Melting of regular and decoupled vortex lattices in BSCCO crystals

The angular dependence of the first-order phase transition (FOT) in the vortex lattice in Bi$_{2}$Sr$_{2}$CaCu$_{2}$O$_{8}$ crystals was investigated by a low frequency AC shielding technique (with the AC field $\parallel c$), in which the static-field component parallel to $c$- ($H_{\perp}$) was varied with the in-plane field $H_{\parallel}$ held constant. The linear decrease of the FOT field $H_{\perp}^{FOT}$ with increasing $H_{\parallel}$ ends at a temperature--dependent critical value of $H_{\parallel}$. A new transition, marked by the abrupt drop of the $ab$-plane shielding current, appears at this point. We draw a new phase diagram with $H_{\parallel}$ and $H_{\perp}$ field components as coordinates; this features at least two distinct regions in the vortex solid phase, that are determined by the different interplay between the pancake vortex-- and Josephson vortex lattice.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures Paper submitted to the conference proceedings of M2S-2000 Houston, T

Plasmonic shock waves and solitons in a nanoring

We apply the hydrodynamic theory of electron liquid to demonstrate that a circularly polarized radiation induces the diamagnetic, helicity-sensitive dc current in a ballistic nanoring. This current is dramatically enhanced in the vicinity of plasmonic resonances. The resulting magnetic moment of the nanoring represents a giant increase of the inverse Faraday effect. With increasing radiation intensity, linear plasmonic excitations evolve into the strongly non-linear plasma shock waves. These excitations produce a series of the well resolved peaks at the THz frequencies. We demonstrate that the plasmonic wave dispersion transforms the shock waves into solitons. The predicted effects should enable multiple applications in a wide frequency range (from the microwave to terahertz band) using optically controlled ultra low loss electric, photonic and magnetic devices.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figure

Recent Development in Russian Agro-Food Sector and Its Further Policies

Agribusiness,

Josephson vortices and solitons inside pancake vortex lattice in layered superconductors

In very anisotropic layered superconductors a tilted magnetic field generates crossing vortex lattices of pancake and Josephson vortices (JVs). We study the properties of an isolated JV in the lattice of pancake vortices. JV induces deformations in the pancake vortex crystal, which, in turn, substantially modify the JV structure. The phase field of the JV is composed of two types of phase deformations: the regular phase and vortex phase. The phase deformations with smaller stiffness dominate. The contribution from the vortex phase smoothly takes over with increasing magnetic field. We find that the structure of the cores experiences a smooth yet qualitative evolution with decrease of the anisotropy. At large anisotropies pancakes have only small deformations with respect to position of the ideal crystal while at smaller anisotropies the pancake stacks in the central row smoothly transfer between the neighboring lattice positions forming a solitonlike structure. We also find that even at high anisotropies pancake vortices strongly pin JVs and strongly increase their viscous friction.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Plasma resonance at low magnetic fields as a probe of vortex line meandering in layered superconductors

We consider the magnetic field dependence of the plasma resonance frequency in pristine and in irradiated Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_8$ crystals near $T_c$. At low magnetic fields we relate linear in field corrections to the plasma frequency to the average distance between the pancake vortices in the neighboring layers (wandering length). We calculate the wandering length in the case of thermal wiggling of vortex lines, taking into account both Josephson and magnetic interlayer coupling of pancakes. Analyzing experimental data, we found that (i) the wandering length becomes comparable with the London penetration depth near T$_{c}$ and (ii) at small melting fields ($< 20$ G) the wandering length does not change much at the melting transition. This shows existence of the line liquid phase in this field range. We also found that pinning by columnar defects affects weakly the field dependence of the plasma resonance frequency near $T_c$.Comment: RevTex, 4 pages, 2 PS figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Anthropogenic load іs a leading factor in the morphological variability of Chondrula tridens (Gastropoda, Enidae) in the northwestern Azov Sea region

Morphometric data are widely used in biology to assess intraspecific and inter-population variability and for bioindication and environmental condition assessment. The following hypotheses have been experimentally tested in the paper: 1) the vegetation type affects the change in the shell shape of Chondrula tridens martynovi Gural-Sverlova &amp; Gural, 2010; 2) the change in the shell shape of this species is influenced by the biotope moisture regime; 3) the shell shape changes depending on the anthropogenic load level. The&nbsp;material in the form of empty, fully formed Ch. tridens shells was collected in 2019 in the north-western Azov region within the basin of the Molochna River. The collection points were located in settlements and outside them and differed in vegetation, moisture regime and level of anthropogenic load. The vegetation has been expertly attributed to two alternative types: herbaceous vegetation and tree plantations. By moisture level, the locations have been assessed as xerophytic and mesoxerophytic. The anthropogenic load levels have been assessed as low, medium and high. The study revealed that the morphological characteristics of Ch. tridens demonstrate a significant component of variability, which is due to the shell size. The shell size depends on the anthropogenic impact level. Under conditions of high anthropogenic impact, the shell size increases. Mollusks from locations with low and medium anthropogenic impact levels did not differ in shell size. After extraction of the size component, morphological properties develop three main trends of variability. The mouth apparatus development of mollusks does not depend on the vegetation type, but depends on the biotope moisture level and the anthropogenic transformation level. The mollusk shell elongation was observed to have the opposite dynamics of the height parameters in relation to the width and depended on the level of anthropogenic load. Rearrangement in the mouth apparatus depended on the biotope moisture level and the anthropogenic load level. There were distinguished four clusters, the quantitative morphological features of which allowed us to identify them as morphotypes. Each location was characterized by a combination of different morphotypes, according to which the sampling points may be classified. Morphotype 1 corresponds to biotopes with low level of anthropogenic load, morphotype 4&nbsp;corresponded to biotopes with high anthropogenic load. Morphotypes 2 and 3 corresponded to moderate level of anthropogenic load. Vegetation type is not an important factor in determining the morphotypic diversity of populations. Under xerophytic conditions, morphotypes 2 and 3 are more common, and under mesoxerophytic conditions, morphotypes 1 and 4 are more common. The&nbsp;range of molluscs in different habitats needs to be expanded in the future to clarify climatic and other patterns

Time turnover of species in bird communities: the role of landscape diversity and climate change

The challenge of searching for patterns of species turnover dynamics in communities of living organisms is directly related to solving problems of stability and functioning of ecosystems. Avian communities are an essential structural and functional component of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems which are highly diverse and play an important role in a wide range of ecosystem functions. The&nbsp;issue of changes in the dynamics of amphibiotic landscape complexes, where terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems conjugate, is practically not solved. In this connection, a study was carried out within a landscape system, which presents terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems that were in different degrees of anthropogenic transformation. The dynamics of bird communities was considered in the context of recent global climate change. The investigation was conducted in the landscapes of the south and south-east of Ukraine in the nesting seasons 1988–2018. Within the landscape system associated with the Molochny estuary, the ten most important types of ecosystems were distinguished, which included : agricultural lands, artificial forest belts, meadows, islands and spits, reed beds, urban areas, solonchaks, steppe, cliffs, artificial forests. The temporal turnover of the bird communities was decomposed into two parts: the first term (D1) related to the amount of change in community composition, and the second term (D2) being dependent only on the amount of change in community size sensu its abundance. The contribution ratio of the species and of the environment variable were calculated to identify drivers that influence the turnover measure. The average annual temperature and the sum of annual temperatures were considered as environment variables. The bird metacommunity of the studied landscape system was represented by 132 species from 86 genera, 42 families and 13 orders. During the research period the average annual temperature varied from 9.5 to 12.5&nbsp;˚C. and the temperature dynamics were subject to the linear trend. An oscillatory component was also present in the temperature dynamics. The annual rainfall ranged 220–761 mm. A coherent change in precipitation and temperature was observed in the period until 2011. After that, the temperature growth stabilized and the amount of precipitation began to fall sharply. The steppe bird community was represented by an extremely small number of species, but demonstrated the ability to maintain a stable structure for a long time. The&nbsp;main fluctuations of the community were quantitative changes in abundance, while the turnover of species was practically absent. Species of the community replace each other cyclically, but there were no targeted changes in community structure. Temperature and precipitation were the main drivers of the bird community in the steppe. The bird communities on salt marshes were characterized by a stable abundance, but a constant directed turnover of species. Reduced water levels and the disappearance of islands in the salt marshes increased the risk of threats from predators, which could lead to a decrease in the abundance of some species. The islands and spits were characterized by high species turnover with quasi-cyclical population dynamics. The main feature of the community dynamics was a decrease in the role of precipitation and an increase in the role of the time factor. The role of temperature remained stably low. The species richness of bird communities in agrarian lands was higher than in steppe communities. The turnover measure was significant because of the increased abundance of Alauda arvensis. Over time, the role of precipitation in the community dynamics has been decreasing and the role of time has been increasing. The value of temperature varied, but was at a stationary level. The turnover of species was compensated by an increase in the abundance of bird communities. The obtained results are in line with findings indicating that despite more stable land use intensities in recent years, climate change has not overtaken land use intensities as the main driver of bird population dynamics

Evidence for LineLike Vortex Liquid Phase in Tl2_2Ba2_2CaCu2_2O8_8 Probed by the Josephson Plasma Resonance

We measured the Josephson plasma resonance (JPR) in optimally doped Tl$_2$Ba$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$ thin films using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy in transmission. The temperature and magnetic field dependence of the JPR frequency shows that the c-axis correlations of pancake vortices remain intact at the transition from the vortex solid to the liquid phase. In this respect Tl$_2$Ba$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$ films, withanisotropy parameter $\gamma\approx 150$, are similar to the less anisotropic YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$ $(\gamma\approx 8)$ rather than to the most anisotropic Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$ single crystals $\gamma\geq 500$).Comment: Submitted to Physical Review Letter

Vortex-chain phases in layered superconductors

Layered superconductors in tilted magnetic field have a very rich spectrum of vortex lattice configurations. In the presence of in-plane magnetic field, a small c-axis field penetrates in the form of isolated vortex chains. The structure of a single chain is mainly determined by the ratio of the London [$\lambda$] and Josephson [$\lambda_{J}$] lengths, $\alpha= \lambda/\lambda_{J}$. At large $\alpha$ the chain is composed of tilted vortices [tilted chains] and at small $\alpha$ it consists of a crossing array of Josephson vortices and pancake stacks [crossing chains]. We studied the chain structures at intermediate $\alpha$'s and found two types of behavior. (I) In the range $0.4 < \alpha < 0.5$ a c-axis field first penetrates in the form of pancake-stack chains located on Josephson vortices. Due to attractive coupling between deformed stacks, their density jumps from zero to a finite value. With further increase of the c-axis field the chain structure smoothly evolves into modulated tilted vortices and then transforms via a second-order phase transition, into the tilted straight vortices. (II) In the range $0.5 < \alpha < 0.65$ a c-axis field first penetrates in the form of kinks creating kinked tilted vortices. With increasing the c-axis field this structure is replaced via a first-order phase transition by the strongly deformed crossing chain. This transition is accompanied by a large jump of pancake density. Further evolution of the chain structure is similar to the higher anisotropy scenario: it smoothly transforms back into the tilted straight vortices.Comment: Accepted to Phys. Rev. B, 20 pages 12 figures, animation of chain structure is available in http://mti.msd.anl.gov/movies/Chains/Nl8al06Im.gif (gif, 441 KB