Superconducting phase diagram of the filled skuterrudite PrOs4Sb12

We present new measurements of the specific heat of the heavy fermion superconductor PrOs4Sb12, on a sample which exhibits two sharp distinct anomalies at Tc1= 1.89K and Tc2= 1.72K. They are used to draw a precise magnetic field-temperature superconducting phase diagram of PrOs4Sb12 down to 350 mK. We discuss the superconducting phase diagram of PrOs4Sb12 and its possible relation with an unconventional superconducting order parameter. We give a detailed analysis of Hc2(T), which shows paramagnetic limitation (a support for even parity pairing) and multiband effects

Self-assembly of Nanometer-scale Magnetic Dots with Narrow Size Distributions on an Insulating Substrate

The self-assembly of iron dots on the insulating surface of NaCl(001) is investigated experimentally and theoretically. Under proper growth conditions, nanometer-scale magnetic iron dots with remarkably narrow size distributions can be achieved in the absence of a wetting layer Furthermore, both the vertical and lateral sizes of the dots can be tuned with the iron dosage without introducing apparent size broadening, even though the clustering is clearly in the strong coarsening regime. These observations are interpreted using a phenomenological mean-field theory, in which a coverage-dependent optimal dot size is selected by strain-mediated dot-dot interactions.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Fermi Surface and Anisotropic Spin-Orbit Coupling of Sb(111) studied by Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy

High-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy has been performed on Sb(111) to elucidate the origin of anomalous electronic properties in group-V semimetal surfaces. The surface was found to be metallic despite the semimetallic character of bulk. We clearly observed two surface-derived Fermi surfaces which are likely spin split, demonstrating that the spin-orbit interaction plays a dominant role in characterising the surface electronic states of group-V semimetals. Universality/disimilarity of the electronic structure in Bi and Sb is discussed in relation to the granular superconductivity, electron-phonon coupling, and surface charge/spin density wave.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. to be published in Phys. Rev. Let

Penetration depth study of LaOs4_4Sb12_{12}: Multiband s-wave superconductivity

We measured the magnetic penetration depth $\lambda(T)$ in single crystals of LaOs$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ ($T_c$=0.74 K) down to 85 mK using a tunnel diode oscillator technique. The observed low-temperature exponential dependence indicates a s-wave gap. Fitting the low temperature data to BCS s-wave expression gives the zero temperature gap value $\Delta (0)= (1.34 \pm 0.07) k_B T_c$ which is significantly smaller than the BCS value of 1.76$k_B T_c$. In addition, the normalized superfluid density $\rho(T)$ shows an unusually long suppression near $T_c$, and are best fit by a two-band s-wave model.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Hydrodynamic equations for self-propelled particles: microscopic derivation and stability analysis

Considering a gas of self-propelled particles with binary interactions, we derive the hydrodynamic equations governing the density and velocity fields from the microscopic dynamics, in the framework of the associated Boltzmann equation. Explicit expressions for the transport coefficients are given, as a function of the microscopic parameters of the model. We show that the homogeneous state with zero hydrodynamic velocity is unstable above a critical density (which depends on the microscopic parameters), signaling the onset of a collective motion. Comparison with numerical simulations on a standard model of self-propelled particles shows that the phase diagram we obtain is robust, in the sense that it depends only slightly on the precise definition of the model. While the homogeneous flow is found to be stable far from the transition line, it becomes unstable with respect to finite-wavelength perturbations close to the transition, implying a non trivial spatio-temporal structure for the resulting flow. We find solitary wave solutions of the hydrodynamic equations, quite similar to the stripes reported in direct numerical simulations of self-propelled particles.Comment: 33 pages, 11 figures, submitted to J. Phys.