719 research outputs found
Thermodynamic Studies on Non Centrosymmetric Superconductors by AC Calorimetry under High Pressures
We investigated the non centrosymmetric superconductors CePtSi and UIr by
the ac heat capacity measurement under pressures. We determined the pressure
phase diagrams of these compounds. In CePtSi, the N\'{e}el temperature
= 2.2 K decreases with increasing pressure and becomes zero at the
critical pressure 0.6 GPa. On the other hand, the
superconducting phase exists in a wider pressure region from ambient pressure
to 1.5 GPa. The phase diagram of CePtSi is very
unique and has never been reported before for other heavy fermion
superconductors. In UIr, the heat capacity shows an anomaly at the Curie
temperature = 46 K at ambient pressure, and the heat capacity
anomaly shifts to lower temperatures with increasing pressure. The present
pressure dependence of was consistent with the previous studies by
the resistivity and magnetization measurements. Previous ac magnetic
susceptibility and resistivity measurements suggested the existence of three
ferromagnetic phases, FM1-3. shows a bending structure at 1.98,
2.21, and 2.40 GPa .The temperatures where these anomalies are observed are
close to the phase boundary of the FM3 phase.Comment: This paper was presented at the international workshop ``Novel
Pressure-induced Phenomena in Condensed Matter Systems(NP2CMS)" August 26-29
2006, Fukuoka Japa
Microscopic Coexistence of Ferromagnetism and Superconductivity in Single-Crystal UCoGe
Unambiguous evidence for the microscopic coexistence of ferromagnetism and
superconductivity in UCoGe ( K and
0.6 K) is reported from Co nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR). The
Co-NQR signal below 1 K indicates ferromagnetism throughout the sample
volume, while nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate in the ferromagnetic
(FM) phase decreases below due to the opening of the
superconducting(SC) gap. The SC state was found to be inhomogeneous, suggestive
of a self-induced vortex state, potentially realizable in a FM superconductor.
In addition, the Co-NQR spectrum around show that the FM
transition in UCoGe possesses a first-order character, which is consistent with
the theoretical prediction that the low-temperature FM transition in itinerant
magnets is generically of first-order.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Double-Exchange Ferromagnetism and Orbital-Fluctuation-Induced Superconductivity in Cubic Uranium Compounds
A double-exchange mechanism for the emergence of ferromagnetism in cubic
uranium compounds is proposed on the basis of a - coupling scheme. The
idea is {\it orbital-dependent duality} of electrons concerning itinerant
and localized states in the cubic structure. Since
orbital degree of freedom is still active in the ferromagnetic phase,
orbital-related quantum critical phenomenon is expected to appear. In fact,
odd-parity p-wave pairing compatible with ferromagnetism is found in the
vicinity of an orbital ordered phase. Furthermore, even-parity d-wave pairing
with significant odd-frequency components is obtained. A possibility to observe
such exotic superconductivity in manganites is also discussed briefly.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. To appear in J. Phys. Soc. Jp
Strong-Coupling Superconductivity of CeIrSi with the Non-centrosymmetric Crystal Structure
We studied the pressure-induced superconductor CeIrSi with the
non-centrosymmetric tetragonal structure under high pressure. The electrical
resistivity and ac heat capacity were measured in the same run for the same
sample. The critical pressure was determined to be = 2.25 GPa,
where the antiferromagnetic state disappears. The heat capacity
shows both antiferromagnetic and superconducting transitions at pressures close
to . On the other hand, the superconducting region is extended to
high pressures of up to about 3.5 GPa, with the maximum transition temperature
= 1.6 K around GPa. At 2.58 GPa, a large heat capacity
anomaly was observed at = 1.59 K. The jump of the heat capacity in
the form of is 5.7 0.1.
This is the largest observed value among previously reported superconductors,
indicating the strong-coupling superconductivity. The electronic specific heat
coefficient at is, however, approximately unchanged as a function
of pressure, even at .Comment: This paper will be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. on the August
issue of 200
TRAIL mediates liver injury by the innate immune system in the bile duct-ligated mouse.
The contribution of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), a death ligand expressed by cells of the innate immune system, to cholestatic liver injury has not been explored. Our aim was to ascertain if TRAIL contributes to liver injury in the bile duct-ligated (BDL) mouse. C57/BL6 wild-type (wt), TRAIL heterozygote (TRAIL(+/-)), and TRAIL knockout (TRAIL(-/-)) mice were used for these studies. Liver injury and fibrosis were examined 7 and 14 days after BDL, respectively. Hepatic TRAIL messenger RNA (mRNA) was 6-fold greater in BDL animals versus sham-operated wt animals (P \u3c 0.01). The increased hepatic TRAIL expression was accompanied by an increase in liver accumulation of natural killer 1.1 (NK 1.1)-positive NK and natural killer T (NKT) cells, the predominant cell types expressing TRAIL. Depletion of NK 1.1-positive cells reduced hepatic TRAIL mRNA expression and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) values. Consistent with a role for NK/NKT cells in this model of liver injury, stress ligands necessary for their recognition of target cells were also up-regulated in hepatocytes following BDL. Compared to sham-operated wt mice, BDL mice displayed a 13-fold increase in terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) and an 11-fold increase in caspase 3/7-positive hepatocytes (P \u3c 0.01). The number of TUNEL and caspase 3/7-positive cells was reduced by \u3e80% in BDL TRAIL knockout animals (P \u3c 0.05). Likewise, liver histology, number of bile infarcts, serum ALT values, hepatic fibrosis, and animal survival were also improved in BDL TRAIL(-/-) animals as compared to wt animals. Conclusion: These observations support a pivotal role for TRAIL in cholestatic liver injury mediated by NK 1.1-positive NK/NKT cells
Magnetic Field and Pressure Phase Diagrams of Uranium Heavy-Fermion Compound UZn
We have performed magnetization measurements at high magnetic fields of up to
53 T on single crystals of a uranium heavy-fermion compound UZn
grown by the Bridgman method. In the antiferromagnetic state below the N\'{e}el
temperature = 9.7 K, a metamagnetic transition is found at
32 T for the field along the [110] direction (-axis). The
magnetic phase diagram for the field along the [110] direction is
given. The magnetization curve shows a nonlinear increase at 35
T in the paramagnetic state above up to a characteristic
temperature where the magnetic susceptibility or
electrical resistivity shows a maximum value. This metamagnetic behavior of the
magnetization at is discussed in comparison with the metamagnetic
magnetism of the heavy-fermion superconductors UPt, URuSi, and
UPdAl. We have also carried out high-pressure resistivity measurement
on UZn using a diamond anvil cell up to 8.7 GPa. Noble gas argon was
used as a pressure-transmitting medium to ensure a good hydrostatic
environment. The N\'{e}el temperature is almost
pressure-independent up to 4.7 GPa and starts to increase in the
higher-pressure region. The pressure dependences of the coefficient of the
term in the electrical resistivity , the antiferromagnetic gap
, and the characteristic temperature are
discussed. It is found that the effect of pressure on the electronic states in
UZn is weak compared with those in the other heavy fermion
compounds
Novel Pressure Phase Diagram of Heavy Fermion Superconductor CePtSi Investigated by ac Calorimetry
The pressure dependences of the antiferromagnetic and superconducting
transition temperatures have been investigated by ac heat capacity measurement
under high pressures for the heavy-fermion superconductor CePtSi without
inversion symmetry in the tetragonal structure. The N\'{e}el temperature
= 2.2 K decreases with increasing pressure and becomes zero at the
critical pressure 0.6 GPa. On the other hand, the
superconducting phase exists in a wider pressure region from ambient pressure
to about 1.5 GPa. The pressure phase diagram of CePtSi is thus very unique
and has never been reported before for other heavy fermion superconductors.Comment: 4 pages and 3 figures. This paper will be published in the July issue
of J. Phys. Soc. Jp
Nodal Structure of Unconventional Superconductors Probed by the Angle Resolved Thermal Transport Measurements
Over the past two decades, unconventional superconductivity with gap symmetry
other than s-wave has been found in several classes of materials, including
heavy fermion (HF), high-T_c, and organic superconductors. Unconventional
superconductivity is characterized by anisotropic superconducting gap
functions, which may have zeros (nodes) along certain directions in the
Brillouin zone. The nodal structure is closely related to the pairing
interaction, and it is widely believed that the presence of nodes is a
signature of magnetic or some other exotic, rather than conventional
phonon-mediated, pairing mechanism. Therefore experimental determination of the
gap function is of fundamental importance. However, the detailed gap structure,
especially the direction of the nodes, is an unresolved issue in most
unconventional superconductors. Recently it has been demonstrated that the
thermal conductivity and specific heat measurements under magnetic field
rotated relative to the crystal axes are a powerful method for determining the
shape of the gap and the nodal directions in the bulk. Here we review the
theoretical underpinnings of the method and the results for the nodal structure
of several unconventional superconductors, including borocarbide YNiBC,
heavy fermions UPdAl, CeCoIn, and PrOsSb, organic
superconductor, -(BEDT-TTF)Cu(NCS), and ruthenate
SrRuO, determined by angular variation of the thermal conductivity and
heat capacity.Comment: topical review, 55 pages, 35 figures. Figure quality has been reduced
for submission to cond-mat, higher quality figures available from the authors
or from the publishe
JNK1-dependent PUMA expression contributes to hepatocyte lipoapoptosis.
Free fatty acids (FFA) induce hepatocyte lipoapoptosis by a c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)-dependent mechanism. However, the cellular processes by which JNK engages the core apoptotic machinery during lipotoxicity, especially activation of BH3-only proteins, remain incompletely understood. Thus, our aim was to determine whether JNK mediates induction of BH3-only proteins during hepatocyte lipoapoptosis. The saturated FFA palmitate, but not the monounsaturated FFA oleate, induces an increase in PUMA mRNA and protein levels. Palmitate induction of PUMA was JNK1-dependent in primary murine hepatocytes. Palmitate-mediated PUMA expression was inhibited by a dominant negative c-Jun, and direct binding of a phosphorylated c-Jun containing the activator protein 1 complex to the PUMA promoter was identified by electrophoretic mobility shift assay and a chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. Short hairpin RNA-targeted knockdown of PUMA attenuated Bax activation, caspase 3/7 activity, and cell death. Similarly, the genetic deficiency of Puma rendered murine hepatocytes resistant to lipoapoptosis. PUMA expression was also increased in liver biopsy specimens from patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis as compared with patients with simple steatosis or controls. Collectively, the data implicate JNK1-dependent PUMA expression as a mechanism contributing to hepatocyte lipoapoptosis
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