Strain-induced modification of magnetic structure and new magnetic phases in rare-earth epitaxial films

Rare earths exhibit complex magnetic phase diagrams resulting from the competition between various contributions to the magnetic energy: exchange, anisotropy and magnetostriction. The epitaxy of a rare-earth film on a substrate induces (i) a clamping to the substrate and (ii) pseudomorphic strains. Both these effects are shown to lead to modifications of the magnetic properties in (0 0 1)Dy, (0 0 1)Tb and (1 1 0)Eu films. In Dy and Tb films, spectacular variations of the Curie temperature have been evidenced. Additionally, Tb films exhibit a new large wavelength magnetic modulation. In Eu films, one of the helical magnetic domains disappears at low temperature whereas the propagation vectors of the other helices are tilted. The link between structural and magnetic properties is underlined via magnetoelastic models. Moreover, molecular beam epitaxy permits the growth of Sm in a metastable dhcp phase. The magnetic structure of dhcp Sm has been elucidated for the first time. In this review, neutron scattering is shown to be a powerful technique to reveal the magnetic structures of rare-earth films.     

Inverse Scattering for a Schroedinger Operator with a Repulsive Potential

We consider a pair of Hamiltonians （H, H0） on L2（R^n）, where H0=p^2 -x^2 is a SchrSdinger operator with a repulsive potential, and H = H0＋V（x）. We show that, under suitable assumptions on the decay of the electric potential, V is uniquely determined by the high energy limit of the scattering operator.     

Optical Glucose Monitoring Based on Femtosecond Two-Color Pulse Interferometry

We demonstrate the potential of femtosecond two-color pulse interferometry for in vitro optical glucose monitoring, by dispersion of the group refractive index in a glucose solution sample with respect to a red-color light and a blue-color light. By comparison with femtosecond one-color pulse interferometry, the basic performance of the present system with regard to sensitivity, quantitativeness, and tolerance to surrounding disturbances, is evaluated. The resulting accuracy and precision of glucose determination are 77 and 118mg/dl for 10-mm-sample-thickness, respectively. This near-common-path configuration of the two-color pulse light provides good stability to fluctuations of sample temperature, which is important in clinical applications. Considering the performance of femtosecond two-color pulse interferometry as an optical glucose sensor, a suitable measurement site for in vivo optical glucose monitoring is discussed.     

Spectroscopic and X-ray diffraction study of high Tc epitaxial YBCO thin films obtained by pulsed laser deposition

We report spectroscopic characterization of epitaxial YBCO thin films grown on LaAlO₃ by pulsed laser deposition. Raman spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry were used for film characterization and the results were correlated with X-ray diffraction measurements. The mentioned techniques allowed us to analyze crystallographic, micro-structural, and morphological properties of YBCO thin films. We also demonstrated that relatively low resolution Raman spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry are reliable techniques for a rapid and non-destructive characterization of epitaxial YBCO thin films.     

Gamow Vectors in Exactly Solvable Models

Through two examples: the Friedrichs model and a particular case of central potential scattering, we illustrate the way of constructing Gamow vectors.     

Influence of annealing and chain defects on the melting behaviour of poly(vinylidene fluoride)

The melting behaviour of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering in order to study the influence of the chain defects content and of the temperature of annealing on the crystallization and melting behaviour.All the DSC scans show a double endotherm and the analysis of the data suggests that the low temperature endotherm is due to the melting of a population of thin lamellae, whose thickness increases during the annealing, but a high content of chain defects prevents the lamellar thickening and the main effect in this case is the crystallization of thin lamellae from a portion of polymer which did not crystallize during the quenching from the melt. Furthermore, the two melting endotherms, which are observed, can be partially ascribed to a melting-recrystallization process.Furthermore, stepwise isothermal cooling was performed in a differential scanning calorimeter followed by melting scans of fractionated PVDF samples to point out the possible presence of a series of endothermic peaks.     

Finite-Dimensional Approximations for Scattering Theory Operators in the Wave-Packet Representation

We consider some types of packet discretization for continuous spectra in quantum scattering problems. As we previously showed, this discretization leads to a convenient finite-dimensional (i.e., matrix) approximation for integral operators in the scattering theory and allows reducing the solution of singular integral equations connected with the scattering theory to some suitable purely algebraic equations on an analytic basis. All singularities are explicitly singled out. Our primary emphasis is on realizing the method practically.     

A new polar nephelometer for measurement of atmospheric aerosols

The angular dependence of light scattered by aerosol particles in the atmosphere—the aerosol phase function—is one of the key properties of every radiative transfer and climate model. Side-scattering in the atmosphere is currently believed to be underestimated by most of the radiative transfer models in certain cases. The aerosol phase function can be measured with polar nephelometers.An innovative polar nephelometer able to measure the phase function of ambient aerosol directly is presented in this publication. The performance of the device was simulated completely using ray-tracing techniques. The results of these simulations are used to interpret the measurement data precisely. The measurements with the new polar nephelometer are fully automated. The quality of the measurement results was verified using different approaches. The values of the statistical and systematic error in measuring atmospheric aerosol are about 4% each. Scattering angles from 10° to 160° were measured and it is shown that with the same design this range can be extended to 3-177° in steps of 0.16° with an aperture of less than 1.8°.Measurements of the aerosol phase function are presented and compared with data taken with an integrating nephelometer and measurements of the particulate matter concentration. All data correlate very well. The described polar nephelometer can measure the phase function and the scattering coefficient of atmospheric aerosol with high accuracy and can be used for continuous monitoring measurements as well as in field campaigns.     

A brief semi-quantitative discussion on electrical conductance through resonant states in metallic electrochemical nanowires

Some aspects of electrical conduction through resonant states in metallic electrochemical nanowires are briefly discussed in a semi-quantitative way by means of concepts associated with electron gas, conductance quantization, and Fermi energy level. Aspects related to some experimental data are also discussed.     

Synthesis and Raman analysis of 1D-ZnO nanostructure via vapor phase growth

1D-nanostructural zinc oxide (ZnO) with different shapes have been synthesized on p-type Si(1 0 0) and glass substrates via vapor phase growth by heating pure zinc powder at temperatures between 480 and 570 °C. The different ZnO nanostructures depend on the substrates and the growth temperatures. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction revealed that a well-aligned nanowires array, which are vertical to the substrate of Si(1 0 0) with 18 sides on their heads, but six sides on their stems, has been formed at 480 °C. Raman study on the ZnO nanostructures shows that the coupling strength between electron and phonon determined by the ratio of the second- to the first-order Raman scattering cross-sections declines with decreasing diameter of the nanowires. However, a little changes of the coupling strength in terms of the width of the nanobelts have been observed.