8,315 research outputs found
Proposal for an Experiment to Test a Theory of High Temperature Superconductors
A theory for the phenomena observed in Copper-Oxide based high temperature
superconducting materials derives an elusive time-reversal and rotational
symmetry breaking order parameter for the observed pseudogap phase ending at a
quantum-critical point near the composition for the highest . An
experiment is proposed to observe such a symmetry breaking. It is shown that
Angle-resolved Photoemission yields a current density which is different for
left and right circularly polarized photons. The magnitude of the effect and
its momentum dependence is estimated. Barring the presence of domains of the
predicted phase an asymmetry of about 0.1 is predicted at low temperatures in
moderately underdoped samples.Comment: latex, 2 figure
Direct measurement of the electron density of extended femtosecond laser pulse-induced filaments
We present direct time- and space- resolved measurements of the electron
density of femtosecond laser pulse-induced plasma filaments. The dominant
nonlinearity responsible for extended atmospheric filaments is shown to be
field-induced rotation of air molecules.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure
Spontaneous time reversal symmetry breaking in the pseudogap state of high-Tc superconductors
When matter undergoes a phase transition from one state to another, usually a
change in symmetry is observed, as some of the symmetries exhibited are said to
be spontaneously broken. The superconducting phase transition in the underdoped
high-Tc superconductors is rather unusual, in that it is not a mean-field
transition as other superconducting transitions are. Instead, it is observed
that a pseudo-gap in the electronic excitation spectrum appears at temperatures
T* higher than Tc, while phase coherence, and superconductivity, are
established at Tc (Refs. 1, 2). One would then wish to understand if T* is just
a crossover, controlled by fluctuations in order which will set in at the lower
Tc (Refs. 3, 4), or whether some symmetry is spontaneously broken at T* (Refs.
5-10). Here, using angle-resolved photoemission with circularly polarized
light, we find that, in the pseudogap state, left-circularly polarized photons
give a different photocurrent than right-circularly polarized photons, and
therefore the state below T* is rather unusual, in that it breaks time reversal
symmetry11. This observation of a phase transition at T* provides the answer to
a major mystery of the phase diagram of the cuprates. The appearance of the
anomalies below T* must be related to the order parameter that sets in at this
characteristic temperature .Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Collective Modes in the Loop Current Ordered Phase of Cuprates
Recently two branches of weakly dispersive collective modes have been
discovered in under-doped cuprates by inelastic neutron scattering.
Polarization analysis reveals that the modes are magnetic excitations. They are
only visible for temperatures below the transition temperature to a broken
symmetry phase which was discovered earlier and their intensity increases as
temperature is further decreased. The broken symmetry phase itself has
symmetries consistent with ordering of orbital current loops within a unit-cell
without breaking translational symmetry. In order to calculate the collective
modes of such a state we add quantum terms to the Ashkin-Teller (AT) model with
which the classical loop current order has been described. We derive that the
mean field ground state of the quantum model is a product over all unit-cells
of linear combination of the four possible classical configurations of the loop
current order in each unit-cell. The collective modes are calculated by using a
generalized Holstein-Primakoff boson representation of orbital moment operators
and lead to three branches of gapped weakly dispersive collective modes. The
experimental results are consistent with the two lower energy branches; the
third mode is at a higher energy than looked for by present neutron scattering
experiments and might also be over-damped. Implications of the discovery of the
collective modes are discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure
Performance of Electropun Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibrous Phases, Shown for the Separation of Water-Soluble Food Dyes via UTLC-Vis-ESI-MS
Research in the miniaturization of planar chromatography led to various approaches in manufacturing ultrathin-layer chromatography (UTLC) layers of reduced thickness (<50 µm) along with smaller instrumentation, as targeted in Office Chromatography. This novel concept merges 3D print & media technologies with miniaturized planar chromatography to realize an all-in-one instrument, in which all steps of UTLC are automated and integrated in the same tiny device. In this context, the development of electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber phases was investigated as well as its performance. A nanofibrous stationary phase with fiber diameters of 150–225 nm and a thickness of ca. 25 µm was manufactured. Mixtures of water-soluble food dyes were printed on it using a modified office printer, and successfully separated to illustrate the capabilities of such UTLC media. The separation took 8 min for 30 mm and was faster (up to a factor of 2) than on particulate layers. The mean hRF values ranging from 25 to 90 for the five food dyes were well spread over the migration distance, with an overall reproducibility of 7% (mean %RSD over 5 different plates for 5 dyes). The individual mean plate numbers over 5 plates ranged between 8286 and 22,885 (mean of 11,722 over all 5 dyes). The single mean resolutions RS were between 1.7 and 6.5 (for the 5 food dyes over 5 plates), with highly satisfying reproducibilities (0.3 as mean deviation of RS). Using videodensitometry, different amounts separated in parallel led to reliable linear calibrations for each dye (sdv of 3.1–9.1% for peak heights and 2.4–9.3% for peak areas). Coupling to mass spectrometry via an elution head-based interface was successfully demonstrated for such ultrathin layers, showing several advantages such as a reduced cleaning process and a minimum zone distance. All these results underline the potential of electrospun nanofibrous phases to succeed as affordable stationary phase for quantitative UTLC
Heavy-Fermions in a Transition-Metal Compound:
The recent discovery of heavy-Fermion properties in Lithium Vanadate and the
enormous difference in its properties from the properties of Lithium Titanate
as well as of the manganite compounds raise some puzzling questions about
strongly correlated Fermions. These are disscussed as well as a solution to the
puzzles provided.Comment: late
Only Fermi-Liquids are Metals
Any singular deviation from Landau Fermi-liquid theory appears to lead, for
arbitrarily small concentration of impurities coupling to a non-conserved
quantity, to a vanishing density of states at the chemical potential and
infinite resistivity as temperature approaches zero. Applications to
copper-oxide metals including the temperature dependence of the anisotropy in
resistivity, and to other cases of non Fermi-liquids are discussed.Comment: 11 pages,revtex, 1 Postscript figur
Narasimham Committee Report - Some Further Ramifications and Suggestions
This paper while agreeing with the general thrust of the Narasimham Committee Report. Calls attention to some logical corollaries of the Report and analyses some possible fallout from implementing the Report. We agree with the view that control of banking system should be under an autonomous body supervised by the RBI. However at the level of individual banks, closer scrutiny of lending procedures may be called for than is envisaged in the Report. In a freely functioning capital market the potential of government bonds is enormous, but this necessitates restructuring of the government bond market. The government bonds may then also be used as suitable hedging mechanisms by introducing options and futures trading. We recommend freeing up the operation of pension and provident fund to enable at least partial investment of such funds in risky securities. In the corporate sector, we believe that the current 2:1 debt equity norm is too high and not sustainable in the long term. We envisage that high debt levels and higher interest rates, combined with higher business risk may result in greater incidence of corporate sickness. This may call for various schemes for retrenched workers and amendment to land laws for easy exit of companies. On account of interdependencies across different policies, any sequencing of their implementation may be highly problematic. We therefore suggest a near simultaneity in the implementation of various reforms in order to build up a momentum which would be irreversible if people are to have confidence that the reforms will endure, and if we are to retain our credibility with international financial institutions.
- …