203 research outputs found
Measurement of the Current-Phase Relation in Josephson Junctions Rhombi Chains
We present low temperature transport measurements in one dimensional
Josephson junctions rhombi chains. We have measured the current phase relation
of a chain of 8 rhombi. The junctions are either in the classical phase regime
with the Josephson energy much larger than the charging energy, , or in the quantum phase regime where . In the
strong Josephson coupling regime () we observe a
sawtooth-like supercurrent as a function of the phase difference over the
chain. The period of the supercurrent oscillations changes abruptly from one
flux quantum to half the flux quantum as the rhombi are
tuned in the vicinity of full frustration. The main observed features can be
understood from the complex energy ground state of the chain. For
we do observe a dramatic suppression and rounding of the
switching current dependence which we found to be consistent with the model
developed by Matveev et al.(Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 89}, 096802(2002)) for long
Josephson junctions chains.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev.
Observation of two species of vortices in the anisotropic spin-triplet superconductor
Magnetic flux structures in single crystals of the layered spin triplet
superconductor SrRuO are studied by scanning micro SQUID Force
microscopy. Vortex chains appear as the applied field is tilted along the
in-plane direction of the superconductor. The vortex chains align along the
direction of the in-plane component of the applied magnetic field. The
decoration of in-plane vortices by crossing Abrikosov vortices is observed: two
vortex orientations are apparent simultaneously, one along the layers and the
other perpendicular to the layers. The crossing vortices appear preferentially
on the in-plane vortices
Observation of vortex coalescence in the anisotropic spin-triplet superconductor SrRuO
We present direct imaging of magnetic flux structures in the anisotropic,
spin-triplet superconductor SrRuO using a scanning SQUID
microscope. Individual quantized vortices were seen at low magnetic fields.
Coalescing vortices forming flux domains were revealed at intermediate fields.
Based on our observations we suggest that a mechanism intrinsic to the material
stabilizes the flux domains against the repulsive vortex-vortex interaction.
Topological defects like domain walls can provide this, implying proof for
unconventional chiral superconductivity.Comment: submitted to PR
Nanoscale structuring of tungsten tip yields most coherent electron point-source
This report demonstrates the most spatially-coherent electron source ever
reported. A coherence angle of 14.3 +/- 0.5 degrees was measured, indicating a
virtual source size of 1.7 +/-0.6 Angstrom using an extraction voltage of 89.5
V. The nanotips under study were crafted using a spatially-confined,
field-assisted nitrogen etch which removes material from the periphery of the
tip apex resulting in a sharp, tungsten-nitride stabilized, high-aspect ratio
source. The coherence properties are deduced from holographic measurements in a
low-energy electron point source microscope with a carbon nanotube bundle as
sample. Using the virtual source size and emission current the brightness
normalized to 100 kV is found to be 7.9x10^8 A/sr cm^2
Novel features in the flux-flow resistivity of the heavy fermion superconductor PrOsSb
We have investigated the electrical resistivity of the heavy fermion
superconductor PrOsSb in the mixed state. We found unusual double
minima in the flux-flow resistivity as a function of magnetic field below the
upper critical field for the first time, indicating double peaks in the pinning
force density (). Estimated at the peak exhibits
apparent dependence on applied field direction; composed of two-fold and
four-fold symmetries mimicking the reported angular dependence of thermal
conductivity (). The result is discussed in correlation with the double
step superconducting (SC) transition in the specific heat and the multiple
SC-phases inferred from the angular dependence of .Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, to appear in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. Vol. 74, No. 6 or
Surface superconductivity and in UPt
Surface superconductivity is studied within Ginzburg-Landau theory for two
classes of models for the order parameter of UPt. The first class assumes
two independent one-dimensional order parameters ( models), while the
second assumes a single two-dimensional order parameter ( models).
is calculated for all cases where the surface normal and magnetic field lie
along high symmetry directions. Assuming specular reflection, it is found that
except when , the ratio is either
unity or equals its `s-wave' value 1.695, although the precise vs.
curve predicted by the and models differs for various geometries. The
results are compared with recent experiments, and predictions are made for
future experiments.Comment: 26 pages, with 6 figure
model of superconducting UPt
The phase diagram of superconducting UPt is explained in a
Ginzburg-Landau theory starting from the hypothesis that the order parameter is
a pseudo-spin singlet which transforms according to the representation
of the point group. We show how to compute the positions of the phase
boundaries both when the applied field is in the basal plane and when it is
along the c-axis. The experimental phase diagrams as determined by longitudinal
sound velocity data can be fit using a single set of parameters. In particular
the crossing of the upper critical field curves for the two field directions
and the apparent isotropy of the phase diagram are reproduced. The former is a
result of the magnetic properties of UPt and their contribution to the free
energy in the superconducting state. The latter is a consequence of an
approximate particle-hole symmetry. Finally we extend the theory to finite
pressure and show that, in contrast to other models, the model
explains the observed pressure dependence of the phase boundaries.Comment: RevTex, 29 pages, 18 PostScript figures in a uuencoded, gzipped tar
file. PostScript version of paper, tar file of PostScript figures and
individual PostScript figures are also available via anonymous ftp at
ftp://nym.physics.wisc.edu/anonymou/papers/upt3
Superconducting proximity effect in a mesoscopic ferromagnetic wire
We present an experimental study of the transport properties of a
ferromagnetic metallic wire (Co) in metallic contact with a superconductor
(Al). As the temperature is decreased below the Al superconducting transition,
the Co resistance exhibits a significant dependence on both temperature and
voltage. The differential resistance data show that the decay length for the
proximity effect is much larger than we would simply expect from the exchange
field of the ferromagnet.Comment: 4 pages, 6 included epsf figures, published version with small
change
Detailed study of the ac susceptibility of Sr2RuO4 in oriented magnetic fields
We have investigated the ac susceptibility of the spin triplet superconductor
SrRuO as a function of magnetic field in various directions at
temperatures down to 60 mK. We have focused on the in-plane field configuration
(polar angle ), which is a prerequisite for inducing
multiple superconducting phases in SrRuO. We have found that the
previous attribution of a pronounced feature in the ac susceptibility to the
second superconducting transition itself is not in accord with recent
measurements of the thermal conductivity or of the specific heat. We propose
that the pronounced feature is a consequence of additional involvement of
vortex pinning originating from the second superconducting transition.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Point contact spectroscopy of the electron-doped cuprate superconductor Pr{2-x}Ce{x}CuO4: The dependence of conductance-voltage spectra on cerium doping, barrier strength and magnetic field
We present conductance-voltage (G-V) data for point contact junctions between
a normal metal and the electron doped cuprate superconductor Pr{2-x}Ce{x}CuO4
(PCCO). We observe a zero bias conductance peak (ZBCP) for the under-doped
composition of this cuprate (x=0.13) which is consistent with d-wave pairing
symmetry. For optimally-doped (x=0.15) and over-doped (x=0.17) PCCO, we find
that the G-V characteristics indicate the presence of an order parameter
without nodes. We investigate this further by obtaining point contact
spectroscopy data for different barrier strengths and as a function of magnetic
field.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure
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