Self-organized critical models of earthquakes

In this paper we briefly review few self-organized critical (SOC) models of the phenomenon of earthquakes. For example, the two-dimensional non-conservative SOC model of Olami, Feder and Christensen (OFC) has been described. It is known that the effect of the fixed boundary on this model is very strong. It has been recently observed that imposition of a moving boundary condition helps to remove the strong non-uniformity originated from the fixed boundary. A generalized spatio-temporal scaling for the recurrence time distribution was proposed by Bak et al. which was later confirmed by Corral. We studied the same scalings on the conservative OFC model with moving boundary condition.     

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of sputter-annealed Ni2.1Mn0.9Ga surface

The modifications in surface composition of Ni_2.1Mn_0.9Ga ferromagnetic shape memory alloy have been investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) under various sputtering and annealing conditions. XPS core-level spectra show that sputtering makes the surface Ni rich. However, by annealing, the Mn content at the surface increases and at about 390 °C the bulk composition is restored. The valence band spectra show evidence of Ni related extra states for the sputtered surface, which decrease with annealing. This behavior is in agreement with the change in surface composition derived from the core-level spectra.     

Theoretical study of the feasibility of dual-band multiline operation of a TEA CO2 laser with intracavity fabry-perot etalons

It is shown that dual-band multiline operation of a TEA CO₂ laser can be conveniently achieved with the use of either one or two intracavity etalons of judiciously selected finesse and optical lengths.     

Elastic energies for nematic elastomers

We discuss several elastic energies for nematic elastomers and their small strain expansions both in the regime of large director rotations, and in the case that director changes are small. We propose two fully non-linear model anisotropic energies and compare the behavior they predict with the currently available experimental evidence.     

Systematic theoretical investigations for contribution of lattice constraint to novel atomic arrangements in alloy semiconductor thin films

The atomic arrangements in zinc blende structured GaN_xAs_1−x thin films coherently grown on V-grooved substrates are theoretically investigated using empirical interatomic potentials and Monte Carlo simulation. The resultant atomic arrangements in GaN_xAs_1−x strongly depend on concentration x and substrate lattice parameter a_sub. Surface segregation of As or N is mainly found in GaN_xAs_1−x with large lattice mismatch to the substrate. On the other hand, the novel atomic arrangements such as layered segregation or ordered structure are found in GaN_xAs_1−x at the specific region such as (x, a_sub) = (0.5, 5.3), (0.3, 5.3), and (0.3, 5.1). This specific region corresponds to that with negative excess energy and with sufficient N and As atoms remaining in thin film layers even after their surface segregation. The formation of the novel atomic arrangements is discussed in terms of bond lengths in the surface layers. These results suggest that various novel atomic arrangements in alloy semiconductor thin films appear depending on x and a_sub which control degree of lattice constraint.     

Growth of High-Quality Decagonal Al-Cu-Co Quasicrystals from Ternary Melt

By changing the initial elements, we obtain high-quality samples of Al-Cu-Co decagonal quasicrystals with a wide range of composition. The sizes of the samples are typically several centimetres in length and 2-3 mm in diameter. These samples are identified to be decagonal single grains by powder x-ray diffraction method, and the composition is homogeneous confirmed by EDX and chemical method.     

A Group-Period Phase Comparison Method Based on Equivalent Phase Comparison Frequency

Based on the principle of equivalent phase comparison frequency, we propose a group-period phase comparison method. This method can be used to reveal the inherent relations between periodic signals and the change laws of the phase difference. If these laws are applied in the processing of the mutual relations between frequency signals, phase comparison can be accomplished without frequency normalization. Experimental results show that the method can enhance the measurement resolution to 10-13/s in the time domain.     

Violation of the scaling relation and non-Markovian nature of earthquake aftershocks

The statistical properties of earthquake aftershocks are studied. The scaling relation for exponents of the Omori law and the power-law calm time distribution (i.e., the interoccurrence time distribution), which is valid if a sequence of aftershocks is a singular Markovian process, is carefully examined. Data analysis shows significant violation of the scaling relation, implying the non-Markovian nature of aftershocks.     

Fictitious magnetic resonance by quasielectrostatic field

We propose a new kind of spin manipulation method using a fictitious magnetic field generated by a quasielectrostatic field. The method can be applicable to every atom with electron spins and has distinct advantages of small photon scattering rate and local addressability. By using a CO₂ laser as a quasielectrostatic field, we have experimentally demonstrated the proposed method by observing the Rabi oscillation of the ground state hyperfine spin F=1 of the cold ⁸⁷Rb atoms and the Bose–Einstein condensate.     

Directional solidification of Al–Cu–Ag alloy

Al–Cu–Ag alloy was prepared in a graphite crucible under a vacuum atmosphere. The samples were directionally solidified upwards under an argon atmosphere with different temperature gradients (G=3.99–8.79 K/mm), at a constant growth rate (V=8.30 μm/s), and with different growth rates (V=1.83–498.25 μm/s), at a constant gradient (G=8.79 K/mm) by using the Bridgman type directional solidification apparatus. The microstructure of Al-12.80-at.%–Cu-18.10-at.%–Ag alloy seems to be two fibrous and one lamellar structure. The interlamellar spacings (λ) were measured from transverse sections of the samples. The dependence of interlamellar spacings (λ) on the temperature gradient (G) and the growth rate (V) were determined by using linear regression analysis. According to these results it has been found that the value of λ decreases with the increase of values of G and V. The values of λ ² V were also determined by using the measured values of λ and V. The experimental results were compared with two-phase growth from binary and ternary eutectic liquid.