A new experimental technique for measuring the local birefringence and molecular orientation in liquid crystals

A new experimental technique is described for the measurement of local birefringence and molecular orientation in liquid crystals. This technique consists in analyzing the local channeled spectra obtained by optical polarising microscopy.     

A high temperature diffraction study of synthetic titanite catiosio4

The results of a high temperature single crystal X-ray diffraction study of synthetic titanite within the stability field of the A2/a (C2/c) paraphase (T > 500 K) are reported. The structure has been refined using a conventional model and one in which the Ca atom is disordered over two positions. A break in thermal expansion near T _c = 825 K correlates with an effective volume contraction of the Ti octahedron. When refined with split Ca position a reorientation of the Ca displacement vector at T _c is found, resulting in a more symmetrical structural arrangement of the disordered Ca cations with respect to the surrounding Ti cations. In the conventional model this reorientation is seen as a break in the thermal elongation of the shortest Ti-Ca distance. The observed temperature of the isosymmetrical structural instability is in agreement with previous observations based on Hard Mode IR and Raman spectroscopic measurements. A possible mechanism causing the observed structural changes and similarities to the thermal behaviour of the iso-structural malayaite, CaSnSiO₅, are discussed.     

Polaron effect dependence of thermopower in organic semiconductors

A unified physical model for thermopower was presented in organic semiconductors, based on the Marcus theory and variable-range hopping theory. According to the proposed model, the characteristic of charge carrier thermoelectric transport in organic semiconductors has been investigated. In particular, polaron effects, energetic disorder, and carrier density dependence of the thermopower have been discussed in detailed. The calculation also shows a good agreement with the experimental data in organic semiconductors.     

An exactly soluble case of the triangular ising model in a magnetic field

An anisotropic triangular Ising model in which the first- and second-order parameters and the field parameters are functionally related is solved exactly by representing the distribution of the atom patterns in terms of a suitably constructed Markov process. The probabilities of patterns, defined as the probabilities generated by this process, are a mathematically tractable alternative to the classical representation of these probabilities in terms of the partition function. The interaction and field parameters of this Ising model, its magnetization, free energy, and its nearest neighbor correlation functions, are expressed in terms of the parameters of this Markov process. Special cases are worked out in detail and numerical examples are given.     

Effect of disorder on relaxation in the one-dimensional Glauber model

We study the long-time relaxation of magnetization in a disordered linear chain of Ising spins from an initially aligned state. The coupling constants are ferromagnetic and nearest-neighbor only, taking valuesJ ₀ andJ ₁ with probabilitiesp and 1–p, respectively. The time evolution of the system is governed by the Glauber master equation. It is shown that for large timest, the magnetizationM(t) varies as [exp(–₀ t](t), where ₀ is a function of the stronger bond strengthJ ₀ only, and (t) decreases slower than an exponential. For very long times, we find that ln (t) varies as –t ^1/3. For low enough temperatures, there is an intermediate time regime when ln (t) varies as –t ^1/2. The results can be extended to more general probability distributions of ferromagnetic coupling constants, assuming thatM(t) can only increase if any bond in the chain is strengthened. If the coupling constants have a continuous distribution in which the probability density varies as a power law near some maximum valueJ ₀, we find that ln (t) varies as –t ^1/3(lnt)^2/3 for large times.     

有机层界面对双层有机发光二极管复合效率的影响

建立了双层有机发光二极管中载流子在有机层界面复合的无序跳跃理论模型.由于有机分子材料的空间及能带结构的无序性，采用刚体模型处理有机层界面问题是不恰当的，而采用无序跳跃模型比较合理.复合效率及复合电流由载流子跳跃距离、有机层界面的有效势垒高度及该界面处的电场强度分布所决定：在双层器件ITO/α-NPD/Alq₃/Al中，当所加电压小于19.5V时，复合效率随着载流子跳跃距离的增加而增加，而大于19.5V时，复合效率随着其距离的增加而减少；复合效率随着有机层界面有效势垒高度的增加而增加； 关键词： 有机层界面 双层有机发光二极管 复合效率 有效势垒高度 无序跳跃模型     

Models of a structural phase transition with general anharmonicity and disorder

It is shown how the self-consistent phonon Ansatz leads to a new class of exactly soluble models of a structural phase transition. Both nonpolynomial anharmonicity and disorder are analyzed in detail. In the classical limit, the thermodynamics is obtained and sufficient conditions on the anharmonicity are given to ensure a soft-mode phase transition. Diagonal disorder has been studied numerically. It is found that in three dimensions a pronounced mobility edge, separating localized and delocalized phonon states, may exist.     

Critical and multicritical behavior in the Ising–Heisenberg universality class

Critical behavior of three-dimensional classical frustrated antiferromagnets with a collinear spin ordering and with an additional twofold degeneracy of the ground state is studied. We consider two lattice models, whose continuous limit describes a single phase transition with a symmetry class differing from the class of non-frustrated magnets as well as from the classes of magnets with non-collinear spin ordering. A symmetry breaking is described by a pair of independent order parameters, which are similar to order parameters of the Ising and O(N) models correspondingly. Using the renormalization group method, it is shown that a transition is of first order for non-Ising spins. For Ising spins, a second order phase transition from the universality class of the O(2) model may be observed. The lattice models are considered by Monte Carlo simulations based on the Wang–Landau algorithm. The models are a ferromagnet on a body-centered cubic lattice with the additional antiferromagnetic exchange interaction between next-nearest-neighbor spins and an antiferromagnet on a simple cubic lattice with the additional interaction in layers. We consider the cases N = 1, 2, 3 and in all of them find a first-order transition. For the N = 1 case we exclude possibilities of the second order or pseudo-first order of a transition. An almost second order transition for large N is also discussed.     

Paradoxical vocal fold motion: Presentation and treatment options

Paradoxical vocal fold motion is a rare disorder in which adduction of the folds occurs on inspiration. The disorder presents with signs of airway obstruction and often airway distress, so proper diagnosis by the otorhinolaryngologist is critical to subsequent management. We present a retrospective review of 10 patients with the diagnosis of paradoxical vocal fold motion seen over a 6-year period. Eight patients were females, and 6 required an acute airway intervention at presentation; 3 patients eventually underwent tracheotomy for respiratory decompensation. Six patients had a prior diagnosis of asthma, and this was determined to contribute to their respiratory status. Five patients were treated with botulinum toxin and 2 with flexible nasolaryngoscopic biofeedback, which improved the outcome. A review of the literature confirms a female predominance of patients presenting with paradoxical adduction and airway distress, often with a history of asthma and psychopathology. Our experience with botulinum toxin and biofeedback suggests that these procedures are viable treatment options in the management of patients with this disorder.