Magnetic field induced entropy change and magnetoelasticity in Ni-Mn-Ga alloys

The magnetocaloric effect that originates from the martensitic transition in the ferromagnetic Ni-Mn-Gashape-memory alloy is studied. We show that this effect is controlled by the magnetostructural coupling at boththe martensitic variant and magnetic domain length scales. A large entropy change induced by moderatemagnetic fields is obtained for alloys in which the magnetic moment of the two structural phases is not verydifferent. We also show that this entropy change is not associated with the entropy difference between themartensitic and the parent phase arising from the change in the crystallographic structure which has beenfound to be independent of the magnetic field within this range of fields.

Quantum critical effects in mean-field glassy systems

We consider the effects of quantum fluctuations in mean-field quantum spin-glass models with pairwise interactions. We examine the nature of the quantum glass transition at zero temperature in a transverse field. In models (such as the random orthogonal model) where the classical phase transition is discontinuous an analysis using the static approximation reveals that the transition becomes continuous at zero temperature.

Asymmetric Little spin-Glass model

We study the static properties of the Little model with asymmetric couplings. We show that the thermodynamics of this model coincides with that of the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model, and we compute the main finite-size corrections to the difference of the free energy between these two models and to some clarifying order parameters. Our results agree with numerical simulations. Numerical results are presented for the symmetric Little model, which show that the same conclusions are also valid in this case.

Evidence of aging in spin glass mean-field models

We study numerically the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of the hypercubic cell spin glass in high dimensionalities. We obtain evidence of aging effects qualitatively similar both to experiments and to simulations of low-dimensional models. This suggests that the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model as well as other mean-field finite connectivity lattices can be used to study these effects analytically.

Evidence of a critical time in constrained Kinetic Ising models

We study the relaxational dynamics of the one-spin facilitated Ising model introduced by Fredrickson and Andersen. We show the existence of a critical time which separates an initial regime in which the relaxation is exponentially fast and aging is absent from a regime in which relaxation becomes slow and aging effects are present. The presence of this fast exponential process and its associated critical time is in agreement with some recent experimental results on fragile glasses.

DISPONIBILIDADE E RECUPERAÇÃO DE NUTRIENTES DE RESÍDUOS CULTURAIS EM SOLO COM DIFERENTES TEXTURAS

RESUMO Os resíduos de culturas agrícolas aportados sobre a superfície do solo, além da proteção física, podem liberar quantidades significativas de nutrientes ao solo pela decomposição deles; porém, a disponibilidade desses nutrientes às plantas é um fator pouco estudado. Avaliaram-se os teores totais de C orgânico e N, o pH e a disponibilidade e taxa de recuperação dos macronutrientes provenientes da ciclagem biogeoquímica de diferentes resíduos culturais ao longo do tempo, em solos com texturas construídas. Os tratamentos consistiram em fatorial 6 × 4 × 5, composto por seis tratamentos no primeiro fator, sendo quatro resíduos culturais: milho, braquiária, feijão, estilosantes, e dois controles, ambos sem resíduo e um com adição de fontes inorgânicas dos nutrientes; quatro diferentes texturas formadas a partir de um mesmo solo e cinco tempos de avaliação, após o início da incubação: 0, 25, 75, 125 e 175 dias; utilizou-se delineamento inteiramente casualizado, com quatro repetições. O tipo de resíduo, a textura do solo e o tempo de incubação influenciaram os teores totais de C orgânico e N, o pH, a disponibilidade e a taxa de recuperação de P, K, Ca, Mg e S. Os teores totais de C orgânico e N nos solos diminuíram ao longo da incubação. Os resíduos de braquiária e estilosantes acidificaram o solo. O resíduo de braquiária apresentou-se como potencial fonte de K; e o de feijão, de S. O resíduo de milho apresentou as maiores taxas de recuperação de P em solos de textura média e argilosa.

Soil Water Potentials and Capsicum annuum L. under Salinity

ABSTRACT Investigations into water potentials in the soil-plant system are of great relevance in environments with abiotic stresses, such as salinity and drought. An experiment was developed using bell pepper in a Neossolo Flúvico (Fluvent) irrigated with water of six levels of electrical conductivity (0, 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 dS m-1) by using exclusively NaCl and by simulating the actual condition (using a mixture of salts). The treatments were arranged in a randomized block design, in a 6 × 2 factorial arrangement, with four replicates. Soil matric (Ψm) and osmotic (Ψo) potentials were determined 70 days after transplanting (DAT). Soil total potential was considered as the sum of Ψm and Ψo. Leaf water (obtained with the Scholander Chamber) and osmotic potentials were determined before sunrise (predawn) and at noon at 42 and 70 DAT. There were no significant differences between the salt sources used in the irrigation water for soil and plant water potentials. The supply of salts to the soil through irrigation water was the main factor responsible for the decrease in Ψo in the soil and in bell pepper leaves. The total potential of bell pepper at predawn reached values of -1.30 and -1.33 MPa at 42 and 70 DAT, respectively, when water of 9 dS m-1 was used in the irrigation. The total potential at noon reached -2.19 MPa. The soil subjected to the most saline treatment reached a water potential of -1.20 MPa at 70 DAT. There was no predawn equilibrium between the total water potentials of the soil and the plant, indicating that soil potential cannot be considered similar to that of the plant. The determination of the osmotic potential in the soil solution should not be neglected in saline soils, since it has strong influence on the calculation of the total potential.