Ultrafast carrier dynamics in ferromagnetic InGaMnAs

We have carried out an ultrafast time-resolved differential reflectivity study of a ferromagnetic semiconductor InGaMnAs and made a systematic comparison with low-temperature grown and high-temperature grown InGaAs reference films. Very short carrier lifetimes (2 ps) were observed in InGaMnAs and the low-temperature grown InGaAs film, but not in the high-temperature grown InGaAs film. We attribute the short lifetimes to carrier trapping by mid-gap states introduced during low-temperature MBE growth. Furthermore, at long times, we observed periodic oscillations in the differential reflectivity signal with period 20 ps, which we interpret as coherent acoustic phonons.     

Temperature dependences of the low-frequency internal friction and shear modulus in a bulk amorphous alloy

The logarithmic decrement and shear modulus of a bulk amorphous Zr_52.5Ti₅Cu_17.9Ni_14.6Al₁₀ alloy were studied with an inverse torsion pendulum in the range from room temperature to the crystallization temperature and in the frequency range 5–40 Hz. The activation energy spectra of reversible and irreversible structural relaxation were estimated. The results obtained are discussed in the context of a two-energy-level model.     

Methodological reflections on a three-step-design combining observation,stimulated recall and interview

In this paper a tripartite qualitative design combining abservation, stimulated recall and interview is presented and discussed. This three-step-design makes it possible to get insight into the interaction of internal and external processes when solving mathematical tasks. The data analysis depends on the research question and the methodological approach. In the light of two research projects in mathematics education two different methods of data analysis are presented and methodologically reflected.     

Mapping Properties of a Projection Related to the Helmholtz Equation

We study the continuity properties of a projection derived from a recent characterization of Herglotz Wave Functions in the plane. Herglotz Wave Functions are the entire solutions of the Helmholtz equation which have L²-Far-Field-Pattern. The behavior of this projection is reminiscent of the Disc Multiplier Operator on both L^p and mixed L^p-normed spaces. In particular a Kakeya type set plays a central role in our analysis. As a consequence we answer a question posed by Alvarez, Folch-Gabayet and Pérez-Esteva.     

Core-shell structure in fullerene-containing molecular complexes

A shell model that describes the formation of molecular complexes around a C₆₀ molecule upon the solid-phase interaction of the powders is considered. From the absorption spectra, it follows that a reacting particle is a fullerene dimer.     

Prefiltration technique via aggregation for constructing low‐density high‐quality factorized sparse approximate inverse preconditionings

This paper considers a new approach to a priori sparsification of the sparsity pattern of the factorized approximate inverses (FSAI) preconditioner using the so‐called vector aggregation technique. The suggested approach consists in construction of the FSAI preconditioner to the aggregated matrix with a prescribed sparsity pattern. Then small entries of the computed ‘aggregated’ FSAI preconditioning matrix are dropped, and the resulting pointwise sparsity pattern is used to construct the low‐density block sparsity pattern of the FSAI preconditioning matrix to the original matrix. This approach allows to minimize (sometimes significantly) the construction costs of low‐density high‐quality FSAI preconditioners. Numerical results with sample matrices from structural mechanics and thin shell problems are presented. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.