8,166 research outputs found
Electronic phase separation near the superconductor-insulator transition of Nd1+xBa2−xCu3O7−δ thin films studied by an electric-field-induced doping effect
We report a detailed study of the transport properties of Nd(1+x)Ba(2-x)Cu(3)O(7-delta) thin films with doping changed by field effect. The data cover the whole superconducting to insulating transition and show remarkable Similarities with the effect of chemical doping in high critical temperature superconductors. The results suggest that the add-on of carriers is accompanied by an electronic phase separation, independent on the details of the doping mechanism
Erasing the Invisible Line to Empower the Pandemic Response
A challenging debate has arisen on the role of veterinary expertise in facing the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. It seems totally unreasonable that in most countries, veterinary diagnostic and tracing forces were not deployed at the start to perform strategic tasks, which could have mitigated the outcome of this dramatic health emergency. Erasing the invisible line between human and veterinary virology will empower the response to future pandemics
First results from an aging test of a prototype RPC for the LHCb Muon System
Recent results of an aging test performed at the CERN Gamma Irradiation
Facility on a single--gap RPC prototype developed for the LHCb Muon System are
presented. The results are based on an accumulated charge of about 0.45
C/cm, corresponding to about 4 years of LHCb running at the highest
background rate. The performance of the chamber has been studied under several
photon flux values exploiting a muon beam. A degradation of the rate capability
above 1 kHz/cm is observed, which can be correlated to a sizeable increase
of resistivity of the chamber plates. An increase of the chamber dark current
is also observed. The chamber performance is found to fulfill the LHCb
operation requirements.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figures, presented at the International Workshop on Aging
Phenomena in Gaseous Detectors'', DESY-Hamburg (Germany), October 200
Determining Neutrino Mass Hierarchy by Precision Measurements in Electron and Muon Neutrino Disappearance Experiments
Recently a new method for determining the neutrino mass hierarchy by
comparing the effective values of the atmospheric \Delta m^2 measured in the
electron neutrino disappearance channel, \Delta m^2(ee), with the one measured
in the muon neutrino disappearance channel, \Delta m^2(\mu \mu), was proposed.
If \Delta m^2(ee) is larger (smaller) than \Delta m^2(\mu \mu) the hierarchy is
of the normal (inverted) type. We re-examine this proposition in the light of
two very high precision measurements: \Delta m^2(\mu \mu) that may be
accomplished by the phase II of the Tokai-to-Kamioka (T2K) experiment, for
example, and \Delta m^2(ee) that can be envisaged using the novel Mossbauer
enhanced resonant \bar\nu_e absorption technique. Under optimistic assumptions
for the systematic uncertainties of both measurements, we estimate the
parameter region of (\theta_13, \delta) in which the mass hierarchy can be
determined. If \theta_13 is relatively large, sin^2 2\theta_13 \gsim 0.05, and
both of \Delta m^2(ee) and \Delta m^2(\mu \mu) can be measured with the
precision of \sim 0.5 % it is possible to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy
at > 95% CL for 0.3 \pi \lsim \delta \lsim 1.7 \pi for the current best fit
values of all the other oscillation parameters.Comment: 12 pages, 6 postscript figure
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An enhanced model for small-signal analysis of the phase-shifted full-bridge converter
This paper presents an in-depth critical discussion and derivation of a detailed small-signal analysis of the Phase-Shifted Full-Bridge (PSFB) converter. Circuit parasitics, resonant inductance and transformer turns ratio have all been taken into account in the evaluation of this topology’s open-loop control-to-output, line-to-output and load-to-output transfer functions. Accordingly, the significant impact of losses and resonant inductance on the converter’s transfer functions is highlighted. The enhanced dynamic model proposed in this paper enables the correct design of the converter compensator, including the effect of parasitics on the dynamic behavior of the PSFB converter. Detailed experimental results for a real-life 36V-to-14V/10A PSFB industrial application show excellent agreement with the predictions from the model proposed herein.
Preliminary results of an aging test of RPC chambers for the LHCb Muon System
The preliminary results of an aging test performed at the CERN Gamma
Irradiation Facility on a single--gap RPC prototype developed for the LHCb Muon
System are presented. The results are based on an accumulated charge density of
0.42 C/cm^2, corresponding to about 4 years of LHCb running at the highest
background rate. We observe a rise in the dark current and noise measured with
source off. The current drawn with source on steadily decreased, possibly
indicating an increase of resistivity of the chamber plates. The performance of
the chamber, studied with a muon beam under several photon flux values, is
found to still fulfill the LHCb operation requirements.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, presented at RPC2001, VIth Workshop on Resistive
Plate Chambers and Related Detectors, November 26-27 2001, Coimbra, Portuga
Magnetization switching in ferromagnets by adsorbed chiral molecules without current or external magnetic field
Ferromagnets are commonly magnetized by either external magnetic fields or spin polarized currents. The manipulation of magnetization by spin-current occurs through the spin-transfer-torque effect, which is applied, for example, in modern magnetoresistive random access memory. However, the current density required for the spin-transfer torque is of the order of 1 × 106 A·cm−2, or about 1 × 1025 electrons s−1 cm−2. This relatively high current density significantly affects the devices’ structure and performance. Here we demonstrate magnetization switching of ferromagnetic thin layers that is induced solely by adsorption of chiral molecules. In this case, about 1013 electrons per cm2 are sufficient to induce magnetization reversal. The direction of the magnetization depends on the handedness of the adsorbed chiral molecules. Local magnetization switching is achieved by adsorbing a chiral self-assembled molecular monolayer on a gold-coated ferromagnetic layer with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. These results present a simple low-power magnetization mechanism when operating at ambient conditions
The Transmissibility of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Commercial Poultry in Industrialised Countries
BACKGROUND: With the increased occurrence of outbreaks of H5N1 worldwide there is concern that the virus could enter commercial poultry farms with severe economic consequences. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We analyse data from four recent outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial poultry to estimate the farm-to-farm reproductive number for HPAI. The reproductive number is a key measure of the transmissibility of HPAI at the farm level because it can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the control measures. In these outbreaks the mean farm-to-farm reproductive number prior to controls ranged from 1.1 to 2.4, with the maximum farm-based reproductive number in the range 2.2 to 3.2. Enhanced bio-security, movement restrictions and prompt isolation of the infected farms in all four outbreaks substantially reduced the reproductive number, but it remained close to the threshold value 1 necessary to ensure the disease will be eradicated. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results show that depending on the particular situation in which an outbreak of avian influenza occurs, current controls might not be enough to eradicate the disease, and therefore a close monitoring of the outbreak is required. The method we used for estimating the reproductive number is straightforward to implement and can be used in real-time. It therefore can be a useful tool to inform policy decisions
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