Synthesis and characterization of nanostructured strontium hexaferrite thin films by the sol–gel method

Nanostructured single phase strontium hexaferrite, SrFe₁₂O₁₉, thin films have been synthesized on the (100) silicon substrate using a spin coating sol–gel process. The thin films with various Fe/Sr molar ratios of 8–12 were calcined at different temperatures from 500 to 900 °C. The composition, microstructure and magnetic properties of the SrFe₁₂O₁₉ thin films were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetry, X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer. The results showed that the optimum molar ratio for Fe/Sr was 10 at which the lowest calcination temperature to obtain the single phase strontium hexaferrite thin film was 800 °C. The magnetic measurements revealed that the sample with Fe/Sr molar ratio of 10, exhibited higher saturation magnetization (267.5 emu/cm³) and coercivity (4290 Oe) in comparison with those synthesized under other Fe/Sr molar ratios.     

An alternative method for plotting dispersion curves

Solving the frequency equation and plotting the dispersion curves in problems of wave propagation in cylinders and plates, particularly when the material is anisotropic, are complicated tasks. The traditional numerical methods are usually based on determination of the zeros of the frequency equation by using an iterative find-root algorithm. In this paper, an alternative method is proposed which extracts the solution of the frequency equation in the form of dispersion curves from the three-dimensional illustration of the frequency equation. For this purpose, a three-dimensional representation of the real roots of the frequency equation is first plotted. The dispersion curves, which are the numerical solutions of the frequency equation, are then obtained by a suitable cut in the velocity-frequency plane. The advantages of this method include simplicity, high speed, low possibility of numerical error, and presentation of the results in a graphical form that promotes ease of interpretation. This method is not directly applicable to problems which incorporate high damping or leaky waves. However, if the damping is not very high, it could be a good estimate of the true dispersion curves.     

Effect of pH value on the structural and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline strontium hexaferrite thin films

Strontium hexaferrite SrFe₁₂O₁₉ thin films have been synthesized at different pH, adjusted by NH₄OH, on the Si (1 0 0) substrate using a spin coating sol-gel process. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis and theoretical calculations were conducted for determination and controlling metal citrates in solution precursors. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer were applied to evaluate the composition, microstructure, crystallite size and magnetic properties of the SrFe₁₂O₁₉ thin films. Using the solution with pH 7, the approximately single phase strontium hexaferrite thin films with optimum physical properties can be obtained at calcination temperature of 800 °C. The SrFe₁₂O₁₉ thin films derived from the solution with pH 7 after calcination at 800 °C exhibited crystallite size of 42 nm and magnetic properties of M_s=267 emu/cm³ (at 10 kOe), M_r=134 emu/cm³ and H_c=4290 Oe.     

Metric and Complete Metric σ-Frames

A -frame is a lattice in which countable joins exist and binary meets distribute over countable joins. In this paper, the category MFrm, of metric -frames, is introduced, and it is shown to be equivalent to the category MLFrm _u, of metric Lindelöf frames.Finally, it is shown that the complete metric -frames are exactly the cozero parts of complete metric Lindelöf frames.     

Experimental evidence for a reduction in electron thermal diffusion due to trapped particles

New high time resolution measurements of the electron thermal diffusion χ(e) throughout the sawtooth cycle of the Madison Symmetric Torus reversed-field pinch have been made by utilizing the enhanced capabilities of the upgraded multipoint, multipulse Thomson scattering system. These measurements are compared to the χ(e) due to magnetic diffusion predicted by using information from a new high spectral resolution zero-β nonlinear resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulation performed, for the first time, at the Lundquist number of high current Madison Symmetric Torus plasmas (S≈4×10(6)). Agreement between the measured and predicted values is found only if the reduction in thermal diffusion due to trapped particles is taken into account.     

Interacting generalized ghost dark energy in a non-flat universe

We investigate the generalized Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) ghost model of dark energy in the framework of Einstein gravity. First, we study the non-interacting generalized ghost dark energy in a flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) background. We obtain the equation of state parameter, w _D = p/ρ, the deceleration parameter, and the evolution equation of the generalized ghost dark energy. We find that, in this case, w _D cannot cross the phantom line (w _D > ?1) and eventually the universe approaches a de-Sitter phase of expansion (w _D → ?1). Then, we extend the study to the interacting ghost dark energy in both a flat and non-flat FRW universe. We find that the equation of state parameter of the interacting generalized ghost dark energy can cross the phantom line (w _D < ?1) provided the parameters of the model are chosen suitably. Finally, we constrain the model parameters by using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method and a combined dataset of SNIa, CMB, BAO and X-ray gas mass fraction.     

Impurity compensation and band-gap renormalization in double-quantum-wires

We investigate the band-gap renormalization due to electron-electron interaction in the n-type doped GaAs-based double-quantum-wire systems. Electron self-energy is calculated using the leading-order perturbation theory (GW) within the full random-phase-approximation (RPA). We include the impurity effects through Mermin expression and show that decreasing the spacing in double-wire system can compensate partly the undesirable effect of impurities on the band-gap renormalization. Therefore, it is possible to offset the effect of impurity in related devices and to adjust the band-gap. We also, apply a constant electric field to one of the wires. It is shown that the change of the band-gap renormalization in the other wire will be insignificant if the drift velocity does not exceed Fermi velocity.     

Correlation between helical surface waves and guided modes of an infinite immersed elastic cylinder

Scattering of obliquely incident plane acoustic waves from immersed infinite solid elastic cylinders is a complex phenomenon that involves generation of various types of surface waves on the body of the cylinder. Mitri [F.G. Mitri, Acoustic backscattering enhancement resulting from the interaction of an obliquely incident plane wave with an infinite cylinder, Ultrasonics 50 (2010) 675-682] recently showed that for a solid aluminum cylinder, there exist acoustic backscattering enhancements at a normalized frequency of ka?0.1. The incidence angle α_c at which these enhancements are observed lies between the first (longitudinal) and second (shear) coupling angles of the cylinder. He also confirmed the observations previously reported by the authors that there exist backscattering enhancements of the dipole mode at large angles of incidence where no wave penetration into the cylinder is expected. In this paper, physical explanations are provided for the aforementioned observations by establishing a correlation between helical surface waves generated by oblique insonification of an immersed infinite solid elastic cylinder and the longitudinal and flexural guided modes that can propagate along the cylinder. In particular, it is shown that the backscattering enhancement observed at ka?0.1 is due to the excitation of the first longitudinal guided mode travelling at the bar velocity along the cylinder. It is also demonstrated that the dipole resonance mode observed at incidence angles larger than the Rayleigh coupling angle is associated with the first flexural guided mode of the cylinder. The correlation established between the scattering and propagation problems can be used in both numerical and experimental studies of interaction of mechanical waves with cylinders.