The present study demonstrates that the mechanism of initiation of low-energy nuclear chemical processes under conditions of low-temperature non-equilibrium deuterium and protium-containing glow discharge plasma is similar to the previously studied cumulative mechanism of initiation of nuclear processes in the collision of relativistic particles (protons) with target atomic nuclei. This process results in the formation of high-energy products that significantly exceed the kinematically resolved region in the pulse space for two-particle collisions “nucleus–target’s nucleus.” The cumulative effect in this case is associated with the initiation of non-nucleonic metastable excitations in nuclear matter during relativistic collisions leading to the formation of a group of quarks from different nucleons within the nucleus. In low-energy nuclear chemical processes, the initiation of quark-cumulative processes in nuclear matter occurs through interaction of nuclei with electrons with high kinetic energies on a chemical scale, typically Ee 3–5 eV. Experiments and available literature data suggest that the metastable excitations of nuclear matter containing three “free” quarks during such collisions are associated with quark-cumulative effects, leading to the radioactive α- and β-decay of elements. This phenomenon is observed during laser ablation of metals in aqueous media containing radioactive elements and in the artificial radioactivity of initially non-radioactive isotopes in cathodes exposed to low-temperature non-equilibrium deuterium- and protium-containing plasma flows during glow discharge.

An Erratum to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0036024424110013

Based on the results of F. Wilf on the need to take into account the quantum-mechanical correspondence rules in the Dirac equation for an electron, it was shown that the equation obtained by giving physical meaning to $\alpha$-Dirac operators should be considered as a phenomenological equation for a particle of non-zero size - the EM polaron, previously introduced by the author. This allows a solution to be found to the inherent paradox of the Dirac equation, which consists of the equality of the velocity of the moving particles to the speed of light $c$ in a vacuum, which is a priori unobtainable, and to understand the physical essence of spin as the intrinsic mechanical moment of an EM polaron. It is also shown that the Dirac-Wilf equation for a single spatial dimension can be considered a generalization of the Schrodinger equation for relativistic energies.

The possibility of initiation of nuclear chemical processes in the Pb cathode during a glow discharge in a low-temperature deuterium-containing nonequilibrium plasma leading to a significant (at times) decrease in the isotope content of some impurity elements (specifically, Zn) and increasing others (specifically, W, Fe, Mn, and Al). Such processes can be understood by introducing the existence in nuclear matter of metastable non-nucleon excitations of internal shaking (isu-states) formed by initiating actions on the nuclei of electrons with high (on chemical scales) kinetic energy Ee ~ 3–5 eV.

A nitrogen-containing additive MD-3 employed previously in steel phosphating was used to improve the technological properties of magnetite coatings (MCs) formed on low-carbon steel from a dilute solution of ammonium nitrate proposed as an alternative to environmentally polluted and energy-expensive alkaline bluing method. We showed that an increase in duration of the oxidation from 1 to 6 h linearly thickens the MСs in the presence of MD-3 without an increase in the size of the poorly adhered area of the coating. The flicker-noise spectroscopy study of the MC structure showed that MD-3 makes the surface smooth and more uniform. An increase in oxidation time also increases the homogeneity of MCs, although not as much as in the previous case. The corrosion tests according to the Akimov method and in a salt spray chamber correlate well with each other. The best results were obtained for MCs prepared in a solution of 20 g/L NH 4 NO 3 + 0.08 g/L MD-3 (85°C, 4 h) after passivation treatment in a solution of IFKhAN-39U.

In this paper we reveal the possibilities of Flicker-Noise Spectroscopy, a theoretical approach to the analysis of chaotic signals generated by complex astrophysical systems. To study the physicochemical processes occurring in the solar atmosphere, the daily sequences of the Zurich series and the brightness of the Fe XIV 530.3 nm green coronal line are parametrized. The correlation features of the time series of Wolf numbers associated with the selected resonant and high-frequency components of the analyzed signal are established. The calculation of the nonstationarity factor, which is a predictor of the most significant rearrangements in the atmospheric layers of the Sun, has been carried out. The analysis of frequency-phase synchronization in simultaneously fixed characteristics of solar activity is carried out.

Based on ideas developed by the author about the vacuum of an electromagnetic field (the EM vacuum as a basic system of reference and the Casimir polarization of the EM vacuum near electrons and atomic nuclei) it is shown that the genesis of the irreversibility of real processes in time—the “arrow of time”, as one of the “great problems of modern physics” (according to V.L. Ginzburg)—lies in the inevitability of dissipative processes at all spatiotemporal levels of the hierarchy of natural systems. Dissipation accompanies all processes, from macroscopic—in the dynamics of which irregularities of a chaotic nature inevitably appear—to those at the level of atoms and atomic nuclei, since energy must be supplied from the EM vacuum even to maintain the functionally active state of the electronic subsystem of the atom and the nuclear matter of the atomic nucleus. This occurs in the non-equivalent exchange of energy between the virtual photons of the EM vacuum and the region of the Casimir polarization of the electronic subsystem of an atom or atomic nucleus. Within such representations, the Universe itself is an open system fed with energy from the energy-saturated world environment—the proto-vacuum. Phenomenological ideas about the dynamics of the Universe that are developed in this work allow us to solve the most acute problems of such dynamics in a natural way, along with that of the so-called cosmological constant, and to establish the relationship between this constant, which characterizes the expansion of the Universe, and the energy density of the EM vacuum. The introduced concepts allow us to understand a number of other unsolved problems connected in one way or another with the key role of virtual photons in a number of optical phenomena. This is true in particular for the mysterious phenomenon of no light scattering from distant stellar sources, manifested most clearly in the fixed independence of the surface brightness of similar galaxies from their redshifts, which cannot be understood on the basis of the Huygens–Fresnel principle. It has also been shown that the recently established effect of “mass being attracted by a light flux” is due to the accumulated energy of virtual photons produced by the intense light flux in the near-surface regions of massive objects. The subsequent re-emission of light can in this case determine the so-called lensing effect observed in astrophysics, which is usually considered as associated with the effect gravity has on light fluxes.

An attempt to solve the general problems concerning the physical essence of quantum mechanics formulated by R. Feynman back in 1964 is presented. The proposed phenomenological approach is based on the hypothesis about the electromagnetic component of physical vacuum (EM vacuum) as the basic medium of the expanding Universe and the absolute reference system associated with it, as well as on the idea of Casimir polarization of EM vacuum in the vicinity of atomic nuclei and electrons as systems open to EM vacuum. Due to Casimir polarization, the electron is no longer a point particle, but an EM polaron with a characteristic size of $${{a}_{{Ve}}}$$ = 5.2 × 10–11 cm. The region of Casimir polarization in the vicinity of the proton is $${{a}_{{Vp}}}$$ = 2.8 × 10–14 cm. It is exactly the nonpoint nature of the introduced EM polarons that is responsible for the fact that the apparatus of quantum mechanics is based on the introduced operators for the observed characteristics of particles, but not on the direct use of these characteristics. It was established that within the framework of the introduced concepts, all the operators introduced in the Dirac equation for the electron are consistent with the observed characteristics of electron as a wave–particle. The quantum mechanical tunneling effect was explained as permeation of a wave–particle through a barrier with repulsive centers. The physical essence of the phenomenon of quantum entanglement was considered. It was shown also that gravity is determined by the overlap of Casimir polarization regions of atomic nuclei of two macroscopic objects separated from each other by macroscopic distances up to intergalactic ones.

It is shown that artificial radioactivity can be initiated under conditions of a glow-discharge plasma. When analyzing the isotopic and elemental composition in the near-surface region of Pd and Ni cathodes, initial and those treated for 40 hours under conditions of deuterium- or protium-containing plasma, changes were detected, respectively, in the isotopic ratios of Pt and Pb impurity isotopes in the Pd cathode and of Fe, Cu, and Zn in the Ni cathode, as well as a significant reduction in the amount of these impurity elements in the cathodes and the formation of W isotopes in the Pd cathode. Possible nuclear processes that cause the established artificial radioactivity are considered.

In this paper, we develop a new approach to the study of matching and mismatching effects in simultaneously recorded time signals characterizing the evolution of natural systems. We discuss the challenges of developing methods of intellectual data analysis of data generated by complex composite objects. In the framework of basic provisions and concepts of Flicker-Noise Spectroscopy, we study the frequency-phase synchronization in the dynamics of Wolf numbers and coronal solar ejections. The evolution of collective processes in the solar atmosphere is represented by changes in the shape of the cross-correlators. We calculated the quantitative structural parameters of cross-correlators to assess causal relationships between the parameters of solar activity. The established levels of cross-correlations in thermodynamically open distributed systems, such as the Sun, can become an object of standardization. The combination of Flicker-Noise Spectroscopy with mathematical models and machine learning software will allow advancing in understanding the collective phenomena realized in complex systems.

We design a scheme of an automated intelligent system for monitoring the evolution of complex composite objects. We develop new methods for the analysis of multi-parameter data for further possible applications in the industry of cyber-physical systems. We describe the possibilities of the Memory Function Formalism and Flicker-Noise Spectroscopy in the analysis of collective phenomena realized in complex systems of a living and astrophysical nature. We determine diagnostic criteria for photosensitive epilepsy by the analysis of the power spectra of magnetoencephalogram signals of healthy subjects and patients. We establish different mechanisms of disk accretion by the study of cross-correlations in radio emission signals of quasars at different frequencies. The effects of frequency phase synchronization are studied based on the construction of 3D cross-correlators. We performed calculations of the dynamic and spectral characteristics of simultaneously recorded signals in the MatLab environment. We note prospects of using methods of statistical physics in the development of integrated data analysis systems in the field of the Internet of Things.

It is found that variations in cosmic ray fluxes are observed before powerful earthquakes (magnitude M ≈ 8) at most neutron monitors of the world network located on different continents. Reliable data obtained via flicker-noise spectroscopy are recorded several days before earthquakes and can serve as the basis for creating a predictor of the first level.

Principles are described for diagnosing epilepsy on the basis of the Memory Function Formalism. Auto- and cross-correlations of electroencephalograms from healthy subjects and patients with epilepsy recorded during the interictal period are studied. Characteristic types of the memory function power spectra and substantial changes in statistical memory effects in pathology are found. Disorders are revealed in the dynamic interconnection in areas of the cerebral cortex in epilepsy.

In this paper, we show that the use of Flicker-Noise Spectroscopy, one of the approaches of data science, allows establishing the features of pathological bioelectric brain activity in case of photosensitive epilepsy. We analyze magnetoencephalogram recorded under the influence of flickering color stimuli on a patient with photosensitive epilepsy and a group of healthy volunteers. In earlier studies of the authors, diagnostic criteria for photosensitive epilepsy were established, which are primarily associated with breaking of frequency-phase synchronization in certain areas of cerebral cortex. Further studies of cross-correlations based on the Flicker-Noise Spectroscopy made it possible to establish that disturbances of frequency-phase synchronization in patient signals are associated not only with the appearance of high-frequency components (50 ÷ 100 Hz) in the power spectra of individual signals, but also with deformation of two-parameter 3D cross-correlators. The discovered patterns make it possible to determine the principles for diagnosing this pathology, as well as to suggest methods for assessing the effectiveness of the therapeutic effects.

In paper we present the findings of analyzing the non-stationary effects to a solar activity dynamics. Within the framework of Flicker-Noise Spectroscopy (FNS) we study the Zurich series of Wolf numbers from 1849 to 2009. According to the FNS methodology the properties of complex system evolution are manifested in the low frequency component (the "resonant" part of the signal) of time signal and contain in the specific sets of the frequencies. For another thing the signal also has the high frequency component ("chaotic" part) including the noise and the different types of short time irregularities. The FNS methodology allows to discover the intermittency phenomena in studied dynamics by analyzing the behavior of the nonstationarity factor. We will show that the maximum value of this parameter corresponds the maximum of Wolf number i.e. the solar activity.

It is shown that the Cherdyntsev–Chalov effect, usually presented as the separation of even isotopes of uranium upon their transition from the solid to the liquid phase, can include initiated acceleration of the radioactive decay of uranium-238 nuclei during the formation of cracks in geologically (seismic and volcanically) active zones of the Earth’s crust. The fissuring of the solid-phase medium leads to an increase in mechanical tensile stress and the emergence of strong local electric fields, resulting in the injection of chemical-scale high-energy electrons into the aqueous phase of the cracks. Under these conditions, the e− catalytic decay of uranium-238 nucleus studied earlier can occur during the formation of metastable protactinium-238 nuclei with locally distorted nucleon structure, which subequently undergo β–decay with the formation of thorium-234 and helium-4 nuclei as products of the fission of the initial uranium-238 nucleus with a characteristic period of several years. The observed increased activity of uranium-234 nuclei that form during the subsequent β-decay of thorium and then protactinium is associated with the initiated fission of uranium-238. The possibility is discussed of developing thermal power by using existing wastes from uranium production that contain uranium-238 to activate this isotope through the mechanochemical processing of these wastes in aqueous media with the formation of 91 238 Pa isu , the half-life of which is several years.

The adsorption of substituted 1,2,3-benzotriazoles (R-BTAs) onto copper is measured via ellipsometry in a pure borate buffer (pH 7.4) and satisfactorily described by Temkin’s isotherm. The adsorption free energy (−ΔG a 0 ) values of these azoles are determined. The (−ΔG a 0 ) values are found to rise as their hydrophobicity, characterized by the logarithm of the partition coefficient of a substituted BTA in a model octanol–water system (logP), grows. The minimum concentration sufficient for the spontaneous passivation of copper (C min) and a shift in the potential of local copper depassivation with chlorides (E pt) after an azole is added to the solution (i.e., ΔE = E pt in − E pt backgr characterizing the ability of its adsorption to stabilize passivation) are determined in the same solution containing a corrosion additive (0.01М NaCl) for each azole under study. Both criteria of the passivating properties of azoles (logC min and ΔE) are shown to correlate linearly with logP, testifying to the role played by surface activity of this family of organic inhibitors in protecting copper in an aqueous solution.

The analysis of turbulent processes in sunspots and pores which are self-organizing long-lived magnetic structures is a complicated and not yet solved problem. The present work focuses on studying such magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) formations on the basis of flicker-noise spectroscopy using a new method of multi-parametric analysis. The non-stationarity and cross-correlation effects taking place in solar activity dynamics are considered. The calculated maximum values of non-stationarity factor may become precursors of significant restructuring in solar magnetic activity. The introduced cross-correlation functions enable us to judge synchronization effects between the signals of various solar activity indicators registered simultaneously.