Surface/interface effects on the formation of misfit dislocation in a core–shell nanowire

The misfit strain within the core of a two-phase free-standing core–shell nanowire resulting in the generation of an edge misfit dislocation or an edge misfit dislocation dipole at the core–shell interface is considered theoretically within both the classical and surface/interface elasticity approaches. The critical conditions for the misfit dislocation generation are studied and discussed in detail with special attention to the non-classical surface/interface effect. It is shown that this effect is significant for fine cores of radius smaller than roughly 20 interatomic distances. The positive and negative surface/interface Lamé constants mostly make the generation of the misfit dislocation easier and harder, respectively. Moreover, the positive (negative) residual surface/interface tensions mostly make the generation of the misfit dislocation harder (easier). The formation of individual misfit dislocation is energetically more preferential in finer two-phase nanowires, while the formation of misfit dislocation dipole is more expectable in the coarser ones.     

Doping dependence of charge order in electron-doped cuprate superconductors

Abstract

In the recent studies of the unconventional physics in cuprate superconductors, one of the central issues is the interplay between charge order and superconductivity. Here the mechanism of the charge-order formation in the electron-doped cuprate superconductors is investigated based on the t-J model. The experimentally observed momentum dependence of the electron quasiparticle scattering rate is qualitatively reproduced, where the scattering rate is highly anisotropic in momentum space, and is intriguingly related to the charge-order gap. Although the scattering strength appears to be weakest at the hot spots, the scattering in the antinodal region is stronger than that in the nodal region, which leads to the original electron Fermi surface is broken up into the Fermi pockets and their coexistence with the Fermi arcs located around the nodal region. In particular, this electron Fermi surface instability drives the charge-order correlation, with the charge-order wave vector that matches well with the wave vector connecting the hot spots, as the charge-order correlation in the hole-doped counterparts. However, in a striking contrast to the hole-doped case, the charge-order wave vector in the electron-doped side increases in magnitude with the electron doping. The theory also shows the existence of a quantitative link between the single-electron fermiology and the collective response of the electron density.     

Facile synthesis of SnO2–ZnO core–shell nanowires for enhanced ethanol-sensing performance

The design of core–shell heteronanostructures is powerful tool to control both the gas selectivity and the sensitivity due to their hybrid properties. In this work, the SnO₂–ZnO core–shell nanowires (NWs) were fabricated via two-step process comprising the thermal evaporation of the single crystalline SnO₂ NWs core and the spray-coating of the grainy polycrystalline ZnO shell for enhanced ethanol sensing performance. The as-obtained products were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and photoluminescence. The ethanol gas-sensing properties of pristine SnO₂ and ZnO–SnO₂ core–shell NW sensors were studied and compared. The gas response to 500 ppm ethanol of the core–shell NW sensor increased to 33.84, which was 12.5-fold higher than that of the pristine SnO₂ NW sensor. The selectivity of the core–shell NW sensor also improved. The response to 100 ppm ethanol was about 14.1, whereas the response to 100 ppm liquefied petroleum gas, NH₃, H₂, and CO was smaller, and ranged from 2.5 to 5.3. This indicates that the core–shell heterostructures have great potential for use as gas sensing materials.     

Full relativistic calculations of the quadrupole and electric field gradients for C2, N2, and O2

In the present work we calculate the energies,quadrupole moments,and electric field gradients(EFGs) of molecules C2,N2,and O2 based on the DIRRCI method with basis aug-cc-pVTZ-DK.We prove that the quadratic force constant k2 is the product of charge and EFG at its equilibrium nuclear distance.The dipole charge distributions for these symmetrical molecules are all in equilibrium,however,the quadrupole charge distributions are far from equilibrium;among these,there is the most remarkable deviation from equilibrium for N2,for its many charges concentrate on two sides of the molecule,which is in agreement with the well-known characteristic of the nitrogen molecule.The relativistic effect is remarkable even for the same period.     

The dynamics of one-dimensional random quantum XY system with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction

In this paper,the effects of random variables on the dynamics of the s = 1/2 XY model with the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction are studied.By means of the recurrence relation method in the high-temperature limit,we calculate the spin autocorrelation functions as well as the corresponding spectral densities for the cases that the exchange couplings between spins or external magnetic fields satisfy the double-Gaussian distribution.It is found that when the standard deviation of random exchange coupling δJ(or the standard deviation of random external field δB) is small,the dynamics of the system undergoes a crossover from a collective-mode behavior to a central-peak one.However,when δJ(or δB) is large,the crossover vanishes,and the system shows a central-peak behavior or the most disordered one.We also analyze the cases in which the exchange couplings or the external fields satisfy the bimodal and the Gaussian distributions.Our results show that for all the cases considered,the dynamics of the above system is similar to that of the one-dimensional random XY model.     

The effect of the rotational excitation of NO on the stereodynamics for the reaction C(~3P)+NO(X~2Π)→CN(X~2Σ~+)+O(~3P)

The stereodynamic properties of the reaction C(3P)+NO(X2Π)→CN(X2Σ+)+O(3P) in different rotational states of reactant NO are studied theoretically by using the quasiclassical trajectory method on 2A' and 2A' potential energy surfaces(PESs) at a collision energy of 0.06 eV.The vector properties in different rotational states on the two surfaces are discussed in detail.The results indicate that the rotational excitation of NO has considerable influence on the stereodynamic property of the reaction occurring on the two surfaces.At the same time,the calculated polarization-dependent differential cross sections(PDDCSs) in different initial rotational states manifest that products are strongly polarized at three scattering angles.     

Investigations into quantum correlation of coupled qubits in a squeezed vacuum reservoir

In this paper,we investigate the quantum correlation of coupled qubits which are initially in maximally entangled mixed states in a squeezed vacuum reservoir.We compare and analyze the effects of squeezed parameters on quantum discord and quantum concurrence.The results show that in a squeezed vacuum reservoir,the quantum discord and quantum concurrence perform with completely opposite behaviors with the change of squeezed parameters.Quantum discord survives longer with the increase of squeezed amplitude parameter,but entanglement death is faster on the contrary.The results also indicate that the classical correlation of the system is smaller than quantum discord in a vacuum reservoir,while it is bigger than quantum discord in a squeezed vacuum reservoir.The quantum discord and classical correlation are more robust than quantum concurrence in the two reservoir environments,which indicates that the entanglement actually is easily affected by decoherence and quantum discord has a stronger ability to avoid decoherence in a squeezed vacuum reservoir.     

Size-dependent thermal stresses in the core–shell nanoparticles

The thermal stress in a magnetic core–shell nanoparticle during a thermal process is an important parameter to be known and controlled in the magnetization process of the core–shell system. In this paper we analyze the stress that appears in a core–shell nanoparticle subjected to a cooling process. The external surface temperature of the system, considered in equilibrium at room temperature, is instantly reduced to a target temperature. The thermal evolution of the system in time and the induced stress are studied using an analytical model based on a time-dependent heat conduction equation and a differential displacement equation in the formalism of elastic displacements. The source of internal stress is the difference in contraction between core and shell materials due to the temperature change. The thermal stress decreases in time and is minimized when the system reaches the thermal equilibrium. The radial and azimuthal stress components depend on system geometry, material properties, and initial and final temperatures. The magnitude of the stress changes the magnetic state of the core–shell system. For some materials, the values of the thermal stresses are larger than their specific elastic limits and the materials begin to deform plastically in the cooling process. The presence of the induced anisotropy due to the plastic deformation modifies the magnetic domain structure and the magnetic behavior of the system.     

Semiempirical fine-tuning for Hartree–Fock ionization potentials of atomic ions with non-integral atomic number

Amovilli and March (2006) [8] used diffusion quantum Monte Carlo techniques to calculate the non-relativistic ionization potential I(Z)$I(Z)$ in He-like atomic ions for the range of (fractional) nuclear charges Z   lying between the known critical value _Zc=0.911$Z_{\mathrm{c}}=0.911$ at which I(Z)$I(Z)$ tends to zero and Z=2$Z=2$. They showed that it is possible to fit I(Z)$I(Z)$ to a simple quadratic expression. Following that idea, we present here a semiempirical fine-tuning of Hartree–Fock ionization potentials for the isoelectronic series of He, Be, Ne, Mg and Ar-like atomic ions that leads to excellent estimations of _Zc$Z_{\mathrm{c}}$ for these series. The empirical information involved is experimental ionization and electron affinity data. It is clearly demonstrated that Hartree–Fock theory provides an excellent starting point for determining I(Z)$I(Z)$ for these series.