Superconducting MoSi nanowires

We have fabricated disordered superconducting nanowires of molybdenium silicide. A molybdenium nanowire is first deposited on top of silicon, and the alloy is formed by rapid thermal annealing. The method allows tuning of the crystal growth to optimise, e.g., the resistivity of the alloy for potential applications in quantum phase slip devices and superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors. The wires have effective diameters from 42 to 79 nm, enabling the observation of crossover from conventional superconductivity to regimes affected by thermal and quantum fluctuations. In the smallest diameter wire and at temperatures well below the superconducting critical temperature, we observe residual resistance and negative magnetoresistance, which can be considered as fingerprints of quantum phase slips

Chemical equilibrium study in nucleus-nucleus collisions at relativistic energies

We present a detailed study of chemical freeze-out in nucleus-nucleus collisions at beam energies of 11.6, 30, 40, 80 and 158A GeV. By analyzing hadronic multiplicities within the statistical hadronization approach, we have studied the strangeness production as a function of centre of mass energy and of the parameters of the source. We have tested and compared different versions of the statistical model, with special emphasis on possible explanations of the observed strangeness hadronic phase space under-saturation. We show that, in this energy range, the use of hadron yields at midrapidity instead of in full phase space artificially enhances strangeness production and could lead to incorrect conclusions as far as the occurrence of full chemical equilibrium is concerned. In addition to the basic model with an extra strange quark non-equilibrium parameter, we have tested three more schemes: a two-component model superimposing hadrons coming out of single nucleon-nucleon interactions to those emerging from large fireballs at equilibrium, a model with local strangeness neutrality and a model with strange and light quark non-equilibrium parameters. The behaviour of the source parameters as a function of colliding system and collision energy is studied. The description of strangeness production entails a non-monotonic energy dependence of strangeness saturation parameter gamma_S with a maximum around 30A GeV. We also present predictions of the production rates of still unmeasured hadrons including the newly discovered Theta^+(1540) pentaquark baryon.Comment: 36 pages, 14 figures. Revised version published in Phys. Rev. C: title changed, one paragraph added in section 2, other typos correcte

Long hold times in a two-junction electron trap

The hold time $\tau$ of a single-electron trap is shown to increase significantly due to suppression of environmentally assisted tunneling events. Using two rf-tight radiation shields instead of a single one, we demonstrate increase of $\tau$ by a factor exceeding $10^3$, up to about 10 hours, for a trap with only two superconductor (S) -- normal-metal (N) tunnel junctions and an on-chip resistor $R$ (R-SNS structure). In the normal state, the improved shielding made it possible to observe $\tau\sim$ 100 s, which is in reasonable agreement with the quantum-leakage-limited level expected for the two-electron cotunneling process.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Chemical equilibrium study at SPS 158A GeV

A detailed study of chemical freeze-out in nucleus-nucleus collisions at beam energy 158A GeV is presented. By analyzing hadronic multiplicities within the statistical hadronization approach, the chemical equilibration of p-p, C-C, Si-Si and Pb-Pb systems is studied as a function of the number of participating nucleons in the system. Additionally, Two Component statistical hadronization model is applied to the data and is found to be able to explain the observed strangeness hadronic phase space under-saturation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures to appear in the proceedings of the ''Strangeness in Quark Matter 2004'' conferenc

Chemical freeze-out in ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions at sqrt(s)_NN = 130 and 200 GeV

A comprehensive and detailed analysis of hadronic abundances measured in Au-Au collisions at RHIC at sqrt(s)_NN = 130 and 200 GeV is presented. The rapidity densities measured in the central rapidity region have been fitted to the statistical hadronization model and the chemical freeze-out parameters determined as a function of centrality, using data from experiments BRAHMS, PHENIX and STAR. The chemical freeze-out temperature turns out to be independent of centrality to a few percent accuracy, whereas the strangeness under-saturation parameter gamma_S decreases from almost unity in central collisions to a significantly lower value in peripheral collisions. Our results are in essential agreement with previous analyses, with the exception that fit quality at sqrt(s)_NN = 200 GeV is not as good as previously found. From the comparison of the two different energies, we conclude that the difference in fit quality, as described by chi2 values, is owing to the improved resolution of measurements which has probably exceeded the intrinsic accuracy of the simplified theoretical formula used in the fits.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures. PUblished versio

Vortices in fermion droplets with repulsive dipole-dipole interactions

Vortices are found in a fermion system with repulsive dipole-dipole interactions, trapped by a rotating quasi-two-dimensional harmonic oscillator potential. Such systems have much in common with electrons in quantum dots, where rotation is induced via an external magnetic field. In contrast to the Coulomb interactions between electrons, the (externally tunable) anisotropy of the dipole-dipole interaction breaks the rotational symmetry of the Hamiltonian. This may cause the otherwise rotationally symmetric exact wavefunction to reveal its internal structure more directly.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

The driving mechanisms of particle precipitation during the moderate geomagnetic storm of 7 January 2005

International audienceThe arrival of an interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) triggered a sudden storm commencement (SSC) at ~09:22 UT on the 7 January 2005. The ICME followed a quiet period in the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF). We present global scale observations of energetic electron precipitation during the moderate geomagnetic storm driven by the ICME. Energetic electron precipitation is inferred from increases in cosmic noise absorption (CNA) recorded by stations in the Global Riometer Array (GLORIA). No evidence of CNA was observed during the first four hours of passage of the ICME or following the sudden commencement (SC) of the storm. This is consistent with the findings of Osepian and Kirkwood (2004) that SCs will only trigger precipitation during periods of geomagnetic activity or when the magnetic perturbation in the magnetosphere is substantial. CNA was only observed following enhanced coupling between the IMF and the magnetosphere, resulting from southward oriented IMF. Precipitation was observed due to substorm activity, as a result of the initial injection and particles drifting from the injection region. During the recovery phase of the storm, when substorm activity diminished, precipitation due to density driven increases in the solar wind dynamic pressure (Pdyn) were identified. A number of increases in Pdyn were shown to drive sudden impulses (SIs) in the geomagnetic field. While many of these SIs appear coincident with CNA, SIs without CNA were also observed. During this period, the threshold of geomagnetic activity required for SC driven precipitation was exceeded. This implies that solar wind density driven SIs occurring during storm recovery can drive a different response in particle precipitation to typical SCs

Vortex localization in rotating clouds of bosons and fermions

Finite quantal systems at high angular momenta may exhibit vortex formation and localization. These phenomena occur independent of the statistics of the repulsively interacting particles, which may be of bosonic or fermionic nature. We analyze the relation between vortex localization and formation of stable Wigner molecules at high angular momenta in the view of particle-hole duality.Trial wave functions for the vortex states and the corresponding fermion-boson relations are discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure