Vortex-line liquid phases: Longitudinal superconductivity in the lattice London model

We study the vortex-line lattice and liquid phases of a clean type-II superconductor by means of Monte Carlo simulations of the lattice London model. Motivated by a recent controversy regarding the presence, within this model, of a vortex-liquid regime with longitudinal superconducting coherence over long length scales, we directly compare two different ways to calculate the longitudinal coherence. For an isotropic superconductor, we interpret our results in terms of a temperature regime within the liquid phase in which longitudinal superconducting coherence extends over length scales larger than the system thickness studied. We note that this regime disappears in the moderately anisotropic case due to a proliferation, close to the flux-line lattice melting temperature, of vortex loops between the layers.Comment: 8 pages, Revtex, with eps figures. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Digital Terrain Model Geospatial Modelling

The modelling means the world object cognition based on the analogy. This analogy presents an idea and material imitation of some properties of the existing world. It is processed by various anthropogenic objects, in which the chosen properties are presented, defined and characterised as shapes and relations of original objects. The simplified objects are created. These objects are specially created only for world study. These types of objects are called models. To edit the digital terrain model correctly, it is necessary to understand the geospatial modelling

Supercooled vortex liquid and quantitative theory of melting of the flux line lattice in type II superconductors

A metastable homogeneous state exists down to zero temperature in systems of repelling objects. Zero ''fluctuation temperature'' liquid state therefore serves as a (pseudo) ''fixed point'' controlling the properties of vortex liquid below and even around melting point. There exists Madelung constant for the liquid in the limit of zero temperature which is higher than that of the solid by an amount approximately equal to the latent heat of melting. This picture is supported by an exactly solvable large $N$ Ginzburg - Landau model in magnetic field. Based on this understanding we apply Borel - Pade resummation technique to develop a theory of the vortex liquid in type II superconductors. Applicability of the effective lowest Landau level model is discussed and corrections due to higher levels is calculated. Combined with previous quantitative description of the vortex solid the melting line is located. Magnetization, entropy and specific heat jumps along it are calculated. The magnetization of liquid is larger than that of solid by $1.8$ irrespective of the melting temperature. We compare the result with experiments on high $T_{c}$ cuprates $YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{7}$, $DyBCO$, low $T_{c}$ material $(K,Ba)BiO_{3}$ and with Monte Carlo simulations.Comment: 28 pages and 4 figures. Enlarged version of paper cond-mat/0107281 with many new content

Thermal fluctuations and disorder effects in vortex lattices

We calculate using loop expansion the effect of fluctuations on the structure function and magnetization of the vortex lattice and compare it with existing MC results. In addition to renormalization of the height of the Bragg peaks of the structure function, there appears a characteristic saddle shape ''halos'' around the peaks. The effect of disorder on magnetization is also calculated. All the infrared divergencies related to soft shear cancel.Comment: 10 pages, revtex file, one figur

Vortices in a Thin Film Superconductor with a Spherical Geometry

We report results from Monte Carlo simulations of a thin film superconductor in a spherical geometry within the lowest Landau level approximation. We observe the absence of a phase transition to a low temperature vortex solid phase with these boundary conditions; the system remains in the vortex liquid phase for all accessible temperatures. The correlation lengths are measured for phase coherence and density modulation. Both lengths display identical temperature dependences, with an asymptotic scaling form consistent with a continuous zero temperature transition. This contrasts with the first order freezing transition which is seen in the alternative quasi-periodic boundary conditions. The high temperature perturbation theory and the ground states of the spherical system suggest that the thermodynamic limit of the spherical geometry is the same as that on the flat plane. We discuss the advantages and drawbacks of simulations with different geometries, and compare with current experimental conclusions. The effect of having a large scale inhomogeneity in the applied field is also considered.Comment: This replacment contains substantial revisions: the new article is twice as long with new and different results on the thermodynamic limit on the sphere plus a full discussion on the alternative boundary conditions used in simulations in the LLL approximation. 19 pages, 12 encapsulated PostScript figures, 1 JPEG figure, uses RevTeX (with epsf

First principles theory of fluctuations in vortex liquids and solids

Consistent perturbation theory for thermodynamical quantities in type II superconductors in magnetic field at low temperatures is developed. It is complementary to the existing expansion valid at high temperatures. Magnetization and specific heat are calculated to two loop order and compare well to existing Monte Carlo simulations and experiments.Comment: 3 .ps fig. In press Phys. Rev.

Friction force on a vortex due to the scattering of superfluid excitations in helium II

The longitudinal friction acting on a vortex line in superfluid $^4$He is investigated within a simple model based on the analogy between such vortex dynamics and that of the quantal Brownian motion of a charged point particle in a uniform magnetic field. The scattering of superfluid quasiparticle excitations by the vortex stems from a translationally invariant interaction potential which, expanded to first order in the vortex velocity operator, gives rise to vortex transitions between nearest Landau levels. The corresponding friction coefficient is shown to be, in the limit of elastic scattering (vanishing cyclotron frequency), equivalent to that arising from the Iordanskii formula. Proposing a simple functional form for the scattering amplitude, with only one adjustable parameter whose value is set in order to get agreement to the Iordanskii result for phonons, an excellent agreement is also found with the values derived from experimental data up to temperatures about 1.5 K. Finite values of the cyclotron frequency arising from recent theories are shown to yield similar results. The incidence of vortex-induced quasiparticle transitions on the friction process is estimated to be, in the roton dominated regime, about 50 % of the value of the friction coefficient, $\sim$8 % of which corresponds to roton-phonon transitions and $\sim$42 % to roton $R^+\leftrightarrow R^-$ ones.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures; typos corrected, to be published in PR

A Gpr120-selective agonist improves insulin resistance and chronic inflammation in obese mice.

It is well known that the ω-3 fatty acids (ω-3-FAs; also known as n-3 fatty acids) can exert potent anti-inflammatory effects. Commonly consumed as fish products, dietary supplements and pharmaceuticals, ω-3-FAs have a number of health benefits ascribed to them, including reduced plasma triglyceride levels, amelioration of atherosclerosis and increased insulin sensitivity. We reported that Gpr120 is the functional receptor for these fatty acids and that ω-3-FAs produce robust anti-inflammatory, insulin-sensitizing effects, both in vivo and in vitro, in a Gpr120-dependent manner. Indeed, genetic variants that predispose to obesity and diabetes have been described in the gene encoding GPR120 in humans (FFAR4). However, the amount of fish oils that would have to be consumed to sustain chronic agonism of Gpr120 is too high to be practical, and, thus, a high-affinity small-molecule Gpr120 agonist would be of potential clinical benefit. Accordingly, Gpr120 is a widely studied drug discovery target within the pharmaceutical industry. Gpr40 is another lipid-sensing G protein-coupled receptor, and it has been difficult to identify compounds with a high degree of selectivity for Gpr120 over Gpr40 (ref. 11). Here we report that a selective high-affinity, orally available, small-molecule Gpr120 agonist (cpdA) exerts potent anti-inflammatory effects on macrophages in vitro and in obese mice in vivo. Gpr120 agonist treatment of high-fat diet-fed obese mice causes improved glucose tolerance, decreased hyperinsulinemia, increased insulin sensitivity and decreased hepatic steatosis. This suggests that Gpr120 agonists could become new insulin-sensitizing drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and other human insulin-resistant states in the future