21,591 research outputs found
Interplay of Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov and Vortex states in two-dimensional Superconductors
Clean superconductors with weakly coupled conducting planes have been
suggested as promising candidates for observing the
Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state. We consider here a layered
superconductor in a magnetic field of arbitrary orientation with respect to the
conducting plane. In this case there is competition of spin-pair-breaking and
orbital-pair-breaking effects. In previous work, phase boundaries characterized
by Landau quantum numbers n > 0 have been predicted. Here, we calculate the
actual structure of the stable states below Hc2 by minimizing the free energy.
We find several new order parameter structures differing from both the
traditional Abrikosov and FFLO solutions. Some interesting unsolved questions
appear in the limit of large n.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure
Large-Scale Radio Structure in the Universe: Giant Radio Galaxies
Giant radio galaxies (GRGs), with linear sizes larger than 1 Mpc (H0=50
km/s/Mpc), represent the biggest single objects in the Universe. GRGs are rare
among the entire population of radio galaxies (RGs) and their physical
evolution is not well understood though for many years they have been of
special interest for several reasons. The lobes of radio sources can compress
cold gas clumps and trigger star or even dwarf galaxy formation, they can also
transport gas from a host galaxy to large distances and seed the IGM with
magnetic fields. Since GRGs have about 10 to 100 times larger sizes than normal
RGs, their influence on the ambient medium is correspondingly wider and is
pronounced on scales comparable to those of clusters of galaxies or larger.
Therefore `giants' could play an important role in the process of large-scale
structure formation in the Universe. Recently, thanks to the new all sky radio
surveys, significant progress in searching for new GRGs has been made.Comment: To appear in Multiwavelength AGN Surveys, ed. R. Maiolino and R.
Mujica, Singapore: World Scientific, 2004, 2 page
Multi-Frequency Study of the B3-VLA Sample II. The Database
We present total flux densities of 1049 radio sources in the frequency range
from 151 MHz to 10.6 GHz. These sources belong to the B3-VLA sample, which is
complete down to 100 mJy at 408 MHz. The data constitute a homogeneous spectral
database for a large sample of radio sources, 50 times fainter than the 3C
catalogue, and will be used to perform a spectral ageing analysis, which is one
of the critical points in understanding the physics and evolution of
extragalactic radio sources.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysics Supplement Series, gzipped postscript file also available at
http://multivac.jb.man.ac.uk:8000/ceres/papers/papers.html or
http://gladia.astro.rug.nl:8000/ceres/papers/papers.htm
Antivortices due to competing orbital and paramagnetic pair-breaking effects
Thermodynamically stable vortex-antivortex structures in a
quasi-two-dimensional superconductor in a tilted magnetic field are predicted.
For this geometry, both orbital and spin pair-breaking effects exist, with
their relative strength depending on the tilt angle \Theta. The spectrum of
possible states contains as limits the ordinary vortex state (for large \Theta)
and the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov state (for \Theta=0). The
quasiclassical equations are solved near H_{c2} for arbitrary \Theta and it is
shown that stable states with coexisting vortices and antivortices exist in a
small interval close to \Theta=0. The results are compared with recent
predictions of antivortices in mesoscopic samples.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
A Two-dimensional Superconductor in a Tilted Magnetic Field - new states with finite Cooper-pair momentum
Varying the angle Theta between applied field and the conducting planes of a
layered superconductor in a small interval close to the plane-parallel field
direction, a large number of superconducting states with unusual properties may
be produced. For these states, the pair breaking effect of the magnetic field
affects both the orbital and the spin degree of freedom. This leads to pair
wave functions with finite momentum, which are labeled by Landau quantum
numbers 0<n<\infty. The stable order parameter structure and magnetic field
distribution for these states is found by minimizing the quasiclassical free
energy near H_{c2} including nonlinear terms. One finds states with coexisting
line-like and point-like order parameter zeros and states with coexisting
vortices and antivortices. The magnetic response may be diamagnetic or
paramagnetic depending on the position within the unit cell. The structure of
the Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) states at Theta=0 is reconsidered.
The transition n->\infty of the paramagnetic vortex states to the FFLO-limit is
analyzed and the physical reason for the occupation of higher Landau levels is
pointed out.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figure
GREAT: the SOFIA high-frequency heterodyne instrument
We describe the design and construction of GREAT, the German REceiver for
Astronomy at Terahertz frequencies operated on the Stratospheric Observatory
for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). GREAT is a modular dual-color heterodyne
instrument for highresolution far-infrared (FIR) spectroscopy. Selected for
SOFIA's Early Science demonstration, the instrument has successfully performed
three Short and more than a dozen Basic Science flights since first light was
recorded on its April 1, 2011 commissioning flight.
We report on the in-flight performance and operation of the receiver that -
in various flight configurations, with three different detector channels -
observed in several science-defined frequency windows between 1.25 and 2.5 THz.
The receiver optics was verified to be diffraction-limited as designed, with
nominal efficiencies; receiver sensitivities are state-of-the-art, with
excellent system stability. The modular design allows for the continuous
integration of latest technologies; we briefly discuss additional channels
under development and ongoing improvements for Cycle 1 observations.
GREAT is a principal investigator instrument, developed by a consortium of
four German research institutes, available to the SOFIA users on a
collaborative basis
Star-shaped Local Density of States around Vortices in a Type II Superconductor
The electronic structure of vortices in a type II superconductor is analyzed
within the quasi-classical Eilenberger framework. The possible origin of a
sixfold ``star'' shape of the local density of states, observed by scanning
tunneling microscope experiments on NbSe, is examined in the light of the
three effects; the anisotropic pairing, the vortex lattice, and the anisotropic
density of states at the Fermi surface. Outstanding features of split parallel
rays of this star are well explained in terms of an anisotropic -wave
pairing. This reveals a rich internal electronic structure associated with a
vortex core.Comment: 4 pages, REVTeX, 3 figures available upon reques
Polarization Properties of Extragalactic Radio Sources and Their Contribution to Microwave Polarization Fluctuations
We investigate the statistical properties of the polarized emission of
extragalactic radio sources and estimate their contribution to the power
spectrum of polarization fluctuations in the microwave region. The basic
ingredients of our analysis are the NVSS polarization data, the multifrequency
study of polarization properties of the B3-VLA sample (Mack et al. 2002) which
has allowed us to quantify Faraday depolarization effects, and the 15 GHz
survey by Taylor et al. (2001), which has provided strong constraints on the
high-frequency spectral indices of sources. The polarization degree of both
steep- and flat-spectrum at 1.4 GHz is found to be anti-correlated with the
flux density. The median polarization degree at 1.4 GHz of both steep- and
flat-spectrum sources brighter than mJy is . The data by Mack et al. (2002) indicate a substantial mean Faraday
depolarization at 1.4 GHz for steep spectrum sources, while the depolarization
is undetermined for most flat/inverted-spectrum sources. Exploiting this
complex of information we have estimated the power spectrum of polarization
fluctuations due to extragalactic radio sources at microwave frequencies. We
confirm that extragalactic sources are expected to be the main contaminant of
Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization maps on small angular scales. At
frequencies GHz the amplitude of their power spectrum is expected to be
comparable to that of the -mode of the CMB. At higher frequencies, however,
the CMB dominates.Comment: 10 pages, A&A in pres
Local density of states in the vortex lattice in a type II superconductor
Local density of states (LDOS) in the triangular vortex lattice is
investigated based on the quasi-classical Eilenberger theory. We consider the
case of an isotropic s-wave superconductor with the material parameter
appropriate to NbSe_2. At a weak magnetic field, the spatial variation of the
LDOS shows cylindrical structure around a vortex core. On the other hand, at a
high field where the core regions substantially overlap each other, the LDOS is
sixfold star-shaped structure due to the vortex lattice effect. The orientation
of the star coincides with the experimental data of the scanning tunneling
microscopy. That is, the ray of the star extends toward the nearest-neighbor
(next nearest-neighbor) vortex direction at higher (lower) energy.Comment: 10 pages, RevTex, 32 figure
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