temporal evolutions of energy loss and charge distribution of 2.4 MeV oxygen beams in the laser-induced polyethylene plasma were measured. The charge distribution showed strong stripping ability in the early phase of the plasma. Stopping power deduced from the experimental energy loss was 1.9 times larger than that for the solid. The effective charge of the projectile ion was estimated from the yields of 4+ and 6+ states. The peak value of the effective charge was 1.4 times larger than that of the solid. The stopping power equation given by Sigmund was extended for the partially ionized plasma and it could reproduce the measured energy loss.

An energy loss of 240 MeV argon ions in a Z-pinch helium plasma has been for the first time observed throughout the entire pinching process. Standard Stark broadening analysis gives an electron density ranging from 4 to 6 × 1017 cm−3 during the pinch. To deduce stopping power from the energy loss, the target thickness of the helium plasma has been evaluated assuming the mean charge of helium based on thermal equilibrium. The observed electron density and the mean charge of helium give a target thickness of 30 ± 3 μg cm−2 from 1 μs to 1.8 μs after the discharge ignition. The measured stopping power exceeds a tabulated value for cold helium gas by a factor of 2 to 3 around the time of the first pinch. The experimental stopping power is compared with theoretical values calculated using an equation of stopping power for a partially ionized plasma.

In the last decade the triennial reports from Commission 49 have covered various topics like (nonlinear) plasma processes, magnetohydrodynamic phenomena and flows in the heliosphere, solar wind composition, transient events in, and latitudinal dependencies of, the heliosphere, interstellar gas flow through the interface region, kinetic versus magnetohydrodynamic theory in heliospheric plasmas and charged dust in space plasmas. Continuing the tradition of summarizing specific aspects to give astronomers outside our own specialty a flavour of our field, we now address recent advances in understanding coronal mass ejections in interplanetary space and the inner heliospheric solar wind under quiet and perturbed conditions. We owe a great debt of gratitude to the eminent contributors for their valiant efforts in writing these succinct but clear reports and guiding us through the recent literature.

The growth of the shells of C60 crystals was carried out under various conditions. The detailed structures of the grown shells were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The shells were formed during thermal sublimation of the C60 crystals, which were irradiated with white light in air. The shells were mainly composed of a kind of amorphous carbon. From these results, it is suggested that the oxygen-induced disintegration of C60 cages is responsible for the shell formation.

A large area (5 × 1010km2) of a coronal hole disappeared in concert with a transient brightening of a nearby high-latitude coronal arcade in the northern hemisphere on 15 May 1992. This coronal-hole disappearance took place in a time scale of half a day. It is suggested that the large-scale and quick change in coronal-hole geometry induced the eruption of originally closed coronal magnetic structure of the high-latitude arcade. An associated solar wind disturbance with the plasma speed of > 700 km/sec was observed by IPS, and geomagnetic sudden commencement was reported on 18 May 1992.

We have been carrying out solar wind measurements using the interplanetary scintillation (IPS) method. Our IPS observation system is operated at a frequency of 327MHz and consists of four stations located at Toyokawa, Fuji, Sugadaira and Kiso. The present system, however, has insufficient sensitivity to measure enough IPS sources for observing the solar wind with adequate spatial and temporal resolution. Therefore we have been excuting the upgrade project since 1994 in order to observe a larger number of compact radio sources. The Fuji system has been improved successfully and has achieved sensitivity by a factor over five compared with the previous system. The upgrade project is now in progress for the Toyokawa and Sugadaira station.

Interplanetary scintillation has observed high-latitude streams which show low speeds (≤400 km/s) within 0.3 AU and high speeds (≥700 km/s) beyond 0.3 AU. The foot points of these streams were located in the Hel coronal holes or at their boundaries. Since the IPS measurement is biased by one or several mechanisms, we investigated whether this acceleration phenomena could be caused by bias effects or not. Speed increase of more than 100 km/s is left without being explained by the bias effects.

The heating-rate dependence of crystallization temperature, Tc, and the glass transition temperature, Tg, is studied from the view points of nucleation and fragmentation processes in disordered structures. Tc and Tg are expected to increase monotonically with heating rate. Such behaviors of Tc and Tg are classified into four characteristic regions with respect to the heating rate. Results are summarized in the Transient Phase Diagram where Tc and Tg are given as a function of heating rate. The scaling rule in the Transient Phase Diagram is given.