Dynamic interaction of plasma flow with the hot boundary layer of a geomagnetic trap

The study of the interaction between collisionless plasma flow and stagnant plasma revealed the presence of an outer boundary layer at the border of a geomagnetic trap, where the super-Alfvén subsonic laminar flow changes over to the dynamic regime characterized by the formation of accelerated magnetosonic jets and decelerated Alfvén flows with characteristic relaxation times of 10–20 min. The nonlinear interaction of fluctuations in the initial flow with the waves reflected from an obstacle explains the observed flow chaotization. The Cherenkov resonance of the magnetosonic jet with the fluctuation beats between the boundary layer and the incoming flow is the possible mechanism of its formation. In the flow reference system, the incoming particles are accelerated by the electric fields at the border of boundary layer that arise self-consistently as a result of the preceding wave-particle interactions; the inertial drift of the incoming ions in a transverse electric field increasing toward the border explains quantitatively the observed ion acceleration. The magnetosonic jets may carry away downstream up to a half of the unperturbed flow momentum, and their dynamic pressure is an order of magnitude higher than the magnetic pressure at the obstacle border. The appearance of nonequilibrium jets and the boundary-layer fluctuations are synchronized by the magnetosonic oscillations of the incoming flow at frequencies of 1–2 mHz.     

A power mode approach to estimating vibrational power transmitted by multiple sources

A power mode method for the estimation of the power transmitted to a flexible receiver by an array of point force excitations is described. The vibrational power transmitted by N discrete point forces is regarded as the power transmitted by N independent power modes following eigendecomposition of the mobility matrix of the receiving structure. Approximate expressions for the upper and lower bounds and the mean value of the transmitted power are then developed in terms of these power modes. The approach is extended to more general cases, including that where both force and moment excitations are applied to the structure and where there are velocity source excitations. Numerical examples are presented.     

Crossover from high-temperature vortex-liquid to low-temperature vortex-glass behavior in single phase HgBa2Ca2Cu3O8+δ superconductor

The ρ-T curves in our single phase HgBa₂Ca₂Cu₃O_8+δ superconductor were measured as a function of temperature and magnetic field, ρ=ρ₀exp(−U_eff/κ_BT). It can be transformed to another form d(lnρ)/d(1/T)=−U_eff+TdU_eff/dT, then this becomes a plot of the activation energy U_eff as a function of temperature. Our data plotted in these ways show a clear crossover from high-temperature two-dimensional vortex-liquid to a critical region associated with the low-temperature three-dimensional vortex-glass phase transition. The critical exponents v(z−1)=3.9±1.9 in this system are little different with previous measurements in BSCCO and YBCO systems.     

Stable nonequilibrium probability densities and phase transitions for meanfield models in the thermodynamic limit

A nonlinear Fokker-Planck equation is derived to describe the cooperative behavior of general stochastic systems interacting via mean-field couplings, in the limit of an infinite number of such systems. Disordered systems are also considered. In the weak-noise limit; a general result yields the possibility of having bifurcations from stationary solutions of the nonlinear Fokker-Planck equation into stable time-dependent solutions. The latter are interpreted as non-equilibrium probability distributions (states), and the bifurcations to them as nonequilibrium phase transitions. In the thermodynamic limit, results for three models are given for illustrative purposes. A model of self-synchronization of nonlinear oscillators presents a Hopf bifurcation to a time-periodic probability density, which can be analyzed for any value of the noise. The effects of disorder are illustrated by a simplified version of the Sompolinsky-Zippelius model of spin-glasses. Finally, results for the Fukuyama-Lee-Fisher model of charge-density waves are given. A singular perturbation analysis shows that the depinning transition is a bifurcation problem modified by the disorder noise due to impurities. Far from the bifurcation point, the CDW is either pinned or free, obeying (to leading order) the Grüner-Zawadowki-Chaikin equation. Near the bifurcation, the disorder noise drastically modifies the pattern, giving a quenched average of the CDW current which is constant. Critical exponents are found to depend on the noise, and they are larger than Fisher's values for the two probability distributions considered.     

ΓD‐convergence for a class of quasilinear elliptic equations in thin structures

We study the asymptotic behaviour of the solution of a stationary quasilinear elliptic problem posed in a domain Ω^(ε) of asymptotically degenerating measure, i.e. meas Ω^(ε) → 0 as ε → 0, where ε is the parameter that characterizes the scale of the microstructure. We obtain the convergence of the solution and the homogenized model of the problem is constructed using the notion of convergence in domains of degenerating measure. Proofs are given using the method of local characteristics of the medium Ω^(ε) associated with our problem in a variational form. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Energetics of an adiabatically-loaded excited anharmonic oscillator

The dependence of the energy characteristics on an adiabatically slowly increasing external force is determined analytically for an anharmonic oscillator. The analytical results are confirmed by a numerical calculation. The nature of the force dependences of the energy characteristics are determined and discussed. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 153–157 (January 1997)     

Resistance peak and giant magnetoresistance of degenerate ferromagnetic semiconductors with arbitrary spin polarization

The temperature peak of the resistance and the giant magnetoresistance of degenerate ferromagnetic semiconductors with an arbitrary degree of electron spin polarization are investigated. The spin-wave and paramagnetic domains are considered. The calculations are based on the notion of the magnetic-impurity scattering of carriers. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 1589–1593 (September 1997)     

Colossal magnetoresistance of the Sm1−x SrxMnO3 system

The results of investigating the temperature dependence of the resistivity, the differential magnetic susceptibility, and the magnetoresistance of a partially substituted perovskite Sm_1−x Sr_xMnO₃ (x=0.16–0.4) are presented. Colossal intrinsic magnetoresistance, reaching 90% in an external magnetic field of 30 kOe, is discovered in the compound with x=0.30 at 77 K. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 1831–1832 (October 1997)