26 research outputs found
Theory of a Higher Order Phase Transition: Superconducting Transition in BKBO
We describe here the properties expected of a higher (with emphasis on the
order fourth) order phase transition. The order is identified in the sense
first noted by Ehrenfest, namely in terms of the temperature dependence of the
ordered state free energy near the phase boundary. We have derived an equation
for the phase boundary in terms of the discontinuities in thermodynamic
observables, developed a Ginzburg-Landau free energy and studied the
thermodynamic and magnetic properties. We also discuss the current status of
experiments on and other based superconductors,
the expectations for parameters and examine alternative explanations of the
experimental results.Comment: 18 pages, no figure
Specific heat study of single crystalline Pr Ca MnO in presence of a magnetic field
We present the results of a study of specific heat on a single crystal of
PrCaMnO performed over a temperature range 3K-300K in
presence of 0 and 8T magnetic fields. An estimate of the entropy and latent
heat in a magnetic field at the first order charge ordering (CO) transition is
presented. The total entropy change at the CO transition which is 1.8
J/mol K at 0T, decreases to 1.5 J/mol K in presence of 8T magnetic
field. Our measurements enable us to estimate the latent heat
235 J/mol involved in the CO transition. Since the entropy of the
ferromagnetic metallic (FMM) state is comparable to that of the charge-ordered
insulating (COI) state, a subtle change in entropy stabilises either of these
two states. Our low temperature specific heat measurements reveal that the
linear term is absent in 0T and surprisingly not seen even in the metallic FMM
state.Comment: 8 pages (in RevTEX format), 12 figures (in postscript format)
Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Ordering and Fluctuation of Orbital and Lattice Distortion in Perovskite Manganese Oxides
Roles of orbital and lattice degrees of freedom in strongly correlated
systems are investigated to understand electronic properties of perovskite Mn
oxides such as La_{1-x}Sr_{x}MnO_{3}. An extended double-exchange model
containing Coulomb interaction, doubly degenerate orbitals and Jahn-Teller
coupling is derived under full polarization of spins with two-dimensional
anisotropy. Quantum fluctuation effects of Coulomb interaction and orbital
degrees of freedom are investigated by using the quantum Monte Carlo method. In
undoped states, it is crucial to consider both the Coulomb interaction and the
Jahn-Teller coupling in reproducing characteristic hierarchy of energy scales
among charge, orbital-lattice and spin degrees of freedom in experiments. Our
numerical results quantitatively reproduce the charge gap amplitude as well as
the stabilization energy and the amplitude of the cooperative Jahn-Teller
distortion in undoped compounds. Upon doping of carriers, in the absence of the
Jahn-Teller distortion, critical enhancement of both charge compressibility and
orbital correlation length is found with decreasing doping concentration. These
are discussed as origins of strong incoherence in charge dynamics. With the
Jahn-Teller coupling in the doped region, collapse of the Jahn-Teller
distortion and instability to phase separation are obtained and favorably
compared with experiments. These provide a possible way to understand the
complicated properties of lightly doped manganites.Comment: 22 pages RevTeX including 25 PS figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.B,
replaced version; two figures are replaced by Fig.17 with minor changes in
the tex
Specific heat and magnetic order in LaMnO_{3+\delta}
Magnetic and specific-heat measurements are performed in three different
samples of LaMnO_{3+\delta}, with \delta=0.11, 0.15 and 0.26, presenting
important disorder effects, such as carrier localization, due to high amounts
of La and Mn vacancies. For the samples with \delta =0.11 and 0.15, magnetic
measurements show signatures of a two-step transition: as the temperature is
lowered, the system enters a ferromagnetic phase followed by a disorder-induced
cluster-glass state. Spin-wave-like contributions and an unexpected large
linear term are observed in the specific heat as a function of temperature. In
the sample with the highest vacancy content, \delta=0.26, the disorder is
sufficient to suppress even short-range ferromagnetic order and yield a
spin-glass-like state.Comment: RevTeX 2-col, 8 pages, 5 ps figures included, submitted to PR
Recommended from our members
SPECIFIC HEAT OF UPT[SUB]3 : EVIDENCE FOR UNCONVENTIONAL SUPERCONDUCTIVITY.
Recommended from our members
SPECIFIC HEAT OF UPT[SUB]3 : EVIDENCE FOR UNCONVENTIONAL SUPERCONDUCTIVITY.
The regulation of expanded human nasal chondrocyte re-differentiation capacity by substrate composition and gas plasma surface modification
Optimizing re-differentiation of clinically relevant cell sources on biomaterial substrates in serum containing (S+) and serum-free (SF) media is a key consideration in scaffold-based articular cartilage repair strategies. We investigated whether the adhesion and post-expansion re-differentiation of human chondrocytes could be regulated by controlled changes in substrate surface chemistry and composition in S+ and SF media following gas plasma (GP) treatment. Expanded human nasal chondrocytes were plated on gas plasma treated (GP+) or untreated (GP−) poly(ethylene glycol)-terephthalate–poly(butylene terephthalate) (PEGT/PBT) block co-polymer films with two compositions (low or high PEG content). Total cellularity, cell morphology and immunofluorescent staining of vitronectin (VN) and fibronectin (FN) integrin receptors were evaluated, while post-expansion chondrogenic phenotype was assessed by collagen types I and II mRNA expression.\ud
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We observed a direct relationship between cellularity, cell morphology and re-differentiation potential. Substrates supporting high cell adhesion and a spread morphology (i.e. GP+ and low PEG content films), resulted in a significantly greater number of cells expressing α5β1 FN to αVβ3 VN integrin receptors, concomitant with reduced collagen type II/I mRNA gene expression. Substrates supporting low cell adhesion and a spherical morphology (GP− and high PEG content films) promoted chondrocyte re-differentiation indicated by high collagen type II/I gene expression and a low percentage of α5β1 FN integrin expressing cells.\ud
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This study demonstrates that cell–substrate interactions via α5β1 FN integrin mediated receptors negatively impacts expanded human nasal chondrocyte re-differentiation capacity. GP treatment promotes cell adhesion in S+ media but reverses the ability of low PEG content PEGT/PBT substrates to maintain chondrocyte phenotype. We suggest alternative cell immobilization techniques to GP are necessary for clinical application in articular cartilage repair
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