162 research outputs found
Ab initio study of the volume dependence of dynamical and thermodynamical properties of silicon
Motivated by the negative thermal expansion observed for silicon between 20 K
and 120 K, we present first an ab initio study of the volume dependence of
interatomic force constants, phonon frequencies of TA(X) and TA(L) modes, and
of the associated mode Gruneisen parameters. The influence of successive
nearest neighbors shells is analysed. Analytical formulas, taking into account
interactions up to second nearest neighbors, are developped for phonon
frequencies of TA(X) and TA(L) modes and the corresponding mode Gruneisen
parameters. We also analyze the volume and pressure dependence of various
thermodynamic properties (specific heat, bulk modulus, thermal expansion), and
point out the effect of the negative mode Gruneisen parameters of the acoustic
branches on these properties. Finally, we present the evolution of the mean
square atomic displacement and of the atomic temperature factor with the
temperature for different volumes, for which the anomalous effects are even
greater.Comment: 24 pages, Revtex 3.0, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Phys.
Rev.
Development and tests of a new prototype detector for the XAFS beamline at Elettra Synchrotron in Trieste
The XAFS beamline at Elettra Synchrotron in Trieste combines X-ray absorption
spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction to provide chemically specific structural
information of materials. It operates in the energy range 2.4-27 keV by using a
silicon double reflection Bragg monochromator. The fluorescence measurement is
performed in place of the absorption spectroscopy when the sample transparency
is too low for transmission measurements or the element to study is too diluted
in the sample. We report on the development and on the preliminary tests of a
new prototype detector based on Silicon Drift Detectors technology and the
SIRIO ultra low noise front-end ASIC. The new system will be able to reduce
drastically the time needed to perform fluorescence measurements, while keeping
a short dead time and maintaining an adequate energy resolution to perform
spectroscopy. The custom-made silicon sensor and the electronics are designed
specifically for the beamline requirements.Comment: Proceeding of the 6YRM 12th-14th Oct 2015 - L'Aquila (Italy).
Accepted for publication on Journal of Physics: Conference Serie
Numerical atomic orbitals for linear scaling
The performance of basis sets made of numerical atomic orbitals is explored
in density-functional calculations of solids and molecules. With the aim of
optimizing basis quality while maintaining strict localization of the orbitals,
as needed for linear-scaling calculations, several schemes have been tried. The
best performance is obtained for the basis sets generated according to a new
scheme presented here, a flexibilization of previous proposals. The basis sets
are tested versus converged plane-wave calculations on a significant variety of
systems, including covalent, ionic and metallic. Satisfactory convergence
(deviations significantly smaller than the accuracy of the underlying theory)
is obtained for reasonably small basis sizes, with a clear improvement over
previous schemes. The transferability of the obtained basis sets is tested in
several cases and it is found to be satisfactory as well.Comment: 9 pages with 2 encapsulated postscript figures, submitted to Phys.
Rev.
ASPETTI DELLA PRODUZIONE DEI PICCOLI RUMINANTI CON IMPATTO SULLA SALUTE UMANA
Negli ultimi anni l’attenzione del consumatore si è sempre più orientata verso
le caratteristiche nutrizionali degli alimenti. Queste proprietà sono di grande importanza anche per quanto riguarda le produzioni dei piccoli ruminanti. Il presente lavoro ha lo scopo di riassumere i principali risultati emersi dal progetto di ricerca “Aspetti della produzione dei piccoli ruminanti con particolare impatto sulla salute umana”. Sono stati analizzati
mediante i metodi descritti in letteratura: 1) i polimorfismi genetici dei biopeptidi del latte dei piccoli ruminanti; 2) le attività di alcuni enzimi della membrana del globulo di grasso e la frazione lipidica del latte ovino; 3) la qualità nutrizionale del latte e del formaggio ovino in relazione all’intensità di pascolamento; 4) le componenti bioattive di siero e scotta residui alla produzione dei formaggi ovi-caprini; 5) la resistenza genetica alle encefalopatie spongiformi trasmissibili e l’efficienza economica e biologica in razze ovine. I risultati ottenuti evidenziano, da svariati punti di vista, numerose potenzialità legate alle produzioni
dei piccoli ruminanti e alle loro ricadute sulla salute umana
A FPGA-based digital readout system for a multi-channel X and gamma-ray spectrometer
The XGS project aims to develop a multi-channel broadband X and gamma -ray spectrometer for space applications. The experiment envisages the use of solid-state Silicon Drift Detectors coupled to inorganic scintillator bars. A prototype is under development in the framework of an INAF funded project, in which the detector signal will be digitized by a fast ADC and further digitally processed. An overview of the system architecture and the test equipment currently under development based on low-cost commercial system-on-chip FPGA boards will be given
Raman spectra and structural analysis in ZrOxNy thin films
Raman spectroscopy has been used as a local probe to characterize the structural evolution of magnetron-sputtered decorative zirconium oxynitride ZrOxNy films which result from an increase of reactive gas flow in the deposition The lines shapes, the frequency position and widths of the Raman bands show a systematic change as a function of the reactive gas flow (a mixture of both oxygen and nitrogen). The as-deposited zirconium nitride film presents a Raman spectrum with the typical broadened bands, due to the disorder induced by N vacancies. The recorded Raman spectrum of the zirconium oxide film is typical of the monoclinic phase of ZrO2, which is shown also by X-ray diffraction. Raman spectra of zirconium oxynitride thin films present changes, which are found to be closely related with the oxygen content in films and the subsequent structural changes.FCT institution by the project nÂş POCTI/CTM/38086/2001 co-financed by European community fund FEDEREuropean Union through the NMP3-CT-2003 505948 project "HARDECOAT
Experimental determination of the energy dependence of the rate of the muon transfer reaction from muonic hydrogen to oxygen for collision energies up to 0.1 eV
We report the first experimental determination of the collision-energy
dependence of the muon transfer rate from the ground state of muonic hydrogen
to oxygen at near-thermal energies. A sharp increase by nearly an order of
magnitude in the energy range 0 - 70 meV was found that is not observed in
other gases. The results set a reliable reference for quantum-mechanical
calculations of low-energy processes with exotic atoms, and provide firm ground
for the measurement of the hyperfine splitting in muonic hydrogen and the
determination of the Zemach radius of the proton by the FAMU collaboration.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figure
Electronic structure and the minimum conductance of a graphene layer on SiO2 from density-functional methods.
The effect of the SiO substrate on a graphene film is investigated using
realistic but computationally convenient energy-optimized models of the
substrate supporting a layer of graphene. The electronic bands are calculated
using density-functional methods for several model substrates. This provides an
estimate of the substrate-charge effects on the behaviour of the bands near
, as well as a variation of the equilibrium distance of the graphene
sheet. A model of a wavy graphene layer is examined as a possible candidate for
understanding the nature of the minimally conducting states in graphene.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
Muonic atom X-ray spectroscopy for non-destructive analysis of archeological samples
The implementation in the RIKEN-RAL negative muons facility of a new muon beamline monitoring and novel digital data acquisition system for gamma and X-ray spectroscopy are presented. This work also shows the high potential of the muonic atoms X-ray spectroscopy technique in non-destructive elemental characterization of archaeological samples
Effect of strain on surface diffusion in semiconductor heteroepitaxy
We present a first-principles analysis of the strain renormalization of the
cation diffusivity on the GaAs(001) surface. For the example of
In/GaAs(001)-c(4x4) it is shown that the binding of In is increased when the
substrate lattice is expanded. The diffusion barrier \Delta E(e) has a
non-monotonic strain dependence with a maximum at compressive strain values (e
0) studied.
We discuss the consequences of spatial variations of both the binding energy
and the diffusion barrier of an adatom caused by the strain field around a
heteroepitaxial island. For a simplified geometry, we evaluate the speed of
growth of two coherently strained islands on the GaAs(001) surface and identify
a growth regime where island sizes tend to equalize during growth due to the
strain dependence of surface diffusion.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, LaTeX2e, to appear in Phys. Rev. B (2001). Other
related publications can be found at
http://www.rz-berlin.mpg.de/th/paper.htm
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