Neutron scattering from amorphous, disordered and nanocrystalline materials

The author has described the power of neutron diffraction and inelastic scattering techniques for determining the structure and dynamics of disordered systems, using the archetypal glass SiO{sub 2} as a detailed example. Of course the field of amorphous and disordered systems contains a much greater variety of types of materials exhibiting a wide range of possible types of disorder. The author gives a brief review of the varieties of order and disorder exhibited by condensed matter

Neutron and X-ray scattering experiments on lithium polymer electrolytes

The authors are carrying out structural, dynamical and transport measurements of lithium polymer electrolytes, in order to provide information needed to improve the performance of secondary lithium battery systems. Microscopically, they behave as liquids under conditions of practical interest. Development of batteries based on these materials has focused on rechargeable systems with intercalation/insertion cathodes and lithium or lithium-containing materials as anodes. The electrolytes are generally composites of a polyethylene oxide (PEO) or another modified polyether and a salt such as LiClO{sub 4}, LiAsF{sub 6} or LiCF{sub 3}SO{sub 3}. Research on electrolyte materials for lithium batteries has focused on synthesis, characterization, and development of practical devices. Some characterization work has been carried out to determine the properties of the ion polymer and ion interactions, principally through spectroscopic, thermodynamic and transport measurements. It is generally believed that ionic conduction is a property of the amorphous phase of these materials. It is also believed that ion association, ion polymer interactions and local relaxations of the polymer strongly influence the ionic mobility. However, much about the nature of the charge carriers, the ion association processes, and the ion polymer interactions and the role that these play in the ionic conductivity of the electrolytes remains unknown. The authors have initiated a combined experimental and theoretical study of the structure and dynamics of lithium polymer electrolytes. They plan to investigate the effects of the polymer host on ion solvation and the attendant effects of ion pairing, which affect the ionic transport in these systems

Oxygen impurities in NiAl: Relaxation effects

We have used a full-potential linear muffin-tin orbital method to calculate the effects of oxygen impurities on the electronic structure of NiAl. Using the supercell method with a 16-atom supercell we have investigated the cases where an oxygen atom is substitutionally placed at either a nickel or an aluminum site. Full relaxation of the atoms within the supercell was allowed. We found that oxygen prefers to occupy a nickel site over an aluminum site with a site selection energy of 138 mRy (21,370 K). An oxygen atom placed at an aluminum site is found to cause a substantial relaxation of its nickel neighbors away from it. In contrast, this steric repulsion is hardly present when the oxygen atom occupies the nickel site and is surrounded by aluminum neighbors. We comment on the possible relation of this effect to the pesting degradation phenomenon (essentially spontaneous disintegration in air) in nickel aluminides.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. B (Aug. 15, 2001

Physics in the fast lane: rotors, fast ions and mobile fermions

Dynamic disorder in the high-temperature solid phases of the Zintl compounds CsPb and NaSn is characterized by. fast orientational motions of the polyanions and coupled motions of the cations Melting is characterized by slow translational motions of the centers of mass of the polyanions. The dynamic behavior of the ions is associated with dramatic increases in electrical conductivity characteristic of the behavior expected of a mixed conductor

Cow-Calf and Vegetation Response to Heavy Rates of Stocking at the Texas Experimental Ranch.

12 p

Response of Vegetation to Livestock Grazing at the Texas Experimental Ranch.

40 p

Tracking the effects of rigidity percolation down to the liquid state: relaxational dynamics of binary chalcogen melts

4 pags. ; 4 figs.The stochastic dynamics of binary liquids with formula AxB1-x, x=0–0.4 is investigated by neutron spin-echo spectroscopy. These compositions comprise samples of varying chemical connectivity, ranging from twofold-coordinated liquid Se to higher average coordinated As2S3. The parameters giving the temperature dependence of the relaxation patterns show a quasilinear dependence on the average coordination number. The results thus extend the validity of the rigidity concept into the normal liquid state and emphasize the role played by the fine details of atomic bonding on the dynamics at 10 ps–1 ns scales.Work supported in part by Grant No. MAT2007-65711-C-4-01, MEC, Spain.Peer reviewe

Limits on Production of Magnetic Monopoles Utilizing Samples from the DO and CDF Detectors at the Tevatron

We present 90% confidence level limits on magnetic monopole production at the Fermilab Tevatron from three sets of samples obtained from the D0 and CDF detectors each exposed to a proton-antiproton luminosity of $\sim175 {pb}^{-1}$ (experiment E-882). Limits are obtained for the production cross-sections and masses for low-mass accelerator-produced pointlike Dirac monopoles trapped and bound in material surrounding the D0 and CDF collision regions. In the absence of a complete quantum field theory of magnetic charge, we estimate these limits on the basis of a Drell-Yan model. These results (for magnetic charge values of 1, 2, 3, and 6 times the minimum Dirac charge) extend and improve previously published bounds.Comment: 18 pages, 17 figures, REVTeX

A closer look at the uncertainty relation of position and momentum

We consider particles prepared by the von Neumann-L\"uders projection. For those particles the standard deviation of the momentum is discussed. We show that infinite standard deviations are not exceptions but rather typical. A necessary and sufficient condition for finite standard deviations is given. Finally, a new uncertainty relation is derived and it is shown that the latter cannot be improved.Comment: 3 pages, introduction shortened, content unchange

Current-induced cooling phenomenon in a two-dimensional electron gas under a magnetic field

We investigate the spatial distribution of temperature induced by a dc current in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) subjected to a perpendicular magnetic field. We numerically calculate the distributions of the electrostatic potential phi and the temperature T in a 2DEG enclosed in a square area surrounded by insulated-adiabatic (top and bottom) and isopotential-isothermal (left and right) boundaries (with phi_{left} < phi_{right} and T_{left} =T_{right}), using a pair of nonlinear Poisson equations (for phi and T) that fully take into account thermoelectric and thermomagnetic phenomena, including the Hall, Nernst, Ettingshausen, and Righi-Leduc effects. We find that, in the vicinity of the left-bottom corner, the temperature becomes lower than the fixed boundary temperature, contrary to the naive expectation that the temperature is raised by the prevalent Joule heating effect. The cooling is attributed to the Ettingshausen effect at the bottom adiabatic boundary, which pumps up the heat away from the bottom boundary. In order to keep the adiabatic condition, downward temperature gradient, hence the cooled area, is developed near the boundary, with the resulting thermal diffusion compensating the upward heat current due to the Ettingshausen effect.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figure