Critical current of a superconductor measured via injection of spin polarized carriers

In this paper we report a direct evidence of the suppression of critical current due to pair-breaking in a superconducting micro-bridge when the measurement is carried out by injecting spin polarised carriers instead of normal electrons. A thin layer of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 was used as the source of spin polarised carriers. The micro-bridge was formed on the DyBa2Cu3O7-d thin film by photo-lithographic techniques. The design of our spin-injection device allowed us to inject spin-polarised carriers from the La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 layer directly to the DyBa2Cu3O7- d micro-bridge (without any insulating buffer layer) making it possible to measure the critical current when polarised electrons alone are injected into the superconductor. Our results confirm the role of polarised carriers in breaking the Cooper pairs in the superconductor.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure

Изменение диэлектрических потерь резин на основе этилен-пропиленовых каучуков со временем ионизационного старения

В работе изучалось влияние вулканизующей группы и наполнителя на диэлектрические потери резин на основе этилен-пропиленовых каучуков и изменение диэлектрических потерь со временем ионизационного старения. Установлено, что диэлектрические потери и изменения их со временем ионизационного старения в значительной степени зависят от типа вулканизующей группы и наполнителя

Sectorwise assessment of glacial lake outburst flood danger in the Indian Himalayan region

Climate change and associated glacier recession have led to the formation of new glacial lakes and the expansion of existing ones across the Himalayas. Many pose a potential glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) threat to downstream communities and infrastructure. In this paper, 4418 glacial lakes in the Indian Himalayan Region and 636 transboundary lakes are analyzed. We consider hazard, exposure, and integrated danger levels using robust geographic information system-based automated approaches. The hazard level of lakes was estimated based on the potential for avalanches to strike the lake, size of the lake and its upstream watershed, and distal slope of its dam. Exposure levels were calculated by intersecting cropland, roads, hydropower projects, and the human population with potential GLOF trajectories. Then, GLOF danger was determined as a function of hazard and exposure. The study demonstrates that Jammu and Kashmir (JK) is potentially the most threatened region in terms of total number of very high and high danger lakes (n = 556), followed by Arunachal Pradesh (AP) (n = 388) and Sikkim (SK) (n = 219). Sectorwise, JK faces the greatest GLOF threat to roads and population, whereas the threat to cropland and hydropower is greatest in AP and SK, respectively. Transboundary lakes primarily threaten AP and, to a lesser extent, Himachal Pradesh (HP). For Uttarakhand (UK), the impacts of potential future glacial lakes, expected to form during rapid ongoing glacier recession because of climate change, are explored. Finally, a comparison of current results with previous studies suggests that 13 lakes in SK, 5 in HP, 4 in JK, 2 in UK, and 1 in AP are of highest priority for local investigation and potential risk reduction measures. Current results are of vital importance to policymakers, disaster management authorities, and the scientific community

Seaweed resources off Tamil Nadu coast: Sector II. Alanthali - Manapad and Vembar – Nallathanni Thivu

The seaweeds are used for the production of polysaccharides such as agar, algin, carragennan and they are harvested from intertidal regions along the southeast shores of India. The resource potential from intertidal regions was estimated (Anon 1978

Wilson Expansion of QCD Propagators at Three Loops: Operators of Dimension Two and Three

In this paper we construct the Wilson short distance operator product expansion for the gluon, quark and ghost propagators in QCD, including operators of dimension two and three, namely, A^2, m^2, m A^2, \ovl{\psi} \psi and m^3. We compute analytically the coefficient functions of these operators at three loops for all three propagators in the general covariant gauge. Our results, taken in the Landau gauge, should help to improve the accuracy of extracting the vacuum expectation values of these operators from lattice simulation of the QCD propagators.Comment: 20 pages, no figure

Electronic structure, phase stability and chemical bonding in Th2_2Al and Th2_2AlH4_4

We present the results of theoretical investigation on the electronic structure, bonding nature and ground state properties of Th$_2$Al and Th$_2$AlH$_4$ using generalized-gradient-corrected first-principles full-potential density-functional calculations. Th$_2$AlH$_4$ has been reported to violate the "2 \AA rule" of H-H separation in hydrides. From our total energy as well as force-minimization calculations, we found a shortest H-H separation of 1.95 {\AA} in accordance with recent high resolution powder neutron diffraction experiments. When the Th$_2$Al matrix is hydrogenated, the volume expansion is highly anisotropic, which is quite opposite to other hydrides having the same crystal structure. The bonding nature of these materials are analyzed from the density of states, crystal-orbital Hamiltonian population and valence-charge-density analyses. Our calculation predicts different nature of bonding for the H atoms along $a$ and $c$. The strongest bonding in Th$_2$AlH$_4$ is between Th and H along $c$ which form dumb-bell shaped H-Th-H subunits. Due to this strong covalent interaction there is very small amount of electrons present between H atoms along $c$ which makes repulsive interaction between the H atoms smaller and this is the precise reason why the 2 {\AA} rule is violated. The large difference in the interatomic distances between the interstitial region where one can accommodate H in the $ac$ and $ab$ planes along with the strong covalent interaction between Th and H are the main reasons for highly anisotropic volume expansion on hydrogenation of Th$_2$Al.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure

The impact of bilateral versus unilateral anterior temporal lobe damage on face recognition, person knowledge and semantic memory

The functional importance of the anterior temporal lobes (ATLs) has come to prominence in two active, albeit unconnected literatures—(i) face recognition and (ii) semantic memory. To generate a unified account of the ATLs, we tested the predictions from each literature and examined the effects of bilateral versus unilateral ATL damage on face recognition, person knowledge, and semantic memory. Sixteen people with bilateral ATL atrophy from semantic dementia (SD), 17 people with unilateral ATL resection for temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE; left = 10, right = 7), and 14 controls completed tasks assessing perceptual face matching, person knowledge and general semantic memory. People with SD were impaired across all semantic tasks, including person knowledge. Despite commensurate total ATL damage, unilateral resection generated mild impairments, with minimal differences between left- and right-ATL resection. Face matching performance was largely preserved but slightly reduced in SD and right TLE. All groups displayed the familiarity effect in face matching; however, it was reduced in SD and right TLE and was aligned with the level of item-specific semantic knowledge in all participants. We propose a neurocognitive framework whereby the ATLs underpin a resilient bilateral representation system that supports semantic memory, person knowledge and face recognition

Performance of a Large-Area GEM Detector Prototype for the Upgrade of the CMS Muon Endcap System

Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology is being considered for the forward muon upgrade of the CMS experiment in Phase 2 of the CERN LHC. Its first implementation is planned for the GE1/1 system in the $1.5 < \mid\eta\mid < 2.2$ region of the muon endcap mainly to control muon level-1 trigger rates after the second long LHC shutdown. A GE1/1 triple-GEM detector is read out by 3,072 radial strips with 455 $\mu$rad pitch arranged in eight $\eta$-sectors. We assembled a full-size GE1/1 prototype of 1m length at Florida Tech and tested it in 20-120 GeV hadron beams at Fermilab using Ar/CO$_{2}$ 70:30 and the RD51 scalable readout system. Four small GEM detectors with 2-D readout and an average measured azimuthal resolution of 36 $\mu$rad provided precise reference tracks. Construction of this largest GEM detector built to-date is described. Strip cluster parameters, detection efficiency, and spatial resolution are studied with position and high voltage scans. The plateau detection efficiency is [97.1 $\pm$ 0.2 (stat)]\%. The azimuthal resolution is found to be [123.5 $\pm$ 1.6 (stat)] $\mu$rad when operating in the center of the efficiency plateau and using full pulse height information. The resolution can be slightly improved by $\sim$ 10 $\mu$rad when correcting for the bias due to discrete readout strips. The CMS upgrade design calls for readout electronics with binary hit output. When strip clusters are formed correspondingly without charge-weighting and with fixed hit thresholds, a position resolution of [136.8 $\pm$ 2.5 stat] $\mu$rad is measured, consistent with the expected resolution of strip-pitch/$\sqrt{12}$ = 131.3 $\mu$rad. Other $\eta$-sectors of the detector show similar response and performance.Comment: 8 pages, 32 figures, submitted to Proc. 2014 IEEE Nucl. Sci. Symposium, Seattle, WA, reference adde