Anomalous piezoelectric effects, found in the laboratory and reconstructed by numerical simulation

Various rocks and minerals, which are not piezoelectric in the common sense, exhibit transient electric polarization in response to sudden changes in stress load. This anomalous piezoelectric effect differs from the regular, static piezoelectric response, in which electric charges appear as a result of crystal lattice deformation. The anomalous piezoelectricity is dynamic decaying in a few seconds or a few tens of seconds. However, in some materials different polarization properties are discovered. To explain certain aspects of the polarization signal increase and decay, some complicated mechanisms of electric charge generation and relaxation need to be assumed in their number – concurrence of two or three relaxation processes. The hypothetical mechanisms are only mentioned, as the purpose of this work is to construct numerical models, behaving like the rocks investigated. Examples of experimental plots are shown together with the results of the numerical simulation of these experiments

Seismic rotation waves: basic elements of theory and recording

Returning to the old problem of observed rotation effects, we present the recording system and basic elements of the theory related to the rotation fi eld and its association with seismic waves. There can be many different causes leading to observed/recorded rotation effects; we can group them as follows: generation of micro-displacement motion due to asymmetry of source processes and/or due to interaction between seismic body/surface waves and medium structure; interaction between incident seismic waves and objects situated on the ground surface. New recording techniques and advanced theory of deformation in media with defects and internal (e.g., granular) structure make it possible to focus our attention on the fi rst group, related to microdisplacement motion recording, which includes both rotation and twist motions. Surface rotations and twists caused directly by the action of emerging seismic waves on some objects situated on the ground surface are considered here only in the historical aspects of the problem. We present some examples of experimental results related to recording of rotation and twist components at the Ojcow Observatory, Poland, and L'Aquila Observatory, Italy, and we discuss some prospects for further research

Measurement of Rotational Events in Regions Prone to Seismicity: A Review

On the basis of the explanation of rotational seismology as an area of study, a modern approach to the seismic rotation in various continuum models is summarized. The aim of this chapter is to formulate the fundamental requirements for rotational seismometer. Consequently, a review of all existing technologies of rotational seismometers including mechanical, electrochemical, magnetohydrodynamical, as well as optical type solutions is discussed. The analysis of their parameters that considers technical requirements enforced by rotational seismology has indicated an optical instrument using a Sagnac interferometer as the best solution. Fibre-Optic System for Rotational Events & phenomena Monitoring (FOSREM) with its main parameters and features is described as an example of such solution. Moreover, the example of rotational events recorded in Książ observatory, Poland, using mechanical rotational seismometers and FOSREM is presented. There are data for M = 3.8 earthquake near Jarocin, Poland on the 2012.01.06 at 15:37:56 at a distance of about 200 km from Książ. Although the used devices have totally different designs, the results obtained using FOSREM and the results calculated by mechanical devices show compatibility in rotational signals

Temperature-dependence of exciton radiative recombination in (Al,Ga)N/GaN quantum wells grown on a-plane GaN substrates

This article presents the dynamics of excitons in a-plane (Al,Ga)N/GaN single quantum wells of various thicknesses grown on bulk GaN substrates. For all quantum well samples, recombination is observed to be predominantly radiative in the low-temperature range. At higher temperatures, the escape of charge carriers from the quantum well to the (Al,Ga)N barriers is accompanied by a reduction in internal quantum efficiency. Based on the temperature-dependence of time-resolved photoluminescence experiments, we also show how the local disorder affects the exciton radiative lifetime at low temperature and the exciton non-radiative lifetime at high temperature.We acknowledge financial support from the Swiss National Science Foundation through Project No. 129715 and from the Polish National Science Center (Project DEC-2011/ 03/B/ST3/02647). The work was partially supported by the European Union within European Regional Development Fund through Innovative Economy Grant No. POIG.01.01.02-00-008/08. P.C. also acknowledges financing from the European Union Seventh Framework Program under grant agreement No. 265073

HIGH PRESSURE FREEZE-OUT OF ELECTRONS IN UNDOPED GaN CRYSTAL. PROOF OF EXISTENCE OF RESONANT DONOR STATE (NITROGEN VACANCY)

We investigated free carriers related opticał absorption in GaN in hydrostatic pressures up to 30 GPa. The disappearance of this absorption at pressures close to 18 GPa was explained by trapping electrons resulting from the shift of nitrogen vacancy related donor level into the GaN energy gap at high pressure. We estimated the energetic position of this level at atmospheric pressure to be about 0.8 eV above the conduction band minimum

Finite Fault Analysis and Near Field Dynamic Strains and Rotations due to the 11/05/2011 (Mw5.2) Lorca Earthquake, South-Eastern Spain

The 11/5/2011 Lorca, Spain earthquake (Mw5.2) and related seismicity produced extensive damage in the town of Lorca and vicinity. During these earthquakes, evidence of rotations and permanent deformations in structures were observed. To analyze these aspects and study the source properties from the near field, the displacement time histories were obtained including the static component at Lorca station. Displacement time histories were computed by an appropriate double time integration procedure of accelerograms. Using these data, the foreshock and mainshock slip distributions were calculated by means of a complete waveform kinematic inversion. To study the dynamic deformations, the 3D tensor of displacement gradients at Lorca station was first estimated by a single station method. Using the finite fault inversion results and by means of a first order finite difference approach, the dynamic deformations tensor at surface was calculated at the recording site. In order to estimate the distribution of the peak dynamic deformations, the calculation was extended to the close neighboring area of the town. The possible influence of the near-field deformations on the surface structures was analyzed.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figure