Bose–Einstein condensation in binary mixture of Bose gases

The Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC) in a binary mixture of Bose gases is studied by means of the Cornwall–Jackiw–Tomboulis (CJT) effective action approach. The equations of state (EoS) and various scenarios of phase transitions of the system are considered in detail, in particular, the numerical computations are carried out for symmetry restoration (SR), symmetry nonrestoration (SNR) and inverse symmetry breaking (ISB) for getting an insight into their physical nature. It is shown that due to the cross interaction between distinct components of mixture there occur two interesting phenomena: the high temperature BEC and the inverse BEC, which could be tested in experiments.     

Bose–Einstein condensation in atomic hydrogen

The addition of atomic hydrogen to the set of gases in which Bose–Einstein condensation can be observed expands the range of parameters over which this remarkable phenomenon can be studied. Hydrogen, with the lowest atomic mass, has the highest transition temperature, 50 μK in our experiments. The very weak interaction between the atoms results in a high ratio of the condensate to normal gas densities, even at modest condensate fractions. Using cryogenic rather than laser precooling generates large condensates. Finally, two-photon spectroscopy is introduced as a versatile probe of the phase transition: condensation in real space is manifested by the appearance of a high-density component in the gas, condensation in momentum space is readily apparent in the momentum distribution, and the phase transition line can be delineated by following the evolution of the density of the normal component.     

Detection of water–ice phase transition based on Raman spectrum

A simplified dimensionless method was constructed to characterize the phase transition between water and ice based on Raman spectrum (RS) without contact testing samples. This method reduces the requirement of the spectrum intensity, simplifies the complex mathematical analysis and improves the resolution of detection which only depends on the relative intensity of RS. The current work establishes an important tool for accurate characterization of RS so that it could better interpret various phase transition mechanisms of water and aqueous solutions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The study of hydrophobicity in water–methanol and water–tert-butanol mixtures

Molecular dynamics simulations have been performed for water–methanol and water–tertiary butyl alcohol mixtures in the water rich region. Nonlinear heat capacity and viscosity behavior as functions of concentration has been examined at the molecular level. The collective modes leading to enhancement of potential energy fluctuation and as consequence to heat capacity maximum has been found and discussed.     

The water‐promoted Diels–Alder reaction in quaternary ammonium salts

Prevailing classification of salts based on their effect in solubility and stability of proteins in aqueous solution predicts that tetraalkylammonium salts, guanidinium chloride (GnCl), LiClO₄ act as salting‐in (S/I) and LiCl, NaCl act as salting‐out (S/O) in aqueous conditions. In the same context the behaviour of GnCl, LiClO₄ and LiCl are contradictory in polar solvents like ethylene glycol and formamide. In these solvents, expected salt effect shows just opposite nature from their usual expectation. However, in the aqueous solution salts like tetraalkylammonium halide (R₄NX, R = alkyl group, X = Br group) behave like salting‐in salts. The physicochemical origin of the salting in effect of R₄NX type of salts has been discussed elaborately in the present work. The role of cations in terms of substitution of various alkyl groups on R₄NX has been systematically presented here on the basis of experimental kinetic and thermodynamic studies. The abnormal behaviour of R₄NX salts in aqueous solution has also been explained by the Setschenov equation (k_s) and Δμ_solvation values, which highlights their individual nature out of common properties of R₄NX. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bose–Einstein condensation of metastable helium in a bi-planar quadrupole Ioffe configuration trap

Using a novel magnetic trapping geometry we have evaporatively cooled metastable helium atoms to form a Bose–Einstein condensate containing approximately one million atoms. This is only the fourth demonstration of a metastable condensate and the first realisation of a BEC in a bi-planar quadrupole Ioffe configuration magnetic trap.     

Ionic conduction in dilute pseudo-binary systems CuBr–Cu2Se

Ionic conductivity, σ_i, of dilute pseudobinary alloys (CuBr)_1−x(Cu₂Se)_x (x≤0.1) in their γ-phase has been measured by an ac method. The increase of the ionic conductivity propertional to x has been observed, which is attributed to interstitial ions brought by Cu₂Se dissolved in CuBr. It is found that the temperature dependence of mobility of interstitial ions, μ, evaluated by the relation Δσ_i/x=kμ (k is a constant) is bent at the temperature corresponding to the extrinsic–intrinsic transition of the based material CuBr.     

Bose–Einstein condensation in dilute atomic gases: atomic physics meets condensed matter physics

Bose–Einstein condensed atomic gases are a new class of quantum fluids. They are produced by cooling a dilute atomic gas to nanokelvin temperatures using laser and evaporative cooling techniques. The study of these quantum gases has become an interdisciplinary field of atomic and condensed matter physics. Topics of many-body physics can now be studied with the methods of atomic physics. Many long-standing predictions of the theory of the weakly interacting Bose gas have been verified, including thermodynamic properties of the phase transition and dynamic properties such as shape oscillations and sound propagation. Stimulated light scattering was used to determine the dynamic structure factor both in the phonon and free-particle regime. Atomic Bose condensates show a variety of novel phenomena which include multi-component spinor condensates, magnetic domain formation, miscibility and immiscibility of quantum fluids, and finite-size effects.     

Significance of hydrophobic interactions in water–organic binary solvents

A LFE (Linear Free Energy) analysis of kinetic data for different organic reactions in various organic aqueous solutions was carried out. The rate constants of these reactions were compared with those for the solvolysis of tert-butyl chloride in the same solvents in terms of the LFE Relationships, and linear plots were observed in a wide range of the co-solvent content. This similarity points to a common nature of the solvent effect in these reactions in variety of water–organic mixtures, regardless of largely different reaction mechanisms. We explain these results by the prevalence of hydrophobic stabilization of the initial state of these reactions in water-rich solvent mixtures. Recently the same conclusion was also made on the basis of investigations into sonication effects in kinetics of organic reactions. A considerable contribution of hydrophobic effects to the Y scale by Grunwald and Winstein was deduced.     

Thermodynamics of binary liquid mixtures: application of the Prigogine–Flory–Patterson theory to excess molar volumes of acetonitrile+1-alkanol systems

Excess molar volumes of {(1−x_A)CH₃(CH₂)_n−1OH+x_ACH₃CN} for n=1, 2, 3 or 4 as a function of composition under atmospheric pressure at 288.15, 293.15, 298.15 and 303.15 K have been used to test the applicability of the Prigogine–Flory–Patterson theory. According to the model, interactional contribution is the most important one to explain the V_m^E behavior. Good agreement is only achieved for the mixtures containing methanol (C₁) or 1-butanol (C₄). For the mixtures containing ethanol (C₂) and 1-propanol (C₃), which show an S-shaped V_m^E behavior, the correlation fails.     

Junction of Tomonaga–Luttinger liquids

Low-energy physics of one-dimensional electron systems can be generally described in terms of the Tomonaga–Luttinger liquid, instead of the Fermi liquid. We give a nontechnical review for nonspecialists on this intriguing subject. As an example of physical consequences, we discuss junction of two and three Tomonaga–Luttinger liquids.     

A TEM study of precipitation in Al–Mg–Si alloys

A set of extrusion samples of Al–Si–Mg alloys (0.5 wt%Mg and 0.3–0.8 wt%Si) were, respectively, T1- and T4-heat-treated. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to heat the samples to particular temperatures to promote the formation of precipitates for study by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was found that, apart from β″, β′, and B′, there were many precipitates showing rectangular lattices when viewed along the long axes of the precipitates. It is considered that the residual stresses (or dislocations) in the extrusion after the T1-treatment facilitated the nucleation and growth of the precipitates during the heating in the DSC.     

Applications of the Judd–Ofelt theory to the praseodymium ion in laser solids

The praseodymium ion in its trivalent state is a very good representative of the entire class of rare earth ions and of the complex spectroscopic properties that they exhibit when placed in solid host lattices. The plethora of its radiative transitions, on one hand, demands the intervention of a theory that could explain their absolute and relative intensities, and, on the other hand, provides a good opportunity for the verification of the validity and of the limits of such a theory. We present our data on the spectral characteristics of trivalent praseodymium in a crystal of barium yttrium fluoride and apply the Judd–Ofelt theory to this system. We then examine the problems presented by the application of the Judd–Ofelt theory to the praseodymium ion and the remedies that have been proposed to ameliorate its performance in the somewhat extreme case provided by the spectra of this ion in solids.     

Molecular simulation of sodium butyl benzene sulfonate at air–water interface and in aqueous solution

Molecular mechanics(MM) calculations for interfacial behaviour of sodium n-butyl benzene sulfonate (NaNBBS), sodium iso-butyl benzene sulfonate (NaIBBS) and sodium tert-butyl benzene sulfonate (NaTBBS) show a significant effect of the butyl group geometry on the surface area occupied by these molecules at the air–water interface. NaNBBS, in comparison with NaIBBS and NaTBBS, shows a closer molecular packing at the interface. The simulation predicts minimum hydrotrope concentration of each hydrotrope to reach surface saturation and molecular surface area at the interface match with good accuracy. The shape, size and charge of the hydrotrope aggregates obtained by molecular dynamics simulation also match well with the results of small angle neutron scattering experiments on the same hydrotrope. The simulation shows non-regular and ellipsoidal hydrotropes aggregates with substantial charge on the surface. The aggregates are also more open structures as compared to surfactant micelles. The water accessible surface area of a NaNBBS aggregate was 25% lower in comparison to that of NaTBBS aggregate, indicating closer packing of NaNBBS molecules. The fractional charge on the NaNBBS aggregate decreases with the increase in the number of NaNBBS molecules in the aggregate indicating more counter-ion association.     

Simulation studies of current transport in metal–insulator–semiconductor Schottky barrier diodes

The current–voltage characteristics of Schottky diodes with an interfacial insulator layer are analysed by numerical simulation. The current–voltage data of the metal–insulator–semiconductor Schottky diode are simulated using thermionic emission diffusion (TED) equation taking into account an interfacial layer parameter. The calculated current–voltage data are fitted into ideal TED equation to see the apparent effect of interfacial layer parameters on current transport. Results obtained from the simulation studies shows that with mere presence of an interfacial layer at the metal–semiconductor interface the Schottky contact behave as an ideal diode of apparently high barrier height (BH), but with same ideality factor and series resistance as considered for a pure Schottky contact without an interfacial layer. This apparent BH decreases linearly with decreasing temperature. The effects giving rise to high ideality factor in metal–insulator–semiconductor diode are analysed. Reasons for observed temperature dependence of ideality factor in experimentally fabricated metal–insulator–semiconductor diodes are analysed and possible mechanisms are discussed.     

Arithmetic of Calabi–Yau varieties and rational conformal field theory

It is proposed that certain techniques from arithmetic algebraic geometry provide a framework which is useful to formulate a direct and intrinsic link between the geometry of Calabi–Yau manifolds and the underlying conformal field theory. Specifically, it is pointed out how the algebraic number field determined by the fusion rules of the conformal field theory can be derived from the number theoretic structure of the cohomological Hasse–Weil L-function determined by Artin’s congruent zeta function of the algebraic variety. In this context, a natural number theoretic characterization arises for the quantum dimensions in this geometrically determined algebraic number field.     

Vectorial structure of Hermite–Laguerre–Gaussian beam in the far field

Starting from Maxwell's equations, a Hermite–Laguerre–Gaussian (HLG) beam is decomposed into the TE and TM terms by using the vector angular spectrum representation. By means of the method of stationary phase, the analytical TE and TM terms are presented in the far field. The energy flux distributions of the TE and TM terms are also investigated and depicted in the far field. The influences of the additional angle parameter and Gaussian waist width on the vectorial structure and energy flux pattern of HLG beam are also investigated. This research reveals the internal vectorial structure of HLG beam and may provide a new approach to the manipulation of laser beams.     

Wannier–Stark chaos of a Bose–Einstein condensate in 1D optical lattices

Using the idea of the macroscopic quantum wave function and the definition of the Melnikov chaos, we investigate the spatially chaotic features of a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) in a Wannier–Stark potential for the trivial phase and the non-trivial phase cases. The perturbed chaotic solutions are constructed, and the chaotic and unstable regions on the parameter space are illustrated. Numerical calculations to the spatial evolutions of the atomic number density and the energy density demonstrate the analytical results and exhibit the chaotic spatial distribution and energy distribution of the BEC atoms.     

First-principles study of current–voltage characteristics of two-terminal carbon nanostructures

We present the first-principles investigation of the transport properties of nanotubes connected to metal electrodes under external bias potential. We have developed the technique to calculate the current–voltage (I–V) curves by using the local-density approximation in the density-functional theory. We apply this technique to Al-nanotube-Al systems with different contact geometries regarding the position, the orientation, and the distance of nanotube to the electrode. These different geometries at contact can play an important role in the transport properties. The I–V curves have the different behaviors although the nanotube is connected to the same electrode. The transmission rate from one electrode to the other electrode shows strong dependence on the contact geometry.