Acoustic and optical phonon dynamics from femtosecond time-resolved optical spectroscopy of the superconducting iron pnictide Ca(Fe0.944Co0.056)(2)As-2

We report the temperature evolution of coherently excited acoustic and optical phonon dynamics in the superconducting iron pnictide single crystal Ca(Fe0.944Co0.056)(2)As-2 across the spin density wave transition at T-SDW similar to 85 K and the superconducting transition at T-SC similar to 20 K. The strain pulse propagation model applied to the generation of the acoustic phonons yields the temperature dependence of the optical constants, and longitudinal and transverse sound velocities in the temperature range from 3.1 K to 300 K. The frequency and dephasing times of the phonons show anomalous temperature dependence below T-SC indicating a coupling of these low-energy excitations with the Cooper-pair quasiparticles. A maximum in the amplitude of the acoustic modes at T similar to 170 is seen, attributed to spin fluctuations and strong spin-lattice coupling before T-SDW. Copyright (c) EPLA, 2012

PULSE-PHASE-RESOLVED SPECTROSCOPY OF VELA X-1 WITH SUZAKU

We present a detailed pulse-phase-resolved spectral analysis of the persistent high-mass X-ray binary pulsar Vela X-1 observed with Suzaku during 2008 June. The pulse profiles exhibit both intensity and energy dependence with multiple peaks at low energies and double peaks at higher energies. The source shows some spectral evolution over the duration of the observation and care has been taken to average over data with minimum spectral variability for the analysis. We model the continuum with a phenomenological partial covering high-energy cutoff model and a more physical partial covering thermal Comptonization model (CompTT) excluding the time ranges having variable hardness ratio and intensity dependence. For both the models, we detect a cyclotron resonant scattering feature (CRSF) and its harmonic at similar to 25 keV and similar to 50 keV. Both the CRSF fundamental and harmonics parameters are strongly variable over the pulse phase, with the ratio of the two line energies deviating from the classical value of 2. The continuum parameters also show significant variation over the pulse phase and give us some idea about the changing physical conditions that are seen with the changing viewing angle at different pulse phases and obscuration by the accretion stream at some pulse phases.

In-situ impedance spectroscopy of layer-by-layer self-assembly of polyelectrolytes

In-situ impedance spectroscopy of layer-by-layer self-assembly of weak polyelectrolytes is presented. Interdigitated capacitors with active area of 1×1 mm2 and electrode spacing of 5 μm are fabricated and used for this purpose. Measurement results indicate that the impedance decreases with increase in number of polyelectrolyte layers. About 2.5% of relative change in magnitude of impedance at 104.7 KHz is seen for four bi-layers of Poly(Allylamine Hydrochloride) (PAH)/Poly(Acrylic acid) (PAA). An electrical equivalent for polyelectrolyte binding is obtained.

Impedance spectroscopy of novel hybrid composite films of polyvinylbutyral (PVB)/functionalized mesoporous silica

Polyvinyl butyral/functionalized mesoporous silica hybrid composite films have been fabricated by solution casting technique with various weight percentages of functionalized silica. A polyol (tripentaerythritol-electron rich component), which acts as an electron donor to the polymer backbone, was added to enhance the conductivity. The prepared composites were characterized by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and the morphology was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. Dielectric properties of these freestanding composites were studied using the two-probe method. The dielectric constant and impedance value decreased with the increase in applied frequency as well as with the increase in functionalized silica content in the polyvinyl butyral matrix. An increase in conductivity of the PVB/functionalized silica composites was also observed. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Total internal reflection Raman spectroscopy of poly(alpha-olefin) oils in a lubricated contact

The rheology of a poly(alpha-olefin) base oil (PAO) in a sliding point contact has been investigated by total internal reflection (TIR) Raman spectroscopy. TIR Raman has the sensitivity to analyse nanometer-thick lubricant films in a tribological contact. The Raman signal generated from the sliding contact was used to determine the lubricant film thickness. The experimentally obtained film thicknesses were compared with theoretical calculations and a transition from Newtonian to non-Newtonian behaviour was observed at high shear rates. The Raman spectra showed no significant changes in the conformation of the PAO chains under the applied conditions of pressure and shear, but the polarisation dependence of the spectra revealed a preferred orientation of the hydrocarbon side chains in the shear-thinned region. Monolayers formed by a boundary lubricant, arachidic acid, dissolved in the PAO could be detected on the surfaces in the elastohydrodynamic regime.

Orbital phase resolved spectroscopy of GX 301-2 with MAXI

GX 301-2, a bright high-mass X-ray binary with an orbital period of 41.5 d, exhibits stable periodic orbital intensity modulations with a strong pre-periastron X-ray flare. Several models have been proposed to explain the accretion at different orbital phases, invoking accretion via stellar wind, equatorial disc, and accretion stream from the companion star. We present results from exhaustive orbital phase resolved spectroscopic measurements of GX 301-2 using data from the Gas Slit Camera onboard MAXI. Using spectroscopic analysis of the MAXI data with unprecedented orbital coverage for many orbits continuously, we have found a strong orbital dependence of the absorption column density and equivalent width of the iron emission line. A very large equivalent width of the iron line along with a small value of the column density in the orbital phase range 0.10-0.30 after the periastron passage indicates the presence of high density absorbing matter behind the neutron star in this orbital phase range. A low energy excess is also found in the spectrum at orbital phases around the pre-periastron X-ray flare. The orbital dependence of these parameters are then used to examine the various models about mode of accretion on to the neutron star in GX 301-2.

Time resolved terahertz spectroscopy of low frequency electronic resonances and optical pump-induced terahertz photoconductivity in reduced graphene oxide membrane

Towards ultrafast optoelectronic applications of single and a few layer reduced graphene oxide (RGO), we study time domain terahertz spectroscopy and optical pump induced changes in terahertz conductivity of self-supported RGO membrane in the spectral window of 0.5-3.5 THz. The real and imaginary parts of conductivity spectra clearly reveal low frequency resonances, attributed to the energy gaps due to the van Hove singularities in the density of states flanking the Dirac points arising due to the relative rotation of the graphene layers. Further, optical pump induced terahertz conductivity is positive, pointing to the dominance of intraband scattering processes. The relaxation dynamics of the photo-excited carriers consists of three cooling pathways: the faster (similar to 450 fs) one due to optical phonon emission followed by disorder mediated large momentum and large energy acoustic phonon emission with a time constant of a few ps (called the super-collision mechanism) and a very large time (similar to 100 ps) arising from the deep trap states. The frequency dependence of the dynamic conductivity at different delay times is analyzed in term of Drude-Smith model. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Feshbach modulation spectroscopy of the Fermi-Hubbard model

In the vicinity of a Feshbach resonance, a system of ultracold atoms in an optical lattice undergoes rich physical transformations which involve molecule formation and hopping of molecules on the lattice and thus goes beyond a single-band Hubbard model description. We explore theoretically the response of this system to a harmonic modulation of the magnetic field, and thus of the scattering length, across the Feshbach resonance. In the regime in which the single-band Hubbard model is still valid, we provide results for the doublon production as a function of the various parameters, such as frequency, amplitude, etc., that characterize the field modulation, as well as the lattice depth. The method may uncover a route towards the efficient creation of ultracold molecules and also provide an alternative to conventional lattice-depth-modulation spectroscopy.

Flow Characteristics of Liquids in Microtubes Driven by a High Pressure

The flow characteristics of liquids in microtubes driven by a high pressure ranging from 1 MPa to 30 MPa are studied in this paper. The diameter of the microtube is from 3 μm to 10 μm and liquids composed of simple small molecules are chosen as the working fluids. The Reynolds number ranges from 0. 1 to 24. The behavior of isopropanol and carbon tetrachloride under high pressure is found different from the prediction from conventional Hagen-Poiseuille (HP) equation. The normalized friction coefficient C* increases significantly with the pressure. From an analysis of the microtube deformation, liquid compressibility, viscous heating and wall slip, it may be seen that the viscosity at high pressure plays an important role here. An exponential function of viscosity vs pressure is introduced into the HP equation to counteract the difference between experimental and theoretical values. However, this difference is not so marked for di-water.