Reorientation of magnetic anisotropy in epitaxial cobalt ferrite thin films

Spin reorientation has been observed in CoFe2O4 thin single crystalline films epitaxially grown on (100) MgO substrate upon varying the film thickness. The critical thickness for such a spin-reorientation transition was estimated to be 300 nm. The reorientation is driven by a structural transition in the film from a tetragonal to cubic symmetry. At low thickness, the in-plane tensile stress induces a tetragonal distortion of the lattice that generates a perpendicular anisotropy, large enough to overcome the shape anisotropy and to stabilize the magnetization easy axis out of plane. However, in thicker films, the lattice relaxation toward the cubic structure of the bulk allows the shape anisotropy to force the magnetization to be in plane aligned

Large effects on \BsBs mixing by vector-like quarks

We calculate the contributions of the vector-like quark model to \BsBs mixing, taking into account the constraints from the decay $B\to X_s\gamma$. In this model the neutral bosons mediate flavor-changing interactions at the tree level. However, \BsBs mixing is dominated by contributions from the box diagrams with the top quark and the extra up-type quark. In sizable ranges of the model parameters, the mixing parameter $x_s$ is much different from the standard model prediction.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, To be published in Phys. Rev.

Non-Newtonian effects in the peristaltic flow of a Maxwell fluid

We analyzed the effect of viscoelasticity on the dynamics of fluids in porous media by studying the flow of a Maxwell fluid in a circular tube, in which the flow is induced by a wave traveling on the tube wall. The present study investigates novelties brought about into the classic peristaltic mechanism by inclusion of non-Newtonian effects that are important, for example, for hydrocarbons. This problem has numerous applications in various branches of science, including stimulation of fluid flow in porous media under the effect of elastic waves. We have found that in the extreme non-Newtonian regime there is a possibility of a fluid flow in the direction {\it opposite} to the propagation of the wave traveling on the tube wall.Comment: to Appear in Phys. Rev. E., 01 September 2001 issu

Analysis and contribution of stress anisotropy in epitaxial hard ferrite thin films

The stress anisotropy in epitaxial hard ferrites thin films (BaFe12O19, CoFe2O4) has been investigated using two methods. (a) The thickness dependence of torque curves and magnetic hysteresis loops. (b) The comparison between magnetic and magneto-optic Kerr hysteresis loops. Both analyses confirm the domination of stress in CoFe2O4 whereas in BaFe12O19 films the stress is too weak to compete with magnetocrystalline anisotropy

Role of char during reburning of nitrogen oxides. Ninth quarterly report, October 1, 1995--December 31, 1995

During this quarter, we have investigated rates and product compositions of NO reduction on chars in gases. N{sub 2} and CO{sub 2} internal surface areas of chars, selected from runs of various pyrolysis and reaction conditions have been measured to assist in interpreting the experimental results. Implications of Langmuir- Hinshelwood mechanisms and mass transfer limitations were examined. Oxidants suppress NO reduction on bituminous coal char more than on lignite char. Observations suggest that NO adsorption and desorption of stable surface oxygen complexes are potentially important rate- limiting steps and may be catalyzed by mineral matter during reburning with lignite char. Relative inert nature of lignite char to CO{sub 2} presence may have potential value in use of fuel system involving both solid and volatile fuels. Lignite char produced at 950 C and zero holding time has higher reactivity than that produced at 1100 C and 5 min holding time. Bituminous coal chars produced at these two conditions, however, have similar reactivity with NO. Internal surface areas of both type chars vary with pyrolysis conditions and gas composition in the subsequent reaction. When oxidants are introduced in the feed, internal surface areas of these two chars vary in opposite directions

Role of char during reburning of nitrogen oxides. Tenth quarterly report, January 1, 1996--March 31, 1996

The four major tasks conducted during this quarter include: (1) extensive investigation in pore structures of chars before and after reactions with NO , CO,, and 02, (2) effects of pyrolysis time on char reactivities, (3) estimations of rates of NO reduction and mass transfer limitations, and, (4) char reactivities at low feed NO concentrations. Pore structure analyses include BET-N{sub 2}, BET-CO{sub 2}, and DR-CO{sub 2} surface areas, pore size distribution, micropore volume, total pore volume, and average pore radius. These studies suggest that neither BET-N{sub 2} nor DR-CO{sub 2} surface area is a normalization factor of chars of different origin. Parameter study reveals that the effectiveness of heterogeneous reburning strongly depends on variables in three areas: (1) the origin of char, (2) char devolatilization temperature and time, and, (3) the competitions of NO with C0{sub 2} and 02 for the active sites on the char surface. The studies on pore structure and on parameter screening signify the importance of transient kinetics (TK) and temperature programmed desorption (TPD) in the future research. These two techniques all lead to the direct measurements of both stable and reactive surface oxygen complexes, reactive surface area, and the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model which has both importance to both fundamental understanding of reaction mechanisms and to industrial practice. Estimation of rate of NO reduction has been established to include the conversions in the nonisothermal and isothermal regions of the flow reactor, and internal mass transfer limitations. Solving a set of equations simultaneously with MathCad gives frequency factor, activation energy, Thiele modulus, and effectiveness factor

Electric field and exciton structure in CdSe nanocrystals

Quantum Stark effect in semiconductor nanocrystals is theoretically investigated, using the effective mass formalism within a $4\times 4$ Baldereschi-Lipari Hamiltonian model for the hole states. General expressions are reported for the hole eigenfunctions at zero electric field. Electron and hole single particle energies as functions of the electric field ($\mathbf{E}_{QD}$) are reported. Stark shift and binding energy of the excitonic levels are obtained by full diagonalization of the correlated electron-hole Hamiltonian in presence of the external field. Particularly, the structure of the lower excitonic states and their symmetry properties in CdSe nanocrystals are studied. It is found that the dependence of the exciton binding energy upon the applied field is strongly reduced for small quantum dot radius. Optical selection rules for absorption and luminescence are obtained. The electric-field induced quenching of the optical spectra as a function of $\mathbf{E}_{QD}$ is studied in terms of the exciton dipole matrix element. It is predicted that photoluminescence spectra present anomalous field dependence of the emission lines. These results agree in magnitude with experimental observation and with the main features of photoluminescence experiments in nanostructures.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, 1 tabl

Optical properties of structurally-relaxed Si/SiO2_2 superlattices: the role of bonding at interfaces

We have constructed microscopic, structurally-relaxed atomistic models of Si/SiO$_2$ superlattices. The structural distortion and oxidation-state characteristics of the interface Si atoms are examined in detail. The role played by the interface Si suboxides in raising the band gap and producing dispersionless energy bands is established. The suboxide atoms are shown to generate an abrupt interface layer about 1.60 \AA thick. Bandstructure and optical-absorption calculations at the Fermi Golden rule level are used to demonstrate that increasing confinement leads to (a) direct bandgaps (b) a blue shift in the spectrum, and (c) an enhancement of the absorption intensity in the threshold-energy region. Some aspects of this behaviour appear not only in the symmetry direction associated with the superlattice axis, but also in the orthogonal plane directions. We conclude that, in contrast to Si/Ge, Si/SiO$_2$ superlattices show clear optical enhancement and a shift of the optical spectrum into the region useful for many opto-electronic applications.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures (submitted to Phys. Rev. B

Grain Surface Models and Data for Astrochemistry

AbstractThe cross-disciplinary field of astrochemistry exists to understand the formation, destruction, and survival of molecules in astrophysical environments. Molecules in space are synthesized via a large variety of gas-phase reactions, and reactions on dust-grain surfaces, where the surface acts as a catalyst. A broad consensus has been reached in the astrochemistry community on how to suitably treat gas-phase processes in models, and also on how to present the necessary reaction data in databases; however, no such consensus has yet been reached for grain-surface processes. A team of ∼25 experts covering observational, laboratory and theoretical (astro)chemistry met in summer of 2014 at the Lorentz Center in Leiden with the aim to provide solutions for this problem and to review the current state-of-the-art of grain surface models, both in terms of technical implementation into models as well as the most up-to-date information available from experiments and chemical computations. This review builds on the results of this workshop and gives an outlook for future directions