Effect of uniaxial strain on the structural and magnetic phase transitions in BaFe2As2

We report neutron scattering experiments probing the influence of uniaxial strain on both the magnetic and structural order parameters in the parent iron pnictide compound, BaFe2As2. Our data show that modest strain fields along the in-plane orthorhombic b axis can affect significant changes in phase behavior simultaneous to the removal of structural twinning effects. As a result, we demonstrate in BaFe2As2 samples detwinned via uniaxial strain that the in-plane C4 symmetry is broken by both the structural lattice distortion and long-range spin ordering at temperatures far above the nominal (strain-free) phase transition temperatures. Surprising changes in the magnetic order parameter of this system under relatively small strain fields also suggest the inherent presence of magnetic domains fluctuating above the strain-free ordering temperature in this material.     

Test of bell’s inequality using the one-atom micromaser

We examine a local realist bound in the case of a one-atom micromaser. It is shown that such a bound is violated using a simplified treatment of the micromaser. We consider the effect of dissipation in a proposed experiment with the real micromaser. It is seen that the magnitude of violation of a Bell-type inequality depends significantly on the cavity parameters.     

Guided modes of integrated optical guides. A mathematical study

A waveguide in integrated optics is defined by its refractiveindex. The guide is assumed to be invariant in the propagationdirection while in the transverse direction it is supposed tobe a compact perturbation of an unbounded stratified medium.We are interested in the modes guided by this device, whichare waves with a transverse energy confined in a neighbourhoodof the perturbation. Our goal is to analyse the existence of such guided modes. Underthe assumptions of weak guidance the problem reduces to a two-dimensionaleigenvalue problem for a scalar field. The associated operatoris unbounded, selfadjoint, and bounded from below. Its spectrumconsists of the discrete spectrum corresponding to the guidedmodes and of the essential spectrum corresponding to the radiationmodes. We present existence results of guided modes and an asymptoticstudy at high frequencies, which shows that contrarily to thecase of optical fibers, the number of guided modes can remainbounded. The major tools are the min-max principle and comparisonof results between different eigenvalue problems. The originalityof the present study lies in the stratified character of theunbounded reference medium.     

Global Analysis of the Flows of Fluids with Pressure-Dependent Viscosities

 To describe the flows of fluids over a wide range of pressures, it is necessary to take into account the fact that the viscosity of the fluid depends on the pressure. That the viscosity depends on the pressure has been verified by numerous careful experiments. While the existence of solutions local-in-time to the equations governing the flows of such fluids are available for small, special data and rather unrealistic dependence of the viscosity on the pressure, no global existence results are in place. Our interest here is to establish the existence of weak solutions for spatially periodic three-dimensional flows that are global in time, for a large class of physically meaningful viscosity-pressure relationships. (Accepted May 1, 2002) Published online November 15, 2002 Communicated by S. S. ANTMAN     

Effects of nematic fluctuations on the elastic properties of iron arsenide superconductors

We demonstrate that the changes in the elastic properties of the FeAs systems, as seen in our resonant ultrasound spectroscopy data, can be naturally understood in terms of fluctuations of emerging nematic degrees of freedom. Both the softening of the lattice in the normal, tetragonal phase as well as its hardening in the superconducting phase are consistently described by our model. Our results confirm the view that structural order is induced by magnetic fluctuations.     

Silica-bonded S-sulfonic acid as a recyclable catalyst for chemoselective synthesis of 1,1-diacetates

A simple and efficient procedure for the preparation of silica-bonded S-sulfonic acid (SBSSA) by reaction of 3-mercaptopropylsilica (MPS) and chlorosulfonic acid in chloroform is described. This solid acid is employed as a recyclable catalyst for the synthesis of 1,1-diacetates from aromatic aldehydes and acetic anhydride under mild and solvent-free conditions at room temperature.     

Magnetism and disorder effects on muon spin rotation measurements of the magnetic penetration depth in iron-arsenic superconductors

It is shown that attempts to accurately deduce the magnetic penetration depth λ of overdoped BaFe(1.82)Co(0.18)As? single crystals by transverse-field muon spin rotation (TF μSR) are thwarted by field-induced magnetic order and strong vortex-lattice disorder. We explain how substantial deviations from the magnetic field distribution of a nearly perfect vortex lattice by one or both of these factors is also significant for other iron-arsenic superconductors, and this introduces considerable uncertainty in the values of λ obtained by TF μSR.     

A reinterpretation of the magnetic properties of the mixed-valence (Nb(V)/Nb(IV)) Zintl phase, Cs(9)Nb(2)As(6)

A new mixed-valent (Nb(V)/Nb(IV)) Zintl phase, Cs(9)Nb(2)As(6), has been prepared and characterized, recently (Gascoin, F.; Sevov, S. C. Inorg. Chem. 2002, 41, 5920). Niobium is present in the form of isolated, edge-sharing tetrahedral, Nb(2)As(6)(9)(-) dimers. The reported magnetic susceptibility features a broad maximum at approximately 36 K which has been interpreted as the onset of long-range antiferromagnetic order. Such a high transition temperature is difficult to understand as the compound is insulating and the interdimer Nb-Nb distance is 7.2 A. It is shown here that the observed magnetic properties follow straightforwardly from a statistical occupation of the equivalent intradimer Nb sites by equal concentrations of Nb(IV)(4d(1), S = (1)/(2)) and Nb(V)(4d(0)). From this analysis the broad maximum arises from intradimer antiferromagnetic exchange with an exchange constant, J/k = -40 K, and there is no long-range magnetic order except, possibly, below 5 K.     

High precision delta(17)O isotope measurements of oxygen from silicates and other oxides: method and applications

The use of infrared laser-assisted fluorination to release oxygen from milligram quantities of silicates or other oxide mineral grains is a well-established technique. However, relatively few studies have reported the optimisation of this procedure for oxygen-17 isotope measurements. We describe here details of an analytical system using infrared (10 μm) laser-assisted fluorination, in conjunction with a dual inlet mass spectrometer of high resolving power ( approximately 250) to provide (17)O and (18)O oxygen isotope measurements from 0.5-2 mg of silicates or other oxide mineral grains. Respective precisions (1) of typically 0.08 and 0.04 per thousand are obtained for the complete analytical procedure. Departures from the mass-dependent oxygen isotope fractionation line are quantified by Delta(17)O; our precision (1) of such measurements on individual samples is shown to be +/-0.024 per thousand. In turn, this permits the offset between parallel, mass-dependent fractionation lines to be characterised to substantially greater precision than has been possible hitherto. Application of this system to investigate the (17)O versus (18)O relationship for numerous terrestrial whole-rock and mineral samples, of diverse geological origins and age, indicates that the complete data set may be described by a single, mass-dependent fractionation line of slope 0.5244+/- 0.00038 (standard error). Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A semimetal model of the normal state magnetic susceptibility and transport properties of Ba(Fe1−xCox)2As2

A simple two-band 3D model of a semimetal is constructed to determine which normal state features of the Ba(Fe_1?xCo_x)₂As₂ superconductors can be qualitatively understood within this framework. The model is able to account in a semiquantitative fashion for the measured magnetic susceptibility, Hall, and Seebeck data, and the low temperature Sommerfeld coefficient for 0 < x < 0.3 with only three parameters for all x. The purpose of the model is not to fit the data but to provide a simple starting point for thinking about the physics of these interesting materials. Although many of the static magnetic properties, such as the increase of the magnetic susceptibility with temperature, are reproduced by the model, none of the spin-fluctuation dynamics are addressed. A general conclusion from the model is that the magnetic susceptibility of most semimetals should increase with temperatures.