Radiation-induced E″ centers in crystalline SiO2

Electron spin resonance has been used to study three similar, but distinct, S = 1 defects (labelled E″ centers) in high-quality synthetic quartz crystals. These centers are produced by electron irradiation and their concentrations depend on the irradiation temperature, the nature of previous irradiations and thermal anneals, and whether the sample is swept or unswept. The radiation-induced mobility of interstitial alkali ions (Li⁺ and Na⁺) correlates with the production of E″ centers.     

A model for the lattice dynamics of b.c.c. transition metals

Recent ideas proposed by Fielek for the lattice dynamics of f.c.c. noble and transition metals have been extended to b.c.c. transition metals. Phonon dispersion curves, calculated on the basis of this model, for chromium are in fairly good agreement with experimental ones and are far better than those reported so far.     

In-beamγ-ray spectroscopy of102In

Neutron deficient nuclei close to ¹⁰⁰Snhave been investigated in-beam by γ-ray spectroscopic methods using the NORDBALL detector array. A beam of 270 MeV ⁵⁸Niwas used to bombard a target of ⁵⁴Fe.Reaction channel separation was achieved with a 4π charged particle multidetector setup together with a 1π neutron detector wall placed in the forward direction. Excited states of ¹⁰²Inwere identified for the first time. The level scheme constructed from γ-γ-particle-coincidence and γ-γ-angular correlation analysis is presented. The structure of ¹⁰² In is discussed and compared to neighboring nuclei in the framework of the nuclear shell-model.     

Phonon dispersion curves for niobium

Conclusion The experimentally measured phonon dispersion relation for niobium is very complex. This complexity may be due to the incomplete electronicd shells which make an important contribution to very large cohesive energy, and its likely effect on the phonon frequencies. Also the anomalies in the dispersion curves may be due to the departure of the Fermi surface from sphericity. In the present study none of the above effects is included explicitly and so theory fails to achieve exact agreement with the experimental data. Finally, we would like to put a concluding remark that an appropriate microscopic treatment given tod electron could explain the phonon dispersion curves of transition metal like niobium.One of the authors (ARJ) would like to express his appreciation to Professor M. K. Agarwal (Head of the Department) for his support and encouragement to carry out this work. Thanks are also due to Sardar Patel University for providing computer facilities.     

Optimal maintenance policy and planned sale date for a machine subject to deterioration and random failure

The decision problem concerning the optimization of the maintenance policy and the selection of the sale date for a machine subject to deterioration and random failure is considered from a control-theoretic viewpoint. The originally stochastic optimal control problem is converted to a deterministic optimal control problem with the coefficients of the state and control variables modified in the performance index. The maximum principle is applied to derive the conditions for the optimal maintenance policy and for the optimal planned sale date. Economic interpretations of these conditions are presented in terms of marginal costs and revenues. An explicit solution is found analytically for the problem in the special case when the failure probability is independent of maintenance. The case of exponentially distributed life time for the machine is analyzed in full detail. Finally, the results are illustrated by an example.     

Orlicz capacities and Hausdorff measures on metric spaces

In the setting of doubling metric measure spaces with a 1-Poincaré inequality, we show that sets of Orlicz Φ-capacity zero have generalized Hausdorff h-measure zero provided thatwhere Θ⁻¹ is the inverse of the function Θ(t)=Φ(t)/t, and s is the “upper dimension” of the metric measure space. This condition is a generalization of a well known condition in Rⁿ. For spaces satisfying the weaker q-Poincaré inequality, we obtain a similar but slightly more restrictive condition. Several examples are also provided.     

Atoms in Boolean powers

We show that the Boolean power of an orthomodular latticeL is atomic if and only if bothL and the underlying Boolean algebraB are atomic. We describe the set of all atoms in the Boolean power.     

Time-of-flight remote detection MRI of thermally modified wood

We demonstrate that time-of-flight (TOF) remote detection (RD) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides detailed information about physical changes in wood due to thermal modification that is not available with conventional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) based techniques. In the experiments, xenon gas was forced to flow through Pinus sylvestris pine wood samples, and the flow paths and dispersion of gas atoms were observed by measuring ¹²⁹Xe TOF RD MRI images from the samples. MRI sensitivity of xenon was boosted by the spin exchange optical pumping (SEOP) method. Two different samples were studied: a reference sample, dried at low temperature, and a modified sample, which was thermally modified at 240 °C after the drying. The samples were taken next to each other from the same wood plank in order to ensure the comparability of the results. The most important conclusion is that both the smaller dispersion observed in all the TOF RD experiments independent of each other and the decreased amount of flow paths shown by the time projection of z-encoded TOF RD MRI experiment imply that a large amount of pits connecting tracheid cells are closed in thermal modification. Closed pits may be one reason for reduced moisture content and improved dimensional stability of wood achieved in thermal modification. This is the first time biological samples have been investigated by TOF RD MRI.     

Influence of composition on hyperfine interactions in FeMoCuB nanocrystalline alloy

Influence of varying Fe/B ratio upon hyperfine interactions is investigated in the Fe_91?x Mo₈Cu₁B_x rapidly quenched alloys. They are studied both in the as-quenched (amorphous) state as well as after one-hour annealing at different temperatures ranging from 330 °C up to 650 °C. Such a heat treatment causes significant structural changes featuring a formation of nanocrystalline bcc-Fe grains during the first crystallization step. At higher annealing temperatures, a grain growth of bcc-Fe and occurrence of additional crystalline phases are observed. The relative fraction of the crystalline phase governs the development of magnetic hyperfine fields in the residual amorphous matrix even if this was fully paramagnetic in the as-quenched state. The development of hyperfine interactions is discussed as a function of annealing temperature and composition of the investigated alloys. ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectrometry was used as a principal analytical method. Additional information related to the structural arrangement is obtained from X-ray diffractometry. It is shown that in the as-quenched state, the relative fraction of magnetic hyperfine interactions increases as the amount of B rises. In partially crystalline samples, the contribution of magnetic hyperfine interactions inside the retained amorphous matrix increases with annealing temperature even though the relative fraction of amorphous magnetic regions decreases.