Nonuniformity of the transverse distribution of the resonant field excited by a beam of electromagnetic waves at the critical surface of a radially nonuniform plasma sphere

Simple approximate formulas are obtained for the characteristic length of the transverse amplitude-phase nonuniformity of the resonant field excited by a beam of electromagnetic fields at the critical surface of a spherical plasma body. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 67, 121–122 (June 1997)     

Calculating coefficients for a system of moment equations used to describe the magnetization kinetics of a superparamagnetic particle in a fluctuating field

A system of equations is derived for moments [averages of spherical harmonics 〈Y _l,m 〉(t)] that determine the dynamics of the magnetization M of a superparamagnetic particle in a fluctuating field. The system is derived by representing the Gilbert equation in a fluctuating field, and the corresponding Fokker-Planck equation for the distribution function of M, in terms of angular momentum operators, which in turn makes it possible to express the coefficients of the system of moment equations in terms of Clebsch-Gordan coefficients. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 2020–2027 (November 1999)     

Resonance states of the continuous spectrum of a bounded crystal near the critical points of volume bands

The conditions for the existence of resonance electronic states near the critical points of volume bands are obtained. It is shown that resonances of this type are qualitatively different from surface resonances associated with states induced by an image potential. The manifestation of such “volume” resonances in the scattering of very slow electrons by a TiS₂ surface is studied. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 2003–2007 (November 1998)     

Nucleation on a sphere: the roles of curvature,confinement and ensemble

ABSTRACT

By combining Monte Carlo simulations and analytical models, we demonstrate and explain how the gas-to-liquid phase transition of colloidal systems confined to a spherical surface depends on the curvature and size of the surface, and on the choice of thermodynamic ensemble. We find that the geometry of the surface affects the shape of the free energy profile and the size of the critical nucleus by altering the perimeter–area ratio of isotropic clusters. Confinement to a smaller spherical surface results in both a lower nucleation barrier and a smaller critical nucleus size. Furthermore, the liquid domain does not grow indefinitely on a sphere. Saturation of the liquid density in the grand canonical ensemble and the depletion of the gas phase in the canonical ensemble lead to a minimum in the free energy profile, with a sharp increase in free energy for additional growth beyond this minimum.     

Semiconductor-metal phase transition under a strain induced by a spherical indenter

A semiconductor-metal phase transition is produced in samarium monosulfide under the action of the pressure of a spherical indenter in the region of quasiuniaxial compression of the sample material under the indenter and investigated. It is shown that the phase transition occurs when the decrease in the volume of SmS under the action of the applied field reaches a critical value of 4–5% at T=300 K. The temperature dependence of the critical volume decrease is recorded in the range 280–440 K. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 53–57 (March 1998)     

Characteristics of the statistical distribution of the current transmitted by a cathode spot of a vacuum arc in variously oriented magnetic fields

The influence of variously oriented uniform magnetic fields on the cathodic attachment of a low-current vacuum arc with electrodes made of oxygen-free copper and CuCr30 composition is studied. It is found that, if the current is fixed, cathode spots in the arc attachment are distributed by the normal law in the entire range of variation of the amplitude of magnetic induction vector B and angle α between this vector and the normal to the cathode surface. The parameters of the distribution depend on the magnetic field and cathode material. The magnetic field dependence is appreciable only when angle α exceeds some critical value α* (α* ≈ 30° and ≈45° for cathodes made of copper and CuCr30, respectively). At α > α*, the parameters of the distribution become strongly dependent on α, while the B dependence remains weak. Only when α → π/2 does the field amplitude have a pronounced effect on the parameters of the distribution. From the obtained results, we determine the statistical characteristics of the distribution of the mean current transmitted by a cathode spot in variously oriented magnetic fields. The found relationships make it possible to explain the peculiarities of the structure of the cathodic attachment of the high-current vacuum arc stabilized by an external axial magnetic field.     

Photophoresis of aerosol particles in a resonance radiation field

The additional force exerted by a gas on an aerosol particle on account of the change in recoil momentum of the gas molecules on the surface of the particle in a resonance radiation field is analyzed. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 88–89 (March 1998)     

Nearly spherical vesicles: Shape fluctuations

Isolated vesicles with “insufficient” area have a finite surface tension and spherical shapes, whereas vesicles with “excess” area are necessarily aspherical. We consider the crossover behavior between both kinds of vesicles occurring as the equilibrium area increases. In the mean field approximation it is a second-order phase transition from the spherical to aspherical shape. We demonstrate the fluctuations smear the transition. The critical behavior of the amplitudes of fluctuations and of their characteristic times is investigated. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 63, No. 3, 203–208 (10 February 1996) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Field distribution of magnetostatic waves in a tangentially magnetized ferromagnetic slab

The field distribution of magnetostatic surface and volume waves as they propagate at an arbitrary angle to a constant field in a tangentially magnetized ferromagnetic slab (Damon-Eschbach waves) is investigated. Snapshots of the magnetic field lines of the wave are constructed. The variation of the magnetic field distribution with thickness is qualitatively identified for a volume wave as it propagates at an angle equal to the cutoff angle of the surface wave, as a result of which the sinusoidal profile of the wave over thickness almost discontinuously acquires an additional phase difference. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 82–86 (January 1999)     

Dipole and quadrupole surface plasmon resonance contributions in formation of near-field images of a gold nanosphere

Multipolar plasmon optical excitations at spherical gold nanoparticles and their manifestations in the particle images formatted in the particle surface proximity are studied. The multipolar plasmon size characteristic: plasmon resonance frequencies and plasmon damping rates were obtained within rigorous size dependent modelling. The realistic, frequency dependent dielectric function of a metal was used. The distribution of light intensity and of electric field radial component at the flat square scanning plane scattered by a gold sphere of radius 95 nm was acquired. The images resulted from the spatial distribution of the full mean Poynting vector including near-field radial components of the scattered electromagnetic field. Monochromatic images at frequencies close to and equal to the plasmon dipole and quadrupole resonance frequencies are discussed. The changes in images and radial components of the scattered electromagnetic field distribution at the scanning plane moved away from the particle surface from near-field to far-field region are discussed.     

Interaction of a spherical acoustic wave with an elastic spherical shell

The interaction of a spherical acoustic wave with an elastic spherical shell is treated analytically. The solution includes the coupling between the acoustic sound field and vibration of the shell with any degree of fluid loading. The formulation for the far-field acoustic pressure is derived in terms of natural spherical wave functions, the properties of the acoustic medium, and the material constants of the shell. The far acoustic field is computed for a thin aluminum shell and several sound source locations over a large range of ka, where k is the wavenumber, and a is the shell radius. It is shown that the acoustic pressure depends significantly on whether the shell is in air or is submerged in water, particularly when the sound source is very near the surface. In air, the sound field of the shell is nearly identical to that of a rigid sphere but, in water, the shell is more compliant, which results in a damped radiation field that is characterized by vibrational resonances throughout the range of frequencies considered. As the sound sources is moved further away from the surface, however, this resonance response decreases very rapidly, and the sound field corresponds more closely to that of the shell in air.     

Some observations on the appearance of instability of a plane charged liquid surface

A dispersion relation is obtained for the capillary oscillations of a hemispherical protrusion (oblate or prolate) on the plane surface of a conducting liquid in a uniform electrostatic field parallel to the symmetry axis of the protrusion. For the fundamental mode of the capillary oscillations realized on the protrusion the critical dependence of the parameter characterizing its stability in an external electrostatic field is obtained as a function of the square of the eccentricity as the protrusion is drawn out from the an oblate to a prolate hemisphere. Such a change in shape lowers the threshold electric field for instability of the protrusion. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 15–22 (July 1999)     

The influence of the skin effect on FMR in MnFe ferrites

FMR experiments on the system Mn _x Fe_3?x O₄ have been performed at 7·8 and 15·2 (or 16) GHz in the temperature range 80–300 K. The temperature dependences of the linewidth, resonance field and lineshape have been studied on spherical samples with diameter 0·25–1 mm. It has been shown that the observed dependences from greater part reflect the decrease of the skin depth with increasing temperature and are connected with the influence of the skin effect. This mechanism is discussed in more detail. The maxima in theΔH vs.T plot are compared to similar ones predicted for an infinite slab. The behaviour of the resonance field and lineshape is shown to be essentially dependent on the position of the uniform mode frequency to the upper limit of the spin-wave manifold. An approximative method has been given for treating resonance in the surface layer of the spherical sample and the corresponding surface mode. This mode and a further mode similar to the Walker magnetostatical (3,1,1) mode have been observed at higher temperatures. It has been experimentally verified that they can coexist with the nearly uniform mode.     

Distribution of the local magnetic field of the vortex lattice near the surface of an anisotropic superconductor in oblique external magnetic fields

The distribution of the magnetic field in the unit cell of the Abrikosov vortex lattice near the surface of a uniaxial, anisotropic, type-II superconductor in an oblique external magnetic field is determined on the basis of the London model for the cases in which the symmetry axis is perpendicular and parallel to the boundary of the superconductor. The distribution of the local magnetic field is obtained as a function of the distance from the surface of the superconductor and the inclination angle of the external field. It is shown for an YBaCuO high-T _c superconductor that the investigation of the distribution function of the local magnetic field as a function of the angle of the external magnetic field relative to the symmetry axis and to the surface of the superconductor can yield important information about the anisotropic properties of the superconductor. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 1935–1939 (November 1997)     

Critical current of an inhomogeneous Josephson junction at an intergrain boundary with a random distribution of dislocations

The critical current J _c(θ) of an intergrain boundary is calculated as a function of the contact misorientation angle θ of the granules. It is assumed that the ordering parameter is suppressed in regions near boundaries with an enhanced mechanical stress induced by randomly distributed surface dislocations. The stress distribution function is determined using a probabilistic approach. Assuming that the weak coupling at the boundary is Josephson coupling, an analytic expression is found for the angular dependence J _c(θ) (for tilt and twist boundaries). The magnitude of the residual critical current of a boundary in a strong magnetic field is estimated. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 393–402 (March 1998)     

Microwave breakdown initiated in a high-temperature superconducting film by thermal disturbances and defects

The effect of thermal disturbances and nonsuperconducting defects on the microwave breakdown of a high-temperature superconducting film is investigated theoretically. The dependence of the critical energy of thermal disturbances on the surface microwave field is obtained. It is shown that in a wide range of values of the surface microwave field the critical energy of local disturbances is less than the critical energy of spatially extended disturbances. It is established that microwave breakdown on defects may be preceded by a stage of formation of a finite-size normal-phase region localized at the defect. The effect of the form and absorption coefficient of the defect on scenarios leading to the destruction of superconductivity and on the microwave breakdown field of a film at a defect are investigated. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 52–59 (May 1999)     

Ultrasound velocimetry of ferrofluid spin-up flow measurements using a spherical coil assembly to impose a uniform rotating magnetic field

Ferrofluid spin-up flow is studied within a sphere subjected to a uniform rotating magnetic field from two surrounding spherical coils carrying sinusoidally varying currents at right angles and 90° phase difference. Ultrasound velocimetry measurements in a full sphere of ferrofluid shows no measureable flow. There is significant bulk flow in a partially filled sphere (1-14 mm/s) of ferrofluid or a finite height cylinder of ferrofluid with no cover (1-4 mm/s) placed in the spherical coil apparatus. The flow is due to free surface effects and the non-uniform magnetic field associated with the shape demagnetizing effects. Flow is also observed in the fully filled ferrofluid sphere (1-20 mm/s) when the field is made non-uniform by adding a permanent magnet or a DC or AC excited small solenoidal coil. This confirms that a non-uniform magnetic field or a non-uniform distribution of magnetization due to a non-uniform magnetic field are causes of spin-up flow in ferrofluids with no free surface, while tangential magnetic surface stress contributes to flow in the presence of a free surface.Recent work has fitted velocity flow measurements of ferrofluid filled finite height cylinders with no free surface, subjected to uniform rotating magnetic fields, neglecting the container shape effects which cause non-uniform demagnetizing fields, and resulting in much larger non-physical effective values of spin viscosity η′∼10⁻⁸−10⁻¹² N s than those obtained from theoretical spin diffusion analysis where η′≤10⁻¹⁸ N s. COMSOL Multiphysics finite element computer simulations of spherical geometry in a uniform rotating magnetic field using non-physically large experimental fit values of spin viscosity η′∼10⁻⁸−10⁻¹² N s with a zero spin-velocity boundary condition at the outer wall predicts measureable flow, while simulations setting spin viscosity to zero (η′=0) results in negligible flow, in agreement with the ultrasound velocimetry measurements. COMSOL simulations also confirm that a non-uniform rotating magnetic field or a uniform rotating magnetic field with a non-uniform distribution of magnetization due to an external magnet or a current carrying coil can drive a measureable flow in an infinitely long ferrofluid cylinder with zero spin viscosity (η′=0).     

Motion of a particle in a static magnetic field and in the field of a electromagnetic plane wave

The solutions of the equations of motion of a charged particle in an external electromagnetic field consisting of a superposition of a constant uniform magnetic field and the field of a circularly polarized electromagnetic plane wave are presented as solutions of the Cauchy problem. The resonance case is studied. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 67, 94–99 (February 1997)     

Instability of a charged spherical drop moving relative to a medium

It is shown that the critical self-charge for the onset of instability of a charged drop in a flow of an ideal fluid decreases as the flow velocity of the fluid past the drop increases, i.e., a complex instability arises which is a superposition of the instabilities of the free surface of the drop with respect to the tangential discontinuity of the velocity field at the free surface of the drop and with respect to the self-charge. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 7–14 (May 1999)     

Stationary soliton on a charged surface of liquid helium and hydrogen films

A change in the shape of a charged surface of liquid hydrogen and helium — the formation of a solitary wave (a positively charged hump for hydrogen and a negatively charged dimple for helium)-is observed in an electric field exceeding a critical value under conditions of total compensation of the applied field by the surface charge. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 65, No. 7, 547–552 (10 April 1997)