Vol 122, No 1 (2016)

A dynamic theory of coherent X-ray radiation generated in a periodic layered medium by a relativistic electron multiply scattered by target atoms has been developed. The expressions describing the spectral–angular characteristics of parametric X-ray radiation and diffracted transition radiation are derived. Numerical calculations based on the derived expressions have been performed.

A multiwave dynamic theory of diffraction of ultracold neutrons from a moving phase grating has been developed in the approximation of coupled slowly varying amplitudes of wavefunctions. The effect of the velocity, period, and height of grooves of the grating, as well as the spectral angular distribution of the intensity of incident neurons, on the discrete energy spectrum and the intensity of diffraction reflections of various orders has been analyzed.

We analyze the scattering of vortex pairs (the particular case of 2D dark solitons) by a single quantum vortex in a Bose–Einstein condensate with repulsive interaction between atoms. For this purpose, an asymptotic theory describing the dynamics of such 2D soliton-like formations in an arbitrary smoothly nonuniform flow of a ultracold Bose gas is developed. Disregarding the radiation loss associated with acoustic wave emission, we demonstrate that vortex–antivortex pairs can be put in correspondence with quasiparticles, and their behavior can be described by canonical Hamilton equations. For these equations, we determine the integrals of motion that can be used to classify various regimes of scattering of vortex pairs by a single quantum vortex. Theoretical constructions are confirmed by numerical calculations performed directly in terms of the Gross–Pitaevskii equation. We propose a method for estimating the radiation loss in a collision of a soliton-like formation with a phase singularity. It is shown by direct numerical simulation that under certain conditions, the interaction of vortex pairs with a core of a single quantum vortex is accompanied by quite intense acoustic wave emission; as a result, the conditions for applicability of the asymptotic theory developed here are violated. In particular, it is visually demonstrated by a specific example how radiation losses lead to a transformation of a vortex–antivortex pair into a vortex-free 2D dark soliton (i.e., to the annihilation of phase singularities).

The total energy shift of a polarized massive Dirac neutrino in an electron–positron plasma in a constant magnetic field is investigated. The calculation in the Feynman gauge is performed for the first time by using the Matsubara temperature Green functions. The dependence of the dispersion relation and the anomalous magnetic moment of the neutrino on the magnetic field strength, spin, energy, direction of motion, neutrino mass, and the plasma parameters is analyzed. The results of investigations for the massive neutrino in the limiting case are compared with those obtained earlier by other authors for the massless left neutrino.

We suggest that the Big Bang could be a result of the first-order phase transition driven by a change in the scalar curvature of the 4D spacetime in an expanding cold Universe filled with a nonlinear scalar field φ and neutral matter with an equation of state p = νε (where p and ε are the pressure and energy density of the matter, respectively). We consider the Lagrangian of a scalar field with nonlinearity φ⁴ in a curved spacetime that, along with the term–ξR|φ|² quadratic in φ (where ξ is the interaction constant between the scalar and gravitational fields and R is the scalar curvature), contains the term ξRφ₀(φ + φ⁺) linear in φ, where φ₀ is the vacuum mean of the scalar field amplitude. As a consequence, the condition for the existence of extrema of the scalar-field potential energy is reduced to an equation cubic in φ. Provided that ν > 1/3, the scalar curvature R = [κ(3ν–1)ε–4Λ] (where κ and Λ are Einstein’s gravitational and cosmological constants, respectively) decreases with decreasing ε as the Universe expands, and a first-order phase transition in variable “external field” parameter proportional to R occurs at some critical value R_c < 0. Under certain conditions, the critical radius of the early Universe at the point of the first-order phase transition can reach an arbitrary large value, so that this scenario of unrestricted “inflation” of the Universe may be called “hyperinflation.” After the passage through the phase-transition point, the scalar-field potential energy should be rapidly released, which must lead to strong heating of the Universe, playing the role of the Big Bang.

We explore Noether symmetries of the Friedmann–Robertson–Walker universe model in modified Gauss–Bonnet gravity for both vacuum and nonvacuum (dust fluid) cases. We evaluate symmetry generators and the corresponding conserved quantities by using separation of variables and a power-law form. We construct exact f(G) models and study accelerating expansion of the universe in terms of a scale factor, deceleration, and the EoS parameters. We also check the validity of energy conditions through the weak energy conditions for our constructed model. The state finder parameters indicate the resemblance of our constructed models to the ΛCDM model. We conclude that our results are consistent with the recent astrophysical observations.

A comparative study of magnetoplasticity in two types of NaCl crystals differing in impurity content only by a small Ni addition (0.06 ppm) in one of them, NaCl(Ni), has been carried out. Two methods of sample magnetic exposure were used: in a constant field B = 0–0.6 T and in crossed fields in the EPR scheme—the Earth’s field B_Earth (50 μT) and a variable pumping field \(\tilde B( \sim 1 \mu T)\) at frequencies ν ~ 1 MHz. In the experiments in the EPR scheme, the change of the field orientation from \(\tilde B \bot B_{Earth}\) to \(\left. {\tilde B} \right\|B_{Earth}\) led to almost complete suppression of the effect in the NaCl(Ni) crystals and reduced only slightly (approximately by 20%) the height of the resonance peak of dislocation mean paths in the crystals without Ni, with the amplitude of the mean paths in NaCl(Ni) in the orientation \(\tilde B \bot B_{Earth}\) having been appreciably lower than that in NaCl. In contrast, upon exposure to a constant magnetic field, a more intense effect was observed in the crystal with Ni. The threshold pumping field amplitude \(\tilde B\), below which the effect is absent under resonance conditions, for the NaCl(Ni) crystals turned out to be a factor of 5 smaller than that for NaCl, while the thresholds of a constant magnetic field coincide for both types of crystals. All these differences are discussed in detail and interpreted.

Theoretical analysis allowing experimental observation of nonlinear magnetoelectric effects in isotropic disordered dielectric in nonuniform electric and magnetic fields is carried out.

We have experimentally studied the structural and elastic characteristics of rare-earth cobaltites RBaCo_4–xM_xO₇ (R = Dy–Er, Yb, Y), in which cobalt ions are partly substituted by diamagnetic Al or Zn ions. It was found that small substitution of Co³⁺ ions by Al³⁺ ions in the YbRBaCo_4–xM_xO₇ system (x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.5) leads to a rapid decrease and smearing of ΔE(T)/E₀ anomalies of the Young’s modulus in the region of the structural phase transition, which is accompanied by increasing hysteresis. Pure rare-earth cobaltites RBaCo₄O₇ (R = Dy–Er, Y) exhibit a correlation between the room-temperature structure distortion and hysteresis on the ΔE(T)/E₀ curve in a temperature interval of 80–280 K. In Zn-substituted cobaltites RBaCoZn₃O₇, both the hysteresis and ΔE(T)/E₀ anomalies disappear, as do low-temperature sound absorption maxima. This behavior is evidence of the suppression of structural and magnetic phase transitions and the retention of only short-range correlations of the order parameter in Zn-substituted samples.

We try to theoretically analyze the reported experimental data of the Al_xIn_1–xN/AlN/GaN heterostructures grown by MOCVD and quantitatively investigate the effects of AlGaN buffers and the GaNchannel thickness on the electrical transport properties of these systems. Also, we obtain the most important effective parameters of the temperature-dependent mobility in the range 35–300 K. Our results show that inserting a 1.1 μm thick Al_0.04Ga_0.96N buffer enhances electron mobility by decreasing the effect of phonons, the interface roughness, and dislocation and crystal defect scattering mechanisms. Also, as the channel thickness increases from 20 nm to 40 nm, the electron mobility increases from 2200 to 2540 cm²/(V s) and from 870 to 1000 cm²/(V s) at 35 and 300 K respectively, which is attributed to the reduction in the dislocation density and the strain-induced field. Finally, the reported experimental data show that inserting a 450 nm graded AlGaN layer before an Al_0.04Ga_0.96N buffer causes a decrease in the electron mobility, which is attributed to the enhancement of the lateral size of roughness, the dislocation density, and the strain-induced field in this sample.

The behavior of the interlayer resistance and the magnetoresistance in the organic quasi-twodimensional bilayer metal θ-(BETS)₄HgBr₄(C₆H₅Cl) is studied at normal pressure and a hydrostatic pressure of 10 kbar. The interlayer transport under atmospheric pressure is found to occur in an incoherent mode. The applied pressure does not change the electronic structure of the conducting layers and causes a transition to a weakly coherent mode at low temperatures.

Light scattering by an optically anisotropic liquid crystal (LC) droplet of a nematic in an isotropic polymer matrix is considered in the Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin (WKB) approximation. General relations are obtained for elements of the amplitude matrix of light scattering by a droplet of arbitrary shape and for the structure of the director field. Analytic expressions for the amplitude matrices are derived for spherical LC droplets with a uniformly oriented structure of local optical axes for strictly forward and strictly backward scattering. The efficiency factors of extinction and backward scattering for a spherical nonabsorbing LC droplet depending on the LC optical anisotropy, refractive index of the polymer, illumination conditions, and orientation of the optical axis of the droplet are analyzed. Verification of the obtained solutions has been performed.

A brief review of the mechanisms leading to the “anomalous heating” of charged dust particles (macroparticles) in a plasma is presented. Their comparative characteristics are given. An analytical model to estimate the influence of spatial inhomogeneities on the anomalous heating of macroparticles in plasma–dust systems is proposed.