9,049 research outputs found
Conductance fluctuations in metallic nanogaps made by electromigration
We report on low temperature conductance measurements of gold nanogaps
fabricated by controlled electromigration. Fluctuations of the conductance due
to quantum interferences and depending both on bias voltage and magnetic field
are observed. By analyzing the voltage and magnetoconductance correlation
functions we determine the type of electron trajectories generating the
observed quantum interferences and the effective characteristic time of phase
coherence in our device.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in J. Appl. Phy
Relativistic theory for time and frequency transfer to order c^{-3}
This paper is motivated by the current development of several space missions
(e.g. ACES on International Space Station) that will fly on Earth orbit laser
cooled atomic clocks, providing a time-keeping accuracy of the order of
5~10^{-17} in fractional frequency. We show that to such accuracy, the theory
of frequency transfer between Earth and Space must be extended from the
currently known relativistic order 1/c^2 (which has been needed in previous
space experiments such as GP-A) to the next relativistic correction of order
1/c^3. We find that the frequency transfer includes the first and second-order
Doppler contributions, the Einstein gravitational red-shift and, at the order
1/c^3, a mixture of these effects. As for the time transfer, it contains the
standard Shapiro time delay, and we present an expression also including the
first and second-order Sagnac corrections. Higher-order relativistic
corrections, at least O(1/c^4), are numerically negligible for time and
frequency transfers in these experiments, being for instance of order 10^{-20}
in fractional frequency. Particular attention is paid to the problem of the
frequency transfer in the two-way experimental configuration. In this case we
find a simple theoretical expression which extends the previous formula (Vessot
et al. 1980) to the next order 1/c^3. In the Appendix we present the detailed
proofs of all the formulas which will be needed in such experiments.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, to appear in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Longitudinal and Transverse Zeeman Ladders in the Ising-Like Chain Antiferromagnet BaCo2V2O8
We explore the spin dynamics emerging from the N\'eel phase of the chain
compound antiferromagnet BaCo2V2O8. Our inelastic neutron scattering study
reveals unconventional discrete spin excitations, so called Zeeman ladders,
understood in terms of spinon confinement, due to the interchain attractive
linear potential. These excitations consist in two interlaced series of modes,
respectively with transverse and longitudinal polarization. The latter have no
classical counterpart and are related to the zero-point fluctuations that
weaken the ordered moment in weakly coupled quantum chains. Our analysis
reveals that BaCo2V2O8, with moderate Ising anisotropy and sizable interchain
interactions, remarkably fulfills the conditions necessary for the observation
of these longitudinal excitations.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, 2 additional pages of supplemental material with
2 figures; Journal ref. added; 1 page erratum added at the end with 1 figur
Valency of rare earths in RIn3 and RSn3: Ab initio analysis of electric-field gradients
In RIn3 and RSn3 the rare earth (R) is trivalent, except for Eu and Yb, which
are divalent. This was experimentally determined in 1977 by perturbed angular
correlation measurements of the electric-field gradient on a 111Cd impurity. At
that time, the data were interpreted using a point charge model, which is now
known to be unphysical and unreliable. This makes the valency determination
potentially questionable. We revisit these data, and analyze them using ab
initio calculations of the electric-field gradient. From these calculations,
the physical mechanism that is responsible for the influence of the valency on
the electric-field gradient is derived. A generally applicable scheme to
interpret electric-field gradients is used, which in a transparent way
correlates the size of the field gradient with chemical properties of the
system.Comment: 10 page
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