171 research outputs found
Phason mode in inclusion compounds
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104029.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access
Nonlinear dynamics of dimers on periodic substrates
We study the dynamics of a dimer moving on a periodic one-dimensional
substrate as a function of the initial kinetic energy at zero temperature. The
aim is to describe, in a simplified picture, the microscopic dynamics of
diatomic molecules on periodic surfaces, which is of importance for thin film
formation and crystal growth. We find a complex behaviour, characterized by a
variety of dynamical regimes, namely oscillatory, ``quasi-diffusive'' (chaotic)
and drift motion. Parametrically resonant excitations of internal vibrations
can be induced both by oscillatory and drift motion of the centre of mass. For
weakly bound dimers a chaotic regime is found for a whole range of velocities
between two non-chaotic phases at low and high kinetic energy. The chaotic
features have been monitored by studying the Lyapunov exponents and the power
spectra. Moreover, for a short-range interaction, the dimer can dissociate due
to the parametric excitation of the internal motion.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figures, to be published in Eur. Phys. J.
Aubry transition studied by direct evaluation of the modulation functions of infinite incommensurate systems
Incommensurate structures can be described by the Frenkel Kontorova model.
Aubry has shown that, at a critical value K_c of the coupling of the harmonic
chain to an incommensurate periodic potential, the system displays the
analyticity breaking transition between a sliding and pinned state. The ground
state equations coincide with the standard map in non-linear dynamics, with
smooth or chaotic orbits below and above K_c respectively. For the standard
map, Greene and MacKay have calculated the value K_c=.971635. Conversely,
evaluations based on the analyticity breaking of the modulation function have
been performed for high commensurate approximants. Here we show how the
modulation function of the infinite system can be calculated without using
approximants but by Taylor expansions of increasing order. This approach leads
to a value K_c'=.97978, implying the existence of a golden invariant circle up
to K_c' > K_c.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, file 'epl.cls' necessary for compilation
provided; Revised version, accepted for publication in Europhysics Letter
Nonlinear effects in the propagation of optically generated magnetostatic volume mode spin waves
Recent experimental work has demonstrated optical control of spin wave
emission by tuning the shape of the optical pulse (Satoh et al.\ Nature
Photonics, 6, 662 (2012)). We reproduce these results and extend the scope of
the control by investigating nonlinear effects for large amplitude excitations.
We observe an accumulation of spin wave power at the center of the initial
excitation combined with short-wavelength spin waves. These kind of nonlinear
effects have not been observed in earlier work on nonlinearities of spin waves.
Our observations pave the way for the manipulation of magnetic structures at a
smaller scale than the beam focus, for instance in devices with all-optical
control of magnetism.Comment: Added new figures to further illustrate the nonlinear effects to show
time evolution and spectral flow. Added references. Changed perspective on
nonlinear effects w.r.t. applicability of NSE. Added acknowledgemen
Breakdown of a conservation law in incommensurate systems
We show that invariance properties of the Lagrangian of an incommensurate
system, as described by the Frenkel Kontorova model, imply the existence of a
generalized angular momentum which is an integral of motion if the system
remains floating. The behavior of this quantity can therefore monitor the
character of the system as floating (when it is conserved) or locked (when it
is not). We find that, during the dynamics, the non-linear couplings of our
model cause parametric phonon excitations which lead to the appearance of
Umklapp terms and to a sudden deviation of the generalized momentum from a
constant value, signalling a dynamical transition from a floating to a pinned
state. We point out that this transition is related but does not coincide with
the onset of sliding friction which can take place when the system is still
floating.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, typed with RevTex, submitted to Phys. Rev. E
Replaced 27-03-2001: changes to text, minor revision of figure
Optical properties of polystyrene-ZnO nanocomposite scattering layer to improve light extraction in organic light-emitting diode
In this work, experimental measurements on polystyrene-ZnO nanocomposite scattering films and on organic light-emitting device with and without the scattering layers are presented. The results are also compared with Henyey-Greenstein radiative-transfer model to narrow down the parameters that can be important in the identification of more suitable scattering layers. As a result, an increase of efficiency of about 30% has been obtained that it can be translated in 60% of outcoupled light in respect to the total generated amount
Theory of adsorbate induced surface reconstruction on W(100)
We report results of a theoretical study on an adsorbate induced surface
reconstruction. Hydrogen adsorption on a W(100) surface causes a switching
transition in the symmetry of the displacements of the W atoms within the
ordered c(2x2) phase. This transition is modeled by an effective Hamiltonian,
where the hydrogen degrees of freedom are integrated out. Based on extensive
Monte Carlo renormalisation group calculations we show that the switching
transition is of second order at high temperatures and of first order at low
temperatures. This behavior is qualitatively explained in terms of an XY model
where there is an interplay between four and eight fold anisotropy fields. We
also compare the calculated phase diagrams with a simple mean field theory.Comment: CSC Preprint, 31 pages (plain TeX file, no figures
Structure and stability of finite gold nanowires
Finite gold nanowires containing less than 1000 atoms are studied using the
molecular dynamics simulation method and embedded atom potential. Nanowires
with the face-centered cubic structure and the (111) oriented cross-section are
prepared at T=0 K. After annealing and quenching the structure and vibrational
properties of nanowires are studied at room temperature. Several of these
nanowires form multi-walled structures of lasting stability. They consist of
concentrical cylindrical sheets and resemble multi-walled carbon nanotubes.
Vibrations are investigated by diagonalization of the dynamical matrix. It was
found that several percents of vibrational modes are unstable because of
uncompleted restructuring of initial fcc nanowires.Comment: 4 figures in gif forma
Antimony-doped graphene nanoplatelets
Heteroatom doping into the graphitic frameworks have been intensively studied for the development of metal-free electrocatalysts. However, the choice of heteroatoms is limited to non-metallic elements and heteroatom-doped graphitic materials do not satisfy commercial demands in terms of cost and stability. Here we realize doping semimetal antimony (Sb) at the edges of graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) via a simple mechanochemical reaction between pristine graphite and solid Sb. The covalent bonding of the metalloid Sb with the graphitic carbon is visualized using atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The Sb-doped GnPs display zero loss of electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction even after 100,000 cycles. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the multiple oxidation states (Sb3+ and Sb5+) of Sb are responsible for the unusual electrochemical stability. Sb-doped GnPs may provide new insights and practical methods for designing stable carbon-based electrocatalystsclose0
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