Effects of Fe2O3 addition on the nitridation of silicon powder

The reaction of silicon powder and nitrogen was studied in the range of 1300-1400 C. When an addition of Fe2O3 was more than 0.8wt%, the reaction was linear and compared to samples with no Fe2O3, the reaction velocity increased 5 to 10 times. The reactions were mediated by the process of peeling and cracking in a thin layer of Si2N4 formed on the silicon particles or on the surface of the Fe-Si melts. As the addition of Fe2O3 increased, the reaction activation energy for highly pure samples decreased. Fe2O3 which exceeded the Si3N4 solubility limits was finally converted to d-Fe

Quasi-classical path integral approach to supersymmetric quantum mechanics

{}From Feynman's path integral, we derive quasi-classical quantization rules in supersymmetric quantum mechanics (SUSY-QM). First, we derive a SUSY counterpart of Gutzwiller's formula, from which we obtain the quantization rule of Comtet, Bandrauk and Campbell when SUSY is good. When SUSY is broken, we arrive at a new quantization formula, which is found as good as and even sometime better than the WKB formula in evaluating energy spectra for certain one-dimensional bound state problems. The wave functions in the stationary phase approximation are also derived for SUSY and broken SUSY cases. Insofar as a broken SUSY case is concerned, there are strong indications that the new quasi-classical approximation formula always overestimates the energy eigenvalues while WKB always underestimates.Comment: 13 pages + 5 figures, complete paper submitted as postscript file, to appear in Phys. Rev.

An Effective Reduction of Critical Current for Current-Induced Magnetization Switching by a Ru Layer Insertion in an Exchange-Biased Spin-Valve

Recently it has been predicted that a spin-polarized electrical current perpendicular-to-plane (CPP) directly flowing through a magnetic element can induce magnetization switching through spin-momentum transfer. In this letter, the first observation of current-induced magnetization switching (CIMS) in exchange-biased spin-valves (ESPVs) at room temperature is reported. The ESPVs show the CIMS behavior under a sweeping dc current with a very high critical current density. It is demonstrated that a thin Ruthenium (Ru) layer inserted between a free layer and a top electrode effectively reduces the critical current densities for the CIMS. An "inverse" CIMS behavior is also observed when the thickness of the free layer increases.Comment: 15 pages with figure

Possible observation of energy level quantization in an intrinsic Josephson junction

Energy level quantization (ELQ) is studied to clarify the macroscopic quantum dynamics of the d-wave Josephson junction (JJ). The influences of the nodal quasiparticles of d-wave superconductivity on the damping effect are numerically evaluated on the basis of a phenomenological model. The calculation, based on realistic parameters for a Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d (Bi2212) intrinsic JJ, shows that the observation of ELQ is possible when the sweep rate of the bias current exceeds 10 A/sec. High-sweep- rate measurements (121A/sec) performed on a Bi2212 intrinsic JJ result in the appearance of multiple peaks in the switching current distribution suggesting the realization of ELQ in the d-wave JJ.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Large Dispersive Shift of Cavity Resonance Induced by a Superconducting Flux Qubit in the Straddling Regime

We demonstrate enhancement of the dispersive frequency shift in a coplanar waveguide resonator induced by a capacitively-coupled superconducting flux qubit in the straddling regime. The magnitude of the observed shift, 80 MHz for the qubit-resonator detuning of 5 GHz, is quantitatively explained by the generalized Jaynes-Cummings model which takes into account the contribution of the qubit higher energy levels. By applying the enhanced dispersive shift to the qubit readout, we achieved 90% contrast of the Rabi oscillations which is mainly limited by the energy relaxation of the qubit.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

Transport of FNPP1-derived radiocaesium from subtropical mode water in the western North Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan

This study investigated the spatio-temporal variations in activity concentrations in the Sea of Japan (SOJ) of 137Cs and these transport process from the North Pacific Ocean to the SOJ through the East China Sea (ECS) during 2012–2016. The 137Cs activity concentrations in the SOJ have been increasing since 2012–2013 and reached a maximum in 2015–2016 of approximately 3.4&thinsp;Bq&thinsp;m−3, more than twice the pre-Fukushima accident 137Cs activity concentration of  ∼ 1.5&thinsp;Bq&thinsp;m−3. The 134Cs&thinsp;∕&thinsp;137Cs activity ratios ranged from 0.36 to 0.51 in 2016. After taking into account radioactive decay and ocean mixing, we concluded that these 134Cs&thinsp;∕&thinsp;137Cs activity ratios were evidence that the Fukushima accident caused the increase in the 137Cs activity concentrations. In the North Pacific south of Japan (NPSJ), the highest 137Cs activities in 2012–2013 were observed in water from a depth of 300&thinsp;m, the potential water density anomaly (σθ) of which corresponded to subtropical mode water (STMW). In the ECS, a clear increase in the 137Cs activity concentration started at a depth of 140&thinsp;m (σθ = &thinsp;25.2&thinsp;kg&thinsp;m−3) in April 2013, propagated to the surface layers at depths of roughly 0–50&thinsp;m, reached a maximum in 2015 and decreased in subsequent years. In the ECS, the Fukushima-derived radiocaesium activity concentration in surface water reached a maximum in 2014–2015, whereas the concentration in the SOJ reached a maximum in 2015–2016. The propagation of Fukushima-derived radiocaesium in surface seawater from the ECS into the SOJ therefore required approximately 1 year. These temporal changes in 137Cs activity concentrations and 134Cs&thinsp;∕&thinsp;137Cs activity ratios indicated that part of the 137Cs and 134Cs derived from the Fukushima accident (FNPP1-derived 137Cs and134Cs) was transported within several years to the ECS and then to the SOJ via STMW from the NPSJ. The integrated amount of FNPP1-derived 137Cs that entered the SOJ before 2016 was estimated to be 0.21±0.01&thinsp;PBq, 5.0&thinsp;% of the estimated total amount of FNPP1-derived 137Cs in the STMW. The integrated amount of FNPP1-derived 137Cs that returned to the North Pacific Ocean through the Tsugaru Strait was estimated to be 0.09±0.01&thinsp;Bq, 43&thinsp;% of the total amount of FNPP1-derived 137Cs transported to the SOJ and 2.1&thinsp;% of the estimated total amount of FNPP1-derived 137Cs in the STMW.</p