Giant magnetoresistance in quantum magnetic contacts

We present calculations of quantized conductance and magnetoresistance in nanosize point contacts between two ferromagnetic metals. When conductance is open for only one conduction electrons spin-projection, the magnitude of magnetoresistance is limited by the rate of conduction electron spin-reversal processes. For the case when both spin-channels contribute to the conductance we analyze the influence of the point contact cross-section asymmetry on the giant megnetoresistance. Recent experiments on magnetoresistance of magnetic point contacts are discussed in the framework of the developed theory.Comment: 11 pages, TEX, 2 Figures. Journ. Magn. Magn. Mater. (2002) submitte

Proximity effects and characteristic lengths in ferromagnet-superconductor structures

We present an extensive theoretical investigation of the proximity effects that occur in Ferromagnet/Superconductor ($F/S$) systems. We use a numerical method to solve self consistently the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations in the continuum. We obtain the pair amplitude and the local density of states (DOS), and use these results to extract the relevant lengths characterizing the leakage of superconductivity into the magnet and to study spin splitting into the superconductor. These phenomena are investigated as a function of parameters such as temperature, magnet polarization, interfacial scattering, sample size and Fermi wavevector mismatch, all of which turn out to have important influence on the results. These comprehensive results should help characterize and analyze future data and are shown to be in agreement with existing experiments.Comment: 24 pages, including 26 figure

Search for charginos in e+e- interactions at sqrt(s) = 189 GeV

An update of the searches for charginos and gravitinos is presented, based on a data sample corresponding to the 158 pb^{-1} recorded by the DELPHI detector in 1998, at a centre-of-mass energy of 189 GeV. No evidence for a signal was found. The lower mass limits are 4-5 GeV/c^2 higher than those obtained at a centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV. The (\mu,M_2) MSSM domain excluded by combining the chargino searches with neutralino searches at the Z resonance implies a limit on the mass of the lightest neutralino which, for a heavy sneutrino, is constrained to be above 31.0 GeV/c^2 for tan(beta) \geq 1.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figure

Hadronization properties of b quarks compared to light quarks in e+e- -> q qbar from 183 to 200 GeV

The DELPHI detector at LEP has collected 54 pb^{-1} of data at a centre-of-mass energy around 183 GeV during 1997, 158 pb^{-1} around 189 GeV during 1998, and 187 pb^{-1} between 192 and 200 GeV during 1999. These data were used to measure the average charged particle multiplicity in e+e- -> b bbar events, _{bb}, and the difference delta_{bl} between _{bb} and the multiplicity, _{ll}, in generic light quark (u,d,s) events: delta_{bl}(183 GeV) = 4.55 +/- 1.31 (stat) +/- 0.73 (syst) delta_{bl}(189 GeV) = 4.43 +/- 0.85 (stat) +/- 0.61 (syst) delta_{bl}(200 GeV) = 3.39 +/- 0.89 (stat) +/- 1.01 (syst). This result is consistent with QCD predictions, while it is inconsistent with calculations assuming that the multiplicity accompanying the decay of a heavy quark is independent of the mass of the quark itself.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure

Measurement of exclusive ρ0ρ0\rho^0 \rho^0 production in two-photon collisions at high Q2Q^2 at LEP

Exclusive rho rho production in two-photon collisions involving a single highly virtual photon is studied with data collected at LEP at centre-of-mass energies 89GeV rho rho is determined as a function of the photon virtuality, Q^2 and the two-photon centre-of-mass energy, Wgg, in the kinematic region: 1.2GeV^2 < Q^2 < 30GeV^2 and 1.1GeV < Wgg < 3GeV

Search for neutralino pair production at √s = 189 GeV

A search for pair-production of neutralinos at a LEP centre-of-mass energy of 189 GeV gave no evidence for a signal. This limits the neutralino production cross-section and excludes regions in the parameter space of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM)

Measurement of the B0s lifetime and study of B0s-B0s oscillations using Dsℓ events

Lifetime and oscillations of B0s mesons have been studied in events with a large transverse momentum lepton and a Ds of opposite electric charge in the same hemisphere, selected from about, 3.6 million hadronic Z0 decays accumulated by DELPHI between 1992 and 1995. The B0s lifetime and the fractional width difference between the two physical B0s states have been found to be: τB0s = (1.42+0.14-0.13(stat.) ± 0.03(syst.)) ps ΔΓB0s/ΓB0s &amp;lt; 0.46 at the 95% C.L. In the latter result it has been assumed that τB0s = τB0d. Using the same sample, a limit on the mass difference between the physical B0s states has been set: ΔmB0s &amp;gt; 7.4 ps-1 at the 95% C.L. with a corresponding sensitivity equal to 8.1 ps-1

Measurement of the rate of b anti-b b anti-b events in hadronic Z decays and the extraction of the gluon splitting into b anti-b

The rate $Z \rightarrow b\overline{b}b\overline{b}$ was measured using about $2 x 10^6$ hadronic decays collected by the DELPHI experiment in 1994 and 1995. Events were forced into 3-jets with $y_{min} > 0.06$ and a b-tag was required for every jet. The rate was measured to be: $R_{4b} = BR(Z \to b\overline{b}b\overline{b}) / BR(Z \to hadrons) = (6.0 +- 1.9(stat) +- 1.4(syst.)) x 10^{-4}$ where the invariant mass of every $b\overline{b}$ system is above twice the b quark mass. Using the value of $R_{4b}$ the probability of secondary production of a $b\overline{b}$ pair from a gluon per hadronic $Z$ decay, $g_{bb}$, was extracted and found to be: $g_{bb} = (3.3+-1.0(stat.) +- 0.8(syst.)) x 10^{-3}$