Thermal drag revisited: Boltzmann versus Kubo

The effect of mutual drag between phonons and spin excitations on the thermal conductivity of a quantum spin system is discussed. We derive general expression for the drag component of the thermal current using both Boltzmann equation approach and Kubo linear-response formalism to leading order in the spin-phonon coupling. We demonstrate that aside from higher-order corrections which appear in the Kubo formalism both approaches yield identical results for the drag thermal conductivity. We discuss the range of applicability of our result and provide a generalization of our consideration to the cases of fermionic excitations and to anomalous forms of boson-phonon coupling. Several asymptotic regimes of our findings relevant to realistic situations are highlighted.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, published version, extended discussio

Quantum fluctuations and strong mass renormalization in NiCl2-4SC(NH2)2

In a number of quantum paramagnets, magnetic field can induce a quantum phase transition to an antiferromagnetic state which exists for a range of fields Hc1 < H < Hc2. Generally, these compounds exhibit a significant asymmetry in their properties at low- and high-field transitions. Here we present detailed specific heat and thermal conductivity measurements in NiCl2-4SC(NH2)2 together with analytical and numerical results. We show that the asymmetry is caused by a strong renormalization of the effective mass of spin excitations due to quantum fluctuations for H<Hc1 that are absent for H<Hc2.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Acepted for publication in Phy. Rev. Let

Effect of Internal Heat Generation on the Onset of Marangoni Convection in a Fluid Layer Overlying a Layer of an Anisotropic Porous Medium

Linear stability analysis has been performed to investigate the effect of internal heat generation on the criterion for the onset of Marangoni convection in a two-layer system comprising an incompressible fluid-saturated anisotropic porous layer over which lies a layer of the same fluid. The upper non-deformable free surface and the lower rigid surface are assumed to be insulated to temperature perturbations. The fluid flow in the porous layer is governed by the modified Darcy equation and the Beavers-Joseph empirical slip condition is employed at the interface between the two layers. The resulting eigenvalue problem is solved exactly. Besides, analytical expression for the critical Marangoni number is also obtained by using regular perturbation technique with wave number as a perturbation parameter. The effect of internal heating in the porous layer alone exhibits more stabilizing effect on the system compared to its presence in both fluid and porous layers and the system is least stable if the internal heating is in fluid layer alone. It is found that an increase in the value of mechanical anisotropy parameter is to hasten the onset of Marangoni convection while an opposite trend is noticed with increasing thermal anisotropy parameter. Besides, the possibilities of controlling (suppress or augment) Marangoni convection is discussed in detail. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

Throughflow Effects on Penetrative Convection in Superposed Fluid and Porous Layers

The effect of vertical throughflow on the onset of penetrative convection simulated via internal heating in a two-layer system in which a layer of fluid overlies and saturates a layer of porous medium is studied. Flow in the porous medium is governed by Forchheimer-extended Darcy equation, and Beavers-Joseph slip condition is applied at the interface between the fluid and the porous layers. The boundaries are considered to be rigid, however permeable, and insulated to temperature perturbations. The eigenvalue problem is solved using a regular perturbation technique with wave number as a perturbation parameter. The ratio of fluid layer thickness to porous layer thickness, ζ, the direction of throughflow, and the presence of volumetric internal heat source in fluid and/or porous layer play a decisive role on the stability characteristics of the system. In addition, the influence of Prandtl number arising due to throughflow is also emphasized on the stability of the system. It is observed that both stabilizing and destabilizing factors can be enhanced because of the simultaneous presence of a volumetric heat source and vertical throughflow so that a more precise control (suppress or augment) of thermal convective instability in a layer of fluid or porous medium is possible. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media B.V

SMALL AFM CANTILEVERS FOR BIOLOGICAL APPLICATION

Atomic Force Microscope is of special interest to biologists since it enables real time imaging and force measurements on biological tissue. To observe the biological process of interest in a reasonable time with high force sensitivity, high resonance frequency cantilevers with low spring constant are required while maintaining a high signal to noise ratio. These requirements can be met by reducing the dimensions and mass of the cantilever. Silicon nitride (SiN) is used to fabricate the AFM cantilevers; the body of the probe is exists of a double layer of the negative photopolymer SU-8. This provides a simple and cheap way of attaching a body to the cantilevers. Figure 1 shows an overview of a probe with 6 cantilevers. Figure 2 shows a close-up of a lever with dimensions 35 µm x 6 µm. A metal pad is present at the extremity of the cantilever, serving as reflecting layer for beam deflection sensing