321 research outputs found
Ionic and electronic properties of the topological insulator BiTeSe investigated using -detected nuclear magnetic relaxation and resonance of Li
We report measurements on the high temperature ionic and low temperature
electronic properties of the 3D topological insulator BiTeSe using
ion-implanted Li -detected nuclear magnetic relaxation and
resonance. With implantation energies in the range 5-28 keV, the probes
penetrate beyond the expected range of the topological surface state, but are
still within 250 nm of the surface. At temperatures above ~150 K, spin-lattice
relaxation measurements reveal isolated Li diffusion with an
activation energy eV and attempt frequency s for atomic site-to-site hopping. At lower
temperature, we find a linear Korringa-like relaxation mechanism with a field
dependent slope and intercept, which is accompanied by an anomalous field
dependence to the resonance shift. We suggest that these may be related to a
strong contribution from orbital currents or the magnetic freezeout of charge
carriers in this heavily compensated semiconductor, but that conventional
theories are unable to account for the extent of the field dependence.
Conventional NMR of the stable host nuclei may help elucidate their origin.Comment: 17 pages, 12 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Depth-resolved measurement of the Meissner screening profile in a niobium thin film from spin-lattice relaxation of the implanted -emitter Li
We report measurements of the Meissner screening profile in a Nb(300
nm)/AlO thin film using Li -detected nuclear magnetic
resonance (-NMR). The NMR probe Li was ion-implanted into the Nb
film at energies 20 keV, corresponding to mean stopping depths
comparable to Nb's magnetic penetration depth . Li's strong
dipole-dipole coupling with the host Nb nuclei provided a
"cross-relaxation" channel that dominated in low magnetic fields, which
conferred indirect sensitivity to the local magnetic field via the spin-lattice
relaxation (SLR) rate . From a fit of the data to a model
accounting for its dependence on temperature, magnetic field, and
Li implantation energy, we obtained a magnetic penetration depth
= 51.5(22) nm, consistent with a relatively short carrier
mean-free-path = 18.7(29) nm typical of similarly prepared Nb films. The
results presented here constitute an important step towards using Li
-NMR to characterize bulk Nb samples with engineered surfaces, which are
often used in the fabrication of particle accelerators.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
Ion-Implanted Li Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite
We report -detected nuclear magnetic resonance of ultra-dilute
Li implanted in highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG). The
absence of motional narrowing and diffusional spin-lattice relaxation implies
Li is not appreciably mobile up to 400 K, in sharp contrast to the highly
lithiated stage compounds. However, the relaxation is remarkably fast and
persists down to cryogenic temperatures. Ruling out extrinsic paramagnetic
impurities and intrinsic ferromagnetism, we conclude the relaxation is due to
paramagnetic centers correlated with implantation. While the resulting effects
are not consistent with a Kondo impurity, they also differ from free
paramagnetic centers, and we suggest that a resonant scattering approach may
account for much of the observed phenomenology
HSD3B1 genotype identifies glucocorticoid responsiveness in severe asthma
Asthma resistance to glucocorticoid treatment is a major health problem with unclear etiology. Glucocorticoids inhibit adrenal androgen production. However, androgens have potential benefits in asthma. HSD3B1 encodes for 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-1 (3β-HSD1), which catalyzes peripheral conversion from adrenal dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) to potent androgens and has a germline missense-encoding polymorphism. The adrenal restrictive HSD3B1(1245A) allele limits conversion, whereas the adrenal permissive HSD3B1(1245C) allele increases DHEA metabolism to potent androgens. In the Severe Asthma Research Program (SARP) III cohort, we determined the association between DHEA-sulfate and percentage predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1PP). HSD3B1(1245) genotypes were assessed, and association between adrenal restrictive and adrenal permissive alleles and FEV1PP in patients with (GC) and without (noGC) daily oral glucocorticoid treatment was determined (n = 318). Validation was performed in a second cohort (SARP I&II; n = 184). DHEA-sulfate is associated with FEV1PP and is suppressed with GC treatment. GC patients homozygous for the adrenal restrictive genotype have lower FEV1PP compared with noGC patients (54.3% vs. 75.1%; P < 0.001). In patients with the homozygous adrenal permissive genotype, there was no FEV1PP difference in GC vs. noGC patients (73.4% vs. 78.9%; P = 0.39). Results were independently confirmed: FEV1PP for homozygous adrenal restrictive genotype in GC vs. noGC is 49.8 vs. 63.4 (P < 0.001), and for homozygous adrenal permissive genotype, it is 66.7 vs. 67.7 (P = 0.92). The adrenal restrictive HSD3B1(1245) genotype is associated with GC resistance. This effect appears to be driven by GC suppression of 3β-HSD1 substrate. Our results suggest opportunities for prediction of GC resistance and pharmacologic intervention
Nuclear magnetic resonance of ion implanted Li in ZnO
We report on the stability and magnetic state of ion implanted Li in
single crystals of the semiconductor ZnO using -detected nuclear
magnetic resonance. At ultradilute concentrations, the spectra reveal distinct
Li sites from 7.6 to 400 K. Ionized shallow donor interstitial Li is stable
across the entire temperature range, confirming its ability to self-compensate
the acceptor character of its (Zn) substitutional counterpart. Above 300 K,
spin-lattice relaxation indicates the onset of correlated local motion of
interacting defects, and the spectra show a site change transition from
disordered configurations to substitutional. Like the interstitial, the
substitutional shows no resolved hyperfine splitting, indicating it is also
fully ionized above 210 K. The electric field gradient at the interstitial
Li exhibits substantial temperature dependence with a power law typical of
non-cubic metals.Comment: 15 pages and 11 figure
The White Mountain Polarimeter Telescope and an Upper Limit on CMB Polarization
The White Mountain Polarimeter (WMPol) is a dedicated ground-based microwave
telescope and receiver system for observing polarization of the Cosmic
Microwave Background. WMPol is located at an altitude of 3880 meters on a
plateau in the White Mountains of Eastern California, USA, at the Barcroft
Facility of the University of California White Mountain Research Station.
Presented here is a description of the instrument and the data collected during
April through October 2004. We set an upper limit on -mode polarization of
14 (95% confidence limit) in the multipole range
. This result was obtained with 422 hours of observations of a 3
sky area about the North Celestial Pole, using a 42 GHz
polarimeter. This upper limit is consistent with polarization predicted
from a standard -CDM concordance model.Comment: 35 pages. 12 figures. To appear in ApJ
Telomeres and the natural lifespan limit in humans
An ongoing debate in demography has focused on whether the human lifespan has a maximal natural limit. Taking a mechanistic perspective, and knowing that short telomeres are associated with diminished longevity, we examined whether telomere length dynamics during adult life could set a maximal natural lifespan limit. We define leukocyte telomere length of 5 kb as the 'telomeric brink', which denotes a high risk of imminent death. We show that a subset of adults may reach the telomeric brink within the current life expectancy and more so for a 100-year life expectancy. Thus secular trends in life expectancy should confront a biological limit due to crossing the telomeric brink
- …