Mechanisms of Spontaneous Current Generation in an Inhomogeneous d-Wave Superconductor

A boundary between two d-wave superconductors or an s-wave and a d-wave superconductor generally breaks time-reversal symmetry and can generate spontaneous currents due to proximity effect. On the other hand, surfaces and interfaces in d-wave superconductors can produce localized current-carrying states by supporting the T-breaking combination of dominant and subdominant order parameters. We investigate spontaneous currents in the presence of both mechanisms and show that at low temperature, counter-intuitively, the subdominant coupling decreases the amplitude of the spontaneous current due to proximity effect. Superscreening of spontaneous currents is demonstrated to be present in any d-d (but not s-d) junction and surface with d+id' order parameter symmetry. We show that this supercreening is the result of contributions from the local magnetic moment of the condensate to the spontaneous current.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, RevTe

Diversidade de plantas da cobertura vegetal herbácea do olival e sua correlação com a diversidade de artrópodes

A vegetação herbácea do olival representa um potencial habitat para a artropodofauna auxiliar como fonte de alimento (pólen, néctar, meladas ou presas/hospedeiros alternativos) e abrigo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a relação entre a diversidade de plantas da cobertura vegetal herbácea do olival e a diversidade de artópodes existentes nessas plantas. Numa primeira fase, o estudo decorreu num olival (Valbom-dos-Figos) onde se realizou a colheita de plantas da cobertura vegetal herbácea ao longo de 20 transectos formados por uma circunferência de 1,5 m de raio, colocados na entrelinha e na linha de plantação. Os artrópodes foram recolhidos com recurso a uma rede de mão. Os espécimes recolhidos foram identificados à família ou, sempre que possível, à espécie. Numa segunda fase, utilizou-se a mesma metodologia de amostragem em três olivais (Valbom-dos-Figos, Paradela e Cedães). Na análise de dados, a biodiversidade de plantas e de artrópodes foram relacionadas através de uma análise canónica com a finalidade de detetar potenciais associações entre plantas e artrópodes. As famílias de plantas mais representadas foram Poaceae, Fabaceae e Asteraceae. Na linha de plantação destacou-se a família Poaceae, enquanto na entrelinha as famílias mais representadas foram Poaceae e Fabaceae. Em Paradela foi identificado um maior número de famílias quando comparado com Cedães e Valbom dos Figos. Relativamente aos artrópodes, Aphidide, Diptera e Thysanoptera foram as ordens mais abundantes com uma abundância relativa de 37,2%, 34,9% e 13,0%, respetivamente. Tanto estas ordens, como as ordens Araneae e Coleoptera registaram maiores abundâncias na linha de plantação do que na entrelinha. O grupo dos parasitóides revelou uma riqueza de 18 famílias, sendo as famílias Braconidae, Ichneumonidae e Eulophidae as mais abundantes. A análise canónica revelou elevada correlação entre as famílias Braconidae e Asteraceae e entre duas espécies de formigas (Crematogaster scutellaris e Tapinoma nigerrimum) e plantas da família Fabacea

Constraining dark energy fluctuations with supernova correlations

We investigate constraints on dark energy fluctuations using type Ia supernovae. If dark energy is not in the form of a cosmological constant, that is if the equation of state is not equal to -1, we expect not only temporal, but also spatial variations in the energy density. Such fluctuations would cause local variations in the universal expansion rate and directional dependences in the redshift-distance relation. We present a scheme for relating a power spectrum of dark energy fluctuations to an angular covariance function of standard candle magnitude fluctuations. The predictions for a phenomenological model of dark energy fluctuations are compared to observational data in the form of the measured angular covariance of Hubble diagram magnitude residuals for type Ia supernovae in the Union2 compilation. The observational result is consistent with zero dark energy fluctuations. However, due to the limitations in statistics, current data still allow for quite general dark energy fluctuations as long as they are in the linear regime.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, matches the published versio

Preservation of a highly perishable food, watermelon juice, at and above room temperature under mild pressure (hyperbaric storage) as an alternative to refrigeration

The feasibility of food preservation under pressure (hyperbaric storage) at and above room temperatures, as an alternative to refrigeration was evaluated. Preservation of a highly perishable food, watermelon juice, was studied at pressures of 25e150 MPa and temperatures ranging 20e37 C, being compared to refrigeration and storage at atmospheric pressure at the same temperatures. Hyperbaric storage at 75 MPa (20e37 C) revealed an inhibitory effect on microbial growth, with at least an equal performance compared to refrigeration. An additional inactivation effect was verified for storage at 100 and 150 MPa, with reduction of the initial microbial counts to 1.00 Log CFU/mL for enterobacteriaceae and yeasts and moulds, and from 4.43 ± 0.04 to 3.31 ± 0.04 and 2.99 ± 0.07 Log CFU/ mL, respectively, for total aerobic mesophiles (25 C). In general, pH, titratable acidity and total soluble solids did not show a clear variation trend with pressure and no considerable differences among storage conditions were verified. Cloudiness decreased for samples stored under pressure and browning degree was in general lower in samples stored under pressure compared to refrigeration. This work demonstrates the potentiality of hyperbaric storage as a new preservation methodology, at variable (uncontrolled) room temperature without energetic costs during storage, as an alternative to refrigeration

Permeability analysis in bisized porous media: wall effect between particles of different size

The permeability of binary packings of glass beads with different size ratio – 13.3, 20, and 26.7, was investigated. In the Kozeny–Carman equation, the dependence of the tortuosity τ on the mixture porosity ε(xD) was described according to τ = 1/εn for different volume fraction of large particles in the mixture, xD. Obtained data on packing permeability shows that the parameter n is a function of the volume fraction and particle size ratio, with values between 0.5 and 0.4. This can be explained by the wall effect resulting from the arrangement of the small particles occurring near the large particle surface. A model taking in account this effect was suggested that can be useful in the characterization of transport phenomena in granular beds as well as in engineering applications.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - SFRH/BPD/18128/2004; Project POCI_EQU_58337/2004

Measuring dark energy spatial inhomogeneity with supernova data

The gravitational lensing distortion of distant sources by the large-scale distribution of matter in the Universe has been extensively studied. In contrast, very little is known about the effects due to the large-scale distribution of dark energy. We discuss the use of Type Ia supernovae as probes of the spatial inhomogeneity and anisotropy of dark energy. We show that a shallow, almost all-sky survey can limit rms dark energy fluctuations at the horizon scale down to a fractional energy density of ~10^-4Comment: 4 pages; PRL submitte

Interacting New Agegraphic Dark Energy in a Cyclic Universe

The main goal of this work is investigation of NADE in the cyclic universe scenario. Since, cyclic universe is explained by a phantom phase ($\omega<-1$), it is shown when there is no interaction between matter and dark energy, ADE and NADE do not produce a phantom phase, then can not describe cyclic universe. Therefore, we study interacting models of ADE and NADE in the modified Friedmann equation. We find out that, in the high energy regime, which it is a necessary part of cyclic universe evolution, only NADE can describe this phantom phase era for cyclic universe. Considering deceleration parameter tells us that the universe has a deceleration phase after an acceleration phase, and NADE is able to produce a cyclic universe. Also it is found valuable to study generalized second law of thermodynamics. Since the loop quantum correction is taken account in high energy regime, it may not be suitable to use standard treatment of thermodynamics, so we turn our attention to the result of \citep{29}, which the authors have studied thermodynamics in loop quantum gravity, and we show that which condition can satisfy generalized second law of thermodynamics.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

Morphological phenotypic dispersion of garlic cultivars by cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling

Multivariate techniques have become a useful tool for studying the phenotypic diversity of Germplasm Bank accessions, since they make it possible to combine a variety of different information from these accessions. This study aimed to characterize the phenotypic dispersion of garlic (Allium sativum L.) using two multivariate techniques with different objective functions. Twenty accessions were morphologically characterized for bulb diameter, length, and weight; number of cloves per bulb; number of leaves per plant; and leaf area. Techniques based on generalized quadratic distance of Mahalanobis, UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean) clustering, and nMDS (nonmetrric MultiDimensional Scaling) were applied and the relative importance of variables quantified. The two multivariate techniques were capable of identifying cultivars with different characteristics, mainly regarding their classification in subgroups of common garlic or noble garlic, according to the number of cloves per bulb. The representation of the phenotypic distance of cultivars by multidimensional scaling was slightly more effective than that with UPGMA clustering