16,240 research outputs found
Electrostatic Tuning of the Superconductor-Insulator Transition in Two Dimensions
Superconductivity has been induced in insulating ultra-thin films of
amorphous bismuth using the electric field effect. The screening of
electron-electron interaction was found to increase with electron concentration
in a manner correlated with the tendency towards superconductivity. This does
not preclude an increase in the density of states being important in the
development of superconductivity. The superconductor-insulator transition
appears to belong to the universality class of the three dimensional XY model.Comment: Four pages, three figures. Revised slightly to reflect referees'
comment
Testing the existence of optical linear polarization in young brown dwarfs
Linear polarization can be used as a probe of the existence of atmospheric
condensates in ultracool dwarfs. Models predict that the observed linear
polarization increases withthe degree of oblateness, which is inversely
proportional to the surface gravity. We aimed to test the existence of optical
linear polarization in a sample of bright young brown dwarfs, with spectral
types between M6 and L2, observable from the Calar Alto Observatory, and
cataloged previously as low gravity objects using spectroscopy. Linear
polarimetric images were collected in I and R-band using CAFOS at the 2.2 m
telescope in Calar Alto Observatory (Spain). The flux ratio method was employed
to determine the linear polarization degrees. With a confidence of 3,
our data indicate that all targets have a linear polarimetry degree in average
below 0.69% in the I-band, and below 1.0% in the R-band, at the time they were
observed. We detected significant (i.e. P/ 3) linear polarization
for the young M6 dwarf 2MASS J04221413+1530525 in the R-band, with a degree of
= 0.81 0.17 %.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
Introduction: Urban revolutions in the age of global urbanism
This special issue, papers presented at an Urban Studies Foundation-funded conference in Jakarta (March 2011), examines the current ‘urban century’ in terms of three revolutions. Revolutions from above index the logics and norms of mainstream global urbanism, particularly the form they have taken as policymakers work with municipal officials worldwide to organise urban development around neoliberal norms. Revolutions from below refer to the multifaceted contestations of global urbanism that take place in and around cities, ranging from urban street demonstrations and occupations (such as those riveting the world in early 2011 when these papers were written) to the quotidian actions of those pursuing politics and livelihoods that subvert the norms of mainstream global urbanism. It also highlights conceptual revolutions, referencing the ongoing challenge of reconceptualising urban theory from the South – not simply as a hemispheric location or geopolitical category but an epistemological stance, staged from many different locations but always fraught with the differentials of power and the weight of historical geographies. Drawing on the insights of scholars writing from, and not just about, such locations, a further iteration in this ‘southern’ turn of urban theorising is proposed. This spatio-temporal conjunctural approach emphasises how the specificity of cities – their existence as entities that are at once singular and universal – emerges from spatio-temporal dynamics, connectivities and horizontal and vertical relations. Practically, such scholarship entails taking the field seriously through collaborative work that is multi-sited, engages people along the spectrum of academics and activists, and is presented before and scrutinised by multiple publics
Primary-Filling e/3 Quasiparticle Interferometer
We report experimental realization of a quasiparticle interferometer where
the entire system is in 1/3 primary fractional quantum Hall state. The
interferometer consists of chiral edge channels coupled by quantum-coherent
tunneling in two constrictions, thus enclosing an Aharonov-Bohm area. We
observe magnetic flux and charge periods h/e and e/3, equivalent to creation of
one quasielectron in the island. Quantum theory predicts a 3h/e flux period for
charge e/3, integer statistics particles. Accordingly, the observed periods
demonstrate the anyonic statistics of Laughlin quasiparticles
Characterizing the Hofstadter butterfly's outline with Chern numbers
In this work, we report original properties inherent to independent particles
subjected to a magnetic field by emphasizing the existence of regular
structures in the energy spectrum's outline. We show that this fractal curve,
the well-known Hofstadter butterfly's outline, is associated to a specific
sequence of Chern numbers that correspond to the quantized transverse
conductivity. Indeed the topological invariant that characterizes the
fundamental energy band depicts successive stairways as the magnetic flux
varies. Moreover each stairway is shown to be labeled by another Chern number
which measures the charge transported under displacement of the periodic
potential. We put forward the universal character of these properties by
comparing the results obtained for the square and the honeycomb geometries.Comment: Accepted for publication in J. Phys. B (Jan 2009
Analytic Coulomb matrix elements in the lowest Landau level in disk geometry
Using Darling's theorem on products of generalized hypergeometric series an
analytic expression is obtained for the Coulomb matrix elements in the lowest
Landau level in the representation of angular momentum. The result is important
in the studies of Fractional Quantum Hall effect (FQHE) in disk geometry.
Matrix elements are expressed as simple finite sums of positive terms,
eliminating the need to approximate these quantities with slowly-convergent
series. As a by-product, an analytic representation for certain integals of
products of Laguerre polynomials is obtained.Comment: Accepted to J. Math. Phys.; 3 pages revtex, no figure
Quark Delocalization, Color Screening, and Nuclear Intermediate Range Attraction
We consider the effect of including quark delocalization and color screening,
in the nonrelativistic quark cluster model, on baryon-baryon potentials and
phase shifts. We find that the inclusion of these additional effects allows a
good qualitative description of both.Comment: 10 pages, LaTeX, 4 figures in PostScript after text, LA-UR-91-215
Low-Temperature Glassy Response of Ultrathin Manganite Films to Electric and Magnetic Fields
The glassy response of thin films of La0.8Ca0.2MnO3 to external magnetic and
gated electrostatic fields in a field-effect geometry has been studied at low
temperatures. A hierarchical response with irreversible memory effects,
non-ergodic time evolution, aging and annealing behavior of the resistance
suggest that the dynamics are governed by strain relaxation for both electronic
and magnetic perturbations. Cross-coupling of charge, spin, and strain have
been exploited to tune the coercivity of an ultrathin manganite film by
electrostatic gating.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Endogenous Progenitors Remyelinate Demyelinated Axons in the Adult CNS
AbstractRemyelination occurs in demyelinated CNS regions in diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Identification of the cell type(s) responsible for this remyelination, however, has been elusive. Here, we examine one potential source of remyelinating oligodendrocytes—immature, cycling cells endogenous to adult white matter—and demonstrate that this population responds to demyelination by differentiating into myelinating oligodendrocytes. Dividing cells in subcortical white matter of adult rats were labeled by stereotactic injection of a replication-deficient lacZ-encoding retrovirus (BAG). Following a focal demyelination induced with lysolecithin, many of the BAG-labeled cells differentiated into myelinating oligodendrocytes engaging in repair of the lesion. Identification of endogenous cells capable of remyelination provides a target for the study of CNS repair processes in demyelinating diseases
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