Study of the peak effect phenomenon in single crystals of 2H-NbSe2

The weakly pinned single crystals of the hexagonal 2H-NbSe₂ compound have emerged as prototypes for determining and characterizing the phase boundaries of the possible order-disorder transformations in the vortex matter. We present here a status report based on the ac and dc magnetization measurements of the peak effect phenomenon in three crystals of 2H-NbSe₂, in which the critical current densities vary over two orders of magnitude. We sketch the generic vortex phase diagram of a weakly pinned superconductor, which also utilizes theoretical proposals. We also establish the connection between the metastability effects and pinning.     

Experimental and theoretical study of vibrational spectra and structure of dihalogermylene and dihalostannylene complexes with 1,4-dioxane and triphenylphosphine

Vibrational (Raman and IR) spectra of the 1:1 complexes of dihalogermylene and dihalostannylene with 1,4-dioxane and PPh₃ have been reported, the structures of the complexes Cl₂Ge·C₄H₈O₂ and Cl₂Ge·PPh₃ updated using high-resolution X-ray method. Quantum-chemistry calculations of the geometry and normal mode frequencies and eigenvectors were carried out for some of the complexes. The results show that in the structure of the polymeric solid complexes of X₂M with 1,4-dioxane, intermolecular coordination XM plays a prominent role, whereas the corresponding complexes with PPh₃ are monomeric. In the vibrational spectra of all the complexes, an inversion of symmetric and antisymmetric stretching νXM (X=Cl, Br; M=Ge, Sn) frequencies, found for ‘free’ X₂M^II particles, still persists, suggesting that the X₂M moieties preserve their specifity as carbene analogues also in the complexes.     

Inversion of ν(MHal) stretching frequencies in the spectra of dihalosilylenes, -germylenes, -stannylenes,and their complexes with Lewis bases

The vibrational spectra of tetravalent metal halides (M = Si, Ge, Sn) and the corresponding dihalocarbene analogs M^IIHal₂, obtained by the authors, and the relevant published data are compared. The spectra of the M^IIHal₂ species exhibit inversion of the M-Hal stretching frequencies (ν^s(M^IIHal) > ν ^as(M^IIHal)). This can be used for analytical purposes and allows one to distinguish between the spectra of the M^IV and M^II halides. The IR and Raman spectra of the complexes of dihalogermylenes and -stannylenes with triphenylphosphine and 1,4-dioxane also exhibit inversion of the ν(MHal) stretching frequencies. This confirms the conclusion drawn earlier based on the analysis of the geometric parameters and reactivities of the complexes in question that the divalent state of the M atom in these species is retained. Dedicated to Academician N. K. Kochetkov on the occasion of his 90th birthday. __________ Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 5, pp. 1089–1092, May, 2005.     

Vibrational spectra and structural features of carbene analogs ElII(OCH2CH2NMe2)2 and ClElIIOCH2CH2NMe2 (ElII = Ge, Sn, Pb)

Vibrational spectra of compounds of divalent Group 14 elements El^II(OCH₂CH₂NMe₂)₂ with El^II = Ge (1), Sn (2), Pb (3) and ClEl^IIOCH₂CH₂NMe₂ with El^II = Ge (4) and Sn (5) were measured for the first time and analyzed within the framework of DFT calclations. Monomeric compounds 1 and 2 whose molecules are stabilized only through intramolecular coordination were confirmed to be isostructural. Unlike 1 and 2, plumbylene 3 is a polymer in both solution and the crystalline state; the latter was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The ν^s _C-N stretching frequency in the CH₂NMe₂ fragment was shown to decrease by 80–100 cm⁻¹ owing to the formation of the coordination bond El←N. To elucidate the mechanism of a dynamic flip-flop process suggested earlier based on the broadening of some signals in the NMR spectra of compounds 1 and 4, the Raman spectra of solutions of compounds 1 and 2 in THF and Py were obtained. These experiments revealed no equilibrium with participation of a stable form with one coordination bond El←N cleaved along with the starting molecule. This is consistent with the results of the corresponding quantum chemical calculations of thermo-dynamic parameters. A somewhat different, more probable mechanism of the dynamic process was proposed, which involves an overturn of the CH₂NMe₂ fragment with cleavage of the El←N bond in the transition state only.     

The influence of a transverse magnetic field on a subnormal glow discharge in air

In subnormal glow discharge under d.c. excitation at different pressure in a varying transverse magnetic field (0 to 30 G) some measurements have been carried out for various initial average tube currents. The voltage across the discharge increases and average tube current and residual current decreases in the magnetic field. With the help of Beckman’s expression [4] for the axial field and the electron density distribution in a transverse magnetic field the observed variation of current and voltage can be satisfactorily explained. The variation of axial electric field with transverse magnetic field can be represented to a fair degree of accuracy by the derived equation. The behaviour of residual current with magnetic field has been observed in these oscillations.     

Integral equation formulation for buoyancy-driven convection problems

An integral equation formulation for buoyancy-driven convection problems is developed and illustrated. Buoyancy-driven convection in a bounded cylindrical geometry with a free surface is studied for a range of aspect ratios and Nusselt numbers. The critical Rayleigh number, the nature of the cellular motion, and the heat transfer enhancement are computed using linear theory. Green's functions are used to convert the linear problem into linear Fredholm integral equations. Theorems are proved which establish the properties of the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of the linear integral operator which appears in these equations.