Root-Mean-Square Amplitude of Zero-Point Vibrations in a Crystal

Russian Physics Journal - The paper shows that the values of zero-point energy and vibrations of atoms in a crystal determined by the uncertainty principle, depend on the dynamic response of atoms....     

New Half-Metallic States in Systems with Spin and Charge Density Waves (Brief Review)

JETP Letters - Studies of a recently suggested mechanism for the stabilization of half-metallic states in doped systems with the nesting of Fermi surface sheets are briefly reviewed. The...     

The studies of structural aspects of the cluster formation in silicate glasses doped with cerium and titanium oxides by small-angle neutron scattering

The structural aspects of the formation of Ti-Ce-O nanoclusters in silicate glasses doped with oxides TiO₂ and CeO₂ have been studied by means of small-angle neutron scattering. It has been obtained that, in such glasses, complex oxide nanoclusters with sizes of 300–380 Å are formed; their average size increases and the fractal dimension is changed as the concentration of the initial oxides increases. Correlation between the structural characteristics of the nanoclusters and the optical properties of the doped silicate glasses is discussed.     

Raman study of oxidation-reduction dispersion of silver

We have examined the process of redox dispersion of silver, using a solution simultaneously containing an oxidizing agent (potassium ferricyanide) and a reducing agent (sodium borohydride). We have studied the changes over time in the Raman spectra of the indicated solution when no silver particles are present and when such particles are added to the solution. We have established that the silver particles have a catalytic effect on the reaction between potassium ferricyanide and sodium borohydride, kinetically slowed down in alkaline medium. The original silver particles (1–20 μm) undergo redox dispersion as a result, and Ag particles are formed with sizes 1–10 nm. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 73, No. 2, pp. 182–186, March–April, 2006.     

Chitin-binding antifungal protein from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ficus carica</Emphasis> latex

A low-molecular-weight protein with antifungal activity was isolated from freshly collected latex of the Inzhir tree (Ficus carica L.) by successive affinity chromatography over chitin, cation-exchange chromatography over SP-Sephadex C-50, and reversed-phase HPLC. The molecular weight of 6481 and the partial N-terminus sequence of the protein were determined (MALDI-TOFMS). __________ Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 2, pp. 171–173, March–April, 2008.     

Macroscopic vortex droplets in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 crystals pumped by an ac magnetic field

The formation of droplets (or breathers) of vortex matter in Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8) crystals pumped by the low-frequency ac magnetic field is observed by magneto-optic imaging. The droplets nucleate at the points of crossing the planar defects. The magnetic flux in the droplet and the droplet size increase with time. When the flux in the droplet exceeds a critical value, the droplet shifts along the defect to the sample bulk and a new droplet with the opposite flux direction starts to nucleate at the same point. As a result, a beadlike structure of the droplets arises along the defect. A possible explanation of the phenomenon is proposed.     

The Wigner crystal in a semimetal film in a high magnetic field

The possibility of existance of a super-crystalline (Wigner) phase in a semimetal or impurity semiconductor film placed in a high magnetic field, is discussed and a comparison is made with a crystal in a three-dimensional specimen.

Such a phase exists in a succession of magnetic field or particle density intervals. The vibrational spectrum depends on magnetic field, while the bind energy is only density-dependent. The mean-square displacement x² of the particles in the lattice sites are also independent on the magnetic field over a wide temperature range.     

Temperature behavior of bound magnetic polarons in antiferromagnetic chain

The behavior of a one-dimensional antiferromagnetic (AF) chain doped by non-magnetic donor impurities is analyzed, in the limit of low impurity density n  . The doping leads to the formation of ferromagnetically correlated regions localized near impurities (bound magnetic polarons or ferrons). The temperature evolution of the chain is calculated using an approximate variational method, and a Monte Carlo simulation. Both these methods give the similar results. The analysis of correlation functions for neighboring local spins demonstrates that the ferromagnetic correlations inside a ferron are significant even at high temperatures. The AF correlations in the rest part of the chain decay much faster with temperature. So, the ferron is a stable object that does not disappear even above the Néel temperature _TN$T_{\mathrm{N}}$. At rather small values of the electron–impurity coupling energy V$V$ (for V$V$ lower then the electron hopping integral t  ), the bound ferron depins from impurity retaining its magnetic structure. Such a depinning occurs at T∼V$T\sim V$.     

Metastable phases in YBCO films created by short-term annealings

The effect of short-term low-temperature annealing in air and in vacuum on the properties of HTSC films of YBCO is studied. It is shown that, under certain conditions of preparation of initial samples, a transition from the HTSC phase with the superconducting transition temperature T_c=90 K to a phase with T_c=60 K occurs without a noticeable change in the oxygen content. It is found that, as a result of short-term annealings, a transition from the HTSC phase with T_c=60 K to the phase with T_c=90 K can occur only through the vacuum annealing stage, which converts the sample into the superconducting state. Short-term annealings lead to multiple reversible “switching” of the films from one phase to another. The obtained results are of practical interest, since the proposed method can be used to quickly obtain superconducting YBCO films in various phase states. It is shown, in addition, that the annealing procedure makes it possible not only to increase the oxygen concentration but also to produce a structural rearrangement of a YBCO film.