Electron paramagnetic resonance of Cr<Superscript>3+</Superscript>-Li<Superscript>+</Superscript> centers in (Cr,Li): Mg<Subscript>2</Subscript>SiO<Subscript>4</Subscript> synthetic forsterite

Synthetic single crystals of chromium-and lithium-doped forsterite, namely, (Cr,Li): Mg₂SiO₄, are studied using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. It is revealed that, apart from the known centers Cr³⁺(M1) and Cr³⁺(M2) (with local symmetries C_i and C_s, respectively), these crystals involve two new types of centers with C₁ symmetry, namely, Cr³⁺(M1)′ and Cr³⁺(M2)′ centers. The standard parameters D and E in a zero magnetic field [zero-field splitting (ZFS) parameters expressed in GHz] and principal components of the g tensor are determined as follows: D=31.35, E=8.28, and g=(1.9797, 1.9801, 1.9759) for Cr³⁺(M1)′ centers and D=15.171, E=2.283, and g=(1.9747, 1.9769, 1.9710) for Cr³⁺(M2)′ centers. It is found that the lowsymmetric effect of misalignment of the principal axes of the ZFS and g tensors most clearly manifests itself (i.e., its magnitude reaches 19°) in the case of Cr³⁺(M2)′ centers. The structural models Cr³⁺(M1)-Li⁺(M2) and Cr³⁺(M2)-Li⁺(M1) are proposed for the Cr³⁺(M1)′ and Cr³⁺(M2)′ centers, respectively. The concentrations of both centers are determined. It is demonstrated that, upon the formation of Cr³⁺-Li⁺ ion pairs, the M1 position for chromium appears to be two times more preferable than the M2 position. Reasoning from the results obtained, the R₁ line (the ²E → ⁴A₂ transition) observed in the luminescence spectra of (Cr,Li): Mg₂SiO₄ crystals in the vicinity of 699.6 nm is assigned to the Cr³⁺(M1)′ center.     

How to compute the thermal quarkonium spectral function from first principles?

In the limit of a high temperature T and a large quark-mass M, implying a small gauge coupling g, the heavy quark contribution to the spectral function of the electromagnetic current can be computed systematically in the weak-coupling expansion. We argue that the scale hierarchy relevant for addressing the disappearance (“melting”) of the resonance peak from the spectral function reads MT>g²M>gTg⁴M, and review how the heavy scales can be integrated out one-by-one, to construct a set of effective field theories describing the low-energy dynamics. The parametric behaviour of the melting temperature in the weak-coupling limit is specified.     

The effect of high pressure on the structure and on the magnetic and electronic properties of nickel monoxide

A diamond anvil cell is used to investigate the effect of high pressure (up to 37.5 GPa) on the optical absorption spectra of a single crystal of nickel oxide (NiO). In addition, strain-gage measurements are used to experimentally investigate the V(P) equation of state at a hydrostatic pressure of up to 8.5 GPa in a high-pressure chamber of the “toroid” type. Measurements are performed at room temperature. Absorption bands are observed, which correspond to optical d-d transitions of Ni²⁺ ion in the crystal field of ligands ³A_2g → ³T_2g, ³A_2g → {au1}E_1g, ³A_2g → ³T_1g(F), and ³A_2g → ¹T_2g. The values of energy of these transitions increase linearly with pressure, and their pressure coefficients are 7.3 ± 0.2, 2.87 ± 0.9, 9.7 ± 0.5, and 8.9 ± 0.3 meV/GPa, respectively. The pressure derivative of the crystal field parameter 10Dq corresponding to the ³A_2g → ³T_2g transition gives the pressure dependence of the magnitude of exchange integral J in the Anderson hybridization model. It is found that, in the pressure range from zero to 37.5 GPa, the behavior of the exchange integral J is largely defined by the hybridization parameter b = (10Dq/3). At the same time, the Coulomb interaction parameter U_eff is independent of pressure and, therefore, has no effect on the variation of J. The Coulomb interaction U_eff ≈ 7.47 ± 0.005 eV is determined. The experimental data on the equation of state are used to derive the \(J \propto V^\varepsilon \) correlation, where ε = ?2.99 ± 0.15, which is in good agreement with the predictions of Bloch’s theory (ε = ?10/3).     

g-factors of rotational states in 176Hf, 177Hf,and 180Hf

g-factors of rotational states in ¹⁷⁶Hf and ¹⁸⁰Hf were measured with the twelve detector IPAC-apparatus of our laboratory [1]. The natural radioactivity 3.78 · 10¹⁰y ¹⁷⁶Lu and the 5.5 h isomer ^180mHf were used which populate the ground-state rotational bands of ¹⁷⁶Hf and ¹⁸⁰Hf. The integral rotations of γ-γ directional correlations in strong external magnetic fields and in static hyperfine fields of (Lu → Hf)Fe₂ and HfFe₂ were observed. The following results were obtained: The hyperfine field in (Lu → Hf)Fe₂ was calibrated by observing the integral rotation of the 9/2^? first excited state of ¹⁷⁷Hf populated in the decay of 6.7d ¹⁷⁷Lu. The g-factor of this state was redetermined in an external magnetic field as Finally the g-factor of the 2 ₁ ⁺ state of ¹⁷⁶Hf was derived from the measured g(2 ₁ ⁺ ) of ¹⁸⁰Hf by use of the precisely known ratio g(2 ₁ ⁺ , ¹⁷⁶Hf)/g(2₁ ⁺, ¹⁸⁰Hf) [2] as      

Measurement of the axial-vector to vector coupling constant, ¦g 1/f 1¦, in Σ−→ne − \bar v decay

The ratio of the axial-vector to vector coupling constant, ¦g ₁/f ₁¦, in theΣ ^?→ne ^? \(\bar v\) decay was determined from the electron-neutrino angular distribution. In a sample of 454Σ ^?→ne ^? \(\bar v\) decays a search was made for subsequent neutron proton scattering in order to detect the decay neutrons. TheΣ hyperons were produced by stoppingK ^?-mesons in the 81 cm Saclay hydrogen bubble chamber. For the kinematical analysis 33Σ ^?→ne ^? ν events with associatednp→np interactions were accepted. The value ¦g ₁/f ₁¦=0.37 _?0.19 ^+0.26 was obtained.     

Log-Gamma Polymer Free Energy Fluctuations via a Fredholm Determinant Identity

We prove that under n ^1/3 scaling, the limiting distribution as n → ∞ of the free energy of Seppäläinen’s log-Gamma discrete directed polymer is GUE Tracy-Widom. The main technical innovation we provide is a general identity between a class of n-fold contour integrals and a class of Fredholm determinants. Applying this identity to the integral formula proved in Corwin et al. (Tropical combinatorics and Whittaker functions. http://arxiv.org/abs/1110.3489v3 [math.PR], 2012) for the Laplace transform of the log-Gamma polymer partition function, we arrive at a Fredholm determinant which lends itself to asymptotic analysis (and thus yields the free energy limit theorem). The Fredholm determinant was anticipated in Borodin and Corwin (Macdonald processes. http://arxiv.org/abs/1111.4408v3 [math.PR], 2012) via the formalism of Macdonald processes yet its rigorous proof was so far lacking because of the nontriviality of certain decay estimates required by that approach.     

Search for resonant absorption of solar axions by atomic nuclei

Search for resonant absorption of solar axions by ⁵⁷Fe and ¹⁶⁹Tm nuclei, leading to the excitation of the first nuclear level: ⁵⁷Fe: A + ⁵⁷Fe → ⁵⁷Fe* → ⁵⁷Fe + γ and A + ¹⁶⁹Tm → ¹⁶⁹Tm* → ¹⁶⁹Tm + γ, has been performed. To this end, the energy spectra of the Si(Li) detector with ⁵⁷Fe and ¹⁶⁹Tm targets have been measured. The detector and targets were located in a low-background setup equipped with passive and active shields. A new upper limit on the axion mass: m _A ≤ 330 eV (90% confidence level) has been established from the spectrum of ⁵⁷Fe (30 days). Measurements with a ¹⁶⁹Tm target during 8 days gave a new upper limit on the product of the axion-photon coupling constant and the axion mass: g _Aγ (GeV^?1) × m _A (eV) ≤ 2.9 × 10^?4 (90% confidence level).     

Infrared quasifixed solutions in a nonminimal supersymmetric standard model

The constraints from LEPII on the mass of the lightest Higgs boson are such that, in the parameter space of the minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), a considerable part of the region that corresponds to the scenario of an infrared fixed point is virtually ruled out by available experimental data. In a nonminimal supersymmetric standard model (NMSSM), the mass of the lightest Higgs boson takes its maximum value in the regime of strong Yukawa coupling, in which case the Yukawa coupling constants are much greater than the gauge coupling constants at the Grand Unification scale $(Y_i (0) \gg \tilde \alpha _i (0))$ . In this limiting case, solutions to the renormalization-group equations are attracted to Hill and infrared fixed lines or surfaces in the space of Yukawa coupling constants; for Y _i (0) → ∞, they are concentrated in the vicinities of quasifixed points. However, this attraction is quite weak. For this reason, solutions to the renormalization-group equations are grouped near some line on the Hill surface when all Y _i (0) are close to unity. Approximate solutions for the Yukawa coupling constants within the NMSSM are presented. In addition, the possibility of unifying the Yukawa coupling constants for the b quark and the τ lepton at the scale M _X is discussed.     

Optical characteristics of radiation from N<Stack><Subscript>2</Subscript><Superscript>*</Superscript></Stack> dimers in a barrier discharge

The spectral and power characteristics of radiation of the second positive system of nitrogen (C ³Π _u → B ³Π _g ) in Ar-N₂ and Ar-N₂-Cl₂ mixtures excited by barrier discharge have been studied experimentally. Addition of argon to N₂ increased the radiation power by sixfold. In the triple mixture Ar-N₂-Cl₂ = 210/0.5/0.005, minor chlorine additions increased the intensity of the C ³Π _u → _B ³Π _g transition by 26% compared to Ar-N₂ mixtures. Radiation power density of 2.7 mW/cm² has been achieved. In both binary and triple mixtures, the second positive system of nitrogen was the major contributor to radiation, while the contributions of the fourth positive system of N ₂ ^* (D ³Σ _u ⁺ → B ³Π _g ), the Vegard-Kaplan transition of N ₂ ^* (A ³Σ _u ⁺ → X ¹Σ _g ⁺ ), and the D′ → A′ band of Cl ₂ ^* were negligibly small.     

Yang-Lee zeros of triangular Ising antiferromagnets

In our previous research, by combining both the exact enumeration method (microcanonical transfer matrix) for a small system (L=9) with the Wang-Landau Monte Carlo algorithm for large systems (to L=30) we obtained the exact and approximate densities of states g(M,E), as a function of the magnetization M and exchange energy E, for a triangular-lattice Ising model. In this paper, based on the density of states g(M,E), the precise distribution of the Yang-Lee zeros of triangular-lattice Ising antiferromagnets is obtained in a uniform magnetic field as a function of temperature for a 9×9 lattice system. Also, the feasibility of the Yang-Lee zero approach combined with the Wang-Landau algorithm is demonstrated; as a result, we obtained the magnetic exponents for triangular Ising antiferromagnets at various temperatures.     

Threshold production of the hypertriton

The cross section for threshold production of the hypertriton in the reaction pd → _gL ³ HK⁺ is calculated in a two-step model and compared to the break-up process pd → dΛK⁺. The latter process is shown to be dominant already at 2 MeV above threshold. The amplitude squared at threshold for the pd → _Λ ³ HK⁺ reaction is ¦f¦² = 1.0 nb/sr.     

Rare meson decay in supersymmetric theory with nonconservation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis>-parity

The decay of mesons K ⁺ → π ^? l ⁺ l′⁺ and D ⁺ → K ^? l ⁺ l′⁺ (l, l′ = e, μ) involving a change of lepton number ΔL = 2 is considered in a supersymmetric extension of the standard model in which R-parity is not conserved due to trilinear Yukawa interactions. The obtained estimates for the probabilities of these decays are significantly lower than the direct experimental upper limits.     

Spin-Peierls and incommensurate states in layered S=1/2 system TiOCl

We demonstrate that TiOCl is a good model inorganic system to investigate spin-Peierls state. Our ³⁵Cl and ^47,49Ti NMR data show that a pseudo spin-gap behavior below T*=135 K precedes successive phase transitions at T_c=94 K and into a singlet spin-Peierls ground state with a large energy gap E_g/k_B=430 K.