Anomalous electronic Raman scattering in Na_xCoO_2 H_2O

Raman scattering experiments on Na_{x}CoO_2 yH_2O single crystals show a broad electronic continuum with a pronounced peak around 100 cm-1 and a cutoff at approximately 560 cm-1over a wide range of doping levels. The electronic Raman spectra in superconducting and non-superconducting samples are similar at room temperature, but evolve in markedly different ways with decreasing temperature. For superconducting samples, the low-energy spectral weight is depleted upon cooling below T* sim 150K, indicating a opening of a pseudogap that is not present in non-superconducting materials. Weak additional phonon modes observed below T* suggest that the pseudogap is associated with charge ordering.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, for further information see www.peter-lemmens.d

Coincident extremely large sporadic sodium and sporadic E layers observed in the lower thermosphere over Colorado and Utah

International audienceOn the night of 2 June 2002, the sodium lidar in Fort Collins, CO (40.6 N, 105 W) measured an extremely strong sporadic sodium layer lasting from 03:30 to 05:00 UT with several weaker layers later in the night at 06:00 and 09:00 UT. There is a double layer structure with peaks at 101 and 104 km. The peak sodium density was 21 000 atoms/cm3 with a column abundance of up to twice that of the normal sodium layer. The peak density was 500 times greater than the typical density at that altitude. The sporadic layer abundance and strength factor were higher than any reported in the literature. The two lidar beams, separated by 70 km at this altitude, both measured 0.6 h periodicities in the abundance, but out of phase with each other by 0.3 h. There is also evidence for strong wave activity in the lidar temperatures and winds. The NOAA ionosonde in Boulder, CO (40.0 N, 105 W) measured a critical frequency (foEs) of 14.3 MHz at 03:00 UT on this night, the highest value anytime during 2002. The high values of total ion density inferred means that Na+ fraction must have been only a few percent to explain the neutral Na layer abundances. The Bear Lake, Utah (41.9 N, 111.4 W) dynasonde also measured intense Es between 02:00 and 05:00 UT and again from 06:00 to 08:00 UT about 700 km west of the lidar, with most of the ionograms during these intervals measuring Es up to 12 MHz, the limit of the ionosonde sweep. Other ionosondes around North America on the NGDC database measured normal foEs values that night, so it was a localized event within North America. The peak of Es activity observed in Europe during the summer of 2002 occurred on 4 June. The observations are consistent with the current theories where a combination of wind shears and long period waves form and push downward a concentrated layer of ions, which then chemically react and form a narrow layer of sodium atoms

Pupillometry, a bioengineering overview

The pupillary control system is examined using a microprocessor based integrative pupillometer. The real time software functions of the microprocessor include: data collection, stimulus generation and area to diameter conversion. Results of an analysis of linear and nonlinear phenomena are presented

Random division of an interval

The well-known relation between random division of an interval and the Poisson process is interpreted as a Laplace transformation. With the use of this interpretation a number of (in part known) results is derived very easily

A search for disordered (glassy) phase in solid 3He deformed in situ

A disordered (glassy) state has been searched in solid 3He deformed in the course of experiment employing precise measurements of pressure. The analysis of the temperature dependence of the crystal pressure measured at a constant volume shows that the main contribution to the pressure is made by the phonon subsystem, the influence of the disordered phase being very weak. Annealing of the deformed crystal does not affect this state. The results obtained differ greatly from the corresponding data for solid 4He measured in the region of supersolid effects where a pressure excessive in comparison to the phonon one was registered. The excess pressure had a quadratic dependence on temperature, which is typical of a disordered system. Absence of the excess pressure in solid 3He is unclear yet, some speculative interpretations are suggested.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Spin gap behavior and charge ordering in \alpha^{\prime}-NaV_2O_5 probed by light scattering

We present a detailed analysis of light scattering experiments performed on the quarter-filled spin ladder compound $\alpha^\prime$-NaV$_{2}$O$_{5}$ for the temperature range 5 K$\le$T$\le$300 K. This system undergoes a phase transition into a singlet ground state at T=34 K accompanied by the formation of a super structure. For T$\leq$34 K several new modes were detected. Three of these modes are identified as magnetic bound states. Experimental evidence for charge ordering on the V sites is detected as an anomalous shift and splitting of a V-O vibration at 422 cm$^{-1}$ for temperatures above 34 K. The smooth and crossover-like onset of this ordering at T$_{\rm CO}$= 80 K is accompanied by pretransitional fluctuations both in magnetic and phononic Raman scattering. It resembles the effect of stripe order on the super structure intensities in La$_2$NiO$_{4+\delta}$.Comment: 36 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in PRB (sept.99

Effect of a tilted magnetic field on the orientation of Wigner crystals

We study the effect of a tilted magnetic field on the orientation of Wigner crystals by taking account of the width of a quantum well in the $z$-direction. It is found that the cohesive energy of the electronic crystal is always lower for the $[110]$ direction parallel to the in-plane field. In a realistic sample, a domain structure forms in the electronic solid and each domain orients randomly when the magnetic field is normal to the quantum well. As the field is tilted an angle, the electronic crystal favors to align along a preferred direction which is determined by the in-plane magnetic field. The orientation stabilization is strengthened for wider quantum wells as well as for larger tilted angles. Possible consequence of the tilted field on the transport property in the electronic solid is discussed

No good surprises: intending lecturers' preconceptions and initial experiences of further education

Current initiatives to promote lifelong learning and a broader inclusiveness in post-16 education have focused attention on further education (FE). The article examines the experiences and reactions of 41 intending lecturers studying full-time for a Postgraduate Certificate in Further Education and Training (PGCET), as they enter FE colleges on teaching practice and encounter FE students for the first time. It argues that the sector may have something to learn from the contrast between these intending lecturers' expectations and their subsequent experiences, and that attempts to address problems which are endemic within the current FE sector by initiatives to improve teacher competence, such as the Further Education National Training Organisation (FENTO)'s recently introduced FE teacher training standards, are inadequate and misdirected

Permeability and conductivity of platelet-reinforced membranes and composites

We present large scale simulations of the diffusion constant $D$ of a random composite consisting of aligned platelets with aspect ratio $a/b>>1$ in a matrix (with diffusion constant $D_0$) and find that $D/D_0 = 1/(1+ c_1 x + c_2 x^2)$, where $x= a v_f/b$ and $v_f$ is the platelet volume fraction. We demonstrate that for large aspect ratio platelets the pair term ($x^2$) dominates suggesting large property enhancements for these materials. However a small amount of face-to-face ordering of the platelets markedly degrades the efficiency of platelet reinforcement.Comment: RevTeX, 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PR