Determining the radial pair distribution function from X‐ray absorption spectra by use of the Landweber iteration method

The Landweber iteration approach is used to construct the radial pair distribution function (RPDF) from an X‐ray absorption (EXAFS) spectrum. The physical motivation for the presented investigation is the possibility to also reconstruct asymmetric RPDFs from the EXAFS spectra. From the methodical point of view the shell fit analysis in the case of complicated spectra would be much more eased if the RPDF for the first shell(s) are computed precisely and independently. The RPDF, as a solution of the fundamental EXAFS integral equation, is examined for theoretical examples, and a detailed noise analysis is performed. As a real example the EXAFS spectrum of curium(III) hydrate is evaluated in a stable way without supplementary conditions by the proposed iteration, i.e. by a recursive application of the EXAFS kernel.     

Flourescence detection of surface exafs

The possibilities for flourescence detection of surface EXAFS are studied using thin films of gold on various substrates. For glancing incidence angles it is found that excellent signal to noise ratios can be obtained even for submonolayer films, demonstrating that the technique should have wide applicability to surface and near surface systems. In many cases the signal to noise is superior to electron detection techniques, and its sensitivity suggests the method may also be useful for detection of trace elements on surfaces.     

Improving robustness of filtered-x least mean p-power algorithm for active attenuation of standard symmetric-α-stable impulsive noise

The paper concerns active control of impulsive noise having peaky distribution with heavy tail. Such impulsive noise can be modeled using non-Gaussian stable process for which second order moments do not exist. The most famous filtered-x least mean square (FxLMS) algorithm for active noise control (ANC) systems is based on the minimization of variance (second order moment) of error signal, and hence, becomes unstable for the impulsive noise. In order to improve the robustness of adaptive algorithms for processes having distributions with heavy tails (i.e. signals with outliers), either (1) a robust optimization criterion may be used to derive the adaptive algorithm or (2) the large amplitude samples may be ignored or replaced by an appropriate threshold value. Among the existing algorithms for ANC of impulsive noise, one is based on the minimizing least mean p-power (LMP) of the error signal, resulting in FxLMP algorithm (approach 1). The other is based on modifying; on the basis of statistical properties; the reference signal in the update equation of the FxLMS algorithm (approach 2). In this paper we propose two solutions to improve the robustness of the FxLMP algorithm. In first proposed algorithm, the reference and the error signals are thresholded before being used in the update equation of FxLMP algorithm. As another solution to improve the performance of FxLMP algorithm, a modified normalized step size is proposed. The computer simulations are carried out, which demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.     

Multiple scattering of fractionally charged quasiparticles

We employ shot noise measurements to characterize the effective charge of quasiparticles, at filling factor nu=1/3 of the fractional quantum Hall regime, as they scatter from an array of identical weak backscatterers. Upon scattering, quasiparticles are known to bunch, e.g., only three e/3 charges, or "electrons" are found to traverse a rather opaque potential barrier. We find here that the effective charge scattered by an array of scatterers is determined by the scattering strength of an individual scatterer and not by the combined scattering strength of the array, which can be very small. Moreover, we also rule out intraedge equilibration of e/3 quasiparticles over a length scale of hundreds of microns.     

Anomalous resistivity and the origin of heavy mass in the two-band Hubbard model with one narrow band

We search for marginal Fermi-liquid behavior [1] in the two-band Hubbard model with one narrow band. We consider the limit of low electron densities in the bands and strong intraband and interband Hubbard interactions. We analyze the influence of electron polaron effect [2] and other mechanisms of mass enhancement (related to momentum dependence of the self-energies) on the effective mass and scattering times of light and heavy components in the clean case (electron-electron scattering and no impurities). We find the tendency towards phase separation (towards negative partial compressibility of heavy particles) in the 3D case for a large mismatch between the densities of heavy and light bands in the strong-coupling limit. We also observe that for low temperatures and equal densities, the homogeneous state resistivity R(T) ∼ T ₂ behaves in a Fermi-liquid fashion in both 3D and 2D cases. For temperatures higher than the effective bandwidth for heavy electrons T > W _* ^h , the coherent behavior of the heavy component is totally destroyed. The heavy particles move diffusively in the surrounding of light particles. At the same time, the light particles scatter on the heavy ones as if on immobile (static) impurities. In this regime, the heavy component is marginal, while the light one is not. The resistivity saturates for T > W _* ^h in the 3D case. In 2D, the resistivity has a maximum and a localization tail due to weak-localization corrections of the Altshuler-Aronov type [3]. Such behavior of resistivity could be relevant for some uranium-based heavy-fermion compounds like UNi₂Al₃ in 3D and for some other mixed-valence compounds possibly including layered manganites in 2D. We also briefly consider the superconductive (SC) instability in the model. The leading instability is towards the p-wave pairing and is governed by the enhanced Kohn-Luttinger [4] mechanism of SC at low electron density. The critical temperature corresponds to the pairing of heavy electrons via polarization of the light ones in 2D.     

The materials science X‐ray beamline BL8 at the DELTA storage ring

The hard X‐ray beamline BL8 at the superconducting asymmetric wiggler at the 1.5 GeV Dortmund Electron Accelerator DELTA is described. This beamline is dedicated to X‐ray studies in the spectral range from ～1 keV to ～25 keV photon energy. The monochromator as well as the other optical components of the beamline are optimized accordingly. The endstation comprises a six‐axis diffractometer that is capable of carrying heavy loads related to non‐ambient sample environments such as, for example, ultrahigh‐vacuum systems, high‐pressure cells or liquid‐helium cryostats. X‐ray absorption spectra from several reference compounds illustrate the performance. Besides transmission measurements, fluorescence detection for dilute sample systems as well as surface‐sensitive reflection‐mode experiments have been performed. The results show that high‐quality EXAFS data can be obtained in the quick‐scanning EXAFS mode within a few seconds of acquisition time, enabling time‐resolved in situ experiments using standard beamline equipment that is permanently available. The performance of the new beamline, especially in terms of the photon flux and energy resolution, is competitive with other insertion‐device beamlines worldwide, and several sophisticated experiments including surface‐sensitive EXAFS experiments are feasible.     

Anomalous infrared and visible light absorption and local structure of Ag–Au core/shell nanoparticles

We measured infrared and visible light absorption spectra and EXAFS for Ag–Au core/shell particles. The shell thickness and core diameter can be evaluated from the EXAFS results, which are almost consistent with those obtained using TEM. The influence of a thinner shell only slightly appeared in the visible absorption spectra, whereas the influence appeared strongly in the infrared absorption spectra. The spectra of the material in the vicinity of the particle surface appear in the infrared spectra. On the other hand, the spectra of the rather more internal material are observed in the visible spectra. It is thought that the influence of the core metal is different in the visible spectra from the infrared spectra. By considering the penetration depth, this phenomenon can be explained.     

Lift‐off protocols for thin films for use in EXAFS experiments

Lift‐off protocols for thin films for improved extended X‐ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements are presented. Using wet chemical etching of the substrate or the interlayer between the thin film and the substrate, stand‐alone high‐quality micrometer‐thin films are obtained. Protocols for the single‐crystalline semiconductors GeSi, InGaAs, InGaP, InP and GaAs, the amorphous semiconductors GaAs, GeSi and InP and the dielectric materials SiO₂ and Si₃N₄ are presented. The removal of the substrate and the ability to stack the thin films yield benefits for EXAFS experiments in transmission as well as in fluorescence mode. Several cases are presented where this improved sample preparation procedure results in higher‐quality EXAFS data compared with conventional sample preparation methods. This lift‐off procedure can also be advantageous for other experimental techniques (e.g. small‐angle X‐ray scattering) that benefit from removing undesired contributions from the substrate.     

Local order in light emitting porous silicon studied by XEOL and TEY

The local structure of porous silicon has been studied exciting its optical luminescence by X-rays (XEOL). The photoluminescence yield and the total electron yield (TEY), recorded simultaneously as a function of the X-ray energy at the Si K edge, give rise to the extended X-ray absorption fine structures (EXAFS). Analysis of EXAFS data confirms that the optical luminescence of porous Si originates from the nanocrystalline cores and shows that XEOL–EXAFS and TEY–EXAFS are sensitive to different Si local environment. It can be assumed that XEOL–EXAFS is related only to the light emitting sites while TEY–EXAFS is sampling both luminescent and non-luminescent Si sites.     

Quantum Teleportation Under Different Collective Noise Environment

We investigate that the average fidelity of the standard quantum teleportation communication protocol when the quantum channel is affected by different local collective noise environments frequently encountered in real quantum communication protocol. We show that the quantum teleportation efficiency can be enhanced when the noise is unavoidable by choose the fit Bell state as the quantum channel, especially we can get perfect quantum teleportation efficiency under the local collective Pauli σ_y noise environment. Our work can shed some light on the application of practical standard quantum teleportation communication protocol.

     

Pressure effects on EXAFS Debye-Waller factor and melting curve of solid krypton

The pressure effects on atomic mean-square displacement, extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) Debye-Waller factor and melting temperature of solid krypton have been investigated in within the statistical moment method scheme in quantum statistical mechanics. By assuming the interaction between atoms can be described by Buckingham potential, we performed the numerical calculations for krypton up to pressure 120?GPa. Our calculations show that the atomic mean-square displacement and EXAFS Debye-Waller factor of krypton crystal depend strongly on pressure. They make the robust reduction of the EXAFS peak height. Our results are in good and reasonable agreements with available experimental data. This approach gives us a relatively simple method for qualitatively calculating high-pressure thermo-physical properties of materials. Moreover, it can be used to verify future high-pressure experimental and theoretical works.     

Augmentation of the step‐by‐step Energy‐Scanning EXAFS beamline BL‐09 to continuous‐scan EXAFS mode at INDUS‐2 SRS

An innovative scheme to carry out continuous‐scan X‐ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements similar to quick‐EXAFS mode at the Energy‐Scanning EXAFS beamline BL‐09 at INDUS‐2 synchrotron source (Indore, India), which is generally operated in step‐by‐step scanning mode, is presented. The continuous XAS mode has been implemented by adopting a continuous‐scan scheme of the double‐crystal monochromator and on‐the‐fly measurement of incident and transmitted intensities. This enabled a high signal‐to‐noise ratio to be maintained and the acquisition time was reduced to a few seconds from tens of minutes or hours. The quality of the spectra (signal‐to‐noise level, resolution and energy calibration) was checked by measuring and analysing XAS spectra of standard metal foils. To demonstrate the energy range covered in a single scan, a continuous‐mode XAS spectrum of copper nickel alloy covering both Cu and Ni K‐edges was recorded. The implementation of continuous‐scan XAS mode at BL‐09 would expand the use of this beamline in in situ time‐resolved XAS studies of various important systems of current technological importance. The feasibility of employing this mode of measurement for time‐resolved probing of reaction kinetics has been demonstrated by in situ XAS measurement on the growth of Ag nanoparticles from a solution phase.     

Icosahedral order in Cu-Zr amorphous alloys studied by means of X-ray absorption fine structure and molecular dynamics simulations

We have used the X-ray absorption fine structure method and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to characterize atomic order in Cu-Zr metallic glasses (MGs). The microstructure of these MGs is described in terms of interconnected icosahedral-like clusters (superclusters) which are basic building units reproducing the stoichiometry of the system. The equilibrium MD configurations are used as an input for ab initio calculations of the extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra. The theoretical EXAFS and XANES spectra are compared with those measured for rapidly quenched glassy Cu-Zr alloys. We demonstrate that the experimental results are well reproduced by EXAFS modeling of the population of the superclusters derived from the MD configuration. The average local structural motif can be approximated by Cu-centered icosahedral-like cluster satisfying the condition of maximal local packing efficiency and approximating the system stoichiometry. The simulated XANES exhibits good agreement with experiment, indicating that the atomic order of the MD configuration is consistent with that of the real alloy structure over distances of about 1?nm.     

Rare events in a log-Weibull scenario - Application to earthquake magnitude data

We discuss the pertinency of the log-Weibull model in the statistical understanding of energy release for earthquake magnitude data. This model has many interesting features, the most remarkable of which being: depending on the value of the deformation index of the source, it may present tails ranging from moderately heavy () to very heavy (with tail index zero as ), through hyperbolic (power law) for the critical value . Under this model (for which a precise tail study is supplied), the occurrence of power laws appears as a critical phenomenon: this reinforces the current trend predicting that some departure from the ideal (strictly scaling fractal) model may be ubiquitous. Having applied an affine transformation in the logarithmic scale, quantile estimation and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistics are used to fit the log-Weibull distribution to a realization of an iid sample. This enables to decide whether the upper tail of the phenomenon under study is light/heavy/very heavy. A comparative study of recorded French and Japanese earthquake magnitudes suggests that they exhibit comparable tail behaviour, albeit with different centrality and dispersion parameters. Received 15 March 1999 and Received in final form 20 May 1999     

噪声信号特征量分布函数相似特性的研究

应用高速数据采集卡,记录悬浮颗粒计数光电传感器本底噪声信号序列值,研究噪声信号独立特征量, 如信号幅度极值、上升沿幅值、下降沿幅值、极值时序间隔,以及特征量乘积值等统计分布规律. 结果表明,上述独立特征量均能够与以自然数l为自变量的对数正态分布函数高度符合, 噪声信号特征量统计分布呈现出高度相似特征.基于这种统计相似性,还可推出噪声信号不同特征量对应的统计自变量之间的幂函数变换关系.噪声信号特征量统计分布函数相似性可理解为噪声信号集合统计分形特性的一种表现.     

Insight into growth of Au–Pt bimetallic nanoparticles: an in situ XAS study

Au–Pt bimetallic nanoparticles have been synthesized through a one‐pot synthesis route from their respective chloride precursors using block copolymer as a stabilizer. Growth of the nanoparticles has been studied by simultaneous in situ measurement of X‐ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and UV–Vis spectroscopy at the energy‐dispersive EXAFS beamline (BL‐08) at Indus‐2 SRS at RRCAT, Indore, India. In situ XAS spectra, comprising both X‐ray near‐edge structure (XANES) and extended X‐ray absorption fine‐structure (EXAFS) parts, have been measured simultaneously at the Au and Pt L₃‐edges. While the XANES spectra of the precursors provide real‐time information on the reduction process, the EXAFS spectra reveal the structure of the clusters formed in the intermediate stages of growth. This insight into the formation process throws light on how the difference in the reduction potential of the two precursors could be used to obtain the core–shell‐type configuration of a bimetallic alloy in a one‐pot synthesis method. The core–shell‐type structure of the nanoparticles has also been confirmed by ex situ energy‐dispersive spectroscopy line‐scan and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements with in situ ion etching on fully formed nanoparticles.     

Discrete symmetry and GUT breaking

We study the supersymmetric GUT models in which the supersymmetry and GUT gauge symmetry can be broken by a discrete symmetry. First, with the ansatz that there exist discrete symmetries in the branes' neighborhoods, we discuss the general reflection symmetries and GUT breaking on and . In those models, the extra dimensions can be large and the KK states can be set arbitrarily heavy. Second, considering that the extra space manifold is the annulus or the disc , we can define any symmetry and break any 6-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric SU(M) models down to the 4-dimensional N=1 supersymmetric models for the zero modes. In particular, there might exist the interesting scenario on where just a few KK states are light, while the others are relatively heavy. Third, we discuss the complete global discrete symmetries on and study the GUT breaking. Received: 12 February 2002 / Published online: 14 June 2002