Phase-field simulation of dendritic growth in a binary alloy with thermodynamics data

This paper simulates the dendrite growth process during non-isothermal solidification in the Al-Cu binary alloy by using the phase-field model. The heat transfer equation is solved simultaneously. The thermodynamic and kinetic parameters are directly obtained from existing database by using the Calculation of Phase Diagram （CALPHAD） method. The effects of the latent heat and undercooling on the dendrite growth, solute and temperature profile during the solidification of binary alloy are investigated. The results indicate that the dendrite growing morphologies could be simulated realistically by linking the phase-field method to CALPHAD. The secondary arms of solidification dendritic are better developed with the increase of undercooling. Correspondingly, the tip speed and the solute segregation in solid-liquid interface increase, but the tip radius decreases.     

Perturbation to Mei symmetry and Mei adiabatic invariants for mechanical systems in phase space

For a perturbed mechanical system in phase space, considering d/dt in the structure equation and process of proof including infinitesimal parameter ε obviously, this paper studies the perturbation to Mei symmetry and adiabatic invariants. Firstly, the exact invariant induced directly from the Mei symmetry of the system without perturbation is given. Secondly, based on the concept of high-order adiabatic invariant, the determining equations of the perturbation to Mei symmetry are established, the condition of existence of the Mei adiabatic invariant led by the perturbation to Mei symmetry is obtained, and its form is presented. Lastly, an example is given to illustrate the application of the results.     

Magnetic domain structures of precipitation-hardened SmCo 2：17-type sintered magnets： Heat treatment effect

The typical magnetic domains of Sm（CObalFe0.25Cuo.07Zr0.02）7.4 magnets quenched through various heattreatment steps have been revealed by using magnetic force microscopy （MFM）. For the specimens in which the nominal c-axis is perpendicular to the imaging plane, the domain configurations change from plate-like for the as-sintered magnet to corrugation and spike-like for the homogenized one, and then to a coarse and finally to a finer domain structure when isothermally aged at 830℃ and then annealed at 400℃. However, only plate-like domains can be detected on the surfaces with the nominal c-axis parallel to the imaging plane. The finer domain （so-called interaction domain） is a characteristic magnetic domain pattern of the SmCo 2：IT-type magnets with high coercivities. Domain walls in a zigzag shape are revealed by means of MFM in final bulk SraCo 2：17-type sintered magnets.     

Scheme for implementing quantum dense coding with four-particle decoherence-free states in an ion trap

This paper proposes an experimentally feasible scheme for implementing quantum dense coding of trapped-ion system in decoherence-free states. As the phase changes due to time evolution of components with different eigenenergies of quantum superposition are completely frozen, quantum dense coding based on this model would be perfect. The scheme is insensitive to heating of vibrational mode and Bell states can be exactly distinguished via detecting the ionic state.     

Quantum entanglement in the mode-mode competition system

Considering a two-level atom interacting with the competing two-mode field, this paper investigates the entanglement between the two-level atom and the two-mode field by using the quantum reduced entropy, and that between the two-mode field by using the quantum relative entropy of entanglement. It shows that the two kinds of entanglement are dependent on the relative coupling strength of atom-field and the atomic distribution, and exhibit the periodical evolution. The maximal atom-field entanglement state can be prepared via the appropriate selection of system parameters and interaction time.     

Temperature dependent phonon modes and ionicity of LiGaO2 single crystal

This paper reports that polarized far-infrared reflectivity measurements have been done on LiGaO2 single crystal along two crystalline taxes at different temperatures. The temperature dependent frequencies of the longitudinal and transverse optical phonon have been obtained from the real part of optical conductivity and the loss function respectively. A small Drude component is observed at frequency below 300 cm^-1 which could arise from Li ions or oxygen deficiencies. The ionicity of LiGaO2 has been studied from the analysis of the Born effective charge of different ions.     

Linear and nonlinear optical properties of ZnO nanorod arrays

Polarization-dependent linear absorption, second-harmonic generation （SHG） and 3rd-order nonlinearities of wellaligned ZnO nanorod arrays have been investigated with ps pulses. The depressed spectral width and the enhanced intensity of reflective SHG along the long axis of ZnO nanorods were observed by using p-polarized pulses, which is explained by the optical confinements. The nonlinear absorption coefficient measured with s-polarization reached the maximum 4.0×10^4cm/GW at the wavelength -750nm, which revealed a large two-photon resonance absorption attributed to the quantum confined exciton when the polarization is vertical to the long axis of ZnO nanorod.     

Effect of heat treatment on electronic phase in underdoped La2-xSrxCuO4 single crystal

Superconducting La1.937Sr0.063CuO4 crystals grown by the travelling-solvent floating-zone technique were thermally treated under various temperatures and oxygen pressures for moderately adjusting the oxygen content. The response of intrinsic electronic property of the crystals to the change of hole density in La2-xSrxCuO4 in the vicinity of the magic doping of x= 1/16 （= 0.0625） is studied in detail by magnetic measurements under various fields up to 1 T. It is found that when the superconducting critical temperature （Tc） increases with the oxygen content, there appears also a new subtle electronic state that can be detected from the differential curves of diamagnetic susceptibility dx/dT of the crystal sample. In contrast with the intrinsic state, the new subtle electronic state is very fragile under the magnetic fields. Our results indicate that a moderate change in oxygen doping does not significantly modify the intrinsic electronic state originally existing at the magic doping level.     

The effects of interstitial oxygen on superconducting electronic phases in strontium and oxygen co-doped La1.937Sr0.063CuO4＋δ

Strontium and oxygen co-doped La1.937Sr0.063CuO4＋δ superconductor with Tc≈ 40K, which is obtained by oxidizing strontium-doped starting ceramic sample La1.937Sr0.063CuO4 in NaC10 solution, is annealed under different conditions to allow interstitial oxygen to redistribute. The evolution of the intrinsic superconducting property with the oxygen redistribution is studied in detail by magnetic measurements in various fields. It is found that there occurs the electronic phase separation from the single superconducting phase with Tc ≈ 40 K into two coexisting superconducting states with values of Tc： 15 and 40K or of 15 and 35 K in this system, depending on annealing condition. Our results indicate that the 15, 35 and 40 K superconducting phases associated with the excess oxygen redistribution are all thermodynamically meta-stable intrinsic states in this Sr/O co-doped cuprate.     

Enhancement of water permeation across nanochannels by partial charges mimicked from biological channels

In biological water channel aquaporins （AQPs）, it is believed that the bipolar orientation of the single-file water molecules inside the channel blocks proton permeation but not water transport. In this paper, the water permeation and particularly the water-selective behaviour across a single-walled carbon nanotube （SWNT） with two partial charges adjacent to the wall of the SWNT are studied by molecular dynamics simulations, in which the distance between the two partial charges is varied from 0.14 nm to 0.5 nm and the charges each have a quantity of 0.5 e. The two partial charges are used to mimic the charge distribution of the conserved non-pseudoautosomal （NPA） （asparagine/proline/alanine） regions in AQPs. Compared with across the nanochannel in a system with one ＋1 ε charge, the water permeation across the nanochannel is greatly enhanced in a system with two ＋0.5 e charges when charges are close to the nanotube, i.e. the two partial charges permit more rapid water diffusion and maintain better bipolar order along the water file when the distance between the two charges and the wall of SWNT is smaller than about 0.05 nm. The bipolar orientation of the single-file water molecules is crucial for the exclusion of proton transfer. These findings may serve as guidelines for the future nanodevices by using charges to transport water and have biological implications because membrane water channels share a similar single-file water chain and positive charged region at centre and provide an insight into why two residues are necessitated in the central region of water channel protein.