High entropy state of orientationally-disordered clusters in Zr-based bulk metallic glass

A phase transformation of a metastable Zr2Ni intermetallic crystalline phase to vitrify was studied with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations based on a plastic crystal model (PCM), which utilizes the orientational disorder of molecules of plastic crystals in a class of soft matter. The simulation results show ed that computational operations in MD-PCM for the random rotati ons of the clusters in the crystalline phase around their center of gravity and subsequent annealing lead to form a dense random pa cking structure from the metastable Zr2Ni phase. These randomly-rotated clusters provide high degrees of freedom in terms of atomic positions, which results in enhancing the glass-forming ability of the alloy. The critical fraction of the number of rotated cl usters for forming the glassy phase ( fc^R) is evaluated to be 0.75 ? 0.80. Thus, the critical fraction of the number of un-rotated clusters (fc^U=1?fc^R) is close to the critical concentration of site percolation for metallic materials. The mechanism of the metastable Zr2Ni phase to vitrify with increasing f^R was analyzed with a concept of communal entropy in the free volume theory with solid- and liquid-like cells proposed by Cohen and Grest. The MD-PCM for the metastable Zr2Ni phase suggests that Zr-based bulk metallic glass (BMG) can be regarded as an alloy in a high rotation entropy state of cl usters and that glass transition takes place by percolation of th e nuclei of a liquid-like glassy phase.     

蒙特卡罗方法模拟无序涡旋系统中的相图

从GL(Ginzburg-Landau)自由能出发,在最低朗道能级近似下,用蒙特卡罗的方法模拟了二维无序第二类超导体涡旋态系统.对于纯净的涡旋系统,得到了从涡旋固态到涡旋液态的一级相变,验证了前人的理论.对于无序的涡旋系统,发现低温区域存在Bragg玻璃态.     

Dynamic instabilities and memory effects in vortex matter

The magnetic flux line lattice in type II superconductors serves as a useful system in which to study condensed matter flow, as its dynamic properties are tunable. Recent studies have shown a number of puzzling phenomena associated with vortex motion, including: low-frequency noise and slow voltage oscillations; a history-dependent dynamic response, and memory of the direction, amplitude duration and frequency of the previously applied current; high vortex mobility for alternating current, but no apparent vortex motion for direct currents; and strong suppression of an a.c. response by small d.c. bias. Taken together, these phenomena are incompatible with current understanding of vortex dynamics. Here we report a generic mechanism that accounts for these observations. Our model, which is derived from investigations of the current distribution across single crystals of NbSe2, is based on a competition between the injection of a disordered vortex phase at the sample edges, and the dynamic annealing of this metastable disorder by the transport current. For an alternating current, only narrow regions near the edges are in the disordered phase, while for d.c. bias, most of the sample is in the disordered phase--preventing vortex motion because of more efficient pinning. The resulting spatial dependence of the disordered vortex system serves as an active memory of the previous history.     

A one-dimensional chain state of vortex matter.

Magnetic flux penetrates isotropic type II superconductors in flux-quantized vortices, which arrange themselves into a lattice structure that is independent of the direction of the applied field. In extremely anisotropic high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconductors, a lattice of stacks of circular 'pancake' vortices forms when a magnetic field is applied perpendicular to the copper oxide layers, while an orthogonal elongated lattice of elliptical Josephson vortices forms when the applied field is parallel to the layers. Here we report that when a tilted magnetic field is applied to single crystals of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta, these lattices can interact to form a new state of vortex matter in which all stacks of pancake vortices intersect the Josephson vortices. The sublattice of Josephson vortices can therefore be used to manipulate the sublattice of pancake vortices. This result explains the suppression of irreversible magnetization by in-plane fields as seen in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+delta crystals, a hitherto mysterious observation. The ability to manipulate sublattices could be important for flux-logic devices, where a 'bit' might be represented by a pancake vortex stack, and the problem of vortex positioning is overcome through sublattice interactions. This also enables the development of flux transducers and amplifiers, considerably broadening the scope for applications of anisotropic high-Tc superconductors.     

Spontaneous breaking of time-reversal symmetry in the pseudogap state of a high-Tc superconductor

A change in 'symmetry' is often observed when matter undergoes a phase transition-the symmetry is said to be spontaneously broken. The transition made by underdoped high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconductors is unusual, in that it is not a mean-field transition as seen in other superconductors. Rather, there is a region in the phase diagram above the superconducting transition temperature Tc (where phase coherence and superconductivity begin) but below a characteristic temperature T* where a 'pseudogap' appears in the spectrum of electronic excitations. It is therefore important to establish if T* is just a cross-over temperature arising from fluctuations in the order parameter that will establish superconductivity at Tc (refs 3, 4), or if it marks a phase transition where symmetry is spontaneously broken. Here we report that, for a material in the pseudogap state, left-circularly polarized photons give a different photocurrent from right-circularly polarized photons. This shows that time-reversal symmetry is spontaneously broken below T*, which therefore corresponds to a phase transition.     

中子散射及其应用

在近30年间，由于中子源和散射装置的改进，中子散射在凝聚态物质中的应用日益广泛，在许多方面是其他（X射线、电子、激光、同步辐射等）散射技术不可比拟的．在简单评述供散射用的中子源和散射实验技术进展之后，重点介绍中子散射在凝聚态物质研究中的应用，它们包括晶体结构和磁结构的测定、表面、界面和薄膜的表征、测定结构涨落、磁涨落的现代相变研究、畸变、无序系统（包括分形和小角散射）和高分子材料、高Tc氧化物超导体的研究。     

A superconductor to superfluid phase transition in liquid metallic hydrogen

Although hydrogen is the simplest of atoms, it does not form the simplest of solids or liquids. Quantum effects in these phases are considerable (a consequence of the light proton mass) and they have a demonstrable and often puzzling influence on many physical properties, including spatial order. To date, the structure of dense hydrogen remains experimentally elusive. Recent studies of the melting curve of hydrogen indicate that at high (but experimentally accessible) pressures, compressed hydrogen will adopt a liquid state, even at low temperatures. In reaching this phase, hydrogen is also projected to pass through an insulator-to-metal transition. This raises the possibility of new state of matter: a near ground-state liquid metal, and its ordered states in the quantum domain. Ordered quantum fluids are traditionally categorized as superconductors or superfluids; these respective systems feature dissipationless electrical currents or mass flow. Here we report a topological analysis of the projected phase of liquid metallic hydrogen, finding that it may represent a new type of ordered quantum fluid. Specifically, we show that liquid metallic hydrogen cannot be categorized exclusively as a superconductor or superfluid. We predict that, in the presence of a magnetic field, liquid metallic hydrogen will exhibit several phase transitions to ordered states, ranging from superconductors to superfluids.     

钢渣基高碱度微晶玻璃的一步法制备及工艺参数研究

为了提高微晶玻璃原料中高钙冶金渣的掺量,需要制备出碱度更高的微晶玻璃. 本文采用一步法,以钢渣为主要原料,制备碱度( CaO与SiO2的质量比)为0. 9的钢渣基高碱度微晶玻璃. 通过X射线衍射分析、扫描电镜和性能测试等手段,研究热处理条件对微晶玻璃微观形貌及线收缩率、体积密度和抗折强度等性能的影响规律. 研究表明,高碱度微晶玻璃适合采用一步法制备工艺,当在1100℃保温120 min时,微晶玻璃烧结过程基本完成,此时获得最大体积密度2. 4 g·cm-3 ,最高抗折强度56. 4 MPa. 微晶玻璃的主晶相为钙铝黄长石,副晶相为辉石. 基础玻璃颗粒在升温过程中完成了成核和析晶过程,而在保温过程中主要进行的是基础玻璃颗粒的烧结致密化和晶体的进一步发育. 升温至1100℃保温30 min,微晶玻璃的抗折强度超过45 MPa,微晶玻璃内部晶体呈方柱状交织排列并构成晶体骨架分布在残余的玻璃基体中;随着保温时间的增加,微晶玻璃的线性烧结收缩率、体积密度和抗折强度均逐渐增大,而晶相的含量基本保持不变,晶体逐渐由球形颗粒状和短柱状发育为长柱状. 晶体的形状以及与残余玻璃相构成的整体致密结构是导致高碱度微晶玻璃力学性能提高的主要因素.     

THE RELATION BETWEEN BAND STRUCTURE AND SUPERCONDUCTING TRANSITION TEMPERATURE IN SOME MIXED ALKALI-METAL DOPED C_(60)

The electronic band stucturec of crystalline N Na2RbC60 and Na2CsC60are examined using the three-dimensional crystal orbital method. Our calculation results reveal that ground states of all these three alkali-metal doped fulle.rides from a metalic conducting phase with a rather narrow molecular crystal-like band-stucture and a high density of state near the. fermi-level, which indicate a very high Tc for this newly found molecular superconductors. A monotonic relationship is found between our calculated band dispersion,Fermi-level density of state, and the experimental transition temperature Tc,which is in exceuentt agre.emet with the prediction of the. BCS model.     

V、Ce、W、Pt在高温超导体中的作用特征

本文对V、Ce、W、Pt元素在高温氧化物超导体中的作用特征进行了分析研究。指出由于这些元素高的价态,Ce等同元素Cu相比半径大许多,而难于取代超导体晶格中的元素,不能进入超导体的晶体晶格中,只能处于晶界上。由于V、Ce、W、Pt的高电荷,所形成的较强的离子极化力必然影响到高温氧化物超导体的晶体;掺杂量小时,加强了晶粒间的作用,有些提供了部分氧;量大时,造成高温氧化物超导体晶格畸变,影响超导电性。     

A hidden pseudogap under the 'dome' of superconductivity in electron-doped high-temperature superconductors

The ground state of superconductors is characterized by the long-range order of condensed Cooper pairs: this is the only order present in conventional superconductors. The high-transition-temperature (high-T(c)) superconductors, in contrast, exhibit more complex phase behaviour, which might indicate the presence of other competing ground states. For example, the pseudogap--a suppression of the accessible electronic states at the Fermi level in the normal state of high-T(c) superconductors-has been interpreted as either a precursor to superconductivity or as tracer of a nearby ground state that can be separated from the superconducting state by a quantum critical point. Here we report the existence of a second order parameter hidden within the superconducting phase of the underdoped (electron-doped) high-T(c) superconductor Pr2-xCe(x)CuO4-y and the newly synthesized electron-doped material La2-xCe(x)CuO4-y (ref. 8). The existence of a pseudogap when superconductivity is suppressed excludes precursor superconductivity as its origin. Our observation is consistent with the presence of a (quantum) phase transition at T = 0, which may be a key to understanding high-T(c) superconductivity. This supports the picture that the physics of high-T(c) superconductors is determined by the interplay between competing and coexisting ground states.     

Some Remarks on the Degree of Crystallinity Measured on DSC

A modified mathematical model based on the melting and recrystallization of an initial distribution of melting temperatures predicts the melting behavior of polymer in differential scanning calorimetry ( DSC ) , taking into account of changes in heat of fusion with melting temperature of crystal and average heat capacity of sample. It has been used to analytically prove that the crystallinity measured on a DSC diagram could not be equal to the weight percentage of crystalline state in the initial specimen. The deviation of the measured crystallinity, as observed relevant to the melting and recrystallization processes, is caused by the changes of the heat of fusion with the melting temperature of crystals, as well as the difference of heat capacities of liquid and solid state polymer. Furthermore, upper and lower limits of the deviation have been discussed.     

Liquid-like movements in crystalline insulin

Diffuse X-ray scattering from protein crystals provides information about molecular flexibility and packing irregularities. Here we analyse diffraction patterns from insulin crystals that show two types of scattering related to disorder: very diffuse, liquid-like diffraction, and haloes around the Bragg reflections. The haloes are due to coupled displacements of neighbouring molecules in the lattice, and the very diffuse scattering results from variations in atomic positions that are only locally correlated within each molecule. The measured intensity was digitally separated into three components: the Bragg reflections and associated haloes; the water and Compton scattering; and the scattering attributed to internal protein movements. We extend methods used to analyse disorder in membrane structures to simulate the diffuse scattering from crystalline insulin in terms of (1) the Patterson (autocorrelation) function of the ideal, ordered crystal structure, (2) the root-mean-square (r.m.s.) amplitude of the atomic movements, and (3) the mean distance over which these displacements are coupled. Movements of the atoms within the molecules, with r.m.s. amplitudes of 0.4-0.45 A, appear to be coupled over a range of approximately 6 A, as in a liquid. These locally coupled movements account for most of the disorder in the crystal. Also, the protein molecules, as a whole, jiggle in the lattice with r.m.s. amplitudes of approximately 0.25 A that appear to be significantly correlated only between nearest neighbours.     

超导涡旋系统的非平衡态相变

利用三维各向异性XY模型和电阻分流结动力学,研究了较强钉扎势下第二类层状超导体涡旋系统的非平衡态相变.结果发现,平衡态的涡旋玻璃相可在电流驱动下转变为运动玻璃相.在低温下系统经历了三次相变:随电流的增加,系统首先从运动涡旋玻璃相转变为运动Bragg玻璃相,再转变为运动Smectic相,最后融化为运动液体相.     

热致型高分子的液晶度与结晶度

利用解偏振光强(DLI)、广角X-射线衍射(WAXD)及密度测定等方法,对目前国内外尚有争议的聚合物液晶态相态系统进行了研究,就聚合物液晶相的均相异相问题提出了新的看法,认为聚合物液晶相仍是一个异相系统,但由于聚合物处于液晶态时,分子排列比较规整,加之其特殊的粘度特性,致使液晶体系中液晶的不完善程度较结晶的不完善程度小,也即液晶度高于结晶度,从而解释了聚合物由结晶态进入液晶态时解偏振光强突然增大的反常行为。     

An explanation for a universality of transition temperatures in families of copper oxide superconductors

A remarkable mystery of the copper oxide high-transition-temperature (T(c)) superconductors is the dependence of T(c) on the number of CuO2 layers, n, in the unit cell of a crystal. In a given family of these superconductors, T(c) rises with the number of layers, reaching a peak at n = 3, and then declines: the result is a bell-shaped curve. Despite the ubiquity of this phenomenon, it is still poorly understood and attention has instead been mainly focused on the properties of a single CuO2 plane. Here we show that the quantum tunnelling of Cooper pairs between the layers simply and naturally explains the experimental results, when combined with the recently quantified charge imbalance of the layers and the latest notion of a competing order nucleated by this charge imbalance that suppresses superconductivity. We calculate the bell-shaped curve and show that, if materials can be engineered so as to minimize the charge imbalance as n increases, T(c) can be raised further.     

Ionic conductivity in crystalline polymer electrolytes

Polymer electrolytes are the subject of intensive study, in part because of their potential use as the electrolyte in all-solid-state rechargeable lithium batteries. These materials are formed by dissolving a salt (for example LiI) in a solid host polymer such as poly(ethylene oxide) (refs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), and may be prepared as both crystalline and amorphous phases. Conductivity in polymer electrolytes has long been viewed as confined to the amorphous phase above the glass transition temperature, Tg, where polymer chain motion creates a dynamic, disordered environment that plays a critical role in facilitating ion transport. Here we show that, in contrast to this prevailing view, ionic conductivity in the static, ordered environment of the crystalline phase can be greater than that in the equivalent amorphous material above Tg. Moreover, we demonstrate that ion transport in crystalline polymer electrolytes can be dominated by the cations, whereas both ions are generally mobile in the amorphous phase. Restriction of mobility to the lithium cation is advantageous for battery applications. The realization that order can promote ion transport in polymers is interesting in the context of electronically conducting polymers, where crystallinity favours electron transport.     

Nanoindentation. Simulation of defect nucleation in a crystal

Nanoindentation is the penetration of a surface to nanometre depths using an indenting device. It can be simulated using the Bragg bubble-raft model, in which a close-packed array of soap bubbles corresponds to the equilibrium positions of atoms in a crystalline solid. Here we show that homogeneous defect nucleation occurs within a crystal when its surface roughness is comparable to the radius of the indenter tip, and that the depth of the nucleation site below the surface is proportional to the half-width of the contact. Our results may explain the unusually high local stress required for defect nucleation in nano-indented face-centred cubic crystals.