Atomic coherent states studied by virtue of the EPR entangled state and their Wigner functions

Based on the newly constructed Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen (EPR) entangled state representation we introduce macroscopic classical functions associated with atomic coherent state τ with angular momentum value j. These functions are proportional to the ordinary one-variable Hermite polynomials of order 2j. The corresponding Wigner quasiprobability function for τ in phase space is also derived which turns out to be a two-variable Hermite polynomial H _{2j, 2j}. In so doing, a new classical-quantum correspondence scheme for angular momentum system is established. Received 7 August 2002 / Received in final form 14 December 2002 Published online 24 April 2003 RID="a" ID="a"Work supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant 10175057. RID="b" ID="b"e-mail: fhym@sjtu.edu.en     

First observation of the ν9/2[404] orbital in the A ∼ 100 mass region

A new band, populated by the spontaneous fission of ²⁴⁸Cm and studied by means of prompt γ-ray spectroscopy using the EUROGAM2 array, was observed in ⁹⁹Zr. The 1038.8 keV band head with a half-life T _1/2 = 54(10) ns is interpreted as a K-isomer, corresponding to the 9/2[404] neutron-hole excitation. It is the first observation of this orbital in the mass A ∼ 100 region. The quadrupole moment, Q ₀ = 3.9(3) eb deduced for the new band indicates a large deformation of β = 0.41, which is produced by a specific shape-coexistence mechanism, known in other regions and now found in the A ∼ 100 nuclei. Received: 11 September 2002 / Accepted: 31 October 2002 / Published online: 17 January 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: urban@fuw.edu.pl Communicated by D. Schwalm     

Nuclear spins, magnetic moments and α-decay spectroscopy of long-lived isomeric states in 185Pb

Alpha-decay properties of the neutron-deficient isotope ¹⁸⁵Pb were studied at the PSB-ISOLDE (CERN) on-line mass separator using the resonance ionisation laser ion source (RILIS). The nuclei of interest were produced in a 1.4 GeV proton-induced spallation reaction of a uranium graphite target. In contrast to previous studies, two α-decaying isomeric states were identified in ¹⁸⁵Pb. The relative production of the isomers, monitored by their α-counting rates, could be significantly changed when a narrow-bandwidth laser at the RILIS setup was used to scan through the atomic hyperfine structure. Based on the atomic hyperfine structure measurements, along with the systematics for heavier odd-mass lead isotopes, the spin and the parity of these states were interpreted as 3/2^- and 13/2⁺ and their nuclear magnetic moments were deduced. The α-decay energy and half-life value for the I ^π = 13/2⁺ isomer are E _α = 6408(5) keV, T _1/2 = 4.3(2) s, respectively; while for the I ^π = 3/2^- isomer ( T _1/2 = 6.3(4) s) two α-decays with E _α1 = 6288(5) keV, I _α1 = 56(2)% and E _α2 = 6486(5) keV, I _α2 = 44(2)% were observed. By observing prompt α-γ coincidences new information on the low-lying states in the daughter isotope ¹⁸¹Hg was obtained. Received: 7 February 2002 / Accepted: 19 February 2002     

Radioactive decay of 217Pa

The radioactive decay of ²¹⁷Pa was investigated by means of α-γ-spectroscopy. Fine structure in the ground-state α-decay was established. Ambiguities in the fine structure of the α-decay of the previously known isomeric state could be clarified by α-γ-coincidence measurements. A previously unknown α-transition of E _α = (8306 ± 5) keV was detected and identified by means of delayed α-α- and α-γ-γ-coincidence measurements. A second isomeric state decaying by α-emission was not observed. The quality of the previously reported data of the α-decay fine structure of ²¹⁷Th was improved. Received: 29 April 2002 / Accepted: 17 June 2002 / Published online: 19 November 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: f.p.hessberger@gsi.de Communicated by J. ?yst?     

Universality in diffusion front growth dynamics

We have studied the scaling properties of diffusion fronts by numerical calculations based on the mean field approach in the context of a lattice gas model, performed in a triangular lattice. We find that the height-height correlation function scales with time t and length l as C(l, t) ≈l ^α f (t/l ^α/β) with α = 0.62±0.01 and β = 0.39±0.02. These exponent values are identical to those characterising the roughness of the diffusion fronts evolving through a square lattice [1,2], thus confirming their universality. Received 14 November 2001 / Received in final form 20 April 2002 Published online 31 July 2002     

Preparation, magnetoresistance and magnetocaloric effect of two-layered perovskite La 2.5- x K 0.5+ x Mn 2 O 7+δ

Polycrystalline two-layered perovskite La_2.5-xK_0.5+xMn₂O _{7 + δ} (0 < x < 0.5) samples have been prepared by a modified sol-gel method and their magnetoresistance and magnetocaloric effects have been studied. A large deviation between the metal-insulator (MI) transition temperature (T _ρ ) and the magnetic transition temperature (T_C) is observed. Large magnetoresistance (MR) effects with Δρ/ρ of ∼40% at 12 kOe are obtained in wide temperature ranges. The maximum of the magnetic entropy change peaks at its Curie temperature (T_C), far above its MI transition temperature (T _ρ ). The large magnetic entropy change (∼1.4 J/kg.K) is obtained in the sample La_2.5-xK_0.5+xMn₂O _{7 + δ} (x = 0.35) upon 10 kOe applied magnetic field. Received 2 May 2002 / Received in final form 1st October 2002 Published online 19 December 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: wzhong@ufp.nju.edu.cn     

Phase transition and random-field induced domain wall response of SrTi O 3

The dielectric permittivity ε^′ - i of SrTi ¹⁸O ₃ (STO18) is studied under a dc electric field E as a function of the temperature, T. In ε^′ vs. T, a double-peak is found when 0 < E < 30 KV/m. While the peak at high-T is attributed to the smeared ferroelectric phase transition, the low-T one is induced by domain wall motion. The transverse Ising model including an external homogeneous and quenched random-fields is successfully used to describe both the smeared phase transition and the domain wall response in the low-T domain state. The calculations are in good agreement with the experimental results. Received 4 January 2002 / Received in final form 25 March 2002 Published online 19 July 2002     

Deviations from perfect memory in spin glass temperature cycling experiments

We study the deviations from perfect memory in negative temperature cycle spin glass experiments. It is known that the a.c. susceptibility after the temperature is raised back to its initial value is superimposed to the reference isothermal curve for large enough temperature jumps ΔT (perfect memory). For smaller ΔT, the deviation from this perfect memory has a striking non monotonous behavior: the `memory anomaly' is negative for small ΔT's, becomes positive for intermediate ΔT's, before vanishing for still larger ΔT's. We show that this interesting behavior can be reproduced by simple Random Energy trap models. We discuss an alternative interpretation in terms of droplets and temperature chaos. Received 23 May 2002 Published online 14 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: sasaki@ipno.in2p3.fr     

Fine structure in the α-decay of radium isotopes with mass numbers 209-212

Radium isotopes with mass numbers from 209 to 212 have been produced by heavy-ion fusion reactions ²⁰⁴Pb( ¹²C, xn) ^216-Ra. Radioactive decay properties were investigated by means of α- and α-γ-spectroscopy after in-flight separation of the evaporation residues from the projectile beam by the velocity filter SHIP and implantation into a 16-strip position-sensitive Si detector. For the even-even nuclei ^210,212Ra we identified α transitions into the first-excited 2⁺-state of the daughter nuclei ^206,208Rn. Weak α transitions into excited levels of the odd-A daughter nuclei ^205,207Rn were also observed. Received: 19 August 2002 / Accepted: 6 November 2002 / Published online: 18 February 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: f.p.hessberger@gsi.de Communicated by D. Guerreau     

High-spin states in <Superscript>36</Superscript>Ar and their underlying shell model configurations

Eight high-spin states in ³⁶Ar below 10MeV excitation energy, among them a prospective J ^π = 8^- state at 9408keV and the J? 8 levels of the recently discovered superdeformed rotational band, have been observed by n-γ coincidence measurements with the ³³S(α, nγ) reaction at E _α = 14.4 and 13.4MeV. High-spin assignments of, respectively, J ^π = 6⁺ and 5^- were obtained for the E _p = 1209 and 1462keV (E _x = 9682 and 9927keV) resonances of the ³⁵Cl (p,γ) reaction by a measurement of γ-ray angular distributions. The spectrum of the high-spin and of the E _x? 7.4MeV levels is decomposed according to the underlying shell model configurations with n = 0, 1, 2, 4 particles excited from the N = 2 into the N = 3 major shell. The role of four-particle excitations, all connected with large prolate distortions, is elucidated for the entire A = 36-40 mass region. Received: 21 December 2001 / Accepted: 25 March 2002     

Random quantum magnets with broad disorder distribution

We study the critical behavior of Ising quantum magnets with broadly distributed random couplings (J), such that P(ln J) ∼ | ln J|^{-1 - α}, α > 1, for large | ln J| (Lévy flight statistics). For sufficiently broad distributions, α < , the critical behavior is controlled by a line of fixed points, where the critical exponents vary with the Lévy index, α. In one dimension, with = 2, we obtained several exact results through a mapping to surviving Riemann walks. In two dimensions the varying critical exponents have been calculated by a numerical implementation of the Ma-Dasgupta-Hu renormalization group method leading to ≈ 4.5. Thus in the region 2 < α < , where the central limit theorem holds for | ln J| the broadness of the distribution is relevant for the 2d quantum Ising model. Received 6 December 2000 and Received in final form 22 January 2001     

Spin glass and ferromagnetism in Kondo lattice compounds

The Kondo lattice model has been analyzed in the presence of a random inter-site interaction among localized spins with non zero mean J₀ and standard deviation J. Following the same framework previously introduced by us, the problem is formulated in the path integral formalism where the spin operators are expressed as bilinear combinations of Grassmann fields. The static approximation and the replica symmetry ansatz have allowed us to solve the problem at a mean field level. The resulting phase diagram displays several phase transitions among a ferromagnetically ordered region,a spin glass one, a mixed phase and a Kondo state depending on J₀, J and its relation with the Kondo interaction coupling J_K. These results could be used to address part of the experimental data for the CeNi _{1 - x} Cu _x compound, when x ⩽ 0.8. Received 24 June 2002 Published online 31 December 2002     

Two-dimensional t-J model at moderate doping

Using the method which retains the rotation symmetry of spin components in the paramagnetic state and has no preset magnetic ordering, spectral and magnetic properties of the two-dimensional t-J model in the normal state are investigated for the ranges of hole concentrations 0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.16 and temperatures 0.01t ⩽ T ⩽ 0.2t. The used hopping t and exchange J parameters of the model correspond to hole-doped cuprates. The obtained solutions are homogeneous which indicates that stripes and other types of phase separation are not connected with the strong electron correlations described by the model. A series of nearly equidistant maxima in the hole spectral function calculated for low T and x is connected with hole vibrations in the region of the perturbed short-range antiferromagnetic order. The hole spectrum has a pseudogap in the vicinity of (0,π) and (π, 0). For x ≈ 0.05 the shape of the hole Fermi surface is transformed from four small ellipses around (±π/2,±π/2) to two large rhombuses centered at (0, 0) and (π,π). The calculated temperature and concentration dependencies of the spin correlation length and the magnetic susceptibility are close to those observed in cuprate perovskites. These results offer explanations for the observed scaling of the static uniform susceptibility and for the changes in the spin-lattice relaxation and spin-echo decay rates in terms of the temperature and doping variations in the spin excitation spectrum of the model. Received 14 November 2002 Published online 1st April 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: alexei@fi.tartu.ee     

Narrow α + <Superscript>28</Superscript>Si elastic-scattering states at high excitation in <Superscript>32</Superscript>S

The excitation function and angular distributions of elastic α-particle scattering on ²⁸Si have been measured in the laboratory energy range 6-28 MeV using a backscattering technique on a thick target, yielding a continuous energy distribution. More than 200 narrow states are observed, with widths in the range ∼ 30-100 keV at excitation energies E ^* = 13-32 MeV. Angular distributions at backward angles were measured, and angular momentum values of more than 83 states have been deduced. The analysis gives spin-parities J ^π, α-partial widths Γ_α and reduced widths of the narrow high-lying resonant states in ³²S. The experimentally observed states display both the negative- and the positive-parity rotational-like sequences with seemingly no parity splitting, a finding which is at variance with most potential-model predictions. The deduced effective moment of inertia indicates a more extended structure than the ground-state configuration. The observed strength of each ℓ-value is analyzed in terms of an underlying split doorway state of Lorentzian form, which yields an interpretation as fragmented rotational α + ²⁸Si states. Received: 26 June 2000 / Accepted: 16 September 2002 / Published online: 4 February 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: kkallman@abo.fi RID="b" ID="b"Present address: Swedish Polytechnic, FIN-65200 Vasa, Finland. Communicated by D. Guerreau     

Zeroth and second laws of thermodynamics simultaneously questioned in the quantum microworld

A new and rather trivial model is suggested with mechanism that implies simultaneous violation of the zeroth and the second laws of thermodynamics. Mathematically rigorous quantum theory reduces to a trivial application of the Golden rule formula. It yields exciton on-energy-shell diffusion caused by bath-nonassisted excitation hopping between tails of different exciton site levels ε₁ < ε₂ broadened by bath-assisted finite life-time effects. The elastic character of the hopping implies 1 ↔ 2-symmetric transfer rate W. Thus the net diffusion exciton flow W(P ₁ - P ₂) and also, as argued, the net energy flow are possible due to different near-to-equilibrium exciton populations P ₁ > P ₂. As the sites are provided with two different baths, the population imbalance and the flows survive even for slightly different local bath temperatures T ₁ < T ₂ < T ₁ε₂/ε₁. Thus spontaneous exciton and also energy flows against temperature step become possible, in contradiction with the Clausius form of the second law. Violations of both the laws disappear in the high-temperature, i.e. classical limit Received 16 May 2001 and Received in final form 20 September 2001     

Spectral determinant on graphs with generalized boundary conditions

The spectral determinant of the Schr?dinger operator ( - Δ + V(x)) on a graph is computed for general boundary conditions. (Δ is the Laplacian and V(x) is some potential defined on the graph). Applications to restricted random walks on graphs are discussed. Received 9 July 2001     

Stretched exponential relaxation in the Coulomb glass

The relaxation of the specific heat and the entropy to their equilibrium values is investigated numerically for the three-dimensional Coulomb glass at very low temperatures. The long time relaxation follows a stretched exponential function, f (t) = f ₀exp - (t/τ)^β , with the exponent β increasing with the temperature. The relaxation time diverges as an Arrhenius law when T→ 0. Received 24 May 2001 and Received in final form 12 September 2001     

Effective nonlinear optical properties of shape distributed composite media

The effective linear and nonlinear optical properties of metal/dielectric composite media, in which ellipsoidal metal inclusions are distributed in shape, are investigated. The shape distribution function P(L _x, L _y) is assumed to be 2Δ^-2θ(L _x - 1/3 + Δ/3)θ(L _y - 1/3 + Δ/3)θ(2/3 + Δ/3 - L _x - L _y), where θ( ^{. . .} ) is the Heaviside function, Δ is the shape variance and L_i are the depolarization factors of the ellipsoidal inclusions along i-symmetric axes (i = x, y). Within the spectral representation, we adopt Maxwell-Garnett type approximation to study the effect of shape variance Δ on the effective nonlinear optical properties. Numerical results show that both the effective linear optical absorption α ∼ ωIm() and the modulus of the effective third-order optical nonlinearity enhancement |χ⁽³⁾ _e|/χ⁽³⁾ ₁ exhibit the nonmonotonic behavior with Δ. Moreover, with increasing Δ, the optical absorption and the nonlinearity enhancement bands become broad, accompanied with the decrease of their peaks. The adjustment of Δ from 0 to 1 allows us to examine the crossover behavior from no separation to large separation between optical absorption and nonlinearity enhancement peaks. As Δ → 0, i.e., the ellipsoidal shape deviates slightly from the spherical one, the dependence of |χ⁽³⁾ _e|/χ⁽³⁾ ₁ on Δ becomes strong first and then weak with increasing the imaginary part of inclusions' dielectric constant. In the dilute limit, the exact formula for the effective optical nonlinearity is derived, and the present approximation characterizes the exact results better than old mean field one does. Received 10 December 2002 Published online 4 June 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: lgaophys@pub.sz.jsinfo.net     

Nonlinear dielectric response of antiferroelectric liquid crystals in the smectic Cα * phase

Nonlinear dielectric response of antiferroelectric liquid crystals has been studied in the smectic C_α* (SmC_α*) phase. The linear dielectric spectrum shows a single relaxation of Debye type and its relaxation frequency is as high as one hundred kHz. The profile of the third-order nonlinear dielectric spectrum varies in complex fashion with temperature. In the vicinity of the SmA-SmC_α* phase transition, experimentally obtained nonlinear spectra are well described by those calculated with phenomenological theory of Landau type. The soft mode of the SmC_α* phase shows critical slowing-down near the transition temperature. In the lower-temperature region of the SmC_α* phase, the contribution from the soft mode of the SmC_α* phase reduces and the other relaxation mode with Debye-type spectrum appears at several hundred Hz in the nonlinear spectrum. The appearance of this low-frequency mode suggests that the cooperative fluctuation of directors over long range exists in the SmC_α* phase. Received 19 April 2002 and Received in final form 23 July 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: kimura@exp.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp     

Frequency-dependent fluctuational conductivity above in anisotropic superconductors: effects of a short wavelength cutoff

We discuss the excess conductivity at nonzero frequencies in a superconductor above T_c within the Gaussian approximation. We focus the attention on the temperature range not too close to T_c: within a time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau formulation, we phenomenologically introduce a short wavelength cutoff (of the order of the inverse coherence length) in the fluctuational spectrum to suppress high momentum modes. We treat the general cases of thin wires, anisotropic thin films and anisotropic bulk samples. We obtain in all cases explicit expressions for the finite frequency fluctuational conductivity. The dc case directly follows. Close to T_c the cutoff has no effect, and the known results for Gaussian fluctuations are recovered. Above T_c, and already for ε = ln(T/T _c) > 10^-2, we find strong suppression of the paraconductivity as compared to the Gaussian prediction, in particular in the real part of the paraconductivity. At high ε the cutoff effects are dominant. We discuss our results in comparison with data on high-T_c superconductors. Received 19 March 2002 Published online 25 June 2002