The effect of Cu substitution on the A1g mode of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 manganites

We report on the first Raman data of Cu substituted La_1−ySr_yMn_1−xCu_xO₃ (0≤x≤0.10 and 0.17≤y≤0.3, accordingly in order to have the same Mn⁴⁺/[Mn⁴⁺+Mn³⁺] ratio), collected in the frequency range 100-900 cm⁻¹ and at room temperature, with parallel (e_i∥e_s) and crossed (e_i⊥e_s) polarizations of the incident (e_i) and scattered (e_s) light. Spectra were fitted with a Drude-Lorentz model, and peaks at 190-220 and 430 cm⁻¹, together with two broad structures centered at near 500 and 670 cm⁻¹, have been found. We also have observed that the A_1g mode is substantially shifted with increasing Cu substitution. The A_1g phonon shift is a linear function of the tolerance factor t and the rhombohedral angle α_r, thus following the structural changes of the MnO₆ octahedra in the system.     

Discrete Sturm–Liouville problems, Jacobi matrices and Lagrange interpolation series

The close relationship between discrete Sturm–Liouville problems belonging to the so-called limit-circle case, the indeterminate Hamburger moment problem and the search of self-adjoint extensions of the associated semi-infinite Jacobi matrix is well known. In this paper, all these important topics are also related with associated sampling expansions involving analytic Lagrange-type interpolation series.     

Polynomial Stability to Three-Dimensional Magnetoelastic Waves

In this work we show that the energy associated to the linear three-dimensional magneto-elastic system decays polynomially to zero as time goes to infinity, provided the initial data is smooth enough.     

A new technique for obtaining the activation energy distribution of a relaxing system

This paper describes a robust and fast fitting procedure applicable for relaxing processes that cannot be understood as a discrete sum of single processes but require an activation energy distribution. The method is based on a set of closed-form expressions that allow the computation of the relaxation parameters directly from the isochronal curves obtained experimentally. The usefulness of this method is checked by analyzing the isochronal curves given by a theoretical energy distribution and the magnetic disaccommodation spectra observed in yttrium iron garnet (YIG) samples. PACS 02.60.Ed; 75.60.Lr; 75.50.Gg     

Reaction of SbPO4 with lithium in non-aqueous electrochemical cells: preliminary study and evaluation of its electrochemical performance in anodes for lithium ion batteries

SbPO₄, a phosphate with a layered structure, was tested as an electrode material for lithium cells spanning the 3.0-0.0 V range. Two main electrochemical processes were detected as extensive plateaus at ca. 1.6 and 0.7 V in galvanostatic measurements. The first process was found to be irreversible, thus excluding a potential intercalation-like mechanism for the reaction and being better interpreted as a decomposition reaction leading to the formation of elemental Sb. This precludes the use of this compound as a cathodic material for lithium cells. By contrast, the process at 0.7 V is reversible and can be ascribed to the formation of lithium-antimony alloys. The best electrochemical response was obtained by cycling the cell at a C/20 discharge rate over the voltage range 1.25-0.25 V. Under these conditions, the cell delivers an average capacity of 165 Ah/kg—a value greater than those reported for other phosphates—upon successive cycling.     

Algebraic Formulation of Quantum Decoherence

An algebraic formalism for quantum decoherence in systems with continuous evolution spectrum is introduced. A certain subalgebra, dense in the characteristic algebra of the system, is defined in such a way that Riemann–Lebesgue theorem can be used to explain decoherence in a well defined final pointer basis.     

Reference priors for exponential families with simple quadratic variance function

Reference analysis is one of the most successful general methods to derive noninformative prior distributions. In practice, however, reference priors are often difficult to obtain. Recently developed theory for conditionally reducible natural exponential families identifies an attractive reparameterization which allows one, among other things, to construct an enriched conjugate prior. In this paper, under the assumption that the variance function is simple quadratic, the order-invariant group reference prior for the above parameter is found. Furthermore, group reference priors for the mean- and natural parameter of the families are obtained. A brief discussion of the frequentist coverage properties is also presented. The theory is illustrated for the multinomial and negative-multinomial family. Posterior computations are especially straightforward due to the fact that the resulting reference distributions belong to the corresponding enriched conjugate family. A substantive application of the theory relates to the construction of reference priors for the Bayesian analysis of two-way contingency tables with respect to two alternative parameterizations.