985 research outputs found
Suppression of zinc dendrites in zinc electrode power cells
Addition of various tetraalkyl quarternary ammonium salts, to alkaline zincate electrolyte of cell, prevents formation of zinc dendrites during charging of zinc electrode. Electrode capacity is not impaired and elimination of dendrites prolongs cell life
Direct Measurement of Piezoelectric Response around Ferroelectric Domain Walls in Crystals with Engineered Domain Configuration
We report the first investigation of the piezoelectric response on a
nanoscale in the poled ferroelectric crystals with engineered configuration of
domains. Piezoresponse force microscopy of tetragonal 0.63PMN-0.37PT
relaxor-based ferroelectric crystals reviled that the d33 piezoelectric
coefficient is significantly reduced within the distance of about 1 um from the
uncharged engineered domain wall. This finding is essential for understanding
the mechanisms of the giant piezoresponse in relaxor-based crystals and for
designing new piezoelectric materials
Landau thermodynamic potential for BaTiO_3
In the paper, the description of the dielectric and ferroelectric properties
of BaTiO_3 single crystals using Landau thermodynamic potential is addressed.
Our results suggest that when using the sixth-power free energy expansion of
the thermodynamic potential, remarkably different values of the fourth-power
coefficient, \beta (the coefficient of P^4_i terms), are required to adequately
reproduce the nonlinear dielectric behavior of the paraelectric phase and the
electric field induced ferroelectric phase, respectively. In contrast, the
eighth-power expansion with a common set of coefficients enables a good
description for both phases at the same time. These features, together with the
data available in literature, strongly attest to the necessity of the
eighth-power terms in Landau thermodynamic potential of BaTiO_3. In addition,
the fourth-power coefficients, \beta and \xi (the coefficient of P^2_i P^2_j
terms), were evaluated from the nonlinear dielectric responses along [001],
[011], and [111] orientations in the paraelectric phase. Appreciable
temperature dependence was evidenced for both coefficients above T_C. Further
analysis on the linear dielectric response of the single domain crystal in the
tetragonal phase demonstrated that temperature dependent anharmonic
coefficients are also necessary for an adequate description of the dielectric
behavior in the ferroelectric phase. As a consequence, an eighth-power
thermodynamic potential, with some of the anharmonic coefficients being
temperature dependent, was proposed and compared with the existing potentials.
In general, the potential proposed in this work exhibits a higher quality in
reproducing the dielectric and ferroelectric properties of this prototypic
ferroelectric substance.Comment: 7 figures, 5 table
Dileptons from the nonequilibrium Quark-Gluon Plasma
According to the dynamical quasiparticle model (DQPM) -- matched to reproduce
lattice QCD results in thermodynamic limit, -- the constituents of the strongly
interacting quark-gluon plasma (sQGP) are massive and off-shell quasi-particles
(quarks and gluons) with broad spectral functions. In order to address the
electromagnetic radiation of the sQGP, we derive off-shell cross sections of
, and () reactions taking into account the effective propagators
for quarks and gluons from the DQPM. Dilepton production in In+In collisions at
158 AGeV is studied by implementing these processes into the
parton-hadron-string dynamics (PHSD) transport approach. The microscopic PHSD
transport approach describes the full evolution of the heavy-ion collision:
from the dynamics of quasi-particles in the sQGP phase (when the local energy
density is above GeV/fm) through hadronization and to the
following hadron interactions and off-shell propagation after the
hadronization. A comparison to the data of the NA60 Collaboration shows that
the low mass dilepton spectra are well described by including a collisional
broadening of vector mesons, while the spectra in the intermediate mass range
are dominated by off-shell quark-antiquark annihilation, quark Bremsstrahlung
and gluon-Compton scattering in the nonperturbative QGP. In particular, the
observed softening of the spectra at intermediate masses (1 GeV 3 GeV) is approximately reproduced.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, to be published in the Proceedings of the 26th
Winter Workshop on `Nuclear Dynamics', Ochto Rios, Jamaica, 2-9 January, 201
Evidence for dielectric aging due to progressive 180 domain wall pinning in polydomain Pb(Zr0.45Ti0.55)O3 thin films
An evidence that the dielectric ageing in the polydomain Pb(Zr0.45Ti0.55)O3
thin films is controlled by progressive pinning of 180 domain walls is
presented. To provide such a conclusion, we use a general method, which is
based on the study of the time evolution of the nonlinear, but anhysteretic,
dielectric response of the ferroelectric to a weak electric field. A
thermodynamic model of the ferroelectric system where the dielectric response
is controlled by bending movements of pinned 180 domain walls is developed.
Within this model, the nonlinear permittivity of the ferroelectric is expressed
as a function of the microstructural parameters of the domain pattern. It is
shown that using the analysis of the time evolution of the nonlinear
permittivity, it is possible to estimate changes in the concentration of the
pinning centers that block the movements of the 180 domain walls during aging
in polydomain perovskite ferroelectrics.Comment: This version is modifed and corrected according to recently published
Erratum: Phys. Rev. B 79, 219903(E) (2009). 21 pages, 3 figure
Anharmonicity of BaTiO_3 single crystals
By analyzing the dielectric non-linearity with the Landau thermodynamic
expansion, we find a simple and direct way to assess the importance of the
eighth order term. Following this approach, it is demonstrated that the eighth
order term is essential for the adequate description of the para/ferroelectric
phase transition of BaTiO_3. The temperature dependence of the quartic
coefficient \beta is accordingly reconsidered and is strongly evidenced by the
change of its sign above 165 C. All these findings attest to the strong
polarization anharmonicity of this material, which is unexpected for classical
displacive ferroelectrics.Comment: 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Peace Building in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Effects of Ingroup Identification, Outgroup Trust and Intergroup Forgiveness on Intergroup Contact
The current study examines the effects of ingroup identification, outgroup trust, and intergroup forgiveness on intergroup contact quantity in the diverse cities of Sarajevo and Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A total of 455 individuals ranging in age from 14 to 102 self-reported as either Muslim, Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, or Other completed a questionnaire. Analyses revealed that ingroup identification was significantly and negatively correlated with intergroup contact quantity; however, ingroup identification was not significantly correlated with outgroup trust or intergroup forgiveness. The comparison between groups revealed significant group differences across all predictor and criterion variables. To confirm whether age or community background had a moderating effect on predicting the relation between ingroup identification, outgroup trust, and intergroup forgiveness on intergroup contact quantity, moderated regression analyses were conducted. Results revealed community background, ingroup identification, and outgroup trust were all significant contributors to the model; however, age and forgiveness were not. Taken as a whole, the entire model accounted for approximately 21% of variability in intergroup contact quantity. The results from the current study reinforce the supposition that the two cities of Sarajevo and Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot move towards reconciliation without first understanding the effect that strong ingroup identification has on mixing with the other diverse groups, and implementing proactive measures to enhance outgroup trust and cross-community outreach. Implementing these measures in the two cities of Sarajevo and Tuzla, along with other areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina, may improve future intergroup relations and move the country closer to reconciliation and peace
NA60 results on spectra and the spectral function in In-In collisions
The NA60 experiment at the CERN SPS has studied low-mass muon pairs in 158
AGeV In-In collisions. A strong excess of pairs is observed above the yield
expected from neutral meson decays. The unprecedented sample size of close to
400K events and the good mass resolution of about 2% have made it possible to
isolate the excess by subtraction of the decay sources (keeping the ).
The shape of the resulting mass spectrum exhibits considerable broadening, but
essentially no shift in mass. The acceptance-corrected transverse-momentum
spectra have a shape atypical for radial flow and show a significant mass
dependence, pointing to different sources in different mass regions.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Quark Matter 2006 conference proceeding
The role of music-induced emotions on recognition memory of filmed events
The present study investigated the effects of pairing a comedic movie trailer with emotive music on subsequent recognition memory of the events depicted in the trailer. In an independent groups design, the comedic trailer was paired with happy music (congruent condition) or sad music (incongruent condition). A no music condition served as the control condition. The results showed that participants in the incongruent condition displayed a recognition memory advantage for visual test items over participants in the congruent and control conditions. While changes in self-reported positive and negative affect did not correlate significantly with recognition memory, the perception of emotion-specific categories did. These findings help to establish an empirical basis of ironic contrast techniques and propose an affective component in the integration and representation of audiovisual action that is likely to emerge where a participant perceives or recognizes expressed emotions in music, without necessarily feeling an overall positive or negative affect
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