First identification of rotational bands in 103Tc: Evolution of intrinsic proton states of the 97-105 43Tc isotopes

High-spin states of ¹⁰³ ₄₃Tc have been identified for the first time, this nucleus being produced as fission fragment following the fusion reaction ³⁷Cl + ¹⁷⁶Yb at 170 MeV bombarding energy. The high-spin level scheme has been built from the prompt gamma rays detected using the Euroball III array. It exhibits similarities with those of the neighbouring isotopes and isotones. All the band head configurations observed in the ^97-105Tc isotopes are identified from the behaviour of the rotational bands built on them. The single-proton states located around the Fermi level are discussed as a function of deformation of these nuclei. Received: 19 January 2001 / Accepted: 23 February 2001     

Evidence for the exponential distribution of income in the USA

Using tax and census data, we demonstrate that the distribution of individual income in the USA is exponential. Our calculated Lorenz curve without fitting parameters and Gini coefficient 1/2 agree well with the data. From the individual income distribution, we derive the distribution function of income for families with two earners and show that it also agrees well with the data. The family data for the period 1947-1994 fit the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient 3/8 = 0.375 calculated for two-earners families. Received 21 August 2000     

Damage processes in Fe 3 O 4 magnetic insulator irradiated by swift heavy ions. Experimental results and modelisation

The behavior of the magnetic properties of magnetite Fe₃O₄ irradiated by swift heavy ions is investigated by magnetization measurements. Although there is no induced structural phase transformation, both coercive field and saturation magnetization are sensitive to ion irradiation and exhibit different behaviors depending on the ion fluence range. In the low fluence regime, the coercive field increases, which is evidence for a strong pinning of magnetic domain boundaries by the induced defects. The magnetization shows a decrease in the saturation value and tends to reorient perpendicularly to the ion track axis. At high fluence, the initial magnetic properties of the sample are nearly restored. The changes in the magnitude and the direction of magnetization are interpreted by magnetostrictive effects related to the stress induced by irradiation. A phenomenological model is applied to reproduce the fluence evolution of the saturation magnetization, assuming relaxation of the stress induced around the core of defects of the tracks by overlapping effects at high fluence. The results are compared to those obtained in the case of yttrium iron garnet Y₃Fe₅O₁₂. Received 18 April 2001 and Received in final form 24 July 2001     

Energy landscapes, lowest gaps, and susceptibility of elastic manifolds at zero temperature

We study the effect of an external field on (1 + 1) and (2 + 1) dimensional elastic manifolds, at zero temperature and with random bond disorder. Due to the glassy energy landscape the configuration of a manifold changes often in abrupt, “first order”-type of large jumps when the field is applied. First the scaling behavior of the energy gap between the global energy minimum and the next lowest minimum of the manifold is considered, by employing exact ground state calculations and an extreme statistics argument. The scaling has a logarithmic prefactor originating from the number of the minima in the landscape, and reads ΔE ₁∼L ^θ[ln(L _z L ^{- ζ})]^-1/2, where ζ is the roughness exponent and θ is the energy fluctuation exponent of the manifold, L is the linear size of the manifold, and L_z is the system height. The gap scaling is extended to the case of a finite external field and yields for the susceptibility of the manifolds ∼L ^{2D + 1 - θ}[(1 - ζ)ln(L)]^1/2. We also present a mean field argument for the finite size scaling of the first jump field, h ₁∼L ^{d - θ}. The implications to wetting in random systems, to finite-temperature behavior and the relation to Kardar-Parisi-Zhang non-equilibrium surface growth are discussed. Received December 2000 and Received in final form April 2001     

Crowd-anticrowd theory of multi-agent market games

We present a dynamical theory of a multi-agent market game, the so-called Minority Game (MG), based on crowds and anticrowds. The time-averaged version of the dynamical equations provides a quantitatively accurate, yet intuitively simple, explanation for the variation of the standard deviation (`volatility') in MG-like games. We demonstrate this for the basic MG, and the MG with stochastic strategies. The time-dependent equations themselves reproduce the essential dynamics of the MG. Received 28 August 2000 and Received in final form 23 September 2000     

The dynamics of a THz Rydberg wavepacket

An optically excited Rydberg wavepacket can be generated by exciting the electron from a low-lying state to a coherent superposition of high-lying states with a short broadband optical pulse. A special kind of Rydberg wavepacket is generated in the case of a interaction of a weak THz half cycle pulse with a stationary Rydberg state, called the THz wavepacket. This THz wavepacket is a coherent superposition of the initial Rydberg state and its neighbouring states. We have investigated the time evolution of THz wavepackets by measuring the impact of two in time delayed half cycle pulses ( ≈ 200 V cm^-1) on the population of a stationary (n = 40) Rydberg state in rubidium. The first half cycle pulse creates the THz wavepacket and the second half cycle pulse probes the dynamics of the THz wavepacket. We support our experimental data by numerically solving the Schr?dinger equation and with a semi-classical picture. Whereas an optically excited wavepacket is initially localized, a THz wavepacket is initially delocalized and becomes localized after half a revival time. Received 23 August 2000 and Received in final form 27 March 2001     

Li1.5Al0.5Ge1.5(PO4)3基固体复合电解质的制备及锂离子导电行为

将聚氧化乙烯(PEO)和二(三氟甲基磺酰)亚胺锂(LiTFSI)混合(固定EO/Li摩尔比为13)后, 采用溶液浇注法制备了一系列不同Li_1.5Al_0.5Ge_1.5(PO₄)₃(LAGP)与PEO质量比的LAGP-PEO(LiTFSI)固体复合电解质体系. 结合电化学阻抗法、 表面形貌表征以及与惰性陶瓷填料(SiO₂, Al₂O₃) 性能的对比分析, 探讨了LAGP在固体复合电解质中的作用机理以及锂离子的导电行为. 结果表明, 在以LAGP为主相的固体复合电解质中, PEO主要处于无定形态, 整个体系主要为PEO与LiTFSI的络合相、 LAGP与PEO(LiTFSI)相互作用形成的过渡相和LAGP晶相. 其中LAGP作为主要的导电基体不仅起到降低PEO结晶度、 改善两相导电界面的作用; 同时自身也可以作为离子传输的通道, 降低锂离子迁移的活化能, 从而使离子电导率得到提高. 当LAGP与PEO的质量比为6:4时, 固体复合电解质的成膜性能最好, 离子电导率最高, 在30 ℃时为2.57×10^-5 S/cm, 接近LAGP的水平, 电化学稳定窗口超过5 V.     

强化固相反应法制备超微LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4粉末的工艺研究

以NiO,MnO2和Li2 CO3粉末为前驱体,采用高能球磨法对其进行活化处理,继而对其进行两段煅烧处理,成功地合成出了具有尖晶石结构的LiNi0.5 MnL5O4超微粉末.采用X射线衍射和扫描电子显微镜对最终产物的物相组成和形貌特征进行了表征.结果表明:经过高能球磨活化处理10 h后的粉末前驱体在700℃煅烧5h之后再在900℃保温1h的产物为结晶性能好的尖晶石型LiNi0.5Mn1.5 O4,粉末粒径大约为600 nm,粒径分布均匀,以0.1C的倍率充放电,最高放电比容量达到127.8 mAh/g,在0.5C倍率下循环50次的容量保持率为98.8;.     

高电压镍锰酸锂正极/电解液界面本征性质的研究

高电压正极材料的应用是提高锂离子电池能量密度的有效手段,然而高电压下正极/电解液界面稳定性成为决定锂离子电池在高电压工作条件下循环性能和安全性能的关键因素,因此高电压下正极/电解液界面具有重要的研究价值. 但是,目前报道的正极/电解液界面的研究中通常使用传统的极片制备方法,这需要引入导电剂和粘结剂,会对后期正极活性物质表面钝化膜的形貌和组分表征带来干扰,甚至造成固体电解质界面(SEI)膜存在的假象,难以获得正极材料与电解液之间界面的本征信息. 这里,我们采用溶胶凝胶旋涂法制备了不含导电剂和粘结剂的镍锰酸锂(LNMO)正极,以其为研究对象,通过扫描电镜(SEM)、原子力显微镜(AFM)和X射线光电子能谱(XPS)技术,结合电化学阻抗谱(EIS)研究了LNMO正极/电解液界面在充放电过程中的结构演变过程以及本征性质. 研究结果显示在充放电过程中,电解液中溶剂和电解质都会参与反应,其中LiPF₆的降解主要发生在高电压下,其降解产物在放电过程中又会被反应消耗掉. 它们的降解产物沉积到LNMO正极形成表面膜,该表面膜的主要成分随着电压的不同组分有所不同.     

高倍率球形锂离子电池正极材料LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2的制备及其电化学性能研究

采用碳酸盐共沉淀-高温固相法制备得到了颗粒平均尺寸约5 μm振实密度为2.1 g·cm^-3的均匀微球形高镍LiNi_0.5Co_0.2Mn_0.3O₂材料.X射线衍射（XRD）分析和透射电镜（TEM）结果表明这种微球状LiNi_0.5Co_0.2Mn_0.3O₂材料具有完善的层状α-NaFeO₂结构,过渡金属层原子呈[√3×√3]R30°排布.电化学性能测试结果证实了该材料具有优异的循环稳定性和高倍率性能.具体而言,在2.7~4.3 V,1C下循环100次后的放电比容量为150 mAh·g^-1,容量保持率为94.6%,在30C的超高倍率下,放电比容量还能达到96 mAh·g^-1.同时,该材料的储能能力也非常突出,在0.1C时比能量密度为687.83 Wh·kg^-1（体积能量密度为1444.45 Wh·L^-1）,在30C时仍达335.27 Wh·kg^-1（体积能量密度为704.07 Wh·L^-1）,非常有潜力应用于商业化高能量密度锂离子电池.