Enhanced thermoelectric properties by Ir doping of PtSb2 with pyrite structure

The effects of Ir doping on the thermoelectric properties of Pt1-xIrxSb2 (x = 0, 0.01, 0.03, and 0.1) with pyrite structure were studied. Measurements of electrical resistivity rho, Seebeck coefficient S, and thermal conductivity kappa were conducted. The results showed an abrupt change from semiconducting behavior without Ir (x = 0) to metallic behavior at x = 0.01. The sample with x = 0.01 exhibited large S and low rho, resulting in a maximum power factor (S^2/rho) of 43 muW/cmK^2 at 400 K. The peculiar "pudding mold"-type electronic band dispersion could explain the enhanced thermoelectric properties in the metallic state.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figure

Using Statistical Process Control Methods to Classify Pilot Mental Workload

The problem of classifying pilot mental workload is important to the United States Air Force. Pilots are more subject to errors and G-induced loss of consciousness during periods of mental overload and task saturation. Often the result is the loss of aircraft, and in extreme cases, the loss of the pilot\u27s life. Current research efforts use different psychophysiological features to classify pilot mental workload. These include cardiac, ocular, respiratory, and brain activity measures. The focus of this effort is to apply statistical process control methodology on different psychophysiological features in an attempt to classify pilot mental workload. The control charts track these features throughout the flight, and classify a segment as high workload if the measurements of these feature, are greater than predefined control limits. We find that using certain control charts prove to be effective workload classifiers and maintain high classification accuracies when applied to other flight data

Single-crystal growth and dependences on the hole concentration and magnetic field of the magnetic ground state in the edge-sharing CuO2_2 chain system Ca2+x_{2+x}Y2−x_{2-x}Cu5_5O10_{10}

We have succeeded in growing large-size single-crystals of Ca$_{2+x}$Y$_{2-x}$Cu$_5$O$_{10}$ with $0 \le x \le 1.67$ and measured the magnetic susceptibility, specific heat and magnetization curve, in order to study the magnetic ground state in the edge-sharing CuO$_2$ chain as a function of hole concentration and magnetic field. In $0 \le x \le 1.3$, it has been found that an antiferromagnetically ordered phase with the magnetic easy axis along the b-axis is stabilized and that a spin-flop transition occurs by the application of magnetic fields parallel to the b-axis. The antiferromagnetic transition temperature decreases with increasing $x$ and disappears around $x =$ 1.4. Alternatively, a spin-glass phase appears around $x = 1.5$. At $x = 1.67$ where the hole concentration is $\sim$ 1/3 per Cu, it appears that a spin-gap state is formed owing to the formation of spin-singlet pairs. No sign of the coexistence of an antiferromagnetically ordered state and a spin-gap one suggested in Ca$_{1-x}$CuO$_2$ has been found in Ca$_{2+x}$Y$_{2-x}$Cu$_5$O$_{10}$.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, 1 tabl

Magnetic-field effects on the in-plane electrical resistivity in the single-crystal La2−x_{2-x}Bax_xCuO4_4 and La1.6−x_{1.6-x}Nd0.4_{0.4}Srx_xCuO4_4 around x=1/8x=1/8: Relating to the field-induced stripe order

Temperature dependence of the in-plane electrical resistivity, $\rho_{\rm ab}$, in various magnetic fields has been measured in the single-crystal La$_{2-x}$Ba$_x$CuO$_4$ with $x=0.08$, 0.10, 0.11 and La$_{1.6-x}$Nd$_{0.4}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ with $x=0.12$. It has been found that the superconducting transition curve shows a so-called fan-shape broadening in magnetic fields for $x=0.08$, while it shifts toward the low-temperature side in parallel with increasing field for $x=0.11$ and 0.12 where the charge-spin stripe order is formed at low temperatures. As for $x=0.10$, the broadening is observed in low fields and it changes to the parallel shift in high fields above 9 T. Moreover, the normal-state value of $\rho_{\rm ab}$ at low temperatures markedly increases with increasing field up to 15 T. It is possible that these pronounced features of $x=0.10$ are understood in terms of the magnetic-field-induced stabilization of the stripe order suggested from the neutron-scattering measurements in the La-214 system. The $\rho_{\rm ab}$ in the normal state at low temperatures has been found to be proportional to ln(1/$T$) for $x=0.10$, 0.11 and 0.12. The ln(1/$T$) dependence of $\rho_{\rm ab}$ is robust even in the stripe-ordered state.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, ver. 2 has been accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Dynamic Strength of Gravelly Soils and Its Relation to the Penetration Resistance

Undrained cyclic triaxial tests have been conducted on specimens of dense diluvial gravelly soils taken from four sites by an in-situ freeze sampling method. The test results and previous test results obtained by other researchers suggest that the dynamic strength of gravelly soils can be evaluated based on both the modified blow count of the penetration tests and on the effective confining pressure. A method for the evaluation by utilizing the large penetration test (LPT) blow counts is proposed in this paper by considering the effect of the effective confining pressure on the dynamic strength

Thermal Conductivity of the Quasi One-Dimensional Spin System Sr_2_V_3_O_9_

We have measured the thermal conductivity along the [101] direction, kappa_[101]_, along the [10-1] direction, kappa_[10-1]_, and along the b-axis, kappa_b_, of the quasi one-dimensional S=1/2 spin system Sr_2_V_3_O_9_ in magnetic fields up to 14 T, in order to find the thermal conductivity due to spinons and to clarify whether the spin-chains run along the [101] or [10-1] direction. It has been found that both kappa_[101]_, kappa_[10-1]_ and kappa_b_ show one peak around 10 K in zero field and that the magnitude of kappa_[10-1]_ is larger than those of kappa_[101]_ and kappa_b_. By the application of magnetic field along the heat current, the peak of kappa_[10-1]_ is markedly suppressed, while the peaks of kappa_[101]_ and kappa_b_ little change. These results indicate that there is a large contribution of spinons to kappa_[10-1]_ and suggest that the spin-chains run along the [10-1] direction.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figure