Instabilities and disorder of the domain patterns in the systems with competing interactions

The dynamics of the domains is studied in a two-dimensional model of the microphase separation of diblock copolymers in the vicinity of the transition. A criterion for the validity of the mean field theory is derived. It is shown that at certain temperatures the ordered hexagonal pattern becomes unstable with respect to the two types of instabilities: the radially-nonsymmetric distortions of the domains and the repumping of the order parameter between the neighbors. Both these instabilities may lead to the transformation of the regular hexagonal pattern into a disordered pattern.Comment: ReVTeX, 4 pages, 3 figures (postscript); submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Practical formula for the shear viscosity of Yukawa fluids

A simple practical formula for the shear viscosity coefficient of Yukawa fluids is presented. This formula allows estimation of the shear viscosity in a very extended range of temperatures, from the melting point to $\simeq 100$ times the melting temperature. It demonstrates reasonable agreement with the available results from molecular dynamics simulations. Some aspects of the temperature dependence of the shear viscosity and diffusion coefficients on approaching the fluid-solid phase transition are discussed.Comment: 7 pages with 3 figure and 1 tabl

Non-meanfield deterministic limits in chemical reaction kinetics far from equilibrium

A general mechanism is proposed by which small intrinsic fluctuations in a system far from equilibrium can result in nearly deterministic dynamical behaviors which are markedly distinct from those realized in the meanfield limit. The mechanism is demonstrated for the kinetic Monte-Carlo version of the Schnakenberg reaction where we identified a scaling limit in which the global deterministic bifurcation picture is fundamentally altered by fluctuations. Numerical simulations of the model are found to be in quantitative agreement with theoretical predictions.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures (submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett.

Synthesis and characterisation of nanocrystalline ZrN PVD coatings on AISI 430 stainless steel

The nanocrystalline films of zirconium nitride have been synthesized using ion-plasma vacuum-arc deposition technique in combination with high-frequency discharge (RF) on AISI 430 stainless steel at 150oC. Structure examinations X-ray fluorescent analysis (XRF), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with microanalysis (EDS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nanoidentation method – were performed to study phase and chemical composition, surface morphology, microstructure and nanohardness of coatings. The developed technology provided low-temperature coatings synthesis, minimized discharge breakdown decreasing formation of macroparticles (MPs) and allowed to deposit ZrN coatings with hardness variation 26.6…31.5 GPa. It was revealed that ZrN single-phase coatings of cubic modification with finecrystalline grains of 20 nm in size were formed

Strongly Time-Variable Ultra-Violet Metal Line Emission from the Circum-Galactic Medium of High-Redshift Galaxies

We use cosmological simulations from the Feedback In Realistic Environments (FIRE) project, which implement a comprehensive set of stellar feedback processes, to study ultra-violet (UV) metal line emission from the circum-galactic medium of high-redshift (z=2-4) galaxies. Our simulations cover the halo mass range Mh ~ 2x10^11 - 8.5x10^12 Msun at z=2, representative of Lyman break galaxies. Of the transitions we analyze, the low-ionization C III (977 A) and Si III (1207 A) emission lines are the most luminous, with C IV (1548 A) and Si IV (1394 A) also showing interesting spatially-extended structures. The more massive halos are on average more UV-luminous. The UV metal line emission from galactic halos in our simulations arises primarily from collisionally ionized gas and is strongly time variable, with peak-to-trough variations of up to ~2 dex. The peaks of UV metal line luminosity correspond closely to massive and energetic mass outflow events, which follow bursts of star formation and inject sufficient energy into galactic halos to power the metal line emission. The strong time variability implies that even some relatively low-mass halos may be detectable. Conversely, flux-limited samples will be biased toward halos whose central galaxy has recently experienced a strong burst of star formation. Spatially-extended UV metal line emission around high-redshift galaxies should be detectable by current and upcoming integral field spectrographs such as the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on the Very Large Telescope and Keck Cosmic Web Imager (KCWI).Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Self-replication and splitting of domain patterns in reaction-diffusion systems with fast inhibitor

An asymptotic equation of motion for the pattern interface in the domain-forming reaction-diffusion systems is derived. The free boundary problem is reduced to the universal equation of non-local contour dynamics in two dimensions in the parameter region where a pattern is not far from the points of the transverse instabilities of its walls. The contour dynamics is studied numerically for the reaction-diffusion system of the FitzHugh-Nagumo type. It is shown that in the asymptotic limit the transverse instability of the localized domains leads to their splitting and formation of the multidomain pattern rather than fingering and formation of the labyrinthine pattern.Comment: 9 pages (ReVTeX), 5 figures (postscript). To be published in Phys. Rev.

Direct Evidence of Two Superconducting Gaps in FeSe0.5_{0.5}Te0.5_{0.5}: SnS-Andreev Spectroscopy and Lower Critical Field

We present direct measurements of the superconducting order parameter in nearly optimal FeSe$_{0.5}$Te$_{0.5}$ single crystals with critical temperature $T_C \approx 14$ K. Using intrinsic multiple Andreev reflection effect (IMARE) spectroscopy and measurements of lower critical field, we directly determined two superconducting gaps, $\Delta_L \approx 3.3 - 3.4$ meV and $\Delta_S \approx 1$ meV, and their temperature dependences. We show that a two-band model fits well the experimental data. The estimated electron-boson coupling constants indicate a strong intraband and a moderate interband interaction

Dynamic flexoelectric instabilities in nematic liquid crystals

Electro-hydrodynamic phenomena in liquid crystals constitute an old but still very active research area. The reason is that these phenomena play the key role in various applications of liquid crystals and due to the general interest of physical community to out-of-equilibrium systems. Nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) are ideally representative for such investigations. Our article aims to study theoretically the linear NLCs dynamics. We include into consideration orientation elastic energy, hydrodynamic motion, external alternating electric field, electric conductivity and flexoelectric polarization. We analyze the linear stability of the NLC film, determining dynamics of perturbations with respect to the homogeneous initial state of the NLC. For the purpose we compute eigen-values of the evolution matrix for a period of the external alternating electric field. These eigen-values determine the amplification factors for the modes during the period. The instability occurs when the principal eigen-value of the evolution matrix becomes unity by its absolute value. The condition determines the threshold (critical field) for the instability of the uniform state. It turns out that one might expect various types of the instability, only partially known and investigated in the literature. Particularly, we find that the flexoelectric instability may lead to two-dimensionally space modulated patterns exhibiting time oscillations. This type of the structures was somehow overlooked in the previous works.Comment: 26 pages, 12 figure