Effect of Mn substitution on the delicate balance between structure and properties of Gd1.4Ce0.6Sr2RuCu2O10

Some new members of a ruthenocuprate(2212) series have been synthesized by Mn substitution for Ru in Gd_1.4Ce_0.6Sr₂RuCu₂O₁₀. Characterization by x-ray diffraction (XRD) phase analysis has been carried out. Changes in structural features on substitution, including a significant change in lattice parameter for a very low substitution level, have been observed. Four-probe resistivity studies indicate the coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism for the pristine compound and a semiconductor-like upturn in resistivity and the absence of superconductivity even for very low levels of Mn substitution. AC susceptibility measurements show a progressive suppression of the magnetic transition temperature as well as a smearing of the magnetic transition as a function of Mn substitution. Possible reasons for the absence of superconductivity have been discussed.     

Plasma effects in a free electron laser

The introduction of a plasma and a strong guide magnetic field in a free electron laser (FEL) slows down the phase velocity of radiation, significantly reducing the requirements on beam energy for generating frequencies below the electron-cyclotron frequency (ω₁≲ω_c). Around plasma resonance (ω₁~ω_p), the FEL mode couples to two-stream instability (TSI), attaining a large growth rate, comparable to that of the wiggler-free TSI. At plasma densities comparable to beam density, the beam-induced local depression in the electron density of the plasma acts as a waveguide for guiding any high-frequency radiation when the beam current is ≳17 kA     

Multilayer polymeric mode and polarization filters for integrated optics

We demonstrate theoretically as well as experimentally that a four-layer polymeric waveguide structure can be used to produce a mode and a polarization filter. Various optical properties such as refractive index, birefringence and propagation constant of polycarbonate, polystyrene and a commercially available photoresist (from Shipley) are presented. The thin film structures consisting of glass/polycarbonate/polystyrene/air are used for demonstrating polarization filter action and glass/photoresist/polystyrene/air structure for mode filter. Expressions for the electric field intensity spatial distribution for the structure are used to calculate the intensity profiles to support the observed behavior. The experimental values were in good agreement with the one obtained theoretically.     

Inverted equations of state for solids under high pressures

In the present communication we have reviewed some inverted type equations of state for solids under high pressures. An inverted equation of state (EOS) gives volume as a function of pressure for a solid under isothermal conditions. We have considered various equations of state proposed by earlier workers which express volume as a function of pressure. Expressions for bulk modulus and its pressure derivatives based on such EOSs are obtained and reported here. It is emphasized here that the high pressure derivative properties are very sensitive to the forms of equations of state representing volume-pressure relationships. We have also studied the thermoelastic properties of solids based on pressure derivatives of bulk modulus. Applications have been extended in the present review article to the solids which are metals as well as non-metals including geophysical minerals present in the lower mantle and core of the Earth.     

Principal eigenvector field segmentation for reproducible diffusion tensor tractography of white matter structures

The study was aimed to test the feasibility of utilizing an algorithmically determinable stable fiber mass (SFM) map obtained by an unsupervised principal eigenvector field segmentation (PEVFS) for automatic delineation of 18 white matter (WM) tracts: (1) corpus callosum (CC), (2) tapetum (TP), (3) inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), (4) uncinate fasciculus (UNC), (5) inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFO), (6) optic pathways (OP), (7) superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), (8) arcuate fasciculus (AF), (9) fornix (FX), (10) cingulum (CG), (11) anterior thalamic radiation (ATR), (12) superior thalamic radiation (STR), (13) posterior thalamic radiation (PTR), (14) corticospinal/corticopontine tract (CST/CPT), (15) medial lemniscus (ML), (16) superior cerebellar peduncle (SCP), (17) middle cerebellar peduncle (MCP) and (18) inferior cerebellar peduncle (ICP). Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)-derived fractional anisotropy (FA) and the principal eigenvector field have been used to create the SFM consisting of a collection of linear voxel structures which are grouped together by color-coding them into seven natural classes to provide PEVFS signature segments which greatly facilitate the selection of regions of interest (ROIs) for fiber tractography using just a single mouse click, as compared with a manual drawing of ROIs in the classical approach. All the 18 fiber bundles have been successfully reconstructed, in all the subjects, using the single ROIs provided by the SFM approach, with their reproducibility characterized by the fact that the ROI selection is user independent. The essentially automatic PEVFS method is robust, efficient and compares favorably with the classical ROI methods for diffusion tensor tractography (DTT).     

Electrical breakdown of anodic aluminum oxide

Results are presented from a study of electrical breakdown of anodic aluminum oxide in a constant field with a platinum pressure electrode. Statistical breakdown parameters and their dependence on the magnitude and polarity of the applied voltage are obtained. Field and temperature dependences of breakdown delay time over the interval 10^–6–10³ sec are determined. It is shown that the experimental (E) curves can be rectified (in two segments) in the coordinates log E^–1. This indicates a possible contribution to the breakdown mechanism by both tunnel injection of electrons from the cathode and subsequent avalanche multiplication of electrons within the dielectric.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 4, pp. 25–29, April, 1990.In conclusion, the authors thank T. V. Shmidt and E. Ya. Khanin for assistance in the study.     

Demonstration of a simple technique for determining the M/# of a holographic substrate by use of a single exposure

We propose and demonstrate a simple technique for determining the M/# parameter of a holographic recording material. In this method, divergent object and reference beams are used to produce a spatially varying index modulation. One can analyze the resultant diffraction pattern to find M/# by using only a single grating; existing techniques require many gratings.     

Simulation model for shapiro time delay and light deflection experiments

The time delay experiment proposed by I.I. Shapiro in 1964 and conducted in the seventies was the most precise experiment of general relativity until that time. Further experimentation has improved the accuracy level of both the time delay and the light deflection experiments. A simulation model is proposed that involves only a simple mass and time transformation factor involving velocity of light. The light deflection and the time delay experiments are numerically simulated using this model that does not use the general relativistic equations. The computed values presented in this paper compare well with recent levels of accuracy of their respective experimental results.     

Debye screening versus Gauss law in electrostatics: Finite size effects

We revisit the well-known topics of self- and induced-screening in an otherwise isotropic neutral plasma/colloid. It is pointed out that the standard Debye-Hückel (DH) theory (ignoring finite size effects) suffers from many ambiguities related to net ionic numbers, total charge of the system, role of the electrostatic Gauss law, short-distance behaviour of the potential and incorrectly normalized pair correlation functions. We give a new formulation (incorporating finite size effects) such that ionic numbers are maintained, the total charge of the system has physically correct value, the Gauss law boundary conditions are rigorously obeyed, short-distance behaviour of the potential is guaranteed automatically, and correlation functions are correctly normalized. Numerical differences between the two approaches show up if the screening length μ⁻¹ becomes comparable to the size R of the system.