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Experimental study of extrusion and surface treatment of organo clay with PET nano-composites
This article was submitted to and presented at the Polymer Process Engineering 2009 conference.Inclusion of organoclay in engineering polymers is increase annually and this trend will continue for the foreseeable future despite the economic downturn. This paper describes melt blending techniques using PET nanocomposites containing commercially available organoclays with different percentage of surfactant coatings. This paper will also evaluate the morphology and mechanical properties of the composites using a range of techniques like, scanning electron microscopy, melt rheology and thermal analysis. Comparisons will be made between properties of amorphous and semi crystalline films in terms of surfactant used and material properties. It will be demonstrated that the quantity of surfactant used with the organoclays can significantly affect dispersion and properties of composites produced
A strongly inhomogeneous superfluid in an iron-based superconductor
Among the mysteries surrounding unconventional, strongly correlated
superconductors is the possibility of spatial variations in their superfluid
density. We use atomic-resolution Josephson scanning tunneling microscopy to
reveal a strongly inhomogeneous superfluid in the iron-based superconductor
FeTe0.55Se0.45. By simultaneously measuring the topographic and electronic
properties, we find that this inhomogeneity in the superfluid density is not
caused by structural disorder or strong inter-pocket scattering, and does not
correlate with variations in Cooper pair-breaking gap. Instead, we see a clear
spatial correlation between superfluid density and quasiparticle strength,
putting the iron-based superconductors on equal footing with the cuprates and
demonstrating that locally, the quasiparticles are sharpest when the
superconductivity is strongest. When repeated at different temperatures, our
technique could further help elucidate what local and global mechanisms limit
the critical temperature in unconventional superconductors
Global-scale wreath-building dynamos in stellar convection zones
When stars like our Sun are young they rotate rapidly and are very
magnetically active. We explore dynamo action in rapidly rotating suns with the
3-D MHD anelastic spherical harmonic (ASH) code. The magnetic fields built in
these dynamos are organized on global-scales into wreath-like structures that
span the convection zone. Wreath-building dynamos can undergo quasi-cyclic
reversals of polarity and such behavior is common in the parameter space we
have been able to explore. These dynamos do not appear to require tachoclines
to achieve their spatial or temporal organization. Wreath-building dynamos are
present to some degree at all rotation rates, but are most evident in the more
rapidly rotating simulations.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. To appear in IAU 271: "Astrophysical Dynamics:
from Stars to Galaxies
Direct Evidence for a Magnetic f-electron Mediated Cooper Pairing Mechanism of Heavy Fermion Superconductivity in CeCoIn5
To identify the microscopic mechanism of heavy-fermion Cooper pairing is an
unresolved challenge in quantum matter studies; it may also relate closely to
finding the pairing mechanism of high temperature superconductivity.
Magnetically mediated Cooper pairing has long been the conjectured basis of
heavy-fermion superconductivity but no direct verification of this hypothesis
was achievable. Here, we use a novel approach based on precision measurements
of the heavy-fermion band structure using quasiparticle interference (QPI)
imaging, to reveal quantitatively the momentum-space (k-space) structure of the
f-electron magnetic interactions of CeCoIn5. Then, by solving the
superconducting gap equations on the two heavy-fermion bands
with these magnetic interactions as mediators of the
Cooper pairing, we derive a series of quantitative predictions about the
superconductive state. The agreement found between these diverse predictions
and the measured characteristics of superconducting CeCoIn5, then provides
direct evidence that the heavy-fermion Cooper pairing is indeed mediated by the
f-electron magnetism.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, Supplementary Information: 31 pages, 5 figure
Generation of frequency sidebands on single photons with indistinguishability from quantum dots
Generation and manipulation of the quantum state of a single photon is at the
heart of many quantum information protocols. There has been growing interest in
using phase modulators as quantum optics devices that preserve coherence. In
this Letter, we have used an electro-optic phase modulator to shape the state
vector of single photons emitted by a quantum dot to generate new frequency
components (modes) and explicitly demonstrate that the phase modulation process
agrees with the theoretical prediction at a single photon level. Through
two-photon interference measurements we show that for an output consisting of
three modes (the original mode and two sidebands), the indistinguishability of
the mode engineered photon, measured through the secondorder intensity
correlation (g2(0)) is preserved. This work demonstrates a robust means to
generate a photonic qubit or more complex state (e.g., a qutrit) for quantum
communication applications by encoding information in the sidebands without the
loss of coherence
Amplifier for scanning tunneling microscopy at MHz frequencies
Conventional scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) is limited to a bandwidth of
circa 1kHz around DC. Here, we develop, build and test a novel amplifier
circuit capable of measuring the tunneling current in the MHz regime while
simultaneously performing conventional STM measurements. This is achieved with
an amplifier circuit including a LC tank with a quality factor exceeding 600
and a home-built, low-noise high electron mobility transistor (HEMT). The
amplifier circuit functions while simultaneously scanning with atomic
resolution in the tunneling regime, i.e. at junction resistances in the range
of giga-ohms, and down towards point contact spectroscopy. To enable high
signal-to-noise and meet all technical requirements for the inclusion in a
commercial low temperature, ultra-high vacuum STM, we use superconducting
cross-wound inductors and choose materials and circuit elements with low heat
load. We demonstrate the high performance of the amplifier by spatially mapping
the Poissonian noise of tunneling electrons on an atomically clean Au(111)
surface. We also show differential conductance spectroscopy measurements at
3MHz, demonstrating superior performance over conventional spectroscopy
techniques. Further, our technology could be used to perform impedance matched
spin resonance and distinguish Majorana modes from more conventional edge
states
Global magnetic cycles in rapidly rotating younger suns
Observations of sun-like stars rotating faster than our current sun tend to
exhibit increased magnetic activity as well as magnetic cycles spanning
multiple years. Using global simulations in spherical shells to study the
coupling of large-scale convection, rotation, and magnetism in a younger sun,
we have probed effects of rotation on stellar dynamos and the nature of
magnetic cycles. Major 3-D MHD simulations carried out at three times the
current solar rotation rate reveal hydromagnetic dynamo action that yields
wreaths of strong toroidal magnetic field at low latitudes, often with opposite
polarity in the two hemispheres. Our recent simulations have explored behavior
in systems with considerably lower diffusivities, achieved with sub-grid scale
models including a dynamic Smagorinsky treatment of unresolved turbulence. The
lower diffusion promotes the generation of magnetic wreaths that undergo
prominent temporal variations in field strength, exhibiting global magnetic
cycles that involve polarity reversals. In our least diffusive simulation, we
find that magnetic buoyancy coupled with advection by convective giant cells
can lead to the rise of coherent loops of magnetic field toward the top of the
simulated domain.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, from IAU 273: The Physics of Sun and Star Spot
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