Anharmonic suppression of Charge density wave in 2H-NbS2_2

The temperature dependence of the phonon spectrum in the superconducting transition metal dichalcogenide 2H-NbS$_2$ is measured by diffuse and inelastic x-ray scattering. A deep, wide and strongly temperature dependent softening, of the two lowest energy longitudinal phonons bands, appears along the $\mathrm{\Gamma M}$ symmetry line in reciprocal space. In sharp contrast to the iso-electronic compounds 2H-NbSe$_2$, the soft phonons energies are finite, even at very low temperature, and no charge density wave instability occurs, in disagreement with harmonic ab-initio calculations. We show that 2H-NbS$_2$ is at the verge of the charge density wave transition and its occurrence is only suppressed by the large anharmonic effects. Moreover, the anharmonicity and the electron phonon coupling both show a strong in-plane anisotropy.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review

Anisotropic superconductivity in NbSe2 probed by magnetic penetration depth

International audienceNbSe2 shows coexistence of a charge density wave (TCDW similar to 32 K) with a superconducting state below T = 7.2 K. Recent ARPES measurements revealed different values of the superconducting gap on the main sheets of the Fermi surface. These results suggest a multigap superconductivity such as in MgB2. The temperature dependence of the magnetic penetration depth (;.(T)) down to T,11 6 has been measured on high quality single crystals in the Meissner state. A strong increase of the in-plane penetration depth is observed, signaling the presence of low lying excitations. Given the relative contributions of each Fermi surface sheet, these measurements indicate that a reduced gap is not necessarily only found on the small Se sheet as suggested by the ARPES measurements. These results are discussed in a framework of multigap superconductivity

Penetration depth study of superconducting gap structure of 2H-NbSe2

International audienceWe report measurements of the temperature dependence of both in-plane and out-of-plane penetration depths (lambda(a) and lambda(c) respectively) in 2H-NbSe2. Measurements were made with a radio-frequency tunnel diode oscillator circuit at temperatures down to 100 mK. Analysis of the anisotropic superfluid density shows that a reduced energy gap is located on one or more of the quasi-two-dimensional Nb Fermi surface sheets rather than on the Se sheet, in contrast with some previous reports. This result suggests that the gap structure is not simply related to the weak electron-phonon coupling on the Se sheet and is therefore important for microscopic models of anisotropic superconductivity in this compound

New Trends in Beverage Packaging Systems: A Review

New trends in beverage packaging are focusing on the structure modification of packaging materials and the development of new active and/or intelligent systems, which can interact with the product or its environment, improving the conservation of beverages, such as wine, juice or beer, customer acceptability, and food security. In this paper, the main nutritional and organoleptic degradation processes of beverages, such as oxidative degradation or changes in the aromatic profiles, which influence their color and volatile composition are summarized. Finally, the description of the current situation of beverage packaging materials and new possible, emerging strategies to overcome some of the pending issues are discussed

Longueur de pénétration magnétique dans des supraconducteurs exotiques

This thesis describes the study of the exotic superconductors NbSe2, NbS2 and MgCNi3 by magnetic penetration depth measurements. The experimental setup, based on a LC oscillator driven by a tunnel diode, is now able to measure the variations of the penetration depth in the Meissner state with a precision of a few angstr¨oms and below 500 mK. Results obtained in NbSe2 and NbS2 dichalcogenides, remarquably similar in both compounds, suggest an isotropic multigap behavior in this superconductors family and show that the charge density wave, only present in NbSe2, is not at the origin of the exotic superconductivity observed in both compounds. In another hand, the first penetration depth measurements in single crystals of MgCNi3, superconductor with strong magnetic fluctuations, are in good agreement with a conventional superconducting pairing in this compound.Ce manuscrit décrit l'étude des supraconducteurs exotiques NbSe2, NbS2 et MgCNi3 par mesure de longueur de pénétration magnétique. Le dispositif expérimental, basé sur un oscillateur LC alimenté par une diode tunnel, permet maintenant de mesurer les variations de longueur de pénétration a l'état Meissner avec une précision de l'ordre de l'angstrom et jusqu'a 500 mK. Les résultats obtenus dans les dichalcogénides NbSe2 et NbS2, remarquablement similaires dans les deux composés, suggerent un caractere multigap isotrope dans cette famille de supraconducteurs et écartent l'hypothese d'une influence de l'onde de densité de charge, présente uniquement dans NbSe2. Par ailleurs, les premieres mesures de longueur de pénétration sur des monocristaux de MgCNi3, supraconducteur présentant de fortes fluctuations magnétiques, sont compatibles avec un appariement supraconducteur conventionnel dans ce composé

In-plane magnetic penetration depth in NbS(2)

International audienceWe report on the temperature dependence of the in-plane magnetic penetration depth (λab) and first penetration field [Hf∝1/λab2(T) for H∥c] in 2H-NbS2 single crystals. An exponential temperature dependence is clearly observed in λab(T) at low temperature, marking the presence of a fully open superconducting gap. This compound is the only superconducting 2H-dichalcogenide which does not develop a charge density wave (CDW). However, as previously observed in 2H-NbSe2, this gap (Δ1=1.1kBTc) is significantly smaller than the standard BCS weak-coupling value. At higher temperature, a larger gap (Δ2=1.8kBTc) has to be introduced to describe the data which are compatible with a two-gap model. The superconducting gaps are hence very similar in NbS2 and NbSe2 and we show here that both of them open in the strongly coupled Nb tubular sheets independent of whether or not a CDW is present

Paramecium swimming and ciliary beating patterns: a study on four RNA interference mutations

International audienceParamecium cells swim and feed by beating their thousands of cilia in coordinated patterns. The organization of these patterns and its relationship with cell motility has been the subject of a large body of work, particularly as a model for ciliary beating in human organs where similar organization is seen. However the rapid motion of the cells makes quantitative measurements very challenging. Here we provide detailed measurements of the swimming of Paramecium cells from high-speed video at high magnification, as they move in microfluidic channels. An image analysis protocol allows us to decouple the cell movement from the motion of the cilia, thus allowing us to measure the ciliary beat frequency (CBF) and the spatio-temporal organization into metachronal waves along the cell periphery. Two distinct values of the CBF appear at different regions of the cell: most of the cilia beat in the range of 15 to 45 Hz, while the cilia in the peristomal region beat at almost double the frequency. The body and peristomal CBF display a nearly linear relation with the swimming velocity. Moreover the measurements do not display a measurable correlation between the swimming velocity and the metachronal wave velocity on the cell periphery. These measurements are repeated for four RNAi silenced mutants, where proteins specific to the cilia or to their connection to the cell base are depleted. We find that the mutants whose ciliary structure is affected display similar swimming to the control cells albeit with a reduced efficiency, while the mutations that affect the cilia's anchoring to the cell lead to strongly reduced ability to swim. This reduction in motility can be related to a loss of coordination between the ciliary beating in different parts of the cell

Nanoprobe study of the electric field driven insulator-to-metal transition in GaMo4S8

Poster P9-06National audienceThe resistive switching observed under electric pulses in Mott materials has a high potential for micro and nanoelectronics. Here we report on the study of the resistive switching observed at the surface of single crystals of the canonical Mott semiconductor GaMo4S8. The study is made using a multiprobe setup with 4 nanopositionable tips under the supervision of a high resolution scanning electron microscop. We find a resistivity of 38 Ω.cm by four-point probe measurements, in agreement with the literature. The volatile insulator to metal transition is studied with a two probes configuration for interelectrode distances varying between 4 and 200 microns. Finite element simulations are performed to determine the spatial distribution of the electric field prior to the transition. Our results are in agreement with i) an intrinsic voltage threshold of 60 mV independent of the interelectrode distance ii) a maximum electric field close to the electrodes and iii) a threshold electric field of 0.2 kV/cm

Account of the diversity of tunneling spectra at the germanene/Al(1 1 1) interface

International audienceDespite the wealth of tunneling spectroscopic studies performed on silicene and germanene, the observation of a well-defined Dirac cone in these materials remains elusive. Here, we study germanene grown on Al(111) at submonolayer coverages with low temperature scanning tunneling spectroscopy. We show that the tunnelling spectra between the Al(111) surface and germanene nanosheets are identical. They exhibit a clear metallic behaviour at the beginning of the experiments, that highlights the strong electronic coupling between the adlayer and the substrate. Over the course of the experiments, the spectra deviate from this initial behaviour, although consecutive spectra measured on the Al(111) surface and germanene nanosheets are still similar. This spectral diversity is explained by modifications of the tip apex, that arise from the erratic manipulation of the germanium adlayer. The origin of the characteristic features such as a wide band gap, coherence-like peaks or zero-bias anomalies are tentatively discussed in light of the physical properties of Ge and AlGe alloy clusters, that are likely to adsorb at the tip apex. I