A generation mechanism for discrete very low frequency emissions observed at Varanasi

A new type of discrete VLF emissions recorded at the low-latitude ground station Varanasi (geomag. lat. 14°55′ N, geomag. long. 154°E;L = 1.07) during the strong magnetic activity on 29–30 April 1990 have been reported. A generation mechanism for various temporal and spectral features of discrete VLF emissions recorded at Varanasi is presented on the basis of cyclotron resonance interaction between whistler mode wave and energetic electrons ejected by substorm electric fields. An attempt is also made to determine parallel energy and wave growth relevant to the generation process of discrete VLF emissions. Finally, our results are discussed with other published works     

Observation of signals of VLF radio stations and VLF noise during the solar eclipse on March 29, 2006

Effects of the solar eclipse on March 29, 2006 on signals of VLF radio stations, regular radio-noise intensity in the VLF range 0.3–10 kHz, and the number of atmospherics registered in Yakutsk mainly from the western direction are considered. The full lunar shadow zone consistently shaded the daytime section of the radio-signal propagation path from the western coast of Africa to Altai. A multichannel parallel analyzer-recorder (operating in the frequency range 0.47–8.7 kHz), one-point thunderstorm direction-and-range finder (0.3–100 kHz), narrow-sector radio-noise direction finder (0.3–10 kHz), recorder of VLF radio-station signals, and broadband radio-noise recorder (0.3–100 kHz) were used for observations. Time synchronization of the recorder of VLF radio-station signals was carried out with the help of GPS-clocks. The effect was observed in radio-station signals, radio-noise, and number of atmospherics from a direction of (270 ± 20)°, counted from the north clockwise, in the last stage of the eclipse (∼11–12 UT), when the lunar shadow approached the night terminator and crossed the signal propagation path. The effect was manifested through a ∼20% gain of the received signals, ∼40% increase in the number of atmospherics, and radio-station phase changes. The registered effects are similar to those we observed during the eclipse on March 9, 1997. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 6, pp. 84–87, June, 2007.     

Characteristics of nighttime VLF/ELF emissions with frequency drift and estimation of the large-scale electric field from the frequency drift observed at a low latitude Indian ground station, Jammu

Characteristics of nighttime VLF/ELF emissions are examined on the basis of the data obtained at our low latitude ground station Jammu (geomagnetic latitude, 22°26′ N; L = 1.17), India during our VLF/ELF campaign. From the detailed analysis of a huge amount of acquired VLF/ELF data at Jammu we have found three remarkable events which clearly exhibit a rise in their frequency in pre and past midnight sectors during magnetically quiet and substorm periods. Our analysis shows that the frequency drift in VLF/ELF emissions seems to be a rare phenomenon at low latitudes during magnetically quiet and substorm periods in pre and post midnight sectors. This property of temporal frequency drift (regular frequency increases with time) in VLF/ELF emissions observed at our station Jammu are interpreted in terms of a quasi-linear electron cyclotron instability model for wave excitation. The initial frequency increase is believed to be due to a combind effect of L-shell drift of energetic electrons. Further, the frequency drifts in VLF/ELF emissions observed at Jammu have been used to estimate the large scale electric field during quiet and substorm periods in pre and post midnight sectors. This investigation would be most useful for the study of the wave-particle interaction processes, magnetospheric plasma structure and particle dynamics, especially during quiet periods in premidnight sector at low latitudes.     

Studies on the anomalies in the behaviour of transmitted subionospheric VLF electromagnetic signals and the changes in the fourth Schumann resonance mode as signatures of two pending earthquakes

Some anomalies are observed in the subinospheric VLF electromagnetic (EM) signals at 19.8 kHz transmitted from North West Cape, Australia (lat: 21.82° S; long: 114.16° E) and 40 kHz from Fukushima, Japan (lat: 36.18° N, long: 139.85° E), recorded by VLF receivers near Kolkata (lat: 22.56° N, long: 88.5° E) during the occurrence of the two earthquakes at Andaman Island (lat:14.018° N, long: 92.92° E), India and other at South Coast of Honsu (lat: 34.78° N, long: 138.27° E), Japan. The analyses of these seismo-ionospheric VLF EM anomalies at these two frequencies during some days before and after the occurrence of earthquake on August 11, 2009 will be presented here. VLF-LF transient variations of significant magnitude in the form of spikes are observed few days prior to the day of occurrence of the earthquakes that continued several days more, then decaying gradually and finally ceased. Signals are examined to describe their connectivity with earthquakes. The enhancements of the amplitude and frequency of the fourth mode of Schumann resonance spectra have been detected during the occurrence of the two earthquakes, which will also be reported here.     

The role of spectral components of the head-related transfer functions in evaluation of the virtual sound source motion in the vertical plane

Perception of virtual sound sources moving in the range of elevation from −45° to 45° (at zero azimuth) was studied with participation of listeners aged 57–73. The virtual sound source trajectory was created using nonindividualized head-related transfer functions and artificially synthesized spectral components specific to these functions. The percentage of correct responses in determining the direction of virtual motion depended on the way of imitation by increasing from low to high for the following succession of imitation methods: (i) displacement of the spectral minimum of broadband noise pulses within a frequency band of 5–12 kHz (the minimum retained a constant width of 1 kHz), (ii) variation of the spectral minimum width of noise pulses within 6–12 kHz, (iii) variation of the spectral maximum width within 4–8 kHz, (iv) simultaneous variation of the spectral minimum and maximum widths, (v) displacement of the spectral minimum and simultaneous variation of the spectral maximum width, and (vi) displacement of the spectral minimum and simultaneous variation of the spectral maximum width and power. For the latter stimulus, the mean percentage of correct responses (90 ± 5)% did not differ from the corresponding percentage (94 ± 3)% observed for the stimulus that was synthesized on the basis of nonindividualized head-related transfer functions and used as reference in synthesizing the spectral components.     

Nanocrystalline CaCu<Subscript>3</Subscript>Ti<Subscript>4</Subscript>O<Subscript>12</Subscript> powder by PVA sol–gel route: synthesis,characterization and its giant dielectric constant

Nanocrystalline CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ powders were synthesized by a simple PVA sol–gel route and calcined at 700 and 800°C in air for 8 h. The diameter of the powders ranges from 40–100 nm. The calcined CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ powders were characterized by TG-DTA, XRD, FTIR, SEM, and TEM. Sintering of the powders was conducted in air at 1100°C for 16 h. The XRD results indicated that all sintered samples had a typical perovskite CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ structure although the sintered samples contained some amount of CaTiO₃. SEM of the sintered CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ ceramics showed the average grain sizes of 13–15 μm. The samples exhibit a giant dielectric constant, ε′∼10⁵ at 150 to 200°C with weak temperature dependence below 1 kHz in the sample sintered using the powders calcined at 700°C. The Maxwell–Wagner polarization mechanism is used to explain the high permittivity in these ceramics. It is also found that all sintered samples have the same activation energy of grains, which is ∼0.122 eV.     

Ac-conductivity and dielectric relaxations above glass transition temperature for parylene-C thin films

45% semi-crystalline parylene-C (–H₂C–C₆H₃Cl–CH₂–) _n thin films (5.8 μm) polymers have been investigated by broadband dielectric spectroscopy for temperatures above the glass transition (T _g =90°C). Good insulating properties of parylene-C were obtained until operating temperatures as high as 200°C. Thus, low-frequency conductivities from 10⁻¹⁵ to 10⁻¹² S/cm were obtained for temperatures varying from 90 to 185°C, respectively. This conductivity is at the origin of a significant increase in the dielectric constant at low frequency and at high temperature. As a consequence, Maxwell–Wagner–Sillars (MWS) polarization at the amorphous/crystalline interfaces is put in evidence with activation energy of 1.5 eV. Coupled TGA (Thermogravimetric analysis) and DTA (differential thermal analysis) revealed that the material is stable up to 400°C. This is particularly interesting to integrate this material for new applications as organic field effect transistors (OFETs). Electric conductivity measured at temperatures up to 200°C obeys to the well-known Jonscher law. The plateau observed in the low frequency part of this conductivity is temperature-dependent and follows Arrhenius behavior with activation energy of 0.97 eV (deep traps).     

Some unusual high dispersion whistler triplets recorded at a low L-value (L=1.17)

A detailed analysis of the VLF data collected during January to December, 2003 at the low latitude station Jammu (geomag. lat., 22° 26′ N; L = 1.17) has yielded some unusual VLF events like whistler triplets of very high dispersion D ∼ 70 − 90 sec^1/2. From the dispersion analysis of the whistler triplets, it is found that the individual whistlers of the triplets are one-hop high dispersion ducted whistlers having propagation path along higher and closely spaced L-values (L∼4.0) than the L-value of the recording station. The dispersion and occurrence characteristics of these high dispersion whistlers of the triplets are compared with those of the majority of low dispersion whistlers (D ∼ 30 − 40 sec^1/2) recorded during the same period. Generation and propagation mechanisms are briefly discussed.     

AC conductivity of porous silicon: A fractal and surface transport mechanism?

Summary In this paper we report on the frequency dependence of the AC conductivity of porous silicon in the range 10 Hz-100 kHz. Two types of testing devices have been fabricated on three different series of samples formed electrochemically using as a starting materialptype,n ⁻-type andn ⁺-type silicon substrates. For frequencies less than 20-40 kHz the conductivity is found to follow a sublinear frequency dependence. This behaviour is typical of a carrier transport mechanism determined by an anomalous diffusion process. At higher frequencies we find that surface states influence the transport mechanism. This suggests a double-channel transport mechanism: one related to porous-silicon “volume” properties and the other more connected to the “surface” itself. Paper presented at the III INSEL (Incontro Nazionale sul Silicio Emettiore di Luce) Torino, 12–13 October 1995.     

The principle of the positioning system based on communication satellites

It is a long dream to realize the communication and navigation functionality in a satellite system in the world. This paper introduces how to establish the system, a positioning system based on communication satellites called Chinese Area Positioning System (CAPS). Instead of the typical navigation satellites, the communication satellites are configured firstly to transfer navigation signals from ground stations, and can be used to obtain service of the positioning, velocity and time, and to achieve the function of navigation and positioning. Some key technique issues should be first solved; they include the accuracy position determination and orbit prediction of the communication satellites, the measuring and calculation of transfer time of the signals, the carrier frequency drift in communication satellite signal transfer, how to improve the geometrical configuration of the constellation in the system, and the integration of navigation & communication. Several innovative methods are developed to make the new system have full functions of navigation and communication. Based on the development of crucial techniques and methods, the CAPS demonstration system has been designed and developed. Four communication satellites in the geosynchronous orbit (GEO) located at 87.5°E, 110.5°E, 134°E, 142°E and barometric altimetry are used in the CAPS system. The GEO satellites located at 134°E and 142°E are decommissioned GEO (DGEO) satellites. C-band is used as the navigation band. Dual frequency at C1=4143.15 MHz and C2=3826.02 MHz as well as dual codes with standard code (CA code and precision code (P code)) are adopted. The ground segment consists of five ground stations; the master station is in Lintong, Xi’an. The ground stations take a lot of responsibilities, including monitor and management of the operation of all system components, determination of the satellite position and prediction of the satellite orbit, accomplishment of the virtual atomic clock measurement, transmission and receiving navigation signals to and from each satellite. In the north, the south, the east, the west and the center of Chinese main land, the function of CAPS demonstration system is checked and measured. In cars and on board the system is also checked and measured. The results are as follow: CA-code, horizontal positioning accuracy, 15–25 m (1 σ), vertical, 1–3 m; P-code, horizontal positioning accuracy, 8–10 m (1 σ), vertical, 1–3 m; velocity accuracy, CA-code, 0.13–0.30 m/s, P-code, 0.15–0.17 m/s; time accuracy, CA-code, 160 ns, P-code, 13 ns; determination accuracy of orbit ≤2 m. About 20 million US $ and two years are spent for the development of demonstration. A complete CAPS system is now being established. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10453001), the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2007CB815500), the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2004AA105030), and the Funds of the Chinese Academy of Sciences for Key Topics in Innovation Engineering (Grant No. KGCXI-21)     

Synthesis, crystal structure, thermal and dielectric properties of bis(p-phenylenediammonium) chloride hexachlorobismuthate(III) monohydrate [C6H4(NH3)2]2ClBiCl6.H2O

Synthesis, crystal structure, and dielectric properties of [C₆H₄(NH₃)₂]₂ClBiCl₆.H₂O are reported. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic system with space group P2₁/n. The unit cell dimensions are a = 9.836(5), b = 19.582(5), c = 13.082(5) ?, β = 104.731(5)° with Z = 4. The atomic arrangement can be described by an alternation of organic and inorganic layers. The anionic layer is built up of octahedral of [BiCl₆]^3- arranged in sandwich between the organic layers. The crystal packing is governed by means of the ionic N–H···Cl hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional network. The dielectric properties have been investigated at temperature range from 297 to 410 K at various frequencies (10 Hz–100 kHz). Dielectric studies were performed to confirm results obtained with thermal analysis. The evolution of dielectric constant as a function of temperature and frequency of single crystal has been investigated in order to determine some related parameters.     

Differential AC-chip calorimeter for glass transition measurements in ultra thin polymeric films

A differential AC-chip calorimeter capable to measure the glass transition in nanometer thin films is described. Due to the differential setup pJ/K sensitivity is achieved. Heat capacity can be measured for sample masses below one nanogram even above room temperature as needed for the study of the glass transition in nanometer thin polymeric films. The calorimeter allows for the frequency dependent measurement of complex heat capacity in the frequency range from 1 Hz to 1 kHz. The glass transition in thin films of polystyrene (PS) (100–4 nm) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) (400–10 nm) was determined at well defined experimental time scales. No thickness dependency of the glass transition temperature was observed within the error limits (±3 K) - neither at constant frequency nor for the traces in the activation diagrams (1 Hz–1 kHz).     

Electrophysical properties and the structure of the YBa<Subscript>2</Subscript>Cu<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">y</Emphasis></Subscript> compound thermally restored after low-temperature decomposition

The electrophysical properties and structure of the nonstoichiometric high-temperature superconductor YBa₂Cu₃O _y restored at T = 930–950°C after low-temperature decomposition (T = 200°C) into phases different in the oxygen content have been studied. It has been shown that, unlike heat treatments at T ≤ 900°C, the superconducting properties are almost completely restored for 3–5 h during grain recrystallization, which is impossible at lower temperatures. After short-term annealing at T = 930–950°C (for 1–2 h), the ceramic material still contains a significant number of structural defects, most likely, in cation sublattices. These defects can contribute to the pinning of magnetic vortices, which substantially increases the critical current density in magnetic fields up to 2 T as compared to ceramic materials produced by the conventional technology.     

Resonance method of measuring shear viscoelastic properties of liquid media based on excitation of torsional oscillations in tubes

Possibilities of using torsional oscillations for measuring viscoelastic properties of liquids are discussed. The theory of torsional oscillations of an elastic tube filled with the media to be investigated possessing viscosity and shear elasticity is developed. It is shown that to determine a complex shear modulus it is sufficient to determine the resonance frequency and Q-factor of torsional oscillations. An experimental installation and the results of measurements of viscoelastic modulus of glycerin and oil of one oilfield within the temperature range from −10° to 60°C are given. The experimental installation allows measuring a viscoelastic modulus within the range of acoustic logging frequencies (10–20 kHz). The obtained results are compared with the results of rheometric measurements.     

Amplitude scintillations of ATS-6 radio beacon signals within the equatorial electrojet region (Ootacamund,dip 4° N)

The recordings of the amplitudes of radio beacon signals on 40, 140 and 360 MHz from ATS-6 (at 34° E longitude) recorded at Ootacamund, India (11.43° N, 76.70°E, dip 4°N, elevation angle 41°) have revealed largest occurrence of scintillations for about 60% of cases around 2200 hr during the nighttime, and two secondary peaks (25% of cases) around 0900 hr and 1400 hr during the daytime. During the daytime, the scintillation decreases approximately as the inverse of the frequency for higher frequencies while for lower frequencies the law is valid till scintillation index at 40 MHz does not exceed 0.9. The temporal variation of daytime scintillation shows impulsive character, the duration of activity lasts for 1–2 hours at a time. During the nighttime, the scintillation decreases inversely with frequency for weak and moderate scintillation activity. The scintillation index at 360 MHz becomes independent of that at 140 MHz when the index at 140 MHz exceeds 0.85. For the set of frequencies 40–140 MHz, on some occasions scintillation index at 40 MHz is seen to be less than that at 140 MHz. The nighttime scintillations are in general stronger and remain so for extended length of time. The daytime scintillations are suggested to be due to blanketing or some other non-q type of sporadicE layer. The nighttime scintillations are most probably due to spreadF condition and the abnormal frequency variation of the scintillations may be due to multiple scattering layer during periods of intense spreadF.     

Relaxation and shift of the precession frequency of the spin of a negative muon in n-type silicon

The residual polarization of negative muons in n-type silicon with impurity density (1.6±0.2) · 10¹³ cm⁻³ is investigated as a function of temperature in the range 10–300 K. The measurements are performed in an external magnetic field of 0.08 T oriented transversely to the spin of the muons. Relaxation of the muon spin and a shift of the precession frequency are observed at temperatures below 30 K. The relaxation rate at 30 K equals 0.25±0.08 μs⁻¹. The shift of the precession frequency at 20 K equals 7 · 10⁻³. Both the relaxation rate and the shift of the precession frequency increase as the temperature decreases. At temperatures below 30 K the relaxation rate is described well by the relation Λ=bT ^−q , where q=2.8±0.2. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 63, No. 7, 539–543 (10 April 1996)     

High-power mid-infrared tunable optical parametric oscillator based on 3-mm-thick PPMgCLN

The experimental results of a high-power tunable mid-IR laser are presented. The optical parametric oscillator (OPO) with a 3-mm-thick PPMgCLN crystal was pumped by a 1.064 μm pulse laser. When the pump power of the 1.064 μm laser was 151 W at 10 kHz, and the operating temperature of the PPMgCLN with 5% MgO doping was 100°C, average output power of 23.7 W at 3.91 μm was obtained with a slope efficiency of 18.2% for the idler resonant OPO. The variation of the 3.91 μm output power was about ±4% in 10 min continuous operation. The beam quality factor M ² was less than 2.6. The average output power of 27.4 W at 3.91 μm was also obtained with 151 W pump power and the slope efficiency of 20.9% for the signal resonant OPO by changing the coating parameters of the OPO cavity mirrors. The mid-IR wavelength tunability of 3.7–4.0 μm can be achieved by adjusting the temperature of a 29 μm period PPMgCLN crystal from 200 to 30°C.     

AlGaInP visible quantum well lasers for information technology

650 nm-range AlGaInP multi-quantum well (MQW) laser diodes grown by low pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition (LP-MOCVD) have been studied and the results are presented in this paper. Threshold current density of broad area contact laser diodes can be as low as 350 A/cm². Laser diodes with buried-ridge strip waveguide structures were made, threshold currents and differential efficiencies are (22–40) mA and (0.2–0.7) mW/mA, respectively. Typical output power for the laser diodes is 5 mW, maximum output power of 15 mW has been obtained. Their operation temperature can be up to 90°C under power of 5 mW. After operating under 90°C and 5 mW for 72 hrs, the average increments for the threshold currents of the lasers at 25°C and the operation currents at 5 mW (at 25°C) are (2–3) mA and (3–5) mA, respectively. Reliability tests showed that no obvious degradation was observed after 1400 hours of CW operation under 50°C and 2.5 mW. Presented at the 1st Czech-Chinese Workshop “Advanced Materials for Optoelectronics”, Prague, Czech Republic, June 13–17, 1998.     

Internal friction in directed-crystallization (Cu-Sn)-Nb alloys

The distinctive features of the low-frequency internal friction Q ⁻¹(T) of (Cu-Sn)-Nb composites at high temperatures (up to 400°C) are investigated for strains in the range 10⁻⁵–10⁻⁴. Considerable hysteresis of Q ⁻¹(T) in the heating-cooling cycle is recorded, including the presence of a minimum at ∼175°C when the sample is heated to 400°C and two peaks P ₂ (at 280°C) and P ₁ (at ∼100°C) when the sample is cooled from 400°C. The activation energy of the anomalous internal friction background (up to 175°C), the oxygen diffusion parameters, and the oxygen concentration in the niobium fibers (all of which govern the peak P ₂) are calculated, and the value and temperature dependence of the yield point of the bronze matrix (which govern the peak P ₁) are estimated. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 68, 114–117 (November 1998)     

Experimental measurement of effective atomic number of composite materials for Compton effect in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">γ</Emphasis>-ray region 280–1115 keV by a new method

In this paper, we report a new method to determine the effective atomic number, Z _eff, of composite materials for Compton effect in the γ-ray region 280–1115 keV based on the theoretically obtained Klein–Nishina scattering cross-sections in the angular range 50°–100° as well as a method to experimentally measure differential incoherent (Compton) scattering cross-sections in this angular range. The method was employed to evaluate Z _eff for different inorganic compounds containing elements in the range Z = 1–56, at three scattering angles 60°, 80° and 100° at three incident gamma energies 279.1 keV, 661.6 keV and 1115.5 keV and we have verified this method to be an appropriate method. Interestingly, the Z _eff values so obtained for the inorganic compounds were found to be equal to the total number of electrons present in the sample as given by the atomic number of the elements constituting the sample in accordance with the chemical formula of the sample. This was the case at all the three energies.