The topological structure of 2D disordered cellular systems

We analyze the structure of two dimensional disordered cellular systems generated by extensive computer simulations. These cellular structures are studied as topological trees rooted on a central cell or as closed shells arranged concentrically around a germ cell. We single out the most significant parameters that characterize statistically the organization of these patterns. Universality and specificity in disordered cellular structures are discussed. Received: 23 September 1997 / Received in final form: 14 January 1998 / Accepted: 29 January 1998     

Magnetic properties of small Yttrium clusters

The magnetic properties of small Y_N clusters are studied by using a tight-binding Hubbard Hamiltonian in the unrestricted Hartree-Fock approximation. Several types of cluster geometries are considered in order to see the effects of the size and symmetry of the structures on the magnetic properties. The average magnetic moments are found to be constant over large domains of variations in the interatomic distance, a fact that can be explained by the existing closed shell electronic configurations at least for one spin direction in all our magnetic solutions. Small energy gains upon the onset of magnetization are obtained, which reveals the low stability of the magnetic solutions. Our results contradict the prediction of a magnetic-nonmagnetic transition at a large cluster size (about 90 atoms) for these kinds of systems. Received: 27 April 1998 / Received in final form: 23 June 1998 / Accepted: 17 July 1998     

Surface waves in ferrofluids under vertical magnetic field

We present here new experimental results about the waves at the horizontal free surface of a magnetic fluid submitted to a normal magnetic field. The waves are generated by a small modulation at frequency of the vertical field . Using a shadowgraph method, we are able to measure the wavevector k of the 2D waves for a given value of and . The dispersion relation of the surface waves is established experimentally. On the other hand, we propose a theoretical derivation of the dispersion equation which includes a more complete treatment of the magnetic term than the previous works. Finally, we conclude that a linear and inviscid analysis is sufficient to fit well the experimental data, except in the vicinity of the critical field where a surface instability occurs. Received 11 May 1998     

Longitudinal Stern-Gerlach effect for slow cesium atoms

The mechanical Stern-Gerlach effect is investigated in the case of a slow atomic cloud falling through an inhomogeneous magnetic field featuring a strong longitudinal gradient. The resulting Zeeman sublevel state selection is demonstrated under various experimental conditions. Longitudinal spatial separations are in agreement with numerical simulations that take into account the gravitational acceleration and both the transverse and axial magnetic forces. Since separations greater than 20 cm are obtained, potential applications in atom optics are outlined. Received: 16 February 1998 / Received in final form: 1 April 1998 / Accepted: 6 April 1998     

AC field induced two-dimensional aggregation of multilamellar vesicles

The aggregation of 2D colloidal crystals can be performed by applying an AC field to a colloidal dispersion. This technique is used in this work for assembling multilamellar vesicles in suspension. The dynamics of the aggregation is followed by real-time recording of the pictures of the microsphere assembly through a phase contrast microscope. The influence of both the frequency and the amplitude of the alternating field on the dynamical evolution of the concentration of layered particles is discussed with respect to their size. A phenomenological model of double layer induced trapping of the particles is proposed and an electroconvective instability of the fluid surrounding the particles is suggested from the observation of the local dynamics of the particles, in accordance with a very recent argument of Yeh et al. [#!Yeh:97!#]. Received: 4 December 1997 / Revised: 24 March 1998 / Accepted: 4 May 1998     

Microcanonical ensemble study of a classical fluid of hard rods under gravity

The study of a system of hard rods in a box of finite length in the presence of a uniform gravitational field is made by means of the microcanonical ensemble. Explicit expressions are derived for the phase volume and the density of states, the primary functions of this ensemble. Related statistical quantities are reported, such as the entropy, the temperature, the heat capacity and the forces exerted on the fluid by the bottom and top walls. The microcanonical number density and higher order molecular distribution functions are also derived. Received: 7 April 1998 / Received in final form: 20 July 1998 / Accepted: 28 July 1998     

A model for ripple instabilities in granular media

We extend the model of surface granular flow proposed in [#!bcre!#] to account for the effect of an external `wind', which acts as to dislodge particles from the static bed, such that a stationary state of flowing grains is reached. We discuss in detail how this mechanism can be described in a phenomenological way, and show that a flat bed is linearly unstable against ripple formation in a certain region of parameter space. We focus in particular on the (realistic) case where the migration velocity of the instability is much smaller than the grains' velocity. In this limit, the full dispersion relation can be established. We relate the critical wave vector to the mean hopping length and to the ratio of the flight time to the `stick' time. We provide an intuitive interpretation of the instability. Received: 30 January 1998 / Revised: 12 May 1998 / Accepted: 8 June 1998     

Flow equations and the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction

In the past different models for the magnetic salt vanadyl pyrophosphate (VO)₂P₂O₇ were discussed. Neither a spin ladder nor an alternating chain are capable to describe recently measured magnetic excitations. In this paper we propose a 2D model that fits better to experimental observations. Received: 29 May 1998 / Received in final form: 25 September 1998 / Accepted: 30 September 1998     

Free expansion of a Bose–Einstein condensate from an Ioffe–Pritchard magnetic trap

5 rubidium-87 atoms released from an Ioffe–Pritchard magnetic trap is investigated experimentally. The expansion dynamics depend only on the trap frequencies, which are determined independently. The data are in good agreement with the expected expansion of a condensate, and are clearly distinct from the behaviour of a classical gas in the hydrodynamic regime. Received: 3 June 1998/Final version: 25 September 1998     

Spatio-temporal patterns in the thermoconvection of a planar nematic layer: II. Experiments

We study experimentally the evolution of thermoconvection in a laterally extended planar nematic layer, at zero or weak stabilizing magnetic field. As the applied thermal gradient is increased, a cascade of symmetry breakings occurs, towards structures of increasing spatial complexity, and ultimately towards oscillating states. The patterns are characterized optically, and simple models for the distortion of the vertical (out of plane) component of the director field are proposed. Received: 1st December 1997 / Revised: 25 May 1998 / Accepted: 2 June 1998     

Martensitic transformations: first-principles calculations combined with molecular-dynamics simulations

Results are presented of first-principles total-energy calculations and molecular-dynamics simulations of structural transformations in magnetic transition metal alloys like Fe_1-xNi_x. While first-principles calculations allow to identify those structures having the lower total energy, molecular-dynamics simulations can be used to trace out the dependence of the transformation on temperature, composition, concentration of defects etc. We have used the method of the semi-empiric embedded-atom potential in the molecular-dynamics simulations which yields remarkable good results for the structural changes. Received: 3 February 1998 / Revised: 4 May 1998 / Accepted: 24 June 1998     

A theory of double exchange in infinite dimensions

This paper gives a simplified model of the double exchange which is a kind of indirect exchange interaction between localized magnetic moments. The presented model is solved exactly in the case of infinite - dimensional space. Equations for single-particle Green's function and magnetization of the localized spins subsystem are obtained. It is shown that our simple double exchange model reveals an instability to the ferromagnetic ordering of localized moments. Magnetic and electric properties of this system on Bethe lattice with are investigated in detail. Received: 24 January 1997 / Revised: 14 February 1997 / Received in final form: 18 August 1997 / Accepted: 25 August 1997     

Light-induced bistability in spin transition solids leading to thermal and optical hysteresis

We investigate the behaviour of photo-excitable, bistable systems, under permanent light irradiation, in presence of relaxation towards the non-excited state. Cooperativity causes bistability of the steady state, leading to light-induced thermal and optical hysteresis (LITH and LIOH). The light-induced instability is expected to induce demixtion, i.e. the coexistence of domains of the two stable steady states. Such effects are evidenced by magnetic and reflectivity measurements on the spin-crossover solid solution: , with x= 0.3, 0.5, 0.85. Experimental data are in quantitative agreement with a simple macroscopic model which includes a non-linear relaxation term in the master equation. Received: 5 June 1997 / Accepted: 17 July 1998     

On some natural and model 2D bimodal random cellular structures

The topological and metric properties of a few natural 2D random cellular structures, namely an armadillo shell structure and young soap froths, which are formed from two classes of cells, large and small, have been characterized. The topological properties of a model generated from a Kagome tiling, which mimics such random binary structures, have also been exactly calculated. The distribution of the number of cell sides is bimodal for the structures investigated. In contrast to the classical Aboav-Weaire law for homogeneous 2D random cellular structures, nm(n), the mean total number of edges of neighbouring cells of cells with n sides does not vary linearly with n. Only the nm(i, n) (i=1,2) determined separately for every class of cells are linear in n for all investigated structures. Topological properties and correlations between metric and topological properties are finally compared with the predictions of various literature models. Received: 24 December 1997 / Revised: 7 April 1998 / Accepted: 20 April 1998     

Spontaneous SU(2) symmetry breaking in one-dimensional quantum antiferromagnet

We present a Bethe Ansatz based investigation of a one-dimensional (1D) Heisenberg spin chain in a real 3D crystal lattice. We have shown that due to an influence of the lattice distortion on a crystalline field of ligands of magnetic ions, a Heisenberg antiferromagnetic spin chain is unstable under the appearance of a magnetic anisotropy of the “easy-plane” type. The effects of an external magnetic field and nonzero temperature onto such a phase transition are studied. Received: 19 January 1998 / Revised: 16 March 1998 / Accepted: 17 March 1998     

Blue-Sisyphus cooling in cesium gray molasses and antidot lattices

We present an experimental study of the kinetic temperature of cesium atoms interacting with laser beams tuned on the blue side of the transition. In the case of a three-dimensional four-beam molasses, temperatures as low as 800 nK were found. These low temperatures are compatible with a good capture efficiency. The influence of other hyperfine transitions on the temperature is significant. In the presence of a static magnetic field (antidot lattices), the temperatures are slightly higher but show a much weaker dependence on the other hyperfine transitions. Received: 14 May 1998 / Received in final form: 16 October 1998 / Accepted: 2 November 1998     

Dynamic critical properties of a one-dimensional probabilistic cellular automaton

Dynamic properties of a one-dimensional probabilistic cellular automaton are studied by Monte Carlo simulation near a critical point which marks a second-order phase transition from an active state to an effectively unique absorbing state. Values obtained for the dynamic critical exponents indicate that the transition belongs to the universality class of directed percolation. Finally the model is compared with a previously studied one to show that a difference in the nature of the absorbing states places them in different universality classes. Received: 6 February 1998 / Revised and Accepted: 17 February 1998