Optically stimulated proton hopping in oxides at low temperatures

This communication is inspired by recent results on the observation of “giant” rates for proton transfer in rutile TiO₂ at low temperatures in pump-probe experiments. An important point is that this is not a tunneling effect. We show that this classical looking effect has a quantum mechanical origin and may be called lattice-assisted hopping. To explore the possibility of formulating transport properties in terms of mode vibrations, we use a “quantum” fluctuation–dissipation theorem, thus providing a concept of dynamic activation energy for ion hopping, which had been used in the above experimental study, rather heuristically, to fit the low-temperature “over the barrier” motion data. The resulting expression of hopping activation energy is more general than the standard one defined in units of $k_{B}T$ and is able to describe the crossover from the high to low-temperature regime of proton jumps.     

Thermoelectric properties of Ge-doped Bi85Sb15 alloys at low temperatures

Bulk polycrystalline Bi₈₅Sb_15−xGe_x (x=0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2) composites were prepared by mechanical alloying followed by pressureless sintering. The thermoelectric properties were studied in the temperature range of 77–300 K. The results indicate that increasing the Ge concentration causes the Seebeck coefficient to change sign from negative to positive. Moreover, it is found that the maximum value of the Seebeck coefficient can be precisely controlled with the Ge concentration. The maximum dimensionless figure of merit reaches 0.07 at 140 K. These results suggest that the preparation of p-type Bi–Sb alloys is possible by using the Ge-doping approach.     

Effect of electrostatic screening due to non-equilibrium carriers on the lattice scattering rate at low temperatures

The intravalley acoustic scattering rate has been calculated here taking the screening by non-equilibrium electrons into account under the condition when the lifetime of the electrons is controlled by shallow attractive traps at low lattice temperature. The scattering rates now turn out to be field dependent and the characteristics are significantly different from what follows when the electron ensemble is in equilibrium with the lattice. The results indicate the possibility of interesting non-ohmic transport characteristics under these conditions. Numerical results are obtained for high purity samples of Si.     

Mobility as controlled by the transverse component of phonon wave vector in quantum layers at low temperatures

Without resorting to either the Kawaji’s simplified model of interaction with only two-dimensional phonons or to the equipartition approximation for the phonon distribution, the characteristics of the momentum relaxation time of the conduction electrons in a quantized surface layer for interaction with intravalley acoustic phonons have been analysed under the condition of low temperature. The scattering and the mobility characteristics thus obtained for an n-channel (1 0 0)-oriented Si inversion layer are apparently quite different from what follows in the traditional framework.     

Thermodynamics of ice at high pressures and low temperatures

A new equation of state of ice Ih recently proposed by Feistel and Wagner [J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 35 (2006) 1021-1047] is used to study the phenomena related to the equilibrium isentropic compression of an ice-water mixture and dynamic loading of solid ice. New results are presented concerning the properties of the new equation of state, equilibrium solid-liquid phase transitions and Hugoniots of low-temperature (100 K) and temperate (263 K) shock-compressed ice.     

Metal-insulator transition and variable-range hopping conductivity of n-CdSb in magnetic field

Resistivity, ρ, of a II-V group semiconductor n-CdSb doped with In is investigated in pulsed magnetic fields up to and at temperatures . The low-temperature resistivity ρ(T) increasing with T in the range of B<4 T is found to have an upturn around B∼4 T and strong activated behavior at further increase of B. These observations give evidence for magnetic-field-induced metal-insulator transition (MIT). In the insulating side of the MIT, Mott variable-range hopping (VRH) conductivity with two types of asymptotic behavior, ln ρ (T, B)∼T^−3/4B² and ln ρ (T, B)∼(B/T)^1/3, is established in low and high magnetic fields, respectively. The VRH conductivity is analyzed using a model of the near-edge electron energy spectrum established by investigations of the Hall effect. The VRH conductivity is shown to take place over the band tail states of one out of two impurity bands, which for T=0 and B=0 lie above the conduction band edge.     

Time series of ac conductivities of terbium nitrate crystals at low temperatures

Time series of ac conductivities are measured at 2 kHz along three crystal directions in terbium nitrate crystal below 50 K. The anisotropy is found in the structure of the fluctuation observed in the time series of the conductivities. The bursts with non-periodic oscillations are found in only the measurements of the time series of the ac conductivities for one direction perpendicular to the c-axis (c2-axis). The anisotropy is seen in probability distribution functions and power spectral ones derived from the time series of the conductivities. The characteristic behaviors are found in the time series of the conductivity for the one crystal direction perpendicular to the c-axis. Asymmetric non-Gaussian line shape of the probability distribution function is seen for the c2-axis. Chaotic behavior is also found in the function of the correlation exponent to the embedding dimension derived from the time series of the conductivities.     

Analysis of thermoelastic constants of solids and minerals at high temperatures

In the present communication, the thermoelastic constants of ionic solids NaCl and KCl and the minerals MgO, CaO and Mg₂SiO₄ are analyzed using the tabulated data compiled by Anderson and Isaak. It is found that there exists a precise linear relationship between the thermoelastic constant and the thermal pressure. The proposed empirical relationship provides a method to estimate the thermoelastic properties out side the experimental data range.     

Elastic constants for NaCl and KCl solids at high temperatures

In the present study we derive new relationships to predict the temperature dependence of elastic constants. Proposed relationships are applied to study elastic constants of NaCl and KCl. A linear relationship between thermal expansivity and elastic constants at high temperatures is found to exhibit for solids. The extrapolated data on elastic constants in very high temperature region obtained in the present study are useful to understand the thermoelastic properties of NaCl and KCl. A close agreement between theory and experiment reveals the validity of the formulations used.     

On the negative magnetoresistance puzzle at variable range hopping at low temperatures

In this work, we report the results of magnetoresistance studies of variable range hopping down to 30 mK in isotopically engineered Ge with low compensation, and in n-CdTe crystals. Experimentally we find a decrease and disappearance of the negative magnetoresistance with decreasing temperature down to 200 mK, in weak magnetic fields. Such behaviour is in disagreement with the quantum interference theory of Nguen, Spivak and Shklovskii.     

Transport coefficients and defect structure of Sb2−xAgxTe3 single crystals

Incorporation of Ag in the crystal lattice of Sb₂Te₃ creates structural defects that have a strong influence on the transport properties. Single crystals of Sb_2−xAg_xTe₃ (x=0.0; 0.014; 0.018 and 0.022) were characterized by measurements of the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity, Hall coefficient, Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity in the temperature range of 5-300 K. With an increasing content of Ag the electrical resistance, the Hall coefficient and the Seebeck coefficient all decrease. This implies that the incorporation of Ag atoms in the Sb₂Te₃ crystal structure results in an increasing concentration of holes. However, the doping efficiency of Ag appears to be only about 50% of the expected value. We explain this discrepancy by a model based on the interaction of Ag impurity with the native defects in the Sb_2−xAg_xTe₃ crystal lattice. Defects have a particularly strong influence on the thermal conductivity. We analyze the temperature dependence of the lattice thermal conductivity in the context of the Debye model. Of the various phonon scattering contributions, the dominant influence of Ag incorporation in the crystal lattice of Sb₂Te₃ is revealed to be point-defect scattering where both the mass defect and elastic strain play a pivotal role.     

Effective diffusivity of solute in multiphase materials with segregation

The effective diffusion coefficient D_eff for solute in a multiphase microstructure in which solute segregation can occur is related to D_eff for an isomorphic microstructure in which no segregation occurs. This permits analytical expressions (approximations, bounds, etc.) and methods of numerical calculation for D_eff that neglect solute segregation to be applied to systems that exhibit segregation. As an example, exact results are obtained for solute diffusion and segregation to grain boundaries in an idealized polycrystalline microstructure.     

Searching for key parameter for determining Tc in Fe-based superconductors: Study of P/As substitution in RFe(P,As)(O,F) [R=La and Nd]

We have investigated the relation between the temperature-dependence of resistivity and superconducting transition temperature T_c in RFeP_1−xAs_xO_0.90F_0.10 (x=0-1.0) (R=La and Nd). In contrast to the linear change of the crystal structure with increasing x, the temperature dependence of resistivity and T_c show non-monotonous x-dependence. When the As concentration x is increased, the temperature-dependence of resistivity changes from T² to T-linear, and T_c distinctly increases in all the La compounds and the Nd ones with x<0.60. The results indicate that the substitution of As for P induces the spin fluctuation and resultantly enhances T_c. On the other hand, we could not find any relation between the temperature-dependence of resistivity and T_c in the Nd samples with x>0.60. This may suggest the existence of other parameters for determining T_c besides the antiferromagnetic correlation in this system.     

On the high-resistivity contacts to YBa2Cu3O7 thin films, electrical behavior in the regime of high temperatures and high-bias voltages

We prepared in-situ Au contacts on high-quality epitaxial YBa₂Cu₃O₇ (YBCO) films. Very high specific contact resistivity values up to ∼10⁻² Ω cm² at 4.2 K were obtained on 12×5 μm² contact areas. This resistivity value decreased by two orders of magnitude as the temperature was raised to room temperature. In the temperature range T<200 K, the contacts showed non-ohmic behavior suggesting the presence of a well-defined insulating native Y-Ba-Cu-O barrier between the two electrodes. The electrical transport in this barrier layer was analyzed in the limit of high temperatures and high voltages to follow Mott's variable-range hopping conduction mechanism with physically reasonable parameters describing the localized states in the barrier. The high-resistivity contacts were tested successfully in quasiparticles injection experiments where the critical current I_c of the YBCO microbridge could be strongly suppressed on injection of an additional current through the contact into the superconducting channel.     

New features in collective dynamics of intrinsic Josephson junctions

We discuss the breakpoint phenomenon, which reflects a resonance between Josephson and plasma oscillations in the system of coupled Josephson junctions. The resonance leads to the creation of the longitudinal plasma waves (LPW) at the breakpoint and to the oscillation dependence of the breakpoint current as a function of the dissipation and coupling parameters. A group behavior of the current-voltage characteristics (IVC) of the stacks with different number of junctions is predicted. Particularly, in the materials with dissipation parameter β=0.35 and coupling parameter α=3, we expect four groups of the IVC, which demonstrate a different character of changing of the breakpoint current with the number of junctions in the stack. Using the k-αβ-method, we find the values of the wave numbers k of the LPW and explain this group behavior of the IVC.     

The shear viscosity of a two component Fermi gas with unequal population at low temperatures

The shear viscosity of spin-polarized Fermi gas at low temperatures is calculated by using the Green’s functions method. In the BEC limit where a Feshbach resonance gives rise to tightly bound dimer molecules, the contributions of the interactions between dimer-atom and imer-dimer take into account to the viscous relaxation rate.     

What drives pseudogap physics in high-Tc cuprates? A view from the (resistance) bridge

Taking into account the evolution of the in-plane resistivity with temperature and doping, a candidate proposal for the (hole-doped) cuprate phase diagram is constructed. Many features of the phase diagram are viewed as a consequence of an anisotropic interaction that intensifies with decreasing doping from the heavily overdoped side. At a critical doping p_c, that coincides with the development of the normal state pseudogap, the interaction becomes sufficiently strong that all electronic states near the zone boundary are effectively incoherent even at T = 0.     

Quantum phenomena in glasses at low temperatures

Glasses exhibit surprising low-temperature properties caused by the tunneling motion of small atomic clusters. We report here on recent dielectric measurements on a glass with the components BaO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂. In contrast to expectation, below 100 mK the dielectric properties become sensitive to weak magnetic fields. In this temperature range dielectric constant and dielectric loss show an oscillatory behavior with increasing magnetic field. Below 6 mK a phase transition within the ensemble of tunneling systems is observed.