Modern Physics Letters B

Searching for spin-liquid states has long been attracting both experimentalists and theorists. In this paper, we review recent density matrix renormalization group studies of the spin-½ XY model on the honeycomb lattice, with first-neighbor (J₁ = 1) and frustrating second-neighbor (J₂ > 0) interactions. For the intermediate frustration regime 0.22 ≲ J₂ ≲ 0.36, there exists a surprising antiferromagnetic Ising phase, with ordered moments pointing along the z-axis, despite the absence of any S_zS_z interactions in the Hamiltonian. Surrounding this phase as a function of J₂ are antiferromagnetic phases with the moments pointing in the xy-plane for small J₂ and a close competition between an xy-plane magnetic collinear phase and a dimer phase for large values of J₂. No spin-liquid phases was found in the XY model even with the third-neighbor (J₃ > 0) interactions.

The straight chain n-alkanes used as core materials to fabricate nanoencapsulated and microencapsulated phase change of materials (PCM) have received much attention in recent years. The dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulation method has been emerged to investigate the encapsulated PCM from the perspective of mesoscopic. To obtain the Flory–Huggins and repulsion parameters, which is essential for the DPD study, the molar volume and solubility parameter of straight alkanes are investigated by using molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The results showed that a linear relationship of molar volume (V) with carbon atom number (n) and simulation temperature (T) can be obtained as: V = -31.73 + 0.26T + 14.82n. A nonlinear relationship of solubility parameter (δ) with carbon atom number and simulation temperature can be described as: δ = 18.45-3.66 ×10^-2n + 1.07T - 1.20 ×10^-5n² - 9.60 ×10^-2T² - 2.49 ×10^-3nT. The equations can be used as a reference for the further DPD simulation in n-alkanes based PCM system.

In this paper, three families of quantum convolutional codes are constructed. The first one and the second one can be regarded as a generalization of Theorems 3, 4, 7 and 8 [J. Chen, J. Li, F. Yang and Y. Huang, Int. J. Theor. Phys., doi:10.1007/s10773-014-2214-6 (2014)], in the sense that we drop the constraint q ≡ 1 (mod 4). Furthermore, the second one and the third one attain the quantum generalized Singleton bound.

In this work, we study the proximity and pinning effects of a rectangular superconducting anti-dot on the magnetization curve of a mesoscopic sample. We solve the nonlinear time-dependent Ginzburg–Landau equations for a superconducting rectangle in the presence of a magnetic field applied perpendicular to its surface. The pinning effects are determined by the number of vortices into the anti-dot. We calculate the order parameter, vorticity, magnetization and critical fields as a function of the external magnetic field. We found that the size and nature of the anti-dot strongly affect the magnetization of the sample. The results are discussed in framework of pinning and proximity effects in mesoscopic systems.

In this paper, some optical properties of Zn_1-xV_xO (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) such as real and imaginary part of dielectric function, energy loss function, plasmon energies and refractive index are investigated by first principles calculations. The calculations were performed in density functional theory (DFT) framework using full potential linear augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) and generalized gradient approximation (GGA). Analysis of dielectric function shows that by substituting V instead of Zn in Zn_1-xV_xO, static dielectric function, absorption and anisotropy at low energies are increased. The investigations show that V doping in ZnO affects plasmon energies. The plasmon energies have been compared with free electron model. The calculated plasmon energy for pure ZnO is nearly close to other works. The refractive index at low energies is increased significantly, so that V-doped ZnO can be used as a high refractive material.

Polycrystalline nickel–zinc ferrites of chemical formula Ni_0.65-xMg_xZn_0.35Fe₂O₄ (x = 0.00 to 0.2 in steps of 0.04) have been prepared by conventional ceramic technique. Calcination and sintering of all samples have been carried out in air atmosphere at 950°C and 1250°C, respectively, followed by natural cooling to room temperature. All the samples were characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD) for structure determination. These samples were then investigated for their magnetic and electric properties, including saturation magnetization, Curie temperature, initial permeability measurements and DC electrical resistivity. Porosity was decreased drastically from 15% to 5% showed better quality of the sintered samples. There were increments in initial permeability and DC electrical resistivity throughout the series of samples. Variations in the observed properties as a function of magnesium concentration have been discussed in light of the existing understanding.

Anisotropies of different conductivity mechanisms in Y_1-yPr_yBa₂Cu₃O_7-δ single crystals in a wide range of praseodymium concentrations are reported, assuming a transition from the metallic conductivity to the semiconductor-like regime, in conjunction with the fluctuation conductivity within the 3D Aslamazov–Larkin model. The T_c anisotropy grows with increasing y, with a most drastic rise when approaching the non-superconducting composition. As the praseodymium concentration increases, the ideal resistance anisotropy passes through a maximum at y ≈ 0.19. The temperature dependence of the semiconductor-like resistance anisotropy exhibits a maximum associated with variable-range jumps along the c-axis. The temperature dependence of the fluctuation conductivity anisotropy passes through a maximum due to a significant anisotropy of the coherence length.

Using molecular dynamics simulation, we have studied the structural evolution of FeB nanoparticle under annealing and the physical properties of its polymorphs such as crystalline, amorphous and mixed samples. The main focus of present work is the crystallization mechanism and the local structure of polymorphs of FeB nanoparticle. The simulation result shows that the amorphous sample undergoes the crystallization via the nucleation mechanism. During the crystallization, B atoms move out the places where the Fe crystal locates, and diffuse to the boundary region of Fe crystal. The crystal growth proceeds when this boundary region attains specific properties which are defined by the fraction of B atoms and the energies of AB-atoms and CB-atoms. Further our study indicates that unlike amorphous sample, the crystalline and mixed samples consist of three distinct parts including Fe crystalline and two FeB amorphous parts (B-poor and B-rich amorphous part). The different polymorphs of FeB nanoparticle differ in the local structure, size of Fe crystal and energies of different type atoms.