On the mechanism of phase transformation in Ag2Se

A differential thermal analysis ΔT _y (T) in vacuum has been performed, and the temperature gradient ΔT _x (T) along the Ag₂Se sample during the transition α → β has been studied. It has been shown that the transitions α → α′ and β′ → β are displacive transitions and that the transition α′ → β′ is a reconstructive transition. It has been found that the temperature gradient along the sample during the transition α′ → β′ passes through a deep minimum due to a strong increase in the specific heat capacity.     

Quark momentum-space charge distribution in deuteron and neutron/proton structure functions ratio

The electromagnetic polarizabilities of the nucleon are shown to be essentially composed of the nonresonant α _p(E ₀₊) = + 3.2, α _n(E ₀₊) = + 4.1, the t-channel α ^t _{p, n} = - β ^t _{p, n} = + 7.6 and the resonant β _{p, n}(P ₃₃(1232)) = + 8.3 contributions (in units of 10^-4fm^3). The remaining deviations from the experimental data Δα _p = 1.2±0.6, Δβ _p = 1.2±0.6, Δα _n = 0.8±1.7 and Δβ _n = 2.0±1.8 are contributed by a larger number of resonant and nonresonant processes with cancellations between the contributions. This result confirms that dominant contributions to the electric and magnetic polarizabilities may be represented in terms of two-photon coupling to the σ-meson having the predicted mass m _σ = 666MeV and two-photon width Γ _γγ = 2.6keV.     

Measurement of K β K /α values using proton beamvalues using proton beam

The Measurement of K _β K _/α intensity ratios are measured in some 3d shell elements by using a 2 MeV proton beam along with a high resolution Si(Li) detector. The present Measurement of K _β K _/α intensity ratios are in good agreement with Scofield modified theoretical values, thus supporting the basic assumptions in that theory. From the present Measurement of K _β K _/α intensity ratios, it is evident that due to chemical effects, the experimental Measurement of K _β K _/α intensity ratios will be increased while they will be decreased due to the presence of simultaneous M-shell vacancies which are produced due to proton excitation.     

Connectivity of growing networks with link constraints

We propose a growing network model with link constraint, in which new nodes are continuously introduced into the system and immediately connected to preexisting nodes, and any arbitrary node cannot receive new links when it reaches a maximum number of links k_m. The connectivity of the network model is then investigated by means of the rate equation approach. For the connection kernel A(k)=k^γ, the degree distribution n_k takes a power law if γ≥1 and decays stretched exponentially if 0≤γ< 1. We also consider a network system with the connection kernel A(k)=k^α(k_m-k)^β. It is found that n_k approaches a power law in the α> 1 case and has a stretched exponential decay in the 0≤α< 1 case, while it can take a power law with exponential truncation in the special α=β=1 case. Moreover, n_k may have a U-type structure if α> β.     

Effect of the ceramic grain size and concentration on?the?dynamical mechanical and dielectric behavior of?poly(vinilidene fluoride) Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 composites

In this work, poly(vinilidene fluoride)/Pb(Zr_0.53Ti_0.47)O₃([PVDF]_1−x /[PZT] _x ) composites of volumetric fractions x and (0–3) type connectivity were prepared in the form of thin films. PZT powder of crystallite size of 0.84, 1.68, and 2.35 μm in different amounts of PZT (10, 20, 30, and 40%) was mixed with the polymeric matrix. The crystalline phase of the polymeric matrix was the nonpolar α-phase and the polar β-phase. Dielectric and dynamic mechanical (DMA) measurements were performed to these composites in order to evaluate the influence of particle size and the amount of PZT filler with respect to the PVDF matrix. The inclusion of ceramic particles in the PVDF polymer matrix increases the complex dielectric constant and dynamical mechanical response of the composites. A similar behavior is observed for the α- or β-phase of the polymeric matrix indicating that the PVDF polymer matrix is not particularly relevant for the composite behavior. On the other hand, ceramic size and especially content play the major role in the increase of the dielectric response and the room temperature storage modulus. In particular, the storage modulus increases with increasing PZT concentration, but this increase is more pronounced, in terms of maximum value, for the sample with 2.35 μm particle size; DMA reveals two main relaxations in the analyzed samples. A low-temperature process maximum at ca. −40°C, usually labeled by β or α _a associated to the T _g of the polymer and the α-relaxation at temperatures above 30°C. The β-relaxation is also observed in the dielectric measurements. The models used to asses the dielectric behavior of the samples with increasing PZT concentration indicate that the particle–matrix interaction plays a relevant role, as well as the particle asymmetry and relative orientation, being the Yamada model the most appropriate to describe the composite behavior. An erratum to this article can be found at     

On bound state computations in three- and four-electron atomic systems

A variational approach is developed for bound state calculations in three- and four-electron atomic systems. This approach can be applied to determine, in principle, an arbitrary bound state in three- and four-electron ions and atoms. Our variational wave functions are constructed from four- and five-body Gaussoids that respectively depend on six (r ₁₂, r ₁₃, r ₁₄, r ₂₃, r ₂₄, r ₃₄) and ten (r ₁₂, r ₁₃, r ₁₄, r ₁₅, r ₂₃, r ₂₄, r ₂₅, r ₃₄, r ₃₅ and r ₄₅) relative coordinates. The approach allows operating with the more than one electron spin functions. In particular, the trial wave functions for the ¹ S states in four-electron atomic systems include the two independent spin functions χ₁ = αβαβ + βαβα − βααβ − αββα and χ₂ = 2ααββ + 2ββαα − βααβ − αββα − βαβα − αβαβ. We also discuss the construction of variational wave functions for the excited 2³ S states in four- electron atomic systems.     

Focal switch of cosine-Gaussian beams

The focal switch of cosine-Gaussian (CsG) beams passing through a system with the aperture and lens separated is studied analytically and numerically. It is shown that the focal switch of CsG beams can appear not only for the apertured case, but also for the unapertured case. The necessary condition for the focal switch is that truncation parameter α > α_c and the beam parameter β > β_c, α_c, β_c being the corresponding critical values. There exists a maximum of the relative transition height Δz _sw as α varies, and Δz _sw increases with increasing β and decreasing N _w. The normalized axial intensity minimum I _min / I _max decreases with an increase of α and β, and I _min / I _max remains unchanged as N _w varies.     

Thermodynamic parameters of diffuse phase transitions in Ag2Te

A differential thermal analysis in vacuum and studies of the coefficients of electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity, and of the thermal emf are made in Ag₂Te in the neighborhood of the structural phase transition. It is shown that these data can be used to calculate the switching factor L(T), determine the region in which the phases coexist within the transition, and calculate the thermodynamic parameters. Prior to and after the main phase transition, additional displacement transitions are observed. It is found that the phase transition takes place roughly according to the scheme α _{385 K}→α′_{405 K}→β′_{420 K}→β _{440 K}. The specific heat C _p, changes in entropy ΔS and transition enthalpy ΔH, as well as the minimum phase fluctuation volume V, and the heat Q of the phase transition are determined. It is shown that excesses of Te and Ag have almost no effect on the transition temperatures T ₀, but have a substantial effect on the thermodynamic parameters. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 1693–1697 (September 1998)     

Weak chaos and metastability in a symplectic system of many long-range-coupled standard maps

We introduce, and numerically study, a system of N symplectically and globally coupled standard maps localized in a d=1 lattice array. The global coupling is modulated through a factor r^-α, being r the distance between maps. Thus, interactions are long-range (nonintegrable) when 0≤α≤1, and short-range (integrable) when α>1. We verify that the largest Lyapunov exponent λ_M scales as λ_M ∝ N^-κ(α), where κ(α) is positive when interactions are long-range, yielding weak chaos in the thermodynamic limit N↦∞ (hence λ_M→0). In the short-range case, κ(α) appears to vanish, and the behaviour corresponds to strong chaos. We show that, for certain values of the control parameters of the system, long-lasting metastable states can be present. Their duration t_c scales as t_c ∝N^β(α), where β(α) appears to be numerically in agreement with the following behavior: β>0 for 0 ≤α< 1, and zero for α≥1. These results are consistent with features typically found in nonextensive statistical mechanics. Moreover, they exhibit strong similarity between the present discrete-time system, and the α-XY Hamiltonian ferromagnetic model.     

Molecular dynamics in thin films of isotactic poly(methyl methacrylate)

The molecular dynamics in thin films (18 nm-137 nm) of isotactic poly(methyl methacrylate) (i-PMMA) of two molecular weights embedded between aluminium electrodes are measured by means of dielectric spectroscopy in the frequency range from 50 mHz to 10 MHz at temperatures between 273 K and 392 K. The observed dynamics is characterized by two relaxation processes: the dynamic glass transition (α-relaxation) and a (local) secondary β-relaxation. While the latter does not depend on the dimensions of the sample, the dynamic glass transition becomes faster (≤2 decades) with decreasing film thickness. This results in a shift of the glass transition temperature T _g to lower values compared to the bulk. With decreasing film thickness a broadening of the relaxation time distribution and a decrease of the dielectric strength is observed for the α-relaxation. This enables to deduce a model based on immobilized boundary layers and on a region displaying a dynamics faster than in the bulk. Additionally, T _g was determined by temperature-dependent ellipsometric measurements of the thickness of films prepared on silica. These measurements yield a gradual increase of T _g with decreasing film thickness. The findings concerning the different thickness dependences of T _g are explained by changes of the interaction between the polymer and the substrates. A quantitative analysis of the T _g shifts incorporates recently developed models to describe the glass transition in thin polymer films. Received 12 August 2001 and Received in final form 16 November 2001     

Magnetic dipole,electric quadrupole and magnetic octupole moments of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Δ</Emphasis> baryons in light cone QCD sum rules

Due to the very short life time of the Δ baryons, a direct measurement on the electromagnetic moments of these systems is almost impossible in the experiment and can only be done indirectly. Although only for the magnetic dipole moments of Δ ⁺⁺ and Δ ⁺ systems there are some experimental data, the theoretical, phenomenological and lattice calculations could play crucial role. In the present work, the magnetic dipole (μ _Δ ), electric quadrupole (Q _Δ ) and magnetic octupole (O _Δ ) moments of these baryons are computed within the light cone QCD sum rules. The results are compared with the predictions of the other phenomenological approaches, lattice QCD and existing experimental data.     

Dynamic-mechanical and nuclear magnetic resonance study of relaxation processes in ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fibres

The relaxation processes (α, β, and γ) in UHMW PE fibres drawn to different draw ratios λ have been studied by dynamic-mechanical and nuclear magnetic resonance methods. The temperature dependences of tensile loss moduli E″ and spin-lattice relaxation times T ₁ have been analyzed assuming distribution of correlation times τ according to the Davidson—Cole function. The activation energies E _a and parameters ε characterizing widths of distribution, and asymptotic value τ ₀ for correlation times have been determined from experimental data for low-temperature γ-process and for high-temperature α-process. A weak β-process has been found by dynamic-mechanical method and quantitative analysis was made only for fibres with λ = 9. The temperature dependences of second moment M ₂ of the broad-line NMR spectra have been analyzed according to the Gutowsky—Pake formula, which includes only a single correlation time τ _c without distribution. In this case the activation energies E _a and values of τ ₀ have been determined.     

Influence of Thomson effect on the resultant local Seebeck coefficient in thermoelectric composite materials

The resultant local Seebeck coefficient α _R (=α _S−α _T) at the interface of a thermoelement has not yet been measured, although it is an important factor governing the thermoelectric efficiency, where α _S is the local Seebeck coefficient and α _T is the one caused by the Thomson effect. It is shown in this paper that α _S, α _T, and α _R of the p- and n-type Cu/Bi–Te/Cu composites are obtained analytically and experimentally on the assumption that the local temperature of the composite on which the temperature difference ΔT is imposed varies linearly with changes in position along the composite. They were indeed estimated as a function of position from the local experimental data of R,ΔI,ΔT, and V generated by applying an additional current of ±I to the composite, where R is the electrical resistance and ΔI is a current generated by the composite. As a result, it was found that the absolute values of α _S at the hot interface of the p- and n-type composites are approximately 1.5 and 1.4 times higher than their lowest values in the middle region of the composite, respectively, while those of α _T are less than 8% of α _S all over the composite and are so small that the relation α _R≈α _S can be held. We thus succeeded in measuring α _R at the interfaces of the composite.     

Measurement of K X-ray intensity ratios in Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn employing carbon and nitrogen projectiles – VTT method

A method is suggested to effect the self absorption correction in a different way to estimate the K X-ray intensity ratios particularly when heavy ions are used as projectiles. Employing this method, the K_β/K_α intensity ratios are measured in some 3d shell elements by using Carbon and Nitrogen ions as exciting agents. The K_β/K_α intensity ratios thus obtained in the present work are compared with the intensity ratios due to some previous authors and also with Scofield theoretical values. Received 14 August 2000 and Received in final form 3 January 2001     

Learning about flavour structure from τ→eβγ and μ→eγ?

Current and upcoming experiments should improve the sensitivity to e _α →e _β γ decays by an order of magnitude. This paper assumes that one of the τ→e _β γ decays is observed, and explores the structure and consequences of the required new flavoured couplings. In simple models (a low-scale seesaw, leptoquarks) it is shown that the dipole vertex function is proportional to a product of flavoured matrices from the Lagrangian (a “Jarlskog-like” invariant), provided that the loop particles are weakly coupled to the Higgs. Secondly, if the dipole vertex function has a hierarchical structure, this might imply that only some of the τ→e _β γ modes can be observed, due to the “approximate zero” implied by the bound on μ→eγ. The assumptions underlying this potential test of a hierarchical structure are discussed.     

The Primakoff reaction study for pion polarizability measurement at COMPASS

The electromagnetic structure of charged pions can be described by the electric (α_π) and magnetic (β_π) polarizabilities that depend on the rigidity of pion’s internal structure as a composite particle. It is shown that the values of α_π and β_π can be precisely measured via the Primakoff reaction π⁻ + (A, Z) → π⁻ + (A, Z) + γ in the COMPASS experiment at CERN.     

Role of structural elements of chloronaphthalene molecules in spin-orbit coupling: Phosphorescence

The dipole moments (P ^s ) of the T ₁ ^S → S ₀ transition from the triplet sublevels s = z, y, x, which are determined by the spin-orbit (SO) coupling, are studied for a series of mono- and dichloro derivatives of naphthalene. Based on the model calculations, the effects of different factors (SO coupling in individual chlorine atoms occupying the α and β positions in the molecule, SO coupling in the carbon backbone of the molecule, and the compensation effect caused by the interference of SO interactions in individual structural elements of the molecule) on P ^s are differentiated and discussed.     

Pressure-induced amorphization of Gd2(MoO4)3: A high pressure Raman investigation

High pressure Raman spectroscopic studies on Gd₂(MoO₄)₃(GMO) have been carried out at ambient temperature in the diamond cell to 10 GPa hydrostatic pressure. These experiments have revealed pressure-induced phase transitions in GMO near 2 GPa and 6.0 GPa. The first transition is from Pba2(β′) phase to another undetermined crystalline phase, designated as phase II, and the second transition is to an amorphized state. On releasing pressure there is a partial reversion to the crystalline state. The Raman data indicate that the amorphization is due to disordering of the MoO₄ tetrahedral units. Further, it is inferred from the nature of the Raman bands in the amorphized material that the Mo-O bond lengths and bond angles have a range of values, instead of a few set values. The results of the present study as well as previous high pressure-high temperature quenching experiments strongly support that pressure-induced amorphization in GMO is a consequence of the kinetically impededβ toα phase transition. The system in frustration becomes disordered. The rare earth trimolybdates crystallizing in theβ′ structure are all expected to undergo similar pressure-induced amorphization.     

Proton-exchange influence on the polar phonons of LiTaO3 optical waveguides

Refractive index change and Raman scattering of Z-cut proton-exchanged LiTaO₃ optical waveguides with different composition have been studied. Probing of the waveguide depth was carried out by using micro-Raman spectroscopy in order to distinguish layers with different phase states. Varying the proton-exchange and post-exchange annealing regimes, two phases –α and β– in addition to the pure LiTaO₃, were clearly observed. The behaviour of the A ₁ vibrations of the TaO₆ groups was found to be very sensitive to the phase changes. Using data from waveguide Raman spectra, normal and oblique E(TO, LO) phonons were sorted and their properties were followed in the α and β phases. The OH-stretchings are considered to correspond to dipoles turned out of the oxygen planes. Received: 9 July 1999 / Accepted: 11 October 1999 / Published online: 24 March 2000     

Dielectric relaxation of poly(ethylenglycol)- b-poly(propylenglycol)-b-poly(ethylenglycol) copolymers above the glass transition temperature

The complex dielectric permittivity has been measured for three poly(ethylenglycol)-b-poly(propylenglycol)-b-poly(ethylenglycol) copolymers with different content of poly(ethylenglycol) (15%, 33% and 80%), and increasing degree of crystallinity (0%, 10% and 20%, respectively). Only the non-crystalline sample shows the normal mode relaxation together with the segmental (α-relaxation) and the Johari-Goldstein (β-relaxation) modes. The crystalline samples show also polarization contributions due to the existence of interfaces between the crystallites and the amorphous phase. The relaxation times of the (α and normal modes can be described by a VFT equation with the same value of T₀. There is a slowing-down of the segmental mode due to the presence of crystallites. The temperature dependence of the α and β relaxations in the copolymers is very similar to that found in pure PPG, while there are significant differences in the case of the normal mode of the non-crystalline sample. The size of the cooperatively rearranging regions CRR, and the width of the glass transition region increase slightly with the degree of crystallinity. The temperature dependence of the size of CRRs is compatible with the prediction of fluctuation theory. No systematic effect of the degree of crystallinity on the β-relaxation has been found. Near T _g the β-relaxation time is close to the primitive time of the coupling model. Received: 31 May 2000