Electronic structure of Ce and Sm in hydrides and the 4f collapse in YbHx

The population of the 4f, 5d, and 6s shells of rare-earth atoms in RH_x hydrides (R=Ce, Sm, Yb; x≈2–3) has been studied by the x-ray line-shift method. The population of the 5d and 6s shells of Ce and Sm atoms, and the charge on them in metals and hydrides, were determined from experiment and calculated within the Hartree-Fock-Dirac (Koopmans) model. The decrease of the charge on Ce and Sm revealed upon transition from the metal to the hydride argues unambiguously for the anionic (hydride) model. In YbH_x with x⩾2, the structural transition is accompanied by a strongly pronounced electronic transition from divalent to a noninteger-valence state . Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 1393–1396 (August 1998)     

Specific features of the electronic structure of cerium and its 4d and 5d partners in CeM2 Laves phases (M=Fe, Co, Ni, Ru, Rh, Os, Pt, Mg, Al)

The x-ray line shift method has been used to study the electronic state of Ce (the 4f population) and of its 4d and 5d partners in the CeM₂ Laves phases (M=Fe, Co, Ni, Ru, Rh, Os, Pt, Mg, Al). It is shown that the valence of Ce in CeM₂ decreases monotonically from the limiting value m≈3.35 to m≈3 with decreasing intracrystalline compression of Ce atoms. The population of the outer 4d and 5d orbitals of Ru, Rh, and Os in the Laves phases has been found to be larger than that in metals. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 1397–1400 (August 1998)     

Branching ratio and CP-asymmetry of B<Subscript>s</Subscript>→ρ(ω)K decays in the perturbative QCD approach

In this paper, we calculate the branching ratios and CP-violating asymmetries for B_s→ρ^±K^∓, ρ⁰K̄⁰ and ωK̄⁰ decays in the perturbative QCD factorization approach. The theoretical predictions for the CP-averaged branching ratios of the considered decays are Br(B_s→ρ^±K^∓)≈24.7×10^-6, Br(B_s→ρ⁰K̄⁰)≈1.2×10^-7 and Br(B_s→ωK̄⁰)≈1.7×10^-7; and we also predict large CP-violating asymmetries for the considered decay modes. Specifically, the large A_CP ^dir(B_s→ρ^±K^∓) at -12% level plus large branching ratio at 10^-5 level are measurable in the forthcoming LHC-b experiments. PACS 13.25.Hw; 12.38.Bx; 14.40.Nd     

Nuclear charge radii and electromagnetic moments of scandium isotopes and isomers in the f7/2 shell

Collinear laser spectroscopy experiments on the ScII transition 3d4s ³D₂→3d4p ³F₃ at λ ≈ 363.1 nm were performed on the ^42–46Sc isotopic chain using an ion guide isotope separator with a cooler–buncher. Isotope and isomer shifts and hyperfine structures of five ground states and two isomers were measured. Preliminary results on the nuclear moments and charge radii changes deduced from these measurements are reported.     

Dc and Ac conductivity of La2CuO4+δ

The complex conductivity of La₂CuO_4+δ has been investigated for frequencies 20 Hz≤ν≤4 GHz and temperatures 1.5K≤T≤450 K. Two single crystals with δ≈0 and δ≈0.02 were investigated, using dc (four-probe), reflectometric and contact-free techniques. At high temperatures the dc conductivity is thermally activated with low values of the activation energy. For low temperatures Mott's variable range hopping dominates. The real and imaginary parts of the ac conductivity follow a power-law dependence σ∼v ^s, typical for charge transport by hopping processes. A careful analysis of the temperature dependence of the ac conductivity and of the frequency exponents has been performed. It is not possible to explain all aspects of the ac conductivity in La₂CuO_4+δ by standart hopping models. However, the observed minimum in the temperature dependence of the frequency exponents strongly suggests tunneling of large polarons as dominant transport process.     

Two-photon resonant four-wave mixing processes in atomic barium

By means of a N₂-laser pumped dye-laser (P _L ≈20kW, Δv _L < 10 GHZ) different two-photon resonant four-wave coupling processes in Ba vapour (n _Ba≈10¹⁶ cm⁻³) using the Ba states 6s8s ¹ S _o and 7s5d ¹ D ₂ were investigated. Coherent line radiation with conversion rates up to 10⁻³ was generated within the range of λ=190–200 nm by sumfrequency mixingv _UV=2v ₁+v ₂ of 3 laser photons and within the range of λ=250–380 nm by couplingv _UV=2v ₁±v _IR of 2 laser photons with one photonv _IR stimulated emitted in laser-induced Ba transitions. For the second coupling type the various nonlinear processes contributing to the formation of the coupling components are discussed. The power of the UV-component as function of inensity and resonance detuning of the laser as well as on the phase-mismatch was calculated on the basis of the small signal theory and compared to the experimental data.     

Hyperfine structure and isotope shift studies of rhenium by laser optogalvanic spectroscopy

Doppler-limited high resolution laser optogalvanic spectra of six transitions of rhenium lying in the range 560–620 nm have been recorded. Isotope shifts between the two natural isotopes of rhenium,¹⁸⁵Re and¹⁸⁷Re, have been calculated in all the six transitions. Hyperfine coupling constants for eight levels belonging to the configurations 5d ⁵6s ², 5d ⁶6s, 5d ⁴6s ²6p and 5d ⁵6s6p are reported. Wherever possible our constants are compared with those given by others.     

Anomalies of internal friction in CsI single crystal at liquid helium temperatures caused by plastic deformation

Acoustic relaxation in undeformed and plastically deformed CsI single crystal has been studied using the composite oscillator technique at frequencies (1–7) × 10⁵ Hz in the temperature range 2–15 K. Plastic deformation leads to appearance of an internal friction peak localized in the temperature interval 4–5 K. It is shown that the peak shifts towards higher temperatures when increasing the vibration frequency and corresponds to a thermally activated relaxation process with very low values of the activation energyU ≈ 1.9×10⁻³ eV and the attack frequencyν ₀≈6.7 × 10³ s⁻¹. Interaction of sound with dislocation kinks migrating in the second order Peierls relief is considered as a possible mechanism of the peak. Research was made possible in part by Grants U9T000 and U9T200 from the International Science Foundation and supported in part by the Fundamental Research Foundation of Ukraine (Project 2.4/156 “Bion”).     

The level structure of atomic lutetium (Z= 71): a relativistic Hartree-Fock calculation

We have calculated relativistic energies, Landé factors and lifetimes for 5d6s ², 5d ²6s, 6s ² ns (n = 7–14), 6s ² nd (n = 6–25), 6s ² ng (n = 5–7), 6s ² np (n = 6–25), 5d6s6p and 6s ² nf (n = 5–23) excited levels outside the core [Xe]4f¹⁴ in neutral lutetium (Z = 71) using Cowan’s relativistic Hartree-Fock (HFR) method. The results obtained have been compared with other calculations and experiments.     

Saturation magnetic moments,magnetic hyperfine fields and electric field gradients at nuclei in the heavy rare earth metals

The contributions of 4f, 5d and 6s electrons to the saturation magnetic moments and magnetic hyperfine fields in the heavy rare earth metals are calculated using the model described in the previous paper. It is found that 4f shell moments are reduced from their free ion values by amounts varying from 0.05µ _B in Gd to several tenths of a Bohr magneton in Tb and Dy, in qualitative agreement with a recent published analysis of neutron diffraction results in Tb, but that the calculated total saturation moments in Tb and Dy are slightly larger than commonly accepted experimental values. After 6s contributions to magnetic hyperfine fields are determined by fitting observations in Gd, the predicted differences between the fields for metals and those for free ions are such that the estimated uncertainty ranges of the theoretical values overlap the experimental ranges. The 5d contribution in the model is negative, varying from about –40 kOe in Tb to –200 kOe in Er. Electric field gradients are also analysed. Observed results can be fitted if the average effective Sternheimer screening factorR _d ^* for 5d electrons in the metals satisfies (1 —R _d ^* )0.7.     

Smectic-A edge dislocations in a very thin cell

We study stable “bookshelf” smectic-A structures within a very thin plane-parallel cell of thickness L in which the mismatch between surface preferred (d _s) and intrinsic (d₀) smectic layer thicknesses occurs. The Landau-Ginzburg approach based on a complex smectic order parameter is used. For a weak enough smectic positional anchoring strength W smectic layers adopt the modified bookshelf profile. In a thick enough cell with increasing W a lattice of edge dislocations is continuously formed at the confining surfaces and then depinned from them. The structure with dislocations is formed when the condition d ₀/( d ₀/d _s - 1) ∼ 2 is fulfilled, where is the positional surface anchoring extrapolation length. If the cell is thin enough the dislocations formed at opposite cell plates annihilate and consequently the smectic layers adopt a locked bookshelf structure. This transition is discontinuous and takes place when d ₀/(L d ₀/d _s - 1) ∼ 5 is realized. To observe these transitions in a cell of thickness L∼ 1μm the conditions W∼ 10^-6 J/m ² and d ₀/d _s - 1∼ 5 ^. 10^-4 have to be fulfilled. All the three qualitatively different structures coexist at the triple point. Received 21 February 2002     

Electronic structure of Y and Pr in Laves phases with Mg, Al, Fe, Co, and Ni

The electronic structure (population of the valence d and s shells) of Y and Pr in the RM₂ Laves phases with Mg, Al, Fe, Co, and Ni has been determined experimentally by the x-ray K-line shift method. It was found that the Y and Pr electronic structures in RM₂ with Mg and Al are practically the same as in metals, but the distribution of the three outer electrons between the d and s shells in Y is essentially different from that in Pr. In the Laves phases with 3d metals (Fe, Co, or Ni), the outer-electron distributions between the d and s shells in Y and Pr are practically identical and do not depend on the d metal. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 1721–1723 (October 1999)     

Effect of a magnetic field on the rate of etching of silicon dioxide in a CF4 + O2 plasma

A near-electrode nonuniform magnetic field crossed with an electric field is found to strongly affect the rate of etching of silicon dioxide on glass substrates in a CF₄ + O₂ plasma when the Larmor frequency (≈10⁹ s⁻¹) is much higher than the frequency of collisions of an electron with surrounding plasma particles (≈10⁶ s⁻¹) and the frequency of the applied rf electric field (≈10⁷ s⁻¹). The confinement of electrons by the magnetic field in the immediate vicinity of the substrate surface to be treated increases the rate of generation of chemically active particles, which increases the etching rate of silicon dioxide.     

Tails in harnesses

We consider space- and time-uniformd-dimensional random processes with linear local interaction, which we call harnesses and which may be used as discrete mathematical models of random interfaces. Their components are rea random variablesa _s ^t , wheres ∈ Z ^d andt=0, 1, 2.,... At every time step two events occur: first, every component turns into a linear combination of itsN neighbors, and second, a symmetric random i.i.d. “noise”v is added to every component. For any σ ∈Z _d ⁺ define Δ_σ a′ _s as follows. If σ=(0,...,0), σ=(0,...,0), Δ_σ a _s ^t =a _s ^t . Then by induction, wheree _i is thed-dimensional vector, whoseith component is one and other components are zeros. Denote |σ| the sum of components of σ. Call a real random variable ϕ symmetric if it is distributed as −ϕ. For any symmetric random variable ϕpower decay or P-decay is defined as the supremum of thoser for which therth absolute moment of ϕ is finite. Convergence a.s., in probability and in law whent→∞ is examined in terms of P-decay(v): Ifd=1, σ=0 ord=2, σ=(0,0), Δ_σ a _s ^t diverges. In all the other cases: If P-decay(v)<(d+2)/(d+|σ|), Δ_σ a _s ^t diverges; if P-decay(v)>(d+2)/(d+|σ|), Δ_σ a _s ^t , converges and P-decay(ν) For any symmetric random variable ϕexponential decay or E-decay is defined as the supremum of thoser for which the expectation of exp(|x|^r) is finite. Let E-decay(v)>0. Whenever Δ_σ a _s ^t converges (that is, ifd>2 or |σ|>0: Ifd>2, E-decay(lima _s ^t )=min(E-decay(v),d+2/2); if |σ|=1, E-decay (lim Δ_σ a _s ^t )=min(E-decay(ν),d+2); if |σ| ⩾, E-decay (lim Δ_σ a _s ^t )=E-decay(ν).     

Inner-shell excited quartet states in Li-like O<Superscript>5+</Superscript> and Ne<Superscript>7+</Superscript> ions

First laser spectroscopic measurements of the 6s5d³D₁-6s6p¹P₁ and 6s5d³D₂-6s6p¹P₁ transitions in several isotopes of atomic barium have been performed. The hyperfine structure of these transitions was optically resolved and isotope shifts for even and odd isotopes were determined. The isotope shifts show a deviation from their expected behavior for odd isotopes in an analysis based on King-plots. This observation puts atomic structure calculations at test because available theories do not predict this. A profound understanding of the wavefunctions for heavy alkaline earth systems like barium (Ba) and radium (Ra) is essential for a theoretical evaluation of their sensitivity to fundamental symmetry breaking effects such as they could be observed, e.g., through permanent electric dipole moments. Further the absolute frequency of the 6s^{2 1}S₀-6s6p³P₁ intercombination line in ¹³⁸Ba was determined to be 12 636.6232(1) cm^-1.     

Valence instability of uranium in U(Al1−x Gex)3

The electronic structure of U and Ge in the solid solutions U(Al_1−x Ge_x)₃ is investigated by measuring x-ray line shifts. It is shown that uranium has the mixed valence U³⁺ [Rn](5f ³)-U⁴⁺ [Rn](5f ²) over the entire composition range (0⩽x⩽1) and that the population of the uranium 5f shell increases by ∼0.28 5f electrons/U atom from UAl₃ (x=0) to UGe₃ (x=1). The electronic structure of Ge is close to the electronic structure of Ge metal over the entire composition range 0<x⩽1. No variation of the population of the Ge 4p shell is detected to within the experimental error (∼0.1 4p electrons/Ge atom) as the composition varies from x=0.2 to 1. It is established that the delocalization of a U 5f electron occurs as a result of its transition to the s or d band of the same uranium atom. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 1505–1508 (September 1997)     

Quantum diffusion of muonium in GaAs

The diffusion rate of muonium in the III–V compound semiconductor GaAs has been determined from measurements of muon spinT ₁ relaxation induced by motion in the presence of nuclear hyperfine interactions. It is shown for the first time in a semiconductor that (a) there is a crossover of the transport mechanism at about 90 K from stochastic to zero-phonon hopping, as evidenced by a steep rise in the hop rate at lower temperatures, and that (b) the muonium diffuses at the hop rate of 10¹⁰ s⁻¹ (corresponding diffusion constantD≈10⁻⁶ cm²s⁻¹) at lower temperatures as well as at room temperature.     

Aerosol deposition of detonation nanodiamonds used as nucleation centers for the growth of nanocrystalline diamond films and isolated particles

The aerosol deposition of detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs) on a silicon substrate is comprehensively studied, and the possibility of subsequent growth of nanocrystalline diamond films and isolated particles on substrates coated with DNDs is demonstrated. It is shown that a change in the deposition time and the weight concentration of DNDs in a suspension in the range 0.001–1% results in a change in the shape of DND agglomerates and their number per unit substrate surface area N _s from 10⁸ to 10¹¹ cm⁻². Submicron isolated diamond particles are grown on a substrate coated with DND agglomerates at N _s ≈ 108 cm⁻² using microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. At N _s ≈ 10¹⁰ cm⁻², thin (∼100 nm) nanodiamond films with a root-mean-square surface roughness less than 15 nm are grown.     

Enhanced isospin dependence of the empirical particle-hole effective interaction

The separation betweenT=0 andT=1 centroids of the empirical effective interaction is fairly large for the (d ₃ ^2/−1 f _7/2)JT particle-hole interaction as compared to nearby (f _7/2)² JT and (d _5/2)² JT particle-particle interactions. This interesting feature of the empirical effective interaction is shown to arise as a consequence of renormalization of the effective interaction as one truncates the configuration space from (s−d)⁻¹(f−p)¹ to (d ₃ ^2/−1 f _7/2) and from (f−p)² and (s−d)² configurations to (f _7/2)² and (d _5/2)² respectively.     

Single-particle quadrupole electromagnetic transitions in p-shell and sd-shell nuclei

Electron scattering Coulomb form factors for the single-particle quadrupole transitions in p-shell and sd-shell nuclei have been studied. Core polarization effects are included through a microscopic theory that includes excitations from the core orbits up to higher orbits with 2ω excitations. The modified surface delta interaction is adopted as a residual interaction. The results are discussed for the ( 1p _1/2 ^-1↦1p _3/2 ^-1) proton transition in ¹⁵N, ( 1d _5/2↦2s _1/2) neutron transition in ¹⁷O and ( 1d _3/2 ^-1↦2s _1/2 ^-1) proton transition in ³⁹K. The inclusion of core polarization effects modifies the form factors markedly and describes the experimental data very well in both the absolute strength and the momentum transfer dependence. Received: 18 April 2002 / Accepted: 1 July 2002 / Published online: 6 March 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: baguniv@uruklink.net Communicated by A. Molinari