Atomistic calculation of point-defect diffusion anisotropy and irradiation growth in α -zirconium

The configuration and energetics of the mono-vacancy and self-interstitial of hcp zirconium, both in the ground state and the saddle-point configurations, are computed atomistically using the conjugate gradient method, from which the diffusion anisotropy difference (DAD) between the two types of defects is obtained. Based on this information, the growth rates of interstitial loops of different Burgers vectors in a zirconium foil irradiated in a high-voltage electron microscope and the stress-free in-reactor deformation rates in hcp zirconium are directly calculated. Experimental observations in both cases are shown to be well accounted for. The significance of the DAD effect is thus directly confirmed.     

Effects of Ⅴ/Ⅲ ratio on species diffusion anisotropy inthe MOCVD growth of non-polar a-plane GaN films

Non-polar a-plane (110) GaN films have been grown on r-plane (102) sapphire substrates by metal organic chemical vapour deposition. The influences of Ⅴ/Ⅲ ratio on the species diffusion anisotropy of a-plane GaN films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, cathodoluminescence and high-resolution x-ray diffraction measurements. The anisotropy of a-plane GaN films may result from the different migration length of adatoms along two in-plane directions. Ⅴ/Ⅲ ratio has an effect on the growth rates of different facets and crystal quality. The stripe feature morphology was obviously observed in the film with a high V/III ratio because of the slow growth rate along the [100] direction. When the Ⅴ/Ⅲ ratio increased from 1000 to 6000, the in-plane crystal quality anisotropy was decreased due to the weakened predominance in migration length of gallium adatoms.     

First measurement of J/ψ anisotropy by PHENIX experiment at RHIC

Understanding the J/ψ suppression and possible recombination mechanisms at RHIC is one of the outstanding challenges for theorists and experimentalists. Recent results provided by PHENIX showed a stronger suppression at forward rapidity, while at mid-rapidity the suppression is similar to lower energy collision experiments. A large sample of Au + Au collisions at $ \sqrt {s_{NN} } $ \sqrt {s_{NN} } = 200 GeV was collected in 2007 with the PHENIX experiment at RHIC. Using this sample, J/ψs were identified in the di-electron decay channel. In order to probe the charm coalescence as an additional J/ψ production mechanism at RHIC, we studied the first determination of its v ₂ elliptic flow parameter at mid-rapidity.     

Friction anisotropy dependence on lattice orientation of graphene

The observation of friction anisotropy on graphene by friction measurement at atomic scale has been reported in this paper.Atomic-scale friction measurement revealed friction anisotropy with a periodicity of 60°,which is consistent with the hexagonal periodicity of the graphene.Both experiments and theory show that the value of the friction force is related to the graphene lattice orientation,and the friction force along armchair orientation is also larger than the one along zigzag orientation.These results will play a critical role in the use of graphene to manufacture nanoscale devices.     

Structure-dependent optical anisotropy of porphyrin Langmuir–Schaefer films

We have studied the optical anisotropy of Langmuir–Schaefer layers of PdC₁₀OAP porphyrin, deposited onto gold substrates with thickness in the range 0–16 monolayers (ML). Deposition has been carried out at two values of the surface pressure Π, corresponding to different layer structures. In one case (Π=30 mN/m), molecules are well ordered in stacks oriented edge-on with respect to the substrate. In the other (Π=10 mN/m), a complex reorganization of the system happens several days after deposition, to form a mesoscopic two-dimensional lattice. The spectra measured by reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy (RAS) in two cases are clearly characterized. In the former, the line shape is dominated by a characteristic, large structure appearing in coincidence with the Soret band of the molecule, the development of which from a “peak-like” to a “derivative-like” appearance occurs at a well-defined critical thickness Θ_c (8 ML). In the latter, the line shape is always “peak-like”. We explain both line shapes in terms of morphological characteristics of the layer, occurring at different thickness values. The present results clearly show the potential of RAS to characterize efficiently the deposition of organic materials, and suggest that in short time it will be used as an in situ and real time spectroscopy, as already done in inorganic growth.     

Multi-band nature of superconducting anisotropy in PrFeAsO1−δ single crystal

We investigated the magnetic torque of superconducting PrFeAsO_1−δ single crystal using the torque magnetometer at temperatures from 2 K to 200 K in magnetic field of 30 kG. The torque curve tends to have a singular shape compared to other superconductors. The analyses of the PrFeAsO_1−δ torque curves by the single-band and the multi-band Kogan model yield 3 < γ_λ < 5 in 30 kG. With the aid of the multi-band Kogan model, however, we obtain γ_ξ = 0.79 ± 0.01 and γ_λ = 19 ± 3 in 30 kG at 20.5 K. The smallness of γ_ξ(<1) thus obtained is due to the multi-band nature of the iron pnictide.     

90° pulsed magnetization of ferrite-garnet films with easy-plane anisotropy

The process of pulsed 90° magnetization of ferrite-garnet films was studied. These films, in addition to easy-plane anisotropy, have biaxial anisotropy in the film plane with an effective field H _K2 ? 40–55 Oe. the pulsed magnetization curve contains two portions separated by a kink observed at a field pulse amplitude H _p=H _p ^* ? 16–18 Oe. An analysis of the magnetization signals showed that the restoring torque, which is mainly caused by biaxial-anisotropy forces, is overcome in fields H _p ≥ H _p ^* and that magnetization rotation occurs. In fields H _p < H _p ^* , the magnetization vector rotates at the initial stage only and the angle of rotation ?_in is less than 25°–26°. The field H _p ^* and angle ?_in are calculated. The results of the calculations are confirmed by experimental data. In fields H _p > H _p ^* , the process of magnetization is accompanied by oscillations of the magnetization vector. In contrast to free magnetization oscillations, these oscillations are nonlinear and the frequency of the first harmonic (≈5 × 10⁸ Hz) is much lower than that for free oscillations, (7–12) × 10⁸ Hz. Oscillations are excited at a pulse rise time of ≈6 ns.     

Experimental determination of U diffusion in α-Ti

α-spectrometry was used in order to measure the diffusion of U in bulk α-Ti in the temperature range 863–1123?K (540–850?°C). A straight Arrhenius plot was found, giving diffusion parameters Q?=?297?kJ/mol and D ₀?=?5?×?10^?3?m²/s, which are similar to the α-Ti self-diffusion ones, when measured in Ti samples with a similar impurity content than presently. This behaviour is compatible with the hypothesis of U diffusing via a vacancy-assisted mechanism in the α-Ti lattice and contrasts with older results in which the activation energy is almost a third the self-diffusion one, even lower than the vacancy formation energy.     

Similarity solutions of reaction–diffusion equation with space- and time-dependent diffusion and reaction terms

We consider solvability of the generalized reaction–diffusion equation with both space- and time-dependent diffusion and reaction terms by means of the similarity method. By introducing the similarity variable, the reaction–diffusion equation is reduced to an ordinary differential equation. Matching the resulting ordinary differential equation with known exactly solvable equations, one can obtain corresponding exactly solvable reaction–diffusion systems. Several representative examples of exactly solvable reaction–diffusion equations are presented.     

Dynamics of Robertson–Walker spacetimes with diffusion

We study the dynamics of spatially homogeneous and isotropic spacetimes containing a fluid undergoing microscopic velocity diffusion in a cosmological scalar field. After deriving a few exact solutions of the equations, we continue by analyzing the qualitative behavior of general solutions. To this purpose we recast the equations in the form of a two dimensional dynamical system and perform a global analysis of the flow. Among the admissible behaviors, we find solutions that are asymptotically de-Sitter both in the past and future time directions and which undergo accelerated expansion at all times.     

Influence of magnetic ordering on the resistivity anisotropy of α-MnS single crystal

The resistivity and the optical absorbtion spectra of single crystal α-MnS are studied in the temperature range 80-300 K along two directions [100] and [111]. Strong anisotropy of the resistivity, and the shift of absorbtion spectra band edge below are explained in terms of model involving delocalized holes in 3d-band manganese ions interacting with localized spins by using the sd-model.     

Influence of spherical anisotropy on the optical properties of?plasmon resonant metallic nanoparticles

We demonstrate the features of the dipole and quadrupole resonant modes in extinction spectra of spherically anisotropic nanoparticles based on full-wave scattering theory. It is found that in a core–shell nanosphere, the introduction of spherical anisotropy in the core leads to a blue shift in resonant wavelengths for small nanoparticles, while, for large nanoparticles (core radius larger than 90 nm), the dipole resonant wavelength remains unchanged with the variation of spherical anisotropy. In addition, the peak strengths for the dipole and quadrupole modes are also studied. Numerical simulations show that the strong localization of electric fields can be further enhanced and tuned by adjusting the spherical anisotropy in the core. In contrast, the anisotropy introduced in the shell results in a blue shift for small nanoparticles but a red shift for nanoparticles with larger size. The tunability of plasmon resonant shifts in extinction spectra and tailored localization of enhanced fields are revealed.     

Magnetocaloric effect of Gd–Tb alloys: influence of the sample shape anisotropy

The magnetocaloric effect of Gd_1−x Tb _x alloys with x=0.00, 0.10, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30 and 0.40 was studied. The magnetic ordering temperatures were determined from the magnetization measurement. The data obtained from magnetization and specific-heat measurements as well as by the direct measurement are well comparable within their experimental errors. The values of ΔT _ad are in the proximity of 2.5 K for field change of 1 T and all studied concentrations. The dependence of magnetocaloric effect on the sample shape anisotropy was documented by the magnetization measurement as well as by the direct measurement.     

Magnetic anisotropy of Pm impurity in rare earth–nickel compound

Low-temperature nuclear orientation was applied to study hyperfine interactions of ¹⁴²Pr, ¹⁴⁷Nd and ^143,144Pm nuclei in Pr^0.5Nd^0.5Ni single crystal. Angular distributions, temperature dependence and external magnetic field effects on the γ-ray anisotropy are presented. A Nd-Pm exchange interaction seems to dominate the magnetic properties of Pm ions in this system. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Transverse anisotropy field and lattice plane anisotropy of stress annealed Fe–Cu–Nb–Si–B ribbons

The transverse magnetic anisotropy and lattice plane anisotropy of stress-annealed Fe–Cu–Nb–Si–B amorphous ribbons have been studied. The GMI effect or impedance ratio decreased gradually with increasing applied tensile stress. The transverse anisotropy field (H_k) corresponded to the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the GMI curves. A linear response was found between the applied tensile stress (σ) and the transverse anisotropy field (H_k), and it was seen from the linear expression that annealing without stress resulted in a very small H_k of ～200 A/m. We also calculated the strains from the elongations obtained during the stress annealing process, the results showed that the strain and applied stress were linearly related and for a zero-tensile stress, the elastic strain was negative (?0.0219) showing that contraction dominates during annealing without tensile stresses. The lattice plane anisotropy (Δd) calculated from XRD peaks was also linearly related to the applied tensile stress. The lattice spacing in the direction parallel to the tensile stress was elongated while the lattice spacing in the direction perpendicular to the tensile stress was compressed.     

Analysis of 90° pulsed magnetization signals of ferrite-garnet films with easy plane-type anisotropy

The results from a numerical analysis of 90° pulsed magnetization signals of ferrite-garnet films with easy plane-type anisotropy are discussed. The possibility of nonlinear magnetization oscillations occurring at a magnetizing pulse front several times greater than the oscillation period is shown. The results from the calculations describe the actual shape of the longitudinal and transverse signals quite well. The calculated values of the oscillation frequency (∼500 MHz) are also in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Peculiarities of the anisotropy of cosmic rays with E0 ≥ 1019 eV from Yakutsk EAS array data

The arrival directions of primary cosmic ray particles with energies E ₀ ≥ 10¹⁹ eV and zenith angles θ ≤ 60° recorded on the Yakutsk array over the period 1974–2009 are analyzed. These events separated by different time intervals are shown to have different global anisotropies.     

Staggered anisotropy parameter modification of the anisotropic t–J model

The anisotropic t–J model (U_q(gl(2|1)) Perk–Schultz model) with staggered disposition of the anisotropy parameter along a chain is considered and the corresponding ladder type integrable model is constructed. This is a generalisation to spin-1 case of the staggered XXZ spin-1/2 model considered earlier. The corresponding Hamiltonian is calculated and, since it contains next to nearest neighbour interaction terms, can be written in a zig-zag form. The algebraic Bethe ansatz technique is applied and the eigenstates, along with eigenvalues of the transfer matrix of the model are found.     

Flexible single molecule simulation of reaction–diffusion processes

An algorithm is developed for simulation of the motion and reactions of single molecules at a microscopic level. The molecules diffuse in a solvent and react with each other or a polymer and molecules can dissociate. Such simulations are of interest e.g. in molecular biology. The algorithm is similar to the Green’s function reaction dynamics (GFRD) algorithm by van Zon and ten Wolde where longer time steps can be taken by computing the probability density functions (PDFs) and then sample from the distribution functions. Our computation of the PDFs is much less complicated than GFRD and more flexible. The solution of the partial differential equation for the PDF is split into two steps to simplify the calculations. The sampling is without splitting error in two of the coordinate directions for a pair of molecules and a molecule-polymer interaction and is approximate in the third direction. The PDF is obtained either from an analytical solution or a numerical discretization. The errors due to the operator splitting, the partitioning of the system, and the numerical approximations are analyzed. The method is applied to three different systems involving up to four reactions. Comparisons with other mesoscopic and macroscopic models show excellent agreement.