3,214 research outputs found
Quantitative assessment of pinning forces and the superconducting gap in NbN thin films from complementary magnetic force microscopy and transport measurements
Epitaxial niobium-nitride thin films with a critical temperature of Tc=16K
and a thickness of 100nm were fabricated on MgO(100) substrates by pulsed laser
deposition. Low-temperature magnetic force microscopy (MFM) images of the
supercurrent vortices were measured after field cooling in a magnetic field of
3mT at various temperatures. Temperature dependence of the penetration depth
has been evaluated by a two-dimensional fitting of the vortex profiles in the
monopole-monopole model. Its subsequent fit to a single s-wave gap function
results in the superconducting gap amplitude Delta(0) = 2.9 meV = 2.1*kB*Tc, in
perfect agreement with previous reports. The pinning force has been
independently estimated from local depinning of individual vortices by lateral
forces exerted by the MFM tip and from transport measurements. A good
quantitative agreement between the two techniques shows that for low fields, B
<< Hc2, MFM is a powerful and reliable technique to probe the local variations
of the pinning landscape. We also demonstrate that the monopole model can be
successfully applied even for thin films with a thickness comparable to the
penetration depth.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, 2 table
Exciton entanglement in two coupled semiconductor microcrystallites
Entanglement of the excitonic states in the system of two coupled
semiconductor microcrystallites, whose sizes are much larger than the Bohr
radius of exciton in bulk semiconductor but smaller than the relevant optical
wavelength, is quantified in terms of the entropy of entanglement. It is
observed that the nonlinear interaction between excitons increases the maximum
values of the entropy of the entanglement more than that of the linear coupling
model. Therefore, a system of two coupled microcrystallites can be used as a
good source of entanglement with fixed exciton number. The relationship between
the entropy of the entanglement and the population imbalance of two
microcrystallites is numerically shown and the uppermost envelope function for
them is estimated by applying the Jaynes principle.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure
Energy spectra of cosmic-ray nuclei at high energies
We present new measurements of the energy spectra of cosmic-ray (CR) nuclei
from the second flight of the balloon-borne experiment Cosmic Ray Energetics
And Mass (CREAM). The instrument included different particle detectors to
provide redundant charge identification and measure the energy of CRs up to
several hundred TeV. The measured individual energy spectra of C, O, Ne, Mg,
Si, and Fe are presented up to eV. The spectral shape looks
nearly the same for these primary elements and it can be fitted to an power law in energy. Moreover, a new measurement of the absolute
intensity of nitrogen in the 100-800 GeV/ energy range with smaller errors
than previous observations, clearly indicates a hardening of the spectrum at
high energy. The relative abundance of N/O at the top of the atmosphere is
measured to be (stat.)(sys.) at 800
GeV/, in good agreement with a recent result from the first CREAM flight.Comment: 32 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in Astrophysical
Journa
Light Element Evolution and Cosmic Ray Energetics
Using cosmic-ray energetics as a discriminator, we investigate evolutionary
models of LiBeB. We employ a Monte Carlo code which incorporates the delayed
mixing into the ISM both of the synthesized Fe, due to its incorporation into
high velocity dust grains, and of the cosmic-ray produced LiBeB, due to the
transport of the cosmic rays. We normalize the LiBeB production to the integral
energy imparted to cosmic rays per supernova. Models in which the cosmic rays
are accelerated mainly out of the average ISM significantly under predict the
measured Be abundance of the early Galaxy, the increase in [O/Fe] with
decreasing [Fe/H] notwithstanding. We suggest that this increase could be due
to the delayed mixing of the Fe. But, if the cosmic-ray metals are accelerated
out of supernova ejecta enriched superbubbles, the measured Be abundances are
consistent with a cosmic-ray acceleration efficiency that is in very good
agreement with the current epoch data. We also find that neither the above
cosmic-ray origin models nor a model employing low energy cosmic rays
originating from the supernovae of only very massive progenitors can account
for the Li data at values of [Fe/H] below 2.Comment: latex 19 pages, 2 tables, 10 eps figures, uses aastex.cls natbib.sty
Submitted to the Astrophysical Journa
Spallation of Iron in Black Hole Accretion Flows
In the local Galactic interstellar medium there is approximate energy
equipartition between cosmic rays, magnetic fields and radiation. If this holds
in the central regions of AGN, in particular Seyfert galaxies, then consideral
nuclear spallation of Fe occurs, resulting in enhanced abundances of the sub-Fe
elements Ti, V, Cr and Mn. These elements produce a cluster of X-ray
flourescence lines at energies just below the 6.4 keV Fe-K line. It is
suggested that the red wings on the Fe lines observed with ASCA from various
Seyfert AGN are due to the unresolved line emission from these elements. Future
observations with more sensitive X-ray instruments should resolve these lines.
The estimated gamma ray emission from nuclear deexcitation and neutral pion
production is calculated and found to be below the sensitivities of any current
instruments. However, very luminous nearby Seyferts displaying Fe lines with
red wings would have MeV continuum emission detectable by future
instruments such as GLAST.Comment: 11 pages, Latex, requires AASTEX macros, 5 postscript figures,
Astrophysical Journal in pres
Energy dependence of Ti/Fe ratio in the Galactic cosmic rays measured by the ATIC-2 experiment
Titanium is a rare, secondary nucleus among Galactic cosmic rays. Using the
Silicon matrix in the ATIC experiment, Titanium has been separated. The energy
dependence of the Ti to Fe flux ratio in the energy region from 5 GeV per
nucleon to about 500 GeV per nucleon is presented.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy Letter
Microbial Communities on Plastic Polymers in the Mediterranean Sea
Plastic particles in the ocean are typically covered with microbial biofilms, but it remains unclear whether distinct microbial communities colonize different polymer types. In this study, we analyzed microbial communities forming biofilms on floating microplastics in a bay of the island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea. Raman spectroscopy revealed that the plastic particles mainly comprised polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polystyrene (PS) of which polyethylene and polypropylene particles were typically brittle and featured cracks. Fluorescence in situ hybridization and imaging by high-resolution microscopy revealed dense microbial biofilms on the polymer surfaces. Amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene showed that the bacterial communities on all plastic types consisted mainly of the orders Flavobacteriales, Rhodobacterales, Cytophagales, Rickettsiales, Alteromonadales, Chitinophagales, and Oceanospirillales. We found significant differences in the biofilm community composition on PE compared with PP and PS (on OTU and order level), which shows that different microbial communities colonize specific polymer types. Furthermore, the sequencing data also revealed a higher relative abundance of archaeal sequences on PS in comparison with PE or PP. We furthermore found a high occurrence, up to 17% of all sequences, of different hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria on all investigated plastic types. However, their functioning in the plastic-associated biofilm and potential role in plastic degradation needs further assessment
Characterization of chemical bonding in low-k dielectric materialsfor interconnect isolation: a xas and eels study
The use of low dielectric constant materials in the on-chipinterconnect process reduces interconnect delay, power dissipation andcrosstalk noise. To achieve the requirements of the ITRS for 2007-2009minimal sidewall damage from etch, ash or cleans is required. In chemicalvapor deposited (CVD) organo-silicate glass (OSG) which are used asintermetal dielectric (IMD) materials the substitution of oxygen in SiO2by methyl groups (-CH3) reduces the permittivity significantly (from 4.0in SiO2 to 2.6-3.3 in the OSG), since the electronic polarizability islower for Si-C bonds than for Si-O bonds. However, plasma processing forresist stripping, trench etching and post-etch cleaning removes C and Hcontaining molecular groups from the near-surface layer of OSG.Therefore, compositional analysis and chemical bonding characterizationof structured IMD films with nanometer resolution is necessary forprocess optimization. OSG thin films as-deposited and after plasmatreatment are studied using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) andelectron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). In both techniques, the finestructure near the C1s absorption or energy loss edge, respectively,allows to identify C-H, C-C, and C-O bonds. This gives the opportunity todifferentiate between individual low-k materials and their modifications.The O1s signal is less selective to individual bonds. XAS spectra havebeen recorded for non-patterned films and EELS spectra for patternedstructures. The chemical bonding is compared for as-deposited andplasma-treated low-k materials. The Fluorescence Yield (FY) and the TotalElectron Yield (TEY) recorded while XAS measurement are compared.Examination of the C 1s near-edge structures reveal a modified bonding ofthe remaining C atoms in the plasma-treated sample regions
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Overview of mathematical approaches used to model bacterial chemotaxis I: the single cell
Mathematical modeling of bacterial chemotaxis systems has been influential and insightful in helping to understand experimental observations. We provide here a comprehensive overview of the range of mathematical approaches used for modeling, within a single bacterium, chemotactic processes caused by changes to external gradients in its environment. Specific areas of the bacterial system which have been studied and modeled are discussed in detail, including the modeling of adaptation in response to attractant gradients, the intracellular phosphorylation cascade, membrane receptor clustering, and spatial modeling of intracellular protein signal transduction. The importance of producing robust models that address adaptation, gain, and sensitivity are also discussed. This review highlights that while mathematical modeling has aided in understanding bacterial chemotaxis on the individual cell scale and guiding experimental design, no single model succeeds in robustly describing all of the basic elements of the cell. We conclude by discussing the importance of this and the future of modeling in this area
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