Orientation dependence of electrical properties of 0.96Na<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Bi<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-0.04BaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> lead-free piezoelectric single crystal

In this paper, a single crystal of 0.96Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃-0.04BaTiO₃ with dimensions of Φ 30×10 mm was grown by the top-seeded-solution growth method. X-ray powder diffraction results show that the as-grown crystal possesses the rhombohedral perovskite-type structure. The dielectric, piezoelectric and electrical conductivity properties were systematically investigated with 〈001〉, 〈110〉 and 〈111〉 oriented crystal samples. The room-temperature dielectric constants for the 〈001〉, 〈110〉 and 〈111〉 oriented crystal samples are found to be 650, 740 and 400 at 1 kHz. The (T _m, ε _m) values of the dielectric temperature spectra are almost independent of the crystal orientations; they are (306°C, 3718), (305°C, 3613) and (307°C, 3600) at 1 kHz for the 〈001〉, 〈110〉 and 〈111〉 oriented crystal. The optimum poling conditions were obtained by investigating the piezoelectric constants d ₃₃ as a function of poling temperature and poling electric field. For the 〈001〉 and 〈110〉 crystal samples, the maximum d ₃₃ values of 146 and 117 pC/N are obtained when a poling electric field of 3.5 kV/mm and a poling temperature of 80°C were applied during the poling process. The as-grown 0.96Na_0.5Bi_0.5TiO₃-0.04BaTiO₃ crystal possesses a relatively large dc electrical conductivity, especially at higher temperature, having a value of 1.98×10⁻¹¹ Ω⁻¹⋅m⁻¹ and 3.95×10⁻⁹ Ω⁻¹⋅m⁻¹ at 25°C and 150°C for the 〈001〉 oriented crystal sample.     

Effect of high electric fields on the nematic to isotropic transition in a material exhibiting large negative dielectric anisotropy

We report the experimental high electric field phase diagram of a nematic liquid crystal which exhibits a large negative dielectric anisotropy. We measure simultaneously the birefringence (Δn) and the dielectric constant (epsilon_⊥) at various applied fields as functions of the local temperature of an aligned sample. We also measure the higher harmonics of the electrical response of the medium. The following experimental results are noted: (i) enhancement of orientational order parameter S in the nematic phase due to both the Kerr effect and quenching of director fluctuations; (ii) enhancement in the paranematic to nematic transition temperature (T_PN) with field; (iii) divergence of the order parameter susceptibility beyond the tricritical point as measured by third harmonic electrical signal; (iv) a small second harmonic electrical signal which also diverges near T_PN, indicating the presence of polarised domains. Our measurements show that ΔT_PN(= T_PN(E)-T_NI(0)) varies linearly with |E| whereas the Landau de Gennes theory predicts a dependence on E². It is argued that the quenching of director fluctuations by the field makes the dominant contribution to all the observations, including the thermodynamics of the transition.     

Λ and K s 0 production in pC collisions at 10 GeV/c

The experimental data from the 2-m propane bubble chamber have been analyzed for pC → Λ(K _s ⁰ )X reactions at 10 GeV/c. The estimation of experimental inclusive cross sections for Λ and K _s ⁰ production in the p ¹²C collision is equal to σ_Λ = (13.3 ± 1.7) mb and σ _{K s} ⁰ = (4.6 ± 0.6) mb, respectively. The measured 〈Λ〉/〈π⁺〉 ratio from pC reaction is equal to (5.3 ± 0.8) × 10⁻², and it is approximately two times larger than the 〈Λ〉/〈π⁺〉 ratio simulated by the FRITIOF model and than that of experimental pp reactions at the same energy. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

New results from the HAPPEX Experiments at Q<Superscript>2</Superscript> = 0.1GeV/c<Superscript>2</Superscript>

The nucleon's strange electric and magnetic form factors G _E ^s and G _M ^s can be probed via parity-violating electron scattering. The HAPPEX Collaboration has made new measurements of the parity-violating asymmetry A _PV in elastic scattering of 3GeV electrons off hydrogen and ⁴He targets with 〈θ_lab〉 ≈ 6.0^° . For ⁴He the preliminary result is A _PV = (+ 6.43±0.23(stat)±0.22(syst))×10^-6 . For hydrogen the preliminary result is A _PV = (- 1.60±0.12(stat)±0.05(syst))×10^-6 . From these values we extract G ^s _E = 0.004±0.014±0.013 at 〈Q ²〉 = 0.077 GeV/c^2 , and G ^s _E +0.09G ^s _M = 0.004±0.011±0.005 at 〈Q ²〉 = 0.109 GeV/c^2 , both consistent with zero, providing stringent new limits on the role of strange quarks in the vector structure of the nucleon.     

Theoretical investigations of rotational phenomena and dielectric properties in a nematic liquid crystal

The molecular dynamics (MD) simulation, based on a realistic atom-atom interaction potential, was performed on 4-n-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) in the nematic phase. The rotational viscosity coefficients (RVCs) γ _i, (i = 1, 2) and the ratio of the RVCs λ = - γ ₂/γ ₁ were investigated. Furthermore, static and frequency-dependent dielectric constants and ε were calculated using parameters obtained from the MD simulation. Time correlation functions were computed and used to determine the rotational diffusion coefficient, D _⊥. The RVCs and λ were evaluated using the existing statistical-mechanical approach (SMA), based on a rotational diffusion model. The SMA rests on a model in which it is assumed that the reorientation of an individual molecule is a stochastic Brownian motion in a certain potential of mean torque. According to the SMA, γ _i are dependent on the orientational order and rotational diffusion coefficients. The former was characterized using: i) orientational distribution function (ODF), and ii) a set of order parameters, both derived from analyses of the MD trajectory. A reasonable agreement between the calculated and experimental values of γ _i and λ was obtained. Received 22 March 2000 and Received in final form 8 October 2000     

Temperature scaling of ferroelectric hysteresis in hard lead zirconate titanate bulk ceramic

The temperature scaling of the ferroelectric hysteresis was investigated in hard lead zirconate titanate (PZT) bulk ceramic. The power-law temperature scaling relations were obtained for hystersis area 〈A〉, remnant polarization P_r, and coercivity E_C in the forms of 〈A〉∝T^-0.9650, P_r∝T^-0.0261, and E_C∝T^-0.8823, respectively, which are mostly comparable to those of its soft counterpart. The observation that P_r decayed more slowly with temperature than in soft PZT was attributed to the presence of the complex defects in hard PZT. However, the product of P_r and E_C still provided the similar scaling law on the T dependence in comparison with 〈A〉. PACS 77.80.-e; 77.80.Fm; 77.84.-s; 77.84.Dy     

Smoothening transition of a two-dimensional pressurized polymer ring

We revisit the problem of a two-dimensional polymer ring subject to an inflating pressure differential. The ring is modeled as a freely jointed closed chain of N monomers. Using a Flory argument, mean-field calculation and Monte Carlo simulations, we show that at a critical pressure, p_c ∼ N^-1, the ring undergoes a second-order phase transition from a crumpled, random-walk state, where its mean area scales as 〈A〉 ∼ N, to a smooth state with 〈A〉 ∼ N². The transition belongs to the mean-field universality class. At the critical point a new state of polymer statistics is found, in which 〈A〉 ∼ N^3/2. For p ≫ p_c we use a transfer-matrix calculation to derive exact expressions for the properties of the smooth state.     

Lattice mechanical properties of noble and transition metals

A model pseudopotential depending on an effective core radius but otherwise parameter free is used to study the interatomic interactions, phonon dispersion curves (inq and r-space analysis), phonon density of states, mode Grüneisen parameters, dynamical elastic constants (C ₁₁,C ₁₂ andC ₄₄), bulk modulus (B), shear modulus (C′), deviation from Cauchy relation (C ₁₂–C ₄₄), Poisson’s ratio (σ), Young’s modulus (Y), behavior of phonon frequencies in the elastic limit independent of the direction (Y ₁), limiting value in the [110] direction (Y ₂), degree of elastic anisotropy (A), maximum frequencyω _max, mean frequency 〈ω〉, 〈ω ²〉^1/2=(〈ω〉/〈ω ⁻¹〉)^1/2, fundamental frequency 〈ω ²〉, and propagation velocities of the elastic constants in Cu, Ag, Au, Ni, Pd, and Pt. The contribution of s-like electrons is calculated in the second-order perturbation theory for the model potential while that of d-like electrons is taken into account by introducing repulsive short-range Born-Mayer like term. Very recently proposed screening function due to Sarkar et al. has been used to obtain the screened form factor. The theoretical results are compared with experimental findings wherever possible. A good agreement between theoretical investigations and experimental findings has proved the ability of our model potential for predicting a large number of physical properties of transition metals.     

Polarization of leading Λ hyperons produced by neutrons on target nuclei

The polarization of the leading Λ hyperons produced on carbon and lead target nuclei by 4–10 GeV neutrons in the angle range Θ<8.5° with respect to the beam and with only neutral-particle accompaniment is measured: 〈Π〉=−0.096±0.018 for C and 〈Π〉=− 0.128±0.047 for Pb. The dependence of the polarization on the transverse momentum and the Feynman variable is measured. The normalized invariant cross section as a function of p _⊥ ² is found to be approximated by the function A exp(−Bp _⊥ ² ), where the parameter B is independent of the kind of nucleus (B=8.71±0.09 (GeV/c)⁻² for carbon and B=8.83±0.18 (GeV/c)⁻² for lead). Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 4, 237–240 (25 August 1996)     

Influence of pressure on the electric-field-induced phase transitions in liquid crystals

Within the framework of Landau-de-Gennes formulation, we analyse the effect of pressure on electric-field-induced phase transitions in a liquid crystal which shows spontaneously an isotropic-smectic A transition. Inferring from the experimental pressure dependences on the layer spacing in smectic A phase, as well as the nematic-smectic A metastable temperature T^*_AN, we incorporated the pressure dependence in the free energy through (the surface energy term) and the coupling between the quadrupolar nematic ordering Q_ij and the smectic order parameter ψ. From the S-T phase diagram, we found that the stability of field-induced nematic phase increases with pressure, whereas the discontinuity of the transition decreases. Also, the region where paranematic phase transits directly to smectic A phase increases with pressure.     

Annihilation of nematic point defects: Pre-collision and post-collision evolution

The annihilation of the nematic hedgehog and anti-hedgehog within an infinite cylinder of radius R is studied. The semi-microscopic lattice-type model and Brownian molecular dynamics are used. We distinguish among the i) early pre-collision, ii) late pre-collision, iii) early post-collision, and iv) late post-collision stages. In the pre-collision stage our results agree qualitatively with the existing experimental observations and also continuum-type simulations. The core of each defect exhibits a ring-like structure, where the ring axis is set perpendicular to the cylinder symmetry axis. For ξ⁽⁰⁾_d/(2R) > 1 the interaction between defects is negligible, where ξ⁽⁰⁾_d describes the initial separation of defects. Consequently, the defects annihilate within the simulation time window for ξ⁽⁰⁾_d/(2R) < 1. For close enough defects their separation scales as ξ_d (t_c - t)^0.4±0.1, where t_c stands for the collision time. In elastically anisotropic medium the hedgehog is faster than the anti-hedgehog. In the early pre-collision stage the defects can be treated as point-like particles, possessing inherent core structure, that interact via the nematic director field. In the late pre-collision stage the cores reflect the interaction between defects. After the collision a charge-less ring structure is first formed. In the early post-collision stage the ring adopts an essentially untwisted circular structure of the radius ξ_r. In the late post-collision stage we observe two qualitatively different scenarios. For μ = ξ_r/R < μ_c ∼ 0.25 the ring collapses leading to the escaped radial equilibrium structure. For μ > μ_c the chargeless ring triggers the nucleation growth into the planar polar structure with line defects.     

Influence of the nematic order on the rheology and conformation of stretched comb-like liquid crystalline polymers

We have studied the rheology and the conformation of stretched comb-like liquid-crystalline polymers. Both the influence of the comb-like structure and the specific effect of the nematic interaction on the dynamics are investigated. For this purpose, two isomers of a comb-like polymetacrylate polymer, of well-defined molecular weights, were synthesized: one displays a nematic phase over a wide range of temperature, the other one has only an isotropic phase. Even with high degrees of polymerization N, between 40 and 1000, the polymer chains studied were not entangled. The stress-strain curves during the stretching and relaxation processes show differences between the isotropic and nematic comb-like polymers. They suggest that, in the nematic phase, the chain dynamics is more cooperative than for a usual linear polymer. Small-angle neutron scattering has been used in order to determine the evolution of the chain conformation after stretching, as a function of the duration of relaxation t _r. The conformation can be described with two parameters only: , the global deformation of the polymer chain, and p, the number of statistical units of locally relaxed sub-chains. For the comb-like polymer, the chain deformation is pseudo-affine: is always smaller than (the deformation ratio of the whole sample). In the isotropic phase, has a constant value, while pincreases as tr. This latter behavior is not that expected for non-entangled chains, in which p varies as t _r ^1/2 (Rouse model). In the nematic phase, decreases as a stretched exponential function of t _r, while p remains constant. The dynamics of the comb-like polymers is discussed in terms of living clusters from which junctions are produced by interactions between side chains. The nematic interaction increases the lifetime of these junctions and, strikingly, the relaxation is the same at all scales of the whole polymer chain. Received 5 May 1999 and Received in final form 18 October 1999     

Ground state structure of some double-λ hypernuclei by a three-body model using a simple coordinate space approach

New experimental data on the binding energyB _λλ of_λλ6He, reported very recently, come up with the valuesB _λλ = 725 ±0.14 MeV and ΔB_λλ = 101 ±0.2 MeV which are substantially lower than the old dataB _λλ = 109 ±0.8 MeV and ΔB_λλ = 4.7±10 MeV in use in literature since 1966. In view of the new data we decided to undertake a re-study of the _λλ ⁶ He hypernucleus using the same three-body model (α-λ-λ) with a simple coordinate space variational approach which was employed earlier with the old data on_λλ/6He. After fitting different λ-λ potentials to the new data of _λλ ⁶ He we have applied our method to study some double-λ hypernuclei in light, medium and heavy mass regions and have determined the structural quantities like Bλλ, the r.m.s. values of core-λ (〈r_core-λ〉〉) and λ-λ (〈r_λ-λ〉〉) distances theoretically. The core-λ interaction considered is of Woods-Saxon type. The strength and the range of the core-A potential have been adjusted to reproduce the λ-binding energy(B _λ) . These are in good agreement with the relativistic mean field (RMF) results. Our study shows that the λ-λ bonding energy ΔB_λλ decreases with increasing mass number from _λλ ¹⁰ Be to _λλ ²¹⁰ Pb of a double-A hypernucleus     

Classical limit of relativistic quantal system with attractive Coulomb interaction

Using the appropriate harmonic oscillator states and reasonable approximations, we construct coherent wavepackets corresponding to the solutions of the Klein-Gordon equation for the attractive potentialV(r)=−k/r, k>0, in two and three space dimensions. We deduce the corresponding classical limit in two dimension by requiring that the expectation value 〈r〉 of the radial variable is large. In the case of three dimensions, besides the condition of large 〈r〉, we make the uncertainty Δr=[〈r ²〉 − 〈r〉²]^1/2 a minimum with respect to certain parameter of the wavepacket. We then investigate the trajectory traversed by the wavepacket in the classical limit. We find that the classical limit of this relativistic quantal problem gives, in the leading order, the same expression for the rate of motion of the perihelion as that given by the solution of the corresponding special relativistic classical dynamical problem. We also briefly discuss some of the subtle aspects of the classical limit of the relativistic quantal system, in general.     

Dielectric and orientational properties of nematogenic 4-<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-octyl(4′-cyanophenyl)benzoate

Experimental studies of the dielectric properties in the nematic and isotropic phases of 4-cyanophenyl-4′-n-octylbenzoate (8CPB) have been performed in the frequency range from 50 kHz to 100 MHz. The relaxation process related to the rotation around the short molecular axis has been analysed. The results obtained have revealed that in the vicinity of the I-N phase transition, the molecular subdiffusional rotation process occurs. It is connected with the pretransitional effects which are observed both in the static and dynamic dielectric measurements. On the basis of the temperature dependence of the relaxation time in the nematic and isotropic phases, the orientational order parameter 〈P₂〉 has been determined. The values of 〈P₂〉 obtained in this way have been compared with those evaluated from the measurements of the polarized electronic absorption of the dichroic dye, dissolved as guest probe in the mesogenic host.     

Comparison of the Seltzer Coefficient C 1 to Experimental Data

Experimental Coulomb isotope shifts δE _Coul from K _α transitions, and radius differences δ〈r ²〉 _eμ measured by electron scattering and muonic atom X-rays were used to derive ‘experimental’ coefficients C _1,exp for 54 isotope pairs of 18 elements from Mo to U. A χ²-analysis shows that these experimental coefficients are – on average – 3.5% lower than the theoretical C ₁ values calculated by Seltzer, or more precisely: C _1,exp=0.965(± 0.014)×C ₁. The need for more accurate theoretical calculations is stressed, and consequences of this deviation are discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Overall values of conventional discrepancy indices for crystals with heavy atoms. Part II. Results for monoclinic and orthorhombic crystals when the heavy-atom part alone constitutes the model

Theoretical expressions of 〈y _N〉, 〈|y _N − σ₁ y _P ^c |〉 and 〈|y _N ² −σ ₁ ² (y _P ^c )²|〉 (wherey _N andy _P ^c are the normalized structure amplitudes of the structure and the model respectively) are derived in terms of the heavy atom contributionσ ₁ ² for monoclinic and orthorhombic crystals containing a few (i.e., 1 or 2) heavy atoms of the same kind per asymmetric unit by taking the heavy atom part alone as the model. Results are obtained for both the related and unrelated cases. The local values of 〈y _N〉 and 〈|y _N ⁿ − σ ₁ ⁿ (y _P ^c ) ⁿ |〉, (n=1, 2) calculated from these expressions can be used to calculate the overall values of the conventionalR-indicesR(F) andR(I) for the related and unrelated cases. These overall values could be used to check the correctness of heavy atoms located in the structure. Contribution No. 550     

Jet multiplicity distributions: medium dependence in MLLA

We study the medium dependence of the multiplicity distributions in the modified leading logarithmic approximation. We focus in the enhancement in the number of branchings as the partons travel trough a dense medium created in a heavy-ion collision. We study the effect of a higher number of splittings in some jet observables by introducing the medium as a constant (f _med) in the splitting functions. Having as our ansatz for the quark and gluon jets mean multiplicities 〈n _G 〉=e ^{γ y} and 〈n _Q 〉=r ⁻¹e ^{γ y} , we study in an analytic approach the dependence with the medium (f _med) of the anomalous dimension (γ), the multiplicity ratio (r), and so the mean multiplicities. We also obtain the higher-order moments of the multiplicity distribution, what allows us to study its dispersion.     

Thermal oxidation effect on structural and optical properties of?heavily doped phosphorus polycrystalline silicon films

The study reported in this paper contributes to better understanding the thermal oxidation effect on structural and optical properties of polycrystalline silicon heavily in situ P-LPCVD films. The deposits, doped at levels 3×10¹⁹ and 1.6×10²⁰ cm⁻³, have been elaborated from silane decomposition (400 mTorrs, 605°C) on monosilicon substrate oriented 〈111〉. The thermal oxidation was performed at temperatures: 850°C during 1 hour, 1000, 1050, and 1100°C during 15 minutes. The XRD spectra analysis pointed out significant 〈111〉 texture evolution, while in the case of 〈220〉 and 〈311〉 textures, the intensities are practically invariant (variations fall in the uncertainty intervals). The optical characterizations showed that refractive index and absorption coefficient are very sensitive to the oxidation treatment, mainly when the doping level is not very high. We think that atomic oxygen acts as defects passivating agent leading to carriers’ concentration increasing. Besides, the optical behavior is modeled in visible and near infrared, by a seven-term polynomial function n ²=f(λ ²), with alternate signs, instead of theoretically unlimited terms number from Drude’s model. It has been shown that fitting parameters fall on Gaussian curves like they do in the theoretical model.     

Swelling of two-dimensional polymer rings by trapped particles

The mean area of a two-dimensional Gaussian ring of N monomers is known to diverge when the ring is subject to a critical pressure differential, p _c ∼ N ^-1. In a recent publication (Eur. Phys. J. E 19, 461 (2006)) we have shown that for an inextensible freely jointed ring this divergence turns into a second-order transition from a crumpled state, where the mean area scales as 〈A〉 ∼ N, to a smooth state with 〈A〉 ∼ N ². In the current work we extend these two models to the case where the swelling of the ring is caused by trapped ideal-gas particles. The Gaussian model is solved exactly, and the freely jointed one is treated using a Flory argument, mean-field theory, and Monte Carlo simulations. For a fixed number Q of trapped particles the criticality disappears in both models through an unusual mechanism, arising from the absence of an area constraint. In the Gaussian case the ring swells to such a mean area, 〈A〉 ∼ NQ, that the pressure exerted by the particles is at p _c for any Q. In the freely jointed model the mean area is such that the particle pressure is always higher than p _c, and 〈A〉 consequently follows a single scaling law, 〈A〉 ∼ N ² f (Q/N), for any Q. By contrast, when the particles are in contact with a reservoir of fixed chemical potential, the criticality is retained. Thus, the two ensembles are manifestly inequivalent in these systems. An erratum to this article is available at .