Elemental composition of nanoclusters formed by pulsed irradiation with low-energy ions during Ge/Si epitaxy

Multilayer silicon structures with built-in layers of Ge nanoclusters were studied experimentally by Raman light scattering. The built-in layers were formed by the pulsed action of a low-energy beam of intrinsic ions during molecular-beam epitaxy. It is found that the ion-stimulated nucleation and the subsequent growth make it possible to obtain Ge nanoclusters almost free of Si.     

Photoluminescence of liquid-crystal azo derivatives in nanopores

Optics and Spectroscopy - The fluorescence of the nematic liquid crystal n-butyl-n′-methoxyazoxybenzene (BMAOB) in the form of a layer and in porous glasses with pores of different diameter...     

A Note on Cactus Trees: Variational vs. Recursive Approach

In this article we deal with the variational approach to cactus trees (Husimi trees) and the more common recursive approach, that are in principle equivalent for finite systems. We discuss in detail the conditions under which the two methods are equivalent also in the analysis of infinite (self-similar) cactus trees, usually investigated to the purpose of approximating ordinary lattice systems. Such issue is hardly ever considered in the literature. We show (on significant test models) that the phase diagram and the thermodynamic quantities computed by the variational method, when they deviates from the exact bulk properties of the cactus system, generally provide a better approximation to the behavior of a corresponding ordinary system. Generalizing a property proved by Kikuchi, we also show that the numerical algorithm usually employed to perform the free energy minimization in the variational approach is always convergent.     

Theory of two-frequency excitation in<Superscript>14</Superscript>N NQR

A simple and effective technique for calculating the transient signals in three-level spin systems irradiated at one and two frequencies is described. All possible signals are presented and discussed. The application of the two-frequency excitation technique for the investigation of the inhomogeneity of the crystalline lattice is suggested.     

Ghost-matter mixing and feigenbaum universality in string theory

Branelike vertex operators, defining backgrounds with ghost-matter mixing in Neveu-Schwarz-Ramond superstring theory, play an important role in a world-sheet formulation of D branes and M theory, being creation operators for extended objects in the second quantized formalism. We show that the dilaton beta function in ghost-matter mixing backgrounds becomes stochastic. The renormalization group (RG) equations in ghost-matter mixing backgrounds lead to non-Markovian Fokker-Planck equations whose solutions describe superstrings in curved spacetimes with branelike metrics. We show that the Feigenbaum universality constant δ=4.669 ..., describing transitions from order to chaos in a huge variety of dynamical systems, appears analytically in these RG equations. We find that the appearance of this constant is related to the scaling of relative spacetime curvatures at fixed points of the RG flow. In this picture, the fixed points correspond to the period doubling of Feigenbaum iterational schemes.

     

High-Q whispering gallery modes in a spherical shell dielectric resonator: Characterization at microwave frequencies

We present a numerical and experimental characterization of high-Q whispering gallery resonant modes excited in a fused quartz spherical shell operated in the 18-26.5 GHz band; easy coupling and selection of modes is a most advantageous feature of the proposed structure with respect to ordinary bulk resonators. The numerical results, based on a finite element algorithm, well match experimental data, which also show the capability of our device to perform gaseous spectroscopy measurements. Received 25 October 2002 Published online 4 February 2003     

The effect of Mn substitution on thermoelectric properties of Ca3MnxCo4−xO9 at low temperatures

The effects of partial substitution of Mn for Co on the thermoelectric properties of Ca₃Mn_xCo_4−xO₉ (x=0, 0.03, 0.9), prepared by sol-gel process, were investigated at the temperatures from 380 K down to 5 K. The results indicate that the substitution of Mn for Co results in increase in thermopower at temperatures >∼80 K, and substantial (23-31% at 300 K) decrease in lattice thermal conductivity in the whole temperature range investigated. The temperature behavior of ZT suggests that Ca₃Mn_xCo_4−xO₉ with light Mn substitution would be a promising candidate for high-temperature thermoelectric applications.