1,040 research outputs found
Early Permian Zircon Ages from the \u3cem\u3eP. confluens\u3c/em\u3e and \u3cem\u3eP. pseudoreticulata\u3c/em\u3e Spore-Pollen Zones in the Southern Bonaparte and Canning Basins, Northwestern Australia
The Pseudoreticulatispora confluens–P. pseudoreticulata spore-pollen zonal datum typically coincides with the end of widespread Permian glacial deposits in Western Australia. Although previously attributed to the mid-Sakmarian, chemical abrasion isotope dilution thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS) dating of zircons from volcanic tuffs in the Ditji Formation of the Bonaparte Basin and the Grant Group in the Canning Basin point to an Asselian age of about 295.25 Ma for this datum. All dated zircons from the Ditji Formation came from petroleum well cuttings but the accompanying palynology was mostly from sidewall cores; however, all Grant Group samples were from conventional core. TIMS dates from the Ditji Formation range in age from 295.2 to 292.7 Ma whereas the only productive tuff from the Grant Group yielded a 296.26 Ma date. By comparison, there are no zircon dates to constrain the onset of glacial deposition in Australia. The Bonaparte Basin ages overlap with those for the Edie Tuff (296.1–294.5 Ma) in Queensland’s Galilee Basin, approximately 2000 km to the southeast, which also lies close to the base of the P. pseudoreticulata Zone. To date the only fossil group within the P. confluens Zone in Western Australia to provide independent age control, albeit loosely, are goniatites from the northern Perth Basin (Uraloceras irwinense and Juresanites jacksoni) that have consistently been attributed to the Sakmarian; these require a reassessment of their affinity with Russian faunas and therefore to global stratotypes. The position of the Carboniferous–Permian boundary is elusive in Australia and will remain so until additional volcanic tuffs containing young datable zircons are found; however, spore-pollen and zircon dates from Namibia place this boundary within the P. confluens Zone
Failed theories of superconductivity
Almost half a century passed between the discovery of superconductivity by
Kamerlingh Onnes and the theoretical explanation of the phenomenon by Bardeen,
Cooper and Schrieffer. During the intervening years the brightest minds in
theoretical physics tried and failed to develop a microscopic understanding of
the effect. A summary of some of those unsuccessful attempts to understand
superconductivity not only demonstrates the extraordinary achievement made by
formulating the BCS theory, but also illustrates that mistakes are a natural
and healthy part of the scientific discourse, and that inapplicable, even
incorrect theories can turn out to be interesting and inspiring.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures (typos fixed), to appear in: Bardeen Cooper and
Schrieffer: 50 YEARS, edited by Leon N Cooper and Dmitri Feldma
Interaction between ionic lattices and superconducting condensates
The interaction of the ionic lattice with the superconducting condensate is
treated in terms of the electrostatic force in superconductors. It is shown
that this force is similar but not identical to the force suggested by the
volume difference of the normal and superconducting states. The BCS theory
shows larger deviations than the two-fluid model.Comment: 6 pages no figure
Electrostatic potential in a superconductor
The electrostatic potential in a superconductor is studied. To this end
Bardeen's extension of the Ginzburg-Landau theory to low temperatures is used
to derive three Ginzburg-Landau equations - the Maxwell equation for the vector
potential, the Schroedinger equation for the wave function and the Poisson
equation for the electrostatic potential. The electrostatic and the
thermodynamic potential compensate each other to a great extent resulting into
an effective potential acting on the superconducting condensate. For the
Abrikosov vortex lattice in Niobium, numerical solutions are presented and the
different contributions to the electrostatic potential and the related charge
distribution are discussed.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figure
Kinetic Inductance and Penetration Depth of Thin Superconducting Films Measured by THz Pulse Spectroscopy
We measure the transmission of THz pulses through thin films of YBCO at
temperatures between 10K and 300K. The pulses possess a useable bandwidth
extending from 0.1 -- 1.5 THz (3.3 cm^-1 -- 50 cm^-1). Below T_c we observe
pulse reshaping caused by the kinetic inductance of the superconducting charge
carriers. From transmission data, we extract values of the London penetration
depth as a function of temperature, and find that it agrees well with a
functional form (\lambda(0)/\lambda(T))^2 = 1 - (T/T_c)^{\alpha}, where
\lambda(0) = 148 nm, and \alpha = 2. *****Figures available upon request*****Comment: 7 Pages, LaTe
Anomalous Behavior Of The Complex Conductivity Of Y_{1-x}Pr_xBa_2Cu_3O_7 Observed With THz Spectroscopy
We have measured the electrodynamic properties of Y_{1-x}Pr_xBa_2Cu_3O_7
single crystal thin films as a function of temperature using coherent
THz-time-domain spectroscopy. We obtain directly the complex conductivity
, the London penetration depth , the
plasma frequency , and the quasiparticle scattering rate . We
find that drops exponentially rapidly with below the critical
temperature in {\em all} the superconducting samples, implying that this
behavior is a {\em signature} of high- superconductivity. The plasma
frequency decreases with increasing Pr content, providing evidence that Pr
depletes carriers, leaving the CuO planes {\em underdoped}. Both the
conductivity in the THz region and the dc resistivity yield evidence for the
opening of a spin gap {\em above} .Comment: 9 pages, REVTEX 3.
Strong-coupling expansions for the anharmonic Holstein model and for the Holstein-Hubbard model
A strong-coupling expansion is applied to the anharmonic Holstein model and
to the Holstein-Hubbard model through fourth order in the hopping matrix
element. Mean-field theory is then employed to determine transition
temperatures of the effective (pseudospin) Hamiltonian. We find that anharmonic
effects are not easily mimicked by an on-site Coulomb repulsion, and that
anharmonicity strongly favors superconductivity relative to charge-density-wave
order. Surprisingly, the phase diagram is strongly modified by relatively small
values of the anharmonicity.Comment: 34 pages, typeset in ReVTeX, 11 encapsulated postscript files
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