Atomic-vacancy ordering and magnetic susceptibility of nonstoichiometric hafnium carbide

Experimental data on the magnetic susceptibility of nonstoichiometric hafnium carbide HfC_y(0.6< y<1.0) are presented. Anomalies are found in the temperature dependences of the magnetic susceptibility of the carbides HfC_0.71, HfC_0.78, and HfC_0.83 in the temperature range 870–930 K. These anomalies are due to the formation of a superstructural short-range order in their nonmetallic sublattice. It is shown that the short-range order in the carbides HfC_0.71 and HfC_0.78 corresponds to the ordered phase Hf₃C₂, while in the carbide HfC_0.83 it corresponds to the ordered phase Hf₆C₅. It is found that the magnetic susceptibility of the carbide HfC_0.78 in the temperature interval 910–980 K is zero. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 69, No. 4, 296–301 (25 February 1999)     

Disorder-order phase transformations and electrical resistivity of nonstoichiometric titanium carbide

Phase transformations of the disorder-order type in the homogeneity region of nonstoichiometric titanium carbide TiC_y (0.5<y<1.0) have been studied. It has been established that, depending on the actual composition of TiC_y, there may form in it for T<980–1000 K a cubic or a trigonal ordered Ti₂C phase (space groups Fd3m and , respectively) and a rhombic ordered Ti₃C₂ phase (space group C222₁). The effect of ordering on the electrical resistivity of the nonstoichiometric carbide TiC_y was studied, and the temperatures of the reversible disorder-order equilibrium transitions determined. The ordering in titanium carbide is shown to be a first-order phase transition. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 1332–1340 (July 1998)     

Ordered structures in a nonideal dusty glow-discharge plasma

The formation of ordered structures of charged macroparticles in a constant-current neon glow-discharge plasma is investigated. Experiments were performed with two types of particles: thin-walled glass spheres 50–63 μm in diameter and particles of Al₂O₃, 3–5 μm in diameter. Formation of quasicrystalline structures is observed in the standing strata and in an artificially created double electric layer. The formation of extended filamentary structures of macroparticles in the absence of visible stratification of the positive column has been observed for the first time. The influence of the discharge parameters on the formation of the ordered structures and their melting is examined. The form of the interaction potential between the charged macroparticles is considered, as well as changes in the conditions for maintaining the discharge in the presence of high concentrations of dust particles. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 2030–2044 (December 1997)     

Multilevel rotational transitions in the intermediate stage of three-photon ionization of molecules

Ionization and dissociation of diatomic molecules induced by a weak field (after preliminarily populating an intermediate level) and by intense, linearly polarized monochromatic radiation have been studied. Field-induced mixing of rotational components of various electronic-vibrational states of molecules (such as CO, NO, etc.) at field strength f∼10⁻⁴–10⁻⁵ atomic units can lead to migration among states with different angular momenta J. Therefore, ions with rotational momenta J ⁺ much higher than those prescribed by selection rules for three-photon absorption can be formed from molecules in the ground state. The possibility of selective formation of ions with J ⁺≫1 and zero projection of the angular momentum on the polarization vector of the external electromagnetic radiation has been investigated. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 111, 1624–1632 (May 1997)     

High-order perturbation theory for the hydrogen atom in a magnetic field

The states of a hydrogen atom with principal quantum numbers n⩽3 in a constant uniform magnetic field ℋ are studied. Coefficients in the expansion of the energy of these states in powers of ℋ² up to the 75th order are obtained. Series for the energies of the states and the wave functions are summed to values of ℋ on the order of the atomic magnetic field. A generalization of the moment method upon which these calculations are based can be used in other cases in which a hydrogen atom is perturbed by a potential with a polynomial dependence on the coordinates. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 113, 550–562 (February 1998)     

Angular dependences of the peak effect in Yba2Cu3Ox single crystals

Angular dependences of the magnetization hysteresis loops have been studied at T=77 K on YBCO single crystals exhibiting the peak effect. The peak effect is shown to be related to the pinning of longitudinal vortices along the c axis at twin boundary-type ordered defects. The behavior of the peak effect at intermediate angles is explained by anisotropic magnetic field penetration into quasi-two-dimensional superconductors. In thin crystals with a dilute ordered-defect structure this can result in an enhanced peak effect due to formation of a vortex kink structure and to “internal” pinning of transverse vortex segments at Cu-O sheets. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 425–431 (March 1997)     

On the Poisson-Lie T-duality in two-dimensional N=2 superconformal field theories

A supersymmetric generalization of the Poisson-Lie T-duality transformation is proposed. It is shown that N=2 superconformal two-dimensional WZNW models possess natural Poisson-Lie symmetry, which makes it possible to construct Poisson-Lie T-dual σ models. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 12, 823–828 (25 December 1996)     

Giant magnetoacoustic effect in KMnF3 due to nuclear spin waves

An explanation is proposed for the gigantic magnetoacoustic effect that we observed in KMnF₃ in previous work {Kh. G. Bogdanova, V. A. Golenishchev-Kutuzov, M. I. Kurkin et al., Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 112, 1830 (1997) [JETP 85, 1001 (1997)]}. The effect entails a tenfold amplitude reduction of an acoustic pulse in a magnetic field that varies over the range 0–8 kOe. It is shown that this effect is due to the interference of two nuclear magnetoelastic waves propagating in the sample under magnetoacoustic resonance conditions, if this resonance occurs in the region of strong spatial dispersion of nuclear spin waves. The effect is said to be gigantic because it exceeds in magnitude the magnetoacoustic effects observed previously in magnetically ordered materials even though it is due to nuclear magnetism, which is 10⁵ times weaker than electronic magnetism. We observe a concomitant anomalous dependence of the dispersion of the velocity of sound on the external magnetic field. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 1727–1739 (May 1999)     

Crystallization of a dusty plasma in the positive column of a glow discharge

The formation of macroscopic ordered structures in the standing striations of a stationary glow discharge in Ne is observed. A Coulomb quasicrystal is formed by spherical glass particles with diameters of 50–63 μm and charge Z _p~7·10⁵ e. The interparticle distance is approximately 300 μm. This corresponds to a nonideality parameter Γ~5·10⁴, which leads to crystallization in the Yukawa model. The factors leading to the formation of a quasicrystal in the striations are discussed. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 2, 86–91 (25 July 1996)     

Control of the degree of long-range compositional order in ceramics of the compound perovskites Pb(B′1/2B″1/2)O3 using recrystallization

It is established that an ordered state forms in Pb(Yb_1/2Nb_1/2)O₃ at fairly low temperatures (650–800°C). Subsequent high-temperature heat treatment of the ceramic without additives (sintering or additional annealing) does not produce any significant change in the degree of long-range compositional order s because of the low diffusion rate of the Yb and Nb ions. The addition of Li₂CO₃, which forms a liquid phase, creates conditions for the dissolution of grains with a high value of s, the nucleation of new crystallization centers, and the growth of grains with a new equilibrium value of s at the sintering (annealing) temperature. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 24–30 (March 1999)     

Application of the theory of algebraic systems for creating a hierarchy of solid structures formed under equilibrium and nonequilibrium conditions

A unified hierarchy is proposed for molecular and solid structures formed under equilibrium (ideal crystals) or nonequilibrium conditions (real crystals, fractally ordered crystalline, quasicrystalline, and amorphous solids, as well as composite solid materials that are aperiodic on an atomic-molecular level but are periodic on a macroscopic level). The construction of this hierarchy is based on applying the theory of algebraic systems (groups, rings, and fields) to the multiplication of an initial structure in space depending on an inflation coefficient (numbers) expressed in the general form . Examples are presented of molecular and polymer structures described by groups or rings, fractally ordered solids whose structures are described by fields, and solids with damped or self oscillations in their composition, whose structures are described by fields or periodic rings of fields with complex spatial multiplication factors. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 799–804 (May 1999)     

Self-consistent calculation of the hole autolocalization barrier in the CuO2 plane

We examine the behavior of an extra hole added to the ground state of an antiferromagnetically ordered CuO₂ plane with account of the Cu-O and O-O hybridization. We show that spin flipping in the CuO₂ plane will lead to separation of localized and free-hole states by the energy barrier E _b∼0.05 eV, which can be manifested in various kinetic phenomena. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 1145–1148 (July 1999)     

The influence of a metalloid on ordered structure in titanium carbide

X-ray and neutron diffraction were used to investigate the effect of oxygen and nitrogen atoms on the formation of the intermediate δ′-cubic (sp. gr. Fd3m) and δ″-tetragonal (sp. gr. P3₁21) ordered structures in titanium carbide. In TiC_0.545O_0.08, TiC_0.545N_0.09 samples that were investigated, the metal atoms were shifted from ideal positions in the direction from vacancies to metalloid atoms. In the intermediate cubic phase (δ′), the free-parameter values of titanium atoms in the two samples are the same, but are different from their analogous value in titanium carbide. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 2207–2209 (December 1997)     

Contribution of electron-nuclear interaction to the residual resistivity of metals

In nonmagnetic metals the spin-spin interaction of the electrons and nuclei makes a strongly magnetic field and temperature T dependent contribution to the residual resistivity. The nuclei act as magnetic impurities. For magnetic metals (Tb, Ho, Dy) with a high internal magnetic field, the nuclear contribution to the resistivity vanishes at low temperatures T, where the nuclear spins are ordered, and saturates at high temperatures T, where the nuclear spins are disordered—the analog of the Schottky effect for the nuclear specific heat. The electron-nuclear interaction can destroy superconductivity in metals with low critical magnetic fields under conditions of ferromagnetic ordering of the nuclear spins. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 3, 193–197 (10 August 1996)     

Crystal structure of ethyl (2Z)-2-(3-methoxy-4-acetyloxy benzylidene)-7-methyl-3-oxo-5-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-5H-[1,3]thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine-6-carboxylate

The title compound, C₂₆H₂₄N₂O₆S, (I), crystallizes in the monoclinic space group, P2₁/c, with cell parameters a = 16.248(1), b = 7.927(1), c = 19.371(4) ?, β = 105.295(2)°, Z = 4. The central pyrimidine ring in the compound (I) is significantly puckered, assuming a screw-boat conformation. The C11–C16 benzene ring stands vertical while thiazole and C18–C23 benzene rings are coplanar to the mean plane of pyrimidine ring having dihedral angles of 87.48(12), 3.63(11) and 0.94(12)°, respectively. In the absence of potential hydrogen bonding interaction, the crystal packing is influenced by intramolecular C-H…S interaction and intermolecular C-H…π interactions.     

X-ray studies of magnetic phase transitions in the intermetallic compounds RMn2Ge2 (R=La, Sm, Gd, Nd, Tb, and Y)

The lattice parameters a and c of the tetragonal intermetallic compounds RMn₂Ge₂ (R=La, Sm, Gd, Nd, Tb, and Y) have been measured by x-ray diffraction in the temperature interval 10–800 K. Anomalies are observed in the temperature dependence of a and c due to phase transitions from the paramagnetic to the magnetically ordered state in the Mn subsystem, transitions between various magnetically ordered phases due to a change in the magnitude and sign of the Mn-Mn exchange interaction, and magnetic transitions caused by ordering of the rare-earth subsystem leading to a rearrangement of the magnetic structure of the Mn subsystem. It is concluded that, along with the lattice parameter a, the lattice parameter c also has an influence on the Mn-Mn exchange interaction. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 2053–2058 (November 1999)     

Local Wick Polynomials and Time Ordered Products¶of Quantum Fields in Curved Spacetime

In order to have well defined rules for the perturbative calculation of quantities of interest in an interacting quantum field theory in curved spacetime, it is necessary to construct Wick polynomials and their time ordered products for the noninteracting theory. A construction of these quantities has recently been given by Brunetti, Fredenhagen, and K?hler, and by Brunetti and Fredenhagen, but they did not impose any “locality” or “covariance” condition in their constructions. As a consequence, their construction of time ordered products contained ambiguities involving arbitrary functions of spacetime point rather than arbitrary parameters. In this paper, we construct an “extended Wick polynomial algebra”– large enough to contain the Wick polynomials and their time ordered products – by generalizing a construction of Dütsch and Fredenhagen to curved spacetime. We then define the notion of a local, covariant quantum field, and seek a definition of local Wick polynomials and their time ordered products as local, covariant quantum fields. We introduce a new notion of the scaling behavior of a local, covariant quantum field, and impose scaling requirements on our local Wick polynomials and their time ordered products as well as certain additional requirements – such as commutation relations with the free field and appropriate continuity properties under variations of the spacetime metric. For a given polynomial order in powers of the field, we prove that these conditions uniquely determine the local Wick polynomials and their time ordered products up to a finite number of parameters. (These parameters correspond to the usual renormalization ambiguities occurring in Minkowski spacetime together with additional parameters corresponding to the coupling of the field to curvature.) We also prove existence of local Wick polynomials. However, the issue of existence of local time ordered products is deferred to a future investigation. Received: 27 March 2001 / Accepted: 6 June 2001     

Effect of ordering on the structure and specific heat of nonstoichiometric titanium carbide

The experimental results on the change in the crystal structure and specific heat of nonstoichiometric titanium carbide TiC_y (0.5<y<0.65) near disorder-order phase transitions are reported. It is established that at temperatures below 1000 K the ordered phases Ti₂C with cubic and trigonal symmetry and an orthorhombic ordered phase Ti₃C₂ form in titanium carbide by a close-to-first-order phase transition mechanism. The temperatures and heats of order-disorder phase transformations are determined. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 69, No. 9, 631–637 (10 May 1999)     

Influence of atomic ordering on the magnetic properties of FePd,FePt, and Fe<Subscript>50</Subscript>Pd<Subscript>50−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Pt<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> alloy films

The phase composition, crystal structure, and magnetic properties of films of the ordered alloys FePd, FePt, and Fe₅₀Pd_{50 − x} Pt _x , where x = 1–10 at %, were analyzed. The spectral dependences of the magnetic rotation and optical absorption were taken. The effect of heat treatment on the crystal structure, magnetization, and coercive field strength of the ordered alloy films was studied. The influence of the degree of atomic ordering on the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy was investigated. It was shown that films of ordered FePd and FePt alloys of equiatomic composition and films of Fe₅₀Pd_{50 − x} Pt _x , where x = 1–10 at %, can serve as media for magnetic and thermomagnetic data recording and storage.     

Magnetic state of nickel-zinc ferrites at high zinc concentrations

Neutron diffraction and magnetic methods are used to investigate ferrites from the system Zn_xFe_1−x [Ni_1−x Fe_1+x ]O₄. In these investigations, no diffraction effects were observed that would indicate ordered positions for the perpendicular projections of spins at 4.2 K over the entire ferrimagnetic range of concentrations x. However, the high-field magnetic susceptibility and intense small-angle scattering of neutrons observed at helium temperatures in samples with x>0.45 are evidence of local angular structures with effective sizes of 1–10 nm. The temperatures at which these local angular structures are disrupted are determined. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 1503–1504 (August 1998)