Vortex Lattice Structure of Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov Superconductors

In superconductors with singlet pairing, the inhomogeneous Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state is expected to be stabilized by a large Zeeman splitting. We develop an efficient method to evaluate the Landau-Ginzburg free energies of FFLO-state vortex lattices and use it to simplify the considerations that determine the optimal vortex configuration at different points in the phasediagram. We demonstrate that the order parameter spatial profile is completely determined, up to a uniform translation, by its Landau level index n and the vortex Lattice structure and derive an explicit expression for the order parameter spatial profile that can be used to determine n from experimental data.Comment: 6 pages with one embedded color figure. Minor changes. Final version as publishe

Sun-synchronous highly elliptical orbits using low-thrust propulsion

Due to restrictions within the current architecture of the global observing system (GOS), space-based remote sensing of Earth suffers from an acute data-deficit over the critical polar-regions. Currently, observation of high-latitude regions is conducted using composite images from spacecraft in geostationary (GEO) and low-Earth orbits (LEOs) [1]. However, the oblique viewing geometry from GEO-based systems to latitudes above around 55 deg [2] and the insufficient temporal resolution of spacecraft in LEO means there is currently no source of continuous imagery for polar-regions obtained with a data refresh rate of less than 15 minutes, as is typically available elsewhere for meteorological observations

Correlations in Two-Dimensional Vortex Liquids

We report on a high temperature perturbation expansion study of the superfluid-density spatial correlation function of a Ginzburg-Landau-model superconducting film in a magnetic field. We have derived a closed form which expresses the contribution to the correlation function from each graph of the perturbation theory in terms of the number of Euler paths around appropriate subgraphs. We have enumerated all graphs appearing out to 10-th order in the expansion and have evaluated their contributions to the correlation function. Low temperature correlation functions, obtained using Pad\'{e} approximants, are in good agreement with Monte Carlo simulation results and show that the vortex-liquid becomes strongly correlated at temperatures well above the vortex solidification temperature.Comment: 18 pages (RevTeX 3.0) and 4 figures, available upon request, IUCM93-01

Optical Control of Topological Quantum Transport in Semiconductors

Intense coherent laser radiation red-detuned from absorption edge can reactively activate sizable Hall type charge and spin transport in n-doped paramagnetic semiconductors as a consequence of k-space Berry curvature transferred from valence band to photon-dressed conduction band. In the presence of disorder, the optically induced Hall conductance can change sign with laser intensity.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Chiral boundary conditions for Quantum Hall systems

A quantum mesoscopic billiard can be viewed as a bounded electronic system due to some external confining potential. Since, in general, we do not have access to the exact expression of this potential, it is usually replaced by a set of boundary conditions. We discuss, in addition to the standard Dirichlet choice, the other possibilities of boundary conditions which might correspond to more complicated physical situations including the effects of many body interactions or of a strong magnetic field. The latter case is examined more in details using a new kind of chiral boundary conditions for which it is shown that in the Quantum Hall regime, bulk and edge characteristics can be described in a unified way.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, 2 figures, to be published in the Proceedings of the Minerva workshop on Mesoscopics, Fractals and Neural Networks, Phil. Mag. (1997

Can we evaluate population screening strategies in UK general practice? A pilot randomised controlled trial comparing postal and opportunistic screening for genital chlamydial infection

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess whether opportunistic and postal screening strategies for Chlamydia trachomatis can be compared with usual care in a randomised trial in general practice DESIGN: Feasibility study for a randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Three West of Scotland general medical practices: one rural, one urban/deprived and one urban/affluent. PARTICIPANTS: 600 women aged 16-30 years, 200 from each of three participating practices selected at random from a sample of West of Scotland practices that had expressed interest in the study. The women could opt out of the study. Those who did not were randomly assigned to one of three groups: postal screening, opportunistic screening or usual care. MAIN RESULTS: 38% (85/221) of the approached practices expressed interest in the study. Data were collected successfully from the 3 participating practices, although intensive support was required. There were considerable workload implications for staff, both in relation to implementing the screening strategies and managing the research process. 124 of the 600 women opted out of the study. During the four-month study period, 55% (81/146) of the control group attended their practice but none was offered screening. 59% (80/136) women in the opportunistic group attended their practice of whom 55% (44/80) were offered screening. Of those, 64% (28/44) accepted, representing 21% of the opportunistic group. 48% (59/124) of the postal group returned samples. CONCLUSION: A randomised controlled trial comparing postal and opportunistic screening for chlamydial infection in general practice is feasible, though resource intensive. There may be problems with generalising from screening trials in which patients may opt out from the offer of screening

Collective excitations in double-layer quantum Hall systems

We study the collective excitation spectra of double-layer quantum-Hall systems using the single mode approximation. The double-layer in-phase density excitations are similar to those of a single-layer system. For out-of-phase density excitations, however, both inter-Landau-level and intra-Landau-level double-layer modes have finite dipole oscillator strengths. The oscillator strengths at long wavelengths for the latter transitions are shifted upward by interactions by identical amounts proportional to the interlayer Coulomb coupling. The intra-Landau-level out-of-phase mode has a gap when the ground state is incompressible except in the presence of spontaneous inter-layer coherence. We compare our results with predictions based on the Chern-Simons-Landau-Ginzburg theory for double-layer quantum Hall systems.Comment: RevTeX, 21 page