Polymer–ion–clay interaction based model for ion conduction in intercalation-type polymer nanocomposite

A series of polymer nanocomposite films based on intercalation of (PAN)₈LiCF₃SO₃ into the nanometric clay channels of an organomodified clay has been prepared using the standard solution-casting technique. The role of organoclay concentration on polymer–ion interaction, ion–ion interaction, and ion–clay interaction in clay-based nanocomposite films has been analyzed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. Substantial ion dissociation is observed even at a very low clay loading (1–2 wt.%) in the nanocomposites. FTIR results suggest the presence of both uncoordinated CF₃SO₃ ⁻ (free-anions) and ion pairs in the nanocomposite evidenced by changes in CF₃SO₃ ⁻ symmetry from C3ν to Cs and marked asymmetry in the profile of degenerate δ_d(CF₃ ⁻) mode. The experimental results suggest a direct correlation of clay-assisted ion dissociation process with variation in conductivity (σ _dc) and glass transition temperature (T _g) as a function of clay concentration. A model has been proposed to explain the observed correlation on the basis of polymer–ion–clay interaction. The proposed scheme of ion transport mechanism appears to be consistent with the experimental observation.     

Exclusive processes in electron–ion collisions

The exclusive processes in electron–ion (eA) interactions are an important tool to investigate the QCD dynamics at high energies as they are in general driven by the gluon content of the target which is strongly subject to parton saturation effects. In this Letter we compute the cross sections for the exclusive vector meson production as well as the deeply virtual Compton scattering (DVCS) relying on the color dipole approach and considering the numerical solution of the Balitsky–Kovchegov equation including running coupling corrections (rcBK). The production cross sections obtained with the rcBK solution and bCGC parametrization are very similar, the former being slightly larger.     

Electronic stopping in ion–fullerene collisions

The electronic friction experienced by a multiply charged ion interacting with the valence electrons of a single fullerene is an important aspect of the collision dynamics. It manifests itself in a considerable loss of projectile kinetic energy transferred to the target, resulting in excitation. The latter mainly leads to direct ionization and multifragmentation and can be recognized in specific patterns of the fragmentation spectra. These fingerprints can be used to quantify electronic stopping and to identify its typical properties as known from particle–solid interactions, such as the oscillation of the electronic stopping with the projectile atomic number Z. These essentially many-body effects can therefore be studied in a well-defined system of finite size. Received: 4 April 2000 / Accepted: 6 November 2000 / Published online: 9 February 2001     

Dynamical behaviour of non-linear quantum ion acoustic wave in weakly magnetized electron–positron–ion plasma

In order to investigate the propagation characteristics of linear and non-linear ion acoustic waves (IAWs) in electron–positron–ion quantum plasma in the presence of external weak magnetic field, we have used a quantum hydrodynamic model, and degenerate statistics for the electrons and positrons are taken into account. It is found that the linear dispersion relation of the IAW was modified by the externally applied magnetic field. By using the reductive perturbation technique, a gyration-modified Korteweg-de Vries equation is derived for finite amplitude non-linear IAWs. Time-dependent numerical simulation shows the formation of an oscillating tail in front of the ion acoustic solitons in the presence of a weak magnetic field. It is also seen that the amplitude and width of solitons and oscillating tails are affected by the relevant plasma parameters such as quantum diffraction, positron concentration, and magnetic field. We have performed our analysis by extending it to account for approximate soliton solution by asymptotic perturbation technique and non-linear analysis via a dynamical system approach. The analytical results show the distortion of the shape of the localized soliton with time, and the non-linear analysis confirms the generation of oscillating tails.     

Laser ion source for ITEP–TWAC project

Laser ion source (LIS) is the only type of source capable of generating 10–30 mA beams of highly charged ions for the ITEP–TeraWatt (TWAC) accelerator/accumulator facility [B.Yu. Sharkov et al., Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. A 415 20 (1998).]. The assembling stage of the new LIS based on 100 J/1 Hz master oscillator–power amplifier CO₂-laser system [Yu. Satov, et al., J. Russ. Laser Res. 25(3) 205 (2004).] is in progress at ITEP now. In the first phase, the ion beam parameters (charge state distribution, current, pulse length and emittance) will be specified for different elements and target irradiation conditions. According to the planning, the new LIS and the new high-current injector [D. Kashinsky, et al., Proceedings of the Heavy Ion Fusion Conference, Moskow (2002).] will be used to deliver the beams of highly charged ions for the ITEP–TWAC accelerator/accumulator facility.     

Magnetosonic shock waves in dense astrophysical electron–positron–ion plasmas

Multifluid quantum magnetohydrodynamic model (QMHD) is used to investigate small but finite amplitude magnetosonic shock waves in dense) electron–positron–ion (e–p–i) plasmas. The Korteweg–de Vries–Burgers (KdVB) equation is derived by using reductive perturbation method. It is noticed that variations in the positron density modify the profile of magnetosonic shocks in dense e–p–i plasmas significantly. The numerical results are also presented by taking into account the dense plasma parameters from published literature of astrophysical conditions, in compact stars.     

Heavy ion–acoustic rogue waves in magnetized electron–positron multi-ion plasmas

Non-linear heavy ion-acoustic waves (HIAWs) are studied in a homogeneous magnetized four-component multi-ion plasma composed of inertial heavy negative ions, light positive ions, and inertia-less non-extensive electrons and positrons. The non-linear Schrödinger equation is derived in this model using the perturbation method. The criteria for modulational instability of HIAWs and the basic features of finite-amplitude heavy ion acoustic rogue waves (HIARWs) are investigated. The presence of the magnetic field was found to reduce the amplitude of HIARWs and enhances the stability. It is interesting to note that increasing positive ion mass causes decreases in the amplitude and width of rogue waves, which is opposite behaviour to that demonstrated in the previous study of these waves in an unmagnetized plasma. Furthermore, it is also shown that striking parameters, such as the non-extensive parameter, the positron number density, the electron number density, the electron temperature, and the magnetic field parameter, play an undeniable role on the stability of waves packets. The findings of the present investigation may be of wide relevance to some plasma environments, such as active galactic nuclei, pulsar magnetospheres, and other magnetic confinement systems.     

Modulation of ion sound excitations in electron–ion plasmas with double spectral index distribution function

Theoretical investigation of amplitude modulation of ion sound waves is presented here for an electron–ion plasma where the electrons are dictated by the double spectral index (r, q) distribution function. Using the standard reductive perturbative technique, a non-linear Schrödinger (NLS) equation is derived that describes the evolution of modulated ion sound envelope excitations. Stability analysis of the NLS equation shows that the ion sound waves remain stable for the flat-topped and kappa-like distributions, but they can become unstable for the spiky electron velocity distribution. It is shown that changing the electron population in regions of low and high phase space density regions results in remarkable features that have no equivalent in ion sound waves with Boltzmannian electrons. Different types of localized ion sound excitations are plotted for the different shapes of the distribution functions controlled by the double spectral indices, and the underlying physics is discussed in detail. The present investigation may be beneficial to understand ion sound excitations in space plasmas where the distribution functions of the shapes presented here are frequently encountered by the satellite missions.     

Electron–positron pair production in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions

In recent years, a large number of papers have appeared that dealt with e⁺e^-$e^{+}{e}^{-}$ pair production in heavy ion collisions at high energies. To a large extent these studies were motivated by the existence of relativistic heavy ion accelerators all over the world. There pair production can be studied in so called “ultra-peripheral collisions”, where the ions do not come close enough to interact strongly with each other. Various different methods have been used and it is the purpose of this review to present a unified picture of the present status of the field. The lowest order Born result has been known for more than seven decades. The interest and focus is now on higher order effects for values of Zα?1$Z\alpha ?1$, where Z$Z$ is the charge number of the ion. A similar problem appears for the Bethe–Heitler process, the production of e⁺e^-$e^{+}{e}^{-}$ pairs in photon–nucleus collisions. It was solved essentially some five decades ago by Bethe and Maximon. The result of Bethe and Maximon can also be recovered by summing over a class of Feynman diagrams to infinite order. These results can be used for a study of Coulomb corrections in nucleus–nucleus collisions. Indeed, the major part of these corrections have a structure closely related to the Bethe–Maximon solution. There are additional terms which give a small contribution to the total cross section at high energies. Their importance can be enhanced by concentrating on small impact parameters. An interesting exact solution of the one-particle Dirac equation in the high-energy limit was found independently by several authors. This led to some discussion about the interpretation of these results within quantum electrodynamics (QED) and the correct regularization necessary to get the correct result. The dust of previous debates has settled and, indeed, a consistent picture has emerged. Another interesting higher order effect is multiple pair production, which we also discuss. We compare experimental results obtained recently at relativistic heavy ion collider (RHIC) for free and bound-free pair production with theoretical results. We also make some more remarks on the physics of strong electric fields of longer duration. A new field is opened up by ultra-intense laser pulses. We argue that due to the short interaction time in ultraperipheral heavy ion collisions pair production can be well understood in the frame of QED perturbation theory.     

Dielectric relaxation and ion transport in silver–boro-tellurite glasses

Glass systems of composition xAg₂SO₄–20Ag₂O–(80?x) [0.50 B₂O₃–0.50 TeO₂], where x = 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mol% have been prepared by melt-quenching technique. Frequency- and temperature-dependent conductivity measurements have been carried out in the frequency range 10 Hz to 10 MHz and at a temperature range of 303–353 K, respectively. DC conductivities exhibit Arrhenius behavior over the entire temperature range with a single activation barrier. Addition of Ag₂SO₄ expands the glass network and, consequently, conductivity increases. This suggests that the structure and network expansion are the key parameters for enhancing conductivity. Impedance spectra of these glasses show a single semicircle, indicating one type of conduction. AC conductivity behavior of the glasses was analyzed using both single power law and Kolhrauh–William–Watts (KWW) stretched exponential relaxation function. The power law exponent (s) is temperature-dependent, while the stretched exponent (β) is insensitive to temperature. Scaling behavior has also been carried out using reduced plots of conductivity with frequency, which suggests the ion transport mechanism remains unaffected by temperature and composition.     

Nonlinear propagation of weakly relativistic ion-acoustic waves in electron–positron–ion plasma

This work presents theoretical and numerical discussion on the dynamics of ion-acoustic solitary wave for weakly relativistic regime in unmagnetized plasma comprising non-extensive electrons, Boltzmann positrons and relativistic ions. In order to analyse the nonlinear propagation phenomena, the Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) equation is derived using the well-known reductive perturbation method. The integration of the derived equation is carried out using the ansatz method and the generalized Riccati equation mapping method. The influence of plasma parameters on the amplitude and width of the soliton and the electrostatic nonlinear propagation of weakly relativistic ion-acoustic solitary waves are described. The obtained results of the nonlinear low-frequency waves in such plasmas may be helpful to understand various phenomena in astrophysical compact object and space physics.     

Upstream ion wave excitation in an ion-beam–plasma system

Plasma normal modes in ion-beam–plasma systems were experimentally investigated previously only for the waves propagating in the downstream(along the beam) direction. In this paper, the ion wave excitation and propagation in the upstream(against the beam) direction in an ion-beam–plasma system were experimentally studied in a double plasma device. The waves were launched by applying a ramp voltage to a negatively biased excitation grid. Two kinds of wave signals were detected, one is a particle signal composed of burst ions and the other is an ion-acoustic signal arising from the background plasma. These signals were identified by the dependence of the signal velocities on the characteristics of the ramp voltage. The velocity of the burst ion signal increases with the decrease of the rise time and the increase of the peak-to-peak amplitude of the applied ramp voltage while that of the ion-acoustic signal is independent of these parameters.By adjusting these parameters such that the burst ion velocity approaches to the ion-acoustic velocity, the wave–particle interaction can be observed.     

Cluster ion–solid interactions from meV to MeV energies

The nature of cluster ion–surface interactions changes dramatically with the kinetic energy and mass of the incoming cluster species. In this article we review some recent work on the nature of cluster–surface interactions spanning an energy range from a few tens of meV/atom to several MeV/cluster and cluster sizes in the range of 1–300000 atoms/cluster. We describe five possible distinct outcomes of a single cluster impact event: (i) deposition into a non-epitaxial configuration, (ii) deposition into an epitaxial configuration, (iii) crater formation by liquid flow, (iv) crater formation by hydrostatic pressure, (v) implantation. PACS 65.80.+n; 82.60.Qr; 61.46.Hk; 02.70.Ns     

Enhancement of electron–ion recombination rates at low energy range in the heavy ion storage ring CSRm

Recombination of Ar¹⁴⁺, Ar¹⁵⁺, Ca¹⁶⁺, and Ni¹⁹⁺ ions with electrons has been investigated at low energy range based on the merged-beam method at the main cooler storage ring CSRm in the Institute of Modern Physics, Lanzhou,China. For each ion, the absolute recombination rate coefficients have been measured with electron–ion collision energies from 0 meV to 1000 meV which include the radiative recombination(RR) and also dielectronic recombination(DR)processes. In order to interpret the measured results, RR cross sections were obtained from a modified version of the semiclassical Bethe and Salpeter formula for hydrogenic ions. DR cross sections were calculated by a relativistic configuration interaction method using the flexible atomic code(FAC) and AUTOSTRUCTURE code in this energy range. The calculated RR + DR rate coefficients show a good agreement with the measured value at the collision energy above 100 meV.However, large discrepancies have been found at low energy range especially below 10 meV, and the experimental results show a strong enhancement relative to the theoretical RR rate coefficients. For the electron–ion collision energy below 1 meV, it was found that the experimentally observed recombination rates are higher than the theoretically predicted and fitted rates by a factor of 1.5 to 3.9. The strong dependence of RR rate coefficient enhancement on the charge state of the ions has been found with the scaling rule of q^3.0, reproducing the low-energy recombination enhancement effects found in other previous experiments.     

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.     

Hydrodynamic analysis of electrostatic counter-streaming instability in a spin-polarized electron–positron–ion plasma

In this study, we present linear analysis of electrostatic counter-streaming instability in spin-polarized electron–positron–ion (e-p-i) plasma. With the aid of the separate spin evolution-quantum hydrodynamic (SSE-QHD) model, we derive the dispersion relation of counter-streaming instability. We numerically solve the dispersion and find four wave solutions: Langmuir wave, positron acoustic mode, and two electron and positron spin-dependent waves. It is noted that coupling of streaming and spin effects excites Langmuir instability and positron acoustic mode instability. However, in the absence of spin effect, only Langmuir instability will survive in e-p-i plasma. We have also discussed the effects of positron concentration, streaming speed, and spin polarization on the real frequency of waves and the growth rate. The present study may be helpful for understanding longitudinal wave propagation and instabilities in dense magnetized environments.     

Magnesium ion conducting polyvinyl alcohol–polyvinyl pyrrolidone-based blend polymer electrolyte

Structural, thermal, electrical and electrochemical behaviour of polymer blend electrolytes comprising polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) as host polymers and Mg(ClO₄)₂ as dopant salt have been investigated. The changes in the structural properties on the incorporation of dopant in the blends were investigated by XRD and FTIR analyses. Thermal properties of pure PVA–PVP blend and their complexes were examined by DSC to measure how the thermal transitions of the prepared films were affected by different concentration of Mg(ClO₄)₂. The ionic conductivity and dielectric behaviour were explored using A.C. impedance spectroscopy. The trend of ionic conductivity increases almost proportionally to the content of magnesium salt and can be related to an increase of amorphous phase at high level of dopant salt. The electrochemical stability of the optimum conducting blend polymer electrolyte is found to be ～3.5 V. The Mg²⁺ transference number for the sample with optimized conductivity was found to be 0.31.     

Photons from jet–plasma interaction in relativistic heavy ion collisions

We expose the role of collisional energy loss on high p _T photon data measured by PHENIX collaboration by calculating photon yield in jet–plasma interaction. The phase-space distribution of the participating jet is dynamically evolved by solving Fokker–Planck equation. It is shown that the data are reasonably well reproduced when contributions from all the relevant sources are taken into account. Predictions at higher beam energies relevant for LHC experiment have been made.     

Toward an ion–photon quantum interface in an optical cavity

We demonstrate several building blocks for an ion–photon interface based on a trapped ⁴⁰Ca⁺ ion in an optical cavity. We identify a favorable experimental configuration and measure system parameters, including relative motion of the trapped ion and the resonator mode. A complete spectrum of cavity-assisted Raman transitions between the 4²S_1/2 and 3²D_5/2 manifolds is obtained. On two of these transitions, we generate orthogonally polarized cavity photons, and we demonstrate coherent manipulation of the corresponding pair of atomic states. Possible implementations of atom-photon entanglement and state mapping within the ion-cavity system are discussed.