Electronic structure and optical properties of the HoCoSi and ErNiSi compounds

The electronic structure and the optical properties of the HoCoSi and ErNiSi compounds are studied. Spin-polarized band calculations are performed in the local electron density approximation corrected for the strong electron–electron interactions in the 4f shell of a rare-earth ion (LSDA + U method [11]). The optical constants are measured by ellipsometry in a wide wavelength range, and the frequency dependences of a number of spectral parameters are determined. The calculated densities of states are used to interpret the structural features of the interband optical conductivities of the intermetallic compounds.     

Neutrino emissivity of quark matter at finite temperatures

We evaluate the emissivity rates for d-decay and s-decay by exactly solving the angular integrals involved and without assuming the degeneracy of electrons. We have also studied the effects of QCD coupling constant as well as the s-quark mass on the emissivity rates. We find that these parameters are important in determining the threshold and extinction densities for d- and s-decays.     

Fermilab top mass and modified Fritzsch mass matrices

Fritzsch like mass matrices with non-zero 22-elements both in U sector and D sector have been investigated in the context of latest data regardingm _t ^phys , |V _ub|, |V _cb|, |V _td| and |V _ts|. Unlike several other phenomenological models, the present model not only accommodates the value ofm _t ^phys in the range 150–240 GeV, encompassing the CDF and D0 values, but is also able to reproduce |V _cb| ≊0.040 and |V _ub/V_cb| = 0.08±0.02 and |V _td| is predicted to lie in the range 0.005–0.014. Further, the angles of the unitarity triangle, related to the CP-violating asymmetries, are calculated to be in the ranges −1.0⩽sin2α⩽−0.1, 0.6 ⩽sin2α⩽1.0 and 0.48⩽sin2β⩽0.56, which are in agreement with other recent calculations.     

Structural properties of silver iodide and copper iodide

The structural changes within the Silver iodide (AgI) and Copper iodide (CuI) induced by pressure have been investigated using an effective interaction potential. CuI and AgI in their parent zinc blende (ZnS) to rock salt (NaCl) through an intermediate structure have been reported. The calculated values for the phase transition pressures and associate volume collapses are generally in good agreement with measured data.      

A new model for spherically symmetric charged compact stars of embedding class 1

In the present study we search for a new stellar model with spherically symmetric matter and a charged distribution in a general relativistic framework. The model represents a compact star of embedding class 1. The solutions obtained here are general in nature, having the following two features: first of all, the metric becomes flat and also the expressions for the pressure, energy density, and electric charge become zero in all the cases if we consider the constant \(A=0\), which shows that our solutions represent the so-called ‘electromagnetic mass model’ [17], and, secondly, the metric function \(\nu (r)\), for the limit n tending to infinity, converts to \(\nu (r)=C{r}^{2}+ ln~B\), which is the same as considered by Maurya et al. [11]. We have investigated several physical aspects of the model and find that all the features are acceptable within the requirements of contemporary theoretical studies and observational evidence.     

Calcium and oxygen doping in Y Ba2Cu3Oy

Both oxygen and calcium play important roles in inducing superconductivity in Y Ba₂Cu₃O_y (YBCO), which is an antiferromagnetic insulator at low O and Ca content. O induces superconductivity in Ca-free YBCO, while Ca does similarly in oxygen-deficient YBCO. For doping oxygen HgO was used as it decomposes at 476 ^°C into Hg, which escapes from the matrix leaving the crystal unaltered, and O, which provide a way to dope O in YBCO. Considering these facts, polycrystalline samples of Y _1−xCa_xBa₂Cu₃O_y with x=0, 0.1 and 0.2 with and without HgO addition were prepared through a solid-state reaction method. The samples were sintered at 950 ^°C in open atmosphere. These synthesized samples were characterized through using the X-ray diffraction technique (XRD) for phase evaluation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for grain morphology, energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) for compositional analysis and the four-contact measurement technique for determining the superconducting transition temperature.     

Higher-order squeezing and sub-poissonian photon statistics in CARS and CAHRS

The Squeezing and sub-poissonian photon statistics of an optical field are a purely quantum mechanical phenomenon and has been accepted as means of achieving noise below the quantum shot-noise limit. The effect of higher-order squeezing and sub-poissonian nature of an optical field in coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) and coherent anti-Stokes hyper Raman scattering (CAHRS) are investigated under short-time approximation. The coupled Heisenberg equations of motion involving real and imaginary parts of the quadrature operators are established and solved under short-time scale. The dependence of squeezing on the number of photons is also investigated. It is also shown that higher-order squeezing allows a much larger fractional noise reduction than lower-order squeezing. The occurrence of amplitude squeezing effects of the radiation field in the fundamental mode is investigated in both the processes. The present work shows that squeezing is greater in CAHRS than the corresponding squeezing in CARS. It is also shown that squeezing is greater in stimulated process than corresponding squeezing in spontaneous interaction. The conditions for obtaining maximum and minimum squeezing are obtained. The photon statistics of the pump mode in the processes has also been investigated and found to be sub-poissonian in nature.     

Effect of mixed glass formers on the crystallization kinetics in AgI–Ag<Subscript>2</Subscript>O–V<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript>–MoO<Subscript>3</Subscript> glassy superionic system

The crystallization and glass transition kinetics using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in 50AgI–33.33Ag₂O–16.67[(V₂O₅)_1−x –(MoO₃) _x ] superionic glassy system is discussed. Thermal stability of glass, studied using various criteria, does not vary significantly with glass former variation. However, the activation energies for structural relaxation (E _s) at glass transition temperature and crystallization (E _c) obtained using Moynihan and Kissinger, Matusita-Sakka formulations found to exhibit interesting trends with MoO₃ substitution in the glass matrix. It is noticed that the electrical conductivity (σ)–temperature (T) cycles obtained at a typical heating rate of 1 °C/min do exhibit significant thermal events. The conductivity after first heating cycle at room temperature is found to be increasing with MoO₃ content and maximum for x = 0.3 (~10⁻³ Ω⁻¹ cm⁻¹ at 30 °C) which is comparable to that of the host 50AgI–33.33Ag₂O–16.67V₂O₅ glassy system. The parameters obtained from σ–T plots and DSC scans do complement each other in a particular range of composition.