Soft mode at an incommensurate structural phase transition

We show within the RPA approximation that a soft mode is associated with an incommensurate structural phase transition in a simple microscopic model of two level ions interacting with the phonons of a crystal.     

On the possibility of the incommensurate phase near α⇄β transition point in quartz

Explanation of the experimental data on the existance of periodical domain structure near the α?β transition point in quartz reported by G. van Tendeloo et al. is proposed. It is shown that due to the interaction between the soft optical branch and the acoustic one that the soft mode frequency in quartz may correspond to the wave vectors of non-zero value. The specific angular dependence in the soft mode dispersion law provided by such an interaction makes it possible to determine the incommensurate superstructures wave vector's directions. The last coincides with the experimentally observed one. A possible origin of the temperature region narrowness of the incommensurate phase existence is discussed.     

A novel type of incommensurate phase in quartz: The elongated-triangle phase

We present evidence for a thermodynamically stable incommensurate elongated-triangle (ELT) phase in quartz, observed by transmission electron microscopy at the α-β structural transition. The phase sequence on cooling is: incommensurate equilateral-triangle (EQT) phase (ferroelectric)—incommensurate ELT (ferroelectric and ferroelastic)— uniform α phase. The ELT blocks could be responsible for the large light scattering in the vicinity of the α-gb transition. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 5, 376–381 (10 September 1996) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Light scattering from E-symmetry amplitudon in the incommensurate phase of quartz

Low frequency depolarized Raman spectra of quartz were investigated in the incommensurate phase near the α-β transition at T_c = 573°C. A weak mode, but underdamped in the temperature region close to the commensurate α phase, was observed at about 8 cm^-1 with an intensity proportional to the square of the order parameter. The mode is assigned as the E-symmetry amplitudon which has been predicted to exist in the “3-k state” of the incommensurate phase, in addition to a totally symmetric A-amplitudon.     

Dynamic mechanical relaxation and loss in the incommensurate phase of quartz

The dynamic mechanical properties of quartz have been studied as a function of temperature across the α-β phase transition and in the vicinity of the incommensurate (IC) phase on cooling from the β phase. The mechanical response of the IC phase shows strong anelasticity for measurement of Young's modulus (closely related to C(11) in our geometry) with modulated stress driven at 1 Hz. The dynamic shear modulus does not show similar strong effects in its imaginary component, although a very weak anomaly is barely detectable in the real part of the modulus. Our results indicate that the incommensurate microstructures within the quartz transition interval are susceptible to dilatational stress with relaxation times around 1 s.     

Radiation defect clustering in graphite studied by synchrotron radiation scattering

The formation of radiation defect clusters as interstitial dislocation loops in pyrographite irradiated by 20-MeV carbon ions in a cyclotron has been studied by means of synchrotron radiation scattering. The experimental data are interpreted in terms of the Krivoglaz model and the model of deformation domain formation by dislocation loops. Parameters of the pyrographite crystal lattice in the deformed state upon ion irradiation have been determined using experimental data on the shift and broadening of the Bragg peaks. The results of experiments and their theoretical analysis indicate that the phenomena of the crystal lattice densification (shrinkage) and the radiation-induced swelling (increase in volume) observed for graphite irradiated by fast neutrons in a nuclear reactor can be studied in model experiments on charged particle accelerators using irradiation of the samples with carbon ions at much lower doses and significantly shorter exposure times.     

Pressure-induced valence transition in EuNi2Ge2 studied by 151Eu nuclear forward scattering of synchrotron radiation

Hyperfine Interactions - We present the first application of nuclear forward scattering (NFS) of synchrotron radiation by the 21.5 keV transition of 151Eu for a high-pressure study. After...     

Crystal microstructure of annealed nanocrystalline Chromium studied by synchrotron radiation diffraction

The microstructure of electrodeposited nanocrystalline chromium (n-Cr) was studied by using synchrotron radiation (SR) diffraction, SEM, TEM, and EDX techniques. The as-prepared n-Cr samples show the standard bcc crystal structure of Cr with volume-averaged column lengths varying from 25 to 30 nm. The grain growth kinetics and the oxidation kinetics were studied by time resolved SR diffraction measurements with n-Cr samples annealed at 400, 600, and 800 °C. The grain growth process is relatively fast and it occurs within the first 10 min of annealing. The final crystallite size depends only on the annealing temperature and not on the initial grain size or on the oxygen content. The final volume-averaged column lengths observed after 50 min annealing are 40(4), 80(1), and 120(2) nm for temperatures 400, 600, and 800 °C, respectively. It is shown that annealing ex situ of n-Cr at 800 °C both under vacuum and in air gives a grain growth process with the same final crystallite sizes. The formation of the Cr₂O₃ and CrH phases is observed during annealing.     

Far-infrared spectroscopy by synchrotron radiation at the UVSOR Facility

At the UVSOR Facility, Institute for Molecular Science, the practical use of the synchrotron radiation as a far-infrared light source has started. A spectroscopic system has been constructed at the beam line BL6A1 of UVSOR storage ring, which covers the wavenumber region from 5 to 250 cm^–1. The cross sectional diameter of the light beam at the sample position is as small as 3 mm with the angular divergence of about 100 mrad. The system has been made mainly for the transmission and reflection measurements of small samples with small angular divergence by the use of the high brightness of the synchrotron radiation. Examples of observed transmission and reflectivity spectra are shown.     

Pressure induced phase transition in n-type InP at low temperature studied by photoluminescence

Abstract

Low temperature (5 K) photoluminescence of n-type InP has been studied in the 0–12 GPa range. The luminescence band energy follows the pressure dependence of the band gap, provided effective mass variations are taken into account. No evidence of a direct to indirect gap crossover has been observed up to the phase transition pressure (10.3 GPa). The phase transition is uncompleted at 12 GPa     

Valence and conduction bands in MPS3 layered compounds studied by synchrotron radiation

Summary With the resonant photomeission technique we investigated the valence bands of FePS₃ and NiPS₃. The experimental results, support the ionic picture of the compounds and our previous identification of the valence band structures. The structures rapidly varying in intensity when the excitation energy is scanned across the Fe and NiM _2,3 absorption edge are associated to the transition metal 3d states; the nonresonating features are ascribed to the (P₂P₆)⁴⁻ cluster states. With the yield technique we measured the high-resolution absorption spectra of the phosphorus and sulphur inner-core levels in Mn, Fe and Ni thiophosphates. TheL _2,3(P) andL _2,3(S) spectra are similar to each other in all the compounds and are interpreted in terms of the projected density of states of the conduction bands derived from the (P₂S₆)⁴⁻ cluster states. To speed up publication, the authors of this paper have agreed to not receive the proofs for correction.     

Neutron diffraction and electrical transport studies on the incommensurate magnetic phase transition in holmium at high pressures

Neutron diffraction and electrical transport measurements have been made on the heavy rare earth metal holmium at high pressures and low temperatures in order to elucidate its transition from a paramagnetic (PM) to a helical antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordered phase as a function of pressure. The electrical resistance measurements show a change in the resistance slope as the temperature is lowered through the antiferromagnetic Néel temperature. The temperature of this antiferromagnetic transition decreases from approximately 122 K at ambient pressure at a rate of -4.9 K GPa(-1) up to a pressure of 9 GPa, whereupon the PM-to-AFM transition vanishes for higher pressures. Neutron diffraction measurements as a function of pressure at 89 and 110 K confirm the incommensurate nature of the phase transition associated with the antiferromagnetic ordering of the magnetic moments in a helical arrangement and that the ordering occurs at similar pressures as determined from the resistance results for these temperatures.     

Fluorescence tomography using synchrotron radiation at the NSLS

Fluorescence tomography utilizing focussed, tunable, monoenergetic X-rays from synchrotron light sources hold the promise of a non-invasive analytic tool for studying trace elements in specimens, particularly biological, at spatial resolutions of the order of micrometers. This note reports an early test at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratories in which fluorescence tomographic scans were successfully made of trace elements of iron and titanium in NBS standard glass and in a bee.