Electric Field Gradients at 57Fe in ZnFe2O4 and CdFe2O4

The nuclear quadrupole coupling constants and isomer shifts of 57Fe in the spinels ZnFe2O4 and CdFe2O4 were measured using the Mössbauer effect. The signs of the quadrupole coupling constants were determined from spectra which were taken in an applied magnetic field. The sign is negative in both spinels. The isomer shifts and Fe☒O distances indicate that Fe3+ in ZnFe2O4 is somewhat more covalently bonded than in CdFe2O4. The external field gradients at the Fe3+ positions can be interpreted in terms of the ionic point‐multipole model modified by some charge transfer between oxygen and the cations. The point charge contribution to the field gradient is positive in case of ZnFe2O4 and nearly zero in case of CdFe2O4; the predominant contribution is due to the electric dipole moments of the oxygen ions and is negative. The dipole polarizability of the oxygen ion which gave the best fit is αD = 0.8 Å3αD=0.8Å3. The effect of charge transfer on the ionic field gradient is small.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70992/2/JCPSA6-55-11-5282-1.pd

Interaction-free measurement and forward scattering

Interaction-free measurement is shown to arise from the forward-scattered wave accompanying absorption: a "quantum silhouette" of the absorber. Accordingly, the process is not free of interaction. For a perfect absorber the forward-scattered wave is locked both in amplitude and in phase. For an imperfect one it has a nontrivial phase of dynamical origin (``colored silhouette"), measurable by interferometry. Other examples of quantum silhouettes, all controlled by unitarity, are briefly discussed.Comment: 4 pages in RevTex + 1 figure in eps; submitted to Phys. Rev. A since 09Jan98; now update

Structural Properties and Relative Stability of (Meta)Stable Ordered, Partially-ordered and Disordered Al-Li Alloy Phases

We resolve issues that have plagued reliable prediction of relative phase stability for solid-solutions and compounds. Due to its commercially important phase diagram, we showcase Al-Li system because historically density-functional theory (DFT) results show large scatter and limited success in predicting the structural properties and stability of solid-solutions relative to ordered compounds. Using recent advances in an optimal basis-set representation of the topology of electronic charge density (and, hence, atomic size), we present DFT results that agree reasonably well with all known experimental data for the structural properties and formation energies of ordered, off-stoichiometric partially-ordered and disordered alloys, opening the way for reliable study in complex alloys.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 2 Table

Theoretical and computational study of high pressure structures in barium

Recent high pressure work has suggested that elemental barium forms a high pressure self-hosting structure (Ba IV) involving two `types' of barium atom. Uniquely among reported elemental structures it cannot be described by a single crystalline lattice, instead involving two interpenetrating incommensurate lattices. In this letter we report pseudopotential calculations demonstrating the stability and the potentially disordered nature of the `guest' structure. Using band structures and nearly-free electron theory we relate the appearance of Ba IV to an instability in the close-packed structure, demonstrate that it has a zero energy vibrational mode, and speculate about the structure's stability in other divalent elements.Comment: 4 pages and 5 figures. To appear in PR

The effects of winter climate on the size of the cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis L.) population in the Camargue

La population nicheuse de Hérons gardebœufs de Camargue a été suivie de 1970 à 1991. Chaque année, 60 à 70 % des oiseaux présents en fin d'été (adultes et jeunes) ont tendance à hiverner dans le delta du Rhône et ses environs. Les températures hivernales affectent la taille de la population nicheuse les années suivantes. L'afflux d'oiseaux issus de populations situées plus au Sud joue un rôle important dans le maintien de cette espèce en Camargue, particulièrement après un hiver rigoureu

High-efficiency quantum interrogation measurements via the quantum Zeno effect

The phenomenon of quantum interrogation allows one to optically detect the presence of an absorbing object, without the measuring light interacting with it. In an application of the quantum Zeno effect, the object inhibits the otherwise coherent evolution of the light, such that the probability that an interrogating photon is absorbed can in principle be arbitrarily small. We have implemented this technique, demonstrating efficiencies exceeding the 50% theoretical-maximum of the original ``interaction-free'' measurement proposal. We have also predicted and experimentally verified a previously unsuspected dependence on loss; efficiencies of up to 73% were observed and the feasibility of efficiencies up to 85% was demonstrated.Comment: 4 pages, 3 postscript figures. To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett; submitted June 11, 199

First principles modelling of magnesium titanium hydrides

Mixing Mg with Ti leads to a hydride Mg(x)Ti(1-x)H2 with markedly improved (de)hydrogenation properties for x < 0.8, as compared to MgH2. Optically, thin films of Mg(x)Ti(1-x)H2 have a black appearance, which is remarkable for a hydride material. In this paper we study the structure and stability of Mg(x)Ti(1-x)H2, x= 0-1 by first-principles calculations at the level of density functional theory. We give evidence for a fluorite to rutile phase transition at a critical composition x(c)= 0.8-0.9, which correlates with the experimentally observed sharp decrease in (de)hydrogenation rates at this composition. The densities of states of Mg(x)Ti(1-x)H2 have a peak at the Fermi level, composed of Ti d states. Disorder in the positions of the Ti atoms easily destroys the metallic plasma, however, which suppresses the optical reflection. Interband transitions result in a featureless optical absorption over a large energy range, causing the black appearance of Mg(x)Ti(1-x)H2.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures, 4 table

New Magnetic Excitations in the Spin-Density-Wave of Chromium

Low-energy magnetic excitations of chromium have been reinvestigated with a single-Q crystal using neutron scattering technique. In the transverse spin-density-wave phase a new type of well-defined magnetic excitation is found around (0,0,1) with a weak dispersion perpendicular to the wavevector of the incommensurate structure. The magnetic excitation has an energy gap of E ~ 4 meV and at (0,0,1) exactly corresponds to the Fincher mode previously studied only along the incommensurate wavevector.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure