32 research outputs found
Hard Superconductivity of a Soft Metal in the Quantum Regime
Superconductivity is inevitably suppressed in reduced dimensionality.
Questions of how thin superconducting wires or films can be before they lose
their superconducting properties have important technological ramifications and
go to the heart of understanding coherence and robustness of the
superconducting state in quantum-confined geometries. Here, we exploit quantum
confinement of itinerant electrons in a soft metal to stabilize superconductors
with lateral dimensions of the order of a few millimeters and vertical
dimensions of only a few atomic layers. These extremely thin superconductors
show no indication of defect- or fluctuation-driven suppression of
superconductivity and sustain supercurrents of up to 10% of the depairing
current density. The extreme hardness of the critical state is attributed to
quantum trapping of vortices. This study paints a conceptually appealing,
elegant picture of a model nanoscale superconductor with calculable critical
state properties. It indicates the intriguing possibility of exploiting robust
superconductivity at the nanoscale.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Nature Physic
At the coalface and the cutting edge: general practitioners’ accounts of the rewards of engaging with HIV medicine
The interviews we conducted with GPs suggest that an engagement with HIV medicine enables clinicians to develop
strong and long-term relationships with and expertise
about the care needs of people living with HIV ‘at the
coalface’, while also feeling connected with a broader
network of medical practitioners and other professionals
concerned with and contributing to the ever-changing
world of science: ‘the cutting edge’. The general practice
HIV prescriber is being modelled here as the interface between these two worlds, offering a rewarding opportunity
for general practitioners to feel intimately connected to
both community needs and scientific change