1,645 research outputs found
Scattering and Pairing in Cuprate Superconductors
The origin of the exceptionally strong superconductivity of cuprates remains
a subject of debate after more than two decades of investigation. Here we
follow a new lead: The onset temperature for superconductivity scales with the
strength of the anomalous normal-state scattering that makes the resistivity
linear in temperature. The same correlation between linear resistivity and Tc
is found in organic superconductors, for which pairing is known to come from
fluctuations of a nearby antiferromagnetic phase, and in pnictide
superconductors, for which an antiferromagnetic scenario is also likely. In the
cuprates, the question is whether the pseudogap phase plays the corresponding
role, with its fluctuations responsible for pairing and scattering. We review
recent studies that shed light on this phase - its boundary, its quantum
critical point, and its broken symmetries. The emerging picture is that of a
phase with spin-density-wave order and fluctuations, in broad analogy with
organic, pnictide, and heavy-fermion superconductors.Comment: To appear in Volume 1 of the Annual Review of Condensed Matter
Physic
Spectroscopic Fingerprint of Phase-Incoherent Superconductivity in the Cuprate Pseudogap State
A possible explanation for the existence of the cuprate "pseudogap" state is
that it is a d-wave superconductor without quantum phase rigidity. Transport
and thermodynamic studies provide compelling evidence that supports this
proposal, but few spectroscopic explorations of it have been made. One
spectroscopic signature of d-wave superconductivity is the particle-hole
symmetric "octet" of dispersive Bogoliubov quasiparticle interference
modulations. Here we report on this octet's evolution from low temperatures to
well into the underdoped pseudogap regime. No pronounced changes occur in the
octet phenomenology at the superconductor's critical temperature Tc, and it
survives up to at least temperature T ~ 1.5Tc. In the pseudogap regime, we
observe the detailed phenomenology that was theoretically predicted for
quasiparticle interference in a phase-incoherent d-wave superconductor. Thus,
our results not only provide spectroscopic evidence to confirm and extend the
transport and thermodynamics studies, but they also open the way for
spectroscopic explorations of phase fluctuation rates, their effects on the
Fermi arc, and the fundamental source of the phase fluctuations that suppress
superconductivity in underdoped cuprates.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figure
Mind-Body Skills Groups for Adolescents with Depression in Primary Care: A Pilot Study
Objective: To determine acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of Mind-Body Skills Groups (MBSGs) as a treatment for depressed adolescents in primary care.
Methods: A single arm clinical trial was conducted. A 10-week MBSG program was implemented in primary care. Participants completed self-report measures at baseline, post-intervention, and 3-months following the MBSGs. Measures included the Children’s Depression Inventory-2, Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, Self-Efficacy for Depressed Adolescents, rumination subscale of the Children’s Response Style Questionnaire, and a short acceptability questionnaire.
Results: Participants included 43 adolescents. The total depression scores significantly improved following the MBSG intervention and continued to improve significantly from post-treatment to follow-up. Mindfulness, self-efficacy, rumination, and suicidal ideation all had significant improvement following the intervention. Acceptability of the program was strong, and attendance was excellent.
Discussion: Preliminary evidence suggests that MBSGs are an acceptable treatment for primary care settings and lead to improved depression symptoms in adolescents.Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center and the Herbert Simon Family Foundation (070241-00002B
Hsp70 in mitochondrial biogenesis
The family of hsp70 (70 kilodalton heat shock protein) molecular chaperones plays an essential and diverse role in cellular physiology, Hsp70 proteins appear to elicit their effects by interacting with polypeptides that present domains which exhibit non-native conformations at distinct stages during their life in the cell. In this paper we review work pertaining to the functions of hsp70 proteins in chaperoning mitochondrial protein biogenesis. Hsp70 proteins function in protein synthesis, protein translocation across mitochondrial membranes, protein folding and finally the delivery of misfolded proteins to proteolytic enzymes in the mitochondrial matrix
A comparison of spectral element and finite difference methods using statically refined nonconforming grids for the MHD island coalescence instability problem
A recently developed spectral-element adaptive refinement incompressible
magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code [Rosenberg, Fournier, Fischer, Pouquet, J. Comp.
Phys. 215, 59-80 (2006)] is applied to simulate the problem of MHD island
coalescence instability (MICI) in two dimensions. MICI is a fundamental MHD
process that can produce sharp current layers and subsequent reconnection and
heating in a high-Lundquist number plasma such as the solar corona [Ng and
Bhattacharjee, Phys. Plasmas, 5, 4028 (1998)]. Due to the formation of thin
current layers, it is highly desirable to use adaptively or statically refined
grids to resolve them, and to maintain accuracy at the same time. The output of
the spectral-element static adaptive refinement simulations are compared with
simulations using a finite difference method on the same refinement grids, and
both methods are compared to pseudo-spectral simulations with uniform grids as
baselines. It is shown that with the statically refined grids roughly scaling
linearly with effective resolution, spectral element runs can maintain accuracy
significantly higher than that of the finite difference runs, in some cases
achieving close to full spectral accuracy.Comment: 19 pages, 17 figures, submitted to Astrophys. J. Supp
Hall, Seebeck, and Nernst Coefficients of Underdoped HgBa2CuO4+d: Fermi-Surface Reconstruction in an Archetypal Cuprate Superconductor
Charge density-wave order has been observed in cuprate superconductors whose
crystal structure breaks the square symmetry of the CuO2 planes, such as
orthorhombic YBa2Cu3Oy (YBCO), but not so far in cuprates that preserve that
symmetry, such as tetragonal HgBa2CuO4+d (Hg1201). We have measured the Hall
(R_H), Seebeck (S), and Nernst coefficients of underdoped Hg1201 in magnetic
fields large enough to suppress superconductivity. The high-field R_H(T) and
S(T) are found to drop with decreasing temperature and become negative, as also
observed in YBCO at comparable doping. In YBCO, the negative R_H and S are
signatures of a small electron pocket caused by Fermi-surface reconstruction,
attributed to charge density-wave modulations observed in the same range of
doping and temperature. We deduce that a similar Fermi-surface reconstruction
takes place in Hg1201, evidence that density-wave order exists in this
material. A striking similarity is also found in the normal-state Nernst
coefficient, further supporting this interpretation. Given the model nature of
Hg1201, Fermi-surface reconstruction appears to be common to all hole-doped
cuprates, suggesting that density-wave order is a fundamental property of these
materials
Unveiling True Three-dimensional Microstructural Evolution in Novel Chalcogenide Nanocomposites as a Route to Infrared Gradient Refractive Index Functionality
Enhancement of the Nernst effect by stripe order in a high-Tc superconductor
The Nernst effect in metals is highly sensitive to two kinds of phase
transition: superconductivity and density-wave order. The large positive Nernst
signal observed in hole-doped high-Tc superconductors above their transition
temperature Tc has so far been attributed to fluctuating superconductivity.
Here we show that in some of these materials the large Nernst signal is in fact
caused by stripe order, a form of spin / charge modulation which causes a
reconstruction of the Fermi surface. In LSCO doped with Nd or Eu, the onset of
stripe order causes the Nernst signal to go from small and negative to large
and positive, as revealed either by lowering the hole concentration across the
quantum critical point in Nd-LSCO, or lowering the temperature across the
ordering temperature in Eu-LSCO. In the latter case, two separate peaks are
resolved, respectively associated with the onset of stripe order at high
temperature and superconductivity near Tc. This sensitivity to Fermi-surface
reconstruction makes the Nernst effect a promising probe of broken symmetry in
high-Tc superconductors
Linear-T resistivity and change in Fermi surface at the pseudogap critical point of a high-Tc superconductor
A fundamental question of high-temperature superconductors is the nature of
the pseudogap phase which lies between the Mott insulator at zero doping and
the Fermi liquid at high doping p. Here we report on the behaviour of charge
carriers near the zero-temperature onset of that phase, namely at the critical
doping p* where the pseudogap temperature T* goes to zero, accessed by
investigating a material in which superconductivity can be fully suppressed by
a steady magnetic field. Just below p*, the normal-state resistivity and Hall
coefficient of La1.6-xNd0.4SrxCuO4 are found to rise simultaneously as the
temperature drops below T*, revealing a change in the Fermi surface with a
large associated drop in conductivity. At p*, the resistivity shows a linear
temperature dependence as T goes to zero, a typical signature of a quantum
critical point. These findings impose new constraints on the mechanisms
responsible for inelastic scattering and Fermi surface transformation in
theories of the pseudogap phase.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures. Published in Nature Physics. Online at
http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nphys1109.htm
Kinematics and helicity evolution of a loop-like eruptive prominence
We aim at investigating the morphology, kinematic and helicity evolution of a
loop-like prominence during its eruption. We use multi-instrument observations
from AIA/SDO, EUVI/STEREO and LASCO/SoHO. The kinematic, morphological,
geometrical, and helicity evolution of a loop-like eruptive prominence are
studied in the context of the magnetic flux rope model of solar prominences.
The prominence eruption evolved as a height expanding twisted loop with both
legs anchored in the chromosphere of a plage area. The eruption process
consists of a prominence activation, acceleration, and a phase of constant
velocity. The prominence body was composed of left-hand (counter-clockwise)
twisted threads around the main prominence axis. The twist during the eruption
was estimated at 6pi (3 turns). The prominence reached a maximum height of 526
Mm before contracting to its primary location and partially reformed in the
same place two days after the eruption. This ejection, however, triggered a CME
seen in LASCO C2. The prominence was located in the northern periphery of the
CME magnetic field configuration and, therefore, the background magnetic field
was asymmetric with respect to the filament position. The physical conditions
of the falling plasma blobs were analysed with respect to the prominence
kinematics. The same sign of the prominence body twist and writhe, as well as
the amount of twisting above the critical value of 2pi after the activation
phase indicate that possibly conditions for kink instability were present. No
signature of magnetic reconnection was observed anywhere in the prominence body
and its surroundings. The filament/prominence descent following the eruption
and its partial reformation at the same place two days later suggest a confined
type of eruption. The asymmetric background magnetic field possibly played an
important role in the failed eruption.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, in press in A&
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