Studies of concentration and temperature dependencies of precipitation kinetics in iron-copper alloys using kinetic monte carlo and stochastic statistical simulations

The earlier-developed ab initio model and the kinetic Monte Carlo method (KMCM) are used to simulate precipitation in a number of iron-copper alloys with different copper concentrations x and temperatures T. The same simulations are also made using the improved version of the earlier-suggested stochastic statistical method (SSM). The results obtained enable us to make a number of general conclusions about the dependencies of the decomposition kinetics in Fe-Cu alloys on x and T. We also show that the SSM describes the precipitation kinetics in a fair agreement with the KMCM, and employing the SSM in conjunction with the KMCM enables us to extend the KMC simulations to the longer evolution times. The results of simulations seem to agree with available experimental data for Fe-Cu alloys within statistical errors of simulations and the scatter of experimental results. Comparison of results of simulations to experiments for some multicomponent Fe-Cu-based alloys enables us to make certain conclusions about the influence of alloying elements in these alloys on the precipitation kinetics at different stages of evolution.Comment: 18 pages, 17 postscript figures, LaTe

Testing neutrino magnetic moment in ionization of atoms by neutrino impact

The atomic ionization processes induced by scattering of neutrinos play key roles in the experimental searches for a neutrino magnetic moment. Current experiments with reactor (anti)neutrinos employ germanium detectors having energy threshold comparable to typical binding energies of atomic electrons, which fact must be taken into account in the interpretation of the data. Our theoretical analysis shows that the so-called stepping approximation to the neutrino-impact ionization is well applicable for the lowest bound Coulomb states, and it becomes exact in the semiclassical limit. Numerical evidence is presented using the Thomas-Fermi model for the germanium atom.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur

Transverse momentum spectra of charged particles in proton-proton collisions at s=900\sqrt{s} = 900 GeV with ALICE at the LHC

The inclusive charged particle transverse momentum distribution is measured in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 900$ GeV at the LHC using the ALICE detector. The measurement is performed in the central pseudorapidity region $(|\eta|<0.8)$ over the transverse momentum range $0.15<p_{\rm T}<10$ GeV/$c$. The correlation between transverse momentum and particle multiplicity is also studied. Results are presented for inelastic (INEL) and non-single-diffractive (NSD) events. The average transverse momentum for $|\eta|<0.8$ is $\left<p_{\rm T}\right>_{\rm INEL}=0.483\pm0.001$ (stat.) $\pm0.007$ (syst.) GeV/$c$ and \left_{\rm NSD}=0.489\pm0.001 (stat.) $\pm0.007$ (syst.) GeV/$c$, respectively. The data exhibit a slightly larger $\left<p_{\rm T}\right>$ than measurements in wider pseudorapidity intervals. The results are compared to simulations with the Monte Carlo event generators PYTHIA and PHOJET.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/390

The kinetic cluster-field method and its application to studies of L12-type orderings in alloys

The earlier-described master equation approach to configurational kinetics of nonequilibrium alloys is applied to study L12-type orderings in FCC alloys. We describe the kinetic tetrahedron cluster-field method which generalizes a similar method used for equilibrium systems to the case of non-equilibrium alloys. The method developed is used to simulate A1 → L12 and A1 → A1 + L12 transformations after a quench of an alloy from the disordered A1 phase to the single-phase L12 state or the two-phase A1 + L12 state for a number of alloy models with both short-range and long-range interactions. Simulations of the A1 → L12 transition show a sharp dependence of the microstructural evolution on the type of interaction, and particularly on the interaction range. The simulations also reveal a number of peculiar features in both the transient microstructures and the transformation kinetics, many of them agreeing well with experimental observations. Microstructural evolution under A1 → A1 + L12 transition was found to be less sensitive to the type of the finite-range (‘chemical’) interaction, while in the presence of elastic interaction this evolution shows a number of specific features which were earlier discussed phenomenologically by Khachaturyan and co-workers and are illustrated by our simulations. We also consider the problem of the occurrence of a transient congruent ordering under A1 → A1+ L12 transformation and discuss the microstructural features of this stage