Ultra fine carbon nitride nanocrystals synthesized by laser ablation in liquid solution

Crystalline carbon nitride nanopowders and nanorods have been successfully synthesized at room temperature and pressure using the novel technique of pulsed laser ablation of a graphite target in liquid ammonia solution. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to systematically study the morphology, nanostructure and chemical bonding. The experimental composition and structure of the nanoparticles are consistent with the theoretical calculations for α-C₃N₄. After 2 h ablation the particles had a size distribution ∼8–12 nm, whereas after 5 h ablation the particles had grown into nanorod-like structures with a crystalline C₃N₄ tip. A formation mechanism for these nanorods is proposed whereby nanoparticles are first synthesized via rapid formation of an embryonic particle, followed by a slow growth, eventually leading to a one-dimensional nanorod structure.     

Multiple fire interactions: A further investigation by burning rate data of square fire arrays

This paper presents the first effort to explore the spatial distributions of the burning rates in group fires consisting of a large number of fire points, by analyzing burn-out time data from experimental square fire arrays ranging from 3 × 3 to 15 × 15. A new concept termed fire layer is introduced and defined to characterize the spatial locations of fire points by which the complex spatial variations of burning rates, under different conditions, are analyzed and physically interpreted. Analysis shows that the fire layer burning rates vary from outer to inner in definite nonlinear modes. This indicates that the two fire interaction effects, heat feedback enhancement and air supply restriction, involve distinct spatial fluctuations in fire arrays. The spatial fluctuations of the two interaction effects are significantly affected by the two major parameters, fire spacing and fire array size. Definite spatial regions and parameter ranges for the spatial fluctuations and high competitions of the two interaction effects are clearly distinguished. It is demonstrated that the average burning rates of all fire layers involve consistent variations versus fire spacing or fire array size, especially with high comparability to the entire fire array. It is found that by varying fire spacing, the average burning rates for all fire layers vary linearly versus the fire area ratio, within the same ranges as the entire fire array, while there exist different fluctuation modes of fire layer burning rates with respect to fire array size. Furthermore, analysis shows that the burning rates of all fire layers will be significantly affected by fire merging when it occurs. Finally, a new approach is presented to simulate fire propagation among discrete fuel sources, by which the positive effect of the surrounding new fire points on the burning rates of the original ones is definitely indicated.     

Application of inertia-induced excitation theory for nonlinear acoustic modes in colloidal plasma equilibrium flow

Application of inertia-induced acoustic excitation theory offers a new resonant excitation source channel of acoustic turbulence in the transonic domain of plasma flow. In bi-ion plasmas like colloidal plasma, two well-defined transonic points exist corresponding to the parent ion and the dust grain-associated acoustic modes. As usual, the modified ion acoustic mode (also known as dust ion-acoustic (DIA) wave) dynamics associated with parent ion inertia is excitable for both nanoscale-and micronscale-sized dust grains. It is found that the so-called (ion) acoustic mode (also known as dust-acoustic (DA) wave) associated with nanoscale dust grain inertia is indeed resonantly excitable through the active role of weak but finite parent ion inertia. It is interestingly conjectured that the same excitation physics, as in the case of normal plasma sound mode, operates through the active inertial role of plasma thermal species. Details of the nonlinear acoustic mode analyses of current interest in transonic domains of such impure plasmas in hydrodynamic flow are presented.      

A Method for Measuring the Three-Dimensional Refractive-Index Distribution of Single Cells Using Proximal Two-Beam Optical Tweezers and a Phase-Shifting Mach—Zehnder Interferometer

This paper describes a method for measuring the three-dimensional (3D) refractive-index distribution in a single cell. The method can be used to observe the distribution of cell components without fluorescence staining. The two-dimensional optical path length distributions from multiple directions are obtained by non-contact rotation of the cell. These optical path lengths are converted into the line integrals of the refractive index, and the 3D refractive-index distribution is reconstructed by means of computed tomography. The refractive-index distribution in a breast cancer cell can be measured using a phase-shifting Mach—Zehnder interferometer in conjunction with proximal two-beam optical tweezers.     

Many-body effects in hyperfine interactions in <Superscript>205</Superscript>Pb<Superscript>+</Superscript>

Ab initio calculations have been carried out to study the magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole hyperfine structure constants of ²⁰⁵Pb⁺. Many-body effects have been considered to all orders using the relativistic coupled-cluster theory in the singles, doubles and partial triples approximation. The trends of these effects are found to be different from atomic systems that have been studied earlier.     

Quantum Diffusion of the Random Schrödinger Evolution in the Scaling Limit II. The Recollision Diagrams

We consider random Schrödinger equations on \({\mathbb{R}^{d}}\) for d≥ 3 with a homogeneous Anderson-Poisson type random potential. Denote by λ the coupling constant and ψ _t the solution with initial data ψ₀. The space and time variables scale as \({x\sim \lambda^{-2 -\kappa/2}, t \sim \lambda^{-2 -\kappa}}\) with 0 < κ <  κ₀(d). We prove that, in the limit λ → 0, the expectation of the Wigner distribution of ψ _t converges weakly to the solution of a heat equation in the space variable x for arbitrary L ² initial data. The proof is based on a rigorous analysis of Feynman diagrams. In the companion paper [10] the analysis of the non-repetition diagrams was presented. In this paper we complete the proof by estimating the recollision diagrams and showing that the main terms, i.e. the ladder diagrams with renormalized propagator, converge to the heat equation.     

Quasinormal modes of a Schwarzschild black hole surrounded by free static spherically symmetric quintessence: electromagnetic perturbations

In this paper, we evaluated the quasinormal modes of electromagnetic perturbation in a Schwarzschild black hole surrounded by the static spherically symmetric quintessence by using the third-order WKB approximation when the quintessential state parameter w _q in the range of −1/3 < w _q < 0. Due to the presence of quintessence, Maxwell field damps more slowly. And when at −1 < w _q < −1/3, it is similar to the black hole solution in the ds/Ads spacetime. The appropriate boundary conditions need to be modified.     

Ternary eutectic growth of Ag-Cu-Sb alloy within ultrasonic field

The liquid to solid transformation of ternary Ag42.4Cu21.6Sb36 eutectic alloy was accomplished in an ultrasonic field with a frequency of 35 kHz, and the growth mechanism of this ternary eutectic was examined. Theoretical calculations predict that the sound intensity in the liquid phase at the solidification interface increases gradually as the interface moves up from the sample bottom to its top. The growth mode of (ε θ Sb) ternary eutectic exhibits a transition of "divorced eutectic- mixture of anomalous and regular structures-regular eutectic" along the sample axis due to the inhomogeneity of sound field distribution. In the top zone with the highest sound intensity, the cavitation effect promotes the three eutectic phases to nucleate independently, while the acoustic streaming efficiently suppresses the coupled growth of eutectic phases. In the meantime, the ultrasonic field accelerates the solute transportation at the solid-liquid interface, which reduces the solute solubility of eutectic phases.     

On the Validity of Entropy Production Principles for Linear Electrical Circuits

We explain the (non-)validity of close-to-equilibrium entropy production principles in the context of linear electrical circuits. Both the minimum and the maximum entropy production principles are understood within dynamical fluctuation theory. The starting point are Langevin equations obtained by combining Kirchoff’s laws with a Johnson-Nyquist noise at each dissipative element in the circuit. The main observation is that the fluctuation functional for time averages, that can be read off from the path-space action, is in first order around equilibrium given by an entropy production rate. That allows to understand beyond the schemes of irreversible thermodynamics (1) the validity of the least dissipation, the minimum entropy production, and the maximum entropy production principles close to equilibrium; (2) the role of the observables’ parity under time-reversal and, in particular, the origin of Landauer’s counterexample (1975) from the fact that the fluctuating observable there is odd under time-reversal; (3) the critical remark of Jaynes (1980) concerning the apparent inappropriateness of entropy production principles in temperature-inhomogeneous circuits.     

Decoupling Problem for Systems of Quasi-Linear pde’s

The necessary and sufficient conditions for the decoupling of a quasi-linear system of partial differential equations into k non-interacting subsystems are derived. Several necessary conditions for the decoupling are found and applied to the Benney system.