Interface analysis of the system Si/YBa2Cu3O7?x

Summary The influence of different preparation conditions and substrate surface orientations on the superconducting properties of thin YBa₂Cu₃O_7–x (YBCO) films on silicon was studied. Comparative electrical and surface spectroscopic measurements were performed. SAM and SIMS depth profile analysis show an enrichment of barium at the interface between the superconductor and silicon for samples with T_c<76 K. Comparison with XPS data obtained for thin silicon films on YBCO indicates the formation of barium and yttrium silicates at the interface under these conditions.     

Eulerian limit for 2D Navier-Stokes equation and damped/driven KdV equation as its model

We discuss the inviscid limits for the randomly forced 2D Navier-Stokes equation (NSE) and the damped/driven KdV equation. The former describes the space-periodic 2D turbulence in terms of a special class of solutions for the free Euler equation, and we view the latter as its model. We review and revise recent results on the inviscid limit for the perturbed KdV and use them to suggest a setup which could be used to make a next step in the study of the inviscid limit of 2D NSE. The proposed approach is based on an ergodic hypothesis for the flow of the 2D Euler equation on iso-integral surfaces. It invokes a Whitham equation for the 2D Navier-Stokes equation, written in terms of the ergodic measures. Dedicated to Vladimir Igorevich Arnold on his 70th birthday     

Synthesis and thermal behaviour of salicylaldimine-based liquid crystalline symmetrical dimers

A series of symmetrical dimers consisting of salicylaldimine moieties connected by flexible alkylene central spacer via ether linkages has been synthesized. In order to validate the empirical rule suggested by Date et al. to account for the smectic behaviour of such dimers, the chain length of the terminal alkoxy chain has been kept constant (C₈) while the number of methylene units in the central spacer was varied from C₃ to C₁₁. Another aim of the present investigation was to understand structure-property relationship in these dimers in which the salicylaldimine mesogenic segment has been used for the first time in dimers. The mesomorphic behaviour of these dimers was evaluated using optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry and the structure of some of the mesophases has been further investigated with the help of X-ray diffraction. Our studies reveal that the dimers consisting of 3 to 8 methylene units in the flexible spacer show only smectic (smectic C and smectic A) phases. For the dimers containing 4, 6 and 8 methylene units in the central spacer, a unique filament growth pattern has been observed in the smectic A phase while cooling from the isotropic phase. The dimers containing of C₉ to C₁₁ methylene groups exhibit the nematic phase in addition to smectic modifications. This observation indicates that when the terminal chains are shorter than the spacer, the tendency to form smectic phases is not fully extinguished but is perhaps reduced.     

Impact of two mass scale oscillations on the analysis of atmospheric and reactor neutrino data

We study the stability of the results of the three-neutrino oscillation analysis of atmospheric and reactor neutrino data under departures of the one dominant mass scale approximation. In order to do so we perform the analysis of atmospheric and reactor neutrino data in terms of three-neutrino oscillations where the effect of both mass differences is explicitly considered. We study the allowed parameter space resulting from this analysis as a function of the mass splitting hierarchy parameter which parameterizes the departure from the one dominant mass scale approximation. We consider schemes with both direct and inverted mass ordering. Our results show that in the analysis of the atmospheric data the derived range of the largest mass splitting, , is stable, while the allowed ranges of mixing angles and are wider than those obtained in the one dominant mass scale approximation. Inclusion of the CHOOZ reactor data in the analysis results in the reduction of the parameter space in particular for the mixing angles. As a consequence the final allowed ranges of the parameters from the combined analysis are only slightly broader than when obtained in the one dominant mass scale approximation. Received: 31 May 2002 / Revised version: 10 July 2002 / Published online: 31 October 2002     

Entanglement of qutrits

For two types of qutrits specified by the dynamical symmetry SU(3) and SU(2), we consider the difference in entanglement caused by the lack of quantum observables in the latter case. In particular, we show that the SU(2) qutrits can have specific separable entanglement caused by quantum correlations of intrinsic degrees of freedom in a single party without interparty correlations.     

Trends in sorption preconcentration combined with noble metal determination.

Nowadays much attention is being paid to the determination of trace amounts of noble metals in geological, industrial, biological and environmental samples. The most promising techniques, such as inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) are characterized by high sensitivity. However, the accurate determination of trace noble metals has been limited by numerous interferences generated from the presence of matrix elements. To decrease, or eliminate, these interferences, the sorption preconcentration of noble metals is often used prior to their instrumental detection. A great number of hyphenated methods of noble metal determination using sorption preconcentration have been developed. This review describes the basic types of available sorbents, preconcentration procedures and preparations of the sorbent to the subsequent determination of noble metals. The specific features of instrumental techniques and examples of ETAAS, FAAS, ICP-AES, ICP-MS determinations after the sorption preconcentration of noble metals are considered. The references cited here were selected mostly from the period 1996 - 2006.     

Adsorption of nonionic surfactant triton X-100 on solids from aqueous and nonaqueous solutions

The adsorption of nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 on quartz sand and methylated quartz sand from water and toluene was investigated by means of spectrophotometry, the radiotracer technique, and wetting angle measurements.     

Superconductivity in the intermetallic compound YRhAl

The intermetallic compound, YRhAl, has been prepared and is found to be isomorphic with RRhAl (R=Pr, Nd, Gd, Ho and Tm) compounds crystallizing in the orthorhombic TiNiSi-type structure (space group Pnma). Heat capacity and electrical resistivity measurements in the He-3 temperature range reveal that this compound is superconducting with a transition temperature, T_c, of 0.9 K. The electronic specific heat coefficient, γ, and the Debye temperature are found to be 6.1 mJ/mol K and 197 K, respectively. The specific heat jump at the superconducting transition is found to be consistent with the BCS weak-coupling limit. This combined with the earlier observation of superconductivity in LaRhAl (T_c=2.4 K) having a different structure than that of YRhAl, suggests that the underlying structure is not very crucial for the occurrence of superconductivity in RRhAl series of compounds.