First-principles calculations on temperature-dependent elastic constants of rare-earth intermetallic compounds: YAg and YCu

We present the temperature-dependent elastic constants of two ductile rare-earth intermetallic compounds YAg and YCu with CsCl-type B2 structure by using a first-principles approach. The elastic moduli as a function of temperature are predicted from the combination of static volume-dependent elastic constants obtained by the first-principles total-energy method with density-functional theory and the thermal expansion obtained by the first-principles phonon calculations with density-functional perturbation theory. The comparison between our calculated results and the available experimental data for Ag and Cu provides good agreements. In the calculated temperature 0-1000 K, the elastic constants of YAg and YCu follow a normal behavior with temperature that those decrease with increasing temperature, and satisfy the stability conditions for B2 structures. The Cauchy pressure for YAg and YCu as a function of temperature is also discussed, and our results mean that YAg and YCu become more ductile while increasing temperature.     

A classical solution for many-body forces of directly interacting particles

The first class constraint conditions of relativistic direct interaction dynamics have been solved. Their solution expresses the many-body interactions in terms of the two-body interactions in perturbation expansion. The n-body interaction is of order g smaller than the (n-1)-body interaction. The expressions are considerably simpler than those obtained previously.     

Elestic constants in the interfacial layer at the nematic-liquid-crystal-vapour interface

Summary Close to the interface between a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) and another medium, the elastic constants become functions of distancez from the interface and of angle θ between the directorn and the unit vectork orthogonal to the interface. Furthermore, due to the breaking of the translation symmetry at the interface, a lot of new subsurface elastic contributions can appear. In a previous paper we investigated these subsurface anomalies by using a simple molecular model based on induced-dipole-induced-dipole interactions and by making numerical calculations in the special case of a planar director distortion. In this way, only the numerical values of some effective subsurface elastic constants that characterise planar director distortions could be obtained. In this paper we make a more complete analytical calculation of all the subsurface elastic constants by using a microscopic model and a more general theoretical procedure. The microscopic interaction energy is written in a general form that allows us to investigate different kinds of intermolecular interactions (induced diple-induced dipole, quadrupole-quadrupole and so on). Both thez-dependence and the θ-dependence of the subsurface elastic constants are obtained in a closed analytical form. In the special case of induced-dipole-induced-dipole interactions and for planar director distortions, our analytical results are shown to agree with the previous numerical results. The important macroscopic effect of these elastic subsurface anomalies is discussed.     

A Solvable N-body Problem of Goldfish Type Featuring N2 Arbitrary Coupling Constants

A N-body problem “of goldfish type” is introduced, the Newtonian (“acceleration equal force”) equations of motion of which describe the motion of N pointlike unit-mass particles moving in the complex z-plane. The model—for arbitrary N—is solvable, namely its configuration (positions and velocities of the N “particles”) at any later time t can be obtained from its configuration at the initial time by algebraic operations. It features specific nonlinear velocity-dependent many-body forces depending on N² arbitrary (complex) coupling constants. Sufficient conditions on these constants are identified which cause the model to be isochronous—so that all its solutions are then periodic with a fixed period independent of the initial data. A variant with twice as many arbitrary coupling constants, or even more, is also identified.     

Calculation of the cubic symmetry force constants of methyl bromide and methyl chloride

The cubic symmetry force constants have been calculated for methyl bromide and methyl chloride through the method developed by Hoy et al. (Mol. Phys. 24, 1265–1290 (1972)). The spectroscopic constants recently reported in the literature have been utilized for the present analysis. Out of a total of 38 independent cubic force constants, 6 and 10 constants were constrained to zero for a methyl bromide and methyl chloride, respectively, in which a diagonal force constant of F₆₆₆ was included for both molecules. However, it is noted that those force constants which are only concerned with the A₁ symmetry coordinates have been determined independent of the constraint for both of these molecules.     

Force constants from intensity analysis of molecules CH3Cl and CD3Cl

The secular equation (GF - Eλ)L = 0 contains more force constants than can be calculated from the equations formulated using the frequencies. For a 3 × 3 matrix, there are 6 force constants but only 3 frequencies. Attempts were made by others to estimate all the 6 constants to satisfy the frequencies and Coriolis constants and rotation distortion constants. However, many attempts are not made in these estimations to satisfy the intensities. A full complement of equations is derived to evaluate all the force constants combining the intensity equationsI =L’A withLL’ =G and evaluated the force constants ofA ₁ species of CH₃Cl and CD₃Cl. A simple analysis of a 2 × 2 matrix shows thatF ₁₂/F ₂₂=G ₁₂ ⁻¹ /G ₂₂ ⁻¹ as reported earlier.     

Elastic constants of solids at high pressures

The isothermal and adiabatic nth-order (n ?? 2) elastic constants of a loaded crystal are defined. These constants fully determine the behavior of solids at an arbitrary load and are controlled by both an interatomic interaction and an applied load. Expressions that relate these constants (of the second, third, and fourth order) to Brugger elastic constants of the corresponding order, which are only determined by an inter-atomic interaction, are found for cubic symmetry crystals under hydrostatic pressure. These expressions are used to calculate the equation of state and the second- and third-order elastic constants of bcc tantalum at T = 0 K over a wide pressure range (0?C600 GPa) using an electron density functional method. The results of calculating the equation of state and the second-order elastic constants agree with available experimental data and the calculation results obtained in other works.     

Contributions from the indirect ionic interactions to the elastic constants in the rock-salt structure crystals

Under the harmonic approximation, the contributions from the indirect ionic interactions to the elastic constants are calculated for the alkali halide and silver halide crystals with the rock-salt structure. The coupling constants of the indirect ionic interactions are calculated by the self-consistent field treatment of the local density approximation and the spherical solid model. The calculated values of the coupling constants are large for the silver ion. The indirect ionic interaction significantly affects the elastic constants. It quantitatively explains the deviation from the Cauchy relation in alkali halide crystals. Moreover, it provides a clear account for the large values of the deviation from the Cauchy relation in AgCl and AgBr.     

Phase transition,structural, mechanical and thermal properties of erbium pnictides under pressure

In this article, we have investigated the high-pressure structural phase transition of erbium pnictides (ErX; X?=?N, P and As). An extended interaction potential model has been developed (including the zero-point energy effect in three-body interaction potential model). Phase transition pressures are associated with a sudden collapse in volume. The phase transition pressures and associated volume collapses have been predicted successfully. The elastic constants, their combinations and pressure derivatives are also reported. The pressure behaviour of elastic constants, bulk modulus and shear modulus have been presented and discussed. Moreover, the thermophysical properties such as molecular force constant (f), infrared absorption frequency (υ ₀), Debye temperature (θ _D) and Grunneisen parameter (γ) have also been predicted.     

Borromean Bound States

The Hall-Post inequalities relating N-body to (N − 1)-body energies of quantum bound states are applied to delimit, in the space of coupling constants, the domain of Borromean binding where a composite system is bound while the smaller subsystems are unbound.     

Lattice vibronics of bcc phase metals (Ti,Zr and Hf) at higher temperatures

Ashcroft’s analytic bare ion pseudopotential form factor with a modified Hartree dielectric function has been employed to represent the temperature dependent interionic potential. This potential includes both direct ion-ion interaction and indirect ion-electron-ion interaction with and without the effects of ‘d’ bands, in some scantily studied complexbcc metals vizbcc Ti, Zr and Hf. The ab initio radial and tangential force constants extending out to 15th nearest neighbours are computed for the metals. The said potential is used for predicting the binding energy, elastic constants and phonon dispersion of the above mentioned metals and the results are satisfactorily compared with the corresponding measured data.     

Noncentral forces in crystals of charged colloids

The elastic properties of fcc crystals consisting of charge stabilized colloidal particles are determined from real space imaging experiments using confocal microscopy. The normal modes and the force constants of the crystal are obtained from the fluctuations of the particles around their lattice sites using the equipartition theorem. We show that the Cauchy relation is not fulfilled and that only noncentral many-body forces can account for the elastic properties.     

Dynamic properties of graphene

The phonon spectrum of graphene has been studied with the minimum set of the nearest neighbors in the Born-von Kármán model taking into account the electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions. The widths, both natural and owing to interactions with defects, of phonons have been estimated. Symmetry constraints imposed on force constants are taken into account. For symmetry reasons, vibrations with the polarization normal to the plane of the layer are not related to in-plane vibrations. The phonon frequencies at symmetry points and elastic moduli are expressed in terms of force constants.     

Substrate strain induced interaction of adatoms on W (110)

The interaction of adatoms due to elastic strains created in an elastically isotropic substrate is investigated. For cases where the adatoms occupy sites with low symmetry, an angular dependent interaction results which falls off as s^–3 at large distances. An exact expression is given for the long range interaction in terms of an anisotropy parameter of the force dipole tensor. The short range interaction is calculated by introducing a smooth cutoff. Interactions of adatoms on near neighbour sites on W (110) are given.     

A smooth massless limit for supersymmetric QCD

We analyse in detail the behaviour of supersymmetric QCD with a number of flavours M smaller than the number of colours N, for quark masses smaller than the dynamically generated scale Λ. In this regime, we find it useful to move from meson superfields to Nambu–Goldstone-like variables. In particular we work out the mass spectrum and the set of decay constants that specify the interactions of the low-energy theory. We explicitly check that masses and decay constants have a consistent behaviour under decoupling and that they satisfy current algebra requirements. Finally we speculate about the massless limit. For vanishing quark masses, and only in this case, the relation between mesons and Nambu–Goldstone variables becomes singular. When analysed in terms of the Nambu–Goldstone superfields, the massless limit exhibits a spontaneous breaking of the flavour symmetry, with massless Goldstone modes embedded in an M²-dimensional complex moduli space. The symmetry-breaking order parameter is formally infinite, but this has the only effect of turning off the interactions between the chiral superfields. The massive case, for masses smaller than Λ, can be thought of as a perturbation around the massless case, with corrections that can be systematically computed in the effective theory.     

Elastic constants for noncentral interatomic potentials with crystal symmetry

The method of homogeneous deformation has been modified and applied to the calculation of second-order elastic constants for a class of noncentral interatomic potentials with the symmetry of Bravais lattices. The conditions of rotational invariance of the potential energy and the zero initial stress conditions were found and their validity was verified. For cubic symmetry a method was elaborated which applies to the noncentral interatomic potentials proposed byJohnson andWilson. The presented method of homogeneous deformation is compared with the original method ofFuchs and with the method of long waves in calculations of elastic constants.     

Elasticity theory of a twisted stack of plates

We present an elastic model of B-form DNA as a stack of thin, rigid plates or base pairs that are not permitted to deform. The symmetry of DNA and the constraint of plate rigidity limit the number of bulk elastic constants contributing to a macroscopic elasticity theory of DNA to four. We derive an effective twist-stretch energy in terms of the macroscopic stretch along and relative excess twist about the DNA molecular axis. In addition to the bulk stretch and twist moduli found previously, we obtain a twist-stretch modulus with the following remarkable properties: 1) it vanishes when the radius of the helical curve following the geometric center of each plate is zero, 2) it vanishes with the elastic constant K₂₃ that couples compression normal to the plates to a shear strain, if the plates are perpendicular to the molecular axis, and 3) it is nonzero if the plates are tilted relative to the molecular axis. This implies that a laminated helical structure carved out of an isotropic elastic medium will not twist in response to a stretching force, but an isotropic material will twist if it is bent into the shape of a helix. Received: 4 July 1997 / Received in final form: 16 October 1997 / Accepted: 21 October 1997     

“W = 0” pairing in Cu-O clusters and in the plane

The Cu-O plane and the clusters that possess the same C_4v symmetry around a Cu ion have 2-hole eigenstates of the kinetic energy with vanishing on-site repulsion (W=0 pairs). Cluster calculations by exact diagonalisation show that these are the quasiparticles that lead to a paired ground state, and have superconducting flux-quantisation properties. Here, we extend the theory to the full plane, and show that the W=0 quasiparticles are again the natural explanation of superconducting flux-quantisation. Moreover, by a new approach which is exact in principle, we calculate the effective interaction between two holes added to the ground state of the repulsive three-band Hubbard model. To explain how a noninteracting electron gas becomes a superconductor when switching the local Coulomb interaction, we obtain a closed-form analytic expression including the effects of all virtual transitions to 4-body intermediate states (exchange of an electron-hole pair). Our scheme is ready to include other interactions which are not considered in the Hubbard model but may be important. In the plane, the W=0 pairs have ¹ B ₂ and ¹ A ₂ symmetry. The effective interaction in these channels is attractive and leads to a Cooper-like instability of the Fermi liquid, while it is repulsive for triplet pairs. From , we derive an integral equation for the pair eigenfunction; the binding energy of the pairs is in the range of tens of meV. However, our symmetry-based method is far more general than the model. Received 18 December 1998     

A phenomenological approach for the phonon dispersion curves of barium

A phenomenological model which combines the axially symmetric ion-ion interaction with the electron-ion interaction scheme of Bhatia has been successfully used to calculate the phonon dispersion curves of bcc Ba. In particular, when the elastic constants determined by Mizukiet al are used as input data, the model successfully reproduces the anomalous feature of the dispersion curves measured by them. On the other hand, when the elastic constants determined by Buchenauet al are used, the model produces a cross over of the longitudinal and transverse branches in the [100] direction, a feature not established in their measurements. Thus the features of the dispersion curves in the [100] direction which is due to the hybridization of thes andd states are evident in the measured elastic constants and are consistent with the values of C₁₂-C₄₄.     

The symmetric heavy-light ansatz

The symmetric heavy-light ansatz is a method for finding the ground state of any dilute unpolarized system of attractive two-component fermions. Operationally it can be viewed as a generalization of the Kohn-Sham equations in density functional theory applied to N -body density correlations. While the original Hamiltonian has an exact Z₂ symmetry, the heavy-light ansatz breaks this symmetry by skewing the mass ratio of the two components. In the limit where one component is infinitely heavy, the many-body problem can be solved in terms of single-particle orbitals. The original Z₂ symmetry is recovered by enforcing Z₂ symmetry as a constraint on N -body density correlations for the two components. For the 1D, 2D, and 3D attractive Hubbard models the method is in very good agreement with exact Lanczos calculations for few-body systems at arbitrary coupling. For the 3D attractive Hubbard model there is very good agreement with lattice Monte Carlo results for many-body systems in the limit of infinite scattering length.