Crystal water induced switching of magnetically active orbitals in CuCl2

The dehydration of CuCl2*2(H2O) to CuCl2 leads to a dramatic change in magnetic behavior and ground state. Combining density functional electronic structure and model calculations with thermodynamical measurements we reveal the microscopic origin of this unexpected incident -- a crystal water driven switching of the magnetically active orbitals. This switching results in a fundamental change of the coupling regime from a three-dimensional antiferromagnet to a quasi one-dimensional behavior. CuCl2 can be well described as a frustrated J1-J2 Heisenberg chain with ferromagnetic exchange J1 and J2/J1 ~ -1.5 for which a helical ground state is predicted.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, 1 table (PRB, accepted

Sol-Gel Derived Ferroelectric Nanoparticles Investigated by Piezoresponse Force Microscopy

Piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) was used to investigate the ferroelectric properties of sol-gel derived LiNbO$_3$ nanoparticles. To determine the degree of ferroelectricity we took large-area images and performed statistical image-analysis. The ferroelectric behavior of single nanoparticles was verified by poling experiments using the PFM tip. Finally we carried out simultaneous measurements of the in-plane and the out-of-plane piezoresponse of the nanoparticles, followed by measurements of the same area after rotation of the sample by 90$^{\circ}$ and 180$^{\circ}$. Such measurements basically allow to determine the direction of polarization of every single particle

Para entender Micorrizas Asbusculares.

bitstream/CNPA/18310/1/DOC156.pd

Harmonic Balance and Averaging Techniques for Stick-Slip Limit-Cycle Determination in Mode-Coupling Friction Self-Excited Systems

A minimal model for mode-coupling friction induced instability with Coulomb-type frictional nonlinearity is set up to investigate the applicability and quality of approximative methods to determine the limit cycles of unstable system configurations. It turns out that - due to the multi-degree-of-freedom nature of the mode-coupling instability - harmonic balance approaches yield reasonable results only if applied carefully, i.e. with respect to the special effects of the nonlinearities under consideration. The Krylov-Bogoliubov-Mitropolsky approach yields good results in a straightforward manner, the technique is however formally much more cumbersome

Low-voltage nanodomain writing in He-implanted lithium niobate crystals

A scanning force microscope tip is used to write ferroelectric domains in He-implanted single-crystal lithium niobate and subsequently probe them by piezoresponse force microscopy. Investigation of cross-sections of the samples showed that the buried implanted layer, $\sim 1$\,\textmu m below the surface, is non-ferroelectric and can thus act as a barrier to domain growth. This barrier enabled stable surface domains of $< 1$\,\textmu m size to be written in 500\,\textmu m-thick crystal substrates with voltage pulses of only 10\,V applied to the tip

Multi-excitonic complexes in single InGaN quantum dots

Cathodoluminescence spectra employing a shadow mask technique of InGaN layers grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition on Si(111) substrates are reported. Sharp lines originating from InGaN quantum dots are observed. Temperature dependent measurements reveal thermally induced carrier redistribution between the quantum dots. Spectral diffusion is observed and was used as a tool to correlate up to three lines that originate from the same quantum dot. Variation of excitation density leads to identification of exciton and biexciton. Binding and anti-binding complexes are discovered.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure

Efficiency of a thermodynamic motor at maximum power

Several recent theories address the efficiency of a macroscopic thermodynamic motor at maximum power and question the so-called "Curzon-Ahlborn (CA) efficiency." Considering the entropy exchanges and productions in an n-sources motor, we study the maximization of its power and show that the controversies are partly due to some imprecision in the maximization variables. When power is maximized with respect to the system temperatures, these temperatures are proportional to the square root of the corresponding source temperatures, which leads to the CA formula for a bi-thermal motor. On the other hand, when power is maximized with respect to the transitions durations, the Carnot efficiency of a bi-thermal motor admits the CA efficiency as a lower bound, which is attained if the duration of the adiabatic transitions can be neglected. Additionally, we compute the energetic efficiency, or "sustainable efficiency," which can be defined for n sources, and we show that it has no other universal upper bound than 1, but that in certain situations, favorable for power production, it does not exceed 1/2

Historical vintage descriptions from Luxembourg - an indicator for the climatic conditions in the past?

Verbal vintage descriptions in a historical wine chronicle (809-1904) of the Luxembourgish winegrowing region were assigned to five wine quality and three wine quantity classes. To calibrate models describing the impact of the seasonal heat consumption on wine quality and quantity, instrumental records from Luxembourg-City in a reference period (1854-1885) and the associated vintage quality and quantity classes were correlated. Dummy regression models showed, that in the reference period the wine quality classes assigned were significantly correlated with the annual modified heliothermic index values (representing the heat consumption) (R2adj.= 0.55, p = 0.0002); whereas, the incorporation of the wine quantity as additional predictor variable did not significantly improve model output. Based on linear correlations between annual thermal conditions and wine quality descriptions, average April-September temperatures were reconstructed for the period 1200-1904. Running averages calculated using LOESS smoothing showed that periods with cooler and warmer climatic conditions alternated in the past centuries. Even though a precise reconstruction of the annual temperature conditions solely based on vintage descriptions is not possible due to the broad set of potentially interfering effects, long-term climatic trends described in the literature such as the Medieval Climate Optimum and the Little Ice Age could be retrieved