Dispersion and damping of zone-boundary magnons in the noncentrosymmetric superconductor CePt3Si

Inelastic neutron scattering (INS) is employed to study damped spin-wave excitations in the noncentrosymmetric heavy-fermion superconductor CePt3Si along the antiferromagnetic Brillouin-zone boundary in the low-temperature magnetically ordered state. Measurements along the (1/2 1/2 L) and (H H 1/2-H) reciprocal-space directions reveal deviations in the spin-wave dispersion from the previously reported model. Broad asymmetric shape of the peaks in energy signifies strong spin-wave damping by interactions with the particle-hole continuum. Their energy width exhibits no evident anomalies as a function of momentum along the (1/2 1/2 L) direction, which could be attributed to Fermi-surface nesting effects, implying the absence of pronounced commensurate nesting vectors at the magnetic zone boundary. In agreement with a previous study, we find no signatures of the superconducting transition in the magnetic excitation spectrum, such as a magnetic resonant mode or a superconducting spin gap, either at the magnetic ordering wavevector (0 0 1/2) or at the zone boundary. However, the low superconducting transition temperature in this material still leaves the possibility of such features being weak and therefore hidden below the incoherent background at energies ~0.1 meV, precluding their detection by INS

The Anomalous Infrared Emission of Abell 58

We present a new model to explain the excess in mid and near infrared emission of the central, hydrogen poor dust knot in the planetary nebula (PN) Abell 58. Current models disagree with ISO measurement because they apply an average grain size and equilibrium conditions only. We investigate grain size distributions and temperature fluctuations affecting infrared emission using a new radiative transfer code and discuss in detail the conditions requiring an extension of the classical description. The peculiar infrared emission of V605 Aql, the central dust knot in Abell 58, has been modeled with our code. V605 Aql is of special interest as it is one of only three stars ever observed to move from the evolutionary track of a central PN star back to the post-AGB state.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures; accepted and to be published in Ap

Possible pseudogap behavior of electron doped high-temperature superconductors

We have measured the low-energy quasiparticle excitation spectrum of the electron doped high-temperature superconductors (HTS) Nd(1.85)Ce(0.15)CuO(4-y) and Pr(1.85)Ce(0.15)CuO(4-y) as a function of temperature and applied magnetic field using tunneling spectroscopy. At zero magnetic field, for these optimum doped samples no excitation gap is observed in the tunneling spectra above the transition temperature Tc. In contrast, below Tc for applied magnetic fields well above the resistively determined upper critical field, a clear excitation gap at the Fermi level is found which is comparable to the superconducting energy gap below Tc. Possible interpretations of this observation are the existence of a normal state pseudogap in the electron doped HTS or the existence of a spatially non-uniform superconducting state.Comment: 4 pages, 4 ps-figures included, to be published in Phys. Rev. B, Rapid Com

Theory for phonon-induced superconductivity in MgB2_2

We analyze superonductivity in MgB$_2$ observed below $T_c=39$ K resulting from electron-phonon coupling involving a mode at $\hbar \omega_1 = 24$ meV and most importantly the in-plane B-B $E_{2g}$ vibration at $\hbar \omega_2=67$ meV. The quasiparticles originating from $\pi$- and $\sigma$-states couple strongly to the low-frequency mode and the $E_{2g}$-vibrations respectively. Using two-band Eliashberg theory, $\lambda_{\pi} = 1.4$ and $\lambda_{\sigma} = 0.7$, we calculate the gap functions $\Delta^{i}(\omega,0)$ ($i=\pi$, $\sigma$). Our results provide an explanation of recent tunneling experiments. We get $H^{ab}_{c_2}/H^{c}_{c_2} \approx 3.9$.Comment: revised version, accepted for publication in PR

Doping dependence of the many-body effects along the nodal direction in the high-Tc cuprate (Bi,Pb)_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8

Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) is used to study the doping dependence of the lifetime and the mass renormalization of the low energy excitations in the high-Tc cuprate (Bi,Pb)_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8 along the zone diagonal. We find a linear energy de-pendence of the scattering rate for the underdoped samples and a quadratic energy depend-ence in the overdoped case. The mass enhancement of the quasiparticles due to the many body effects at the Fermi energy is found to be in the order of 2 and the renormalization extends over a large energy range for both the normal and the superconducting state. The much discussed kink in the dispersion around 70 meV is interpreted as a small additional effect at low temperatures.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

Drug-resistant genotypes and multi-clonality in Plasmodium falciparum analysed by direct genome sequencing from peripheral blood of malaria patients.

Naturally acquired blood-stage infections of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum typically harbour multiple haploid clones. The apparent number of clones observed in any single infection depends on the diversity of the polymorphic markers used for the analysis, and the relative abundance of rare clones, which frequently fail to be detected among PCR products derived from numerically dominant clones. However, minority clones are of clinical interest as they may harbour genes conferring drug resistance, leading to enhanced survival after treatment and the possibility of subsequent therapeutic failure. We deployed new generation sequencing to derive genome data for five non-propagated parasite isolates taken directly from 4 different patients treated for clinical malaria in a UK hospital. Analysis of depth of coverage and length of sequence intervals between paired reads identified both previously described and novel gene deletions and amplifications. Full-length sequence data was extracted for 6 loci considered to be under selection by antimalarial drugs, and both known and previously unknown amino acid substitutions were identified. Full mitochondrial genomes were extracted from the sequencing data for each isolate, and these are compared against a panel of polymorphic sites derived from published or unpublished but publicly available data. Finally, genome-wide analysis of clone multiplicity was performed, and the number of infecting parasite clones estimated for each isolate. Each patient harboured at least 3 clones of P. falciparum by this analysis, consistent with results obtained with conventional PCR analysis of polymorphic merozoite antigen loci. We conclude that genome sequencing of peripheral blood P. falciparum taken directly from malaria patients provides high quality data useful for drug resistance studies, genomic structural analyses and population genetics, and also robustly represents clonal multiplicity

Pseudogap from ARPES experiment: three gaps in cuprates and topological superconductivity

A term first coined by Mott back in 1968 a `pseudogap' is the depletion of the electronic density of states at the Fermi level, and pseudogaps have been observed in many systems. However, since the discovery of the high temperature superconductors (HTSC) in 1986, the central role attributed to the pseudogap in these systems has meant that by many researchers now associate the term pseudogap exclusively with the HTSC phenomenon. Recently, the problem has got a lot of new attention with the rediscovery of two distinct energy scales (`two-gap scenario') and charge density waves patterns in the cuprates. Despite many excellent reviews on the pseudogap phenomenon in HTSC, published from its very discovery up to now, the mechanism of the pseudogap and its relation to superconductivity are still open questions. The present review represents a contribution dealing with the pseudogap, focusing on results from angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and ends up with the conclusion that the pseudogap in cuprates is a complex phenomenon which includes at least three different `intertwined' orders: spin and charge density waves and preformed pairs, which appears in different parts of the phase diagram. The density waves in cuprates are competing to superconductivity for the electronic states but, on the other hand, should drive the electronic structure to vicinity of Lifshitz transition, that could be a key similarity between the superconducting cuprates and iron based superconductors. One may also note that since the pseudogap in cuprates has multiple origins there is no need to recoin the term suggested by Mott.Comment: invited review, more info at http://www.imp.kiev.ua/~kor

Interplay of ferromagnetism and triplet superconductivity in a Josephson junction

In this paper we extend our earlier analysis of the novel Josephson effect in triplet superconductor--ferromagnet--triplet superconductor (TFT) junctions [B. Kastening \emph{et al.}, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf{96}}, 047009 (2006)]. In our more general formulation of the TFT junction we allow for potential scattering at the barrier and an arbitrary orientation of the ferromagnetic moment. Several new effects are found upon the inclusion of these extra terms: for example, we find that a Josephson current can flow even when there is vanishing phase difference between the superconducting condensates on either side of the barrier. The critical current for a barrier with magnetization parallel to the interface is calculated as a function of the junction parameters, and is found to display strong non-analyticities. Furthermore, the Josephson current switches first identified in our previous work are found to be robust features of the junction, while the unconventional temperature-dependence of the current is very sensitive to the extra terms in the barrier Hamiltonian.Comment: 24 pages, 15 figure

Non-Fermi liquid behavior and scaling of low frequency suppression in optical conductivity spectra of CaRuO3_3

Optical conductivity spectra $\sigma_1(\omega)$ of paramagnetic CaRuO$_3$ are investigated at various temperatures. At T=10 K, it shows a non-Fermi liquid behavior of $\sigma_1(\omega)\sim 1/{\omega}^{\frac 12}$, similar to the case of a ferromagnet SrRuO$_3$. As the temperature ($T$) is increased, on the other hand, $\sigma_1(\omega)$ in the low frequency region is progressively suppressed, deviating from the 1/{\omega}^{\frac 12%}-dependence. Interestingly, the suppression of $\sigma_1(\omega)$ is found to scale with $\omega /T$ at all temperatures. The origin of the $$ scaling behavior coupled with the non-Fermi liquid behavior is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Nonmonotonic d_{x^2-y^2} Superconducting Order Parameter in Nd_{2-x}Ce_xCuO_4

Low energy polarized electronic Raman scattering of the electron doped superconductor Nd_1.85Ce_0.15CuO_4 (T_c=22 K) has revealed a nonmonotonic d_{x^2-y^2} superconducting order parameter. It has a maximum gap of 4.4 k_BT_c at Fermi surface intersections with antiferromagnetic Brillouin zone (the ``hot spots'') and a smaller gap of 3.3 k_BT_c at fermionic Brillouin zone boundaries. The gap enhancement in the vicinity of the ``hot spots'' emphasizes role of antiferromagnetic fluctuations and similarity in the origin of superconductivity for electron- and hole-doped cuprates.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure