1,658 research outputs found
High Quality a-axis outgrowth on c-axis YlCa1-xBa2Cu3O7-d
The large amplitude of the high Tc (HTS) superconducting gap is attractive
for improved electronic applications. However, the study of such HTS cuprates
has uncovered that unlike the s-wave order parameter of the low Tc, an angle
dependent dx2-y2 wave function is the dominant order parameter in such
compounds. This symmetry causes low energy surface bound states, detrimental
for applications, except at (100) oriented surfaces. It is therefore essential
to have a smooth and well oriented surface of the crystallographic a-axis
(100). In this work we present a study of an unconventional way to attain such
surfaces in the form of a-axis outgrowth on a c-axis surface of sputtered
Y1-xCaxBa2Cu3O7-d thin film. The grains topography was tested using X-ray, SEM
and AFM together with Point Contact and Tunnel Junctions measurements.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure
Determination of the critical current density in the d-wave superconductor YBCO under applied magnetic fields by nodal tunneling
We have studied nodal tunneling into YBa2Cu3O7-x (YBCO) films under magnetic
fields. The films' orientation was such that the CuO2 planes were perpendicular
to the surface with the a and b axis at 450 form the normal. The magnetic field
was applied parallel to the surface and perpendicular to the CuO2 planes. The
Zero Bias Conductance Peak (ZBCP) characteristic of nodal tunneling splits
under the effect of surface currents produced by the applied fields. Measuring
this splitting under different field conditions, zero field cooled and field
cooled, reveals that these currents have different origins. By comparing the
field cooled ZBCP splitting to that taken in decreasing fields we deduce a
value of the Bean critical current superfluid velocity, and calculate a Bean
critical current density of up to 3*10^7 A/cm2 at low temperatures. This
tunneling method for the determination of critical currents under magnetic
fields has serious advantages over the conventional one, as it avoids having to
make high current contacts to the sample.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure
Highly neurotic never-depressed students have negative biases in information processing
BACKGROUND: Cognitive theories associate depression with negative biases in information processing. Although negatively biased cognitions are well documented in depressed patients and to some extent in recovered patients, it remains unclear whether these abnormalities are present before the first depressive episode. METHOD: High neuroticism (N) is a well-recognized risk factor for depression. The current study therefore compared different aspects of emotional processing in 33 high-N never-depressed and 32 low-N matched volunteers. Awakening salivary cortisol, which is often elevated in severely depressed patients, was measured to explore the neurobiological substrate of neuroticism. RESULTS: High-N volunteers showed increased processing of negative and/or decreased processing of positive information in emotional categorization and memory, facial expression recognition and emotion-potentiated startle (EPS), in the absence of global memory or executive deficits. By contrast, there was no evidence for effects of neuroticism on attentional bias (as measured with the dot-probe task), over-general autobiographical memory, or awakening cortisol levels. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that certain negative processing biases precede depression rather than arising as a result of depressive experience per se and as such could in part mediate the vulnerability of high-N subjects to depression. Longitudinal studies are required to confirm that such cognitive vulnerabilities predict subsequent depression in individual subjects
Rotating hyperdeformed quasi-molecular states formed in capture of light nuclei and in collision of very heavy ions
International audienceWithin a rotational liquid drop model including the nuclear proximity energy the l-dependent potential barriers governing the capture reactions of light nuclei and of very heavy ions have been determined. Rotating quasi-molecular hyperdeformed states appear at high angular momenta. The energy range of these very deformed high spin states is given for light systems. The same approach explains the observation of ternary cluster decay from56Ni and 60Zn through hyperdeformed shapes at angular momenta around 45 . The apparently observed superheavy nuclear systems in the U+Ni and U+Ge reactions at high excitation energy might correspond to these rotating isomeric states formed at very high angular momenta even though the shell effects vanish
Monitoring and early detection of internal erosion: Distributed sensing and processing
International audienceEarly detection of leakages in hydraulic infrastructures is important to ensure their safety and security. Significant flow of water through the dike can be an indicator of internal erosion and results in a thermal anomaly. Temperature measurements are therefore capable of revealing information linked to leakage. Optical fiber-based distributed temperature sensors present an economically viable and reliable solution for recording spatio-temporal temperature data over long distances, with spatial and temperature resolutions of 1m and 0.05 C, respectively. The acquired data are influenced by several factors, among them water leakages, heat transfer through the above soil depth, seasonal thermal variations, and the geomechanical environment. Soil properties such as permeability alter the acquired signal locally. This article presents leakage detection methods based on signal processing of the raw temperature data from optical fiber sensors. The first approach based on source separation identifies leakages by separating them from the non-relevant information. The second approach presents a potential alarm system based on the analysis of daily temperature variations. Successful detection results for simulated as well as real experimental setups of Electricité de France are presented
The Average-Case Area of Heilbronn-Type Triangles
From among triangles with vertices chosen from points in
the unit square, let be the one with the smallest area, and let be the
area of . Heilbronn's triangle problem asks for the maximum value assumed by
over all choices of points. We consider the average-case: If the
points are chosen independently and at random (with a uniform distribution),
then there exist positive constants and such that for all large enough values of , where is the expectation of
. Moreover, , with probability close to one. Our proof
uses the incompressibility method based on Kolmogorov complexity; it actually
determines the area of the smallest triangle for an arrangement in ``general
position.''Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX, 1 figure,Popular treatment in D. Mackenzie, On a
roll, {\em New Scientist}, November 6, 1999, 44--4
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