Collective effects in charge transfer within a hybrid organic-inorganic system

A collective electron transfer (ET) process was discovered by studying the current noise in a field effect transistor with light-sensitive gate formed by nanocrystals linked by organic molecules to its surface. Fluctuations in the ET through the organic linker are reflected in the fluctuations of the transistor conductivity. The current noise has an avalanche character. Critical exponents obtained from the noise power spectra, avalanche distributions, and the dependence of the average avalanche size on avalanche duration are consistent with each other. A plausible model is proposed for this phenomenonComment: 15 pages 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Classical versus Quantum Structure of the Scattering Probability Matrix. Chaotic wave-guides

The purely classical counterpart of the Scattering Probability Matrix (SPM) $\mid S_{n,m}\mid^2$ of the quantum scattering matrix $S$ is defined for 2D quantum waveguides for an arbitrary number of propagating modes $M$. We compare the quantum and classical structures of $\mid S_{n,m}\mid^2$ for a waveguide with generic Hamiltonian chaos. It is shown that even for a moderate number of channels, knowledge of the classical structure of the SPM allows us to predict the global structure of the quantum one and, hence, understand important quantum transport properties of waveguides in terms of purely classical dynamics. It is also shown that the SPM, being an intensity measure, can give additional dynamical information to that obtained by the Poincar\`{e} maps.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure

Urbanization impacts on the climate in Europe: Numerical experiments by the PSU-NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5)

The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of urban land on the climate in Europe on local and regional scales. Effects of urban land cover on the climate are isolated using the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University-National Center for Atmospheric Research (PSU-NCAR) Mesoscale Model (MM5) with a modified land surface scheme based on the Town Energy Budget model. Two model scenarios represent responses of climate to different states of urbanization in Europe: 1) no urban areas and 2) urban land in the actual state in the beginning of the twenty-first century. By comparing the simulations of these contrasting scenarios, spatial differences in near-surface temperature and precipitation are quantified. Simulated near-surface temperatures and an urban heat island for January and July over a period of 6 yr (2000-05) agree well with corresponding measurements at selected urban areas. The conversion of rural to urban land results in statistically significant changes to precipitation and near-surface temperature over areas of the land cover perturbations. The diurnal temperature range in urbanized regions was reduced on average by 1.26 degrees +/- 0.71 degrees C in summer and by 0.73 degrees +/- 00.54 degrees C in winter. Inclusion of urban areas results in an increase of urban precipitation in winter (0.09 +/- 00.16 mm day(-1)) and a precipitation reduction in summer (-0.05 +/- 0.22 mm day(-1)). [References: 49

Microstructure and pinning properties of hexagonal-disc shaped single crystalline MgB2

We synthesized hexagonal-disc-shaped MgB2 single crystals under high-pressure conditions and analyzed the microstructure and pinning properties. The lattice constants and the Laue pattern of the crystals from X-ray micro-diffraction showed the crystal symmetry of MgB2. A thorough crystallographic mapping within a single crystal showed that the edge and c-axis of hexagonal-disc shape exactly matched the (10-10) and the (0001) directions of the MgB2 phase. Thus, these well-shaped single crystals may be the best candidates for studying the direction dependences of the physical properties. The magnetization curve and the magnetic hysteresis for these single crystals showed the existence of a wide reversible region and weak pinning properties, which supported our single crystals being very clean.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. submitted to Phys. Rev.

Escape from a metastable well under a time-ramped force

Thermally activated escape of an over-damped particle from a metastable well under the action of a time-ramped force is studied. We express the mean first passage time (MFPT) as the solution to a partial differential equation, which we solve numerically for a model case. We discuss two approximations of the MFPT, one of which works remarkably well over a wide range of loading rates, while the second is easy to calculate and can provide a valuable first estimate.Comment: 9 pages, including 2 figure

Prominent bulk pinning effect in the MgB_2 superconductor

We report the magnetic-field dependence of the irreversible magnetization of the recently discovered binary superconductor MgB$_{2}$. For the temperature region of $T< 0.9T_c$, the contribution of the bulk pinning to the magnetization overwhelms that of the surface pinning. This was evident from the fact that the magnetization curves, $M(H)$, were well described by the critical-state model without considering the surface pinning effect. It was also found that the $M(H)$ curves at various temperatures scaled when the field and the magnetization were normalized by the characteristic scaling factors $H^\ast(T)$ and $M^\ast(T)$, respectively. This feature suggests that the pinning mechanism determining the hysteresis in $M(H)$ is unique below $T=T_c$.Comment: 4pages and 4 figures. Phys. Rev. B (accepted

Substitution for Cu in the electron-doped infinite-layer superconductor Sr0.9La0.1CuO2, Ni reduces Tc much faster than Zn

We report on the effect of substitution for Cu on Tc of electron-doped infinite-layer superconductors Sr0.9La0.1Cu1-xRxO2, R = Zn and Ni. We found that Tc was nearly constant until x = 0.03 for R = Zn, while superconductivity was nearly suppressed for x = 0.02 with dTc/dx = 20 K/% for R = Ni. This behavior is very similar to that of conventional superconductors. These findings are discussed in terms of the superconducting gap symmetry in the cuprate superconductors including another electron-doped superconductor, (Nd,Ce)2CuO4-y.Comment: 5 pages and 2 EPS figures, [email protected] for material reques

Fluctuation Study of the Specific Heat of MgB2

The specific heat of polycrystalline Mg$^{11}$B$_{2}$ has been measured with high resolution ac calorimetry from 5 to 45 K at constant magnetic fields. The excess specific heat above T$_{c}$ is discussed in terms of Gaussian fluctuations and suggests that Mg$^{11}$B$_{2}$ is a bulk superconductor with Ginzburg-Landau coherence length $\xi_{0}=26$ \AA . The transition-width broadening in field is treated in terms of lowest-Landau-level (LLL) fluctuations. That analysis requires that $\xi_{0}=20$ \AA . The underestimate of the coherence length in field, along with deviations from 3D LLL predictions, suggest that there is an influence from the anisotropy of B$_{c2}$ between the c-axis and the a-b plane.Comment: Phys. Rev. B 66, 134515 (2002

`In pursuit of the Nazi mind?' the deployment of psychoanalysis in the allied struggle against Germany

This paper discusses how psychoanalytic ideas were brought to bear in the Allied struggle against the Third Reich and explores some of the claims that were made about this endeavour. It shows how a variety of studies of Fascist psychopathology, centred on the concept of superego, were mobilized in military intelligence, post-war planning and policy recommendations for ‘denazification’. Freud's ideas were sometimes championed by particular army doctors and government planners; at other times they were combined with, or displaced by, competing, psychiatric and psychological forms of treatment and diverse studies of the Fascist ‘personality’. This is illustrated through a discussion of the treatment and interpretation of the deputy leader of the Nazi Party, Rudolf Hess, after his arrival in Britain in 1941