On some educational and psychological aspects of problem solving

An attempt has been made to present an overview of various learning theories keeping in view the psychological aspect of problem solving behaviours of children and to explain the processes by which problem solving skills are acquired and applied. The four important research variables—as described by Lester (task, subject, process and instructional variables)—have been discussed and some research questions have been formulated for further research investigations in the area of problem solving.     

Comprehensive decay law for emission of charged particles and exotic cluster radioactivity

A general decay formula for the emission of charged particles from metastable nuclei is developed based on the basic phenomenon of resonances occurring in quantum scattering process under Coulomb-nuclear potential. It relates the half-lives of radioactive decays with the Q values of the outgoing elements with masses and charges of the nuclei involved in the decay. The relation is found to be a generalization of the Geiger–Nuttall law in α radioactivity and explains well all the known emissions of charged particles including clusters, alpha and proton.     

Neutron star in the presence of strong magnetic field

Compact stars such as neutron stars (NS) can have either hadronic or exotic states like strange quark or colour superconducting matter. Stars can also have a quark core surrounded by hadronic matter, known as hybrid stars (HS). The HS is likely to have a mixed phase in between the hadron and the quark phases. Observational results suggest huge surface magnetic field in certain NS. Therefore, we study here the effect of strong magnetic field on the respective equation of states (EOS) of matter under extreme conditions. We further study the hadron–quark phase transition in the interiors of NS giving rise to HS in the presence of strong magnetic field. The hadronic matter EOS is described based on RMF theory and we include the effects of strong magnetic fields leading to Landau quantization of the charged particles. For quark phase, we use the simple Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) bag model, assuming density-dependent bag pressure and magnetic field. The magnetic field strength increases from the surface to the centre of the star. We construct the intermediate mixed phase using Glendenning conjecture. The magnetic field softens the EOS of both the matter phases. We finally study, the mass–radius relationship for such types of mixed HS, calculating their maximum mass, and compare them with the recent observations of pulsar PSR J1614-2230, which is about 2 solarmass.     

The effect of nonlinearity in relativistic nucleon–nucleon potential

A simple form for nucleon–nucleon (NN) potential is introduced as an alternative to the popular M3Y form using the relativistic mean field theory (RMFT) with the non-linear terms in σ-meson for the first time. In contrast to the M3Y form, the new interaction becomes exactly zero at a finite distance and the expressions are analogous with the M3Y terms. Further, its applicability is examined by the study of proton and cluster radioactivity by folding it with the RMFT-densities of the cluster and daughter nuclei to obtain the optical potential in the region of proton-rich nuclides just above the double magic core¹⁰⁰Sn. The results obtained were found comparable with the widely used M3Y NN interactions.     

DYNAMICAL BEHAVIOR OF AN INNOVATION DIFFUSION MODEL WITH INTRA-SPECIFIC COMPETITION BETWEEN COMPETING ADOPTERS

In this paper,we proposed an innovation diffusion model with three compartments to investigate the diffusion of an innovation（product） in a particular region.The model exhibits two equilibria,namely,the adopter-free and an interior equilibrium.The existence and local stability of the adopter-free and interior equilibria are explored in terms of the effective Basic Influence Number（BIN） R_A.It is investigated that the adopter free steady-state is stable if R_A <1.By conside...     

Nonplanar ion-acoustic shocks in electron–positron–ion plasmas: Effect of superthermal electrons

Ion-acoustic shock waves (IASWs) in a homogeneous unmagnetized plasma, comprising superthermal electrons, positrons, and singly charged adiabatically hot positive ions are investigated via two-dimensional nonplanar Kadomstev–Petviashvili–Burgers (KPB) equation. It is found that the profiles of the nonlinear shock structures depend on the superthermality of electrons. The influence of other plasma parameters such as, ion kinematic viscosity and ion temperature, is discussed in the presence of superthermal electrons in nonplanar geometry. It is also seen that the IASWs propagating in cylindrical/spherical geometry with transverse perturbation will be deformed as time goes on.     

Surface wave transference in a piezoelectric cylinder coated with reinforced material

The present study deals with the propagation of a polarized shear horizontal(SH)wave in a pre-stressed piezoelectric cylinder circumscribed by a self-reinforced cylinder.The interface of the two media is assumed mechanically imperfect.For obtaining the dispersion relation,the mathematical formulation has been developed and solved by an analytical treatment.The effects of various parameters,i.e.,the thickness ratio,the imperfect interface,the initial stress,the reinforcement,and the piezoelectric and dielectric constants,on the dispersion curve are observed prominently.The dispersion curves for different modes have been also plotted.The consequences of the study may be used for achieving optimum efficiency of acoustic wave devices.     

Quantum ion-acoustic solitary waves in weak relativistic plasma

Small amplitude quantum ion-acoustic solitary waves are studied in an unmagnetized two- species relativistic quantum plasma system, comprised of electrons and ions. The one-dimensional quantum hydrodynamic model (QHD) is used to obtain a deformed Korteweg–de Vries (dKdV) equation by reductive perturbation method. A linear dispersion relation is also obtained taking into account the relativistic effect. The properties of quantum ion-acoustic solitary waves, obtained from the deformed KdV equation, are studied taking into account the quantum mechanical effects in the weak relativistic limit. It is found that relativistic effects significantly modify the properties of quantum ion-acoustic waves. Also the effect of the quantum parameter H on the nature of solitary wave solutions is studied in some detail.     

Accuracy of simple folding model in the calculation of the direct part of real α−α interaction potential

The direct part of real α?α interaction potential is calculated in the simple folding model using density-dependent Brink–Boeker effective interaction. The simple folding potentials calculated from the short- and finite-range components of this effective interaction are compared with their corresponding double folding results obtained from the oscillator model wave function to establish the relative accuracy of the model. It is found that the direct part of real α?α interaction potential calculated in the simple folding model is reliable.