6,040 research outputs found
Andreev Reflection in Heavy-Fermion Superconductors and Order Parameter Symmetry in CeCoIn_5
Differential conductance spectra are obtained from nanoscale junctions on the
heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn along three major crystallographic
orientations. Consistency and reproducibility of characteristic features among
the junctions ensure their spectroscopic nature. All junctions show a similar
conductance asymmetry and Andreev reflection-like conductance with reduced
signal (~ 10%-13%), both commonly observed in heavy-fermion superconductor
junctions. Analysis using the extended Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk model indicates
that our data provide the first spectroscopic evidence for
symmetry. To quantify our conductance spectra, we propose a model by
considering the general phenomenology in heavy fermions, the two-fluid
behavior, and an energy-dependent density of states. Our model fits to the
experimental data remarkably well and should invigorate further investigations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; Phys. Rev. Lett., published versio
Universal phase shift and non-exponential decay of driven single-spin oscillations
We study, both theoretically and experimentally, driven Rabi oscillations of
a single electron spin coupled to a nuclear spin bath. Due to the long
correlation time of the bath, two unusual features are observed in the
oscillations. The decay follows a power law, and the oscillations are shifted
in phase by a universal value of ~pi/4. These properties are well understood
from a theoretical expression that we derive here in the static limit for the
nuclear bath. This improved understanding of the coupled electron-nuclear
system is important for future experiments using the electron spin as a qubit.Comment: Main text: 4 pages, 3 figures, Supplementary material: 2 pages, 3
figure
Muscle Non-shivering Thermogenesis and Its Role in the Evolution of Endothermy
The development of sustained, long-term endothermy was one of the major transitions in the evolution of vertebrates. Thermogenesis in endotherms does not only occur via shivering or activity, but also via non-shivering thermogenesis (NST). Mammalian NST is mediated by the uncoupling protein 1 in the brown adipose tissue (BAT) and possibly involves an additional mechanism of NST in skeletal muscle. This alternative mechanism is based on Ca2+-slippage by a sarcoplasmatic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) and is controlled by the protein sarcolipin. The existence of muscle based NST has been discussed for a long time and is likely present in all mammals. However, its importance for thermoregulation was demonstrated only recently in mice. Interestingly, birds, which have evolved from a different reptilian lineage than mammals and lack UCP1-mediated NST, also exhibit muscle based NST under the involvement of SERCA, though likely without the participation of sarcolipin. In this review we summarize the current knowledge on muscle NST and discuss the efficiency of muscle NST and BAT in the context of the hypothesis that muscle NST could have been the earliest mechanism of heat generation during cold exposure in vertebrates that ultimately enabled the evolution of endothermy. We suggest that the evolution of BAT in addition to muscle NST was related to heterothermy being predominant among early endothermic mammals. Furthermore, we argue that, in contrast to small mammals, muscle NST is sufficient to maintain high body temperature in birds, which have enhanced capacities to fuel muscle NST by high rates of fatty acid import
Detection of Orbital Fluctuations Above the Structural Transition Temperature in the Iron-Pnictides and Chalcogenides
We use point contact spectroscopy to probe () and . For we detect orbital
fluctuations above while for AE=Ca these fluctuations start below .
Co doping preserves the orbital fluctuations while K doping suppresses it. The
fluctuations are only seen at those dopings and temperatures where an in-plane
resistive anisotropy is known to exist. We predict an in-plane resistive
anisotropy of above . Our data are examined in light of
the recent work by W.-C. Lee and P. Phillips (arXiv:1110.5917v2). We also study
how joule heating in the PCS junctions impacts the spectra. Spectroscopic
information is only obtained from those PCS junctions that are free of heating
effects while those PCS junctions that are in the thermal regime display bulk
resistivity phenomenon.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Verification and intercomparison of reactive transport codes to describe root-uptake
Several mathematical models have been developed to simulate processes and interactions in the plant rhizosphere. Most of these models are based on a rather simplified description of the soil chemistry and interactions of plant roots in the rhizosphere. In particular the feedback loops between exudation, water and solute uptake are mostly not considered, although their importance in the bioavailability of mineral elements for plants has been demonstrated. The aim of this work was to evaluate three existing coupled speciation-transport tools to model rhizosphere processes. In the field of hydrogeochemistry, such␣computational tools have been developed to␣describe acid-base and redox reactions, complexation and ion exchange, adsorption and precipitation of chemical species in soils and aquifers using thermodynamic and kinetic relationships. We implemented and tested a simple rhizosphere model with three geochemical computational tools (ORCHESTRA, MIN3P, and PHREEQC). The first step was an accuracy analysis of the different solution strategies by comparing the numerical results to the analytical solution of solute uptake (K or Ca) by a single cylindrical root. All models are able to reproduce the concentration profiles as well as the uptake flux. The relative error of the simulated concentration profile decreases with increasing distance from the root. The uptake flux was simulated for all codes with less than 5% error for K and less than 0.4% for Ca. The strength of the codes presented in this paper is that they can also be used to investigate more complex and coupled biogeochemical processes in rhizosphere models. This is shown exemplarily with simulations involving both exudation and uptake and the simultaneous uptake of solute and wate
Airborne sampling of aerosol particles: Comparison between surface sampling at Christmas Island and P-3 sampling during PEM-Tropics B
Bulk aerosol sampling of soluble ionic compounds from the NASA Wallops Island P-3 aircraft and a tower on Christmas Island during PEM-Tropics B provides an opportunity to assess the magnitude of particle losses in the University of New Hampshire airborne bulk aerosol sampling system. We find that most aerosol-associated ions decrease strongly with height above the sea surface, making direct comparisons between mixing ratios at 30 m on the tower and the lowest flight level of the P-3 (150 m) open to interpretation. Theoretical considerations suggest that vertical gradients of sea-salt aerosol particles should show exponential decreases with height. Observed gradients of Na+ and Mg2+, combining the tower observations with P-3 samples collected below 1 km, are well described by exponential decreases (r values of 0.88 and 0.87, respectively), though the curve fit underestimates average mixing ratios at the surface by 25%. Cascade impactor samples collected on the tower show that \u3e99% of the Na+ and Mg2+mass is on supermicron particles, 65% is in the 1–6 micron range, and just 20% resides on particles with diameters larger than 9 microns. These results indicate that our airborne aerosol sampling probes must be passing particles up to at least 6 microns with high efficiency. We also observed that nss SO42− and NH4+, which are dominantly on accumulation mode particles, tended to decrease between 150 and 1000 m, but they were often considerably higher at the lowest P-3 sampling altitudes than at the tower. This finding is presently not well understood
Point-contact spectroscopy on URuSi
Tunnel and point contact experiments have been made in a URuSi single
crystal along the c-axis. The experiments were performed changing temperature
and contact size in a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope. A
resonance develops at the Fermi level at K. This resonance splits
and becomes asymmetric when the 17.5 K phase transition is crossed. These
results are consistent with the existence of Kondo like bound states of the
U ionic configurations and the conduction electrons. Below the
transition, these configurations are split by the development of quadrupolar
ordering. The peak separation can be interpreted as a direct measurement of the
order parameter. Measurements on a policrystalline UAu_2Si_2$ sample are also
reported, with a comparative study of the behavior of both materials.Comment: 4 pages (Latex) + 2 postscript figure
Andreev reflection and order parameter symmetry in heavy-fermion superconductors: the case of CeCoIn
We review the current status of Andreev reflection spectroscopy on the heavy
fermions, mostly focusing on the case of CeCoIn, a heavy-fermion
superconductor with a critical temperature of 2.3 K. This is a well-established
technique to investigate superconducting order parameters via measurements of
the differential conductance from nanoscale metallic junctions. Andreev
reflection is clearly observed in CeCoIn as in other heavy-fermion
superconductors. The measured Andreev signal is highly reduced to the order of
maximum 13% compared to the theoretically predicted value (100%).
Analysis of the conductance spectra using the extended BTK model provides a
qualitative measure for the superconducting order parameter symmetry, which is
determined to be -wave in CeCoIn. A phenomenological model is
proposed employing a Fano interference effect between two conductance channels
in order to explain both the conductance asymmetry and the reduced Andreev
signal. This model appears plausible not only because it provides good fits to
the data but also because it is highly likely that the electrical conduction
occurs via two channels, one into the heavy electron liquid and the other into
the conduction electron continuum. Further experimental and theoretical
investigations will shed new light on the mechanism of how the coherent
heavy-electron liquid emerges out of the Kondo lattice, a prototypical strongly
correlated electron system. Unresolved issues and future directions are also
discussed.Comment: Topical Review published in JPCM (see below), 28 pages, 9 figure
Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Partially-Open Carbon Nanotubes
On the basis of the spin-polarized density functional theory calculations, we
demonstrate that partially-open carbon nanotubes (CNTs) observed in recent
experiments have rich electronic and magnetic properties which depend on the
degree of the opening. A partially-open armchair CNT is converted from a metal
to a semiconductor, and then to a spin-polarized semiconductor by increasing
the length of the opening on the wall. Spin-polarized states become
increasingly more stable than nonmagnetic states as the length of the opening
is further increased. In addition, external electric fields or chemical
modifications are usable to control the electronic and magnetic properties of
the system. We show that half-metallicity may be achieved and the spin current
may be controlled by external electric fields or by asymmetric
functionalization of the edges of the opening. Our findings suggest that
partially-open CNTs may offer unique opportunities for the future development
of nanoscale electronics and spintronics.Comment: 6 figures, to appear in J. Am. Chem. So
Resolving Spin-Orbit and Hyperfine Mediated Electric Dipole Spin Resonance in a Quantum Dot
We investigate the electric manipulation of a single electron spin in a
single gate-defined quantum dot. We observe that so-far neglected differences
between the hyperfine and spin-orbit mediated electric dipole spin resonance
conditions have important consequences at high magnetic fields. In experiments
using adiabatic rapid passage to invert the electron spin, we observe an
unusually wide and asymmetric response as a function of magnetic field.
Simulations support the interpretation of the lineshape in terms of four
different resonance conditions. These findings may lead to isotope-selective
control of dynamic nuclear polarization in quantum dots
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