The Cluster of Galaxies Abell 970

We present a dynamical analysis of the galaxy cluster Abell 970 based on a new set of radial velocities measured at ESO, Pic du Midi and Haute-Provence observatories. Our analysis indicates that this cluster has a substructure and is out of dynamical equilibrium. This conclusion is also supported by differences in the positions of the peaks of the surface density distribution and X-ray emission, as well as by the evidence of a large scale velocity gradient in the cluster. We also found a discrepancy between the masses inferred with the virial theorem and with the X-ray emission, what is expected if the galaxies and the gas inside the cluster are not in hydrostatic equilibrium. Abell 970 has a modest cooling flow, as is expected if it is out of equilibrium as suggested by Allen (1998). We propose that cooling flows may have an intermittent behavior, with phases of massive cooling flows being followed by phases without significant cooling flows after the acretion of a galaxy group massive enough to disrupt the dynamical equilibrium in the center of the clusters. A massive cooling flow will be established again, after a new equilibrium is achieved.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, submitted to A&

Berry Phase in Cuprate Superconductors

Geometrical Berry phase is recognized as having profound implications for the properties of electronic systems. Over the last decade, Berry phase has been essential to our understanding of new materials, including graphene and topological insulators. The Berry phase can be accessed via its contribution to the phase mismatch in quantum oscillation experiments, where electrons accumulate a phase as they traverse closed cyclotron orbits in momentum space. The high-temperature cuprate superconductors are a class of materials where the Berry phase is thus far unknown despite the large body of existing quantum oscillations data. In this report we present a systematic Berry phase analysis of Shubnikov - de Haas measurements on the hole-doped cuprates YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{y}$, YBa$_2$Cu$_4$O$_8$, HgBa$_2$CuO$_{4 + \delta}$, and the electron-doped cuprate Nd$_{2-x}$Ce$_x$CuO$_4$. For the hole-doped materials, a trivial Berry phase of 0 mod $2\pi$ is systematically observed whereas the electron-doped Nd$_{2-x}$Ce$_x$CuO$_4$ exhibits a significant non-zero Berry phase. These observations set constraints on the nature of the high-field normal state of the cuprates and points towards contrasting behaviour between hole-doped and electron-doped materials. We discuss this difference in light of recent developments related to charge density-wave and broken time-reversal symmetry states.Comment: new version with added supplementary informatio

The cluster of galaxies Abell 376

We present a dynamical analysis of the galaxy cluster Abell 376 based on a set of 73 velocities, most of them measured at Pic du Midi and Haute-Provence observatories and completed with data from the literature. Data on individual galaxies are presented and the accuracy of the determined velocities is discussed as well as some properties of the cluster. We obtained an improved mean redshift value z=0.0478^{+0.005}_{-0.006} and velocity dispersion sigma=852^{+120}_{-76}km/s. Our analysis indicates that inside a radius of 900h_{70}^{-1}kpc (15 arcmin) the cluster is well relaxed without any remarkable feature and the X-ray emission traces fairly well the galaxy distribution. A possible substructure is seen at 20 arcmin from the centre towards the Southwest direction, but is not confirmed by the velocity field. This SW clump is, however, kinematically bound to the main structure of Abell 376. A dense condensation of galaxies is detected at 46 arcmin (projected distance 2.6h_{70}^{-1}Mpc) from the centre towards the Northwest and analysis of the apparent luminosity distribution of its galaxies suggests that this clump is part of the large scale structure of Abell 376. X-ray spectroscopic analysis of ASCA data resulted in a temperature kT = 4.3+/-0.4 keV and metal abundance Z = 0.32+/-0.08 Z_solar. The velocity dispersion corresponding to this temperature using the T_X-sigma scaling relation is in agreement with the measured galaxies velocities.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Quantum-Classical Crossover and Apparent Metal-Insulator Transition in a Weakly Interacting 2D Fermi Liquid

We report the observation of a parallel magnetic field induced metal-insulator transition (MIT) in a high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) for which spin and localization physics most likely play no major role. The high-mobility metallic phase at low field is consistent with the established Fermi liquid transport theory including phonon scattering, whereas the insulating phase at higher field shows a large negative temperature dependence at resistances much smaller than the quantum of resistance, $h/e^2$. We argue that this observation is a direct manifestation of a quantum-classical crossover arising predominantly from the magneto-orbital coupling between the finite width of the 2DEG and the in-plane magnetic field.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Heat transport in Bi_{2+x}Sr_{2-x}CuO_{6+\delta}: departure from the Wiedemann-Franz law in the vicinity of the metal-insulator transition

We present a study of heat transport in the cuprate superconductor Bi_{2+x}Sr_{2-x}CuO_{6+\delta} at subkelvin temperatures and in magnetic fields as high as 25T. In several samples with different doping levels close to optimal, the linear-temperature term of thermal conductivity was measured both at zero-field and in presence of a magnetic field strong enough to quench superconductivity. The zero-field data yields a superconducting gap of reasonable magnitude displaying a doping dependence similar to the one reported in other families of cuprate. The normal-state data together with the results of the resistivity measurements allows us to test the Wiedemann-Franz(WF) law, the validity of which was confirmed in an overdoped sample in agreement with previous studies. In contrast, a systematic deviation from the WF law was resolved for samples displaying either a lower doping content or a higher disorder. Thus, in the vicinity of the metal-insulator cross-over, heat conduction in the zero-temperature limit appears to become significantly larger than predicted by the WF law. Possible origins of this observation are discussed.Comment: 9 pages including 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Action of Humicola lanuginosa lipase on mixed monomolecular films of tricaprylin and polyethylene glycol stearate

The hydrolysis catalyzed by Humicola lanuginosa lipase (HLL) of pure tricaprylin (TC) or stearate of polyethylene glycol 1500 (PEG-St) as well as their mixtures spread as monomolecular films were studied. The catalytic transformation of the two substrates TC or PEG-St into their respective reaction products was detected by measuring simultaneously the decrease in the film area and the surface potential using the "zero order" trough at constant surface pressure. A kinetic model describing the enzymatic hydrolysis was developed. The surface concentrations of the two substrates and their respective reaction products as well as the values of the global kinetic constants of hydrolysis were determined. The experimentally obtained global kinetic constants of the catalytic action of HLL against TC and PEG-St present in mixed monolayers of TC/PEG-St are approximately the same as in the case of pure monolayers. These obtained results give some indications that the activity of enzyme is not significantly affected by the different molecular environments in the mixed monolayers

The ESO Slice Project (ESP) galaxy redshift survey: III. The Sample

The ESO Slice Project (ESP) is a galaxy redshift survey extending over about 23 square degrees, in a region near the South Galactic Pole. The survey is ~85% complete to the limiting magnitude b_J=19.4 and consists of 3342 galaxies with redshift determination. The ESP survey is intermediate between shallow, wide angle samples and very deep, one-dimensional pencil beams; the spanned volume is ~ 5 x 10^4 Mpc^3 at the sensitivity peak (z ~ 0.1). In this paper we present the description of the observations and of the data reduction, the ESP redshift catalogue and the analysis of the quality of the velocity determinations.Comment: 10 pages, 4 encapsulated figures, uses A&A LATEX; A&A Supplements in press (June 1998 issue