Coupling of intrinsic Josephson oscillations in layered superconductors by charge fluctuations

The coupling of Josephson oscillations in layered superconductors is studied with help of a tunneling Hamiltonian formalism. The general form of the current density across the barriers between the superconducting layers is derived. The induced charge fluctuations on the superconducting layers lead to a coupling of the Josephson oscillations in different junctions. A simplified set of equations is then used to study the non-linear dynamics of the system. In particular the influence of the coupling on the current-voltage characteristics is investigated and upper limits for the coupling strength are estimated from a comparison with experiments on cuprate superconductors.Comment: To be published in proceedings of SPIE conference San Diego 199

Structure of self-assembled Mn atom chains on Si(001)

Mn has been found to self-assemble into atomic chains running perpendicular to the surface dimer reconstruction on Si(001). They differ from other atomic chains by a striking asymmetric appearance in filled state scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images. This has prompted complicated structural models involving up to three Mn atoms per chain unit. Combining STM, atomic force microscopy and density functional theory we find that a simple necklace-like chain of single Mn atoms reproduces all their prominent features, including their asymmetry not captured by current models. The upshot is a remarkably simpler structure for modelling the electronic and magnetic properties of Mn atom chains on Si(001).Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

The Kolmogorov-Sinai Entropy for Dilute Gases in Equilibrium

We use the kinetic theory of gases to compute the Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy per particle for a dilute gas in equilibrium. For an equilibrium system, the KS entropy, h_KS is the sum of all of the positive Lyapunov exponents characterizing the chaotic behavior of the gas. We compute h_KS/N, where N is the number of particles in the gas. This quantity has a density expansion of the form h_KS/N = a\nu[-\ln{\tilde{n}} + b + O(\tilde{n})], where \nu is the single-particle collision frequency and \tilde{n} is the reduced number density of the gas. The theoretical values for the coefficients a and b are compared with the results of computer simulations, with excellent agreement for a, and less than satisfactory agreement for b. Possible reasons for this difference in b are discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Comment on "Indispensable Finite Time Correlations for Fokker-Planck Equations from Time Series Data"

Comment on "Indispensable Finite Time Correlations for Fokker-Planck Equations from Time Series Data"Comment: 2 pages, 1 figur

Subtractive renormalization of the NN scattering amplitude at leading order in chiral effective theory

The leading-order nucleon-nucleon (NN) potential derived from chiral perturbation theory consists of one-pion exchange plus a short-distance contact interaction. We show that in the 1S0 and 3S1-3D1 channels renormalization of the Lippmann-Schwinger equation for this potential can be achieved by performing one subtraction. This subtraction requires as its only input knowledge of the NN scattering lengths. This procedure leads to a set of integral equations for the partial-wave NN t-matrix which give cutoff-independent results for the corresponding NN phase shifts. This reformulation of the NN scattering equation offers practical advantages, because only observable quantities appear in the integral equation. The scattering equation may then be analytically continued to negative energies, where information on bound-state energies and wave functions can be extracted.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figure

The multifragmentation of spectator matter

We present the first microscopic calculation of the spectator fragmentation observed in heavy ion reactions at relativistic energies which reproduces the slope of the kinetic energy spectra of the fragments as well as their multiplicity, both measured by the ALADIN collaboration. In the past both have been explained in thermal models, however with vastly different assumptions about the excitation energy and the density of the system. We show that both observables are dominated by dynamical processes and that the system does not pass a state of thermal equilibrium. These findings question the recent conjecture that in these collisions a phase transition of first order, similar to that between water and vapor, can be observed.Comment: 7 page

Bandwidth in bolometric interferometry

Bolometric Interferometry is a technology currently under development that will be first dedicated to the detection of B-mode polarization fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background. A bolometric interferometer will have to take advantage of the wide spectral detection band of its bolometers in order to be competitive with imaging experiments. A crucial concern is that interferometers are presumed to be importantly affected by a spoiling effect known as bandwidth smearing. In this paper, we investigate how the bandwidth modifies the work principle of a bolometric interferometer and how it affects its sensitivity to the CMB angular power spectra. We obtain analytical expressions for the broadband visibilities measured by broadband heterodyne and bolometric interferometers. We investigate how the visibilities must be reconstructed in a broadband bolometric interferometer and show that this critically depends on hardware properties of the modulation phase shifters. Using an angular power spectrum estimator accounting for the bandwidth, we finally calculate the sensitivity of a broadband bolometric interferometer. A numerical simulation has been performed and confirms the analytical results. We conclude (i) that broadband bolometric interferometers allow broadband visibilities to be reconstructed whatever the kind of phase shifters used and (ii) that for dedicated B-mode bolometric interferometers, the sensitivity loss due to bandwidth smearing is quite acceptable, even for wideband instruments (a factor 2 loss for a typical 20% bandwidth experiment).Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures, submitted to A&