Influence of Ru doping on the structure, defect chemistry, magnetic interaction, and carrier motion of the La(1-x)Na(x)MnO(3+delta) manganite

In this work, we report a structural, electrical, and magnetic characterization of the La(1-x)Na(x)Mn(1-y)Ru(y)O(3+delta) (LNMRO) system with x = 0.05 and 0.15 and y = 0, 0.05, and 0.15, also comprising an investigation of the role of the oxygen content on the related redox properties. The experimental investigation has been realized with the aid of X-ray powder diffraction, electron microprobe analysis, thermogravimetry, electrical resistivity and magnetization measurements, and electron paramagnetic resonance. We demonstrate that the effect of ruthenium doping on the studied LNMRO compounds is not only directly related to the Ru/Mn substitution and to the Ru oxidation state but also indirectly connected to the oxygen content in the sample. Our data show that ruthenium addition can "improve" electrical and magnetic properties of nonoptimally (low) cation-doped manganites, causing an increase of the T(C) value and the insurgence of magnetoresistance effect, as observed for the x = 0.05 and y = 0.05 sample (MR congruent with 60% at 7 T and at approximately 260 K).     

Local structure and electronic properties of the rhombohedral and orthorhombic colossally magnetoresistive manganites La1-xNaxMnO3 by Mn-K edge EXAFS and XANES

The local structure and electronic properties of Mn in Na doped lanthanum manganites have been investigated by means of Mn-K edge XAFS, at various temperatures ranging from RT to 30 K. The hole content depends on the amount of doping, both with Na which injects two holes per doping atom and with oxygen nonstoichiometry. The holes are annihilated by oxygen under-stoichiometry via the formation of oxygen vacancies; the presence of a greater static disorder in the orthorhombic manganites is evidenced by both EXAFS and XANES analysis. In the rombohedral samples, a single Mn-O distance is found. In addition, the trend of the EXAFS Debye-Waller factors for the Mn-O distance can be fitted with a simple Einstein model, with no static disorder at low temperature. This evidence suggests small disorder of polaronic and of Jahn-Teller origin in the rombohedral samples at low temperatures, which is in contrast with what was found for the orthorhombic samples below T(c).     

Complete destructive interference of partially coherent sources of acoustic waves

Theoretical analysis has recently shown that the optical fields from several point sources may exhibit complete destructive interference even if the sources are not fully coherent with respect to each other. The experimental verification of this statement in the optical domain is not easy. In this Letter we demonstrate the effect using acoustical waves instead of light waves.     

Structure of the hard sphere solid

We show that near densest packing the perturbations of the hexagonal close packed (hcp) structure yield higher entropy than perturbations of any other densest packing. The difference between the various structures shows up in the correlations between motions of nearest neighbors. In the hcp structure random motion of each sphere impinges slightly less on the motion of its nearest neighbors than in the other structures.     

An Analytical Treatment of the Clock Paradox in the Framework of the Special and General Theories of Relativity

No Heading In this paper we treat the so called clock paradox in an analytical way by assuming that a constant and uniform force F of finite magnitude acts continuously on the moving clock along the direction of its motion assumed to be rectilinear (in space). No inertial motion steps are considered. The rest clock is denoted as (1), the to and fro moving clock is (2), the inertial frame in which (1) is at rest in its origin and (2) is seen moving is I and, finally, the accelerated frame in which (2) is at rest in its origin and (1) moves forward and backward is A. We deal with the following questions: (1) What is the effect of the finite force acting on (2) on the proper time interval ⁽²⁾ measured by the two clocks when they reunite? Does a differential aging between the two clocks occur, as it happens when inertial motion and infinite values of the accelerating force is considered? The special theory of relativity is used in order to describe the hyperbolic (in spacetime) motion of (2) in the frame I. (II) Is this effect an absolute one, i.e., does the accelerated observer A comoving with (2) obtain the same results as that obtained by the observer in I, both qualitatively and quantitatively, as it is expected? We use the general theory of relativity in order to answer this question. It turns out that _I = _A for both the clocks, ⁽²⁾ does depend on g = F/m, and = ⁽²⁾/⁽¹⁾ = (1 – ²atanhj)/ < 1. In it ; = V/c and V is the velocity acquired by (2) when the force is inverted.     

Structure and magnetism of a new hydrogen-bonded layered cobalt(II) network, constructed by the unprecedented carboxylate-phosphinate ligand [O2(C6H5)PCH2CO2]2-

By hydrothermal reaction of CoCl2 x 6H2O with K2pcc (H2pcc = phenyl(carboxymethyl) phosphinic acid) at 423 K, a novel hybrid material of formula [Co2(pcc)2 (H2O)2] x H2O has been obtained. The compound, which is the first pcc/metal complex reported, exhibits a polymeric arrangement, where cobalt metal ions, linked together by bridging carboxylate and phosphinate oxygens, form infinite chains of edge-shared CoO6 octahedra. The cobalt chains are in turn linked together through important hydrogen-bonding interactions, which create an infinite 2D architecture. The two crystallographically independent cobalt centers, both displaying distorted octahedral coordination, present different environments as one is surrounded by six ligand oxygens and the other by four ligand oxygens and by two water oxygens. Careful magnetic studies performed by a home-built alternating current susceptometer reveal that the system undergoes an antiferromagnetic transition below 2.0 K leading to a canted structure. Field-dependent studies further indicate the occurrence of a metamagnetic transition at a critical field of 650 +/- 50 G.     

Mesoscopic structural organization in fluorinated room temperature ionic liquids

The presence of fluorous tails in room-temperature ionic liquids imparts new properties to their already rich spectrum of appealing features. The interest towards this class of compounds that are of ionic nature with melting point less than 25 °C is accordingly growing; in particular, compounds bearing relatively long fluorous tails have begun to be considered. In this invited presentation, we show recent results arising from the systematic study of structural properties of a series of fluorinated room temperature ionic liquids, with growing fluorous chain length. At odd with the current understanding of this class of compounds, we show experimentally that they are characterized by the presence of segregated fluorous domains whose size depends on the fluorous chain length. This experimental finding, based on the synergic use of X-ray and neutron scattering, provides a structural scenario at the mesoscopic spatial scale that is in agreement with the recent state of the art molecular dynamic simulations. We speculate on the potential role of this significant compartmentalization of the bulk liquid phase into different nanoscale domains, as relevant in a series of applications including separation, solubility, catalysis, and so forth.     

Ideal and subalgebra coefficients

For an ideal or -subalgebra of , consider subfields , where is generated - as ideal or -subalgebra - by polynomials in . It is a standard result for ideals that there is a smallest such . We give an algorithm to find it. We also prove that there is a smallest such for -subalgebras. The ideal results use reduced Gröbner bases. For the subalgebra results we develop and then use subduced SAGBI (bases), the analog to reduced Gröbner bases.