Side-branch growth in two-dimensional dendrits. Part II: Phase-field model

The development of side-branching in solidifying dendrites in a regime of large values of the Peclet number is studied by means of a phase-field model. We have compared our numerical results with experiments of the preceding paper and we obtain good qualitative agreement. The growth rate of each side branch shows a power-law behavior from the early stages of its life. From their birth, branches which finally succeed in the competition process of side-branching development have a greater growth exponent than branches which are stopped. Coarsening of branches is entirely defined by their geometrical position relative to their dominant neighbors. The winner branches escape from the diffusive field of the main dendrite and become independent dendrites.

Viscous fingering as a paradigm of interfacial pattern formation: Recent results and new challenges

We review recent results on dynamical aspects of viscous fingering. The Saffman¿Taylor instability is studied beyond linear stability analysis by means of a weakly nonlinear analysis and the exact determination of the subcritical branch. A series of contributions pursuing the idea of a dynamical solvability scenario associated to surface tension in analogy with the traditional selection theory is put in perspective and discussed in the light of the asymptotic theory of Tanveer and co-workers. The inherently dynamical singular effects of surface tension are clarified. The dynamical role of viscosity contrast is explored numerically. We find that the basin of attraction of the Saffman¿Taylor finger depends on viscosity contrast, and that the sensitivity to this parameter is maximal in the usual limit of high viscosity contrast. The competing attractors are identified as closed bubble solutions. We briefly report on recent results and work in progress concerning rotating Hele-Shaw flows, topological singularities and wetting effects, and also discuss future directions in the context of viscous fingering

The influence of the symmetry energy on the giant monopole resonance of neutron-rich nuclei analyzed in Thomas-Fermi theory

We analyze the influence of the density dependence of the symmetry energy on the average excitation energy of the isoscalar giant monopole resonance (GMR) in stable and exotic neutron-rich nuclei by applying the relativistic extended Thomas-Fermi method in scaling and constrained calculations. For the effective nuclear interaction, we employ the relativistic mean field model supplemented by an isoscalar-isovector meson coupling that allows one to modify the density dependence of the symmetry energy without compromising the success of the model for binding energies and charge radii. The semiclassical estimates of the average energy of the GMR are known to be in good agreement with the results obtained in full RPA calculations. The present analysis is performed along the Pb and Zr isotopic chains. In the scaling calculations, the excitation energy is larger when the symmetry energy is softer. The same happens in the constrained calculations for nuclei with small and moderate neutron excess. However, for nuclei of large isospin the constrained excitation energy becomes smaller in models having a soft symmetry energy. This effect is mainly due to the presence of loosely-bound outer neutrons in these isotopes. A sharp increase of the estimated width of the resonance is found in largely neutron-rich isotopes, even for heavy nuclei, which is enhanced when the symmetry energy of the model is soft. The results indicate that at large neutron numbers the structure of the low-energy region of the GMR strength distribution changes considerably with the density dependence of the nuclear symmetry energy, which may be worthy of further characterization in RPA calculations of the response function.

Scaling calculation of isoscalar giant resonances in relativistic Thomas-Fermi theory

We derive analytical expressions for the excitation energy of the isoscalar giant monopole and quadrupole resonances in finite nuclei, by using the scaling method and the extended ThomasFermi approach to relativistic mean-field theory. We study the ability of several nonlinear σω parameter sets of common use in reproducing the experimental data. For monopole oscillations the calculations agree better with experiment when the nuclear matter incompressibility of the relativistic interaction lies in the range 220260 MeV. The breathing-mode energies of the scaling method compare satisfactorily with those obtained in relativistic RPA and time-dependent mean-field calculations. For quadrupole oscillations, all the analyzed nonlinear parameter sets reproduce the empirical trends reasonably well.

Giant step bunching from self-organized coalescence of SrRuO3 islands

Step bunching develops in the epitaxy of SrRuO3 on vicinal SrTiO3(001) substrates. We have investigated the formation mechanisms and we show here that step bunching forms by lateral coalescence of wedgelike three-dimensional islands that are nucleated at substrate steps. After coalescence, wedgelike islands become wider and straighter with growth, forming a self-organized network of parallel step bunches with altitudes exceeding 30 unit cells, separated by atomically flat terraces. The formation mechanism of step bunching in SrRuO3, from nucleated islands, radically differs from one-dimensional models used to describe bunching in semiconducting materials. These results illustrate that growth phenomena of complex oxides can be dramatically different to those in semiconducting or metallic systems.

Giant heat dissipation at the low temperature reversible-irreversible transition in Gd5Ge4

The heat exchanged at the low-temperature first-order magnetostructural transition is directly measured in Gd5Ge4 . Results show that the origin and the temperature dependence of the heat exchanged varies with the reversible/irreversible character of the first-order transition. In the reversible regime, the heat exchanged by the sample is mostly due to the latent heat at the transition and decreases with decreasing temperature, while in the irreversible regime, the heat is irreversibly dissipated and increases strongly with decreasing temperature, reaching a value of 237 J/kg at 4 K.

Giant acceleration of free diffusion by use of titled periodic potentials

The effective diffusion coefficient for the overdamped Brownian motion in a tilted periodic potential is calculated in closed analytical form. Universality classes and scaling properties for weak thermal noise are identified near the threshold tilt where deterministic running solutions set in. In this regime the diffusion may be greatly enhanced, as compared to free thermal diffusion with, for a realistic experimental setup, an enhancement of up to 14 orders of magnitude.

Asymptotic analysis of the Gunn effect with realistic boundary conditions

A general asymptotic analysis of the Gunn effect in n-type GaAs under general boundary conditions for metal-semiconductor contacts is presented. Depending on the parameter values in the boundary condition of the injecting contact, different types of waves mediate the Gunn effect. The periodic current oscillation typical of the Gunn effect may be caused by moving charge-monopole accumulation or depletion layers, or by low- or high-field charge-dipole solitary waves. A new instability caused by multiple shedding of (low-field) dipole waves is found. In all cases the shape of the current oscillation is described in detail: we show the direct relationship between its major features (maxima, minima, plateaus, etc.) and several critical currents (which depend on the values of the contact parameters). Our results open the possibility of measuring contact parameters from the analysis of the shape of the current oscillation.

Magnetic properties and giant magnetoresistance in melt-spun CoCu alloys

Magnetic, structural, and transport properties of as quenched and annealed Co10Cu90 samples have been investigated using x¿ray diffraction and a SQUID magnetometer. The largest value of MR change was observed for the as¿quenched sample annealed at 450°C for 30 min. The magnetic and transport properties closely correlate with the microstructure, mainly with Co magnetic particle size and its distribution. For thermal annealing the as quenched samples below 600°C, the Co particle diameters increase from 4.0 to 6.0 nm with a magnetoresistance (MR) drop from 33.0% to 5.0% at 10 K. Comparison with the theory indicates that the interfacial electron spin¿dependent scattering mechanism correlates with GMR for Co particle diameters up to about 6.0 nm.