6,213 research outputs found
Polyhedral units and network connectivity in calcium aluminosilicate glasses from high-energy x-ray diffraction
Structure factors for Cax/2AlxSi1-xO2 glasses (x=0,0.25,0.5,0.67) extended to
a wave vector of magnitude Q= 40 1/A have been obtained by high-energy x-ray
diffraction. For the first time, it is possible to resolve the contributions of
Si-O, Al-O and Ca-O coordination polyhedra to the experimental atomic pair
distribution functions (PDF). It has been found that both Si and Al are
four-fold coordinated and so participate in a continuous tetrahedral network at
low values of x. The number of network breaking defects in the form of
non-bridging oxygens (NBO's) increases slowly with x until x=0.5 (NBO's ~ 10%
at x=0.5). By x=0.67 the network breaking defects become significant as
evidenced by the significant drop in the average coordination number of Si. By
contrast, Al-O tetrahedra remain free of NBO's and fully integrated in the
Al/Si-O network for all values of x. Calcium maintains a rather uniform
coordination sphere of approximately 5 oxygen atoms for all values of x. The
results suggest that not only Si/Al-O tetrahedra but Ca-O polyhedra, too, play
a role in determining the glassy structure
Configuration Mixing within the Energy Density Functional Formalism: Removing Spurious Contributions from Non-Diagonal Energy Kernels
Multi-reference calculations along the lines of the Generator Coordinate
Method or the restoration of broken symmetries within the nuclear Energy
Density Functional (EDF) framework are becoming a standard tool in nuclear
structure physics. These calculations rely on the extension of a
single-reference energy functional, of the Gogny or the Skyrme types, to
non-diagonal energy kernels. There is no rigorous constructive framework for
this extension so far. The commonly accepted way proceeds by formal analogy
with the expressions obtained when applying the generalized Wick theorem to the
non-diagonal matrix element of a Hamilton operator between two product states.
It is pointed out that this procedure is ill-defined when extended to EDF
calculations as the generalized Wick theorem is taken outside of its range of
applicability. In particular, such a procedure is responsible for the
appearance of spurious divergences and steps in multi-reference EDF energies,
as was recently observed in calculations restoring particle number or angular
momentum. In the present work, we give a formal analysis of the origin of this
problem for calculations with and without pairing, i.e. constructing the
density matrices from either Slater determinants or quasi-particle vacua. We
propose a correction to energy kernels that removes the divergences and steps,
and which is applicable to calculations based on any symmetry restoration or
generator coordinate. The method is formally illustrated for particle number
restoration and is specified to configuration mixing calculations based on
Slater determinants.Comment: 27 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in PR
High real-space resolution measurement of the local structure of Ga_1-xIn_xAs using x-ray diffraction
High real-space resolution atomic pair distribution functions (PDF)s from the
alloy series Ga_1-xIn_xAs have been obtained using high-energy x-ray
diffraction. The first peak in the PDF is resolved as a doublet due to the
presence of two nearest neighbor bond lengths, Ga-As and In-As, as previously
observed using XAFS. The widths of nearest, and higher, neighbor pairs are
analyzed by separating the strain broadening from the thermal motion. The
strain broadening is five times larger for distant atomic neighbors as compared
to nearest neighbors. The results are in agreement with model calculations.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Evidence for charge localization in the ferromagnetic phase of La_(1-x)Ca_(x)MnO_3 from High real-space-resolution x-ray diffraction
High real-space-resolution atomic pair distribution functions of
La_(1-x)Ca_(x)MnO_3 (x=0.12, 0.25 and 0.33) have been measured using
high-energy x-ray powder diffraction to study the size and shape of the MnO_6
octahedron as a function of temperature and doping. In the paramagnetic
insulating phase we find evidence for three distinct bond-lengths (~ 1.88, 1.95
and 2.15A) which we ascribe to Mn^{4+}-O, Mn^{3+}-O short and Mn^{3+}-O long
bonds respectively. In the ferromagnetic metallic (FM) phase, for x=0.33 and
T=20K, we find a single Mn-O bond-length; however, as the metal-insulator
transition is approached either by increasing T or decreasing x, intensity
progressively appears around r=2.15 and in the region 1.8 - 1.9A suggesting the
appearance of Mn^{3+}-O long bonds and short Mn^{4+}-O bonds. This is strong
evidence that charge localized and delocalized phases coexist close to the
metal-insulator transition in the FM phase.Comment: 8 pages, 8 postscript figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Co-existing structures in 105Ru
New positive-parity states, having a band-like structure, were observed in
105Ru. The nucleus was produced in induced fission reaction and the prompt
gamma-rays, emitted from the fragments, were detected by the EUROBALL III
multi-detector array. The partial scheme of excited 105Ru levels is analyzed
within the Triaxial-Rotor-plus-Particle approach
Quadrupole deformations of neutron-drip-line nuclei studied within the Skyrme Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov approach
We introduce a local-scaling point transformation to allow for modifying the
asymptotic properties of the deformed three-dimensional Cartesian harmonic
oscillator wave functions. The resulting single-particle bases are very well
suited for solving the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov equations for deformed drip-line
nuclei. We then present results of self-consistent calculations performed for
the Mg isotopes and for light nuclei located near the two-neutron drip line.
The results suggest that for all even-even elements with =10--18 the most
weakly-bound nucleus has an oblate ground-state shape.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figure
New Discrete Basis for Nuclear Structure Studies
A complete discrete set of spherical single-particle wave functions for
studies of weakly-bound many-body systems is proposed. The new basis is
obtained by means of a local-scale point transformation of the spherical
harmonic oscillator wave functions. Unlike the harmonic oscillator states, the
new wave functions decay exponentially at large distances. Using the new basis,
characteristics of weakly-bound orbitals are analyzed and the ground state
properties of some spherical doubly-magic nuclei are studied. The basis of the
transformed harmonic oscillator is a significant improvement over the harmonic
oscillator basis, especially in studies of exotic nuclei where the coupling to
the particle continuum is important.Comment: 13 pages, RevTex, 6 p.s. figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
- …