390 research outputs found
Hands-On TAROT: Intercontinental use of the TAROT for Education and Public Outreach
The TAROT telescope has for primary goal the search for the prompt optical
counterpart of Cosmic Gamma-Ray Bursts. It is a completely autonomous 25cm
telescope installed near Nice (France), able to point any location of the sky
within 1-2 seconds. The control, scheduling, and data processing activities are
completely automated, so the instrument is completely autonomous. In addition
to its un-manned modes, we added recently the possibility to remotely control
the telescope, as a request of the "Hands-On Universe" (HOU) program for
exchange of time within automatic telescopes for the education and public
outreach. To this purpose we developed a simple control interface. A webcam was
installed to visualize the telescope. Access to the data is possible through a
web interface. The images can be processed by the HOU software, a program
specially suited for use within the classroom. We experienced these feature
during the open days of the University of California Berkeley and the Astronomy
Festival of Fleurance (France). We plan a regular use for an astronomy course
of the Museum of Tokyo, as well as for French schools. Not only does Hands-On
TAROT gives the general public an access to professional astronomy, but it is
also a more general tool to demonstrate the use of a complex automated system,
the techniques of data processing and automation. Last but not least, through
the use of telescopes located in many countries over the globe, a form of
powerful and genuine cooperation between teachers and children from various
countries is promoted, with a clear educational goal.Comment: 4 pages, Based on a demonstration presented at the ADASS X
Conference, Boston, MA, USA, October 2000, to appear in ASP Conf. Serie
Shadow on the wall cast by an Abrikosov vortex
At the surface of a d-wave superconductor, a zero-energy peak in the
quasiparticle spectrum can be observed. This peak appears due to Andreev bound
states and is maximal if the nodal direction of the d-wave pairing potential is
perpendicular to the boundary. We examine the effect of a single Abrikosov
vortex in front of a reflecting boundary on the zero-energy density of states.
We can clearly see a splitting of the low-energy peak and therefore a
suppression of the zero-energy density of states in a shadow-like region
extending from the vortex to the boundary. This effect is stable for different
models of the single Abrikosov vortex, for different mean free paths and also
for different distances between the vortex center and the boundary. This
observation promises to have also a substantial influence on the differential
conductance and the tunneling characteristics for low excitation energies.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
The Effect of Surfaces on the Tunneling Density of States of an Anisotropically Paired Superconductor
We present calculations of the tunneling density of states in an
anisotropically paired superconductor for two different sample geometries: a
semi-infinite system with a single specular wall, and a slab of finite
thickness and infinite lateral extent. In both cases we are interested in the
effects of surface pair breaking on the tunneling spectrum. We take the stable
bulk phase to be of symmetry. Our calculations are performed
within two different band structure environments: an isotropic cylindrical
Fermi surface with a bulk order parameter of the form ,
and a nontrivial tight-binding Fermi surface with the order parameter structure
coming from an anti-ferromagnetic spin-fluctuation model. In each case we find
additional structures in the energy spectrum coming from the surface layer.
These structures are sensitive to the orientation of the surface with respect
to the crystal lattice, and have their origins in the detailed form of the
momentum and spatial dependence of the order parameter. By means of tunneling
spectroscopy, one can obtain information on both the anisotropy of the energy
gap, |\Delta(\p)|, as well as on the phase of the order parameter,
\Delta(\p) = |\Delta(\p)|e^{i\varphi(\p)}.Comment: 14 pages of revtex text with 11 compressed and encoded figures. To
appear in J. Low Temp. Phys., December, 199
Exact microscopic analysis of a thermal Brownian motor
We study a genuine Brownian motor by hard disk molecular dynamics and
calculate analytically its properties, including its drift speed and thermal
conductivity, from microscopic theory.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Low-energy quasiparticle states near extended scatterers in d-wave superconductors and their connection with SUSY quantum mechanics
Low-energy quasiparticle states, arising from scattering by single-particle
potentials in d-wave superconductors, are addressed. Via a natural extension of
the Andreev approximation, the idea that sign-variations in the superconducting
pair-potential lead to such states is extended beyond its original setting of
boundary scattering to the broader context of scattering by general
single-particle potentials, such as those due to impurities. The
index-theoretic origin of these states is exhibited via a simple connection
with Witten's supersymmetric quantum-mechanical model.Comment: 5 page
Tunneling into Current-Carrying Surface States of High T Superconductors
Theoretical results for the ab-plane tunneling conductance in the d-wave
model for high Tc superconductors are presented. The d-wave model predicts
surface bound states below the maximum gap. A sub-dominant order parameter,
stabilized by the surface, leads to a splitting of the zero-bias conductance
peak (ZBCP) in zero external field and to spontaneous surface currents. In a
magnetic field screening currents shift the quasiparticle bound state spectrum
and lead to a voltage splitting of the ZBCP that is linear in H at low fields,
and saturates at a pairbreaking critical field of order 3 Tesla. Comparisons
with recent experimental results on Cu/YBCO junctions are presented.Comment: 4 pages in a RevTex (3.0) file plus 3 Figures in PostScript. To
appear in Phys. Rev. Let
D-Wave Superconductors near Surfaces and Interfaces: A Scattering Matrix Approach within the Quasiclassical Technique
A recently developed method [A. Shelankov and M. Ozana, Phys. Rev. B 61, 7077
(2000)] is applied to investigate d-wave superconductors in the vicinity of
(rough) surfaces. While this method allows the incorporation of arbitrary
interfaces into the quasiclassical technique, we discuss, as examples,
diffusive surfaces and boundaries with small tilted mirrors (facets). The
properties of the surface enter via the scattering matrix in the boundary
condition for the quasiclassical Green's function. The diffusive surface is
described by an ensemble of random scattering matrices. We find that the
fluctuations of the density of states around the average are small; the zero
bias conductance peak broadens with increasing disorder. The faceted surface is
described in the model where the scattering matrix couples m in- and m
out-trajectories (m>=2). No zero bias conductance peak is found for [100]
surfaces; the relation to the model of Fogelstrom et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 79,
281 (1997)] is discussed.Comment: RevTeX, 19 pages, 18 figure
Magnetic Field Effect in Josephson tunneling between d-Wave Superconductors
The magnetic field effect in the Josephson tunneling between two d-wave
superconductors are investigated. When the crystal orientation of one (or each)
superconductor relative to the interface normal is such that midgap states
exist at the interface, there is a component of the tunneling current due to
the midgap states. For a junction with a flat {001}|{110} or {100}|{110}
interface, this component is the predominant contribution to the current. The
predicted current-field dependence differs entirely from the conventional
Fraunhofer pattern, in agreement with a published measurement. This is because,
apart from the Fraunhofer factor, the critical current depends on the magnetic
field B through the current density also which is a linear function of B for
weak B.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Subharmonic gap structure in d-wave superconductors
We present a self-consistent theory of current-voltage characteristics of
d-wave/d-wave contacts at arbitrary transparency. In particular, we address the
open problem of the observation of subharmonic gap structure (SGS) in cuprate
junctions. Our analysis shows that: (i) the SGS is possible in d-wave
superconductors, (ii) the existence of bound states within the gap results in
an even-odd effect in the SGS, (iii) elastic scattering mechanisms, like
impurities or surface roughness, may suppress the SGS, and (iv) in the presence
of a magnetic field the Doppler shift of the Andreev bound states leads to a
very peculiar splitting of the SGS, which is an unambiguous fingerprint of
d-wave superconductivity.Comment: Revtex4, 4 pages, 5 figure
Characterization of an 8-cm Diameter Ion Source System
Results of tests characterizing an 8-cm diameter ion source are presented. The tests were conducted in three separate vacuum test facilities at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, Colorado State University, and L3 Communications' ETI division. Standard ion optics tests describing electron backstreaming and total-voltage-limited impingement current behavior as a function of beam current were used as guidelines for selecting operating conditions where more detailed ion beam measurements were performed. The ion beam was profiled using an in-vacuum actuating probe system to determine the total ion current density and the ion charge state distribution variation across the face of the ion source. Both current density and ExB probes were utilized. The ion current density data were used to obtain integrated beam current, beam flatness parameters, and general beam profile shapes. The ExB probe data were used to determine the ratio of doubly to singly charged ion current. The ion beam profile tests were performed at over six different operating points that spanned the expected operating range of the DAWN thrusters being developed at L3. The characterization tests described herein reveal that the 8-cm ion source is suitable for use in (a) validating plasma diagnostic equipment, (b) xenon ion sputtering and etching studies of spacecraft materials, (c) plasma physics research, and (d) the study of ion thruster optics at varying conditions
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