Surface and interface optical phonon modes and electron-phonon interaction in a multi-shell spherical system

Within the framework of the dielectric continuum model, interface optical(IO) and surface optical(SO) phonon modes and the Fr?hlich electron-IO (SO) phonon interaction Hamiltonian in a multi-shell spherical system were derived and studied. Numerical calculation on CdS/HgS/H₂O and CdS/HgS/CdS/H₂O spherical systems have been performed. Results reveal that there are two IO modes and one SO mode for the CdS/HgS/H₂O system, one SO mode and four IO modes whose frequencies approach the IO phonon frequencies of the single CdS/HgS heterostructure with the increasing of the quantum number l for CdS/HgS/CdS/H₂O. It also showed that smaller l and SO phonon compared with IO phonon, have more significant contribution to the electron-IO (SO) phonon interaction. Received 16 October 2001 and Received in final form 23 January 2002 Published online 25 June 2002     

T-matrix analysis of biexcitonic correlations in the nonlinear optical response of semiconductor quantum wells

A detailed numerical analysis of exciton-exciton interactions in semiconductor quantum wells is presented. The theory is based on the dynamics-controlled truncation formalism and evaluated for the case of resonant excitation of 1s-heavy-hole excitons. It is formulated in terms of standard concepts of scattering theory, such as the forward-scattering amplitude (or T-matrix). The numerical diagonalization of the exciton-exciton interaction matrix in the 1s-approximation yields the excitonic T-matrix. We discuss the role of the direct and exchange interaction in the effective two-exciton Hamiltonian, which determines the T-matrix, evaluated within the 1s-subspace, and also analyze the effects of the excitonic wave function overlap matrix. Inclusion of the latter is shown to effectively prevent the 1s-approximation from making the Hamiltonian non-hermitian, but a critical discussion shows that other artefacts may be avoided by not including the overlap matrix. We also present a detailed analysis of the correspondence between the excitonic T-matrix in the 1s-approximation and the well-known T-matrix governing two-particle interactions in two dimensional systems via short-range potentials. Received 3 August 2001 and Received in final form 26 December 2001     

Influence of the spin-orbit couplingon nuclear superfluidity along the N = Z line

We show that the spin-orbit potential of the nuclear mean field destroys isoscalar superfluid correlations in self-conjugate nuclei. Using group theory and boson mapping techniques on a Hamiltonian including single particle splittings and a SO _ST(8) pairing interaction, we give analytical expressions for the spin-orbit dependence of some N = Z properties such as the relative position of T = 0 and T = 1 states in odd-odd systems or double binding-energy differences of even-even nuclei. Received: 12 April 2000 / Accepted: 25 May 2000     

Relation between vortex excitation and thermal conductivity in superconductors

Thermal conductivity κ _xx(T) under a field is investigated in d _{x2 - y2}-wave superconductors and isotropic s-wave superconductors by the linear response theory, using a microscopic wave function of the vortex lattice states. To study the origin of the different field dependence of κ_xx(T) between higher and lower temperature regions, we analyze the spatially-resolved thermal conductivity around a vortex at each temperature, which is related to the spectrum of the local density of states. We also discuss the electric conductivity in the same formulation for a comparison. Received 8 December 2001 and Received in final form 20 March 2002 Published online 6 June 2002     

Spin-wave spectrum of a two-dimensional itinerant electron system: Analytic results for the incommensurate spiral phase in the strong-coupling limit

We study the zero-temperature spin fluctuations of a two-dimensional itinerant-electron system with an incommensurate magnetic ground state described by a single-band Hubbard Hamiltonian. We introduce the (broken-symmetry) magnetic phase at the mean-field (Hartree-Fock) level through a spiral spin configuration with characteristic wave vector Q different in general from the antiferromagnetic wave vector Q _AF, and consider spin fluctuations over and above it within the electronic random-phase (RPA) approximation. We obtain a closed system of equations for the generalized wave vector and frequency dependent susceptibilities, which are equivalent to the ones reported recently by Brenig. We obtain, in addition, analytic results for the spin-wave dispersion relation in the strong-coupling limit of the Hubbard Hamiltonian and find that at finite doping the spin-wave dispersion relation has a hybrid form between that associated with the (localized) Heisenberg model and that associated with the (long-range) RKKY exchange interaction. We also find an instability of the spin-wave spectrum in a finite region about the center of the Brillouin zone, which signals a physical instability toward a different spin- or, possibly, charge-ordered phase, as, for example, the stripe structures observed in the high-T _c materials. We expect, however, on physical grounds that for wave vectors external to this region the spin-wave spectrum that we have determined should survive consideration of more sophisticated mean-field solutions. Received 15 September 2000     

Stability and instability of a hot and dilute nuclear droplet

Results on dissipative isoscalar modes of a hot and dilute nuclear droplet are presented. As compared to the adiabatic limit (part I), realistic dissipation yields a substantial reduction of the growth rates for all unstable modes, while the area of spinodal instability in the (ϱ,T)-plane remains unchanged. The qualitative features of multifragmentation through spinodal decomposition as obtained in the adiabatic limit are not significantly affected by dissipation. Received: 10 January 2002 / Accepted: 10 February 2002     

Zeroth and second laws of thermodynamics simultaneously questioned in the quantum microworld

A new and rather trivial model is suggested with mechanism that implies simultaneous violation of the zeroth and the second laws of thermodynamics. Mathematically rigorous quantum theory reduces to a trivial application of the Golden rule formula. It yields exciton on-energy-shell diffusion caused by bath-nonassisted excitation hopping between tails of different exciton site levels ε₁ < ε₂ broadened by bath-assisted finite life-time effects. The elastic character of the hopping implies 1 ↔ 2-symmetric transfer rate W. Thus the net diffusion exciton flow W(P ₁ - P ₂) and also, as argued, the net energy flow are possible due to different near-to-equilibrium exciton populations P ₁ > P ₂. As the sites are provided with two different baths, the population imbalance and the flows survive even for slightly different local bath temperatures T ₁ < T ₂ < T ₁ε₂/ε₁. Thus spontaneous exciton and also energy flows against temperature step become possible, in contradiction with the Clausius form of the second law. Violations of both the laws disappear in the high-temperature, i.e. classical limit Received 16 May 2001 and Received in final form 20 September 2001     

Magnetic, electronic, dielectric and optical properties of Pr(Ca:Sr)MnO 3

The charge-ordered perovskite Pr_0.65Ca_0.28Sr_0.07MnO₃ was investigated by means of magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, dielectric and optical spectroscopy and electron-spin resonance techniques. Under moderate magnetic fields, the charge order melts yielding colossal magnetoresistance effects with changes of the resistivity over eleven orders of magnitude. The optical conductivity is studied from audio frequencies far into the visible spectral regime. Below the phonon modes hopping conductivity is detected. Beyond the phonon modes the optical conductivity is explained by polaronic excitations out of a bound state. ESR techniques yield detailed informations on the (H,T ) phase diagram and reveal a broadening of the linewidth which can be modeled in terms of activated polaron hopping. Received 9 August 2000     

Phase transition and random-field induced domain wall response of SrTi O 3

The dielectric permittivity ε^′ - i of SrTi ¹⁸O ₃ (STO18) is studied under a dc electric field E as a function of the temperature, T. In ε^′ vs. T, a double-peak is found when 0 < E < 30 KV/m. While the peak at high-T is attributed to the smeared ferroelectric phase transition, the low-T one is induced by domain wall motion. The transverse Ising model including an external homogeneous and quenched random-fields is successfully used to describe both the smeared phase transition and the domain wall response in the low-T domain state. The calculations are in good agreement with the experimental results. Received 4 January 2002 / Received in final form 25 March 2002 Published online 19 July 2002     

Dynamics of a single ion in a perturbed Penning trap. Sextupolar perturbation

In the frame work of classical mechanics, we study the nonlinear dynamics of a single ion trapped in a Penning trap perturbed by an electrostatic sextupolar perturbation. The perturbation is caused by a deformation in the configuration of the electrodes. By using a Hamiltonian formulation, we obtain that the system is governed by three parameters: the z-component of the canonical angular momentum P _φ - which is a constant of the motion because the perturbation we assume is axial-symmetric -, the parameter δ that determines the ratio between the axial and the cyclotron frequencies, and the parameter a which indicates how far from the ideal design the electrodes are. We study the case P _φ = 0. By means of surfaces of section, we show that the phase space structure is made of three fundamental families of orbits: arch, loop and box orbits. The coexistence of these kinds of orbits depends on the parameter δ. The escape is also explained on the basis of the shape of the potential energy surface as well as of the phase space structure. Received 6 September 2001 / Received in final form 19 March 2002 Published online 28 June 2002     

Static and dynamic properties of supercooled thin polymer films

The dynamic and static properties of a supercooled (non-entangled) polymer melt are investigated via molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations. The system is confined between two completely smooth and purely repulsive walls. The wall-to-wall separation (film thickness), D, is varied from about 3 to about 14 times the bulk radius of gyration. Despite the geometric confinement, the supercooled films exhibit many qualitative features which were also observed in the bulk and could be analyzed in terms of mode-coupling theory (MCT). Examples are the two-step relaxation of the incoherent intermediate scattering function, the time-temperature superposition property of the late time α-process and the space-time factorization of the scattering function on the intermediate time scale of the MCT β-process. An analysis of the temperature dependence of the α-relaxation time suggests that the critical temperature, T _c, of MCT decreases with D. If the confinement is not too strong ( D≥10monomer diameter), the static structure factor of the film coincides with that of the bulk when compared for the same distance, T - T _c(D), to the critical temperature. This suggests that T - T _c(D) is an important temperature scale of our model both in the bulk and in the films. Received 12 September 2001     

Confinement and processing effects on glass transition temperature and physical aging in ultrathin polymer films: Novel fluorescence measurements

Fluorescence intensity measurements of chromophore-doped or -labeled polymers have been used for the first time to determine the effects of decreasing film thickness on glass transition temperature, T _g, the relative strength of the glass transition, and the relative rate of physical aging below T _g in supported, ultrathin polymer films. The temperature dependence of fluorescence intensity measured in the glassy state of thin and ultrathin films of pyrene-doped polystyrene (PS), poly(isobutyl methacrylate) (PiBMA), and poly(2-vinylpyridine) (P2VP) differs from that in the rubbery state with a transition at T _g. Positive deviations from bulk T _g are observed in ultrathin PiBMA and P2VP films on silica substrates while substantial negative deviations from bulk T _g are observed in ultrathin PS films on silica substrates. The relative difference in the temperature dependences of fluorescence intensity in the rubbery and glassy states is usually reduced with decreasing film thickness, indicating that the strength of the glass transition is reduced in thinner films. The temperature dependence of fluorescence intensity also provides useful information on effects of processing history as well as on the degree of polymer-substrate interaction. In addition, when used as a polymer label, a mobility-sensitive rotor chromophore is demonstrated to be useful in measuring relative rates of physical aging in films as thin as 10 nm. Received 21 August 2001     

New insight in the level structure of <Superscript>153</Superscript>Er

The high-spin level structure of the ¹⁵³Er nucleus has been reinvestigated by in-beam γ-ray and electron spectroscopy with (¹⁴N,pxn) reaction. Excitation energies, spin and parity assignments are unambiguously established for the two lowest isomers T _1/2≃ 380 ns and T_1/2\simeq 10 ns. The characteristics of the third one (T _1/2≃ 250 ns) at 5.2 MeV are still questionable but its main decay modes are better known. An extension of the level scheme is proposed up to 8.4 MeV.Experimental results have been discussed in terms of shell model multiplets and compared with the other structures observed in N=85 neighbouring nuclei. Received: 8 November 1999 / Revised version: 13 December 1999     

Proton polarization in the p(e,e′p)π0 reaction and the measurement of quadrupole components in the N to Δ transition

The recoil proton polarization in the π⁰ production off the proton with longitudinally polarized electron beam has been studied as a means to measure quadrupole components in the N to Δ transition. On top of the Δ resonance a high sensitivity to a possible Coulomb quadrupole excitation is found in parallel kinematics. The ratio of S ₁₊/M ₁₊ multipole amplitudes can be determined from the ratio of the two in-scattering-plane recoil proton polarization components. Avoiding the absolute measurement of the polarizations, such a ratio allows small experimental uncertainties. Furthermore, the electron helicity independent proton polarization component enables the characterization of resonant and non-resonant pieces. Received: 3 November 1997     

Phase transitions sequence in pyrochlore Cd2Nb2O7 studied by IR reflectivity

The infrared reflectivity of Cd₂Nb₂O₇ single crystal was studied in the temperature interval of 10-540 K, together with complementary dielectric measurements. A ferroelectric soft mode was revealed above the ferroelectric phase transition at T _c = 196 K coupled with a central-mode type dispersion in the near-millimetre range. This proves the mixed displacive and order-disorder nature of the transition. Below T _c many new modes were detected due to lowering of the symmetry, especially below the previously suggested incommensurate transition at 85 K. Discussion of the possible phase transitions based on symmetry considerations is presented with the conclusion that the ferroelectric transition is proper with the F_1u symmetry of the order parameter, whereas the intermediate ferroelastic transition is improper and triggered by the coupling with the ferroelectric order parameter. Received 17 July 2000     

Neutrons produced by 1.22 GeV antiproton interactions with nuclei

Inclusive neutron energy spectra were measured by time of flight using 1.22 GeV antiprotons from LEAR, CERN, as projectiles and targets from natural Al, Cu, Ag, Ho, Ta, Au, Pb, Bi, U. The sum of two Maxwellian distributions was fitted to the spectra obtained at several forward and backward angles yielding neutron multiplicities M_i and slope or temperature parameters T _i for the low-energy (evaporative, i=1) and high-energy (pre-equilibrium,i=2) parts, respectively. M ₁ increases with A, proportional to the nuclear volume, and M ₂ is growing with A , proportional to the nuclear radius. The T parameters are nearly independent of A. The results are compared with previous multiplicity measurements with a neutron detector, intranuclear cascade calculations and neutron spectra from stopped antiproton annihilation on nuclei. With the measured proton spectra also the ratio of emitted neutrons to protons was determined for Au. Received: 25 February 2000 / Accepted: 19 May 2000     

Thermal dileptons from quark and hadron phases of an expanding fireball

A fireball model with time evolution based on transport calculations is used to examine the dilepton emission rate of an ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collision. A transition from hadronic matter to a quark-gluon plasma at a critical temperature T _C between 130-170 MeV is assumed. We also consider a possible mixed phase scenario. We include thermal corrections to the hadronic spectra below T _C and use perturbation theory above T _C. The sensitivity of the spectra with respect to the freeze-out temperature, the initial fireball temperature and the critical temperature is investigated. Received: 4 August 2000 / Accepted: 14 November 2000     

An analytic study of the E ⊗ e Jahn-Teller polaron

An analytic study is presented of the E⊗e Jahn-Teller (JT) polaron, consisting of a mobile e_g electron linearly coupled to the local e_g normal vibrations of a periodic array of octahedral complexes. Due to the linear coupling, the parity operator and the angular momentum operator commute with the JT part and cause a twofold degeneracy of each JT eigenvalue. This degeneracy is lifted by the anisotropic hopping term. The Hamiltonian is then mapped onto a new Hilbert space, which is isomorphic to an eigenspace of belonging to a fixed angular momentum eigenvalue j > 0. In this representation, the Hamiltonian depends explicitly on j and decomposes into a Holstein term and a residual JT interaction. While the ground state of the JT polaron is shown to belong to the sector j = 1/2, the Holstein polaron is obtained for the “unphysical” value j = 0. The new Hamiltonian is then subjected to a variational treatment, yielding the dispersion relations and effective masses for both kinds of polarons. The calculated polaron masses are in remarkably good agreement with recent quantum Monte Carlo data. The possible relevance of our results to the magnetoresistive manganite perovskites is briefly discussed. Received 6 July 2001     

The origin of disorder in CH 3 HgX (X = Cl, Br and I) crystals investigated by temperature dependent Raman spectroscopy

Methyl-mercury(II) halides CH₃HgX (X = Cl, Br and I) were studied by means of temperature dependent Raman spectroscopy from 10 K to 410 K. In addition to the previously reported soft phonons, new changes in the low frequency spectra were observed at T ≈ 70 K in CH₃HgBr and at T ≈ 100 K in CH₃HgI. The bandwidths of the two internal modes in CH₃HgBr, the CH₃ symmetric stretching band and the C-Hg-Br bending band, rise towards a local maximum at T ≈ 50 K as the temperature is raised from 10 K to 300 K. On the other hand the bandwidths of the two corresponding modes in CH₃HgI crystals monotonously increase with temperature, obeying an Arrhenius law. Besides the three phonon modes present in the Raman spectra of CH₃HgCl at room temperature, the fourth phonon band that has been observed at temperatures below 245 K might correspond to the freezing of methyl librations. The huge bandwidth of the C-Hg-Br bending mode could suggest the presence of additional weak bonding of a mercury atom with bromine atoms from other molecules, thus inducing positional disorder. Received 19 November 1999 and Received in final form 10 November 2000