Quadrupole excitations in the two-center shell model (II)

The distribution of the isoscalar, T = 0, and isovector T = 1, strength of quadrupole modes in the deformed nucleus ²⁴Mg is investigated. A finite-range residual interaction is used in the particle-hole basis of a rotating two-center shell-model potential of two ¹²C nuclei. The model calculation describes semi-quantitatively the main features of the available experimental data for the T = 0, E2 excitations and predicts the location and structure of the isovector, T = 1, E2 strength for which no data has been published to date.     

Collective magnetic dipole transitions: Dependence of the energies and rates on the nuclear effective interaction

The dependence on the properties of the effective interaction of the energies of and excitation strengths to magnetic dipole states in open shell nuclei is studied. In particular the single j-shell for ⁴⁸Ti is used as an example. In this case there are two 1⁺ states with isospin T = 2 and one with isospin T = 3. The conditions for having a strong low-lying collective 1⁺ state are examined. Focus is also given on the excitation strength to the analog T = 3 state since this is of relevance also to β⁺ Gamow-Teller reactions and to double beta decay. It is found that in the rotational limit there is no strength to the T = 3 state and there is an overly strong low-lying 1⁺T = 2 state. This is almost also true for a quadrupole-quadrupole interaction. At the other extreme, as shown by Halse, with a pairing interaction all the strength goes to the T = 3 state. Other interactions considered are pairing plus quadrupole, spin-dependent delta and Kuo-Brown bare and renormalized, and matrix elements taken from the spectrum of ⁴²Sc. It is found that the β⁺ strength can be reduced either by making the two-body J = 2 T = 1 matrix element or J = 1 T = 0 matrix element more attractive, just as was shown by others in heavier nuclei. However such parameter changes have effects on other properties of the 1⁺ spectrum, which can serve as indicators as to whether or not these changes are justified.     

Effects of low temperature irradiation with heavy ions on superconductor niobium

To study the effects of heavy ion irradiation at low temperature on type II superconductor Nb, the transition temperatureT _c , the normal state residual resistivityρ _B , the transition widthΔT _ph using oxygen ions of 25 MeV and subsequent thermal annealing were measured. The samples were held at temperatures <20 K during irradiation in a cryostat for in situ measurements. The maximum oxygen fluence was about 2·10¹⁵ cm^?2 corresponding a relatively high defect concentration. The heavy ion irradiation experiments are described. The critical temperatureT _c decreases with increasing residual resistivityρ _B . In agreement with the theory and experiments, the gap anisotropy parameter is 〈a ²〉=0.008, subsequent annealing shows a hysteresis ofT _c versusρ _B . The resistivity saturation value Δρ_BS = 2.55 μΩ cm was obtained and different recovery stages were found. Significant broadening of transition width during irradiation was observed.T _c andΔT _ph anneal to 60% in the temperature interval of (60–90) K. Oxygen induced effects as a simulation method of high neutron damage are compared with irradiation measurements using neutrons and deuterons.     

Peculiarities of magnetic field-induced ferromagnetic ordering in narrow-band manganites

The temperature dependences of the residual magnetization in narrow-band manganites (Pr_0.67Ca_0.33MnO₃, Sm_0.55Sr_0.45Mn¹⁸O₃, Sm_0.55Sr_0.45Mn¹⁶O₃, and (NdEu)_0.55Sr_0.45Mn¹⁸O₃) have been studied. All compounds studied are characterized by a fairly high residual magnetization M _R (about 0.5 μ_B/Mn) at 4.2 K, which vanishes upon sample heating to the temperature T _RE ≈ 30–35 K, which is much lower than the temperature T _C of the ferromagnetic transition. However, upon magnetization of the samples at T _RE < T < T _C , the residual magnetization (smaller in magnitude) remains up to T _C . For the composition (NdEu)_0.55Sr_0.45Mn¹⁸O₃, the residual magnetization remains at T < T _C , independent of the temperature of magnetization. The disappearance of the residual magnetization found at intermediate temperatures is apparently related to the destruction of the magnetic field-induced ferromagnetic ordering (which contains an additional contribution of the rare-earth sublattice).     

The spectrum of hot hadronic matter and finite-temperature QCD sum rules

The sum rules method, which is widely used for the investigation of the resonance physics within the QCD framework, is generalized to the case of finite temperatures and densities. Conditions are formulated under which this method is quite efficient for the determination of the spectrum of hadronic matter at T ≠ 0. The finite-temperature QCD sum rules are analysed in the vector channel J^PC = 1⁻⁻. Sharp and qualitative changes in the spectrum are found in the temperature interval T = 130–150 MeV. It is naturally explained as a consequence of the disappearance of confinement at the temperature T_c = 140±10 MeV. The finite-temperature QCD sum rules also show that the restoration of chiral symmetry at some temperature T_F cannot precede deconfinement. In the case T_F⪢T_c the sum rules indicate that the intermediate phase at T_c<T<T_F is dominated by quasi-free quarks with nonzero dynamical mass m_q^T ≈ 300 MeV.     

Spin gap, phase separation and d-wave pairing as revealed by electron spin-lattice relaxation in 123 and 124 YBaCuO systems doped with Gd3+

With an original modulation technique, the Gd³⁺ electron spin-lattice relaxation has been investigated in normal and superconducting states of YBa₂Cu₃O_6+x (123) and YBa₂Cu₄O₈ (124) compounds doped with 1% Gd. In the 123 sample withx = 0.9T _c = 90 K), theT ₁ behavior within 50 <T< 200 K reveals the [1 ? tanh²(Δ/2kT)]/T dependence typical of a spin gap opening with Δ ≈ 240 K. Below 50 K, the exponential slowing down ofT ₁ is limited by the Korringa-like behaviorT ₁ T = const); the same Korringa-like law is found in the 123 sample withx = 0.59 (T _c = 56 K) within the total 4.2–200 K temperature range. This is interpreted in terms of microscopic separation of the normal and superconducting phases allowing for the electron spin cross-relaxation between them. In the 124 sample (T _c = 82 K), the Gd³⁺ relaxation rate below 60 K is found to obey a power lawT _n with an exponentn ≈ 3. Such a behavior (previously reported for nuclear spin relaxation) is indicative of the d-wave superconducting pairing. Additional paramagnetic centers characterized by relatively slow spin-lattice relaxation are found in both 123 and 124 systems. A well-pronounced change in theT ₁ temperature dependence atTT* ≈ 180–200 K is observed for these slowly relaxing centers as well as for the conventional, fast-relaxing Gd³⁺ ions, suggesting microscopic phase separation and a change in the relaxation mechanism due to electronic crossover related with the opening of the spin gap. This hypothesis is supported by some “180 K anomalies” previously reported by other authors.     

The temperature dependent thermal and electrical resistivity of high purity silver from 2 to 20 K

The low temperature (T), temperature dependent electrical resistivity (?), and thermal resistivity (ω), have been measured in a sample having a residual resistivity ratio of 10,000: 1. Below approximately 10 K ? ∝ T⁵ and ω ∝ T² — in excellent agreement with theory. Both resistivities are considerably smaller than those obtained by previous workers on less pure samples. Above 10 K the resistivities rise more rapidly with temperature — particularly for ω. The experimentally determined temperature dependent Lorenz number, $\text{L}{}_{\mathrm{i}}\text{=}\text{?}\text{ωT}$ is examined and suggests that the augmentation of the horizontal scattering of electrons by umklapp processes is greater for ω than for ?.     

Indication of Δ-hole configurations in 12C(15.11 MeV)

A strong energy dependent enhancement is seen in inelastic pion scattering from ¹²C to the 1⁺, T = 1 state at 15.11 MeV, but not to the 1⁺, T = 0 state at 12.71 MeV. This enhancement may be interpreted as evidence for the direct excitation of delta-hole (Δ-h) components in the wave function of the T = 1 state. The required Δ-h amplitude is estimated and found to be in agreement with calculations of Bohr and Mottelson.     

Negative parity states in 16O from coupled-cluster equations

The extension of the coupled-cluster theory to excited states of closed-shell nuclei is presented. The method is applied to the negative parity particle-hole spectrum of ¹⁶O. Some approximations found necessary in the application of the theory at the three-body level are discussed. Numerical calculation bears out characteristic discrepancies to experimental energy levels for some T = 0 states whereas agreement with experiment is found for T = 1 states.     

The T = Tz + 2 GDR and the dipole states of the A = 6 and 14 nuclei

The isospin properties of the giant dipole resonance (GDR) built on states with isospin T = T_z + 1 are discussed. Results of a shell-model calculation with realistic interactions for dipole transitions to various low-lying states in ⁶Li, ⁶He, ¹⁴N and ¹⁴C are presented. The T = T_z + 2 component of the GDR in ¹⁴N decaying to the 0⁺T = 1 state is predicted at the surprisingly low energy E_x = 26.0 MeV.     

Structural aspects of the dielectric anomaly in SC(NH2)2 crystals at 161 K

The residual incommensurate modulations in the ferroelectric phase of the SC(NH₂)₂ thiourea are investigated using single-crystal x-ray diffractometry. It is found that the structural states of the ferroelectric phase (T<169 K) depend on the thermal prehistory of the crystal in the temperature range of existence of the incommensurate phase (202-169 K). The dielectric anomaly observed at T _x=161 K is justified structurally.     

Lattice thermal conductivity of compounds with inhomogeneous intermediate rare-earth ion valence

The thermal conductivity κ (within the range 4–300 K) and electrical conductivity σ (from 80 to 300 K) of polycrystalline Sm₃S₄ with the lattice parameter a=8.505 Å (with a slight off-stoichiometry toward Sm₂S₃) are measured. For T>95 K, charge transfer is shown to occur, as in stoichiometric Sm₃S₄ samples, by the hopping mechanism (σ ～ exp(?ΔE/kT) with ΔE ～ 0.13 eV). At low temperatures [up to the maximum in the lattice thermal conductivity κ_ph(T)], κ_ph ～ T ^2.6; in the range 20–50 K, κ_ph ～ T ^?1.2; and for T>95 K, where the hopping charge-transfer mechanism sets in, κ_ph ～ T ^?0.3 and a noticeable residual thermal resistivity is observed. It is concluded that in compounds with inhomogeneous intermediate rare-earthion valence, to which Sm₃S₄ belongs, electron hopping from Sm²⁺ (ion with a larger radius) to Sm³⁺ (ion with a smaller radius) and back generates local stresses in the crystal lattice which bring about a change in the thermal conductivity scaling of κ_ph from T ^?1.2 to T ^?0.3 and the formation of an appreciable residual thermal resistivity.     

The vibrational spectrum of the OCS molecule based on the data on spectra of liquid and cryosolutions

The IR absorption spectra of liquid OCS (T = 135(1) K) and of the following solutions—OCS + Ar (T = 90 K), OCS + N₂ (T = 90 K), OCS + Kr (T = 130 K), and OCS + Xe (T = 163 K)—are measured in the range 800–7000 cm^?1. From 16 to 40 bands corresponding to transitions to vibrational states up to the third order inclusive are interpreted for basic isotope modification and for the isotopically substituted molecules ¹⁸O¹²C³²S, ¹⁶O¹³C³²S, and ¹⁶O¹²C³⁴S. In the spectra of the liquids, the spectral moments M(1) and M(2) of all the observed bands are determined. The harmonic frequencies ω _i and the anharmonicity constants x _ik are calculated for all the systems, including the liquid. The anharmonicity is found to be constant within the experimental error. A large shift Δω₃ is primarily determined by the dipole-induced dipole interaction.     

The influence of correlations on the odd-mass Nuclei21Ne and25Mg

Excitation energies and electromagnetic properties of the low energy spectra of²¹Ne and²⁵Mg have been calculated using the Multi-Configuration-Hartree-Fock (MCHF) model. BothT=0 andT=1 pairing correlations are found to be simultaneously important in those odd mass nuclei. Furthermore, though axial symmetry was requested, quite good agreement with the experimental data is reached.     

Variable-range hopping conduction in LaMnO<Subscript>3 + δ</Subscript>

The temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity ρ(T) for ceramic samples of LaMnO_{3 + δ} (δ = 0.100–0.154) are studied in the temperature range T = 15–350 K, in magnetic fields of 0–10 T, and under hydrostatic pressures P of up to 11 kbar. It is shown that, above the ferromagnet-paramagnet transition temperature of LaMnO_{3 + δ}, the dependence ρ(T) of this compound obeys the Shklovskii-Efros variable-range hopping conduction: ρ(T) = ρ₀(T)exp[(T ₀/T)^1/2], where ρ₀(T) = AT ^9/2 (A is a constant). The density of localized states g(?) near the Fermi level is found to have a Coulomb gap Δ and a rigid gap γ(T). The Coulomb gap Δ assumes values of 0.43, 0.46, and 0.48 eV, and the rigid gap satisfies the relationship γ(T) ≈ γ(T _v)(T/T _v)^1/2, where T _v is the temperature of the onset of variable-range hopping conduction and γ(T _v) = 0.13, 0.16, and 0.17 eV for δ = 0.100, 0.125, and 0.154, respectively. The carrier localization lengths a = 1.7, 1.4, and 1.2 Å are determined for the same values of δ. The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the variable-range hopping conduction in LaMnO_{3 + δ} with δ = 0.154 is analyzed, and the dependences Δ(P) and γ_v(P) are obtained.     

Investigation of the GdMn2O5 multiferroic by the μSR method

The GdMn₂O₅ multiferroic (a ceramic sample and a sample consisting of a large array of randomly oriented single crystals with linear dimensions 2–3 mm) has been studied by the μSR method within the temperature range 10–300 K. Three anomalies in the temperature behavior of the parameters of the muon polarization relaxation function, namely, close to the phase transition driven by the onset of long-range magnetic order in the manganese ion subsystem (T _N1 = 40–41 K), near the lock-in transition initiated by an abrupt change of the wave vector of magnetic order (T _L = 35 K), and close to the Gd³⁺ ion ordering temperature (T _N2 = 15 K), have been found. An analysis of the time spectra of muon spin precession in the internal magnetic field of the samples has revealed two positions of preferable muon localization sites in samples, which differ in precession frequencies and the character of their behavior with temperature. The lower-frequency precession driven by Mn⁴⁺ ions, ferromagnetic Mn4⁺-Mn⁴⁺ + muonium complexes, and Gd³⁺ions is observed throughout the temperature region T < T _N1 and is practically independent of temperature. At temperatures T < T _L = 35 K, a higher-frequency precession associated with Mn³⁺ ions appears also. It is characterized by a temperature dependence ～(T/T _N1)^β with the index β = 0.39, which is typical of Heisenberg-type 3D magnets. For T < T _N1, a deficiency of the rest total asymmetry is observed. This phenomenon can probably be assigned to formation of muonium, which suggests that charge transfer processes play an important role in formation of long-range magnetic order.     

A study of deuteron quadrupole moment effects in sub-coulomb scattering of tensor polarized deuterons

Measurements of the tensor analyzing power T₂₀ are presented for deuteron elastic scattering from ²⁰⁸Pb at energies below the Coulomb barrier. It is found that, for energies below about 7 MeV, T₂₀ arises primarily from the interaction of the deuteron quadrupole moment with the nuclear electric field gradient. Contributions to T₂₀ from nuclear interactions with the target are shown to be very small for E_d ? 5 MeV. Measurements of T₂₀ at E_d = 4 MeV, accurate to ± 8 × 10^?5, are presented. After correcting for deuteron stretching and a number of additional small effects, the data are used to make a new determination of the quadrupole moment. The result, Q = 0.282 ± 0.019 fm², is in good agreement with the conventional value deduced from molecular hyperfine structure data.