Stability,equilibrium and metastability in statistical mechanics

We survey a body of work, containing some new material, concerning the characterisation of equilibrium and metastable states of large assemblies of particles in terms of a variety of stability conditions. The theory is formulated in the thermodynamic limit and is based on the premise that the former states are those that are stable against all dynamical and thermodynamical perturbations, whereas the latter ones are endowed with only limited stability, sufficing to guarantee their long lifetimes and good thermodynamical behaviour. The Kubo-Martin-Schwinger (KMS) fluctuation-dissipation conditions play a central role in the developments stemming from this viewpoint, since it turns out that these conditions represent stability against localised disturbances of both the dynamical and thermo-dynamical kinds. Consequently, the stability arguments invoked here lead us to the following principal conclusions: (1) The equilibrium states are those that minimise the free energy density of the system and also satisfy the KMS conditions. This substantiates Gibbs's hypothesis that these states correspond to the standard ensembles. (2) Metastable states are of two kinds, that we term “ideal” and “normal”. Those of the former type satisfy the KMS conditions but minimise only the restriction of the free energy density to some reduced state space: those of the latter type are characterised by a still lower grade of stability. (3) The conditions on the forces under which ideal metastable states can exist are very restrictive, and thus the normal ones generally correspond to those observed in nature.     

Effect of 30 Mev Li 3+ ion and 8 MeV electron irradiation on n-channel MOSFETs

The effect of 30 v MeV Li 3+ ion and 8 v MeV electron irradiation on the threshold voltage ( V TH ), the voltage shift due to interface trapped charge ( j V Nit ), the voltage shift due to oxide trapped charge ( j V Not ), the density of interface trapped charge ( j N it ), the density of oxide trapped charge ( j N ot ) and the drain saturation current ( I D v Sat ) were studied as a function of fluence. Considerable increase in j N it and j N ot , and decrease in V TH and I D v Sat were observed in both types of irradiation. The observed difference in the properties of Li 3+ ion and electron irradiated MOSFETs are interpreted on the basis of energy loss process associated with the type of radiation. The study showed that the 30 v MeV Li 3+ ion irradiation produce more damage when compared to the 8 v MeV electron irradiation because of the higher electronic energy loss value. High temperature annealing studies showed that trapped charge generated during ion and electron irradiation was annealed out at 500 v °C.     

Response of Cellulose detectors to different doses of 62?MeV protons

Optical and thermal responses of two cellulose detectors, Cellulose triacetate (Triafol-TN) and Cellulose acetate butyrate (Triafol-BN), to four different doses of 62 MeV protons were studied using spectroscopic, thermal and track-etching techniques. The spectroscopic analysis revealed that though the optical band-gap in the polymers was affected by proton irradiation, the polymers showed high resistance against any major structural modification by radiation. The thermal stability of the polymers was found to be affected by proton irradiation. The activation energy of etching was found to be almost constant for both the polymers even after irradiation. It is hoped that the findings in this work would be of significant relevance to material science and applications of polymers.     

傅里叶变换红外光谱法研究核辐照对三七总皂苷粉成分的影响

采用傅里叶变换红外光谱(卷积谱)法对经不同剂量y-射线核辐照的三七总皂苷粉进行了对比研究.辐照剂量不高于9kGy时,三七总皂苷粉样品的化学成分几乎没有发生变化;三七总皂苷粉样品经15kGy及以上的辐照剂量辐照后,可能产生新的化学成分;经21kGy的剂量辐照,三七总皂苷粉产生了人参、三七粉所含的普通成分(非三七总皂苷成分...     

Laser-induced changes in titanium by femtosecond,picosecond and millisecond laser ablation

In order to realize the qualitative control of the laser-induced changes trend and the quantitative control of the laser-induced changes range in titanium upon laser irradiation with different pulse duration, comparative ablation experiments by femtosecond, picosecond and millisecond pulsed lasers were carried out on titanium in this study. Then the final surface morphology, aspect ratio, chemical composition and microstructural state of the ablated titanium were analyzed by laser scanning confocal microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The dependency of the morphology, size, composition and microstructure of ablated titanium on laser pulse duration variation were emphatically discussed. It is found that, as the laser pulse duration increases from femtosecond to millisecond scale, surface morphology quality of ablated titanium gets worse, aspect ratio of microgroove decreases, proportion of titanium oxides in final ablation products becomes larger and the microstructural state of ablated titanium has a higher amorphization degree, which can be attributed to the decreased laser intensity per pulse and enhanced heat conduction effect in titanium with the pulse duration increasing.     

Metallic Li colloids studied by 7 Li MAS NMR in electron-irradiated LiF

7 Li MAS NMR spectra of 2.5 v MeV electron-irradiated LiF crystals have been measured in a field of 9.4 v T. Besides the resonance line of the ionic compound, a second well-separated spectrum is observed in the region of the Knight shift value for metallic lithium. At room temperature, the latter can be decomposed into two components with different Knight shift and linewidth values. When the temperature is increased, line narrowing takes place at first, indicating shortening of correlation times for self-diffusion, independently in both components. Above 370 v K, both lines broaden and approach each other before collapsing into a single line. The high ppm component disappears after crossing the melting temperature of metallic lithium (454 v K). The two lines are attributed to different types of metallic Li: one to bulk-like metal, the other to Li present initially under pressure and relaxing to the former under thermal treatment.     

Possibilities for using a pulsed magnetic field to influence structural states in oxide glass

The structural-energy spectrum of the states of a bismuth-containing oxide glass, the sensitivity of these states to the action of a pulsed magnetic field, and the thermodynamic and kinetic stability of the structure excited by a pulsed magnetic field are studied by the method of measuring the internal friction. It is established that a pulsed magnetic field influences the structural states and that this leads to irreversible changes in the structure and the crystallization parameters of the glass. It is found that the efficacy of acting on a material with a pulsed magnetic field also depends on the parameters of the field and the structural-energy state of the material and that the action itself is of a thermally-activated relaxational character. The optimal conditions for the action of a pulsed magnetic field on glass are determined. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 50–54 (October 1998)     

Ageing and thermal recovery of paramagnetic centers induced by electron irradiation in yttria-stabilized zirconia

We have used electron spin resonance spectroscopy to study the defects induced in yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) single crystals by 2.5-MeV electron irradiations. Two paramagnetic centers are produced: the first one with an axial d 111 symmetry is similar to the trigonal Zr 3+ electron center (T center) found after X-ray irradiation or thermo-chemical reduction, whereas the second one is a new oxygen hole center with an axial d 100 symmetry different from the orthorhombic O m center induced by X-ray irradiation. At a fluence around 10 18 e/cm 2 , both centers are bleached out near 600 v K, like the corresponding X-ray induced defects. At a fluence around 10 19 e/cm 2 , defects are much more stable, since complete thermal bleaching occurs near 1000 v K. Accordingly, ageing of as-irradiated samples shows that high-dose defects at more stable than the low-dose ones.     

The absence of excited target contributions to E1 partial widths of neutron resonances: an explanation from threshold effects

The success of the ‘valence model’ of resonance neutron capture in certain nuclei shows that E1 partial widths can be dominated by target ground state contributions, i.e. excited states contribute very little. This cannot be understood solely in terms of the composition of the final states, which often have strong excited target components. An explanation is found in terms of threshold effects on the intial (resonance) state composition.     

Modelling of long term kinetic evolution: a fruitful relationship between experiment and theoretical development

Recent developments in multi-scale modelling, based on atomic scale calculations, are leading to a growing conviction that modelling will soon be used to design material components for nuclear reactors. In this article we discuss this assumption on the basis of the relationship between experimental studies and theoretical calculations of the microstructural evolution of materials under irradiation. In the first part of the paper, the available numerical models for long term microstructural evolutions are briefly reviewed. The experimental methods are presented in a second part. In the third part, several examples of fruitful relationships between modelling and experiments are discussed. To cite this article: A. Barbu, C. R. Physique 9 (2008).     

Relative response of TL and component-resolved OSL to alpha and beta radiations in annealed sedimentary quartz

Knowledge of the relative luminescence response to alpha and beta radiation is very important in TL and OSL dating. In the present study the relative alpha to beta response is studied in a sedimentary quartz sample, previously fired at 900 °C for 1 h, in the dose region between 1 and 128 Gy, for both thermoluminescence (TL) and linearly modulated optically stimulated luminescence (LM – OSL). The LM – OSL measurements were performed at room temperature and at 125 °C. All OSL signals were deconvolved into their individual components. Comparison of OSL curves after alpha and beta irradiation strongly supports that quartz OSL components follow first order kinetics in both cases. In the case of TL, the relative alpha to beta response is found to be very different for each TL glow-peak, but it does not depend strongly on irradiation dose. In the case of LM – OSL measurements, it is found that the relative behaviour of the alpha to beta response is different for three distinct regions, namely the fast OSL component, the region of medium OSL component originating from the TL glow-peak at 110 °C when stimulation takes place at room temperature and finally the region of slow OSL component. Following stimulation at ambient temperature, the relative alpha to beta response of all components was not observed to depend significantly on dose, with the value of ratio being 0.03 and a tendency to decrease with increasing dose. However, in the case of measurements performed at 125 °C, the relative response of the fast components is much enhanced, and for the remaining components it increases with increasing dose. Special care must be taken to examine the relative alpha to beta response of the fast component at 125 °C which contrasts the relative response of the TL peak at ca. 325 °C. The implications for the dating of annealed quartz are also briefly discussed.     

Grain-boundary sliding in elongated microstructures during diffusion creep

In diffusion creep, the contribution of grain-boundary sliding to the overall strain os can be evaluated in arbitrary polycrystals, if the angular distribution of grain boundaries is known. A os value of 0.5 is obtained for two-dimensional (2D) equiaxed microstructures consisting of regular hexagonal grains, equiaxed grains grown from a Voronoi structure or grains having a circular distribution of grain-boundary angles. The os value is also evaluated for uniaxially deformed 2D microstructures, both diffusionally and uniformly deformed. For the former, the deformed microstructure is obtained by the simulation of microstructural evolution in polycrystals with straight grain boundaries. The os value increases gradually with increasing or decreasing strain and is larger in the diffusionally deformed microstructures than in the uniformly deformed microstructures for a given grain aspect ratio. The os value for three-dimensional (3D) polycrystalline microstructures is also obtained from an ellipsoidal distribution of grain-boundary angles. The resultant os value is 0.60 for 3D equiaxed polycrystals and increases gradually with increasing strain.     

Mixed Symmetry Isomeric States in Nuclei

Mixed symmetry states are studied in the framework of the neutron-proton interacting boson model.It is found that some of the mixed symmetry states with moderate high spins change very fast with respect to the Majorana interaction.Under certain conditions,they become the yrast state or yrare state.These states are difficult to decay and become very stable.This study suggests that a possible new mode of isomers may exist due to the special nature in their proton and neutron degrees of freedom.     

Scheme for implementing perfect quantum teleportation with four-qubit entangled states in cavity quantum electrodynamics

Recently, Peng et al. [2010 Eur. Phys. J. D 58 403] proposed to teleport an arbitrary two-qubit state with a family of four-qubit entangled states, which simultaneously include the tensor product of two Bell states, linear cluster state and Dicke-class state. This paper proposes to implement their scheme in cavity quantum electrodynamics and then presents a new family of four-qubit entangled state |Ω₄>₁₂₃₄. It simultaneously includes all the well-known four-qubit entangled states which can be used to teleport an arbitrary two-qubit state. The distinct advantage of the scheme is that it only needs a single setup to prepare the whole family of four-qubit entangled states, which will be very convenient for experimental realization. After discussing the experimental condition in detail, we show the scheme may be feasible based on present technology in cavity quantum electrodynamics.     

Electron emission during pulsed polarization switching of ferroelectric ceramics

It is shown that in the pulsed polarization switching of polycrystalline ferroelectrics in high fields the external field is damped by the electronic subsystem associated with the crystallite boundaries. Therefore, the reorganization of a ferroelectric system with a high density of surface states at the crystallite boundaries is not irreversible, and the system returns to its former state after the polarization-switching voltage is removed. Because of this, electron emission from the surface of a ferroelectric ceramic can be brought about by unipolar pulses. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 49–52 (July 1999)     

Behavior of cold-worked AISI-304 steel in stress-corrosion cracking process: Microstructural aspects

Austenitic stainless steel is one of the key structural materials for a wide-range of components for present nuclear power plants. Moreover, this type of steel is also foreseen as a key structural material in future reactor systems, the so-called Generation IV. However, for the successful application of these materials in new environmental conditions an integrated Research and Development program needs to be successfully completed. This work is focused to the evaluation of cold-worked AISI-304 stainless steel from 20 to 45% of cold-worked deformation by different spectroscopic techniques within the aim to study the microstructural characteristics. In particular, positron annihilation spectroscopy and small angle neutron scattering have been used for characterization of phase transformation and microstructural behavior. Furthermore, outcomes of corrosion properties of cold-worked AISI-304 stainless steel exposed for 100 and 500 h in super-critical water reactor conditions are correlated with the obtained results.     

Nonlinear phase field theory for fracture and twinning with analysis of simple shear

A phase field theory for coupled twinning and fracture in single crystal domains is developed. Distinct order parameters denote twinned and fractured domains, finite strains are addressed and elastic nonlinearity is included via a neo-Hookean strain energy potential. The governing equations and boundary conditions are derived; an incremental energy minimization approach is advocated for prediction of equilibrium microstructural morphologies under quasi-static loading protocols. Aspects of the theory are analysed in detail for a material element undergoing simple shear deformation. Exact analytical and/or one-dimensional numerical solutions are obtained in dimensionless form for stress states, stability criteria and order parameter profiles at localized fractures or twinning zones. For sufficient applied strain, the relative likelihood of localized twinning vs. localized fracture is found to depend only on the ratio of twin boundary surface energy to fracture surface energy. Predicted criteria for shear stress-driven fracture or twinning are often found to be in closer agreement with test data for several types of real crystals than those based on the concept of theoretical strength.     

Improvement of superconducting properties of old Y–Ba–Cu–O specimens by high-energy heavy ion irradiation

Superconducting parameters of different, almost 20 years old Y–Ba–Cu–O samples, prepared in 1987–1988 are investigated. The aim of this research is to find out how a heavy ion beam can enhance the superconducting features of very old and originally not always perfect Y-based specimens. As is observed, their electrical and magnetic characteristics are very sensitive to high-energy Bi-ion irradiation, which results in significant increase of the superconducting parameters. The most important one of them is the global critical current density which is calculated with the help of a new method on the basis of experiments. It can be increased by 18–39%, depending on the original, starting conditions of the samples before the irradiation. At the same time, the average values of intragrain critical current density grows by 37–51%. A slight increase in the critical temperature of 1–2 K was also observed. The experiments on AC susceptibility demonstrate that this irradiation causes to develop faster the total diamagnetic state and decreases the loss. The reason of these effects can be found in the better orientation of crystals, enlargement of microcrystalline aggregates, higher homogenization of the material, thus, in the increase of the superconducting component of samples due to the irradiation.     

Structural states and specific features of the deformation behavior of metals and alloys with mixed nano-and micrograin structure

A classification of the structural states of materials with a mixed nano-and microcrystalline structure is proposed. Theoretical analysis of the structural mechanisms and peculiarities of plastic flow of singlephase and two-phase nanostructured metals and alloys with a bimodal size distribution of grains and phases is performed. The effect of grain-boundary and dislocation mechanisms of plastic flow on the specific features of the deformation behavior and plasticity of nanocrystalline materials is analyzed. A microstructural model of strain hardening of a material with two-scale nano-and micrograin structure is proposed and the condition for the loss of plastic flow stability of such a material is investigated. The dependence of the yield strength and uniform strain of nanocrystalline materials with a two-scale structure on the grain size and the ratio of the volume fractions of the nano-and microstructural components is calculated.     

Simultaneous optical second harmonic and sum frequency intensity image observation of hydrogen deficiency on a H-Si(1 1 1) 1 × 1 surface after IR light pulse irradiation

In this study, we developed a microscope for the simultaneous acquisition of optical sum frequency (SF) and second harmonic (SH) intensity images in UHV conditions, and observed resonant electronic and vibrational images of the H-Si(1 1 1) surface after IR light irradiation of pulse width ∼6 μs. The SH intensity images showed a spatial distribution of resonant electronic states, associated with the dangling bonds formed after hydrogen desorption induced by the IR light pulses. This result indicates that the hydrogen coverage decreased to less than ∼0.6 ML in the irradiated area. The SF intensity images before the IR light pulse irradiation showed signals attributed to Si-H stretching vibration on the H-Si(1 1 1) surface. After the IR light pulse irradiation, non-resonant SF signals appeared in the irradiated area. The non-resonant SF signals may originate from a nonlinear optical transition involving the surface electronic levels in the dangling bonds. We also found an unidentified bonding state on the edges of the irradiated area in some light conditions. Both the resonant and non-resonant signals were very weak in this area.