991 research outputs found
Fate of the Bose insulator in the limit of strong localization and low Cooper-pair density in ultrathin films
A Bose insulator composed of a low density of strongly localized Cooper pairs develops at the two-dimensional superconductor to insulator transition (SIT) in a number of thin film systems. Investigations of ultrathin amorphous PbBi films far from the SIT described here provide evidence that the Bose insulator gives way to a second insulating phase with decreasing film thickness. At a critical film thickness dc the magnetoresistance changes sign from positive, as expected for boson transport, to negative, as expected for fermion transport, signs of local Cooper-pair phase coherence effects on transport vanish, and the transport activation energy exhibits a kink. Below dc pairing fluctuation effects remain visible in the high-temperature transport while the activation energy continues to rise. These features show that Cooper pairing persists and suggest that the localized unpaired electron states involved in transport are interspersed among regions of strongly localized Cooper pairs in this strongly localized, low Cooper-pair density phase
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MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES AMONG ETHNIC MINORITIES COLLEGE STUDENTS
This research study explored the challenges of mental health-seeking services of college students of color in the San Bernardino area. College students of different ethnicities have unique needs and challenges that contrast with the general student population. Previous research stated that students of color deal with a greater number of unmet mental health needs and indicates a connection between mental health and attaining a college degree (Arria et al., 2013). To increase the utilization of mental health amongst students of color, this study aimed to identify the influencing factors that prevented students from help-seeking. The research design of this research study was a quantitative method approach. This research used demographic information, along with a survey. The findings of the research suggested that Latino students have a higher degree of perceived public stigma, thus presenting as a challenge for minority college students who are contemplating seeking mental health assistance. The findings of this study will assist social work practice with outreach interventions on seeking mental health services with greater cultural competence on college campuses. This study can help shape social work policy to focus on shifting how society views those receiving mental health treatment. The study contributed to the academic literature on minority student’s views of help-seeking attitudes regarding mental health
Collapse of the Cooper pair phase coherence length at a superconductor to insulator transition
We present investigations of the superconductor to insulator transition (SIT)
of uniform a-Bi films using a technique sensitive to Cooper pair phase
coherence. The films are perforated with a nanohoneycomb array of holes to form
a multiply connected geometry and subjected to a perpendicular magnetic field.
Film magnetoresistances on the superconducting side of the SIT oscillate with a
period dictated by the superconducting flux quantum and the areal hole density.
The oscillations disappear close to the SIT critical point to leave a
monotonically rising magnetoresistance that persists in the insulating phase.
These observations indicate that the Cooper pair phase coherence length, which
is infinite in the superconducting phase, collapses to a value less than the
interhole spacing at this SIT. This behavior is inconsistent with the gradual
reduction of the phase coherence length expected for a bosonic, phase
fluctuation driven SIT. This result starkly contrasts with previous
observations of oscillations persisting in the insulating phase of other films
implying that there must be at least two distinct classes of disorder tuned
SITs
Magnetic Flux Periodic Response of Nano-perforated Ultrathin Superconducting Films
We have patterned a hexagonal array of nano-scale holes into a series of
ultrathin, superconducting Bi/Sb films with transition temperatures 2.65 K
5 K. These regular perforations give the films a phase-sensitive
periodic response to an applied magnetic field. By measuring this response in
their resistive transitions, , we are able to distinguish regimes in
which fluctuations of the amplitude, both the amplitude and phase, and the
phase of the superconducting order parameter dominate the transport. The
portion of dominated by amplitude fluctuations is larger in lower
films and thus, grows with proximity to the superconductor to
insulator transition.Comment: Revised title, abstract, text, figure
Effect of Magnetic Impurities on Suppression of the Transition Temperature in Disordered Superconductors
We calculate the first-order perturbative correction to the transition
temperature in a superconductor with both non-magnetic and magnetic
impurities. We do this by first evaluating the correction to the effective
potential, , and then obtain the first-order correction to the
order parameter, , by finding the minimum of . Setting
finally allows to be evaluated. is now a function of
both the resistance per square, , a measure of the non-magnetic
disorder, and the spin-flip scattering rate, , a measure of the
magnetic disorder. We find that the effective pair-breaking rate per magnetic
impurity is virtually independent of the resistance per square of the film, in
agreement with an experiment of Chervenak and Valles. This conclusion is
supported by both the perturbative calculation, and by a non-perturbative
re-summation technique.Comment: 29 pages, 9 figure
Josephson junction array type I-V characteristics of quench-condensed ultra thin films of Bi
In this communication we report studies of d.c current-voltage (I-V)
characteristics of ultra thin films of Bi, quench condensed on single crystal
sapphire substrates at T = 15K. The hysteretic I-V characteristics are
explained using a resistively and capacitively shunted junction (RCSJ) model of
Josephson junction arrays. The Josephson coupling energy() and the
charging energy() are calculated for different thickness() values. A
low resistance state is found in the low current regime below the critical
current, . This resistance is found to have a minimum at a
particular thickness () value. Reflection High Energy Electron Diffraction
(RHEED) studies are done on these films. A distinct appearance of a diffuse
ring near is observed in the diffraction images, consistent with the
recent STM studies(Ekinci and Valles, PRL {\bf 82}(1999) 1518). These films
show an irreversible annealing when temperature is increased. The annealing
temperature () also has a maximum at the same thickness. Althoguh the
R vs T of quench condensed Bi films suggest that the films are uniform, our
results indicate that even in thick films, the order parameter is not fully
developed over the complete area of the film. These results are discussed
qualitatively.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
Weak anisotropic impurity scattering in unconventional superconductors
The effect of weak anisotropic (momentum-dependent) impurity scattering in
unconventional superconductors has been investigated. It is shown that the
anisotropic scattering can lead either to a small reduction or a small
enhancement of the isotropic pair-breaking effect. The influence of the
anisotropy of the scattering potential becomes significant for the order
parameters with large Fermi surface average values. In that case an unexpected
enhancement (up to 10%) of the critical temperature over the critical
temperature in the absence of impurities is predicted for a small impurity
concentration.Comment: 12 pages, RevTeX, 3 PostScript figure
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