Electromotive forces and the Meissner effect puzzle

In a voltaic cell, positive (negative) ions flow from the low (high) potential electrode to the high (low) potential electrode, driven by an `electromotive force' which points in opposite direction and overcomes the electric force. Similarly in a superconductor charge flows in direction opposite to that dictated by the Faraday electric field as the magnetic field is expelled in the Meissner effect. The puzzle is the same in both cases: what drives electric charges against electromagnetic forces? I propose that the answer is also the same in both cases: kinetic energy lowering, or `quantum pressure'

Peat and humus in Illinois

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Optical Sum Rule anomalies in the High-Tc Cuprates

We provide a brief summary of the observed sum rule anomalies in the high-T$_c$ cuprate materials. A recent issue has been the impact of a non-infinite frequency cutoff in the experiment. In the normal state, the observed anomalously high temperature dependence can be explained as a `cutoff effect'. The anomalous rise in the optical spectral weight below the superconducting transition, however, remains as a solid experimental observation, even with the use of a cutoff frequency.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, very brief review of optical sum rule anomal

Absence of Persistent Magnetic Oscillations in Type-II Superconductors

We report on a numerical study intended to examine the possibility that magnetic oscillations persist in type II superconductors beyond the point where the pairing self-energy exceeds the normal state Landau level separation. Our work is based on the self-consistent numerical solution for model superconductors of the Bogoliubov-deGennes equations for the vortex lattice state. In the regime where the pairing self-energy is smaller than the cyclotron energy, magnetic oscillations resulting from Landau level quantization are suppressed by the broadening of quasiparticle Landau levels due to the non-uniform order parameter of the vortex lattice state, and by splittings of the quasiparticle bands. Plausible arguments that the latter effect can lead to a sign change of the fundamental harmonic of the magnetic oscillations when the pairing self-energy is comparable to the cyclotron energy are shown to be flawed. Our calculations indicate that magnetic oscillations are strongly suppressed once the pairing self-energy exceeds the Landau level separation.Comment: 7 pages, revtex, 7 postscript figure

Low-Temperature Specific Heat of an Extreme-Type-II Superconductor at High Magnetic Fields

We present a detailed study of the quasiparticle contribution to the low-temperature specific heat of an extreme type-II superconductor at high magnetic fields. Within a T-matrix approximation for the self-energies in the mixed state of a homogeneous superconductor, the electronic specific heat is a linear function of temperature with a linear-$T$ coefficient $\gamma_s(H)$ being a nonlinear function of magnetic field $H$. In the range of magnetic fields H\agt (0.15-0.2)H_{c2} where our theory is applicable, the calculated $\gamma_s(H)$ closely resembles the experimental data for the borocarbide superconductor YNi$_2$B$_2$C.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Physical Review

Power spectrum of many impurities in a d-wave superconductor

Recently the structure of the measured local density of states power spectrum of a small area of the \BSCCO (BSCCO) surface has been interpreted in terms of peaks at an "octet" of scattering wave vectors determined assuming weak, noninterfering scattering centers. Using analytical arguments and numerical solutions of the Bogoliubov-de Gennes equations, we discuss how the interference between many impurities in a d-wave superconductor alters this scenario. We propose that the peaks observed in the power spectrum are not the features identified in the simpler analyses, but rather "background" structures which disperse along with the octet vectors. We further consider how our results constrain the form of the actual disorder potential found in this material.Comment: 5 pages.2 figure

Diversity and impact of rare variants in genes encoding the platelet G protein-coupled receptors

Platelet responses to activating agonists are influenced by common population variants within or near G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) genes that affect receptor activity. However, the impact of rare GPCR gene variants is unknown. We describe the rare single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in the coding and splice regions of 18 GPCR genes in 7,595 exomes from the 1,000-genomes and Exome Sequencing Project databases and in 31 cases with inherited platelet function disorders (IPFDs). In the population databases, the GPCR gene target regions contained 740 SNVs (318 synonymous, 410 missense, 7 stop gain and 6 splice region) of which 70 % had global minor allele frequency (MAF) < 0.05 %. Functional annotation using six computational algorithms, experimental evidence and structural data identified 156/740 (21 %) SNVs as potentially damaging to GPCR function, most commonly in regions encoding the transmembrane and C-terminal intracellular receptor domains. In 31 index cases with IPFDs (Gi-pathway defect n=15; secretion defect n=11; thromboxane pathway defect n=3 and complex defect n=2) there were 256 SNVs in the target regions of 15 stimulatory platelet GPCRs (34 unique; 12 with MAF< 1 % and 22 with MAF≥ 1 %). These included rare variants predicting R122H, P258T and V207A substitutions in the P2Y12 receptor that were annotated as potentially damaging, but only partially explained the platelet function defects in each case. Our data highlight that potentially damaging variants in platelet GPCR genes have low individual frequencies, but are collectively abundant in the population. Potentially damaging variants are also present in pedigrees with IPFDs and may contribute to complex laboratory phenotypes

The Energy-dependent Checkerboard Patterns in Cuprate Superconductors

Motivated by the recent scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments [J. E. Hoffman {\it et al.}, Science {\bf 297}, 1148 (2002); K. McElroy {\it et al.}, Nature (to be published)], we investigate the real space local density of states (LDOS) induced by weak disorder in a d-wave superconductor. We first present the energy dependent LDOS images around a single weak defect at several energies, and then point out that the experimentally observed checkerboard pattern in the LDOS could be understood as a result of quasiparticle interferences by randomly distributed defects. It is also shown that the checkerboard pattern oriented along $45^0$ to the Cu-O bonds at low energies would transform to that oriented parallel to the Cu-O bonds at higher energies. This result is consistent with the experiments.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

Network patterns and strength of orbital currents in layered cuprates

In a frame of the $t-J-G$ model we derive the microscopical expression for the circulating orbital currents in layered cuprates using the anomalous correlation functions. In agreement with $\mu$-on spin relaxation ($\mu$SR), nuclear quadrupolar resonance (NQR) and inelastic neutron scattering(INS) experiments in YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+x}$ we successfully explain the order of magnitude and the monotonous increase of the {\it internal} magnetic fields resulting from these currents upon cooling. However, the jump in the intensity of the magnetic fields at T$_c$ reported recently seems to indicate a non-mean-field feature in the coexistence of current and superconducting states and the deviation of the extended charge density wave vector instability from its commensurate value {\bf Q}$\approx(\pi,\pi$) in accordance with the reported topology of the Fermi surface