Search

In order to measure the very low oxygen potential by use of stabilized zirconia solid electrolyte emf method, a new cell construction was devised. The idea was based on Janke but a zirconia rod was used instead of the zirconia crucible which contacts liquid alloy electrode. The cell was used for determination of the oxygen potentials in liquid dilute Cu-Cr and Cu-Zr alloys. The reference electrode was Cr,Cr2O3. Emf measurements were performed in the temperature range of 1400-1580K and composition range of 0.198-3.10at%Cr-Cu alloys, and 1380-1465K, 0.085-0.761at%Zr-Cu alloys. The composition of liquid alloys were determined by picking up from the liquid alloys and ICP analysis. By use of the newly devised cell construction in this study, stable emf values were obtained at each temperature and alloy composition. Emf values were corrected by using the parameter for electronic contribution of the YSZ. Activity of Cr obeys Henry’s law and activity coefficient at infinitely dilute alloys of Cr in Cu-Cr alloys are: lng0 Cr =(3.80 at 1423K), (3.57 at 1473K), (3.38 at 1523K) and (3.20 at 1573K). At 1423 K activity coefficient of Zr at infinitely diluted alloy is lnγo Zr = -4.0.

The thermodynamic activity of indium in the solid Cu-In alloys was obtained from the EMF measurement of cell: In,In2O3, ZrO2(+11mol%CaO), Cu-In,In2O3 for 16 alloys in the temperature range 773 to 900K. Activity changes with composition at 823K are very large in the and - phase regions. Activity and free energies of formation are derived and compared with the published data.

EMF measurement of the electrochemical cell with zirconia as solid electrolyte was performed to determine the gallium activity from 950 to 1150K in the entire composition range of liquid Ga-Pb alloys. In the whole concentration range, activity of Ga shows moderately positive deviations from ideality, and activity of Pb which is derived by Gibbs- Duhem equation shows also positive deviation from ideality. These are compared with published data obtained by different experimental methods.

Using wavelength-resolved pump-probe spectroscopy with a sub-10-fs laser, we investigated resonant enhancement of radial breathing mode and G-mode coherent phonons in carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and successfully distinguished the electronic states of CNTs with different chiralities.

The electron-phonon coupling constant (λ≈0.45) obtained from femtosecond pump-probe reflection measurements suggests that a phonon-mediated process cannot be the dominant mechanism for superconductivity of FeTe0.75Se0.25.

Ultrafast photo-reflectance at a monolayer film of benzentiol molecule adsorbed on a gold surface was measured by means of pump-probe method using an ultrashort pulse laser. The surface-sensitive transient response in THz region revealed coherent motion of the molecules affected by the adsorption.

Seismic surveys along subduction zones have identified anomalously high ratio of P‐ to S‐wave velocity (VP/VS) in the subducting oceanic crust that are possibly due to the presence of pore water. Such interpretations postulate that the pore structure is homogeneous at the scale of the seismic wavelength. Here we present the first statistical evidence of a heterogeneous pore structure in oceanic crust at scales larger than laboratory samples. The spatial correlation of measured bulk density profiles of the crustal section of the Samail ophiolite suggests that the pore structure is heterogeneous at scales smaller than ∼1 m. Wave‐induced fluid flow cannot follow the loading during the seismic wave propagation at this estimated heterogeneity, which implies that fluid‐filled microscopic pores and cracks have a limited impact on the observed high VP/VS anomalies in the subducting oceanic crust. Large‐scale cracks may therefore play an important role in shaping these anomalies. Plain Language Summary: Seismic studies along subduction zones have identified unusually high ratios of P‐ to S‐wave velocity (VP/VS) in the subducting oceanic crust, which indicates the presence of water‐filled cracks and pores. The close link between pore water and local seismic activity highlights the importance of quantitatively interpreting these seismic anomalies in terms of pore characteristics. Previous interpretations have assumed that the microscopic pore structure is quite homogeneous, even at macroscopic scales as large as the seismic wavelength. However, our analysis of a bulk density profile of the crustal section of the Samail ophiolite, Oman, which is a fossilized oceanic plate preserved on land, indicates that the pore structure is more heterogeneous than previously assumed. This means that the fluid flow within the unit volume that represents the macroscopic physical properties of the rock cannot follow the wave‐induced loading during seismic wave propagations. This results in a relatively small impact of water on the seismic velocity, as inferred from theoretical models that predict the effective elastic properties of rock containing fluid‐filled cracks. Therefore, microscopic cracks may not have a large impact on the high VP/VS values of subducting oceanic crust, whereas large‐scale cracks may play a more significant role. Key Points: The bulk density of the crustal section of the Samail ophiolite is more spatially heterogeneous than previously assumedThe effect of fluid‐saturated microcracks on low‐frequency seismic velocities is modeled as an unrelaxed condition for this heterogeneityThe high VP/VS anomaly in the subducting oceanic crust can be explained by both microcracks and large‐scale cracks [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the paleo‐permeability structure of oceanic crust, we used 3‐D X‐ray Computed Tomography (XCT) images to quantify the distribution and geometry of mineral veins in core samples from Oman Drilling Project Holes GT1A, GT2A, and GT3A, which correspond to the upper to lower crustal sections of the Samail ophiolite. We developed a new method that automatically detects veins in the XCT core images based on iterative adaption of the two‐step Hough transform combined with multiscale Hessian filtering for identifying an elongate structure. Application of the developed method allowed us to identify the geometry and Computed Tomography number of more than 1500 veins with millimeter‐scale apertures in core sections with a total length of ∼1,200 m. High‐CT (HCT) veins in the drilled cores can be related to relatively high‐temperature fluid circulation near the mid‐ocean ridge, whereas Low‐CT (LCT) veins can be related to subsequent low‐temperature fluid circulation. Applying fracture fluid‐flow models to the geometric information for the detected veins, we found that the HCT and LCT vein systems both yielded bulk permeability of 10−13–10−9 m2 for each hole. This indicates that millimeter‐wide fractures can control crustal‐scale permeability, even in the lower oceanic crust. However, these vein systems show different depth dependencies and anisotropies of permeability, possibly reflecting the different spatial variations of high‐ and low‐temperature fluid circulation in oceanic crust. Plain Language Summary: Water transported through fractures in the oceanic crust plays a key role in various geologic processes, such as global transfers of heat and elements moving with fluid. Such fractures are preserved in crustal rocks as mineral veins; therefore, the geometries of the veins can be used to estimate the paleo‐permeability of the fractured rocks. During this study, we investigated the distribution and geometry of veins in core samples of oceanic crust from the Samail ophiolite in Oman to determine its paleo‐permeability structure. The ophiolite represents fragments of ancient oceanic lithosphere obducted onto the continental margin. We quantified three‐dimensional geometric and material information for the veins using 3‐D X‐ray Computed Tomography images of the core samples. Applying fracture fluid‐flow models to the vein data, we found that the oceanic crust had a markedly high permeability, even at depths of several kilometers immediately after the formation of the fractures. We also found that the hydrothermal systems have different spatial variations and anisotropies depending on the CT numbers of the vein‐filling minerals. Our results indicate that there may be differences in the mechanisms of high‐ and low‐temperature hydrothermal circulation in oceanic crust. Key Points: A new method has been developed to automatically detect vein characteristics from X‐ray Computed Tomography (CT) images of drilled coresThe permeability structure of the crustal section of the Samail ophiolite was estimated from the downhole profiles of detected veinsPermeability structures of High‐CT and Low‐CT vein systems have different spatial variations and anisotropies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate that single-shot pump-probe imaging spectroscopy with an echelon mirror enables us to disclose the ferroelectric phonon-polariton dynamics across a wide temperature range from 10 K to 375 K while avoiding the photorefractive effects that appear prominently at low temperatures. The E-mode phonon-polaritons corresponding to the two transverse optical modes, TO1 and TO3, up to ∼7 THz were induced in LiNbO3 through an impulsive stimulated Raman scattering process. Subsequently, using single-shot pump-probe imaging spectroscopy over a minimal cumulative time, we successfully visualized the phonon-polariton dynamics in time-wavelength space even at low temperatures. We found that the phase-matching condition significantly affected the observed temperature-dependent phonon-polariton frequency shift. The anharmonicity of the TO1 and TO3 modes was then evaluated based on an anharmonic model involving higher-order interactions with acoustic phonons while eliminating the influence of the frequency shift due to the phase-matching condition. The observed wavenumber-dependent damping rate was analyzed by considering the bilinear coupling of the TO1 or TO3 modes with the thermally activated relaxation mode. We found that the phonon-polariton with a higher frequency and wavenumber had a higher damping rate at high temperatures because of its frequent interaction with the thermally activated relaxation mode and acoustic phonons. The TO3 mode displayed greater bilinear coupling than the TO1 mode, which may also have contributed to the observed high damping rate. Thus, using our unique single-shot spectroscopy technique, we could reveal the overall anharmonic characteristics of the E-mode phonon-polaritons arising from both the acoustic phonons and the relaxation mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]