In-plane conductivity of a layered large-bipolaron liquid

Distinctive normal-state properties of cuprate superconductors follow from their charge carriers forming a large-bipolaron liquid. The very weak scattering of the liquid’s slow-moving heavy-massed excitations by acoustic phonons yields a scattering rate that is less than the Debye frequency. The liquid’s moderate mobility, >1 cm²/V-sec at 300 K, results from its weak scattering compensating for its large mass. In resolution of a long-standing dilemma, the dc resistivity resulting from scattering by long-wavelength phonons remains nearly proportional to temperature to well below the Debye temperature. Above the Debye frequency, the frequency-dependent conductivity is dominated by excitation and photo-ionization of the liquid’s self-trapped electronic carriers. Below the Debye frequency, the frequency-dependent conductivity is dominated by the liquid’s Drude-like collective motion. The ‘gap’ between these two domains sharpens with decreasing temperature as phonon scattering of the liquid’s collective excitations diminishes. The high-frequency electronic excitations survive in the superconducting state.     

Research on glass cells for He neutron spin filters

Glass cells play an important role in polarized ³He neutron spin filters. To evaluate the scattering and absorption contribution from glass cells during neutron scattering experiments, we measured small-angle scattering and neutron transmission in GE180 and other glasses. The small-angle neutron scattering measurements revealed that the glasses used for ³He spin filters have acceptably lower scattering: dΣ(Q)/dΩ=4-7×10⁻⁴ cm⁻¹ at Q=0.03-0.12 Å⁻¹. The transmission measurement was performed at J-PARC. Neutron transmission of about 92% through empty GE180 cells was observed over a wide wavelength range 0.014-7.0 Å. To pursue the possibility of being a structural influence on ³He spin relaxation in GE180 glass cells, we performed precise X-ray diffraction measurement using synchrotron radiation at SPring-8. From these measurements, a structural difference was observed among GE180 glasses with different thermal treatments.     

The first-to-zero-sound transition in non-superfluid liquid 4He

Neutron inelastic scattering from ⁴He at T = 2.3 K shows that for Q ? 2 nm^?1 “sound-wave” excitations propagate with the characteristics of ordinary or first sound while for Q ? 3 nm^?1 they propagate with the characteristics of zero sound.     

Transverse excitations in liquid Ga

The transverse acoustic excitation modes were detected by inelastic x-ray scattering in liquid Ga in the Q range above 9?nm^?1 although liquid Ga is mostly described by a hard-sphere liquid. An ab initio molecular dynamics simulation clearly supports this finding. From the detailed analysis for the S(Q,ω) spectra with a good statistic quality, the lifetime of 0.5 ps and the propagating length of 0.4–0.5?nm can be estimated for the transverse acoustic phonon modes, which may correspond the lifetime and size of cages formed instantaneously in liquid Ga. The microscopic Poisson’s ratio estimated from the dynamic velocities of sound is 0.42, indicating a rubber-like soft elastic property of the cages.     

Reconstruction of the Q band spectrum of the 1285-cm−1 transition in the CO2 molecule from measurements of a pulsed response

By using the method of nonstationary spectroscopy of coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering, pulsed responses of the Q band of the vibrational-rotational transition in the CO₂ molecule at a frequency of 1285 cm^?1 are measured under conditions of broadening close to the Doppler type. The ratios of the amplitudes of Q-band components at known frequencies are obtained by fitting to the measured pulsed responses.     

Quasi-resonances in sound-insulating coatings

This paper is concerned with the radiation of sound waves from a submerged cylindrical body which is coated by an imperfect elastic layer; that is, the coating only covers part of the cylinder. The focus of the study is to quantify the effect of the gap in the elastic layer on the radiated acoustic power. A finite element method is employed to determine the acoustic pressure field in the fluid and the displacement field in the coupled layer. This reveals that the effect of a modest sized gap in the coating does not markedly alter the radiated field except at distinct frequencies, at which values the coating exhibits strong fluid-coupled oscillations. We develop a simple analytical model to explain the resonance phenomenon and show that quasi-resonances arise when the wavelength of the deformation pattern ‘matches’ the azimuthal length of the surface of the coating. This resonant behaviour is conveniently captured by a single parameter Q, which is the ratio of the typical inertial fluid pressure induced by the wall oscillation to the stiffness of the elastic coating. For each choice of material parameters, there is shown to be an infinite set of values of Q corresponding to distinct quasi-resonance mode numbers. The effects on the radiated field due to variations in various physical parameters, such as acoustic wavenumber and elastic layer inertia, are also discussed.     

Soft-mode-dynamics model of acoustic-like high-frequency excitations in boson-peak spectra of glasses

A theoretical model of vibrational dynamics is proposed for a glass, which comprises acoustic and soft-mode vibrational excitations interacting with each other and gives rise to a vibrational spectrum “broken” into two branches separated by a pseudogap. The latter appears to be associated with a Ioffe–Regel cross-over to strong inelastic scattering of the excitations. The upper branch contains acoustic-like high-frequency excitations, which are similar to those recently observed in inelastic X-ray scattering spectra of a series of glasses. The present model may resolve the recent controversy concerning the interpretation of the scattering spectra.     

On the role of atomic motion soft modes in acoustic phonon broadening below the boson peak in glasses

This Letter presents a mechanism of acoustic phonon broadening for frequencies lower than the boson peak frequency in glasses exhibiting a high-frequency sound above the boson peak. The mechanism is based on a resonant interaction of an acoustic phonon with harmonic vibrational excitations of soft modes in such glasses. The related width of the phonon is found to be independent of temperature and characterized by a power-law frequency dependence ν?${\nu }^{?}$, with the exponent ?   varying from ?≈2$?\approx 2$ below the boson peak to ?≈4$?\approx 4$ at lower frequencies. The dependencies do not appear to contradict some recent experimental data, for the glasses under discussion.     

Light emission at the E1 and E1+Δ1 gaps in heavily doped p-type Ge and GaAs

We report the observation in heavily doped p-type germanium (N_h ≥ 10¹⁸cm^?3) of two weak light emission bands centered at the energies of the E₁ and E₁+Δ₁ interband gaps (2.22 and 2.42 eV at 80 K). These bands, which are 100% polarized, are found only for excitation with laser frequencies slightly above the gaps. We attribute them to photon scattering by inter-valence-band excitations of the holes associated with the heavy doping. The fact that the emission bands do not shift with the exciting laser frequency is assigned to a strong resonance enhancement of this scattering near the E₁ and E₁+Δ₁ gaps. We have also observed the corresponding light emission at the E₁ gap (3.0 eV) in p-type GaAs.     

Hydrostatic pressure effect on commensurate—incommensurate transition in K2SeO4-Elastic anomalies studied by Brillouin scattering

A Brillouin scattering study of the commensurate—incommensurate transition in K₂SeO₄ submitted to a hydrostatic pressure was performed. It was found that an increasing pressure lowers the transition temperature (dT_i/dP_i = ?59 K/GPa). The strong anomalies of velocity and damping of the longitudinal acoustic wave propagating along [0 0 1] are weakly affected when pressure acts. The effect of pressure on these anomalies has been calculated on the basis of the lowest order couplings eQ² and e²Q² between strain e and order parameter Q.     

Resonant acoustic spectroscopy at low <Emphasis Type="Italic">Q</Emphasis> factors

The application of resonant acoustic spectroscopy to rock, building materials, and materials with cracks is hindered by the substantial mechanical losses in these materials and by the overlapping of the individual resonance responses. The paper describes a method for the determination of the resonance frequencies in low-Q materials in the presence of a strong overlapping of resonances. The effect of cracks on the values of the resonance frequencies and Q factors is studied experimentally.     

Structure of Na2O·MO·SiO2·CaF2 (M=Mg,Ca) oxyfluoride glasses

(9−x)CaO·xMgO·15Na₂O·60SiO₂·16CaF₂(x=0, 2, 4, 6, and 9) oxyfluoride glasses were prepared. Utilizing the Raman scattering technique together with ²⁹Si and ¹⁹F MAS NMR, the effect of alkaline metal oxides on the Q species of glass was characterized. Raman results show that as magnesia is added at the expense of calcium oxide, the disproportional reaction Q³→Q⁴+Q² (Qⁿ is a SiO₄ tetrahedron with n bridging oxygens) prompted due to the high ionic field strength of magnesia, magnesium oxide entered into the silicate network as tetrahedral MgO₄, and removed other modifying ions for charge compensation. This reaction was confirmed by ²⁹Si MAS NMR. ¹⁹F MAS NMR results show that fluorine exists in the form of mixed calcium sodium fluoride species in all glasses and no Si–F bonds were formed. As CaO is gradually replaced by MgO (x=6, 9), a proportion of the magnesium ions combines with fluorine to form the MgF⁺ species. Meanwhile, some part of Na⁺ ions complex F⁻ in the form of F–Na(6).     

Universal dynamics behavior in superionic conducting glasses

The inelastic neutron scattering experiment on superionic glass system AgI-AgPO₃ have been performed in the energy and momentum transfer range from ? 5 to 15 meV and 0 to 8 Å^? 1, respectively by using a time of flight MARI instrument at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, ISIS, UK. The E-dependence of the inelastic data show an excess intensity at low energy around 3 meV, the so-called Boson peak, which increased with the dopant salt. The Q-dependence of the elastic scattering reveals a prepeak at anomalously low Q value around 0.8 Å^? 1, which is not observed in the undoped AgPO₃ glass. The Q-dependence in the energy region from 1 to 3 meV shows clearly an excess intensity at Q ~ 2.2 Å ^? 1compared with the undoped AgPO₃. All these features correlate with the increasing mobility of Ag⁺ ions due to the expansion of the network structure caused by salt doping, which leads to the increase of ionic conductivity. Similar results have also been observed in the corresponding superionic glass system AgI-Ag₂S-AgPO₃ that was observed by both MARI and NEAT instrument at HMI, Berlin. The results show a universal dynamic behavior in silver phosphate glasses.     

Dynamic spin susceptibility of hole-doped high-temperature superconductors in a singlet-correlated conduction band model

We have derived an expression for the dynamical spin susceptibility of a hole-doped high-temperature superconductor taking into account a strong correlation between the magnetization of spins of the localized and itinerant electrons. This formula has been used to calculate the imaginary part of the susceptibility as a function of the frequency and wave vector. The results are compared to experimental data on the inelastic neutron scattering in compounds of the YBa₂Cu₃O_6+y type. A peak in the scattering intensity observed at an energy of about 40 meV in the region of wave vectors Q = (π, π) and an arc-shaped dispersion relief are interpreted as manifestations of the collective spin excitations in the system, the energy of which falls within a superconducting gap (spin exciton). The U-shaped divergent relief observed in the neutron scattering intensity is assigned to collective short-rage-order spin oscillations.     

Electric spin resonances in light nuclei

Very recent pion inelastic scattering experiments at LAMPF have revealed the existence of strong spin-flip E1 resonances in the vicinity of the GDR in several light nuclei. We present here the results of shell-model calculations of S = 0 and S = 1 E1 strength distributions which offer a broad theoretical context for the discussion of electric spin excitations. Our results for ¹⁶O and ⁴⁰Ca corroborate the LAMPF data and indicate that a major fraction of the spin-flip strength still lies above the GDR.     

Alpha particle scattering to negative parity states of14N

Inelastic⁴He scattering on melamine targets is studied for negative parity excitations of¹⁴N. ElevenΔL=3 excitations are presented, for states up to 15.41 MeV; threeΔL=1 transitions are also studied. A microscopic DWBA calculation accounts for several of the octupole excitations, requiring an isoscalar effective strength about twice that expected for free alpha-nucleon scattering. Great purity of the structure of the three lowest 2^? states is noted, with the 5.11 MeV and 9.13 MeV levels excited byΔL=3, but with the 7.97 MeV state excited purely byΔL=1.     

Measuring the weak charge of the proton at Jefferson Lab: A search for physics beyond the standard model

The JLab Q _weak Collaboration is designing and constructing an experiment to measure the proton’s weak charge, Q _W ^p , by measuring the parity violating asymmetry in elastic electron-proton scattering at very low momentum transfer. The standard model predicts Q _W ^p = 1 ? 4 sin² θ _w from the running of the weak mixing angle sin² θ _w , corresponding to a 10σ effect in the experiment. The experiment will determine Q _W ^p with 4% combined statistical and systematic uncertainties, which leads to 0.3% uncertainty in sin² θ _w . Installation of the experiment will begin in September 2009.     

Glass formation and Raman spectra of CaO–SiO2 glasses towards the orthosilicate limit

A series of silicate glasses formed in the binary system (1-X)CaO-XSiO₂with silica mole fractions X ranging from 0.61to 0.38have been prepared using container-less aerodynamic levitation techniques and CO₂-laser heating. Glasses with X<0.45were prepared for the first time but, no glass formation was possible at compositions X<0.38. Ambient temperature polarized and depolarized Raman spectra were measured for all these glasses. Qⁱ-speciation analysis of the isotropic Raman spectra shows that near X∼0.38the predominant structures present are the SiO₄⁴⁻ tetrahedra and the single bridged Q¹species. Oxygen bridging was present at all compositions studied while at X<0.45 small amounts of free oxygen anions was present. The data are compared with the resent NMR measurements obtained with the same glass samples used in the present study. Stokes and anti-Stokes Raman spectra were measured in low frequencies revealing the Boson peak (BP) at ∼50 and ∼70 cm⁻¹ for the corresponding polarized and depolarized configurations. On the Stokes side the BP frequencies exhibit a fictional shift due to contributions from the low frequency vibrational modes of the glass.     

Far infrared transmission and Raman scattering in Pb-As-S semiconducting glasses

Various compositions (x = 0.1?0.625) in the pseudo-binary (As₂S₃)_1?x(PbS)_x have been prepared in the glassy form. Thermal analysis of the prepared glasses shows a multiphase non-crystalline structure. Their far-infrared transmission (50–450 cm^-1) and first order Raman scattering have been observed for the first time and the observations indicate a two mode behaviour of the glasses. The frequencies and symmetries of AsS₃ bond-stretching modes are maintained in this alloy system and are therefore determined by the local order, and not the dimensionality or longer range order of the network.     

Hund's rules reformulated as inequalities and some related inequalities for exchange integrals,Slater-Condon parameters energy differences and correlation energies

Measurements have been made of the neutron scattering structure factors of liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen at 77 K and 84 K respectively in the Q-value range of 3 to 36 Å^-1. ‘White’ incident thermal neutrons were produced in the wavelength range of 0·3 to 3·0 Å by a pulsed electron linac and detected in a total-scattering time-of-flight spectrometer. Qualitative agreement has been obtained between these present data and a simple molecular form factor in the Q-value range of 12–36 Å^-1.

Using reactor data [1], structure factors over a total Q-value range of 0·3 to 36 Å^-1 were obtained. Fourier transforms of the structure factor curves yield pair distribution functions which show a distinct separation of the inter and intra-molecular distances in the liquid. A comparison is made with results for the solid phase.