Lattice sum contributions have been calculated at the two octahedral sites in a phlogopite mica assuming a systematic distribution of octahedral cationic charges. This, unlike the case of a random distribution of charges, is able to reproduce broad features of quadrupole doublet spectra in Mössbauer experiments suggesting that the doublet assignments in terms of the two structural sites,M₁ (trans) andM₂(cis), are quite valid. Angle dependence of Mössbauer spectra has also been studied for a ferric-rich phlogopite mica sheet to determine the orientation of the EFG principal axis component and the sign of the quadrupole coupling constant. Quadrupole splitting values and the positive sign of coupling constants match the theoretical predictions quite well but the model fails to predict the observed EFG orientation.

Influence of the heat treatment, following a wet chemical process, has been examined on the sizes of the obtained particles of MnFe₂O₄. X-ray diffraction, magnetization and Mössbauer measurements have been used. The average sizes of the obtained particles are in the range of ∼ 100 Å–300Å with the upper size limit being ∼ 450 Å and more. The average size as well as size distribution is strongly influenced by the nature of the heat treatment followed for preparation of the sample. Prolonged hydrothermal heating resulted in larger average size than did dry heating at 400°C of the precipitate obtained from the initial wet process. Further dry heating following hydrothermal treatment did not lead to any major growth. Chemical nature of the starting materials also affects the sizes.

Magnetic behaviour of di-metal iron phosphide with a small substitution of iron by chromium, (Fe_0.97Cr_0.03)₂P, has been studied using SQUID magnetometry and powder neutron diffraction. It is paramagnetic at temperatures above ∼180 K with persisting short range ferromagnetic (FM) order. At lower temperatures three different regions of magnetic behaviour are identified. FM order evolves in the region 180 K-120 K but much more slowly and with much less magnetic moments than in Fe₂P. In the region 120 K-50 K negative exchange interactions gain some importance leading to a loss of FM order. Below 50 K FM interactions again dominate. Pinning centres influence the behaviour at low temperature up to ∼100 K.

DC magnetization measurements are reported in the temperature range 20–100 K on a poly-disperse nano-particle sample of the spinel ferrite Fe_2.9Zn_0.1O₄ with a log-normal size distribution of median diameter 43.6 Å and standard deviation 0.58. Outside a core of ordered spins, moments in surface layer are disordered. Results also show some similarities with conventional spin glasses. Blocking temperature exhibits a near linear variation with two-third power of the applied magnetic field and magnetizationM evolves nearly linearly with logarithm of timet. Magnetic anisotropy has been estimated by analysing theM-logt curve. Anisotropy values show a large increase over that of bulk particle samples. Major contribution to this enhancement comes from the disordered surface spins.

Crystal structure and magnetic behaviour of FeCrP have been investigated using magnetization and neutron diffraction measurements. FeCrP crystallizes in orthorhombic FeZrP type structure (P_nma space group,Z = 4) in which Cr atoms occupy the pyramidal site and Fe atoms occupy the tetrahedral site with total preference. Structural parameters including positional parameters have been refined. The refined values of positional parameters for Fe and Cr are quite different from those in FeZrP. The nature of magnetization-temperature curve is suggestive of antiferromagnetic nature withT_N = 280 (±10) K. Preliminary analysis of neutron diffraction pattern at 13 K is indicative of a rather complicated magnetic structure.

Magnetization and neutron diffraction measurements have been made on the title pseudo-binary of tetragonal anti-ferromagnets Fe₂ As and Cr₂ As. In this system antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering appears below 310 K. The moments are confined in theab plane but unlike in the end members they are tilted off thea-axis. In addition to the AFM structure a weak ferromagnetic behaviour shows up below∼80 K with a rather low moment of ∼0.07 μB per formula unit at 5 K and under a field of 3 T.

Magnetization measurements are reported on a nano-particle sample of Znsubstituted spinel ferrite Fe_2.8Zn_0.2O₄ in the temperature range 20–300 K. Analysis of small-angle neutron scattering data shows the sample to have a log-normal particle size distribution of median diameter 64.4 Å and standard deviation 0.38. Magnetization evolves over a long period of timet going nearly linearly with logt. Magnetic anisotropy, estimated by fitting M-logt curve, shows many fold increase over that of bulk particle sample. Major enhancement owes to disordered moments in surface layer. In the nano-particle state as well increasing amount of Zn causes anisotropy to decrease.

Bianchi Type-I magnetized bulk viscous fluid string dust cosmological model is investigated. To get a determinate model, we have assumed the conditions σ ∝θ andζθ = constant where σ is the shear,θ the expansion in the model andζ the coefficient of bulk viscosity. The behaviour of the model in the presence and absence of magnetic field together with physical and geometrical aspects of the model are also discussed.

The broad range of applications of $\pi$-conjugated polymeric materials in industries such as automobiles, textiles, packaging, medical etc. have led to their extensive studies in both academic and industrial fields. Predicting the structure of these polymers is important for the study of their properties. The present work uses a ‘divide and conquer’-type approach for the $\it{ab-initio}$ studies of these polymeric systems. The method employs a fragmentation technique with independent fragment optimization for obtaining optimized geometries of the oligomers of various polymeric materials such as polyfuran, polypyrrole, polythiophene and other such $\pi$-conjugated polymers. A few test calculations performed in the study provide fair concurrence between the energies and the HOMO–LUMO energy gaps obtained using the fragmentation-based approach with those obtained using the full optimization of the whole oligomer. Also, a significant reduction in time complexity occurs for the present fragment-based approach compared to the parent system optimization. The results are encouraging and prompt for studies of large polymeric materials.