Interfering with the neutron spin

Charge neutrality, a spin 1/2 and an associated magnetic moment of the neutron make it an ideal probe of quantal spinor evolutions. Polarized neutron interferometry in magnetic field Hamiltonians has thus scored several firsts such as direct verification of Pauli anticommutation, experimental separation of geometric and dynamical phases and observation of non-cyclic amplitudes and phases. This paper provides a flavour of the physics learnt from such experiments.     

Phase transformations and structural characteristics of AL–Cu–Co(–Si) decagonal phase

The phase transformations and structural characteristics of the Al-Cu-Co-Si alloy have been studied by neutron diffraction and high-resolution electron microscopy. The Al₆₅Cu_17.5Co_17.5 decagonal phase is stable in the temperature range between 973 K and 1350 K. At the low-temperature end, it relaxes to a microcrystalline approximant structure. At the high-temperature end, it melts directly into liquid. Two distinct orthorhombic phases are identified in the Al₆₃Cu_17.5Co_17.5Si₂ microcrystalline structure. They are composed of several structure units that can also construct the Penrose tiling. Because of lack of units, a single orthorhombic phase cannot undergo the transformation towards the high-temperature decagonal phase. An analysis of the orientation relationships between the CsCl and orthorhombic phases leads to the definition of Penrose tiling-like subnetworks inside the orthorhombic unit cells so that these orthorhombic phases can be regarded as the periodic patchworks of quasiperiodic subnetworks.     

大型激光原型装置低燃料面密度诊断技术

由于某大型激光原型装置内爆实验的燃料面密度很低,提出了利用充纯D燃料内爆产生的初级DD中子和次级DT中子的产额比值来诊断燃料面密度的方法。在该原型装置的首轮内爆实验中,利用研制的高灵敏塑料闪烁体探测器对初级DD中子产额和次级DT中子产额进行了测量。通过实验发现,当初级DD中子产额高于108时,可以测得次级DT中子实验数据。建立了均匀内爆模型,用初级和次级中子产额比值法对燃料面密度进行计算,获得的该原型装置首轮内爆实验燃料压缩的平均面密度小于4.0 mg/cm2。     

原子核对称能对中子星壳层结构的影响

中子星内壳层中存在原子核、中子、电子等非均匀分布的物质。在Wigner-Seitz近似下,共存相方法和自洽Thomas-Fermi近似方法是描述这种非均匀物质的有效方法。中子在非均匀物质所占的比例远远大于其他组分,因此原子核的对称能对非均匀物质的性质会产生十分重要的影响,而原子核对称能的密度依赖关系在核物质饱和密度附近有较大的不确定性。采用相对论平均场理论描述核子间相互作用,研究原子核对称能对中子星内壳层的密度范围、pasta相结构、壳核相变密度等性质的影响,探寻其中可能存在的关联。计算结果表明,原子核对称能及其密度依赖性在决定中子星内壳层非均匀物质的性质中起着重要作用,这与之前相关研究中得到的结论基本相符。Within Wigner-Seitz approximation, both the coexisting phases method and the self-consistent Thomas-Fermi approximation can be used to describe the nonuniform matter consisting of nuclei, neutrons, and electrons, which may coexist in the inner crust of neutron star. Since the neutron fraction is very large, nuclear symmetry energy may have an important impact on the properties of nonuniform matter. However, the density dependence of nuclear symmetry energy around saturation density is still rather uncertain. This paper focuses on the influence of nuclear symmetry energy on the density range of inner crust, pasta phase structure, and crust-core transition density of neutron star, where the relativistic mean field theory is adopted to describe the nucleon-nucleon interaction. It is turned out that the nuclear symmetry energy and its density dependence play an import role in determining the properties of nonuniform matter in the inner crust of neutron star, which is consistent with the former related studies.     

中子星内部强子-夸克相变的有限尺度效应研究

在致密星体内部极高密度条件下,强子物质可能发生退禁闭相变成为夸克物质,即强子-夸克相变。这种相变过程对于中子星的性质有着重要影响。考虑库仑能和表面能的影响,即有限尺度效应,相变过程中的混杂相包含了被称为pasta相的几何结构。强子-夸克共存相的平衡条件是通过求总能量的最小值得到的。采用相对论平均场（RMF）模型来描述强子物质相,采用Nambu-Jona-Lasinio（NJL）模型来描述夸克物质相。有限尺度效应一定程度上增加了中子星的最大质量,增加幅度取决于强子-夸克表面张力的大小。有限尺度效应能够降低混杂相的范围,其结果介于Gibbs结构和Maxwell结构的结果之间。研究结果表明,中子星中可能包含一个混杂相的核心部分,其大小受到表面张力等参数的影响。It is generally considered that hadron matter may undergo a deconfinement phase transition becoming quark matter at very high density in massive neutron stars. This hadron-quark phase transition has important impact on neutron stars, which has received much attention. We consider finite-size effect in this phase transition process, which contains the impact of Coulomb energy and surface energy. By including this effect, the mixed phase forms the pasta structures. The equilibrium conditions for coexisting hadronic and quark phases are derived by minimizing the total energy including the surface and Coulomb contributions. We employ the relativistic mean-field(RMF) model to describe the hadronic phase, while the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio(NJL) model is used for the quark phase. We conclude that the finite-size effect will raise the stiffness of EOS, and then increase the maximum mass of neutron stars, which depend on the value of surface tension. Our results show that finite-size effects can significantly reduce the region of the mixed phase, and the results lie between those from the Gibbs and Maxwell constructions. We show that a massive star may contain a mixed phase core and its size depends on the surface tension of the hadron-quark interface.     

中子相衬层析成像方法

介绍了中子相衬和中子层析的工作原理，提出了中子相衬层析成像方法.这种方法兼备了相衬和层析的各自优点，不采用干涉术，能高分辨率地重构待测样品的三维空间位相分布，能测试和分辨吸收系数非常相近样品的空间结构. 关键词： 相衬 层析 中子相衬 中子层析     

An investigation of phase separation by magnetic force microscopy in La0.45Sr0.55MnO3-δ(δ≈0.01)

We have found phase separation in La_0.45Sr_0.55MnO_3-δ (LSMO) by means of electron spin resonance, magnetic force microscopy (MFM) and magnetic measurements. Ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases can coexist at low temperatures, and ferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases coexist when the temperature lies between the Néel and Curie temperatures. The size and shape of the ferromagnetic phases (the minority phases) was first observed directly from MFM images. It is suggested that the phase separation in LSMO is not the charge segregation type, but an electroneutral type due perhaps to the nonuniform distribution of oxygen vacancies.     

Cogwheel phase cycling

A new method for constructing phase cycles is described. The new schemes apply to experiments involving several consecutive coherence transfer steps. The radiofrequency phases of two or more irradiation blocks are incremented simultaneously, as opposed to the traditional "nested" scheme, in which the block phases are incremented independently. In many cases, the "cogwheel" phase cycles achieve the same selectivity as traditional phase cycles, using fewer steps. Significant time savings are achievable in a wide range of NMR experiments.     

Formation and properties of rocksalt-type AlN and implications for high pressure phase relations in the system Si–Al–O–N

Pressure-dependent thermodynamic properties of the ambient and high pressure phases of aluminum nitride (w-AlN and rs-AlN) were calculated from first principles in order to determine their phase boundary in the p? T phase diagram. These predictions were checked by static HP/HT experiments, using a multianvil press and an Al/N/H precursor with low decomposition temperature as educt. The experimental data show that at temperatures between 1000 and 2000 K, the boundary line between the two phases is situated between 11 and 12 GPa, which is ～1.3 GPa lower than the theoretical result and generally lower than previously assumed. The hardness of rs-AlN – measured for the first time – is ～30 GPa (Knoop indenter at loads of 25–50 g), twice as hard as w-AlN. Shock wave recovery experiments on nano w-AlN allowed testing of the chemical and thermal stability of rs-AlN, and determination of its infrared absorption and ²⁷Al NMR data. The shock wave technique will eventually enable the synthesis of larger amounts of rs-AlN, making it available for technological use. Finally, implications on the high pressure stability of phases in the Si–Al–O–N system are discussed in the light of thermoelastic properties of AlN.     

The Boson peak in confined water: An experimental investigation of the liquid-liquid phase transition hypothesis

The Boson peak (BP) of deeply cooled confined water is studied by using inelastic neutron scattering (INS) in a large interval of the (P, T) phase plane. By taking into account the different behavior of such a collective vibrational mode in both strong and fragile glasses as well as in glass-forming materials, we were able to determine the Widom line that characterizes supercooled bulk water within the frame of the liquid-liquid phase transition (LLPT) hypothesis. The peak frequency and width of the BP correlated with the water polymorphism of the LLPT scenario, allowing us to distinguish the “low-density liquid” (LDL) and “high-density liquid” (HDL) phases in deeply cooled bulk water.Moreover, the BP properties afford a further confirmation of theWidom line temperature T_W as the (P, T) locus in which the local structure of water transforms from a predominately LDL form to a predominately HDL form.     

Cylindrical-confinement-induced phase behaviours of diblock copolymer melts

The phase behaviours of diblock copolymers under cylindrical confinement are studied in two-dimensional space by using the self-consistent field theory. Several phase parameters are adjusted to investigate the cylindrical-confinement-induced phase behaviours of diblock copolymers. A series of lamella-cylinder mixture phases, such as the mixture of broken-lamellae and cylinders and the mixture of square-lamellae and cylinders, are observed by varying the phase parameters, in which the behaviours of these mixture phases are discussed in the corresponding phase diagrams. Fur-thermore, the free energies of these mixture phases are investigated to illustrate their evolution processes. Our results are compared with the available observations from the experiments and simulations respectively, and they are in good agreement and provide an insight into the phase behaviours under cylindrical confinement.     

四方和正交以及单斜相K0.5Na0.5NbO3的结构稳定性和电子结构的第一性原理研究

采用基于密度泛函理论框架下的第一性原理超原胞方法和虚晶近似方法, 在局域密度近似和广义梯度近似下, 对四方和正交以及单斜相K_0.5Na_0.5NbO₃的能量和原子结 构以及电子结构进行了系统的研究. 计算结果表明三种K_0.5Na_0.5NbO₃相的能量差别较小, 这与实验上它们之间容易发生相转化是一致的. 进一步发现单斜相的能量比四方相和正交相低, 说明单斜相结构更加稳定, 并且理论计算的结构参数与实验值符合得很好. 电子结构结果也表明单斜相的键合作用比四方相和正交相键合作用更强, 进一步说明单斜相结构更加稳定. 关键词： 铌酸钾钠 四方相 单斜相 密度泛函理论     

基于小型加速器的编码中子源成像研究

编码中子源成像可以在对中子注量率影响不大的情况下大大提高成像的准直比, 从而提高成像质量.北京大学开展了基于小型加速器的编码中子源成像技术研究工作. 不同于已有的基于反应堆的小面积编码板的研究工作, 北京大学建立了基于小型加速器的大面积编码板的编码中子源成像实验平台, 并对加速器中子源上的实验方法和数据处理进行了探索, 对比了重建算法, 获得了初步的重建照片.研究工作表明, 编码中子源成像技术可用于加速器中子源, 但重建图像质量仍须提高. 关键词： 加速器中子源 中子成像 编码源成像 图像重建     

中国散裂中子源反角白光中子束流参数的初步测量

中国散裂中子源(CSNS)已于2018年5月建设完工,随后进行了试运行.其中的反角白光中子束线(Back-n)可用于中子核数据测量、中子物理研究和核技术应用等多方面的实验.本文报道对该中子束的品质参数测量实验过程以及最终实验结果.实验主要采用中子飞行时间法,利用~(235)U,~(238)U裂变室和~6Li-Si探测器测量了中子能谱和中子注量率,又利用闪烁体-互补金属氧化物半导体探测系统测量了中子束斑的剖面,得到了该束线的初步实验测量结果.其中白光中子的全能谱测量范围eV—100 MeV,给出了不确定度分析;给出了中子注量率两个实验厅位置的满功率值;给出了白光中子在直径60 mm情况下的全能区束斑.通过与模拟结果的比较探讨了以上结果的合理性,并提出了改进计划.这些实验结果为以后该束线的核数据测量和探测器标定实验奠定了基础.     

Phase Diagrams Semicrystalline Polymer–Liquid Revisited: Isotactic Polypropylene-Dibutyl Phthalate and Other Systems

The full phase diagram of an isotactic polypropylene (i-PP)–dibutyl phthalate (DBP) mixture is for the first time constructed by an optical method and discussed within the concept of semicrystalline polymers as microheterogeneous liquids with a three-dimensional network structure. It is demonstrated that the liquidus in this and other polymer–solvent systems is not thermodynamically equivalent to the liquidus in low molecular weight (MW) mixtures. Qualitatively different thermal behavior of those two types of binary systems in the liquidus vicinity is corroborated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) experiments. In the former case, a liquid-solid transition resulting in the formation of polymer crystallites does not lead to separating the mixture into crystalline and amorphous phases. On cooling, the system remains macroscopically single phase until the low MW liquid can be fully dissolved in the amorphous regions of the polymer. The correct location of the corresponding borderline is crucially important for the microporous membrane formation via thermally induced phase separation (TIPS). It is also argued that the topology of a phase diagram polymer–low MW liquid does not depend on whether the polymer is amorphous or crystalline.     

Remark on Relations Between Different Non-integrable Phases

There are three non-integrable phases in literatures: Berry phase, Aharonov-Anandan phase, and Yang phase. This article discusses the definitions and relations between these three non-integrable phases.     

Phase transitions in LiKSO4: Low-temperature neutron diffraction results

Results of a detailed crystallographic study of the structural phase transitions in LiKSO₄, carried out using single crystal neutron diffraction at ambient and below-ambient temperatures (300–100 K), are presented. The study indicates two clear phase transitions at 205 K (from space group P6₃ to space group P31c), at 189 K (to space group Cc) and a third transition at about 130 K in the cooling cycle. The corresponding temperatures are 250 K, 200 K and 138 K in the heating cycle. The existence of twins, mixed phases, and extremely sluggish kinetics for the various phase transitions, as well as the structural details of the various phases in this mixed salt, can explain the apparent inconsistencies in the results of several experimental investigations reported in the literature.     

Energy Spectrum of Two-Component Bose-Einstein Condensates in Optical Lattices

With the method of Green's function, we investigate the energy spectra of two-component ultracold bosonic atoms in optical lattices. We find that there are two energy bands for each component. The critical condition of the superfluid-Mott insulator phase transition is determined by the energy band structure. We also find that the nearest neighboring and on-site interactions fail to change the structure of energy bands, but shift the energy bands only. According to the conditions of the phase transitions, three stable superfluid and Mott insulating phases can be found by adjusting the experiment parameters. We also discuss the possibility of observing these new phases and their transitions in further experiments.     

Quantum renormalization group approach to geometric phases in spin chains

A relation between geometric phases and criticality of spin chains are studied using the quantum renormalization-group approach. I have shown how the geometric phase evolve as the size of the system becomes large, i.e., the finite size scaling is obtained. The renormalization scheme demonstrates how the first derivative of the geometric phase with respect to the field strength diverges at the critical point and maximum value of the first derivative, and its position, scales with the exponent of the system size.