Separating Classical and Quantum Correlations

We examine to what extent the correlation between two quantum observables at a mixed state can be separated into a classical and a quantum term. The nonunique decomposition of quantum mixed states into pure states makes such a separation ambiguous. We outline this fact by a simple example, which also shows that classical and quantum correlations may cancel each other out.     

Modification of Paving Asphalts with Sulfur

Sulfur dissolved in oil components of asphalt is a binder, filler, and chemical co-reagent at once. The structure of sulfur-extended asphalt depends on its formula and heating temperature. Road pavement based on sulfur-extended asphalt demonstrates higher durability as compared to that with the conventional binders.     

Loading aircraft for military operations

In this paper, we describe an aircraft loading problem submitted by the French military agency (DGA) as part of a more general military airlift planning problem. It can be viewed as a kind of bi-dimensional bin-packing problem, with heterogeneous bins and several additional constraints. We introduce two-phase methods for solving this NP-hard problem. The first phase consists in building good initial solutions, thanks to two fast algorithms: a list-based heuristic and a loading pattern generation method. Both algorithms call a constraint-based subroutine, able to determine quickly if the items already loaded can be reshuffled to accommodate a new object. The second phase improves these preliminary solutions using local search techniques. Results obtained on real data sets are presented.     

Dynamics of two-mode radiation in optical waveguides with strong mode coupling

Amplitude equations, as well as the effective dispersion and nonlinearity parameters, which define the dynamics of a wave packet formed by two strongly coupled modes, are derived with allowance for the frequency dependence of the linear mode coupling coefficient. These equations are used to study the onset of the modulation instability of the two-mode wave packet, soliton-like pulses, and compression modes. Unlike single-mode systems, the last two effects in optical waveguides may arise for both a negative and positive disper-sion of the waveguide material.     

Study of removal processes of <Superscript>7</Superscript>Be and <Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs from the atmosphere

In order to understand better the way in which radioactive contamination may be transferred from the atmosphere to other ecological compartments it is necessary to obtain information of the deposition mechanisms of radionuclides. Concentration and speciation of ¹³⁷Cs and ⁷Be in the atmospheric aerosol and deposition were studied. The mixed deposition velocities of water-soluble and insoluble ¹³⁷Cs and ⁷Be were determined. The relation between activity concentrations of insoluble ⁷Be in the atmosphere and its amount in deposition was observed. It is supposed that in the deposition process of radiocesium the precipitation plays an important role in scavenging of water-soluble radiocesium by falling raindrops, in contrast to insoluble ¹³⁷Cs where the dry deposition becomes predominant.     

Asymptotics of collision integral matrix elements in the isotropic case

The method of nonlinear moments, when used to solve the Boltzmann equation, necessitates the calculation of collision integral matrix elements. The matrix elements are hard to calculate numerically, especially at large indices. The asymptotics of the matrix elements are constructed. In terms of the model of pseudopower particle interaction, a formula free of summation is derived. This makes it possible to find the asymptotic behavior of linear and nonlinear elements when two indices are large. For an arbitrary interaction cross section, asymptotic expansions of linear and nonlinear matrix elements in one index are obtained. For Maxwellian molecules, asymptotic formulas are derived for three large indices.     

Quantum-Chemical Study of Structural and Energy Characteristics of Benzonitrile Dimers

Ab initio MP2 calculations with several basis sets proved the existence of a stable benzonitrile dimer with a planar structure and a short contact between the H atom of one molecule and the N atom of another. The structure is greatly stabilized by attraction between the neighboring oppositely directed dipoles and donor-acceptor interaction between the orbital of the lone electron pair of the N′ atom and the vacant antibonding orbital localized on the C-H bond.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by O. V. Sizova, E. P. Sokolova, V. I. Baranovskii, D. A. Rozmanov, and O. A. Tomashenko__________Translated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 45, No. 5, pp. 807–815, September–October, 2004.     

Small and high-density GeSiC dots stacked on buried Ge hut-clusters in Si

Self-assembled GeSiC dots stacked on a Ge hut-cluster layer buried in Si have been investigated. The critical thickness for formation of GeSiC dots is reduced owing to the strain fields from the buried hut-clusters. By utilizing the stacked structure, the dot size is decreased and the uniformity is improved. The highest density of the GeSiC dots with stacked structures is 7.4×10¹⁰ cm⁻², which is six times larger than that of single GeSiC dots. The formation of the self-assembled GeSiC dots is strongly influenced by being stacked with buried Ge dots as well as C incorporation.     

In-Situ Intrinsic Interface Strength Measurement at Elevated Temperatures and its Relationship to Interfacial Structure

A previously developed laser spallation technique has been modified to measure the tensile strength of thin film interfaces in-situ at temperatures up to 1100°C. Tensile strengths of Nb/A-plane sapphire, FeCrAl/A-plane sapphire and FeCrAlY/A-plane sapphire were measured up to 950°C. The measured strengths at high temperatures were substantially lower compared with their corresponding strengths at ambient temperature. For example, at 850°C, the interface tensile strength for the Nb/sapphire (151 ± 17 MPa), FeCrAl/sapphire (62 ± 8 MPa) and FeCrAlY/sapphire (82 ± 11 MPa) interface systems were lower by factors of approximately, 3, 5, and 8, respectively, over their corresponding ambient values. These results underscore the importance of using such in-situ measured values under operating conditions as the failure criterion in any life prediction or reliability models of such coated systems where local interface temperature excursions are expected. The results on alloy film interfaces also demonstrate that the presence of Y increases the strength of FeCrAl/Al₂O₃ interfaces.     

Semiempirical calculation of the fine structure of the indium ion

The fine-structure parameters of a series of configurations of the first ion of indium and the gyromagnetic ratios in intermediate coupling are calculated by a semiempirical method in the single-configuration approximation.