47 research outputs found
Domain Walls Motion and Resistivity in a Fully-Frustrated Josephson Array
It is identified numerically that the resistivity of a fully-frustrated
Josephson-junction array is due to motion of domain walls in vortex lattice
rather than to motion of single vortices
Phase Transitions of Hard Disks in External Periodic Potentials: A Monte Carlo Study
The nature of freezing and melting transitions for a system of hard disks in
a spatially periodic external potential is studied using extensive Monte Carlo
simulations. Detailed finite size scaling analysis of various thermodynamic
quantities like the order parameter, its cumulants etc. are used to map the
phase diagram of the system for various values of the density and the amplitude
of the external potential. We find clear indication of a re-entrant liquid
phase over a significant region of the parameter space. Our simulations
therefore show that the system of hard disks behaves in a fashion similar to
charge stabilized colloids which are known to undergo an initial freezing,
followed by a re-melting transition as the amplitude of the imposed, modulating
field produced by crossed laser beams is steadily increased. Detailed analysis
of our data shows several features consistent with a recent dislocation
unbinding theory of laser induced melting.Comment: 36 pages, 16 figure
Edge effects in a frustrated Josephson junction array with modulated couplings
A square array of Josephson junctions with modulated strength in a magnetic
field with half a flux quantum per plaquette is studied by analytic arguments
and dynamical simulations. The modulation is such that alternate columns of
junctions are of different strength to the rest. Previous work has shown that
this system undergoes an XY followed by an Ising-like vortex lattice
disordering transition at a lower temperature. We argue that resistance
measurements are a possible probe of the vortex lattice disordering transition
as the linear resistance with
at intermediate temperatures due to dissipation at the array
edges for a particular geometry and vanishes for other geometries. Extensive
dynamical simulations are performed which support the qualitative physical
arguments.Comment: 8 pages with figs, RevTeX, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Temperature and Frequency Dependence of Complex Conductance of Ultrathin YBa2Cu3O7-x Films: A Study of Vortex-Antivortex Pair Unbinding
We have studied the temperature dependencies of the complex sheet conductance
of 1-3 unit cell (UC) thick YBa2Cu3O7-x films sandwiched between semiconducting
Pr0.6Y0.4Ba2Cu3O7-x layers at high frequencies. Experiments have been carried
out in a frequency range between: 2 - 30 MHz with one-spiral coil technique,
100 MHz - 1 GHz frequency range with a new technique using the spiral coil
cavity and at 30 GHz by aid of a resonant cavity technique. The real and
imaginary parts of the mutual-inductance between a coil and a film were
measured and converted to complex conductivity by aid of the inversion
procedure. We have found a quadratic temperature dependence of the kinetic
inductance, L_k^-1(T), at low temperatures independent of frequency, with a
break in slope at T^dc_BKT, the maximum of real part of conductance and a large
shift of the break temperature and the maximum position to higher temperatures
with increasing frequency. We obtain from these data the universal ratio
T^dc_BKT/L_k^-1(T^dc_BKT) = 25, 25, and 17 nHK for 1-, 2- and 3UC films,
respectively in close agreement with theoretical prediction of 12 nHK for
vortex-antivortex unbinding transition. The activated temperature dependence of
the vortex diffusion constant was observed and discussed in the framework of
vortex-antivortex pair pinning.
PACS numbers: 74.80.Dm, 74.25.Nf, 74.72.Bk, 74.76.BzComment: PDF file, 10 pages, 6 figures, to be published in J. Low Temp. Phys.;
Proc. of NATO ARW: VORTEX 200
RANTES/CCL5 and risk for coronary events: Results from the MONICA/KORA Augsburg case-cohort, Athero-express and CARDIoGRAM studies
Background: The chemokine RANTES (regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted)/CCL5 is involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease in mice, whereas less is known in humans. We hypothesised that its relevance for atherosclerosis should be reflected by associations between CCL5 gene variants, RANTES serum concentrations and protein levels in atherosclerotic plaques and risk for coronary events. Methods and Findings: We conducted a case-cohort study within the population-based MONICA/KORA Augsburg studies. Baseline RANTES serum levels were measured in 363 individuals with incident coronary events and 1,908 non-cases (mean follow-up: 10.2±
Mechanical unfolding of directed polymers in a poor solvent: Critical exponents
We study the thermodynamics of an exactly solvable model of a self-interacting, partially directed self-avoiding walk in two dimensions when a force is applied on one end of the chain. The critical force for the unfolding is determined exactly, as a function of the temperature, below the Theta transition. The transition is of second order and is characterized by new critical exponents that are determined by a careful numerical analysis. The usual polymer critical index nu on the critical line, and another one which we call zeta, takes a nontrivial value that is numerically close to 2/3