Critical thickness and stress relaxation in YBaCuO (123) strained epitaxial layers and YBaCuO based strained superlattices

An energy model has been used to calculate the critical thickness h _c of YBaCuO thin films and YBaCuO based superlattices within an isotropic or anisotropic approximation. The critical thickness of single layers calculated from the anisotropic model (16 nm) is in good agreement with the previously published experimental values which are spread out from 4 to 20 nm. In the case of superlattices, relaxation appears to be governed by the critical thickness of the elementary sub-layers and is then better evaluated through the calculation performed for YBaCuO single layers. XRD measurements on YBa₂Cu₃O₇/PrBa₂Cu_3?xGa_xO₇ superlattices grown on {100{ SrTiO₃ have evidenced a tetragonal stress in the YBaCuO ab plane which remains expanded when the YBaCuO elementary layer thickness is lower than 4.8 nm (4 YBaCuO cells). However the critical temperature of the shortest period superlattices is only slightly affected by this expanded stress in contrast to the effect of an elastic stress externally applied along the ab plane of YBaCuO thin films.     

Recurrent solar wind streams

A new approach to investigating the statistical relationship between certain solar features and recurrent wind streams is presented. This approach is based, on a comparative analysis of the distributions of lifetimes of a set of solar features, recurrent geomagnetic disturbances, and geomagnetic “calms.” Correlation coefficients of 0.81, 0.85, 0.79, and 0.77 are found for the distributions of several solar features—filaments, large-scale magnetic fields, coronal features, and coronal holes, respectively—and recurrent geomagnetic disturbances. A correlation factor of 0.97 between the distributions of geomagnetic “calms” and active regions is found. The combined evidence indicates that no specific type of solar feature is responsible for the recurrent stream activity. Rather, the configuration of the large-scale magnetic field of the Sun appears to control the permanently existing corpuscular activity. Since prominences trace polarity division lines of the large-scale magnetic field structure of the Sun, they have been checked as a possible general predictor of recurrent corpuscular activity; their parameters could present the most reliable indices that relate closely with trends in geomagnetic disturbances. A comparative analysis of cyclic variations of sunspot numbers, the total number of prominences, the relative number of low-height (<-20″) prominences, and recurrent geomagnetic storms is made for solar cycle N16. The relative number of low-height prominences is found to correlate broadly (0.83) with recurrent wind streams. P. K. Shternberg State Astronomical Institute, Moscow, Russia; National Solar Observatory, Sacramento Peak, U.S. Published in Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 145–151, February, 1998.     

On the applicability limits of the method of radio-wave refraction scattering

We compare the computational possibilities of the radio-wave refraction-scattering method (RWRSM) and the parabolic-equation method (PEM) in determining the statistical characteristics of radio waves in a medium with large-scale inhomogeneities. It is shown that on the whole the applicability limits of the RWRSM are similar to the corresponding limits of the PEM. However, unlike the PEM, the RWRSM makes it possible, in a number of cases, to use simple means to solve radio-wave-refraction problems in a thick layer with large-scale inhomogeneities.Radiophysical Research Institute, Nizhny Novgorod. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 38, No. 11, pp. 1118–1123, November, 1995.     

States of surface V(IV)-bearing groups in phosphorus-vanadium oxide and titanium-vanadium oxide silica gels made by molecular epitaxy

ESR shows that V(IV) may occur in isolated or interacting vanadium-oxygen groups on the surfaces of catalytically active P-V and Ti-V-bearing silica gels; there is a relationship between the V(IV) content and the phthalic anhydride selectivity in the oxidation of o-xylene.Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Éksperimental'naya Khimiya, Vol. 28, No. 3, pp. 277–282, May–June, 1992.     

Symmetry algebra of nonlinear integrable equations

The complete symmetry algebras of the Veselov-Novikov equation and of the modified Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation are constructed. Some related questions are discussed.P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Matematicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 95, No. 1, pp. 34–41, April, 1993.     

General method for the liquid-liquid extraction of molybdenum and its application to neutron activation analysis

Summary The liquid-liquid extraction of Mo(VI) from different acid solutions by zinc diethyldithiocarbamate in chloroform is described. This extractant allows the separation of nanogram to milligram quantities of Mo from even gram quantities of many other elements. The separation of Mo can be made selective by appropriate choice of the composition of the aqueous phase, by back-extraction of Mo and/or the coextracted elements, and by masking Mo with hydrogen peroxide. These techniques were adapted for the determination of Mo in several reference materials by radiochemical neutron activation analysis via ⁹⁹Mo.