249 research outputs found
Low-energy electrodynamics of superconducting diamond
Heavily-boron-doped diamond films become superconducting with critical
temperatures well above 4 K. Here we first measure the reflectivity of
such a film down to 5 cm, by also using Coherent Synchrotron Radiation.
We thus determine the optical gap, the field penetration depth, the range of
action of the Ferrell-Glover-Tinkham sum rule, and the electron-phonon spectral
function. We conclude that diamond behaves as a dirty BCS superconductor.Comment: 4 pages including 3 figure
Suppression of Superconductivity in YBCO/LCMO Superlattices
The competition of superconductivity and magnetism in superlattices composed
of alternating YBaCuO and LaCaMnO thin
films is investigated using low-energy optical spectroscopy. The thickness of
the superconducting YBCO layers is varied from 30 nm to 20 nm while the
thickness of the magnetic LCMO layers is kept constant at 20 nm. We clearly
observe that the superconducting condensate density in the superconducting
state of superlattice is drastically reduced by the magnetic subsystem which
may be connected with proximity effects that distort the gap symmetry and thus
suppress superconductivity.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Bandwidth-controlled Mott transition in I. Optical studies of localized charge excitations
Infrared reflection measurements of the half-filled two-dimensional organic
conductors -(BEDT-TTF)Cu[N(CN)]BrCl were
performed as a function of temperature ( K) and
Br-substitution (, 40%, 73%, 85%, and 90%) in order to study the
metal-insulator transition. We can distinguish absorption processes due to
itinerant and localized charge carriers. The broad mid-infrared absorption has
two contributions: transitions between the two Hubbard bands and intradimer
excitations from the charges localized on the (BEDT-TTF) dimer. Since the
latter couple to intramolecular vibrations of BEDT-TTF, the analysis of both
electronic and vibrational features provides a tool to disentangle these
contributions and to follow their temperature and electronic-correlations
dependence. Calculations based on the cluster model support our interpretation.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figure
Valproic Acid Teratogenicity: A Toxicogenomics Approach
Embryonic development is a highly coordinated set of processes that depend on hierarchies of signaling and gene regulatory networks, and the disruption of such networks may underlie many cases of chemically induced birth defects. The antiepileptic drug valproic acid (VPA) is a potent inducer of neural tube defects (NTDs) in human and mouse embryos. As with many other developmental toxicants however, the mechanism of VPA teratogenicity is unknown. Using microarray analysis, we compared the global gene expression responses to VPA in mouse embryos during the critical stages of teratogen action in vivo with those in cultured P19 embryocarcinoma cells in vitro. Among the identified VPA-responsive genes, some have been associated previously with NTDs or VPA effects [vinculin, metallothioneins 1 and 2 (Mt1, Mt2), keratin 1-18 (Krt1-18)], whereas others provide novel putative VPA targets, some of which are associated with processes relevant to neural tube formation and closure [transgelin 2 (Tagln2), thyroid hormone receptor interacting protein 6, galectin-1 (Lgals1), inhibitor of DNA binding 1 (Idb1), fatty acid synthase (Fasn), annexins A5 and A11 (Anxa5, Anxa11)], or with VPA effects or known molecular actions of VPA (Lgals1, Mt1, Mt2, Id1, Fasn, Anxa5, Anxa11, Krt1-18). A subset of genes with a transcriptional response to VPA that is similar in embryos and the cell model can be evaluated as potential biomarkers for VPA-induced teratogenicity that could be exploited directly in P19 cell–based in vitro assays. As several of the identified genes may be activated or repressed through a pathway of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition and specificity protein 1 activation, our data support a role of HDAC as an important molecular target of VPA action in vivo
Spectroscopic signatures of spin-charge separation in the quasi-one-dimensional organic conductor TTF-TCNQ
The electronic structure of the quasi-one-dimensional organic conductor
TTF-TCNQ is studied by angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES). The
experimental spectra reveal significant discrepancies to band theory. We
demonstrate that the measured dispersions can be consistently mapped onto the
one-dimensional Hubbard model at finite doping. This interpretation is further
supported by a remarkable transfer of spectral weight as function of
temperature. The ARPES data thus show spectroscopic signatures of spin-charge
separation on an energy scale of the conduction band width.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; to appear in PR
Charge-density wave formation in Sr_{14}Cu_{24}O_{41}
The electrodynamic response of the spin-ladder compound
SrCaCuO () has been studied from
radiofrequencies up to the infrared. At temperatures below 250 K a pronounced
absorption peak appears around 12 cm in SrCuO for
the radiation polarized along the chains/ladders ().
In addition a strongly temperature dependent dielectric relaxation is observed
in the kHz - MHz range. We explain this behavior by a charge density wave which
develops in the ladders sub-system and produces a mode pinned at 12 cm.
With increasing Ca doping the mode shifts up in frequency and eventually
disappears for because the dimensionality of the system crosses over from
one to two dimensions, giving way to the superconducting ground state under
pressure.Comment: One name added to author list 4 pages, 2 figures, email:
[email protected]
Optical Properties of Layered Superconductors near the Josephson Plasma Resonance
We study the optical properties of crystals with spatial dispersion and show
that the usual Fresnel approach becomes invalid near frequencies where the
group velocity of the wave packets inside the crystal vanishes. Near these
special frequencies the reflectivity depends on the atomic structure of the
crystal provided that disorder and dissipation are very low. This is
demonstrated explicitly by a detailed study of layered superconductors with
identical or two different alternating junctions in the frequency range near
the Josephson plasma resonance. Accounting for both inductive and charge
coupling of the intrinsic junctions, we show that multiple modes are excited
inside the crystal by the incident light, determine their relative amplitude by
the microscopic calculation of the additional boundary conditions and finally
obtain the reflectivity.
Spatial dispersion also provides a novel method to stop light pulses, which
has possible applications for quantum information processing and the artificial
creation of event horizons in a solid.Comment: 25 pages, 20 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
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