Superconductivity of SrTiO_{3-\delta}

Superconducting SrTiO_{3-\delta} was obtained by annealing single crystalline SrTiO_3 samples in ultra high vacuum. An analysis of the V(I) characteristics revealed very small critical currents I_c which can be traced back to a unavoidable doping inhomogeneity. R(T) curves were measured for a range of magnetic fields B at I<<I_c, thereby probing only the sample regions with the highest doping level. The resulting curves B_{c2}(T) show upward curvature, both at small and strong doping. These results are discussed in the context of bipolaronic and conventional superconductivity with Fermi surface anisotropy. We conclude that the special superconducting properties of SrTiO_{3-\delta} can be related to its Fermi surface and compare this finding with properties of the recently discovered superconductor MgB_2.Comment: EPJ style, 6 pages, 8 figures; minor changes, Fig. 5 replaced; use PDF version for printout

An investigation into the conversion of specific carbon atoms in oleic acid and methyl oleate to particulate matter in a diesel engine and tube reactor

The paper is concerned with particulate formation from the fuels oleic acid and methyl oleate. In particular the paper reports, quantitatively, the propensity of individual carbon atoms in these two molecules in being converted to particulate. The conversion of individual carbon atoms to particulate was traced by 'labelling' individual carbon atoms in those two fuel molecules with isotopic carbon-13 (C) and then measuring how many of the labelled atoms was found in the particulate. This allowed the measuring of the conversion rates of individual fuel carbon atoms to particulate. In the case of oleic acid, three carbon atoms were selected as being particularly relevant to particulate formation, and C labelled. One of the carbon atoms was double bonded to the oxygen atom on the carboxylic acid group; and the other two were part of the oleic acid molecule alkyl chain and double bonded to each other. In the case of the methyl oleate, one carbon atom was C labelled. This was the carbon atom that was double bonded to one of the oxygen atoms of the ester group. Experimental results are presented for particulate matter (PM) formed in a laminar flow tube reactor, and also in a direct injection compression ignition engine. The tube reactor has been used for the pyrolysis of oleic acid and methyl oleate at 1300 °C, under oxygen-free conditions and at air-fuel equivalence ratios (λ) of 0.1, and 0.2. Samples of PM were also collected from the compression ignition engine at an intermediate engine load. Isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) has been used to determine the relative abundance of C in the initial fuel and in the resulting PM. Significant differences in the relative conversion rates of individual carbon atoms are reported; a negligible contribution to PM from the carbon atom directly bonded to two oxygen atoms was found in both the engine and reactor. The labelling technique used in this paper requires low quantities of C labelled molecules to enrich otherwise unlabelled oleic acid; enrichment is at volumetric concentrations typically less than 0.7% (v/v). In addition, emissions data from the engine and tube reactor, including unburned hydrocarbons, CO, CO, NO, and PM size and number distributions measured by differential mobility spectrometer, are also presented

Evidence for multiband superconductivity in the heavy fermion compound UNi2Al3

Epitaxial thin films of the heavy fermion superconductor UNi2Al3 with Tc{max}=0.98K were investigated. The transition temperature Tc depends on the current direction which can be related to superconducting gaps opening at different temperatures. Also the influence of the magnetic ordering at TN=5K on R(T) is strongly anisotropic indicating different coupling between the magnetic moments and itinerant charge carriers on the multi-sheeted Fermi surface. The upper critical field Hc2(T) suggests an unconventional spin-singlet superconducting state.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures revised version: inset of fig. 2 changed, fig. 3 added accepted for pub. in Phys. Rev. Lett. (estimated 9/04

Quantification of the Fraction of Particulate Matter Derived from a Range of C-13-Labeled Fuels Blended into Heptane, Studied in a Diesel Engine and Tube Reactor

This paper presents the results of an experimental study that was carried out to determine the conversion rates to particulate matter (PM) of several liquid fuel hydrocarbon molecules and specific carbon atoms within those molecules. The fuels investigated (ethanol, n-propanol, i-propanol, acetone, and toluene) were blended in binary mixtures with n-heptane to a level of 10 mol percent. The contribution of the additive molecules to PM was quantified using a carbon-13 (13C) labeling experiment, in which the fuel of interest was enriched with 13C to serve as an atomic tracer. Measurement of the 13C/12C in the fuel and in the resulting PM was carried out using isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The fuel binary mixtures were tested under pyrolysis conditions in a tube reactor and also combusted in a direct injection compression ignition engine. In the tube reactor, samples were generated under oxygen-free pyrolysis conditions and at a temperature of 1300 °C, while the engine experiments were carried out at an intermediate load. Both in the tube reactor and in the engine it was found that, dependent on the fuel molecular structure, there were significant differences in the overall conversion rates to PM of the fuel molecules and of the “submolecular” carbon atoms. A separate experiment was also carried out in the compression ignition engine, with n-heptane as fuel, in order to determine the contribution of the engine lubrication oil to exhaust PM; the results showed that a significant portion (∼60%) of the total particulate was derived from the lubrication oil

Stabilization and control system power sensitivity study

Stabilization and control system sensitivity to power-off failure rate studied by simulated missions using block power switchin

Global warming of the mantle beneath continents back to the Archaean

Throughout its history, the Earth has experienced global magmatic events that correlate with the formationof supercontinents. This suggests that the distribution of continents at the Earth's surface is fundamental inregulating mantle temperature. Nevertheless, most large igneous provinces (LIPs) are explained in terms ofthe interaction of a hot plume with the lithosphere, even though some do not show evidence for such amechanism. The aggregation of continents impacts on the temperature and flow of the underlying mantlethrough thermal insulation and enlargement of the convection wavelength. Both processes tend to increasethe temperature below the continental lithosphere, eventually triggering melting events without theinvolvement of hot plumes. This model, called mantle global warming, has been tested using 3D numericalsimulations of mantle convection [Coltice, N., Phillips, B.R., Bertrand, H., Ricard, Y., Rey, P. (2007) Globalwarming of the mantle at the origin of flood basalts over supercontinents. Geology 35, 391–394.]. Here, weapply this model to several continental flood basalts (CFBs) ranging in age from the Mesozoic to theArchaean. Our numerical simulations show that the mantle global warming model could account for thepeculiarities of magmatic provinces that developed during the formation of Pangea and Rodinia, as well asputative Archaean supercontinents such as Kenorland and Zimvaalbara

Bunbury Basalt: Gondwana breakup products or earliest vestiges of the Kerguelen mantle plume?

© 2016 Elsevier B.V. In this contribution, we investigate the role of a mantle plume in the genesis of the Bunbury Basalt using high-precision 40Ar/39Ar geochronology and whole-rock geochemistry, and by using crustal basement thickness of the eastern Indian Ocean and the western Australian continent. The Bunbury Basalt is a series of lava flows and deep intrusive rocks in southwestern Australia thought to be the earliest igneous products from the proto-Kerguelen mantle plume. Nine new plateau ages indicate that the Bunbury Basalt erupted in three distinct phases, at 136.96±0.43 Ma, 132.71±0.43 Ma and 130.45±0.82 Ma. All Bunbury Basalt samples are enriched tholeiitic basalts with varying contributions from the continental lithosphere that are similar to other Kerguelen plume-products. Based on plate reconstructions and the present geochronological constraints, the eruption of the oldest Bunbury Basalt preceded the emplacement of the Kerguelen large igneous province by at least 10-20 m.y. Such age differences between a precursor and the main magmatic event are not uncommon but do require additional explanation. Low crustal stretching factors beneath the Bunbury Basalt (ߘ1.4) indicate that decompression melting could not have been generated from asthenospheric mantle with a normal chemistry and geotherm. An elevated geotherm from the mantle plume coupled with the geochemical similarity between the Bunbury Basalt and other Kerguelen plume-products suggests a shared origin exists. However, new age constraints of the oldest Bunbury Basalt are synchronous with the breakup of eastern Gondwana and the initial opening of the Indian Ocean at ca. 137-136 Ma, which may mean an alternative explanation is possible. The enriched geochemistry can equally be explained by a patch of shallow mantle beneath the southern Perth Basin. The patch may have been enriched during Gondwana suturing at ca. 550-500 Ma, during early rifting events by magmatic underplating or by intruded melts into the subcontinental lithospheric mantle. This enriched geochemical signature would then be sufficient to trigger decompression melting from passive rifting between Greater India and Australia with no contribution from the Kerguelen hotspot. We conclude that although the proto-Kerguelen hotspot is certainly a possible explanation for the genesis of the Bunbury Basalt, decompression melting of an enriched patch of subcontinental lithospheric mantle is an alternative theory

MetaNetter 2:A Cytoscape plugin for ab initio network analysis and metabolite feature classification

Metabolomics frequently relies on the use of high resolution mass spectrometry data. Classification and filtering of this data remain a challenging task due to the plethora of complex mass spectral artefacts, chemical noise, adducts and fragmentation that occur during ionisation and analysis. Additionally, the relationships between detected compounds can provide a wealth of information about the nature of the samples and the biochemistry that gave rise to them. We present a biochemical networking tool: MetaNetter 2 that is based on the original MetaNetter, a Cytoscape plugin that creates ab initio networks. The new version supports two major improvements: the generation of adduct networks and the creation of tables that map adduct or transformation patterns across multiple samples, providing a readout of compound relationships. We have applied this tool to the analysis of adduct patterns in the same sample separated under two different chromatographies, allowing inferences to be made about the effect of different buffer conditions on adduct detection, and the application of the chemical transformation analysis to both a single fragmentation analysis and an all-ions fragmentation dataset. Finally, we present an analysis of a dataset derived from anaerobic and aerobic growth of the organism Staphylococcus aureus demonstrating the utility of the tool for biological analysis

Geology and genesis of the cerro la mina porphyry-high sulfidation Au (Cu-Mo) prospect, Mexico

The Cerro la Mina Au (Cu-Mo) porphyry-high sulfidation prospect is located in Chiapas State, southeastern Mexico, outside of the major metallogenic provinces of Mexico. The prospect is hosted by Pleistocene alkaline volcanic rocks of the Chiapanecan volcanic arc that formed in a complex triple-junction tectonic setting. Cerro la Mina's stratigraphy comprises pyroclastic flows that were intruded by monzodiorites and diorites at 1.04 ± 0.04 Ma (U-Pb, zircon), and that were overlain by debris flows and synvolcanic trachyandesite domes. The volcanic stratigraphy of Cerro la Mina is dominated by pyroclastic flows and rare basalts that are cut by the Cerro la Mina breccia pipe, a matrix-rich granular, vertically oriented, downward-Tapering, polymict lithic rock unit that is host to all of the significant alteration and mineralization. A NW-Trending sinistral wrench fault, which was active throughout the history of Cerro la Mina, is responsible for dismembering the prospect after mineralization. The magmatic hydrothermal system was composed of early porphyry-style potassic veins (quartz + K-feldspar ± biotite) and stage 1 pyrite that are preserved in clasts within the breccia pipe, suggesting that brecciation disrupted an embryonic porphyry system. Late potassic alteration occurred after the formation of the breccia pipe, as its matrix is strongly K-feldspar altered. Hydrothermal fluids then produced phyllic alteration composed of quartz, muscovite, illite, illite-smectite, and chlorite that is associated with stage 2 pyrite ± chalcopyrite ± molybdenite ± quartz veins. An unusual zoned pattern of advanced argillic-Argillic alteration overprinted potassic and phyllic alteration. This zoning included a low-Temperature (&lt;110°C) halloysite + kaolinite that extends from 800 to 250 m below present-day surface and is deeper than higher temperature (&gt;120°C) quartz + dickite ± kaolinite ± pyrophyllite ± alunite that occurs from 250 m to the present-day surface. The advanced argillic-Argillic altered rocks host the most significant Au-Cu mineralization, which is associated with stage 3 marcasite, sphalerite, galena, and barite, and stage 4 arsenian pyrite ± enargite ± covellite. The magmatic hydrothermal system at Cerro la Mina began sometime between monzodiorite emplacement (1.04 ± 0.04 Ma; zircon U-Pb) and the precipitation of porphyry stage 2 molybdenite at 780 ± 10 ka (Re-Os). 40Ar/39Ar dating of biotite (689 ± 13 ka) records the age at which the hydrothermal system cooled below the biotite closure temperature of 300°C and provides a maximum estimate for the onset of advanced argillicargillic alteration. Sulfur isotope results of sulfides (-2.5 to +4.9‰; mean +0.7‰; n = 20) and a sulfate (barite; +10.5‰; n = 1) suggest a magmatic source of sulfur for all four stages of mineralization. The lack of residual quartz, rare alunite, and anomalous halloysite-kaolinite alteration may be explained by the high acid-buffering capacity of alkaline volcanic host rocks, high CO2 contents of the alkaline magma, and/or potentially by a highly reduced magmatic hydrothermal fluid. At the regional metallogenic scale, the Cerro la Mina prospect along with the nearby Santa Fé mine and Campamento deposit represent parts of a porphyry copper system-specifically, a porphyry/high-sulfidation, proximal skarn and intermediate sulfidation deposit, respectively. The characteristics of Cerro la Mina (i.e., anomalous halloysite-kaolinite alteration) broaden the window for additional discoveries to be made in the porphyry-epithermal environment