71 research outputs found
Onset of Superfluidity in 4He Films Adsorbed on Disordered Substrates
We have studied 4He films adsorbed in two porous glasses, aerogel and Vycor,
using high precision torsional oscillator and DC calorimetry techniques. Our
investigation focused on the onset of superfluidity at low temperatures as the
4He coverage is increased. Torsional oscillator measurements of the 4He-aerogel
system were used to determine the superfluid density of films with transition
temperatures as low as 20 mK. Heat capacity measurements of the 4He-Vycor
system probed the excitation spectrum of both non-superfluid and superfluid
films for temperatures down to 10 mK. Both sets of measurements suggest that
the critical coverage for the onset of superfluidity corresponds to a mobility
edge in the chemical potential, so that the onset transition is the bosonic
analog of a superconductor-insulator transition. The superfluid density
measurements, however, are not in agreement with the scaling theory of an onset
transition from a gapless, Bose glass phase to a superfluid. The heat capacity
measurements show that the non-superfluid phase is better characterized as an
insulator with a gap.Comment: 15 pages (RevTex), 21 figures (postscript
On the existence of supersolid helium-4 monolayer films
Extensive Monte Carlo simulations of helium-4 monolayer films adsorbed on
weak substrates have been carried out, aimed at ascertaining the possible
occurrence of a quasi-two-dimensional supersolid phase. Only crystalline films
not registered with underlying substrates are considered. Numerical results
yield strong evidence that helium-4 will not form a supersolid film on {any}
substrate strong enough to stabilize a crystalline layer. On weaker substrates,
continuous growth of a liquid film takes place
Popular attitudes to memory, the body, and social identity : the rise of external commemoration in Britain, Ireland, and New England
A comparative analysis of samples of external memorials from burial grounds in Britain, Ireland and New England reveals a widespread pattern of change in monument style and content, and exponential growth in the number of permanent memorials from the 18th century onwards. Although manifested in regionally distinctive styles on which most academic attention has so far been directed, the expansion reflects global changes in social relationships and concepts of memory and the body. An archaeological perspective reveals the importance of external memorials in articulating these changing attitudes in a world of increasing material consumption
Study of Kosterlitz-Thouless transition of Bose systems governed by a random potential using quantum Monte Carlo simulations
We perform quantum Monte Carlo simulations to study the 2D hard-core
Bose-Hubbard model in a random potential. Our motivation is to investigate the
effects of randomness on the Kosterlitz--Thouless (KT) transition. The chemical
potential is assumed to be random, by site, with a Gaussian distribution. The
KT transition is confirmed by a finite-size analysis of the superfluid density
and the power-law decay of the correlation function. By varying the variance of
the Gaussian distribution, we find that the transition temperature decreases as
the variance increases. We obtain the phase diagram showing the superfluid and
disordered phases, and estimate the quantum critical point (QCP). Our results
on the ground state reveal the existence of the Bose glass phase. Finally, we
discuss what the value of the variance at the QCP indicates from the viewpoint
of percolation.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in JPS
Muon spin relaxation studies of incommensurate magnetism and superconductivity in stage-4 LaCuO and LaSrCuO
This paper reports muon spin relaxation (MuSR) measurements of two single
crystals of the title high-Tc cuprate systems where static incommensurate
magnetism and superconductivity coexist. By zero-field MuSR measurements and
subsequent analyses with simulations, we show that (1) the maximum ordered Cu
moment size (0.36 Bohr magneton) and local spin structure are identical to
those in prototypical stripe spin systems with the 1/8 hole concentration; (2)
the static magnetism is confined to less than a half of the volume of the
sample, and (3) regions with static magnetism form nano-scale islands with the
size comparable to the in-plane superconducting coherence length. By
transverse-field MuSR measurements, we show that Tc of these systems is related
to the superfluid density, in the same way as observed in cuprate systems
without static magnetism. We discuss a heuristic model involving percolation of
these nanoscale islands with static magnetism as a possible picture to
reconcile heterogeneity found by the present MuSR study and long-range spin
correlations found by neutron scattering.Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B. E-mail:
[email protected]
Experimental consequences of predicted charge rigidity of superconductors
The theory of hole superconductivity predicts that in superconductors the
charged superfluid is about a million times more rigid than the normal electron
fluid. We point out that this physics should give rise to large changes in the
bulk and surface plasmon dispersion relations of metals entering the
superconducting state, that have not yet been experimentally detected and would
be in stark contradiction with the expected behavior within conventional
BCS-London theory. We also propose that this explains the puzzling experimental
observations of Avramenko et al\cite{sound} on electron sound propagation in
superconductors and the puzzling experiments of W. de Heer et al\cite{clusters}
detecting large electric dipole moments in small metal clusters, as well as the
Tao effect\cite{tao} on aggregation of superconducting microparticles in an
electric field. Associated with the enhanced charge rigidity is a large
increase in the electric screening length of superconductors at low
temperatures that has not yet been experimentally detected. The physical origin
of the enhanced charge rigidity and its relation to other aspects of the theory
of hole superconductivity is discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
New features of superdeformed bands in Hg194
Two new features of superdeformed (SD) bands in the A190 region emerge from a study of Hg194 with the Gammasphere detector array. A decrease of the dynamic moment of inertia is observed for rotational frequencies Latin small letter h with strokeω0.4 MeV, confirming long standing expectations based on mean field calculations with pairing. Evidence for a small staggering in the SD transition energies is also observed, suggesting the presence of terms with fourfold symmetry in the SD Hamiltonian
Evaluation of sesamum gum as an excipient in matrix tablets
In developing countries modern medicines are often beyond the affordability of the majority of the population. This is due to the reliance on expensive imported raw materials despite the abundance of natural resources which could provide an equivalent or even an improved function. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of sesamum gum (SG) extracted from the leaves of Sesamum radiatum (readily cultivated in sub-Saharan Africa) as a matrix former. Directly compressed matrix tablets were prepared from the extract and compared with similar matrices of HPMC (K4M) using theophylline as a model water soluble drug. The compaction, swelling, erosion and drug release from the matrices were studied in deionized water, 0.1 N HCl (pH 1.2) and phosphate buffer (pH 6.8) using USP apparatus II. The data from the swelling, erosion and drug release studies were also fitted into the respective mathematical models. Results showed that the matrices underwent a combination of swelling and erosion, with the swelling action being controlled by the rate of hydration in the medium. SG also controlled the release of theophylline similar to the HPMC and therefore may have use as an alternative excipient in regions where Sesamum radiatum can be easily cultivated
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