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Experimental coincidence cross section and transverse-longitudinal asymmetry A{sub TL} have been obtained for the quasielastic (e,e'p) reaction in {sup 16}O, {sup 12}C, and {sup 208}Pb in constant q-ω kinematics in the missing momentum range -350 < p{sub miss} < 350 MeV/c. In these experiments, performed in experimental Hall A of the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLAB), the beam energy and the momentum and angle of the scattered electrons were kept fixed, while the angle between the proton momentum and the momentum transfer q was varied in order to map out the missing momentum distribution. The experimental cross section and A{sub TL} asymmetry have been compared with Monte Carlo simulations based on Distorted Wave Impulse Approximation (DWIA) calculations with both relativistic and non-relativistic spinor structure. The spectroscopic factors obtained for both models are in agreement with previous experimental values, while A{sub TL} measurements favor the relativistic DWIA calculation. This thesis describes the details of the experimental setup, the calibration of the spectrometers, the techniques used in the data analysis to derive the final cross sections and the A{sub TL}, the ingredients of the theoretical calculations employed and the comparison of the results with the simulations based on these theoretical models.

The search for a fundamental theory of matter and forces in the universe has ever since attracted the interest of physicists. The large success of the gauge theories in the description of low-energy phenomena nourishes the hope that gauge symmetries are the clue to a unified description of all fundamental processes at high energy scales. Particle collision experiments of the past decades have probed the structure of matter with increasing resolution. The phenomena observed in collision experiments at current energy scales are described with a large precision by the Standard Model of particle physics. Nevertheless, many open questions in the Standard Model suggest that it is an effective low-energy theory of a more fundamental theory: the numbers of free parameters of the model, the numbers of generations, the hierarchy between the electroweak scale and the Planck scale, the pending integration of gravity and the evolution of the strengths of the fundamental forces at large energy regimes. In addition, recent cosmological data suggest that the density of ordinary matter which is described by the Standard Model, corresponds only to a small fraction of the matter density in the universe. Many of the above mentioned problems are addressed by an extension of …

Gas atomization reaction synthesis (GARS) was employed as a simplified method for producing precursor powders for oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) ferritic stainless steels (e.g., Fe-Cr-Y-(Ti,Hf)-O), departing from the conventional mechanical alloying (MA) process. During GARS processing a reactive atomization gas (i.e., Ar-O{sub 2}) was used to oxidize the powder surfaces during primary break-up and rapid solidification of the molten alloy. This resulted in envelopment of the powders by an ultra-thin (t < 150 nm) metastable Cr-enriched oxide layer that was used as a vehicle for solid-state transport of O into the consolidated microstructure. In an attempt to better understand the kinetics of this GARS reaction, theoretical cooling curves for the atomized droplets were calculated and used to establish an oxidation model for this process. Subsequent elevated temperature heat treatments, which were derived from Rhines pack measurements using an internal oxidation model, were used to promote thermodynamically driven O exchange reactions between trapped films of the initial Cr-enriched surface oxide and internal Y-enriched intermetallic precipitates. This novel microstructural evolution process resulted in the successful formation of nano-metric Y-enriched dispersoids, as confirmed using high energy X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), equivalent to conventional ODS alloys from MA powders. The thermal …

Fe-K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) has been used to investigate the electronic and geometric structure of the iron active site in non-heme iron enzymes. A new theoretical extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) analysis approach, called GNXAS, has been tested on data for iron model complexes to evaluate the utility and reliability of this new technique, especially with respect to the effects of multiple-scattering. In addition, a detailed analysis of the 1s{yields}3d pre-edge feature has been developed as a tool for investigating the oxidation state, spin state, and geometry of iron sites. Edge and EXAFS analyses have then been applied to the study of non-heme iron enzyme active sites.

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The photodissociation of free radicals is studied in order to characterize the spectroscopy and dissociation dynamics of the dissociative electronic states in these species. To accomplish this, a novel method of radical production, based on the photodetachment of the corresponding negative ion, has been combined with a highly complementary form of photofragment translational spectroscopy. The optical spectroscopy of transitions to dissociative states is determined by monitoring the total photofragment yield as a function of dissociation photon energy. Branching ratios to various product channels, internal energy distributions of the fragments, bond dissociation energies, and the translational energy-dependent photofragment recoil angular distributions are then determined at selected excitation energies. A detailed picture of the dissociation dynamics can then be formulated, allowing insight concerning the interactions of potential energy surfaces involved in the dissociation. After an introduction to the concepts and techniques mentioned above, the experimental apparatus used in these experiments is described in detail. The basis and methods used in the treatment of data, especially in the dissociation dynamics experiments, are then put forward.