On the effective Debye temperatures of the C60 fullerite

The effective Debye temperatures Θ_eff determined for solids by different physical methods have been analyzed and compared. Attention has been focused on the original parameter of the Debye theory of heat capacity, i.e., the translational calorimetric Debye temperature Θ _c ^t (0), and the X-ray Debye temperature Θ _x in the framework of the Debye-Waller theory for the C₆₀ fullerite. It has been established that the true Debye law T ³ is satisfied for the C₆₀ fullerite over a very narrow range of temperatures: 0.4 K ≤ T ≤ 1.8 K. For this reason, the experimental Debye temperatures Θ _c ^t (0) obtained for the C₆₀ fullerite by different authors in the range T > 4.2 K are characterized by a large scatter (by a factor of ∼5). It has been revealed that the value Θ _c ^t (0) = 77.12 K calculated in this paper with the use of the six-term Betts formula from the harmonic elastic constants $ \tilde C_{ijkl} $ \tilde C_{ijkl} of the C₆₀ single crystal in the limit T = 0 K is closest to the true Debye temperature. It has been demonstrated using the method of equivalent moments that the real spectral frequency distribution of translational lattice vibrations g(ω) for the C₆₀ fullerite deviates from a parabolic distribution. The effective Debye temperatures Θ_eff involved in applied problems of thermodynamics of crystals and elastic scattering of different radiations from lattice vibrations have been determined. The quantitative measure of anharmonicity of translational and librational lattice vibrations of the C₆₀ fullerite has been determined. This has made it possible to empirically evaluate the lattice thermal conductivity κ of the C₆₀ fullerite at T ≈ 300 K: κ(300) = 0.80 W (m/K), which is in good agreement with the experimental thermal conductivity κ_exp = 0.78 W (m/K) at T ≈ 250 K.     

Thermodynamic properties of the most stable gaseous small silicon-carbon clusters in their ground states

The most stable structures of gaseous Si _m C _n (3 ⩽ n+m ⩽ 6) clusters in their ground electronic states are determined with the high level electronic correlation method QCISD(T)/g3large. Thermodynamic properties on heat capacity (C _p,m ^Θ), entropy (S _m ^Θ), Gibbs energy function (−[G ^Θ −H ^Θ(T _r )]/T) and enthalpy function (H ^Θ−H ^Θ(T _r )) are predicted with standard statistical thermodynamics using the structure parameters and vibrational frequencies obtained with B3PW91/6-31G(d) method combined with the electronic excitation energies determined with time dependent density functional (TD DFT) method at B3PW91/6-31G(d) level. The electronic energies are calculated with the accurate model chemistry method at G3(QCI) level of theory and the Δ _f H _m ^Θ (0 K), Δ _f H _m ^Θ (298.15 K) and Δ _f G _m ^Θ (298.15 K) values are predicted. The heat capacities C _p,m ^Θ(T) as a function of temperature within 298.15-2000 K are fitted into analytical equations. The thermodynamic functions at higher temperatures are determined classically by using these equations. Most of the results obtained in this work are consistent with the available experiments.     

Charm changing weak decays 1/2+ → 3/2+ + 0−/γ in SU(4) and SU(8) w

Weak decay modes (1/2⁺ → 3/2⁺ + 0⁻/γ) of charmed baryons are studied. Relations among the various decay amplitudes are derived in isospin, SU(3), SU(4) and SU(8) _w symmetries. Sextet dominance in SU(3) forbidsB(3) →D(10) +P(3*) decays. 20″ dominance in SU(4) specifies all the decays in terms of Θ⁻ decays. Weak decays of Θ* ₃ ⁺⁺ and Θ⁻ are also discussed. SU(8) _w symmetry predictsα , which is consistent with the experimental value.     

Impurity effects on the critical behaviour of the electrical resistance of binary liquid mixtures

The electrical resistance of the binary liquid system cyclohexane + acetic anhydride is measured, in the critical region, both in the pure mixture and when the mixture is doped with small amounts (≈ 100 ppm) of H₂O/D₂O impurities.T _c was approached to aboutt=3×10⁻⁶ wheret=(T −T _c )/T _c . The critical exponentb ≈ 0.35 in the fit of the resistance data to the equationdR/dT ∼t ^−b does not seem to be affected appreciably by the impurities. There is a sign reversal ofdR/dt in the non-critical region. Binary liquid systems seem to violate the universality of the critical resistivity.     

Effect of heavy cation doping on thermal properties of LaMnO3

Effect of heavy cation doping (Ca²⁺ at the A-site) on the thermal properties of perovskite LaMnO₃ has been investigated using the Rigid Ion Model (RIM)). As strong electron-phonon interactions are present in these compounds, the lattice part of the specific heat deserves proper attention. The specific heat of magnetoresistance compound La_0.25Ca_0.75MnO₃ as a function of temperature (10 K ≤ T ≤ 300 K) is reported. Our results on specific heat are in good agreement with the measured values of specific heat at lower temperatures. In addition, the results on the cohesive energy (ϕ), molecular force constant (f), Restrahalen frequency (ν ₀), Debye temperature (Θ _D) and Gruneisen parameter (γ) are also discussed.      

Maximum of a Fractional Brownian Motion: Probabilities of Small Values

Let b _γ (t), b _γ(0)= 0 be a fractional Brownian motion, i.e., a Gaussian process with the structure function , 0 < γ < 2. We study the logarithmic asymptotics of P _T = P{b _γ (t) < 1,□t∈TΔ} as T→∞, where Δ is either the interval (0,1) or a bounded region that contains a vicinity of 0 for the case of multidimensional time. It is shown that ln P _T = - D ln T(1 + o(1)), where D is the dimension of zeroes of b _γ (t) in the former case and the dimension of time in the latter. Received: 28 September 1998 / Accepted: 19 February 1999     

Features of the melting dynamics of a vortex lattice in a high-T c superconductor in the presence of pinning centers

The phase transition “triangular lattice-vortex liquid” in layered high-T _c superconductors in the presence of pinning centers is studied. A two-dimensional system of vortices simulating the superconducting layers in a high-T _c Shubnikov phase is calculated by the Monte Carlo method. It was found that in the presence of defects the melting of the vortex lattice proceeds in two stages: First, the ideal triangular lattice transforms at low temperature (≃3 K)into islands which are pinned to the pinning centers and rotate around them and then, at a higher temperature (≃8 K for T _c 584 K), the boundaries of the “islands” become smeared and the system transforms into a vortex liquid. As the pinning force increases, the temperatures of both phase transitions shift: The temperature of the point “triangular lattice-rotating lattice” decreases slightly (to ≃2 K)and the temperature of the phase transition “rotating lattice-vortex liquid” increases substantially (≃70 K). Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 66, No. 4, 269–274 (25 August 1997)     

Thermodiffusion of interstitials in a film

A general expression is obtained for the thermodiffusion coefficientD _T of a film, also for its dependence on temperature, film thickness and type of concentration distribution of the interstitials, according to its profile. In neglecting interaction of interstitials with each other in a model of a film with single-plane boundaries with the vacuum and the substrate, it is shown thatD _T>D _T ^(∞) is possible, whereD _T ^(∞) is the thermodiffusion coefficient of a bulk specimen. Ural State Technical University. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 9, pp. 43–46, September, 1996.     

Specific heat of LiB3O5 crystals in the temperature interval 80–300 K

The specific heat of LiB₃O₅ crystals is measured by adiabatic calorimetry. The experimental data on the specific heat are used to calculate the change in the thermodynamic functions (the entropy, enthalpy, and Gibbs free energy) and the Debye temperature Θ_D(T) of crystalline LiB₃O₅. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 624–625 (April 1997)     

Temperature and concentration dependences of the plutonium-americium alloy resistivity at high temperatures

A many-band model of conductivity is stated in terms of which it is shown qualitatively and quantitatively that interference scattering of conduction electrons may be the main reason for the negative temperature coefficient of resistance in actinide alloys at high temperatures (T > Θ_D). The temperature run of the resistivity in such alloys is completely determined by the balance between coherent and incoherent contributions to electron-impurity-phonon scattering. The model is used to analyze the concentration and temperature dependences of the plutonium and americium alloy resistivity.     

Magnetostriction of the spin-Peierls compound CuGeO3

The longitudinal and transverse magnetostriction λ of the spin-Peierls compound CuGeO₃ in the b-c plane is measured in magnetic fields up to 20 T both above and below the transition temperature T _sp=14.3K. It is found that for a given crystallographic direction the value of magnetostriction is weakly dependent on the magnetic field direction. In the uniform U phase at T⩾T _sp, λ is negative and approximately equal in the b and c directions, while in the dimerized D phase at T<T _sp, λ is positive and λ _b >λ _c . At low temperatures, λ increases sharply at the magnetic-field-induced transition from the dimerized to the magnetic M phase. The experimental data allow estimation of the stress derivatives of the antiferromagnetic intrachain exchange interaction parameter and of the stress dependence of the critical field of the D-Mphase transition. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 3, 156–159 (10 August 1996) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Electromagnetic mass splittings of heavier hadrons in quantum chromodynamics

The electromagnetic mass splittings of heavier hadrons are estimated in the framework of gauge theory model where ligher quarks are taken to behave relativistically and the spatial wave functions are described by the spin-spin interaction affected relative distances between quarks. The predictions for (Ξ⁻-Ξ⁰), (Σ*⁰−Σ*⁺), (Ξ^*−-Ξ^*0), (D _c ⁺−D _c ⁰) and (D _c ^*+ −D _c ^*0 ) are in fair agreement with the experimental data available whereas those for (D _b ⁻ −D _b ⁰ ) and (D _b ^*− −D _b ^*0 ) are in qualitative agreement with other theoretical estimates.     

Thermal conductivity of crystalline fullerite C60 in the simple cubic phase

The behavior of the thermal conductivity k(T) of bulk faceted fullerite C₆₀ crystals is investigated at temperatures T=8–220 K. The samples are prepared by the gas-transport method from pure C₆₀, containing less than 0.01% impurities. It is found that as the temperature decreases, the thermal conductivity of the crystal increases, reaches a maximum at T=15–20 K, and drops by a factor of ∼2, proportional to the change in the specific heat, on cooling to 8 K. The effective phonon mean free path λ _p, estimated from the thermal conductivity and known from the published values of the specific heat of fullerite, is comparable to the lattice constant of the crystal λ _p∼d=1.4 nm at temperatures T>200 K and reaches values λ_p∼50d at T<15 K, i.e., the maximum phonon ranges are limited by scattering on defects in the volume of the sample in the simple cubic phase. In the range T=25−75 K the observed temperature dependence k(T) can be described by the expression k(T)∼exp(Θ/bT), characteristic for the behavior of the thermal conductivity of perfect nonconducting crystals at temperatures below the Debye temperature Θ (Θ=80 K in fullerite), where umklapp phonon-phonon scattering processes predominate in the volume of the sample. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 65, No. 8, 651–656 (25 April 1997)     

Temperature and concentration dependences of the electrical resistivity for alloys of plutonium with americium under normal conditions

The temperature and concentration dependences of the electrical resistivity for alloys of americium with plutonium are analyzed in terms of the multiband conductivity model for binary disordered substitution-type alloys. For the case of high temperatures (T > Θ_D, Θ_D is the Debye temperature), a system of self-consistent equations of the coherent potential approximation has been derived for the scattering of conduction electrons by impurities and phonons without any constraints on the interaction intensity. The definitions of the shift and broadening operator for a single-electron level are used to show qualitatively and quantitatively that the pattern of the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity for alloys is determined by the balance between the coherent and incoherent contributions to the electron-phonon scattering and that the interference conduction electron scattering mechanism can be the main cause of the negative temperature coefficient of resistivity observed in some alloys involving actinides. It is shown that the great values of the observed resistivity may be attributable to interband transitions of charge carriers and renormalization of their effective mass through strong s-d band hybridization. The concentration and temperature dependences of the resistivity for alloys of plutonium and americium calculated in terms of the derived conductivity model are compared with the available experimental data.     

Dynamics in molecular crystals: An application of proton NMR to selectively protonated biphenyl. Do the rings flip together or independently?

The synthesis of a specific isotopomer, C₆D₄H(ortho)-H(ortho)D₄C₆ of biphenyl is reported. The intramolecular dipolar coupling of the protons leads to a well-resolved single-crystal proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum and allows one to study the dynamics of the phenyl rings in a unique way. At room temperature and above, the most conspicuous dynamical mode consists of 180° ring flips. The present data together with previous measurements of the total flip rate allow us to conclude that the rings flip almost exclusively independently of each other. Between the incommensurate (IC) phase transition of biphenyl at 38 K andT=250 K, the prominent namical mode consists of oscillatory twists ϕ(t) of the two rings. The data allow us to infer the mean square, (φ²), of these twists. (φ²) is found to grow linearly withT for 50<T<200 K. From the slope of (φ²) vs.T the frequency (the wave number[(v)\tilde]\tilde v) is derived. The result is[(v)\tilde] = 20\tilde v = 20 cm⁻¹. ForT<38 K, the spectra give direct evidence of the IC phase transition and its nature (stripelike rather than quiltlike). The temperature dependence of the magnitude of the order parameter of the IC phase is obtained.     

Rethinking the QCD collisional energy loss

It is shown that to leading order the collisional energy loss of an energetic parton in the hot quark gluon plasma reads dE/dx∼α(m_D ²)T², where the scale of the coupling is determined by the (parametrically soft) Debye screening mass. Compared to previous expressions derived by Bjorken and other authors, dE^B/dx∼α²T²ln(ET/m_D ²), the rectified result takes into account the running of the coupling, as dictated by quantum corrections beyond tree level. As one significant consequence, due to asymptotic freedom, the QCD collisional energy loss becomes independent of the jet energy in the limit E≫T. It is argued why this resummation-improved perturbative result is useful to (re-) estimate the collisional energy loss for temperatures relevant in heavy ion phenomenology. PACS 12.38.Mh; 25.75.-q     

Application of Boltzmann Equation on Spin Diffusion of Ferromagnetic Superfluid <Superscript>3</Superscript>He: Near Critical Temperature

Different scattering processes of quasiparticles containing a binary process, a coalescence process and a decay process in transition probabilities are taken into account. In the meantime, interaction between Bogoliubov quasiparticles as well as that between normal and superfluid components (spin up-spin down quasiparticles) of ferromagnetic superfluid ³He-A ₁ are considered. Pfitzner procedure is used in the calculation of triplet and singlet quasiparticle scattering amplitude existing in transition probabilities of the collision integral of standard Boltzmann equation at melting pressure. Pfitzner procedure is extended beyond s-p approximation by adding higher angular momentum components. Then, using the results of Boltzmann equation and considering smallness of the gap close to T _c↑, the change of the spin diffusion coefficients tensor of the A ₁-phase of superfluid ³He close to critical temperature and melting pressure is calculated. Temperature dependence of the spin diffusion coefficient change, i.e., δD _xyxy /D⌈=(3/2)(δD _xzxz /D)⌉, is −0.71(1−(T/T _c↑))^1/2. It is also shown that interaction between normal and Bogoliubov quasiparticles (normal-superfluid components interaction) is very important to transport properties such as spin diffusion close to critical temperature. Furthermore, using s-p approximation, the prefactor of δD _xyxy /D is plotted in terms of pressure; hence, the pressure dependence of δD _xyxy /D is also determined.     

Effect of hydrogen doping on the magnetic properties of Gd2CuO4

We report the results of ac-susceptibility and dc-magnetization measurements for H_yGd₂CuO₄ (0y0.54). It is shown thatH doping lowers the weak ferromagnetic component in the material. The distinct hysteresis loops observed atT=77 K for both non- and hydrogenated samples change its shape withy. The magnetic ordering temperatures T _N ^Cu and T _N ^Gd , as determined from the temperature dependencies of ac-susceptibility, remain unchanged with sample's hydrogenation. This result seems to indicate that extra electrons are not doped onto the Cu-O planes of Gd₂CuO₄. The frequency dependencies ofx(, T) andx(, T) for bothy=0 andy=0.15 samples are analysed., The maximums ofx andx found at about 200K are considered in terms of susceptibility dependence on the spin-lattice relaxation time (). The anomalies in ac-susceptibility found recently in Gd₂CuO₄ atT _a=8 K andT _b=9.5 K decrease significantly withy. Results are discussed in the context of available data on 214T-type compounds.     

Positron annihilation response and broadband dielectric spectroscopy: Salol

A phenomenological analysis of the ortho-positronium (o-Ps) annihilation from positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) and the dynamics from broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) are reported on a small molecular glass former of intermediate H-bonding and fragility: salol. The dielectric spectra extend over a very broad frequency range of about 2 × 10⁻²−3.5 × 10¹¹ Hz, providing information on the α-relaxation, the secondary relaxation giving rise to the excess wing, and the shallow high-frequency minimum in the micro- to milli-meter wave range. A number of empirical correlations between the o-Ps lifetime, τ ₃(T), and the various spectral and relaxation features have been observed. Thus, the phenomenological evaluation of the τ ₃(T) dependence of the PALS response of the amorphous sample reveals three characteristic PALS temperatures: T _g ^PALS, T _b1 ^L = 1.15T _g ^PALS and T _b2 ^L = 1.25T _g ^PALS, which are discussed in relation to similar findings for some typical small molecular vdW- and H-bonded glass formers. A slighter change of the slope at T _b1 ^L appears to be related to the transition from excess wing to the primary α-process-dominated behavior, with the secondary process dominating in the deeply supercooled liquid state below T _b1 ^L . The high-temperature plateau effect in the τ ₃(T) plot occurs at T _b2 ^L and agrees with the characteristic Stickel temperature, T _B ^ST, marking a qualitative change of the primary α process, but it does not follow the relation T _b2 ^L < T _α [τ ₃(T _b2) < τ _α ]. Both effects at T _b1 ^L and T _b2 ^L correlate with two crossovers in the spectral shape and related non-exponentiality parameter of the structural relaxation, β _KWW. Finally, the application of the two-order parameter (TOP) model to the structural relaxation as represented by the primary α relaxation times from BDS leads to the characteristic TOP temperature, T _m ^c , close to T _b1 from PALS. Within this model the phenomenological interpretation is offered based on changes in the probability of occurrence of solid-like and liquid-like domains to explain the dynamic as well as PALS responses. In summary, all the empirical correlations support further very close connections between the PALS response and the dielectric relaxation behavior in small molecule glass formers.