Integer quantum Hall effect of interacting electrons: dynamical scaling and critical conductivity

We report on a study of interaction effects on the polarization of a disordered two-dimensional electron system in a strong magnetic field. Treating the Coulomb interaction within the time-dependent Hartree-Fock approximation we find numerical evidence for dynamical scaling with a dynamical critical exponent z=1 at the integer quantum Hall plateau transition in the lowest Landau level. Within the numerical accuracy of our data the conductivity at the transition and the anomalous diffusion exponent are given by the values for non-interacting electrons, independent of the strength of the interaction.Comment: Minor changes. Final version to be published in Phys. Rev. Lett. June 2

Josephson effects in dilute Bose-Einstein condensates

We propose an experiment that would demonstrate the ``dc'' and ``ac'' Josephson effects in two weakly linked Bose-Einstein condensates. We consider a time-dependent barrier, moving adiabatically across the trapping potential. The phase dynamics are governed by a ``driven-pendulum'' equation, as in current-driven superconducting Josephson junctions. At a critical velocity of the barrier (proportional to the critical tunneling current), there is a sharp transition between the ``dc'' and ``ac'' regimes. The signature is a sudden jump of a large fraction of the relative condensate population. Analytical predictions are compared with a full numerical solution of the time dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation, in an experimentally realistic situation.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Quantum dynamics of local phase differences between reservoirs of driven interacting bosons separated by simple aperture arrays

We present a derivation of the effective action for the relative phase of driven, aperture-coupled reservoirs of weakly-interacting condensed bosons from a (3+1)-D microscopic model with local U(1) gauge symmetry. We show that inclusion of local chemical potential and driving velocity fields as a gauge field allows derivation of the hydrodynamic equations of motion for the driven macroscopic phase differences across simple aperture arrays. For a single aperture, the current-phase equation for driven flow contains sinusoidal, linear, and current-bias contributions. We compute the renormalization group (RG) beta function of the periodic potential in the effective action for small tunneling amplitudes and use this to analyze the temperature dependence of the low-energy current-phase relation, with application to the transition from linear to sinusoidal current-phase behavior observed in experiments by Hoskinson et al. \cite{packard} for liquid $^{4}$He driven through nanoaperture arrays. Extension of the microscopic theory to a two-aperture array shows that interference between the microscopic tunneling contributions for individual apertures leads to an effective coupling between apertures which amplifies the Josephson oscillations in the array. The resulting multi-aperture current-phase equations are found to be equivalent to a set of equations for coupled pendula, with microscopically derived couplings.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures v2: typos corrected, RG phase diagram correcte

Direct demonstration of circulating currents in a controllable π\pi-SQUID generated by a 0 to π\pi transition of the weak links

A controllable $\pi$-SQUID is a DC SQUID with two controllable $\pi$-junctions as weak links. A controllable $\pi$-junction consists of a superconducting - normal metal - superconducting Josephson junction with two additional contacts to the normal region of the junction. By applying a voltage $V_c$ over these contacts it is possible to control the sate of the junction, i.e. a conventional (0) state or a $\pi$-state, depending on the magnitude of $V_c$. We demonstrate experimentally that, by putting one junction into a $\pi$-state, a screening current is generated around the SQUID loop at integer external flux. To be able to do this, we have fabricated controllable $\pi$-junctions, based on Cu-Nb or Ag-Nb, in a new geometry. We show that at 1.4 K only the Nb-Ag device shows the transition to a $\pi$-state as a function of $V_c$ consistent with theoretical predictions. In a controllable $\pi$ SQUID based on Nb-Ag we observe, a part from a screening current at integer external flux, a phase shift of $\pi$ of the $V_{SQUID}-B$ oscillations under suitable current bias, depending on the magnitude of $V_c$.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, subm. to Phys. Rev.

Pinhole calculations of the Josephson effect in 3He-B

We study theoretically the dc Josephson effect between two volumes of superfluid 3He-B. We first discuss how the calculation of the current-phase relationships is divided into a mesoscopic and a macroscopic problem. We then analyze mass and spin currents and the symmetry of weak links. In quantitative calculations the weak link is assumed to be a pinhole, whose size is small in comparison to the coherence length. We derive a quasiclassical expression for the coupling energy of a pinhole, allowing also for scattering in the hole. Using a selfconsistent order parameter near a wall, we calculate the current-phase relationships in several cases. In the isotextural case, the current-phase relations are plotted assuming a constant spin-orbit texture. In the opposite anisotextural case the texture changes as a function of the phase difference. For that we have to consider the stiffness of the macroscopic texture, and we also calculate some surface interaction parameters. We analyze the experiments by Marchenkov et al. We find that the observed pi states and bistability hardly can be explained with the isotextural pinhole model, but a good quantitative agreement is achieved with the anisotextural model.Comment: 20 pages, 21 figures, revtex

Josephson Effect between Condensates with Different Internal Structures

A general formula for Josephson current in a wide class of hybrid junctions between different internal structures is derived on the basis of the Andreev picture. The formula extends existing formulae and also enables us to analyze novel B-phase/A-phase/B-phase (BAB) junctions in superfluid helium three systems, which are accessible to experiments. It is predicted that BAB junctions will exhibit two types of current-phase relations associated with different internal symmetries. A ``pseudo-magnetic interface effect'' inherent in the system is also revealed.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Observation of metastable states in spinor Bose-Einstein condensates

Bose-Einstein condensates have been prepared in long-lived metastable excited states. Two complementary types of metastable states were observed. The first is due to the immiscibility of multiple components in the condensate, and the second to local suppression of spin-relaxation collisions. Relaxation via re-condensation of non-condensed atoms, spin relaxation, and quantum tunneling was observed. These experiments were done with F=1 spinor Bose-Einstein condensates of sodium confined in an optical dipole trap.Comment: 3 figures included in paper, fourth figure separat

Abnormal cognition, sleep, EEG and brain metabolism in a novel knock-in Alzheimer mouse, PLB1

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The quest for companions to post-common envelope binaries: I. Searching a sample of stars from the CSS and SDSS

As part of an ongoing collaboration between student groups at high schools and professional astronomers, we have searched for the presence of circum-binary planets in a bona-fide unbiased sample of twelve post-common envelope binaries (PCEBs) from the Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Although the present ephemerides are significantly more accurate than previous ones, we find no clear evidence for orbital period variations between 2005 and 2011 or during the 2011 observing season. The sparse long-term coverage still permits O-C variations with a period of years and an amplitude of tens of seconds, as found in other systems. Our observations provide the basis for future inferences about the frequency with which planet-sized or brown-dwarf companions have either formed in these evolved systems or survived the common envelope (CE) phase.Comment: accepted by A&

Measurements of Relative Phase in Binary Mixtures of Bose-Einstein Condensates

We have measured the relative phase of two Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) using a time-domain separated-oscillatory-field condensate interferometer. A single two-photon coupling pulse prepares the double condensate system with a well-defined relative phase; at a later time, a second pulse reads out the phase difference accumulated between the two condensates. We find that the accumulated phase difference reproduces from realization to realization of the experiment, even after the individual components have spatially separated and their relative center-of-mass motion has damped.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure