Temporal difference method for processing dynamic speckle patterns

A temporal difference method for processing dynamic speckle images is proposed. In the method two speckle images of an object, separated by a time interval, are subtracted one from the other to detect whether the speckle structure has changed or not. The rationale of the method is discussed. A variant of the method that allows measuring the area of an activity zone surrounded by a static region is tested in digital simulations. As a demonstrative experiment, that variant is employed to characterize the drying of a damp patch in filter paper.     

Characterizing mixed mode oscillations shaped by noise and bifurcation structure

Many neuronal systems and models display a certain class of mixed mode oscillations (MMOs) consisting of periods of small amplitude oscillations interspersed with spikes. Various models with different underlying mechanisms have been proposed to generate this type of behavior. Stochastic versions of these models can produce similarly looking time series, often with noise-driven mechanisms different from those of the deterministic models. We present a suite of measures which, when applied to the time series, serves to distinguish models and classify routes to producing MMOs, such as noise-induced oscillations or delay bifurcation. By focusing on the subthreshold oscillations, we analyze the interspike interval density, trends in the amplitude, and a coherence measure. We develop these measures on a biophysical model for stellate cells and a phenomenological FitzHugh-Nagumo-type model and apply them on related models. The analysis highlights the influence of model parameters and resets and return mechanisms in the context of a novel approach using noise level to distinguish model types and MMO mechanisms. Ultimately, we indicate how the suite of measures can be applied to experimental time series to reveal the underlying dynamical structure, while exploiting either the intrinsic noise of the system or tunable extrinsic noise.     

Non-ergodic states induced by impurity levels in quantum spin chains

The semi-infinite XY spin chain with an impurity at the boundary has been chosen as a prototype of interacting many-body systems to test for non-ergodic behavior. The model is exactly solvable in analytic way in the thermodynamic limit, where energy eigenstates and the spectrum are obtained in closed form. In addition of a continuous band, localized states may split off from the continuum, for some values of the impurity parameters. In the next step, after the preparation of an arbitrary non-equilibrium state, we observe the time evolution of the site magnetization. Relaxation properties are described by the long-time behavior, which is estimated using the stationary phase method. Absence of localized states defines an ergodic region in parameter space, where the system relaxes to a homogeneous magnetization. Out of this region, impurity levels split from the band, and localization phenomena may lead to non-ergodicity.     

Structural and magnetic studies of Fe2O3/SiO2 granular nanocomposites

Fe₂O₃/SiO₂ nanocomposites were synthesized by mechanical alloying, using Fe and SiO₂ powders as precursors. After 340 h milling, the sample essentially consists of hematite and amorphous silica. TEM images show hematite particles embedded in and surrounded by an amorphous silica matrix. A broad size distribution—5–50 nm—of hematite particles is found, and other group of very small—2–3 nm—unidentified particles are observed. Room temperature Mössbauer spectra show a paramagnetic doublet, which may correspond to a non-crystalline phase in the sample (probably the small unidentified particles), and a sextet corresponding to hematite. Magnetic properties were investigated by measuring hysteresis curves at different temperatures (5–300 K) and by zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled (FC) magnetization curves (10 mT). The hysteresis loops were well fitted by a ferromagnetic contribution. No evidence of Morin transition is found down to 5 K.     

A multicommuted flow system for the determination of copper, chromium, iron and lead in lubricating oils with detection by flame AAS

In this work, a flow analysis procedure for the determination of copper, chromium, iron and lead in lubricating oils using flame AAS as detection technique is described. The flow manifold was designed to implement the multicommutation approach and it comprised three 3-way solenoid valves controlled by a personal computer. The flow system presented allowed to process the oil samples to determine wear metals without any prior preparation. Aiming to assess accuracy the results were compared with those obtained by manual procedure using flame AAS. Applying the joint-confidence ellipse test, no significant difference at the 95% confidence level was observed. Other profitable features such as a sample throughput of 50 determinations per hour; relative standard deviations (n = 5) below 2% for Cu, and below 8% for Cr, Fe and Pb; and linear responses in the range 0–40 ppm (w/w) (Cu, Fe) and 0–15 ppm (w/w) (Cr, Pb) were also achieved.     

Electronic properties of single-walled carbon nanotube networks

We present a study on the electronic behavior of films of as-prepared and purified single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and demonstrate the important role that chemical functionalization plays in modifying their electronic properties, which in turn throws further light on the mechanism of action of SWNT-based sensors. Films of electric arc SWNTs were prepared by spraying, and optical spectroscopy was used to measure the effective film thickness. The room-temperature conductivities (sigma(RT)) of thin films deposited from as-prepared and purified SWNTs are in the range sigma(RT) = 250-400 S/cm, and the nonmetallic temperature dependence of the conductivity indicates the presence of tunneling barriers, which dominate the film conductivity. Chemical functionalization of SWNTs with octadecylamine (ODA) and poly(m-aminobenzenesulfonic acid) (PABS) significantly decreases the conductivity; sigma(RT) = 3 and 0.3 S/cm for SWNT-ODA and SWNT-PABS, respectively.     

Six-month-old infants discriminate voicing on the basis of temporal envelope cues (L)

Young deaf children using a cochlear implant develop speech abilities on the basis of speech temporal-envelope signals distributed over a limited number of frequency bands. A Headturn Preference Procedure was used to measure looking times in 6-month-old, normal-hearing infants during presentation of repeating or alternating sequences composed of different tokens of /aba/and /apa/ processed to retain envelope information below 64 Hz while degrading temporal fine structure cues. Infants attended longer to the alternating sequences, indicating that they perceive the voicing contrast on the basis of envelope cues alone in the absence of fine spectral and temporal structure information.     

Hydrogen in lithium niobate

This article reviews the current knowledge on the main properties and applications of hydrogen in LiNbO₃. The review is divided into three parts. The first is devoted to general properties such as methods of defect production and control, techniques used for their detection and characterization, as well as interactions with other lattice defects. The second part considers the central role played by OH^- defects in the fabrication of optical waveguides by the protonexchange method. Conditions for the exchange process, the structure of exchanged layers, optical properties of exchanged waveguides and connection with relevant practical devices are examined. Finally, the third part discusses the production of permanent volume photorefractive gratings by the fixing process, where OH^- ions are also considered to be the main responsible defects. In particular, the physics of the fixing process, current mathematical models and two major applications are discussed.     

Ordinary hall effect and spin-dependent phenomena in a two-band model ferromagnetic metal

The ordinary Hall constant of a compensated ferromagnetic metal is calculated so as to include spin-dependent scattering effects. Model calculations have been performed for two cases of Fermi surface topologies which could likely correspond to the case of iron. It is found that the Hall constant varies over a wide range, and in some cases changes sign as a function of the new scattering mechanism in a form similar to the one produced by magnetic break-down. Experiments, which in principle can distinguish between both physical situations, are suggested.