Equivalent Josephson junctions

The magnetic field dependences of critical current are numerically constructed for a long Josephson junction with a shunt-or resistor-type microscopic inhomogeneities and compared to the critical curve of a junction with exponentially varying width. The numerical results show that it is adequate to replace the distributed inhomogeneity of a long Josephson junction by an inhomogeneity localized at one of its ends, which has certain technological advantages. It is also shown that the critical curves of junctions with exponentially varying width and inhomogeneities localized at the ends are unaffected by the mixed fluxon-antifluxon distributions of the magnetic flow. This fact may explain the improvement of the spectra of microwave radiation noted in the literature.     

A new method for reconstructing medium inhomogeneities using Rayleigh waves: Case studies

The problem of reconstructing local low-contrast inhomogeneities in the Earth’s surface layers by means of coherent Rayleigh surface waves is considered. It is shown that analysis of the frequency characteristics of shear projections in this wave on the surface allows construction of the function of inhomogeneity distribution in a specified depth range. The results from seismoacoustic reconstruction of inhomogeneities correlate with data obtained using standard geophysical methods and are confirmed by direct observations.     

Scattering of galactic cosmic rays by a magnetic cloud injected into interplanetary space during active solar processes

The scattering of charged particles as they pass through areas of the interplanetary magnetic field with large-scale inhomogeneities (magnetic clouds) is studied using the Monte Carlo method and the numerical simulation of trajectories. Charged particles (protons) with energies ranging from 1 to 100 GeV in magnetic clouds with sizes of 0.01–0.1 a.u. and magnetic flux densities of 5 to 50 nT are modeled. It is established that an important factor in determining the nature of galactic cosmic ray scattering is the relationship between the Larmor radii of particles, the size of a magnetic cloud, and the degree of magnetic field inhomogeneity.     

Magnetic Properties of an Antiferromagnetic Spin-1/2 XYZ Model in the Presence of Different Magnetic Fields: Finite-Size Effects of Inhomogeneity Property*

Magnetic and thermodynamic properties of the anisotropic XYZ spin-1/2 finite chain under both homogeneous and inhomogeneous magnetic fields are theoretically studied at low temperature. Using exact diagonalization method (ED), we study the magnetization, magnetic susceptibility, and specific heat of the model characterized in terms of the finite correlation length in the presence of three different magnetic fields including longitudinal, transverse, and transverse staggered magnetic fields. The magnetization, susceptibility, and the specific heat of the model are investigated under two conditions separately: (i) When the model is putted in the presence of homogeneous magnetic fields. (ii) When finite inhomogeneities are considered for all applied magnetic fields in the Hamiltonian. We show that for the finite-size XYZ chains at low temperature, the evident magnetization plateaus gradually convert to their counterpart quasi-plateaus when the transverse magnetic field increases. Moreover, the influence of the transverse and staggered transverse magnetic fields, and their corresponding inhomogeneities on the magnetization process, magnetic susceptibility, and specific heat are reported in detail. Our exact results illustrate that by altering the inhomogeneity parameters, magnetization plateaus gradually convert to their counterpart quasi-plateaus. The specific heat manifests Schottky-type maximum, double-peak, and triple-peak, as well as, transformation between them by varying considered inhomogeneity parameters in the Hamiltonian.     

Three-dimensional numerical simulations of susceptibility-induced magnetic field inhomogeneities in the human head

Three-dimensional numerical simulations of the static magnetic field in the human head were carried out to assess the field inhomogeneity due to magnetic susceptibility differences at tissue interfaces. We used a finite difference method and magnetic permeability distributions obtained by segmentation of computed tomography images. Computations were carried out for four models, consisting of the head and the neck; the head, neck, and shoulders; the head, neck, and thorax; and the head tilted backwards, including the neck and the shoulders. Considerable magnetic field inhomogeneities were observed in the inferior frontal lobes and inferior temporal lobes, particularly near the sphenoid sinus and the temporal bones. Air/tissue interfaces at the shoulders were found to induce substantial magnetic field inhomogeneities in the occipital lobes and the cerebellum, whereas air/tissue interfaces in the lungs appeared to have less influence on the magnetic field in the brain. Tilting the head backwards could significantly reduce the field inhomogeneities superior to the planum sphenoidale as well as in the occipital lobes and the cerebellum.     

Acoustic diffraction tomography of the ocean

Tomographic monitoring of medium-scale inhomogeneities of the ocean using acoustic waves is considered. The basic integral equations are analyzed. A more detailed study is suggested for two patterns of diffraction tomography: pulsed translucent tomography of random inhomogeneities and hydroacoustic imaging. Some results of reconstruction of inhomogeneity images recovered based on laboratory-experiment data are presented.Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 36, No. 8, pp. 738–751 August, 1993.     

On the possibility of detecting an absorbing object in a strongly scattering medium using the method of continuous optical sounding

We have studied the possibility of using the method of double-position optical sounding for observation of inhomogeneities in an absorption index of a turbid medium at very large optical depths where the light field becomes isotropic. Formulas for calculating the image inhomogeneity, its contrast, signal-to-noise ratio, sighting distance, and an optimal “radiator-receiver” base have been obtained. We propose a system of double-position sounding with a rotary base, which allows us to improve the probability of detecting an inhomogeneity and finding its location with a higher accuracy. We show that the method of continuous optical sounding can be used for observation of inhomogeneities in living tissues at depths of several tens of transport paths. Institute of Applied Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 40, No. 10, pp. 1191–1209, October, 1997.     

A two-dimensional tomography model for the oceanic inhomogeneity reconstruction with wave and ray representations of acoustic field

A model reconstruction of two-dimensional combined oceanic inhomogeneities (of refractive and kinetic types) in tomographic experiments with ray and wave representations of acoustic field is considered. The possibility of a complete reconstruction of two-dimensional flows from the scattering data alone is illustrated. For the realization of the tomographic scheme, a nonorthogonal redundant basis consisting of a number of intersecting stripes is used. The results of reconstruction are presented for model inhomogeneities of kinetic and combined (refractive-kinetic) types. The iterative reconstruction of the flow velocity vector distribution is considered. The tomographic problem in the ray representation is solved by taking into account both the time delays in the signal propagation along the rays and the ray trajectory distortions due to the inhomogeneity of the medium.     

Elimination of Anti-spiral Waves by Local Inhomogeneity in Oscillatory Systems

采用系统中的局部不均匀性消除振荡系统中的反螺旋波. 该不均匀性在系统中成为一个波源,不断产生稳定的相波. 研究结果发现,不均匀性的尺寸大小存在一个临界值,如果低于此临界值,则系统将无法激发任何相波. 根据不均匀性形状的不同,系统分别产生靶波和行波. 此外,实验还发现靶波与反螺旋波之间以及行波与反螺旋波之间存在着不同的动态竞争. 数值计算表明,对于行波,无论是低频行波还是高频行波,都可以成功地消除系统中的反螺旋波;而对于靶波,只有低频靶波才可以消除反螺旋波. 此控制方法简单易行,且同样适用于消除向外传播的螺旋波     

Transformation of electromagnetic radiation at moving inhomogeneities of a medium

The possibility of a significant up-conversion of the electromagnetic-radiation frequency due to its Doppler shift by ultrarelativistic nonlinear-medium inhomogeneities induced by high-intensity counterpropagating radiation pulses is analyzed. It is shown that the efficiency of parametric redistribution increases resonantly as the velocity of the inhomogeneity approaches the phase velocity of the high-frequency radiation.     

Method of acoustic sweep monitoring of oceanic inhomogeneities (Review)

Theoretical grounds of the new method of monitoring of the temporal variability of oceanic inhomogeneities, which uses the data on frequency shifts of interference maxima of the sound field, were described. The method is free of limitations on both the resolution of signals coming in individual modes (rays) and the adiabatic approximation underlying the conventional methods of inhomogeneity reconstruction. The monitoring sensitivity was estimated, which allows us to estimate minimum detectable changes in the speed of sound by measurement data on frequency shifts of local maxima. Experimental data on shifts of the frequency spectrum of a broadband low-frequency signal on a stationary path in a shallow sea were presented. On their basis, the possibility of applying this method to diagnose tidal variations was shown. Within a numerical simulation, model reconstruction of the frequency spectrum of background internal waves was considered on the basis of the data on measurements of the spectrum of frequency shifts of the interference maximum. The results of the spectrum reconstruction with and without focusing of the conjugate wave field are presented. The problems of monitoring stability and efficiency with respect to the interference pattern formed by various groups of modes were discussed.     

Thermal signatures of a localized inhomogeneity in a 2-D participating medium subjected to an ultra-fast step-pulse laser wave

The transport of a train of short-pulse radiation through a 2-D rectangular participating medium consisting of local inhomogeneities is investigated in this article. A collimated beam of step temporal profile is considered. The pulse wave consists of 1 and 4 pulses. The absorbing and scattering participating medium contains a square-shaped local inhomogeneity. The inhomogeneity differs from the rest of the medium by its scattering albedo. The pulse width and the period of the laser wave are of the order of a nano-second. Transmittance and reflectance signals are analyzed for the effects of the extinction coefficient and the scattering albedo. Heat flux distributions inside the medium are also studied. The finite-volume method is used to solve the problem.     

Automatic segmentation for brain MR images via a convex optimized segmentation and bias field correction coupled model

Accurate segmentation of magnetic resonance (MR) images remains challenging mainly due to the intensity inhomogeneity, which is also commonly known as bias field. Recently active contour models with geometric information constraint have been applied, however, most of them deal with the bias field by using a necessary pre-processing step before segmentation of MR data. This paper presents a novel automatic variational method, which can segment brain MR images meanwhile correcting the bias field when segmenting images with high intensity inhomogeneities. We first define a function for clustering the image pixels in a smaller neighborhood. The cluster centers in this objective function have a multiplicative factor that estimates the bias within the neighborhood. In order to reduce the effect of the noise, the local intensity variations are described by the Gaussian distributions with different means and variances. Then, the objective functions are integrated over the entire domain. In order to obtain the global optimal and make the results independent of the initialization of the algorithm, we reconstructed the energy function to be convex and calculated it by using the Split Bregman theory. A salient advantage of our method is that its result is independent of initialization, which allows robust and fully automated application. Our method is able to estimate the bias of quite general profiles, even in 7T MR images. Moreover, our model can also distinguish regions with similar intensity distribution with different variances. The proposed method has been rigorously validated with images acquired on variety of imaging modalities with promising results.     

The influence of striction density perturbations on the excitation of plasma oscillations inside thermal inhomogeneities of plasma

In this paper, we continue our studies begun in [Izv. Vyssh. Uchebn. Zaved., Radiofiz.,41, No. 3, 270 (1998)].Calculating the coefficients and nonlinear phase shift in the equation for plasma-wave intensity introduced in the eralier paper, we have solved the problem of the influence of striction perturbations of the plasma density on the excitation of shortwave plasma oscillations by an electromagnetic wave; the above oscillations are captured in a volume of inhomogeneities, which are extended along the magnetic field and have reduced electron density that crosses the level of the upper-hybrid resonance. The dissipative processes of absorption and emission of plasma waves beyond the inhomogeneity are assumed to be weak. The variation of excitation and reflection of plasma waves from the resonance level due to deformation of the plasma- density profile is described. The band of effective generation of eigenmodes of captured oscillations as a function of the total wave-phase increment in an inhomogeneity is determined. The effect of penetration of the field of a high-power plasma wave into the non-transmittance region as a result of the striction expulsion of plasma is calculated. With allowance for the nonlinear phenomena in question, we estimated the heating of artificial inhomogeneities of thermal origin as a result of collisional absorption of the plasma oscillations excited in a volume of inhomogeneities under the action of a high-power radio wave. The materials of this paper were reported at the IIIrd International School on Space Plasma Physics. Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere, and Radio Wave Propagation, Russian Academy of Sciences, Troitsk, Moscow Region, Russia. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 41, No. 10, pp. 1226–1247, October 1998.     

Resistivity superconducting transition in single-crystalline Cd0.95Ni0.05Sb system consisting of non-superconducting CdSb and NiSb phases

Resistivity superconducting transition has been for the first time found in single crystal of two-component 0.95(CdSb)–0.05(NiSb) system. End members of the system are not superconductors under normal conditions. Insulating behavior in temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity, which is due to hopping conductivity, precedes the transition. The resistivity superconducting transition is rather broad, since at cooling down the electrical resistivity starts to fall at 10.5 K, whereas zero resistivity is reached only at ~2.3 K. Longitudinal magnetic field gradually depresses superconductivity and shifts the superconducting transition to lower temperatures. Under magnetic field above 0.5 T, superconductivity is totally destroyed. Main features observed in the resistivity superconducting transition, including its unusually big width and insulating electrical behavior above the transition, can be related to inhomogeneity of the single crystal studied. According to XRD and SEM examinations, the single crystal consists of major CdSb phase and minor NiSb phase. The NiSb phase forms inhomogeneities in the CdSb matrix. Micro-sized needle-like NiSb crystals and nano-sized Ni_1-xSb_x clusters can be considered as typical inhomogeneities.     

Tomography in observation of inhomogenenities in shallow sea during sounding by a focused high-frequency acoustic field: II. Study of the observation efficiency

We study the efficiency of high-frequency acoustic sounding of small-size spatially localized inhomogeneities in shallow sea by a tomographic method. The method is based on that the focusing of the received and radiated fields to the region of the assumed location of the inhomogeneity is matched to the waveguide. During the observation, the statistical check is performed for hypotheses on the object location that are formed using a priori information on the waveguide model and data on the observation-system structure. To decrease the influence of the interference structure of the acoustic fields in the waveguide, we use accumulation of partial images corresponding to separate ray tomographic projections. Using a simulation model of the considered method, we analyze its accuracy and sensitivity under different observation conditions in shallow sea. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 192–207, March 2009.     

Optical method for measuring structural parameters of island films

An optical method for determining characteristics of the submicron structure in island films is proposed. The method is based on the measurements of fluctuations of optical properties of a film detected when a focused laser beam is scanned over it. It is shown that the island size distribution can be determined in principle by the method proposed. Structural inhomogeneity of a Cs film on sapphire is revealed experimentally. Parameters of these inhomogeneities are measured as functions of the film thickness. The correspondence of the results of the optical method and the data of electron microscopy is tested for a In film on glass.     

Transformation of electromagnetic radiation by rapidly moving inhomogeneities of a transparent medium

A theory of reflection and transmission of electromagnetic radiation by inhomogeneities of the parameters of a static transparent medium moving at the velocity of light is developed. Expressions are obtained for the Doppler frequency shift of radiation; it turns out that, under the condition of pronounced frequency dispersion, the frequency of incident radiation corresponds to two frequencies of reflected radiation (complementary waves). It is found that, as the velocity of an inhomogeneity tends to the phase velocity of radiation in the medium, the reflection and transmission coefficients of radiation by the inhomogeneity indefinitely increase. It is shown that the electromagnetic radiation frequency may increase severalfold, with a transformation coefficient of about unity, due to the Doppler shift by the inhomogeneities of a nonlinear medium that are induced by pulses (solitons) of intense counterpropagating radiation.     

Optimal charge inhomogeneity for the d+id-wave superconductivity in the intercalated graphite CaC6

The coexistence of superconductivity and charge inhomogeneity was observed in many cuprate superconductors. The relationship between those two is still controversial. Similarly, in the graphene sheets of the intercalated graphitic superconductor CaC₆, the charge inhomogeneity was also observed. We simulate such a system by constructing the Hubbard model on the honeycomb lattice with charge inhomogeneity imposed by force. Utilizing the finite-temperature determinant quantum Monte Carlo algorithm, we examine the relationship between the superconducting pairing and the charge inhomogeneity. An optimal charge inhomogeneity for the d+id-wave pairing is found. While for other artificial charge inhomogeneities, the d+id-wave pairing is monotonically suppressed. The possible π-phase shift induced by charge inhomogeneity is also examined.