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Physics and Astronomy

Department Feature
Modulated Crystal Structures
Harold Stokes, Branton Campbell, and Dorian Hatch recently announced an exhaustive group-theoretical enumeration and classification of the distortion symmetries that can arise from one-dimensional incommensurate modulations of three-dimensional crystal structures. Acta Cryst. A63, 365-373 (2007). Such wave-like modulations accompany a variety of important physical phenomena (e.g. magnetism and superconductivity) and dramatically complicate any quantitative structure analysis. This work will make it much easier to interpret basic experimental diffraction data. The figure illustrates a short-range displacive modulation observed in magnetoresistive La1.8Sr2.2Mn2O7. Read More

Department News for Wednesday February 10th, 2010

No news today.

Upcoming Colloquia

Kyle Dawson to speak at the colloquium today

Kyle Dawson will give a talk titled "Probing Cosmological Expansion with Distant Supernovae" on Wednesday, February, 10. The colloquium will begin at 4:00 PM in C215 ESC. [Read More]

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Sakurajima Volcano with Lightning

Why does a volcanic eruption sometimes create lightning? Pictured above, the Sakurajima volcano in southern Japan was caught erupting early last month. Magma bubbles so hot they glow shoot away as liquid rock bursts through the Earth's surface from below. The above image is particularly notable, however, for the lightning bolts caught near the volcano's summit. [Read More]

The Astronomy Picture of the Day is a NASA web site that features a new image or photograph of the universe each day.

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