439 research outputs found
Electron Coherence in Mesoscopic Kondo Wires
We present measurements of the magnetoresistance of long and narrow quasi
one-dimensional gold wires containing magnetic iron impurities. The electron
phase coherence time extracted from the weak antilocalisation shows a
pronounced plateau in a temperature region of 300 mK - 800 mK, associated with
the phase breaking due to the Kondo effect. Below the Kondo temperature, the
phase coherence time increases, as expected in the framework of Kondo physics.
At much lower temperatures, the phase coherence time saturates again, in
contradiction with standard Fermi liquid theory. In the same temperature
regime, the resistivity curve displays a characteristic maximum at zero
magnetic field, associated with the formation of a spin glass state. We argue
that the interactions between the magnetic moments are responsible for the low
temperature saturation of the phase coherence time.Comment: To appear in Advances in Solid State Physics, Vol 43, edited by B.
Kramer (Springer Verlag, Berlin 2003
Evidence for Thermally Activated Spontaneous Fluxoid Formation in Superconducting Thin-Film Rings
We have observed spontaneous fluxoid generation in thin-film rings of the
amorphous superconductor MoSi, cooled through the normal-superconducting
transition, as a function of quench rate and externally applied magnetic field,
using a variable sample temperature scanning SQUID microscope. Our results can
be explained using a model of freezout of thermally activated fluxoids,
mediated by the transport of bulk vortices across the ring walls. This
mechanism is complementary to a mechanism proposed by Kibble and Zurek, which
only relies on causality to produce a freezout of order parameter fluctuations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Measurement of the Transmission Phase of an Electron in a Quantum Two-Path Interferometer
A quantum two-path interferometer allows for direct measurement of the
transmission phase shift of an electron, providing useful information on
coherent scattering problems. In mesoscopic systems, however, the two-path
interference is easily smeared by contributions from other paths, and this
makes it difficult to observe the \textit{true} transmission phase shift. To
eliminate this problem, multi-terminal Aharonov-Bohm (AB) interferometers have
been used to derive the phase shift by assuming that the relative phase shift
of the electrons between the two paths is simply obtained when a smooth shift
of the AB oscillations is observed. Nevertheless the phase shifts using such a
criterion have sometimes been inconsistent with theory. On the other hand, we
have used an AB ring contacted to tunnel-coupled wires and acquired the phase
shift consistent with theory when the two output currents through the coupled
wires oscillate with well-defined anti-phase. Here, we investigate thoroughly
these two criteria used to ensure a reliable phase measurement, the anti-phase
relation of the two output currents and the smooth phase shift in the AB
oscillation. We confirm that the well-defined anti-phase relation ensures a
correct phase measurement with a quantum two-path interference. In contrast we
find that even in a situation where the anti-phase relation is less
well-defined, the smooth phase shift in the AB oscillation can still occur but
does not give the correct transmission phase due to contributions from multiple
paths. This indicates that the phase relation of the two output currents in our
interferometer gives a good criterion for the measurement of the \textit{true}
transmission phase while the smooth phase shift in the AB oscillation itself
does not.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Enhanced self-field critical current density of nano-composite YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7) thin films grown by pulsed-laser deposition
This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ EPLA, 2008.Enhanced self-field critical current density Jc of novel, high-temperature superconducting thin films is reported. Layers are deposited on (001) MgO substrates by laser ablation of YBa2Cu3O7âÎŽ(Y-123) ceramics containing Y2Ba4CuMOx (M-2411, M=Ag, Nb, Ru, Zr) nano-particles. The Jc of films depends on the secondary-phase content of the ceramic targets, which was varied between 0 and 15âmol%. Composite layers (2âmol% of Ag-2411 and Nb-2411) exhibit Jc values at 77âK of up to 5.1âMA/cm2, which is 3 to 4 times higher than those observed in films deposited from phase pure Y-123 ceramics. Nb-2411 grows epitaxially in the composite layers and the estimated crystallite size is ~10ânm.The Austrian Science Fund, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour, the European Science Foundation and the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan
Electron - nuclear recoil discrimination by pulse shape analysis
In the framework of the ``ULTIMA'' project, we use ultra cold superfluid 3He
bolometers for the direct detection of single particle events, aimed for a
future use as a dark matter detector. One parameter of the pulse shape observed
after such an event is the thermalization time constant. Until now it was
believed that this parameter only depends on geometrical factors and superfluid
3He properties, and that it is independent of the nature of the incident
particles. In this report we show new results which demonstrate that a
difference for muon- and neutron events, as well as events simulated by heater
pulses exist. The possibility to use this difference for event discrimination
in a future dark matter detector will be discussed.Comment: Proseedings of QFS 2007, Kazan, Russia; 8 pages, 4 figures. Submited
to J. Low Temp. Phy
Non-universal transmission phase behaviour of a large quantum dot
The electron wave function experiences a phase modification at coherent
transmission through a quantum dot. This transmission phase undergoes a
characteristic shift of when scanning through a Coulomb-blockade
resonance. Between successive resonances either a transmission phase lapse of
or a phase plateau is theoretically expected to occur depending on the
parity of the corresponding quantum dot states. Despite considerable
experimental effort, this transmission phase behaviour has remained elusive for
a large quantum dot. Here we report on transmission phase measurements across
such a large quantum dot hosting hundreds of electrons. Using an original
electron two-path interferometer to scan the transmission phase along fourteen
successive resonances, we observe both phase lapses and plateaus. Additionally,
we demonstrate that quantum dot deformation alters the sequence of transmission
phase lapses and plateaus via parity modifications of the involved quantum dot
states. Our findings set a milestone towards a comprehensive understanding of
the transmission phase of quantum dots.Comment: Main paper: 18 pages, 5 figures, Supplementary materials: 8 pages, 4
figure
Experimental Test of the Numerical Renormalization Group Theory for Inelastic Scattering from Magnetic Impurities
We present measurements of the phase coherence time \tauphi in quasi
one-dimensional Au/Fe Kondo wires and compare the temperature dependence of
\tauphi with a recent theory of inelastic scattering from magnetic impurities
(Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 107204 (2004)). A very good agreement is obtained for
temperatures down to 0.2 . Below the Kondo temperature , the inverse
of the phase coherence time varies linearly with temperature over almost one
decade in temperature.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
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