Electric and tensoelectric study of radiation defects in GaAs

The electric and tensoelectric properties are studied for GaAs crystals which have been irradiated by electrons (2.3 Mev) at 300°K with integrated fluxes of up to 2·10¹⁵ –1·10¹⁹ cm^–2. On the basis of the electrical neutrality equation, including seven energy levels (E1–E5, H0, H1) of the radiation defects, the specific resistivity and the strain sensitivity coefficient are quantitatively analyzed as a function of exposure. The pressure coefficients for the E1–E5 levels with respect to the _c ⁶ point are determined to be (0, 9.6, 11.0, 11.6, 11.6)·10^–6 eV/bar, respectively, at 300°K.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 10, pp. 81–87, October, 1986.     

Screened hydrodynamic interaction in a narrow channel

We study experimentally and theoretically the hydrodynamic coupling between Brownian colloidal particles diffusing along a linear channel. The quasi-one-dimensional confinement, unlike other constrained geometries, leads to a sharply screened interaction. Consequently, particles move in concert only when their mutual distance is smaller than the channel width, and two-body interactions remain dominant up to high particle densities. The coupling in a cylindrical channel is predicted to reverse sign at a certain distance, yet this unusual effect is too small to be currently detectable.     

Enhanced dispersion interaction in confined geometry

The dispersion interaction between two pointlike particles confined in a dielectric slab between two plates of another dielectric medium is studied within a continuum (Lifshitz) theory. The retarded (Casimir-Polder) interaction at large interparticle distances is found to be strongly enhanced as the mismatch between the dielectric permittivities of the two media is increased. The large-distance interaction is multiplied due to confinement by a factor of (33gamma(5/2) + 13gamma(-3/2))/46 at zero temperature, and by (5gamma2 + gamma(-2))/6 at finite temperature, gamma = epsilon(in)(0)/epsilon(out)(0) being the ratio between the static dielectric permittivities of the inner and outer media. This confinement-induced amplification of the dispersion interaction can reach several orders of magnitude.     

Anomalous proximity effect in gold coated (110) YBa2Cu3O7-delta films: penetration of the Andreev bound states

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy of (110)YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta)/Au bilayers reveal a proximity effect markedly different from the conventional one. While proximity-induced mini-gaps rarely appear in the Au layer, the Andreev bound states clearly penetrate into the metal. Zero bias conductance peaks are measured on Au layers thinner than 7 nm with a magnitude similar to those detected on the bare superconductor films. The peaks then decay abruptly with Au thickness and disappear above 10 nm. This length is shorter than the normal coherence length and corresponds to the (ballistic) mean free path.     

Excited-state intermolecular proton transfer of firefly luciferin III. Proton transfer to a mild base

Steady-state and time-resolved techniques were employed to study the excited-state proton transfer (ESPT) from d-luciferin, the natural substrate of the firefly luciferase, to the mild acetate base in aqueous solutions. We found that in 1 M aqueous solutions of acetate or higher, a proton transfer (PT) process to the acetate takes place within 30 ps in both H(2)O and D(2)O solutions. The time-resolved emission signal is composed of three components. We found that the short-time component decay time is 300 and 600 fs in H(2)O and D(2)O, respectively. This component is attributed either to a PT process via the shortest water bridged complex available, ROH··H(2)O··Ac(-), or to PT taking place within a contact ion pair. The second time component of 2000 and 3000 fs for H(2)O and D(2)O, respectively, is attributed to ROH* acetate complex, whose proton wire is longer by one water molecule. The decay rate of the third, long-time component is proportional to the acetate concentration. We attribute it to the diffusion-assisted reaction as well as to PT process to the solvent.     

Stabilizing stick-slip friction

Even the most regular stick-slip frictional sliding is always stochastic, with irregularity in both the intervals between slip events and the sizes of the associated stress drops. Applying small-amplitude oscillations to the shear force, we show, experimentally and theoretically, that the stick-slip periods synchronize. We further show that this phase locking is related to the inhibition of slow rupture modes which forces a transition to fast rupture, providing a possible mechanism for observed remote triggering of earthquakes. Such manipulation of collective modes may be generally relevant to extended nonlinear systems driven near to criticality.