Thermodynamic properties of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 calculated from the electronic dispersion

The electronic dispersion for Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+d) has been determined from angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES). From this dispersion we calculate the entropy and superfluid density. Even with no adjustable parameters we obtain an exceptional match with experimental data across the entire phase diagram, thus indirectly confirming both the ARPES and thermodynamic data. The van Hove singularity is crossed in the overdoped region giving a distinctive linear-in-T temperature dependence in the superfluid density there.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter

Pressure dependence of the oxygen isotope effect in YBa2_2Cu4_4O8_8

We have carried out measurements of the pressure dependence to 1.2 GPa of the oxygen isotope effect on $T_c$ in the high-$T_c$ superconductor YBa$_2$Cu$_4$O$_8$ using a clamp cell in a SQUID magnetometer. This compound lies close to, but just above, the 1/8$^{th}$ doping point where in La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ marked anomalies in isotope effects occur. Both isotopes show the same very large pressure dependence of $T_c$ with the result that the isotope exponent remains low ($\sim$0.08) but increases slightly with increasing pressure. This is discussed in terms of stripe suppression, a competing pseudogap and the effect of superconducting fluctuations.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Locating the pseudogap closing point in cuprate superconductors: absence of entrant or reentrant behavior

Current descriptions of the pseudogap in underdoped cuprates envision a doping-dependent transition line $T^*(p)$ which descends monotonically towards zero just beyond optimal doping. There is much debate as to the location of the terminal point $p^*$ where $T^*(p)$ vanishes, whether or not there is a phase transition at $T^*$ and exactly how $T^*(p)$ behaves below $T_c$ within the superconducting dome. One perspective sees $T^*(p)$ cutting the dome and continuing to descend monotonically to zero at $p_{crit} \approx 0.19$ holes/Cu $-$ referred to here as `entrant behavior'. Another perspective derived from photoemission studies is that $T^*(p)$ intersects the dome near $p_{crit} \approx 0.23$ holes/Cu then turns back below $T_c$, falling to zero again around $p_{crit} \approx 0.19$ $-$ referred to here as `reentrant behavior'. By examining thermodynamic data for Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$ we show that neither entrant nor reentrant behavior is experimentally supported. Rather, $p_{crit} \approx 0.19$ sharply delimits the pseudogap regime and for $p < 0.19$ the pseudogap is always present, independent of temperature. Similar results are found for Y$_{0.8}$Ca$_{0.2}$Ba$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$. For both materials $T^*(p)$ is not a temperature but a crossover scale, $\approx E^*(p)/2k_B$, reflecting instead the underlying pseudogap energy $E^*(p)$ which vanishes as $p \rightarrow 0.19$.Comment: 20 Pages, 9 Figures, in press Phys. Rev.

Using sports infrastructure to deliver economic and social change: Lessons for London beyond 2012

Over the last two decades, there has been a new trend emerging within sport, which has seen a shift, from investment for the sake of sport, to investment in sport for good (Sport England, 2008). In the context of the latter approach, there has been an emergence of the use of sport to address regeneration objectives, largely stemming from the belief of government and other sporting and non-sporting organizations, that it can confer a wide range of economic and social benefits to individuals and communities beyond those of a purely physical sporting nature, and can contribute positively to the revitalization of declining urban areas (BURA, 2003). This commentary will examine regeneration legacy in the context of the London Olympic Games. In particular, it will focus on the use of sports stadia as a tool for delivering economic and social change, and by drawing upon previous examples, suggest lessons London can learn to enhance regeneration legacies beyond 2012

Measurement of Newtonian fluid slip using a torsional ultrasonic oscillator

The composite torsional ultrasonic oscillator, a versatile experimental system, can be used to investigate slip of Newtonian fluid at a smooth surface. A rigorous analysis of slip-dependent damping for the oscillator is presented. Initially, the phenomenon of finite surface slip and the slip length are considered for a half-space of Newtonian fluid in contact with a smooth, oscillating solid surface. Definitions are revisited and clarified in light of inconsistencies in the literature. We point out that, in general oscillating flows, Navier's slip length b is a complex number. An intuitive velocity discontinuity parameter of unrestricted phase is used to describe the effect of slip on measurement of viscous shear damping. The analysis is applied to the composite oscillator and preliminary experimental work for a 40 kHz oscillator is presented. The Non-Slip Boundary Condition (NSBC) has been verified for a hydrophobic surface in water to within ~60 nm of |b|=0 nm. Experiments were carried out at shear rate amplitudes between 230 and 6800 /s, corresponding to linear displacement amplitudes between 3.2 and 96 nm.Comment: Revised with minor edits for revie

Isotope Effect in the Superfluid Density of HTS Cuprates: Stripes, Pseudogap and Impurities

Underdoped cuprates exhibit a normal-state pseudogap, and their spins and doped carriers tend to spatially separate into 1- or 2-D stripes. Some view these as central to superconductivity, others as peripheral and merely competing. Using La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$Cu$_{1-y}$Zn$_y$O$_4$ we show that an oxygen isotope effect in $T_c$ and in the superfluid density can be used to distinguish between the roles of stripes and pseudogap and also to detect the presence of impurity scattering. We conclude that stripes and pseudogap are distinct, and both compete and coexist with superconductivity.Comment: Revised submission to PRL with added appendix on a possible isotope effect in the effective mass, 4 pages, 3 figure

The superfluid density in cuprate high-Tc superconductors - a new paradigm

The doping dependence of the superfluid density, r_s, of high-Tc superconductors is usually considered in the context of the Uemura relation, namely Tc proportional to rs, which is generally assumed to apply in the underdoped regime. We show that a modified plot of Tc/Do versus rs, where Do is the maximum d-wave gap at T=0, exhibits universal features that point to an alternative interpretation of the underlying physics. In the underdoped region this plot exhibits the canonical negative curvature expected when a ground-state correlation competes with superconductivity (SC) by opening up a gap in the normal-state DOS. In particular rs is suppressed much faster than Tc/Do or indeed Tc. The pseudogap is found to strongly modify the SC ground state.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, submitted Phys. Rev. Let

LITpro: a model fitting software for optical interferometry

9 pagesInternational audienceLITpro is a software for fitting models on data obtained from various stellar optical interferometers, like the VLTI. As a baseline, for modeling the object, it provides a set of elementary geometrical and center-to-limb darkening functions, all combinable together. But it is also designed to make very easy the implementation of more specific models with their own parameters, to be able to use models closer to astrophysical considerations. So LITpro only requires the modeling functions to compute the Fourier transform of the object at given spatial frequencies, and wavelengths and time if needed. From this, LITpro computes all the necessary quantities as needed (e.g. visibilities, spectral energy distribution, partial derivatives of the model, map of the object model). The fitting engine, especially designed for this kind of optimization, is based on a modified Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm and has been successfully tested on real data in a prototype version. It includes a Trust Region Method, minimizing a heterogeneous non-linear and non-convex criterion and allows the user to set boundaries on free parameters. From a robust local minimization algorithm and a starting points strategy, a global optimization solution is effectively achieved. Tools have been developped to help users to find the global minimum. LITpro is also designed for performing fitting on heterogeneous data. It will be shown, on an example, how it fits simultaneously interferometric data and spectral energy distribution, with some benefits on the reliability of the solution and a better estimation of errors and correlations on the parameters. That is indeed necessary since present interferometric data are generally multi-wavelengths