Line group techniques in description of the structural phase transitions in some superconductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meszaros, CS.; Balint, A.; Bankuti, J.

1995-01-01

The main features of the theory of line groups, and their irreducible representations are briefly discussed, as well as the most important applications of them. A new approach in the general symmetry analysis of the modulated systems is presented. It is shown, that the line group formalism could be a very effective tool in the examination of the structural phase transitions in High Temperature SUperconductors. As an example, the material YBa2Cu3O(7-x) is discussed briefly.

Dimensional crossover of effective orbital dynamics in polar distorted He 3 -A : Transitions to antispacetime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nissinen, J.; Volovik, G. E.

2018-01-01

Topologically protected superfluid phases of He 3 allow one to simulate many important aspects of relativistic quantum field theories and quantum gravity in condensed matter. Here we discuss a topological Lifshitz transition of the effective quantum vacuum in which the determinant of the tetrad field changes sign through a crossing to a vacuum state with a degenerate fermionic metric. Such a transition is realized in polar distorted superfluid He 3 -A in terms of the effective tetrad fields emerging in the vicinity of the superfluid gap nodes: the tetrads of the Weyl points in the chiral A-phase of He 3 and the degenerate tetrad in the vicinity of a Dirac nodal line in the polar phase of He 3 . The continuous phase transition from the A -phase to the polar phase, i.e., the transition from the Weyl nodes to the Dirac nodal line and back, allows one to follow the behavior of the fermionic and bosonic effective actions when the sign of the tetrad determinant changes, and the effective chiral spacetime transforms to antichiral "anti-spacetime." This condensed matter realization demonstrates that while the original fermionic action is analytic across the transition, the effective action for the orbital degrees of freedom (pseudo-EM) fields and gravity have nonanalytic behavior. In particular, the action for the pseudo-EM field in the vacuum with Weyl fermions (A-phase) contains the modulus of the tetrad determinant. In the vacuum with the degenerate metric (polar phase) the nodal line is effectively a family of 2 +1 d Dirac fermion patches, which leads to a non-analytic (B2-E2)3/4 QED action in the vicinity of the Dirac line.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hickey, Robert J.; Gillard, Timothy M.; Irwin, Matthew T.

We have established the existence of a line of congruent first-order lamellar-to-disorder (LAM–DIS) transitions when appropriate amounts of poly(cyclohexylethylene) (C) and poly(ethylene) (E) homopolymers are mixed with a corresponding compositionally symmetric CE diblock copolymer. The line of congruent transitions, or the congruent isopleth, terminates at the bicontinuous microemulsion (BμE) channel, and its trajectory appears to be influenced by the critical composition of the C/E binary homopolymer blend. Blends satisfying congruency undergo a direct LAM–DIS transition without passing through a two-phase region. We present complementary optical transmission, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and dynamic mechanical spectroscopy (DMS) resultsmore » that establish the phase behavior at constant copolymer volume fraction and varying C/E homopolymer volume ratios. Adjacent to the congruent composition at constant copolymer volume fraction, the lamellar and disordered phases are separated by two-phase coexistence windows, which converge, along with the line of congruent transitions, at an overall composition in the phase prism coincident with the BμE channel. Hexagonal and cubic (double gyroid) phases occur at higher diblock copolymer concentrations for asymmetric amounts of C and E homopolymers. These results establish a quantitative method for identifying the detailed phase behavior of ternary diblock copolymer–homopolymer blends, especially in the vicinity of the BμE.« less

FAST TRACK COMMUNICATION: Spontaneous symmetry breaking in a bridge model fed by junctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popkov, Vladislav; Evans, Martin R.; Mukamel, David

2008-10-01

We introduce a class of 1D models mimicking a single-lane bridge with two junctions and two particle species driven in opposite directions. The model exhibits spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB) for a range of injection/extraction rates. In this phase the steady-state currents of the two species are not equal. Moreover, there is a co-existence region in which the symmetry-broken phase co-exists with a symmetric phase. Along a path in which the extraction rate is varied, keeping the injection rate fixed and large, hysteresis takes place. The mean-field phase diagram is calculated and supporting Monte Carlo simulations are presented. One of the transition lines exhibits a kink, a feature which cannot exist in transition lines of equilibrium phase transitions.

Grand-canonical solution of semiflexible self-avoiding trails on the Bethe lattice.

PubMed

Dantas, W G; Oliveira, Tiago J; Stilck, Jürgen F; Prellberg, Thomas

2017-02-01

We consider a model of semiflexible interacting self-avoiding trails (sISATs) on a lattice, where the walks are constrained to visit each lattice edge at most once. Such models have been studied as an alternative to the self-attracting self-avoiding walks (SASAWs) to investigate the collapse transition of polymers, with the attractive interactions being on site as opposed to nearest-neighbor interactions in SASAWs. The grand-canonical version of the sISAT model is solved on a four-coordinated Bethe lattice, and four phases appear: non-polymerized (NP), regular polymerized (P), dense polymerized (DP), and anisotropic nematic (AN), the last one present in the phase diagram only for sufficiently stiff chains. The last two phases are dense, in the sense that all lattice sites are visited once in the AN phase and twice in the DP phase. In general, critical NP-P and DP-P transition surfaces meet with a NP-DP coexistence surface at a line of bicritical points. The region in which the AN phase is stable is limited by a discontinuous critical transition to the P phase, and we study this somewhat unusual transition in some detail. In the limit of rods, where the chains are totally rigid, the P phase is absent and the three coexistence lines (NP-AN, AN-DP, and NP-DP) meet at a triple point, which is the endpoint of the bicritical line.

Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking of Domain Walls in Phase-Competing Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishizuka, Hiroaki; Yamada, Yasusada; Nagaosa, Naoto

2018-05-01

In this study, we investigate the nature of domain walls in an ordered phase in the phase-competing region of two Ising-type order parameters. We consider a two-component ϕ4 theory and show that the domain wall of the ground-state (primary) order parameter shows a second-order phase transition associated with the secondary order parameter of the competing phase; the effective theory of the phase transition is given by the Landau theory of an Ising-type phase transition. We find that the phase boundary of this phase transition is different from the spinodal line of the competing order. The phase transition is detected experimentally by the divergence of the susceptibility corresponding to the secondary order when the temperature is quenched to introduce the domain walls.

Ovate family protein1 interaction with BLH3 regulates transition timing from vegetative to reproductive phase in Arabidopsis

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Liguo; Zhang, Xiaofei; Ju, Hanxun; ...

2016-01-23

We study the Three-Amino-acid-Loop-Extension(TALE) homeodomain transcription factor BLH3 that regulates timing of transition from vegetative to reproductive phase. Previous preliminary results obtained using large-scale yeast two-hybrids indicate that BLH3 protein possibly interact with Ovate Family Proteins(OFPs) transcription co-regulators. Nevertheless, it is uncertain whether OFP1–BLH3 complex is involved in regulation of timing of transition from vegetative to reproductive phase in Arabidopsis. The interaction between BLH3 and OFP1 was re-tested and verified by a yeast two-hybrid system. We found that the BLH3–OFP1 interaction was mainly mediated through the BLH3 homeodomain. Meanwhile, this interaction was further confirmed by bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) inmore » vivo. In addition, by establishing protoplast transient expression, we discovered that BLH3 acts as a transcriptional activator, whereas OFP1 functioned as a repressor. The interactions between OFP1 and BLH3 can reduce BLH3 transcriptional activity. The ofp1 mutant lines and blh3 mutant lines, OFP1 overexpress lines and BLH3 overexpress lines can both influence timing of transition from vegetative to reproductive phase. Furthermore, 35s:OFP1/blh3 plants exhibited flowering and leaf quantity similar to that of the wild-type controls. 35s:BLH3/ofp1 plants flowered earlier and had less leaves than wild-type controls, indicating that OFP1 protein might depend partially on BLH3 in its function to regulate the timing of transition from vegetative to reproductive phase. In conclusion, these results support our assumption that, by interacting with OFP1, BLH3 forms a functional protein complex that controls timing of progression from vegetative to reproductive phase, and OFP1 might negatively regulate BLH3 or the BLH-KNOX complex, an important interaction for sustaining the normal transition from vegetative to reproductive phase.« less

Experimental and theoretical methods to study structural phase transition mechanisms in K{sub 3}WO{sub 3}F{sub 3} oxyfluoride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krylov, A.S., E-mail: shusy@iph.krasn.ru; Sofronova, S.N.; Kolesnikova, E.M.

2014-10-15

The results of structural phase transitions mechanisms study in K{sub 3}WO{sub 3}F{sub 3}oxyfluoride are represented by different experimental and theoretical methods. The structural phase transition anomalies at T{sub 1}=452 K and T{sub 2}=414 K of Raman and IR spectra have been analyzed. Using vibrational spectroscopy methods, the NMR-experiment has been done to clarify the nature of found phase transitions: displacive types or order-disorder types. The model of “disordered” crystal was proposed, and the results of lattice dynamics calculation in frameworks of the generalized Gordon–Kim method of ordered (R3) and “disordered” crystals were compared. The high pressure phases were studied bymore » the Raman technique too. - Graphical abstract: (1) Two possible configuration of octahedra. (2). All phases Raman lines of octahedra. (3) All phases IR lines of octahedra. (4) NMR spectra of all phases. - Highlights: • The results of study oxyfluoride K{sub 3}WO{sub 3}F{sub 3} are represented by Raman, IR, NMR technique. • The high pressure phases were studied by the Raman technique. • The anionic octahedra [WO{sub 3}F{sub 3}]{sup 3−} are not ordered below the both phase transitions. • The ferroelectric phase is realized due to the shift of atoms without F/O ordering. • Both of found phase transitions are close to the second order.« less

Order-disorder phenomena in the low-temperature phase of BaTiO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Völkel, G.; Müller, K. A.

2007-09-01

X - and Q -band electron paramagnetic resonance measurements are reported on Mn4+ -doped BaTiO3 single crystals in the rhombohedral low-temperature phase. The Mn4+ probe ion is statistically substitute for the isovalent Ti4+ ion. The critical line broadening observed when approaching the phase transition to the orthorhombic phase demonstrates the presence of order-disorder processes within the off-center Ti subsystem and the formation of dynamic precursor clusters with a structure compatible with one of the orthorhombic phase. From the data it is concluded that BaTiO3 shows a special type of phase transition where displacive and order-disorder character are not only present at the cubic-tetragonal transition, but also at the orthorhombic-rhombohedral transition at low temperatures. The disappearance of the Mn4+ spectrum in the orthorhombic, tetragonal, and cubic phases can be interpreted as the consequence of the strong line broadening caused by changes of the instantaneous off-center positions in time around the averaged off-center position along a body diagonal.

Line group techniques in description of the structural phase transitions in some superconductors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Meszaros, C.; Bankuti, J.; Balint, A.

1994-12-31

The main features of the theory of line groups, and their irreducible representations are briefly discussed, as well as the most important applications of them. A new approach in the general symmetry analysis of the modulated systems is presented. It is shown, that the line group formalism could be a very effective tool in the examination of the structural phase transitions in High Temperature Superconductors. As an example, the material YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-x} is discussed briefly.

Kerr-AdS analogue of triple point and solid/liquid/gas phase transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altamirano, Natacha; Kubizňák, David; Mann, Robert B.; Sherkatghanad, Zeinab

2014-02-01

We study the thermodynamic behavior of multi-spinning d = 6 Kerr-anti de Sitter black holes in the canonical ensemble of fixed angular momenta J1 and J2. We find, dependent on the ratio q = J2/J1, qualitatively different interesting phenomena known from the ‘every day thermodynamics’ of simple substances. For q = 0 the system exhibits recently observed reentrant large/small/large black hole phase transitions, but for 0 < q ≪ 1 we find an analogue of a ‘solid/liquid’ phase transition. Furthermore, for q ∈ (0.00905, 0.0985) the system displays the presence of a large/intermediate/small black hole phase transition with two critical and one triple (or tricritical) points. This behavior is reminiscent of the solid/liquid/gas phase transition except that the coexistence line of small and intermediate black holes does not continue for an arbitrary value of pressure (similar to the solid/liquid coexistence line) but rather terminates at one of the critical points. Finally, for q > 0.0985 we observe the ‘standard liquid/gas behavior’ of the Van der Waals fluid.

How tetraquarks can generate a second chiral phase transition

DOE PAGES

Pisarski, Robert D.; Skokov, Vladimir V.

2016-09-09

We consider how tetraquarks can affect the chiral phase transition in theories like QCD, with light quarks coupled to three colors. For two flavors the tetraquark field is an isosinglet, and its effect is minimal. For three flavors, however, the tetraquark field transforms in the same representation of the chiral symmetry group as the usual chiral order parameter, and so for very light quarks there may be two chiral phase transitions, which are both of first order. In QCD, results from the lattice indicate that any transition from the tetraquark condensate is a smooth crossover. In the plane of temperature,more » T, and quark chemical potential, μ, though, a crossover line for the tetraquark condensate is naturally related to the transition line for color superconductivity. For four flavors we suggest that a triquark field, antisymmetric in both flavor and color, combine to form hexaquarks.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barber, M.N.; Derrida, B.

We study the phase diagram of the two-dimensional anisotropic next-nearest neighbor Ising (ANNNI) model by comparing the time evolution of two distinct spin configurations submitted to the same thermal noise. We clearly se several dynamical transitions between ferromagnetic, paramagnetic, antiphase, and floating phases. These dynamical transitions seem to occur rather close to the transition lines determined previously in the literature.

Constraints on the merging of the transition lines at the tricritical point in a wing-structure phase diagram

DOE PAGES

Taufour, Valentin; Kaluarachchi, Udhara S.; Kogan, Vladimir G.

2016-08-19

Here, we consider the phase diagram of a ferromagnetic system driven to a quantum phase transition with a tuning parameter $p$. Before being suppressed, the transition becomes of the first order at a tricritical point, from which wings emerge under application of the magnetic field H in the T $-$ p $-$ H phase diagram. We show that the edge of the wings merge with tangent slopes at the tricritical point.

Raman spectra and phase transitions in Rb{sub 2}KInF{sub 6} elpasolite

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krylov, A. S.; Krylova, S. N., E-mail: slanky@iph.krasn.ru; Vtyurin, A. N.

2011-01-15

The Raman spectra of Rb{sub 2}KInF{sub 6} elpasolite crystal have been studied in a wide temperature range, including two phase transitions: from the cubic phase to the tetragonal phase and then to the monoclinic phase. Several anomalies of internal modes of InF{sub 6} octahedra and low-frequency lattice vibrations, which are related to the structural changes at the transition points, have been found and quantitatively analyzed. The results of a quantitative analysis of the temperature dependences of the parameters of spectral lines are in good agreement with the thermodynamic data on the phase transitions.

Wetting Transitions in ^4He/^3He Mixtures on Cesium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ross, David

1997-03-01

Over the last several years, helium on cesium has proven to be an ideal model system for the study of wetting and wetting transitions(E. Cheng, M.W. Cole, W.F. Saam, and J. Treiner, Phys. Rev. Lett. 67), 1007 (1991).^,(J.E. Rutledge and P. Taborek, Phys. Rev. Lett. 69), 937 (1992).^,(D. Ross, J.E. Rutledge, and P. Taborek, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76), 2350 (1996).. This presentation will focus on the adsorption of binary liquid mixtures of the helium isotopes, ^3He and ^4He, on cesium substrates over a range of temperatures extending from 0.2 K to 1.0 K. The results, spanning ^3He concentrations from 0 to 1, constitute the first experimentally constructed complete wetting phase diagram for a two component liquid at a weakly binding substrate. The wetting behavior is particularly interesting in the vicinity of bulk liquid phase separation. A wetting transition of the ^4He rich liquid between the ^3He rich liquid and the cesium substrate has been found with Tw = 0.53 K. The surface phase transition line associated with this wetting transition is found to extend to both sides of the bulk phase separation line. On the ^3He rich side it is a prewetting line, and on the ^4He rich side it becomes a line of triple point induced dewetting transitions. General arguments indicate that this behavior should be typical of a large class of binary liquid mixtures at weakly binding substrates.

Theory of the vortex matter transformations in high-Tc superconductor YBCO.

PubMed

Li, Dingping; Rosenstein, Baruch

2003-04-25

Flux line lattice in type II superconductors undergoes a transition into a "disordered" phase such as vortex liquid or vortex glass, due to thermal fluctuations and random quenched disorder. We quantitatively describe the competition between the thermal fluctuations and the disorder using the Ginzburg-Landau approach. The following T-H phase diagram of YBCO emerges. There are just two distinct thermodynamical phases, the homogeneous and the crystalline one, separated by a single first order transition line. The line, however, makes a wiggle near the experimentally claimed critical point at 12 T. The "critical point" is reinterpreted as a (noncritical) Kauzmann point in which the latent heat vanishes and the line is parallel to the T axis. The magnetization, the entropy, and the specific heat discontinuities at melting compare well with experiments.

Phase diagram for a two-dimensional, two-temperature, diffusive XY model.

PubMed

Reichl, Matthew D; Del Genio, Charo I; Bassler, Kevin E

2010-10-01

Using Monte Carlo simulations, we determine the phase diagram of a diffusive two-temperature conserved order parameter XY model. When the two temperatures are equal the system becomes the equilibrium XY model with the continuous Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) vortex-antivortex unbinding phase transition. When the two temperatures are unequal the system is driven by an energy flow from the higher temperature heat-bath to the lower temperature one and reaches a far-from-equilibrium steady state. We show that the nonequilibrium phase diagram contains three phases: A homogenous disordered phase and two phases with long range, spin texture order. Two critical lines, representing continuous phase transitions from a homogenous disordered phase to two phases of long range order, meet at the equilibrium KT point. The shape of the nonequilibrium critical lines as they approach the KT point is described by a crossover exponent φ=2.52±0.05. Finally, we suggest that the transition between the two phases with long-range order is first-order, making the KT-point where all three phases meet a bicritical point.

Static quadrupolar susceptibility for a Blume-Emery-Griffiths model based on the mean-field approximation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pawlak, A.; Gülpınar, G.; Erdem, R.; Ağartıoğlu, M.

2015-12-01

The expressions for the dipolar and quadrupolar susceptibilities are obtained within the mean-field approximation in the Blume-Emery-Griffiths model. Temperature as well as crystal field dependences of the susceptibilities are investigated for two different phase diagram topologies which take place for K/J=3 and K/J=5.0.Their behavior near the second and first order transition points as well as multi-critical points such as tricritical, triple and critical endpoint is presented. It is found that in addition to the jumps connected with the phase transitions there are broad peaks in the quadrupolar susceptibility. It is indicated that these broad peaks lie on a prolongation of the first-order line from a triple point to a critical point ending the line of first-order transitions between two distinct paramagnetic phases. It is argued that the broad peaks are a reminiscence of very strong quadrupolar fluctuations at the critical point. The results reveal the fact that near ferromagnetic-paramagnetic phase transitions the quadrupolar susceptibility generally shows a jump whereas near the phase transition between two distinct paramagnetic phases it is an edge-like.

Topological Phase Transitions in Line-nodal Superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Gil Young; Han, Sangeun; Moon, Eun-Gook

Fathoming interplay between symmetry and topology of many-electron wave-functions deepens our understanding in quantum nature of many particle systems. Topology often protects zero-energy excitation, and in a certain class, symmetry is intrinsically tied to the topological protection. Namely, unless symmetry is broken, topological nature is intact. We study one specific case of such class, symmetry-protected line-nodal superconductors in three spatial dimensions (3d). Mismatch between phase spaces of order parameter fluctuation and line-nodal fermion excitation induces an exotic universality class in a drastic contrast to one of the conventional ϕ4 theory in 3d. Hyper-scaling violation and relativistic dynamic scaling with unusually large quantum critical region are main characteristics, and their implication in experiments is discussed. For example, continuous phase transition out of line-nodal superconductors has a linear phase boundary in a temperature-tuning parameter phase-diagram. This work was supported by the Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project of Korea Government and KAIST start-up funding.

Supercritical Anomalies and the Widom Line for the Isostructural Phase Transition in Solids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tareyeva, E. E.; Fomin, Yu. D.; Tsiok, E. N.; Ryzhov, V. N.

2018-01-01

The representation of the Widom line as a line of maximums of the correlation length and a whole set of thermodynamic response functions above the critical point were introduced to describe anomalies observed in water above the hypothetical critical point of the liquid-liquid transition. The supercritical region for the gas-liquid transition was also described later in terms of the Widom line. It is natural to assume that an analogue of the Widom line also exists in the supercritical region for the first-order isostructural transition in crystals, which ends at a critical point. We use a simple semiphenomenological model, close in spirit the van der Waals theory, to study the properties of the new Widom line. We calculate the thermodynamic response functions above the critical point of the isostructural transition and find their maximums determining the Widom line position.

Two Topologically Distinct Dirac-Line Semimetal Phases and Topological Phase Transitions in Rhombohedrally Stacked Honeycomb Lattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hyart, T.; Ojajärvi, R.; Heikkilä, T. T.

2018-04-01

Three-dimensional topological semimetals can support band crossings along one-dimensional curves in the momentum space (nodal lines or Dirac lines) protected by structural symmetries and topology. We consider rhombohedrally (ABC) stacked honeycomb lattices supporting Dirac lines protected by time-reversal, inversion and spin rotation symmetries. For typical band structure parameters there exists a pair of nodal lines in the momentum space extending through the whole Brillouin zone in the stacking direction. We show that these Dirac lines are topologically distinct from the usual Dirac lines which form closed loops inside the Brillouin zone. In particular, an energy gap can be opened only by first merging the Dirac lines going through the Brillouin zone in a pairwise manner so that they turn into closed loops inside the Brillouin zone, and then by shrinking these loops into points. We show that this kind of topological phase transition can occur in rhombohedrally stacked honeycomb lattices by tuning the ratio of the tunneling amplitudes in the directions perpendicular and parallel to the layers. We also discuss the properties of the surface states in the different phases of the model.

Nonequilibrium Tricritical Point in a System with Long-Range Interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antoniazzi, Andrea; Fanelli, Duccio; Ruffo, Stefano; Yamaguchi, Yoshiyuki Y.

2007-07-01

Systems with long-range interactions display a short-time relaxation towards quasistationary states whose lifetime increases with system size. With reference to the Hamiltonian mean field model, we here show that a maximum entropy principle, based on Lynden-Bell’s pioneering idea of “violent relaxation,” predicts the presence of out-of-equilibrium phase transitions separating the relaxation towards homogeneous (zero magnetization) or inhomogeneous (nonzero magnetization) quasistationary states. When varying the initial condition within a family of “water bags” with different initial magnetization and energy, first- and second-order phase transition lines are found that merge at an out-of-equilibrium tricritical point. Metastability is theoretically predicted and numerically checked around the first-order phase transition line.

Mapping the QCD Phase Transition with Accreting Compact Stars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Blaschke, D.; Bogoliubov Laboratory for Theoretical Physics, JINR Dubna, Joliot-Curie str. 6, 141980 Dubna; Poghosyan, G.

2008-10-29

We discuss an idea for how accreting millisecond pulsars could contribute to the understanding of the QCD phase transition in the high-density nuclear matter equation of state (EoS). It is based on two ingredients, the first one being a ''phase diagram'' of rapidly rotating compact star configurations in the plane of spin frequency and mass, determined with state-of-the-art hybrid equations of state, allowing for a transition to color superconducting quark matter. The second is the study of spin-up and accretion evolution in this phase diagram. We show that the quark matter phase transition leads to a characteristic line in themore » {omega}-M plane, the phase border between neutron stars and hybrid stars with a quark matter core. Along this line a drop in the pulsar's moment of inertia entails a waiting point phenomenon in the accreting millisecond pulsar (AMXP) evolution: most of these objects should therefore be found along the phase border in the {omega}-M plane, which may be viewed as the AMXP analog of the main sequence in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram for normal stars. In order to prove the existence of a high-density phase transition in the cores of compact stars we need population statistics for AMXPs with sufficiently accurate determination of their masses, spin frequencies and magnetic fields.« less

Hairy black holes in cubic quasi-topological gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dykaar, Hannah; Hennigar, Robie A.; Mann, Robert B.

2017-05-01

We construct a class of five dimensional black hole solutions to cubic quasi-topological gravity with conformal scalar hair and study their thermodynamics. We find these black holes provide the second example of black hole λ-lines: a line of second order (continuous) phase transitions, akin to the fluid/superfluid transition of 4He. Examples of isolated critical points are found for spherical black holes, marking the first in the literature to date. We also find various novel and interesting phase structures, including an isolated critical point occurring in conjunction with a double reentrant phase transition. The AdS vacua of the theory are studied, finding ghost-free configurations where the scalar field takes on a non-zero constant value, in notable contrast to the five dimensional Lovelock case.

Microscopic origin of black hole reentrant phase transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zangeneh, M. Kord; Dehyadegari, A.; Sheykhi, A.; Mann, R. B.

2018-04-01

Understanding the microscopic behavior of the black hole ingredients has been one of the important challenges in black hole physics during the past decades. In order to shed some light on the microscopic structure of black holes, in this paper, we explore a recently observed phenomenon for black holes namely reentrant phase transition, by employing the Ruppeiner geometry. Interestingly enough, we observe two properties for the phase behavior of small black holes that leads to reentrant phase transition. They are correlated and they are of the interaction type. For the range of pressure in which the system underlies reentrant phase transition, it transits from the large black holes phase to the small one which possesses higher correlation than the other ranges of pressures. On the other hand, the type of interaction between small black holes near the large/small transition line differs for usual and reentrant phase transitions. Indeed, for the usual case, the dominant interaction is repulsive whereas for the reentrant case we encounter an attractive interaction. We show that in the reentrant phase transition case, the small black holes behave like a bosonic gas whereas in the usual phase transition case, they behave like a quantum anyon gas.

The impact of Phase 1 of the Silver Line on the Northern Virginia transportation system.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-05-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of Phase 1 of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authoritys Silver Line on the broad regional transportation system, and specifically on the road network operated by the Virginia Department ...

Boundaries for martensitic transition of 7Li under pressure

DOE PAGES

Schaeffer, Anne Marie; Cai, Weizhao; Olejnik, Ella; ...

2015-08-14

We report that physical properties of lithium under extreme pressures continuously reveal unexpected features. These include a sequence of structural transitions to lower symmetry phases, metal-insulator-metal transition, superconductivity with one of the highest elemental transition temperatures, and a maximum followed by a minimum in its melting line. The instability of the bcc structure of lithium is well established by the presence of a temperature-driven martensitic phase transition. The boundaries of this phase, however, have not been previously explored above 3 GPa. All higher pressure phase boundaries are either extrapolations or inferred based on indirect evidence. Here we explore the pressuremore » dependence of the martensitic transition of lithium up to 7 GPa using a combination of neutron and X-ray scattering. We find a rather unexpected deviation from the extrapolated boundaries of the hR3 phase of lithium. Furthermore, there is evidence that, above ~3 GPa, once in fcc phase, lithium does not undergo a martensitic transition.« less

Pressure induced phase transitions in ceramic compounds containing tetragonal zirconia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sparks, R.G.; Pfeiffer, G.; Paesler, M.A.

Stabilized tetragonal zirconia compounds exhibit a transformation toughening process in which stress applied to the material induces a crystallographic phase transition. The phase transition is accompanied by a volume expansion in the stressed region thereby dissipating stress and increasing the fracture strength of the material. The hydrostatic component of the stress required to induce the phase transition can be investigated by the use of a high pressure technique in combination with Micro-Raman spectroscopy. The intensity of Raman lines characteristic for the crystallographic phases can be used to calculate the amount of material that has undergone the transition as a functionmore » of pressure. It was found that pressures on the order of 2-5 kBar were sufficient to produce an almost complete transition from the original tetragonal to the less dense monoclinic phase; while a further increase in pressure caused a gradual reversal of the transition back to the original tetragonal structure.« less

Phase transitions in semisupervised clustering of sparse networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Pan; Moore, Cristopher; Zdeborová, Lenka

2014-11-01

Predicting labels of nodes in a network, such as community memberships or demographic variables, is an important problem with applications in social and biological networks. A recently discovered phase transition puts fundamental limits on the accuracy of these predictions if we have access only to the network topology. However, if we know the correct labels of some fraction α of the nodes, we can do better. We study the phase diagram of this semisupervised learning problem for networks generated by the stochastic block model. We use the cavity method and the associated belief propagation algorithm to study what accuracy can be achieved as a function of α . For k =2 groups, we find that the detectability transition disappears for any α >0 , in agreement with previous work. For larger k where a hard but detectable regime exists, we find that the easy/hard transition (the point at which efficient algorithms can do better than chance) becomes a line of transitions where the accuracy jumps discontinuously at a critical value of α . This line ends in a critical point with a second-order transition, beyond which the accuracy is a continuous function of α . We demonstrate qualitatively similar transitions in two real-world networks.

Electron-electron correlations in Raman spectra of VO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goncharuk, I. N.; Ilinskiy, A. V.; Kvashenkina, O. E.; Shadrin, E. B.

2013-01-01

It has been shown that, in single crystals and films of a strongly correlated material, namely, vanadium dioxide, upon a thermally stimulated phase transition from the low-temperature monoclinic phase to the high-temperature tetragonal phase, the narrow-line Raman spectrum of the insulating (monoclinic) phase transforms into the broad-band Raman spectrum, which contains two peaks at 500 and 5000 cm-1 with widths of 400 and 3500 cm-1, respectively. It has been found that, as the temperature of the monoclinic phase approaches the structural phase transition temperature (340 K), the line profile of soft-mode phonons at a frequency of 149 cm-1 with A g symmetry and the line profile of phonons at a frequency of 201 cm-1 with A g symmetry acquire an asymmetric shape with a Fano antiresonance that is characteristic of the interaction of a single phonon vibration with a continuum of strongly correlated electrons. It has been demonstrated that the thermal transformation of peaks in the Raman spectra of the VO2 metallic phase is in quantitative agreement with the theory of Raman scattering in strongly correlated materials.

Probing lattice dynamics and electron-phonon coupling in the topological nodal-line semimetal ZrSiS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singha, Ratnadwip; Samanta, Sudeshna; Chatterjee, Swastika; Pariari, Arnab; Majumdar, Dipanwita; Satpati, Biswarup; Wang, Lin; Singha, Achintya; Mandal, Prabhat

2018-03-01

Topological materials provide an exclusive platform to study the dynamics of relativistic particles in table-top experiments and offer the possibility of wide-scale technological applications. ZrSiS is a newly discovered topological nodal-line semimetal and has drawn enormous interests. In this paper, we have investigated the lattice dynamics and electron-phonon interaction in single-crystalline ZrSiS using Raman spectroscopy. Polarization and angle-resolved Raman data have been analyzed using crystal symmetries and theoretically calculated atomic vibrational patterns along with phonon dispersion spectra. Wavelength- and temperature-dependent measurements show the complex interplay of electron and phonon degrees of freedom, resulting in resonant phonon and quasielastic electron scattering through interband transition. Our high-pressure Raman studies reveal vibrational anomalies, which are the signature of structural phase transitions. Further investigations through high-pressure synchrotron x-ray diffraction clearly show pressure-induced structural transitions and coexistence of multiple phases, which also indicate possible electronic topological transitions in ZrSiS. This study not only provides the fundamental information on the phonon subsystem, but also sheds some light in understanding the topological nodal-line phase in ZrSiS and other isostructural systems.

Phase transitions in samarium at high pressures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dong, W.Y.; Lin, T.H.; Dunn, K.J.

1987-01-15

The electrical behavior of Sm was studied for pressures up to 43 GPa and temperatures from 430 down to 2 K. The two Neel temperatures at ambient pressure are found to move toward each other as the pressure increases and finally merge into one at the dhcp phase. At room temperature, we found that Sm transforms to a new phase, presumably fcc, at about 12 GPa. The phase line between the dhcp and the new phase appears to tie with the cusp of the bcc phase line.

A generalised age- and phase-structured model of human tumour cell populations both unperturbed and exposed to a range of cancer therapies.

PubMed

Basse, Britta; Ubezio, Paolo

2007-07-01

We develop a general mathematical model for a population of cells differentiated by their position within the cell division cycle. A system of partial differential equations governs the kinetics of cell densities in certain phases of the cell division cycle dependent on time t (hours) and an age-like variable tau (hours) describing the time since arrival in a particular phase of the cell division cycle. Transition rate functions control the transfer of cells between phases. We first obtain a theoretical solution on the infinite domain -infinity < t < infinity. We then assume that age distributions at time t=0 are known and write our solution in terms of these age distributions on t=0. In practice, of course, these age distributions are unknown. All is not lost, however, because a cell line before treatment usually lies in a state of asynchronous balanced growth where the proportion of cells in each phase of the cell cycle remain constant. We assume that an unperturbed cell line has four distinct phases and that the rate of transition between phases is constant within a short period of observation ('short' relative to the whole history of the tumour growth) and we show that under certain conditions, this is equivalent to exponential growth or decline. We can then gain expressions for the age distributions. So, in short, our approach is to assume that we have an unperturbed cell line on t

Two liquid states of matter: a dynamic line on a phase diagram.

PubMed

Brazhkin, V V; Fomin, Yu D; Lyapin, A G; Ryzhov, V N; Trachenko, K

2012-03-01

It is generally agreed that the supercritical region of a liquid consists of one single state (supercritical fluid). On the other hand, we show here that liquids in this region exist in two qualitatively different states: "rigid" and "nonrigid" liquids. Rigid to nonrigid transition corresponds to the condition τ≈τ(0), where τ is the liquid relaxation time and τ(0) is the minimal period of transverse quasiharmonic waves. This condition defines a new dynamic crossover line on the phase diagram and corresponds to the loss of shear stiffness of a liquid at all available frequencies and, consequently, to the qualitative change in many important liquid properties. We analyze this line theoretically as well as in real and model fluids and show that the transition corresponds to the disappearance of high-frequency sound, to the disappearance of roton minima, qualitative changes in the temperature dependencies of sound velocity, diffusion, viscous flow, and thermal conductivity, an increase in particle thermal speed to half the speed of sound, and a reduction in the constant volume specific heat to 2k(B) per particle. In contrast to the Widom line that exists near the critical point only, the new dynamic line is universal: It separates two liquid states at arbitrarily high pressure and temperature and exists in systems where liquid-gas transition and the critical point are absent altogether. We propose to call the new dynamic line on the phase diagram "Frenkel line".

Phase Transition to an Opaque Plasma in a Sonoluminescing Bubble

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kappus, Brian; Khalid, Shahzad; Chakravarty, Avik; Putterman, Seth

2011-06-01

Time-resolved spectrum measurements of a sonoluminescing Xe bubble reveal a transition from transparency to an opaque Planck blackbody. As the temperature is <10000K and the density is below liquid density, the photon scattering length is 10 000 times too large to explain its opacity. We resolve this issue with a model that reduces the ionization potential. According to this model, sonoluminescence originates in a new phase of matter with high ionization. Analysis of line emission from Xe* also yields evidence of phase segregation for this first-order transition inside a bubble.

Simulations of four-dimensional simplicial quantum gravity as dynamical triangulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Agishtein, M.E.; Migdal, A.A.

1992-04-20

In this paper, Four-Dimensional Simplicial Quantum Gravity is simulated using the dynamical triangulation approach. The authors studied simplicial manifolds of spherical topology and found the critical line for the cosmological constant as a function of the gravitational one, separating the phases of opened and closed Universe. When the bare cosmological constant approaches this line from above, the four-volume grows: the authors reached about 5 {times} 10{sup 4} simplexes, which proved to be sufficient for the statistical limit of infinite volume. However, for the genuine continuum theory of gravity, the parameters of the lattice model should be further adjusted to reachmore » the second order phase transition point, where the correlation length grows to infinity. The authors varied the gravitational constant, and they found the first order phase transition, similar to the one found in three-dimensional model, except in 4D the fluctuations are rather large at the transition point, so that this is close to the second order phase transition. The average curvature in cutoff units is large and positive in one phase (gravity), and small negative in another (antigravity). The authors studied the fractal geometry of both phases, using the heavy particle propagator to define the geodesic map, as well as with the old approach using the shortest lattice paths.« less

Characterization of Lifshitz transitions in topological nodal line semimetals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Hui; Li, Linhu; Gong, Jiangbin; Chen, Shu

2018-04-01

We introduce a two-band model of three-dimensional nodal line semimetals (NLSMs), the Fermi surface of which at half-filling may form various one-dimensional configurations of different topology. We study the symmetries and "drumhead" surface states of the model, and find that the transitions between different configurations, namely, the Lifshitz transitions, can be identified solely by the number of gap-closing points on some high-symmetry planes in the Brillouin zone. A global phase diagram of this model is also obtained accordingly. We then investigate the effect of some extra terms analogous to a two-dimensional Rashba-type spin-orbit coupling. The introduced extra terms open a gap for the NLSMs and can be useful in engineering different topological insulating phases. We demonstrate that the behavior of surface Dirac cones in the resulting insulating system has a clear correspondence with the different configurations of the original nodal lines in the absence of the gap terms.

Hybrid Defect Phase Transition: Renormalization Group and Monte Carlo Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaufman, Miron; Diep, H. T.

2010-03-01

For the q-state Potts model with 2 < q <= 4 on the square lattice with a defect line, the order parameter on the defect line jumps discontinuously from zero to a nonzero value while the defect energy varies continuously with the temperature at the critical temperature. Monte-Carlo simulations (H. T. Diep, M. Kaufman, Phys Rev E 2009) of the q-state Potts model on a square lattice with a line of defects verify the renormalization group prediction (M. Kaufman, R. B. Griffiths, Phys Rev B 1982) on the occurrence of the hybrid transition on the defect line. This is interesting since for those q values the bulk transition is continuous. This hybrid (continuous - discontinuous) defect transition is induced by the infinite range correlations at the bulk critical point.

Finite-density transition line for QCD with 695 MeV dynamical fermions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greensite, Jeff; Höllwieser, Roman

2018-06-01

We apply the relative weights method to SU(3) gauge theory with staggered fermions of mass 695 MeV at a set of temperatures in the range 151 ≤T ≤267 MeV , to obtain an effective Polyakov line action at each temperature. We then apply a mean field method to search for phase transitions in the effective theory at finite densities. The result is a transition line in the plane of temperature and chemical potential, with an end point at high temperature, as expected, but also a second end point at a lower temperature. We cannot rule out the possibilities that a transition line reappears at temperatures lower than the range investigated, or that the second end point is absent for light quarks.

Phase transitions in mixed gas hydrates: experimental observations versus calculated data.

PubMed

Schicks, Judith M; Naumann, Rudolf; Erzinger, Jörg; Hester, Keith C; Koh, Carolyn A; Sloan, E Dendy

2006-06-15

This paper presents the phase behavior of multicomponent gas hydrate systems formed from primarily methane with small amounts of ethane and propane. Experimental conditions were typically in a pressure range between 1 and 6 MPa, and the temperature range was between 260 and 290 K. These multicomponent systems have been investigated using a variety of techniques including microscopic observations, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. These techniques, used in combination, allowed for measurement of the hydrate structure and composition, while observing the morphology of the hydrate crystals measured. The hydrate formed immediately below the three-phase line (V-L --> V-L-H) and contained crystals that were both light and dark in appearance. The light crystals, which visually were a single solid phase, showed a spectroscopic indication for the presence of occluded free gas in the hydrate. In contrast, the dark crystals were measured to be structure II (sII) without the presence of these occluded phases. Along with hydrate measurements near the decomposition line, an unexpected transformation process was visually observed at P-T-conditions in the stability field of the hydrates. Larger crystallites transformed into a foamy solid upon cooling over this transition line (between 5 and 10 K below the decomposition temperature). Below the transition line, a mixture of sI and sII was detected. This is the first time that these multicomponent systems have been investigated at these pressure and temperature conditions using both visual and spectroscopic techniques. These techniques enabled us to observe and measure the unexpected transformation process showing coexistence of different gas hydrate phases.

Liquid–liquid phase transition in hydrogen by coupled electron–ion Monte Carlo simulations

DOE PAGES

Pierleoni, Carlo; Morales, Miguel A.; Rillo, Giovanni; ...

2016-04-20

The phase diagram of high-pressure hydrogen is of great interest for fundamental research, planetary physics, and energy applications. A first-order phase transition in the fluid phase between a molecular insulating fluid and a monoatomic metallic fluid has been predicted. The existence and precise location of the transition line is relevant for planetary models. Recent experiments reported contrasting results about the location of the transition. Theoretical results based on density functional theory are also very scattered. We report highly accurate coupled electron-ion Monte Carlo calculations of this transition, finding results that lie between the two experimental predictions, close to that measuredmore » in diamond anvil cell experiments but at 25-30 GPa higher pressure. Here, the transition along an isotherm is signaled by a discontinuity in the specific volume, a sudden dissociation of the molecules, a jump in electrical conductivity, and loss of electron localization.« less

Coexistence of superconductivity and antiferromagnetism probed by simultaneous nuclear magnetic resonance and electrical transport in (TMTSF)2PF6 system.

PubMed

Lee, I J; Brown, S E; Yu, W; Naughton, M J; Chaikin, P M

2005-05-20

We report simultaneous NMR and electrical transport experiments in the pressure range near the boundary of the antiferromagnetic spin density wave (SDW) insulator and the metallic/superconducting (SC) phase in (TMTSF)2PF6. Measurements indicate a tricritical point separating a line of second-order SDW/metal transitions from a line of first-order SDW/metal(SC) transitions with coexistence of macroscopic regions of SDW and metal(SC) order, with little mutual interaction but strong hysteretic effects. NMR results quantify the fraction of each phase.

Solution of semi-flexible self-avoiding trails on a Husimi lattice built with squares

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliveira, Tiago J.; Dantas, Wellington G.; Prellberg, Thomas; Stilck, Jürgen F.

2018-02-01

We study a model of semi-flexible self-avoiding trails, where the lattice paths are constrained to visit each lattice edge at most once, with configurations weighted by the number of collisions, crossings and bends, on a Husimi lattice built with squares. We find a rich phase diagram with five phases: a non-polymerised phase (NP), low density (P1) and high density (P2) polymerised phases, and, for sufficiently large stiffness, two additional anisotropic (nematic) (AN1 and AN2) polymerised phases within the P1 phase. Moreover, the AN1 phase which shows a broken symmetry with a preferential direction, is separated from the P1 phase by the other nematic AN2 phase. Although this scenario is similar to what was found in our previous calculation on the Bethe lattice, where the AN-P1 transition was discontinuous and critical, the presence of the additional nematic phase between them introduces a qualitative difference. Other details of the phase diagram are that a line of tri-critical points may separate the P1-P2 transition surface into a continuous and a discontinuous portion, and that the same may happen at the NP-P1 transition surface, details of which depend on whether crossings are allowed or forbidden. A critical end-point line is also found in the phase diagram.

Phase transition to an opaque plasma in a sonoluminescing bubble.

PubMed

Kappus, Brian; Khalid, Shahzad; Chakravarty, Avik; Putterman, Seth

2011-06-10

Time-resolved spectrum measurements of a sonoluminescing Xe bubble reveal a transition from transparency to an opaque Planck blackbody. As the temperature is <10 000  K and the density is below liquid density, the photon scattering length is 10 000 times too large to explain its opacity. We resolve this issue with a model that reduces the ionization potential. According to this model, sonoluminescence originates in a new phase of matter with high ionization. Analysis of line emission from Xe* also yields evidence of phase segregation for this first-order transition inside a bubble.

Renormalization group study of the melting of a two-dimensional system of collapsing hard disks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryzhov, V. N.; Tareyeva, E. E.; Fomin, Yu. D.; Tsiok, E. N.; Chumakov, E. S.

2017-06-01

We consider the melting of a two-dimensional system of collapsing hard disks (a system with a hard-disk potential to which a repulsive step is added) for different values of the repulsive-step width. We calculate the system phase diagram by the method of the density functional in crystallization theory using equations of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless-Halperin-Nelson-Young theory to determine the lines of stability with respect to the dissociation of dislocation pairs, which corresponds to the continuous transition from the solid to the hexatic phase. We show that the crystal phase can melt via a continuous transition at low densities (the transition to the hexatic phase) with a subsequent transition from the hexatic phase to the isotropic liquid and via a first-order transition. Using the solution of renormalization group equations with the presence of singular defects (dislocations) in the system taken into account, we consider the influence of the renormalization of the elastic moduli on the form of the phase diagram.

Strategies for Maintaining Appropriate Behavior in Inclusive Physical Education Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanderson, Sonya; Heckaman, Kelly A.; Ernest, James M.; Johnson, Sherifa; Raab, Scot

2013-01-01

The typical physical education class period consists of a number of instructional activities linked together by brief transitory phases, or transitions (e.g., lining up, identifying teams, handing out equipment, etc.). Transitions can challenge even the most experienced physical educators, because without good classroom management, transitions can…

N -Sm A -Sm C phase transitions probed by a pair of elastically bound colloids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

M, Muhammed Rasi; Zuhail, K. P.; Roy, Arun; Dhara, Surajit

2018-03-01

The competing effect of surface anchoring of dispersed microparticles and elasticity of nematic and cholesteric liquid crystals has been shown to stabilize a variety of topological defects. Here we study a pair of colloidal microparticles with homeotropic and planar surface anchoring across N -Sm A -Sm C phase transitions. We show that below the Sm A -Sm C phase transition the temperature dependence of interparticle separation (D ) of colloids with homeotropic anchoring shows a power-law behavior; D ˜(1-T /TA C) α , with an exponent α ≈0.5 . For colloids with planar surface anchoring the angle between the joining line of the centers of the two colloids and the far field director shows characteristic variation elucidating the phase transitions.

Predicting glass-to-glass and liquid-to-liquid phase transitions in supercooled water using classical nucleation theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tournier, Robert F.

2018-01-01

Glass-to-glass and liquid-to-liquid phase transitions are observed in bulk and confined water, with or without applied pressure. They result from the competition of two liquid phases separated by an enthalpy difference depending on temperature. The classical nucleation equation of these phases is completed by this quantity existing at all temperatures, a pressure contribution, and an enthalpy excess. This equation leads to two homogeneous nucleation temperatures in each liquid phase; the first one (Tn- below Tm) being the formation temperature of an "ordered" liquid phase and the second one corresponding to the overheating temperature (Tn+ above Tm). Thermodynamic properties, double glass transition temperatures, sharp enthalpy and volume changes are predicted in agreement with experimental results. The first-order transition line at TLL = 0.833 × Tm between fragile and strong liquids joins two critical points. Glass phase above Tg becomes "ordered" liquid phase disappearing at TLL at low pressure and at Tn+ = 1.302 × Tm at high pressure.

Low temperature phase of the trigonal RbIn(MoO4)2 crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zapart, W.; Zapart, M. B.; Schranz, W.; Reinecker, M.

2013-02-01

The present article is devoted to a new low-temperature phase transition found at about T pt = 84 K in the layered RbIn(MoO4)2 crystal. This phase transition is well proved by dynamical mechanical analysis through anomalies in the temperature behaviour of both real and imaginary parts of the Young's modulus. From the polarizing microscope observations it was found that below T pt the ferroelastic phase disappears. This transition has also been seen through strong changes in the shape of the electron paramagnetic resonance lines. EPR studies, performed in the liquid nitrogen temperature, yield evidence of strong rebuilding of the crystal unit cell in comparison with that of the high temperature paraelastic phase.

Finite-connectivity spin-glass phase diagrams and low-density parity check codes.

PubMed

Migliorini, Gabriele; Saad, David

2006-02-01

We obtain phase diagrams of regular and irregular finite-connectivity spin glasses. Contact is first established between properties of the phase diagram and the performance of low-density parity check (LDPC) codes within the replica symmetric (RS) ansatz. We then study the location of the dynamical and critical transition points of these systems within the one step replica symmetry breaking theory (RSB), extending similar calculations that have been performed in the past for the Bethe spin-glass problem. We observe that the location of the dynamical transition line does change within the RSB theory, in comparison with the results obtained in the RS case. For LDPC decoding of messages transmitted over the binary erasure channel we find, at zero temperature and rate , an RS critical transition point at while the critical RSB transition point is located at , to be compared with the corresponding Shannon bound . For the binary symmetric channel we show that the low temperature reentrant behavior of the dynamical transition line, observed within the RS ansatz, changes its location when the RSB ansatz is employed; the dynamical transition point occurs at higher values of the channel noise. Possible practical implications to improve the performance of the state-of-the-art error correcting codes are discussed.

Collapsing lattice animals and lattice trees in two dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, Hsiao-Ping; Grassberger, Peter

2005-06-01

We present high statistics simulations of weighted lattice bond animals and lattice trees on the square lattice, with fugacities for each non-bonded contact and for each bond between two neighbouring monomers. The simulations are performed using a newly developed sequential sampling method with resampling, very similar to the pruned-enriched Rosenbluth method (PERM) used for linear chain polymers. We determine with high precision the line of second-order transitions from an extended to a collapsed phase in the resulting two-dimensional phase diagram. This line includes critical bond percolation as a multicritical point, and we verify that this point divides the line into different universality classes. One of them corresponds to the collapse driven by contacts and includes the collapse of (weakly embeddable) trees. There is some evidence that the other is subdivided again into two parts with different universality classes. One of these (at the far side from collapsing trees) is bond driven and is represented by the Derrida-Herrmann model of animals having bonds only (no contacts). Between the critical percolation point and this bond-driven collapse seems to be an intermediate regime, whose other end point is a multicritical point P* where a transition line between two collapsed phases (one bond driven and the other contact driven) sparks off. This point P* seems to be attractive (in the renormalization group sense) from the side of the intermediate regime, so there are four universality classes on the transition line (collapsing trees, critical percolation, intermediate regime, and Derrida-Herrmann). We obtain very precise estimates for all critical exponents for collapsing trees. It is already harder to estimate the critical exponents for the intermediate regime. Finally, it is very difficult to obtain with our method good estimates of the critical parameters of the Derrida-Herrmann universality class. As regards the bond-driven to contact-driven transition in the collapsed phase, we have some evidence for its existence and rough location, but no precise estimates of critical exponents.

Raman studies of phase transitions in ferroelectric [C2H5NH3]2ZnCl4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ben Mohamed, C.; Karoui, K.; Bulou, A.; Ben Rhaiem, A.

2017-03-01

The present paper accounted for the synthesis, differential scanning calorimetric and vibrational spectroscopy of [C2H5NH3]2ZnCl4grown at room temperature. Differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) disclosed five phase transitions at T1=231 K, T2=234 K, T3=237 K, T4=247 K and T5=312 K. The temperature dependence of the dielectric constant at different temperatures proved that this compound is ferroelectric below 238 K. Raman spectra as function temperature have been used to characterize these transitions and their nature, which indicates a change of the some peak near the transitions phase. The analysis of the wavenumber and the line width based on the order-disorder model allowed to obtain information relative to the thermal coefficient and the activation energy near the transitions phase.

Traffic jams induced by fluctuation of a leading car.

PubMed

Nagatani, T

2000-04-01

We present a phase diagram of the different kinds of congested traffic triggered by fluctuation of a leading car in an open system without sources and sinks. Traffic states and density waves are investigated numerically by varying the amplitude of fluctuation using a car following model. The phase transitions among the free traffic, oscillatory congested traffic, and homogeneous congested traffic occur by fluctuation of a leading car. With increasing the amplitude of fluctuation, the transition between the free traffic and oscillatory traffic occurs at lower density and the transition between the homogeneous congested traffic and the oscillatory traffic occurs at higher density. The oscillatory congested traffic corresponds to the coexisting phase. Also, the moving localized clusters appear just above the transition lines.

Enhanced thermoelectric performance driven by high-temperature phase transition in the phase change material Ge 4SbTe 5

DOE PAGES

Williams, Jared B.; Lara-Curzio, Edgar; Cakmak, Ercan; ...

2015-05-15

Phase change materials are identified for their ability to rapidly alternate between amorphous and crystalline phases and have large contrast in the optical/electrical properties of the respective phases. The materials are primarily used in memory storage applications, but recently they have also been identified as potential thermoelectric materials. Many of the phase change materials researched today can be found on the pseudo-binary (GeTe) 1-x(Sb 2Te 3) x tie-line. While many compounds on this tie-line have been recognized as thermoelectric materials, here we focus on Ge 4SbTe 5, a single phase compound just off of the (GeTe) 1-x(Sb 2Te 3) xmore » tie-line, that forms in a stable rocksalt crystal structure at room temperature. We find that stoichiometric and undoped Ge 4SbTe 5 exhibits a thermal conductivity of ~1.2 W/m-K at high temperature and a large Seebeck coefficient of ~250 μV/K. The resistivity decreases dramatically at 623 K due to a structural phase transition which lends to a large enhancement in both thermoelectric power factor and thermoelectric figure of merit at 823 K. In a more general sense the research presents evidence that phase change materials can potentially provide a new route to highly efficient thermoelectric materials for power generation at high temperature.« less

Topological nodal superconducting phases and topological phase transition in the hyperhoneycomb lattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouhon, Adrien; Schmidt, Johann; Black-Schaffer, Annica M.

2018-03-01

We establish the topology of the spin-singlet superconducting states in the bare hyperhoneycomb lattice, and we derive analytically the full phase diagram using only symmetry and topology in combination with simple energy arguments. The phase diagram is dominated by two states preserving time-reversal symmetry. We find a line-nodal state dominating at low doping levels that is topologically nontrivial and exhibits surface Majorana flatbands, which we show perfectly match the bulk-boundary correspondence using the Berry phase approach. At higher doping levels, we find a fully gapped state with trivial topology. By analytically calculating the topological invariant of the nodal lines, we derive the critical point between the line-nodal and fully gapped states as a function of both pairing parameters and doping. We find that the line-nodal state is favored not only at lower doping levels but also if symmetry-allowed deformations of the lattice are present. Adding simple energy arguments, we establish that a fully gapped state with broken time-reversal symmetry likely appears covering the actual phase transition. We find this fully gapped state to be topologically trivial, while we find an additional point-nodal state at very low doing levels that also break time-reversal symmetry and has nontrivial topology with associated Fermi surface arcs. We eventually address the robustness of the phase diagram to generalized models also including adiabatic spin-orbit coupling, and we show how all but the point-nodal state are reasonably stable.

A Transition to Metallic Hydrogen: Evidence of the Plasma Phase Transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silvera, Isaac; Zaghoo, Mohamed; Salamat, Ashkan

The insulator-metal transition in hydrogen is one of the most outstanding problems in condensed matter physics. The high-pressure metallic phase is now predicted to be liquid atomic from T =0 K to very high temperatures. We have conducted measurements of optical properties of hot dense hydrogen in the region of 1.1-1.7 Mbar and up to 2200 K in a diamond anvil cell using pulsed laser heating of the sample. We present evidence in two forms: a plateau in the heating curves (average laser power vs temperature) characteristic of a first-order phase transition with latent heat, and changes in transmittance and reflectance characteristic of a metal for temperatures above the plateau temperature. For thick films the reflectance saturates at ~0.5. The phase line of this transition has a negative slope in agreement with theories of the so-called plasma phase transition. The NSF, Grant DMR-1308641, the DOE Stockpile Stewardship Academic Alliance Program, Grant DE-FG52-10NA29656, and NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship Program, Award NNX14AP17H supported this research.

Direct observation of the flux-line vortex glass phase in a type II superconductor.

PubMed

Divakar, U; Drew, A J; Lee, S L; Gilardi, R; Mesot, J; Ogrin, F Y; Charalambous, D; Forgan, E M; Menon, G I; Momono, N; Oda, M; Dewhurst, C D; Baines, C

2004-06-11

The order of the vortex state in La1.9Sr0.1CuO4 is probed using muon-spin rotation and small-angle neutron scattering. A transition from a Bragg glass to a vortex glass is observed, where the latter is composed of disordered vortex lines. In the vicinity of the transition the microscopic behavior reflects a delicate interplay of thermally induced and pinning-induced disorder.

Thermoelastic behaviour of martensitic alloy in the vicinity of critical point in the stress-temperature phase diagram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

L'vov, V. A.; Matsishin, N.; Glavatska, N.

2010-04-01

The theoretical phase diagram of the shape memory alloy, which exhibits the first-order martensitic phase transition of the cubic-tetragonal type, has been considered. The thermoelastic behaviour of the ultra-soft Ni-Mn-Ga alloy in the vicinity of the endpoint of the phase transitions line has been modelled. To this end, the strain-temperature and stress-strain dependencies have been computed with the account of the temperature dependence of the elastic modulus of the alloy. Two important features of thermoelastic behaviour of the alloy have been disclosed: (1) even in the case of complete stress-induced martensitic transformation (MT), the MT strain determined from the length of the plateaus at the stress-strain curves is smaller than the 'spontaneous' tetragonal distortion of the crystal lattice, which arises on cooling of the alloy and (2) the stress-strain loops may include the plateau-like segment even at temperatures above the critical temperature, which corresponds to the endpoint of the stress-strain phase diagram. These features render the observation of the endpoint of phase transitions line impossible with the help of the stress-strain tests and make preferable the direct structural studies of MTs in the stressed single-crystalline specimens.

Evidence of low-density and high-density liquid phases and isochore end point for water confined to carbon nanotube

PubMed Central

Nomura, Kentaro; Kaneko, Toshihiro; Bai, Jaeil; Francisco, Joseph S.; Yasuoka, Kenji; Zeng, Xiao Cheng

2017-01-01

Possible transition between two phases of supercooled liquid water, namely the low- and high-density liquid water, has been only predicted to occur below 230 K from molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. However, such a phase transition cannot be detected in the laboratory because of the so-called “no-man’s land” under deeply supercooled condition, where only crystalline ices have been observed. Here, we show MD simulation evidence that, inside an isolated carbon nanotube (CNT) with a diameter of 1.25 nm, both low- and high-density liquid water states can be detected near ambient temperature and above ambient pressure. In the temperature–pressure phase diagram, the low- and high-density liquid water phases are separated by the hexagonal ice nanotube (hINT) phase, and the melting line terminates at the isochore end point near 292 K because of the retracting melting line from 292 to 278 K. Beyond the isochore end point (292 K), low- and high-density liquid becomes indistinguishable. When the pressure is increased from 10 to 600 MPa along the 280-K isotherm, we observe that water inside the 1.25-nm-diameter CNT can undergo low-density liquid to hINT to high-density liquid reentrant first-order transitions. PMID:28373562

Highly responsive ground state of PbTaSe 2 : Structural phase transition and evolution of superconductivity under pressure

DOE PAGES

Kaluarachchi, Udhara S.; Deng, Yuhang; Besser, Matthew F.; ...

2017-06-09

Transport and magnetic studies of PbTaSe 2 under pressure suggest the existence of two superconducting phases with the low temperature phase boundary at ~ 0.25 GPa that is defined by a very sharp, first order, phase transition. The first order phase transition line can be followed via pressure dependent resistivity measurements, and is found to be near 0.12 GPa near room temperature. Transmission electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction at elevated temperatures confirm that this first order phase transition is structural and occurs at ambient pressure near ~ 425 K. The new, high temperature/high pressure phase has a similar crystal structuremore » and slightly lower unit cell volume relative to the ambient pressure, room temperature structure. Based on first-principles calculations this structure is suggested to be obtained by shifting the Pb atoms from the 1 a to 1 e Wyckoff position without changing the positions of Ta and Se atoms. PbTaSe 2 has an exceptionally pressure sensitive, structural phase transition with Δ T s / Δ P ≈ -1400 K/GPa near room temperature, and ≈ -1700 K/GPa near 4 K. This first order transition causes a ~ 1 K (~ 25 % ) steplike decrease in T c as pressure is increased through 0.25 GPa.« less

Anomalous phase behavior of first-order fluid-liquid phase transition in phosphorus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, G.; Wang, H.; Hu, D. M.; Ding, M. C.; Zhao, X. G.; Yan, J. L.

2017-11-01

Although the existence of liquid-liquid phase transition has become more and more convincing, whether it will terminate at a critical point and what is the order parameter are still open. To explore these questions, we revisit the fluid-liquid phase transition (FLPT) in phosphorus (P) and study its phase behavior by performing extensive first-principles molecular dynamics simulations. The FLPT observed in experiments is well reproduced, and a fluid-liquid critical point (FLCP) at T = 3000 ˜ 3500 K, P = 1.5-2.0 Kbar is found. With decreasing temperature from the FLCP along the transition line, the density difference (Δρ) between two coexisting phases first increases from zero and then anomalously decreases; however, the entropy difference (ΔS) continuously increases from zero. These features suggest that an order parameter containing contributions from both the density and the entropy is needed to describe the FLPT in P, and at least at low temperatures, the entropy, instead of the density, governs the FLPT.

Emission lines in the long period Cepheid l Carinae

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boehm-Vitense, Erika; Love, Stanley G.

1991-01-01

For the Cepheid (l) Carinae with a pulsation period of 35.5 days we have studied the emission line fluxes as a function of pulsational phase in order to find out whether we see chromosphere and transition layer emission or whether we see emission due to an outward moving shock. All emission lines show a steep increase in flux shortly before maximum light suggestive of a shock moving through the surface layers. The large ratio of the C IV to C II line fluxes shows that these are not transition layer lines. During maximum light the large ratio of the C IV to C II line fluxes also suggests that we see emission from a shock with velocities greater than 100 km/sec such that C IV emission can be excited. With such velocities mass outflow appears possible. The variations seen in the Mg II line profiles show that there is an internal absorption over a broad velocity band independent of the pulsational phase. We attribute this absorption to a circumstellar 'shell'. This 'shell' appears to be seen also as spatially extended emission in the O I line at 1300 angstrom, which is probably excited by resonance with Ly beta.

Triple points and phase diagrams in the extended phase space of charged Gauss-Bonnet black holes in AdS space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Shao-Wen; Liu, Yu-Xiao

2014-08-01

We study the triple points and phase diagrams in the extended phase space of the charged Gauss-Bonnet black holes in d-dimensional anti-de Sitter space, where the cosmological constant appears as a dynamical pressure of the system and its conjugate quantity is the thermodynamic volume of the black holes. Employing the equation of state T=T(v,P), we demonstrate that the information of the phase transition and behavior of the Gibbs free energy are potential encoded in the T-v (T-rh) line with fixed pressure P. We get the phase diagrams for the charged Gauss-Bonnet black holes with different values of the charge Q and dimension d. The result shows that the small/large black hole phase transitions appear for any d, which is reminiscent of the liquid/gas transition of a Van der Waals type. Moreover, the interesting thermodynamic phenomena, i.e., the triple points and the small/intermediate/large black hole phase transitions are observed for d=6 and Q ∈(0.1705,0.1946).

Revealing Stellar Surface Structure Behind Transiting Exoplanets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dravins, Dainis

2018-04-01

During exoplanet transits, successive stellar surface portions become hidden and differential spectroscopy between various transit phases provide spectra of small surface segments temporarily hidden behind the planet. Line profile changes across the stellar disk offer diagnostics for hydrodynamic modeling, while exoplanet analyses require stellar background spectra to be known along the transit path. Since even giant planets cover only a small fraction of any main-sequence star, very precise observations are required, as well as averaging over numerous spectral lines with similar parameters. Spatially resolved Fe I line profiles across stellar disks have now been retrieved for HD209458 (G0V) and HD189733A (K1V), using data from the UVES and HARPS spectrometers. Free from rotational broadening, spatially resolved profiles are narrower and deeper than in integrated starlight. During transit, the profiles shift towards longer wavelengths, illustrating both stellar rotation at the latitude of transit and the prograde orbital motion of the exoplanets. This method will soon become applicable to more stars, once additional bright exoplanet hosts have been found.

Chiral symmetry restoration at finite temperature and chemical potential in the improved ladder approximation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Taniguchi, Y.; Yoshida, Y.

1997-02-01

The chiral symmetry of QCD is studied at finite temperature and chemical potential using the Schwinger-Dyson equation in the improved ladder approximation. We calculate three order parameters: the vacuum expectation value of the quark bilinear operator, the pion decay constant, and the quark mass gap. We have a second order phase transition at the temperature T{sub c}=169 MeV along the zero chemical potential line, and a first order phase transition at the chemical potential {mu}{sub c}=598 MeV along the zero temperature line. We also calculate the critical exponents of the three order parameters. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physicalmore » Society}« less

Theory of phase diagrams described by thermodynamic potentials with T d symmetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukovnin, A. A.; Talanov, V. M.

2014-09-01

Phase diagrams of crystals induced by irreducible representations with symmetry group ( T d ) are constructed within the phenomenological theory of second-order phase transitions. A model of the Landau thermodynamic potential is studied, state equations of all symmetry-conditioned phases are obtained, and general conditions for their thermodynamic stability are formulated. Equations for the boundaries of phase areas and lines of phase transitions are obtained for the fourth order of expansion of the potential via components of the order parameter. Some types of the collapse of the multicritical point of the phase diagram for the eighth order of potential expansion are studied using computer calculations. The possible existence of phase diagrams that contain one or more triple points and areas of existence of three and four phases is shown for the first time for the potentials with the above symmetry. Examples are given of crystals that undergo phase transitions in the considered symmetry of the order parameter.

A reversible transition in liquid Bi under pressure.

PubMed

Emuna, M; Matityahu, S; Yahel, E; Makov, G; Greenberg, Y

2018-01-21

The electrical resistance of solid and liquid Bi has been measured at high pressures and temperatures using a novel experimental design for high sensitivity measurements utilizing a "Paris-Edinburgh" toroid large volume press. An anomalous sharp decrease in resistivity with increasing temperature at constant pressures was observed in the region beyond melting which implies a possible novel transition in the melt. The proposed transition was observed across a range of pressures both in heating and cooling cycles of the sample demonstrating its reversibility. From the measurements it was possible to determine a "phase-line" of this transition on the Bi pressure-temperature phase diagram terminating at the melting curve.

Disappearance of the force-free current configuration at the first order vortex lattice phase transition in YBa 2Cu 3O 7-δ single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Beek, C. J.; Indenbom, M. V.; Berseth, V.; Benoit, W.; Erb, A.; Flükiger, R.

1997-08-01

The anisotropy in the transverse AC susceptibility of YBa2Cu3O7-δ single crystals, induced by the periodic appearance of a force-free current configuration upon rotation of a superimposed DC field in the crystal plane, disappears at the vortex phase transition, indicating the loss of the vortex lines' stability against mutual cutting.

Quantum phase transition and quench dynamics in the anisotropic Rabi model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Li-Tuo; Yang, Zhen-Biao; Wu, Huai-Zhi; Zheng, Shi-Biao

2017-01-01

We investigate the quantum phase transition (QPT) and quench dynamics in the anisotropic Rabi model when the ratio of the qubit transition frequency to the oscillator frequency approaches infinity. Based on the Schrieffer-Wolff transformation, we find an anti-Hermitian operator that maps the original Hamiltonian into a one-dimensional oscillator Hamiltonian within the spin-down subspace. We analytically derive the eigenenergy and eigenstate of the normal and superradiant phases and demonstrate that the system undergoes a second-order quantum phase transition at a critical border. The critical border is a straight line in a two-dimensional parameter space which essentially extends the dimensionality of QPT in the Rabi model. By combining the Kibble-Zurek mechanism and the adiabatic dynamics method, we find that the residual energy vanishes as the quench time tends to zero, which is a sharp contrast to the universal scaling where the residual energy diverges in the same limit.

What can nuclear collisions teach us about the boiling of water or the formation of multi-star systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gross, D. H. E.

2001-11-01

Phase transitions in nuclei, small atomic clusters and self-gravitating systems demand the extension of thermo-statistics to "Small" systems. The main obstacle is the thermodynamic limit. It is shown how the original definition of the entropy by Boltzmann as the volume of the energy-manifold of the N-body phase space allows a geometrical definition of the entropy as function of the conserved quantities. Without invoking the thermodynamic limit the whole "zoo" of phase transitions and critical points/lines can be unambiguously defined. The relation to the Yang-Lee singularities of the grand-canonical partition sum is pointed out. It is shown that just phase transitions in non-extensive systems give the complete set of characteristic parameters of the transition including the surface tension. Nuclear heavy-ion collisions are an experimental playground to explore this extension of thermo-statistics

Proper time regularization and the QCD chiral phase transition

PubMed Central

Cui, Zhu-Fang; Zhang, Jin-Li; Zong, Hong-Shi

2017-01-01

We study the QCD chiral phase transition at finite temperature and finite quark chemical potential within the two flavor Nambu–Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model, where a generalization of the proper-time regularization scheme is motivated and implemented. We find that in the chiral limit the whole transition line in the phase diagram is of second order, whereas for finite quark masses a crossover is observed. Moreover, if we take into account the influence of quark condensate to the coupling strength (which also provides a possible way of how the effective coupling varies with temperature and quark chemical potential), it is found that a CEP may appear. These findings differ substantially from other NJL results which use alternative regularization schemes, some explanation and discussion are given at the end. This indicates that the regularization scheme can have a dramatic impact on the study of the QCD phase transition within the NJL model. PMID:28401889

Quantum phase transition with dissipative frustration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maile, D.; Andergassen, S.; Belzig, W.; Rastelli, G.

2018-04-01

We study the quantum phase transition of the one-dimensional phase model in the presence of dissipative frustration, provided by an interaction of the system with the environment through two noncommuting operators. Such a model can be realized in Josephson junction chains with shunt resistances and resistances between the chain and the ground. Using a self-consistent harmonic approximation, we determine the phase diagram at zero temperature which exhibits a quantum phase transition between an ordered phase, corresponding to the superconducting state, and a disordered phase, corresponding to the insulating state with localized superconducting charge. Interestingly, we find that the critical line separating the two phases has a nonmonotonic behavior as a function of the dissipative coupling strength. This result is a consequence of the frustration between (i) one dissipative coupling that quenches the quantum phase fluctuations favoring the ordered phase and (ii) one that quenches the quantum momentum (charge) fluctuations leading to a vanishing phase coherence. Moreover, within the self-consistent harmonic approximation, we analyze the dissipation induced crossover between a first and second order phase transition, showing that quantum frustration increases the range in which the phase transition is second order. The nonmonotonic behavior is reflected also in the purity of the system that quantifies the degree of correlation between the system and the environment, and in the logarithmic negativity as an entanglement measure that encodes the internal quantum correlations in the chain.

Transition in coupled replicas may not imply a finite-temperature ideal glass transition in glass-forming systems.

PubMed

Garrahan, Juan P

2014-03-01

A key open question in the glass transition field is whether a finite temperature thermodynamic transition to the glass state exists or not. Recent simulations of coupled replicas in atomistic models have found signatures of a static transition as a function of replica coupling. This can be viewed as evidence of an associated thermodynamic glass transition in the uncoupled system. We demonstrate here that a different interpretation is possible. We consider the triangular plaquette model, an interacting spin system which displays (East model-like) glassy dynamics in the absence of any static transition. We show that when two replicas are coupled, there is a curve of equilibrium phase transitions, between phases of small and large overlap, in the temperature-coupling plane (located on the self-dual line of an exact temperature-coupling duality of the system) which ends at a critical point. Crucially, in the limit of vanishing coupling the finite temperature transition disappears, and the uncoupled system is in the disordered phase at all temperatures. We discuss an interpretation of atomistic simulations in light of this result.

Random center vortex lines in continuous 3D space-time

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Höllwieser, Roman; Institute of Atomic and Subatomic Physics, Vienna University of Technology, Operngasse 9, 1040 Vienna; Altarawneh, Derar

2016-01-22

We present a model of center vortices, represented by closed random lines in continuous 2+1-dimensional space-time. These random lines are modeled as being piece-wise linear and an ensemble is generated by Monte Carlo methods. The physical space in which the vortex lines are defined is a cuboid with periodic boundary conditions. Besides moving, growing and shrinking of the vortex configuration, also reconnections are allowed. Our ensemble therefore contains not a fixed, but a variable number of closed vortex lines. This is expected to be important for realizing the deconfining phase transition. Using the model, we study both vortex percolation andmore » the potential V(R) between quark and anti-quark as a function of distance R at different vortex densities, vortex segment lengths, reconnection conditions and at different temperatures. We have found three deconfinement phase transitions, as a function of density, as a function of vortex segment length, and as a function of temperature. The model reproduces the qualitative features of confinement physics seen in SU(2) Yang-Mills theory.« less

Vortex-glass state in the isovalent optimally doped pnictide superconductor BaFe2(As0.68P0.32)2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salem-Sugui, S., Jr.; Mosqueira, J.; Alvarenga, A. D.; Sóñora, D.; Crisan, A.; Ionescu, A. M.; Sundar, S.; Hu, D.; Li, S.-L.; Luo, H.-Q.

2017-05-01

We report on isochamp magneto-resistivity and ac susceptibility curves obtained in a high-quality single crystal of the isovalent optimally doped pnictide BaFe2(As{}0.68P{}0.32)2 with superconducting temperature T c = 27.8 K for H∥c-axis. Plots of the logarithmic derivative of the resistivity curves allowed the identification of a vortex-glass (VG) phase and to obtain the values of the critical glass temperature T g, the temperature T * marking the transition to the liquid phase and of the critical exponent s. The presence of the VG phase is confirmed by detailed measurements of the third harmonic signal of the ac magnetic susceptibility. The modified VG model was successfully applied to the data allowing the obtention of the temperature independent VG activation energy U b . The activation energy U 0 obtained from the Arrhenius plots in the flux-flow region are compared with U b and with U 0 obtained from flux-creep measurements on a M(H) isothermal in the same sample. A phase diagram of the studied sample is constructed showing the T g glass line, the T * line representing a transition (melting) to the liquid phase, the mean field temperature T c(H) line and the H p line obtained from the peaks in isothermal critical current, J c(H) curves, which are explained in terms of a softening of the vortex lattice. The glass line was fitted by a theory presented in the literature which considers the effect of disorder.

Quasi-superradiant soliton state of matter in quantum metamaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asai, Hidehiro; Kawabata, Shiro; Savel'ev, Sergey E.; Zagoskin, Alexandre M.

2018-02-01

Strong interaction of a system of quantum emitters (e.g., two-level atoms) with electromagnetic field induces specific correlations in the system accompanied by a drastic increase of emitted radiation (superradiation or superfluorescence). Despite the fact that since its prediction this phenomenon was subject to a vigorous experimental and theoretical research, there remain open question, in particular, concerning the possibility of a first order phase transition to the superradiant state from the vacuum state. In systems of natural and charge-based artificial atom this transition is prohibited by "no-go" theorems. Here we demonstrate numerically and confirm analytically a similar transition in a one-dimensional quantum metamaterial - a chain of artificial atoms (qubits) strongly interacting with classical electromagnetic fields in a transmission line. The system switches from vacuum state to the quasi-superradiant (QS) phase with one or several magnetic solitons and finite average occupation of qubit excited states along the transmission line. A quantum metamaterial in the QS phase circumvents the "no-go" restrictions by considerably decreasing its total energy relative to the vacuum state by exciting nonlinear electromagnetic solitons.

Thermal quantum coherence and correlation in the extended XY spin chain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sha, Ya-Ting; Wang, Yue; Sun, Zheng-Hang; Hou, Xi-Wen

2018-05-01

Quantum coherence and correlation of thermal states in the extended XY spin chain are studied in terms of the recently proposed l1 norm, skew information, and Bures distance of geometry discord (BGD), respectively. The entanglement measured via concurrence is calculated for reference. A two-dimensional susceptibility is introduced to explore their capability in highlighting the critical lines associated with quantum phase transitions in the model. It is shown that the susceptibility of the skew information and BGD is a genuine indicator of quantum phase transitions, and characterizes the factorization. However, the l1 norm is trivial for the factorization. An explicit scaling law of BGD is captured at low temperature in the XY model. In contrast to the entanglement, quantum coherence reveals a kind of long-range nonclassical correlation. Moreover, the obvious relation among model parameters is extracted for the factorized line in the extended model. Those are instructive for the understanding of quantum coherence and correlation in the theory of quantum information, and quantum phase transitions and factorization in condensed-matter physics.

Two-dimensional H2 in Si: Raman scattering and modeling study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melnikov, V. V.; Hiller, M.; Lavrov, E. V.

2018-03-01

Molecular hydrogen trapped within {111}-oriented platelets in silicon is studied by means of Raman scattering and first principles theory. The rotational transition S0(0 ) (J =0 →J =2 ) of para-H2 (nuclear spin I =0 ) at 353 cm-1 is used as a probe. We find that for temperatures below 100 K the S0(0 ) Raman line starts to broaden asymmetrically, which is interpreted as the onset of a phase transition from a state with a short-range order ("gaseous" or "liquid" phase) to a two-dimensional molecular crystal lying in the {111} plane of silicon. The shape of the S0(0 ) line at helium temperatures strongly depends on the relative content of ortho- (nuclear spin I =1 ) and para-H2 revealing the details of the intermolecular interaction. A comprehensive theoretical analysis based on ab initio calculations, molecular dynamics simulations, and rotational spectra modeling reveals that the phase transition to the crystalline state of the two-dimensional hydrogen does occur at temperatures substantially higher compared to those of bulk H2.

Continuous and discontinuous phase transitions in the evolution of a polygenic trait under stabilizing selective pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fierro, Annalisa; Cocozza, Sergio; Monticelli, Antonella; Scala, Giovanni; Miele, Gennaro

2017-06-01

The presence of phenomena analogous to phase transition in Statistical Mechanics has been suggested in the evolution of a polygenic trait under stabilizing selection, mutation and genetic drift. By using numerical simulations of a model system, we analyze the evolution of a population of N diploid hermaphrodites in random mating regime. The population evolves under the effect of drift, selective pressure in form of viability on an additive polygenic trait, and mutation. The analysis allows to determine a phase diagram in the plane of mutation rate and strength of selection. The involved pattern of phase transitions is characterized by a line of critical points for weak selective pressure (smaller than a threshold), whereas discontinuous phase transitions, characterized by metastable hysteresis, are observed for strong selective pressure. A finite-size scaling analysis suggests the analogy between our system and the mean-field Ising model for selective pressure approaching the threshold from weaker values. In this framework, the mutation rate, which allows the system to explore the accessible microscopic states, is the parameter controlling the transition from large heterozygosity ( disordered phase) to small heterozygosity ( ordered one).

Continuity of states between the cholesteric → line hexatic transition and the condensation transition in DNA solutions

DOE PAGES

Yasar, Selcuk; Podgornik, Rudolf; Valle-Orero, Jessica; ...

2014-11-05

A new method of finely temperature-tuning osmotic pressure allows one to identify the cholesteric → line hexatic transition of oriented or unoriented long-fragment DNA bundles in monovalent salt solutions as first order, with a small but finite volume discontinuity. This transition is similar to the osmotic pressure-induced expanded → condensed DNA transition in polyvalent salt solutions at small enough polyvalent salt concentrations. Therefore there exists a continuity of states between the two. This finding with the corresponding empirical equation of state, effectively relates the phase diagram of DNA solutions for monovalent salts to that for polyvalent salts and sheds somemore » light on the complicated interactions between DNA molecules at high densities.« less

Decompression-induced melting of ice IV and the liquid-liquid transition in water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishima, Osamu; Stanley, H. Eugene

1998-03-01

Although liquid water has been the focus of intensive research for over 100 years, a coherent physical picture that unifies all of the known anomalies of this liquid, is still lacking. Some of these anomalies occur in the supercooled region, and have been rationalized on the grounds of a possible retracing of the liquid-gas spinodal (metastability limit) line into the supercooled liquid region, or alternatively the presence of a line of first-order liquid-liquid phase transitions in this region which ends in a critical point,. But these ideas remain untested experimentally, in part because supercooled water can be probed only above the homogeneous nucleation temperature TH at which water spontaneously crystallizes. Here we report an experimental approach that is not restricted by the barrier imposed by TH, involving measurement of the decompression-induced melting curves of several high-pressure phases of ice in small emulsified droplets. We find that the melting curve for ice IV seems to undergo a discontinuity at precisely the location proposed for the line of liquid-liquid phase transitions. This is consistent with, but does not prove, the coexistence of two different phases of (supercooled) liquid water. From the experimental data we calculate a possible Gibbs potential surface and a corresponding equation of state for water, from the forms of which we estimate the coordinates of the liquid-liquid critical point to be at pressure Pc ~ 0.1GPa and temperature Tc ~ 220K.

VARIATION IN THE PRE-TRANSIT BALMER LINE SIGNAL AROUND THE HOT JUPITER HD 189733B

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cauley, P. Wilson; Redfield, Seth; Jensen, Adam G.

As followup to our recent detection of a pre-transit signal around HD 189733 b, we obtained full pre-transit phase coverage of a single planetary transit. The pre-transit signal is again detected in the Balmer lines but with variable strength and timing, suggesting that the bow shock geometry reported in our previous work does not describe the signal from the latest transit. We also demonstrate the use of the Ca ii H and K residual core flux as a proxy for the stellar activity level throughout the transit. A moderate trend is found between the pre-transit absorption signal in the 2013more » data and the Ca ii H flux. This suggests that some of the 2013 pre-transit hydrogen absorption can be attributed to varying stellar activity levels. A very weak correlation is found between the Ca ii H core flux and the Balmer line absorption in the 2015 transit, hinting at a smaller contribution from stellar activity compared to the 2013 transit. We simulate how varying stellar activity levels can produce changes in the Balmer line transmission spectra. These simulations show that the strength of the 2013 and 2015 pre-transit signals can be reproduced by stellar variability. If the pre-transit signature is attributed to circumplanetary material, its evolution in time can be described by accretion clumps spiraling toward the star, although this interpretation has serious limitations. Further high-cadence monitoring at H α is necessary to distinguish between true absorption by transiting material and short-term variations in the stellar activity level.« less

Competition between crystallization and glassification for particles with short-ranged attraction. Possible applications to protein crystallization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaccarelli, E.; Sciortino, F.; Tartaglia, P.; Foffi, G.; McCullagh, G. D.; Lawlor, A.; Dawson, K. A.

2002-11-01

We discuss the phase behaviour of spherical hard-core particles, with an attractive potential, as described by a hard-core Yukawa model. The ratio of the range of the attraction to the diameter of the particles is an important control parameter of the problem. Upon decreasing the range of the attraction, the phase diagram changes quite significantly, with the liquid-gas transition becoming metastable, and the crystal being in equilibrium with the fluid, with no intervening liquid. We also study the glass transition lines and, crucially, find that the situation, being very simple for pure repulsive potentials, becomes much richer in competition between glass and crystal phases for short-range attractions. Also a transition between attractive and repulsive glass appears somewhat in analogy with the isostructural equilibrium transition between two crystals.

The Boson peak in confined water: An experimental investigation of the liquid-liquid phase transition hypothesis

DOE PAGES

Mallamace, Francesco; Corsaro, Carmelo; Mallamace, Domenico; ...

2015-12-05

The Boson peak (BP) of deeply cooled confined water is studied by using inelastic neutron scattering (INS) in a large interval of the (P, T) phase plane. By taking into account the different behavior of such a collective vibrational mode in both strong and fragile glasses as well as in glass-forming materials, we were able to determine the Widom line that characterizes supercooled bulk water within the frame of the liquid-liquid phase transition (LLPT) hypothesis. The peak frequency and width of the BP correlated with the water polymorphism of the LLPT scenario, allowing us to distinguish the “low-density liquid” (LDL)more » and “high-density liquid” (HDL) phases in deeply cooled bulk water.Moreover, the BP properties afford a further confirmation of theWidom line temperature T W as the (P, T) locus in which the local structure of water transforms from a predominately LDL form to a predominately HDL form.« less

The Boson peak in confined water: An experimental investigation of the liquid-liquid phase transition hypothesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mallamace, Francesco; Corsaro, Carmelo; Mallamace, Domenico; Wang, Zhe; Chen, Sow-Hsin

2015-10-01

The Boson peak (BP) of deeply cooled confined water is studied by using inelastic neutron scattering (INS) in a large interval of the ( P, T) phase plane. By taking into account the different behavior of such a collective vibrational mode in both strong and fragile glasses as well as in glass-forming materials, we were able to determine the Widom line that characterizes supercooled bulk water within the frame of the liquid-liquid phase transition (LLPT) hypothesis. The peak frequency and width of the BP correlated with the water polymorphism of the LLPT scenario, allowing us to distinguish the "low-density liquid" (LDL) and "high-density liquid" (HDL) phases in deeply cooled bulk water.Moreover, the BP properties afford a further confirmation of theWidom line temperature T W as the ( P, T) locus in which the local structure of water transforms from a predominately LDL form to a predominately HDL form.

The Boson peak in confined water: An experimental investigation of the liquid-liquid phase transition hypothesis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mallamace, Francesco; Corsaro, Carmelo; Mallamace, Domenico

The Boson peak (BP) of deeply cooled confined water is studied by using inelastic neutron scattering (INS) in a large interval of the (P, T) phase plane. By taking into account the different behavior of such a collective vibrational mode in both strong and fragile glasses as well as in glass-forming materials, we were able to determine the Widom line that characterizes supercooled bulk water within the frame of the liquid-liquid phase transition (LLPT) hypothesis. The peak frequency and width of the BP correlated with the water polymorphism of the LLPT scenario, allowing us to distinguish the “low-density liquid” (LDL)more » and “high-density liquid” (HDL) phases in deeply cooled bulk water.Moreover, the BP properties afford a further confirmation of theWidom line temperature T W as the (P, T) locus in which the local structure of water transforms from a predominately LDL form to a predominately HDL form.« less

Efimov-driven phase transitions of the unitary Bose gas.

PubMed

Piatecki, Swann; Krauth, Werner

2014-03-20

Initially predicted in nuclear physics, Efimov trimers are bound configurations of three quantum particles that fall apart when any one of them is removed. They open a window into a rich quantum world that has become the focus of intense experimental and theoretical research, as the region of 'unitary' interactions, where Efimov trimers form, is now accessible in cold-atom experiments. Here we use a path-integral Monte Carlo algorithm backed up by theoretical arguments to show that unitary bosons undergo a first-order phase transition from a normal gas to a superfluid Efimov liquid, bound by the same effects as Efimov trimers. A triple point separates these two phases and another superfluid phase, the conventional Bose-Einstein condensate, whose coexistence line with the Efimov liquid ends in a critical point. We discuss the prospects of observing the proposed phase transitions in cold-atom systems.

Coordinated encoding between cell types in the retina: insights from the theory of phase transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharpee, Tatyana

2015-03-01

In this talk I will describe how the emergence of some types of neurons in the brain can be quantitatively described by the theory of transitions between different phases of matter. The two key parameters that control the separation of neurons into subclasses are the mean and standard deviation of noise levels among neurons in the population. The mean noise level plays the role of temperature in the classic theory of phase transitions, whereas the standard deviation is equivalent to pressure, in the case of liquid-gas transitions, or to magnetic field for magnetic transitions. Our results account for properties of two recently discovered types of salamander OFF retinal ganglion cells, as well as the absence of multiple types of ON cells. We further show that, across visual stimulus contrasts, retinal circuits continued to operate near the critical point whose quantitative characteristics matched those expected near a liquid-gas critical point and described by the nearest-neighbor Ising model in three dimensions. Because the retina needs to operate under changing stimulus conditions, the observed parameters of cell types corresponded to metastable states in the region between the spinodal line and the line describing maximally informative solutions. Such properties of neural circuits can maximize information transmission in a given environment while retaining the ability to quickly adapt to a new environment. NSF CAREER award 1254123 and NIH R01EY019493

Chirped Pulse Spectrometer Operating at 200 GHz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hindle, Francis; Bray, Cédric; Hickson, Kevin; Fontanari, Daniele; Mouelhi, Meriem; Cuisset, Arnaud; Mouret, Gaël; Bocquet, Robin

2018-01-01

The combination of electronic sources operating at high frequencies and modern microwave instrumentation has enabled the recent development of chirped pulse spectrometers for the millimetre and THz bands. This type of instrument can operate at high resolution which is particularly suited to gas-phase rotational spectroscopy. The construction of a chirped pulse spectrometer operating at 200 GHz is described in detail while attention is paid to the phase stability and the data accumulation over many cycles. Validation using carbonyl sulphide has allowed the detection limit of the instrument to be established as function of the accumulation. A large number of OCS transitions were identified using a 10-GHz chirped pulse and include the six most abundant isotopologues, the weakest line corresponding to the fundamental R(17) transition of 16O13C33S with a line strength of 4.3 × 10-26 cm-1/(molecule cm-2). The linearity of the system response for different degrees of data accumulation and transition line strength was confirmed over four orders of magnitudes. A simple analysis of the time-domain data was demonstrated to provide the line-broadening coefficient without the need for conversion by a Fourier transform. Finally, the pulse duration is discussed and optimal values are given for both Doppler-limited and collisional regimes.

Search for the First-Order Liquid-to-Liquid Phase Transition in Low-Temperature Confined Water by Neutron Scattering

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Sow-Hsin; Wang, Zhe; Kolesnikov, Alexander I

2013-01-01

It has been conjectured that a 1st order liquid-to-liquid (L-L) phase transition (LLPT) between high density liquid (HDL) and low density liquid (LDL) in supercooled water may exist, as a thermodynamic extension to the liquid phase of the 1st order transition established between the two bulk solid phases of amorphous ice, the high density amorphous ice (HDA) and the low density amorphous ice (LDA). In this paper, we first recall our previous attempts to establish the existence of the 1st order L-L phase transition through the use of two neutron scattering techniques: a constant Q elastic diffraction study of isobaricmore » temperature scan of the D2O density, namely, the equation of state (EOS) measurements. A pronounced density hysteresis phenomenon in the temperature scan of the density above P = 1500 bar is observed which gives a plausible evidence of crossing the 1st order L-L phase transition line above this pressure; an incoherent quasi-elastic scattering measurements of temperature-dependence of the alpha-relaxation time of H2O at a series of pressures, namely, the study of the Fragile-to-Strong dynamic crossover (FSC) phenomenon as a function of pressure which we interpreted as the results of crossing the Widom line in the one-phase region. In this new experiment, we used incoherent inelastic neutron scattering (INS) to measure the density of states (DOS) of H atoms in H2O molecules in confined water as function of temperature and pressure, through which we may be able to follow the emergence of the LDL and HDL phases at supercooled temperature and high pressures. We here report for the first time the differences of librational and translational DOSs between the hypothetical HDL and LDL phases, which are similar to the corresponding differences between the well-established HDA and LDA ices. This is plausible evidence that the HDL and LDL phases are the thermodynamic extensions of the corresponding amorphous solid water HDA and LDA ices.« less

Search for the first-order liquid-to-liquid phase transition in low-temperature confined water by neutron scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Sow-Hsin; Wang, Zhe; Kolesnikov, Alexander I.; Zhang, Yang; Liu, Kao-Hsiang

2013-02-01

It has been conjectured that a 1st order liquid-to-liquid (L-L) phase transition (LLPT) between high density liquid (HDL) and low density liquid (LDL) in supercooled water may exist, as a thermodynamic extension to the liquid phase of the 1st order transition established between the two bulk solid phases of amorphous ice, the high density amorphous ice (HDA) and the low density amorphous ice (LDA). In this paper, we first recall our previous attempts to establish the existence of the 1st order L-L phase transition through the use of two neutron scattering techniques: a constant Q elastic diffraction study of isobaric temperature scan of the D2O density, namely, the equation of state (EOS) measurements. A pronounced density hysteresis phenomenon in the temperature scan of the density above P = 1500 bar is observed which gives a plausible evidence of crossing the 1st order L-L phase transition line above this pressure; an incoherent quasi-elastic scattering measurements of temperature-dependence of the α-relaxation time of H2O at a series of pressures, namely, the study of the Fragile-to-Strong dynamic crossover (FSC) phenomenon as a function of pressure which we interpreted as the results of crossing the Widom line in the one-phase region. In this new experiment, we used incoherent inelastic neutron scattering (INS) to measure the density of states (DOS) of H atoms in H2O molecules in confined water as function of temperature and pressure, through which we may be able to follow the emergence of the LDL and HDL phases at supercooled temperature and high pressures. We here report for the first time the differences of librational and translational DOSs between the hypothetical HDL and LDL phases, which are similar to the corresponding differences between the well-established HDA and LDA ices. This is plausible evidence that the HDL and LDL phases are the thermodynamic extensions of the corresponding amorphous solid water HDA and LDA ices.

Dynamic properties of the haptenic site of lipid haptens in phosphatidylcholine membranes. Their relation to the phase transition of the host lattice.

PubMed Central

Takeshita, K.; Utsumi, H.; Hamada, A.

1987-01-01

The relation between the dynamic properties of the haptenic site of lipid haptens and the phase transition of the host lattice was investigated using head group spin-labeled phosphatidylethanolamines, that is, spin-label lipid haptens (Brûlet, P., and H. M. McConnell, 1976, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA., 73:2977-2981; Brûlet, P., and H. M. McConnell, 1977, Biochemistry, 16:1209-1217). The electron spin resonance (ESR) spectra of the lipid haptens in liposomal membranes showed three narrow resonance lines, whose widths and hyperfine splitting values suggested that the haptenic site, i.e., the spin-label moiety, should be exposed in the water phase. The line width of each peak depended on the host lipid species and on the incubation temperature. A temperature study using dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) liposomes showed that the dynamic properties of the haptenic site were related to the main phase transition and the subphase transition of the host lattice but not to the prephase transition. The angular amplitudes of the tumbling motion of the haptenic site were estimated using oriented multibilayer systems. The angular amplitude of dipalmitoyl-phosphatidyl-N-[[N-(1-oxyl-2,2,6, 6-tetramethyl-4-piperidinyl)-carbamoyl]-methyl]-ethanolamine in DPPC membranes was 63 degrees at 2 degrees C, and it increased slightly with an increase in temperature regardless of the phase transition of the host lattice. The value for egg phosphatidylcholine (PC) at 25 degrees C was the same as for DPPC above its main phase transition temperature. Rotational correlation time analysis showed that the axial rotation of the haptenic site was preferable to the tumbling motion of the rotational axis, and the predominance depended on the phase transition, Lc----L beta' and P beta'----L alpha. Elongation of the spacer arm between the haptenic site and phosphate increased the angular amplitude of the tumbling motion but reduced the effect of the host lattice. Spin-label lipid haptens with unsaturated fatty acyl chains were distributed heterogeneously in DPPC membranes, whereas those with the same fatty acyl chain as the host lattice were distributed randomly. The ESR spectrum of a lipid hapten under its prephase transition temperature showed two components, broad and narrow. This suggests that at least two different domains, a hapten-rich domain and a hapten-poor one, may coexist in membranes. ESR measurements at various temperatures suggested that the haptenic site fraction in the hapten-rich domain decreased in part during the phase transition from L beta' to P beta', and disappeared completely in the La phase. The spatial mobility and lateral diffusion of lipid haptens will be discussed in greater detail. PMID:2822160

Thermal Water Vapor Emission from Shocked Regions in Orion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harwitt, Martin; Neufeld, David A.; Melnick, Gary J.; Kaufman, Michael J.

1998-01-01

Using the Long Wavelength Spectrometer on board the Infrared Space Observatory, we have observed thermal water vapor emission from a roughly circular field of view approximately 75" in diameter centered on the Orion BN-KL region. The Fabry-Perot line strengths, line widths, and spectral line shifts observed in eight transitions between 71 and 125 micron show good agreement with models of thermal emission arising from a molecular cloud subjected to a magnetohydrodynamic C-type shock. Both the breadth and the relative strengths of the observed lines argue for emission from a shock rather than from warm quiescent gas in the Orion core. Although one of the eight transitions appears anomalously strong and may be subject to the effects of radiative pumping, the other seven indicate an H2O/H2 abundance ratio on the order of 5 x 10(exp -4) and a corresponding gas-phase oxygen-to-hydrogen abundance ratio on the order of 4 x 10(exp -4). Given current estimates of the interstellar, gas-phase, oxygen and carbon abundances in the solar vicinity, this value is consistent with theoretical shock models that predict the conversion into water of all the gas-phase oxygen that is not bound as CO. The overall cooling provided by rotational transitions of H2O in this region appears to be comparable to the cooling through rotational lines of CO but is an order of magnitude lower than cooling through H2 emission. However, the model that best fits our observations shows cooling by H2O and CO dominant in that portion of the postshock region where temperatures are below approximately 800 K and neither vibrational nor rotational radiative cooling by H2 is appreciable.

Infrared spectroscopic study of super-critical water across the Widom line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Samanta, Tuhin; Dutta, Rajesh; Biswas, Rajib; Bagchi, Biman

2018-06-01

When density is varied at a constant temperature just above the gas-liquid critical temperature, the system is found to exhibit large scale density fluctuations which are often rationalized in terms of crossing of a Widom line. We use the discrete variable representation (DVR) scheme to construct the spectroscopic maps for transition frequencies and transition dipoles, and obtain the infrared spectrum of the Osbnd H stretch in the said temperature-density region of the phase diagram. The infrared lineshape shows a crossover from Lorentzian to Gaussian as we approach the Widom line. The width of the lineshape displays a pronounced maximum.

An Explanation of Remarkable Emission-line Profiles in Post-flare Coronal Rain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lacatus, Daniela A.; Judge, Philip G.; Donea, Alina

2017-06-01

We study broad redshifted emission in chromospheric and transition region lines that appears to correspond to a form of post-flare coronal rain. Profiles of Mg II, C II, and Si IV lines were obtained using IRIS before, during, and after the X2.1 flare of 2015 March 11 (SOL2015-03-11T16:22). We analyze the profiles of the five transitions of Mg II (the 3p-3s h and k transitions, and three lines belonging to the 3d-3p transitions). We use analytical methods to understand the unusual profiles, together with higher-resolution observational data of similar phenomena observed by Jing et al. The peculiar line ratios indicate anisotropic emission from the strands that have cross-strand line center optical depths (k line) of between 1 and 10. The lines are broadened by unresolved Alfvénic motions whose energy exceeds the radiation losses in the Mg II lines by an order of magnitude. The decay of the line widths is accompanied by a decay in the brightness, suggesting a causal connection. If the plasma is ≲99% ionized, ion-neutral collisions can account for the dissipation; otherwise, a dynamical process seems necessary. Our work implies that the motions are initiated during the impulsive phase, to be dissipated as radiation over a period of an hour, predominantly by strong chromospheric lines. The coronal “rain” we observe is far more turbulent than most earlier reports have indicated, with implications for plasma heating mechanisms.

Synthesis and Screening of Phase Change Chalcogenide Thin Film Materials for Data Storage.

PubMed

Guerin, Samuel; Hayden, Brian; Hewak, Daniel W; Vian, Chris

2017-07-10

A combinatorial synthetic methodology based on evaporation sources under an ultrahigh vacuum has been used to directly synthesize compositional gradient thin film libraries of the amorphous phases of GeSbTe alloys at room temperature over a wide compositional range. An optical screen is described that allows rapid parallel mapping of the amorphous-to-crystalline phase transition temperature and optical contrast associated with the phase change on such libraries. The results are shown to be consistent with the literature for compositions where published data are available along the Sb 2 Te 3 -GeTe tie line. The results reveal a minimum in the crystallization temperature along the Sb 2 Te 3 -Ge 2 Te 3 tie line, and the method is able to resolve subsequent cubic-to-hexagonal phase transitions in the GST crystalline phase. HT-XRD has been used to map the phases at sequentially higher temperatures, and the results are reconciled with the literature and trends in crystallization temperatures. The results clearly delineate compositions that crystallize to pure GST phases and those that cocrystallize Te. High-throughput measurement of the resistivity of the amorphous and crystalline phases has allowed the compositional and structural correlation of the resistivity contrast associated with the amorphous-to-crystalline transition, which range from 5-to-8 orders of magnitude for the compositions investigated. The results are discussed in terms of the compromises in the selection of these materials for phase change memory applications and the potential for further exploration through more detailed secondary screening of doped GST or similar classes of phase change materials designed for the demands of future memory devices.

Generalized model for k -core percolation and interdependent networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panduranga, Nagendra K.; Gao, Jianxi; Yuan, Xin; Stanley, H. Eugene; Havlin, Shlomo

2017-09-01

Cascading failures in complex systems have been studied extensively using two different models: k -core percolation and interdependent networks. We combine the two models into a general model, solve it analytically, and validate our theoretical results through extensive simulations. We also study the complete phase diagram of the percolation transition as we tune the average local k -core threshold and the coupling between networks. We find that the phase diagram of the combined processes is very rich and includes novel features that do not appear in the models studying each of the processes separately. For example, the phase diagram consists of first- and second-order transition regions separated by two tricritical lines that merge and enclose a two-stage transition region. In the two-stage transition, the size of the giant component undergoes a first-order jump at a certain occupation probability followed by a continuous second-order transition at a lower occupation probability. Furthermore, at certain fixed interdependencies, the percolation transition changes from first-order → second-order → two-stage → first-order as the k -core threshold is increased. The analytic equations describing the phase boundaries of the two-stage transition region are set up, and the critical exponents for each type of transition are derived analytically.

Instanton-dyon ensembles reproduce deconfinement and chiral restoration phase transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shuryak, Edward

2018-03-01

Paradigm shift in gauge topology at finite temperatures, from the instantons to their constituents - instanton-dyons - has recently lead to studies of their ensembles and very significant advances. Like instantons, they have fermionic zero modes, and their collectivization at suffciently high density explains the chiral symmetry breaking transition. Unlike instantons, these objects have electric and magnetic charges. Simulations of the instanton-dyon ensembles have demonstrated that their back reaction on the Polyakov line modifies its potential and generates the deconfinement phase transition. For the Nc = 2 gauge theory the transition is second order, for QCD-like theory with Nc = 2 and two light quark flavors Nf = 2 both transitions are weak crossovers at happening at about the same condition. Introduction of quark-flavor-dependent periodicity phases (imaginary chemical potentials) leads to drastic changes in both transitions. In particulaly, in the so called Z(Nc) - QCD model the deconfinement transforms to strong first order transition, while the chiral condensate does not disappear at all. The talk will also cover more detailed studies of correlations between the dyons, effective eta' mass and other screening masses.

Complete analysis of ensemble inequivalence in the Blume-Emery-Griffiths model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hovhannisyan, V. V.; Ananikian, N. S.; Campa, A.; Ruffo, S.

2017-12-01

We study inequivalence of canonical and microcanonical ensembles in the mean-field Blume-Emery-Griffiths model. This generalizes previous results obtained for the Blume-Capel model. The phase diagram strongly depends on the value of the biquadratic exchange interaction K , the additional feature present in the Blume-Emery-Griffiths model. At small values of K , as for the Blume-Capel model, lines of first- and second-order phase transitions between a ferromagnetic and a paramagnetic phase are present, separated by a tricritical point whose location is different in the two ensembles. At higher values of K the phase diagram changes substantially, with the appearance of a triple point in the canonical ensemble, which does not find any correspondence in the microcanonical ensemble. Moreover, one of the first-order lines that starts from the triple point ends in a critical point, whose position in the phase diagram is different in the two ensembles. This line separates two paramagnetic phases characterized by a different value of the quadrupole moment. These features were not previously studied for other models and substantially enrich the landscape of ensemble inequivalence, identifying new aspects that had been discussed in a classification of phase transitions based on singularity theory. Finally, we discuss ergodicity breaking, which is highlighted by the presence of gaps in the accessible values of magnetization at low energies: it also displays new interesting patterns that are not present in the Blume-Capel model.

Chiral phase transition at finite chemical potential in 2 +1 -flavor soft-wall anti-de Sitter space QCD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartz, Sean P.; Jacobson, Theodore

2018-04-01

The phase transition from hadronic matter to chirally symmetric quark-gluon plasma is expected to be a rapid crossover at zero quark chemical potential (μ ), becoming first order at some finite value of μ , indicating the presence of a critical point. Using a three-flavor soft-wall model of anti-de Sitter/QCD, we investigate the effect of varying the light and strange quark masses on the order of the chiral phase transition. At zero quark chemical potential, we reproduce the Columbia Plot, which summarizes the results of lattice QCD and other holographic models. We then extend this holographic model to examine the effects of finite quark chemical potential. We find that the the chemical potential does not affect the critical line that separates first-order from rapid crossover transitions. This excludes the possibility of a critical point in this model, suggesting that a different setup is necessary to reproduce all the features of the QCD phase diagram.

Quark-antiquark potential in defect conformal field theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Preti, Michelangelo; Trancanelli, Diego; Vescovi, Edoardo

2017-10-01

We consider antiparallel Wilson lines in N = 4 super Yang-Mills in the presence of a codimension-1 defect. We compute the Wilson lines' expectation value both at weak coupling, in the gauge theory, and at strong coupling, by finding the string configurations which are dual to this operator. These configurations display a Gross-Ooguri transition between a connected, U-shaped string phase and a phase in which the string breaks into two disconnected surfaces. We analyze in detail the critical configurations separating the two phases and compare the string result with the gauge theory one in a certain double scaling limit.

Holographic QCD phase diagram with critical point from Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knaute, J.; Yaresko, R.; Kämpfer, B.

2018-03-01

Supplementing the holographic Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton model of [1,2] by input of lattice QCD data for 2 + 1 flavors and physical quark masses for the equation of state and quark number susceptibility at zero baryo-chemical potential we explore the resulting phase diagram over the temperature-chemical potential plane. A first-order phase transition sets in at a temperature of about 112 MeV and a baryo-chemical potential of 612 MeV. We estimate the accuracy of the critical point position in the order of approximately 5-8% by considering parameter variations and different low-temperature asymptotics for the second-order quark number susceptibility. The critical pressure as a function of the temperature has a positive slope, i.e. the entropy per baryon jumps up when crossing the phase border line from larger values of temperature/baryo-chemical potential, thus classifying the phase transition as a gas-liquid one. The updated holographic model exhibits in- and outgoing isentropes in the vicinity of the first-order phase transition.

Energy barrier of bcc-fcc phase transition via the Bain path in Yukawa system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiyokawa, Shuji

2018-05-01

In the Yukawa system with the dimensionless screening parameter κ>1.5 , when bcc-fcc transition occurs via Bain path, we show that spontaneous transitions do not occur even if the system temperature reaches the transition point of bcc-fcc because it is necessary to increase once the free energy in the process of transition from bcc to fcc through Bain deformation. Here, we refer the temporary increment of the free energy during Bain deformation as Bain barrier. Since there are the Bain barriers at the transitions between bcc and fcc phases, these phases may coexist as metastable state in the wide region (not a coexistence line) of κ and the coupling constant Γ. We study the excess energy of the system and the free energy difference between bcc and fcc phases by the Monte Carlo method, where the simulation box is divided into a large number of elements with small volume and a particle in the box is restricted be placed in one of these elements. By this method, we can tabulate the values of the interparticle potential and can calculate the internal energy fast and precisely.

Analytical description of the ternary melt and solution crystallization with a non-linear phase diagram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toropova, L. V.; Alexandrov, D. V.

2018-05-01

The directional solidification of a ternary system with an extended phase transition region is theoretically studied. A mathematical model is developed to describe quasi-stationary solidification, and its analytical solution is constructed with allowance for a nonlinear liquids line equation. We demonstrate that the phase diagram nonlinearity leads to substantial changes of analytical solutions.

Land use impacts of bus rapid transit : phase II -- effects of BRT station proximity on property values along the Boston silver line Washington Street Corridor.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-07-01

The development of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems is relatively recent in the U.S.; however, several systems are operating and many : more are being planned. A comprehensive understanding of the relationship between land uses and BRT systems is need...

Tuning excitation laser wavelength for secondary resonance in low-intensity phase-selective laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for in-situ analytical measurement of nanoaerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Gang; Li, Shuiqing; Tse, Stephen D.

2018-02-01

In recent years, a novel low-intensity phase-selective laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (PS-LIBS) technique has been developed for unique elemental-composition identification of aerosolized nanoparticles, where only the solid-phase nanoparticles break down, forming nanoplasmas, without any surrounding gas-phase breakdown. Additional work has demonstrated that PS-LIBS emissions can be greatly enhanced with secondary resonant excitation by matching the excitation laser wavelength with an atomic transition line in the formed nanoplasma, thereby achieving low limits of detection. In this work, a tunable dye laser is employed to investigate the effects of excitation wavelength and irradiance on in-situ PS-LIBS measurements of TiO2 nanoaerosols. The enhancement factor by resonant excitation can be 220 times greater than that for non-resonant cases under similar conditions. Moreover, the emitted spectra are unique for the selected resonant transition lines for a given element, suggesting the potential to make precise phase-selective and analyte-selective measurements of nanoparticles in a multicomponent multiphase system. The enhancement factor by resonant excitation is highly sensitive to excitation laser wavelength, with narrow excitation spectral windows, i.e., 0.012 to 0.023 nm (FWHM, full width at half maximum) for Ti (I) neutral atomic lines, and 0.051 to 0.139 nm (FWHM) for Ti (II) single-ionized atomic lines. Boltzmann analysis of the emission intensities, temporal response of emissions, and emission dependence on excitation irradiance are investigated to understand aspects of the generated nanoplasmas such as temperature, local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE), and excitation mechanism.

Phase Diagram of Planar Matrix Quantum Mechanics, Tensor, and Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev Models.

PubMed

Azeyanagi, Tatsuo; Ferrari, Frank; Massolo, Fidel I Schaposnik

2018-02-09

We study the Schwinger-Dyson equations of a fermionic planar matrix quantum mechanics [or tensor and Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev (SYK) models] at leading melonic order. We find two solutions describing a high entropy, SYK black-hole-like phase and a low entropy one with trivial IR behavior. There is a line of first order phase transitions that terminates at a new critical point. Critical exponents are nonmean field and differ on the two sides of the transition. Interesting phenomena are also found in unstable and stable bosonic models, including Kazakov critical points and inconsistency of SYK-like solutions of the IR limit.

Anhydrous octyl-glucoside phase transition from lamellar to isotropic induced by electric and magnetic fields.

PubMed

Hashim, Rauzah; Sugimura, Akihiko; Nguan, Hock-Seng; Rahman, Matiur; Zimmermann, Herbert

2017-02-28

A static deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance ( 2 HNMR) technique (magnetic field, B = 7.05 T) was employed to monitor the thermotropic lamellar phase of the anhydrous 1:1 mixture sample of octyl-b-D-glucoside (βOG) and that of partially deuterium labelled at the alpha position on the chain, i.e.,βOG-d 2 In the absence of an electric field, the 2 H NMR spectrum of the mixture gives a typical quadrupolar doublet representing the aligned lamellar phase. Upon heating to beyond the clearing temperature at 112 °C, this splitting converts to a single line expected for an isotropic phase. Simultaneous application of magnetic and electric fields (E = 0.4 MV/m) at 85 °C in the lamellar phase, whose direction was set to be parallel or perpendicular to the magnetic field, resulted in the change of the doublet into a single line and this recovers to the initial doublet with time for both experimental geometries. This implies E- and B-field-induced phase transitions from the lamellar to an isotropic phase and a recovery to the lamellar phase again with time. Moreover, these phase transformations are accompanied by a transient current. A similar observation was made in a computational study when an electric field was applied to a water cluster system. Increasing the field strength distorts the water cluster and weakens its hydrogen bonds leading to a structural breakdown beyond a threshold field-strength. Therefore, we suggest the observed field-induced transition is likely due to a structure change of the βOG lamellar assembly caused by the field effect and not due to Joule heating.

Pressure-induced half-collapsed-tetragonal phase in CaKFe 4 As 4

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kaluarachchi, Udhara S.; Taufour, Valentin; Sapkota, Aashish

Here, we report the temperature-pressure phase diagram of CaKFe 4As 4 established using high-pressure electrical resistivity, magnetization, and high-energy x-ray diffraction measurements up to 6 GPa. With increasing pressure, both resistivity and magnetization data show that the bulk superconducting transition of CaKFe 4As 4 is suppressed and then disappears at p ≳ 4 GPa. High-pressure x-ray data clearly indicate a phase transition to a collapsed tetragonal phase in CaKFe 4As 4 under pressure that coincides with the abrupt loss of bulk superconductivity near 4 GPa. The x-ray data, combined with resistivity data, indicate that the collapsed tetragonal transition line ismore » essentially independent of pressure, occurring at 4.0(5) GPa for temperatures below 150 K. Density functional theory calculations also find a sudden transition to a collapsed tetragonal state near 4 GPa, as As-As bonding develops across the Ca layer. Bonding across the K layer only occurs for p ≥ 12 GPa. These findings demonstrate a different type of collapsed tetragonal phase in CaKFe 4As 4 as compared to CaFe 2As 2: a half-collapsed tetragonal phase.« less

Pressure-induced half-collapsed-tetragonal phase in CaKFe 4 As 4

DOE PAGES

Kaluarachchi, Udhara S.; Taufour, Valentin; Sapkota, Aashish; ...

2017-10-02

Here, we report the temperature-pressure phase diagram of CaKFe 4As 4 established using high-pressure electrical resistivity, magnetization, and high-energy x-ray diffraction measurements up to 6 GPa. With increasing pressure, both resistivity and magnetization data show that the bulk superconducting transition of CaKFe 4As 4 is suppressed and then disappears at p ≳ 4 GPa. High-pressure x-ray data clearly indicate a phase transition to a collapsed tetragonal phase in CaKFe 4As 4 under pressure that coincides with the abrupt loss of bulk superconductivity near 4 GPa. The x-ray data, combined with resistivity data, indicate that the collapsed tetragonal transition line ismore » essentially independent of pressure, occurring at 4.0(5) GPa for temperatures below 150 K. Density functional theory calculations also find a sudden transition to a collapsed tetragonal state near 4 GPa, as As-As bonding develops across the Ca layer. Bonding across the K layer only occurs for p ≥ 12 GPa. These findings demonstrate a different type of collapsed tetragonal phase in CaKFe 4As 4 as compared to CaFe 2As 2: a half-collapsed tetragonal phase.« less

Pressure-induced half-collapsed-tetragonal phase in CaKFe4As4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaluarachchi, Udhara S.; Taufour, Valentin; Sapkota, Aashish; Borisov, Vladislav; Kong, Tai; Meier, William R.; Kothapalli, Karunakar; Ueland, Benjamin G.; Kreyssig, Andreas; Valentí, Roser; McQueeney, Robert J.; Goldman, Alan I.; Bud'ko, Sergey L.; Canfield, Paul C.

2017-10-01

We report the temperature-pressure phase diagram of CaKFe4As4 established using high-pressure electrical resistivity, magnetization, and high-energy x-ray diffraction measurements up to 6 GPa. With increasing pressure, both resistivity and magnetization data show that the bulk superconducting transition of CaKFe4As4 is suppressed and then disappears at p ≳4 GPa. High-pressure x-ray data clearly indicate a phase transition to a collapsed tetragonal phase in CaKFe4As4 under pressure that coincides with the abrupt loss of bulk superconductivity near 4 GPa. The x-ray data, combined with resistivity data, indicate that the collapsed tetragonal transition line is essentially independent of pressure, occurring at 4.0(5) GPa for temperatures below 150 K. Density functional theory calculations also find a sudden transition to a collapsed tetragonal state near 4 GPa, as As-As bonding develops across the Ca layer. Bonding across the K layer only occurs for p ≥12 GPa. These findings demonstrate a different type of collapsed tetragonal phase in CaKFe4As4 as compared to CaFe2As2 : a half-collapsed tetragonal phase.

Discontinuous non-equilibrium phase transition in a threshold Schloegl model for autocatalysis: Generic two-phase coexistence and metastability

DOE PAGES

Wang, Chi -Jen; Liu, Da -Jiang; Evans, James W.

2015-04-28

Threshold versions of Schloegl’s model on a lattice, which involve autocatalytic creation and spontaneous annihilation of particles, can provide a simple prototype for discontinuous non-equilibrium phase transitions. These models are equivalent to so-called threshold contact processes. A discontinuous transition between populated and vacuum states can occur selecting a threshold of N ≥ 2 for the minimum number, N, of neighboring particles enabling autocatalytic creation at an empty site. Fundamental open questions remain given the lack of a thermodynamic framework for analysis. For a square lattice with N = 2, we show that phase coexistence occurs not at a unique valuemore » but for a finite range of particle annihilation rate (the natural control parameter). This generic two-phase coexistence also persists when perturbing the model to allow spontaneous particle creation. Such behavior contrasts both the Gibbs phase rule for thermodynamic systems and also previous analysis for this model. We find metastability near the transition corresponding to a non-zero effective line tension, also contrasting previously suggested critical behavior. As a result, mean-field type analysis, extended to treat spatially heterogeneous states, further elucidates model behavior.« less

Discontinuous non-equilibrium phase transition in a threshold Schloegl model for autocatalysis: Generic two-phase coexistence and metastability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Chi-Jen; Liu, Da-Jiang; Evans, James W.

2015-04-01

Threshold versions of Schloegl's model on a lattice, which involve autocatalytic creation and spontaneous annihilation of particles, can provide a simple prototype for discontinuous non-equilibrium phase transitions. These models are equivalent to so-called threshold contact processes. A discontinuous transition between populated and vacuum states can occur selecting a threshold of N ≥ 2 for the minimum number, N, of neighboring particles enabling autocatalytic creation at an empty site. Fundamental open questions remain given the lack of a thermodynamic framework for analysis. For a square lattice with N = 2, we show that phase coexistence occurs not at a unique value but for a finite range of particle annihilation rate (the natural control parameter). This generic two-phase coexistence also persists when perturbing the model to allow spontaneous particle creation. Such behavior contrasts both the Gibbs phase rule for thermodynamic systems and also previous analysis for this model. We find metastability near the transition corresponding to a non-zero effective line tension, also contrasting previously suggested critical behavior. Mean-field type analysis, extended to treat spatially heterogeneous states, further elucidates model behavior.

OT1_ipascucc_1: Understanding the Origin of Transition Disks via Disk Mass Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pascucci, I.

2010-07-01

Transition disks are a distinguished group of few Myr-old systems caught in the phase of dispersing their inner dust disk. Three different processes have been proposed to explain this inside-out clearing: grain growth, photoevaporation driven by the central star, and dynamical clearing by a forming giant planet. Which of these processes lead to a transition disk? Distinguishing between them requires the combined knowledge of stellar accretion rates and disk masses. We propose here to use 43.8 hours of PACS spectroscopy to detect the [OI] 63 micron emission line from a sample of 21 well-known transition disks with measured mass accretion rates. We will use this line, in combination with ancillary CO millimeter lines, to measure their gas disk mass. Because gas dominates the mass of protoplanetary disks our approach and choice of lines will enable us to trace the bulk of the disk mass that resides beyond tens of AU from young stars. Our program will quadruple the number of transition disks currently observed with Herschel in this setting and for which disk masses can be measured. We will then place the transition and the ~100 classical/non-transition disks of similar age (from the Herschel KP "Gas in Protoplanetary Systems") in the mass accretion rate-disk mass diagram with two main goals: 1) reveal which gaps have been created by grain growth, photoevaporation, or giant planet formation and 2) from the statistics, determine the main disk dispersal mechanism leading to a transition disk.

Line tension effects on the wetting of nanostructures: an energy method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Hao-Yuan; Li, Bo; Feng, Xi-Qiao

2017-09-01

The superhydrophobicity and self-cleaning property of micro/nano-structured solid surfaces require a stable Cassie-Baxter (CB) wetting state at the liquid-solid interface. We present an energy method to investigate how the three-phase line tension affects the CB wetting state on nanostructured materials. For some nanostructures, the line tension may engender a distinct energy barrier, which restricts the position of the three-phase contact line and affects the stability of the CB wetting state. We ascertain the upper and lower limits of the critical pressure at the CB-Wenzel transition. Our results suggest that superhydrophobicity on nanostructures can be modulated by tailoring the line tension and harnessing the curvature effect. This study also provides new insights into the sinking phenomena observed in the nanoparticle-floating experiment.

Phase transitions and spatially ordered counterion association in ionic-lipid membranes: a statistical model.

PubMed

Tamashiro, M N; Barbetta, C; Germano, R; Henriques, V B

2011-09-01

We propose a statistical model to account for the gel-fluid anomalous phase transitions in charged bilayer- or lamellae-forming ionic lipids. The model Hamiltonian comprises effective attractive interactions to describe neutral-lipid membranes as well as the effect of electrostatic repulsions of the discrete ionic charges on the lipid headgroups. The latter can be counterion dissociated (charged) or counterion associated (neutral), while the lipid acyl chains may be in gel (low-temperature or high-lateral-pressure) or fluid (high-temperature or low-lateral-pressure) states. The system is modeled as a lattice gas with two distinct particle types--each one associated, respectively, with the polar-headgroup and the acyl-chain states--which can be mapped onto an Ashkin-Teller model with the inclusion of cubic terms. The model displays a rich thermodynamic behavior in terms of the chemical potential of counterions (related to added salt concentration) and lateral pressure. In particular, we show the existence of semidissociated thermodynamic phases related to the onset of charge order in the system. This type of order stems from spatially ordered counterion association to the lipid headgroups, in which charged and neutral lipids alternate in a checkerboard-like order. Within the mean-field approximation, we predict that the acyl-chain order-disorder transition is discontinuous, with the first-order line ending at a critical point, as in the neutral case. Moreover, the charge order gives rise to continuous transitions, with the associated second-order lines joining the aforementioned first-order line at critical end points. We explore the thermodynamic behavior of some physical quantities, like the specific heat at constant lateral pressure and the degree of ionization, associated with the fraction of charged lipid headgroups.

Quantum Phase Transitions in Conventional Matrix Product Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Jing-Min; Huang, Fei; Chang, Yan

2017-02-01

For matrix product states(MPSs) of one-dimensional spin-1/2 chains, we investigate a new kind of conventional quantum phase transition(QPT). We find that the system has two different ferromagnetic phases; on the line of the two ferromagnetic phases coexisting equally, the system in the thermodynamic limit is in an isolated mediate-coupling state described by a paramagnetic state and is in the same state as the renormalization group fixed point state, the expectation values of the physical quantities are discontinuous, and any two spin blocks of the system have the same geometry quantum discord(GQD) within the range of open interval (0,0.25) and the same classical correlation(CC) within the range of open interval (0,0.75) compared to any phase having no any kind of correlation. We not only realize the control of QPTs but also realize the control of quantum correlation of quantum many-body systems on the critical line by adjusting the environment parameters, which may have potential application in quantum information fields and is helpful to comprehensively and deeply understand the quantum correlation, and the organization and structure of quantum correlation especially for long-range quantum correlation of quantum many-body systems.

Pairing transition, coherence transition, and the irreversibility line in granular GdBa2Cu3O7-δ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roa-Rojas, J.; Menegotto Costa, R.; Pureur, P.; Prieto, P.

2000-05-01

We report on electrical magnetoconductivity experiments near the superconducting transition of a granular sample of GdBa2Cu3O7-δ. The measurements were performed in magnetic fields ranging from 0 to 500 Oe applied parallel to the current orientation. The results show that the transition proceeds in two steps. When the temperature is decreased we first observe the pairing transition, which stabilizes superconductivity within the grains at a temperature practically coincident with the bulk critical temperature Tc. Analysis of the fluctuation contributions to the conductivity shows that the universality class for this transition is that of the three dimensional (3D)-XY model in the ordered case, with dynamic critical exponent z=3/2. Close to the zero-resistance state, the measurements reveal the occurrence of a coherence transition, where the phases of the order parameter in individual grains become long-range ordered. The critical temperature Tco for this transition is close to the point where the resistivity vanishes. A strong enlargement of the fluctuation interval preceding the coherence transition is caused by the applied magnetic field. In this region, a 3D-Gaussian regime and an asymptotic critical regime were clearly identified. The critical conductivity behavior for the coherence transition is interpreted within a 3D-XY model where disorder and frustration are relevant. The irreversibility line is determined from magnetoconductivity measurements performed according to the zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled data collected on cooling (FCC) recipes. The locus of this line coincides with the upper temperature limit for the fluctuation region above the coherence transition. The irreversibility line is interpreted as an effect of the formation of small clusters with closed loops of Josephson-coupled grains.

Calculation of the absolute free energy of a smectic-A phase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Chien-Cheng; Ramachandran, Sanoop; Ryckaert, Jean-Paul

2014-12-01

In this paper, we provide a scheme to compute the absolute free energy of a smectic-A phase via the "indirect method." The state of interest is connected through a three-step reversible path to a reference state. This state consists of a low-density layer of rods coupled to two external fields maintaining these rods close to the layer's plane and oriented preferably normal to the layer. The low-density free energy of the reference state can be computed on the basis of the relevant second virial coefficients between two rods coupled to the two external fields. We apply this technique to the Gay-Berne potential for calamitics with a parameter set leading to stable isotropic (I), nematic (N), smectic-A (SmA), and crystal (Cr) phases. We locate the I-SmA phase transition at low pressure and the sequence of phase transitions I-N-SmA along higher-pressure isobars and we establish the location of the I-N-SmA triple point. Close to this triple point, we show that the N-SmA transition is clearly first order. Our results are compared to the coexistence lines of the approximate phase diagram elucidated by de Miguel et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 121, 11183 (2004), 10.1063/1.1810472] established through the direct observation of the sequence of phase transitions occurring along isobars under heating or cooling sequences of runs. Finally, we discuss the potential of our technique in studying similar transitions observed on layered phases under confinement.

Liquid-gas phase transitions and C K symmetry in quantum field theories

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nishimura, Hiromichi; Ogilvie, Michael C.; Pangeni, Kamal

A general field-theoretic framework for the treatment of liquid-gas phase transitions is developed. Starting from a fundamental four-dimensional field theory at nonzero temperature and density, an effective three-dimensional field theory is derived. The effective field theory has a sign problem at finite density. Although finite density explicitly breaks charge conjugation C , there remains a symmetry under C K , where K is complex conjugation. Here, we consider four models: relativistic fermions, nonrelativistic fermions, static fermions and classical particles. The interactions are via an attractive potential due to scalar field exchange and a repulsive potential due to massive vector exchange.more » The field-theoretic representation of the partition function is closely related to the equivalence of the sine-Gordon field theory with a classical gas. The thermodynamic behavior is extracted from C K -symmetric complex saddle points of the effective field theory at tree level. In the cases of nonrelativistic fermions and classical particles, we find complex saddle point solutions but no first-order transitions, and neither model has a ground state at tree level. The relativistic and static fermions show a liquid-gas transition at tree level in the effective field theory. The liquid-gas transition, when it occurs, manifests as a first-order line at low temperature and high density, terminated by a critical end point. The mass matrix controlling the behavior of correlation functions is obtained from fluctuations around the saddle points. Due to the C K symmetry of the models, the eigenvalues of the mass matrix are not always real but can be complex. This then leads to the existence of disorder lines, which mark the boundaries where the eigenvalues go from purely real to complex. The regions where the mass matrix eigenvalues are complex are associated with the critical line. In the case of static fermions, a powerful duality between particles and holes allows for the analytic determination of both the critical line and the disorder lines. Depending on the values of the parameters, either zero, one, or two disorder lines are found. Our numerical results for relativistic fermions give a very similar picture.« less

Liquid-gas phase transitions and C K symmetry in quantum field theories

DOE PAGES

Nishimura, Hiromichi; Ogilvie, Michael C.; Pangeni, Kamal

2017-04-04

A general field-theoretic framework for the treatment of liquid-gas phase transitions is developed. Starting from a fundamental four-dimensional field theory at nonzero temperature and density, an effective three-dimensional field theory is derived. The effective field theory has a sign problem at finite density. Although finite density explicitly breaks charge conjugation C , there remains a symmetry under C K , where K is complex conjugation. Here, we consider four models: relativistic fermions, nonrelativistic fermions, static fermions and classical particles. The interactions are via an attractive potential due to scalar field exchange and a repulsive potential due to massive vector exchange.more » The field-theoretic representation of the partition function is closely related to the equivalence of the sine-Gordon field theory with a classical gas. The thermodynamic behavior is extracted from C K -symmetric complex saddle points of the effective field theory at tree level. In the cases of nonrelativistic fermions and classical particles, we find complex saddle point solutions but no first-order transitions, and neither model has a ground state at tree level. The relativistic and static fermions show a liquid-gas transition at tree level in the effective field theory. The liquid-gas transition, when it occurs, manifests as a first-order line at low temperature and high density, terminated by a critical end point. The mass matrix controlling the behavior of correlation functions is obtained from fluctuations around the saddle points. Due to the C K symmetry of the models, the eigenvalues of the mass matrix are not always real but can be complex. This then leads to the existence of disorder lines, which mark the boundaries where the eigenvalues go from purely real to complex. The regions where the mass matrix eigenvalues are complex are associated with the critical line. In the case of static fermions, a powerful duality between particles and holes allows for the analytic determination of both the critical line and the disorder lines. Depending on the values of the parameters, either zero, one, or two disorder lines are found. Our numerical results for relativistic fermions give a very similar picture.« less

Successive disorder to disorder phase transitions in ionic liquid [HMIM][BF4] under high pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Xiang; Yuan, Chaosheng; Li, Haining; Zhu, Pinwen; Su, Lei; Yang, Kun; Wu, Jie; Yang, Guoqiang; Liu, Jing

2016-02-01

In situ high-pressure Raman spectroscopy and synchrotron X-ray diffraction have been employed to investigate the phase behavior of ionic liquid, 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([HMIM][BF4]) under high pressure up to 20 GPa at room temperature. With increasing pressure, some characteristic bands of [HMIM][BF4] disappear, and some characteristic bands of [HMIM][BF4] display non-monotonic pressure-induced frequency shift and non-monotonic variation of full width at half-maximum. Two successive phase transitions at ˜1.7 GPa and 7.3 GPa have been corroborated by the results above. The glass transition pressure (Pg) of [HMIM][BF4] at ˜7.3 GPa has been obtained by ruby R1 line broadening measurements and analysis of synchrotron X-ray diffraction patterns, and its glass transition mechanism is also analyzed in detail. These facts are suggestive of two successive disorder to disorder phase transitions induced by compression, that is, [HMIM][BF4] serves as a superpressurized glass under the pressure above 7.3 GPa, which is similar to the glassy state at low temperature, and a compression-induced liquid to liquid phase transition in [HMIM][BF4] occurs at ˜1.7 GPa. Besides, the conformational equilibrium of the GAAA conformer and AAAA conformer was converted easily in liquid [HMIM][BF4], while it was difficult to be influenced in glassy state.

Phase diagram of the itinerant helical magnet MnSi at high pressures and strong magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stishov, Sergei

We performed a series of resistivity, heat capacity and ultrasound speed measurements of a MnSi single crystal at high pressures and strong magnetic fields [1-3]. Two notable features of the phase transition in MnSi that disappear on pressure increasin are a sharp peak marking the first order phase transition and a shallow maximum, situated slightly above the critical temperature and pointing to the domain of prominent helical fluctuations. The longitudinal and transverse ultrasound speeds and attenuation were measured in a MnSi single crystal in the temperature range of 2-40 K and magnetic fields to 7 Tesla. The magnetic phase transition in MnSi in zero magnetic field is signified by a quasi-discontinuity in the c11 elastic constant, which almost vanishes at the skyrmion - paramagnetic transition at high magnetic fields. The powerful fluctuations at the minima of c11 make the mentioned crossing point of the minima and the phase transition lines similar to a critical end point, where a second order phase transition meets a first order one.

Holographic anisotropic background with confinement-deconfinement phase transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aref'eva, Irina; Rannu, Kristina

2018-05-01

We present new anisotropic black brane solutions in 5D Einstein-dilaton-two-Maxwell system. The anisotropic background is specified by an arbitrary dynamical exponent ν, a nontrivial warp factor, a non-zero dilaton field, a non-zero time component of the first Maxwell field and a non-zero longitudinal magnetic component of the second Maxwell field. The blackening function supports the Van der Waals-like phase transition between small and large black holes for a suitable first Maxwell field charge. The isotropic case corresponding to ν = 1 and zero magnetic field reproduces previously known solutions. We investigate the anisotropy influence on the thermodynamic properties of our background, in particular, on the small/large black holes phase transition diagram. We discuss applications of the model to the bottom-up holographic QCD. The RG flow interpolates between the UV section with two suppressed transversal coordinates and the IR section with the suppressed time and longitudinal coordinates due to anisotropic character of our solution. We study the temporal Wilson loops, extended in longitudinal and transversal directions, by calculating the minimal surfaces of the corresponding probing open string world-sheet in anisotropic backgrounds with various temperatures and chemical potentials. We find that dynamical wall locations depend on the orientation of the quark pairs, that gives a crossover transition line between confinement/deconfinement phases in the dual gauge theory. Instability of the background leads to the appearance of the critical points ( μ ϑ,b , T ϑ,b ) depending on the orientation ϑ of quark-antiquark pairs in respect to the heavy ions collision line.

Evaluating the Liquid Liquid Phase Transition Hypothesis of Supercoooled Water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Limmer, David; Chandler, David

2011-03-01

To explain the anomalous behavior of supercooled water it has been conjectured that buried within an experimentally inaccessible region of liquid water's phase diagram there exists a second critical point, which is the terminus of a first order transition line between two distinct liquid phases. The so-called liquid-liquid phase transition (LLPT) has since generated much study, though to date there is no consensus on its existence. In this talk, we will discuss our efforts to systematically study the metastable phase diagram of supercooled water through computer simulation. By employing importance-sampling techniques, we have calculated free energies as a function of the density and long-range order to determine unambiguously if two distinct liquid phases exist. We will argue that, contrary to the LLPT hypothesis, the observed phenomenology can be understood as a consequence of the limit of stability of the liquid far away from coexistence. Our results suggest that homogeneous nucleation is the cause of the increased fluctuations present upon supercooling. Further we will show how this understanding can be extended to explain experimental observations of hysteresis in confined supercooled water systems.

Evolution of critical pressure with increasing Fe substitution in the heavy-fermion system URu 2 - x Fe x Si 2

DOE PAGES

Wolowiec, C. T.; Kanchanavatee, N.; Huang, K.; ...

2016-08-29

Measurements of electrical resistivity, ρ(T ), were performed under quasihydrostatic pressure up to P ~ 2.2 GPa to determine the pressure dependence of the so-called hidden order (HO) and large-moment antiferromagnetic (LMAFM) phases for the URu 2-xFexSi2 system with x = 0.025, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20. As the Fe concentration (x) is increased, we observed that a smaller amount of external pressure, P c, is required to induce the HO → LMAFM phase transition. A critical pressure of P c ~ 1.2 GPa at x = 0.025 reduces to P c ~ 0 at x = 0.15, suggesting themore » URu 2-xFe xSi 2 system is fully expressed in the LMAFM phase for x ≥ x* c = 0.15, where x * c denotes the ambient pressure critical concentration of Fe. Furthermore, when using a bulk modulus calculation to convert x to chemical pressure, P ch(x), we consistently found that the induced HO → LMAFM phase transition occurred at various combinations of x c and P c such that P ch(x c) + P c ≈ 1.5 GPa, where xc denotes those critical concentrations of Fe that induce the HO→LMAFM phase transition for the URu 2-xFe xSi 2 compounds under pressure. We performed exponential fits of ρ(T ) in the HO and LMAFM phases in order to determine the pressure dependence of the energy gap, , that opens over part of the Fermi surface in the transition from the paramagnetic (PM) phase to the HO/LMAFM phase at the transition temperature, T 0. Finally, this change in the pressure variation of Δ(P) at the HO→LMAFM phase transition is consistent with the values of P c determined from the T 0(P) phase lines at the PM→HO/LMAFM transition.« less

About the Shape of the Melting Line as a Possible Precursor of a Liquid-Liquid Phase Transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Imre, Attila R.; Rzoska, Sylwester J.

Several simple, non-mesogenic liquids can exists in two or more different liquid forms. When the liquid-liquid line, separating two liquid forms, meets the melting line, one can expect some kind of break on the melting line, caused by the different freezing/melting behaviour of the two liquid forms. Unfortunately recently several researchers are using this vein of thinking in reverse; seeing some irregularity on the melting line, they will expect a break and the appearance of a liquid-liquid line. In this short paper, we are going to show, that in the case of the high-pressure nitrogen studied recently by Mukherjee and Boehler, the high-pressure data can be easily described by a smooth, break-free function, the modified Simon-Glatzel equation. In this way, the break, suggested by them and consequently the suggested appearance of a new liquid phase of the nitrogen might be artefacts.

OSO 8 observations of wave propagation in the solar chromosphere and transition region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chipman, E. G.

1978-01-01

The University of Colorado instrument on OSO 8 has been used to observe relative phases of the 300-s intensity variation between the temperature-minimum region and several emission lines formed in the solar chromosphere and chromosphere-corona transition region. The lines used are due to Fe II, Si II, C II, Si IV, and C IV. The scattered light in the spectrograph, which originates almost entirely in the spectral region between 1700 and 1900 A, was used as a probe of the temperature-minimum region. The lines of Fe II, Si II, and C II show almost identical delays of approximately 30 s relative to the temperature minimum, while the intensity oscillations of the lines of Si IV and C IV appear to lead the temperature-minimum intensity oscillations by about 10 s.

An evaluation of the accuracy of the Federal Transit Administration approved, groundborne noise and vibration prediction model for rail transit systems; a case study for a new subway line using post construction, transit operation measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carman, Richard A.; Reyes, Carlos H.

2005-09-01

The groundborne noise and vibration model developed by Nelson and Saurenman in 1984, now recognized by the Federal Transit Administration as the approved model for new transit system facilities, is entering its third decade of use by engineers and consultants in the transit industry. The accuracy of the model has been explored in the past (e.g., Carman and Wolfe). New data obtained for a recently completed extension to a major heavy rail transit system provides an opportunity to evaluate the accuracy of the model once more. During the engineering design phase of the project, noise and vibration predictions were performed for numerous buildings adjacent to the new subway line. The values predicted by the model were used to determine the need for and type of noise and/or vibration control measures. After the start of transit operations on the new line, noise and vibration measurements were made inside several of the buildings to determine whether the criteria were in fact achieved. The measurement results are compared with the values predicted by the model. The predicted and measured, overall noise and vibration levels show very good agreement, whereas the spectral comparisons indicate some differences. Possible reasons for these differences are offered.

Quantum-enhanced spectroscopy with entangled multiphoton states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dinani, Hossein T.; Gupta, Manish K.; Dowling, Jonathan P.; Berry, Dominic W.

2016-06-01

Traditionally, spectroscopy is performed by examining the position of absorption lines. However, at frequencies near the transition frequency, additional information can be obtained from the phase shift. In this work we consider the information about the transition frequency obtained from both the absorption and the phase shift, as quantified by the Fisher information in an interferometric measurement. We examine the use of multiple single-photon states, NOON states, and numerically optimized states that are entangled and have multiple photons. We find the optimized states that improve over the standard quantum limit set by independent single photons for some atom number densities.

Dynamic phase transitions and dynamic phase diagrams of the Blume-Emery-Griffiths model in an oscillating field: the effective-field theory based on the Glauber-type stochastic dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ertaş, Mehmet; Keskin, Mustafa

2015-06-01

Using the effective-field theory based on the Glauber-type stochastic dynamics (DEFT), we investigate dynamic phase transitions and dynamic phase diagrams of the Blume-Emery-Griffiths model under an oscillating magnetic field. We presented the dynamic phase diagrams in (T/J, h0/J), (D/J, T/J) and (K/J, T/J) planes, where T, h0, D, K and z are the temperature, magnetic field amplitude, crystal-field interaction, biquadratic interaction and the coordination number. The dynamic phase diagrams exhibit several ordered phases, coexistence phase regions and special critical points, as well as re-entrant behavior depending on interaction parameters. We also compare and discuss the results with the results of the same system within the mean-field theory based on the Glauber-type stochastic dynamics and find that some of the dynamic first-order phase lines and special dynamic critical points disappeared in the DEFT calculation.

Morphology of supercooled droplets freezing on solid surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

La, Shiren; Huang, Zhiting; Liu, Cong; Zhang, Xingyi

2018-05-01

Supercooled droplets freezing on solid surfaces are ubiquitous in nature. This letter investigates the influences of droplet viscosity on freezing velocity and frosting formation. Several experiments were conducted for three kinds of sessile droplets (water, silicone oil and oil) on two types of substrates (copper and iron) with different surface roughness at various temperatures. The results show that the water droplets exhibit obvious phase transition lines and their freezing speeds increase when the temperature of substrates decreases. It is found that the freezing speed is independent of the thermal conductivities of the substrates. Notably, the water droplets develop prominent bulges after freezing and subsequently nucleate to frost. In contrast, the high viscosity oil and silicone oil do not manifest an obvious phase transition line. Besides, no bulges are observed in these two kinds of droplets, suggesting that these frosting forms are of different mechanisms compared with water droplets.

Dynamics of photogenerated carriers near magnetic field driven quantum phase transition in aperiodic multiple quantum wells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tito, M. A.; Pusep, Yu A.

2018-01-01

Time-resolved magneto-photoluminescence was employed to study the magnetic field induced quantum phase transition separating two phases with different distributions of electrons over quantum wells in an aperiodic multiple quantum well, embedded in a wide AlGaAs parabolic quantum well. Intensities, broadenings and recombination times attributed to the photoluminescence lines emitted from individual quantum wells of the multiple quantum well structure were measured as a function of the magnetic field near the transition. The presented data manifest themselves to the magnetic field driven migration of the free electrons between the quantum wells of the studied multiple quantum well structure. The observed charge transfer was found to influence the screening of the multiple quantum well and disorder potentials. Evidence of the localization of the electrons in the peripheral quantum wells in strong magnetic field is presented.

Behavior of supercooled aqueous solutions stemming from hidden liquid-liquid transition in water.

PubMed

Biddle, John W; Holten, Vincent; Anisimov, Mikhail A

2014-08-21

A popular hypothesis that explains the anomalies of supercooled water is the existence of a metastable liquid-liquid transition hidden below the line of homogeneous nucleation. If this transition exists and if it is terminated by a critical point, the addition of a solute should generate a line of liquid-liquid critical points emanating from the critical point of pure metastable water. We have analyzed thermodynamic consequences of this scenario. In particular, we consider the behavior of two systems, H2O-NaCl and H2O-glycerol. We find the behavior of the heat capacity in supercooled aqueous solutions of NaCl, as reported by Archer and Carter [J. Phys. Chem. B 104, 8563 (2000)], to be consistent with the presence of the metastable liquid-liquid transition. We elucidate the non-conserved nature of the order parameter (extent of "reaction" between two alternative structures of water) and the consequences of its coupling with conserved properties (density and concentration). We also show how the shape of the critical line in a solution controls the difference in concentration of the coexisting liquid phases.

FE Line Diagnostics of Multiply Shocked Stellar Atmospheres: The Mira S. Carinae

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bookbinder, Jay

1997-01-01

Extensive LWP-HI spectra were obtained of the Mira S Car at a rapid time cadence as compared with the shock cycle time of S Car. These spectra were obtained in an attempt to understand the velocity structures in the shocked wind using the fluoresced iron lines. Data analysis of the IUE observations, which included the primary calibration of all of the IUE spectra obtained of S Car, was carried out. In addition, line identifications, flux calculations, background subtractions, and line profile analysis as a function of S Car's pulsational phase were performed. The database incorporated all line identifications as a function of pulsation phase for all IUE LWP-HI observations to date of S Car. At least 45 separate iron line features are identified in the S Car spectrum at one or more phases of the shock cycle, including those due to Fe II (UV 161) which is pumped by three different iron lines; Fe I(UV 44) which is pumped by the Mg II k line. Other strong multiplets that have been identified include UV(1), UV(2), UV(5), UV(32), UV(60), UV(63), UV(161), UV(207), and UV(399). Over 300 weaker lines have also been tentatively identified with Fe line transitions.

Wave packet dynamics, time scales and phase diagram in the IBM-Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castaños, Octavio; de los Santos, Francisco; Yáñez, Rafael; Romera, Elvira

2018-02-01

We derive the phase diagram of a scalar two-level boson model by studying the equilibrium and stability properties of its energy surface. The plane of control parameters is enlarged with respect to previous studies. We then analyze the time evolution of wave packets centered around the ground state at various quantum phase transition boundary lines. In particular, classical and revival times are computed numerically.

Atomic fluorescence emitted from a corona discharge in helium above and below saturated vapour pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shiltagh, Nagham M.; Mendoza Luna, Luis G.; Watkins, Mark J.; Thornton, Stuart C.; von Haeften, Klaus

2018-01-01

A new apparatus was constructed to investigate the visible and near infrared fluorescence spectroscopy of electronically excited helium over a wide range of pressures and temperatures, covering both the gaseous and liquid phases. To achieve sufficient throughput, increased sensitivity was established by employing a micro-discharge cell and a high performance lens system that allows for a large collection solid angle. With this set-up, several thousand spectra were recorded. The atomic 3 s 1 S → 2 p 1 P and 3 s 3 S → 2 p 3 P atomic transitions showed line shifts, spectral broadening and intensity changes that were dependent in magnitude on pressure, temperature and thermodynamic phase. While in the gas phase the lines showed little dependency on the discharge cell temperature, the opposite was observed for the liquid phase, suggesting that a significant number of atoms were solvated. Triplet lines were up to a factor of 50 times stronger in intensity than the singlet lines, depending on pressure. When taking the particle density into account, this effect was stronger in the gas phase than in the liquid phase of helium. This was attributed to the recombination of He2 +, He3 + and He4 + with electrons, which is facilitated in the gas phase because of the significantly higher mobility.

Herschel HIFI GOT C+ Survey: CII, HI, and CO Emissions in a Sample of Transition Clouds and Star-Forming regions in the Inner Galaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pineda, Jorge; Velusamy, Thangasamy; Langer, William D.; Goldsmith, Paul; Li, Di; Yorke, Harold

The GOT C+ a HIFI Herschel Key Project, studies the diffuse ISM throughout the Galactic Plane, using C+ as cloud tracer. The C+ line at 1.9 THz traces a so-far poorly studied stage in ISM cloud evolution -the transitional clouds going from atomic HI to molecular H2. This transition cloud phase, which is difficult to observe in HI and CO alone, may be best characterized via CII emission or absorption. The C+ line is also an excellent tracer of the warm diffuse gas and the warm, dense gas in the Photon Dominated Regions (PDRs). We can, therefore, use the CII emission as a probe to understand the effects of star formation on their interstellar environment. We present our first results on the transition between dense and hot gas (traced by CII) and dense and cold gas (traced by 12CO and 13CO) along a few representative lines of sight in the inner Galaxy from longitude 325 degrees to 25 degrees, taken during the HIFI Priority Science Phase. Comparisons of the high spectral resolution ( 1 km/s) HIFI data on C+ with HI, 12CO, and 13CO spectra allow us to separate out the different ISM components along each line of sight. Our results provide detailed information about the transition of diffuse atomic to molecular gas clouds needed to understand star formation and the lifecycle of the interstellar gas. These observations are being carried out with the Herschel Space Observatory, which is an ESA cornerstone mission, with contributions from NASA. This research was conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. JLP was supported under the NASA Postdoctoral Program at JPL, Caltech, administered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities through a contract with NASA, and is currently supported as a Caltech-JPL Postdoctoral associate.

Calorimetric Study of Phase Transitions Involving Twist-Grain-Boundary TGB{A} and TGB{C} Phases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Navailles, L.; Garland, C. W.; Nguyen, H. T.

1996-09-01

High-resolution calorimetry has been used to determine the heat capacity and latent heat associated with phase transitions in the homologous series of chiral liquid crystals nF_2BTFO_1M_7 [ 3-fluoro-4(1-methylheptyloxy)4'-(4''-alkoxy-2'', 3''-difluorobenzoyloxy)tolane] . These compounds exhibit smectic-C^* (SmC^*), twist-grain-boundary (TGBA for n=10, TGBC for n=11, 12) and cholesteric (N^*) phases. All the phase transitions are first order with small to moderate latent heats. There is a large rounded excess heat capacity peak in the N^* phase that is consistent with the predicted appearance of short-range TGB order (chiral line liquid character). This is analogous to the development of an Abrikosov flux vortex liquid in type-II superconductors. Both the n=11 and 12 homologs exhibit two closely spaced transitions in the region where a single TGBC - N^* transition was expected. This suggests the existence of two thermodynamically distinct TGBC phases. Des exprériences de calorimétrie haute résolution ont été réalisées pour déterminer les chaleurs spécifiques et les chaleurs latentes associées aux transitions de phase des homologues de la série crystal liquide nF_2BTFO_1M_7: 3-fluoro-4[1-methyl-heptyloxy]4'-(4''-alcoxy-2'', 3''-difluorobenzoyloxy)tolanes. Ces produits présentent la phase smectique C^* (SmC^*), les phases à torsion par joint de grain (TGBA pour n=10 et TGBC pour n=11, 12) et la phase cholestérique (N^*). Toutes les transitions de phase sont du premier ordre. La chaleur latente associée à ces transitions est faibles ou modérée. Nous observons, dans la phase N^*, un grand pic arrondi qui est en accord avec les prédictions de l'apparition d'un ordre TGB à courte distance (liquide de ligne de dislocation). Ce phénomène est l'analogue du liquide de vortex dans les supraconducteurs de type II. Les composés n=11 et 12 présentent, dans la région où nous attendions une transition TGBC - N^* unique, deux transitions sur un très faible domaine de température. Ce résultat suggère l'existence de deux phases TGBC thermodynamiquement distinctes.

Emergent Self-Organized Criticality in Gene Expression Dynamics: Temporal Development of Global Phase Transition Revealed in a Cancer Cell Line

PubMed Central

Tsuchiya, Masa; Giuliani, Alessandro; Hashimoto, Midori; Erenpreisa, Jekaterina; Yoshikawa, Kenichi

2015-01-01

Background The underlying mechanism of dynamic control of the genome-wide expression is a fundamental issue in bioscience. We addressed it in terms of phase transition by a systemic approach based on both density analysis and characteristics of temporal fluctuation for the time-course mRNA expression in differentiating MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Methodology In a recent work, we suggested criticality as an essential aspect of dynamic control of genome-wide gene expression. Criticality was evident by a unimodal-bimodal transition through flattened unimodal expression profile. The flatness on the transition suggests the existence of a critical transition at which up- and down-regulated expression is balanced. Mean field (averaging) behavior of mRNAs based on the temporal expression changes reveals a sandpile type of transition in the flattened profile. Furthermore, around the transition, a self-similar unimodal-bimodal transition of the whole expression occurs in the density profile of an ensemble of mRNA expression. These singular and scaling behaviors identify the transition as the expression phase transition driven by self-organized criticality (SOC). Principal Findings Emergent properties of SOC through a mean field approach are revealed: i) SOC, as a form of genomic phase transition, consolidates distinct critical states of expression, ii) Coupling of coherent stochastic oscillations between critical states on different time-scales gives rise to SOC, and iii) Specific gene clusters (barcode genes) ranging in size from kbp to Mbp reveal similar SOC to genome-wide mRNA expression and ON-OFF synchronization to critical states. This suggests that the cooperative gene regulation of topological genome sub-units is mediated by the coherent phase transitions of megadomain-scaled conformations between compact and swollen chromatin states. Conclusion and Significance In summary, our study provides not only a systemic method to demonstrate SOC in whole-genome expression, but also introduces novel, physically grounded concepts for a breakthrough in the study of biological regulation. PMID:26067993

Field-induced antiferroelectric to ferroelectric transitions in (Pb 1–xLa x)(Zr 0.90Ti 0.10) 1–x/ 4O 3 investigated by in situ X-ray diffraction

DOE PAGES

Ciuchi, Ioana V.; Chung, Ching -Chang; Fancher, Christopher M.; ...

2017-06-17

Phase transitions and field-induced preferred orientation in (Pb 1-xLa x)(Zr 0.90Ti 0.10) 1–x/ 4O 3 (PLZT x/90/10) ceramics upon electric field cycling using in situ X-ray diffraction were studied. The evolution of the {200} pc and {111} pc diffraction line profiles indicate that PLZT 4/90/10 and PLZT 3/90/10 compositions undergo an antiferroelectric (AFE)–ferroelectric (FE) phase switching. Both PLZT 4/90/10 and PLZT 3/90/10 exhibit irreversible preferred orientation after experiencing the field-induced AFE-to-FE phase switching. An electric field-induced structure develops in both compositions which has a reversible character during the field decreasing in PLZT 4/90/10 and an irreversible character in PLZT 3/90/10.more » In addition, structural analysis of pre-poled PLZT 3/90/10 ceramics show that it is possible to induce consecutive FE-to-AFE and AFE-to-FE transitions when fields of reversed polarity are applied in sequence. The field range required to induce the AFE phase is broad, and the phase transition is kinetically slow. In conclusion, this kind of transition has rarely been reported before.« less

Field-induced antiferroelectric to ferroelectric transitions in (Pb 1–xLa x)(Zr 0.90Ti 0.10) 1–x/ 4O 3 investigated by in situ X-ray diffraction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ciuchi, Ioana V.; Chung, Ching -Chang; Fancher, Christopher M.

Phase transitions and field-induced preferred orientation in (Pb 1-xLa x)(Zr 0.90Ti 0.10) 1–x/ 4O 3 (PLZT x/90/10) ceramics upon electric field cycling using in situ X-ray diffraction were studied. The evolution of the {200} pc and {111} pc diffraction line profiles indicate that PLZT 4/90/10 and PLZT 3/90/10 compositions undergo an antiferroelectric (AFE)–ferroelectric (FE) phase switching. Both PLZT 4/90/10 and PLZT 3/90/10 exhibit irreversible preferred orientation after experiencing the field-induced AFE-to-FE phase switching. An electric field-induced structure develops in both compositions which has a reversible character during the field decreasing in PLZT 4/90/10 and an irreversible character in PLZT 3/90/10.more » In addition, structural analysis of pre-poled PLZT 3/90/10 ceramics show that it is possible to induce consecutive FE-to-AFE and AFE-to-FE transitions when fields of reversed polarity are applied in sequence. The field range required to induce the AFE phase is broad, and the phase transition is kinetically slow. In conclusion, this kind of transition has rarely been reported before.« less

Dynamical arrest, percolation, gelation, and glass formation in model nanoparticle dispersions with thermoreversible adhesive interactions.

PubMed

Eberle, Aaron P R; Castañeda-Priego, Ramón; Kim, Jung M; Wagner, Norman J

2012-01-24

We report an experimental study of the dynamical arrest transition for a model system consisting of octadecyl coated silica suspended in n-tetradecane from dilute to concentrated conditions spanning the state diagram. The dispersion's interparticle potential is tuned by temperature affecting the brush conformation leading to a thermoreversible model system. The critical temperature for dynamical arrest, T*, is determined as a function of dispersion volume fraction by small-amplitude dynamic oscillatory shear rheology. We corroborate this transition temperature by measuring a power-law decay of the autocorrelation function and a loss of ergodicity via fiber-optic quasi-elastic light scattering. The structure at T* is measured using small-angle neutron scattering. The scattering intensity is fit to extract the interparticle pair-potential using the Ornstein-Zernike equation with the Percus-Yevick closure approximation, assuming a square-well interaction potential with a short-range interaction (1% of particle diameter). (1) The strength of attraction is characterized using the Baxter temperature (2) and mapped onto the adhesive hard sphere state diagram. The experiments show a continuous dynamical arrest transition line that follows the predicted dynamical percolation line until ϕ ≈ 0.41 where it subtends the predictions toward the mode coupling theory attractive-driven glass line. An alternative analysis of the phase transition through the reduced second virial coefficient B(2)* shows a change in the functional dependence of B(2)* on particle concentration around ϕ ≈ 0.36. We propose this signifies the location of a gel-to-glass transition. The results presented herein differ from those observed for depletion flocculated dispersion of micrometer-sized particles in polymer solutions, where dynamical arrest is a consequence of multicomponent phase separation, suggesting dynamical arrest is sensitive to the physical mechanism of attraction.

North suburban commuter-oriented transit opportunities study phase II.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-09-01

At present, the nearest commuter rail service to points in Barnstable County is provided at the outer terminals of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Kingston and Middleborough/Lakeville lines. These are each about 20 miles north o...

Exact ground-state correlation functions of an atomic-molecular Bose–Einstein condensate model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Links, Jon; Shen, Yibing

2018-05-01

We study the ground-state properties of an atomic-molecular Bose–Einstein condensate model through an exact Bethe Ansatz solution. For a certain range of parameter choices, we prove that the ground-state Bethe roots lie on the positive real-axis. We then use a continuum limit approach to obtain a singular integral equation characterising the distribution of these Bethe roots. Solving this equation leads to an analytic expression for the ground-state energy. The form of the expression is consistent with the existence of a line of quantum phase transitions, which has been identified in earlier studies. This line demarcates a molecular phase from a mixed phase. Certain correlation functions, which characterise these phases, are then obtained through the Hellmann–Feynman theorem.

Pressure Dependence of the Liquid-Liquid Phase Transition of Nanopore Water Doped Slightly with Hydroxylamine, and a Phase Behavior Predicted for Pure Water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagoe, Atsushi; Iwaki, Shinji; Oguni, Masaharu; Tôzaki, Ken-ichi

2014-09-01

Phase transition behaviors of confined pure water and confined water doped with a small amount of hydroxylamine (HA) with a mole fraction of xHA = 0.03 were examined by high-pressure differential thermal analyses at 0.1, 50, 100, and 150 MPa; the average diameters of silica pores used were 2.0 and 2.5 nm. A liquid-liquid phase transition (LLPT) of the confined HA-doped water was clearly observed and its pressurization effect could be evaluated, unlike in the experiments on undoped water. It was found that pressurization causes the transition temperature (Ttrs) to linearly decrease, indicating that the low-temperature phase has a lower density than the high-temperature one. Transition enthalpy (ΔtrsH) decreased steeply with increasing pressure. Considering the linear decrease in Ttrs with increasing pressure, the steep decrease in ΔtrsH indicates that the LLPT effect of the HA-doped water attenuates with pressure. We present a new scenario of the phase behavior concerning the LLPT of pure water based on the analogy from the behavior of slightly HA-doped water, where a liquid-liquid critical point (LLCP) and a coexistence line are located in a negative-pressure regime but not in a positive-pressure one. It is reasonably understood that doping a small amount of HA into water results in negative chemical pressurization and causes the LLPT to occur even at ambient pressure.

Bond Dilution Effects on Bethe Lattice the Spin-1 Blume-Capel Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Albayrak, Erhan

2017-09-01

The bond dilution effects are investigated for the spin-1 Blume-Capel model on the Bethe lattice by using the exact recursion relations. The bilinear interaction parameter is either turned on ferromagnetically with probability p or turned off with probability 1 - p between the nearest-neighbor spins. The thermal variations of the order-parameters are studied in detail to obtain the phase diagrams on the possible planes spanned by the temperature (T), probability (p) and crystal field (D) for the coordination numbers q = 3, 4, and 6. The lines of the second-order phase transitions, Tc-lines, combined with the first-order ones, Tt-lines, at the tricritical points (TCP) are always found for any p and q on the (T, D)-planes. It is also found that the model gives only Tc-lines, Tc-lines combined with the Tt-lines at the TCP’s and only Tt-lines with the consecutively decreasing values of D on the (T, p)-planes for all q.

Polymers with nearest- and next nearest-neighbor interactions on the Husimi lattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliveira, Tiago J.

2016-04-01

The exact grand-canonical solution of a generalized interacting self-avoid walk (ISAW) model, placed on a Husimi lattice built with squares, is presented. In this model, beyond the traditional interaction {ω }1={{{e}}}{ɛ 1/{k}BT} between (nonconsecutive) monomers on nearest-neighbor (NN) sites, an additional energy {ɛ }2 is associated to next-NN (NNN) monomers. Three definitions of NNN sites/interactions are considered, where each monomer can have, effectively, at most two, four, or six NNN monomers on the Husimi lattice. The phase diagrams found in all cases have (qualitatively) the same thermodynamic properties: a non-polymerized (NP) and a polymerized (P) phase separated by a critical and a coexistence surface that meet at a tricritical (θ-) line. This θ-line is found even when one of the interactions is repulsive, existing for {ω }1 in the range [0,∞ ), i.e., for {ɛ }1/{k}BT in the range [-∞ ,∞ ). Thus, counterintuitively, a θ-point exists even for an infinite repulsion between NN monomers ({ω }1=0), being associated to a coil-‘soft globule’ transition. In the limit of an infinite repulsive force between NNN monomers, however, the coil-globule transition disappears, and only NP-P continuous transition is observed. This particular case, with {ω }2=0, is also solved exactly on the square lattice, using a transfer matrix calculation where a discontinuous NP-P transition is found. For attractive and repulsive forces between NN and NNN monomers, respectively, the model becomes quite similar to the semiflexible-ISAW one, whose crystalline phase is not observed here, as a consequence of the frustration due to competing NN and NNN forces. The mapping of the phase diagrams in canonical ones is discussed and compared with recent results from Monte Carlo simulations on the square lattice.

Multiscale analysis of structure development in expanded starch snacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Sman, R. G. M.; Broeze, J.

2014-11-01

In this paper we perform a multiscale analysis of the food structuring process of the expansion of starchy snack foods like keropok, which obtains a solid foam structure. In particular, we want to investigate the validity of the hypothesis of Kokini and coworkers, that expansion is optimal at the moisture content, where the glass transition and the boiling line intersect. In our analysis we make use of several tools, (1) time scale analysis from the field of physical transport phenomena, (2) the scale separation map (SSM) developed within a multiscale simulation framework of complex automata, (3) the supplemented state diagram (SSD), depicting phase transition and glass transition lines, and (4) a multiscale simulation model for the bubble expansion. Results of the time scale analysis are plotted in the SSD, and give insight into the dominant physical processes involved in expansion. Furthermore, the results of the time scale analysis are used to construct the SSM, which has aided us in the construction of the multiscale simulation model. Simulation results are plotted in the SSD. This clearly shows that the hypothesis of Kokini is qualitatively true, but has to be refined. Our results show that bubble expansion is optimal for moisture content, where the boiling line for gas pressure of 4 bars intersects the isoviscosity line of the critical viscosity 106 Pa.s, which runs parallel to the glass transition line.

Recommended Isolated-Line Profile for Representing High-Resolution Spectroscoscopic Transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tennyson, J.; Bernath, P. F.; Campargue, A.; Császár, A. G.; Daumont, L.; Gamache, R. R.; Hodges, J. T.; Lisak, D.; Naumenko, O. V.; Rothman, L. S.; Tran, H.; Hartmann, J.-M.; Zobov, N. F.; Buldyreva, J.; Boone, C. D.; De Vizia, M. Domenica; Gianfrani, L.; McPheat, R.; Weidmann, D.; Murray, J.; Ngo, N. H.; Polyansky, O. L.

2014-06-01

Recommendations of an IUPAC Task Group, formed in 2011 on "Intensities and line shapes in high-resolution spectra of water isotopologues from experiment and theory" (Project No. 2011-022-2-100), on line profiles of isolated high-resolution rotational-vibrational transitions perturbed by neutral gas-phase molecules are presented. The well-documented inadequacies of the Voigt profile, used almost universally by databases and radiative-transfer codes to represent pressure effects and Doppler broadening in isolated vibrational-rotational and pure rotational transitions of the water molecule, have resulted in the development of a variety of alternative line profile models. These models capture more of the physics of the influence of pressure on line shapes but, in general, at the price of greater complexity. The Task Group recommends that the partially-Correlated quadratic-Speed-Dependent Hard-Collision profile should be adopted as the appropriate model for high-resolution spectroscopy. For simplicity this should be called the Hartmann-Tran profile (HTP). This profile is sophisticated enough to capture the various collisional contributions to the isolated line shape, can be computed in a straightforward and rapid manner, and reduces to simpler profiles, including the Voigt profile, under certain simplifying assumptions. For further details see: J. Tennyson et al, Pure Appl. Chem., 2014, in press.

Optical Frequency Stabilization and Optical Phase Locked Loops: Golden Threads of Precision Measurement

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Taubman, Matthew S.

Stabilization of lasers through locking to optical cavities, atomic transitions, and molecular transitions has enabled the field of precision optical measurement since shortly after the invention of the laser. Recent advances in the field have produced an optical clock that is orders of magnitude more stable than those of just a few years prior. Phase locking of one laser to another, or to a frequency offset from another, formed the basis for linking stable lasers across the optical spectrum, such frequency chains exhibiting progressively finer precision through the years. Phase locking between the modes within a femtosecond pulsed laser hasmore » yielded the optical frequency comb, one of the most beautiful and useful instruments of our time. This talk gives an overview of these topics, from early work through to the latest 1E-16 thermal noise-limited precision recently attained for a stable laser, and the ongoing quest for ever finer precision and accuracy. The issues of understanding and measuring line widths and shapes are also studied in some depth, highlighting implications for servo design for sub-Hz line widths.« less

Bifurcation analysis and phase diagram of a spin-string model with buckled states.

PubMed

Ruiz-Garcia, M; Bonilla, L L; Prados, A

2017-12-01

We analyze a one-dimensional spin-string model, in which string oscillators are linearly coupled to their two nearest neighbors and to Ising spins representing internal degrees of freedom. String-spin coupling induces a long-range ferromagnetic interaction among spins that competes with a spin-spin antiferromagnetic coupling. As a consequence, the complex phase diagram of the system exhibits different flat rippled and buckled states, with first or second order transition lines between states. This complexity translates to the two-dimensional version of the model, whose numerical solution has been recently used to explain qualitatively the rippled to buckled transition observed in scanning tunneling microscopy experiments with suspended graphene sheets. Here we describe in detail the phase diagram of the simpler one-dimensional model and phase stability using bifurcation theory. This gives additional insight into the physical mechanisms underlying the different phases and the behavior observed in experiments.

Bifurcation analysis and phase diagram of a spin-string model with buckled states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruiz-Garcia, M.; Bonilla, L. L.; Prados, A.

2017-12-01

We analyze a one-dimensional spin-string model, in which string oscillators are linearly coupled to their two nearest neighbors and to Ising spins representing internal degrees of freedom. String-spin coupling induces a long-range ferromagnetic interaction among spins that competes with a spin-spin antiferromagnetic coupling. As a consequence, the complex phase diagram of the system exhibits different flat rippled and buckled states, with first or second order transition lines between states. This complexity translates to the two-dimensional version of the model, whose numerical solution has been recently used to explain qualitatively the rippled to buckled transition observed in scanning tunneling microscopy experiments with suspended graphene sheets. Here we describe in detail the phase diagram of the simpler one-dimensional model and phase stability using bifurcation theory. This gives additional insight into the physical mechanisms underlying the different phases and the behavior observed in experiments.

Proceedings of RIKEN BNL Resarch Center Workshop: Fluctuations, Correlations and RHIC Low Energy Runs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Karsch, F.; Kojo, T.; Mukherjee, S.

Most of our visible universe is made up of hadronic matter. Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) is the theory of strong interaction that describes the hadronic matter. However, QCD predicts that at high enough temperatures and/or densities ordinary hadronic matter ceases to exist and a new form of matter is created, the so-called Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP). Non-perturbative lattice QCD simulations shows that for high temperature and small densities the transition from the hadronic to the QCD matter is not an actual phase transition, rather it takes place via a rapid crossover. On the other hand, it is generally believed that atmore » zero temperature and high densities such a transition is an actual first order phase transition. Thus, in the temperature-density phase diagram of QCD, the first order phase transition line emanating from the zero temperature high density region ends at some higher temperature where the transition becomes a crossover. The point at which the first order transition line turns into a crossover is a second order phase transition point belonging to three dimensional Ising universality class. This point is known as the QCD Critical End Point (CEP). For the last couple of years the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory has been performing experiments at lower energies in search of the elusive QCD CEP. In general critical behaviors are manifested through appearance of long range correlations and increasing fluctuations associated with the presence of mass-less modes in the vicinity of a second order phase transition. Experimental signatures of the CEP are likely to be found in observables related to fluctuations and correlations. Thus, one of the major focuses of the RHIC low energy scan program is to measure various experimental observables connected to fluctuations and correlations. On the other hand, with the start of the RHIC low energy scan program, a flurry of activities are taking place to provide solid theoretical background for the search of the CEP using observables related to fluctuations and correlations. While new data are pouring in from the RHIC low energy scan program, many recent advances have also been made in the phenomenological and lattice gauge theory sides in order to have a better theoretical understanding of the wealth of new data. This workshop tried to create a synergy between the experimental, phenomenological and lattice QCD aspects of the fluctuation and correlation related studies of the RHIC low energy scan program. The workshop brought together all the leading experts from related fields under the same forum to share new ideas among themselves in order to streamline the continuing search of CEP in the RHIC low energy scan program.« less

Hidden magnetism and quantum criticality in the heavy fermion superconductor CeRhIn5.

PubMed

Park, Tuson; Ronning, F; Yuan, H Q; Salamon, M B; Movshovich, R; Sarrao, J L; Thompson, J D

2006-03-02

With only a few exceptions that are well understood, conventional superconductivity does not coexist with long-range magnetic order (for example, ref. 1). Unconventional superconductivity, on the other hand, develops near a phase boundary separating magnetically ordered and magnetically disordered phases. A maximum in the superconducting transition temperature T(c) develops where this boundary extrapolates to zero Kelvin, suggesting that fluctuations associated with this magnetic quantum-critical point are essential for unconventional superconductivity. Invariably, though, unconventional superconductivity masks the magnetic phase boundary when T < T(c), preventing proof of a magnetic quantum-critical point. Here we report specific-heat measurements of the pressure-tuned unconventional superconductor CeRhIn5 in which we find a line of quantum-phase transitions induced inside the superconducting state by an applied magnetic field. This quantum-critical line separates a phase of coexisting antiferromagnetism and superconductivity from a purely unconventional superconducting phase, and terminates at a quantum tetracritical point where the magnetic field completely suppresses superconductivity. The T --> 0 K magnetic field-pressure phase diagram of CeRhIn5 is well described with a theoretical model developed to explain field-induced magnetism in the high-T(c) copper oxides, but in which a clear delineation of quantum-phase boundaries has not been possible. These experiments establish a common relationship among hidden magnetism, quantum criticality and unconventional superconductivity in copper oxides and heavy-electron systems such as CeRhIn5.

Raman spectroscopy studies of temperature induced phase transitions in [N(CH3)3H]CdCl3 and DFT (B3LYP) calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kchaou, H.; Karoui, K.; Bulou, A.; Ben Rhaiem, A.

2017-04-01

[N(CH3)3H]CdCl3 between 295 and 433 K possesses four phases. Three phase transition at T1=416 K, T2=373 K and T3=330 K (on heating) and T1=410 K, T2=386 K and T3=322 K (on cooling) was determined by differential scanning calorimetry. Thermal hysteresis of these transitions ΔT1=6 K, ΔT2=13 K and ΔT3=8 K, indicating a first order character. The X-ray diffraction study at room temperature revealed an orthorhombic system with Pbnm space group. The vibrational characteristics have been measured at room temperature by infrared spectroscopy (400-3800 cm-1) and by polarized Raman spectroscopy (10-3800 cm-1) on microcrystals orientated with respect to the organic and inorganic sublattice. The structure of this compound was optimized by density functional theory (DFT) using B3LYP with LanL2DZ and LanL2MB basis sets. The temperature dependence of the Raman line shifts ν and the half-width Δν detect the phase transitions (T1, T2 and T3).

Line Intensity Mapping during the Epoch of Reionization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, Marta B.; Zaroubi, Saleem

2018-05-01

Characterizing the properties and the evolution of the first stars and galaxies is a challenging task for traditional galaxy surveys since they are sensitivity limited and can only detect the brightest light sources. Three-dimensional intensity mapping (IM) of transition lines can be a valuable alternative to study the high redshift Universe given that this technique avoids sensitivity limitation problems by measuring the overall emission of a line, with a low resolution, without resolving its sources. While 21cm line IM surveys probe neutral hydrogen gas and can, therefore, be used to probe the state of the IGM and the evolution of the ionization field during the Epoch of Reionization (EoR). IM surveys of other lines, such as CO, CII, Ly-alpha or H-alpha, can be used to probe the galaxies which emitted most of the ionizing radiation responsible for the EoR. These lines will trace the different ISM gas phases, the excitation state of this gas, its metallicity, etc. This study addresses IM of multiple transition lines and how it can be used to probe the EoR and to constrain the redshift evolution of galaxy properties.

Thermodynamics of water intrusion in nanoporous hydrophobic solids.

PubMed

Cailliez, Fabien; Trzpit, Mickael; Soulard, Michel; Demachy, Isabelle; Boutin, Anne; Patarin, Joël; Fuchs, Alain H

2008-08-28

We report a joint experimental and molecular simulation study of water intrusion in silicalite-1 and ferrerite zeolites. The main conclusion of this study is that water condensation takes place through a genuine first-order phase transition, provided that the interconnected pores structure is 3-dimensional. In the extreme confinement situation (ferrierite zeolite), condensation takes place through a continuous transition, which is explained by a shift of both the first-order transition line and the critical point with increasing confinement. The present findings are at odds with the common belief that conventional phase transitions cannot take place in microporous solids such as zeolites. The most important features of the intrusion/extrusion process can be understood in terms of equilibrium thermodynamics considerations. We believe that these findings are very general for hydrophobic solids, i.e. for both nonwetting as well as wetting water-solid interface systems.

Micellization and phase transitions in a triblock copolymer-D2O system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Odhner, Hosanna; Huff, Alison; Patton, Kelly; Jacobs, D. T.; Clover, Bryna; Greer, Sandra

2011-03-01

The triblock copolymer (``unimer'') of PPO-PEO-PPO (commercially known as 17R4) has hydrophobic ends and a hydrophilic center. When placed in D2 O at lower concentrations and temperatures, only a network of unimers exists. However, at higher concentrations or temperatures, micelles of different geometries can form. We have measured the micellization line marking the transition from only unimers to some micelles, as well as a one- to two-phase transition at higher temperatures. This second transition is an Ising-like, LCST critical point, based on the shape of the coexistence curve. We find the LCST to not correspond to the minimum of the cloud point curve, which indicates polydispersity as described by Sollich. We acknowledge the support from Research Corporation, NSF-REU grant DMR 0649112, The College of Wooster, and (for BC and SG) to the donors of the Petroleum Research Fund, administered by the American Chemical Society.

Pressure-induced collapsed-tetragonal phase in SrCo2As2 at ambient temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jayasekara, W. T.; Kaluarachchi, U. S.; Ueland, B. G.; Pandey, A.; Lee, Y. B.; Taufour, V.; Sapkota, A.; Kothapalli, K.; Sangeetha, N. S.; Bud'Ko, S. L.; Harmon, B. N.; Canfield, P. C.; Johnston, D. C.; Kreyssig, A.; Goldman, A. I.; Fabbris, G.; Feng, Y.; Veiga, L. S. I.; Dos Santos, A. M.

Our recent high-energy (HE) high-pressure (HP) x-ray powder diffraction measurements on tetragonal (T) SrCo2As2 have revealed a first-order pressure-induced structural phase transition to a collapsed tetragonal (cT) phase with a reduction in c by -7.9% and the c / a ratio by -9.9%. The T and cT phases coexist for applied pressures 6 GPa to 18 GPa at 7 K. Resistance measurements up to 5.9 GPa and down to 1.8 K signatures likely associated with the cT phase above 5.5 GPa and found no evidence for superconductivity. Neutron diffraction data show no evidence of magnetic order up to 1.1 GPa. Here, we show that the T to cT transition occurs around 6.8 GPa at ambient temperature, and that the transition is nearly temperature-independent from 300 K down to 7 K, which indicates a steep p - T phase line. Work at Ames Lab. was supported by US DOE, BES, DMSE under DE-AC02-07CH11358. This research used resources at the APS and ORNL, US DOE, SC, User Facilities.

Model of random center vortex lines in continuous 2 +1 -dimensional spacetime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altarawneh, Derar; Engelhardt, Michael; Höllwieser, Roman

2016-12-01

A picture of confinement in QCD based on a condensate of thick vortices with fluxes in the center of the gauge group (center vortices) is studied. Previous concrete model realizations of this picture utilized a hypercubic space-time scaffolding, which, together with many advantages, also has some disadvantages, e.g., in the treatment of vortex topological charge. In the present work, we explore a center vortex model which does not rely on such a scaffolding. Vortices are represented by closed random lines in continuous 2 +1 -dimensional space-time. These random lines are modeled as being piecewise linear, and an ensemble is generated by Monte Carlo methods. The physical space in which the vortex lines are defined is a torus with periodic boundary conditions. Besides moving, growing, and shrinking of the vortex configurations, also reconnections are allowed. Our ensemble therefore contains not a fixed but a variable number of closed vortex lines. This is expected to be important for realizing the deconfining phase transition. We study both vortex percolation and the potential V (R ) between the quark and antiquark as a function of distance R at different vortex densities, vortex segment lengths, reconnection conditions, and at different temperatures. We find three deconfinement phase transitions, as a function of density, as a function of vortex segment length, and as a function of temperature.

Change of Auger-electron emission from Ni-Pd alloys under magnetic phase transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elovikov, S. S.; Zykova, E. Y.; Gvozdover, R. S.; Colligon, J. S.; Yurasova, V. E.

2006-04-01

The change of Auger-electron emission from polycrystals of disordered ferromagnetic NiPd 3 and Ni 3 Pd alloys, under ferro- to paramagnetic transition, has been studied experimentally. It has been shown that the intensity of the Auger-lines, which are formed because of transition of valent zone 3d 3/2 and 3d 5/2 electrons, has local maxima near the Curie point T C for the alloys. Thus, the sensitivity of Auger-electron emission to a magnetic state of the alloy has been established.

Λ-enhanced grey molasses on the D2 transition of Rubidium-87 atoms.

PubMed

Rosi, Sara; Burchianti, Alessia; Conclave, Stefano; Naik, Devang S; Roati, Giacomo; Fort, Chiara; Minardi, Francesco

2018-01-22

Laser cooling based on dark states, i.e. states decoupled from light, has proven to be effective to increase the phase-space density of cold trapped atoms. Dark-states cooling requires open atomic transitions, in contrast to the ordinary laser cooling used for example in magneto-optical traps (MOTs), which operate on closed atomic transitions. For alkali atoms, dark-states cooling is therefore commonly operated on the D 1 transition nS 1/2  → nP 1/2 . We show that, for 87 Rb, thanks to the large hyperfine structure separations the use of this transition is not strictly necessary and that "quasi-dark state" cooling is efficient also on the D 2 line, 5S 1/2  → 5P 3/2 . We report temperatures as low as (4.0 ± 0.3) μK and an increase of almost an order of magnitude in the phase space density with respect to ordinary laser sub-Doppler cooling.

On the structure and phase transitions of power-law Poissonian ensembles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliazar, Iddo; Oshanin, Gleb

2012-10-01

Power-law Poissonian ensembles are Poisson processes that are defined on the positive half-line, and that are governed by power-law intensities. Power-law Poissonian ensembles are stochastic objects of fundamental significance; they uniquely display an array of fractal features and they uniquely generate a span of important applications. In this paper we apply three different methods—oligarchic analysis, Lorenzian analysis and heterogeneity analysis—to explore power-law Poissonian ensembles. The amalgamation of these analyses, combined with the topology of power-law Poissonian ensembles, establishes a detailed and multi-faceted picture of the statistical structure and the statistical phase transitions of these elemental ensembles.

Observable consequences of zero-point energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sen, Siddhartha; Gupta, Kumar S.

2017-12-01

Spectral line widths, the Lamb shift and the Casimir effect are generally accepted to be observable consequences of the zero-point electromagnetic (ZPEM) fields. A new class of observable consequences of ZPEM field at the mesoscopic scale were recently proposed and observed. Here, we extend this class of observable effects and predict that mesoscopic water layers should have a high value for its solid-liquid phase transition temperature, as illustrated by water inside a single-walled carbon nanotube (CNT). For this case, our analysis predicts that the phase transition temperature scales inversely with the square of the effective radius available for the water flow within the CNT.

Realization of atomistic transitions with colloidal nanoparticles using an ultrafast laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akguc, Gursoy; Ilday, Serim; Ilday, Omer; Gulseren, Oguz; Makey, Ghaith; Yavuz, Koray

We report on realization of rapid atomistic transitions with colloidal nanoparticles in a setting that constitutes a dissipative far-from-equilibrium system subject to stochastic forces. Large colloidal crystals (comprising hundreds of particles) can be formed and transitions between solid-liquid-gas phases can be observed effortlessly and within seconds. Furthermore, this system allows us to form and dynamically arrest metastable phases such as glassy structures and to controllably transform a crystal pattern from square to hexagonal lattices and vice versa as well as to observe formation and propagation of crystal defects (i.e. line defects, point defects, planar defects). The mechanism largely relies on an interplay between convective forces induced by femtosecond pulses and strong Brownian motion; the former drags the colloids to form and reinforce the crystal and the latter is analogous to lattice vibrations, which makes it possible to observe phase transitions, defect formation and propagation and lattice transformation. This unique system can help us get insight into the mechanisms underlying various solid state phenomena that were previously studied under slowly evolving (within hours/days), near-equilibrium colloidal systems.

Heterodyne optical phase-locking of extended-cavity semiconductor lasers at 9 GHz

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santarelli, G.; Clairon, A.; Lea, S. N.; Tino, G. M.

1994-01-01

In order to stimulate atomic velocity-selective Raman transitions on the 852 nm caesium D 2 line in an atomic fountain clock, two extended-cavity diode lasers have been optically phase-locked at a frequency offset of 9.192 GHz. The measured linewidth (fwhm) of the free-running lasers is 50 kHz. The phase-locked loop bandwidth, evaluated by observing the frequency noise spectrum, is 3.7 MHz and the phase error variance is found to be no more than 4 × 10 -3 rad 2.

GOT C+ Survey of Transition Clouds in the Inner Galaxy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velusamy, Thangasamy; Langer, W. D.; Pineda, J. L.; Goldsmith, P. F.; Li, D.; Yorke, H. W.

2010-05-01

To understand star formation and the lifecycle of the interstellar gas we need detailed information about the transition of diffuse atomic to molecular clouds. The C+ line at 1.9 THz traces a so-far poorly studied stage in cloud evolution - the transitional clouds going from atomic HI to molecular H2 The transition cloud phase, which is difficult to observe in HI and CO alone, may be best characterized via CII emission or absorption. Here we present the first results on transition clouds along a few representative lines of sight in the inner Galaxy from longitude 325 degrees to 10 degrees, observed under the GOT C+ program, a HIFI Herschel Key Project to study the diffuse ISM. We can separate out the different ISM components along each line of sight by comparisons of the high spectral resolution ( 1 km/s) and high sensitivity (rms 0.1 K to 0.2 K) HIFI data on C+ with HI, 12CO, and 13CO spectra. These observations are being carried out with the Herschel Space Observatory. This research was conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. JLP is supported under the NASA Postdoctoral Program at JPL, Caltech, administered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities through a contract with NASA.

Phase Transition in all-trans-β-Carotene Crystal: Temperature-Dependent Raman Spectra.

PubMed

da Silva, Kleber J R; Paschoal, Waldomiro; Belo, Ezequiel A; Moreira, Sanclayton G C

2015-09-24

In this study, we studied the stability of an all-trans-β-carotene single crystal using Raman spectroscopy with line excitation at 632.8 nm, in the temperature range 20–300 K. The Raman spectra exhibit clear modifications in the spectral range of the lattice and internal vibrational modes. The temperature dependence of the most intense vibrational modes ν1 (1511 cm(–1)) and ν2 (1156 cm(–1)) that are related to the C═C and C—C stretching vibrations of the polyene chain, respectively, shows an upward shift on the Raman modes. This behavior is similar to that stated in the theoretical work of Wei-Long Liu et al. We conclude that the all-trans-β-carotene crystal undergoes a temperature-induced phase transition at approximately 219 K. This transition is interpreted as a rotation experienced by β-ring groups at each end of the all-trans-β-carotene molecule around the dihedral angle. At low temperatures, the new molecular configuration affects the sliding plane of the space group C2h(5)(P2(1)/n), and the phase transition leads to an unchanged monoclinic structure; however, the original space group is possibly lowered to the space group C2. In the temperature range 200–220 K, the spectral ratio (S) of the integrated intensities of the spectral modes around the symmetric and asymmetric stretching wavenumbers of the methyl group (CH3) changes as a function of temperature in agreement with the phase transition. Furthermore, according to phase transition undergone by the all-trans-β-carotene, the thermal results obtained by differential scanning calorimetry show an exothermic process that occurs near the transition temperature assigned by the Raman spectra.

Metallic Hydrogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silvera, Isaac; Zaghoo, Mohamed; Salamat, Ashkan

2015-03-01

Hydrogen is the simplest and most abundant element in the Universe. At high pressure it is predicted to transform to a metal with remarkable properties: room temperature superconductivity, a metastable metal at ambient conditions, and a revolutionary rocket propellant. Both theory and experiment have been challenged for almost 80 years to determine its condensed matter phase diagram, in particular the insulator-metal transition. Hydrogen is predicted to dissociate to a liquid atomic metal at multi-megabar pressures and T =0 K, or at megabar pressures and very high temperatures. Thus, its predicted phase diagram has a broad field of liquid metallic hydrogen at high pressure, with temperatures ranging from thousands of degrees to zero Kelvin. In a bench top experiment using static compression in a diamond anvil cell and pulsed laser heating, we have conducted measurements on dense hydrogen in the region of 1.1-1.7 Mbar and up to 2200 K. We observe a first-order phase transition in the liquid phase, as well as sharp changes in optical transmission and reflectivity when this phase is entered. The optical signature is that of a metal. The mapping of the phase line of this transition is in excellent agreement with recent theoretical predictions for the long-sought plasma phase transition to metallic hydrogen. Research supported by the NSF, Grant DMR-1308641, the DOE Stockpile Stewardship Academic Alliance Program, Grant DE-FG52-10NA29656, and NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship Program, Award NNX14AP17H.

New pathway for the formation of metallic cubic phase Ge-Sb-Te compounds induced by an electric current

PubMed Central

Park, Yong-Jin; Cho, Ju-Young; Jeong, Min-Woo; Na, Sekwon; Joo, Young-Chang

2016-01-01

The novel discovery of a current-induced transition from insulator to metal in the crystalline phase of Ge2Sb2Te5 and GeSb4Te7 have been studied by means of a model using line-patterned samples. The resistivity of cubic phase Ge-Sb-Te compound was reduced by an electrical current (~1 MA/cm2), and the final resistivity was determined based on the stress current density, regardless of the initial resistivity and temperature, which indicates that the conductivity of Ge-Sb-Te compound can be modulated by an electrical current. The minimum resistivity of Ge-Sb-Te materials can be achieved at high kinetic rates by applying an electrical current, and the material properties change from insulating to metallic behavior without a phase transition. The current-induced metal transition is more effective in GeSb4Te7 than Ge2Sb2Te5, which depends on the intrinsic vacancy of materials. Electromigration, which is the migration of atoms induced by a momentum transfer from charge carriers, can easily promote the rearrangement of vacancies in the cubic phase of Ge-Sb-Te compound. This behavior differs significantly from thermal annealing, which accompanies a phase transition to the hexagonal phase. This result suggests a new pathway for modulating the electrical conductivity and material properties of chalcogenide materials by applying an electrical current. PMID:26902593

Behavior of supercooled aqueous solutions stemming from hidden liquid–liquid transition in water

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Biddle, John W.; Holten, Vincent; Anisimov, Mikhail A., E-mail: anisimov@umd.edu

2014-08-21

A popular hypothesis that explains the anomalies of supercooled water is the existence of a metastable liquid–liquid transition hidden below the line of homogeneous nucleation. If this transition exists and if it is terminated by a critical point, the addition of a solute should generate a line of liquid–liquid critical points emanating from the critical point of pure metastable water. We have analyzed thermodynamic consequences of this scenario. In particular, we consider the behavior of two systems, H{sub 2}O-NaCl and H{sub 2}O-glycerol. We find the behavior of the heat capacity in supercooled aqueous solutions of NaCl, as reported by Archermore » and Carter [J. Phys. Chem. B 104, 8563 (2000)], to be consistent with the presence of the metastable liquid–liquid transition. We elucidate the non-conserved nature of the order parameter (extent of “reaction” between two alternative structures of water) and the consequences of its coupling with conserved properties (density and concentration). We also show how the shape of the critical line in a solution controls the difference in concentration of the coexisting liquid phases.« less

Dual-comb spectroscopy of molecular electronic transitions in condensed phases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Byungmoon; Yoon, Tai Hyun; Cho, Minhaeng

2018-03-01

Dual-comb spectroscopy (DCS) utilizes two phase-locked optical frequency combs to allow scanless acquisition of spectra using only a single point detector. Although recent DCS measurements demonstrate rapid acquisition of absolutely calibrated spectral lines with unprecedented precision and accuracy, complex phase-locking schemes and multiple coherent averaging present significant challenges for widespread adoption of DCS. Here, we demonstrate Global Positioning System (GPS) disciplined DCS of a molecular electronic transition in solution at around 800 nm, where the absorption spectrum is recovered by using a single time-domain interferogram. We anticipate that this simplified dual-comb technique with absolute time interval measurement and ultrabroad bandwidth will allow adoption of DCS to tackle molecular dynamics investigation through its implementation in time-resolved nonlinear spectroscopic studies and coherent multidimensional spectroscopy of coupled chromophore systems.

The Cancer-Related Transcription Factor Runx2 Modulates Cell Proliferation in Human Osteosarcoma Cell Lines

PubMed Central

Lucero, Claudia M.J.; Vega, Oscar A.; Osorio, Mariana M.; Tapia, Julio C.; Antonelli, Marcelo; Stein, Gary S.; Van Wijnen, Andre J.; Galindo, Mario A.

2013-01-01

Runx2 regulates osteogenic differentiation and bone formation, but also suppresses pre-osteoblast proliferation by affecting cell cycle progression in the G1 phase. The growth suppressive potential of Runx2 is normally inactivated in part by protein destabilization, which permits cell cycle progression beyond the G1/S phase transition, and Runx2 is again up-regulated after mitosis. Runx2 expression also correlates with metastasis and poor chemotherapy response in osteosarcoma. Here we show that six human osteosarcoma cell lines (SaOS, MG63, U2OS, HOS, G292, and 143B) have different growth rates, which is consistent with differences in the lengths of the cell cycle. Runx2 protein levels are cell cycle-regulated with respect to the G1/S phase transition in U2OS, HOS, G292, and 143B cells. In contrast, Runx2 protein levels are constitutively expressed during the cell cycle in SaOS and MG63 cells. Forced expression of Runx2 suppresses growth in all cell lines indicating that accumulation of Runx2 in excess of its pre-established levels in a given cell type triggers one or more anti-proliferative pathways in osteosarcoma cells. Thus, regulatory mechanisms controlling Runx2 expression in osteosarcoma cells must balance Runx2 protein levels to promote its putative oncogenic functions, while avoiding suppression of bone tumor growth. PMID:22949168

Multi-photon transitions and Rabi resonance in continuous wave EPR.

PubMed

Saiko, Alexander P; Fedaruk, Ryhor; Markevich, Siarhei A

2015-10-01

The study of microwave-radiofrequency multi-photon transitions in continuous wave (CW) EPR spectroscopy is extended to a Rabi resonance condition, when the radio frequency of the magnetic-field modulation matches the Rabi frequency of a spin system in the microwave field. Using the non-secular perturbation theory based on the Bogoliubov averaging method, the analytical description of the response of the spin system is derived for all modulation frequency harmonics. When the modulation frequency exceeds the EPR linewidth, multi-photon transitions result in sidebands in absorption EPR spectra measured with phase-sensitive detection at any harmonic. The saturation of different-order multi-photon transitions is shown to be significantly different and to be sensitive to the Rabi resonance. The noticeable frequency shifts of sidebands are found to be the signatures of this resonance. The inversion of two-photon lines in some spectral intervals of the out-of-phase first-harmonic signal is predicted under passage through the Rabi resonance. The inversion indicates the transition from absorption to stimulated emission or vice versa, depending on the sideband. The manifestation of the primary and secondary Rabi resonance is also demonstrated in the time evolution of steady-state EPR signals formed by all harmonics of the modulation frequency. Our results provide a theoretical framework for future developments in multi-photon CW EPR spectroscopy, which can be useful for samples with long spin relaxation times and extremely narrow EPR lines. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of line-peak and line-scanning excitation in two-color laser-induced-fluorescence thermometry of OH.

PubMed

Kostka, Stanislav; Roy, Sukesh; Lakusta, Patrick J; Meyer, Terrence R; Renfro, Michael W; Gord, James R; Branam, Richard

2009-11-10

Two-line laser-induced-fluorescence (LIF) thermometry is commonly employed to generate instantaneous planar maps of temperature in unsteady flames. The use of line scanning to extract the ratio of integrated intensities is less common because it precludes instantaneous measurements. Recent advances in the energy output of high-speed, ultraviolet, optical parameter oscillators have made possible the rapid scanning of molecular rovibrational transitions and, hence, the potential to extract information on gas-phase temperatures. In the current study, two-line OH LIF thermometry is performed in a well-calibrated reacting flow for the purpose of comparing the relative accuracy of various line-pair selections from the literature and quantifying the differences between peak-intensity and spectrally integrated line ratios. Investigated are the effects of collisional quenching, laser absorption, and the integration width for partial scanning of closely spaced lines on the measured temperatures. Data from excitation scans are compared with theoretical line shapes, and experimentally derived temperatures are compared with numerical predictions that were previously validated using coherent anti-Stokes-Raman scattering. Ratios of four pairs of transitions in the A2Sigma+<--X2Pi (1,0) band of OH are collected in an atmospheric-pressure, near-adiabatic hydrogen-air flame over a wide range of equivalence ratios--from 0.4 to 1.4. It is observed that measured temperatures based on the ratio of Q1(14)/Q1(5) transition lines result in the best accuracy and that line scanning improves the measurement accuracy by as much as threefold at low-equivalence-ratio, low-temperature conditions. These results provide a comprehensive analysis of the procedures required to ensure accurate two-line LIF measurements in reacting flows over a wide range of conditions.

Sensitive frequency dependence of the carrier-envelope phase effect on bound-bound transitions: An interference perspective

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peng Dian; Fu Panming; Wang Bingbing

2010-11-15

We investigate numerically with Hylleraas coordinates the frequency dependence of the carrier-envelope phase (CEP) effect on bound-bound transitions of helium induced by an ultrashort laser pulse of a few cycles. We find that the CEP effect is very sensitive to the carrier frequency of the laser pulse, occurring regularly even at far-off-resonance frequencies. By analyzing a two-level model, we find that the CEP effect can be attributed to the quantum interference between neighboring multiphoton transition pathways, which is made possible by the broadened spectrum of the ultrashort laser pulse. A general picture is developed along this line to understand themore » sensitivity of the CEP effect to the laser's carrier frequency. Multilevel influence on the CEP effect is also discussed.« less

CosmoTransitions: Computing cosmological phase transition temperatures and bubble profiles with multiple fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wainwright, Carroll L.

2012-09-01

I present a numerical package (CosmoTransitions) for analyzing finite-temperature cosmological phase transitions driven by single or multiple scalar fields. The package analyzes the different vacua of a theory to determine their critical temperatures (where the vacuum energy levels are degenerate), their supercooling temperatures, and the bubble wall profiles which separate the phases and describe their tunneling dynamics. I introduce a new method of path deformation to find the profiles of both thin- and thick-walled bubbles. CosmoTransitions is freely available for public use.Program summaryProgram Title: CosmoTransitionsCatalogue identifier: AEML_v1_0Program summary URL: http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEML_v1_0.htmlProgram obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. IrelandLicensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.htmlNo. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 8775No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 621096Distribution format: tar.gzProgramming language: Python.Computer: Developed on a 2009 MacBook Pro. No computer-specific optimization was performed.Operating system: Designed and tested on Mac OS X 10.6.8. Compatible with any OS with Python installed.RAM: Approximately 50 MB, mostly for loading plotting packages.Classification: 1.9, 11.1.External routines: SciPy, NumPy, matplotLibNature of problem: I describe a program to analyze early-Universe finite-temperature phase transitions with multiple scalar fields. The goal is to analyze the phase structure of an input theory, determine the amount of supercooling at each phase transition, and find the bubble-wall profiles of the nucleated bubbles that drive the transitions.Solution method: To find the bubble-wall profile, the program assumes that tunneling happens along a fixed path in field space. This reduces the equations of motion to one dimension, which can then be solved using the overshoot/undershoot method. The path iteratively deforms in the direction opposite the forces perpendicular to the path until the perpendicular forces vanish (or become very small). To find the phase structure, the program finds and integrates the change in a phase's minimum with respect to temperature.Running time: Approximately 1 minute for full analysis of the two-scalar-field test model on a 2.5 GHz CPU.

Quenched bond randomness: Superfluidity in porous media and the strong violation of universality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falicov, Alexis; Berker, A. Nihat

1997-04-01

The effects of quenched bond randomness are most readily studied with superfluidity immersed in a porous medium. A lattice model for3He-4He mixtures and incomplete4He fillings in aerogel yields the signature effect of bond randomness, namely the conversion of symmetry-breaking first-order phase transitions into second-order phase transitions, the λ-line reaching zero temperature, and the elimination of non-symmetry-breaking first-order phase transitions. The model recognizes the importance of the connected nature of aerogel randomness and thereby yields superfluidity at very low4He concentrations, a phase separation entirely within the superfluid phase, and the order-parameter contrast between mixtures and incomplete fillings, all in agreement with experiments. The special properties of the helium mixture/aerogel system are distinctly linked to the aerogel properties of connectivity, randomness, and tenuousness, via the additional study of a regularized “jungle-gym” aerogel. Renormalization-group calculations indicate that a strong violation of the empirical universality principle of critical phenomena occurs under quenched bond randomness. It is argued that helium/aerogel critical properties reflect this violation and further experiments are suggested. Renormalization-group analysis also shows that, adjoiningly to the strong universality violation (which hinges on the occurrence or non-occurrence of asymptotic strong coupling—strong randomness under rescaling), there is a new “hyperuniversality” at phase transitions with asymptotic strong coupling—strong randomness behavior, for example assigning the same critical exponents to random- bond tricriticality and random- field criticality.

Liquid part of the phase diagram and percolation line for two-dimensional Mercedes-Benz water.

PubMed

Urbic, T

2017-09-01

Monte Carlo simulations and Wertheim's thermodynamic perturbation theory (TPT) are used to predict the phase diagram and percolation curve for the simple two-dimensional Mercedes-Benz (MB) model of water. The MB model of water is quite popular for explaining water properties, but the phase diagram has not been reported till now. In the MB model, water molecules are modeled as two-dimensional Lennard-Jones disks, with three orientation-dependent hydrogen-bonding arms, arranged as in the MB logo. The liquid part of the phase space is explored using grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations and two versions of Wertheim's TPT for associative fluids, which have been used before to predict the properties of the simple MB model. We find that the theory reproduces well the physical properties of hot water but is less successful at capturing the more structured hydrogen bonding that occurs in cold water. In addition to reporting the phase diagram and percolation curve of the model, it is shown that the improved TPT predicts the phase diagram rather well, while the standard one predicts a phase transition at lower temperatures. For the percolation line, both versions have problems predicting the correct position of the line at high temperatures.

Liquid part of the phase diagram and percolation line for two-dimensional Mercedes-Benz water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urbic, T.

2017-09-01

Monte Carlo simulations and Wertheim's thermodynamic perturbation theory (TPT) are used to predict the phase diagram and percolation curve for the simple two-dimensional Mercedes-Benz (MB) model of water. The MB model of water is quite popular for explaining water properties, but the phase diagram has not been reported till now. In the MB model, water molecules are modeled as two-dimensional Lennard-Jones disks, with three orientation-dependent hydrogen-bonding arms, arranged as in the MB logo. The liquid part of the phase space is explored using grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations and two versions of Wertheim's TPT for associative fluids, which have been used before to predict the properties of the simple MB model. We find that the theory reproduces well the physical properties of hot water but is less successful at capturing the more structured hydrogen bonding that occurs in cold water. In addition to reporting the phase diagram and percolation curve of the model, it is shown that the improved TPT predicts the phase diagram rather well, while the standard one predicts a phase transition at lower temperatures. For the percolation line, both versions have problems predicting the correct position of the line at high temperatures.

The ice VII-ice X phase transition with implications for planetary interiors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aarestad, B.; Frank, M. R.; Scott, H.; Bricker, M.; Prakapenka, V.

2008-12-01

A significant amount of research on the high pressure polymorphs of H2O have detailed the lattice structure and density of these phases, namely ice VI, ice VII, and ice X. These high pressure ices are noteworthy as they may comprise a considerable part of the interior of large icy planets and satellites. However, there is a dearth of data on how the incorporation of an impurity, charged or non-charged, affects the ice VII-ice X transition. This study examined the ice VII-ice X transition that occurs at approximately 62 GPa with a pure system and two select impure systems. Solutions of pure H2O, 1.6 mole percent NaCl in H2O, and 1.60 mole percent CH3OH in H2O were compressed in a diamond anvil cell (DAC). The experiments were performed at the GSECARS 13-BM-D beam line at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. Powder diffraction data of the ice samples were collected using monochromatic X-ray radiation, 0.2755 Å, and a MAR 345 online imaging system at intervals of approximately 2 GPa up to ~71.5, ~74.5, and ~68 GPa, respectively. Analyses of the data provided volume-pressure relations (at 298 K) which were used to detail the ice VII-ice X phase transition. The pressure of the phase transition, based upon an interpretation of the X-ray diffraction data, was found to vary as a function of the impurity type. Thus, the depth of the ice VII-ice X phase transition within an ice-rich planetary body can be influenced by trace-level impurities.

Solubilization of Tea Seed Oil in a Food-Grade Water-Dilutable Microemulsion

PubMed Central

Deng, Lingli; Que, Fei; Wei, Hewen; Xu, Guangwei; Dong, Xiaowei; Zhang, Hui

2015-01-01

Food-grade microemulsions containing oleic acid, ethanol, Tween 20, and water were formulated as a carrier system for tea seed oil (Camellia oleifera Abel.). The effect of ethanol on the phase behavior of the microemulsion system was clearly reflected in pseudo-ternary diagrams. The solubilization capacity and solubilization efficiency of tea seed oil dispersions were measured along the dilution line at a 70/30 surfactant/oil mass ratio with Tween 20 as the surfactant and oleic acid and ethanol (1:3, w/w) as the oil phase. The dispersed phase of the microemulsion (1.5% weight ratio of tea seed oil to the total amount of oil, surfactant, and tea seed oil) could be fully diluted with water without phase separation. Differential scanning calorimetry and viscosity measurements indicated that both the carrier and solubilized systems underwent a similar microstructure transition upon dilution. The dispersion phases gradually inverted from the water-in-oil phase (< 35% water) to the bicontinuous phase (40–45% water) and finally to the oil-in-water phase (> 45% water) along the dilution line. PMID:25996147

Solubilization of tea seed oil in a food-grade water-dilutable microemulsion.

PubMed

Deng, Lingli; Que, Fei; Wei, Hewen; Xu, Guangwei; Dong, Xiaowei; Zhang, Hui

2015-01-01

Food-grade microemulsions containing oleic acid, ethanol, Tween 20, and water were formulated as a carrier system for tea seed oil (Camellia oleifera Abel.). The effect of ethanol on the phase behavior of the microemulsion system was clearly reflected in pseudo-ternary diagrams. The solubilization capacity and solubilization efficiency of tea seed oil dispersions were measured along the dilution line at a 70/30 surfactant/oil mass ratio with Tween 20 as the surfactant and oleic acid and ethanol (1:3, w/w) as the oil phase. The dispersed phase of the microemulsion (1.5% weight ratio of tea seed oil to the total amount of oil, surfactant, and tea seed oil) could be fully diluted with water without phase separation. Differential scanning calorimetry and viscosity measurements indicated that both the carrier and solubilized systems underwent a similar microstructure transition upon dilution. The dispersion phases gradually inverted from the water-in-oil phase (< 35% water) to the bicontinuous phase (40-45% water) and finally to the oil-in-water phase (> 45% water) along the dilution line.

Quantum phases of dimerized and frustrated Heisenberg spin chains with s = 1/2, 1 and 3/2: an entanglement entropy and fidelity study.

PubMed

Goli, V M L Durga Prasad; Sahoo, Shaon; Ramasesha, S; Sen, Diptiman

2013-03-27

We study here different regions in phase diagrams of the spin-1/2, spin-1 and spin-3/2 one-dimensional antiferromagnetic Heisenberg systems with frustration (next-nearest-neighbor interaction J2) and dimerization (δ). In particular, we analyze the behaviors of the bipartite entanglement entropy and fidelity at the gapless to gapped phase transitions and across the lines separating different phases in the J2-δ plane. All the calculations in this work are based on numerical exact diagonalizations of finite systems.

Transition to Glass: Pilot Training for High-Technology Transport Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wiener, Earl L.; Chute, Rebecca D.; Moses, John H.

1999-01-01

This report examines the activities of a major commercial air carrier between 1993 and late 1996 as it acquired an advanced fleet of high-technology aircraft (Boeing 757). Previously, the airline's fleet consisted of traditional (non-glass) aircraft, and this report examines the transition from a traditional fleet to a glass one. A total of 150 pilots who were entering the B-757 transition training volunteered for the study, which consisted of three query phases: (1) first day of transition training, (2) 3 to 4 months after transition training, and (3) 12 to 14 months after initial operating experience. Of these initial 150 pilots, 99 completed all three phases of the study, with each phase consisting of probes on attitudes and experiences associated with their training and eventual transition to flying the line. In addition to the three questionnaires, 20 in-depth interviews were conducted. Although the primary focus of this study was on the flight training program, additional factors such as technical support, documentation, and training aids were investigated as well. The findings generally indicate that the pilot volunteers were highly motivated and very enthusiastic about their training program. In addition, the group had low levels of apprehension toward automation and expressed a high degree of satisfaction toward their training. However, there were some concerns expressed regarding the deficiencies in some of the training aids and lack of a free-play flight management system training device.

Liquid-bridge stability and breakup on surfaces with contact-angle hysteresis.

PubMed

Akbari, Amir; Hill, Reghan J

2016-08-10

We study the stability and breakup of liquid bridges with a free contact line on surfaces with contact-angle hysteresis (CAH) under zero-gravity conditions. Non-ideal surfaces exhibit CAH because of surface imperfections, by which the constraints on three-phase contact lines are influenced. Given that interfacial instabilities are constraint-sensitive, understanding how CAH affects the stability and breakup of liquid bridges is crucial for predicting the drop size in contact-drop dispensing. Unlike ideal surfaces on which contact lines are always free irrespective of surface wettability, contact lines may undergo transitions from pinned to free and vice versa during drop deposition on non-ideal surfaces. Here, we experimentally and theoretically examine how stability and breakup are affected by CAH, highlighting cases where stability is lost during a transition from a pinned-pinned (more constrained) to pinned-free (less constrained) interface-rather than a critical state. This provides a practical means of expediting or delaying stability loss. We also demonstrate how the dynamic contact angle can control the contact-line radius following stability loss.

Ising tricriticality in the extended Hubbard model with bond dimerization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fehske, Holger; Ejima, Satoshi; Lange, Florian; Essler, Fabian H. L.

We explore the quantum phase transition between Peierls and charge-density-wave insulating states in the one-dimensional, half-filled, extended Hubbard model with explicit bond dimerization. We show that the critical line of the continuous Ising transition terminates at a tricritical point, belonging to the universality class of the tricritical Ising model with central charge c=7/10. Above this point, the quantum phase transition becomes first order. Employing a numerical matrix-product-state based (infinite) density-matrix renormalization group method we determine the ground-state phase diagram, the spin and two-particle charge excitations gaps, and the entanglement properties of the model with high precision. Performing a bosonization analysis we can derive a field description of the transition region in terms of a triple sine-Gordon model. This allows us to derive field theory predictions for the power-law (exponential) decay of the density-density (spin-spin) and bond-order-wave correlation functions, which are found to be in excellent agreement with our numerical results. This work was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Germany), SFB 652, project B5, and by the EPSRC under Grant No. EP/N01930X/1 (FHLE).

A neutron diffraction study of the magnetic phases of CsCuCl3 for in-plane fields up to 17 T

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stüßer, N.; Schotte, U.; Hoser, A.; Meschke, M.; Meißner, M.; Wosnitza, J.

2002-05-01

Neutron diffraction investigations have been performed to study the magnetization process of CsCuCl3 with the magnetic field aligned within the ab-plane. In zero field the stacked, triangular-lattice antiferromagnet (TLA) CsCuCl3 has a helical structure incommensurate in the chain direction normal to the ab-plane. The magnetic phase diagram was investigated from 2 K up to TN in fields up to 17 T. The phase line for the expected incommensurate-commensurate (IC-C) phase transition could be determined throughout the whole phase diagram. At low temperature the IC-C transition is roughly at half the saturation field HS. The neutron diffraction patterns were found to be well described by a sinusoidally modulated spiral in fields up to HS/3. The initial increase of the scattering intensity in rising field indicates a continuous reduction of the spin frustration on the triangular lattice. Between HS/3 and HS/2 a new phase occurs where the spiral vector has a plateau in its field dependence. Close to the IC-C transition a growing asymmetry of magnetic satellite-peak intensities indicates domain effects which are related to the lifting of the chiral degeneracy in the ab-plane in rising field. The phase diagram obtained has some similarities with those calculated for stacked TLAs by considering the effects of quantum and thermal fluctuations.

Experimental proof of the existence of a Widom line based on peculiarities of the behavior of hydrogen in nanoporous silicate at -45°C and atmospheric pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bordonskii, G. S.; Gurulev, A. A.

2017-04-01

We have experimentally studied the thermal and microwave properties of a nanoporous medium (silica gel) with hydrogen-filled pores. On cooling down to about -45°C at atmospheric pressure, the system exhibited chemical transformations, a first-order phase transition with heat evolution, and a sharp change in the power of microwave radiation at 34 GHz transmitted through a sample. It is concluded that this point on the phase diagram corresponds to a point on the Widom line featuring sharp increase in fluctuations of the entropy and density of supercooled water formed during hydrogen interaction with the surface of pores in silica gel. These results confirm the existence of a second critical point of water, from which the Widom line originates.

Critical behavior of the extended Hubbard model with bond dimerization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ejima, Satoshi; Lange, Florian; Essler, Fabian H. L.; Fehske, Holger

2018-05-01

Exploiting the matrix-product-state based density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG) technique we study the one-dimensional extended (U-V) Hubbard model with explicit bond dimerization in the half-filled band sector. In particular we investigate the nature of the quantum phase transition, taking place with growing ratio V / U between the symmetry-protected-topological and charge-density-wave insulating states. The (weak-coupling) critical line of continuous Ising transitions with central charge c = 1 / 2 terminates at a tricritical point belonging to the universality class of the dilute Ising model with c = 7 / 10 . We demonstrate that our DMRG data perfectly match with (tricritical) Ising exponents, e.g., for the order parameter β = 1 / 8 (1/24) and correlation length ν = 1 (5/9). Beyond the tricritical Ising point, in the strong-coupling regime, the quantum phase transition becomes first order.

The quality of on-line communication in a national learning programme for newly qualified nurses, midwives and allied health professionals.

PubMed

Lauder, W; Roxburgh, M; Atkinson, John; Banks, Pauline; Kane, Helen

2011-05-01

Asynchronous communication has become the dominant mode of on-line instruction and has been incorporated into Flying Start NHS, an on-line programme for newly qualified NMAHPs in the transition phase from student to registered practitioner. On-line programmes have a number of objectives including the delivery of educational materials and the development of on-line communities. This study sought to provide a direct and objective understanding of the quality of the on-line community within Flying Start NHS and give an indication of areas of strength and weakness. The study used mixed methods including a Gricean analysis of on-line communication focusing on quantity, quality, relevance, and manner, and a thematic analysis of communication content. There was little evidence that students engaged in the type of interactive communication essential for creating on-line learning communities. The majority of postings related to progression through Flying Start. The small number of communications which did begin to engage with the learning materials were limited with little evidence of the development of critical debate. Analysis of the qualitative data indicates that the period of transition continues to be stressful with Flying Start NHS being undertaken concurrently with local CPD being seen as duplication of effort. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Carbon under extreme conditions: phase boundaries and electronic properties from first-principles theory.

PubMed

Correa, Alfredo A; Bonev, Stanimir A; Galli, Giulia

2006-01-31

At high pressure and temperature, the phase diagram of elemental carbon is poorly known. We present predictions of diamond and BC8 melting lines and their phase boundary in the solid phase, as obtained from first-principles calculations. Maxima are found in both melting lines, with a triple point located at approximately 850 GPa and approximately 7,400 K. Our results show that hot, compressed diamond is a semiconductor that undergoes metalization upon melting. In contrast, in the stability range of BC8, an insulator to metal transition is likely to occur in the solid phase. Close to the diamond/liquid and BC8/liquid boundaries, molten carbon is a low-coordinated metal retaining some covalent character in its bonding up to extreme pressures. Our results provide constraints on the carbon equation of state, which is of critical importance for devising models of Neptune, Uranus, and white dwarf stars, as well as of extrasolar carbon-rich planets.

Carbon under extreme conditions: Phase boundaries and electronic properties from first-principles theory

DOE PAGES

Correa, Alfredo A.; Bonev, Stanimir A.; Galli, Giulia

2006-01-23

At high pressure and temperature, the phase diagram of elemental carbon is poorly known. We present predictions of diamond and BC8 melting lines and their phase boundary in the solid phase, as obtained from first-principles calculations. Maxima are found in both melting lines, with a triple point located at ≈ 850 GPa and ≈ 7,400 K. Our results show that hot, compressed diamond is a semiconductor that undergoes metalization upon melting. In contrast, in the stability range of BC8, an insulator to metal transition is likely to occur in the solid phase. Close to the diamond/liquid and BC8/liquid boundaries, moltenmore » carbon is a low-coordinated metal retaining some covalent character in its bonding up to extreme pressures. Lastly, our results provide constraints on the carbon equation of state, which is of critical importance for devising models of Neptune, Uranus, and white dwarf stars, as well as of extrasolar carbon-rich planets.« less

Collapse transition in polymer models with multiple monomers per site and multiple bonds per edge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodrigues, Nathann T.; Oliveira, Tiago J.

2017-12-01

We present results from extensive Monte Carlo simulations of polymer models where each lattice site can be visited by up to K monomers and no restriction is imposed on the number of bonds on each lattice edge. These multiple monomer per site (MMS) models are investigated on the square and cubic lattices, for K =2 and 3, by associating Boltzmann weights ω0=1 , ω1=eβ1 , and ω2=eβ2 to sites visited by 1, 2, and 3 monomers, respectively. Two versions of the MMS models are considered for which immediate reversals of the walks are allowed (RA) or forbidden (RF). In contrast to previous simulations of these models, we find the same thermodynamic behavior for both RA and RF versions. In three dimensions, the phase diagrams, in space β2×β1 , are featured by coil and globule phases separated by a line of Θ points, as thoroughly demonstrated by the metric νt, crossover ϕt, and entropic γt exponents. The existence of the Θ lines is also confirmed by the second virial coefficient. This shows that no discontinuous collapse transition exists in these models, in contrast to previous claims based on a weak bimodality observed in some distributions, which indeed exists in a narrow region very close to the Θ line when β1<0 . Interestingly, in two dimensions, only a crossover is found between the coil and globule phases.

Nexus networks in carbon honeycombs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yuanping; Xie, Yuee; Gao, Yan; Chang, Po-Yao; Zhang, Shengbai; Vanderbilt, David

2018-04-01

Nexus metals represent a new type of topological material in which nodal lines merge at nexus points. Here we propose novel networks in nexus systems through intertwining between nexus fermions and additional nodal lines. These nexus networks can be realized in recently synthesized carbon honeycomb materials. In these carbon honeycombs, we demonstrate a phase transition between a nexus network and a system with triply degenerate points and additional nodal lines. The Landau level spectra show unusual magnetic transport properties in the nexus networks. Our results pave the way toward realizations of new topological materials with novel transport properties beyond standard Weyl/Dirac semimetals.

Mapping coexistence lines via free-energy extrapolation: application to order-disorder phase transitions of hard-core mixtures.

PubMed

Escobedo, Fernando A

2014-03-07

In this work, a variant of the Gibbs-Duhem integration (GDI) method is proposed to trace phase coexistence lines that combines some of the advantages of the original GDI methods such as robustness in handling large system sizes, with the ability of histogram-based methods (but without using histograms) to estimate free-energies and hence avoid the need of on-the-fly corrector schemes. This is done by fitting to an appropriate polynomial function not the coexistence curve itself (as in GDI schemes) but the underlying free-energy function of each phase. The availability of a free-energy model allows the post-processing of the simulated data to obtain improved estimates of the coexistence line. The proposed method is used to elucidate the phase behavior for two non-trivial hard-core mixtures: a binary blend of spheres and cubes and a system of size-polydisperse cubes. The relative size of the spheres and cubes in the first mixture is chosen such that the resulting eutectic pressure-composition phase diagram is nearly symmetric in that the maximum solubility of cubes in the sphere-rich solid (∼20%) is comparable to the maximum solubility of spheres in the cube-rich solid. In the polydisperse cube system, the solid-liquid coexistence line is mapped out for an imposed Gaussian activity distribution, which produces near-Gaussian particle-size distributions in each phase. A terminal polydispersity of 11.3% is found, beyond which the cubic solid phase would not be stable, and near which significant size fractionation between the solid and isotropic phases is predicted.

Bit-mapped Holograms Using Phase Transition Mastering (PTM) and Blu-ray Disks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barnhart, Donald

2013-02-01

Due to recent advances made in data storage, cloud computing, and Blu-ray mastering technology, it is now straight forward to calculate, store, transfer, and print bitmapped holograms that use terabytes of data and tera-pixels of information. This presentation reports on the potential of using the phase transition mastering (PTM) process to construct bitmapped, computer generated holograms with spatial resolutions of 5000 line-pairs/mm (70 nm pixel width). In particular, for Blu-ray disk production, Sony has developed a complete process that could be alternately deployed in holographic applications. The PTM process uses a 405 nm laser to write phase patterns onto a layer of imperfect transition metal oxides that is deposited onto an 8 inch silicon wafer. After the master hologram has been constructed, its imprint can then be cheaply mass produced with the same process as Blu-ray disks or embossed holograms. Unlike traditional binary holograms made with expensive e-beam lithography, the PTM process has the potential for multiple phase levels using inexpensive optics similar to consumer-grade desktop Blu-ray writers. This PTM process could revolutionise holography for entertainment, industrial, and scientific applications.

Effect of Cr3+ concentration on structural and optical properties of TiO2:Cr3+ anatase and rutile phases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loan, Trinh Thi; Bang, Ngac An; Huong, Vu Hoang; Long, Nguyen Ngoc

2017-07-01

TiO2 powders doped with different amounts of Cr3+ions (from 0 to 10 mol%) have been prepared by hydrothermal technique. TiO2:Cr3+ powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, diffuse reflection, absorption, photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation spectra. The results showed that the Cr3+ dopant concentrations did not affect on the lattice constants of TiO2 crystal, but affected on shift and broadening of the Raman modes for both anatase and rutile phases. The band gap of both the anatase and rutile TiO2 host lattice was strongly decreased with increasing Cr3+ dopant concentration. The photoluminescence spectra of TiO2:Cr3+ anatase phase exhibited a weak narrow peak (the so-called R-line) at 698 nm, meanwhile those of TiO2:Cr3+ rutile phase consisted of a very intense narrow zero-phonon R-line at 695 nm assigned to the 2E(2G) → 4A2(4F) transition of Cr3+ ions in strong octahedral field and its phonon-sidebands. In particular, in the PL spectrum of TiO2:Cr3+ rutile phase is also observed an abroad emission band centered at 813 nm assigned to the 4T2(4F) → 4A2(4F) transition of ions Cr3+ in weak octahedral field.

Autobalanced Ramsey Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanner, Christian; Huntemann, Nils; Lange, Richard; Tamm, Christian; Peik, Ekkehard

2018-01-01

We devise a perturbation-immune version of Ramsey's method of separated oscillatory fields. Spectroscopy of an atomic clock transition without compromising the clock's accuracy is accomplished by actively balancing the spectroscopic responses from phase-congruent Ramsey probe cycles of unequal durations. Our simple and universal approach eliminates a wide variety of interrogation-induced line shifts often encountered in high precision spectroscopy, among them, in particular, light shifts, phase chirps, and transient Zeeman shifts. We experimentally demonstrate autobalanced Ramsey spectroscopy on the light shift prone Yb+ 171 electric octupole optical clock transition and show that interrogation defects are not turned into clock errors. This opens up frequency accuracy perspectives below the 10-18 level for the Yb+ system and for other types of optical clocks.

Current transport properties and phase diagram of a Kitaev chain with long-range pairing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giuliano, Domenico; Paganelli, Simone; Lepori, Luca

2018-04-01

We describe a method to probe the quantum phase transition between the short-range topological phase and the long-range topological phase in the superconducting Kitaev chain with long-range pairing, both exhibiting subgap modes localized at the edges. The method relies on the effects of the finite mass of the subgap edge modes in the long-range regime (which survives in the thermodynamic limit) on the single-particle scattering coefficients through the chain connected to two normal leads. Specifically, we show that, when the leads are biased at a voltage V with respect to the superconducting chain, the Fano factor is either zero (in the short-range correlated phase) or 2 e (in the long-range correlated phase). As a result, we find that the Fano factor works as a directly measurable quantity to probe the quantum phase transition between the two phases. In addition, we note a remarkable "critical fractionalization effect" in the Fano factor, which is exactly equal to e along the quantum critical line. Finally, we note that a dual implementation of our proposed device makes it suitable as a generator of large-distance entangled two-particle states.

A Generalised Fault Protection Structure Proposed for Uni-grounded Low-Voltage AC Microgrids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bui, Duong Minh; Chen, Shi-Lin; Lien, Keng-Yu; Jiang, Jheng-Lun

2016-04-01

This paper presents three main configurations of uni-grounded low-voltage AC microgrids. Transient situations of a uni-grounded low-voltage (LV) AC microgrid (MG) are simulated through various fault tests and operation transition tests between grid-connected and islanded modes. Based on transient simulation results, available fault protection methods are proposed for main and back-up protection of a uni-grounded AC microgrid. In addition, concept of a generalised fault protection structure of uni-grounded LVAC MGs is mentioned in the paper. As a result, main contributions of the paper are: (i) definition of different uni-grounded LVAC MG configurations; (ii) analysing transient responses of a uni-grounded LVAC microgrid through line-to-line faults, line-to-ground faults, three-phase faults and a microgrid operation transition test, (iii) proposing available fault protection methods for uni-grounded microgrids, such as: non-directional or directional overcurrent protection, under/over voltage protection, differential current protection, voltage-restrained overcurrent protection, and other fault protection principles not based on phase currents and voltages (e.g. total harmonic distortion detection of currents and voltages, using sequence components of current and voltage, 3I0 or 3V0 components), and (iv) developing a generalised fault protection structure with six individual protection zones to be suitable for different uni-grounded AC MG configurations.

Combined effects of Sr substitution and pressure on the ground states in CaFe2As2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knöner, S.; Gati, E.; Köhler, S.; Wolf, B.; Tutsch, U.; Ran, S.; Torikachvili, M. S.; Bud'ko, S. L.; Canfield, P. C.; Lang, M.

2016-10-01

We present a detailed study of the combined effects of Sr substitution and hydrostatic pressure on the ground-state properties of CaFe2As2 . Measurements of the electrical resistance and magnetic susceptibility, both at ambient and finite pressure P ≤2 GPa, were performed on Ca1 -xSrxFe2As2 single crystals grown out of Sn flux. We find that by Sr substitution the transition temperature to the magnetic/structural phase is enhanced and therefore a higher pressure is needed to suppress the transition to lowest temperature. In addition, the transition to the collapsed tetragonal phase is found at a pressure, which is distinctly higher than in the pure compound. This implies that the stability ranges of both phases shift on the pressure-axis upon doping, but the latter one with a higher rate. These observations suggest the possibility of separating the two phase lines, which intersect already at elevated temperatures for x =0 and low Sr concentration levels. For x =0.177 , we find strong evidence that both phases remain separated down to the lowest temperature and that a zero-resistance state emerges in this intermediate pressure window. This observation indicates that Sr substitution combined with hydrostatic pressure provides another route for stabilizing superconductivity in CaFe2As2 . Our results are consistent with the notion that (i) preserving the fluctuations associated with the structural-magnetic transition to low temperatures is vital for superconductivity to form in this material and that (ii) the nonmagnetic collapsed tetragonal phase is detrimental for superconductivity.

Quenched bond randomness: Superfluidity in porous media and the strong violation of universality

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Falicov, A.; Berker, A.N.

1997-04-01

The effects of quenched bond randomness are most readily studied with superfluidity immersed in a porous medium. A lattice model for {sup 3}He-{sup 4}He mixtures and incomplete {sup 4}He fillings in aerogel yields the signature effect of bond randomness, namely the conversion of symmetry-breaking first-order phase transitions into second-order phase transitions, the A-line reaching zero temperature, and the elimination of non-symmetry-breaking first-order phase transitions. The model recognizes the importance of the connected nature of aerogel randomness and thereby yields superfluidity at very low {sup 4}He concentrations, a phase separation entirely within the superfluid phase, and the order-parameter contrast between mixturesmore » and incomplete fillings, all in agreement with experiments. The special properties of the helium mixture/aerogel system are distinctly linked to the aerogel properties of connectivity, randomness, and tenuousness, via the additional study of a regularized {open_quote}jungle-gym{close_quotes} aerogel. Renormalization-group calculations indicate that a strong violation of the empirical universality principle of critical phenomena occurs under quenched bond randomness. It is argued that helium/aerogel critical properties reflect this violation and further experiments are suggested. Renormalization-group analysis also shows that, adjoiningly to the strong universality violation (which hinges on the occurrence or non-occurrence of asymptotic strong coupling-strong randomness under resealing), there is a new {open_quotes}hyperuniversality{close_quotes} at phase transitions with asymptotic strong coupling-strong randomness behavior, for example assigning the same critical exponents to random-bond tricriticality and random-field criticality.« less

High-pressure structural study of MnF 2

DOE PAGES

Stavrou, Elissaios; Yao, Yansun; Goncharov, Alexander F.; ...

2015-02-01

In this study, manganese fluoride (MnF 2) with the tetragonal rutile-type structure has been studied using a synchrotron angle-dispersive powder x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy in a diamond anvil cell up to 60 GPa at room temperature combined with first-principles density functional calculations. The experimental data reveal two pressure-induced structural phase transitions with the following sequence: rutile → SrI 2 type (3 GPa)→ α–PbCl 2 type (13 GPa). Complete structural information, including interatomic distances, has been determined in the case of MnF 2 including the exact structure of the debated first high-pressure phase. First-principles density functional calculations confirm this phasemore » transition sequence, and the two calculated transition pressures are in excellent agreement with the experiment. Lattice dynamics calculations also reproduce the experimental Raman spectra measured for the ambient and high-pressure phases. The results are discussed in line with the possible practical use of rutile-type fluorides in general and specifically MnF 2 as a model compound to reveal the HP structural behavior of rutile-type SiO 2 (Stishovite).« less

ATR-IR study of skin components: Lipids, proteins and water. Part I: Temperature effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olsztyńska-Janus, S.; Pietruszka, A.; Kiełbowicz, Z.; Czarnecki, M. A.

2018-01-01

In this work we report the studies of the effect of temperature on skin components, such as lipids, proteins and water. Modifications of lipids structure induced by increasing temperature (from 20 to 90 °C) have been studied using ATR-IR (Attenuated Total Reflectance Infrared) spectroscopy, which is a powerful tool for characterization of the molecular structure and properties of tissues, such as skin. Due to the small depth of penetration (0.6-5.6 μm), ATR-IR spectroscopy probes only the outermost layer of the skin, i.e. the stratum corneum (SC). The assignment of main spectral features of skin components allows for the determination of phase transitions from the temperature dependencies of band intensities [e.g. νas(CH2) and νs(CH2)]. The phase transitions were determined by using two methods: the first one was based on the first derivative of the Boltzmann function and the second one employed tangent lines of sigmoidal, aforementioned dependencies. The phase transitions in lipids were correlated with modifications of the structure of water and proteins.

Investigation of the collision line broadening problem as applicable to the NASA Optical Plume Anomaly Detection (OPAD) system, phase 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dean, Timothy C.; Ventrice, Carl A.

1995-05-01

As a final report for phase 1 of the project, the researchers are submitting to the Tennessee Tech Office of Research the following two papers (reprinted in this report): 'Collision Line Broadening Effects on Spectrometric Data from the Optical Plume Anomaly System (OPAD),' presented at the 30th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference, 27-29 June 1994, and 'Calculation of Collision Cross Sections for Atomic Line Broadening in the Plume of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME),' presented at the IEEE Southeastcon '95, 26-29 March 1995. These papers fully state the problem and the progress made up to the end of NASA Fiscal Year 1994. The NASA OPAD system was devised to predict concentrations of anomalous species in the plume of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) through analysis of spectrometric data. The self absorption of the radiation of these plume anomalies is highly dependent on the line shape of the atomic transition of interest. The Collision Line Broadening paper discusses the methods used to predict line shapes of atomic transitions in the environment of a rocket plume. The Voigt profile is used as the line shape factor since both Doppler and collisional line broadening are significant. Methods used to determine the collisional cross sections are discussed and the results are given and compared with experimental data. These collisional cross sections are then incorporated into the current self absorbing radiative model and the predicted spectrum is compared to actual spectral data collected from the Stennis Space Center Diagnostic Test Facility rocket engine. The second paper included in this report investigates an analytical method for determining the cross sections for collision line broadening by molecular perturbers, using effective central force interaction potentials. These cross sections are determined for several atomic species with H2, one of the principal constituents of the SSME plume environment, and compared with experimental data.

Transition in Survival From Low-Dose Hyper-Radiosensitivity to Increased Radioresistance Is Independent of Activation of ATM SER1981 Activity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krueger, Sarah A.; Collis, Spencer J.; Joiner, Michael C.

2007-11-15

Purpose: The molecular basis of low-dose hyper-radiosensitivity (HRS) is only partially understood. The aim of this study was to define the roles of ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) activity and the downstream ATM-dependent G{sub 2}-phase cell cycle checkpoint in overcoming HRS and triggering radiation resistance. Methods and Materials: Survival was measured using a high-resolution clonogenic assay. ATM Ser1981 activation was measured by Western blotting. The role of ATM was determined in survival experiments after molecular (siRNA) and chemical (0.4 mM caffeine) inhibition and chemical (20 {mu}g/mL chloroquine, 15 {mu}M genistein) activation 4-6 h before irradiation. Checkpoint responsiveness was assessed in eightmore » cell lines of differing HRS status using flow cytometry to quantify the progression of irradiated (0-2 Gy) G{sub 2}-phase cells entering mitosis, using histone H3 phosphorylation analysis. Results: The dose-response pattern of ATM activation was concordant with the transition from HRS to radioresistance. However, ATM activation did not play a primary role in initiating increased radioresistance. Rather, a relationship was discovered between the function of the downstream ATM-dependent early G{sub 2}-phase checkpoint and the prevalence and overcoming of HRS. Four cell lines that exhibited HRS failed to show low-dose (<0.3-Gy) checkpoint function. In contrast, four HRS-negative cell lines exhibited immediate cell cycle arrest for the entire 0-2-Gy dose range. Conclusion: Overcoming HRS is reliant on the function of the early G{sub 2}-phase checkpoint. These data suggest that clinical exploitation of HRS could be achieved by combining radiotherapy with chemotherapeutic agents that modulate this cell cycle checkpoint.« less

Partial glass isosymmetry transition in multiferroic hexagonal ErMn O 3

DOE PAGES

Barbour, A.; Alatas, A.; Liu, Y.; ...

2016-02-08

Ferroelectric transitions of a hexagonal multiferroic, ErMnO 3, are studied by x-ray scattering techniques. An isosymmetry transition, similar to that previously observed for YMnO 3, approximately 300 K below the well-known ferroic transition temperature is investigated. The partial glassy behavior of the isosymmetry transition is identified by appearance of quasi-elastic scattering lines in high-energy-resolution scans. The glassy behavior is further supported by the increased interlayer decorrelation of (√3×√3)R30º ordering below the isosymmetry transition. The transition behavior is considered for possible hidden sluggish modes and two-step phase transitions theoretically predicted for the stacked triangular antiferromagnets. The in-plane azimuthal (orientational) ordering behaviorsmore » were also compared to the theoretical predictions. Coherent x-ray speckle measurements show unambiguously that the domain sizes decrease anomalously near both the isosymmetry and ferroic transitions. However, domain boundary fluctuations increase monotonically with an Arrhenius form with an activation energy of 0.54(5) eV through both transitions.« less

A molecular theory of smectic C liquid crystals made of rod-like molecules.

PubMed

Govind, A S; Madhusudana, N V

2002-10-01

Organic compounds exhibiting the smectic C phase are made of rod-like molecules that have dipolar groups with lateral components. We argue that the off-axis character of the lateral dipolar groups can account for tilt in layered smectics (SmC, SmC*, SmI etc.). We develop a mean-field theory of the smectic C phase based on a single-particle potential of the form UC is proportional to sin(2theta) cos phi, consistent with the biaxial nature of the phase, where theta and phi are the polar and azimuthal angles, respectively. The hard-rod interactions that favour the smectic A phase with zero tilt angle are also included. The theoretical phase diagrams compare favourably with experimental trends. Our theory also leads to the following results: i) a first-order smectic C to smectic A transition above some value of the McMillan parameter alpha, leading to a tricritical point on the smectic C to smectic A transition line and ii) a first-order smectic C to smectic C transition over a very small range of values of the model parameters. We have also extended the theory to include the next higher-order term in the tilting potential and to include the effect of different tilt angles for the molecular core and the chain in the SmC phase.

Evidence for two spin-glass transitions with magnetoelastic and magnetoelectric couplings in the multiferroic (B i1 -xB ax) (F e1 -xT ix ) O3 system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Arun; Kaushik, S. D.; Siruguri, V.; Pandey, Dhananjai

2018-03-01

For disordered Heisenberg systems with small single ion anisotropy (D ), two spin-glass (SG) transitions below the long-range ordered (LRO) phase transition temperature (Tc) have been predicted theoretically for compositions close to the percolation threshold. Experimental verification of these predictions is still controversial for conventional spin glasses. We show that multiferroic spin-glass systems can provide a unique platform for verifying these theoretical predictions via a study of change in magnetoelastic and magnetoelectric couplings, obtained from an analysis of diffraction data, at the spin-glass transition temperatures (TSG). Results of macroscopic (dc M (H , T ), M(t ), ac susceptibility [χ (ω, T )], and specific heat (Cp)) and microscopic (x-ray and neutron scattering) measurements are presented on disordered BiFe O3 , a canonical Heisenberg system with small single ion anisotropy, which reveal appearance of two spin-glass phases, SG1 and SG2, in coexistence with the LRO phase below the Almeida-Thouless (A-T) and Gabey-Toulouse (G-T) lines. It is shown that the temperature dependence of the integrated intensity of the antiferromagnetic (AFM) peak shows dips with respect to the Brillouin function behavior around the SG1 and SG2 transition temperatures. The temperature dependence of the unit cell volume departs from the Debye-Grüneisen behavior below the SG1 transition and the magnitude of departure increases significantly with decreasing temperature up to the electromagnon driven transition temperature below which a small change of slope occurs followed by another similar change of slope at the SG2 transition temperature. The ferroelectric polarization also changes significantly at the two spin-glass transition temperatures. These results, obtained using microscopic techniques, clearly demonstrate that the SG1 and SG2 transitions occur on the same magnetic sublattice and are intrinsic to the system. We also construct a phase diagram showing all the magnetic phases in the BF-x BT system. While our results on the two spin-glass transitions support the theoretical predictions, they also raise several open questions, which need to be addressed by revisiting the existing theories of spin-glass transitions after taking into account the effect of magnetoelastic and magnetoelectric couplings as well as electromagnons.

The Blume-Capel model on hierarchical lattices: Exact local properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rocha-Neto, Mário J. G.; Camelo-Neto, G.; Nogueira, E., Jr.; Coutinho, S.

2018-03-01

The local properties of the spin one ferromagnetic Blume-Capel model defined on hierarchical lattices with dimension two and three are obtained by a numerical recursion procedure and studied as functions of the temperature and the reduced crystal-field parameter. The magnetization and the density of sites in the configuration S = 0 state are carefully investigated at low temperature in the region of the phase diagram that presents the phenomenon of phase reentrance. Both order parameters undergo transitions from the ferromagnetic to the ordered paramagnetic phase with abrupt discontinuities that decrease along the phase boundary at low temperatures. The distribution of magnetization in a typical profile was determined on the transition line presenting a broad multifractal spectrum that narrows towards the fractal limit (single point) as the discontinuities of the order parameters grow towards a maximum. The amplitude of the order-parameter discontinuities and the narrowing of the multifractal spectra were used to delimit the low temperature interval for the possible locus of the tricritical point.

Phase behavior of a fluid with a double Gaussian potential displaying waterlike features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Speranza, Cristina; Prestipino, Santi; Malescio, Gianpietro; Giaquinta, Paolo V.

2014-07-01

Pair potentials that are bounded at the origin provide an accurate description of the effective interaction for many systems of dissolved soft macromolecules (e.g., flexible dendrimers). Using numerical free-energy calculations, we reconstruct the equilibrium phase diagram of a system of particles interacting through a potential that brings together a Gaussian repulsion with a much weaker Gaussian attraction, close to the thermodynamic stability threshold. Compared to the purely repulsive model, only the reentrant branch of the melting line survives, since for lower densities solidification is overridden by liquid-vapor separation. As a result, the phase diagram of the system recalls that of water up to moderate (i.e., a few tens of MPa) pressures. Upon superimposing a suitable hard core on the double-Gaussian potential, a further transition to a more compact solid phase is induced at high pressure, which might be regarded as the analog of the ice I-to-ice III transition in water.

Topological Superconductivity on the Surface of Fe-Based Superconductors.

PubMed

Xu, Gang; Lian, Biao; Tang, Peizhe; Qi, Xiao-Liang; Zhang, Shou-Cheng

2016-07-22

As one of the simplest systems for realizing Majorana fermions, the topological superconductor plays an important role in both condensed matter physics and quantum computations. Based on ab initio calculations and the analysis of an effective 8-band model with superconducting pairing, we demonstrate that the three-dimensional extended s-wave Fe-based superconductors such as Fe_{1+y}Se_{0.5}Te_{0.5} have a metallic topologically nontrivial band structure, and exhibit a normal-topological-normal superconductivity phase transition on the (001) surface by tuning the bulk carrier doping level. In the topological superconductivity (TSC) phase, a Majorana zero mode is trapped at the end of a magnetic vortex line. We further show that the surface TSC phase only exists up to a certain bulk pairing gap, and there is a normal-topological phase transition driven by the temperature, which has not been discussed before. These results pave an effective way to realize the TSC and Majorana fermions in a large class of superconductors.

Point-point and point-line moving-window correlation spectroscopy and its applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Qun; Sun, Suqin; Zhan, Daqi; Yu, Zhiwu

2008-07-01

In this paper, we present a new extension of generalized two-dimensional (2D) correlation spectroscopy. Two new algorithms, namely point-point (P-P) correlation and point-line (P-L) correlation, have been introduced to do the moving-window 2D correlation (MW2D) analysis. The new method has been applied to a spectral model consisting of two different processes. The results indicate that P-P correlation spectroscopy can unveil the details and re-constitute the entire process, whilst the P-L can provide general feature of the concerned processes. Phase transition behavior of dimyristoylphosphotidylethanolamine (DMPE) has been studied using MW2D correlation spectroscopy. The newly proposed method verifies that the phase transition temperature is 56 °C, same as the result got from a differential scanning calorimeter. To illustrate the new method further, a lysine and lactose mixture has been studied under thermo perturbation. Using the P-P MW2D, the Maillard reaction of the mixture was clearly monitored, which has been very difficult using conventional display of FTIR spectra.

Contact processes with competitive dynamics in bipartite lattices: effects of distinct interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pianegonda, Salete; Fiore, Carlos E.

2014-05-01

The two-dimensional contact process (CP) with a competitive dynamics proposed by Martins et al (2011 Phys. Rev. E 84 011125) leads to the appearance of an unusual active-asymmetric phase, in which the system sublattices are unequally populated. It differs from the usual CP only by the fact that particles also interact with their next-nearest neighbor sites via a distinct strength creation rate, and for the inclusion of an inhibition effect, proportional to the local density. Aimed at investigating the robustness of such an asymmetric phase, in this paper we study the influence of distinct interactions for two bidimensional CPs. In the first model, the interaction between first neighbors requires a minimal neighborhood of adjacent particles for creating new offspring, whereas second neighbors interact as usual (e.g. at least one neighboring particle is required). The second model takes the opposite situation, in which the restrictive dynamics is in the interaction between next-nearest neighbor sites. Both models are investigated under mean field theory (MFT) and Monte Carlo simulations. In similarity with results by Martins et al, the inclusion of distinct sublattice interactions maintains the occurrence of an asymmetric active phase and re-entrant transition lines. In contrast, remarkable differences are presented, such as discontinuous phase transitions (even between the active phases), the appearance of tricritical points and the stabilization of active phases under larger values of control parameters. Finally, we have shown that the critical behaviors are not altered due to the change of interactions, in which the absorbing transitions belong to the directed percolation (DP) universality class, whereas second-order active phase transitions belong to the Ising universality class.

Structural and impurity phase transitions of LiNaSO4:RE probed using cathodo-thermoluminescence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maghrabi, M.; Finch, A. A.; Townsend, P. D.

2008-11-01

Spectrally resolved cathodo-thermoluminescence spectra of rare earth (RE) doped LiNaSO4 measured from 20 to 673 K reveal several anomalies in the RE emission lines and intensities. The low (20-300 K) temperature data show a discontinuous change in intensity at ~170 K that is either a marked intensity enhancement or a drop truncating the entire spectrum. Such an effect on the host luminescence has previously been assigned to a transition between cubic and hexagonal polymorphs of ice nanoparticle inclusions. Similar, but less profound anomalies are seen above room temperature (300-673 K) where the changes take the form of either a discontinuity in intensity at ~480 K or reduced intensity in the range 430-530 K. There are changes in the relative intensities of different emission lines of the same dopant in this temperature range. Such high temperature variations are ascribed to structural phase changes within the LiNaSO4 crystals. The behaviours may result from Li-poor surfaces or twin boundaries behaving like Na2SO4. This phase change is suggested in the open literature for LiNaSO4 but not yet fully documented, perhaps because the effects span a wide range of temperatures or due to experimental features inherent in most luminescence facilities.

Experimental investigation of two-phase flow patterns in minichannels at horizontal orientation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saljoshi, P. S.; Autee, A. T.

2017-09-01

Two-phase flow is the simplest case of multiphase flow in which two phases are present for a pure component. The mini channel is considered as diameter below 3.0-0.2 mm and conventional channel is considered diameter above 3.0 mm. An experiment was conducted to study the adiabatic two-phase flow patterns in the circular test section with inner diameter of 1.1, 1.63, 2.0, 2.43 and 3.0 mm for horizontal orientation using air and water as a fluid. Different types of flow patterns found in the experiment. The parameters that affect most of these patterns and their transitions are channel size, phase superficial velocities (air and liquid) and surface tension. The superficial velocity of liquid and gas ranges from 0.01 to 66.70 and 0.01 to 3 m/s respectively. Two-phase flow pattern photos were recorded using a high speed CMOS camera. In this experiment different flow patterns were identified for different tube diameters that confirm the diameter effect on flow patterns in two-phase flows. Stratified flow was not observed for tube diameters less than 3.0 mm. Similarly, wavy-annular flow pattern was not observed in 1.6 and 1.0 mm diameter tubes due to the surface-tension effect and decrease in tube diameter. Buoyancy effects were clearly visible in 2.43 and 3.0 mm diameter tubes flow pattern. It has also observed that as the test-section diameter decreases the transition lines shift towards the higher gas and liquid velocity. However, the result of flow pattern lines in the present study has good agreement with the some of the existing flow patterns maps.

Galactic Observations of Terahertz C+ (GOT C+): Inner Galaxy Survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yorke, Harold; Langer, William; Velusamy, T.; Pineda, J. L.; Goldsmith, P. F.; Li, D.

To understand the lifecycle of the interstellar gas and star formation we need detailed information about the diffuse atomic and diffuse molecular gas cloud properties. The ionized carbon [CII] 1.9 THz fine structure line is an important tracer of the atomic gas in the diffuse regions and the interface regions of atomic gas to molecular clouds. Furthermore, C+ is a major ISM coolant and among the Galaxy's strongest far-IR emission lines, and thus controls the thermal conditions throughout large parts of the Galaxy. Until now our knowledge of interstellar gas has been limited to the diffuse atomic phase traced by HI and to the dense molecular H2 phase traced by CO. However, we are missing an important phase of the ISM, called "dark gas" in which there is no or little, HI, and mostly molecular hydrogen but with insufficient shielding of UV to allow CO to form. C+ emission and absorption lines at 1.9 THz have the potential to trace such cloud transitions and evolution. Galactic Observations of the Terahertz C+ Line (GOT C+) is a Herschel Space Observatory Open Time Key Program to study the diffuse interstellar medium by sampling [CII] 1.9 THz line emission throughout the Galactic disk. We discuss the broader perspective of this survey and the first results of GOT C+ obtained during the Science Demonstration Phase (SDP) and Priority Science Phase (PSP) of HIFI, which focus on approximately 100 lines of sight in the inner galaxy. These observations are being carried out with the Herschel Space Observatory, which is an ESA cornerstone mission, with contributions from NASA. This research was conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. JLP is a Caltech-JPL Postdoctoral Associate.

Diffusion and the dynamics of displacive phase transitions in cryolite (Na3AlF6) and chiolite (Na5Al3F14): Multi-nuclear NMR studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spearing, Dane R.; Stebbins, Jonathan F.; Farnan, Ian

1994-10-01

Cryolite is a mixed-cation perovskite (Na2(NaAl)F6) which undergoes a monoclinic to orthorhombic displacive phase transition at ˜550° C. Chiolite (Na5Al3F14) is associated with cryolite in natural deposits, and consists of sheets of corner sharing [AlF6] octahedra interlayered with edge-sharing [NaF6] octahedra. Multi-nuclear NMR line shape and relaxation time (T1) studies were performed on cryolite and chiolite in order to gain a better understanding of the atomic motions associated with the phase transition in cryolite, and Na diffusion in cryolite and chiolite. 27Al, 23Na, and 19F static NMR spectra and T1's in cryolite suggest that oscillatory motions of the [AlF6] octahedra among four micro-twin and anti-phase domains in α-cryolite begin at least 150° C below the transition temperature and persist above it. Variable temperature 23Na MAS NMR further indicates diffusional exchange at a rate of at least 13 kHz between the Na sites by the time the transition temperature is reached. 27Al and 23Na T1's show the same behavior with increasing temperature, indicating the same relaxation mechanisms are responsible for both. The first order nature of the cryolite transition is apparent as a jump in the 23Na and 27Al T1's. Above the transition temperature, the T1's decrease slightly indicating that the motions responsible for the drop in T1, are still present above the transition, further supporting the dynamic nature of the high temperature phase of cryolite. Chiolite 23Na static spectra decrease in linewidth with increasing temperature, indicating increased Na diffusion, which is interpreted as occurring within the [NaF6] sheets in the chiolite structure, but not between the two different Na sites. 27Al and 23Na T1's show similar behavior as in cryolite, but there is no discontinuity due to a phase transition. 19F T1's are constant from room temperature to 150° C indicating no oscillatory motion of the [AlF6] octahedra in chiolite.

Transfer-matrix study of a hard-square lattice gas with two kinds of particles and density anomaly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliveira, Tiago J.; Stilck, Jürgen F.

2015-09-01

Using transfer matrix and finite-size scaling methods, we study the thermodynamic behavior of a lattice gas with two kinds of particles on the square lattice. Only excluded volume interactions are considered, so that the model is athermal. Large particles exclude the site they occupy and its four first neighbors, while small particles exclude only their site. Two thermodynamic phases are found: a disordered phase where large particles occupy both sublattices with the same probability and an ordered phase where one of the two sublattices is preferentially occupied by them. The transition between these phases is continuous at small concentrations of the small particles and discontinuous at larger concentrations, both transitions are separated by a tricritical point. Estimates of the central charge suggest that the critical line is in the Ising universality class, while the tricritical point has tricritical Ising (Blume-Emery-Griffiths) exponents. The isobaric curves of the total density as functions of the fugacity of small or large particles display a minimum in the disordered phase.

Phase transitions and reentrant phenomena in liquid crystals having both rigid and flexible intramolecular joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pyżuk, W.; Górecka, E.; Mieczkowski, J.; Przedmojski, J.

1992-07-01

Two series of liquid-crystalline compounds having three phenyl rings separated by flexible spacer —CH(CH{3})CH{2}—COO— and by rigid azo and azoxy group, were studied by DSC, optical and X-ray methods. For esters of dl-3-(4^{prime}-nitro)-phenylbutyric acid with 4^{prime}-alkoxy-phenylazo-phenol-4 having dodecyloxy or longer terminal chains, as well as for related azoxy compounds, a narrow (even below 5 K) reentrant or inverted nematic phase appearing between partly bilayer and monolayer smectics A was observed. For higher homologues of the azoxy series additional smectic phases appear, leading to the occurrence of new multicritical points, e.g. the critical end point Ad Cd N^re. On each of the lines, which separate nematic from smectic A phases, transitions are of weakly first or second-order and more than one tricritical point can occur. On the A{1} N/A{1} N^re line, a simple N A{1} tricritical point is observed at T_NI/T_AN = 0.834. The presence of further critical points depends on the components of the binary system involved. Four of the azoxy compounds studied undergo a second order phase transition between partly bilayer smectics, Ad and Cd. Such a transition is accompanied by a jumb in the specific heat, varying linearly with the length of the molecular tails. Various temperature dependences of the layer spacing in the Ad phase are observed for subsequent homologues from the azoxy series. Plusieurs cristaux liquides composés de trois groupements phényl séparés par un groupement —CH(CH{3})CH{2}—COO—, ainsi que par des groupements azo et azoxy, ont été examinés par AED, méthodes optiques et par rayons X. Pour des esters de l'acide dl-3-(4^{prime}-nitro)phénylbutyrique et de 4^{prime}-alkoxy-phénylazo-phénol-4 ayant comme terminaison une chaîne dodecyloxy ou bien plus longue, ainsi que pour des composés azoxy relatif, on observe (même au-dessous de 5 K) une étroite phase nématique réentrante ou inverse entre les phases smectiques : monocouche et partiellement bicouche. Pour des homologues plus longs dans la série des composés azoxy, on a constaté l'existence d'autres phases smectiques ce qui implique l'apparition, sur les diagrammes des phases, de nouveau points multicritiques, par exemple le point Ad Cd N^re. Sur chaque ligne séparant les phases smectiques A de la phase nématique les transitions sont faiblement du premier ordre ou du deuxième ordre ce qui mène dans certain cas à plus qu'un point tricritique. Sur la ligne A{1} N/A{1} N^re on observe à T_NI/T_AN = 0,834 un simple point tricritique N A{1} — l'apparition des autres dépend du choix des constituants du système binaire. Dans le cas de quatre composés azoxy on a constaté une transition du deuxième ordre entre les phases smectiques partiellement bicouches, Ad et Cd. La transition est accompagnée d'un brusque changement de la chaleur spécifique qui varie linéairement avec la longueur de la queue de la molécule. Pour des homologues suivants de la série des composés azoxy on observe différentes dépendances en température de la distance entre les couches de la phase Ad.

Magnetostructural Transition Kinetics in Shocked Iron

DOE PAGES

Surh, Michael P.; Benedict, Lorin X.; Sadigh, Babak

2016-08-15

Here, a generalized Heisenberg model is implemented to study the effect of thermal magnetic disorder on kinetics of the Fe α–ε transition. The barrier to bulk martensitic displacement remains large in α-Fe shocked well past the phase line but is much reduced in the [001] α–ε boundary. The first result is consistent with observed overdriving to metastable α, while the second suggests structural instability, as implied by observation of a [001] shock transformation front without plastic relaxation. Reconciling both behaviors may require concurrent treatment of magnetic and structural order.

Systemic therapy for unresectable and metastatic transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelium: first-line and beyond.

PubMed

Cheng, Tina

2008-09-01

The review aims to provide an overview of recent advances and future research direction in the management of patients with advanced transitional cell carcinoma. Early data of the randomized phase III study comparing paclitaxel, cisplatin, and gemcitabine with gemcitabine plus cisplatin for advanced urothelial cancer detected no survival difference. A phase II study investigated the safety and efficacy of trastuzumab, carboplatin, gemcitabine, and paclitaxel in human epidermal growth factor receptor-2/neu-positive advanced urothelial carcinoma and reported promising results. Renal-sparing regimens are under active development. A nonrandomized comparison of the 3-week with the 4-week schedule for gemcitabine and cisplatin showed that the 3-week schedule had less hematological toxicity and better dose intensity. Potential molecular markers such as excision repair cross-complementation group 1, emmprin, and survivin for survival and/or platinum resistance in patients with transitional cell carcinoma showed promise. Recent data do not support change in the current standard of care for advanced transitional cell carcinoma. Clinical testing of emerging anticancer therapies using new agents, new combinations, and new approaches is under active investigation. Rational combination and new strategy in clinical trial design are critical for new drug development for transitional cell carcinoma.

Effect of intrinsic curvature and edge tension on the stability of binary mixed-membrane three-junctions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gardner, Jasmine M.; Abrams, Cameron F.; Deserno, Markus

We use a combination of coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations and theoretical modeling to examine three-junctions in mixed lipid bilayer membranes. These junctions are localized defect lines in which three bilayers merge in such a way that each bilayer shares one monolayer with one of the other two bilayers. The resulting local morphology is non-lamellar, resembling the threefold symmetric defect lines in inverse hexagonal phases, but it regularly occurs during membrane fission and fusion events. We realize a system of junctions by setting up a honeycomb lattice, which in its primitive cell contains two hexagons and four three-line junctions, permitting usmore » to study their stability as well as their line tension. We specifically consider the effects of lipid composition and intrinsic curvature in binary mixtures, which contain a fraction of negatively curved lipids in a curvature-neutral background phase. Three-junction stability results from a competition between the junction and an open edge, which arises if one of the three bilayers detaches from the other two. We show that the stable phase is the one with the lower defect line tension. The strong and opposite monolayer curvatures present in junctions and edges enhance the mole fraction of negatively curved lipids in junctions and deplete it in edges. This lipid sorting affects the two line tensions and in turn the relative stability of the two phases. It also leads to a subtle entropic barrier for the transition between junction and edge that is absent in uniform membranes.« less

Critical behavior and microscopic structure of charged AdS black holes via an alternative phase space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dehyadegari, Amin; Sheykhi, Ahmad; Montakhab, Afshin

2017-05-01

It has been argued that charged Anti-de Sitter (AdS) black holes have similar thermodynamic behavior as the Van der Waals fluid system, provided one treats the cosmological constant as a thermodynamic variable (pressure) in an extended phase space. In this paper, we disclose the deep connection between charged AdS black holes and Van der Waals fluid system from an alternative point of view. We consider the mass of an AdS black hole as a function of square of the charge Q2 instead of the standard Q, i.e. M = M (S ,Q2 , P). We first justify such a change of view mathematically and then ask if a phase transition can occur as a function of Q2 for fixed P. Therefore, we write the equation of state as Q2 =Q2 (T , Ψ) where Ψ (conjugate of Q2) is the inverse of the specific volume, Ψ = 1 / v. This allows us to complete the analogy of charged AdS black holes with Van der Waals fluid system and derive the phase transition as well as critical exponents of the system. We identify a thermodynamic instability in this new picture with real analogy to Van der Waals fluid with physically relevant Maxwell construction. We therefore study the critical behavior of isotherms in Q2- Ψ diagram and deduce all the critical exponents of the system and determine that the system exhibits a small-large black hole phase transition at the critical point (Tc , Qc2 ,Ψc). This alternative view is important as one can imagine such a change for a given single black hole i.e. acquiring charge which induces the phase transition. Finally, we disclose the microscopic properties of charged AdS black holes by using thermodynamic geometry. Interestingly, we find that scalar curvature has a gap between small and large black holes, and this gap becomes exceedingly large as one moves away from the critical point along the transition line. Therefore, we are able to attribute the sudden enlargement of the black hole to the strong repulsive nature of the internal constituents at the phase transition.

PROBING THE ROLE OF CARBON IN ULTRAVIOLET EXTINCTION ALONG GALACTIC SIGHT LINES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parvathi, V. S.; Babu, B. R. S.; Sofia, U. J.

2012-11-20

We report previously undetermined interstellar gas and dust-phase carbon abundances along 15 Galactic sight lines based on archival data of the strong 1334.5323 A transition observed with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. These are combined with previously reported carbon measurements along six sight lines to produce a complete sample of interstellar C II measurements determined with the 1334 A transition. Our data set includes a variety of Galactic disk environments characterized by different extinctions and samples paths ranging over three orders of magnitude in average density of hydrogen ((n(H))). Our data support the idea that dust, specifically carbon-based grains, aremore » processed in the neutral interstellar medium. We, however, do not find that the abundance of carbon in dust or the grain-size distribution is related to the strength of the 2175 A bump. This is surprising, given that many current models have polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as the bump-producing dust.« less

Non-equilibrium theory of arrested spinodal decomposition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Olais-Govea, José Manuel; López-Flores, Leticia; Medina-Noyola, Magdaleno

The non-equilibrium self-consistent generalized Langevin equation theory of irreversible relaxation [P. E. Ramŕez-González and M. Medina-Noyola, Phys. Rev. E 82, 061503 (2010); 82, 061504 (2010)] is applied to the description of the non-equilibrium processes involved in the spinodal decomposition of suddenly and deeply quenched simple liquids. For model liquids with hard-sphere plus attractive (Yukawa or square well) pair potential, the theory predicts that the spinodal curve, besides being the threshold of the thermodynamic stability of homogeneous states, is also the borderline between the regions of ergodic and non-ergodic homogeneous states. It also predicts that the high-density liquid-glass transition line, whosemore » high-temperature limit corresponds to the well-known hard-sphere glass transition, at lower temperature intersects the spinodal curve and continues inside the spinodal region as a glass-glass transition line. Within the region bounded from below by this low-temperature glass-glass transition and from above by the spinodal dynamic arrest line, we can recognize two distinct domains with qualitatively different temperature dependence of various physical properties. We interpret these two domains as corresponding to full gas-liquid phase separation conditions and to the formation of physical gels by arrested spinodal decomposition. The resulting theoretical scenario is consistent with the corresponding experimental observations in a specific colloidal model system.« less

Transient coherence of media under strong phase modulation exploiting electromagnetically induced transparency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shwa, David; Katz, Nadav

2014-08-01

When quantum systems are shifted faster than their transition and coupling time scales, their susceptibility is dramatically modified. We measure the optical susceptibility of a strongly modulated electromagnetically induced transparency system. Time vs detuning plots for different pump modulation frequencies reveal a transition between an adiabatic regime where a series of smooth pulses are created and a nonadiabatic regime where a strong transient oscillating response is added. Applying a magnetic field lifts the hyperfine level degeneracy, revealing an interference effect between the different magnetic level transients. We explore the dynamics of the magnetic and nonmagnetic cases and discuss their coherent nature. We finally combine the global phase of the transmitted pulses with the transient interference to achieve broadband magnetic sensing without losing the sensitivity of a single electromagnetically induced transparency line.

Generation of tunable infrared radiation by stimulated Raman scattering on hydrogen in a prism-lens optical delay line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andreev, R. B.; Butylkin, V. S.; Evtiushkin, V. A.; Fisher, P. S.; Khabarov, V. V.

1983-03-01

The threshold of stimulated Raman scattering was lowered by filling an optical delay line with hydrogen. Pumping was by a tunable neodymium laser. Lens-prism combinations were used as phase correctors in the delay line. The dependences of the energy of the Stokes component on the pump energy determined experimentally for different numbers of transits through the delay line were compared with the results of a calculation allowing for the losses in the components of this line. When the frequency conversion was by a factor of at least 2 and the tuning range was wide (tens of percent), the optimal performance was obtained from the optical delay line when total-internal-reflection prisms and lenses were combined in a single component and oriented at the Brewster angle.

BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS: Generation of tunable infrared radiation by stimulated Raman scattering on hydrogen in a prism-lens optical delay line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andreev, R. B.; Butylkin, V. S.; Evtyushkin, V. A.; Fisher, P. S.; Khabarov, V. V.

1983-03-01

The threshold of stimulated Raman scattering was lowered by filling an optical delay line with hydrogen. Pumping was by a tunable neodymium laser. Lens-prism combinations were used as phase correctors in the delay line. The dependences of the energy of the Stokes component on the pump energy determined experimentally for different numbers of transits through the delay line were compared with the results of a calculation allowing for the losses in the components of this line. When the frequency conversion was by a factor of at least 2 and the tuning range was wide (tens of percent), the optimal performance was obtained from the optical delay line when total-internal-reflection prisms and lenses were combined in a single component and oriented at the Brewster angle.

Induction of DREB2A pathway with repression of E2F, Jasmonic acid biosynthetic and photosynthesis pathways in cold acclimation specific freeze resistant wheat crown

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Winter wheat lines can achieve cold acclimation (development of tolerance to freezing temperatures) and vernalization (delay in transition from vegetative to reproductive phase) in response to low non-freezing temperatures. To describe cold acclimation specific processes and pathways, we utilized co...

Complete phase diagram of rare-earth nickelates from first-principles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varignon, Julien; Grisolia, Mathieu N.; Íñiguez, Jorge; Barthélémy, Agnès; Bibes, Manuel

2017-12-01

The structural, electronic and magnetic properties of AMO3 perovskite oxides, where M is a 3d transition metal, are highly sensitive to the geometry of the bonds between the metal-d and oxygen-p ions (through octahedra rotations and distortions) and to their level of covalence. This is particularly true in rare-earth nickelates RNiO3 that display a metal-insulator transition with complex spin orders tunable by the rare-earth size, and are on the border line between dominantly ionic (lighter elements) and covalent characters (heavier elements). Accordingly, computing their ground state is challenging and a complete theoretical description of their rich phase diagram is still missing. Here, using first-principles simulations, we successfully describe the electronic and magnetic experimental ground state of nickelates. We show that the insulating phase is characterized by a split of the electronic states of the two Ni sites (i.e., resembling low-spin 4+ and high-spin 2+) with a concomitant shift of the oxygen-2p orbitals toward the depleted Ni cations. Therefore, from the point of view of the charge, the two Ni sites appear nearly identical whereas they are in fact distinct. Performing such calculations for several nickelates, we built a theoretical phase diagram that reproduces all their key features, namely a systematic dependence of the metal-insulator transition with the rare-earth size and the crossover between a second to first order transition for R = Pr and Nd. Finally, our results hint at strategies to control the electronic and magnetic phases of perovskite oxides by fine tuning of the level of covalence.

Combined effects of Sr substitution and pressure on the ground states in CaFe 2 As 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Knoner, S.; Gati, E.; Kohler, S.

2016-10-21

Here, we present a detailed study of the combined effects of Sr substitution and hydrostatic pressure on the ground-state properties of CaFe 2As 2. Measurements of the electrical resistance and magnetic susceptibility, both at ambient and finite pressure P ≤ 2 GPa, were performed on Ca 1–xSr xFe 2As 2 single crystals grown out of Sn flux. We find that by Sr substitution the transition temperature to the magnetic/structural phase is enhanced and therefore a higher pressure is needed to suppress the transition to lowest temperature. In addition, the transition to the collapsed tetragonal phase is found at a pressure,more » which is distinctly higher than in the pure compound. This implies that the stability ranges of both phases shift on the pressure-axis upon doping, but the latter one with a higher rate. These observations suggest the possibility of separating the two phase lines, which intersect already at elevated temperatures for x = 0 and low Sr concentration levels. For x = 0.177, we find strong evidence that both phases remain separated down to the lowest temperature and that a zero-resistance state emerges in this intermediate pressure window. This observation indicates that Sr substitution combined with hydrostatic pressure provides another route for stabilizing superconductivity in CaFe 2As 2. Lastly, our results are consistent with the notion that (i) preserving the fluctuations associated with the structural-magnetic transition to low temperatures is vital for superconductivity to form in this material and that (ii) the nonmagnetic collapsed tetragonal phase is detrimental for superconductivity.« less

Wetting and Layering for Solid-on-Solid I: Identification of the Wetting Point and Critical Behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lacoin, Hubert

2018-06-01

We provide a complete description of the low temperature wetting transition for the two dimensional solid-on-solid model. More precisely, we study the integer-valued field {(φ(x))_{x\\in Z^2}} , associated associated with the energy functional V(φ)=β \\sum_{x ˜ y}|φ(x)-φ(y)|-\\sumx ( h{1}_{φ(x)=0}-∞{1}_{φ(x) < 0} ). Since the pioneering work Chalker [15], it is known that for every {β} , there exists {hw(β) > 0} delimiting a transition between a delocalized phase ({h < hw(β)} ) where the proportion of points at level zero vanishes, and a localized phase ({h > hw(β)} ) where this proportion is positive. We prove in the present paper that for {β} sufficiently large we have h_w(β)= log (e^{4β}/e^{4β-1} ). Furthermore, we provide a sharp asymptotic for the free energy at the vicinity of the critical line: We show that close to {h_w(β)} , the free energy is approximately piecewise affine and that the points of discontinuity for the derivative of the affine approximation forms a geometric sequence accumulating on the right of {h_w(β)} . This asymptotic behavior provides strong evidence for the conjectured existence of countably many "layering transitions" at the vicinity of the wetting line, corresponding to jumps for the typical height of the field.

Weak-field multiphoton femtosecond coherent control in the single-cycle regime.

PubMed

Chuntonov, Lev; Fleischer, Avner; Amitay, Zohar

2011-03-28

Weak-field coherent phase control of atomic non-resonant multiphoton excitation induced by shaped femtosecond pulses is studied theoretically in the single-cycle regime. The carrier-envelope phase (CEP) of the pulse, which in the multi-cycle regime does not play any control role, is shown here to be a new effective control parameter that its effect is highly sensitive to the spectral position of the ultrabroad spectrum. Rationally chosen position of the ultrabroadband spectrum coherently induces several groups of multiphoton transitions from the ground state to the excited state of the system: transitions involving only absorbed photons as well as Raman transitions involving both absorbed and emitted photons. The intra-group interference is controlled by the relative spectral phase of the different frequency components of the pulse, while the inter-group interference is controlled jointly by the CEP and the relative spectral phase. Specifically, non-resonant two- and three-photon excitation is studied in a simple model system within the perturbative frequency-domain framework. The developed intuition is then applied to weak-field multiphoton excitation of atomic cesium (Cs), where the simplified model is verified by non-perturbative numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. We expect this work to serve as a basis for a new line of femtosecond coherent control experiments.

Compensation effects and relation between the activation energy of spin transition and the hysteresis loop width for an iron(ii) complex.

PubMed

Bushuev, Mark B; Pishchur, Denis P; Nikolaenkova, Elena B; Krivopalov, Viktor P

2016-06-22

The enthalpy-entropy compensation was observed for the cooperative → spin transition (the phase is a mononuclear complex [FeL2](BF4)2, L is 4-(3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-2-(pyridin-2-yl)-6-methylpyrimidine). The physical origin of this effect is the fact that the → spin transition is the first order phase transition accompanied by noticeable variations in the Tonset↑, ΔH and ΔS values. Higher ΔH and ΔS values are correlated with higher Tonset↑ values. The higher the enthalpy and entropy of the spin transition, the wider the hysteresis loop. The kinetic compensation effect, i.e. a linear relationship between ln A and Ea, was observed for the → spin transition. Moreover, an isokinetic relationship was detected in this system: the Arrhenius lines (ln k vs. 1/T) obtained from magnetochemical data for different samples of the phase undergoing the → transition show a common point of intersection (Tiso = 490 ± 2 K, ln kiso = -6.0 ± 0.2). The validity of this conclusion was confirmed by the Exner-Linert statistical method. This means that the isokinetic relationship and the kinetic compensation effect (ln A vs. Ea) in this system are true ones. The existence of a true kinetic compensation effect is supported independently by the fact that the hysteresis loop width for the cooperative spin transition ↔ increases with increasing activation barrier height. Estimating the energy of excitations for the phase with Tiso ∼ 490 K yields wavenumbers of ca. 340 cm(-1) corresponding to the frequencies of the stretching vibrations of the Fe(LS)-N bonds, i.e. the bonds directly involved in the mechanism of the spin transition. This is the first observation of the kinetic compensation effect (ln A vs. Ea) and the isokinetic relationship for a cooperative spin crossover system showing thermal hysteresis. Our results provide the first experimental evidence that the higher the activation barrier for the spin transition, the wider the hysteresis loop for a series of related spin crossover systems.

DISCOVERY OF THE TRANSITION OF A MINI-BROAD ABSORPTION LINE INTO A BROAD ABSORPTION LINE IN THE SDSS QUASAR J115122.14+020426.3

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hidalgo, Paola Rodriguez; Eracleous, Michael; Charlton, Jane

We present the detection of a rare case of dramatic strengthening in the UV absorption profiles in the spectrum of the quasar J115122.14+020426.3 between observations {approx}2.86 yr apart in the quasar rest frame. A spectrum obtained in 2001 by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey shows a C IV ''mini-broad'' absorption line (FWHM = 1220 km s{sup -1}) with a maximum blueshift velocity of {approx}9520 km s{sup -1}, while a later spectrum from the Very Large Telescope shows a significantly broader and stronger absorption line, with a maximum blueshift velocity of {approx}12, 240 km s{sup -1} that qualifies as a broadmore » absorption line. A similar variability pattern is observed in two additional systems at lower blueshifted velocities and in the Ly{alpha} and N V transitions as well. One of the absorption systems appears to be resolved and shows evidence for partial covering of the quasar continuum source (C{sub f} {approx} 0.65), indicating a transverse absorber size of, at least, {approx}6 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 16} cm. In contrast, a cluster of narrower C IV lines appears to originate in gas that fully covers the continuum and broad emission line sources. There is no evidence for changes in the centroid velocity of the absorption troughs. This case suggests that at least some of the absorbers that produce ''mini-broad'' and broad absorption lines in quasar spectra do not belong to intrinsically separate classes. Here, the ''mini-broad'' absorption line is most likely interpreted as an intermediate phase before the appearance of a broad absorption line due to their similar velocities. While the current observations do not provide enough constraints to discern among the possible causes for this variability, future monitoring of multiple transitions at high resolution will help achieve this goal.« less

Computational study of the melting-freezing transition in the quantum hard-sphere system for intermediate densities. II. Structural features.

PubMed

Sesé, Luis M; Bailey, Lorna E

2007-04-28

The structural features of the quantum hard-sphere system in the region of the fluid-face-centered-cubic-solid transition, for reduced number densities 0.45

Direct calculation of liquid-vapor phase equilibria from transition matrix Monte Carlo simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Errington, Jeffrey R.

2003-06-01

An approach for directly determining the liquid-vapor phase equilibrium of a model system at any temperature along the coexistence line is described. The method relies on transition matrix Monte Carlo ideas developed by Fitzgerald, Picard, and Silver [Europhys. Lett. 46, 282 (1999)]. During a Monte Carlo simulation attempted transitions between states along the Markov chain are monitored as opposed to tracking the number of times the chain visits a given state as is done in conventional simulations. Data collection is highly efficient and very precise results are obtained. The method is implemented in both the grand canonical and isothermal-isobaric ensemble. The main result from a simulation conducted at a given temperature is a density probability distribution for a range of densities that includes both liquid and vapor states. Vapor pressures and coexisting densities are calculated in a straightforward manner from the probability distribution. The approach is demonstrated with the Lennard-Jones fluid. Coexistence properties are directly calculated at temperatures spanning from the triple point to the critical point.

Medium effects and parity doubling of hyperons across the deconfinement phase transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aarts, Gert; Allton, Chris; Boni, Davide De; Hands, Simon; Jäger, Benjamin; Praki, Chrisanthi; Skullerud, Jon-Ivar

2018-03-01

We analyse the behaviour of hyperons with strangeness S = -1,-2,-3 in the hadronic and quark gluon plasma phases, with particular interest in parity doubling and its emergence as the temperature grows. This study uses our FASTSUM anisotropic Nf = 2+1 ensembles, with four temperatures below and four above the deconfinement transition temperature, Tc. The positive-parity groundstate masses are found to be largely temperature independent below Tc, whereas the negative-parity ones decrease considerably as the temperature increases. Close to the transition, the masses are almost degenerate, in line with the expectation from chiral symmetry restoration. This may be of interest for heavy-ion phenomenology. In particular we show an application of this effect to the Hadron Resonance Gas model. A clear signal of parity doubling is found above Tc in all hyperon channels, with the strength of the effect depending on the number of s-quarks in the baryons. Presented at 35th International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory, 18-24 June 2017, Granada, Spain

Extended phase diagram of R NiC2 family: Linear scaling of the Peierls temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roman, Marta; Strychalska-Nowak, Judyta; Klimczuk, Tomasz; Kolincio, Kamil K.

2018-01-01

Physical properties for the late-lanthanide-based R NiC2 (R =Dy , Ho, Er, and Tm) ternary compounds are reported. All the compounds show antiferromagnetic ground state with the Néel temperature ranging from 3.4 K for HoNiC2 to 8.5 K for ErNiC2. The results of the transport and galvanomagnetic properties confirm a charge density wave state at and above room temperature with transition temperatures TCDW=284 , 335, 366, and 394 K for DyNiC2, HoNiC2, ErNiC2, and TmNiC2, respectively. The Peierls temperature TCDW scales linearly with the unit cell volume. A similar linear dependence has been observed for the temperature of the lock-in transition T1 as well. Beyond the intersection point of the trend lines, the lock-in transition is no longer observed. In this Rapid Communication we demonstrate an extended phase diagram for the R NiC2 family.

Deuterium and carbon-13 NMR of the solid polymorphism of benzenehexoyl hexa-n-hexanoate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lifshitz, E.; Goldfarb,, D.; Vega, S.

Deuterium and carbon-13 NMR of specifically labeled benzenehexoyl hexa-n-hexanoate in the various solid-state phases are reported. The spectra exhibit dynamic line shapes which change discontinuously at the phase transitions. The results are interpreted in terms of sequential melting of the side chains on going from the low-temperature solid phases IV, III, etc., toward the liquid. In phase IV the molecules are very nearly static, except for fast rotation of the methyl groups about their C/sub 3/ axes. The results in phase III were quantitatively interpreted in terms of a two-site isomerization process involving simultaneous rotation by 95/sup 0/ about C/submore » 1/-C/sub 2/ and transition from gtg to g'g't (or equivalently g'tg' to ggt) for the rest of the chain. The specific rate of this reaction at 0/sup 0/C is approx. 10/sup 5/s/sup -1/. In phase II additional chain isomerization processes set-in which were, however, not analyzed quantitatively. Further motional modes, involving reorientation of whole chains about their C/sup ar/-O bonds, appear on going to phase I. In all solid phases the benzene ring remains static.« less

ON THE ACTIVE REGION BRIGHT GRAINS OBSERVED IN THE TRANSITION REGION IMAGING CHANNELS OF IRIS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Skogsrud, H.; Voort, L. Rouppe van der; Pontieu, B. De

The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) provides spectroscopy and narrow band slit-jaw (SJI) imaging of the solar chromosphere and transition region at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions. Combined with high-resolution context spectral imaging of the photosphere and chromosphere as provided by the Swedish 1 m Solar Telescope (SST), we can now effectively trace dynamic phenomena through large parts of the solar atmosphere in both space and time. IRIS SJI 1400 images from active regions, which primarily sample the transition region with the Si iv 1394 and 1403 Å lines, reveal ubiquitous bright “grains” which are short-lived (two to five minute)more » bright roundish small patches of sizes 0.″5–1.″7 that generally move limbward with velocities up to about 30 km s{sup −1}. In this paper, we show that many bright grains are the result of chromospheric shocks impacting the transition region. These shocks are associated with dynamic fibrils (DFs), most commonly observed in Hα. We find that the grains show the strongest emission in the ascending phase of the DF, that the emission is strongest toward the top of the DF, and that the grains correspond to a blueshift and broadening of the Si iv lines. We note that the SJI 1400 grains can also be observed in the SJI 1330 channel which is dominated by C ii lines. Our observations show that a significant part of the active region transition region dynamics is driven from the chromosphere below rather than from coronal activity above. We conclude that the shocks that drive DFs also play an important role in the heating of the upper chromosphere and lower transition region.« less

Phase transitions in the q -voter model with noise on a duplex clique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chmiel, Anna; Sznajd-Weron, Katarzyna

2015-11-01

We study a nonlinear q -voter model with stochastic noise, interpreted in the social context as independence, on a duplex network. To study the role of the multilevelness in this model we propose three methods of transferring the model from a mono- to a multiplex network. They take into account two criteria: one related to the status of independence (LOCAL vs GLOBAL) and one related to peer pressure (AND vs OR). In order to examine the influence of the presence of more than one level in the social network, we perform simulations on a particularly simple multiplex: a duplex clique, which consists of two fully overlapped complete graphs (cliques). Solving numerically the rate equation and simultaneously conducting Monte Carlo simulations, we provide evidence that even a simple rearrangement into a duplex topology may lead to significant changes in the observed behavior. However, qualitative changes in the phase transitions can be observed for only one of the considered rules: LOCAL&AND. For this rule the phase transition becomes discontinuous for q =5 , whereas for a monoplex such behavior is observed for q =6 . Interestingly, only this rule admits construction of realistic variants of the model, in line with recent social experiments.

Topological Weyl superconductor to diffusive thermal Hall metal crossover in the B phase of UPt3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goswami, Pallab; Nevidomskyy, Andriy H.

2015-12-01

The recent phase-sensitive measurements in the superconducting B phase of UPt3 provide strong evidence for the triplet, chiral kz(kx±i ky) 2 pairing symmetries, which endow the Cooper pairs with orbital angular momentum projections Lz=±2 along the c axis. In the absence of disorder such pairing can support both line and point nodes, and both types of nodal quasiparticles exhibit nontrivial topology in the momentum space. The point nodes, located at the intersections of the closed Fermi surfaces with the c axis, act as the double monopoles and the antimonopoles of the Berry curvature, and generalize the notion of Weyl quasiparticles. Consequently, the B phase should support an anomalous thermal Hall effect, the polar Kerr effect, in addition to the protected Fermi arcs on the (1 ,0 ,0 ) and the (0 ,1 ,0 ) surfaces. The line node at the Fermi surface equator acts as a vortex loop in the momentum space and gives rise to the zero-energy, dispersionless Andreev bound states on the (0 ,0 ,1 ) surface. At the transition from the B phase to the A phase, the time-reversal symmetry is restored, and only the line node survives inside the A phase. As both line and double-Weyl point nodes possess linearly vanishing density of states, we show that weak disorder acts as a marginally relevant perturbation. Consequently, an infinitesimal amount of disorder destroys the ballistic quasiparticle pole, while giving rise to a diffusive phase with a finite density of states at the zero energy. The resulting diffusive phase exhibits T -linear specific heat, and an anomalous thermal Hall effect. We predict that the low-temperature thermodynamic and transport properties display a crossover between a ballistic thermal Hall semimetal and a diffusive thermal Hall metal. By contrast, the diffusive phase obtained from a time-reversal-invariant pairing exhibits only the T -linear specific heat without any anomalous thermal Hall effect.

Communication: Glass transition and melting lines of an ionic liquid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lima, Thamires A.; Faria, Luiz F. O.; Paschoal, Vitor H.; Ribeiro, Mauro C. C.

2018-05-01

The phase diagram of the ionic liquid 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesufonyl)imide, [Pyrr1,4][NTf2], was explored by synchroton X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering measurements as a function of temperature and pressure. Glass transition Tg(p) and melting Tm(p) temperatures were obtained from atmospheric pressure up to ca. 2.0 GPa. We found that both the Tg(p) and Tm(p) curves follow essentially the same pressure dependence. The similarity of pressure coefficients, dTg/dp ≈ dTm/dp, is explained within the non-equilibrium thermodynamics approach for the glass transition by assuming that one of the Ehrenfest equations is appropriated for Tg(p), whereas Tm(p) follows the Clausius-Clapeyron equation valid for the first-order transitions. The results highlight that ionic liquids are excellent model systems to address fundamental questions related to the glass transition.

Communication: Glass transition and melting lines of an ionic liquid.

PubMed

Lima, Thamires A; Faria, Luiz F O; Paschoal, Vitor H; Ribeiro, Mauro C C

2018-05-07

The phase diagram of the ionic liquid 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis(trifluoromethanesufonyl)imide, [Pyrr 1,4 ][NTf 2 ], was explored by synchroton X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering measurements as a function of temperature and pressure. Glass transition T g (p) and melting T m (p) temperatures were obtained from atmospheric pressure up to ca. 2.0 GPa. We found that both the T g (p) and T m (p) curves follow essentially the same pressure dependence. The similarity of pressure coefficients, dT g /dp ≈ dT m /dp, is explained within the non-equilibrium thermodynamics approach for the glass transition by assuming that one of the Ehrenfest equations is appropriated for T g (p), whereas T m (p) follows the Clausius-Clapeyron equation valid for the first-order transitions. The results highlight that ionic liquids are excellent model systems to address fundamental questions related to the glass transition.

Determination of pore-scale hydrate phase equilibria in sediments using lab-on-a-chip technology.

PubMed

Almenningen, Stian; Flatlandsmo, Josef; Kovscek, Anthony R; Ersland, Geir; Fernø, Martin A

2017-11-21

We present an experimental protocol for fast determination of hydrate stability in porous media for a range of pressure and temperature (P, T) conditions. Using a lab-on-a-chip approach, we gain direct optical access to dynamic pore-scale hydrate formation and dissociation events to study the hydrate phase equilibria in sediments. Optical pore-scale observations of phase behavior reproduce the theoretical hydrate stability line with methane gas and distilled water, and demonstrate the accuracy of the new method. The procedure is applicable for any kind of hydrate transitions in sediments, and may be used to map gas hydrate stability zones in nature.

Energy shifts in photoemission lines during the tetragonal- to cubic-phase transition in BaTiO3 single crystals and systems with CoFe2O4 and NiFe2O4 overlayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Welke, M.; Huth, P.; Dabelow, K.; Gorgoi, M.; Schindler, K.-M.; Chassé, A.; Denecke, R.

2018-05-01

In BaTiO3 the phase transition from tetragonal to cubic is connected with the disappearance of the ferroelectric polarization. In photoelectron spectroscopy huge transient shifts in the binding energies of all core-level photoemission lines have been observed while heating and cooling through the Curie temperature. Excitation energies from 2 keV to 6 keV have been used to show this to be a bulk effect and not a surface effect alone. These observations are discussed in terms of charging, which results from the disappearance of the ferroelectric polarization. This mechanism has previously been proposed as the origin of electron emission in ferroelectric materials. Besides the jump-like shifts, additional permanent shifts in binding energies have been observed for the tetragonal and the cubic phase. These experimental shifts have been related to theoretical ones from ab initio calculations. In addition to BaTiO3 single crystals, systems with CoFe2O4 and NiFe2O4 overlayers on BaTiO3 have been investigated. The low conductivity of these layers sets them apart from metallic overlayers like Fe or Co, where the shifts are suppressed. This difference adds further support for charging as the origin of the effect.

Three-dimensional dualities with bosons and fermions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benini, Francesco

2018-02-01

We propose new infinite families of non-supersymmetric IR dualities in three space-time dimensions, between Chern-Simons gauge theories (with classical gauge groups) with both scalars and fermions in the fundamental representation. In all cases we study the phase diagram as we vary two relevant couplings, finding interesting lines of phase transitions. In various cases the dualities lead to predictions about multi-critical fixed points and the emergence of IR quantum symmetries. For unitary groups we also discuss the coupling to background gauge fields and the map of simple monopole operators.

Pinning in BSCCO above the ordinary irreversibility line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Indenbom, M. V.; van der Beek, C. J.; Berseth, V.; Konczykowski, M.; Motohira, N.; Berger, H.; Benoit, W.

1996-12-01

Frequency-dependent observations of magnetic flux structures are used to show that pinning plays a principal role in the whole mixed state in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 (BSCCO) single crystals. We speculate that the random pinning force on the moving vortices may dominate over thermal fluctuations and considerably modify the position of the vortex lattice phase transition.

Direct observations of L-I-H and H-I-L transitions with the X-point reciprocating probe in ASDEX Upgrade

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Müller, S. H.; Conway, G. D.; Birkenmeier, G.

A reciprocating Langmuir probe was used to directly measure the behavior of turbulence and flows in the X-point region during transitions between low-(L) and high-confinement (H) mode in ASDEX Upgrade. The probe traverses the divertor horizontally in 140 ms, typically 2–5 cm below the X-point. Toroidal Mach number, density, floating potential (ϕ{sub f}), and electron temperature (T{sub e}) are measured. In the regime accessible to the probe (P{sub inj}<1.5 MW, line-integrated core density <4×10{sup 19} m{sup −2}), the L-H transition features an intermediate phase (I-phase), characterized by limit-cycle oscillations at 0.5–3 kHz [Conway et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 065001 (2011)]. The probe measurements revealmore » that this pulsing affects both the density and the toroidal Mach number. It is present in both the low-(LFS) and high-field sides (HFS) of the scrape-off layer, while high-amplitude broadband turbulence usually dominates the private-flux region. Profile comparisons between L-mode and I-phase show lower density in pulsing regions and small shifts in T{sub e}, directed oppositely on LFS and HFS, which are compensated by shifts in ϕ{sub f} to yield a surprisingly unchanged plasma potential profile. Directly observed L-I-phase transitions reveal that the onset of the pulsing is preceded by a fast 50% density drop in the HFS X-point region. Back transitions to L-mode occur essentially symmetrically, with the pulsing stopping first, followed by a fast recovery to L-mode density levels in the divertor.« less

Stretched exponential dynamics of coupled logistic maps on a small-world network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahajan, Ashwini V.; Gade, Prashant M.

2018-02-01

We investigate the dynamic phase transition from partially or fully arrested state to spatiotemporal chaos in coupled logistic maps on a small-world network. Persistence of local variables in a coarse grained sense acts as an excellent order parameter to study this transition. We investigate the phase diagram by varying coupling strength and small-world rewiring probability p of nonlocal connections. The persistent region is a compact region bounded by two critical lines where band-merging crisis occurs. On one critical line, the persistent sites shows a nonexponential (stretched exponential) decay for all p while for another one, it shows crossover from nonexponential to exponential behavior as p → 1 . With an effectively antiferromagnetic coupling, coupling to two neighbors on either side leads to exchange frustration. Apart from exchange frustration, non-bipartite topology and nonlocal couplings in a small-world network could be a reason for anomalous relaxation. The distribution of trap times in asymptotic regime has a long tail as well. The dependence of temporal evolution of persistence on initial conditions is studied and a scaling form for persistence after waiting time is proposed. We present a simple possible model for this behavior.

Symmetry energy effects on the mixed hadron-quark phase at high baryon density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

di Toro, M.; Liu, B.; Greco, V.; Baran, V.; Colonna, M.; Plumari, S.

2011-01-01

The phase transition of hadronic to quark matter at high baryon and isospin density is analyzed. Relativistic mean-field models are used to describe hadronic matter, and the MIT bag model is adopted for quark matter. The boundaries of the mixed phase and the related critical points for symmetric and asymmetric matter are obtained. Due to the different symmetry term in the two phases, isospin effects appear to be rather significant. With increasing isospin asymmetry the binodal transition line of the (T,ρB) diagram is lowered to a region accessible through heavy-ion collisions in the energy range of the new planned facilities (e.g., the FAIR/NICA projects). Some observable effects are suggested, in particular an isospin distillation mechanism with a more isospin asymmetric quark phase, to be seen in charged meson yield ratios, and an onset of quark number scaling of the meson-baryon elliptic flows. The presented isospin effects on the mixed phase appear to be robust with respect to even large variations of the poorly known symmetry term at high baryon density in the hadron phase. The dependence of the results on a suitable treatment of isospin contributions in effective QCD Lagrangian approaches, at the level of explicit isovector parts and/or quark condensates, is discussed.

Structure-property relationships of new bismuth and lead oxide based perovskite ternary solid solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dwivedi, Akansha

Two new bismuth and lead oxide based perovskite ternary solid solutions, namely xBi(Zn1/2Ti1/2)O3-yPbZrO3-zPbTiO3 [xBZT-yPZ-zPT] and xBi(Mg1/2Ti1/2)O3-yBi(Zn 1/2Ti1/2)O3-zPbTiO3 [xBMT-yBZT-zPT] have been developed and their structural and electrical properties have been determined. Various characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction, calorimetery, electron microscopy, dielectric and piezoelectric measurements have been performed to determine the details of the phase diagram, crystal structure, and domain structure. The selection of these materials is based on the hypothesis that the presence of BZT-PT (Case I ferroelectric (FE)) will increase the transition temperature of MPB systems BMT-PT (Case II FE), and PZ-PT (Case III FE), and subsequently a MPB will be observed in the ternary phase diagrams. The Case I, II, and III classification has been outlined by Stringer et al., is on the basis of the transition temperatures (TC) behavior with composition in the Bi and Pb oxide based binary systems. Several pseudobinary lines have been investigated across the xBZT-yPZ-zPT ternary phase diagram which exhibit varied TC behavior with composition, showing both Case I- and Case III-like TC trends in different regions. A MPB between rhombohedral to tetragonal phases has been located on a pseudobinary line 0.1BZT-0.9[xPT-(1-x)PZ]. Compositions near MPB exhibit mainly soft PZT-like properties with the TC around 60°C lower than the unmodified PZT near its MPB. Electrical properties are reported for the MPB composition, TC = 325°C, Pr = 35 microC/cm2, d33 = 300 pC/N and kP =0.45. Rhombohedral compositions show diffuse phase transition with small frequency dispersion, similar to relaxors. Two transition peaks in the permittivity as well as in the latent heat has been observed in some compositions near the BZT-PT binary. This leads to the speculation for the existence of miscibility gap in the solid solutions in these regions. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) performed on these compositions show subdomain modulation contrast suggesting the presence of localized and correlated spatial fluctuations in the spontaneous strain. In the xBMT-yBZT-zPT system, very small rhombohedral region in the room temperature phase diagram has been observed. Owing to the limited solid solubility, only a part of the phase diagram could be explored. Compositions on pseudobinary xPT-(1-x)[0.9BMT-0.1BZT] has been successfully fabricated and characterized. High c/a ratio of 1.04 has been observed for a surprisingly low tolerance factor of 0.9732. Transition temperature trends have been established from DSC and dielectric data along this pseudobinary line. The following trend in the TC has been observed with the increase in non PT end member that has been divided into three zones: in Zone I TC increases, in Zone II it decreases, and in the Zone III, two transition temperatures are observed. From the TEM investigation, it has been noted that these compositions exhibit subdomain modulations which reflects the presence of spontaneous strain. These modulations increase with the increase in non PT end member, and at certain composition along pseudobinary, both macro and micro domains structure can be observed. Compositions in the rhombohedral phase of xBMT-yBZT-zPT show dramatic changes in dielectric and piezoelectric properties when quenched from high temperature. Samples quenched from temperature range 650°C-900°C show classical ferroelectric switching behavior, which is not observed on either side of this temperature range. These quenched states are however, unstable in nature and lose their ferroelectric properties when heated to a temperature as low as 400°C. Structural analysis by TEM shows varied domain structures for samples quenched from different temperatures. Evidences of tilt transitions and intermediate phases have also been observed in the TEM study. New insights into solid solution development and defect metastability are gained and discussed in relation to relaxor based ferroelectric phenomena. Complex domains and intermediate displacive phase transitions are all considered to consistently account for the structure-property-process relations in these novel systems.

The IUPAC Database of Rotational-Vibrational Energy Levels and Transitions of Water Isotopologues from Experiment and Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Császár, Attila G.; Furtenbacher, T.; Tennyson, Jonathan; Bernath, Peter F.; Brown, Linda R.; Campargue, Alain; Daumont, Ludovic; Gamache, Robert R.; Hodges, Joseph T.; Naumenko, Olga V.; Polyansky, Oleg L.; Rothman, Laurence S.; Vandaele, Ann Carine; Zobov, Nikolai F.

2014-06-01

The results of an IUPAC Task Group formed in 2004 on "A Database of Water Transitions from Experiment and Theory" (Project No. 2004-035-1-100) are presented. Energy levels and recommended labels involving exact and approximate quantum numbers for the main isotopologues of water in the gas phase, H216O, H218O, H217O, HD16O, HD18O, HD17O, D216O, D218O, and D217O, are determined from measured transition wavenumbers. The transition wavenumbers and energy levels are validated using the MARVEL (measured active rotational-vibrational energy levels) approach and first-principles nuclear motion computations. The extensive data, e.g., more than 200,000 transitions have been handled for H216O, including lines and levels that are required for analysis and synthesis of spectra, thermochemical applications, the construction of theoretical models, and the removal of spectral contamination by ubiquitous water lines. These datasets can also be used to assess where measurements are lacking for each isotopologue and to provide accurate frequencies for many yet-to-be measured transitions. The lack of high-quality frequency calibration standards in the near infrared is identified as an issue that has hindered the determination of high-accuracy energy levels at higher frequencies. The generation of spectra using the MARVEL energy levels combined with transition intensities computed using high accuracy ab initio dipole moment surfaces are discussed.

End point of a first-order phase transition in many-flavor lattice QCD at finite temperature and density.

PubMed

Ejiri, Shinji; Yamada, Norikazu

2013-04-26

Towards the feasibility study of the electroweak baryogenesis in realistic technicolor scenario, we investigate the phase structure of (2+N(f))-flavor QCD, where the mass of two flavors is fixed to a small value and the others are heavy. For the baryogenesis, an appearance of a first-order phase transition at finite temperature is a necessary condition. Using a set of configurations of two-flavor lattice QCD and applying the reweighting method, the effective potential defined by the probability distribution function of the plaquette is calculated in the presence of additional many heavy flavors. Through the shape of the effective potential, we determine the critical mass of heavy flavors separating the first-order and crossover regions and find it to become larger with N(f). We moreover study the critical line at finite density and the first-order region is found to become wider as increasing the chemical potential. Possible applications to real (2+1)-flavor QCD are discussed.

Tunability of the topological nodal-line semimetal phase in ZrSi X -type materials ( X = S ,   Se ,   Te )

DOE PAGES

Hosen, M. Mofazzel; Dimitri, Klauss; Belopolski, Ilya; ...

2017-04-03

The discovery of a topological nodal-line (TNL) semimetal phase in ZrSiS has invigorated the study of other members of this family. In this paper, we present a comparative electronic structure study ofmore » $$\\mathrm{ZrSi}X$$ (where $$X=\\text{S}$$, Se, Te) using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and first-principles calculations. Our ARPES studies show that the overall electronic structure of $$\\mathrm{ZrSi}X$$ materials comprises the diamond-shaped Fermi pocket, the nearly elliptical-shaped Fermi pocket, and a small electron pocket encircling the zone center ($$\\mathrm{{\\Gamma}}$$) point, the $M$ point, and the $X$ point of the Brillouin zone, respectively. We also observe a small Fermi surface pocket along the $$M{-}\\mathrm{{\\Gamma}}{-}M$$ direction in ZrSiTe, which is absent in both ZrSiS and ZrSiSe. Furthermore, our theoretical studies show a transition from nodal-line to nodeless gapped phase by tuning the chalcogenide from S to Te in these material systems. Finally, our findings provide direct evidence for the tunability of the TNL phase in $$\\mathrm{ZrSi}X$$ material systems by adjusting the spin-orbit coupling strength via the $X$ anion.« less

Superconducting dome in doped quasi-two-dimensional organic Mott insulators: A paradigm for strongly correlated superconductivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hébert, Charles-David; Sémon, Patrick; Tremblay, A.-M. S.

2015-11-01

Layered organic superconductors of the BEDT family are model systems for understanding the interplay of the Mott transition with superconductivity, magnetic order, and frustration, ingredients that are essential to understand superconductivity also in the cuprate high-temperature superconductors. Recent experimental studies on a hole-doped version of the organic compounds reveals an enhancement of superconductivity and a rapid crossover between two different conducting phases above the superconducting dome. One of these phases is a Fermi liquid, the other not. Using plaquette cellular dynamical mean field theory with state-of-the-art continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo calculations, we study this problem with the two-dimensional Hubbard model on the anisotropic triangular lattice. Phase diagrams as a function of temperature T and interaction strength U /t are obtained for anisotropy parameters t'=0.4 t ,t'=0.8 t and for various fillings. As in the case of the cuprates, we find, at finite doping, a first-order transition between two normal-state phases. One of theses phases has a pseudogap while the other does not. At temperatures above the critical point of the first-order transition, there is a Widom line where crossovers occur. The maximum (optimal) superconducting critical temperature Tcm at finite doping is enhanced by about 25% compared with its maximum at half filling and the range of U /t where superconductivity appears is greatly extended. These results are in broad agreement with experiment. Also, increasing frustration (larger t'/t ) significantly reduces magnetic ordering, as expected. This suggests that for compounds with intermediate to high frustration, very light doping should reveal the influence of the first-order transition and associated crossovers. These crossovers could possibly be even visible in the superconducting phase through subtle signatures. We also predict that destroying the superconducting phase by a magnetic field should reveal the first-order transition between metal and pseudogap. Finally, we predict that electron doping should also lead to an increased range of U /t for superconductivity but with a reduced maximum Tc. This work also clearly shows that the superconducting dome in organic superconductors is tied to the Mott transition and its continuation as a transition separating pseudogap phase from correlated metal in doped compounds, as in the cuprates. Contrary to heavy fermions for example, the maximum Tc is definitely not attached to an antiferromagnetic quantum critical point. That can also be verified experimentally.

Time-reversal breaking in QCD4, walls, and dualities in 2 + 1 dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaiotto, Davide; Komargodski, Zohar; Seiberg, Nathan

2018-01-01

We study SU( N ) Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) in 3+1 dimensions with N f degenerate fundamental quarks with mass m and a θ-parameter. For generic m and θ the theory has a single gapped vacuum. However, as θ is varied through θ = π for large m there is a first order transition. For N f = 1 the first order transition line ends at a point with a massless η' particle (for all N ) and for N f > 1 the first order transition ends at m = 0, where, depending on the value of N f , the IR theory has free Nambu-Goldstone bosons, an interacting conformal field theory, or a free gauge theory. Even when the 4 d bulk is smooth, domain walls and interfaces can have interesting phase transitions separating different 3 d phases. These turn out to be the phases of the recently studied 3 d Chern-Simons matter theories, thus relating the dynamics of QCD4 and QCD3, and, in particular, making contact with the recently discussed dualities in 2+1 dimensions. For example, when the massless 4 d theory has an SU( N f ) sigma model, the domain wall theory at low (nonzero) mass supports a 3 d massless CP^{N_f-1} nonlinear σ-model with a Wess-Zumino term, in agreement with the conjectured dynamics in 2+1 dimensions.

C+/CO Transitions in the Diffuse ISM: Transitional Cloud Sample from the GOT C+ Survey of [CII] in the inner Galaxy at l = -30deg to 30deg

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velusamy, T.; Pineda, J. L.; Langer, W. D.; Willacy, K.; Goldsmith, P. F.

2011-05-01

Our knowledge of interstellar gas has been limited primarily to the diffuse atomic phase traced by HI and the well-shielded molecular phase traced by CO. Recently, using the first results of the Herschel Key Project GOT C+, a HIFI C+ survey of the Galactic plane, Velusamy, Langer, Pineda et al. (A&A 521, L18, 2010) have shown that in the diffuse interstellar transition clouds a significant fraction of the carbon exists primarily as C^+ with little C^0 and CO in a warm 'dark gas' layer in which hydrogen is mostly H_2 with little atomic H, surrounding a modest 12CO-emitting core. The [CII] fine structure transition, at 1.9 THz (158 μm) is the best tracer of this component of the interstellar medium, which is critical to our understanding of the atomic to molecular cloud transitions. The Herschel Key Project GOT C+ is designed to study such clouds by observing with HIFI the [CII] line emission along 500 lines of sight (LOSs) throughout the Galactic disk. Here we present the identification and chemical status of a few hundred diffuse and transition clouds traced by [CII], along with auxiliary HI and CO data covering ~100 LOSs in the inner Galaxy between l= -30° and 30°. We identify transition clouds as [CII] components that are characterized by the presence of both HI and 12CO, but no 13CO emission. The intensities, I(CII) and I(HI), are used as measures of the visual extinction, AV, in the cloud up to the C^+/C^0/CO transition layer and a comparison with I(12CO) yields a more complete H_2 molecular inventory. Our results show that [CII] emission is an excellent tool to study transition clouds and their carbon chemistry in the ISM, in particular as a unique tracer of molecular H_2, which is not easily observed by other means. The large sample presented here will serve as a resource to study the chemical and physical status of diffuse transition clouds in a wide range of Galactic environments and constrain the physical parameters such as the FUV intensity and cosmic ray ionization rate that drive the CO chemistry in the diffuse ISM.

Effects of HRAS oncogene on cell cycle progression in a cervical cancer-derived cell line.

PubMed

Córdova-Alarcón, Emilio; Centeno, Federico; Reyes-Esparza, Jorge; García-Carrancá, Alejandro; Garrido, Efraín

2005-01-01

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the most prevalent factor in anogenital cancers. However, epidemiological surveys and molecular data indicate that viral presence is not enough to induce cervical cancer, suggesting that cellular factors could play a key role. One of the most important genes involved in cancer development is the RAS oncogene, and activating mutations in this gene have been associated with HPV infection and cervical neoplasia. Thus, we determined the effect of HRAS oncogene expression on cell proliferation in a cell line immortalized by E6 and E7 oncogenes. HPV positive human cervical carcinoma-derived cell lines (HeLa), previously transfected with the HRAS oncogene or the empty vector, were used. We first determined the proliferation rate and cell cycle profile of these cells by using flow cytometry and BrdU incorporation assays. In order to determine the signaling pathway regulated by HRAS and implicated in the alteration of proliferation of these cells, we used specific chemical inhibitors to inactivate the Raf and PI3K pathways. We observed that HeLa cells stably transfected with oncogenic HRAS progressed faster than control cells on the cell cycle by reducing their G1 phase. Additionally, HRAS overexpression accelerated the G1/S transition. Specific chemical inhibitors for PI3K and MEK activities indicated that both PI3K/AKT and RAF/MEK/ERK pathways are involved in the HRAS oncogene-induced reduction of the G1 phase. Our results suggest that the HRAS oncogene could play an important role in the development of cervical cancer, in addition to the presence of HPV, by reducing the G1 phase and accelerating the G1/S transition of infected cells.

A Theoretical Investigation of Optical Emission in Solar Flares

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abbett, William Paul

A dynamic theoretical model of a flare loop from its footpoints in the photosphere to its apex in the corona is presented, and the effects of non-thermal heating of the lower atmosphere by accelerated electrons and soft X-ray irradiation from the flare heated transition region and corona are investigated. Important transitions of hydrogen, helium, and singly ionized calcium and magnesium are treated in non-LTE. Three main conclusions are drawn from the models. First, even the strongest of impulsive events can be described as having two phases: a gentle phase characterized by a state of near equilibrium, and an explosive phase characterized by large material flows, and strong hydrodynamic waves and shocks. During the gentle phase, one or possibly two temperature 'plateaus' form in the upper chromosphere. The line emission generated in these regions produces profiles that are generally symmetric and undistorted, in contrast to emission produced during the explosive phase, where large velocity gradients that occur in the upper atmosphere produce line profiles that are highly asymmetric and show large emission peaks and troughs. Second, a significant continuum (or 'white light') brightening results from increased hydrogen recombination radiation in the upper chromosphere at the point where the accelerated electrons deposit the bulk of their energy. Third, there exists a measurable time lag between the brightening of the near wings of Hα and the brightening of the Paschen continuum. This delay is controlled by the amount of time it takes for electron densities in the upper chromosphere to become high enough, and the densities of hydrogen atoms in high energy bound states to become low enough, to allow the number of recombinations to dominate the number of photoionizations in the region.

Observations of a high-excitation transition of SO in galactic H II regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watt, G. D.; Millar, T. J.; White, G. J.; Harten, R. H.

1986-02-01

High-excitation observations of the 56-45 transition of SO at 251 GHz have been made. The central four arcminutes of the Orion-KL region have been mapped and a survey of 6 other galactic sources has been performed. Detailed chemical kinetic models have been utilised to investigate the chemistry of sulphur in view of recent estimates of sulphur depletion and the possibility of a gas phase carbon to oxygen ratio greater than 1. The authors find a link between the SO/SO2 and C/O ratios and that their data are consistent with the high C I abundance detected in the Orion ridge component. In the plateau source the enhanced abundances of SO and SO2 may be caused by a molecular outflow from an oxygen-rich star. In addition a previously undetected methanol line and an unidentified line appear in the Orion data.

Distribution of Si II in the Galactic center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Graf, P.; Herter, T.; Gull, G. E.; Houck, J. R.

1988-01-01

A map of the Galactic center region in the forbidden Si II 34.8-micron line is presented. The line emission arises from within the photodissociation region (PDR) associated with the neutral gas ring surrounding an ionized gas core confined within 2 pc of the Galactic center. Si II is a useful probe of the inner regions of the ring since it is always optically thin. The Si II data, when analyzed in conjunction with O I, C II, and molecular measurements, outlines the transition region between the PDR and the surrounding molecular cloud. The Si II emission is found to extend beyond that of the O II into the neutral gas ring. Although the interpretation is not unique, the data are consistent with a constant gas-phase abundance of silicon within the inner part of the PDR while the gaseous silicon is depleted by molecule formation in the transition region.

DISSECTING THE HIGH- z INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM THROUGH INTENSITY MAPPING CROSS-CORRELATIONS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Serra, Paolo; Doré, Olivier; Lagache, Guilaine, E-mail: Paolo.Serra@jpl.nasa.gov

We explore the detection, with upcoming spectroscopic surveys, of three-dimensional power spectra of emission line fluctuations produced in different phases of the interstellar medium (ISM) by forbidden transitions of ionized carbon [C ii] (157.7 μ m), ionized nitrogen [N ii] (121.9 and 205.2 μ m), and neutral oxygen [O i] (145.5 μ m) at redshift z  > 4. These lines are important coolants of both the neutral and the ionized medium, and probe multiple phases of the ISM. In the framework of the halo model, we compute predictions of the three-dimensional power spectra for two different surveys, showing that they havemore » the required sensitivity to detect cross-power spectra between the [C ii] line and both the [O i] line and the [N ii] lines with sufficient signal-to-noise ratio. The importance of cross-correlating multiple lines with the intensity mapping technique is twofold. On the one hand, we will have multiple probes of the different phases of the ISM, which is key to understanding the interplay between energetic sources, and the gas and dust at high redshift. This kind of study will be useful for a next-generation space observatory such as the NASA Far-IR Surveyor, which will probe the global star formation and the ISM of galaxies from the peak of star formation to the epoch of reionization. On the other hand, emission lines from external galaxies are an important foreground when measuring spectral distortions of the cosmic microwave background spectrum with future space-based experiments like PIXIE; measuring fluctuations in the intensity mapping regime will help constrain the mean amplitude of these lines, and will allow us to better handle this important foreground.« less

A computational DFT study of structural transitions in textured solid-fluid interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yatsyshin, Petr; Parry, Andrew O.; Kalliadasis, Serafim

2015-11-01

Fluids adsorbed at walls, in capillary pores and slits, and in more exotic, sculpted geometries such as grooves and wedges can exhibit many new phase transitions, including wetting, pre-wetting, capillary-condensation and filling, compared to their bulk counterparts. As well as being of fundamental interest to the modern statistical mechanical theory of inhomogeneous fluids, these are also relevant to nanofluidics, chemical- and bioengineering. In this talk we will show using a microscopic Density Functional Theory (DFT) for fluids how novel, continuous, interfacial transitions associated with the first-order prewetting line, can occur on steps, in grooves and in wedges, that are sensitive to both the range of the intermolecular forces and interfacial fluctuation effects. These transitions compete with wetting, filling and condensation producing very rich phase diagrams even for relatively simple geometries. We will also discuss practical aspects of DFT calculations, and demonstrate how this statistical-mechanical framework is capable of yielding complex fluid structure, interfacial tensions, and regions of thermodynamic stability of various fluid configurations. As a side note, this demonstrates that DFT is an excellent tool for the investigations of complex multiphase systems. We acknowledge financial support from the European Research Council via Advanced Grant No. 247031.

Pressure-temperature phase diagrams of CaK(Fe1 -xNix)4As4 superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiang, Li; Meier, William R.; Xu, Mingyu; Kaluarachchi, Udhara S.; Bud'ko, Sergey L.; Canfield, Paul C.

2018-05-01

The pressure dependence of the magnetic and superconducting transitions and that of the superconducting upper critical field are reported for CaK (Fe1-xNix) 4As4 , the first example of an Fe-based superconductor with spin-vortex-crystal-type magnetic ordering. Resistance measurements were performed on single crystals with two substitution levels (x =0.033 ,0.050 ) under hydrostatic pressures up to 5.12 GPa and in magnetic fields up to 9 T. Our results show that, for both compositions, magnetic transition temperatures TN are suppressed upon applying pressure; the superconducting transition temperatures Tc are suppressed by pressure as well, except for x =0.050 in the pressure region where TN and Tc cross. Furthermore, the pressure associated with the crossing of the TN and Tc lines also coincides with a minimum in the normalized slope of the superconducting upper critical field, consistent with a likely Fermi-surface reconstruction associated with the loss of magnetic ordering. Finally, at p ˜4 GPa, both Ni-substituted CaK (Fe1-xNix) 4As4 samples likely go through a half-collapsed-tetragonal phase transition, similar to the parent compound CaKFe4As4 .

Cross-correlation spectroscopy study of the transient spark discharge in atmospheric pressure air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janda, Mário; Hoder, Tomáš; Sarani, Abdollah; Brandenburg, Ronny; Machala, Zdenko

2017-05-01

A streamer-to-spark transition in a self-pulsing transient spark (TS) discharge of positive polarity in air was investigated using cross-correlation spectroscopy. The entire temporal evolution of the TS was recorded for several spectral bands and lines: the second positive system of N2 (337.1 nm), the first negative system of {{{{N}}}2}+ (391.4 nm), and atomic oxygen (777.1 nm). The results enable the visualization of the different phases of discharge development including the primary streamer, the secondary streamer, and the transition to the spark. The spatio-temporal distribution of the reduced electric field strength during the primary streamer phase of the TS was determined and discussed. The transition from the streamer to the spark proceeds very fast within about 10 ns for the TS with a current pulse repetition rate in the range 8-10 kHz. This is attributed to memory effects, leading to a low net electron attachment rate and faster propagation of the secondary streamer. Gas heating, accumulation of species such as oxygen atoms from the previous TS pulses, as well as generation of charged particles by stepwise ionization seem to play important roles contributing to this fast streamer-to-spark transition.

T- P Phase Diagram of Nitrogen at High Pressures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Algul, G.; Enginer, Y.; Yurtseven, H.

2018-05-01

By employing a mean field model, calculation of the T- P phase diagram of molecular nitrogen is performed at high pressures up to 200 GPa. Experimental data from the literature are used to fit a quadratic function in T and P, describing the phase line equations which have been derived using the mean field model studied here for N 2, and the fitted parameters are determined. Our model study gives that the observed T- P phase diagram can be described satisfactorily for the first-order transitions between the phases at low as well as high pressures in nitrogen. Some thermodynamic quantities can also be predicted as functions of temperature and pressure from the mean field model studied here and they can be compared with the experimental data.

Investigation of thermal and optical properties of some quartet mixed hydrogen-bonded liquid crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okumuş, Mustafa

2017-11-01

In this study, the thermal and optical properties of quartet mixtures formed at different weight ratios (1:1:1:1 and 1.5:1:1:1) from liquid crystals 4-octyloxy-4‧-cyanobiphenyl (8OCB), 4-hexylbenzoic acid, 4-(octyloxy)benzoic acid and 4-(decyloxy)benzoic acid were investigated by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and polarized optic microscopy (POM). The phase transition temperatures of the novel quartet mixtures measured in the DSC experiments are in line with the POM experiments. The experimental results clearly show that the novel liquid crystal mixtures have displayed pure liquid crystalline properties. According to the phase diagram drawn from DSC results, the nematic range of the novel mixture at the eutectic point is larger than the nematic ranges of the components. The mesomorphic structures of produced homolog complex mixtures are found to be smectic and nematic phases. But the smectic phase cannot be observed in the novel complex 1.5:1:1:1 mixture during continuous cooling. The nematic range of the novel complex 1.5:1:1:1 mixture is bigger than the nematic range of the novel complex 1:1:1:1 mixture with increasing 8OCB. Also, the nematic-to-isotropic phase transition temperature decreases with increasing the weight ratio of 8OCB in the complex quartet mixture. Another interesting result is that the produced mixtures are to be like a medical cream at room temperatures. Furthermore, order parameter and thermal stability factor of the transitions are also calculated.

Pressure-induced transformations in computer simulations of glassy water.

PubMed

Chiu, Janet; Starr, Francis W; Giovambattista, Nicolas

2013-11-14

Glassy water occurs in at least two broad categories: low-density amorphous (LDA) and high-density amorphous (HDA) solid water. We perform out-of-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to study the transformations of glassy water using the ST2 model. Specifically, we study the known (i) compression-induced LDA-to-HDA, (ii) decompression-induced HDA-to-LDA, and (iii) compression-induced hexagonal ice-to-HDA transformations. We study each transformation for a broad range of compression/decompression temperatures, enabling us to construct a "P-T phase diagram" for glassy water. The resulting phase diagram shows the same qualitative features reported from experiments. While many simulations have probed the liquid-state phase behavior, comparatively little work has examined the transitions of glassy water. We examine how the glass transformations relate to the (first-order) liquid-liquid phase transition previously reported for this model. Specifically, our results support the hypothesis that the liquid-liquid spinodal lines, between a low-density and high-density liquid, are extensions of the LDA-HDA transformation lines in the limit of slow compression. Extending decompression runs to negative pressures, we locate the sublimation lines for both LDA and hyperquenched glassy water (HGW), and find that HGW is relatively more stable to the vapor. Additionally, we observe spontaneous crystallization of HDA at high pressure to ice VII. Experiments have also seen crystallization of HDA, but to ice XII. Finally, we contrast the structure of LDA and HDA for the ST2 model with experiments. We find that while the radial distribution functions (RDFs) of LDA are similar to those observed in experiments, considerable differences exist between the HDA RDFs of ST2 water and experiment. The differences in HDA structure, as well as the formation of ice VII (a tetrahedral crystal), are a consequence of ST2 overemphasizing the tetrahedral character of water.

Pressure-induced transformations in computer simulations of glassy water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiu, Janet; Starr, Francis W.; Giovambattista, Nicolas

2013-11-01

Glassy water occurs in at least two broad categories: low-density amorphous (LDA) and high-density amorphous (HDA) solid water. We perform out-of-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to study the transformations of glassy water using the ST2 model. Specifically, we study the known (i) compression-induced LDA-to-HDA, (ii) decompression-induced HDA-to-LDA, and (iii) compression-induced hexagonal ice-to-HDA transformations. We study each transformation for a broad range of compression/decompression temperatures, enabling us to construct a "P-T phase diagram" for glassy water. The resulting phase diagram shows the same qualitative features reported from experiments. While many simulations have probed the liquid-state phase behavior, comparatively little work has examined the transitions of glassy water. We examine how the glass transformations relate to the (first-order) liquid-liquid phase transition previously reported for this model. Specifically, our results support the hypothesis that the liquid-liquid spinodal lines, between a low-density and high-density liquid, are extensions of the LDA-HDA transformation lines in the limit of slow compression. Extending decompression runs to negative pressures, we locate the sublimation lines for both LDA and hyperquenched glassy water (HGW), and find that HGW is relatively more stable to the vapor. Additionally, we observe spontaneous crystallization of HDA at high pressure to ice VII. Experiments have also seen crystallization of HDA, but to ice XII. Finally, we contrast the structure of LDA and HDA for the ST2 model with experiments. We find that while the radial distribution functions (RDFs) of LDA are similar to those observed in experiments, considerable differences exist between the HDA RDFs of ST2 water and experiment. The differences in HDA structure, as well as the formation of ice VII (a tetrahedral crystal), are a consequence of ST2 overemphasizing the tetrahedral character of water.

Critical behavior of a quantum chain with four-spin interactions in the presence of longitudinal and transverse magnetic fields.

PubMed

Boechat, B; Florencio, J; Saguia, A; de Alcantara Bonfim, O F

2014-03-01

We study the ground-state properties of a spin-1/2 model on a chain containing four-spin Ising-like interactions in the presence of both transverse and longitudinal magnetic fields. We use entanglement entropy and finite-size scaling methods to obtain the phase diagrams of the model. Our numerical calculations reveal a rich variety of phases and the existence of multicritical points in the system. We identify phases with both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic orderings. We also find periodically modulated orderings formed by a cluster of like spins followed by another cluster of opposite like spins. The quantum phases in the model are found to be separated by either first- or second-order transition lines.

Probing polariton dynamics in trapped ions with phase-coherent two-dimensional spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gessner, Manuel; Schlawin, Frank; Buchleitner, Andreas

2015-06-07

We devise a phase-coherent three-pulse protocol to probe the polariton dynamics in a trapped-ion quantum simulation. In contrast to conventional nonlinear signals, the presented scheme does not change the number of excitations in the system, allowing for the investigation of the dynamics within an N-excitation manifold. In the particular case of a filling factor one (N excitations in an N-ion chain), the proposed interaction induces coherent transitions between a delocalized phonon superfluid and a localized atomic insulator phase. Numerical simulations of a two-ion chain demonstrate that the resulting two-dimensional spectra allow for the unambiguous identification of the distinct phases, andmore » the two-dimensional line shapes efficiently characterize the relevant decoherence mechanism.« less

Carbon under extreme conditions: phase boundaries from first-principles theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Correa, Alfredo A.; Bonev, Stanimir A.; Galli, Giulia

2006-03-01

We present predictions of diamond and BC8 melting lines and their phase boundary in the solid phase, as obtained from first principles calculations. Maxima are found in both melting lines, with a triple point located at ˜850 GPa and ˜7400 K. Our results show that hot, compressed diamond is a semiconductor which undergoes metalization upon melting. On the contrary, in the stability range of BC8, an insulator to metal transition is likely to occur in the solid phase. Close to the diamond/ and BC8/liquid boundaries, molten carbon is a low-coordinated metal retaining some covalent character in its bonding up to extreme pressures. Our data provide constraints to the carbon equation of state, which is of critical importance to devise models of, e.g., Neptune, Uranus and white dwarf stars, as well as of extra-solar carbon planets. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Dept. of Energy at the University of California/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract no. W-7405-Eng-48.

The electron spin resonance study of heavily nitrogen doped 6H SiC crystals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Savchenko, D. V., E-mail: dariyasavchenko@gmail.com

2015-01-28

The magnetic and electronic properties of heavily doped n-type 6H SiC samples with a nitrogen concentration of 10{sup 19} and 4 × 10{sup 19 }cm{sup −3} were studied with electron spin resonance (ESR) at 5–150 K. The observed ESR line with a Dysonian lineshape was attributed to the conduction electrons (CE). The CE ESR (CESR) line was fitted by Lorentzian (insulating phase) (T < 40 K) and by Dysonian lineshape (metallic phase) above 40 K, demonstrating that Mott insulator-metal (IM) transition takes place at ∼40 K, accompanied by significant change in the microwave conductivity. The temperature dependence of CESR linewidth follows the linear Korringa law below 40 K,more » caused by the coupling of the localized electrons (LE) and CE, and is described by the exponential law above 40 K related to the direct relaxation of the LE magnetic moments via excited levels driven by the exchange interaction of LE with CE. The g-factor of the CESR line (g{sub ‖} = 2.0047(3), g{sub ⊥} = 2.0034(3)) is governed by the coupling of the LE of nitrogen donors at hexagonal and quasi-cubic sites with the CE. The sharp drop in CESR line intensity (25–30 K) was explained by the formation of antiferromagnetic ordering in the spin system close to the IM transition. The second broad ESR line overlapped with CESR signal (5–25 K) was attributed to the exchange line caused by the hopping motion of electrons between occupied and non-occupied positions of the nitrogen donors. Two mechanisms of conduction, hopping and band conduction, were distinguished in the range of T = 10–25 K and T > 50 K, respectively.« less

Indication of Confirmation of Transition and Formation Boundary from Ordered to Disordered Flux Vortex Chain State in High-Tc Superconductors Y1Ba2Cu3O7- δ and Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 and New Low-Field Data Delineating Magnetic Transition in Gd1Ba2(Fe0.02Cu0.98)3O7- δ

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vezzoli, G. Christopher; Chen, Michaeline F.; Burke, Terence; Rosen, Carol

1996-08-01

Data are presented herein that support a phase boundary or quasi-phase-boundary delineating in Y1Ba2Cu3O7-δ and in Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 ceramic materials a transition from a vortex solid lattice to a line-flux disordered state that has been referred to as representing flux lattice melting to a flux liquid, but herein is interpreted not in terms of a liquid but in the form of a less-mobile `polymer'-like or entangled chain species. These data are derived from electrical resistance (r) versus applied magnetic field (H) measurements at various isotherms (T) corresponding to the zero resistance state of yttrium--barium--cuprate, and the mixed state foot regime of bismuth--strontium--calcium--cuprate. We interpret significant slope changes in r versus B at constant T in these materials to be indicative of the H-T conditions for a second-order or weakly first-order phase transition delineating the disordering of a flux lattice vortex solid. We believe that this technique is in ways more direct and at least as accurate as the conventional mechanical oscillator and vibrating magnetometer method to study the flux state. Additional very-low-field studies in Gd1Ba2(Fe0.02Cu0.98)3O7-δ, from 1 to 1000 mT, yield indication for what appears to be a magnetic transition at ca. 77 K at 575 mT, and possibly a second transition at 912 mT (also at ca. 77 K). These data points correspond well with the extrapolated low-field experimental magnetic phase transition boundary curve described at higher field herein (and by others using the mechanical technique), and also correspond well to theoretically predicted work regarding transition involving the vortex state.

Temperature effects on luminescence properties of Cr3+ ions in alkali gallium silicate nanostructured media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lipinska-Kalita, Kristina E.; Krol, Denise M.; Hemley, Russell J.; Kalita, Patricia E.; Gobin, Cedric L.; Ohki, Yoshimichi

2005-09-01

We have investigated the optical properties of Cr3+ ions in an alkali gallium silicate glass system and in two glass-based nanocomposites with nucleated β-Ga2O3 nanocrystals. The nucleation and growth of the nanocrystalline phase in the host glass matrix were monitored by Raman scattering spectroscopy and angle-dispersive x-ray diffraction. A broadband luminescence, associated with the 4T2-4A2 transition from the weak crystal field of octahedral Cr3+ sites, dominated the emission of the precursor as-quenched glass. The luminescence spectra of the synthesized glass-ceramic nanocomposites revealed a crystal-like 2E-4A2 strong emission and indicated that the major fraction of Cr3+ ions was located within the nanocrystalline environment. The variable-temperature studies of the nanocomposites demonstrated that the fluorescence of Cr3+ ions can be transformed from sharp R lines of the 2E-4A2 transition to a combination of R lines and of the broad band of the 4T2-4A2 transition. We propose a simple distribution model where the major part of Cr3+ ions is located in the nanocrystalline phase of the glass-ceramic composites in the octahedral environment, substituting the gallium atoms in the β-Ga2O3 crystal structure. The developed nanocrystalline glass-ceramics are a promising class of Cr3+-doped oxide glass-based optically active composite materials.

The structures of interstitial hydrogen centers in VO 2 in the dilute limit from their vibrational properties and theory

DOE PAGES

Yin, W.; Qin, Ying; Fowler, W. B.; ...

2016-07-28

The introduction of a large concentration of H into VO 2 is known to suppress the insulating phase of the metal-insulator transition that occurs upon cooling below 340 K. We have used infrared spectroscopy and complementary theory to study the properties of interstitial H and D in VO 2 in the dilute limit to determine the vibrational frequencies, thermal stabilities, and equilibrium positions of isolated interstitial H and D centers. The vibrational lines of several OH and OD centers were observed to have thermal stabilities similar to that of the hydrogen that suppresses the insulating phase. Theory associates two ofmore » the four possible OH configurations for Hi in the insulating VO 2 monoclinic phase with OH lines seen by experiment. Furthermore, theory predicts the energies and vibrational frequencies for configurations with Hi trapped near a substitutional impurity and suggests such defects as candidates for additional OH centers that have been observed.« less

Formation and Initiation of Erupting Flux Rope and Embedded Filament Driven by Photospheric Converging Motion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao Xiaozhou; Gan, Weiqun; Xia, Chun

2017-06-01

In this paper, we study how a flux rope (FR) is formed and evolves into the corresponding structure of a coronal mass ejection (CME) numerically driven by photospheric converging motion. A two-and-a-half-dimensional magnetohydrodynamics simulation is conducted in a chromosphere-transition-corona setup. The initial arcade-like linear force-free magnetic field is driven by an imposed slow motion converging toward the magnetic inversion line at the bottom boundary. The convergence brings opposite-polarity magnetic flux to the polarity inversion, giving rise to the formation of an FR by magnetic reconnection and eventually to the eruption of a CME. During the FR formation, an embedded prominencemore » gets formed by the levitation of chromospheric material. We confirm that the converging flow is a potential mechanism for the formation of FRs and a possible triggering mechanism for CMEs. We investigate the thermal, dynamical, and magnetic properties of the FR and its embedded prominence by tracking their thermal evolution, analyzing their force balance, and measuring their kinematic quantities. The phase transition from the initiation phase to the acceleration phase of the kinematic evolution of the FR was observed in our simulation. The FR undergoes a series of quasi-static equilibrium states in the initiation phase; while in the acceleration phase the FR is driven by Lorentz force and the impulsive acceleration occurs. The underlying physical reason for the phase transition is the change of the reconnection mechanism from the Sweet–Parker to the unsteady bursty regime of reconnection in the evolving current sheet underneath the FR.« less

Vibrations and reorientations of H2O molecules in [Sr(H2O)6]Cl2 studied by Raman light scattering, incoherent inelastic neutron scattering and proton magnetic resonance.

PubMed

Hetmańczyk, Joanna; Hetmańczyk, Lukasz; Migdał-Mikuli, Anna; Mikuli, Edward; Florek-Wojciechowska, Małgorzata; Harańczyk, Hubert

2014-04-24

Vibrational-reorientational dynamics of H2O ligands in the high- and low-temperature phases of [Sr(H2O)6]Cl2 was investigated by Raman Spectroscopy (RS), proton magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR), quasielastic and inelastic incoherent Neutron Scattering (QENS and IINS) methods. Neutron powder diffraction (NPD) measurements, performed simultaneously with QENS, did not indicated a change of the crystal structure at the phase transition (detected earlier by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) at TC(h)=252.9 K (on heating) and at TC(c)=226.5K (on cooling)). Temperature dependence of the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of νs(OH) band at ca. 3248 cm(-1) in the RS spectra indicated small discontinuity in the vicinity of phase transition temperature, what suggests that the observed phase transition may be associated with a change of the H2O reorientational dynamics. However, an activation energy value (Ea) for the reorientational motions of H2O ligands in both phases is nearly the same and equals to ca. 8 kJ mol(-1). The QENS peaks, registered for low temperature phase do not show any broadening. However, in the high temperature phase a small QENS broadening is clearly visible, what implies that the reorientational dynamics of H2O ligands undergoes a change at the phase transition. (1)H NMR line is a superposition of two powder Pake doublets, differentiated by a dipolar broadening, suggesting that there are two types of the water molecules in the crystal lattice of [Sr(H2O)6]Cl2 which are structurally not equivalent average distances between the interacting protons are: 1.39 and 1.18 Å. However, their reorientational dynamics is very similar (τc=3.3⋅10(-10) s). Activation energies for the reorientational motion of these both kinds of H2O ligands have nearly the same values in an experimental error limit: and equal to ca. 40 kJ mole(-1). The phase transition is not seen in the (1)H NMR spectra temperature dependencies. Infrared (IR), Raman (RS) and inelastic incoherent neutron scattering (IINS) spectra were calculated by the DFT method and quite a good agreement with the experimental data was obtained. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Inducing phase transitions of T-like BiFeO3 films by low-energy He implantation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herklotz, Andreas; Beekman, Christianne; Rus, Stefania Florina; Ivanov, Ilia; Balke, Nina; Ward, Thomas Zac

Ferroelectric phase transitions of BiFeO3 are found to be controllable through the application of single axis, out-of-plane strain. Low-energy He implantation has been deployed to induce out-of-plane strain in T-like BFO films, while the compressive in-plane strain due to the coherent growth on LaAlO3 substrates remains fixed. Our data shows that He implantation triggers a MC -MA - T phase sequence of the T polymorph that is identical to structural changes that are induced with increasing temperature. Mixed phases nanodomains phases are gradually suppressed and disappear above a certain He doping level. Our data shows that the ferroelectric and optical properties of BiFeO3 films critically depend on the He doping level. Thus, the results demonstrates that He implantation can be used as an intriguing approach to study lines in the rich phase space of BFO films that can't be accessed by simple heteroepitaxy. This effort was wholly supported by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES), Materials Sciences and Engineering Division, with user projects supported at ORNL's Center for Nanophase Materials Research (CNMS) which is also sponsored by DOE-BES.

X-ray spectra of supernova remnants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Szymkowiak, A. E.

1985-01-01

X-ray spectra were obtained from fields in three supernova remnants with the solid state spectrometer of the HEAO 2 satellite. These spectra, which contain lines from K-shell transitions of several abundant elements with atomic numbers between 10 and 22, were compared with various models, including some of spectra that would be produced by adiabatic phase remnants when the time-dependence of the ionization is considered.

A liquid-liquid transition can exist in monatomic transition metals with a positive melting slope

PubMed Central

Lee, Byeongchan; Lee, Geun Woo

2016-01-01

Liquid-liquid transitions under high pressure are found in many elemental materials, but the transitions are known to be associated with either sp-valent materials or f-valent rare-earth elements, in which the maximum or a negative slope in the melting line is readily suggestive of the transition. Here we find a liquid-liquid transition with a positive melting slope in transition metal Ti from structural, electronic, and thermodynamic studies using ab-initio molecular dynamics calculations, showing diffusion anomaly, but no density anomaly. The origin of the transition in liquid Ti is a pressure-induced increase of local structures containing very short bonds with directionality in electronic configurations. This behavior appears to be characteristic of the early transition metals. In contrast, the late transition metal liquid Ni does not show the L-L transition with pressure. This result suggests that the possibility of the L-L transition decreases from early to late transition metals as electronic structures of late transition metals barely have a Jahn-Teller effect and bond directionality. Our results generalize that a phase transition in disordered materials is found with any valence band regardless of the sign of the melting slope, but related to the symmetry of electronic structures of constituent elements. PMID:27762334

ASASSN-16fp (SN 2016coi): a transitional supernova between Type Ic and broad-lined Ic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Brajesh; Singh, A.; Srivastav, S.; Sahu, D. K.; Anupama, G. C.

2018-01-01

We present results based on a well-sampled optical (UBVRI) and ultraviolet (Swift/UVOT) imaging, and low-resolution optical spectroscopic follow-up observations of the nearby Type Ic supernova (SN) ASASSN-16fp (SN 2016coi). The SN was monitored during the photospheric phase (-10 to +33 d with respect to the B-band maximum light). The rise to maximum light and early post-maximum decline of the light curves are slow. The peak absolute magnitude (MV = -17.7 ± 0.2 mag) of ASASSN-16fp is comparable with broad-lined Ic SN 2002ap, SN 2012ap and transitional Ic SN 2004aw but considerably fainter than the gamma-ray burst/X-ray flash associated SNe (e.g. SN 1998bw, 2006aj). Similar to the light curve, the spectral evolution is also slow. ASASSN-16fp shows distinct photospheric phase spectral lines along with the C II features. The expansion velocity of the ejecta near maximum light reached ∼16 000 km s-1 and settled to ∼8000 km s-1, ∼1 month post-maximum. Analytical modelling of the quasi-bolometric light curve of ASASSN-16fp suggests that ∼0.1 M⊙ 56Ni mass was synthesized in the explosion, with a kinetic energy of 6.9^{+1.5}_{-1.3} × 1051 erg and total ejected mass of ∼4.5 ± 0.3 M⊙.

Coronal Structures in Cool Stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oliversen, Ronald (Technical Monitor); Dupree, Andrea K.

2005-01-01

We have extended our study of the structure of coronas in cool stars to very young stars still accreting from their surrounding disks. In addition we are pursing the connection between coronal X-rays and a powerful diagnostic line in the infrared, the He I 10830Angstrom transition of helium. Highlights of these are summarized below including publications during this reporting period and presentations. Spectroscopy of the infrared He I (lambda10830) line with KECK/NIRSPEC and IRTF/CSHELL and of the ultraviolet C III (lambda977) and O VI (lambda1032) emission with FUSE reveals that the classical T Tauri star TW Hydrae exhibits P Cygni profiles, line asymmetries, and absorption indicative of a continuous, fast (approximately 400 kilometers per second), hot (approximately 300,000 K) accelerating outflow with a mass loss rate approximately 10(exp -11)-10(exp -12) solar mass yr(sup -1) or larger. Spectra of T Tauri N appear consistent with such a wind. The source of the emission and outflow seems restricted to the stars themselves. Although the mass accretion rate is an order of magnitude less for TW Hya than for T Tau, the outflow reaches higher velocities at chromospheric temperatures in TW Hya. Winds from young stellar objects may be substantially hotter and faster than previously thought. The ultraviolet emission lines, when corrected for absorption are broad. Emission associated with the accretion flow and shock is likely to show turbulent broadening. We note that the UV line widths are significantly larger than the X-ray line widths. If the X-rays from TW Hya are generated at the accretion shock, the UV lines may not be directly associated with the shock. On the other hand, studies of X-ray emission in young star clusters, suggest that the strength of the X-ray emission is correlated with stellar rotation, thus casting doubt on an accretion origin for the X-rays. We are beginning to access the infrared spectral region where the He I 108308Angstroms transition occurs. This line is particularly useful as a diagnostic of coronal radiation since it is formed by recombination following photoionization of neutral helium by coronal X-rays. Because the lower level of the transition is metastable, infrared radiation from the stellar photosphere is absorbed which provides a diagnostic of atmospheric dynamics. This transition is useful both in young stars in the T Tauri phase and in active cool star binaries. We will investigate the influence of coronal x-rays on the strength of this transition.

Phase-field-crystal model for ordered crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alster, Eli; Elder, K. R.; Hoyt, Jeffrey J.; Voorhees, Peter W.

2017-02-01

We describe a general method to model multicomponent ordered crystals using the phase-field-crystal (PFC) formalism. As a test case, a generic B2 compound is investigated. We are able to produce a line of either first-order or second-order order-disorder phase transitions, features that have not been incorporated in existing PFC approaches. Further, it is found that the only elastic constant for B2 that depends on ordering is C11. This B2 model is then used to study antiphase boundaries (APBs). The APBs are shown to reproduce classical mean-field results. Dynamical simulations of ordering across small-angle grain boundaries predict that dislocation cores pin the evolution of APBs.

Quantitative EPMA of Nano-Phase Iron-Silicides in Apollo 16 Lunar Regolith

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopon, P.; Fournelle, J.; Valley, J. W.; Pinard, P. T.; Sobol, P.; Horn, W.; Spicuzza, M.; Llovet, X.; Richter, S.

2013-12-01

Until recently, quantitative EPMA of phases under a few microns in size has been extremely difficult. In order to achieve analytical volumes to analyze sub-micron features, accelerating voltages between 5 and 8 keV need to be used. At these voltages the normally used K X-ray transitions (of higher Z elements) are no longer excited, and we must rely of outer shell transitions (L and M). These outer shell transitions are difficult to use for quantitative EPMA because they are strongly affected by different bonding environments, the error associated with their mass attenuation coefficients (MAC), and their proximity to absorption edges. These problems are especially prevalent for the transition metals, because of the unfilled M5 electron shell where the Lα transition originates. Previous studies have tried to overcome these limitations by using standards that almost exactly matched their unknowns. This, however, is cumbersome and requires accurate knowledge of the composition of your sample beforehand, as well as an exorbitant number of well characterized standards. Using a 5 keV electron beam and utilizing non-standard X-ray transitions (Ll) for the transition metals, we are able to conduct accurate quantitative analyses of phases down to ~300nm. The Ll transition in the transition metals behaves more like a core-state transition, and unlike the Lα/β lines, is unaffected by bonding effects and does not lie near an absorption edge. This allows for quantitative analysis using standards do not have to exactly match the unknown. In our case pure metal standards were used for all elements except phosphorus. We present here data on iron-silicides in two Apollo 16 regolith grains. These plagioclase grains (A6-7 and A6-8) were collected between North and South Ray Craters, in the lunar highlands, and thus are associated with one or more large impact events. We report the presence of carbon, nickel, and phosphorus (in order of abundance) in these iron-silicide phases. Although carbon is an especially difficult measurement, (with contamination from the lab environment, sample, and vacuum system being a large problem) we found that the iron-silicide phases contain a few weight percent carbon. X-ray mapping shows carbon to be concentrated within the silicide blebs. We conducted sample reference (i.e. baseline) carbon measurements in standards mounted in the same block as the sample, to establish a contamination baseline then any carbon measured above this baseline was assumed to be real. This finding seems to indicate that while the iron-silicide phases formed in the reducing conditions of the lunar surface, these conditions were not low enough to form the phases on their own and needed the presence of carbon to reduce them down to the much lower reducing conditions were native silicon is stable. The source of the carbon and nickel found in the iron-silicides is most likely form an impactor, rather than from the lunar surface.

Tailoring Materials for Mottronics: Excess Oxygen Doping of a Prototypical Mott Insulator.

PubMed

Scheiderer, Philipp; Schmitt, Matthias; Gabel, Judith; Zapf, Michael; Stübinger, Martin; Schütz, Philipp; Dudy, Lenart; Schlueter, Christoph; Lee, Tien-Lin; Sing, Michael; Claessen, Ralph

2018-05-07

The Mott transistor is a paradigm for a new class of electronic devices-often referred to by the term Mottronics-which are based on charge correlations between the electrons. Since correlation-induced insulating phases of most oxide compounds are usually very robust, new methods have to be developed to push such materials right to the boundary to the metallic phase in order to enable the metal-insulator transition to be switched by electric gating. Here, it is demonstrated that thin films of the prototypical Mott insulator LaTiO 3 grown by pulsed laser deposition under oxygen atmosphere are readily tuned by excess oxygen doping across the line of the band-filling controlled Mott transition in the electronic phase diagram. The detected insulator to metal transition is characterized by a strong change in resistivity of several orders of magnitude. The use of suitable substrates and capping layers to inhibit oxygen diffusion facilitates full control of the oxygen content and renders the films stable against exposure to ambient conditions. These achievements represent a significant advancement in control and tuning of the electronic properties of LaTiO 3+ x thin films making it a promising channel material in future Mottronic devices. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Geometrical model for martensitic phase transitions: Understanding criticality and weak universality during microstructure growth.

PubMed

Torrents, Genís; Illa, Xavier; Vives, Eduard; Planes, Antoni

2017-01-01

A simple model for the growth of elongated domains (needle-like) during a martensitic phase transition is presented. The model is purely geometric and the only interactions are due to the sequentiality of the kinetic problem and to the excluded volume, since domains cannot retransform back to the original phase. Despite this very simple interaction, numerical simulations show that the final observed microstructure can be described as being a consequence of dipolar-like interactions. The model is analytically solved in 2D for the case in which two symmetry related domains can grow in the horizontal and vertical directions. It is remarkable that the solution is analytic both for a finite system of size L×L and in the thermodynamic limit L→∞, where the elongated domains become lines. Results prove the existence of criticality, i.e., that the domain sizes observed in the final microstructure show a power-law distribution characterized by a critical exponent. The exponent, nevertheless, depends on the relative probabilities of the different equivalent variants. The results provide a plausible explanation of the weak universality of the critical exponents measured during martensitic transformations in metallic alloys. Experimental exponents show a monotonous dependence with the number of equivalent variants that grow during the transition.

Engaging Frontline Staff in Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection Prevention Practice in the Wake of Superstorm Sandy.

PubMed

Rosenberg, Rebecca E; Devins, Lea; Geraghty, Gail; Bock, Steven; Dugan, Christina A; Transou, Marjorie; Phillips, Michael; Lighter-Fisher, Jennifer

2015-10-01

Central venous catheters are crucial devices in the care of hospitalized children, both in and out of critical care units, but the concomitant risk of central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) affects 15,000 Americans annually. In 2012, CLABSI rates varied among units from 6.8/1,000 to 1.0/1,000 in a 109-bed children's service within NYU Langone Medical Center (NYULMC; New York City), a 1,069-bed tertiary care academic medical center. In response to variation in central line-related practices and infection prevention rates, a CLABSI Prevention Core Team began an effort to standardize central venous catheter (CVC) care across all pediatric units (ICU and non-ICU). Momentum in this quality improvement (QI) work was interrupted when Superstorm Sandy shuttered the flagship hospital, but the relatively decreased clinical load provided a "downtime" opportunity to address CLABSI prevention. The first phase of the collaborative effort, Booster 1, Planning/Initial Phase: Development of a Pediatric Central Venous Catheter Working Group, was followed by Booster 2, Maintenance/Sustaining Phase: Transitioning for Sustainability and Adopting Model for Improvement. Data in the subsequent 21 months after the temporary closure of the facility (January 2013-September 2014) showed an increase in maintenance bundle reliability. The inpatient CLABSI rate for patients<18 years decreased from an annual rate of 2.7/1,000 line days (2012) to 0.6/1,000 line days (2013) to 0.5/1,000 line days as of August 2014. There was a decrease in pediatric CLABSI events and no significant change in line days. Key elements contributing to initial success with evolving QI capacity and resources were likely multi-factorial, including staff and leadership engagement, culture change, consistent guidelines, and accountability by individuals and by our multidisciplinary core team.

Effect of Wind Velocity on Flame Spread in Microgravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prasad, Kuldeep; Olson, Sandra L.; Nakamura, Yuji; Fujita, Osamu; Nishizawa, Katsuhiro; Ito, Kenichi; Kashiwagi, Takashi; Simons, Stephen N. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

A three-dimensional, time-dependent model is developed describing ignition and subsequent transition to flame spread over a thermally thin cellulosic sheet heated by external radiation in a microgravity environment. A low Mach number approximation to the Navier Stokes equations with global reaction rate equations describing combustion in the gas phase and the condensed phase is numerically solved. The effects of a slow external wind (1-20 cm/s) on flame transition are studied in an atmosphere of 35% oxygen concentration. The ignition is initiated at the center part of the sample by generating a line-shape flame along the width of the sample. The calculated results are compared with data obtained in the 10s drop tower. Numerical results exhibit flame quenching at a wind speed of 1.0 cm/s, two localized flames propagating upstream along the sample edges at 1.5 cm/s, a single line-shape flame front at 5.0 cm/s, three flames structure observed at 10.0 cm/s (consisting of a single line-shape flame propagating upstream and two localized flames propagating downstream along sample edges) and followed by two line-shape flames (one propagating upstream and another propagating downstream) at 20.0 cm/s. These observations qualitatively compare with experimental data. Three-dimensional visualization of the observed flame complex, fuel concentration contours, oxygen and reaction rate isosurfaces, convective and diffusive mass flux are used to obtain a detailed understanding of the controlling mechanism, Physical arguments based on lateral diffusive flux of oxygen, fuel depletion, oxygen shadow of the flame and heat release rate are constructed to explain the various observed flame shapes.

Multicanonical hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm: Boosting simulations of compact QED

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnold, G.; Schilling, K.; Lippert, Th.

1999-03-01

We demonstrate that substantial progress can be achieved in the study of the phase structure of four-dimensional compact QED by a joint use of hybrid Monte Carlo and multicanonical algorithms through an efficient parallel implementation. This is borne out by the observation of considerable speedup of tunnelling between the metastable states, close to the phase transition, on the Wilson line. We estimate that the creation of adequate samples (with order 100 flip-flops) becomes a matter of half a year's run time at 2 Gflops sustained performance for lattices of size up to 244.

Discovery of Short-Timescale Oscillations in the Transition Region by CLASP

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kubo, M.; Katsukawa, Y.; Kano, R.; Winebarger, A.; Kobayashi, K.; Ishikawa, R.; Narukage, N.; Bando, T.; Suematsu, Y.; Giono, G.;

Assessment of toxic potential of mycotoxin contaminated bread during in vitro human digestion on human B lymphoid cell line.

PubMed

Monaci, Linda; Garbetta, Antonella; Angelis, Elisabetta De; Visconti, Angelo; Minervini, Fiorenza

2015-01-05

Ingestion of food is considered a major route of exposure to many contaminants including mycotoxins. The amount of mycotoxin resisting to the digestion process and potentially absorbable by the systemic circulation is only a smaller part of that ingested. In vitro digestion models turn useful for evaluating mycotoxins bioaccessibility during the intestinal transit and can be intended as a valuable tool for the assessment of mycotoxin bioavailability in food. In this paper we describe a study aimed at investigating toxicity of in vitro gastro-duodenal digests of mycotoxin contaminated bread collected along the digestion time-course. Toxicity tests were carried out on a sensitive RPMI lymphoid B cell line chosen as the most suitable lineage to assess toxicity retained by gastro-duodenal digests. In parallel, a chemical quantification of T-2 and HT-2 toxins contaminating the bread digests was accomplished during the gastric and duodenal transit. The digestive fluids undergoing chemical and toxicological analysis were collected at the beginning and end of gastric phase, and after completion of the duodenal phase. Results proved that a correlation between HT-2 content and toxicity did exist although a more persistent toxic activity was displayed in the later stage of the duodenal phase. This persistent toxicity might be explained by the co-occurrence of unknown HT-2-related conjugates or metabolites formed during digestion. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Online Phase Detection Using Wearable Sensors for Walking with a Robotic Prosthesis

PubMed Central

Goršič, Maja; Kamnik, Roman; Ambrožič, Luka; Vitiello, Nicola; Lefeber, Dirk; Pasquini, Guido; Munih, Marko

2014-01-01

This paper presents a gait phase detection algorithm for providing feedback in walking with a robotic prosthesis. The algorithm utilizes the output signals of a wearable wireless sensory system incorporating sensorized shoe insoles and inertial measurement units attached to body segments. The principle of detecting transitions between gait phases is based on heuristic threshold rules, dividing a steady-state walking stride into four phases. For the evaluation of the algorithm, experiments with three amputees, walking with the robotic prosthesis and wearable sensors, were performed. Results show a high rate of successful detection for all four phases (the average success rate across all subjects >90%). A comparison of the proposed method to an off-line trained algorithm using hidden Markov models reveals a similar performance achieved without the need for learning dataset acquisition and previous model training. PMID:24521944

SunLine Transit Agency Advanced Technology Fuel Cell Bus Evaluation: Fourth Results Report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-01-01

SunLine Transit Agency provides public transit services to the Coachella Valley area of California. SunLine has demonstrated hydrogen and fuel cell bus technologies for more than 10 years. In May 2010, SunLine began demonstrating the advanced technol...

On the definition of a Monte Carlo model for binary crystal growth.

PubMed

Los, J H; van Enckevort, W J P; Meekes, H; Vlieg, E

2007-02-01

We show that consistency of the transition probabilities in a lattice Monte Carlo (MC) model for binary crystal growth with the thermodynamic properties of a system does not guarantee the MC simulations near equilibrium to be in agreement with the thermodynamic equilibrium phase diagram for that system. The deviations remain small for systems with small bond energies, but they can increase significantly for systems with large melting entropy, typical for molecular systems. These deviations are attributed to the surface kinetics, which is responsible for a metastable zone below the liquidus line where no growth occurs, even in the absence of a 2D nucleation barrier. Here we propose an extension of the MC model that introduces a freedom of choice in the transition probabilities while staying within the thermodynamic constraints. This freedom can be used to eliminate the discrepancy between the MC simulations and the thermodynamic equilibrium phase diagram. Agreement is achieved for that choice of the transition probabilities yielding the fastest decrease of the free energy (i.e., largest growth rate) of the system at a temperature slightly below the equilibrium temperature. An analytical model is developed, which reproduces quite well the MC results, enabling a straightforward determination of the optimal set of transition probabilities. Application of both the MC and analytical model to conditions well away from equilibrium, giving rise to kinetic phase diagrams, shows that the effect of kinetics on segregation is even stronger than that predicted by previous models.

Noise Assessment of the Port Authority Transit Corporation Lindenwold Rail Transit Line

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1978-10-01

The report describes the noise climate on and near the Port Authority Transit Corporation (PATCO) Lindenwold High Speed Line. The PATCO urban rail transit line has approximately 14.2 miles of two-way revenue track (of which about four miles are in su...

A rotating, expanding disk in the Wolf-Rayet star EZ Canis Majoris?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schulte-Ladbeck, R. E.; Nordsieck, K. H.; Nook, M. A.; Magalhaes, A. M.; Taylor, M.

1990-01-01

The discovery of linear polarization changes across the extended wings of He II lines, mainly the strong 4-3 transition at 4686 A, in the WN5 star EZ CMa, is reported. When the polarization across the line profiles is plotted in the Stokes parameters plane, it traces loops clockwise from the blue wing through line center to the red, rather than straight lines. Such polarization loops are reminiscent of what is observed in the Balmer lines of Be stars. The continuum polarization in EZ CMa can be understood by an axisymmetric, electron-scattering envelope, with the decrease in polarization in He II being caused by an increase in absorptive opacity in the lines and dilution by unpolarized line emission, while the variations in position angle are due to the Doppler-shifted absorptive opacity and/or scattered line photons. As the sense of rotation in the loops is also independent of phase of this alleged Wolf-Rayet + compact binary, the polarized line profiles are the signature of a rotating, expanding wind geometry around a single star.

Analytic derivation of an approximate SU(3) symmetry inside the symmetry triangle of the interacting boson approximation model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bonatsos, Dennis; Karampagia, S.; Casten, R. F.

2011-05-15

Using a contraction of the SU(3) algebra to the algebra of the rigid rotator in the large-boson-number limit of the interacting boson approximation (IBA) model, a line is found inside the symmetry triangle of the IBA, along which the SU(3) symmetry is preserved. The line extends from the SU(3) vertex to near the critical line of the first-order shape/phase transition separating the spherical and prolate deformed phases, and it lies within the Alhassid-Whelan arc of regularity, the unique valley of regularity connecting the SU(3) and U(5) vertices in the midst of chaotic regions. In addition to providing an explanation formore » the existence of the arc of regularity, the present line represents an example of an analytically determined approximate symmetry in the interior of the symmetry triangle of the IBA. The method is applicable to algebraic models possessing subalgebras amenable to contraction. This condition is equivalent to algebras in which the equilibrium ground state and its rotational band become energetically isolated from intrinsic excitations, as typified by deformed solutions to the IBA for large numbers of valence nucleons.« less

Liquid gallium-lead mixture phase diagram, surface tension near the critical mixing point, and prewetting transition.

PubMed

Osman, S M; Grosdidier, B; Ali, I; Abdellah, A Ben

2013-06-01

Quite recently, we reported a semianalytical equation of state (EOS) for the Ga-Pb alloy [Phys. Rev. B 78, 024205 (2008)], which was based on the first-order perturbation theory of fluid mixtures, within the simplified random phase approximation, in conjunction with the Grosdidier et al. model pair potentials for Ga-Ga and Pb-Pb with a suitable nonadditive pair potential between Ga-Pb unlike pairs. In the present work, we employ the present EOS to calculate the Ga-Pb phase diagram along the immiscibility gap region. The accuracy of the EOS is tested by consulting the empirical binodal curve. A statistical-mechanical-based theory for the surface tension is employed to obtain an analytical expression for the alloy surface tension. We calculated the surface tension along the bimodal curve and at extreme conditions of temperatures and pressures. The surface tension exhibits reasonably well the prewetting transition of Pb atoms at the surface of the Ga-rich liquid alloy and could qualitatively explain the prewetting phenomena occurring in the Ga-rich side of the phase diagram. The predicted prewetting line and wetting temperature qualitatively agree with the empirical measurements.

Near infrared study of water-benzene mixtures at high temperatures and pressures.

PubMed

Jin, Yusuke; Ikawa, Shun-Ichi

2004-08-08

Near-infrared absorption of water-benzene mixtures has been measured at temperatures and pressures in the ranges of 473-673 K and 100-400 bar, respectively. Concentrations of water and benzene in the water-rich phase of the mixtures were obtained from the integrated absorption intensities of the OH stretching overtone transition of water and the CH stretching overtone transition of benzene, respectively. Using these concentrations, the densities of the water-rich phase were estimated and compared with the average densities before mixing, which were calculated from literature densities of neat water and neat benzene. It is found that anomalously large volume expansion on the mixing occurs in the region enclosed by an extended line of the three-phase equilibrium curve and the one-phase critical curve of the mixtures, and the gas-liquid equilibrium curve of water. Furthermore, magnitude of the relative volume change increases with decreasing molar fraction of benzene in the present experimental range. It is suggested that dissolving a small amount of benzene in water induces a change in the fluid density from a liquidlike condition to a gaslike condition in the vicinity of the critical region.

ASSIGNMENT OF 5069 A DIFFUSE INTERSTELLAR BAND TO HC{sub 4}H{sup +}: DISAGREEMENT WITH LABORATORY ABSORPTION BAND

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Maier, J. P.; Chakrabarty, S.; Mazzotti, F. J.

2011-03-10

Krelowski et al. have reported a weak, diffuse interstellar band (DIB) at 5069 A which appears to match in both mid-wavelength and width the A {sup 2}{Pi}{sub u}-X {sup 2}{Pi}{sub g} gas-phase origin absorption band of HC{sub 4}H{sup +}. Here, we present laboratory rotational profiles at low temperatures which are then compared with the 5069 A DIB using {approx}0.1 and 0.3 A line widths based on a realistic line-of-sight interstellar velocity dispersion. Neither the band shape nor the wavelength of the maximum absorption match, which makes the association of the 5069 A DIB with HC{sub 4}H{sup +} unlikely. The magneticmore » dipole transition X {sup 2}{Pi}{sub g} {Omega} = 1/2{yields}X {sup 2}{Pi}{sub g} {Omega} = 3/2 within the ground electronic state which competes with collisional excitation is also considered. In addition, we present the laboratory gas-phase spectrum of the A {sup 2}{Pi}{sub u}-X {sup 2}{Pi}{sub g} transition of HC{sub 4}H{sup +} measured at 25 K in an ion trap and identify further absorption bands at shorter wavelengths for comparison with future DIB data.« less

SunLine Transit Agency Advanced Technology Fuel Cell Bus Evaluation : Third Results Report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-05-01

SunLine Transit Agency provides public transit services to the Coachella Valley area of California. SunLine has demonstrated hydrogen and fuel cell bus technologies for more than 10 years. This report describes operations at SunLine for a prototype f...

Interplay of rare-earth and transition-metal subsystems in C u3Yb (SeO3) 2O2Cl

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markina, M. M.; Zakharov, K. V.; Ovchenkov, E. A.; Berdonosov, P. S.; Dolgikh, V. A.; Kuznetsova, E. S.; Olenev, A. V.; Klimin, S. A.; Kashchenko, M. A.; Budkin, I. V.; Yatsyk, I. V.; Demidov, A. A.; Zvereva, E. A.; Vasiliev, A. N.

2017-10-01

We present the synthesis and the experimental and theoretical study of the new member of the francisite family, C u3Yb (SeO3) 2O2Cl . The compound reaches an antiferromagnetic order at TN=36.7 K and experiences first-order spin-reorientation transition to weakly ferromagnetic phase at TR=8.7 K evidenced in specific heat Cp and magnetic susceptibility χ measurements. Distinctly different magnetization loops in T

Pressure-Induced Phase Transitions in GeTe-Rich Ge-Sb-Te Alloys across the Rhombohedral-to-Cubic Transitions.

PubMed

Krbal, Milos; Bartak, Jaroslav; Kolar, Jakub; Prytuliak, Anastasiia; Kolobov, Alexander V; Fons, Paul; Bezacier, Lucile; Hanfland, Michael; Tominaga, Junji

2017-07-17

We demonstrate that pressure-induced amorphization in Ge-Sb-Te alloys across the ferroelectric-paraelectric transition can be represented as a mixture of coherently distorted rhombohedral Ge 8 Sb 2 Te 11 and randomly distorted cubic Ge 4 Sb 2 Te 7 and high-temperature Ge 8 Sb 2 Te 11 phases. While coherent distortion in Ge 8 Sb 2 Te 11 does not prevent the crystalline state from collapsing into its amorphous counterpart in a similar manner to pure GeTe, the pressure-amorphized Ge 8 Sb 2 Te 11 phase begins to revert to the crystalline cubic phase at ∼9 GPa in contrast to Ge 4 Sb 2 Te 7 , which remains amorphous under ambient conditions when gradually decompressed from 40 GPa. Moreover, experimentally, it was observed that pressure-induced amorphization in Ge 8 Sb 2 Te 11 is a temperature-dependent process. Ge 8 Sb 2 Te 11 transforms into the amorphous phase at ∼27.5 and 25.2 GPa at room temperature and 408 K, respectively, and completely amorphizes at 32 GPa at 408 K, while some crystalline texture could be seen until 38 GPa (the last measurement point) at room temperature. To understand the origins of the temperature dependence of the pressure-induced amorphization process, density functional theory calculations were performed for compositions along the (GeTe) x - (Sb 2 Te 3 ) 1-x tie line under large hydrostatic pressures. The calculated results agreed well with the experimental data.

Shining a light on galactic outflows: photoionized outflows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chisholm, John; Tremonti, Christy A.; Leitherer, Claus; Chen, Yanmei; Wofford, Aida

2016-04-01

We study the ionization structure of galactic outflows in 37 nearby, star-forming galaxies with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope. We use the O I, Si II, Si III, and Si IV ultraviolet absorption lines to characterize the different ionization states of outflowing gas. We measure the equivalent widths, line widths, and outflow velocities of the four transitions, and find shallow scaling relations between them and galactic stellar mass and star formation rate. Regardless of the ionization potential, lines of similar strength have similar velocities and line widths, indicating that the four transitions can be modelled as a comoving phase. The Si equivalent width ratios (e.g. Si IV/Si II) have low dispersion, and little variation with stellar mass; while ratios with O I and Si vary by a factor of 2 for a given stellar mass. Photoionization models reproduce these equivalent width ratios, while shock models under predict the relative amount of high ionization gas. The photoionization models constrain the ionization parameter (U) between -2.25 < log (U) < -1.5, and require that the outflow metallicities are greater than 0.5 Z⊙. We derive ionization fractions for the transitions, and show that the range of ionization parameters and stellar metallicities leads to a factor of 1.15-10 variation in the ionization fractions. Historically, mass outflow rates are calculated by converting a column density measurement from a single metal ion into a total hydrogen column density using an ionization fraction, thus mass outflow rates are sensitive to the assumed ionization structure of the outflow.

Kinetic Monte Carlo Simulations of Rod Eutectics and the Surface Roughening Transition in Binary Alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bentz, Daniel N.; Betush, William; Jackson, Kenneth A.

2003-01-01

In this paper we report on two related topics: Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of the steady state growth of rod eutectics from the melt, and a study of the surface roughness of binary alloys. We have implemented a three dimensional kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) simulation with diffusion by pair exchange only in the liquid phase. Entropies of fusion are first chosen to fit the surface roughness of the pure materials, and the bond energies are derived from the equilibrium phase diagram, by treating the solid and liquid as regular and ideal solutions respectively. A simple cubic lattice oriented in the {100} direction is used. Growth of the rods is initiated from columns of pure B material embedded in an A matrix, arranged in a close packed array with semi-periodic boundary conditions. The simulation cells typically have dimensions of 50 by 87 by 200 unit cells. Steady state growth is compliant with the Jackson-Hunt model. In the kMC simulations, using the spin-one Ising model, growth of each phase is faceted or nonfaceted phases depending on the entropy of fusion. There have been many studies of the surface roughening transition in single component systems, but none for binary alloy systems. The location of the surface roughening transition for the phases of a eutectic alloy determines whether the eutectic morphology will be regular or irregular. We have conducted a study of surface roughness on the spin-one Ising Model with diffusion using kMC. The surface roughness was found to scale with the melting temperature of the alloy as given by the liquidus line on the equilibrium phase diagram. The density of missing lateral bonds at the surface was used as a measure of surface roughness.

RE-VISIT OF HST FUV OBSERVATIONS OF THE HOT-JUPITER SYSTEM HD 209458: NO Si iii DETECTION AND THE NEED FOR COS TRANSIT OBSERVATIONS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ballester, G. E.; Ben-Jaffel, L., E-mail: gilda@lpl.arizona.edu, E-mail: bjaffel@iap.fr

2015-05-10

The discovery of O i atoms and C ii ions in the upper atmosphere of HD 209458b, made with the Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) using the G140L grating, showed that these heavy species fill an area comparable to the planet’s Roche lobe. The derived ∼10% transit absorption depths require super-thermal processes and/or supersolar abundances. From subsequent Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) observations, C ii absorption was reported with tentative velocity signatures, and absorption by Si iii ions was also claimed in disagreement with a negative STIS G140L detection. Here, we revisit the COS data set showing a severe limitationmore » in the published results from having contrasted the in-transit spectrum against a stellar spectrum averaged from separate observations, at planetary phases 0.27, 0.72, and 0.49. We find variable stellar Si iii and C ii emissions that were significantly depressed not only during transit but also at phase 0.27 compared to phases 0.72 and 0.49. Their respective off-transit 7.5% and 3.1% flux variations are large compared to their reported 8.2 ± 1.4% and 7.8 ± 1.3% transit absorptions. Significant variations also appear in the stellar line shapes, questioning reported velocity signatures. We furthermore present archive STIS G140M transit data consistent with no Si iii absorption, with a negative result of 1.7 ± 18.7 including ∼15% variability. Silicon may still be present at lower ionization states, in parallel with the recent detection of extended magnesium, as Mg i atoms. In this frame, the firm detection of O i and C ii implying solar or supersolar abundances contradicts the recent inference of potential 20–125× subsolar metallicity for HD 209458b.« less

Quantum criticality of a spin-1 XY model with easy-plane single-ion anisotropy via a two-time Green function approach avoiding the Anderson-Callen decoupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mercaldo, M. T.; Rabuffo, I.; De Cesare, L.; Caramico D'Auria, A.

2016-04-01

In this work we study the quantum phase transition, the phase diagram and the quantum criticality induced by the easy-plane single-ion anisotropy in a d-dimensional quantum spin-1 XY model in absence of an external longitudinal magnetic field. We employ the two-time Green function method by avoiding the Anderson-Callen decoupling of spin operators at the same sites which is of doubtful accuracy. Following the original Devlin procedure we treat exactly the higher order single-site anisotropy Green functions and use Tyablikov-like decouplings for the exchange higher order ones. The related self-consistent equations appear suitable for an analysis of the thermodynamic properties at and around second order phase transition points. Remarkably, the equivalence between the microscopic spin model and the continuous O(2) -vector model with transverse-Ising model (TIM)-like dynamics, characterized by a dynamic critical exponent z=1, emerges at low temperatures close to the quantum critical point with the single-ion anisotropy parameter D as the non-thermal control parameter. The zero-temperature critic anisotropy parameter Dc is obtained for dimensionalities d > 1 as a function of the microscopic exchange coupling parameter and the related numerical data for different lattices are found to be in reasonable agreement with those obtained by means of alternative analytical and numerical methods. For d > 2, and in particular for d=3, we determine the finite-temperature critical line ending in the quantum critical point and the related TIM-like shift exponent, consistently with recent renormalization group predictions. The main crossover lines between different asymptotic regimes around the quantum critical point are also estimated providing a global phase diagram and a quantum criticality very similar to the conventional ones.

Heat capacity anomaly in a self-aggregating system: Triblock copolymer 17R4 in water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dumancas, Lorenzo V.; Simpson, David E.; Jacobs, D. T.

2015-05-01

The reverse Pluronic, triblock copolymer 17R4 is formed from poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO): PPO14 - PEO24 - PPO14, where the number of monomers in each block is denoted by the subscripts. In water, 17R4 has a micellization line marking the transition from a unimer network to self-aggregated spherical micelles which is quite near a cloud point curve above which the system separates into copolymer-rich and copolymer-poor liquid phases. The phase separation has an Ising-like, lower consolute critical point with a well-determined critical temperature and composition. We have measured the heat capacity as a function of temperature using an adiabatic calorimeter for three compositions: (1) the critical composition where the anomaly at the critical point is analyzed, (2) a composition much less than the critical composition with a much smaller spike when the cloud point curve is crossed, and (3) a composition near where the micellization line intersects the cloud point curve that only shows micellization. For the critical composition, the heat capacity anomaly very near the critical point is observed for the first time in a Pluronic/water system and is described well as a second-order phase transition resulting from the copolymer-water interaction. For all compositions, the onset of micellization is clear, but the formation of micelles occurs over a broad range of temperatures and never becomes complete because micelles form differently in each phase above the cloud point curve. The integrated heat capacity gives an enthalpy that is smaller than the standard state enthalpy of micellization given by a van't Hoff plot, a typical result for Pluronic systems.

Pressure-temperature phase diagrams of CaK ( Fe 1 – x Ni x ) 4 As 4 superconductors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xiang, Li; Meier, William R.; Xu, Mingyu

Here, the pressure dependence of the magnetic and superconducting transitions and that of the superconducting upper critical field are reported for CaK(Fe 1–xNi x) 4As 4, the first example of an Fe-based superconductor with spin-vortex-crystal-type magnetic ordering. Resistance measurements were performed on single crystals with two substitution levels (x = 0.033,0.050) under hydrostatic pressures up to 5.12 GPa and in magnetic fields up to 9 T. Our results show that, for both compositions, magnetic transition temperatures T N are suppressed upon applying pressure; the superconducting transition temperatures T c are suppressed by pressure as well, except for x = 0.050more » in the pressure region where T N and T c cross. Furthermore, the pressure associated with the crossing of the T N and T c lines also coincides with a minimum in the normalized slope of the superconducting upper critical field, consistent with a likely Fermi-surface reconstruction associated with the loss of magnetic ordering. Lastly, at p ~ 4 GPa, both Ni-substituted CaK(Fe 1–xNi x) 4As 4 samples likely go through a half-collapsed-tetragonal phase transition, similar to the parent compound CaKFe 4As 4.« less

Pressure-temperature phase diagrams of CaK ( Fe 1 – x Ni x ) 4 As 4 superconductors

DOE PAGES

Xiang, Li; Meier, William R.; Xu, Mingyu; ...

2018-05-22

Here, the pressure dependence of the magnetic and superconducting transitions and that of the superconducting upper critical field are reported for CaK(Fe 1–xNi x) 4As 4, the first example of an Fe-based superconductor with spin-vortex-crystal-type magnetic ordering. Resistance measurements were performed on single crystals with two substitution levels (x = 0.033,0.050) under hydrostatic pressures up to 5.12 GPa and in magnetic fields up to 9 T. Our results show that, for both compositions, magnetic transition temperatures T N are suppressed upon applying pressure; the superconducting transition temperatures T c are suppressed by pressure as well, except for x = 0.050more » in the pressure region where T N and T c cross. Furthermore, the pressure associated with the crossing of the T N and T c lines also coincides with a minimum in the normalized slope of the superconducting upper critical field, consistent with a likely Fermi-surface reconstruction associated with the loss of magnetic ordering. Lastly, at p ~ 4 GPa, both Ni-substituted CaK(Fe 1–xNi x) 4As 4 samples likely go through a half-collapsed-tetragonal phase transition, similar to the parent compound CaKFe 4As 4.« less

Phase transformations during the growth of paracetamol crystals from the vapor phase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belyaev, A. P.; Rubets, V. P.; Antipov, V. V.; Bordei, N. S.

2014-07-01

Phase transformations during the growth of paracetamol crystals from the vapor phase are studied by differential scanning calorimetry. It is found that the vapor-crystal phase transition is actually a superposition of two phase transitions: a first-order phase transition with variable density and a second-order phase transition with variable ordering. The latter, being a diffuse phase transition, results in the formation of a new, "pretransition," phase irreversibly spent in the course of the transition, which ends in the appearance of orthorhombic crystals. X-ray diffraction data and micrograph are presented.

Self-duality and phase structure of the 4D random-plaquette Z2 gauge model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arakawa, Gaku; Ichinose, Ikuo; Matsui, Tetsuo; Takeda, Koujin

2005-03-01

In the present paper, we shall study the 4-dimensional Z lattice gauge model with a random gauge coupling; the random-plaquette gauge model (RPGM). The random gauge coupling at each plaquette takes the value J with the probability 1-p and - J with p. This model exhibits a confinement-Higgs phase transition. We numerically obtain a phase boundary curve in the (p-T)-plane where T is the "temperature" measured in unit of J/k. This model plays an important role in estimating the accuracy threshold of a quantum memory of a toric code. In this paper, we are mainly interested in its "self-duality" aspect, and the relationship with the random-bond Ising model (RBIM) in 2-dimensions. The "self-duality" argument can be applied both for RPGM and RBIM, giving the same duality equations, hence predicting the same phase boundary. The phase boundary curve obtained by our numerical simulation almost coincides with this predicted phase boundary at the high-temperature region. The phase transition is of first order for relatively small values of p<0.08, but becomes of second order for larger p. The value of p at the intersection of the phase boundary curve and the Nishimori line is regarded as the accuracy threshold of errors in a toric quantum memory. It is estimated as p=0.110±0.002, which is very close to the value conjectured by Takeda and Nishimori through the "self-duality" argument.

On the Detection of Non-transiting Hot Jupiters in Multiple-planet Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Millholland, Sarah; Wang, Songhu; Laughlin, Gregory

2016-05-01

We outline a photometric method for detecting the presence of a non-transiting short-period giant planet in a planetary system harboring one or more longer-period transiting planets. Within a prospective system of the type that we consider, a hot Jupiter on an interior orbit inclined to the line of sight signals its presence through approximately sinusoidal full-phase photometric variations in the stellar light curve, correlated with astrometrically induced transit timing variations for exterior transiting planets. Systems containing a hot Jupiter along with a low-mass outer planet or planets on inclined orbits are a predicted hallmark of in situ accretion for hot Jupiters, and their presence can thus be used to test planetary formation theories. We outline the prospects for detecting non-transiting hot Jupiters using photometric data from typical Kepler objects of interest (KOIs). As a demonstration of the technique, we perform a brief assessment of Kepler candidates and identify a potential non-transiting hot Jupiter in the KOI-1822 system. Candidate non-transiting hot Jupiters can be readily confirmed with a small number of Doppler velocity observations, even for stars with V ≳ 14.

Restoring canonical partition functions from imaginary chemical potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bornyakov, V. G.; Boyda, D.; Goy, V.; Molochkov, A.; Nakamura, A.; Nikolaev, A.; Zakharov, V. I.

2018-03-01

Using GPGPU techniques and multi-precision calculation we developed the code to study QCD phase transition line in the canonical approach. The canonical approach is a powerful tool to investigate sign problem in Lattice QCD. The central part of the canonical approach is the fugacity expansion of the grand canonical partition functions. Canonical partition functions Zn(T) are coefficients of this expansion. Using various methods we study properties of Zn(T). At the last step we perform cubic spline for temperature dependence of Zn(T) at fixed n and compute baryon number susceptibility χB/T2 as function of temperature. After that we compute numerically ∂χ/∂T and restore crossover line in QCD phase diagram. We use improved Wilson fermions and Iwasaki gauge action on the 163 × 4 lattice with mπ/mρ = 0.8 as a sandbox to check the canonical approach. In this framework we obtain coefficient in parametrization of crossover line Tc(µ2B) = Tc(C-ĸµ2B/T2c) with ĸ = -0.0453 ± 0.0099.

Phase-locking transition in a chirped superconducting Josephson resonator.

PubMed

Naaman, O; Aumentado, J; Friedland, L; Wurtele, J S; Siddiqi, I

2008-09-12

We observe a sharp threshold for dynamic phase locking in a high-Q transmission line resonator embedded with a Josephson tunnel junction, and driven with a purely ac, chirped microwave signal. When the drive amplitude is below a critical value, which depends on the chirp rate and is sensitive to the junction critical current I0, the resonator is only excited near its linear resonance frequency. For a larger amplitude, the resonator phase locks to the chirped drive and its amplitude grows until a deterministic maximum is reached. Near threshold, the oscillator evolves smoothly in one of two diverging trajectories, providing a way to discriminate small changes in I0 with a nonswitching detector, with potential applications in quantum state measurement.

REVEALING THE ASYMMETRY OF THE WIND OF THE VARIABLE WOLF-RAYET STAR WR1 (HD 4004) THROUGH SPECTROPOLARIZATION

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

St-Louis, N., E-mail: stlouis@astro.umontreal.ca

In this paper, high quality spectropolarimetric observations of the Wolf-Rayet (WR) star WR1 (HD 4004) obtained with ESPaDOnS at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope are presented. All major emission lines present in the spectrum show depolarization in the relative Stokes parameters Q/I and U/I. From the behavior of the amount of line depolarization as a function of line strength, the intrinsic continuum light polarization of WR1 is estimated to be P/I = 0.443% ± 0.028% with an angle of θ = –26.°2. Although such a level of polarization could in principle be caused by a wind flattened by fast rotation, the scenariomore » in which it is a consequence of the presence of corotating interaction regions (CIRs) in the wind is preferred. This is supported by previous photometric and spectroscopic observations showing periodic variations with a period of 16.9 days. This is now the third WR star thought to exhibit CIRs in its wind that is found to have line depolarization. Previous authors have found a strong correlation between line depolarization and the presence of an ejected nebula, which they interpret as a sign that the star has relatively recently reached the WR phase since the nebula are thought to dissipate very fast. In cases where the presence of CIRs in the wind is favored to explain the depolarization across spectral lines, the above-mentioned correlation may indicate that those massive stars have only very recently transited from the previous evolutionary phase to the WR phase.« less

Dynamic evolution of recurrent mass ejections observed in H-alpha and C IV lines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmieder, B.; Mein, P.; Martres, M. J.; Tandberg-Hanssen, E.

1984-01-01

The mass ejections of 1 September, 1980 are studied from observations obtained with the MSDP spectrograph and with the Ultraviolet Spectrometer and Polarimeter aboard the Solar Maximum Mission satellite. The analysis is focused on observations in the chromospheric H-alpha line and the transition region C IV 1548 A line. It is noted that cold and hot material had the same projection, although the upward C IV velocity structure was more extended than the H-alpha one. It is shown that the observed contrast of the H-alpha absorbing structure can be interpreted in terms of a dynamic cloud model overlying the chromosphere. Radial velocities of 25-30 km/s and -40 km/s are estimated for the first and second phases of ejection, respectively.

Research to Operations: The Critical Transition

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fogarty, Jennifer A.

2009-01-01

Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD) specializes in transitioning technology and knowledge to medical operations. This activity encompasses funding a spectrum of research and technology efforts, such as understanding fundamental biological mechanisms altered by microgravity and executing technology watches for state of the art diagnostic imaging equipment. This broad spectrum approach to fulfilling the need to protect crewmember health and performance during long and short duration missions to the International Space Station, moon and Mars is made possible by having a line of site between research and operations. Currently, SLSD's line of site is articulated in a transition to medical practice (TMP) process. This process is designed to shepherd information and knowledge gained through fundamental and mechanistic research toward the development of an operational solution such as a pre-flight selection criteria; an in-flight countermeasure, monitoring capability or treatment; or a post-flight reconditioning program. The TMP process is also designed to assist with the customization of mature hardware or technology for NASA specific use. The benefits of this process are that the concept of operational usability is interjected early in the research, design, or acquisition phase, and stakeholders are involved early to identify requirements and also periodically asked to assess requirements compliance of research or technology development project. Currently a device known as the actiwatch is being assessed for the final transition to operational use. Specific examples of research to operations transition success help to illustrate the process and bolster communication between the research and medical operations communities.

An Algorithm to Compress Line-transition Data for Radiative-transfer Calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cubillos, Patricio E.

2017-11-01

Molecular line-transition lists are an essential ingredient for radiative-transfer calculations. With recent databases now surpassing the billion-line mark, handling them has become computationally prohibitive, due to both the required processing power and memory. Here I present a temperature-dependent algorithm to separate strong from weak line transitions, reformatting the large majority of the weaker lines into a cross-section data file, and retaining the detailed line-by-line information of the fewer strong lines. For any given molecule over the 0.3-30 μm range, this algorithm reduces the number of lines to a few million, enabling faster radiative-transfer computations without a significant loss of information. The final compression rate depends on how densely populated the spectrum is. I validate this algorithm by comparing Exomol’s HCN extinction-coefficient spectra between the complete (65 million line transitions) and compressed (7.7 million) line lists. Over the 0.6-33 μm range, the average difference between extinction-coefficient values is less than 1%. A Python/C implementation of this algorithm is open-source and available at https://github.com/pcubillos/repack. So far, this code handles the Exomol and HITRAN line-transition format.

Helium-4 Experiments near T-lambda in a Low-Gravity Simulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Yuanming; Larson, Melora; Israelsson, Ulf

2000-01-01

We report our studies of gravity cancellation in a liquid helium sample cell along the lambda-line using a low-gravity simulator facility. The simulator consists of a superconducting magnet capable of producing B(delta-B/delta-z) = 22squareT)/cm. We have verified experimentally that the simulator can cancel gravity to about 0.01g in a cylindrical sample volume of 0.5 cm in diameter and 0.5 cm in height. This allows us to approach more closely the superfluid transition without entering the normal-superfluid two phase region induced by gravity. We also present the measurements of T-c(Q,P): depression of the superfluid transition temperature by a heat current(Q) along the lambda-line (P). The results are consistent with the Renormalization-group theory calculation. Measurements of thermal expansion coefficient in a heat current will also be discussed. The work has been carried out by JPL, California Institute of Technology under contract to NASA.

Novel Flame-Based Synthesis of Nanowires for Multifunctional Application

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-05-13

referenced above, the laser fluence is appropriately low so that only a nanoplasma is created around the nanoparticle with no gas-phase breakdown or...and 501.428 nm corresponding to Ti (I) atomic emission lines [20] from the nanoparticle-induced nanoplasmas are observed. However, for 355 nm...Ren, Q. Yao, and C. K. Law, "Two-dimensional imaging of gas-to-particle transition in flames by laser-induced nanoplasmas ," Applied Physics Letters

Thermodynamic Assessment of Cr-Rare Earth Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-02-01

alloys. These disadvantages are high ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (DBTT – 150°C for unalloyed recrystallized chromium of commercial purity... eutectic temperature. Data from Kobzenko et al. [7] show appreciable scatter for both solidus and liquidus lines with temperatures ranging from 1790...0.56-0.75 at.% to 2.72 at.% [6]. The eutectic temperature was determined to be 780°C based on thermal analysis of cerium-rich alloys [6]. The phase

An Analysis of Transiting Hot Jupiters Observed with K2: WASP-55b and WASP-75b

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, B. J. M.; Anderson, D. R.; Hellier, C.; Turner, O. D.; Močnik, T.

2018-03-01

We present our analysis of the K2 short-cadence data of two previously known hot Jupiter exoplanets: WASP-55b and WASP-75b. The high precision of the K2 light curves enabled us to search for transit timing and duration variations, rotational modulation, starspots, phase-curve variations and additional transiting planets. We identified stellar variability in the WASP-75 light curve which may be an indication of rotational modulation, with an estimated period of 11.2 ± 1.5 days. We combined this with the spectroscopically measured v\\sin ({i}* ) to calculate a possible line of sight projected inclination angle of {i}* =41^\\circ +/- 16^\\circ . We also perform a global analysis of K2 and previously published data to refine the system parameters.

Theoretical modeling of UV-Vis absorption and emission spectra in liquid state systems including vibrational and conformational effects: explicit treatment of the vibronic transitions.

PubMed

D'Abramo, Marco; Aschi, Massimiliano; Amadei, Andrea

2014-04-28

Here, we extend a recently introduced theoretical-computational procedure [M. D'Alessandro, M. Aschi, C. Mazzuca, A. Palleschi, and A. Amadei, J. Chem. Phys. 139, 114102 (2013)] to include quantum vibrational transitions in modelling electronic spectra of atomic molecular systems in condensed phase. The method is based on the combination of Molecular Dynamics simulations and quantum chemical calculations within the Perturbed Matrix Method approach. The main aim of the presented approach is to reproduce as much as possible the spectral line shape which results from a subtle combination of environmental and intrinsic (chromophore) mechanical-dynamical features. As a case study, we were able to model the low energy UV-vis transitions of pyrene in liquid acetonitrile in good agreement with the experimental data.

Pressure driven topological semi metallic phase in SrTe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kunduru, Lavanya; Roshan, S. C. Rakesh; Yedukondalu, N.; Sainath, M.

2018-05-01

We have investigated the structural, electronic properties and Fermi surface topology of SrTe under high pressure up to 50 GPa based on density functional theory calculations. We predict that SrTe undergoes a structural phase transition from NaCl (B1) to CsCl (B2)-type structure at 14.7 GPa which is consistent with the experimental observations as well as with previous theoretical studies. The ambient (B1) and high pressure (B2) phases are found to be indirect band gap semiconductors and upon further compression B2 phase turns into a nontrivial topological semimetal. Interestingly, we have observed that B2 phase of SrTe has band inversion at Γ and M symmetry directions which lead to formation of 3D topological nodal line semimetal at high pressure which is analogous to CaTe and Cu3PdN due to nontrivial band topology.

Requirement of ClC-3 in G0/G1 to S Phase Transition Induced by IGF-1 via ERK1/2-Cyclins Cascade in Multiple Myeloma Cells.

PubMed

Du, Yu; Tu, Yong-Sheng; Tang, Yong-Bo; Huang, Yun-Ying; Zhou, Fang-Min; Tian, Tian; Li, Xiao-Yan

2018-06-01

ClC-3 is involved in the proliferation and migration of several cancer cells. However, ClC-3 expression and its role of cell-cycle control in multiple myeloma (MM) has not yet been investigated. MM cells were treated with different concentrations of IGF (30, 100, 300 ng/mL), and their proliferation was examined by CCK-8. The effects of ClC-3 on cell cycle progression was detected by flow cytometry. Western blot was used to analyze the relative levels of ClC3, CD138, P21, P27, CDK, p-Erk1/2, and t-Erk1/2 protein expression. Transfection of RPMI8226 with gpClC-3 cDNA and siRNA alters the expression of ClC-3. We compared the expression of ClC-3 in primary myeloma cells and in MM cell lines (U266 and RPMI8266) with that in normal plasma cells (PCs) from normal subjects and found that myeloma cells from patients and MM cell lines had significantly higher expression of ClC-3. Additionally, silencing of ClC-3 with the small interfering RNA (siRNA) that targets human ClC-3 decreased proliferation of RPMI8226 after IGF-1 treatment and slowed cell cycle progression from G0/G1 to S phase, which was associated with diminished phosphorylation of ERK1/2, down-expression of cyclin E, cyclin D1 and up-regulation of p27 and p21. By contrast, overexpression of ClC-3 potentiated cell proliferation induced by IGF-1, raised the percentage of S phase cells, enhanced phosphorylation of ERK1/2, downregulated p27 and p21 and upregulated cyclin E and cyclin D1. ClC-3 accelerated G0/G1 to S phase transition in the cell cycle by modulating ERK1/2 kinase activity and expression of G1/S transition related proteins, making ClC-3 an attractive therapeutic target in MM.

SunLine Transit Agency Hydrogen-Powered Transit Buses : Evaluation Results Update

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-10-01

In early 2007, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) published a preliminary evaluation results report (January 2006 through November 2006) on hydrogen- and CNG-fueled buses operating at SunLine Transit Agency (SunLine) in Thousand Palms, C...

Explosive Events in the Quiet Sun: Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectroscopy Instrumentation and Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rust, Thomas Ludwell

Explosive event is the name given to slit spectrograph observations of high spectroscopic velocities in solar transition region spectral lines. Explosive events show much variety that cannot yet be explained by a single theory. It is commonly believed that explosive events are powered by magnetic reconnection. The evolution of the line core appears to be an important indicator of which particular reconnection process is at work. The Multi-Order Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrograph (MOSES) is a novel slitless spectrograph designed for imaging spectroscopy of solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectral lines. The spectrograph design forgoes a slit and images instead at three spectral orders of a concave grating. The images are formed simultaneously so the resulting spatial and spectral information is co-temporal over the 20' x 10' instrument field of view. This is an advantage over slit spectrographs which build a field of view one narrow slit at a time. The cost of co-temporal imaging spectroscopy with the MOSES is increased data complexity relative to slit spectrograph data. The MOSES data must undergo tomographic inversion for recovery of line profiles. I use the unique data from the MOSES to study transition region explosive events in the He ii 304 A spectral line. I identify 41 examples of explosive events which include 5 blue shifted jets, 2 red shifted jets, and 10 bi-directional jets. Typical doppler speeds are approximately 100kms-1. I show the early development of one blue jet and one bi-directional jet and find no acceleration phase at the onset of the event. The bi-directional jets are interesting because they are predicted in models of Petschek reconnection in the transition region. I develop an inversion algorithm for the MOSES data and test it on synthetic observations of a bi-directional jet. The inversion is based on a multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique (MART). The inversion successfully reproduces synthetic line profiles. I then use the inversion to study the time evolution of a bi-directional jet. The inverted line profiles show fast doppler shifted components and no measurable line core emission. The blue and red wings of the jet show increasing spatial separation with time.

Cellular automata models for diffusion of information and highway traffic flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuks, Henryk

In the first part of this work we study a family of deterministic models for highway traffic flow which generalize cellular automaton rule 184. This family is parameterized by the speed limit m and another parameter k that represents degree of 'anticipatory driving'. We compare two driving strategies with identical maximum throughput: 'conservative' driving with high speed limit and 'anticipatory' driving with low speed limit. Those two strategies are evaluated in terms of accident probability. We also discuss fundamental diagrams of generalized traffic rules and examine limitations of maximum achievable throughput. Possible modifications of the model are considered. For rule 184, we present exact calculations of the order parameter in a transition from the moving phase to the jammed phase using the method of preimage counting, and use this result to construct a solution to the density classification problem. In the second part we propose a probabilistic cellular automaton model for the spread of innovations, rumors, news, etc., in a social system. We start from simple deterministic models, for which exact expressions for the density of adopters are derived. For a more realistic model, based on probabilistic cellular automata, we study the influence of a range of interaction R on the shape of the adoption curve. When the probability of adoption is proportional to the local density of adopters, and individuals can drop the innovation with some probability p, the system exhibits a second order phase transition. Critical line separating regions of parameter space in which asymptotic density of adopters is positive from the region where it is equal to zero converges toward the mean-field line when the range of the interaction increases. In a region between R=1 critical line and the mean-field line asymptotic density of adopters depends on R, becoming zero if R is too small (smaller than some critical value). This result demonstrates the importance of connectivity in diffusion of information. We also define a new class of automata networks which incorporates non-local interactions, and discuss its applicability in modeling of diffusion of innovations.

Heating-induced glass-glass and glass-liquid transformations in computer simulations of water.

PubMed

Chiu, Janet; Starr, Francis W; Giovambattista, Nicolas

2014-03-21

Water exists in at least two families of glassy states, broadly categorized as the low-density (LDA) and high-density amorphous ice (HDA). Remarkably, LDA and HDA can be reversibly interconverted via appropriate thermodynamic paths, such as isothermal compression and isobaric heating, exhibiting first-order-like phase transitions. We perform out-of-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of glassy water using the ST2 model to study the evolution of LDA and HDA upon isobaric heating. Depending on pressure, glass-to-glass, glass-to-crystal, glass-to-vapor, as well as glass-to-liquid transformations are found. Specifically, heating LDA results in the following transformations, with increasing heating pressures: (i) LDA-to-vapor (sublimation), (ii) LDA-to-liquid (glass transition), (iii) LDA-to-HDA-to-liquid, (iv) LDA-to-HDA-to-liquid-to-crystal, and (v) LDA-to-HDA-to-crystal. Similarly, heating HDA results in the following transformations, with decreasing heating pressures: (a) HDA-to-crystal, (b) HDA-to-liquid-to-crystal, (c) HDA-to-liquid (glass transition), (d) HDA-to-LDA-to-liquid, and (e) HDA-to-LDA-to-vapor. A more complex sequence may be possible using lower heating rates. For each of these transformations, we determine the corresponding transformation temperature as function of pressure, and provide a P-T "phase diagram" for glassy water based on isobaric heating. Our results for isobaric heating dovetail with the LDA-HDA transformations reported for ST2 glassy water based on isothermal compression/decompression processes [Chiu et al., J. Chem. Phys. 139, 184504 (2013)]. The resulting phase diagram is consistent with the liquid-liquid phase transition hypothesis. At the same time, the glass phase diagram is sensitive to sample preparation, such as heating or compression rates. Interestingly, at least for the rates explored, our results suggest that the LDA-to-liquid (HDA-to-liquid) and LDA-to-HDA (HDA-to-LDA) transformation lines on heating are related, both being associated with the limit of kinetic stability of LDA (HDA).

Heating-induced glass-glass and glass-liquid transformations in computer simulations of water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiu, Janet; Starr, Francis W.; Giovambattista, Nicolas

2014-03-01

Water exists in at least two families of glassy states, broadly categorized as the low-density (LDA) and high-density amorphous ice (HDA). Remarkably, LDA and HDA can be reversibly interconverted via appropriate thermodynamic paths, such as isothermal compression and isobaric heating, exhibiting first-order-like phase transitions. We perform out-of-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of glassy water using the ST2 model to study the evolution of LDA and HDA upon isobaric heating. Depending on pressure, glass-to-glass, glass-to-crystal, glass-to-vapor, as well as glass-to-liquid transformations are found. Specifically, heating LDA results in the following transformations, with increasing heating pressures: (i) LDA-to-vapor (sublimation), (ii) LDA-to-liquid (glass transition), (iii) LDA-to-HDA-to-liquid, (iv) LDA-to-HDA-to-liquid-to-crystal, and (v) LDA-to-HDA-to-crystal. Similarly, heating HDA results in the following transformations, with decreasing heating pressures: (a) HDA-to-crystal, (b) HDA-to-liquid-to-crystal, (c) HDA-to-liquid (glass transition), (d) HDA-to-LDA-to-liquid, and (e) HDA-to-LDA-to-vapor. A more complex sequence may be possible using lower heating rates. For each of these transformations, we determine the corresponding transformation temperature as function of pressure, and provide a P-T "phase diagram" for glassy water based on isobaric heating. Our results for isobaric heating dovetail with the LDA-HDA transformations reported for ST2 glassy water based on isothermal compression/decompression processes [Chiu et al., J. Chem. Phys. 139, 184504 (2013)]. The resulting phase diagram is consistent with the liquid-liquid phase transition hypothesis. At the same time, the glass phase diagram is sensitive to sample preparation, such as heating or compression rates. Interestingly, at least for the rates explored, our results suggest that the LDA-to-liquid (HDA-to-liquid) and LDA-to-HDA (HDA-to-LDA) transformation lines on heating are related, both being associated with the limit of kinetic stability of LDA (HDA).

Nanoscale interfacial defect shedding in a growing nematic droplet.

PubMed

Gurevich, Sebastian; Provatas, Nikolas; Rey, Alejandro

2017-08-01

Interfacial defect shedding is the most recent known mechanism for defect formation in a thermally driven isotropic-to-nematic phase transition. It manifests in nematic-isotropic interfaces going through an anchoring switch. Numerical computations in planar geometry established that a growing nematic droplet can undergo interfacial defect shedding, nucleating interfacial defect structures that shed into the bulk as +1/2 point defects. By extending the study of interfacial defect shedding in a growing nematic droplet to larger length and time scales, and to three dimensions, we unveil an oscillatory growth mode involving shape and anchoring transitions that results in a controllable regular distributions of point defects in planar geometry, and complex structures of disclination lines in three dimensions.

Wilson loop's phase transition probed by non-local observable

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hui-Ling; Feng, Zhong-Wen; Yang, Shu-Zheng; Zu, Xiao-Tao

2018-04-01

In order to give further insights into the holographic Van der Waals phase transition, it would be of great interest to investigate the behavior of Wilson loop across the holographic phase transition for a higher dimensional hairy black hole. We offer a possibility to proceed with a numerical calculation in order to discussion on the hairy black hole's phase transition, and show that Wilson loop can serve as a probe to detect a phase structure of the black hole. Furthermore, for a first order phase transition, we calculate numerically the Maxwell's equal area construction; and for a second order phase transition, we also study the critical exponent in order to characterize the Wilson loop's phase transition.

Detection of the liquid-liquid transition in the deeply cooled water confined in MCM-41 with elastic neutron scattering technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhe; Ito, Kanae; Chen, Sow-Hsin

2016-05-01

In this paper we present a review on our recent experimental investigations into the phase behavior of the deeply cooled water confined in a nanoporous silica material, MCM-41, with elastic neutron scattering technique. Under such strong confinement, the homogeneous nucleation process of water is avoided, which allows the confined water to keep its liquid state at temperatures and pressures that are inaccessible to the bulk water. By measuring the average density of the confined heavy water, we observe a likely first-order low-density liquid (LDL) to high-density liquid (HDL) transition in the deeply cooled region of the confined heavy water. The phase separation starts from 1.12±0.17{ kbar} and 215±1{ K} and extends to higher pressures and lower temperatures in the phase diagram. This starting point could be the liquid-liquid critical point of the confined water. The locus of the Widom line is also estimated. The observation of the liquid-liquid transition in the confined water has potential to explain the mysterious behaviors of water at low temperatures. In addition, it may also have impacts on other disciplines, because the confined water system represents many biological and geological systems in which water resides in nanoscopic pores or in the vicinity of hydrophilic or hydrophobic surfaces.

Multiple topological electronic phases in superconductor MoC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Angus; Smith, Adam D.; Schwinn, Madison; Lu, Qiangsheng; Chang, Tay-Rong; Xie, Weiwei; Jeng, Horng-Tay; Bian, Guang

2018-05-01

The search for a superconductor with non-s -wave pairing is important not only for understanding unconventional mechanisms of superconductivity but also for finding new types of quasiparticles such as Majorana bound states. Materials with both topological band structure and superconductivity are promising candidates as p +i p superconducting states can be generated through pairing the spin-polarized topological surface states. In this work, the electronic and phonon properties of the superconductor molybdenum carbide (MoC) are studied with first-principles methods. Our calculations show that nontrivial band topology and s -wave Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superconductivity coexist in two structural phases of MoC, namely the cubic α and hexagonal γ phases. The α phase is a strong topological insulator and the γ phase is a topological nodal-line semimetal with drumhead surface states. In addition, hole doping can stabilize the crystal structure of the α phase and elevate the transition temperature in the γ phase. Therefore, MoC in different structural forms can be a practical material platform for studying topological superconductivity.

A latchable thermally activated phase change actuator for microfluidic systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richter, Christiane; Sachsenheimer, Kai; Rapp, Bastian E.

2016-03-01

Complex microfluidic systems often require a high number of individually controllable active components like valves and pumps. In this paper we present the development and optimization of a latchable thermally controlled phase change actuator which uses a solid/liquid phase transition of a phase change medium and the displacement of the liquid phase change medium to change and stabilize the two states of the actuator. Because the phase change is triggered by heat produced with ohmic resistors the used control signal is an electrical signal. In contrast to pneumatically activated membrane valves this concept allows the individual control of several dozen actuators with only two external pressure lines. Within this paper we show the general working principle of the actuator and demonstrate its general function and the scalability of the concept at an example of four actuators. Additionally we present the complete results of our studies to optimize the response behavior of the actuator - the influence of the heating power as well as the used phase change medium on melting and solidifying times.

The molecular inventory around protostars: water, organic molecules, and the missing oxygen problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neufeld, David A.

2018-06-01

Massive star formation is accompanied by significant chemical evolution in the surrounding interstellar gas. Here, grains are heated up and icy mantles evaporate, releasing a rich inventory of water and organic molecules into the gas-phase within “hot core” regions surrounding massive protostars. Because molecules on the grain surface present broad infrared features without rotational structure, only the most abundant molecules can be identified unambiguously in the solid phase; once released into the gas-phase, however, where they are free to rotate, the constituents of grain mantles can be identified easily by means of rotational spectroscopy at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths or through rovibrational spectroscopy in the mid-infrared. While observations of pure-rotational emission lines provide a broad view of hot core chemistry, absorption line spectroscopy of rovibrational transitions can probe the very hottest material closest to the protostar. With access to the mid-infrared spectral region from above 99% of Earth’s water vapor, SOFIA provides a unique platform for high-resolution rovibrational spectroscopy of water and organic molecules, many of which have vibrational transitions in the 5 – 8 micron spectral region that is unobservable from the ground. High spectral resolution is essential for disentangling the rotational structure and providing reliable measurements of the molecular column densities and temperatures. Future SOFIA observations will help elucidate the inventory of water and organic molecules around young protostars, and can address a puzzle related to the “oxygen budget” in the interstellar medium: surprisingly, the main interstellar reservoirs of the third-most abundant element in the Universe have yet to be identified.

Pressure dependence of band-gap and phase transitions in bulk CuX (X = Cl, Br, I)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Azhikodan, Dilna; Nautiyal, Tashi; Sharma, S.

2016-05-06

Usually a phase transition, in theoretical studies, is explored or verified by studying the total energy as a function of the volume considering various plausible phases. The intersection point, if any, of the free energy vs. volume curves for the different phases is then the indicator of the phase transition(s). The question is, can the theoretical study of a single phase alone indicate a phase transition? i.e. can we look beyond the phase under consideration through such a study? Using density-functional theory, we report a novel approach to suggest phase transition(s) through theoretical study of a single phase. Copper halidesmore » have been engaged for this study. These are direct band-gap semiconductors, with zinc blende structure at ambient conditions, and are reported to exhibit many phase transitions. We show that the study of volume dependence of energy band-gap in a single phase facilitates looking beyond the phase under consideration. This, when translated to pressures, reflects the phase transition pressures for CuX (X = Cl, Br, I) with an encouraging accuracy. This work thus offers a simple, yet reliable, approach based on electronic structure calculations to investigate new semiconducting materials for phase changes under pressure.« less

Eigenstate Phase Transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Bo

Phase transitions are one of the most exciting physical phenomena ever discovered. The understanding of phase transitions has long been of interest. Recently eigenstate phase transitions have been discovered and studied; they are drastically different from traditional thermal phase transitions. In eigenstate phase transitions, a sharp change is exhibited in properties of the many-body eigenstates of the Hamiltonian of a quantum system, but not the thermal equilibrium properties of the same system. In this thesis, we study two different types of eigenstate phase transitions. The first is the eigenstate phase transition within the ferromagnetic phase of an infinite-range spin model. By studying the interplay of the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis and Ising symmetry breaking, we find two eigenstate phase transitions within the ferromagnetic phase: In the lowest-temperature phase the magnetization can macroscopically oscillate by quantum tunneling between up and down. The relaxation of the magnetization is always overdamped in the remainder of the ferromagnetic phase, which is further divided into phases where the system thermally activates itself over the barrier between the up and down states, and where it quantum tunnels. The second is the many-body localization phase transition. The eigenstates on one side of the transition obey the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis; the eigenstates on the other side are many-body localized, and thus thermal equilibrium need not be achieved for an initial state even after evolving for an arbitrary long time. We study this many-body localization phase transition in the strong disorder renormalization group framework. After setting up a set of coarse-graining rules for a general one dimensional chain, we get a simple "toy model'' and obtain an almost purely analytical solution to the infinite-randomness critical fixed point renormalization group equation. We also get an estimate of the correlation length critical exponent nu ≈ 2.5.

3μm - 1.6μm Double Resonance Spectroscopy of CH_4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwartz, George; Belaas, Erik; Yang, Shaoyue; Lehmann, Kevin

2016-06-01

The Near-IR Spectrum of CH_4 is dense with many overlapping bands that perturb each other by vibrational and ro-vibrational interactions. Assignments of the individual lines are needed in order to simulate the spectrum as a function of pressure and temperature, as needed in the search for CH_4 in extrasolar planets. Both the group at the University College, London^1 and that at the University of Reins^2 have produced theoretical spectra that allows simulation up to the high temperatures expected on ``Hot Jupiters''. The accuracy of these theoretical spectra need to be further tested. Because CH_4 is a light spherical top, assignment of its perturbed spectra is a formable challenge as none of the lines allowed in the rigid rotor approximation have ground vibrational state combination differences. We are using IR-IR double resonance to observe modulation in the strength of near-IR absorption caused by a modulation of a 3 μm OPO beam that is tuned to a particular transition in the C-H stretching fundamental of CH_4. This produces V-type double resonance transitions (which share the lower state with the pump transition), which provides firm assignments for lines normally observed in absorption in the near-IR. We also observe sequential double resonance which reveals transitions that have a known rotational level of the ν_3 fundamental as the lower state and reaches final states in the 9000 cm-1 spectral region. These are states of A, E, F_1 vibrational symmetries which are forbidden in transitions from the ground vibrational state. These 3 level double resonance transitions are Doppler Free and have a linewidth of ˜10 MHz due to a combination of near-IR laser jitter and power broadening of the mid-IR transition. We also observed many 4-level double resonance transitions that we have tentatively assigned as arising from the ν_4 fundamental level. These are distinguished from the 3-level double resonance transitions by they being Doppler broadened and having a large phase shift relative to the intensity modulation. 1. S.N. Yurchenko, PNAS 111 9379-83 (2014); 2. M. Rey, JQSRT 18, 207-220 (2015), PCCP 18, 176-189 (2016)

Noise Assessment of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority Heavy Rail Transit Authority

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1978-10-01

The report describes the noise climate on and near the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA), formerly the Cleveland Transit System (CTS), Airport Line. The RTA urban rail transit line has approximately 19 miles of two-way revenue track ...

Lamellar biogels comprising fluid membranes with a newly synthesized class of polyethylene glycol-surfactants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warriner, Heidi E.; Davidson, Patrick; Slack, Nelle L.; Schellhorn, Matthias; Eiselt, Petra; Idziak, Stefan H. J.; Schmidt, Hans-Werner; Safinya, Cyrus R.

1997-09-01

A series of four polymer-surfactant macromolecules, each consisting of a double-chain hydrophobic moiety attached onto a monofunctional polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymer chain, were synthesized in order to study their effect upon the fluid lamellar liquid crystalline (Lα) phase of the dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine/pentanol/water system. The main finding of this study is that the addition of these compounds induces a new lamellar gel, called Lα,g. We have determined the phase diagrams as a function of PEG-surfactant concentration, cPEG, and weight fraction water, ΦW. All phase diagrams are qualitatively similar and show the existence of the gel. Unlike more common polymer physical gels, this gel can be induced either by increasing cPEG or by adding water at constant cPEG. In particular, less polymer is required for gelation as water concentration increases. Moreover, the gel phase is attained at concentrations of PEG-surfactant far below that required for classical polymer gels and is stable at temperatures comparable to the lower critical solution temperature of free PEG-water mixtures. Small angle x-ray experiments demonstrate the lamellar structure of the gel phase, while wide angle x-ray scattering experiments prove that the structure is Lα, not Lβ' (a common chain-ordered phase which is also a gel). The rheological behavior of the Lα,g phase demonstrates the existence of three dimensional elastic properties. Polarized light microscopy of Lα,g samples reveals that the Lα,g is induced by a proliferation of defect structures, including whispy lines, spherulitic defects, and a nematiclike Schlieren texture. We propose a model of topological defects created by the aggregation of PEG-surfactant into highly curved regions within the membranes. This model accounts for both the inverse relationship between ΦW and cPEG observed along the gel transition line and the scaling dependence of the interlayer spacing at the gel transition with the PEG molecular weight. These Lα hydrogels could serve as the matrix for membrane-anchored peptides, proteins or other drug molecules, creating a "bioactive gel" with mechanical stability deriving from the polymer-lipid minority component.

SOFIA/FIFI-LS Observations of Galactic PDRs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klein, Randolf; Reedy, Alexander; Colditz, Sebastian; Fadda, Dario; Fischer, Chrisitan; Geis, Norbert; Hönle, Rainer; Iserlohe, Christof; Krabbe, Alfred; Looney, Leslie; Poglitsch, Albrecht; Raab, Walfried; Rebel, Felix; Vacca, William

2018-01-01

Photo-dissociation regions or photon-dominated regions (PDRs) are the interfaces between ionized HII-regions and adjacent molecular clouds usually found in massive star-forming regions. As the places where molecular clouds are destroyed by the UV radiation of the forming massive stars, they are the regions where the effects of star formation on the interstellar medium and the energetics and physical properties of the feedback can be best studied.FIFI-LS, SOFIA's far-infrared (FIR) spectrometer, is well suited to observe galactic PDRs and study them in great detail. The bulk of the energy from PDRs is emitted in the wavelength range of FIFI-LS, which ranges from 50 to 200µm. In this wavelength range, there are many strong atomic and ionic fine-structure lines, which can serve as diagnostic tools to trace these species and to determine densities and temperatures of the ionized and neutral medium in PDRs. FIFI-LS's ability to map large bright regions quickly and in two transitions simultaneously allows researchers to analyse the varying conditions in star-forming regions comprehensively.We will show first results of FIFI-LS observations of M42 and M17. M42 with the Orion Bar, a well-known PDR seen edge-on was one of the very first objects observed with FIFI-LS. Subsequently, we have observed M42 in a growing number of transitions. We also have observed the PDR in M17 in several transitions. The PDRs are clearly identified by the complementary spatial extent of the ionized and neutral species. From the ratios of the [OI] (63 and 146µm) and [OIII] (52 and 88µm) line pairs, the [CII] (158µm) line and combinations thereof, physical conditions in the different phases and the transition regions can be derived. We are presenting preliminary results.

Vapor-crystal phase transition in synthesis of paracetamol films by vacuum evaporation and condensation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belyaev, A. P.; Rubets, V. P.; Antipov, V. V.; Bordei, N. S.; Zarembo, V. I.

2014-03-01

We report on the structural and technological investigations of the vapor-crystal phase transition during synthesis of paracetamol films of the monoclinic system by vacuum evaporation and condensation in the temperature range 220-320 K. The complex nature of the transformation accompanied by the formation of a gel-like phase is revealed. The results are interpreted using a model according to which the vapor-crystal phase transition is not a simple first-order phase transition, but is a nonlinear superposition of two phase transitions: a first-order transition with a change in density and a second-order phase transition with a change in ordering. Micrographs of the surface of the films are obtained at different phases of formation.

Phase transitions in a multistate majority-vote model on complex networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Hanshuang; Li, Guofeng

2018-06-01

We generalize the original majority-vote (MV) model from two states to arbitrary p states and study the order-disorder phase transitions in such a p -state MV model on complex networks. By extensive Monte Carlo simulations and a mean-field theory, we show that for p ≥3 the order of phase transition is essentially different from a continuous second-order phase transition in the original two-state MV model. Instead, for p ≥3 the model displays a discontinuous first-order phase transition, which is manifested by the appearance of the hysteresis phenomenon near the phase transition. Within the hysteresis loop, the ordered phase and disordered phase are coexisting, and rare flips between the two phases can be observed due to the finite-size fluctuation. Moreover, we investigate the type of phase transition under a slightly modified dynamics [Melo et al., J. Stat. Mech. (2010) P11032, 10.1088/1742-5468/2010/11/P11032]. We find that the order of phase transition in the three-state MV model depends on the degree heterogeneity of networks. For p ≥4 , both dynamics produce the first-order phase transitions.

The phase transitions between Z n × Z n bosonic topological phases in 1 + 1D, and a constraint on the central charge for the critical points between bosonic symmetry protected topological phases

DOE PAGES

Tsui, Lokman; Huang, Yen-Ta; Jiang, Hong-Chen; ...

2017-03-27

The study of continuous phase transitions triggered by spontaneous symmetry breaking has brought revolutionary ideas to physics. Recently, through the discovery of symmetry protected topological phases, it is realized that continuous quantum phase transition can also occur between states with the same symmetry but different topology. Here in this paper we study a specific class of such phase transitions in 1+1 dimensions – the phase transition between bosonic topological phases protected by Z n × Z n. We find in all cases the critical point possesses two gap opening relevant operators: one leads to a Landau-forbidden symmetry breaking phase transitionmore » and the other to the topological phase transition. We also obtained a constraint on the central charge for general phase transitions between symmetry protected bosonic topological phases in 1+1D.« less

The phase transitions between Z n × Z n bosonic topological phases in 1 + 1D, and a constraint on the central charge for the critical points between bosonic symmetry protected topological phases

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tsui, Lokman; Huang, Yen-Ta; Jiang, Hong-Chen

The study of continuous phase transitions triggered by spontaneous symmetry breaking has brought revolutionary ideas to physics. Recently, through the discovery of symmetry protected topological phases, it is realized that continuous quantum phase transition can also occur between states with the same symmetry but different topology. Here in this paper we study a specific class of such phase transitions in 1+1 dimensions – the phase transition between bosonic topological phases protected by Z n × Z n. We find in all cases the critical point possesses two gap opening relevant operators: one leads to a Landau-forbidden symmetry breaking phase transitionmore » and the other to the topological phase transition. We also obtained a constraint on the central charge for general phase transitions between symmetry protected bosonic topological phases in 1+1D.« less

Staphylococcus aureus-Induced G2/M Phase Transition Delay in Host Epithelial Cells Increases Bacterial Infective Efficiency

PubMed Central

Almeida, Sintia; Legembre, Patrick; Edmond, Valérie; Azevedo, Vasco; Miyoshi, Anderson; Even, Sergine; Taieb, Frédéric; Arlot-Bonnemains, Yannick; Le Loir, Yves; Berkova, Nadia

2013-01-01

Staphylococcus aureus is a highly versatile, opportunistic pathogen and the etiological agent of a wide range of infections in humans and warm-blooded animals. The epithelial surface is its principal site of colonization and infection. In this work, we investigated the cytopathic effect of S. aureus strains from human and animal origins and their ability to affect the host cell cycle in human HeLa and bovine MAC-T epithelial cell lines. S. aureus invasion slowed down cell proliferation and induced a cytopathic effect, resulting in the enlargement of host cells. A dramatic decrease in the number of mitotic cells was observed in the infected cultures. Flow cytometry analysis revealed an S. aureus-induced delay in the G2/M phase transition in synchronous HeLa cells. This delay required the presence of live S. aureus since the addition of the heat-killed bacteria did not alter the cell cycle. The results of Western blot experiments showed that the G2/M transition delay was associated with the accumulation of inactive cyclin-dependent kinase Cdk1, a key inducer of mitosis entry, and with the accumulation of unphosphorylated histone H3, which was correlated with a reduction of the mitotic cell number. Analysis of S. aureus proliferation in asynchronous, G1- and G2-phase-enriched HeLa cells showed that the G2 phase was preferential for bacterial infective efficiency, suggesting that the G2 phase delay may be used by S. aureus for propagation within the host. Taken together, our results divulge the potential of S. aureus in the subversion of key cellular processes such as cell cycle progression, and shed light on the biological significance of S. aureus-induced host cell cycle alteration. PMID:23717407

Monte Carlo and mean-field studies of phase evolution in concentrated surfactant solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bohbot, Yardena; Ben-Shaul, Avinoam; Granek, Rony; Gelbart, William M.

1995-11-01

A two-dimensional lattice model, originally introduced by Granek et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 101, 4331 (1994)], is used to demonstrate the intricate coupling between the intramicellar interactions that determine the optimal aggregation geometry of surfactant molecules in dilute solution, and the intermicellar interactions that govern the phase behavior at higher concentrations. Three very different scenarios of self-assembly and phase evolution are analyzed in detail, based on Monte Carlo studies and theoretical interpretations involving mean-field, Landau-Ginzburg, Bethe-Peierls, and virial expansion schemes. The basic particles in the model are ``unit micelles'' which, due to spontaneous self-assembly or because of excluded area interactions, can fuse to form larger aggregates. These aggregates are envisaged as flat micelles composed of a bilayerlike body surrounded by a curved semitoroidal rim. The system's Hamiltonian involves one- through four-body potentials between the unit micelles, which account for their tendency to form aggregates of different shapes, e.g., elongated vs disklike micelles. Equivalently, the configurational energy of the system is a sum of micellar self-energies involving the packing free energies of the constituent molecules in the bilayer body and in rim segments of different local curvature. The rim energy is a sum of a line tension term and a 1D curvature energy which depends on the rim spontaneous curvature and bending rigidity. Different combinations of these molecular parameters imply different optimal packing geometries and hence different self-assembly and phase behaviors. The emphasis in this paper is on systems of ``curvature loving'' amphiphiles which, in our model, are characterized by negative line tension. The three systems studied are: (i) A dilute solution of stable disklike micelles which, upon increasing the concentration, undergoes a first-order phase transition to a continuous bilayer with isolated hole defects. An intermediate modulated ``checkerboard'' phase appears under certain conditions at low temperatures. (ii) A system of unit micelles which in dilute solution tend to associate into linear micelles. These micelles are rodlike at low temperatures, becoming increasingly more flexible as the temperature increases. Upon increasing the concentration the micelles grow and undergo (in 2D) a continuous transition into nematic and ``stripe'' phases of long rods. At still higher concentrations the micellar stripes fuse into continuous sheets with line defects. (iii) A system in which, already in dilute solution, the micelles favor the formation of branched aggregates, analogous to the branched cylindrical micelles recently observed in certain surfactant solutions. As the concentration increases the micelles associate into networks (``gels'') composed of a mesh of linear micelles linked by ``T-like'' intermicellar junctions. The network may span the entire system or phase separate and coexist with a dilute micellar phase, depending on the details of the molecular packing parameters.

Boson peak in deeply cooled confined water: a possible way to explore the existence of the liquid-to-liquid transition in water.

PubMed

Wang, Zhe; Liu, Kao-Hsiang; Le, Peisi; Li, Mingda; Chiang, Wei-Shan; Leão, Juscelino B; Copley, John R D; Tyagi, Madhusudan; Podlesnyak, Andrey; Kolesnikov, Alexander I; Mou, Chung-Yuan; Chen, Sow-Hsin

2014-06-13

The boson peak in deeply cooled water confined in nanopores is studied with inelastic neutron scattering. We show that in the (P, T) plane, the locus of the emergence of the boson peak is nearly parallel to the Widom line below ∼ 1600 bar. Above 1600 bar, the situation is different and from this difference the end pressure of the Widom line is estimated. The frequency and width of the boson peak correlate with the density of water, which suggests a method to distinguish the hypothetical "low-density liquid" and "high-density liquid" phases in deeply cooled water.

Study of a structural phase transition by two dimensional Fourier transform NMR method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trokiner, A.; Man, P. P.; Théveneau, H.; Papon, P.

1985-09-01

The fluoroperovskite RbCaF 3 undergoes a structural phase transition at 195.5 K, from a cubic phase where the 87Rb nuclei have no quadrupolar interaction ( ωQ= 0) to a tetragonal phase where ω Q ≠ O. The transition is weakly first-order. A two-dimensional FT NMR experiment has been performed on 87Rb ( I = {3}/{2}) in a single crystal in both phases and in the vicinity of the phase transition. Our results show the coexistence of the two phases at the phase transition.

Baryogenesis and gravitational waves from runaway bubble collisions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Katz, Andrey; Département de Physique Théorique and Center for Astroparticle Physics; Riotto, Antonio

We propose a novel mechanism for production of baryonic asymmetry in the early Universe. The mechanism takes advantage of the strong first order phase transition that produces runaway bubbles in the hidden sector that propagate almost without friction with ultra-relativistic velocities. Collisions of such bubbles can non-thermally produce heavy particles that further decay out-of-equilibrium into the SM and produce the observed baryonic asymmetry. This process can proceed at the very low temperatures, providing a new mechanism of post-sphaleron baryogenesis. In this paper we present a fully calculable model which produces the baryonic asymmetry along these lines as well as evadesmore » all the existing cosmological constraints. We emphasize that the Gravitational Waves signal from the first order phase transition is completely generic and can potentially be detected by the future eLISA interferometer. We also discuss other potential signals, which are more model dependent, and point out the unresolved theoretical questions related to our proposal.« less

Connecting thermodynamic and dynamical anomalies of water-like liquid-liquid phase transition in the Fermi-Jagla model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Higuchi, Saki; Kato, Daiki; Awaji, Daisuke; Kim, Kang

2018-03-01

We present a study using molecular dynamics simulations based on the Fermi-Jagla potential model, which is the continuous version of the mono-atomic core-softened Jagla model [J. Y. Abraham, S. V. Buldyrev, and N. Giovambattista, J. Phys. Chem. B 115, 14229 (2011)]. This model shows the water-like liquid-liquid phase transition between high-density and low-density liquids at the liquid-liquid critical point. In particular, the slope of the coexistence line becomes weakly negative, which is expected to represent one of the anomalies of liquid polyamorphism. In this study, we examined the density, dynamic, and thermodynamic anomalies in the vicinity of the liquid-liquid critical point. The boundaries of density, self-diffusion, shear viscosity, and excess entropy anomalies were characterized. Furthermore, these anomalies are connected according to Rosenfeld's scaling relationship between the excess entropy and the transport coefficients such as diffusion and viscosity. The results demonstrate the hierarchical and nested structures regarding the thermodynamic and dynamic anomalies of the Fermi-Jagla model.

Quasiclassical analysis of vortex lattice states in Rashba noncentrosymmetric superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dan, Yuichiro; Ikeda, Ryusuke

2015-10-01

Vortex lattice states occurring in noncentrosymmetric superconductors with a spin-orbit coupling of Rashba type under a magnetic field parallel to the symmetry plane are examined by assuming the s -wave pairing case and in an approach combining the quasiclassical theory with the Landau level expansion of the superconducting order parameter. The resulting field-temperature phase diagrams include not only a discontinuous transition but a continuous crossover between different vortex lattice structures, and, further, a critical end point of a structural transition line is found at an intermediate field and a low temperature in the present approach. It is pointed out that the strange field dependence of the vortex lattice structure is a consequence of that of its anisotropy stemming from the Rashba spin-orbit coupling, and that the critical end point is related to the helical phase modulation peculiar to these materials in the ideal Pauli-limited case. Furthermore, calculation results on the local density of states detectable in STM experiments are also presented.

Absolute Transition Probabilities of Lines in the Spectra of Astrophysical Atoms, Molecules, and Ions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parkinson, W. H.; Smith, P. L.; Yoshino, K.

1984-01-01

Progress in the investigation of absolute transition probabilities (A-values or F values) for ultraviolet lines is reported. A radio frequency ion trap was used for measurement of transition probabilities for intersystem lines seen in astronomical spectra. The intersystem line at 2670 A in Al II, which is seen in pre-main sequence stars and symbiotic stars, was studied.

Study of structural phase transitions in quinary TiNi(MoFeAg)-based alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gunther, Victor; Marchenko, Ekaterina; Chekalkin, Timofey; Baigonakova, Gulsharat; Kang, Ji-hoon; Kim, Ji-soon; Klopotov, Anatoliy

2017-10-01

The structural phase transitions of quinary Ti50Ni49.5-X Mo0.3Fe0.2Ag X (X  =  0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 at%) alloys prepared by vacuum-induction melting were studied by means of the four-point-probe, x-ray diffraction (XRD), and optical microscopy methods after thermal cycling. The two-stage B2 ↔ R ↔ B19‧ reversible martensitic transformation (MT) took place in all the investigated samples. It is found that the substitution of Ag for Ni in the studied alloy when C Ag  =  0-0.5 at%, reduces the T R, M s, and M f characteristic points by 20-30 K, whereas they increase by 15-35 K when the Ag content was varied from 1.0 to 1.5 at% and the B2 ↔ R ↔ B19‧ MT was realized in the high-temperature area. XRD patterns of the studied alloys recorded at the ambient temperature detected the pure Ag phase as well as Ti2Ni precipitate with a small volume fraction (up to 5%) alongside with structural lines of B2, R, and B19‧ phases.

Renormalization Group Theory for the Imbalanced Fermi Gas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gubbels, K. B.; Stoof, H. T. C.

2008-04-11

We formulate a Wilsonian renormalization group theory for the imbalanced Fermi gas. The theory is able to recover quantitatively well-established results in both the weak-coupling and the strong-coupling (unitarity) limits. We determine for the latter case the line of second-order phase transitions of the imbalanced Fermi gas and, in particular, the location of the tricritical point. We obtain good agreement with the recent experiments of Y. Shin et al. [Nature (London) 451, 689 (2008)].

Phase II study of biweekly plitidepsin as second-line therapy for advanced or metastatic transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelium.

PubMed

Dumez, Herlinde; Gallardo, Enrique; Culine, Stephane; Galceran, Joan Carles; Schöffski, Patrick; Droz, Jean P; Extremera, Sonia; Szyldergemajn, Sergio; Fléchon, Aude

2009-09-16

The objective of this exploratory, open-label, single-arm, phase II clinical trial was to evaluate plitidepsin (5 mg/m(2)) administered as a 3-hour continuous intravenous infusion every two weeks to patients with locally advanced/metastatic transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelium who relapsed/progressed after first-line chemotherapy. Treatment cycles were repeated for up to 12 cycles or until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, patient refusal or treatment delay for >2 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoint was objective response rate according to RECIST. Secondary endpoints were the rate of SD lasting > or = 6 months and time-to-event variables. Toxicity was assessed using NCI-CTC v. 3.0. Twenty-one patients received 57 treatment cycles. No objective tumor responses occurred. SD lasting <6 months was observed in two of 18 evaluable patients. With a median follow-up of 4.6 months, the median PFR and the median OS were 1.4 months and 2.3 months, respectively. The most common AEs were mild to moderate nausea, fatigue, myalgia and anorexia. Anemia, lymphopenia, and increases in transaminases, alkaline phosphatase and creatinine were the most frequent laboratory abnormalities. No severe neutropenia occurred. Treatment was feasible and generally well tolerated in this patient population; however the lack of antitumor activity precludes further studies of plitidepsin in this setting.

Probabilistic physical characteristics of phase transitions at highway bottlenecks: incommensurability of three-phase and two-phase traffic-flow theories.

PubMed

Kerner, Boris S; Klenov, Sergey L; Schreckenberg, Michael

2014-05-01

Physical features of induced phase transitions in a metastable free flow at an on-ramp bottleneck in three-phase and two-phase cellular automaton (CA) traffic-flow models have been revealed. It turns out that at given flow rates at the bottleneck, to induce a moving jam (F → J transition) in the metastable free flow through the application of a time-limited on-ramp inflow impulse, in both two-phase and three-phase CA models the same critical amplitude of the impulse is required. If a smaller impulse than this critical one is applied, neither F → J transition nor other phase transitions can occur in the two-phase CA model. We have found that in contrast with the two-phase CA model, in the three-phase CA model, if the same smaller impulse is applied, then a phase transition from free flow to synchronized flow (F → S transition) can be induced at the bottleneck. This explains why rather than the F → J transition, in the three-phase theory traffic breakdown at a highway bottleneck is governed by an F → S transition, as observed in real measured traffic data. None of two-phase traffic-flow theories incorporates an F → S transition in a metastable free flow at the bottleneck that is the main feature of the three-phase theory. On the one hand, this shows the incommensurability of three-phase and two-phase traffic-flow theories. On the other hand, this clarifies why none of the two-phase traffic-flow theories can explain the set of fundamental empirical features of traffic breakdown at highway bottlenecks.

Investigation of phase transitions in LiK 1- x(NH 4) xSO 4 mixed crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freire, P. T. C.; Paraguassu, W.; Silva, A. P.; Pilla, O.; Teixeira, A. M. R.; Sasaki, J. M.; Mendes Filho, J.; Guedes, I.; Melo, F. E. A.

1999-02-01

We present Raman scattering results on LiK 1- x(NH 4) xSO 4 mixed crystal for temperatures between 100 and 300 K. We observed that in this temperature range the crystal undergoes two different phase transitions, which we call Bansal and Tomaszewski phase transitions. The introduction of ammonium ions in the potassium sites increases the C 66→C 3v4 (Bansal) phase transition temperature and decreases the Tomaszewski phase transition temperature. Finally, the most impressive effect of the presence of ammonium impurity in the LiKSO 4 structure is the decrease in the temperature hysteresis of Bansal phase transition and the almost complete destruction of hysteresis in the Tomaszewski phase transition, leading to a high temperature range of stability of the trigonal phase.

DNA unzipping phase diagram calculated via replica theory.

PubMed

Roland, C Brian; Hatch, Kristi Adamson; Prentiss, Mara; Shakhnovich, Eugene I

2009-05-01

We show how single-molecule unzipping experiments can provide strong evidence that the zero-force melting transition of long molecules of natural dsDNA should be classified as a phase transition of the higher-order type (continuous). Toward this end, we study a statistical-mechanics model for the fluctuating structure of a long molecule of dsDNA, and compute the equilibrium phase diagram for the experiment in which the molecule is unzipped under applied force. We consider a perfect-matching dsDNA model, in which the loops are volume-excluding chains with arbitrary loop exponent c . We include stacking interactions, hydrogen bonds, and main-chain entropy. We include sequence heterogeneity at the level of random sequences; in particular, there is no correlation in the base-pairing (bp) energy from one sequence position to the next. We present heuristic arguments to demonstrate that the low-temperature macrostate does not exhibit degenerate ergodicity breaking. We use this claim to understand the results of our replica-theoretic calculation of the equilibrium properties of the system. As a function of temperature, we obtain the minimal force at which the molecule separates completely. This critical-force curve is a line in the temperature-force phase diagram that marks the regions where the molecule exists primarily as a double helix versus the region where the molecule exists as two separate strands. We compare our random-sequence model to magnetic tweezer experiments performed on the 48 502 bp genome of bacteriophage lambda . We find good agreement with the experimental data, which is restricted to temperatures between 24 and 50 degrees C . At higher temperatures, the critical-force curve of our random-sequence model is very different for that of the homogeneous-sequence version of our model. For both sequence models, the critical force falls to zero at the melting temperature T_{c} like |T-T_{c}|;{alpha} . For the homogeneous-sequence model, alpha=1/2 almost exactly, while for the random-sequence model, alpha approximately 0.9 . Importantly, the shape of the critical-force curve is connected, via our theory, to the manner in which the helix fraction falls to zero at T_{c} . The helix fraction is the property that is used to classify the melting transition as a type of phase transition. In our calculation, the shape of the critical-force curve holds strong evidence that the zero-force melting transition of long natural dsDNA should be classified as a higher-order (continuous) phase transition. Specifically, the order is 3rd or greater.

Effects of elongation on the phase behavior of the Gay-Berne fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Julian T.; Allen, Michael P.; Martín del Río, Elvira; Miguel, Enrique De

1998-06-01

In this paper we present a computer simulation study of the phase behavior of the Gay-Berne liquid crystal model, concentrating on the effects of varying the molecular elongation κ. We study a range of length-to-width parameters 3<=κ<=4, using a variety of molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo techniques, obtaining a guide to the phase behavior for each shape studied. We observe vapor (V), isotropic liquid (I), nematic (N), smectic-A (SA) and smectic-B (SB) liquid crystal phases. Within the small range of elongation studied, the phase diagram shows significant changes. On increasing κ, the liquid-vapor critical point moves to lower temperature until it falls below the I-SB coexistence line, around κ=3.4, where liquid-vapor coexistence proves hard to establish. The liquid-vapor critical point seems to be completely absent at κ=4.0. Another dramatic effect is the growth of a stable SA ``island'' in the phase diagram at elongations slightly above κ=3.0. The SA range extends to both higher and lower temperatures as κ is increased. Also as κ is increased, the I-N transition is seen to move to lower density (and pressure) at given temperature. The lowest temperature at which the nematic phase is stable does not vary dramatically with κ. On cooling, no SB-crystal transition can be identified in the equation of state for any of these elongations; we suggest that, on the basis of simulation evidence, SB and crystal are really the same phase for these models.

Refining the phase diagram of Pb{sub 1−x}La{sub x}(Zr{sub 0.9}Ti{sub 0.1}){sub 1−x/4}O{sub 3} ceramics by structural, dielectric, and anelastic spectroscopy investigations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Craciun, F., E-mail: Floriana.Craciun@isc.cnr.it; Cordero, F.; Ciuchi, I. V.

2015-05-14

We present the results of dielectric and anelastic spectroscopy measurements, together with X-ray diffraction investigations, which allow us to establish more precisely the phase diagram of Pb{sub 1−x}La{sub x}(Zr{sub 0.9}Ti{sub 0.1}){sub 1−x/4}O{sub 3} (PLZT x/90/10) in the compositional range around the AFE/FE phase boundary (0 < x < 0.04). From structural analysis and polarization-electric field measurements, we have found that the ground state of PLZT samples with x < 0.025 is rhombohedral R3c, while samples with x > 0.032 are antiferroelectric with orthorhombic Pbam structure. In-between, for compositions with 0.025 ≤ x ≤ 0.032, a coexistence of the AFE/FE phases is evidenced. The use of complementary dielectric and anelastic techniques allows tomore » follow the phase transitions shifts throughout all the interesting composition range and to construct the temperature-composition phase diagram. The tilt instability line, separating the R3c and R3m low and high temperature phases, has been evidenced. Moreover, the new transition, associated with the onset of disordered tilting preceding the long range order of the R3c phase, previously found in Zr-rich Pb(Zr,Ti)O{sub 3}, is confirmed in rhombohedral PLZT x/90/10 compositions.« less

Structural phase transition in monolayer MoTe2 driven by electrostatic doping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ying; Xiao, Jun; Zhu, Hanyu; Li, Yao; Alsaid, Yousif; Fong, King Yan; Zhou, Yao; Wang, Siqi; Shi, Wu; Wang, Yuan; Zettl, Alex; Reed, Evan J.; Zhang, Xiang

2017-10-01

Monolayers of transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) exhibit numerous crystal phases with distinct structures, symmetries and physical properties. Exploring the physics of transitions between these different structural phases in two dimensions may provide a means of switching material properties, with implications for potential applications. Structural phase transitions in TMDs have so far been induced by thermal or chemical means; purely electrostatic control over crystal phases through electrostatic doping was recently proposed as a theoretical possibility, but has not yet been realized. Here we report the experimental demonstration of an electrostatic-doping-driven phase transition between the hexagonal and monoclinic phases of monolayer molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2). We find that the phase transition shows a hysteretic loop in Raman spectra, and can be reversed by increasing or decreasing the gate voltage. We also combine second-harmonic generation spectroscopy with polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy to show that the induced monoclinic phase preserves the crystal orientation of the original hexagonal phase. Moreover, this structural phase transition occurs simultaneously across the whole sample. This electrostatic-doping control of structural phase transition opens up new possibilities for developing phase-change devices based on atomically thin membranes.

Raman effect in multiferroic Bi5Fe1+xTi3-xO15 solid solutions: A temperature study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez Aranda, Ma. Del Carmen; Rodríguez-Vázquez, Ángel G.; Salazar-Kuri, Ulises; Mendoza, María Eugenia; Navarro-Contreras, Hugo R.

2018-02-01

In this work, a Raman study of powder samples of multiferroic Bi5Fe1+xTi3-xO15 solid solutions and Bi6Fe2Ti3O18 as a function of temperature from 27 °C (room temperature) to 850 °C is presented. The values of x (i.e., the Fe composition) for the solid solutions were 1.0, 1.1, 1.3, and 1.4. The temperature coefficients of eight phonon frequencies were determined for all the samples. The large observed phonon broadenings with increasing temperature precluded the observation of several of the phonon bands above defined temperatures in the range of 200-700 °C depending on the sample. These phonon broadenings were explained on the basis of the Klemens model, which considers that the broadenings are due to the thermal expansion of the lattice with a major contribution in terms of magnitude from anharmonic phonon-phonon interactions. However, some evidence for the presence of several of the phonons persisted up to 800-850 °C. These solid solutions are expected to exhibit a ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition at 742 to 750 °C and a ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic transition at 426 °C. We also observed changes in the slopes of the temperature dependence of the phonon frequencies for the lines at 228 cm-1 for Bi5FeTi3O15 and 330 cm-1 for Bi6Fe2Ti3O18 at temperatures of 247 °C and 347 °C, respectively. No similar temperature-frequency slope changes indicative of possible phase transitions were observed for any of the phonon lines of the other three Bi5Fe1+xTi3-xO15 solid solutions examined.

Synthesis, crystal structure and high temperature phase transition in the new organic-inorganic hybrid [N(C4H9)4]3Zn2Cl7H2O crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ben Gzaiel, Malika; Oueslati, Abderrazek; Lhoste, Jérôme; Gargouri, Mohamed; Bulou, Alain

2015-06-01

The present paper accounts for the synthesis, crystal structure, differential scanning calorimetry and vibrational spectroscopy of a new compound tri-tetrabutylammonium heptachloro-dizincate (I) grown at room temperature by slow evaporation of aqueous solution. From X-ray diffraction data collected at room temperature, it is concluded that it crystallizes in the monoclinic system (P21/n space group) containing ZnCl42- and ZnCl3H2O1- tetrahedra. The atomic arrangement can be described by an alternation of organic and organic-inorganic layers stacked along the c direction. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) in the range 250-450 K disclosed a reversible structural phase transition of order-disorder type at 358 K, prior to the melting at 395 K. The temperature dependence of the Raman spectra of [N(C4H9)4]3Zn2Cl7H2O single crystals was studied in the spectral range 100-3500 cm-1 and for temperatures between 300 and 386 K. The most important changes are observed for the line at 261 cm-1 issued from ν1(ZnCl4). The analysis of the wavenumber, intensity and the line width based on an order-disorder model allowed to obtain information relative to the activation energy and the correlation length. The decrease of the activation energy with increasing temperature has been interpreted in term of a change in the re-orientation motion of the anionic parts. The assumption of cluster fluctuations also allowed the critical exponents to be obtained for the transition δ = 0.011 and the correlation length ξ0 = 598 Å.

Experimental Evidence for a Structural-Dynamical Transition in Trajectory Space.

PubMed

Pinchaipat, Rattachai; Campo, Matteo; Turci, Francesco; Hallett, James E; Speck, Thomas; Royall, C Patrick

2017-07-14

Among the key insights into the glass transition has been the identification of a nonequilibrium phase transition in trajectory space which reveals phase coexistence between the normal supercooled liquid (active phase) and a glassy state (inactive phase). Here, we present evidence that such a transition occurs in experiments. In colloidal hard spheres, we find a non-Gaussian distribution of trajectories leaning towards those rich in locally favored structures (LFSs), associated with the emergence of slow dynamics. This we interpret as evidence for a nonequilibrium transition to an inactive LFS-rich phase. Reweighting trajectories reveals a first-order phase transition in trajectory space between a normal liquid and a LFS-rich phase. We also find evidence for a purely dynamical transition in trajectory space.

DETECTING EXOMOONS AROUND SELF-LUMINOUS GIANT EXOPLANETS THROUGH POLARIZATION.

PubMed

Sengupta, Sujan; Marley, Mark S

2016-01-01

Many of the directly imaged self-luminous gas giant exoplanets have been found to have cloudy atmospheres. Scattering of the emergent thermal radiation from these planets by the dust grains in their atmospheres should locally give rise to significant linear polarization of the emitted radiation. However, the observable disk averaged polarization should be zero if the planet is spherically symmetric. Rotation-induced oblateness may yield a net non-zero disk averaged polarization if the planets have sufficiently high spin rotation velocity. On the other hand, when a large natural satellite or exomoon transits a planet with cloudy atmosphere along the line of sight, the asymmetry induced during the transit should give rise to a net non-zero, time resolved linear polarization signal. The peak amplitude of such time dependent polarization may be detectable even for slowly rotating exoplanets. Therefore, we suggest that large exomoons around directly imaged self-luminous exoplanets may be detectable through time resolved imaging polarimetry. Adopting detailed atmospheric models for several values of effective temperature and surface gravity which are appropriate for self-luminous exoplanets, we present the polarization profiles of these objects in the infrared during transit phase and estimate the peak amplitude of polarization that occurs during the inner contacts of the transit ingress/egress phase. The peak polarization is predicted to range between 0.1 and 0.3 % in the infrared.

DETECTING EXOMOONS AROUND SELF-LUMINOUS GIANT EXOPLANETS THROUGH POLARIZATION

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sengupta, Sujan; Marley, Mark S., E-mail: sujan@iiap.res.in, E-mail: Mark.S.Marley@NASA.gov

Many of the directly imaged self-luminous gas-giant exoplanets have been found to have cloudy atmospheres. Scattering of the emergent thermal radiation from these planets by the dust grains in their atmospheres should locally give rise to significant linear polarization of the emitted radiation. However, the observable disk-averaged polarization should be zero if the planet is spherically symmetric. Rotation-induced oblateness may yield a net non-zero disk-averaged polarization if the planets have sufficiently high spin rotation velocity. On the other hand, when a large natural satellite or exomoon transits a planet with a cloudy atmosphere along the line of sight, the asymmetrymore » induced during the transit should give rise to a net non-zero, time-resolved linear polarization signal. The peak amplitude of such time-dependent polarization may be detectable even for slowly rotating exoplanets. Therefore, we suggest that large exomoons around directly imaged self-luminous exoplanets may be detectable through time-resolved imaging polarimetry. Adopting detailed atmospheric models for several values of effective temperature and surface gravity that are appropriate for self-luminous exoplanets, we present the polarization profiles of these objects in the infrared during the transit phase and estimate the peak amplitude of polarization that occurs during the inner contacts of the transit ingress/egress phase. The peak polarization is predicted to range between 0.1% and 0.3% in the infrared.« less

Detecting Exomoons Around Self-Luminous Giant Exoplanets Through Polarization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sengupta, Sujan; Marley, Mark Scott

2016-01-01

Many of the directly imaged self-luminous gas giant exoplanets have been found to have cloudy atmo- spheres. Scattering of the emergent thermal radiation from these planets by the dust grains in their atmospheres should locally give rise to significant linear polarization of the emitted radiation. However, the observable disk averaged polarization should be zero if the planet is spherically symmetric. Rotation-induced oblateness may yield a net non-zero disk averaged polarization if the planets have sufficiently high spin rotation velocity. On the other hand, when a large natural satellite or exomoon transits a planet with cloudy atmosphere along the line of sight, the asymmetry induced during the transit should give rise to a net non-zero, time resolved linear polarization signal. The peak amplitude of such time dependent polarization may be detectable even for slowly rotating exoplanets. Therefore, we suggest that large exomoons around directly imaged self-luminous exoplanets may be detectable through time resolved imaging polarimetry. Adopting detailed atmospheric models for several values of effective temperature and surface gravity which are appropriate for self-luminous exoplanets, we present the polarization profiles of these objects in the infrared during transit phase and estimate the peak amplitude of polarization that occurs during the the inner contacts of the transit ingress/egress phase. The peak polarization is predicted to range between 0.1 and 0.3 % in the infrared.

DETECTING EXOMOONS AROUND SELF-LUMINOUS GIANT EXOPLANETS THROUGH POLARIZATION

PubMed Central

Sengupta, Sujan; Marley, Mark S.

2017-01-01

Many of the directly imaged self-luminous gas giant exoplanets have been found to have cloudy atmospheres. Scattering of the emergent thermal radiation from these planets by the dust grains in their atmospheres should locally give rise to significant linear polarization of the emitted radiation. However, the observable disk averaged polarization should be zero if the planet is spherically symmetric. Rotation-induced oblateness may yield a net non-zero disk averaged polarization if the planets have sufficiently high spin rotation velocity. On the other hand, when a large natural satellite or exomoon transits a planet with cloudy atmosphere along the line of sight, the asymmetry induced during the transit should give rise to a net non-zero, time resolved linear polarization signal. The peak amplitude of such time dependent polarization may be detectable even for slowly rotating exoplanets. Therefore, we suggest that large exomoons around directly imaged self-luminous exoplanets may be detectable through time resolved imaging polarimetry. Adopting detailed atmospheric models for several values of effective temperature and surface gravity which are appropriate for self-luminous exoplanets, we present the polarization profiles of these objects in the infrared during transit phase and estimate the peak amplitude of polarization that occurs during the inner contacts of the transit ingress/egress phase. The peak polarization is predicted to range between 0.1 and 0.3 % in the infrared. PMID:29430024

The cAMP analogs have potent anti-proliferative effects on medullary thyroid cancer cell lines.

PubMed

Dicitore, Alessandra; Grassi, Elisa Stellaria; Caraglia, Michele; Borghi, Maria Orietta; Gaudenzi, Germano; Hofland, Leo J; Persani, Luca; Vitale, Giovanni

2016-01-01

The oncogenic activation of the rearranged during transfection (RET) proto-oncogene has a main role in the pathogenesis of medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). Several lines of evidence suggest that RET function could be influenced by cyclic AMP (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase A (PKA) activity. We evaluated the in vitro anti-tumor activity of 8-chloroadenosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (8-Cl-cAMP) and PKA type I-selective cAMP analogs [equimolar combination of the 8-piperidinoadenosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (8-PIP-cAMP) and 8-hexylaminoadenosine-3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (8-HA-cAMP) in MTC cell lines (TT and MZ-CRC-1)]. 8-Cl-cAMP and the PKA I-selective cAMP analogs showed a potent anti-proliferative effect in both cell lines. In detail, 8-Cl-cAMP blocked significantly the transition of TT cell population from G2/M to G0/G1 phase and from G0/G1 to S phase and of MZ-CRC-1 cells from G0/G1 to S phase. Moreover, 8-Cl-cAMP induced apoptosis in both cell lines, as demonstrated by FACS analysis for annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide, the activation of caspase-3 and PARP cleavage. On the other hand, the only effect induced by PKA I-selective cAMP analogs was a delay in G0/G1-S and S-G2/M progression in TT and MZ-CRC-1 cells, respectively. In conclusion, these data demonstrate that cAMP analogs, particularly 8-Cl-cAMP, significantly suppress in vitro MTC proliferation and provide rationale for a potential clinical use of cAMP analogs in the treatment of advanced MTC.

A stress-induced phase transition model for semi-crystallize shape memory polymer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Xiaogang; Zhou, Bo; Liu, Liwu; Liu, Yanju; Leng, Jinsong

2014-03-01

The developments of constitutive models for shape memory polymer (SMP) have been motivated by its increasing applications. During cooling or heating process, the phase transition which is a continuous time-dependent process happens in semi-crystallize SMP and the various individual phases form at different temperature and in different configuration. Then, the transformation between these phases occurred and shape memory effect will emerge. In addition, stress applied on SMP is an important factor for crystal melting during phase transition. In this theory, an ideal phase transition model considering stress or pre-strain is the key to describe the behaviors of shape memory effect. So a normal distributed model was established in this research to characterize the volume fraction of each phase in SMP during phase transition. Generally, the experiment results are partly backward (in heating process) or forward (in cooling process) compared with the ideal situation considering delay effect during phase transition. So, a correction on the normal distributed model is needed. Furthermore, a nonlinear relationship between stress and phase transition temperature Tg is also taken into account for establishing an accurately normal distributed phase transition model. Finally, the constitutive model which taking the stress as an influence factor on phase transition was also established. Compared with the other expressions, this new-type model possesses less parameter and is more accurate. For the sake of verifying the rationality and accuracy of new phase transition and constitutive model, the comparisons between the simulated and experimental results were carried out.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Renlund, Anita Mariana; Tappan, Alexander Smith; Miller, Jill C.

The HMX {beta}-{delta} solid-solid phase transition, which occurs as HMX is heated near 170 C, is linked to increased reactivity and sensitivity to initiation. Thermally damaged energetic materials (EMs) containing HMX therefore may present a safety concern. Information about the phase transition is vital to predictive safety models for HMX and HMX-containing EMs. We report work on monitoring the phase transition with real-time Raman spectroscopy aimed towards obtaining a better understanding of physical properties of HMX through the phase transition. HMX samples were confined in a cell of minimal free volume in a displacement-controlled or load-controlled arrangement. The cell wasmore » heated and then cooled at controlled rates while real-time Raman spectroscopic measurements were performed. Raman spectroscopy provides a clear distinction between the phases of HMX because the vibrational transitions of the molecule change with conformational changes associated with the phase transition. Temperature of phase transition versus load data are presented for both the heating and cooling cycles in the load-controlled apparatus, and general trends are discussed. A weak dependence of the temperature of phase transition on load was discovered during the heating cycle, with higher loads causing the phase transition to occur at a higher temperature. This was especially true in the temperature of completion of phase transition data as opposed to the temperature of onset of phase transition data. A stronger dependence on load was observed in the cooling cycle, with higher loads causing the reverse phase transitions to occur at a higher cooling temperature. Also, higher loads tended to cause the phase transition to occur over a longer period of time in the heating cycle and over a shorter period of time in the cooling cycle. All three of the pure HMX phases ({alpha}, {beta} and {delta}) were detected on cooling of the heated samples, either in pure form or as a mixture.« less

Phase behavior, microstructural transition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of a water-dilutable thymol microemulsion.

PubMed

Deng, Lingli; Taxipalati, Maierhaba; Sun, Ping; Que, Fei; Zhang, Hui

2015-12-01

Pseudo ternary phase diagrams were constructed to assess the dilutability of thymol microemulsions using non-ionic (Tween 80), cationic (CTAB), and anionic (SDS) surfactants. We successfully constructed a thymol U-type microemulsion system using Tween 80 as surfactant and studied the microstructural transition along the dilution line at a 90/10 surfactant/oil mass ratio, with thymol and ethanol (3:1, w/w) as the oil phase. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis suggested that the microemulsions gradually inverted from the water-in-oil (W/O) (0-20% water) to the bicontinuous (25-35% water), and finally to the oil-in-water (O/W) (40-90% water) microstructures upon dilution, in good agreement with the conductivity measurements, while the rheological results indicated the collapse of rod-like micelles followed by formation of spherical micelles in the O/W region. The activities of the U-type thymol microemulsions are structural dependent. The antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus decreased when the microemulsions transformed from W/O to bicontinuous and O/W structures, while the DPPH scavenging activity increased. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exoplanetary System HD 189733 - Chromosphere, Transit, Activity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krejcova, T.; Czesla, S.; Wolter, U.; Schmitt, J. H. M. M.

2015-01-01

We present a study of the temporal evolution of the chromospherically sensitive lines in the transiting exoplanetary system HD 189733 using high-resolution UVES spectra. With its fast temporal cadence of only 45 s and its wide spectral coverage, our time series is ideal to study the influence of the transiting planetary disk on chromospheric lines . We measured the equivalent width and central line depression of the Ca II H and K lines, Hα, and the Ca II infrared triplet. While all these lines show temporal evolution on a scale potentially induced by the occulting planetary disk, strong intrinsic stellar variability prevents us from uniquely ascribing the observed variation to the planetary transit.

A digital optical phase-locked loop for diode lasers based on field programmable gate array.

PubMed

Xu, Zhouxiang; Zhang, Xian; Huang, Kaikai; Lu, Xuanhui

2012-09-01

We have designed and implemented a highly digital optical phase-locked loop (OPLL) for diode lasers in atom interferometry. The three parts of controlling circuit in this OPLL, including phase and frequency detector (PFD), loop filter and proportional integral derivative (PID) controller, are implemented in a single field programmable gate array chip. A structure type compatible with the model MAX9382∕MCH12140 is chosen for PFD and pipeline and parallelism technology have been adapted in PID controller. Especially, high speed clock and twisted ring counter have been integrated in the most crucial part, the loop filter. This OPLL has the narrow beat note line width below 1 Hz, residual mean-square phase error of 0.14 rad(2) and transition time of 100 μs under 10 MHz frequency step. A main innovation of this design is the completely digitalization of the whole controlling circuit in OPLL for diode lasers.

A digital optical phase-locked loop for diode lasers based on field programmable gate array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Zhouxiang; Zhang, Xian; Huang, Kaikai; Lu, Xuanhui

2012-09-01

We have designed and implemented a highly digital optical phase-locked loop (OPLL) for diode lasers in atom interferometry. The three parts of controlling circuit in this OPLL, including phase and frequency detector (PFD), loop filter and proportional integral derivative (PID) controller, are implemented in a single field programmable gate array chip. A structure type compatible with the model MAX9382/MCH12140 is chosen for PFD and pipeline and parallelism technology have been adapted in PID controller. Especially, high speed clock and twisted ring counter have been integrated in the most crucial part, the loop filter. This OPLL has the narrow beat note line width below 1 Hz, residual mean-square phase error of 0.14 rad2 and transition time of 100 μs under 10 MHz frequency step. A main innovation of this design is the completely digitalization of the whole controlling circuit in OPLL for diode lasers.

Highly precise stabilization of intracavity prism-based Er:fiber frequency comb using optical-microwave phase detector.

PubMed

Zhang, Shuangyou; Wu, Jiutao; Leng, Jianxiao; Lai, Shunnan; Zhao, Jianye

2014-11-15

In this Letter, we demonstrate a fully stabilized Er:fiber frequency comb by using a fiber-based, high-precision optical-microwave phase detector. To achieve high-precision and long-term phase locking of the repetition rate to a microwave reference, frequency control techniques (tuning pump power and cavity length) are combined together as its feedback. Since the pump power has been used for stabilization of the repetition rate, we introduce a pair of intracavity prisms as a regulator for carrier-envelope offset frequency, thereby phase locking one mode of the comb to the rubidium saturated absorption transition line. The stabilized comb performs the same high stability as the reference for the repetition rate and provides a residual frequency instability of 3.6×10(-13) for each comb mode. The demonstrated stabilization scheme could provide a high-precision comb for optical communication, direct frequency comb spectroscopy.

Water Absorption in Galactic Translucent Clouds: Conditions and History of the Gas Derived from Herschel/HIFI PRISMAS Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flagey, N.; Goldsmith, P. F.; Lis, D. C.; Gerin, M.; Neufeld, D.; Sonnentrucker, P.; De Luca, M.; Godard, B.; Goicoechea, J. R.; Monje, R.; Phillips, T. G.

2013-01-01

We present Herschel/HIFI observations of the three ground state transitions of H2O (556, 1669, and 1113 GHz) and H218O (547, 1655, and 1101 GHz)—as well as the first few excited transitions of H2O (987, 752, and 1661 GHz)—toward six high-mass star-forming regions, obtained as part of the PRISMAS (PRobing InterStellar Molecules with Absorption line Studies) Guaranteed Time Key Program. Water vapor associated with the translucent clouds in Galactic arms is detected in absorption along every line of sight in all the ground state transitions. The continuum sources all exhibit broad water features in emission in the excited and ground state transitions. Strong absorption features associated with the source are also observed at all frequencies except 752 GHz. We model the background continuum and line emission to infer the optical depth of each translucent cloud along the lines of sight. We derive the column density of H2O or H218O for the lower energy level of each transition observed. The total column density of water in translucent clouds is usually about a few 1013 cm-2. We find that the abundance of water relative to hydrogen nuclei is 1 × 10-8 in agreement with models for oxygen chemistry in which high cosmic ray ionization rates are assumed. Relative to molecular hydrogen, the abundance of water is remarkably constant through the Galactic plane with X(H2O) =5 × 10-8, which makes water a good traced of H2 in translucent clouds. Observations of the excited transitions of H2O enable us to constrain the abundance of water in excited levels to be at most 15%, implying that the excitation temperature, T ex, in the ground state transitions is below 10 K. Further analysis of the column densities derived from the two ortho ground state transitions indicates that T ex ~= 5 K and that the density n(H2) in the translucent clouds is below 104 cm-3. We derive the water ortho-to-para ratio for each absorption feature along the line of sight and find that most of the clouds show ratios consistent with the value of 3 expected in thermodynamic equilibrium in the high-temperature limit. However, two clouds with large column densities exhibit a ratio that is significantly below 3. This may argue that the history of water molecules includes a cold phase, either when the molecules were formed on cold grains in the well-shielded, low-temperature regions of the clouds, or when they later become at least partially thermalized with the cold gas (~25 K) in those regions; evidently, they have not yet fully thermalized with the warmer (~50 K) translucent portions of the clouds. Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.

Controlling the Temperature and Speed of the Phase Transition of VO 2 Microcrystals

DOE PAGES

Yoon, Joonseok; Kim, Howon; Chen, Xian; ...

2015-12-29

Here, we investigated the control of two important parameters of vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ) microcrystals, the phase transition temperature and speed, by varying microcrystal width. By using the reflectivity change between insulating and metallic phases, phase transition temperature is measured by optical microscopy. As the width of square cylinder-shaped microcrystals decreases from ~70 to ~1 μm, the phase transition temperature (67 °C for bulk) varied as much as 26.1 °C (19.7 °C) during heating (cooling). In addition, the propagation speed of phase boundary in the microcrystal, i.e., phase transition speed, is monitored at the onset of phase transition bymore » using the high-speed resistance measurement. The phase transition speed increases from 4.6 × 10 2 to 1.7 × 10 4 μm/s as the width decreases from ~50 to ~2 μm. While the statistical description for a heterogeneous nucleation process explains the size dependence on phase transition temperature of VO 2 , the increase of effective thermal exchange process is responsible for the enhancement of phase transition speed of small VO 2 microcrystals. These findings not only enhance the understanding of VO 2 intrinsic properties but also contribute to the development of innovative electronic devices.« less

Controlling the Temperature and Speed of the Phase Transition of VO 2 Microcrystals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yoon, Joonseok; Kim, Howon; Chen, Xian

Here, we investigated the control of two important parameters of vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ) microcrystals, the phase transition temperature and speed, by varying microcrystal width. By using the reflectivity change between insulating and metallic phases, phase transition temperature is measured by optical microscopy. As the width of square cylinder-shaped microcrystals decreases from ~70 to ~1 μm, the phase transition temperature (67 °C for bulk) varied as much as 26.1 °C (19.7 °C) during heating (cooling). In addition, the propagation speed of phase boundary in the microcrystal, i.e., phase transition speed, is monitored at the onset of phase transition bymore » using the high-speed resistance measurement. The phase transition speed increases from 4.6 × 10 2 to 1.7 × 10 4 μm/s as the width decreases from ~50 to ~2 μm. While the statistical description for a heterogeneous nucleation process explains the size dependence on phase transition temperature of VO 2 , the increase of effective thermal exchange process is responsible for the enhancement of phase transition speed of small VO 2 microcrystals. These findings not only enhance the understanding of VO 2 intrinsic properties but also contribute to the development of innovative electronic devices.« less

Hydroxyl Emission in the Westbrook Nebula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strack, Angelica; Araya, Esteban; Ghosh, Tapasi; Arce, Hector G.; Lebron, Mayra E.; Salter, Christopher J.; Minchin, Robert F.; Pihlstrom, Ylva; Kurtz, Stan; Hofner, Peter; Olmi, Luca

2016-06-01

CRL 618, also known as the Westbrook Nebula, is a carbon-rich pre-planetary nebula. Hydroxyl (OH) transitions are typically not detected in carbon-rich late-type stellar objects, however observations conducted with the 305m Arecibo Telescope in 2008 resulted in the detection of 4765 MHz OH emission in CRL 618. We present results of observations carried out a few months after the original detection that confirm the line. This is the first detection of 4765 MHz OH emission (most likely a maser) in a pre-planetary nebula. Follow up observations conducted in 2015 resulted in non-detection of the 4765 MHz OH transition. This behavior is consistent with the high level of variability of excited OH lines that have been detected toward a handful of other pre-planetary nebulae. Our work supports that excited OH masers are short-lived during the pre-planetary nebula phase. We also conducted a search for other OH transitions from 1612 MHz to 8611 MHz with the Arecibo Telescope; we report no other detections at rms levels of ~5 mJy.This work has made use of the computational facilities donated by Frank Rodeffer to the WIU Astrophysics Research Laboratory. We also acknowledge support from M. & C. Wong RISE scholarships and a grant from the WIU College of Arts and Sciences.

Origin of phase transition in VO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basu, Raktima; Sardar, Manas; Dhara, Sandip

2018-04-01

Vanadium dioxide (VO2) exhibits a reversible first-order metal to insulator transition (MIT) along with a structural phase transition (SPT) from monoclinic M1 to rutile tetragonal R via another two intermediate phases of monoclinic M2 and triclinic T at a technologically important temperature of 340K. In the present work, besides synthesizing M1 phase of VO2, we also stabilized M2 and T phases at room temperature by introducing native defects in the system and observed an increase in transition temperature with increase in native defects. Raman spectroscopic measurements were carried out to confirm the pure VO2 phases. Since the MIT is accompanied by SPT in these systems, the origin of the phase transition is still under debate. The controversy between MIT and SPT, whether electron-phonon coupling or strong electron-electron correlation triggers the phase transition in VO2 is also resolved by examining the presence of intermediate phase M2 during phase transition.

Interstitial effects of B and Li on the magnetic phase transition and magnetocaloric effects in Gd2In alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yang; Xie, Yigao; Zhou, Xiaoqian; Zhong, Hui; Jiang, Qingzheng; Ma, Shengcan; Zhong, Zhenchen; Cui, Weibin; Wang, Qiang

2018-05-01

Interstitial effects of B and Li on the phase transition and magnetocaloric effect in Gd2In alloys had been studied. The antiferromagnetic (AFM) - ferromagnetic (FM) phase transition was found to be of first-order nature while ferromagnetic - paramagnetic (PM) phase transition was of second-order nature in B- or Li-doped Gd2In alloys. AFM-FM phase transition temperature was increased while FM-PM phase transition was decreased with more doping concentrations. During AFM-FM phase transition, the slope of temperature-dependent critical field (μ0Hcr) was increased by increased doping amounts. The magnetic entropy changes under small field change were enhanced by B and Li addition, which showed the beneficial effects of B and Li additions.

Phase separation in solution of worm-like micelles: a dilute ? spin-vector model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panizza, Pascal; Cristobal, Galder; Curély, Jacques

1998-12-01

We show how the dilute 0953-8984/10/50/006/img2 spin vector model introduced originally by Wheeler and co-workers for describing the polymerization phenomenon in solutions of liquid sulphur and of living polymers may be conveniently adapted for studying phase separation in systems containing long flexible micelles. We draw an isomorphism between the coupling constant appearing in the exchange Hamiltonian and the surfactant energies in the micellar problem. We solve this problem within the mean-field approximation and compare the main results we have obtained with respect to polymer theory and previous theories of phase separation in micellar solutions. We show that the attractive interaction term 0953-8984/10/50/006/img3 between monomers renormalizes the aggregation energy and subsequently the corresponding size distribution. Under these conditions, we observe that the general aspect of the phase diagram in the 0953-8984/10/50/006/img4 plane (where 0953-8984/10/50/006/img5 is the surfactant concentration) is different from previous results. The spinodal line shows a re-entrant behaviour and, at low concentrations, we point out the possibility of specific nucleation phenomena related to the existence of a metastable transition line between a region composed of spherical micelles and another one corresponding to a dilute solution of long flexible micelles.

Ground-state phase diagram of the repulsive fermionic t -t' Hubbard model on the square lattice from weak coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Šimkovic, Fedor; Liu, Xuan-Wen; Deng, Youjin; Kozik, Evgeny

2016-08-01

We obtain a complete and numerically exact in the weak-coupling limit (U →0 ) ground-state phase diagram of the repulsive fermionic Hubbard model on the square lattice for filling factors 0

New opportunities with spectro-interferometry and spectro-astrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kraus, Stefan

2012-07-01

Latest-generation spectro-interferometric instruments combine a milliarcsecond angular resolution with spectral capabilities, resulting in an immensely increased information content. Here, I present methodological work and results that illustrate the fundamentally new scientific insights provided by spectro-interferometry with very high spectral dispersion or in multiple line transitions (Brackett and Pfund lines). In addition, I discuss some pitfalls in the interpretation of spectro-interferometric data. In the context of our recent studies on the classical Be stars β CMi and ζ Tau, I present the first position-velocity diagram obtained with optical interferometry and provide a physical interpretation for a phase inversion, which has in the meantime been observed for several classical Be-stars. In the course of our study on the Herbig B[e] star V921 Sco, we combined, for the first time, spectro-interferometry and spectro-astrometry, providing a powerful and resource-efficient way to constrain the spatial distribution as well as the kinematics of the circumstellar gas with an unprecedented velocity resolution up to R = λ/Δλ = 100,000. Finally, I discuss our phase sign calibration procedure, which has allowed us to calibrate AMBER differential phases and closure phases for all spectral modes, and derive from the gained experience science-driven requirements for future instrumentation projects.

Interactions between coherent twin boundaries and phase transition of iron under dynamic loading and unloading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Kun; Chen, Jun; Zhang, Xueyang; Zhu, Wenjun

2017-09-01

Phase transitions and deformation twins are constantly reported in many BCC metals under high pressure, whose interactions are of fundamental importance to understand the strengthening mechanism of these metals under extreme conditions. However, the interactions between twins and phase transition in BCC metals remain largely unexplored. In this work, interactions between coherent twin boundaries and α ↔ ɛ phase transition of iron are investigated using both non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations and the nudged elastic band method. Mechanisms of both twin-assisted phase transition and reverse phase transition are studied, and orientation relationships between BCC and HCP phases are found to be ⟨"separators="|11 1 ¯ ⟩ B C C||⟨"separators="|1 ¯2 1 ¯ 0 ⟩ H C P and ⟨"separators="|1 1 ¯ 0 ⟩ B C C||⟨"separators="|0001 ⟩ H C P for both cases. The twin boundary corresponds to {"separators="|10 1 ¯ 0 } H C P after the phase transition. It is amazing that the reverse transition seems to be able to "memorize" and recover the initial BCC twins. The memory would be partly lost when plastic slips take place in the HCP phase before the reverse transition. In the recovered initial BCC twins, three major twin spacings are observed, which are well explained in terms of energy barriers of transition from the HCP phase to the BCC twin. Besides, the variant selection rule of the twin assisted phase transition is also discussed. The results of present work could be expected to give some clues for producing ultra-fine grain structures in materials exhibiting martensitic phase transition.

How to quantify the transition phase during golf swing performance: Torsional load affects low back complaints during the transition phase.

PubMed

Sim, Taeyong; Choi, Ahnryul; Lee, Soeun; Mun, Joung Hwan

2017-10-01

The transition phase of a golf swing is considered to be a decisive instant required for a powerful swing. However, at the same time, the low back torsional loads during this phase can have a considerable effect on golf-related low back pain (LBP). Previous efforts to quantify the transition phase were hampered by problems with accuracy due to methodological limitations. In this study, vector-coding technique (VCT) method was proposed as a comprehensive methodology to quantify the precise transition phase and examine low back torsional load. Towards this end, transition phases were assessed using three different methods (VCT, lead hand speed and X-factor stretch) and compared; then, low back torsional load during the transition phase was examined. As a result, the importance of accurate transition phase quantification has been documented. The largest torsional loads were observed in healthy professional golfers (10.23 ± 1.69 N · kg -1 ), followed by professional golfers with a history of LBP (7.93 ± 1.79 N · kg -1 ), healthy amateur golfers (1.79 ± 1.05 N · kg -1 ) and amateur golfers with a history of LBP (0.99 ± 0.87 N · kg -1 ), which order was equal to that of the transition phase magnitudes of each group. These results indicate the relationship between the transition phase and LBP history and the dependency of the torsional load magnitude on the transition phase.

Simulation studies of structure and edge tension of lipid bilayer edges: effects of tail structure and force-field.

PubMed

West, Ana; Ma, Kevin; Chung, Jonathan L; Kindt, James T

2013-08-15

Molecular dynamics simulations of lipid bilayer ribbons have been performed to investigate the structures and line tensions associated with free bilayer edges. Simulations carried out for dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine with three different force-field parameter sets yielded edge line tensions of 45 ± 2 pN, over 50% greater than the most recently reported experimentally determined value for this lipid. Edge tensions obtained from simulations of a series of phosphatidylcholine lipid bilayer ribbons with saturated acyl tails of length 12-16 carbons and with monounsaturated acyl tails of length 14-18 carbons could be correlated with the excess area associated with forming the edge, through a two-parameter fit. Saturated-tail lipids underwent local thickening near the edge, producing denser packing that correlated with lower line tensions, while unsaturated-tail lipids showed little or no local thickening. In a dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine ribbon initiated in a tilted gel-phase structure, lipid headgroups tended to tilt toward the nearer edge producing a herringbone pattern, an accommodation that may account for the reported edge-induced stabilization of an ordered structure at temperatures near a lipid gel-fluid phase transition.

Thermodynamic curvature for attractive and repulsive intermolecular forces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

May, Helge-Otmar; Mausbach, Peter; Ruppeiner, George

2013-09-01

The thermodynamic curvature scalar R for the Lennard-Jones system is evaluated in phase space, including vapor, liquid, and solid state. We paid special attention to the investigation of R along vapor-liquid, liquid-solid, and vapor-solid equilibria. Because R is a measure of interaction strength, we traced out the line R=0 dividing the phase space into regions with effectively attractive (R<0) or repulsive (R>0) interactions. Furthermore, we analyzed the dependence of R on the strength of attraction applying a perturbation ansatz proposed by Weeks-Chandler-Anderson. Our results show clearly a transition from R>0 (for poorly repulsive interaction) to R<0 when loading attraction in the intermolecular potential.

Statistical mechanics of budget-constrained auctions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altarelli, F.; Braunstein, A.; Realpe-Gomez, J.; Zecchina, R.

2009-07-01

Finding the optimal assignment in budget-constrained auctions is a combinatorial optimization problem with many important applications, a notable example being in the sale of advertisement space by search engines (in this context the problem is often referred to as the off-line AdWords problem). On the basis of the cavity method of statistical mechanics, we introduce a message-passing algorithm that is capable of solving efficiently random instances of the problem extracted from a natural distribution, and we derive from its properties the phase diagram of the problem. As the control parameter (average value of the budgets) is varied, we find two phase transitions delimiting a region in which long-range correlations arise.

Structure and transport properties of a plastic crystal ion conductor: diethyl(methyl)(isobutyl)phosphonium hexafluorophosphate.

PubMed

Jin, Liyu; Nairn, Kate M; Forsyth, Craig M; Seeber, Aaron J; MacFarlane, Douglas R; Howlett, Patrick C; Forsyth, Maria; Pringle, Jennifer M

2012-06-13

Understanding the ion transport behavior of organic ionic plastic crystals (OIPCs) is crucial for their potential application as solid electrolytes in various electrochemical devices such as lithium batteries. In the present work, the ion transport mechanism is elucidated by analyzing experimental data (single-crystal XRD, multinuclear solid-state NMR, DSC, ionic conductivity, and SEM) as well as the theoretical simulations (second moment-based solid static NMR line width simulations) for the OIPC diethyl(methyl)(isobutyl)phosphonium hexafluorophosphate ([P(1,2,2,4)][PF(6)]). This material displays rich phase behavior and advantageous ionic conductivities, with three solid-solid phase transitions and a highly "plastic" and conductive final solid phase in which the conductivity reaches 10(-3) S cm(-1). The crystal structure shows unique channel-like packing of the cations, which may allow the anions to diffuse more easily than the cations at lower temperatures. The strongly phase-dependent static NMR line widths of the (1)H, (19)F, and (31)P nuclei in this material have been well simulated by different levels of molecular motions in different phases. Thus, drawing together of the analytical and computational techniques has allowed the construction of a transport mechanism for [P(1,2,2,4)][PF(6)]. It is also anticipated that utilization of these techniques will allow a more detailed understanding of the transport mechanisms of other plastic crystal electrolyte materials.

Novel phase diagram behavior and materials design in heterostructural semiconductor alloys

PubMed Central

Holder, Aaron M.; Siol, Sebastian; Ndione, Paul F.; Peng, Haowei; Deml, Ann M.; Matthews, Bethany E.; Schelhas, Laura T.; Toney, Michael F.; Gordon, Roy G.; Tumas, William; Perkins, John D.; Ginley, David S.; Gorman, Brian P.; Tate, Janet; Zakutayev, Andriy; Lany, Stephan

2017-01-01

Structure and composition control the behavior of materials. Isostructural alloying is historically an extremely successful approach for tuning materials properties, but it is often limited by binodal and spinodal decomposition, which correspond to the thermodynamic solubility limit and the stability against composition fluctuations, respectively. We show that heterostructural alloys can exhibit a markedly increased range of metastable alloy compositions between the binodal and spinodal lines, thereby opening up a vast phase space for novel homogeneous single-phase alloys. We distinguish two types of heterostructural alloys, that is, those between commensurate and incommensurate phases. Because of the structural transition around the critical composition, the properties change in a highly nonlinear or even discontinuous fashion, providing a mechanism for materials design that does not exist in conventional isostructural alloys. The novel phase diagram behavior follows from standard alloy models using mixing enthalpies from first-principles calculations. Thin-film deposition demonstrates the viability of the synthesis of these metastable single-phase domains and validates the computationally predicted phase separation mechanism above the upper temperature bound of the nonequilibrium single-phase region. PMID:28630928

Novel phase diagram behavior and materials design in heterostructural semiconductor alloys.

PubMed

Holder, Aaron M; Siol, Sebastian; Ndione, Paul F; Peng, Haowei; Deml, Ann M; Matthews, Bethany E; Schelhas, Laura T; Toney, Michael F; Gordon, Roy G; Tumas, William; Perkins, John D; Ginley, David S; Gorman, Brian P; Tate, Janet; Zakutayev, Andriy; Lany, Stephan

2017-06-01

Structure and composition control the behavior of materials. Isostructural alloying is historically an extremely successful approach for tuning materials properties, but it is often limited by binodal and spinodal decomposition, which correspond to the thermodynamic solubility limit and the stability against composition fluctuations, respectively. We show that heterostructural alloys can exhibit a markedly increased range of metastable alloy compositions between the binodal and spinodal lines, thereby opening up a vast phase space for novel homogeneous single-phase alloys. We distinguish two types of heterostructural alloys, that is, those between commensurate and incommensurate phases. Because of the structural transition around the critical composition, the properties change in a highly nonlinear or even discontinuous fashion, providing a mechanism for materials design that does not exist in conventional isostructural alloys. The novel phase diagram behavior follows from standard alloy models using mixing enthalpies from first-principles calculations. Thin-film deposition demonstrates the viability of the synthesis of these metastable single-phase domains and validates the computationally predicted phase separation mechanism above the upper temperature bound of the nonequilibrium single-phase region.

Novel phase diagram behavior and materials design in heterostructural semiconductor alloys

DOE PAGES

Holder, Aaron M.; Siol, Sebastian; Ndione, Paul F.; ...

2017-06-07

Structure and composition control the behavior of materials. Isostructural alloying is historically an extremely successful approach for tuning materials properties, but it is often limited by binodal and spinodal decomposition, which correspond to the thermodynamic solubility limit and the stability against composition fluctuations, respectively. We show that heterostructural alloys can exhibit a markedly increased range of metastable alloy compositions between the binodal and spinodal lines, thereby opening up a vast phase space for novel homogeneous single-phase alloys. We distinguish two types of heterostructural alloys, that is, those between commensurate and incommensurate phases. Because of the structural transition around the criticalmore » composition, the properties change in a highly nonlinear or even discontinuous fashion, providing a mechanism for materials design that does not exist in conventional isostructural alloys. The novel phase diagram behavior follows from standard alloy models using mixing enthalpies from first-principles calculations. Furthermore, thin-film deposition demonstrates the viability of the synthesis of these metastable single-phase domains and validates the computationally predicted phase separation mechanism above the upper temperature bound of the nonequilibrium single-phase region.« less

Goddard High-Resolution Spectrograph Observations of Procyon and HR1099

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, Brian E.; Harper, Graham M.; Linsky, Jeffrey L.; Dempsey, Robert C.

1996-01-01

Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) observations have revealed the presence of broad wings in the transition-region lines of AU Mic and Capella. It has been proposed that these wings are signatures of microflares in the transition regions of these stars and that the solar analog for this phenomenon might be the 'transition region explosive events' discussed by Dere, Bartoe, & Brueckner. We have analyzed GHRS observations of Procyon (F5 IV-V) and HR 1099 (K1 IV + G5 IV) to search for broad wings in the UV emission lines of these stars. We find that the transition-region lines of HR 1099, which are emitted almost entirely by the K1 star, do indeed have broad wings that are even more prominent than those of AU Mic and Capella. This is consistent with the association of the broad wings with microflaring since HR 1099 is a very active binary system. In contrast, the transition-region lines of Procyon, a relatively inactive star, do not show evidence for broad wings, with the possible exception of N v lambda1239. However, Procyon's lines do appear to have excess emission in their blue wings. Linsky et al. found no evidence for broad wings in Capella's chromospheric lines, but we find that the Mg II resonance lines of HR 1099 do have broad wings. The striking resemblance between HR 1099's Mg II and C iv lines suggests that the Mg II line profiles may be regulated by turbulent processes similar to those that control the transition-region line profiles. If this is the case, microflaring may be occurring in the K1 star's chromosphere as well as in its transition region. However, radiative transfer calculations suggest that the broad wings of the Mg II lines can also result from normal chromospheric opacity effects rather than pure turbulence. The prominence of broad wings in the transition region and perhaps even chromospheric lines of active stars suggests that microflaring is very prevalent in the outer atmospheres of active stars.

Elastic properties of crystalline and liquid gallium at high pressures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyapin, A. G.; Gromnitskaya, E. L.; Yagafarov, O. F.; Stal'Gorova, O. V.; Brazhkin, V. V.

2008-11-01

The elastic properties of gallium, such as the bulk modulus B, the shear modulus G, and the Poisson’s ratio σ, are investigated and the relative change in the volume is determined in the stability regions of the Ga I, Ga II, and liquid phases at pressures of up to 1.7 GPa. The observed lines of the Ga I-Ga II phase transition and the melting curves of the Ga I and Ga II phases are in good agreement with the known phase diagram of gallium; in this case, the coordinates of the Ga I-Ga II-melt triple point are determined to be 1.24 ± 0.40 GPa and 277 ± 2 K. It is shown that the Ga I-Ga II phase transition is accompanied by a considerable decrease in the moduli B (by 30%) and G (by 55%) and an increase in the density by 5.7%. The Poisson’s ratio exhibits a jump from typically covalent values of approximately 0.22-0.25 to values of approximately 0.32-0.33, which are characteristic of metals. The observed behavior of the elastic characteristics is described in the framework of the model of the phase transition from a “quasi-molecular” (partially covalent) metal state to a “normal” metal state. An increase in the Poisson’s ratio in the Ga I phase from 0.22 to 0.25 with an increase in the pressure can be interpreted as a decrease in the degree of covalence, i.e., the degree of spatial anisotropy of the electron density along the bonds, whereas the large value of the pressure derivative of the bulk modulus (equal to approximately 8) observed up to the transition to the Ga II phase or the melt is associated not only with the quasicovalent nature of the Ga I phase but also with the structural features. In view of the presence of seven neighbors for each gallium atom in the Ga I phase, the gallium lattice can be treated as a structure intermediate between typical open-packed and close-packed structures. Premelting effects, such as a flattening of the isothermal dependence of the shear modulus G( p) with increasing pressure and an increase in the slope of the isobaric dependences G( T) with increasing temperature, are revealed in the vicinity of the melting curve. The bulk modulus of liquid gallium near the melting curve proves to be rather close to the corresponding values for the normal metal Ga II.

New places and phases of CO-poor/CI-rich molecular gas in the Universe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papadopoulos, Padelis P.; Bisbas, Thomas G.; Zhang, Zhiyu

2018-04-01

In this work we extend the work on the recently discovered role of Cosmic Rays (CRs) in regulating the average CO/H_2 abundance ratio in molecular clouds (and thus their CO line visibility) in starburst galaxies, and find that it can lead to a CO-poor/CI-rich H_2 gas phase even in environments with Galactic or in only modestly enhanced CR backgrounds expected in ordinary star-forming galaxies. Furthermore, the same CR-driven astro-chemistry raises the possibility of a widespread phase transition of molecular gas towards a CO-poor/CI-rich phase in: a) molecular gas outflows found in star-forming galaxies, b) active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and c) near synchrotron-emitting radio jets and the radio-loud cores of powerful radio galaxies. For main sequence galaxies we find that CRs can render some of their molecular gas mass CO-invisible, compounding the effects of low metallicities. Imaging the two fine structure lines of atomic carbon with resolution high enough to search beyond the CI/CO-bright line regions associated with central starbursts can reveal such a CO-poor/CI-rich molecular gas phase, provided that relative brightness sensitivity levels of Tb(CI 1 - 0)/Tb(CO J = 1 - 0) ˜0.15 are reached. The capability to search for such gas in the Galaxy is now at hand with the new high-frequency survey telescope HEAT deployed in Antarctica and future ones to be deployed in Dome A. ALMA can search for such gas in star-forming spiral disks, galactic molecular gas outflows and the CR-intense galactic and circumgalactic gas-rich environments of radio-loud objects.

Raman scattering spectra of superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirillov, D.; Bozovic, I.; Geballe, T. H.; Kapitulnik, A.; Mitzi, D. B.

1988-12-01

Raman spectra of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 single crystals with superconducting phase-transition temperature of 90 K have been studied. The spectra contained phonon lines and electronic continuum. Phonon energies and polarization selection rules were measured. A gap in the electronic continuum spectrum was observed in a superconducting state. Noticeable similarity between Raman spectra of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 and YBa2Cu3O7 was found.

High-Field Superconductivity on Iron Chalcogenide FeSe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Anlu; Kitagawa, Shunsaku; Ishida, Kenji; Böhmer, Anna E.; Meingast, Christoph; Wolf, Thomas

2018-06-01

We have performed ac-susceptibility and 77Se-NMR measurements on single-crystal FeSe in the field range from 12.5 to 14.75 T below 1.6 K in order to investigate the superconducting properties of the B phase. Our results show that although superconductivity persists beyond the A-B transition line (H*), the broadening of the 77Se-NMR linewidth arising from the superconducting diamagnetic effect decreases at around H*, suggesting that superconducting character is changed at H*.

Carbon and nitrogen abundance determinations from transition layer lines. [giant stars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boehm-Vitense, Erika; Mena-Werth, Jose

1988-01-01

For red giants a smooth increase in the nitrogen to carbon abundance ratio for increasing B-V as is expected for the first dredge up phase when the outer convection zone deepens is found. An average increase in the nitrogen to silicon ratio for B-V = 0.6 which goes back to almost solar values for cool giants with B - V approximately 1.0 is reported. It looks as if Si would be enriched for deeper mixing contrary to expectations from standard evolution theory.

Structures, Phase Transitions and Tricritical Behavior of the Hybrid Perovskite Methyl Ammonium Lead Iodide

DOE PAGES

Whitfield, P. S.; Herron, N.; Guise, W. E.; ...

2016-10-21

Here, we examine the crystal structures and structural phase transitions of the deuterated, partially deuterated and hydrogenous organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite methyl ammonium lead iodide (MAPbI 3) using time-of-flight neutron and synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction. Near 330 K the high temperature cubic phases transformed to a body-centered tetragonal phase. The variation of the order parameter Q for this transition scaled with temperature T as Q (T c-T) , where T c is the critical temperature and the exponent was close to , as predicted for a tricritical phase transition. We also observed coexistence of the cubic and tetragonal phases over amore » range of temperature in all cases, demonstrating that the phase transition was in fact first-order, although still very close to tricritical. Upon cooling further, all the tetragonal phases transformed into a low temperature orthorhombic phase around 160 K, again via a first-order phase transition. Finally, based upon these results, we discuss the impact of the structural phase transitions upon photovoltaic performance of MAPbI 3 based solar cells.« less

Pressure-Induced Structural Phase Transition in CeNi: X-ray and Neutron Scattering Studies and First-Principles Calculations

DOE PAGES

Mirmelstein, A.; Podlesnyak, Andrey A.; dos Santos, Antonio M.; ...

2015-08-03

The pressure-induced structural phase transition in the intermediate-valence compound CeNi has been investigated by x-ray and neutron powder diffraction techniques. It is shown that the structure of the pressure-induced CeNi phase (phases) can be described in terms of the Pnma space group. Equations of state for CeNi on both sides of the phase transition are derived and an approximate P-T phase diagram is suggested for P<8 GPa and T<300 K. The observed Cmcm→Pnma structural transition is then analyzed using density functional theory calculations, which successfully reproduce the ground state volume, the phase transition pressure, and the volume collapse associated withmore » the phase transition.« less

Changes in transit use and service and associated changes in driving near a new light rail transit line.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-05-01

Los Angeles is pursuing possibly the most ambitious rail transit investment program in the nation with plans to open six new : rail transit lines between now and 2019. The report provides policy makes and planners a better understanding of the potent...

Noise Assessment of the Chicago Transit Authority Rail Rapid Transit System

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1979-01-01

The report describes the noise on and near the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) urban rail transit lines. The CTA urban rail lines consist of approximately 86 miles of two-way revenue track (of which 9.6 miles are in subway) and 155 stations. Noise da...

Modeling of the Dust and Gas Outflows from OH 26.5+0.6: The Superwind

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Justtanont, K.; Skinner, C. J.; Tielens, A. G. G. M.; Meixner, M.; Baas, F.

1996-01-01

We have observed the extreme OH/IR star, OH 26.5+0.6, in the infrared dust continuum and in the sub- millimeter rotational lines of CO. Mid-infrared images reveal the compact nature of the circumstellar shell (less than 0.5 sec). A deep 9.7 microns absorption feature and an absorption at 18 microns show that the dust mass-loss rate is very high. However, the low antenna temperatures of CO J = 1-0 and 2-1 lines suggest that the outer part of the circumstellar shell is much more tenuous. In order to resolve this discrepancy, we have observed the J = 3-2 and 4-3 CO rotational transitions. We have developed a model for the circumstellar shell for OH 26.5 + 0.6 which is consistent with the infrared and submillimeter observations. The dust and gas data are well fitted by a two-shell model, consisting of a dense shell surrounded by a more tenuous shell. The former we identify with the superwind (M = 5.5 x 10(exp -4) solar mass/ yr), and the latter we identify with mass loss on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) (M = 10(exp -6) solar mass/ yr). The transition between the two mass-loss phases is shown to be rather abrupt ((Delta)t less than 150 yr). Depending on the mass of the progenitor, this superwind phase may be the last thermal pulse (for M(sub *) less than 1.5 solar mass), or the first of a series of the superwind phases (for up to 8 solar mass), punctuated by a period of low mass-loss rates, before the star evolves off the AGB.

Dense electro-optic frequency comb generated by two-stage modulation for dual-comb spectroscopy.

PubMed

Wang, Shuai; Fan, Xinyu; Xu, Bingxin; He, Zuyuan

2017-10-01

An electro-optic frequency comb enables frequency-agile comb-based spectroscopy without using sophisticated phase-locking electronics. Nevertheless, dense electro-optic frequency combs over broad spans have yet to be developed. In this Letter, we propose a straightforward and efficient method for electro-optic frequency comb generation with a small line spacing and a large span. This method is based on two-stage modulation: generating an 18 GHz line-spacing comb at the first stage and a 250 MHz line-spacing comb at the second stage. After generating an electro-optic frequency comb covering 1500 lines, we set up an easily established mutually coherent hybrid dual-comb interferometer, which combines the generated electro-optic frequency comb and a free-running mode-locked laser. As a proof of concept, this hybrid dual-comb interferometer is used to measure the absorption and dispersion profiles of the molecular transition of H 13 CN with a spectral resolution of 250 MHz.

Computational studies of thermal and quantum phase transitions approached through non-equilibrium quenching

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Cheng-Wei

Phase transitions and their associated critical phenomena are of fundamental importance and play a crucial role in the development of statistical physics for both classical and quantum systems. Phase transitions embody diverse aspects of physics and also have numerous applications outside physics, e.g., in chemistry, biology, and combinatorial optimization problems in computer science. Many problems can be reduced to a system consisting of a large number of interacting agents, which under some circumstances (e.g., changes of external parameters) exhibit collective behavior; this type of scenario also underlies phase transitions. The theoretical understanding of equilibrium phase transitions was put on a solid footing with the establishment of the renormalization group. In contrast, non-equilibrium phase transition are relatively less understood and currently a very active research topic. One important milestone here is the Kibble-Zurek (KZ) mechanism, which provides a useful framework for describing a system with a transition point approached through a non-equilibrium quench process. I developed two efficient Monte Carlo techniques for studying phase transitions, one is for classical phase transition and the other is for quantum phase transitions, both are under the framework of KZ scaling. For classical phase transition, I develop a non-equilibrium quench (NEQ) simulation that can completely avoid the critical slowing down problem. For quantum phase transitions, I develop a new algorithm, named quasi-adiabatic quantum Monte Carlo (QAQMC) algorithm for studying quantum quenches. I demonstrate the utility of QAQMC quantum Ising model and obtain high-precision results at the transition point, in particular showing generalized dynamic scaling in the quantum system. To further extend the methods, I study more complex systems such as spin-glasses and random graphs. The techniques allow us to investigate the problems efficiently. From the classical perspective, using the NEQ approach I verify the universality class of the 3D Ising spin-glasses. I also investigate the random 3-regular graphs in terms of both classical and quantum phase transitions. I demonstrate that under this simulation scheme, one can extract information associated with the classical and quantum spin-glass transitions without any knowledge prior to the simulation.

POLARIMETRIC DETECTION OF EXOPLANETS TRANSITING T AND L BROWN DWARFS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sengupta, Sujan, E-mail: sujan@iiap.res.in

While scattering of light by atoms and molecules yields large amounts of polarization at the B-band of both T and L dwarfs, scattering by dust grains in the cloudy atmosphere of L dwarfs gives rise to significant polarization at the far-optical and infrared wavelengths where these objects are much brighter. However, the observable disk-averaged polarization should be zero if the clouds are uniformly distributed and the object is spherically symmetric. Therefore, in order to explain the observed large polarization of several L dwarfs, rotation-induced oblateness or horizontally inhomogeneous cloud distribution in the atmosphere is invoked. On the other hand, whenmore » an extra-solar planet of Earth-size or larger transits the brown dwarf along the line of sight, the asymmetry induced during the transit gives rise to a net non-zero, time-dependent polarization. Employing atmospheric models for a range of effective temperature and surface gravity appropriate for T and L dwarfs, I derive the time-dependent polarization profiles of these objects during the transit phase and estimate the peak amplitude of polarization that occurs during the inner contact points of the transit ingress/egress phase. It is found that peak polarization in the range of 0.2%–1.0% at I and J band may arise of cloudy L dwarfs occulted by Earth-size or larger exoplanets. Such an amount of polarization is higher than what can be produced by rotation-induced oblateness of even rapidly rotating L dwarfs. Hence, I suggest that time-resolved imaging polarization could be a potential technique for detecting transiting exoplanets around L dwarfs.« less

Real-time x-ray diffraction measurements of shocked polycrystalline tin and aluminum.

PubMed

Morgan, Dane V; Macy, Don; Stevens, Gerald

2008-11-01

A new, fast, single-pulse x-ray diffraction (XRD) diagnostic for determining phase transitions in shocked polycrystalline materials has been developed. The diagnostic consists of a 37-stage Marx bank high-voltage pulse generator coupled to a needle-and-washer electron beam diode via coaxial cable, producing line and bremsstrahlung x-ray emission in a 35 ns pulse. The characteristic K(alpha) lines from the selected anodes of silver and molybdenum are used to produce the diffraction patterns, with thin foil filters employed to remove the characteristic K(beta) line emission. The x-ray beam passes through a pinhole collimator and is incident on the sample with an approximately 3 x 6 mm(2) spot and 1 degrees full width half maximum angular divergence in a Bragg-reflecting geometry. For the experiments described in this report, the angle between the incident beam and the sample surface was 8.5 degrees . A Debye-Scherrer diffraction image was produced on a phosphor located 76 mm from the polycrystalline sample surface. The phosphor image was coupled to a charge-coupled device camera through a coherent fiber-optic bundle. Dynamic single-pulse XRD experiments were conducted with thin foil samples of tin, shock loaded with a 1 mm vitreous carbon back window. Detasheet high explosive with a 2-mm-thick aluminum buffer was used to shock the sample. Analysis of the dynamic shock-loaded tin XRD images revealed a phase transformation of the tin beta phase into an amorphous or liquid state. Identical experiments with shock-loaded aluminum indicated compression of the face-centered-cubic aluminum lattice with no phase transformation.

Temperature-Controlled High-Speed AFM: Real-Time Observation of Ripple Phase Transitions.

PubMed

Takahashi, Hirohide; Miyagi, Atsushi; Redondo-Morata, Lorena; Scheuring, Simon

2016-11-01

With nanometer lateral and Angstrom vertical resolution, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has contributed unique data improving the understanding of lipid bilayers. Lipid bilayers are found in several different temperature-dependent states, termed phases; the main phases are solid and fluid phases. The transition temperature between solid and fluid phases is lipid composition specific. Under certain conditions some lipid bilayers adopt a so-called ripple phase, a structure where solid and fluid phase domains alternate with constant periodicity. Because of its narrow regime of existence and heterogeneity ripple phase and its transition dynamics remain poorly understood. Here, a temperature control device to high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM) to observe dynamics of phase transition from ripple phase to fluid phase reversibly in real time is developed and integrated. Based on HS-AFM imaging, the phase transition processes from ripple phase to fluid phase and from ripple phase to metastable ripple phase to fluid phase could be reversibly, phenomenologically, and quantitatively studied. The results here show phase transition hysteresis in fast cooling and heating processes, while both melting and condensation occur at 24.15 °C in quasi-steady state situation. A second metastable ripple phase with larger periodicity is formed at the ripple phase to fluid phase transition when the buffer contains Ca 2+ . The presented temperature-controlled HS-AFM is a new unique experimental system to observe dynamics of temperature-sensitive processes at the nanoscopic level. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Method for identifying and probing phase transitions in materials

DOEpatents

Asay, Blaine W.; Henson, Bryan F.; Sander, Robert K.; Robinson, Jeanne M.; Son, Steven F.; Dickson, Peter M.

2002-01-01

The present invention includes a method for identifying and probing phase transitions in materials. A polymorphic material capable of existing in at least one non-centrosymmetric phase is interrogated with a beam of laser light at a chosen wavelength and frequency. A phase transition is induced in the material while it is interrogated. The intensity of light scattered by the material and having a wavelength equal to one half the wavelength of the interrogating laser light is detected. If the phase transition results in the production of a non-centrosymmetric phase, the intensity of this scattered light increases; if the phase transition results in the disappearance of a non-centrosymmetric phase, the intensity of this scattered light decreases.

Crystal growth and scintillation properties of Nd-doped Lu 3Al 5O 12 single crystals with different Nd concentrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugiyama, Makoto; Fujimoto, Yutaka; Yanagida, Takayuki; Yokota, Yuui; Pejchal, Jan; Furuya, Yuki; Tanaka, Hidehiko; Yoshikawa, Akira

2011-04-01

Nd 0.1%, 0.5%, 1% and 3% doped Lu 3Al 5O 12 (Nd:LuAG) single crystals were grown in the nitrogen atmosphere by the micro-pulling down (μ-PD) method. The grown crystals had a single-phase confirmed by powder XRD analysis. In absorption spectra, some weak absorption lines due to Nd 3+ 4f-4f transitions were observed and their intensity increased with the increase of Nd concentration. When excited by 241Am α-ray, a broad emission peak due to defects in the host lattice at 320 nm and some sharp lines due to Nd 3+ 4f-4f transitions at wavelength longer than 400 nm were observed. The decay time profiles of Nd:LuAG under γ-ray excitation were well approximated by two exponential function of 340-760 ns and 3-5 μs for each sample. By pulse height measurement using 137Cs, Nd 0.5%:LuAG showed the highest light yield of 7600 ± 760 photons/MeV.

Observation of the Chiral and Achiral Hexatic Phases of Self-assembled Micellar polymers

PubMed Central

Pal, Antara; Kamal, Md. Arif; Raghunathan, V. A.

2016-01-01

We report the discovery of a thermodynamically stable line hexatic (N + 6) phase in a three-dimensional (3D) system made up of self-assembled polymer-like micelles of amphiphilic molecules. The experimentally observed phase transition sequence nematic (N)  N + 6  two-dimensional hexagonal (2D-H) is in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. Further, the present study also brings to light the effect of chirality on the N + 6 phase. In the chiral N + 6 phase the bond-orientational order within each “polymer” bundle is found to be twisted about an axis parallel to the average polymer direction. This structure is consistent with the theoretically envisaged Moiré state, thereby providing the first experimental demonstration of the Moiré structure. In addition to confirming the predictions of fundamental theories of two-dimensional melting, these results are relevant in a variety of situations in chemistry, physics and biology, where parallel packing of polymer-like objects are encountered. PMID:27577927

Visualizing heavy fermion confinement and Pauli-limited superconductivity in layered CeCoIn 5

DOE PAGES

Gyenis, András; Feldman, Benjamin E.; Randeria, Mallika T.; ...

2018-02-07

Layered material structures play a key role in enhancing electron–electron interactions to create correlated metallic phases that can transform into unconventional superconducting states. The quasi-two-dimensional electronic properties of such compounds are often inferred indirectly through examination of bulk properties. Here we use scanning tunneling microscopy to directly probe in cross-section the quasi-two-dimensional electronic states of the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn 5. Our measurements reveal the strong confined nature of quasiparticles, anisotropy of tunneling characteristics, and layer-by-layer modulated behavior of the precursor pseudogap gap phase. In the interlayer coupled superconducting state, the orientation of line defects relative to the d-wave ordermore » parameter determines whether in-gap states form due to scattering. Spectroscopic imaging of the anisotropic magnetic vortex cores directly characterizes the short interlayer superconducting coherence length and shows an electronic phase separation near the upper critical in-plane magnetic field, consistent with a Pauli-limited first-order phase transition into a pseudogap phase.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gyenis, András; Feldman, Benjamin E.; Randeria, Mallika T.

Layered material structures play a key role in enhancing electron–electron interactions to create correlated metallic phases that can transform into unconventional superconducting states. The quasi-two-dimensional electronic properties of such compounds are often inferred indirectly through examination of bulk properties. Here we use scanning tunneling microscopy to directly probe in cross-section the quasi-two-dimensional electronic states of the heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn 5. Our measurements reveal the strong confined nature of quasiparticles, anisotropy of tunneling characteristics, and layer-by-layer modulated behavior of the precursor pseudogap gap phase. In the interlayer coupled superconducting state, the orientation of line defects relative to the d-wave ordermore » parameter determines whether in-gap states form due to scattering. Spectroscopic imaging of the anisotropic magnetic vortex cores directly characterizes the short interlayer superconducting coherence length and shows an electronic phase separation near the upper critical in-plane magnetic field, consistent with a Pauli-limited first-order phase transition into a pseudogap phase.« less

Study of Radio sources and interferences detected by MEXART

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Villanueva Hernandez, P.; Gonzalez Esparza, J. A.; Carrillo, A.; Andrade, E.; Jeyacumar, S.; Kurtz, S.

2007-05-01

The Mexican Array Radio Telescope (MEXART) is a radio telescope that will perform studies of solar wind disturbances using the Interplanetary Scintillation (IPS) technique. The radiotelescope is its final calibration stage, and in this work we report two testings: the interference signals detected around the operation frequency, and the transit of the main radio sources detected by individual lines of 64 dipoles. These radio sources are: Sun, Casiopea, Crab nebula, Cygnus and Virgo. These testings allow us to know the response of the array elements in order to calibrate them. The final operation of the MEXART requires that the signal detected and transmitted by each East-West line of 64 dipoles arrives at the butler matrix (control room) with the same phase and amplitude.

Ultrafast Two-Dimensional Infrared Spectroscopy of a Quasifree Rotor: J Scrambling and Perfectly Anticorrelated Cross Peaks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mandal, Aritra; Ng Pack, Greg; Shah, Parth P.; Erramilli, Shyamsunder; Ziegler, L. D.

2018-03-01

Ultrafast two-dimensional infrared (2DIR) spectra of the N2O ν3 mode in moderately dense SF6 gas exhibit complex line shapes with diagonal and antidiagonal features in contrast to condensed phase vibrational 2DIR spectroscopy. Observed spectra for this quasifree rotor system are well captured by a model that includes all 36 possible rovibrational pathways and treats P (Δ J =-1 ) and R (Δ J =+1 ) branch resonances as distinct Kubo line shape features. Transition frequency correlation decay is due to J scrambling within one to two gas collisions at each density. Studies of supercritical solvation and relaxation at high pressure and temperature are enabled by this methodology.

Highly Ionized Fe-K Absorption Line from Cygnus X-1 in the High/Soft State Observed with Suzaku

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamada, S.; Torii, S.; Mineshige, S.; Ueda, Y.; Kubota, A.; Gandhi, P.; Done, C.; Noda, H.; Yoshikawa, A.; Makishima, K.

2013-04-01

We present observations of a transient He-like Fe Kα absorption line in Suzaku observations of the black hole binary Cygnus X-1 on 2011 October 5 near superior conjunction during the high/soft state, which enable us to map the full evolution from the start to the end of the episodic accretion phenomena or dips for the first time. We model the X-ray spectra during the event and trace their evolution. The absorption line is rather weak in the first half of the observation, but instantly deepens for ~10 ks, and weakens thereafter. The overall change in equivalent width is a factor of ~3, peaking at an orbital phase of ~0.08. This is evidence that the companion stellar wind feeding the black hole is clumpy. By analyzing the line with a Voigt profile, it is found to be consistent with a slightly redshifted Fe XXV transition, or possibly a mixture of several species less ionized than Fe XXV. The data may be explained by a clump located at a distance of ~1010-12 cm with a density of ~10(- 13)-(- 11) g cm-3, which accretes onto and/or transits the line of sight to the black hole, causing an instant decrease in the observed degree of ionization and/or an increase in density of the accreting matter. Continued monitoring for individual events with future X-ray calorimeter missions such as ASTRO-H and AXSIO will allow us to map out the accretion environment in detail and how it changes between the various accretion states.

A unified mechanism for the stability of surface nanobubbles: contact line pinning and supersaturation.

PubMed

Liu, Yawei; Zhang, Xianren

2014-10-07

In this paper, we apply the molecular dynamics simulation method to study the stability of surface nanobubbles in both pure fluids and gas-liquid mixtures. First, we demonstrate with molecular simulations, for the first time, that surface nanobubbles can be stabilized in superheated or gas supersaturated liquid by the contact line pinning caused by the surface heterogeneity. Then, a unified mechanism for nanobubble stability is put forward here that stabilizing nanobubbles require both the contact line pinning and supersaturation. In the mechanism, the supersaturation refers to superheating for pure fluids and gas supersaturation or superheating for the gas-liquid mixtures, both of which exert the same effect on nanobubble stability. As the level of supersaturation increases, we found a Wenzel or Cassie wetting state for undersaturated and saturated fluids, stable nanobubbles at moderate supersaturation with decreasing curvature radius and contact angle, and finally the liquid-to-vapor phase transition at high supersaturation.

Frequency-comb-assisted precision laser spectroscopy of CHF{sub 3} around 8.6 μm

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gambetta, Alessio; Coluccelli, Nicola; Cassinerio, Marco

2015-12-21

We report a high-precision spectroscopic study of room-temperature trifluoromethane around 8.6 μm, using a CW quantum cascade laser phase-locked to a mid-infrared optical frequency comb. This latter is generated by a nonlinear down-conversion process starting from a dual-branch Er:fiber laser and is stabilized against a GPS-disciplined rubidium clock. By tuning the comb repetition frequency, several transitions falling in the υ{sub 5} vibrational band are recorded with a frequency resolution of 20 kHz. Due to the very dense spectra, a special multiple-line fitting code, involving a Voigt profile, is developed for data analysis. The combination of the adopted experimental approach andmore » survey procedure leads to fractional accuracy levels in the determination of line center frequencies, down to 2 × 10{sup −10}. Line intensity factors, pressure broadening, and shifting parameters are also provided.« less

The infinite limit as an eliminable approximation for phase transitions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ardourel, Vincent

2018-05-01

It is generally claimed that infinite idealizations are required for explaining phase transitions within statistical mechanics (e.g. Batterman 2011). Nevertheless, Menon and Callender (2013) have outlined theoretical approaches that describe phase transitions without using the infinite limit. This paper closely investigates one of these approaches, which consists of studying the complex zeros of the partition function (Borrmann et al., 2000). Based on this theory, I argue for the plausibility for eliminating the infinite limit for studying phase transitions. I offer a new account for phase transitions in finite systems, and I argue for the use of the infinite limit as an approximation for studying phase transitions in large systems.

Phase Diagram of Spin-1/2 Alternating Ferromagnetic Chain with XY-Like Anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshida, Satoru; Okamoto, Kiyomi

1989-12-01

By the use of the numerical method we investigate the ground state phase diagram of spin-1/2 alternating ferromagnetic chain. We numerically diagonalized the Hamiltonian of finite systems (up to 20 spins) and analyzed the numerical data for various physical quantities using the finite size scaling and the extrapolation methods. The ground state is either the effective singlet (ES) state or the spin fluid (SF) state depending on the value of the alternation parameter δ and the anisotropy parameter \\varDelta{\\equiv}Jz/J\\bot(\\varDelta{=}{-}1 for the isotropic ferromagnetic case and \\varDelta{=}0 for the XY case). The phase diagram obtained in this work strongly stupports the theoretical studies of Kohmoto-den Nijs-Kadanoff and Okamoto-Sugiyama. We also discuss the critical properties near the ES-SF transition line.

Spin-injection optical pumping of molten cesium salt and its NMR diagnosis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ishikawa, Kiyoshi

2015-07-15

Nuclear spin polarization of cesium ions in the salt was enhanced during optical pumping of cesium vapor at high magnetic field. Significant motional narrowing and frequency shift of NMR signals were observed by intense laser heating of the salt. When the hyperpolarized salt was cooled by blocking the heating laser, the signal width and frequency changed during cooling and presented the phase transition from liquid to solid. Hence, we find that the signal enhancement is mostly due to the molten salt and nuclear spin polarization is injected into the salt efficiently in the liquid phase. We also show that opticalmore » pumping similarly induces line narrowing in the solid phase. The use of powdered salt provided an increase in effective surface area and signal amplitude without glass wool in the glass cells.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Holder, Aaron M.; Siol, Sebastian; Ndione, Paul F.

Structure and composition control the behavior of materials. Isostructural alloying is historically an extremely successful approach for tuning materials properties, but it is often limited by binodal and spinodal decomposition, which correspond to the thermodynamic solubility limit and the stability against composition fluctuations, respectively. We show that heterostructural alloys can exhibit a markedly increased range of metastable alloy compositions between the binodal and spinodal lines, thereby opening up a vast phase space for novel homogeneous single-phase alloys. We distinguish two types of heterostructural alloys, that is, those between commensurate and incommensurate phases. Because of the structural transition around the criticalmore » composition, the properties change in a highly nonlinear or even discontinuous fashion, providing a mechanism for materials design that does not exist in conventional isostructural alloys. The novel phase diagram behavior follows from standard alloy models using mixing enthalpies from first-principles calculations. Furthermore, thin-film deposition demonstrates the viability of the synthesis of these metastable single-phase domains and validates the computationally predicted phase separation mechanism above the upper temperature bound of the nonequilibrium single-phase region.« less

fcc-bcc phase transition in plasma crystals using time-resolved measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dietz, C.; Bergert, R.; Steinmüller, B.; Kretschmer, M.; Mitic, S.; Thoma, M. H.

2018-04-01

Three-dimensional plasma crystals are often described as Yukawa systems for which a phase transition between the crystal structures fcc and bcc has been predicted. However, experimental investigations of this transition are missing. We use a fast scanning video camera to record the crystallization process of 70 000 microparticles and investigate the existence of the fcc-bcc phase transition at neutral gas pressures of 30, 40, and 50 Pa. To analyze the crystal, robust phase diagrams with the help of a machine learning algorithm are calculated. This work shows that the phase transition can be investigated experimentally and makes a comparison with numerical results of Yukawa systems. The phase transition is analyzed in dependence on the screening parameter and structural order. We suggest that the transition is an effect of gravitational compression of the plasma crystal. Experimental investigations of the fcc-bcc phase transition will provide an opportunity to estimate the coupling strength Γ by comparison with numerical results of Yukawa systems.

Learning phase transitions by confusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Nieuwenburg, Evert P. L.; Liu, Ye-Hua; Huber, Sebastian D.

2017-02-01

Classifying phases of matter is key to our understanding of many problems in physics. For quantum-mechanical systems in particular, the task can be daunting due to the exponentially large Hilbert space. With modern computing power and access to ever-larger data sets, classification problems are now routinely solved using machine-learning techniques. Here, we propose a neural-network approach to finding phase transitions, based on the performance of a neural network after it is trained with data that are deliberately labelled incorrectly. We demonstrate the success of this method on the topological phase transition in the Kitaev chain, the thermal phase transition in the classical Ising model, and the many-body-localization transition in a disordered quantum spin chain. Our method does not depend on order parameters, knowledge of the topological content of the phases, or any other specifics of the transition at hand. It therefore paves the way to the development of a generic tool for identifying unexplored phase transitions.

Two kinds of phase transitions in a voting model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hisakado, M.; Mori, S.

2012-08-01

In this paper, we discuss a voting model with two candidates, C0 and C1. We consider two types of voters—herders and independents. The voting of independents is based on their fundamental values, while the voting of herders is based on the number of previous votes. We can identify two kinds of phase transitions. One is an information cascade transition similar to a phase transition seen in the Ising model. The other is a transition of super and normal diffusions. These phase transitions coexist. We compared our results to the conclusions of experiments and identified the phase transitions in the upper limit of the time t by using the analysis of human behavior obtained from experiments.

Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph Observations of Variability in the RS Canum Venaticorum System V711 Tauri (HR 1099)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dempsey, Robert C.; Neff, James E.; Thorpe, Marjorie J.; Linsky, Jeffrey L.; Brown, Alexander; Cutispoto, Giuseppe; Rodono, Marcello

1996-01-01

Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) observations of the RS CVn-type binary V711 Tau (Kl IV+G5 IV) were obtained at several phases over two consecutive stellar orbital cycles in order to study ultraviolet emission-line profile and flux variability. Spectra cover the Mg II h and k lines, C IV doublet, and Si IV region, as well as the density-sensitive lines of C III] (1909 A) and Si III] (1892 A). IUE spectra, Extreme Ultra Violet (EUV) data, and Ultraviolet, Blue, Visual (UBV) photometry were obtained contemporaneously with the GHRS data. Variable extended wings were detected in the Mg II lines. We discuss the Mg II line profile variability using various Gaussian emission profile models. No rotational modulation of the line profiles was observed, but there were several large flares. These flares produced enhanced emission in the extended line wings, radial velocity shifts, and asymmetries in some line profiles. Nearly continuous flaring for more than 24 hr, as indicated in the IUE data, represents the most energetic and long-lived chromospheric and transition region flare ever observed with a total energy much greater than 5 x 10(exp 35) ergs. The C III] to Si III] line ratio is used to estimate the plasma density during the flares.

Detecting phase transitions in a neural network and its application to classification of syndromes in traditional Chinese medicine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, J.; Xi, G.; Wang, W.

2008-02-01

Detecting phase transitions in neural networks (determined or random) presents a challenging subject for phase transitions play a key role in human brain activity. In this paper, we detect numerically phase transitions in two types of random neural network(RNN) under proper parameters.

Universal phase transition in community detectability under a stochastic block model.

PubMed

Chen, Pin-Yu; Hero, Alfred O

2015-03-01

We prove the existence of an asymptotic phase-transition threshold on community detectability for the spectral modularity method [M. E. J. Newman, Phys. Rev. E 74, 036104 (2006) and Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (USA) 103, 8577 (2006)] under a stochastic block model. The phase transition on community detectability occurs as the intercommunity edge connection probability p grows. This phase transition separates a subcritical regime of small p, where modularity-based community detection successfully identifies the communities, from a supercritical regime of large p where successful community detection is impossible. We show that, as the community sizes become large, the asymptotic phase-transition threshold p* is equal to √[p1p2], where pi(i=1,2) is the within-community edge connection probability. Thus the phase-transition threshold is universal in the sense that it does not depend on the ratio of community sizes. The universal phase-transition phenomenon is validated by simulations for moderately sized communities. Using the derived expression for the phase-transition threshold, we propose an empirical method for estimating this threshold from real-world data.

Materials science of the gel to fluid phase transition in a supported phospholipid bilayer.

PubMed

Xie, Anne Feng; Yamada, Ryo; Gewirth, Andrew A; Granick, Steve

2002-12-09

We report the results of in situ AFM measurements examining the phase transition of bilayers formed from the zwitterionic phospholipid, DMPC, 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, supported on mica. The images show that the fluid to gel phase transition process features substantial tearing of the bilayer due to the density change between the two phases. The gel to fluid transition is strongly affected by the resultant stress introduced into the gel phase, which changes the degree of cooperativity, the shape of developing fluid phase regions, and the course of the transition.

Isothermal lipid phase transitions.

PubMed

Cevc, G

1991-03-01

In liotropic lipid systems phase transitions can be induced isothermally by changing the solvent concentration or composition; alternatively, lipid composition can be modified by (bio)chemical means. The probability for isothermal phase transitions increases with the decreasing transition entropy; it is proportional to the magnitude of the transition temperature shift caused by transformation-inducing system variation. Manipulations causing large thermodynamic effects, such as lipid (de)hydration, binding of protons or divalent ions and macromolecular adsorption, but also close bilayer approach are, therefore, likely to cause structural lipid change(s) at a constant temperature. Net lipid charges enhance the membrane susceptibility to salt-induced isothermal phase transitions; a large proportion of this effect is due to the bilayer dehydration, however, rather than being a consequence of the decreased Coulombic electrostatic interactions. Membrane propensity for isothermal phase transitions, consequently, always increases with the hydrophilicity of the lipid heads, as well as with the desaturation and shortening of the lipid chains. Upon a phase change at a constant temperature, some of the interfacially bound solutes (e.g. protons or calcium) are released in the solution. Membrane permeability and fusogenicity simultaneously increase. In mixed systems, isothermal phase transitions, moreover, may result in lateral phase separation. All this opens up ways for the involvement of isothermal phase transitions in the regulation of biological processes.

Experimental study of the lifetime and phase transition in neutron-rich Zr 98 ,100 ,102

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ansari, S.; Régis, J.-M.; Jolie, J.; Saed-Samii, N.; Warr, N.; Korten, W.; Zielińska, M.; Salsac, M.-D.; Blanc, A.; Jentschel, M.; Köster, U.; Mutti, P.; Soldner, T.; Simpson, G. S.; Drouet, F.; Vancraeyenest, A.; de France, G.; Clément, E.; Stezowski, O.; Ur, C. A.; Urban, W.; Regan, P. H.; Podolyák, Zs.; Larijani, C.; Townsley, C.; Carroll, R.; Wilson, E.; Mach, H.; Fraile, L. M.; Paziy, V.; Olaizola, B.; Vedia, V.; Bruce, A. M.; Roberts, O. J.; Smith, J. F.; Scheck, M.; Kröll, T.; Hartig, A.-L.; Ignatov, A.; Ilieva, S.; Lalkovski, S.; Mǎrginean, N.; Otsuka, T.; Shimizu, N.; Togashi, T.; Tsunoda, Y.

2017-11-01

Rapid shape changes are observed for neutron-rich nuclei with A around 100. In particular, a sudden onset of ground-state deformation is observed in the Zr and Sr isotopic chains at N = 60: Low-lying states in N ≤58 nuclei are nearly spherical, while those with N ≥60 have a rotational character. Nuclear lifetimes as short as a few picoseconds can be measured using fast-timing techniques with LaBr3(Ce) scintillators, yielding a key ingredient in the systematic study of the shape evolution in this region. We used neutron-induced fission of 241Pu and 235U to study lifetimes of excited states in fission fragments in the A ˜100 region with the EXILL-FATIMA array located at the PF1B cold neutron beam line at the Institut Laue-Langevin. In particular, we applied the generalized centroid difference method to deduce lifetimes of low-lying states for the nuclei 98Zr (N = 58), 100Zr, and 102Zr (N ≥60 ). The results are discussed in the context of the presumed phase transition in the Zr chain by comparing the experimental transition strengths with the theoretical calculations using the interacting boson model and the Monte Carlo shell model.

Spontaneous CP breaking in QCD and the axion potential: an effective Lagrangian approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Vecchia, Paolo; Rossi, Giancarlo; Veneziano, Gabriele; Yankielowicz, Shimon

2017-12-01

Using the well-known low-energy effective Lagrangian of QCD — valid for small (non-vanishing) quark masses and a large number of colors — we study in detail the regions of parameter space where CP is spontaneously broken/unbroken for a vacuum angle θ = π. In the CP broken region there are first order phase transitions as one crosses θ = π, while on the (hyper)surface separating the two regions, there are second order phase transitions signalled by the vanishing of the mass of a pseudo Nambu-Goldstone boson and by a divergent QCD topological susceptibility. The second order point sits at the end of a first order line associated with the CP spontaneous breaking, in the appropriate complex parameter plane. When the effective Lagrangian is extended by the inclusion of an axion these features of QCD imply that standard calculations of the axion potential have to be revised if the QCD parameters fall in the above mentioned CP broken region, in spite of the fact that the axion solves the strong- CP problem. These last results could be of interest for axionic dark matter calculations if the topological susceptibility of pure Yang-Mills theory falls off sufficiently fast when temperature is increased towards the QCD deconfining transition.

Pressure-Induced Melting of Confined Ice.

PubMed

Sotthewes, Kai; Bampoulis, Pantelis; Zandvliet, Harold J W; Lohse, Detlef; Poelsema, Bene

2017-12-26

The classic regelation experiment of Thomson in the 1850s deals with cutting an ice cube, followed by refreezing. The cutting was attributed to pressure-induced melting but has been challenged continuously, and only lately consensus emerged by understanding that compression shortens the O:H nonbond and lengthens the H-O bond simultaneously. This H-O elongation leads to energy loss and lowers the melting point. The hot debate survived well over 150 years, mainly due to a poorly defined heat exchange with the environment in the experiment. In our current experiment, we achieved thermal isolation from the environment and studied the fully reversible ice-liquid water transition for water confined between graphene and muscovite mica. We observe a transition from two-dimensional (2D) ice into a quasi-liquid phase by applying a pressure exerted by an atomic force microscopy tip. At room temperature, the critical pressure amounts to about 6 GPa. The transition is completely reversible: refreezing occurs when the applied pressure is lifted. The critical pressure to melt the 2D ice decreases with temperature, and we measured the phase coexistence line between 293 and 333 K. From a Clausius-Clapeyron analysis, we determine the latent heat of fusion of two-dimensional ice at 0.15 eV/molecule, being twice as large as that of bulk ice.

The role played by self-orientational properties in nematics of colloids with molecules axially symmetric.

PubMed

Alarcón-Waess, O

2010-04-14

The self-orientational structure factor as well as the short-time self-orientational diffusion coefficient is computed for colloids composed by nonspherical molecules. To compute the short-time dynamics the hydrodynamic interactions are not taken into account. The hard molecules with at least one symmetry axis considered are: rods, spherocylinders, and tetragonal parallelepipeds. Because both orientational properties in study are written in terms of the second and fourth order parameters, these automatically hold the features of the order parameters. That is, they present a discontinuity for first order transitions, determining in this way the spinodal line. In order to analyze the nematic phase only, we choose the appropriate values for the representative quantities that characterize the molecules. Different formalisms are used to compute the structural properties: de Gennes-Landau approach, Smoluchowski equation and computer simulations. Some of the necessary inputs are taken from literature. Our results show that the self-orientational properties play an important role in the characterization and the localization of axially symmetric phases. While the self-structure decreases throughout the nematics, the short-time self-diffusion does not decrease but rather increases. We study the evolution of the second and fourth order parameters; we find different responses for axial and biaxial nematics, predicting the possibility of a biaxial nematics in tetragonal parallelepiped molecules. By considering the second order in the axial-biaxial phase transition, with the support of the self-orientational structure factor, we are able to propose the density at which this occurs. The short-time dynamics is able to predict a different value in the axial and the biaxial phases. Because the different behavior of the fourth order parameter, the diffusion coefficient is lower for a biaxial phase than for an axial one. Therefore the self-structure factor is able to localize continuous phase transitions involving axially symmetric phases and the short-time self-orientational diffusion is able to distinguish the ordered phase by considering the degree of alignment, that is, axial or biaxial.

Ultrafast Dynamics in Vanadium Dioxide: Separating Spatially Segregated Mixed Phase Dynamics in the Time-domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilton, David

2011-10-01

In correlated electronic systems, observed electronic and structural behavior results from the complex interplay between multiple, sometimes competing degrees-of- freedom. One such material used to study insulator-to-metal transitions is vanadium dioxide, which undergoes a phase transition from a monoclinic-insulating phase to a rutile-metallic phase when the sample is heated to 340 K. The major open question with this material is the relative influence of this structural phase transition (Peirels transition) and the effects of electronic correlations (Mott transition) on the observed insulator-to-metal transition. Answers to these major questions are complicated by vanadium dioxide's sensitivity to perturbations in the chemical structure in VO2. For example, related VxOy oxides with nearly a 2:1 ratio do not demonstrate the insulator-to- metal transition, while recent work has demonstrated that W:VO2 has demonstrated a tunable transition temperature controllable with tungsten doping. All of these preexisting results suggest that the observed electronic properties are exquisitely sensitive to the sample disorder. Using ultrafast spectroscopic techniques, it is now possible to impulsively excite this transition and investigate the photoinduced counterpart to this thermal phase transition in a strongly nonequilibrium regime. I will discuss our recent results studying the terahertz-frequency conductivity dynamics of this photoinduced phase transition in the poorly understood near threshold temperature range. We find a dramatic softening of the transition near the critical temperature, which results primarily from the mixed phase coexistence near the transition temperature. To directly study this mixed phase behavior, we directly study the nucleation and growth rates of the metallic phase in the parent insulator using non-degenerate optical pump-probe spectroscopy. These experiments measure, in the time- domain, the coexistent phase separation in VO2 (spatially separated insulator and metal islands) and, more importantly, their dynamic evolution in response to optical excitation.

The role of upper mantle mineral phase transitions on the current structure of large-scale Earth's mantle convection.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thoraval, C.

2017-12-01

Describing the large-scale structures of mantle convection and quantifying the mass transfer between upper and lower mantle request to account for the role played by mineral phase transitions in the transition zone. We build a density distribution within the Earth mantle from velocity anomalies described by global seismic tomographic models. The density distribution includes thermal anomalies and topographies of the phase transitions at depths of 410 and 660 km. We compute the flow driven by this density distribution using a 3D spherical circulation model, which account for depth-dependent viscosity. The dynamic topographies at the surface and at the CMB and the geoid are calculated as well. Within the range of viscosity profiles allowing for a satisfying restitution of the long wavelength geoid, we perform a parametric study to decipher the role of the characteristics of phase diagrams - mainly the Clapeyron's slopes - and of the kinetics of phase transitions, which may modify phase transition topographies. Indeed, when a phase transition is delayed, the boundary between two mineral phases is both dragged by the flow and interfere with it. The results are compared to recent estimations of surface dynamic topography and to the phase transition topographies as revealed by seismic studies. The consequences are then discussed in terms of structure of mantle flow. Comparisons between various tomographic models allow us to enlighten the most robust features. At last, the role played by the phase transitions on the lateral variations of mass transfer between upper and lower mantle are quantified by comparison to cases with no phase transitions and confronted to regional tomographic models, which reflect the variability of the behaviors of the descending slabs in the transition zone.

Defect-induced local variation of crystal phase transition temperature in metal-halide perovskites.

PubMed

Dobrovolsky, Alexander; Merdasa, Aboma; Unger, Eva L; Yartsev, Arkady; Scheblykin, Ivan G

2017-06-26

Solution-processed organometal halide perovskites are hybrid crystalline semiconductors highly interesting for low-cost and efficient optoelectronics. Their properties are dependent on the crystal structure. Literature shows a variety of crystal phase transition temperatures and often a spread of the transition over tens of degrees Kelvin. We explain this inconsistency by demonstrating that the temperature of the tetragonal-to-orthorhombic phase transition in methylammonium lead triiodide depends on the concentration and nature of local defects. Phase transition in individual nanowires was studied by photoluminescence microspectroscopy and super-resolution imaging. We propose that upon cooling from 160 to 140 K, domains of the crystal containing fewer defects stay in the tetragonal phase longer than highly defected domains that readily transform to the high bandgap orthorhombic phase at higher temperatures. The existence of relatively pure tetragonal domains during the phase transition leads to drastic photoluminescence enhancement, which is inhomogeneously distributed across perovskite microcrystals.Understanding crystal phase transition in materials is of fundamental importance. Using luminescence spectroscopy and super-resolution imaging, Dobrovolsky et al. study the transition from the tetragonal to orthorhombic crystal phase in methylammonium lead triiodide nanowires at low temperature.

Hydrostatic pressure and temperature effect on the Raman spectra of the molecular crystal 2-amine-1,3,4-thiadiazole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Toledo, T. A.; da Costa, R. C.; Bento, R. R. F.; Pizani, P. S.

2018-03-01

The structural, thermal and vibrational properties of the molecular crystal 2-amine-1,3,4-thiadiazole (ATD) were investigated combining X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, Raman scattering (in solid and in solution) and thermal analysis as experimental techniques and first principle calculations based on density functional theory using PZ, BLYP in condensed-phase and B3LYP/cc-pVTZ in isolated molecule methods. The structural stability and phonon anharmonicity were also studied using Raman spectroscopy at different temperatures and hydrostatic pressures. A reasonable agreement was obtained between calculated and experimental results. The main difference between experimental and computed structural and vibrational spectra occurred in the intermolecular bond distance Nsbnd H⋯N and stretching modes of NH2. The vibrational spectra were interpreted and assigned based on group theory and functional group analysis assisted by theoretical results, which led to a more comprehensive knowledge about external and internal modes at different thermodynamic conditions. As temperature increases, it was observed the line-width increases and red-shifts, indicating a phonon anharmonicity without a temperature-induced phase transition in the range 10-413 K. However, ATD crystal undergoes a phase transition in the temperature range 413-475 K, as indicated by thermal analysis curve and Raman spectra. Furthermore, increasing pressure from ambient to 3.1 GPa, it was observed the splitting of the external Raman bands centered at 122 cm-1 (at 0.2 GPa), 112 cm-1 (1.1 GPa), 93 cm-1 (2.4 GPa) in two components as well as the appearance of new band near 50 cm-1 at 1.1 GPa, indicating a possible phase-transition. The blue-shift of the Raman bands was associated to anharmonicity of the interatomic potential caused by unit cell contraction.

Critical point of gas-liquid type phase transition and phase equilibrium functions in developed two-component plasma model.

PubMed

Butlitsky, M A; Zelener, B B; Zelener, B V

2014-07-14

A two-component plasma model, which we called a "shelf Coulomb" model has been developed in this work. A Monte Carlo study has been undertaken to calculate equations of state, pair distribution functions, internal energies, and other thermodynamics properties. A canonical NVT ensemble with periodic boundary conditions was used. The motivation behind the model is also discussed in this work. The "shelf Coulomb" model can be compared to classical two-component (electron-proton) model where charges with zero size interact via a classical Coulomb law. With important difference for interaction of opposite charges: electrons and protons interact via the Coulomb law for large distances between particles, while interaction potential is cut off on small distances. The cut off distance is defined by an arbitrary ɛ parameter, which depends on system temperature. All the thermodynamics properties of the model depend on dimensionless parameters ɛ and γ = βe(2)n(1/3) (where β = 1/kBT, n is the particle's density, kB is the Boltzmann constant, and T is the temperature) only. In addition, it has been shown that the virial theorem works in this model. All the calculations were carried over a wide range of dimensionless ɛ and γ parameters in order to find the phase transition region, critical point, spinodal, and binodal lines of a model system. The system is observed to undergo a first order gas-liquid type phase transition with the critical point being in the vicinity of ɛ(crit) ≈ 13(T(*)(crit) ≈ 0.076), γ(crit) ≈ 1.8(v(*)(crit) ≈ 0.17), P(*)(crit) ≈ 0.39, where specific volume v* = 1/γ(3) and reduced temperature T(*) = ɛ(-1).

Physiological Gut Oxygenation Alters GLP-1 Secretion from the Enteroendocrine Cell Line STC-1.

PubMed

Kondrashina, Alina; Papkovsky, Dmitri; Giblin, Linda

2018-02-01

Enteroendocrine cell lines are routinely assayed in simple buffers at ≈20% oxygen to screen foods for bioactives that boost satiety hormone levels. However, in vivo, enteroendocrine cells are exposed to different phases of food digestion and function at low oxygen concentration, ranging from 7.5% in the stomach to 0.5% in the colon-rectal junction. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of physiologically relevant O 2 concentrations of the gut on the production and secretion of the satiety hormone, glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), from the murine enteroendocrine cell line, secretin tumor cell line (STC-1), in response to dairy macronutrients as they transit the gut. GLP-1 exocytosis from STC-1 cells is influenced by both oxygen concentration and by individual macronutrients. At low oxygen, STC-1 cell viability is significantly improved for all macronutrient stimulations and cyclic adenosine monophosphate levels are dampened. GLP-1 secretion from STC-1 cells is influenced by both the phase of yogurt digestion and corresponding O 2 concentration. Atmospheric oxygen at 4.5% combined with upper gastric digesta, which simulates ileum conditions, yields the highest GLP-1 response. This demonstrates the importance of considering physiological oxygen levels and food digestion along gastrointestinal tract for reliable in vitro analysis of gut hormone secretion. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Ab Initio Simulations of Temperature Dependent Phase Stability and Martensitic Transitions in NiTi

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haskins, Justin B.; Thompson, Alexander E.; Lawson, John W.

2016-01-01

For NiTi based alloys, the shape memory effect is governed by a transition from a low-temperature martensite phase to a high-temperature austenite phase. Despite considerable experimental and computational work, basic questions regarding the stability of the phases and the martensitic phase transition remain unclear even for the simple case of binary, equiatomic NiTi. We perform ab initio molecular dynamics simulations to describe the temperature-dependent behavior of NiTi and resolve several of these outstanding issues. Structural correlation functions and finite temperature phonon spectra are evaluated to determine phase stability. In particular, we show that finite temperature, entropic effects stabilize the experimentally observed martensite (B19') and austenite (B2) phases while destabilizing the theoretically predicted (B33) phase. Free energy computations based on ab initio thermodynamic integration confirm these results and permit estimates of the transition temperature between the phases. In addition to the martensitic phase transition, we predict a new transition between the B33 and B19' phases. The role of defects in suppressing these phase transformations is discussed.

Si III OV Bright Line of Scattering Polarized Light That Has Been Observed in the CLASP and Its Center-to-Limb Variation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Katsukawa, Yukio; Ishikawa, Ryoko; Kano, Ryohei; Kubo, Masahito; Noriyuki, Narukage; Kisei, Bando; Hara, Hirohisa; Yoshiho, Suematsu; Goto, Motouji; Ishikawa, Shinnosuke;

Lead-free piezoelectric (K,Na)NbO3-based ceramic with planar-mode coupling coefficient comparable to that of conventional lead zirconate titanate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohbayashi, Kazushige; Matsuoka, Takayuki; Kitamura, Kazuaki; Yamada, Hideto; Hishida, Tomoko; Yamazaki, Masato

2017-06-01

We developed a (K,Na)NbO3-based lead-free piezoelectric ceramic with a KTiNbO5 system, (K1- x Na x )0.86Ca0.04Li0.02Nb0.85O3-δ-K0.85Ti0.85Nb1.15O5-BaZrO3-Fe2O3-MgO (K1- x N x N-NTK-FM). K1- x N x N-NTK-FM ceramic exhibits a very dense microstructure and a coupling coefficient of k p = 0.59, which is almost comparable to that of conventional lead zirconate titanate (PZT). The (K,Na)NbO3-based ceramic has the Γ15 mode for a wide x range. The nanodomains of orthorhombic (K,Na)NbO3 with the M3 mode coexist within the tetragonal Γ15 mode (K,Na)NbO3 matrix. Successive phase transition cannot occur with increasing x. The maximum k p is observed at approximately the minimum x required to generate the M3 mode phase. Unlike the behavior at the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) in PZT, the characteristics of K1- x N x N-NTK-FM ceramic in this region changed moderately. This gentle phase transition seems to be a relaxor, although the diffuseness degree is not in line with this hypothesis. Furthermore, piezoelectric properties change from “soft” to “hard” upon the M3 mode phase aggregation.

Formation of the molecular crystal structure during the vacuum sublimation of paracetamol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belyaev, A. P.; Rubets, V. P.; Antipov, V. V.; Bordei, N. S.

2015-04-01

The results from structural and thermal studies on the formation of molecular crystals during the vacuum sublimation of paracetamol from its vapor phase are given. It is established that the vapor-crystal phase transition proceeds in a complicated way as the superposition of two phase transitions: a first-order phase transition with a change in density, and a second-order phase transition with a change in ordering. It is shown that the latter is a smeared phase transition that proceeds with the formation of a pretransitional phase that is irreversibly dissipated during phase transformation, leading to the formation of crystals of the rhombic syngony. Data from differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction analysis are presented along with microphotographs.

SOFIA/EXES High Spectral Resolution Observations of the Orion Hot Core

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rangwala, Naseem; Colgan, Sean; Le Gal, Romane; Acharya, Kinsuk; Huang, Xinchuan; Herbst, Eric; Lee, Timothy J.; Richter, Matthew J.; Boogert, Adwin

2018-01-01

The Orion hot core has one of the richest molecular chemistries observed in the ISM. In the MIR, the Orion hot core composition is best probed by the closest, compact, bright background continuum source in this region, IRc2. We present high-spectral resolution observations from 12.96 - 13.33 μm towards Orion IRc2 using the mid-infrared spectrograph, EXES, on SOFIA, to probe the physical and chemical conditions of the Orion hot core. All ten of the rovibrational C2H2 transitions expected in our spectral coverage, are detected with high S/N, yielding continuous coverage of the R-branch lines from J=9-8 to J=18-17, including both ortho and para species. Eight of these rovibrational transitions are newly reported detections. These data show distinct ortho and para ladders towards the Orion hot core for the first time, with an ortho to para ratio (OPR) of only 0.6 - much lower than the high temperature equilibrium value of 3. A non-equilibrium OPR is a further indication of the Orion hot core being heated externally by shocks likely resulting from a well-known explosive event which occurred 500 yrs ago. The OPR conversion timescales are much longer than the 500 yr shock timescale and thus a low OPR might be a remnant from an earlier colder pre-stellar phase before the density enhancement (now the hot core) was impacted by shocks.We will also present preliminary results from an on-going SOFIA Cycle-5 impact program to use EXES to conduct an unbiased, high-S/N, continuous, molecular line survey of the Orion hot core from 12.5 - 28.3 microns. This survey is expected to be 50 times better than ISO in detecting isolated, narrow lines to (a) resolve the ro-vibrational structure of the gas phase molecules and their kinematics, (b) detect new gas phase molecules missed by ISO, and (c) provide useful constraints on the hot core chemistry and the source of Orion hot core excitation. This survey will greatly enhance the inventory of resolved line features in the MIR for hot cores, making it an invaluable reference to be used by the JWST and ALMA scientific communities.

Phase transitions in (NH4)2MoO2F4 crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krylov, Alexander; Laptash, Natalia; Vtyurin, Alexander; Krylova, Svetlana

2016-11-01

The mechanisms of temperature and high pressure phase transitions have been studied by Raman spectroscopy. Room temperature (295 K) experiments under high hydrostatic pressure up to 3.6 GPa for (NH4)2 MoO2 F4 have been carried out. Experimental data indicates a phase transition into a new high-pressure phase for (NH4)2 MoO2 F4 at 1.2 GPa. This phase transition is related to the ordering anion octahedron groups [MoO2 F4]2- and is not associated with ammonium group. Raman spectra of small non-oriented crystals ranging from 10 to 350 K have been observed. The experiment shows anion groups [MoO2 F4]2- and ammonium in high temperature phase are disordered. The phase transition at T1 = 269.8 K is of the first-order, close to the tricritical point. The first temperature phase transition is related to the ordering anion octahedron groups [MoO2 F4]2-. Second phase transitions T2 = 180 K are associated with the ordering of ammonium. The data presented within this study demonstrate that 2D correlation analysis combined with traditional Raman spectroscopy are powerful tool to study phase transitions in the crystals.

First principles studies of the dependence of magnetism on the crystal phase in 4d and 5d late transition metals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hüger, E.; Osuch, K.

2005-03-01

We investigate the possibility of inducing ferromagnetic order in 4d and 5d late transition metals through crystal symmetry change. First principles, self-consistent density functional theory calculations, with spin-orbit coupling included, performed at 0 K show that ferromagnetism occurs in the bulk of Rh and Pd at the optimum lattice constant if Rh is in the bcc and Pd in the hcp/dhcp phase. The ferromagnetic order originates in the d-band occupancy of Rh or Pd which locates the Fermi energy at the top of the highest peak of the respective (paramagnetic) density of states induced by the bcc or hcp/dhcp structure. This peak in the density of states is caused by flat bands which lie at the surface of the respective Brillouin zone. For a bcc crystal these flat bands have the eg character and are positioned at the surface of the bcc Brillouin zone along the N-P line. The origin of the flatness of the bands was found to be the translation symmetry of the cubic lattice which causes the bands with the eg character to be narrow along the k-lines whose k-vector directions are furthest off the directions to which the orbitals of the eg symmetry point. Due to the d-band occupancy of Rh these flat bands lie in the paramagnetic state at the Fermi energy, whereas in the ferromagnetic state they exhibit the largest energetic split. This indicates that a smaller degree of orbital overlap narrows electronic bands enhancing the tendency of the system for ferromagnetic band split. For the hcp/dhcp structure the states contributing to the high density of para-magnetic states at the Fermi level of Pd lie in the vicinity of the M-L line of the hcp Brillouin zone boundary, which possesses a high number of symmetry (M and L) points. Moreover, the M-L line is aligned with the stacking sequence direction ([0001]) which is furthest off the densest-packed atomic chain direction of an hcp-crystal and, consequently, the weakest-bond direction in the crystal. This makes the narrow bands along the M-L line flat. The instability of the bcc and the meta-stability of the hcp crystal phase modifications for metals with native close-packed crystal structures is subsequently analysed in order to find whether they can be grown as films on suitable substrates.

Unconventional phase transitions in liquid crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kats, E. I.

2017-12-01

According to classical textbooks on thermodynamics or statistical physics, there are only two types of phase transitions: continuous, or second-order, in which the latent heat L is zero, and first-order, in which L ≠ 0. Present-day textbooks and monographs also mention another, stand-alone type—the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition, which exists only in two dimensions and shares some features with first- and second-order phase transitions. We discuss examples of non-conventional thermodynamic behavior (i.e., which is inconsistent with the theoretical phase transition paradigm now universally accepted). For phase transitions in smectic liquid crystals, mechanisms for nonconventional behavior are proposed and the predictions they imply are examined.

Superradiant phase transition with graphene embedded in one dimensional optical cavity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Benliang; Liu, Tao; Hewak, Daniel W.; Wang, Qi Jie

2018-01-01

We theoretically investigate the cavity QED of graphene embedded in an optical cavity under perpendicular magnetic field. We consider the coupling of cyclotron transition and a multimode cavity described by a multimode Dicke model. This model exhibits a superradiant quantum phase transition, which we describe exactly in an effective Hamiltonian approach. The complete excitation spectrum in both the normal phase and superradiant phase regimes is given. In contrast to the single mode case, multimode coupling of cavity photon and cyclotron transition can greatly reduce the critical vacuum Rabi frequency required for quantum phase transition, and dramatically enhance the superradiant emission by fast modulating the Hamiltonian. Our work paves a way to experimental explorations of quantum phase transitions in solid state systems.

THE ROLE OF METASTABLE STATES IN POLYMER PHASE TRANSITIONS: Concepts, Principles, and Experimental Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Stephen Z. D.; Keller, Andrew

1998-08-01

Polymer phases can be described in the same way as phases in other condensed matter using a number density operator and its correlation functions. This description requires the understanding of symmetry operations and order at different atomic and molecular levels. Statistical mechanics provides a link between the microscopic description of the structure and motion and the macroscopic thermodynamic properties. Within the limits of the laws of thermodynamics, polymers exhibit a rich variety of phase transition behaviors. By definition, a first-order phase transition describes a transformation that involves a sudden change of thermodynamic properties at its transition temperature, whereas higher-order phase transitions are classified as critical phenomena. Of special interest is the role of metastability in phase and phase transition behaviors. Although a metastable state possesses a local free energy minimum, it is not at the global equilibrium. Furthermore, metastable states can also be associated with phase sizes. Metastable behavior is also observed in phase transformations that are impeded by kinetic limitations along the pathway to thermodynamic equilibrium. This is illustrated in structural and morphological investigations of crystallization and mesophase transitions, liquid-liquid phase separation, vitrification, and gel formation, as well as combinations of transformation processes. In these cases, the metastable state often becomes the dominant state for the entire system and is observed over a range of time and size scales. This review describes the general principles of metastability in polymer phases and phase transitions and provides illustrations from current experimental works in selected areas.

Ultrabright, narrow-band photon-pair source for atomic quantum memories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsai, Pin-Ju; Chen, Ying-Cheng

2018-06-01

We demonstrate an ultrabright, narrow-band and frequency-tunable photon-pair source based on cavity-enhanced spontaneous parametric down conversion (SPDC) which is compatible with atomic transition of rubidium D 2-line (780 nm) or cesium D 2-line (852 nm). With the pump beam alternating between a high and a low power phase, the output is switching between the optical parametric oscillator (OPO) and photon-pair generation mode. We utilize the OPO output light to lock the cavity length to maintain the double resonances of signal and idler, as well as to lock the signal frequency to cesium atomic transition. With a type-II phase matching and a double-passed pump scheme such that the cluster frequency spacing is larger than the SPDC bandwidth, the photon-pair output is in a nearly single-mode operation as confirmed by a scanning Fabry–Perot interferometer with its output detected by a photomultiplier. The achieved generation and detection rates are 7.24× {10}5 and 6142 s‑1 mW‑1, respectively. The correlation time of the photon pair is 21.6(2.2) ns, corresponding to a bandwidth of 2π × 6.6(6) MHz. The spectral brightness is 1.06× {10}5 s‑1 mW‑1 MHz‑1. This is a relatively high value under a single-mode operation with the cavity-SPDC scheme. The generated single photons can be readily used in experiments related to atomic quantum memories.

Origins of the structural phase transitions in MoTe2 and WTe2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hyun-Jung; Kang, Seoung-Hun; Hamada, Ikutaro; Son, Young-Woo

2017-05-01

Layered transition metal dichalcogenides MoTe2 and WTe2 share almost similar lattice constants as well as topological electronic properties except their structural phase transitions. While the former shows a first-order phase transition between monoclinic and orthorhombic structures, the latter does not. Using a recently proposed van der Waals density functional method, we investigate structural stability of the two materials and uncover that the disparate phase transitions originate from delicate differences between their interlayer bonding states near the Fermi energy. By exploiting the relation between the structural phase transitions and the low energy electronic properties, we show that a charge doping can control the transition substantially, thereby suggesting a way to stabilize or to eliminate their topological electronic energy bands.

A randomized phase II/III study of cabazitaxel versus vinflunine in metastatic or locally advanced transitional cell carcinoma of the urothelium (SECAVIN).

PubMed

Bellmunt, J; Kerst, J M; Vázquez, F; Morales-Barrera, R; Grande, E; Medina, A; González Graguera, M B; Rubio, G; Anido, U; Fernández Calvo, O; González-Billalabeitia, E; Van den Eertwegh, A J M; Pujol, E; Perez-Gracia, J L; González Larriba, J L; Collado, R; Los, M; Maciá, S; De Wit, R

2017-07-01

Despite the advent of immunotherapy in urothelial cancer, there is still a need to find effective cytotoxic agents beyond first and second lines. Vinflunine is the only treatment approved in this setting by the European Medicines Agency and taxanes are also widely used in second line. Cabazitaxel is a taxane with activity in docetaxel-refractory cancers. A randomized study was conducted to compare its efficacy versus vinflunine. This is a multicenter, randomized, open-label, phase II/III study, following a Simon's optimal method with stopping rules based on an interim futility analysis and a formal efficacy analysis at the end of the phase II. ECOG Performance Status, anaemia and liver metastases were stratification factors. Primary objectives were overall response rate for the phase II and overall survival for the phase III. Seventy patients were included in the phase II across 19 institutions in Europe. Baseline characteristics were well balanced between the two arms. Three patients (13%) obtained a partial response on cabazitaxel (95% CI 2.7-32.4) and six patients (30%) in the vinflunine arm (95% CI 11.9-54.3). Median progression-free survival for cabazitaxel was 1.9 versus 2.9 months for vinflunine (P = 0.039). The study did not proceed to phase III since the futility analysis showed a lack of efficacy of cabazitaxel. A trend for overall survival benefit was found favouring vinflunine (median 7.6 versus 5.5 months). Grade 3- to 4-related adverse events were seen in 41% patients with no difference between the two arms. This phase II/III second line bladder study comparing cabazitaxel with vinflunine was closed when the phase II showed a lack of efficacy of the cabazitaxel arm. Vinflunine results were consistent with those known previously. NCT01830231. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society for Medical Oncology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Boron-tuning transition temperature of vanadium dioxide from rutile to monoclinic phase

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, J. J.; He, H. Y.; Xie, Y.

2014-11-21

The effect of the doped boron on the phase transition temperature between the monoclinic phase and the rutile phase of VO{sub 2} has been studied by performing first-principles calculations. It is found that the phase transition temperature decreases linearly with increasing the doping level of B in each system, no matter where the B atom is in the crystal. More importantly, the descent of the transition temperature is predicted to be as large as 83 K/at. % B, indicating that the boron concentration of only 0.5% can cause the phase transition at room temperature. These findings provide a new routinemore » of modulating the phase transition of VO{sub 2} and pave a way for the practicality of VO{sub 2} as an energy-efficient green material.« less

Narrow-line laser cooling by adiabatic transfer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Norcia, Matthew A.; Cline, Julia R. K.; Bartolotta, John P.; Holland, Murray J.; Thompson, James K.

2018-02-01

We propose and demonstrate a novel laser cooling mechanism applicable to particles with narrow-linewidth optical transitions. By sweeping the frequency of counter-propagating laser beams in a sawtooth manner, we cause adiabatic transfer back and forth between the ground state and a long-lived optically excited state. The time-ordering of these adiabatic transfers is determined by Doppler shifts, which ensures that the associated photon recoils are in the opposite direction to the particle’s motion. This ultimately leads to a robust cooling mechanism capable of exerting large forces via a weak transition and with reduced reliance on spontaneous emission. We present a simple intuitive model for the resulting frictional force, and directly demonstrate its efficacy for increasing the total phase-space density of an atomic ensemble. We rely on both simulation and experimental studies using the 7.5 kHz linewidth 1S0 to 3P1 transition in 88Sr. The reduced reliance on spontaneous emission may allow this adiabatic sweep method to be a useful tool for cooling particles that lack closed cycling transitions, such as molecules.

Transition-metal-free catalysts for the sustainable epoxidation of alkenes: from discovery to optimisation by means of high throughput experimentation.

PubMed

Lueangchaichaweng, Warunee; Geukens, Inge; Peeters, Annelies; Jarry, Benjamin; Launay, Franck; Bonardet, Jean-Luc; Jacobs, Pierre A; Pescarmona, Paolo P

2012-02-01

Transition-metal-free oxides were studied as heterogeneous catalysts for the sustainable epoxidation of alkenes with aqueous H₂O₂ by means of high throughput experimentation (HTE) techniques. A full-factorial HTE approach was applied in the various stages of the development of the catalysts: the synthesis of the materials, their screening as heterogeneous catalysts in liquid-phase epoxidation and the optimisation of the reaction conditions. Initially, the chemical composition of transition-metal-free oxides was screened, leading to the discovery of gallium oxide as a novel, active and selective epoxidation catalyst. On the basis of these results, the research line was continued with the study of structured porous aluminosilicates, gallosilicates and silica-gallia composites. In general, the gallium-based materials showed the best catalytic performances. This family of materials represents a promising class of heterogeneous catalysts for the sustainable epoxidation of alkenes and offers a valid alternative to the transition-metal heterogeneous catalysts commonly used in epoxidation. High throughput experimentation played an important role in promoting the development of these catalytic systems.

High-Volume Production of Lightweight Multijunction Solar Cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Youtsey, Christopher

2015-01-01

MicroLink Devices, Inc., has transitioned its 6-inch epitaxial lift-off (ELO) solar cell fabrication process into a manufacturing platform capable of sustaining large-volume production. This Phase II project improves the ELO process by reducing cycle time and increasing the yield of large-area devices. In addition, all critical device fabrication processes have transitioned to 6-inch production tool sets designed for volume production. An emphasis on automated cassette-to-cassette and batch processes minimizes operator dependence and cell performance variability. MicroLink Devices established a pilot production line capable of at least 1,500 6-inch wafers per month at greater than 80 percent yield. The company also increased the yield and manufacturability of the 6-inch reclaim process, which is crucial to reducing the cost of the cells.

Stepwise positional-orientational order and the multicritical-multistructural global phase diagram of the s=3/2 Ising model from renormalization-group theory.

PubMed

Yunus, Çağın; Renklioğlu, Başak; Keskin, Mustafa; Berker, A Nihat

2016-06-01

The spin-3/2 Ising model, with nearest-neighbor interactions only, is the prototypical system with two different ordering species, with concentrations regulated by a chemical potential. Its global phase diagram, obtained in d=3 by renormalization-group theory in the Migdal-Kadanoff approximation or equivalently as an exact solution of a d=3 hierarchical lattice, with flows subtended by 40 different fixed points, presents a very rich structure containing eight different ordered and disordered phases, with more than 14 different types of phase diagrams in temperature and chemical potential. It exhibits phases with orientational and/or positional order. It also exhibits quintuple phase transition reentrances. Universality of critical exponents is conserved across different renormalization-group flow basins via redundant fixed points. One of the phase diagrams contains a plastic crystal sequence, with positional and orientational ordering encountered consecutively as temperature is lowered. The global phase diagram also contains double critical points, first-order and critical lines between two ordered phases, critical end points, usual and unusual (inverted) bicritical points, tricritical points, multiple tetracritical points, and zero-temperature criticality and bicriticality. The four-state Potts permutation-symmetric subspace is contained in this model.

Nematic fluctuations balancing the zoo of phases in half-filled quantum Hall systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mesaros, Andrej; Lawler, Michael J.; Kim, Eun-Ah

2017-03-01

Half-filled Landau levels form a zoo of strongly correlated phases. These include non-Fermi-liquids (NFLs), fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states, nematic phases, and FQH nematic phases. This diversity begs the following question: what keeps the balance between the seemingly unrelated phases? The answer is elusive because the Halperin-Lee-Read description that offers a natural departure point is inherently strongly coupled. However, the observed nematic phases suggest that nematic fluctuations play an important role. To study this possibility, we apply a recently formulated controlled double-expansion approach in large-N composite fermion flavors and small ɛ nonanalytic bosonic action to the case with both gauge and nematic boson fluctuations. In the vicinity of a nematic quantum critical line, we find that depending on the amount of screening of the gauge- and nematic-mediated interactions controlled by ɛ 's, the renormalization-group flow points to all four mentioned correlated phases. When pairing preempts the nematic phase, NFL behavior is possible at temperatures above the pairing transition. We conclude by discussing measurements at low tilt angles, which could reveal the stabilization of the FQH phase by nematic fluctuations.

Remote sensing of hydrologic variables in boreal areas, phase 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peck, Eugene L.; Carroll, Thomas R.

1994-01-01

The major effort by HYD-6 members has been to develop a network of flight lines to provide the maximum amount of information on the temporal and spatial variation in soil moisture for the Boreal Ecosystem Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) study areas. Field visits to the southern study area (SSA) were conducted during May 1993 to obtain first hand information on the flight lines that had been previously selected for BOREAS snow studies. In September 1993 airborne gamma radiation surveys were conducted over the SSA, the northern study area (NSA), and for five flight lines along the transect between the two study areas. In situ measurements of soil moisture and water content of the moss/humus layer were obtained for calibration of selected gamma radiation flights lines in the SSA and for two of the transit lines. The flight lines for which soil moisture will be measured during the three IFC's during the summer of 1994 is a subset of the total flight lines that have been flown for the snow surveys. During the WFC in February 1994, airborne gamma radiation surveys were flown over all of the flight lines. Members of HYD-4 collected in-situ measurements (soil moisture, water content of the moss/humus layer, and water equivalent of the snow cover).

Study of anyon condensation and topological phase transitions from a Z4 topological phase using the projected entangled pair states approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iqbal, Mohsin; Duivenvoorden, Kasper; Schuch, Norbert

2018-05-01

We use projected entangled pair states (PEPS) to study topological quantum phase transitions. The local description of topological order in the PEPS formalism allows us to set up order parameters which measure condensation and deconfinement of anyons and serve as substitutes for conventional order parameters. We apply these order parameters, together with anyon-anyon correlation functions and some further probes, to characterize topological phases and phase transitions within a family of models based on a Z4 symmetry, which contains Z4 quantum double, toric code, double semion, and trivial phases. We find a diverse phase diagram which exhibits a variety of different phase transitions of both first and second order which we comprehensively characterize, including direct transitions between the toric code and the double semion phase.

The growth mechanism of grain boundary carbide in Alloy 690

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Hui, E-mail: huili@shu.edu.cn; Institute of Materials, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200072; Xia, Shuang

2013-07-15

The growth mechanism of grain boundary M{sub 23}C{sub 6} carbides in nickel base Alloy 690 after aging at 715 °C was investigated by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The grain boundary carbides have coherent orientation relationship with only one side of the matrix. The incoherent phase interface between M{sub 23}C{sub 6} and matrix was curved, and did not lie on any specific crystal plane. The M{sub 23}C{sub 6} carbide transforms from the matrix phase directly at the incoherent interface. The flat coherent phase interface generally lies on low index crystal planes, such as (011) and (111) planes. The M{sub 23}C{submore » 6} carbide transforms from a transition phase found at curved coherent phase interface. The transition phase has a complex hexagonal crystal structure, and has coherent orientation relationship with matrix and M{sub 23}C{sub 6}: (111){sub matrix}//(0001){sub transition}//(111){sub carbide}, <112{sup ¯}>{sub matrix}//<21{sup ¯}10>{sub transition}//<112{sup ¯}>{sub carbide}. The crystal lattice constants of transition phase are c{sub transition}=√(3)×a{sub matrix} and a{sub transition}=√(6)/2×a{sub matrix}. Based on the experimental results, the growth mechanism of M{sub 23}C{sub 6} and the formation mechanism of transition phase are discussed. - Highlights: • A transition phase was observed at the coherent interfaces of M{sub 23}C{sub 6} and matrix. • The transition phase has hexagonal structure, and is coherent with matrix and M{sub 23}C{sub 6}. • The M{sub 23}C{sub 6} transforms from the matrix directly at the incoherent phase interface.« less

Detecting critical state before phase transition of complex systems by hidden Markov model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Rui; Chen, Pei; Li, Yongjun; Chen, Luonan

Identifying the critical state or pre-transition state just before the occurrence of a phase transition is a challenging task, because the state of the system may show little apparent change before this critical transition during the gradual parameter variations. Such dynamics of phase transition is generally composed of three stages, i.e., before-transition state, pre-transition state, and after-transition state, which can be considered as three different Markov processes. Thus, based on this dynamical feature, we present a novel computational method, i.e., hidden Markov model (HMM), to detect the switching point of the two Markov processes from the before-transition state (a stationary Markov process) to the pre-transition state (a time-varying Markov process), thereby identifying the pre-transition state or early-warning signals of the phase transition. To validate the effectiveness, we apply this method to detect the signals of the imminent phase transitions of complex systems based on the simulated datasets, and further identify the pre-transition states as well as their critical modules for three real datasets, i.e., the acute lung injury triggered by phosgene inhalation, MCF-7 human breast cancer caused by heregulin, and HCV-induced dysplasia and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Boundary-field-driven control of discontinuous phase transitions on hyperbolic lattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Yoju; Verstraete, Frank; Gendiar, Andrej

2016-08-01

The multistate Potts models on two-dimensional hyperbolic lattices are studied with respect to various boundary effects. The free energy is numerically calculated using the corner transfer matrix renormalization group method. We analyze phase transitions of the Potts models in the thermodynamic limit with respect to contracted boundary layers. A false phase transition is present even if a couple of the boundary layers are contracted. Its significance weakens, as the number of the contracted boundary layers increases, until the correct phase transition (deep inside the bulk) prevails over the false one. For this purpose, we derive a thermodynamic quantity, the so-called bulk excess free energy, which depends on the contracted boundary layers and memorizes additional boundary effects. In particular, the magnetic field is imposed on the outermost boundary layer. While the boundary magnetic field does not affect the second-order phase transition in the bulk if suppressing all the boundary effects on the hyperbolic lattices, the first-order (discontinuous) phase transition is significantly sensitive to the boundary magnetic field. Contrary to the phase transition on the Euclidean lattices, the discontinuous phase transition on the hyperbolic lattices can be continuously controlled (within a certain temperature coexistence region) by varying the boundary magnetic field.

Correlation and nonlocality measures as indicators of quantum phase transitions in several critical systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Altintas, Ferdi, E-mail: ferdialtintas@ibu.edu.tr; Eryigit, Resul, E-mail: resul@ibu.edu.tr

2012-12-15

We have investigated the quantum phase transitions in the ground states of several critical systems, including transverse field Ising and XY models as well as XY with multiple spin interactions, XXZ and the collective system Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick models, by using different quantumness measures, such as entanglement of formation, quantum discord, as well as its classical counterpart, measurement-induced disturbance and the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt-Bell function. Measurement-induced disturbance is found to detect the first and second order phase transitions present in these critical systems, while, surprisingly, it is found to fail to signal the infinite-order phase transition present in the XXZ model. Remarkably, the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt-Bellmore » function is found to detect all the phase transitions, even when quantum and classical correlations are zero for the relevant ground state. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The ability of correlation measures to detect quantum phase transitions has been studied. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Measurement induced disturbance fails to detect the infinite order phase transition. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer CHSH-Bell function detects all phase transitions even when the bipartite density matrix is uncorrelated.« less

Strain and defect engineering on phase transition of monolayer black phosphorene

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Yan; Shi, Xiaoyang; Li, Mingjia

Under biaxial strain, SW-2 defect can move inward the phase boundary of α-P and β-P remarkably and promote the phase transition from α-P to β-P, serving as an excellent ‘phase transition catalyzer’.

Strain and defect engineering on phase transition of monolayer black phosphorene

DOE PAGES

Chen, Yan; Shi, Xiaoyang; Li, Mingjia; ...

2018-01-01

Under biaxial strain, SW-2 defect can move inward the phase boundary of α-P and β-P remarkably and promote the phase transition from α-P to β-P, serving as an excellent ‘phase transition catalyzer’.

Quantum phase transitions between a class of symmetry protected topological states

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tsui, Lokman; Jiang, Hong-Chen; Lu, Yuan-Ming

2015-07-01

The subject of this paper is the phase transition between symmetry protected topological states (SPTs). We consider spatial dimension d and symmetry group G so that the cohomology group, Hd+1(G,U(1)), contains at least one Z2n or Z factor. We show that the phase transition between the trivial SPT and the root states that generate the Z2n or Z groups can be induced on the boundary of a (d+1)-dimensional View the MathML source-symmetric SPT by a View the MathML source symmetry breaking field. Moreover we show these boundary phase transitions can be “transplanted” to d dimensions and realized in lattice modelsmore » as a function of a tuning parameter. The price one pays is for the critical value of the tuning parameter there is an extra non-local (duality-like) symmetry. In the case where the phase transition is continuous, our theory predicts the presence of unusual (sometimes fractionalized) excitations corresponding to delocalized boundary excitations of the non-trivial SPT on one side of the transition. This theory also predicts other phase transition scenarios including first order transition and transition via an intermediate symmetry breaking phase.« less