Excitonic lasing in semiconductor quantum wires

Direct experimental evidences for excitonic lasing is obtained in optically pumped V-groove quantum wire structures. We demonstrate that laser emission at a temperature of 10 K arises from a population inversion of localized excitons within the inhomogenously-broadened luminescence line. At the lasing threshold, we estimate a maximum exciton density of about 1.8 105cm-1.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Tip Heater for Minimum Quench Energy Measurements on Superconducting Strands

Superconducting strands can be characterized by their Minimum Quench Energy (MQE), i.e. the minimum heat pulse needed to trigger a quench in operation conditions (field, temperature, current), in the limit of a (temporally and spatially) d-shaped disturbance. The sub-mm/µs range of perturbation space has only recently been achieved using the electrical graphite-paste heater technique [1]. The present work has put this technique into practice for the strands of the LHC main magnets, which are designed to operate at 1.9K in peak fields of up to 9T [1]. No way has been found yet to calibrate MQE measurements. To make relative statements on the MQE of different samples possible, the reproducibility of the measurements was emphasized. First heater prototypes did not come up to this stipulation. Finally the tip-heater configuration was found to meet the requirements. It generates a heat pulse in a thin resistive graphite paste deposit on top of a small tip that is pressed against the sample with a clamp. The clamp guarantees a maximum of exposure of the sample to the surrounding cryogen. The most striking aspect of repeated measurements on a reference sample is that in open bath conditions the MQE as a function of transport current in subcooled helium can reach hundred times the corresponding value in adiabatic conditions (i.e. with the sample potted in a low conductivity medium). This extraordinary cooling performance of superfluid helium, predicted by many (e.g. [2]) has rarely been shown in superconductor stability experiments

Strand Coating for the Superconducting Cables of the LHC Main Magnets

The electrical resistance of contacts between strands in the Rutherford type superconducting cables has a major effect on the eddy current loss in cables, and on the dynamic magnetic field error in the LHC main magnets. In order to guarantee the value and constancy of the contact resistance, various metallic coatings were studied from the electrical and mechanical points of view in the past. We report on the molten bath Sn95wt.Ag5wt. coating, oxidized thermally in air after the cabling is completed, that we adopted for the cables of the LHC main magnets. The value of the con-tact resistance is determined by the strand coating and cabling procedures, oxidation heat treatment, and the magnet coil cu-ring and handling. Chemical analysis helps to understand the evolution of the contacts. We also mention results on two electrolytic coatings resulting in higher contact resistance

Hardness and Tensile Strength of Multifilamentary Metal-matrix Composite Superconductors for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)

Conventional indentation hardness measurements to obtain load independent Vickers hardness values for the different phases in multifilamentary superconducting (SC) wires are described. The concept of composite hardness is validated for a binary metal-matrix metal-filament Nb-Ti/Cu composite wire. The tensile materials properties of the individual wire components are estimated from their indentation hardness. The potential and limitations of this approach are critically discussed, based on a comparison with tensile test results obtained for wires and extracted Nb-Ti filaments

From single particle to superfuid excitations in a dissipative polariton gas

Using angle-resolved heterodyne four-wave-mixing technique, we probe the low momentum excitation spectrum of a coherent polariton gas. The experimental results are well captured by the Bogoliubov transformation which describes the transition from single particle excitations of a normal fluid to sound-wave-like excitations of a superfluid. In a dense coherent polariton gas, we find all the characteristics of a Bogoliubov transformation, i.e. the positive and negative energy branch with respect to the polariton gas energy at rest, sound-wave-like shapes for the excitations dispersion, intensity and linewidth ratio between the two branches in agreement with the theory. The influence of the non-equilibrium character of the polariton gas is shown by a careful analysis of its dispersion.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Examination of contacts between strands by electrical measurements and topographical analysis

The contact resistance (crossing and adjacent) between the strands of Rutherford type superconducting cables has been proven to be an essential parameter for the behaviour of the main magnets in accelerators like the LHC. A strong development program has been launched at CERN. Contact resistances were measured by means of a DC method at 4.2 K. The strand deformation and the chemical conditions at the contacts were analyzed in order to interpret the electrical resistances measured by a 3 contacts method on individual strands as well as the resistances measured independently on cables

Quench levels and transient beam losses in LHC magnets

The last evaluation of quench levels related to transient beam losses was done in 1987 [1]. The subject is reevaluated with more detailed approach of the thermodynamics of the superconducting cables in response to a transient heat load associated to beam losses