Scintillation observations at medium latitude geomagnetically conjugate stations

Scintillation observations at medium latitude geomagnetically conjugate station

Quasi-Homogeneous Backward-Wave Plasmonic Structures: Theory and Accurate Simulation

Backward waves and negative refraction are shown to exist in plasmonic crystals whose lattice cell size is a very small fraction of the vacuum wavelength (less than 1/40th in an illustrative example). Such ``quasi-homogeneity'' is important, in particular, for high-resolution imaging. Real and complex Bloch bands are computed using the recently developed finite-difference calculus of ``Flexible Local Approximation MEthods'' (FLAME) that produces linear eigenproblems, as opposed to quadratic or nonlinear ones typical for other techniques. FLAME dramatically improves the accuracy by incorporating local analytical approximations of the solution into the numerical scheme.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Quasiparticle spectroscopy and high-field phase diagrams of cuprate superconductors -- An investigation of competing orders and quantum criticality

We present scanning tunneling spectroscopic and high-field thermodynamic studies of hole- and electron-doped (p- and n-type) cuprate superconductors. Our experimental results are consistent with the notion that the ground state of cuprates is in proximity to a quantum critical point (QCP) that separates a pure superconducting (SC) phase from a phase comprised of coexisting SC and a competing order, and the competing order is likely a spin-density wave (SDW). The effect of applied magnetic field, tunneling current, and disorder on the revelation of competing orders and on the low-energy excitations of the cuprates is discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. Accepted for publication in the International Journal of Modern Physics B. (Correspondence author: Nai-Chang Yeh, e-mail: [email protected]

Evolution of superconductivity by oxygen annealing in FeTe0.8S0.2

Oxygen annealing dramatically improved the superconducting properties of solid-state-reacted FeTe0.8S0.2, which showed only a broad onset of superconducting transition just after the synthesis. The zero resistivity appeared and reached 8.5 K by the oxygen annealing at 200\degree C. The superconducting volume fraction was also enhanced from 0 to almost 100%. The lattice constants were compressed by the oxygen annealing, indicating that the evolution of bulk superconductivity in FeTe0.8S0.2 was correlated to the shrinkage of lattice.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

Radiation pattern of a classical dipole in a photonic crystal: photon focusing

The asymptotic analysis of the radiation pattern of a classical dipole in a photonic crystal possessing an incomplete photonic bandgap is presented. The far-field radiation pattern demonstrates a strong modification with respect to the dipole radiation pattern in vacuum. Radiated power is suppressed in the direction of the spatial stopband and strongly enhanced in the direction of the group velocity, which is stationary with respect to a small variation of the wave vector. An effect of radiated power enhancement is explained in terms of \emph{photon focusing}. Numerical example is given for a square-lattice two-dimensional photonic crystal. Predictions of asymptotic analysis are substantiated with finite-difference time-domain calculations, revealing a reasonable agreement.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Dimensionality of superconductivity in the infinite-layer high-temperature cuprate Sr0.9M0.1CuO2 (M = La, Gd)

The high magnetic field phase diagram of the electron-doped infinite layer high-temperature superconducting (high-T_c) compound Sr_{0.9}La_{0.1}CuO_2 was probed by means of penetration depth and magnetization measurements in pulsed fields to 60 T. An anisotropy ratio of 8 was detected for the upper critical fields with H parallel (H_{c2}^{ab}) and perpendicular (H_{c2}^c) to the CuO_2 planes, with H_{c2}^{ab} extrapolating to near the Pauli paramagnetic limit of 160 T. The longer superconducting coherence length than the lattice constant along the c-axis indicates that the orbital degrees of freedom of the pairing wavefunction are three dimensional. By contrast, low-field magnetization and specific heat measurements of Sr_{0.9}Gd_{0.1}CuO_2 indicate a coexistence of bulk s-wave superconductivity with large moment Gd paramagnetism close to the CuO_2 planes, suggesting a strong confinement of the spin degrees of freedom of the Cooper pair to the CuO_2 planes. The region between H_{c2}^{ab} and the irreversibility line in the magnetization, H_{irr}^{ab}, is anomalously large for an electron-doped high-T_c cuprate, suggesting the existence of additional quantum fluctuations perhaps due to a competing spin-density wave order.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B, Rapid Communications (2004). Corresponding author: Nai-Chang Yeh (E-mail: [email protected]

Properties of entangled photon pairs generated in one-dimensional nonlinear photonic-band-gap structures

We have developed a rigorous quantum model of spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a nonlinear 1D photonic-band-gap structure based upon expansion of the field into monochromatic plane waves. The model provides a two-photon amplitude of a created photon pair. The spectra of the signal and idler fields, their intensity profiles in the time domain, as well as the coincidence-count interference pattern in a Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometer are determined both for cw and pulsed pumping regimes in terms of the two-photon amplitude. A broad range of parameters characterizing the emitted down-converted fields can be used. As an example, a structure composed of 49 layers of GaN/AlN is analyzed as a suitable source of photon pairs having high efficiency.Comment: 14 pages, 23 figure

Experimental investigation of the competing orders and quantum criticality in hole- and electron-doped cuprate superconductors

We investigate the issues of competing orders and quantum criticality in cuprate superconductors via experimental studies of the high-field thermodynamic phase diagrams and the quasiparticle tunneling spectroscopy. Substantial field-induced quantum fluctuations are found in all cuprates investigated, and the corresponding correlation with quasiparticle spectra suggest that both electron- (n-type) and hole-doped (p-type) cuprate superconductors are in close proximity to a quantum critical point that separates a pure superconducting (SC) phase from a phase consisting of coexisting SC and a competing order. We further suggests that the relevant competing order is likely a spin-density wave (SDW) or a charge density wave (CDW), which can couple efficiently to an in-plane Cu-O bond stretching longitudinal optical (LO) phonon mode in the p-type cuprates but not in the n-type cuprates. This cooperative interaction may account for the pseudogap phenomenon above T, only in the p-type cuprate superconductors