680 research outputs found
Low-temperature magnetic fluctuations in the Kondo insulator SmB6
We present the results of a systematic investigation of the magnetic
properties of the three-dimensional Kondo topological insulator SmB6 using
magnetization and muon-spin relaxation/rotation (muSR) measurements. The muSR
measurements exhibit magnetic field fluctuations in SmB6 below 15 K due to
electronic moments present in the system. However, no evidence for magnetic
ordering is found down to 19 mK. The observed magnetism in SmB6 is homogeneous
in nature throughout the full volume of the sample. Bulk magnetization
measurements on the same sample show consistent behavior. The agreement between
muSR, magnetization, and NMR results strongly indicate the appearance of
intrinsic bulk magnetic in-gap states associated with fluctuating magnetic
fields in SmB6 at low temperature.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Superconductivity and magnetism in RbxFe2-ySe2: Impact of thermal treatment on mesoscopic phase separation
An extended study of the superconducting and normal-state properties of
various as-grown and post-annealed RbxFe2-ySe2 single crystals is presented.
Magnetization experiments evidence that annealing of RbxFe2-ySe2 at 413 K, well
below the onset of phase separation Tp=489 K, neither changes the magnetic nor
the superconducting properties of the crystals. In addition, annealing at 563
K, well above Tp, suppresses the superconducting transition temperature Tc and
leads to an increase of the antiferromagnetic susceptibility accompanied by the
creation of ferromagnetic impurity phases, which are developing with annealing
time. However, annealing at T=488K=Tp increases Tc up to 33.3 K, sharpens the
superconducting transition, increases the lower critical field, and strengthens
the screening efficiency of the applied magnetic field. Resistivity
measurements of the as-grown and optimally annealed samples reveal an increase
of the upper critical field along both crystallographic directions as well as
its anisotropy. Muon spin rotation and scanning transmission electron
microscopy experiments suggest the coexistence of two phases below Tp: a
magnetic majority phase of Rb2Fe4Se5 and a non-magnetic minority phase of
Rb0.5Fe2Se2. Both microscopic techniques indicate that annealing the specimens
just at Tp does not affect the volume fraction of the two phases, although the
magnetic field distribution in the samples changes substantially. This suggests
that the microstructure of the sample, caused by mesoscopic phase separation,
is modified by annealing just at Tp, leading to an improvement of the
superconducting properties of RbxFe2-ySe2 and an enhancement of Tc.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figure
A luminosity monitor for the A4 parity violation experiment at MAMI
A water Cherenkov luminosity monitor system with associated electronics has
been developed for the A4 parity violation experiment at MAMI. The detector
system measures the luminosity of the hydrogen target hit by the MAMI electron
beam and monitors the stability of the liquid hydrogen target. Both is required
for the precise study of the count rate asymmetries in the scattering of
longitudinally polarized electrons on unpolarized protons. Any helicity
correlated fluctuation of the target density leads to false asymmetries. The
performance of the luminosity monitor, investigated in about 2000 hours with
electron beam, and the results of its application in the A4 experiment are
presented.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures, submitted to NIM
Broadband Alfvénic excitation correlated to turbulence level in the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator plasmas
During the first operational phase (OP1) of the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) stellarator, poloidal magnetic field fluctuations, , were measured in several different plasma scenarios with a system of Mirnov coils. In the spectrograms, multiple frequency bands close together in frequency are observed below f = 600 kHz. Furthermore, a dominant feature is the appearance of a frequency band with the highest spectral amplitude centred between kHz. The fluctuations are observed from the beginning of most W7-X plasmas of OP1, which were often operated solely with electron cyclotron resonance heating. The fluctuations show characteristics known from Alfvén waves and possibly Alfvén eigenmodes (AEs). However, the fast particle drive from heating sources, which is generally a driver necessary for the appearance of AEs in magnetic confinement plasmas, is absent in most of the analysed experiments. A characterization of the Alfvénic fluctuations measured during OP1 plasmas is possible using a newly developed tracking algorithm. In this paper, we extensively survey the different spectral properties of the fluctuations in correlation with plasma parameters and discuss possible driving mechanisms. The correlation studies of the dynamics of the possible ellipticity induced AEs indicate that Alfvén activity in the frequency interval between kHz could be excited due to an interaction with turbulence, or profile effects also affecting the turbulence amplitude
Measurement of the Transverse Beam Spin Asymmetry in Elastic Electron Proton Scattering and the Inelastic Contribution to the Imaginary Part of the Two-Photon Exchange Amplitude
We report on a measurement of the asymmetry in the scattering of transversely
polarized electrons off unpolarized protons, A, at two Q values of
\qsquaredaveragedlow (GeV/c) and \qsquaredaveragedhighII (GeV/c) and a
scattering angle of . The measured transverse
asymmetries are A(Q = \qsquaredaveragedlow (GeV/c)) =
(\experimentalasymmetry alulowcorr \statisticalerrorlow
\combinedsyspolerrorlowalucor) 10 and
A(Q = \qsquaredaveragedhighII (GeV/c)) = (\experimentalasymme
tryaluhighcorr \statisticalerrorhigh
\combinedsyspolerrorhighalucor) 10. The first
errors denotes the statistical error and the second the systematic
uncertainties. A arises from the imaginary part of the two-photon
exchange amplitude and is zero in the one-photon exchange approximation. From
comparison with theoretical estimates of A we conclude that
N-intermediate states give a substantial contribution to the imaginary
part of the two-photon amplitude. The contribution from the ground state proton
to the imaginary part of the two-photon exchange can be neglected. There is no
obvious reason why this should be different for the real part of the two-photon
amplitude, which enters into the radiative corrections for the Rosenbluth
separation measurements of the electric form factor of the proton.Comment: 4 figures, submitted to PRL on Oct.
Evidence for Strange Quark Contributions to the Nucleon's Form Factors at = 0.108 (GeV/c)
We report on a measurement of the parity violating asymmetry in the elastic
scattering of polarized electrons off unpolarized protons with the A4 apparatus
at MAMI in Mainz at a four momentum transfer value of = \Qsquare
(GeV/c) and at a forward electron scattering angle of 30. The measured asymmetry is = (\Aphys
\Deltastat \Deltasyst) 10. The
expectation from the Standard Model assuming no strangeness contribution to the
vector current is A = (\Azero \DeltaAzero) 10. We
have improved the statistical accuracy by a factor of 3 as compared to our
previous measurements at a higher . We have extracted the strangeness
contribution to the electromagnetic form factors from our data to be +
\FakGMs = \GEsGMs \DeltaGEsGMs at = \Qsquare (GeV/c).
As in our previous measurement at higher momentum transfer for + 0.230
, we again find the value for + \FakGMs to be positive,
this time at an improved significance level of 2 .Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Measurement of Strange Quark Contributions to the Nucleon's Form Factors at Q^2=0.230 (GeV/c)^2
We report on a measurement of the parity-violating asymmetry in the
scattering of longitudinally polarized electrons on unpolarized protons at a
of 0.230 (GeV/c)^2 and a scattering angle of \theta_e = 30^o - 40^o.
Using a large acceptance fast PbF_2 calorimeter with a solid angle of
\Delta\Omega = 0.62 sr the A4 experiment is the first parity violation
experiment to count individual scattering events. The measured asymmetry is
A_{phys} =(-5.44 +- 0.54_{stat} +- 0.27_{\rm sys}) 10^{-6}. The Standard Model
expectation assuming no strangeness contributions to the vector form factors is
. The difference is a direct measurement of the
strangeness contribution to the vector form factors of the proton. The
extracted value is G^s_E + 0.225 G^s_M = 0.039 +- 0.034 or F^s_1 + 0.130 F^s_2
= 0.032 +- 0.028.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Letters on Dec 11, 200
Uptake and transport of novel amphiphilic polyelectrolyte-insulin nanocomplexes by caco-2 cells - towards oral insulin
“The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com”. Copyright SpringerPurpose: The influence of polymer architecture on cellular uptake and transport across Caco-2 cells of novel amphiphilic polyelectrolyte-insulin nanocomplexes was investigated. Method: Polyallylamine (PAA) (15 kDa) was grafted with palmitoyl chains (Pa) and subsequently modified with quaternary ammonium moieties (QPa). These two amphiphilic polyelectrolytes (APs) were tagged with rhodamine and their uptake by Caco-2 cells or their polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) with fluorescein isothiocyanate-insulin (FITC-insulin) uptake were investigated using fluorescence microscopy. The integrity of the monolayer was determined by measurement of transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER). Insulin transport through Caco-2 monolayers was determined during TEER experiments. Result: Pa and insulin were co-localised in the cell membranes while QPa complexes were found within the cytoplasm. QPa complex uptake was not affected by calcium, cytochalasin D or nocodazole. Uptake was reduced by co-incubation with sodium azide, an active transport inhibitor. Both polymers opened tight junctions reversibly where the TEER values fell by up to 35 % within 30 minutes incubation with Caco-2 cells. Insulin transport through monolayers increased when QPa was used (0.27 ngmL-1 of insulin in basal compartment) compared to Pa (0.14 ngmL-1 of insulin in basal compartment) after 2 hours. Conclusion: These APs have been shown to be taken up by Caco-2 cells and reversibly open tight cell junctions. Further work is required to optimise these formulations with a view to maximising their potential to facilitate oral delivery of insulin.Peer reviewe
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