6,031 research outputs found
Possible indicators for low dimensional superconductivity in the quasi-1D carbide Sc3CoC4
The transition metal carbide Sc3CoC4 consists of a quasi-one-dimensional (1D)
structure with [CoC4]_{\inft} polyanionic chains embedded in a scandium
matrix. At ambient temperatures Sc3CoC4 displays metallic behavior. At lower
temperatures, however, charge density wave formation has been observed around
143K which is followed by a structural phase transition at 72K. Below T^onset_c
= 4.5K the polycrystalline sample becomes superconductive. From Hc1(0) and
Hc2(0) values we could estimate the London penetration depth ({\lambda}_L ~=
9750 Angstroem) and the Ginsburg-Landau (GL) coherence length ({\xi}_GL ~= 187
Angstroem). The resulting GL-parameter ({\kappa} ~= 52) classifies Sc3CoC4 as a
type II superconductor. Here we compare the puzzling superconducting features
of Sc3CoC4, such as the unusual temperature dependence i) of the specific heat
anomaly and ii) of the upper critical field H_c2(T) at T_c, and iii) the
magnetic hysteresis curve, with various related low dimensional
superconductors: e.g., the quasi-1D superconductor (SN)_x or the 2D
transition-metal dichalcogenides. Our results identify Sc3CoC4 as a new
candidate for a quasi-1D superconductor.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Time-resolved spectroscopy of the excited electronic state of reaction centers of Rhodopseudomonas viridis
The spectral properties of the excited electronic state of the reaction centers of Rhodopseudomonas (Rps.) viridis are studied by dichroic transient absorption spectroscopy with sub-picosecond time resolution. The theoretical analysis of the experimental results allows the assignment of the transient absorption from two dimer bands of the special pair and show its excitonic coupling to other pigments
Distributions of inherent structure energies during aging
We perform extensive simulations of a binary mixture Lennard-Jones system
subjected to a temperature jump in order to study the time evolution of
fluctuations during aging. Analyzing data from 1500 different aging
realizations, we calculate distributions of inherent structure energies for
different aging times and contrast them with equilibrium. We find that the
distributions initially become narrower and then widen as the system
equilibrates. For deep quenches, fluctuations in the glassy system differ
significantly from those observed in equilibrium. Simulation results are
partially captured by theoretical predictions only when the final temperature
is higher than the mode coupling temperature.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Thermoelectric properties of Zn_5Sb_4In_(2-δ)(δ=0.15)
The polymorphic intermetallic compound Zn_5Sb_4In_(2−δ) (δ = 0.15(3)) shows promising thermoelectric properties at low temperatures, approaching a figure of merit ZT of 0.3 at 300 K. However, thermopower and electrical resistivity changes discontinuously at around 220 K. Measurement of the specific heat locates the previously unknown temperature of the order-disorder phase transition at around 180 K. Investigation of the charge carrier concentration and mobility by Hall measurements and infrared reflection spectroscopy indicate a mixed conduction behavior and the activation of charge carriers at temperatures above 220 K. Zn_5Sb_4In_(2−δ) has a low thermal stability, and at temperatures above 470 K samples decompose into a mixture of Zn, InSb, and Zn_4Sb_3
Kovacs effects in an aging molecular liquid
We study by means of molecular dynamics simulations the aging behavior of a
molecular model of ortho-terphenyl. We find evidence of a a non-monotonic
evolution of the volume during an isothermal-isobaric equilibration process, a
phenomenon known in polymeric systems as Kovacs effect. We characterize this
phenomenology in terms of landscape properties, providing evidence that, far
from equilibrium, the system explores region of the potential energy landscape
distinct from the one explored in thermal equilibrium. We discuss the relevance
of our findings for the present understanding of the thermodynamics of the
glass state.Comment: RevTeX 4, 4 pages, 5 eps figure
Critical points in a relativistic bosonic gas induced by the quantum structure of spacetime
It is well known that phase transitions arise if the interaction among
particles embodies an attractive as well as a repulsive contribution. In this
work it will be shown that the breakdown of Lorentz symmetry, characterized
through a deformation in the relation dispersion, plus the bosonic statistics
predict the emergence of critical points. In other words, in some quantum
gravity models the structure of spacetime implies the emergence of critical
points even when no interaction among the particle has been considered.Comment: 5 pages, no figure
Spontaneous breaking of spatial and spin symmetry in spinor condensates
Parametric amplification of quantum fluctuations constitutes a fundamental
mechanism for spontaneous symmetry breaking. In our experiments, a spinor
condensate acts as a parametric amplifier of spin modes, resulting in a twofold
spontaneous breaking of spatial and spin symmetry in the amplified clouds. Our
experiments permit a precise analysis of the amplification in specific spatial
Bessel-like modes, allowing for the detailed understanding of the double
symmetry breaking. On resonances that create vortex-antivortex superpositions,
we show that the cylindrical spatial symmetry is spontaneously broken, but
phase squeezing prevents spin-symmetry breaking. If, however, nondegenerate
spin modes contribute to the amplification, quantum interferences lead to
spin-dependent density profiles and hence spontaneously-formed patterns in the
longitudinal magnetization.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Gauge symmetric delta(1232) couplings and the radiative muon capture in hydrogen
Using the difference between the gauge symmetric and standard pi-N-delta
couplings, a contact pi-pi-N-N term, quadratic in the pi-N-delta coupling, is
explicitly constructed. Besides, a contribution from the delta excitation
mechanism to the photon spectrum for the radiative muon capture in hydrogen is
derived from the gauge symmetric pi-N-delta and gamma-N-delta couplings. It is
shown for the photon spectrum, studied recently experimentally, that the new
spectrum is for the photon momentums k > 60 MeV by 4-10 % smaller than the one
obtained from standardly used couplings with the on-shell deltas.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
Generalized polarizabilities and the spin-averaged amplitude in virtual Compton scattering off the nucleon
We discuss the low-energy behavior of the spin-averaged amplitude of virtual
Compton scattering (VCS) off a nucleon.
Based on gauge invariance, Lorentz invariance and the discrete symmetries, it
is shown that to first order in the frequency of the final real photon only two
generalized polarizabilities appear.
Different low-energy expansion schemes are discussed and put into
perspective.Comment: 13 pages, 1 postscript figure, Revtex using eps
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