4,500 research outputs found
Cellular solid behaviour of liquid crystal colloids. 1. Phase separation and morphology
We study the phase ordering colloids suspended in a thermotropic nematic
liquid crystal below the clearing point Tni and the resulting aggregated
structure. Small (150nm) PMMA particles are dispersed in a classical liquid
crystal matrix, 5CB or MBBA. With the help of confocal microscopy we show that
small colloid particles densely aggregate on thin interfaces surrounding large
volumes of clean nematic liquid, thus forming an open cellular structure, with
the characteristic size of 10-100 micron inversely proportional to the colloid
concentration. A simple theoretical model, based on the Landau mean-field
treatment, is developed to describe the continuous phase separation and the
mechanism of cellular structure formation.Comment: Latex 2e (EPJ style) EPS figures included (poor quality to comply
with space limitations
Transmission characteristics of a Fabry-Perot etalon-microtoroid resonator coupled system
The transmission spectra of a Fabry-Perot etalon coupled to a microtoroid resonator are studied theoretically and experimentally. The resonance line shapes depend strongly on the resonance wavelength detuning and coupling strength between the two resonators. A wide variety of line shapes, ranging from a single to triple peaks, symmetric to asymmetric Fano-like peaks, and notches were predicted and observed experimentally. The capability to modify the spectral line shapes by tuning the coupling between or losses of two resonators may find applications in optical filtering, switching, sensing, and dispersion engineering
Glasses in hard spheres with short-range attraction
We report a detailed experimental study of the structure and dynamics of
glassy states in hard spheres with short-range attraction. The system is a
suspension of nearly-hard-sphere colloidal particles and non-adsorbing linear
polymer which induces a depletion attraction between the particles. Observation
of crystallization reveals a re-entrant glass transition. Static light
scattering shows a continuous change in the static structure factors upon
increasing attraction. Dynamic light scattering results, which cover 11 orders
of magnitude in time, are consistent with the existence of two distinct kinds
of glasses, those dominated by inter-particle repulsion and caging, and those
dominated by attraction. Samples close to the `A3 point' predicted by mode
coupling theory for such systems show very slow, logarithmic dynamics.Comment: 22 pages, 18 figure
Superconductivity, magnetic susceptibility, and electronic properties of amorphous (Mo1-xRux)80P20 alloys obtained by liquid quenching
Results of x-ray diffraction, transmission-electron diffraction, and crystallization studies on amorphous (Mo1-xRux)80P20 alloys obtained by liquid quenching are presented and discussed. The alloys are all found to be superconducting with transition temperatures ranging from ∼ 3 to ∼ 9°K. The variation of Tc with alloy composition is compared to that obtained by Collver and Hammond for vapor-quenched transition-metal films. Results of magnetic-susceptibility measurements are used to estimate the variation of the electronic density of states at the Fermi level N(0) from the Pauli paramagnetic contribution. The relationship between the variation of Tc and N(0) is discussed in terms of the microscope theory of superconductivity. Finally, results of measurements of the upper critical field Hc2, and the normal-state electronic transport properties are presented and compared with recent theoretical models for amorphous superconductors
-Decay Spectrum, Response Function and Statistical Model for Neutrino Mass Measurements with the KATRIN Experiment
The objective of the Karlsruhe Tritium Neutrino (KATRIN) experiment is to
determine the effective electron neutrino mass with an
unprecedented sensitivity of (90\% C.L.) by precision electron
spectroscopy close to the endpoint of the decay of tritium. We present
a consistent theoretical description of the electron energy spectrum in
the endpoint region, an accurate model of the apparatus response function, and
the statistical approaches suited to interpret and analyze tritium
decay data observed with KATRIN with the envisaged precision. In addition to
providing detailed analytical expressions for all formulae used in the
presented model framework with the necessary detail of derivation, we discuss
and quantify the impact of theoretical and experimental corrections on the
measured . Finally, we outline the statistical methods for
parameter inference and the construction of confidence intervals that are
appropriate for a neutrino mass measurement with KATRIN. In this context, we
briefly discuss the choice of the energy analysis interval and the
distribution of measuring time within that range.Comment: 27 pages, 22 figures, 2 table
Differential Dynamic Microscopy to characterize Brownian motion and bacteria motility
We have developed a lab work module where we teach undergraduate students how
to quantify the dynamics of a suspension of microscopic particles, measuring
and analyzing the motion of those particles at the individual level or as a
group. Differential Dynamic Microscopy (DDM) is a relatively recent technique
that precisely does that and constitutes an alternative method to more
classical techniques such as dynamics light scattering (DLS) or video particle
tracking (VPT). DDM consists in imaging a particle dispersion with a standard
light microscope and a camera. The image analysis requires the students to code
and relies on digital Fourier transform to obtain the intermediate scattering
function, an autocorrelation function that characterizes the dynamics of the
dispersion. We first illustrate DDM on the textbook case of colloids where we
measure the diffusion coefficient. Then we show that DDM is a pertinent tool to
characterize biologic systems such as motile bacteria i.e.bacteria that can
self propel, where we not only determine the diffusion coefficient but also the
velocity and the fraction of motile bacteria. Finally, so that our paper can be
used as a tutorial to the DDM technique, we have joined to this article movies
of the colloidal and bacterial suspensions and the DDM algorithm in both Matlab
and Python to analyze the movies
Diffusive Evolution of Stable and Metastable Phases II: Theory of Non-Equilibrium Behaviour in Colloid-Polymer Mixtures
By analytically solving some simple models of phase-ordering kinetics, we
suggest a mechanism for the onset of non-equilibrium behaviour in
colloid-polymer mixtures. These mixtures can function as models of atomic
systems; their physics therefore impinges on many areas of thermodynamics and
phase-ordering. An exact solution is found for the motion of a single, planar
interface separating a growing phase of uniform high density from a
supersaturated low density phase, whose diffusive depletion drives the
interfacial motion. In addition, an approximate solution is found for the
one-dimensional evolution of two interfaces, separated by a slab of a
metastable phase at intermediate density. The theory predicts a critical
supersaturation of the low-density phase, above which the two interfaces become
unbound and the metastable phase grows ad infinitum. The growth of the stable
phase is suppressed in this regime.Comment: 27 pages, Latex, eps
Gel transitions in colloidal suspensions
The idealized mode coupling theory (MCT) is applied to colloidal systems
interacting via short-range attractive interactions of Yukawa form. At low
temperatures MCT predicts a slowing down of the local dynamics and ergodicity
breaking transitions. The nonergodicity transitions share many features with
the colloidal gel transition, and are proposed to be the source of gelation in
colloidal systems. Previous calculations of the phase diagram are complemented
with additional data for shorter ranges of the attractive interaction, showing
that the path of the nonergodicity transition line is then unimpeded by the
gas-liquid critical curve at low temperatures. Particular attention is given to
the critical nonergodicity parameters, motivated by recent experimental
measurements. An asymptotic model is developed, valid for dilute systems of
spheres interacting via strong short-range attractions, and is shown to capture
all aspects of the low temperature MCT nonergodicity transitions.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX, 5 eps figures, uses ioplppt.sty, to appear in J.
Phys.: Condens. Matte
Spinodal-assisted crystallization in polymer melts
Recent experiments in some polymer melts quenched below the melting temperature have reported spinodal kinetics in small-angle x-ray scattering before the emergence of a crystalline structure. To explain these observations we propose that the coupling between density and chain conformation induces a liquid-liquid binodal within the equilibrium liquid-crystalline solid coexistence region. A simple phenomenological theory is developed to illustrate this idea, and several experimentally testable consequences are discussed. Shear is shown to enhance the kinetic role of the hidden binodal
Kinetic pathways of multi-phase surfactant systems
The relaxation following a temperature quench of two-phase (lamellar and
sponge phase) and three-phase (lamellar, sponge and micellar phase) samples,
has been studied in an SDS/octanol/brine system. In the three-phase case we
have observed samples that are initially mainly sponge phase with lamellar and
micellar phase on the top and bottom respectively. Upon decreasing temperature
most of the volume of the sponge phase is replaced by lamellar phase. During
the equilibriation we have observed three regimes of behaviour within the
sponge phase: (i) disruption in the sponge texture, then (ii) after the sponge
phase homogenises there is a lamellar nucleation regime and finally (iii) a
bizarre plume connects the lamellar phase with the micellar phase. The
relaxation of the two-phase sample proceeds instead in two stages. First
lamellar drops nucleate in the sponge phase forming a onion `gel' structure.
Over time the lamellar structure compacts while equilibriating into a two phase
lamellar/sponge phase sample. We offer possible explanatioins for some of these
observations in the context of a general theory for phase kinetics in systems
with one fast and one slow variable.Comment: 1 textfile, 20 figures (jpg), to appear in PR
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