Decline of nucleation in the heating process with a high heating rate

The effect of the heating rate on the nucleation of metallic glass in a rapid heating process starting from the glass transition temperature is investigated. The critical nucleus radius increases with the increase of the temperature of the undercooling liquid. If the increment rate of the critical nucleus radius, owing to the heating process, is higher than the growth rate of the nuclei, the nuclei generated at the low temperature will become the embryos at the high temperature. This means that the high heating rate can make no nucleation happen in the heating process. In consideration of the interfacial energy, the growth rate of the nuclei increases with the increase of their size and the growth rate of the critical nucleus is zero. Thus, the lower heating rate can also make the nuclei decline partially. Finally, this theory is used to analyze the nucleation process during laser remelting metallic glass.     

Probing amide bond nitrogens in solids using 14N NMR spectroscopy

A novel two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiment is proposed for indirect observation of 14N nuclei in various types of nitrogen-containing solids. In a method somewhat similar to the heteronuclear single-quantum correlation (HSQC) experiment widely used for protein structure determination in solutions, this technique correlates spin S=1/2 nuclei, e.g., 1H, 13C, with the 14N spin I=1 nucleus in solids. The present experiment, however, transfers coherence from neighboring 1H or 13C nuclei to 14N via a combination of J-couplings and residual dipolar splittings (RDS). Projections of the two-dimensional NMR spectra onto the 14N dimension yield powder patterns that reflect the 14N quadrupolar interaction, which can be used to study molecular structure and dynamics. Indirect detection of amide nitrogen-14 via 1H and 13C is shown experimentally on a model compound of N-acetyl-glycine.     

Liquid nucleation at superheated grain boundaries

Grain boundaries with relatively low energies can be superheated above the melting temperature and eventually melt by heterogeneous nucleation of liquid droplets. We propose a thermodynamic model of this process based on the sharp-interface approximation with a disjoining potential. The distinct feature of the model is its ability to predict the shape and size of the critical nucleus by using a variational approach. The model reduces to the classical nucleation theory in the limit of large nuclei but is more general and remains valid for small nuclei. Contrary to the classical nucleation theory, the model predicts the existence of a critical temperature of superheating and offers a simple formula for its calculation. The model is tested against molecular dynamic simulations in which liquid nuclei at a superheated boundary were obtained by an adiabatic trapping procedure. The simulation results demonstrate a reassuring consistency with the model.     

A study of cavitation nucleation in pure water using molecular dynamics simulation

To discover the microscopic mechanism responsible for cavitation nucleation in pure water, nucleation processes in pure water are simulated using the molecular dynamics method. Cavitation nucleation is generated by uniformly stretching the system under isothermal conditions, and the formation and development of cavitation nuclei are simulated and discussed at the molecular level. The processes of energy, pressure, and density are analyzed, and the tensile strength of the pure water and the critical volume of the bubble nuclei are investigated. The results show that critical states exist in the process of cavitation nucleation. In the critical state, the energy, density, and pressure of the system change abruptly, and a stable cavitation nucleus is produced if the energy barrier is broken and the critical volume is exceeded. System pressure and water density are the key factors in the generation of cavitation nuclei. When the critical state is surpassed, the liquid is completely ruptured, and the volume of the cavitation nucleus rapidly increases to larger than 100 nm³; at this point, the surface tension of the bubble dominates the cavitation nucleus, instead of intermolecular forces. The negative critical pressure for bubble nucleation is -198.6 MPa, the corresponding critical volume is 13.84 nm³, and the nucleation rate is 2.42×10³² m^-3·^-1 in pure water at 300 K. Temperature has a significant effect on nucleation: as the temperature rises, nucleation thresholds decrease, and cavitation nucleation occurs earlier.     

Statistical properties and stability of hot nuclei

Results of temperature-dependent Hartree-Fock calculations for equilibrated hot nuclei are presented, extending to the highest temperatures at which the nuclei remain stable. A subtraction procedure developed earlier for isolating the properties of the nucleus from the nucleus + vapor system is applied. The temperature dependence of various quantities characterizing hot nuclei is investigated. The influence of different effective interactions in the Hartree-Fock equations is examined. Special attention is devoted to the study of the high-temperature stability limit of hot nuclei. This limit in nuclei with the Coulomb interaction artificially switched off (i.e. uncharged nuclei) is shown to correspond to the critical temperature of the liquid-gas phase transition expected on the basis of hot nuclear matter calculations. In realistic charged nuclei the Coulomb repulsion causes a nucleus to become electrostatically unstable and to fall apart at much lower temperatures than its uncharged partner. The approach to and the temperature of this Coulomb instability are very sensitive to the choice of the nuclear interaction. Studying this instability in compound nuclei with different charge-to-mass ratio provides a sensitive measure of the temperature dependence of the nuclear surface properties as well as of certain features of the nuclear equation of state.     

Formation and growth of CuCl phase nuclei in glass

In glass, the CuCl phase starts to form a certain time after the onset of supersaturation. As the temperature is increased, the transient period (stage of formation of critical nuclei) shortens and the growth kinetics of the CuCl phase switches from the first to second stage. The observed pattern of the CuCl phase growth kinetics is fully consistent with the Zel’dovich-Frenkel classical theory of new-phase formation. The delay time is determined by the radius of the critical nucleus (CuCl nanomelt) and the diffusion coefficient of the limiting component, the Cu⁺ ions. The radius of the critical nucleus is about 1 nm and does not vary within a broad temperature range. The activation energy for the CuCl phase growth process does not change in the transition from the formation of critical nuclei to the first and, subsequently, second stage.     

Transient magnetic fields for highly stripped ions traversing ferromagnetic solids

Transient magnetic fields experienced by nuclei of single-electron ions in ferromagnetic solids have been analyzed in terms of the polarization of 1s electrons. Values obtained are well explained with spin-exchange scattering. In measurements for Si and Ni ions in Fe and Gd host at high and low velocity, respectively, it is demonstrated that the field strength also depends on the ion beam used for excitation of the nucleus. This new feature has direct relevance in the understanding of previous data.     

Growth, structure, and morphological stability of nuclei growing from eutectic melts

Kinetics of self-consistent growth of new-phase nuclei from eutectic melts have been studied. The growth kinetics of nuclei of eutectic composition are shown to depend on the sum of supersaturations over all components. It has been established that nuclei in a eutectic melt reach a common critical radius determined by supersaturation for both components. The concept of a diffusion dipole is introduced: a two-phase object in a eutectic melt or solid solution, in which two nuclei of different composition are related through a common diffusion field. The morphological stability of such dipoles is studied. It is found that a nucleus of eutectic composition is more stable with respect to small fluctuations in its shape than the corresponding one-component nucleus. It is shown that perturbations resulting in dipole-shape distortions develop perpendicular to the axis connecting the centers of the nuclei of different compositions (i.e. the dipole axis). This is consistent with the well-known experimental observation of the layered structure of eutectic compositions. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 1464–1469 (August 1997)     

非晶Ag晶化过程中不同类型晶核结构的识别与跟踪

采用分子动力学模拟研究了非晶Ag的等温晶化过程,通过原子轨迹逆向追踪法分析了不同类型晶体团簇的结构遗传与组态演化.在团簇类型指数法的基础上,根据基本团簇种类与联结方式不同,提出了一种可区分fcc单晶、多晶与混晶团簇的分析方法.在非晶Ag等温晶化过程中,基于团簇结构的连续遗传性特征,发展了一种可区分fcc单晶、多晶与混晶晶胚与晶核的结构分析技术.结果发现:不论临界尺寸还是几何构型,不同类型的晶核结构都存在差异,其中fcc单晶临界尺寸最小,多晶次之,混晶最大; fcc单晶与多晶壳层原子中有少量hcp和bcc原子,而混晶壳层则全部为非晶类原子,并且fcc单晶、多晶与混晶的临界晶核都不是球型结构.     

HMQC and refocused-INEPT experiments involving half-integer quadrupolar nuclei in solids

Hetero-nuclear coherence transfers in HMQC and refocused-INEPT experiments involving half-integer quadrupolar nuclei in solids are analyzed. 1D and 2D schemes are considered under MAS for the general case of multi-spin systems SI(n) (n4), where S is an observed nucleus. These results are also discussed in the context of high-resolution schemes featuring MQMAS or STMAS. The theoretical predictions are verified experimentally in a series of 1D and 2D experiments performed at 9.4 and 18.8T.     

Lifetime of Antibaryon Bound in Finite Nuclei

The study of finite nuclei containing antibaryon（s） in addition to nucleons is an interesting topic in nuclear physics. The calculation of the lifetime of an antibaryon embedded in a nucleus was performed in the framework of the standard quantum field theory. It was shown that the annihilation probability of the antibaryon in nuclei is strongly dependent on the effective masses of mesons involved in the annihilation channels. The contribution of the Dirac sea to the annihilation probability makes the lifetime of the antibaryon short. If the Dirac sea effect is neglected, the lifetime of the bound antibaryon tends to be longer with the nuclear density increasing. Particularly, when the nuclear density is larger than a critical value, the antibaryon may exist stably in a nucleus.     

Evidence for a nuclear phase transition in target nuclei after relativistic nuclear interactions

The degree of excitation of the emulsion target nuclei due to nuclear interactions of oxygen and sulfur projectiles at 200 GeV/nucleon incident energy has been investigated. Using the plausible assumption that the numberN _b of slow particles emitted from the struck target nucleus can be interpreted as a measure of the temperatureT of the residual nucleus, we have found that there exists a critical temperatureT _c of the excited target nucleus. For Ag and Br target nuclei this temperature corresponds to <N _b>≌12 and it is attained when the impact parameters are less than about 4 fm.     

Quantitative parameter-free prediction of simulated crystal-nucleation times

We present direct comparisons between simulated crystal-nucleation times and theoretical predictions using a model of aluminum, and demonstrate that a quantitative prediction can be made. All relevant thermodynamic properties of the system are known, making the agreement of our simulation data with nucleation theories free of any adjustable parameters. The role of transient nucleation is included in the classical nucleation theory approach, and shown to be necessary to understand the observed nucleation times. The calculations provide an explanation on why nucleation is difficult to observe in simulations at moderate undercoolings. Even when the simulations are significantly larger than the critical nucleus, and when simulation times are sufficiently long, at moderate undercoolings the small concentration of critical nuclei makes the probability of the nucleation low in molecular dynamics simulations.     

Through-space MP-CPMAS experiments between spin-1/2 and half-integer quadrupolar nuclei in solid-state NMR

We present a new CPMAS method that allows the acquisition of through-space 2D HETCOR spectra between spin-1/2 nuclei and half-integer quadrupolar nuclei in the solid state. It uses rotor-synchronized selective pulses on the quadrupolar nucleus and continuous-wave RF irradiation on the spin-1/2 nucleus to create hetero-nuclear dipolar coherences. The method is more robust, more efficient, and easier to set up than the standard CPMAS transfer.     

Deep inelastic scattering from the nuclear medium

We reexamine deep inelastic scattering from nuclei under assumptions commonly employed in the literature: that quarks remain confined in hadronic constituents of nuclei, that the nuclear cross section is the average of the free-space cross section of hadron i weighted by the probability of finding i in the nucleus, and that there are no final state interactions between the debris of hadron i and the rest of the nucleus. We develop a cluster expansion for the cross section of deep inelastic lepton scattering and the Drell-Yan process on nuclei. Using the “instant” from of dynamics, we find that large contributions to these processes arise from nuclear interactions and correlations. However, our theory differs in detail from other approaches, and we find that binding alone is unlikely to explain the EMC effect. Also, in contrast to many recent papers on the subject, we conclude that the contribution of pions (and other nonnucleonic consistuents of the nucleus) is strongly suppressed.     

Multifragmentation of hot and compressed nuclei within a time dependent thomas fermi and percolation model

We have used a spherical time dependent Thomas Fermi model to study the expansion of hot and/or compressed nuclei. This approach was coupled to a site-bond percolation model to study the disassembly of the nucleus into many pieces (multifragmentation). We find that a non compressed nucleus undergoes multifragmentation if the thermal excitation energy is larger than 70% of its binding energy. If the nucleus is compressed this value is notably decreased.     

Mechanism of 3He-mediated nuclear spin-lattice relaxation at surfaces

We measured the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation time T₁, of several surface-bound nuclei, ¹H, ¹⁹F, ¹¹B, ¹³C, ²⁹Si, and ²H, immersed in liquid ³He over the temperature range 0.01 K ⩽ T < 1 K. The Larmor frequencies of these nuclei in a 3.39 T field extended from 22 to 144 MHz. All T₁ values were temperature-independent and ranged from a few seconds to several hours, depending on the particular nucleus and the surface geometry of the sample. The results indicate that the coupled relaxation of surface spins is a phenomenon occurring in all solids immersed in ³He and thus provides a general mechanism for obtaining high nuclear polarization in solids, that the relaxation is controlled by direct dipole-dipole interactions between the surface spins and ³He in the first surface layer, that the ³He motion dynamics do not change appreciably from one surface to another, and that measurements of T₁ may thus be useful for determining the structure of surfaces.     

Systematic study of properties of Hs nuclei

The ground-state properties of Hs nuclei are studied in the framework of the relativistic mean-field theory. We find that the more relatively stable isotopes are located on the proton abundant side of the isotopic chain. The last stable nucleus near the proton drip line is probably the ²⁵⁵Hs nucleus. The a \alpha -decay half-lives of Hs nuclei are predicted, and together with the evaluation of the spontaneous-fission half-lives it is shown that the nuclei, which are possibly stable against spontaneous fission are ^263-274Hs . This is in coincidence with the larger binding energies per nucleon. If ^271-274Hs can be synthesized and identified, only those nuclei from the upper Z = 118 isotopic chain, which are lighter than the nucleus ²⁹⁴118 , and those nuclei in the corresponding a \alpha -decay chain lead to Hs nuclei. The most stable unknown Hs nucleus is ²⁶⁸Hs . The density-dependent delta interaction pairing is used to improve the BCS pairing correction, which results in more reasonable single-particle energy level distributions and nucleon occupation probabilities. It is shown that the properties of nuclei in the superheavy region can be described with this interaction.     

MAS NMR spectra of quadrupolar nuclei in disordered solids: the Czjzek model

Structural disorder at the scale of two to three atomic positions around the probe nucleus results in variations of the EFG and thus in a distribution of the quadrupolar interaction. This distribution is at the origin of the lineshape tailing toward high fields which is often observed in the MAS NMR spectra of quadrupolar nuclei in disordered solids. The Czjzek model provides an analytical expression for the joint distribution of the NMR quadrupolar parameters upsilon(Q) and eta from which a lineshape can be predicted. This model is derived from the Central Limit Theorem and the statistical isotropy inherent to disorder. It is thus applicable to a wide range of materials as we have illustrated for 27Al spectra on selected examples of glasses (slag), spinels (alumina), and hydrates (cement aluminum hydrates). In particular, when relevant, the use of the Czjzek model allows a quantitative decomposition of the spectra and an accurate extraction of the second moment of the quadrupolar product. In this respect, it is important to realize that only rotational invariants such as the quadrupolar product can make sense to describe the quadrupolar interaction in disordered solids.