845 research outputs found
Investigation of Surface Magnetic Noise by Shallow Spins in Diamond
We present measurements of spin relaxation times (T1, T1ρ, T2) on very shallow (≲5 nm) nitrogen-vacancy centers in high-purity diamond single crystals. We find a reduction of spin relaxation times up to 30 times compared to bulk values, indicating the presence of ubiquitous magnetic impurities associated with the surface. Our measurements yield a density of 0.01–0.1μB/nm2 and a characteristic correlation time of 0.28(3) ns of surface states, with little variation between samples and chemical surface terminations. A low temperature measurement further confirms that fluctuations are thermally activated. The data support the atomistic picture where impurities are associated with the top carbon layers, and not with terminating surface atoms or adsorbate molecules. The low spin density implies that the presence of A single surface impurity is sufficient to cause spin relaxation of a shallow nitrogen-vacancy center
Self-similar shear-thickening behavior in CTAB/NaSal surfactant solutions
The effect of salt concentration Cs on the critical shear rate required for
the onset of shear thickening and apparent relaxation time of the
shear-thickened phase, has been investigated systematically for dilute
CTAB/NaSal solutions. Experimental data suggest a self-similar behavior of the
critical shear rate and relaxation time as functions of Cs. Specifically, the
former ~ Cs^(-6) whereas the latter ~ Cs^(6) such that an effective Weissenberg
number for the onset of the shear thickened phase is only weakly dependent on
Cs. A procedure has been developed to collapse the apparent shear viscosity
versus shear rate data obtained for various values of Cs into a single master
curve. The effect of Cs on the elastic modulus and mesh size of the
shear-induced gel phase for different surfactant concentrations is discussed.
Experiments performed using different flow cells (Couette and cone-and-plate)
show that the critical shear rate, relaxation time and the maximum viscosity
attained are geometry-independent. The elastic modulus of the gel phase
inferred indirectly by employing simplified hydrodynamic instability analysis
of a sheared gel-fluid interface is in qualitative agreement with that
predicted for an entangled phase of living polymers. A qualitative mechanism
that combines the effect of Cs on average micelle length and Debye parameter
with shear-induced configurational changes of rod-like micelles is proposed to
rationalize the self-similarity of SIS formation.Comment: 27 pages, 17 figure
- …