388 research outputs found
Recent results on energy relaxation in disordered charge and spin density waves
We briefly review different approaches used recently to describe collective
effects in the strong pinning model of disordered charge and spin density
waves, in connection with the CRTBT very low temperature heat relaxation
experiments.Comment: 4 pages, invited talk at ECRYS-200
Quantum critical point and superconducting dome in the pressure phase diagram of o-TaS3
We measure the electrical resistance of o-TaS3 between 1K and 300K under
pressures up to 20GPa. We observe a gradual decrease of the charge density wave
transition temperature with increasing pressure P following a mean-field
quantum fluctuation power law with a quantum critical point at a pressure Pc =
11.5GPa. Around the quantum critical point we observe a superconducting dome
with a maximum superconducting transition temperature Tc = 3.1K. Such dome is
similar to superconducting domes around other types of order suggesting that
the QCP is directly responsible for the enhancement of superconductivity
through a universal mechanism still not well understood.Comment: To be published in PRB as a Rapid Communication. 11 pages with 4
figure
Slow relaxation experiments in disordered charge and spin density waves: collective dynamics of randomly distributed solitons
We show that the dynamics of disordered charge density waves (CDWs) and spin
density waves (SDWs) is a collective phenomenon. The very low temperature
specific heat relaxation experiments are characterized by: (i) ``interrupted''
ageing (meaning that there is a maximal relaxation time); and (ii) a broad
power-law spectrum of relaxation times which is the signature of a collective
phenomenon. We propose a random energy model that can reproduce these two
observations and from which it is possible to obtain an estimate of the glass
cross-over temperature (typically mK). The broad
relaxation time spectrum can also be obtained from the solutions of two
microscopic models involving randomly distributed solitons. The collective
behavior is similar to domain growth dynamics in the presence of disorder and
can be described by the dynamical renormalization group that was proposed
recently for the one dimensional random field Ising model [D.S. Fisher, P. Le
Doussal and C. Monthus, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 80}, 3539 (1998)]. The typical
relaxation time scales like . The
glass cross-over temperature related to correlations among solitons is
equal to the average energy barrier and scales like . is the concentration of defects, the correlation length of
the CDW or SDW and the charge or spin gap.Comment: 20 pages, 16 figure
Charge modulations vs. strain waves in resonant x-ray scattering
A method is described for using resonant x-ray scattering to separately
quantify the charge (valence) modulation and the strain wave associated with a
charge density wave. The essence of the method is a separation of the atomic
form factor into a "raw" amplitude, fR(w), and a valence-dependent amplitude,
fD(w), which in many cases may be determined independently from absorption
measurements. The advantage of this separation is that the strain wave follows
the quantity |fR(w) + fD(w)|^2 whereas the charge modulation follows only
|fD(w)|^2. This allows the two distinct modulations to be quantified
separately. A scheme for characterizing a given CDW as Peierls-like or
Wigner-like naturally follows. The method is illustrated for an idealized model
of a one-dimensional chain.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Characterization of the Torsional Piezoelectric-like Response of Tantalum Trisulfide Associated with Charge-Density-Wave Depinning
We have studied the frequency and voltage dependence of voltage-induced
torsional strains in orthorhombic TaS3 [V. Ya. Pokrovskii, et al, Phys. Rev.
Lett. 98, 206404 (2007)] by measuring the modulation of the resonant frequency
of an RF cavity containing the sample. The strain has an onset voltage below
the charge-density-wave (CDW) threshold voltages associated with changes in
shear compliance and resistance, suggesting that the strain is associated with
polarization of the CDW rather than CDW current. Measurements with square-wave
voltages show that the strain is very sluggish, not even reaching its dc value
at a frequency of 0.1 Hz, but the dynamics appear to be very sample dependent.
By applying oscillating torque while biasing the sample with a dc current, we
have also looked for strain induced voltage in the sample; none is observed at
the low biases where the voltage-induced strains first occur, but an induced
voltage is observed at higher biases, probably associated with strain-dependent
CDW conductance.Comment: 11 pages, including 3 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. B (Rapid
Comm.
Evidence of 1D behaviour of He confined within carbon-nanotube bundles
We present the first low-temperature thermodynamic investigation of the
controlled physisorption of He gas in carbon single-wall nanotube (SWNT)
samples. The vibrational specific heat measured between 100 mK and 6 K
demonstrates an extreme sensitivity to outgassing conditions. For bundles with
a few number of NTs the extra contribution to the specific heat, C,
originating from adsorbed He at very low density displays 1D behavior,
typical for He atoms localized within linear channels as grooves and
interstitials, for the first time evidenced. For larger bundles, C
recovers the 2D behaviour akin to the case of He films on planar
substrates (grafoil).Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Thermal cycling behavior of EBPVD TBC systems deposited on doped Pt-rich γ–γ′ bond coatings made by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS)
In the last decade, an increasing interest was given to Pt-rich γ–γ′ alloys and coatings as they have shown good oxidation and corrosion properties. In our previous work, Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) has been proved to be a fast and efficient tool to fabricate coatings on superalloys including entire thermal barrier coating systems (TBC). In the present study, this technique was used to fabricate doped Pt-rich γ–γ′ bond coatings on AM1® superalloy substrate. The doping elements were reactive elements such as Hf, Y or Zr, Si and metallic additions of Ag. These samples were then coated by electron beam physical vapour deposition (EBPVD) with an yttria partially stabilized zirconia (YPSZ) thermal barrier coating. Such TBC systems with SPS Pt rich γ–γ′ bond coatings were compared to conventional TBC system composed of a β-(Ni,Pt)Al bond coating. Thermal cycling tests were performed during 1000-1 h cycles at 1100 °C under laboratory air. Spalling areas were monitored during this oxidation test. Most of the Pt rich γ–γ′ samples exhibited a better adherence of the ceramic layer than the β-samples. After the whole cyclic oxidation test, cross sections were prepared to characterize the thickness and the composition of the oxide scales by using scanning-electron microscopy. In particular, the influence of the doping elements on the oxide scale formation, the metal/oxide roughness, the TBC adherence and the remaining Al and Pt under the oxide scale were monitored. It was shown that RE-doping did not improve the oxidation kinetics of the studied Pt rich γ–γ′ bond coatings, nevertheless most of the compositions were superior to “classic” β-(Ni,Pt)Al bond coatings in terms of ceramic top coat adherence, due to lower rumpling kinetics and better oxide scale adherence of the γ–γ′-based systems
Critical behavior of the 3-state Potts model on Sierpinski carpet
We study the critical behavior of the 3-state Potts model, where the spins
are located at the centers of the occupied squares of the deterministic
Sierpinski carpet. A finite-size scaling analysis is performed from Monte Carlo
simulations, for a Hausdorff dimension . The phase
transition is shown to be a second order one. The maxima of the susceptibility
of the order parameter follow a power law in a very reliable way, which enables
us to calculate the ratio of the exponents . We find that the
scaling corrections affect the behavior of most of the thermodynamical
quantities. However, the sequence of intersection points extracted from the
Binder's cumulant provides bounds for the critical temperature. We are able to
give the bounds for the exponent as well as for the ratio of the
exponents , which are compatible with the results calculated from
the hyperscaling relation.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure
Continuous thermogravimetric analysis during the cyclic oxidation of Ni–22Al–15Pt + 1 wt.% Hf at 1200 C
Cyclic thermogravimetric analysis (CTGA) provided a quantitative assessment of cyclic oxidation kinetics for a Ni–22Al–15Pt + 1 wt.% Hf alloy. This alloy showed a very low extent of oxide spallation and a slow oxidation rate. The adherent oxide thickness calculated from observed weight changes (due to both oxidation and scale loss) was found to be very similar to the directly measured scale thickness. It is concluded that a previously developed description of cyclic oxidation thermogravimetry is applicable, and that the alloy exhibits excellent performance
Relaxation time spectrum of low-energy excitations in one- and two-dimensional materials with charge or spin density waves
The long-time thermal relaxation of (TMTTF)Br, SrCuO
and SrCaCuO single crystals at temperatures below 1 K
and magnetic field up to 10 T is investigated. The data allow us to determine
the relaxation time spectrum of the low energy excitations caused by the
charge-density wave (CDW) or spin-density wave (SDW). The relaxation time is
mainly determined by a thermal activated process for all investigated
materials. The maximum relaxation time increases with increasing magnetic
field. The distribution of barrier heights corresponds to one or two Gaussian
functions. The doping of SrCaCuO with Ca leads to
a drastic shift of the relaxation time spectrum to longer time. The maximum
relaxation time changes from 50 s (x = 0) to 3000 s (x = 12) at 0.1 K and 10 T.
The observed thermal relaxation at x=12 clearly indicates the formation of the
SDW ground state at low temperatures
- …