Formation of ball streamers at a subnanosecond breakdown of gases at a high pressure in a nonuniform electric field

The formation of a diffuse discharge plasma at a subnanosecond breakdown of a “cone–plane” gap filled with air, nitrogen, methane, hydrogen, argon, neon, and helium at various pressures has been studied. Nanosecond negative and positive voltage pulses have been applied to the conical electrode. The experimental data on the dynamics of plasma glow at the stage of formation and propagation of a streamer have been obtained with intensified charge-coupled device and streak cameras. It has been found that the formation of ball streamers is observed in all gases and at both polarities. A supershort avalanche electron beam has been detected behind the flat foil electrode in a wide range of pressures in the case of a negatively charged conical electrode. A mechanism of the formation of streamers at breakdown of various gases at high overvoltages has been discussed.     

A comparative study of the spectra recorded at RRCAT synchrotron BL-8 dispersive EXAFS beamline with other beamlines

The aim of the present work is to make a comparative study of the EXAFS spectra recorded at the BL-8 dispersive EXAFS beamline at 2 GeV Indus-2 synchrotron source at RRCAT, Indore (India) with those recorded at other synchrotron EXAFS beamlines, viz., X-19A at NSLS, BNL (USA), EXAFS wiggler beamline 4-1 at the SSRL (USA) and beamline 11.1 at ELETTRA (Italy). For this purpose, EXAFS spectra at Cu K-edge in copper metal have been recorded at these four beamlines. Further, EXAFS spectra at Cu K-edge in a copper complex have also been recorded at BL-8 beamline and beamline 11.1 at ELETTRA (Italy). The obtained experimental μ(E) data have been background-subtracted and then normalized. The normalized data have been then converted to χ(k) data, which have been Fourier-transformed and then fitted with the theoretical model, thereby yielding different structural parameters. It has been shown that the results obtained from the EXAFS spectra recorded at the BL-8 beamline are comparable with those obtained from other synchrotron EXAFS beamlines and also with the crystallographic results reported by earlier workers. The reliability, usefulness and data quality of the BL-8 beamline have been discussed.     

Modelling work hardening of aluminium alloys containing dispersoids

The influence of dispersoids on tensile deformation behaviour has been studied by comparison of aluminium alloys containing different dispersoid densities. It was found that a fine dispersion of non-shearable particles led to an increased work hardening at the initial plastic deformation, but the effect was opposite at higher strains. The reason has been attributed to the generation of geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs). A new model has been proposed for the evolution of GNDs based on a balance of storage and dynamic recovery of GNDs. The model predicts a rapid saturation of GNDs and a reduced work hardening at small strains, consistent with the experimental results.     

Molecular ordering in a bipolar nematogenic cyanobiphenyl – a computer simulation approach

The molecular ordering of 4-(6-hydroxypropyloxy)-4′-cyanobiphenyl (H3CBP), a bipolar nematogen, has been carried out at room temperature (300 K) with respect to translatory and orientational motions. The complete neglect differential overlap (CNDO/2) method has been employed to compute the net atomic charge and atomic dipole moment at each atomic center. The modified Rayleigh–Schrodinger perturbation theory with multicentered-multipole expansion method has been employed to evaluate long-range intermolecular interactions, while a 6-exp potential function has been assumed for short-range interactions. The interaction energy values obtained through these computations were used to calculate the probability of each configuration at room temperature using the Maxwell–Boltzmann formula. On the basis of stacking, in-plane, and terminal interactions energy calculations, all possible geometrical arrangements of the molecular pair have been considered. Further, an attempt has been made to develop a model for liquid crystallinity based on probability of dimer complexes.     

Luminescence and EPR studies of Eu doped BaAl12O19 blue light emitting phosphors

Europium doped BaAl₁₂O₁₉ powder phosphors have been synthesized by combustion process within few minutes. The phosphors have been characterized by XRD, SEM, FT-IR, EPR and PL techniques. The EPR spectrum exhibits an intense resonance signal at g=1.96 characteristic of Eu²⁺ ions. In addition to this two weak resonance signals have been observed at g=2.28 and g=4.86. The population of the spin levels (N) for the resonance signal at g=1.96 is calculated as a function of temperature. By post-treating the phosphor at 1350 °C under a reducing atmosphere, it is observed that the population of spin levels has been increased five times. The excitation spectrum shows a peak at 326 nm with a shoulder at 290 nm. Upon excitation at 326 nm, the emission spectrum exhibits a well defined broad band with maximum at 444 nm emitting a blue light corresponding to 4f⁶5d→4f⁷ transition. The luminescence intensity also has been enhanced to 60% by post-treating the phosphor at 1350 °C under a reducing atmosphere.     

Formation of mixed clusters in a pulsed supersonic helium-oxygen-isoprene jet

An experimental study of the formation of mixed van der Waals oxygen-isoprene complexes, generated in an expanding supersonic helium-oxygen-isoprene jet at various stagnation pressures and at diverse oxygen and isoprene concentrations, has been performed. To measure the composition and distribution of the partial densities of the individual components, molecular beam mass spectrometry was adapted to pulsed modes of gas source operation. The particularities of applying mass spectrometry to studying clustered isoprene streams in a pulsed mode have been discussed. The composition of small clusters generated in a free supersonic jet has been checked for dependencies upon the initial mixture composition and stagnation pressure. The mechanism of nucleation has been identified for different partial concentrations of impurities in the helium stream. It has been shown that, even at a 0.3% concentration of isoprene in the mixture, nucleation starts with the formation of hydrocarbon complexes. The specific features of the dissociative ionization of van der Waals complexes, consisting of pure isoprene and mixed complexes, have been discussed. The conditions needed for the formation of binary oxygen-isoprene van der Waals complexes have been identified.     

EuMo_6S_8的超导性、电荷密度波和磁性间的相互影响

我们已观察到在120K时Eu_(1.2)Mo_6S_8的热容量、电阻及霍尔系数的反常规象,并确定为一种马氏体结构的相变特征;这种马氏体结构相变产生于一种模糊的电荷密度波的转变,后者在部分费米面上造成能隙。 费米面出现部分能隙说明了在常压下直10mK不出现超导的原因。高压抑制了电荷密度波的转变。从费米面上状态的超导性和这种转变相互竞争出发,计算得到的超导转变温度对压力的依赖性,与实验结果非常一致。在低温时,临界场随温度的变化非常强烈,这种变化已用Jaccarino-Peter补偿效应进行了解释。在高压时与理论的预言比较,EuMo_6S_8的临界场非常高,至少与现有任何的超导体一样高。压力为14Kbar、温度低于2K时在10T到15T范围内已观察到低场下电阻态到超导态的转变,这就是称之为场诱导超导性的一种新效应。     

Optical Tamm states at the interface between a photonic crystal and a nanocomposite with resonance dispersion

Optical Tamm states localized at the edges of a photonic crystal bounded from one or both sides by a nanocomposite have been studied. The nanocomposite consists of metallic nanoinclusions, which have a spherical or orientationally ordered spheroidal shape and are dispersed in a transparent matrix, and is characterized by the resonant effective permittivity. The transmission, reflection, and absorption spectra have been calculated for waves with longitudinal and transverse polarizations in such structures at the normal incidence of light. The spectral manifestation of Tamm states that is due to the existence of negative values of the real part of the effective permittivity has been analyzed for the visible spectral range. It has been established that the characteristics of Tamm states localized at the edge of the photonic crystal depend strongly both on the concentration of nanoballs in the nanocomposite film and on its thickness. Modes formed by two coupled Tamm plasmon polaritons localized at the edges of the photonic crystal adjacent to two nanocomposite layers have been examined. It has been shown that, in the case of the anisotropic nanocomposite layer adjacent to the photonic crystal, each of two orthogonal polarizations of the incident wave corresponds to a specific frequency of the Tamm state localized at the edge; owing to this property, the transmission spectra of such a structure are polarization sensitive.     

Application of generalized matrix method to neutrons in magnetically non-collinear stratified media

The generalized matrix method [1] has been applied to neutrons in magnetically non-collinear stratified media. The smoothness of transition of the magnetization from one domain to the other has been shown to be essential for transmission of neutrons through a Bloch wall. The problem of the scattering of neutrons at a crystal with a helical magnetic structure having distortions at its surface has been solved in one-beam approximation of the dynamic diffraction theory.     

Die Streuung von Deuteronen an Deuteronen unter Berücksichtigung ihrer gegenseitigen Verzerrung

The elastic scattering of deuterons in deuterium has so far only been treated in Born approximation, at rather high energies. In the present paper the authors derive integro-differential equations to deal with the scattering phenomenon at low energies of a few MeV. The mutual distortion of the two deuterons at close distance turns out to have a large influence on the angular distribution. A simple and plausible assumption has been made, concerning this distortion, and the results have been compared with experiment for two energies.     

Open structure log-periodic SIS receivers at 180 and 305 GHz

Two open structure heterodyne receivers have been designed and tested at 180 and 305 GHz. The RF signal is coupled via a seven teeth log-periodic planar antenna to the mixer. The beam efficiency of the antenna is 65 %. The coupling efficiency to the fundamental gaussian mode is higher than 90%. The mixer incorporates a series array of two SIS Nb-Al/AlO_x-Nb junctions. Photolithographical techniques have been employed to fabricate the antennas and the junctions. Double side band noise receiver temperatures of 95 K at 190 GHz and 160 K at 305 GHz have been measured.     

Status of PRESS-MAG-O: The experimental apparatus to probe materials and phenomena under extreme conditions at Frascati

In this contribution we up-to-date the status of the PRESS-MAG-O device, a new instrument under commissioning at the INFN designed to perform magnetic and spectroscopic experiments on samples under extreme conditions. The system has been designed to work at SINBAD, the IR synchrotron radiation beamline operational at DAΦNE. The instrument, that is the result of a significant R&D, will allow performing concurrent high harmonic ac magnetic susceptibility measurements and magneto-optic experiments on a sample under high pressure, with a variable DC magnetic field in a wide temperature range. The vacuum vessel has been designed with four crossing windows to allow optical measurements in the transmission geometry on the sample loaded inside a Diamond Anvil Cell. A new superconducting miniaturized micro-SQUID gradiometer has been also developed to detect the low magnetic signal of the sample and a customized optical system has also been designed to perform IR synchrotron radiation experiments.     

Si-based erbium-doped light-emitting devices

We report on the fabrication and performance of Si-based light sources. The devices consist of MOS structures with erbium (Er)-doped silicon rich oxide (SRO) film as gate dielectric. The devices exhibit electroluminescence (EL) at 1.54 μm at room temperature with a 0.2% external quantum efficiency. These devices show a high stability due to the silicon excess in the film. The Er-doped SRO films have been introduced in a Si/SiO₂ Fabry-Perot Microcavity in order to increase the spontaneous emission rate, the extraction efficiency and the spectral purity at the resonant wavelength. The active medium in the cavity has been electrically pumped and the conduction mechanisms have been analyzed. The EL spectra have also been acquired and compared with photoluminescence (PL) ones for the same resonant cavity light-emitting device (RCLED). The EL and PL peak intensities of the on-axis emission at the resonant wavelength are over 20 times above that of the similar Er-doped SRO film without a cavity. The Si-based RCLEDs exhibit different quality factors, ranging from 60 to 170. The spectra shape and intensity have been correlated with the quality factor. A high directionality of the emitted light, due to the presence of the resonant cavity, has also been observed: the overall luminescence is confined within 10° cone from the sample normal.     

Sputtering of molecules during low-energy electron bombardment of alkali halides

The emission of molecules during bombardment of several alkali halides with a 540 eV electron beam has been investigated. Using a time of flight method the energy distributions of the halogen molecules have been measured at various temperatures of the target. The relative halogen molecule to atom ratio has also been examined as a function of the target temperature. It has been found that the molecules were formed from the atoms at the alkali halide surface. This process and the subsequent desorption of the molecules account for the experimental results.     

Features of the dynamics of particles and fields at cyclotron resonances

Some features of the dynamics of particles and fields at cyclotron resonances have been discussed with the focus on chaotic dynamical regimes. It has been shown that the known criterion of the transition of the regular dynamics of particles to chaotic dynamics at cyclotron resonances sometimes describes this transition incorrectly. The reason for such a feature of the criterion has been revealed. The anomalous sensitivity of the dynamics of particles to external fluctuations at autoresonance has been analyzed. A theory of excitation of electromagnetic waves by a beam of phased oscillators under the conditions of isolated nonlinear cyclotron resonance has been developed. It has been shown that the chaotic dynamical regime is due to the periodic change in the structure of the phase portrait of particles in the wave field. It has been shown that higher moments can play a more significant role than lower moments in almost all chaotic dynamical regimes at cyclotron resonances. In this case, the known kinetic diffusion equations should be generalized with the inclusion of these higher moments.     

Molecular Ordering of a Nematogen at Phase Transition Temperature - A Theoretical Study

Molecular ordering in 4-cyano-4'- n -propylbiphenyl ( CB3 ), a nematic liquid crystal, has been studied with the help of intermolecular interaction energy calculations. The CNDO / 2 method has been employed to compute the net atomic charge and atomic dipole moment at each atomic centre. Modified Rayleigh-Schrodinger perturbation theory along with multicentered-multipole expansion method has been employed to evaluate long-range intermolecular interactions, while a ' 6-exp ' potential function has been assumed for short-range interactions. The interaction energy values obtained through these computations were used to calculate the probability of each configuration at the phase transition temperature using Maxwell-Boltzmann formula. All possible geometrical arrangements between molecular pair have been considered during stacking, in-plane and terminal interactions. An attempt has been made to identify the most probable configuration at the phase transition temperature during stacking, in-plane and terminal interactions. Results obtained have been discussed in the light of experimental as well as other theoretical observations.     

Solid and Liquid AgI at High Pressure and High Temperature: A X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy Study

We report about recent X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements on solid and liquid AgI under high pressure. The structural behaviour of AgI has been investigated to pressures P～4.3 GPa at room temperature and to P～1.8 GPa at 1100 K. The high temperature/high pressure conditions have been obtained by means of a large-volume press of the Paris-Edinburgh type, coupled with a 10 mm boron/epoxy biconical gasket. The absorption spectra have been collected in transmission mode, both at the K-edge of Ag and I, and the samples have been characterized in situ by energy scanning X-ray diffraction at fixed angles. Our XAS results for solid AgI are compatible with previous X-ray diffraction measurements. For liquid AgI, we observe a slight change in the intensity and a shift in the frequency of the XAS oscillations with respect to what obtained in the case of the ambient pressure liquid.     

Polarization bremsstrahlung at collisions of fast ions with multiatomic targets

The processes of polarization bremsstrahlung at collisions of fast ions with linear chains consisting of isolated atoms have been considered. The intensities and angular distributions of radiation spectra have been obtained for an arbitrary number of atoms in a chain. It has been shown that the interference of the photon emission amplitudes leads to a noticeable change in the spectral angular distributions of polarization bremsstrahlung as compared to the distributions at collisions with an isolated atom. The results allow standard generalization to the cases of polarization bremsstrahlung at channeling of fast ions over surfaces and in solid lattices.     

Phenomenon of apokamp discharge

A new phenomenon has been discovered where a bend of a plasma channel becomes of a source of one or several diffuse jets that have a length (at a given voltage) up to 4–6 cm and are directed across the plasma channel at a pulse-periodic spark discharge in air under normal conditions. The phenomenon is called apokamp discharge (apokamp). The spectrum of radiation of the apokamp includes primarily the bands of electron-vibrational transitions of the second positive system of molecular nitrogen. The conditions of the formation of apokamp have been experimentally revealed and it has been established that it consists of plasma bunches moving from the plasma channel at each pulse at a velocity of about 220 km/s.