Nanowire Acting as a Superconducting Quantum Interference Device

We present the results from an experimental study of the magneto-transport of superconducting wires of amorphous Indium-Oxide, having widths in the range 40 - 120 nm. We find that, below the superconducting transition temperature, the wires exhibit clear, reproducible, oscillations in their resistance as a function of magnetic field. The oscillations are reminiscent of those which underlie the operation of a superconducting quantum interference device.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl

The Effect of Childhood Emotional Maltreatment on Romantic Relationships in Young Adulthood: A Double Mediation Model Involving Self-Criticism and Attachment

Objective: Despite growing recognition of the importance of childhood emotional maltreatment (CEM) on the development of psychopathology, very few studies have addressed its impact on adult romantic relationship functioning, particularly among otherwise relatively well-functioning individuals. In an attempt to further elucidate the mechanism underlying the negative impact of CEM on romantic relationships, we tested an integrative mediational model linking CEM to romantic relationships through the impact of CEM on the development of self-criticism and adult attachment. Recent work in this context suggests that while self-criticism concerns broad cognitive-affective schemas related to achievement and failure, attachment avoidance assesses the expression of these broad schemas in close relationships (Luyten & Blatt, 2011; Sibley & Overall, 2008, 2010). Method: This hypothesized mediational model was examined in a sample of young adult undergraduates (N = 99, 85 female), using structural equation modeling. Results: The mediational model was in large part supported. Attachment avoidance, but not attachment anxiety, fully accounted for the mediating role of self-criticism in the relationship between CEM and romantic relationship satisfaction, even when controlling for the potential role of concurrent levels of posttraumatic stress disorder severity. Conclusions: Understanding the long-term psychological dynamics related to CEM and identifying mediating vulnerability factors—self-criticism and attachment avoidance—might have implications for both the assessment and treatment of individuals with a history of CEM, particularly as effective interventions to address self-criticism and attachment issues are available

Universality in the Crossover between Edge Channel and Bulk Transport in the Quantum Hall Regime

We present a new theoretical approach for the integer quantum Hall effect, which is able to describe the inter-plateau transitions as well as the transition to the Hall insulator. We find two regimes (metallic and insulator like) of the top Landau level, in which the dissipative bulk current appears in different directions. The regimes are separated by a temperature invariant point.Comment: 4 page, 2 eps figures included, submitte

Survival probabilities in time-dependent random walks

We analyze the dynamics of random walks in which the jumping probabilities are periodic {\it time-dependent} functions. In particular, we determine the survival probability of biased walkers who are drifted towards an absorbing boundary. The typical life-time of the walkers is found to decrease with an increment of the oscillation amplitude of the jumping probabilities. We discuss the applicability of the results in the context of complex adaptive systems.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Angular dependence of the magnetic-field driven superconductor-insulator transition in thin films of amorphous indium-oxide

A significant anisotropy of the magnetic-field driven superconductor-insulator transition is observed in thin films of amorphous indium-oxide. The anisotropy is largest for more disordered films which have a lower transition field. At higher magnetic field the anisotropy reduces and even changes sign beyond a sample specific and temperature independent magnetic field value. The data are consistent with the existence of more that one mechanism affecting transport at high magnetic fields.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Survival Probabilities of History-Dependent Random Walks

We analyze the dynamics of random walks with long-term memory (binary chains with long-range correlations) in the presence of an absorbing boundary. An analytically solvable model is presented, in which a dynamical phase-transition occurs when the correlation strength parameter \mu reaches a critical value \mu_c. For strong positive correlations, \mu > \mu_c, the survival probability is asymptotically finite, whereas for \mu < \mu_c it decays as a power-law in time (chain length).Comment: 3 pages, 2 figure