KNbO3 single crystal growth by the radio frequency heating Czochralski method

A radio frequency heating Czochralski technique to obtain single crystal KNbO3 is first presented. The technological parameters of KNbO3 crystal growth by the Czochralski technique and its pulling conditions were studied in detail. The experiments on second harmonic generation using 1.06 micrometer Nd:YAG laser in KNbO3 have been conducted. The second harmonic efficiency for upconversion of KNbO3 is found to be as high as that of NaBa2Nb5O15. An automatic scanning measurement for the optical homogeneity of KNbO crystal is also described. KNbO3 is revealed to be a potentially useful nonlinear material for optical device applications

Drought events and their effects on vegetation productivity in China

Many parts of the world have experienced frequent and severe droughts during the last few decades. Most previous studies examined the effects of specific drought events on vegetation productivity. In this study, we characterized the drought events in China from 1982 to 2012 and assessed their effects on vegetation productivity inferred from satellite data. We first assessed the occurrence, spatial extent, frequency, and severity of drought using the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI). We then examined the impacts of droughts on China\u27s terrestrial ecosystems using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). During the period 1982–2012, China\u27s land area (%) experiencing drought showed an insignificant trend. However, the drought conditions had been more severe over most regions in northern parts of China since the end of the 1990s, indicating that droughts hit these regions more frequently due to the drier climate. The severe droughts substantially reduced annual and seasonal NDVI. The magnitude and direction of the detrended NDVI under drought stress varied with season and vegetation type. The inconsistency between the regional means of PDSI and detrended NDVI could be attributed to different responses of vegetation to drought and the timing, duration, severity, and lag effects of droughts. The negative effects of droughts on vegetation productivity were partly offset by the enhancement of plant growth resulting from factors such as lower cloudiness, warming climate, and human activities (e.g., afforestation, improved agricultural management practices)

Sigma_c Dbar and Lambda_c Dbar states in a chiral quark model

The S-wave Sigma_c Dbar and Lambda_c Dbar states with isospin I=1/2 and spin S=1/2 are dynamically investigated within the framework of a chiral constituent quark model by solving a resonating group method (RGM) equation. The results show that the interaction between Sigma_c and Dbar is attractive, which consequently results in a Sigma_c Dbar bound state with the binding energy of about 5-42 MeV, unlike the case of Lambda_c Dbar state, which has a repulsive interaction and thus is unbound. The channel coupling effect of Sigma_c Dbar and Lambda_c Dbar is found to be negligible due to the fact that the gap between the Sigma_c Dbar and Lambda_c Dbar thresholds is relatively large and the Sigma_c Dbar and Lambda_c Dbar transition interaction is weak.Comment: 7 pages,2 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:nucl-th/0606056 by other author

Transient response of coplanar interfacial cracks between two dissimilar piezoelectric strips under anti-plane mechanical and in-plane electrical impacts

The dynamic response of multiple coplanar interface cracks between two dissimilar piezoelectric strips subjected to mechanical and electrical impacts is investigated. Solutions to two kinds of electric boundary conditions on crack surfaces, i.e. electric impermeable and electric permeable, are obtained. Laplace and Fourier transforms and dislocation density functions are employed to reduce the mixed boundary value problem to Cauchy singular integral equations, which can be solved numerically. The effects of electrical load, geometry criterion of piezoelectric strips, relative location of cracks and material properties on the dynamic energy release rate are examined.postprin