Effect of dimerization on the field-induced birefringence in ferrofluids

The magnetic-field-induced birefringence in a ferrofluid composed of spherical cobalt nanoparticles has been studied both experimentally and theoretically. The considerable induced birefringence determined experimentally has been attributed to the formation of chains of nanoparticles. The birefringence has been measured as a function of the external magnetic field and the volume fraction (f) of nanoparticles. It is quadratic in f as opposed to the Faraday effect, which is linear in f. Experimental results agree well with the theoretical model based on a simple density functional approach. For dilute solutions the experimental results can be explained by assuming that only dimers of nanoparticles are formed while the concentration of longer chains is negligible

Low-temperature thermal conductivity in polycrystalline graphene

The low-temperature thermal conductivity in polycrystalline graphene is theoretically studied. The contributions from three branches of acoustic phonons are calculated by taking into account scattering on sample borders, point defects and grain boundaries. Phonon scattering due to sample borders and grain boundaries is shown to result in a $T^{\alpha}$-behaviour in the thermal conductivity where $\alpha$ varies between 1 and 2. This behaviour is found to be more pronounced for nanosized grain boundaries. PACS: 65.80.Ck, 81.05.ue, 73.43.C