Fluorination of diamond — C4F9I and CF3I photochemistry on diamond (100)

The radiation-induced decomposition of C₄F₉I and CF₃I overlayers at 119 K on diamond (100) surfaces has been shown to be an efficient route to fluorination of the diamond surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been used for photoactivation as well as for studying the photodecomposition of the fluoroalkyl iodide molecules, the attachment of the photofragments to the diamond surface, and the thermal decomposition of the fluoroalkyl ligands. Measured chemical shifts agree well with ab initio calculations of both C 1s and F 1s binding energies. It is found that chemisorbed CF₃ groups on diamond (100) decompose by 300 K whereas C₄F₉ groups decompose over the range 300 to 700 K and this reactivity difference is rationalized on steric grounds. Both of these thermal decomposition processes produce surface C---F bonds on the diamond. The surface C---F species thermally decompose over a wide temperature range extending up to 1500 K. Hydrogen passivation of the diamond surface is ineffective in preventing free radical attack from the photodissociated products of the fluoroalkyl iodides; I atoms produced photolytically abstract H from surface C---H bonds to yield hydrogen iodide at 119 K allowing diamond fluorination. The attachment of chemisorbed F species to the diamond (100) surface causes band bending as the surface states are occupied as a result of chemisorption. This results in a shift to higher binding energy of the diamond-related C 1s levels present in the surface and subsurface regions which are sampled by XPS on the diamond. The use of photoactivation of fluoroalkyl iodides for the fluorination of diamond surfaces provides a convenient route compared to other methods involving the action of atomic F, molecular F₂, XeF₂ and F-containing plasmas.     

Phase shift moiré studies of processing-induced residual strains in Nickel 200 spot welds

Processing-induced residual strains in solid cylinders of Nickel 200 were investigated using phase shifting moiré interferometry. Two different experimental approaches were used to study the strains produced during Tungsten-inert gas spot welding. A comparison of results for a ‘hot/fast’ and a ‘cool/slow’ weld demonstrate the capabilities of the general approach. Both experimental methods revealed distinct differences in the residual displacement and strain fields between the two types of welds.     

Dissipative Nonlinear Evolution Equations and Chaos

In this article we have studied the nonlinear interaction between ellipticity and dissipation in a set of model equations (1.1) and established the relation between this interaction and chaos. In addition to theoretical investigations, extensive numerical simulations with these equations have been made, and different routes to chaos have been found. The numerical studies have revealed the chaotic nature of the solutions.     

Recombination of Au25+ with free electrons at low energies

The origin of the widely observed enhancement of rates for electron-ion recombination at very low energies is still unknown. We investigated the recombination of Au²⁵⁺ with free electrons in a merged-beams experiment at the UNILAC accelerator of the GSI in Darmstadt. At E _rel= 0 eV we found an enormous enhancement factor of 365 compared to the theory of radiative recombination. An increase of the electron density by a factor of 10 had not much influence on the measured rate coefficient. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

On asymptotic approximations for slow wave processes in nonlinear dispersive media

We consider the application of asymptotic methods of nonlinear mechanics (the Krylov-Bogolyubov-Mitropol'skii method) and the method of separation of motions in nonlinear systems for the construction of an approximate solution of a nonlinear equation that describes a nonstationary wave process. Translated from Ukrainskii Matematicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 50, No. 3, pp. 357–371, March, 1998.     

Random oscillations in the Van der Pol system under the action of a broadband random process

We construct the second approximation for random oscillations described by the Van der Pol equation which are under the action of a broadband random process. Translated from Ukrainskii Matematicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 50, No. 11, pp. 1517–1521, November, 1998.     

Does the phase transition exist in the one-component plasma model?

Explanations are given for why there is no real first-order phase transition in the one-component plasma (OCP) model. The fluid (liquid) and crystalline states of the OCP observed in computer experiments are not in equilibrium, on account of instability of the system. However, specific features of the free energy suggest that some sort of a “virtual” phase transition occurs in the model. Such a transition can be turned real by choosing the right form of the background energy. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 1, 82–85 (10 January 1997) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Galactic anisotropy as signature of “top-down” mechanisms of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays

We show that “top-down” mechanisms of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays which involve heavy relic particle-like objects predict a Galactic anisotropy of the highest-energy cosmic rays at the level of minimum ∼ 20%. This anisotropy is large enough to be either observed or ruled out in the next generation of experiments. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 68, No. 2, 99–103 (25 July 1998) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Effect of a magnetic field on thermally activated tunneling ionization of impurity centers in semiconductors

An expression for the probability of thermally activated tunneling ionization in an electric field in the presence of a magnetic field is obtained. It is shown that the logarithm of the ionization probability is proportional to the squared electric field, and the coefficient of proportionality decreases with increasing magnetic field. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 68, No. 10, 763–767 (25 November 1998)