Nonextensivity in geological faults?

Geological fault systems, as the San Andreas fault (SAF) in USA, constitute typical examples of self-organizing systems in nature. In this paper, we have considered some geophysical properties of the SAF system to test the viability of the nonextensive models for earthquakes developed in [R. Silva, G.S. França, C. Vilar, J.S. Alcaniz, Phys. Rev. E 73 (2006) 026102]. To this end, we have used 6188 earthquakes events ranging in the magnitude interval 2<m<8$2<m<8$ that were taken from the Network Earthquake International Center catalogs (NEIC, 2004–2006) and the Bulletin of the International Seismological Centre (ISC, 1964–2003). For values of the Tsallis nonextensive parameter q?1.68$q?1.68$, it is shown that the energy distribution function deduced in above reference provides an excellent fit to the NEIC and ISC SAF data.     

Price tag in nanomaterials?

Journal of Nanoparticle Research - Functionalised electrospun polyamide-6 (PA-6) nanofibres incorporating gadolinium oxide nanoparticles conjugated to zinc tetracarboxyphenoxy phthalocyanine...     

Are you in control?

Overcramped conditions and lack of available storage space are usually the instigating factors for implementation of a micrographics system, but there are many other benefits to be gained, It is critical that a system be well planned and carefully researched to assure that you are indeed in control. If your only goal is to microfilm records to make more space, this space will also be "jammed" within a short period of time and you will have accomplished nothing. A good micrographics system can, and should, improve the integrity of the records, in addition to saving space. It should and will provide control of the records, while at the same time making the information readily available to all users. The system can be combined with an existing computer system within the facility and/or be shared with other departments. An ill-planned micrographics system will ultimately lead to one that is neither cost-effective nor efficient.     

Knot wormholes in geometrodynamics?

The familiar wormhole model of geometrodynamics is extended to allow for knotted embeddings of the initial hypersurface. It is shown that topology change is not only a means to modify the connectivity of the space, but also the knot invariants of its embedding. In a probabilistic framework the process of wormhole scattering can be expressed by creation and annihilation operators acting on the wave function of quantum geometrodynamics. Implications concerning Wheeler's exciton model of elementary particles, thef-gravity approach to hadronic matter, and interrelations with Jehle's flux quantization program are discussed.Work supported by a grant of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes and in part by National Science Foundation grant No. GP 30799 X to Princeton University.     

Diffusivity in water and fluorescence properties of?organic nanoparticles produced in?flames

Rotational and translational diffusion properties in water of nano organic carbon (NOC) particles collected from premixed laminar ethylene/air flames have been investigated using both time resolved fluorescence polarisation anisotropy (TRFPA) and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). Insight into the NOC sizes, structures and rigidity has been gained through diffusion properties exploiting their fluorescence in different spectral ranges. The TRFPA measurements revealed the presence of two classes of particles. The first composed of particles with a mean size of 1.5?nm which absorb and fluoresce in the UV, and a second class composed of slightly larger particles, about 2.2?nm, which absorb and fluoresce in the visible and were also detected by FCS. From FCS measurements particle concentration and fluorescence quantum yield have been evaluated.     

Localized 5f electrons in superconducting PuCoIn?: consequences for superconductivity in PuCoGa?

The physical properties of the first In analog of the PuMGa(5) (M = Co, Rh) family of superconductors, PuCoIn(5), are reported. With its unit cell volume being 28% larger than that of PuCoGa(5), the characteristic spin-fluctuation energy scale of PuCoIn(5) is three to four times smaller than that of PuCoGa(5), which suggests that the Pu 5f electrons are in a more localized state relative to PuCoGa(5). This raises the possibility that the high superconducting transition temperature T(c) = 18.5 K of PuCoGa(5) stems from the proximity to a valence instability, while the superconductivity at T(c) = 2.5 K of PuCoIn(5) is mediated by antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations associated with a quantum critical point.     

Entanglement Between Degrees of Freedom in?a?Single-Particle System Revealed in Neutron Interferometry

Initially Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen (EPR) and later Bell shed light on the non-local properties exhibited by subsystems in quantum mechanics. Separately, Kochen and Specker analyzed sets of measurements of compatible observables and found that a consistent coexistence of these results is impossible, i.e., quantum indefiniteness of measurement results. As a consequence, quantum contextuality, a more general concept compared to non-locality, leads to striking phenomena predicted by quantum theory. Here, we report neutron interferometric experiments which investigate entangled states in a single-particle system: entanglement is, in this case, achieved not between particles, but between degrees of freedom i.e., between spin, path, and energy degrees of freedom. Appropriate combinations of the spin analysis and the position of the phase shifter in the interferometer allow an experimental verification of the violation of a Bell-like inequality. In addition, state tomography, tomographic analysis of the density matrix of a quantum system, and Kochen-Specker-like phenomena are presented to characterize neutrons’ entangled states and their peculiarity. Furthermore, a coherent energy manipulation scheme is accomplished with a radio-frequency (RF) spin-flipper. This scheme allows the (total) energy degree of freedom to be entangled: the remarkable behavior of a triply entangled GHZ-like state is demonstrated.     

Voltage addressable nanomemories in DNA?

Short single-stranded DNA (or RNA) molecules can be designed to have several long lived (> hours) secondary structures. In principle, such molecules could be used as nanomemories if they could be easily induced to switch between trapped states. We propose here that the necessary work required to drive the molecule into one particular trapped state can be provided by its own synthesis. Following this idea, we argue that a low voltage (<1 V) may induce a bistable DNA molecule to switch structure at will, by forcing it to thread through a nanopore and refold alternatively from either of its ends. To cite this article: H. Isambert, C. R. Physique 3 (2002) 391–396.     

Micro-transitions or breathers in L-alanine?

Within mean field approximation, a procedure is elaborated to consider noise induced phase transitions with arbitrary relations between the noises of different degrees of freedom. The proposed approach is applied to investigate effects of cross correlation between noises in the generalized synergetic model of Lorenz type. This cross correlation is shown to induce phase transitions of the dynamical system under consideration. Additionally, we find the correlation between noises transforms a synergetic behavior to a thermodynamic one. Received 13 November 2002 Published online 11 April 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: dikh@sumdu.edu.ua     

Is the Devil in h?

This note is a part of my effort to rid quantum mechanics (QM) nonlocality. Quantum nonlocality is a two faced Janus: one face is a genuine quantum mechanical nonlocality (defined by the Lüders’ projection postulate). Another face is the nonlocality of the hidden variables model that was invented by Bell. This paper is devoted the deconstruction of the latter. The main casualty of Bell’s model is that it straightforwardly contradicts Heisenberg’s uncertainty and Bohr’s complementarity principles generally. Thus, we do not criticize the derivation or interpretation of the Bell inequality (as was done by numerous authors). Our critique is directed against the model as such. The original Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) argument assumed the Heisenberg’s principle without questioning its validity. Hence, the arguments of EPR and Bell differ crucially, and it is necessary to establish the physical ground of the aforementioned principles. This is the quantum postulate: the existence of an indivisible quantum of action given by the Planck constant. Bell’s approach with hidden variables implicitly implies rejection of the quantum postulate, since the latter is the basis of the reference principles.     

Magnetic-octupole order in neptunium dioxide?

The phase transition occurring at 25 K in NpO2, discovered almost 50 years ago, is the most long-lasting mystery in the physics of actinide compounds. Theories based on magnetic or electric-quadrupole order lead inevitably to fundamental, qualitative inconsistencies with observations. We show that the phenomenology of NpO2 can be understood if the order parameter is assumed to be a magnetic octupole of gamma(2) ( xyz) symmetry. NpO2 is the first compound for which indications of an octupolar phase transition have been found.     

Relaxation processes in harmonic glasses?

A relaxation process, with the associated phenomenology of sound attenuation and sound velocity dispersion, is found in a simulated harmonic Lennard-Jones glass. We propose to identify this process with the so-called microscopic (or, instantaneous) relaxation process observed in real glasses and supercooled liquids. A model based on the memory function approach accounts for the observation and allows one to relate to each other (1) the characteristic time and strength of this process, (2) the low frequency limit of the dynamic structure factor of the glass, and (3) the high frequency sound attenuation coefficient, with its observed quadratic dependence on the momentum transfer.     

Role of Brans-Dicke Theory with?or?without?Self-Interacting Potential in?Cosmic?Acceleration

In this work we have studied the possibility of obtaining cosmic acceleration in Brans-Dicke theory with varying or constant ω (Brans-Dicke parameter) and with or without self-interacting potential, the background fluid being barotropic fluid or Generalized Chaplygin Gas. Here we take the power law form of the scale factor and the scalar field. We show that accelerated expansion can also be achieved for high values of ω for closed Universe.     

M?ssbauer effect in superconducting tin-europium-molybdenum-sulfides

Mössbauer spectra of¹¹⁹Sn in Sn_1–z Eu _z Mo₆S₈ (z=0, 1/3, 2/3) have been measured in the temperature range 4.9 KT293 K. The spectra consist of a quadrupole doublett with unequal intensities at all temperatures. The Debye-Waller factor, the isomeric shift and the asymmetry of the intensity of the quadrupole components show irregularities between 50 K and 110 K which are interpreted as arising from a structural phase transition. The temperature dependence of the Debye-Waller factor can be approximated by a simple phonon spectrum. No quantitative explanation can be given for the large values of the asymmetry. Evidence is presented that this behavior is connected with the properties of the librational modes of the Mo₆S₈-units in the crystal.