Processing and properties of Ag-clad BSCCO superconductors

Long lengths of mono- and multifilament Ag-clad BSCCO (Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O) conductors with critical current densities of >10{sup 4} A/cm{sup 2} at 77 K were fabricated by the powder-in-tube method. {Tc} magnets were assembled by stacking pancake coils fabricated from long tapes and then tested vs applied magnetic field at various temperatures. A magnet that contained {approx}2400 m of {Tc} conductor generated a field of 3.2 T at 4.2 K. In-situ tensile and bending properties of the Ag-clad conductors were studied. Multilayer Ag/superconductor composites were fabricated by chemical etching. Preliminary results with multilayer tapes show that continuous Ag reinforcement of the BSCCO core improves strain tolerance of the tapes so they can carry 90% of their initial I{sub c} at 1% bend strain desite a higher superconductor/Ag ratio than that of unreinforced tapes

Processing and properties of long-lengths of Ag-clad BSCCO superconductors and high-{Tc} magnets

Long lengths of Ag-clad mono and multicore BSCCO tapes were fabricated by the powder-in-tube technique. The critical current density (J{sub c}) of 125-m-long monocore tapes was {approx}12,000 A/cm{sup 2} (critical current, I{sub c} 20 A) at 77 K. A 230-m-long 37-filament tape carried an I{sub c} of 14 A (corresponding to a J{sub c} of {approx}10,000 A/cm{sup 2}). Pancake-shaped coils were formed from long-length conductors by the wind-and-react approach. High-T{sub c} magnets were then assembled by stacking the pancake coils and connecting them in series. The magnets were tested as a function of applied magnetic fields at 4.2, 27, 64, and 77 K. A magnet containing 480 m of high-{Tc} tape generated a record-high field of 2.6 T at 4.2 K. Another magnet assembled with {approx}770 m of tape generated a field of {approx}1 T at 4.2 K and {approx}0.6 T at 27 K, both in an applied background field of {approx}20 T. Strain tolerance of high-{Tc} tapes was evaluated by measuring J{sub c} retention as a function of applied strain in an 0.5 T applied field at 77 K

A Note on Conserved Charges of Asymptotically Flat and Anti-de Sitter Spaces in Arbitrary Dimensions

The calculation of conserved charges of black holes is a rich problem, for which many methods are known. Until recently, there was some controversy on the proper definition of conserved charges in asymptotically anti-de Sitter (AdS) spaces in arbitrary dimensions. This paper provides a systematic and explicit Hamiltonian derivation of the energy and the angular momenta of both asymptotically flat and asymptotically AdS spacetimes in any dimension D bigger or equal to 4. This requires as a first step a precise determination of the asymptotic conditions of the metric and of its conjugate momentum. These conditions happen to be achieved in ellipsoidal coordinates adapted to the rotating solutions.The asymptotic symmetry algebra is found to be isomorphic either to the Poincare algebra or to the so(D-1, 2) algebra, as expected. In the asymptotically flat case, the boundary conditions involve a generalization of the parity conditions, introduced by Regge and Teitelboim, which are necessary to make the angular momenta finite. The charges are explicitly computed for Kerr and Kerr-AdS black holes for arbitrary D and they are shown to be in agreement with thermodynamical arguments.Comment: 27 pages; v2 : references added, minor corrections; v3 : replaced to match published version forthcoming in General Relativity and Gravitatio

Gravitational Lensing by Black Holes

We review the theoretical aspects of gravitational lensing by black holes, and discuss the perspectives for realistic observations. We will first treat lensing by spherically symmetric black holes, in which the formation of infinite sequences of higher order images emerges in the clearest way. We will then consider the effects of the spin of the black hole, with the formation of giant higher order caustics and multiple images. Finally, we will consider the perspectives for observations of black hole lensing, from the detection of secondary images of stellar sources and spots on the accretion disk to the interpretation of iron K-lines and direct imaging of the shadow of the black hole.Comment: Invited article for the GRG special issue on lensing (P. Jetzer, Y. Mellier and V. Perlick Eds.). 31 pages, 12 figure

Approximate Bisimulations for Sodium Channel Dynamics

Abstract. This paper shows that, in the context of the Iyer et al. 67-variable cardiac myocycte model (IMW), it is possible to replace the detailed 13-state continuous-time MDP model of the sodium-channel dy-namics, with a much simpler Hodgkin-Huxley (HH)-like two-state sodium-channel model, while only incurring a bounded approximation error. The technical basis for this result is the construction of an approximate bisim-ulation between the HH and IMW channel models, both of which are input-controlled (voltage in this case) continuous-time Markov chains. The construction of the appropriate approximate bisimulation, as well as the overall result regarding the behavior of this modified IMW model, in-volves: (1) The identification of the voltage-dependent parameters of the m and h gates in the HH-type channel, based on the observations of the IMW channel. (2) Proving that the distance between observations of the two channels never exceeds a given error. (3) Exploring the sensitivity of the overall IMW model to the HH-type sodium-channel approximation. Our extensive simulation results experimentally validate our findings, for varying IMW-type input stimuli

Energy loss due to defect formation from 206Pb recoils in SuperCDMS germanium detectors

The Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search experiment at the Soudan Underground Laboratory studied energy loss associated with defect formation in germanium crystals at mK temperatures using in situ 210Pb sources. We examine the spectrum of 206Pb nuclear recoils near its expected 103 keV endpoint energy and determine an energy loss of (6:08 ± 0:18)%, which we attribute to defect formation. From this result and using TRIM simulations, we extract the first experimentally determined average displacement threshold energy of 19.7+0.6−0.5 eV for germanium. This has implications for the analysis thresholds of future germanium-based dark matter searches

Large-scale sequencing identifies multiple genes and rare variants associated with Crohn's disease susceptibility

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified hundreds of loci associated with Crohn's disease (CD). However, as with all complex diseases, robust identification of the genes dysregulated by noncoding variants typically driving GWAS discoveries has been challenging. Here, to complement GWASs and better define actionable biological targets, we analyzed sequence data from more than 30,000 patients with CD and 80,000 population controls. We directly implicate ten genes in general onset CD for the first time to our knowledge via association to coding variation, four of which lie within established CD GWAS loci. In nine instances, a single coding variant is significantly associated, and in the tenth, ATG4C, we see additionally a significantly increased burden of very rare coding variants in CD cases. In addition to reiterating the central role of innate and adaptive immune cells as well as autophagy in CD pathogenesis, these newly associated genes highlight the emerging role of mesenchymal cells in the development and maintenance of intestinal inflammation.Large-scale sequence-based analyses identify novel risk variants and susceptibility genes for Crohn's disease, and implicate mesenchymal cell-mediated intestinal homeostasis in disease etiology.Cellular mechanisms in basic and clinical gastroenterology and hepatolog

A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation. Participants from 87 countries and regions (n = 21,644) were randomly assigned to one of two brief reappraisal interventions (reconstrual or repurposing) or one of two control conditions (active or passive). Results revealed that both reappraisal interventions (vesus both control conditions) consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions across different measures. Reconstrual and repurposing interventions had similar effects. Importantly, planned exploratory analyses indicated that reappraisal interventions did not reduce intentions to practice preventive health behaviours. The findings demonstrate the viability of creating scalable, low-cost interventions for use around the world