2,193 research outputs found
Field-tuned quantum critical point of antiferromagnetic metals
A magnetic field applied to a three-dimensional antiferromagnetic metal can
destroy the long-range order and thereby induce a quantum critical point. Such
field-induced quantum critical behavior is the focus of many recent
experiments. We investigate theoretically the quantum critical behavior of
clean antiferromagnetic metals subject to a static, spatially uniform external
magnetic field. The external field does not only suppress (or induce in some
systems) antiferromagnetism but also influences the dynamics of the order
parameter by inducing spin precession. This leads to an exactly marginal
correction to spin-fluctuation theory. We investigate how the interplay of
precession and damping determines the specific heat, magnetization,
magnetocaloric effect, susceptibility and scattering rates. We point out that
the precession can change the sign of the leading \sqrt{T} correction to the
specific heat coefficient c(T)/T and can induce a characteristic maximum in
c(T)/T for certain parameters. We argue that the susceptibility \chi =\partial
M/\partial B is the thermodynamic quantity which shows the most significant
change upon approaching the quantum critical point and which gives experimental
access to the (dangerously irrelevant) spin-spin interactions.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure
Radiation tolerance studies of silicon microstrip sensors for the CBM Silicon Tracking System
Double-sided silicon microstrip sensors will be used in the Silicon Tracking System of the CBM experiment. During experimental run they will be exposed to a radiation field of up to 1x1014 1 MeV neq cm-2. Radiation tolerance studies were made on prototypes from two different vendors. Results from these prototype detectors before and after irradiation to twice that neutron fluence are discussed
Plasma membrane deformation by circular arrays of ESCRT-III protein filaments
Endosomal sorting complex required for transport III (ESCRT-III) proteins function in multivesicular body biogenesis and viral budding. They are recruited from the cytoplasm to the membrane, where they assemble into large complexes. We used âdeep-etchâ electron microscopy to examine polymers formed by the ESCRT-III proteins hSnf7-1 (CHMP4A) and hSnf7-2 (CHMP4B). When overexpressed, these proteins target to endosomes and the plasma membrane. Both hSnf7 proteins assemble into regular approximately 5-nm filaments that curve and self-associate to create circular arrays. Binding to a coexpressed adenosine triphosphate hydrolysisâdeficient mutant of VPS4B draws these filaments together into tight circular scaffolds that bend the membrane away from the cytoplasm to form buds and tubules protruding from the cell surface. Similar buds develop in the absence of mutant VPS4B when hSnf7-1 is expressed without its regulatory C-terminal domain. We demonstrate that hSnf7 proteins form novel membrane-attached filaments that can promote or stabilize negative curvature and outward budding. We suggest that ESCRT-III polymers delineate and help generate the luminal vesicles of multivesicular bodies
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