Effects of vitrification suppression on structure morphology, conductivity and dielectric properties of vanadium phosphate glasses

Vitrification suppression in the (V₂O₅)_1−x (P₂O₅)_x glasses where x=0.10, 0.15, 0.20, and 0.25 was controlled by changing the rate of quenching glasses. The structure variations occurring in the glasses were detected by differential thermal analysis and optical microscope. The results implied the separation and growth of V₂O₅ orthorhombic microcrystal in the samples with x=0.10 and 0.15 whereas other samples did not illustrate remarkable changes in their microstructure. However, in temperature range between 300 and 473 K a semiconducting behavior for all samples appears during the study of electrical conductivity-temperature dependence. A decrease in conductivity values accompanied with some variations in activation energies by reducing quenching rate was observed. The conductivity results suggested that the conduction occurs by the phonon assisted hopping of a small polaron between V⁴⁺ and V⁵⁺ states at relatively higher temperature range above θ_D/2. Whereas at relatively low temperatures the conduction may occur by electron jumping between filled and empty states at Fermi level in the disordered matrix besides polaronic conduction. Reasonable values for the density of localized states, carrier concentration and carrier mobility were estimated and discussed. Also, dielectric constant and dielectric loss were studied as a function of frequency at different temperatures confirming the structure variations in the glass system.     

Gravitational Collapse of Self-Similar Perfect Fluid in 2 + 1 Gravity

Perfect fluid with kinematic self-similarity is studied in 2+1 dimensional spacetimes with circular symmetry, and various exact solutions to the Einstein field equations are given. These include all the solutions of dust and stiff perfect fluid with self-similarity of the first kind, and all the solutions of perfect fluid with a linear equation of state and self-similarity of the zeroth and second kinds. It is found that some of these solutions represent gravitational collapse, and the final state of the collapse can be either a black hole or a null singularity. It is also shown that one solution can have two different kinds of kinematic self-similarity.     

Local Existence and Continuation Criterion for Solutions of the Spherically Symmetric Einstein-Vlasov-Maxwell System

Using the iterative scheme we prove the local existence and uniqueness of solutions of the spherically symmetric Einstein-Vlasov-Maxwell system with small initial data. We prove a continuation criterion to global in-time solutions.     

Scalar Perturbations in Inflationary Models Based on the Non-Linear Sigma Model

The inflationary models based on the non-linear sigma model with the self-coupling potential are considered. The slow-roll solutions for long-wavelength inhomogeneities in general two-component chiral models and diagonal three-component chiral model of a special case are obtained. Scalar perturbations are calculated for two examples.     

Decrease in the group velocity of a light pulse in the Bose-Einstein condensate of a dilute gas

A semiclassical theory of electromagnetically induced transparency in a Bose-Einstein condensate is considered. A nonlinear Schrödinger equation that describes the interaction of the Bose-Einstein condensate with an electromagnetic field is derived. An analysis of the obtained solutions to this equation demonstrates a decrease in the group velocity of the light pulse.     

Experimental and theoretical study of the IR spectrum of 4-amyloxy-4′-cyanobiphenyl

The IR absorption spectrum of polycrystalline 4-amyloxy-4′-cyanobiphenyl (5OCB) is measured in a KBr pellet over the range 400–4000 cm^?1. The structure of the molecule and the frequencies and intensities of the bands in the spectrum are calculated in the approximation of the B3LYP hybrid density functional with the 6-31G(d) and 6-31+G(d) basis sets. With the method of linear scaling of frequencies, 39 bands of the experimental IR spectrum are assigned. On the basis of calculations for related compounds, the vibrations belonging to the substituents and the biphenyl fragment are ascertained. It is shown that the IR absorption spectra of polycrystalline 4-hydroxypropyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl and 5OCB are almost identical and differ by the occurrence of three bands associated with vibrations localized on the oxyamyl radical.     

Thermochromic transitions in poly(di-n-hexylsilane) films

The spectra of absorption (77–398 K) and luminescence (5 K) of poly(di-n-hexylsilane) films are studied in relation to the heating of the films above the phase transition temperature. Two new absorption bands in the region of the band of the gauche conformation are found. The position and intensity of these bands depend on the annealing temperature, annealing regime, and sample thickness. These bands are assumed to be associated with the appearance of a liquid crystalline phase in the polymer, which is determined by intermolecular interactions between neighboring polymer chains. The appearance of the liquid crystalline phase in the heat-treated polymer films is confirmed by the increase in their birefringence in comparison with the birefringence of the initial films and by the observation of a stable orientation of an E 7 nematic liquid crystal applied to the surface of an annealed sample. In addition, the absorption spectra of the films cooled after the annealing exhibit many new bands in comparison with the spectra of the initial samples. These bands are associated with the appearance in the polymer of defect states and longer segments as a result of orientation of polymer chains. The appearance of longer segments is consistent with the observation of a long-wavelength band in the luminescence spectra of the annealed samples.     

Impurity-induced stabilization of Luttinger liquid in quasi-one-dimensional conductors

It is shown theoretically that the Luttinger liquid can exist in quasi-one-dimensional conductors in the presence of impurities in a form of a collection of bounded Luttinger liquids. The conclusion is based on the observation by Kane and Fisher that a local impurity potential in Luttinger liquid acts, at low energies, as an infinite barrier. This leads to a discrete spectrum of collective charge and spin density fluctuations, so that interchain hopping can be considered as a small parameter at temperatures below the minimum excitation energy of the collective modes. The results are compared with recent experimental observation of a Luttinger-liquid-like behavior in thin NbSe₃ and TaS₃ wires.     

Capture of an Ensemble of Microparticles in the Field of Laser Multibeam Interference

Capture of an ensemble of polymeric microspheres in a water suspension under the action of optical gradient forces in the field of interfering laser beams has been investigated for the case of two-, three-, and four-beam interference. The self-diffraction and diffraction of radiation on induced ordered spatial distribution of particles have been obtained.     

A New Cohomology Theory of Orbifold

Based on the orbifold string theory model in physics, we construct a new cohomology ring for any almost complex orbifold. The key theorem is the associativity of this new ring. Some examples are computed.Both authors partially supported by the National Science Foundation