Search results for "METASTABILITY"
showing 10 items of 262 documents
CONSTRUCTION OF METASTABLE STATES IN QUANTUM ELECTRODYNAMICS
2004
In this paper, we construct metastable states of atoms interacting with the quantized radiation field. These states emerge from the excited bound states of the non-interacting system. We prove that these states obey an exponential time-decay law. In detail, we show that their decay is given by an exponential function in time, predicted by Fermi's Golden Rule, plus a small remainder term. The latter is proportional to the (4+β)th power of the coupling constant and decays algebraically in time. As a result, though it is small, it dominates the decay for large times. A central point of the paper is that our remainder term is significantly smaller than the one previously obtained in [1] and as…
Atomic and electronic structure of the corundum (0001) surface: comparison with surface spectroscopies
1997
Abstract The electronic structure and geometry of the Al-terminated corundum (0001) surface were studied using a slab model within the ab-initio Hartree-Fock technique. The distance between the top Al plane and the next O basal plane is found to be considerably reduced on relaxation (by 0.57 A, i.e. by 68% of the corresponding interlayer distance in the bulk). An interpretation of experimental photoelectron spectra (UPS He I) and metastable impact electron spectra (MIES) is given using the calculated total density of states of the slab and the projections to the atoms, atomic orbitals, and He 1s floating atomic orbital at different positions above the surface. Calculated projected densities…
Polymeric scaffolds prepared via Thermally Induced Phase Separation (TIPS): Tuning of structure and morphology
2007
Scaffolds suitable for tissue engineering applications were prepared by Thermally Induced Phase Separation (TIPS) starting from a ternary solution PLLA/dioxane/water. The experimental protocol consisted of three consecutive steps, a first quench from the homogeneous solution to an appropriate demixing temperature (within the metastable region), a holding stage for a given residence time and a final quench from the demixing temperature to a low temperature (within the unstable region). A large variety of morphologies, in terms of average pore size and interconnection, were obtained upon modifying the demixing time and temperature, owing to the interplay of nucleation and growth processes dur…
Noise Induced Phenomena in point Josephson junctions
2008
We present the analysis of the mean switching time and its standard deviation of short overdamped Josephson junctions, driven by a direct current and a periodic signal. The effect of noise enhanced stability is investigated. It is shown that fluctuations may both decrease and increase the switching time.
Luminescence-detected EPR of oxygen-fluorine vacancy complexes in CaF2
2009
In several CaF2 single crystals grown by the Bridgman method and doped with CaO or in addition with SrF2 or NaF a luminescence band between 470 nm and 600 nm could be excited at 212 nm, its peak wavelength depending on the doping. With photo-luminescence (PL) detected EPR five spin triplet centres were identified. Their axial fine structure constants D varied from 87 mT to 690 mT whereby the most intense spectra had the smallest D value. Theoretical calculations of the fine structure tensors and superhyperfine interactions show that the most intense and probable triplet centre consists of a pair of an OF– on a F– site next to a nearest neighbour F– vacancy which, compared to the well-known …
Equilibrium fluid-crystal interfacial free energy of bcc-crystallizing aqueous suspensions of polydisperse charged spheres
2015
The interfacial free energy is a central quantity in crystallization from the meta-stable melt. In suspensions of charged colloidal spheres, nucleation and growth kinetics can be accurately measured from optical experiments. In previous work, from this data effective non-equilibrium values for the interfacial free energy between the emerging bcc-nuclei and the adjacent melt in dependence on the chemical potential difference between melt phase and crystal phase were derived using classical nucleation theory. A strictly linear increase of the interfacial free energy was observed as a function of increased meta-stability. Here, we further analyze this data for five aqueous suspensions of charg…
Nuclear hyperpolarization of 3He by magnetized plasmas
2018
International audience; We describe a method, referred to as PAMP (polarization of atoms in a magnetized plasma), that allowshyperpolarization of 3He nuclear spins at high magnetic field solely by excitation of a rf gas discharge.A magnetized plasma is obtained when the mean free path of the free electrons is much larger than theirgyration radius in the rf gas discharge. Investigations of PAMP are carried out in the 1–15-mbar pressure rangewith rf excitation around 100 MHz. Quantitative NMR measurements at 4.7 T and room temperature showthat, for different cell sizes and gas densities, 3He nuclear polarizations in the 1 to 9% range are achieved(i.e., larger than the Boltzmann equilibrium sp…
Stabilization of quantum metastable states by dissipation
2015
Normally, quantum fluctuations enhance the escape from metastable states in the presence of dissipation. Here we show that dissipation can enhance the stability of a quantum metastable system, consisting of a particle moving in a strongly asymmetric double well potential, interacting with a thermal bath. We find that the escape time from the metastable state has a nonmonotonic behavior versus the system-bath coupling and the temperature, producing a stabilizing effect.
Solvation of triplet Rydberg states of molecular hydrogen in superfluid helium
2004
We report ab initio interaction potentials, transition dipole moments, and radiative lifetimes for the four lowest triplet states of ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}:$ $b$ ${}^{3}{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}_{u}^{+},$ $c$ ${}^{3}{\ensuremath{\Pi}}_{u},$ $a$ ${}^{3}{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}_{g}^{+},$ and $e$ ${}^{3}{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}_{u}^{+},$ and their response to the perturbation due to approaching ground state He atom. Hybrid density functional\char21{}quantum Monte Carlo calculations employing the ab initio interaction potentials are then used for calculating the liquid structure around the molecular excimers in bulk superfluid ${}^{4}\mathrm{He}.$ Calculations demonstrate a wide variety of possible solvation …
Interplay between spin crossover and proton migration along short strong hydrogen bonds
2021
The iron(ii) salt [Fe(bpp)2](isonicNO)2·HisonicNO·5H2O (1) (bpp = 2,6-bis(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine; isonicNO = isonicotinate N-oxide anion) undergoes a partial spin crossover (SCO) with symmetry breaking at T1 = 167 K to a mixed-spin phase (50% high-spin (HS), 50% low-spin (LS)) that is metastable below T2 = 116 K. Annealing the compound at lower temperatures results in a 100% LS phase that differs from the initial HS phase in the formation of a hydrogen bond (HB) between two water molecules (O4W and O5W) of crystallisation. Neutron crystallography experiments have also evidenced a proton displacement inside a short strong hydrogen bond (SSHB) between two isonicNO anions. Both phenomena can al…