311 research outputs found
A momentum-dependent perspective on quasiparticle interference in Bi_{2}Sr_{2}CaCu_{2}O_{8+\delta}
Angle Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy (ARPES) probes the momentum-space
electronic structure of materials, and provides invaluable information about
the high-temperature superconducting cuprates. Likewise, the cuprate
real-space, inhomogeneous electronic structure is elucidated by Scanning
Tunneling Spectroscopy (STS). Recently, STS has exploited quasiparticle
interference (QPI) - wave-like electrons scattering off impurities to produce
periodic interference patterns - to infer properties of the QP in
momentum-space. Surprisingly, some interference peaks in
Bi_{2}Sr_{2}CaCu_{2}O_{8+\delta} (Bi-2212) are absent beyond the
antiferromagnetic (AF) zone boundary, implying the dominance of particular
scattering process. Here, we show that ARPES sees no evidence of quasiparticle
(QP) extinction: QP-like peaks are measured everywhere on the Fermi surface,
evolving smoothly across the AF zone boundary. This apparent contradiction
stems from different natures of single-particle (ARPES) and two-particle (STS)
processes underlying these probes. Using a simple model, we demonstrate
extinction of QPI without implying the loss of QP beyond the AF zone boundary
Coagulation and fragmentation dynamics of inertial particles
Inertial particles suspended in many natural and industrial flows undergo
coagulation upon collisions and fragmentation if their size becomes too large
or if they experience large shear. Here we study this coagulation-fragmentation
process in time-periodic incompressible flows. We find that this process
approaches an asymptotic, dynamical steady state where the average number of
particles of each size is roughly constant. We compare the steady-state size
distributions corresponding to two fragmentation mechanisms and for different
flows and find that the steady state is mostly independent of the coagulation
process. While collision rates determine the transient behavior, fragmentation
determines the steady state. For example, for fragmentation due to shear, flows
that have very different local particle concentrations can result in similar
particle size distributions if the temporal or spatial variation of shear
forces is similar.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Spectroscopic scanning tunneling microscopy insights into Fe-based superconductors
In the first three years since the discovery of Fe-based high Tc
superconductors, scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy have shed
light on three important questions. First, STM has demonstrated the complexity
of the pairing symmetry in Fe-based materials. Phase-sensitive quasiparticle
interference (QPI) imaging and low temperature spectroscopy have shown that the
pairing order parameter varies from nodal to nodeless s\pm within a single
family, FeTe1-xSex. Second, STM has imaged C4 -> C2 symmetry breaking in the
electronic states of both parent and superconducting materials. As a local
probe, STM is in a strong position to understand the interactions between these
broken symmetry states and superconductivity. Finally, STM has been used to
image the vortex state, giving insights into the technical problem of vortex
pinning, and the fundamental problem of the competing states introduced when
superconductivity is locally quenched by a magnetic field. Here we give a
pedagogical introduction to STM and QPI imaging, discuss the specific
challenges associated with extracting bulk properties from the study of
surfaces, and report on progress made in understanding Fe-based superconductors
using STM techniques.Comment: 36 pages, 23 figures, 229 reference
How Cooper pairs vanish approaching the Mott insulator in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d
The antiferromagnetic ground state of copper oxide Mott insulators is
achieved by localizing an electron at each copper atom in real space (r-space).
Removing a small fraction of these electrons (hole doping) transforms this
system into a superconducting fluid of delocalized Cooper pairs in momentum
space (k-space). During this transformation, two distinctive classes of
electronic excitations appear. At high energies, the enigmatic 'pseudogap'
excitations are found, whereas, at lower energies, Bogoliubov quasi-particles
-- the excitations resulting from the breaking of Cooper pairs -- should exist.
To explore this transformation, and to identify the two excitation types, we
have imaged the electronic structure of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+d in r-space and k-space
simultaneously. We find that although the low energy excitations are indeed
Bogoliubov quasi-particles, they occupy only a restricted region of k-space
that shrinks rapidly with diminishing hole density. Concomitantly, spectral
weight is transferred to higher energy r-space states that lack the
characteristics of excitations from delocalized Cooper pairs. Instead, these
states break translational and rotational symmetries locally at the atomic
scale in an energy independent fashion. We demonstrate that these unusual
r-space excitations are, in fact, the pseudogap states. Thus, as the Mott
insulating state is approached by decreasing the hole density, the delocalized
Cooper pairs vanish from k-space, to be replaced by locally translational- and
rotational-symmetry-breaking pseudogap states in r-space.Comment: This is author's version. See the Nature website for the published
versio
A vertically resolved model for phytoplankton aggregation
This work presents models of the vertical distribution and flux of phytoplankton aggregates, including changes with time in the distribution of aggregate sizes and sinking speeds. The distribution of sizes is described by two parameters, the mass and number of aggregates, which greatly reduces the computational cost of the models. Simple experiments demonstrate the effects of aggregation on the timing and depth distribution of primary production and export. A more detailed ecological model is applied to sites in the Arabian Sea; it demonstrates that aggregation can be important for deep sedimentation even when its effect on surface concentrations is small, and it presents the difference in timing between settlement of aggregates and fecal pellets
Mechanistic origins of variability in phytoplankton dynamics. Part II: analysis of mesocosm blooms under climate change scenarios
Driving factors of phytoplankton spring blooms have been discussed since long, but rarely analyzed quantitatively. Here, we use a mechanistic size-based ecosystem model to reconstruct observations made during the Kiel mesocosm experiments (2005â2006). The model accurately hindcasts highly variable bloom developments including community shifts in cell size. Under low light, phytoplankton dynamics was mostly controlled by selective mesozooplankton grazing. Selective grazing also explains initial dominance of large diatoms under high light conditions. All blooms were mainly terminated by aggregation and sedimentation. Allometries in nutrient uptake capabilities led to a delayed, post-bloom dominance of small species. In general, biomass and trait dynamics revealed many mutual dependencies, while growth factors decoupled from the respective selective forces. A size shift induced by one factor often changed the growth dependency on other factors. Within climate change scenarios, these indirect effects produced large sensitivities of ecosystem fluxes to the size distribution of winter phytoplankton. These sensitivities exceeded those found for changes in vertical mixing, whereas temperature changes only had minimal impacts
Intra-unit-cell electronic nematicity of the high-Tc copper-oxide pseudogap states
In the high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconductors the pseudogap
phase becomes predominant when the density of doped holes is reduced1. Within
this phase it has been unclear which electronic symmetries (if any) are broken,
what the identity of any associated order parameter might be, and which
microscopic electronic degrees of freedom are active. Here we report the
determination of a quantitative order parameter representing intra-unit-cell
nematicity: the breaking of rotational symmetry by the electronic structure
within CuO2 unit cell. We analyze spectroscopic-imaging scanning tunneling
microscope images of the intra-unit-cell states in underdoped
Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+{\delta} and, using two independent evaluation techniques, find
evidence for electronic nematicity of the states close to the pseudogap energy.
Moreover, we demonstrate directly that these phenomena arise from electronic
differences at the two oxygen sites within each unit cell. If the
characteristics of the pseudogap seen here and by other techniques all have the
same microscopic origin, this phase involves weak magnetic states at the O
sites that break 90o -rotational symmetry within every CuO2 unit cell.Comment: See the Nature website for the published version. High-resolution
version of figures, supplementary information and supplementary movies are
available at http://eunahkim.ccmr.cornell.edu/KimGroup/highlights.htm
Wild Felids as Hosts for Human Plague, Western United States
Plague seroprevalence was estimated in populations of pumas and bobcats in the western United States. High levels of exposure in plague-endemic regions indicate the need to consider the ecology and pathobiology of plague in nondomestic felid hosts to better understand the role of these species in disease persistence and transmission
Ocean acidification reduces demersal zooplankton that reside in tropical coral reefs
The in situ effects of ocean acidification on zooplankton communities remain largely unexplored. Using natural volcanic CO2
seep sites around tropical coral communities, we show a threefold reduction in the biomass of demersal zooplankton in
high-CO2 sites compared with sites with ambient CO2. Differences were consistent across two reefs and three expeditions.
Abundances were reduced in most taxonomic groups. There were no regime shifts in zooplankton community composition and
no differences in fatty acid composition between CO2 levels, suggesting that ocean acidification affects the food quantity but
not the quality for nocturnal plankton feeders. Emergence trap data show that the observed reduction in demersal plankton
may be partly attributable to altered habitat. Ocean acidification changes coral community composition from branching to
massive bouldering coral species, and our data suggest that bouldering corals represent inferior daytime shelter for demersal
zooplankton. Since zooplankton represent a major source of nutrients for corals, fish and other planktivores, this ecological
feedback may represent an additional mechanism of how coral reefs will be affected by ocean acidification
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