Structural and entropic insights into the nature of the random-close-packing limit

Disordered packings of equal sized spheres cannot be generated above the limiting density (fraction of volume occupied by the spheres) of ??0.64 without introducing some partial crystallization. The nature of this “random-close-packing” limit (RCP) is investigated by using both geometrical and statistical mechanics tools applied to a large set of experiments and numerical simulations of equal-sized sphere packings. The study of the Delaunay simplexes decomposition reveals that the fraction of “quasiperfect tetrahedra” grows with the density up to a saturation fraction of ?30% reached at the RCP limit. At this limit the fraction of aggregate “polytetrahedral” structures (made of quasiperfect tetrahedra which share a common triangular face) reaches it maximal extension involving all the spheres. Above the RCP limit the polytetrahedral structure gets rapidly disassembled. The entropy of the disordered packings, calculated from the study of the local volume fluctuations, decreases uniformly and vanishes at the (extrapolated) limit ?K?0.66. Before such limit, and precisely in the range of densities between 0.646 and 0.66, a phase separated mixture of disordered and crystalline phases is observed

Ab Initio Exchange Interactions and Magnetic Properties of Intermetallic Compound Gd(2)Fe(17-x)Ga(x)

Intermetallic compounds R2Fe17 are perspective for applications as permanent magnets. Technologically these systems must have Curie temperature Tc much higher than room temperature and preferably have easy axis anisotropy. At the moment highest Tc among stoichiometric R2Fe17 materials is 476 K, which is not high enough. There are two possibilities to increase Tc: substitution of Fe ions with non-magnetic elements or introduction of light elements into interstitial positions. In this work we have focused our attention on substitution scenario of Curie temperature rising observed experimentally in Gd(2)Fe(17-x)Ga(x) (x=0,3,6) compounds. In the framework of the LSDA approach electronic structure and magnetic properties of the compounds were calculated. Ab initio exchange interaction parameters within the Fe sublattice for all nearest Fe ions were obtained. Employing the theoretical values of exchange parameters Curie temperatures Tc of Gd(2)Fe(17-x)Ga(x) within mean-field theory were estimated. Obtained values of Tc agree well with experiment. Also LSDA computed values of total magnetic moment coincide with experimental ones.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables, Proceedings for EASTMAG-2010, June 28 - July 2 2010, Ekaterinburg, Russi

Chaos-Order Transition in Matrix Theory

Classical dynamics in SU(2) Matrix theory is investigated. A classical chaos-order transition is found. For the angular momentum small enough (even for small coupling constant) the system exhibits a chaotic behavior, for angular momentum large enough the system is regular.Comment: 14 pages, Latex, 10 figure

Superbroad Component in Emission Lines of SS 433

We have detected new components in stationary emission lines of SS 433; these are the superbroad components that are low-contrast substrates with a width of 2000--2500 km s-1 in He I $\lambda4922$ and H$\beta$ and 4000--5000 km s-1 in He II $\lambda4686$. Based on 44 spectra taken during four years of observations from 2003 to 2007, we have found that these components in the He II and He I lines are eclipsed by the donor star; their behavior with precessional and orbital phases is regular and similar to the behavior of the optical brightness of SS 433. The same component in H$\beta$ shows neither eclipses nor precessional variability. We conclude that the superbroad components in the helium and hydrogen lines are different in origin. Electron scattering is shown to reproduce well the superbroad component of H$\beta$ at a gas temperature of 20--35 kK and an optical depth for Thomson scattering $\tau \approx$ 0.25--0.35. The superbroad components of the helium lines are probably formed in the wind from the supercritical accretion disk. We have computed a wind model based on the concept of Shakura-Sunyaev supercritical disk accretion. The main patterns of the He II line profiles are well reproduced in this model: not only the appearance of the superbroad component but also the evolution of the central two-component part of the profile of this line during its eclipse by the donor star can be explained.Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables, published in Astronomy Letters, 2013, vol. 39, N 12, pp. 826 - 84