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EPJ H - Foundations of Quantum Statistical Physics Revisited

There is a divide, in quantum statistical physics, between the "ensemblists" who regard thermal equilibrium as a property of an ensemble (or a mixed state) and the "individualists" who regard thermal equilibrium as a property of an individual system (in a pure state). A long forgotten concept of equilibrium put forward by John von Neumann in 1929 is reanalyzed and shown to be influenced by both approaches, yet to be mainly based on the individualist view - a view that has gained ground recently.

EPJ D - Ions that love DNA to bits

Ions that love DNA to bits

Low energy carbon ions have been directed to small DNA strand. The results provide new information of the mechanisms of DNA damage during ion beam therapy, also called hadron therapy.

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Daan Frenkel wins Soft Matter and Biological Physics Award

Professor Daan Frenkel (Cambridge University), Editor in Chief of EPJ E is the 2010 recipient of the Soft Matter and Biological Physics award for his contributions to the development and application of computational methods that have transformed our understanding of soft and biomolecular materials.

The Royal Society of Chemistry established this award in 2008. The award will be officially presented to Daan Frenkel in spring 2011. The publishers and the EPJ E journal team congratulate Daan Frenkel on this prestigious achievement.

Discounted Open Access fee for Physical Society members

Members of the European Physical Societies represented in the EPJ Scientific Advisory Committee who choose to publish their EPJ paper in open access enjoy a 10% discount on the open access fee. For detailed information on how open access works in EPJ please click here.

EPJ D – Measurements in the hot spot of a plasma

Measurements in the hot spot of a plasma

A group of researchers in Greifswald, Germany, measured the electron concentration and electron temperature in the active discharge zone of a self-organized plasma jet. Self-organized discharge patterns are shown as time averaged top view in the picture.

Miniaturized non-thermal plasma jets are an emerging technique for surface treatments at ambient pressure, such as cleaning, activation, etching, films deposition and more.

The authors of this EPJ D paper used two independent approaches: spectroscopy and a two-dimensional fluid model calculation of a discharge filament. The results from the two methods are consistent and indicate electron concentrations between 2.2 and 3.3×1014 cm-3. This work represents a first step towards a thorough physical description of the discharge dynamics and energy transport to gain a better understanding of self-organization effects in non thermal plasma jets.

EPJ B – Longitudinal polarization analysis, SANS souci

Longitudinal polarization analysis, SANS souci

Ground breaking experiments in EPJ B by D. Honecker and colleagues on an FeCr two-phase nanocrystalline alloy demonstrate the power of one-dimensional neutron-spin analysis in a small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiment.

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EPJ D – Phase equations describe birdsongs

maltese canary
Image from Photo.com: 95825077 – maltese canary

The air sac pressure patterns used by domestic canaries during song were analyzed by a group of Argentinean statistical physicists in terms of phase equations.

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Geysers of Helium burst as if liquid

Geysers of Helium burst as if liquid

New experiments on the flow of solid He through a microscopic hole reveal a mechanism that triggers the geysers based on the breakdown of a plug located upstream of the source chamber.

The vacuum expansion of solid helium through a micrometric orifice was suggested as a mean to inject excess vacancies into the solid bulk [R. Grisenti et al, J. Electr. Spectr. 129 (2003) 201]. But while the He flow seems smooth, unexpected periodic bursts out of the orifice (geyser effect) are observed during these vacuum expansion experiments.

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EPJ D - New call for papers on cold quantum matter

The topics of this special issue will include: Quantum simulation using cold atoms in optical lattices; fermionic mixtures of ultracold atoms; collisions of cold polar molecules; controlled interactions in quantum gases of metastable atoms; cavity-mediated molecular cooling; quantum-degenerate dipolar gases of bialkali molecules.

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EPJ D - Gaetana Laricchia wins Thomson Medal

Gaetana Laricchia

Professor Gaetana Laricchia of UCL, London, has been awarded the Thomson medal and prize for her contributions to the development of the world's only positronium beam and its use to probe the properties of atoms and molecules. This follows closely the Occhialini prize which she received in 2009.

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Editors-in-Chief
B. Fraboni and G. García López
On behalf of all my colleagues and me, I really appreciate the quick and precise editorial process on this paper. That made our work much better, which assisted us in achieving our goal.

Farnaz Foadi, Plasma Physics Research Center, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

ISSN: 2190-5444 (Electronic Edition)

© Società Italiana di Fisica and
Springer-Verlag

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