Scaling test of quenched Wilson twisted mass QCD at maximal twist

We present the results of an extended scaling test of quenched Wilson twisted mass QCD. We fix the twist angle by using two definitions of the critical mass, the first obtained by requiring the vanishing of the pseudoscalar meson mass m_PS for standard Wilson fermions and the second by requiring restoration of parity at non-zero value of the twisted mass mu and subsequently extrapolating to mu=0. Depending on the choice of the critical mass we simulate at values of beta in [5.7,6.45], for a range of pseudoscalar meson masses 250 MeV < m_PS < 1 GeV and we perform the continuum limit for the pseudoscalar meson decay constant f_PS and various hadron masses (vector meson m_V, baryon octet m_oct and baryon decuplet m_dec) at fixed value of r_0 m_PS. For both definitions of the critical mass, lattice artifacts are consistent with O(a) improvement. However, with the second definition, large O(a^2) discretization errors present at small quark mass with the first definition are strongly suppressed. The results in the continuum limit are in very good agreement with those from the Alpha and CP-PACS Collaborations.Comment: 6 pages, Talk presented at Lattice 2005, Dublin, 25-30 July 200

Bond Strength Tests Between Silicon Wafers and Duran Tubes (Fusion Bonded Fluidic Interconnects)

The fusion bond strength of glass tubes with standard silicon wafers is presented. Experiments with plain silicon wafers and those coated with silicon oxide and silicon nitride are presented. Results obtained are discussed in terms of homogeneity and strength of fusion bond. High pressure testing shows that the bond strength is large enough for most applications of fluidic interconnects. The bond strength for 525 /spl mu/m thick silicon with glass tubes having outer diameter of 6 mm and with wall thickness 2 mm, is more than 60 bars after annealing at a temperature of 800/spl deg/C

Phonon-assisted tunneling in the quantum regime of Mn12-ac

Longitudinal or transverse magnetic fields applied on a crystal of Mn12-ac allows to observe independent tunnel transitions between m=-S+p and m=S-n-p (n=6-10, p=0-2 in longitudinal field and n=p=0 in transverse field). We observe a smooth transition (in longitudinal) from coherent ground-state to thermally activated tunneling. Furthermore two ground-state relaxation regimes showing a crossover between quantum spin relaxation far from equilibrium and near equilibrium, when the environment destroys multimolecule correlations. Finally, we stress that the complete Hamiltonian of Mn12 should contain odd spin operators of low order

3-point functions from twisted mass lattice QCD at small quark masses

We show at the example of the matrix element between pion states of a twist-2, non-singlet operator that Wilson twisted mass fermions allow to compute this phenomenologically relevant quantitiy at small pseudo scalar masses of O(270 MeV). In the quenched approximation, we investigate the scaling behaviour of this observable that is derived from a 3-point function by applying two definitions of the critical mass and find a scaling compatible with the expected O(a^2) behaviour in both cases. A combined continuum extrapolations allows to obtain reliable results at small pion masses, which previously could not be explored by lattice QCD simulations.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, talk presented at Lattice 200

3D-melting features of the irreversibility line in overdoped Bi2_2Sr2_2CuO6_6 at ultra-low temperature and high magnetic field

We have measured the irreversible magnetization of an overdoped Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CuO$_6$ single crystal up to B=28 T and down to T=60 mK, and extracted the irreversibility line $B_{\rm irr}(T)$: the data can be interpreted in the whole temperature range as a 3D-anisotropic vortex lattice melting line with Lindemann number $c_{\rm L}=0.13$. We also briefly discuss the applicability of alternative models such as 2D- and quantum melting, and the connection with magnetoresistance experiments.Comment: M2S-HTSC-VI Conference paper (2 pages, 1 figure), using Elsevier style espcrc2.st