Transport properties, structure, and radiation induced defect studies in amorphous carbon films

Amorphous conducting carbon films are prepared by plasma assisted chemical vapour deposition and their d.c. conductivity (similar to 100 Scm(-1)) is studied from 300K down to 4.2K. The films were irradiated by high energy ion beam(I+13, 170 MeV) with a dose of 10(13) ions/cm(2). As a result a marked decrease in conductivity by two to three orders in magnitude was observed. The structural changes and the defects in the films caused by ion irradiation are studied using photoluminescence, persistent photoconductivity, and ESR spectroscopy.

Enhanced charge and spin currents in the one-dimensional disordered mesoscopic Hubbard ring

We consider a one-dimensional mesoscopic Hubbard ring with and without disorder and compute charge and spin stiffness as a measure of the permanent currents. For finite disorder we identify critical disorder strength beyond which the charge currents in a system with repulsive interactions are larger than those for a free system. The spin currents in the disordered repulsive Hubbard model are enhanced only for small U, where the magnetic state of the system corresponds to a charge-density wave pinned to the impurities. For large U, the state of the system corresponds to localized isolated spins and the spin currents are found to be suppressed. For the attractive Hubbard model we find that the charge currents are always suppressed compared to the free system at all length scales.

Theoretical studies of the spin states of macrocyclic aza-amido binuclear copper (II) complexes

The spin and charge excitation gaps and charge and spin density distributions have been studied in macrocyclic binuclear aza-amido copper (II) complexes employing a model Hamiltonian. The spin gaps depend on the σ-orbital occupancies, and for small gaps, the exchange integral between the σ orbitals of the bridging oxygen atoms, KOO, which is sensitive to geometry, determines the low-lying spin excitations. The singlet—singlet gaps also depend upon the σ-orbital occupancy but are weakly dependent upon KOO.

Transport coefficients for the shear dynamo problem at small Reynolds numbers

We build on the formulation developed in S. Sridhar and N. K. Singh J. Fluid Mech. 664, 265 (2010)] and present a theory of the shear dynamo problem for small magnetic and fluid Reynolds numbers, but for arbitrary values of the shear parameter. Specializing to the case of a mean magnetic field that is slowly varying in time, explicit expressions for the transport coefficients alpha(il) and eta(iml) are derived. We prove that when the velocity field is nonhelical, the transport coefficient alpha(il) vanishes. We then consider forced, stochastic dynamics for the incompressible velocity field at low Reynolds number. An exact, explicit solution for the velocity field is derived, and the velocity spectrum tensor is calculated in terms of the Galilean-invariant forcing statistics. We consider forcing statistics that are nonhelical, isotropic, and delta correlated in time, and specialize to the case when the mean field is a function only of the spatial coordinate X-3 and time tau; this reduction is necessary for comparison with the numerical experiments of A. Brandenburg, K. H. Radler, M. Rheinhardt, and P. J. Kapyla Astrophys. J. 676, 740 (2008)]. Explicit expressions are derived for all four components of the magnetic diffusivity tensor eta(ij) (tau). These are used to prove that the shear-current effect cannot be responsible for dynamo action at small Re and Rm, but for all values of the shear parameter.

Triple resonance, triple-quantum NMR studies of dipolar coupled spin systems

Multiple quantum-single quantum correlation experiments are employed for spectral simplification and determination of the relative signs of the couplings. In this study, we have demonstrated the excitation of three nuclei, triple quantum coherences and discussed the information obtainable from such experiments. The experiments have been carried out on doubly labeled acetonitrile and fluoroacetonitrile aligned in liquid crystalline media. The experiment is advantageous in providing many spectral parameters from a single experiment. The coherence pathways involved in the pulse sequence are described using product operators. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Peristaltic transport of two immiscible viscous fluids in a circular tube

Peristaltic motion of two immiscible viscous incompressible fluids in a circular tube is studied in pumping and copumping ranges under long-wavelength and low-Reynolds-number assumptions. The effect of the peripheral-layer viscosity on the time-averaged flux and the mechanical efficiency is studied. The formation and growth of the trapping zone in the core and the peripheral layer are explained. It is observed that the bolus volume in the peripheral layer increases with an increase in the viscosity ratio. The limits of the time-averaged flux (Q) over bar for trapping in the core are obtained. The trapping observed in the peripheral layer decreases in size with an increase in (Q) over bar but never disappears. The development of the complete trapping of the core fluid by the peripheral-layer fluid with an increase in the time-averaged flux is demonstrated. The effect of peripheral-layer viscosity on the reflux layer is investigated. It is also observed that the reflux occurs in the entire pumping range for all viscosity ratios and it is absent in the entire range of copumping.

Peristaltic transport of a biofluid in a pipe of elliptic cross section

Peristaltic transport of two fluids occupying the peripheral layer and the core in an elliptic tube is, investigated in elliptic cylindrical co-ordinate system, under long wavelength and low Reynolds number approximations. The effect of peripheral-layer viscosity on the flow rate and the frictional force for a slightly elliptic tube is discussed. The limiting results for the one-fluid model are obtained for different eccentricities of the undisturbed tube cross sections with the same area. As a result of non-uniformity of the peristaltic wave, two different amplitude ratios are defined and the time-averaged flux and mechanical efficiency are studied for different eccentricities. It is observed that the time-averaged flux is not affected significantly by the pressure drop when the eccentricity is large. For the peristaltic waves with same area variation, the pumping seems to improve with the eccentricity.

Structural and electrical transport properties of Al-Cu-Cr quasicrystals

Transport properties of quasicrystals in rapidly solidified as well as heat-treated Al65CU20Cr15 alloys were studied over a wide temperature range as a function of structure and microstructure. The characterization was done using x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Particular attention was paid to primitive to face-centered quasicrystalline transformation which occurs on annealing and the effect of microstructures on the transport behavior. The temperature dependence of resistivity is found to depend crucially on the microstructure of the alloy. Further, ordering enhances the negative temperature coefficient of resistivity. The low-temperature (T less than or equal to 25 K) resistivity of Al65Cu20Cr15 has been compared with that of Al63.5Cu24.5Fe12 alloy. In this region p(T) can be well described by a root T contribution arising from electron-electron interaction. We discuss our results in view of current theories.

7Li and 23Na NMR studies of transmembrane cation transport mediated by ionophore lasalocid A

Ion transport across phospholipid vesicles was studied by 7Li and 23Na-NMR using an aqueous anionic paramagnetic shift reagent, dysprosium nitrilotriacetate [Dy(NTA)2]3?, mediated by ionophores, lasalocid A and A23187. The intra- and extracellular 7Li and 23Na-NMR signals were well separated (20?Hz) at mM concentration of the shift reagent. The observed data on the rate constant for lithium transport across DPPC vesicles at various concentrations of the ionophores indicated that lasalocid A is a more efficient carrier for lithium ion compared with the sodium ion transport by this ionophore, while A23187 was not specific to either of the ions (Li or Na). ©1998 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Interplay of spin and lattice degrees of freedom in the frustrated antiferromagnet CdCr2O4: High-field and temperature-induced anomalies of the elastic constants

Temperature and magnetic field studies of the elastic constants of the chromium spinel CdCr2O4 show pronounced anomalies related to strong spin-phonon coupling in this frustrated antiferromagnet. A detailed comparison of the longitudinal acoustic mode propagating along the 111] direction with a theory based on an exchange-striction mechanism leads to an estimate of the strength of the magnetoelastic interaction. The derived spin-phonon coupling constant is in good agreement with previous determinations based on infrared absorption. Further insight is gained from intermediate and high magnetic field experiments in the field regime of the magnetization plateau. The role of the antisymmetric Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction is discussed.

Spin-Selective Correlation Experiment for Measurement of Long-Range J Couplings and for Assignment of (R/S) Enantiomers from the Residual Dipolar Couplings and DFT

We report the C-HETSERF experiment for determination of long- and short-range homo- and heteronuclear scalar couplings ((n)J(HH) and (n)J(XH), n >= 1) of organic molecules with a low sensitivity dilute heteronucleus in natural abundance. The method finds significant advantage in measurement of relative signs of long-range heteronuclear total couplings in chiral organic liquid crystal. The advantage of the method is demonstrated for the measurement of residual dipolar couplings (RDCs) in enantiomers oriented in the chiral liquid crystal with a focus to unambiguously assign R/S designation in a 2D spectrum. The alignment tensor calculated from the experimental RDCs and with the computed structures of enantiomers obtained by DFT calculations provides the size of the back-calculated RDCs. Smaller root-mean-square deviations (rmsd) between experimental and calculated RDCs indicate better agreement with the input structure and its correct designation of the stereogenic center.

Modelling transport processes during microwave heating: A review

The review is concerned with models that analyze transport:processes that occur during microwave heating. Early models on microwave. heating used Lambert's law to describe the microwave power absorption. Over the last decade, models for transport processes have been developed with the microwave power derived from Maxwell's equations. Those models, primarily based on plane waves, have been used for analyzing microwave heating of solids, liquids, emulsions, microwave thawing and drying. The models illustrate phenomena such a resonances, hot spots, edge and runaway heating. The literature on microwave sintering, susceptor heating and microwave assisted synthesis is largely experimental in nature and only key issues are highlighted. To fully appreciate the models for microwave heating, a section on the theory of electromagnetic wave propagation is included, where expressions for the electric field in dielectric slabs and cylinders are presented.

Influence of the ferromagnetic layer on the pair breaking and low alternating current field magnetic response in superconductor/ferromagnet bilayer

We investigate the influence of the ferromagnetic layer on the magnetic and transport properties of YBa2Cu3O7-delta in YBa2Cu3O7-delta (YBCO)/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) bilayers. The temperature dependent dc magnetization study reveals the presence of magnetic anisotropy in YBCO/LSMO bilayer as compared to the pure YBCO layer. The ac susceptibility study on YBCO/LSMO bilayers reveals stronger pinning and the temperature dependent critical current is found to be less prone to temperature. Besides, the current (I) dependent electrical transport studies on YBCO/LSMO exhibit a significant reduction in the superconducting T-c with increase in I and it follows I-2/3 dependence in accord with the pair breaking effect. The higher reduction of superconducting T-c in YBCO/LSMO is believed to be due to the enhanced pair-breaking induced by the spin polarized carriers being injected into the superconductor. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. doi: 10.1063/1.3560029]

Spin and charge density waves in the extended Hubbard model: A slave-boson approach

We use the extended Hubbard model to investigate the properties of the charge- and spin-density-wave phases in the presence of a nearest-neighbors repulsion term in the framework of the slave-boson technique. We show that, contrary to Hartree-Fock results, an instablity may occur for sufficiently high values of the Hubbard repulsion, both in the spin- and charge-density-wave phase, which makes the system discontinuously jump to a phase with a smaller or zero wave amplitude. The limits of applicability of our approach are discussed and our results are compared with previous numerical analysis. The phase diagram of the model at half-filling is determined.

Spin state and exchange in the quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnet KFeS2

We report the optical spectra and single crystal magnetic susceptibility of the one-dimensional antiferromagnet KFeS2. Measurements have been carried out to ascertain the spin state of Fe3+ and the nature of the magnetic interactions in this compound. The optical spectra and magnetic susceptibility could be consistently interpreted using a S = 1/2 spin ground state for the Fe3+ ion. The features in the optical spectra have been assigned to transitions within the d-electron manifold of the Fe3+ ion, and analysed in the strong field limit of the ligand field theory. The high temperature isotropic magnetic susceptibility is typical of a low-dimensional system and exhibits a broad maximum at similar to 565 K. The susceptibility shows a well defined transition to a three dimensionally ordered antiferromagnetic state at T-N = 250 K. The intra and interchain exchange constants, J and J', have been evaluated from the experimental susceptibilities using the relationship between these quantities, and chi(max), T-max, and T-N for a spin 1/2 one-dimensional chain. The values are J = -440.71 K, and J' = 53.94 K. Using these values of J and J', the susceptibility of a spin 1/2 Heisenberg chain was calculated. A non-interacting spin wave model was used below T-N. The susceptibility in the paramagnetic region was calculated from the theoretical curves for an infinite S = 1/2 chain. The calculated susceptibility compares well with the experimental data of KFeS2. Further support for a one-dimensional spin 1/2 model comes from the fact that the calculated perpendicular susceptibility at 0K (2.75 x 10(-4) emu/mol) evaluated considering the zero point reduction in magnetization from spin wave theory is close to the projected value (2.7 x 10(-4) emu/mol) obtained from the experimental data.