Experimental study of the ignition of <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-hexane- and <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-decane-based surrogate fuels

Surrogate fuels on the basis of mixtures of n-hexane, n-decane, and benzene are fuels alternative to petroleum motor fuels, similar to the former in thermodynamic and kinetic properties. The fact the surrogate fuels are composed of a limited number of components makes it possible to develop both detailed and global kinetic mechanisms of their ignition in mixtures with oxidizers. In turn, the possibility of the kinetic modeling of the ignition of such fuels over wide temperature and pressure ranges is of critical importance for the numerical modeling of combustion-to-detonation transition phenomena. An experimental method for measuring ignition delay times of mixtures of air with liquid fuels with low vapor pressure under normal conditions is developed and tested. In the present work, the ignition of stoichiometric mixtures of air with n-hexane, n-decane, and surrogate fuels composed of 20% n-hexane and 80% n-decane, 20% benzene and 80% n-decane, and 9.1% n-hexane, 18.2% benzene, and 72.7% n-decane is experimentally investigated in a static reactor. The ignition delay time is determined by recording pressure oscillograms at temperatures of 530–1030 K and pressures of 1–9 atm.     

Mechanism of charge transfer in <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-CdS/<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-CdTe heterojunctions

The capacitance-voltage and current-voltage characteristics of the n-CdS/p-CdTe heterosystem are investigated. Analysis of these characteristics demonstrates that the CdTe_1?x S _x solid solution formed at the n-CdS/p-CdTe heterointerface is inhomogeneous in both the conductivity and composition. The thickness of solid solutions is estimated from the capacitance-voltage characteristics. It is shown that, for the n-CdS/p-CdTe heterosystem, the current-voltage characteristic in the current density range 10^?8-10^?5 A cm^?2 is governed by the thermal electron emission, whereas the current in the heterostructure at current densities in the range 10^?4-10^?2 A cm^?2 is limited by recombination of charge carriers in the electroneutral region of the CdTe_1?x S _x solid solution. The lifetime and the diffusion length of minority charge carriers in the CdTe_1?x S _x solid solution and the surface recombination rate at the interface between the CdS layer and the CdTe_1?x S _x solid solution are determined. It is demonstrated that the n-CdS/p-CdTe heterostructure operates as a p-i-n structure in which CdTe is a p layer, CdTe_1?x S _x is an i layer, and CdS is an n layer.     

Role of (<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>,2<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>) reactions in transmutation of long-lived fission products

The conditions under which (n,γ) and (n,2n) reactions can help or hinder each other in neutron transmutation of long-lived fission products (LLFPs) are considered. Isotopic and elemental transmutation for the main long-lived fission products, ⁷⁹Se, ⁹³Zr, ⁹⁹Tc, ¹⁰⁷Pd, ¹²⁶Sn, ¹²⁹I, and ¹³⁵Cs, are considered. The effect of (n,2n) reactions on the equilibrium amount of nuclei of the transmuted isotope and the neutron consumption required for the isotope processing is estimated. The aim of the study is to estimate the influence of (n,2n) reactions on efficiency of neutron LLFP transmutation. The code TIME26 and the libraries of evaluated nuclear data ABBN-93, JEF-PC, and JANIS system are applied. The following results are obtained: (1) The effect of (n,2n) reactions on the minimum number of neutrons required for transmutation and the equilibrium amount of LLFP nuclei is estimated. (2) It is demonstrated that, for three LLFP isotopes (¹²⁶Sn, ¹²⁹I, and ¹³⁵Cs), (n,γ) and (n,2n) reactions are partners facilitating neutron transmutation. The strongest effect of (n,2n) reaction is found for ¹²⁶Sn transmutation (reduction of the neutron consumption by 49% and the equilibrium amount of nuclei by 19%).     

Discussion of isomeric ratios in (<Emphasis Type="Italic">p,n</Emphasis>) and (<Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis>, 2<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>) reaction

Isomeric ratios (IR) in the (p, n) and (d, 2n) reactions are considered. The dependence of IR values on the projectile type and energy, the target- and product-nucleus spin, the spin difference between the isomeric and ground states of products, and the product mass number is discussed. The isomeric ratios for 46 product nuclei (from ^44m,gSc to ^127m,gXe) obtained in reactions where target and product nuclei have identical mass numbers were calculated at energies from the reaction threshold to 50 MeV (with a step of ΔE = 1 MeV). The calculations in question were performed with the aid of the TALYS 1.4 code package. The calculated IR values were compared with their experimental counterparts available from the literature (EXFOR database). In the majority of cases, the calculated IR values agree well with the experimental data in question. It is noteworthy that the IR values obtained in (d, 2n) reactions are substantially greater than those in (p, n) reactions.     

Ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity in Eu<Emphasis Type="Italic">X</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">X</Emphasis> = <Emphasis Type="Italic">O</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">S</Emphasis>): pressure effects

Ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity in Eu monochalcogenides have been investigated by ab initio density functional theory in the DFT+U approach. Exchange interaction parameters and Curie temperatures under pressure are studied and discussed using Heisenberg Hamiltonian with first and second-nearest-neighbor interactions. The calculations showed that the hydrostatic pressure perfectly improves the Curie temperature (EuO: T _C = 175 K; EuS: T _C = 33.8 K) and in the other hand it cannot induce the spontaneous polarization (P _s ). The effect of uniaxial and biaxial pressure is also studied. Although the uniaxial strains slightly increases the Curie temperature, it ensures the ferrolectricity in these systems by producing a spontaneous polarization of the order of P _s (EuO) = 57.50 μC/cm² and P _s (EuS) = 42.86 μC/cm² with pressures of 5% and 4%, respectively. The search for new model systems is a necessity to better understand the physics related to multiferroïc materials and to consider possible applications.     

Intuitionistic Quantum Logic of an <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-level System

A decade ago, Isham and Butterfield proposed a topos-theoretic approach to quantum mechanics, which meanwhile has been extended by Döring and Isham so as to provide a new mathematical foundation for all of physics. Last year, three of the present authors redeveloped and refined these ideas by combining the C*-algebraic approach to quantum theory with the so-called internal language of topos theory (Heunen et al. in arXiv:0709.4364). The goal of the present paper is to illustrate our abstract setup through the concrete example of the C*-algebra M _n (?) of complex n×n matrices. This leads to an explicit expression for the pointfree quantum phase space Σ _n and the associated logical structure and Gelfand transform of an n-level system. We also determine the pertinent non-probabilisitic state-proposition pairing (or valuation) and give a very natural topos-theoretic reformulation of the Kochen–Specker Theorem.In our approach, the nondistributive lattice ?(M _n (?)) of projections in M _n (?) (which forms the basis of the traditional quantum logic of Birkhoff and von Neumann) is replaced by a specific distributive lattice \(\mathcal{O}(\Sigma_{n})\) of functions from the poset \(\mathcal{C}(M_{n}(\mathbb{C}))\) of all unital commutative C*-subalgebras C of M _n (?) to ?(M _n (?)). The lattice \(\mathcal{O}(\Sigma_{n})\) is essentially the (pointfree) topology of the quantum phase space Σ _n , and as such defines a Heyting algebra. Each element of \(\mathcal{O}(\Sigma_{n})\) corresponds to a “Bohrified” proposition, in the sense that to each classical context \(C\in\mathcal{C}(M_{n}(\mathbb{C}))\) it associates a yes-no question (i.e. an element of the Boolean lattice ?(C) of projections in C), rather than being a single projection as in standard quantum logic. Distributivity is recovered at the expense of the law of the excluded middle (Tertium Non Datur), whose demise is in our opinion to be welcomed, not just in intuitionistic logic in the spirit of Brouwer, but also in quantum logic in the spirit of von Neumann.     

The Study of (<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>, 2<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>) Reaction Cross Sections for Ce and Nd Isotopes up to 20 MeV

Neutron cross section calculations for ¹³⁶Ce(n, 2n)¹³⁵Ce, ¹³⁸Ce(n, 2n)¹³⁷Ce, ¹⁴⁰Ce(n, 2n)¹³⁹Ce, ¹⁴²Ce(n, 2n)¹⁴¹Ce, ¹⁴²Nd(n, 2n)¹⁴¹Nd, ¹⁴⁴Nd(n, 2n)¹⁴³Nd, ¹⁴⁶Nd(n, 2n)¹⁴⁵Nd, ¹⁴⁸Nd(n, 2n)¹⁴⁷Nd, and ¹⁵⁰Nd(n, 2n)¹⁴⁹Nd were done in the incident energy range from 10 to 20 MeV. The calculations were performed using three codes TALYS-1.6 for two-component Exciton model, EMPIRE-3.2 Malta for Exciton model, and ALICE/ASH for the Geometry-Dependent Hybrid (GDH) model. The results of model calculations were compared with the available experimental data and also with the evaluated data in the TENDL-2015 (based on the modified TALYS code), ENDF/B-VII.1 libraries. The calculated cross section data were compared with the available experimental data obtained from EXFOR and also compared with semiempirical formulas around 14–15 MeV. The results of model calculation were found to be in good agreement with the experimental data given in literature and semiempirical data around 14–15MeV.     

Lifetime of nonequilibrium charge carriers in the base of <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-junction semiconductor diode at arbitrary injection levels

In the approximation of exponential distribution of nonequilibrium charge carriers in the base of semiconductor p-n-junction diode a formula is obtained for lifetime calculation, which is valid at arbitrary injection levels. The lifetime is determined via measurements of only stationary characteristics of diodes (dc-CVC and low-frequency differential resistance). These characteristics, as well as the dependence of the barrier capacity on the reverse voltage, for determination of equilibrium concentration of carriers in the diode base, have been measured for D226B alloy diodes. The dependence of the lifetime of nonequilibrium carriers on the injection level, calculated from experimental data, agrees with the Shockley-Read theory of recombination; this agreement may be considered as a justification of assumptions made for lifetime calculation.     

Friedmann Cosmology with Matter Creation in Modified <Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis>) Gravity

The theoretical and observational consequences of thermodynamics of open systems which allow matter creation, are investigated in modified f(R, T) (R is the Ricci scalar and T is the trace of energy-momentum tensor) theory of gravity within the framework of a flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker line element. The simplest model f(R, T)=R+2f(T) with “gamma-law” equation of state p = (γ?1)ρ is assumed to obtain the exact solution. A power-law expansion model is proposed by considering the natural phenomenological particle creation rate ψ = 3β n H, where β is a pure number of the order of unity, n the particle number density and H is the Hubble parameter. A Big Rip singularity is observed for γ<0 describing phantom cosmology. The accelerated expansion of the Universe is driven by the particle creation. The density parameter shows the negative curvature of the Universe due to particle creation. The entropy increases with the evolution of the Universe. Some kinematics tests such as lookback time, luminosity distance, proper distance, angular diameter versus redshift are discussed in detail to observe the role of particle creation in early and late time evolution of the Universe.     

Magnetism of gadolinium nanoparticles near <Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">c</Emphasis></Subscript>

Influence of temperature and magnetic field H on magnetism of spherical Gd nanoparticles of different sizes (89, 63, 47, 28, and 18 nm) was studied in the temperature range 250 K < T < 325 K. The particles were obtained by metal vapor condensation in the flow of helium. The particles with d = 18 nm did not show a magnetic transition; their structure is a combination of two cubic phases (FCC1 and FCC2). Large particles remained in the HCP phase and had an admixture of the FCC1 phase, the amount of which decreased as the particle sizes increased; magnetic transition took place at T _c = 293 K. The admixture of O₂ did not alter the structure but decreased the magnetization σ and magnetic permeability μ. An orientation transition in polycrystalline gadolinium initiated by the magnetic field H was proved in an experiment. The orientation transition in Gd particles smaller than 63 nm, the magnetic structure of which is close to the single-domain structure, occurred near T _c without the influence of H.     

Restricting Positive Energy Representations of Diff<Superscript>+</Superscript>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">S</Emphasis><Superscript>1</Superscript>) to the Stabilizer of <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis> Points

Let G _n ? Diff⁺(S ¹) be the stabilizer of n given points of S ¹. How much information do we lose if we restrict a positive energy representation \(U^c_h\) associated to an admissible pair (c, h) of the central charge and lowest energy, to the subgroup G _n ? The question, and a part of the answer originate in chiral conformal QFT. The value of c can be easily “recovered” from such a restriction; the hard question concerns the value of h. If c ≤ 1, then there is no loss of information, and accordingly, all of these restrictions are irreducible. In this work it is shown that \(U^c_{h}|_{G_n}\) is always irreducible for n =  1 and, if h =  0, it is irreducible at least up to n ≤  3. Moreover, an example is given for c >  2 and certain values of \(h \neq \tilde{h}\) such that \(U^c_{h}|_{G_1}\simeq U^c_{\tilde{h}}|_{G_1}\) . It is also concluded that for these values \(U^c_{h}|_{G_n}\) cannot be irreducible for n ≥  2. For further values of c, h and n, the question is left open. Nevertheless, the example already shows that, on the circle, there are conformal QFT models in which local and global intertwiners are not equivalent.     

Effect of pressure on soot formation in the pyrolysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-hexane and the oxidation of fuel-rich mixtures of <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-heptane behind reflected shock waves

The results of detailed kinetic simulations of the formation of soot particles in the pyrolysis of n-hexane–argon mixtures and in the oxidation of fuel-rich (φ = 5) n-heptane–oxygen–argon mixtures behind reflected shock waves at pressures of 20–100 bar and a constant concentration of carbon atoms or a constant fraction of argon in the initial mixture within the framework of a modified reaction mechanism are reported. The choice of n-hexane and n-heptane for examining the effect of pressure on the process of soot formation was motivated by the availability for these hydrocarbons of experimental measurements in reflected shock waves at high pressures (up to ~100 bar). The temperature dependences of the yield of soot particles formed in the pyrolysis of n-hexane are found to be very weakly dependent on pressure and slightly shifting to lower temperatures with increasing pressure. In general, pressure produces a very weak effect on the soot formation in the pyrolysis of n-hexane. The effect of pressure and concentration of carbon atoms in the initial mixture on the process of soot formation during the oxidation of fuel-rich n-heptane mixtures behind reflected shock waves is studied. The results of our kinetic simulations show that, for both the pyrolysis of n-hexane and the oxidation of fuel-rich n-heptane–oxygen mixtures, the influence of pressure on the process of soot formation is negligible. By contrast, the concentration of carbon atoms in the initial reaction mixture produces a much more pronounced effect.     

Ionization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">nS</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">nP</Emphasis>, and <Emphasis Type="Italic">nD</Emphasis> lithium,potassium, and cesium Rydberg atoms by blackbody radiation

The results of theoretical calculations of the blackbody ionization rates of lithium, potassium, and cesium atoms residing in Rydberg states are presented. The calculations are performed for nS, nP, and nD states in a wide range of principal quantum numbers, n = 8?65, for blackbody radiation temperatures T = 77, 300, and 600 K. The calculations are performed using the known quasi-classical formulas for the photoionization cross sections and for the radial matrix elements of transitions in the discrete spectrum. The effect of the blackbody-radiation-induced population redistribution between Rydberg states on the blackbody ionization rates measured under laboratory conditions is quantitatively analyzed. Simple analytical formulas that approximate the numerical results and that can be used to estimate the blackbody ionization rates of Rydberg atoms are presented. For the S series of lithium, the rate of population of high-lying Rydberg levels by blackbody radiation is found to anomalously behave as a function of n. This anomaly is similar to the occurrence of the Cooper minimum in the discrete spectrum.     

Phase transitions in molecular crystals of <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-alkane alcohols

A comparative analysis of the phase transitions in molecular crystals of n-alkane alcohols with different lengths of the (C _n H_{2n + 2}OH) chain was performed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Investigation of the temperature hysteresis made it possible to reveal a number of new effects associated with the specific features of the first-order phase transitions. A quantitative analysis of the temperature dependence of the heat capacity was carried out in the framework of the theory of diffuse (Λ-shaped) first-order phase transitions.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ab initio</Emphasis> theory of the electronic structure and spectra of impurity <Emphasis Type="Italic">nl</Emphasis> ions

The fundamentals of the theory of the electronic structure of impurity clusters and the results of numerical calculations for the iron-, lanthanum-, and actinium-group ions in Me⁺ⁿ: [L]_k clusters are presented. The effects of the interionic distance and ligands in the Me⁺ⁿ: [L]_k clusters on the electronic structure of the nl ^N and nl^N?1n′l′ configurations of the 3d, 4f, and 5f ions are considered. The correspondence between the optical and x-ray spectra of different impurity crystals is also analyzed.     

Dark Energy Models in <Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis>) Theory with Variable Deceleration Parameter

In this communication we have investigated Bianchi type-II dark energy (DE) cosmological models with and without presence of magnetic field in modified f(R, T) gravity theory as proposed by Harko et al. (Phys. Rev. D, 84, 024020, 2011). The exact solution of the field equations is obtained by setting the deceleration parameter q as a time function along with suitable assumption the scale factor \(a(t)= [sinh(\alpha t)]^{\frac {1}{n}}\), α and n are positive constant. We have obtained a class of accelerating and decelerating DE cosmological models for different values of n and α. The present study believes that the mysterious dark energy is the main responsible force for accelerating expansion of the universe. For our constructed models the DE candidates cosmological constant (Λ) and the EoS parameter (ω) both are found to be time varying quantities. The cosmological constant Λ is very large at early time and approaches to a small positive value at late time whereas the EoS parameters is found small negative at present time. Physical and kinematical properties of the models are discussed with the help of pictorial representations of the parameters. We have observed that our constructed models are compatible with recent cosmological observations.     

The Coulomb-oscillator relation on <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-dimensional spheres and hyperboloids

We establish a relation between Coulomb and oscillator systems on n-dimensional spheres and hyperboloids for n≥2. We show that, as in Euclidean space, the quasiradial equation for the (n+1)-dimensional Coulomb problem coincides with the 2n-dimensional quasiradial oscillator equation on spheres and hyperboloids. Using the solution of the Schrödinger equation for the oscillator system, we construct the energy spectrum and wave functions for the Coulomb problem.     

Optical 4<Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis>-4<Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis> transitions in multiferroic HoMnO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

In the absorption spectra of the hexagonal single-crystal manganite HoMnO₃ in the paramagnetic ferroelectric state, lines near 1.1 and 2.0 μm were observed associated with the transitions ⁵ I ₈ → ⁵ I ₆ and ⁵ I ₈ → ⁵ I ₇, respectively, within the 4f ¹⁰ configuration of the Ho³⁺ ion. At T = 80 K, to the ⁵ I ₈ → ⁵ I ₇ transition corresponds one band at 1.9 μm for both polarizations E ∥ c and E ⊥ c. As the temperature increases from 80 to 293 K, a low-energy band with a peak at 2.04 μm for E ⊥ c and a peak at 2.07 μm for E ∥ c arises associated with transitions from an excited Stark level of the ground ⁵ I ₈ multiplet to the Stark levels of the ⁵ I ₇ multiplet and with an increase in the population of the initial Stark level, the energy of which is ～100 K.     

Analysis of the spectrum of the Zn-like Kr VII ion: Highly excited 4<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>4<Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis> and 4<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>5<Emphasis Type="Italic">s</Emphasis> configurations

The spectrum of the Zn-like Kr VII ion, excited in a capillary discharge and recorded with a high resolution in the wavelength range of 300–1000 Å, was studied. Previously performed identification of the transitions from the levels of the 4s4f, 4s5s, 4s5p, and 4s5d configurations is confirmed and extended, and the energies of these levels are specified. The (4p ²+4s4d)?4p4d and (4p ²+4s5s)?4p5s transitions are identified for the first time, and the energies of all the levels of the 4p4d and 4p5s configurations are determined. The results of the analysis performed are confirmed by semiempirical calculations in terms of the Hartree-Fock method. These results are also shown to conform to the experimental data obtained for lighter ions of the Zn I isoelectronic sequence.     

Dark-energy cosmological models in <Emphasis Type="Italic">f</Emphasis>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">G</Emphasis>) gravity

We discuss dark-energy cosmological models in f(G) gravity. For this purpose, a locally rotationally symmetric Bianchi type I cosmological model is considered. First, exact solutions with a well-known form of the f(G) model are explored. One general solution is discussed using a power-law f(G) gravity model and physical quantities are calculated. In particular, Kasner’s universe is recovered and the corresponding f(G) gravity models are reported. Second, the energy conditions for the model under consideration are discussed using graphical analysis. It is concluded that solutions with f(G) = G^5/6 support expansion of universe while those with f(G) = G^1/2 do not favor the current expansion.