On the structure of thin4He films on solid hydrogen

We have investigated the adsorption of4He onto a quench-condensed H2 film by means of surface state electrons. Oscillations in the surface state electron conductivity clearly reveal the layerwise character of the adsorption. At temperatures below 2K we have observed an anomaly in the conductivity around the completion of the first monolayer. This new feature is interpreted as an indication of a liquid-to-solid phase transition in the first layer

Step roughness on Ag(111) investigated by STM: a systematic study of tip influence

We have investigated monatomic steps on Ag(111) by STM at different temperatures. At room temperature, the rough appearance of these steps is usually attributed to thermal step fluctuations. We have investigated the influence of the tip systematically. Applying a new test, we demonstrate that even subtle influences can lead to wrong results in statistical analysis

Dynamics of fine particles due to quantized vortices on the surface of superfluid 4^4He

Peculiar dynamics of a free surface of the superfluid 4He has been observed experimentally with a newly established technique utilizing a number of electrically charged fine metal particles trapped electrically at the surface by Moroshkin et al. They have reported that some portion of the particles exhibit some irregular motions and suggested the existence of quantized vortices interacting with the metal particles. We have conducted calculations with the vortex filament model, which turns out to support the idea of the vortex-particle interactions. The observed anomalous metal particle motions are roughly categorized into two types; (1) circular motions with specific frequencies, and (2) quasi-linear oscillations. The former ones seem to be explained once we consider a vertical vortex filament whose edges are terminated at the bottom and at a particle trapped at the surface. Although it is not yet clear whether all the anomalous motions are due to the quantum vortices, the vortices seem to play important roles for the motions.Comment: 7 pages, 10 figure

Dynamics of the vortex-particle complexes bound to the free surface of superfluid helium

We present an experimental and theoretical study of the 2D dynamics of electrically charged nanoparticles trapped under a free surface of superfluid helium in a static vertical electric field. We focus on the dynamics of particles driven by the interaction with quantized vortices terminating at the free surface. We identify two types of particle trajectories and the associated vortex structures: vertical linear vortices pinned at the bottom of the container and half-ring vortices travelling along the free surface of the liquid

Lane reduction in driven 2d-colloidal systems through microchannels

The transport behavior of a system of gravitationally driven colloidal particles is investigated. The particle interactions are determined by the superparamagnetic behavior of the particles. They can thus be arranged in a crystalline order by application of an external magnetic field. Therefore the motion of the particles through a narrow channel occurs in well-defined lanes. The arrangement of the particles is perturbed by diffusion and the motion induced by gravity. Due to these combined influences a density gradient forms along the direction of motion of the particles. A reconfiguration of the crystal is observed leading to a reduction of the number of lanes. In the course of the lane reduction transition a local melting of the quasi-crystalline phase to a disordered phase and a subsequent crystallization along the motion of the particles is observed. This transition is characterized experimentally and using Brownian dynamics (BD) simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

A simple, ultrahigh vacuum compatible scanning tunneling microscope for use at variable temperatures

We present the construction of a very compact scanning tunneling microscope (STM) which can be operated at temperatures between 4 and 350 K. The tip and a tiny tip holder are the only movable parts, whereas the sample and the piezoscanner are rigidly attached to the body of the STM. This leads to an excellent mechanical stability. The coarse approach system relies on the slip-stick principle and is operated by the same piezotube which is used for scanning. As an example of the performance of the device, images of a NbSe2 surface with atomic resolution are obtained

On ultrafast magnetic flux dendrite propagation into thin superconducting films

We suggest a new theoretical approach describing the velocity of magnetic flux dendrite penetration into thin superconducting films. The key assumptions for this approach are based upon experimental observations. We treat a dendrite tip motion as a propagating flux jump instability. Two different regimes of dendrite propagation are found. A fast initial stage is followed by a slow stage, which sets in as soon as a dendrite enters into the vortex-free region. We find that the dendrite velocity is inversely proportional to the sample thickness. The theoretical results and experimental data obtained by a magneto-optic pump-probe technique are compared and excellent agreement between the calculations and measurements is found.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Памяти Вадима Григорьевича Манжелия (1933–2013)

21 августа 2013 года ушел из жизни академик Национальной академии наук Украины, профессор, доктор физико-математических наук, главный научный сотрудник Физико-технического института низких температур им. Б.И. Веркина НАН Украины, заслуженный деятель науки и техники Украины Вадим Григорьевич Манжелий

Energy-gap dynamics of superconducting NbN thin films studied by time-resolved terahertz spectroscopy

Using time-domain Terahertz spectroscopy we performed direct studies of the photoinduced suppression and recovery of the superconducting gap in a conventional BCS superconductor NbN. Both processes are found to be strongly temperature and excitation density dependent. The analysis of the data with the established phenomenological Rothwarf-Taylor model enabled us to determine the bare quasiparticle recombination rate, the Cooper pair-breaking rate and the electron-phonon coupling constant, \lambda = 1.1 +/- 0.1, which is in excellent agreement with theoretical estimates.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; final version, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Influence of chopped laser light onto the electronic transport through atomic-sized contacts

This article reports on the influence of laser irradiation onto the electrical conductance of gold nanocontacts established with the mechanically controllable breakjunction technique (MCB). We concentrate here on the study of reversible conductance changes which can be as high as 200%. We investigate the dependence on the initial conductance of the contacts, the wavelength, the intensity and position of the laser spot with respect to the sample. Under most conditions an enhancement of the conductance is observed. We discuss several physical mechanisms which might contribute to the observed effect including thermal expansion, rectification and photon-assisted transport. We conclude that thermal expansion is not the dominating one.Comment: 20 pages with 7 figures; conference contribution on the 9th near field optics conference 2006 in Lausanne, Switzerland; accepted by the Journal of Microscop