1,914 research outputs found
Solvable Examples of Drift and Diffusion of Ions in Non-uniform Electric Fields
The drift and diffusion of a cloud of ions in a fluid are distorted by an
inhomogeneous electric field. If the electric field carries the center of the
distribution in a straight line and the field configuration is suitably
symmetric, the distortion can be calculated analytically. We examine the
specific examples of fields with cylindrical and spherical symmetry in detail
assuming the ion distributions to be of a generally Gaussian form. The effects
of differing diffusion coefficients in the transverse and longitudinal
directions are included
Pressure dependence of the magnetization in the ferromagnetic superconductor UGe_2
The recent discovery that superconductivity occurs in several clean itinerant
ferromagnets close to low temperature magnetic instabilities naturally invites
an interpretation based on a proximity to quantum criticality. Here we report
measurements of the pressure dependence of the low temperature magnetisation in
one of these materials, UGe_2. Our results show that both of the magnetic
transitions observed in this material as a function of pressure are first order
transitions and do not therefore correspond to quantum critical points. Further
we find that the known pressure dependence of the superconducting transition is
not reflected in the pressure dependence of the static susceptibility. This
demonstrates that the spectrum of excitations giving superconductivity is not
that normally associated with a proximity to quantum criticality in weak
itinerant ferromagnets. In contrast our data suggest that instead the pairing
spectrum might be related to a sharp spike in the electronic density of states
that also drives one of the magnetic transitions.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
A scanning drift tube apparatus for spatio-temporal mapping of electron swarms
A "scanning" drift tube apparatus, capable of mapping of the spatio-temporal
evolution of electron swarms, developing between two plane electrodes under the
effect of a homogeneous electric field, is presented. The electron swarms are
initiated by photoelectron pulses and the temporal distributions of the
electron flux are recorded while the electrode gap length (at a fixed electric
field strength) is varied. Operation of the system is tested and verified with
argon gas, the measured data are used for the evaluation of the electron bulk
drift velocity. The experimental results for the space-time maps of the
electron swarms - presented here for the first time - also allow clear
observation of deviations from hydrodynamic transport. The swarm maps are also
reproduced by particle simulations
Microscopic theories for cubic and tetrahedral superconductors: application to PrOs_4Sb_{12}
We examine weak-coupling theory for unconventional superconducting states of
cubic or tetrahedral symmetry for arbitrary order parameters and Fermi surfaces
and identify the stable states in zero applied field. We further examine the
possibility of having multiple superconducting transitions arising from the
weak breaking of a higher symmetry group to cubic or tetrahedral symmetry.
Specifically, we consider two higher symmetry groups. The first is a weak
crystal field theory in which the spin-singlet Cooper pairs have an approximate
spherical symmetry. The second is a weak spin orbit coupling theory for which
spin-triplet Cooper pairs have a cubic orbital symmetry and an approximate
spherical spin rotational symmetry. In hexagonal UPt_3, these theories easily
give rise to multiple transitions. However, we find that for cubic materials,
there is only one case in which two superconducting transitions occur within
weak coupling theory. This sequence of transitions does not agree with the
observed properties of PrOs_4Sb_{12}. Consequently, we find that to explain two
transitions in PrOs_4Sb_{12} using approximate higher symmetry groups requires
a strong coupling theory. In view of this, we finally consider a weak coupling
theory for which two singlet representations have accidentally nearly
degenerate transition temperatures (not due to any approximate symmetries). We
provide an example of such a theory that agrees with the observed properties of
PrOs_4Sb_{12}.Comment: 11 pages,1 figur
Force Dependence of the Michaelis Constant in a Two-State Ratchet Model for Molecular Motors
We present a quantitative analysis of recent data on the kinetics of ATP
hydrolysis, which has presented a puzzle regarding the load dependence of the
Michaelis constant. Within the framework of coarse grained two-state ratchet
models, our analysis not only explains the puzzling data, but provides a
modified Michaelis law, which could be useful as a guide for future
experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figures, accepted for publication on Physical Review
Letter
Deviations from the local field approximation in negative streamer heads
Negative streamer ionization fronts in nitrogen under normal conditions are
investigated both in a particle model and in a fluid model in local field
approximation. The parameter functions for the fluid model are derived from
swarm experiments in the particle model. The front structure on the inner scale
is investigated in a 1D setting, allowing reasonable run-time and memory
consumption and high numerical accuracy without introducing super-particles. If
the reduced electric field immediately before the front is >= 50kV/(cm bar),
solutions of fluid and particle model agree very well. If the field increases
up to 200kV/(cm bar), the solutions of particle and fluid model deviate, in
particular, the ionization level behind the front becomes up to 60% higher in
the particle model while the velocity is rather insensitive. Particle and fluid
model deviate because electrons with high energies do not yet fully run away
from the front, but are somewhat ahead. This leads to increasing ionization
rates in the particle model at the very tip of the front. The energy overshoot
of electrons in the leading edge of the front actually agrees quantitatively
with the energy overshoot in the leading edge of an electron swarm or avalanche
in the same electric field.Comment: The paper has 17 pages, including 15 figures and 3 table
Analytic solution of the fractional advection diffusion equation for the time-of-flight experiment in a finite geometry
A general analytic solution to the fractional advection diffusion equation is
obtained in plane parallel geometry. The result is an infinite series of
spatial Fourier modes which decay according to the Mittag-Leffler function,
which is cast into a simple closed form expression in Laplace space using the
Poisson summation theorem. An analytic expression for the current measured in a
time-of-flight experiment is derived, and the sum of the slopes of the two
respective time regimes on logarithmic axes is demonstrated to be -2, in
agreement with the well known result for a continuous time random walk model.
The sensitivity of current and particle number density to variation of
experimentally controlled parameters is investigated in general, and the
results applied to analyze selected experimental data.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
On the error term in Weyl's law for the Heisenberg manifolds (II)
In this paper we study the mean square of the error term in the Weyl's law of
an irrational -dimensional Heisenberg manifold . An asymptotic formula
is established
Coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity
A comprehensive theory is developed that describes the coexistence of p-wave,
spin-triplet superconductivity and itinerant ferromagnetism. It is shown how to
use field-theoretic techniques to derive both conventional strong-coupling
theory, and analogous gap equations for superconductivity induced by magnetic
fluctuations. It is then shown and discussed in detail that the magnetic
fluctuations are generically stronger on the ferromagnetic side of the magnetic
phase boundary, which substantially enhances the superconducting critical
temperature in the ferromagnetic phase over that in the paramagnetic one. The
resulting phase diagram is compared with the experimental observations in UGe_2
and ZrZn_2.Comment: 16 pp., REVTeX, 6 eps figs; final version as publishe
Birthweight and risk markers for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in childhood: the Child Heart and Health Study in England (CHASE).
AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Lower birthweight (a marker of fetal undernutrition) is associated with higher risks of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and could explain ethnic differences in these diseases. We examined associations between birthweight and risk markers for diabetes and CVD in UK-resident white European, South Asian and black African-Caribbean children.
METHODS: In a cross-sectional study of risk markers for diabetes and CVD in 9- to 10-year-old children of different ethnic origins, birthweight was obtained from health records and/or parental recall. Associations between birthweight and risk markers were estimated using multilevel linear regression to account for clustering in children from the same school.
RESULTS: Key data were available for 3,744 (66%) singleton study participants. In analyses adjusted for age, sex and ethnicity, birthweight was inversely associated with serum urate and positively associated with systolic BP. After additional height adjustment, lower birthweight (per 100 g) was associated with higher serum urate (0.52%; 95% CI 0.38, 0.66), fasting serum insulin (0.41%; 95% CI 0.08, 0.74), HbA1c (0.04%; 95% CI 0.00, 0.08), plasma glucose (0.06%; 95% CI 0.02, 0.10) and serum triacylglycerol (0.30%; 95% CI 0.09, 0.51) but not with BP or blood cholesterol. Birthweight was lower among children of South Asian (231 g lower; 95% CI 183, 280) and black African-Caribbean origin (81 g lower; 95% CI 30, 132). However, adjustment for birthweight had no effect on ethnic differences in risk markers.
CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Birthweight was inversely associated with urate and with insulin and glycaemia after adjustment for current height. Lower birthweight does not appear to explain emerging ethnic difference in risk markers for diabetes
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