Synthesis and structural characterization of a series of lanthanide stannate pyrochlores

A simple hydrothermal method has been employed to prepare a series of lanthanide stannate pyrochlores Ln₂Sn₂O₇ (Ln=Y, La, Pr-Yb) at a relatively low temperature of less than 200 °C successfully. On the basis of structural characterizations by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) absorption spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy, it was found that the positions of bands in vibrational spectra are sensitive to the ionic radius of Ln³⁺, and the linear relationship can be seen between the frequency of Sn-O stretching mode and the lanthanide ionic radius in IR spectrum, as well as the frequency of O-Sn-O bending mode and the lanthanide ionic radius in Raman spectrum.     

Modeling of lattice constant and their relations with ionic radii and electronegativity of constituting ions of A2XY6 cubic crystals (A=K, Cs, Rb, Tl; X=tetravalent cation, Y=F, Cl, Br, I)

In the present paper a new empirical model is proposed to describe and predict the lattice constants for a series of cubic crystals, all of which have the A₂XY₆ composition (A=K, Cs, Rb, Tl; X=tetravalent cation, Y=F, Cl, Br, I). The model is based on a thorough analysis of structural properties of 85 representative crystals from this group. It was shown that the lattice constant is a linear function of the ionic radii and electronegativity of the constituting ions. A simple empirical equation was obtained as a result of the performed analysis. It gives very good agreement between the experimental and modeled values of the lattice parameters, with an average error of 1.05%. The developed approach can be efficiently used for a simple, fast, and reliable prediction of lattice constants and interionic distances in isostructural materials having a similar composition.     

Miura transformation for the “good” Boussinesq equation

It is well known that each solution of the modified Korteveg–de Vries (mKdV) equation gives rise, via the Miura transformation, to a solution of the Korteveg–de Vries (KdV) equation. In this work, we show that a similar Miura-type transformation exists also for the “good” Boussinesq equation. This transformation maps solutions of a second-order equation to solutions of the fourth-order Boussinesq equation. Just like in the case of mKdV and KdV, the correspondence exists also at the level of the underlying Riemann–Hilbert problems and this is in fact how we construct the new transformation.     

Oscillations in three-reaction quadratic mass-action systems

It is known that rank-two bimolecular mass-action systems do not admit limit cycles. With a view to understanding which small mass-action systems admit oscillation, in this paper we study rank-two networks with bimolecular source complexes but allow target complexes with higher molecularities. As our goal is to find oscillatory networks of minimal size, we focus on networks with three reactions, the minimum number that is required for oscillation. However, some of our intermediate results are valid in greater generality. One key finding is that an isolated periodic orbit cannot occur in a three-reaction, trimolecular, mass-action system with bimolecular sources. In fact, we characterize all networks in this class that admit a periodic orbit; in every case, all nearby orbits are periodic too. Apart from the well-known Lotka and Ivanova reactions, we identify another network in this class that admits a center. This new network exhibits a vertical Andronov–Hopf bifurcation. Furthermore, we characterize all two-species, three-reaction, bimolecular-sourced networks that admit an Andronov–Hopf bifurcation with mass-action kinetics. These include two families of networks that admit a supercritical Andronov–Hopf bifurcation and hence a stable limit cycle. These networks necessarily have a target complex with a molecularity of at least four, and it turns out that there are exactly four such networks that are tetramolecular.     

A Swinging Rod in Brans-Dicke Theory

This article presents the calculation of gravitational radiation from an oscillating rod in Brans–Dicke (BD) theory. Here only the selected formulae is shown and is applied to a toy problem without any rigorous derivation. First, the explicit expressions for the polarizations are calculated and then the power radiated away in gravitational waves (GWs) is obtained. This problem is motivated by the famous Eddington's spinning rod.     

Spontaneous translation of nanodroplet over a heterogeneous surface due to thermal cycles: role of solid–liquid interfacial fluctuations

ABSTRACT

We study the molecular-scale features of the solid surface that result in the spontaneous motion of a nanodroplet due to the periodic variation of temperature. We first employ a thermodynamic model to predict the variation of solid–fluid interfacial properties that can result in the above motion. The model identifies a composite (surface couple) made of two surfaces that are characterised by a large difference between the entropic parts of the solid–liquid interfacial free energies. In order to understand the molecular-scale features of the two surfaces that may form a surface couple, we performed grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations of Lennard Jones fluid and crystalline surfaces made of Lennard Jones-like atoms. We then used the cumulant expansions of the perturbation formulas to divide the interfacial entropy into two parts: The one that is directly affected by the solid–fluid attraction (direct part), and the other (indirect part) that is indirectly affected by the solid–fluid attraction via the alteration of interfacial fluctuations. Our results indicate that two surfaces form a surface couple if the differences between their chemical natures lead to large differences in the indirect part of the interfacial entropy, while the direct part remains relatively unaffected.     

Influence of spin–orbit interaction,Zeeman effect and light polarisation on the electronic and optical properties of pseudo-elliptic quantum rings under magnetic field

ABSTRACT

We theoretically investigated the influences of the magnetic field and light polarisation on the electronic and optical properties of a GaAs/GaAlAs pseudo-elliptic quantum ring, modelled by an outer ellipsis and an inner circle, in the presence of the Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit interactions and Zeeman effect. We show that Aharonov-Bohm oscillations of the energy spectrum are not affected by the presence of the Zeeman effect alone but, in the presence of Rashba and Dresselhaus spin–orbit couplings, the periodicity of certain levels becomes hardly definite. The Zeeman effect generally enhances/diminishes the separation levels produced by Rashba/Dresselhaus interactions (SOI) and when both types of SOI are considered, the effect depends on their relative strength. The magnetic field can trigger spin-flip for each type of spin–orbit interaction and Zeeman effect or their combination through anticrossings in the energy spectra. Our results reveal that the absorption spectra are very sensitive to the magnetic field and light polarisation. For all polarisations considered, the magnetic field increment leads to the redshift or blueshift of some particular peaks (an effect of this ring geometry) and a better separation of the peaks. The x-polarised light determines spectra with many small, but separated peaks while the circular polarised light leads to spectra with large peaks of high amplitude.     

A survey of surface tension,molar volume and density for Sn–Ag–Cu–Bi–Sb quinary alloys as lead-free solders

ABSTRACT

By applying the geometric models and the theoretical equation, the surface tension, the molar volume and the density were studied. The empirical calculations were carried out in temperature range 623?K?≤?T?≤?1123?K. Only few thermophysical properties were estimated for eight quinary alloys: Sn3.55Ag0.5Cu3Bi3Sb, Sn3.48Ag0.5Cu3Bi5Sb, Sn3.48 Ag0.5Cu5Bi3Sb, Sn3.40 Ag0.5Cu5Bi5Sb, Sn3.53Ag1Cu3Bi3Sb, Sn3.46Ag1Cu3Bi5Sb, Sn3.46Ag1Cu5Bi3Sb, Sn3.38Ag1Cu5Bi5Sb. The results show that surface tension and density have a linear appearance for all temperatures. We have also studied the influence of the composition and temperature in the studied alloys. The obtained theoretical results are compared with the experimental ones and with the conventional Pb–Sn welds.     

Effect of Zr concentration on the mechanical and thermodynamic properties of NbIr3 intermetallic compounds from theoretical estimations

ABSTRACT

The iridium is an important metal which has excellent resistance to corrosion at high temperature. L1₂ intermetallic compounds i.e. Ir₃Nb and Ir₃Zr, with similar lattice parameters are ideal for working at high temperature. They are fully soluble due to their low lattice misfit. A first-principle investigation into the effect of doping Zr with different concentrations on the electronic structure, mechanical and thermodynamic properties of NbIr₃ has been studied to prompt the development of novel high-temperature materials. Nine Zr_xNb_8?xIr₂₄ compounds are carefully considered. The results show that adding Zr into these compounds can strengthen their structural stability and ductility. Nevertheless, it reduces the elastic modulus and elastic stiffness. Simultaneously, with the increase of Zr content, the thermodynamic properties of these compounds decrease. It is also found that the changes of elastic modulus are mainly attributed to the variations of bonds in these compounds.