5,367 research outputs found
From vortex molecules to the Abrikosov lattice in thin mesoscopic superconducting disks
Stable vortex states are studied in large superconducting thin disks (for
numerical purposes we considered with radius R = 50 \xi). Configurations
containing more than 700 vortices were obtained using two different approaches:
the nonlinear Ginzburg-Landau (GL) theory and the London approximation. To
obtain better agreement with results from the GL theory we generalized the
London theory by including the spatial variation of the order parameter
following Clem's ansatz. We find that configurations calculated in the London
limit are also stable within the Ginzburg-Landau theory for up to ~ 230
vortices. For large values of the vorticity (typically, L > 100), the vortices
are arranged in an Abrikosov lattice in the center of the disk, which is
surrounded by at least two circular shells of vortices. A Voronoi construction
is used to identify the defects present in the ground state vortex
configurations. Such defects cluster near the edge of the disk, but for large L
also grain boundaries are found which extend up to the center of the disk.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, RevTex4, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Vortex states in nanoscale superconducting squares: the influence of quantum confinement
Bogoliubov-de Gennes theory is used to investigate the effect of the size of
a superconducting square on the vortex states in the quantum confinement
regime. When the superconducting coherence length is comparable to the Fermi
wavelength, the shape resonances of the superconducting order parameter have
strong influence on the vortex configuration. Several unconventional vortex
states, including asymmetric ones, giant multi-vortex combinations, and states
comprising giant antivortex, were found as ground states and their stability
was found to be very sensitive on the value of , the size of the
sample , and the magnetic flux . By increasing the temperature and/or
enlarging the size of the sample, quantum confinement is suppressed and the
conventional mesoscopic vortex states as predicted by the Ginzburg-Laudau (GL)
theory are recovered. However, contrary to the GL results we found that the
states containing symmetry-induced vortex-antivortex pairs are stable over the
whole temperature range. It turns out that the inhomogeneous order parameter
induced by quantum confinement favors vortex-antivortex molecules, as well as
giant vortices with a rich structure in the vortex core - unattainable in the
GL domain
Realization of Artificial Ice Systems for Magnetic Vortices in a Superconducting MoGe Thin-film with Patterned Nanostructures
We report an anomalous matching effect in MoGe thin films containing pairs of
circular holes arranged in such a way that four of those pairs meet at each
vertex point of a square lattice. A remarkably pronounced fractional matching
was observed in the magnetic field dependences of both the resistance and the
critical current. At the half matching field the critical current can be even
higher than that at zero field. This has never been observed before for
vortices in superconductors with pinning arrays. Numerical simulations within
the nonlinear Ginzburg-Landau theory reveal a square vortex ice configuration
in the ground state at the half matching field and demonstrate similar
characteristic features in the field dependence of the critical current,
confirming the experimental realization of an artificial ice system for
vortices for the first time.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Electrostatics of electron-hole interactions in van der Waals heterostructures
The role of dielectric screening of electron-hole interaction in van der
Waals heterostructures is theoretically investigated. A comparison between
models available in the literature for describing these interactions is made
and the limitations of these approaches are discussed. A simple numerical
solution of Poissons equation for a stack of dielectric slabs based on a
transfer matrix method is developed, enabling the calculation of the
electron-hole interaction potential at very low computational cost and with
reasonable accuracy. Using different potential models, direct and indirect
exciton binding energies in these systems are calculated within Wannier-Mott
theory, and a comparison of theoretical results with recent experiments on
excitons in two-dimensional materials is discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure
Age at quitting smoking as a predictor of risk of cardiovascular disease incidence independent of smoking status, time since quitting and pack-years
BACKGROUND Risk prediction for CVD events has been shown to vary according to current smoking status, pack-years smoked over a lifetime, time since quitting and age at quitting. The latter two are closely and inversely related. It is not known whether the age at which one quits smoking is an additional important predictor of CVD events. The aim of this study was to determine whether the risk of CVD events varied according to age at quitting after taking into account current smoking status, lifetime pack-years smoked and time since quitting. FINDINGS We used the Cox proportional hazards model to evaluate the risk of developing a first CVD event for a cohort of participants in the Framingham Offspring Heart Study who attended the fourth examination between ages 30 and 74 years and were free of CVD. Those who quit before the median age of 37 years had a risk of CVD incidence similar to those who were never smokers. The incorporation of age at quitting in the smoking variable resulted in better prediction than the model which had a simple current smoker/non-smoker measure and the one that incorporated both time since quitting and pack-years. These models demonstrated good discrimination, calibration and global fit. The risk among those quitting more than 5 years prior to the baseline exam and those whose age at quitting was prior to 44 years was similar to the risk among never smokers. However, the risk among those quitting less than 5 years prior to the baseline exam and those who continued to smoke until 44 years of age (or beyond) was two and a half times higher than that of never smokers. CONCLUSIONS Age at quitting improves the prediction of risk of CVD incidence even after other smoking measures are taken into account. The clinical benefit of adding age at quitting to the model with other smoking measures may be greater than the associated costs. Thus, age at quitting should be considered in addition to smoking status, time since quitting and pack-years when counselling individuals about their cardiovascular risk.This research was supported by an NHMRC health services
research grant (no. 465130), an NHMRC/NHF PhD scholarship and a
Vichealth Fellowship
Wavepacket scattering on graphene edges in the presence of a (pseudo) magnetic field
The scattering of a Gaussian wavepacket in armchair and zigzag graphene edges
is theoretically investigated by numerically solving the time dependent
Schr\"odinger equation for the tight-binding model Hamiltonian. Our theory
allows to investigate scattering in reciprocal space, and depending on the type
of graphene edge we observe scattering within the same valley, or between
different valleys. In the presence of an external magnetic field, the well know
skipping orbits are observed. However, our results demonstrate that in the case
of a pseudo-magnetic field, induced by non-uniform strain, the scattering by an
armchair edge results in a non-propagating edge state.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
"Better Safe than Sorry" - Individual Risk-free Pension Schemes in the European Union - Macroeconomic Benefits, the Mobile Working Citizen's Perspective and Why Nots
Variations between the diverse pension systems in the member states of the European Union hamper labour market mobility, across country borders but also within the countries of the European Union. From a macroeconomic perspective, and in the light of demographic pressure, this paper argues that allowing individual instead of collective pension building would greatly improve labour market flexibility and thus enhance the functioning of the monetary union. I argue that working citizens would benefit, for three reasons, from pension saving in a risk-free savings account. First, citizens would have a clear picture of the accumulation of their own pension savings throughout their working life. Second, they would pay hardly any extra costs and, third, once retired they would not be subject to the whims of government or other pension fund managers. This paper investigates the feasibility of individual pension building under various parameter settings by calculating the pension saved during a working life and the pension dis-saved after retirement. The findings show that there are no reasons why the European Union and individual member states should not allow individual risk-free pension savings accounts. This would have macroeconomic benefits and provide a solid pension provision that can enhance mobility, instead of engaging workers in different mandatory collective pension schemes that exist around in the European Union
All-strain based valley filter in graphene nanoribbons using snake states
A pseudo-magnetic field kink can be realized along a graphene nanoribbon
using strain engineering. Electron transport along this kink is governed by
snake states that are characterized by a single propagation direction. Those
pseudo-magnetic fields point towards opposite directions in the K and K'
valleys, leading to valley polarized snake states. In a graphene nanoribbon
with armchair edges this effect results in a valley filter that is based only
on strain engineering. We discuss how to maximize this valley filtering by
adjusting the parameters that define the stress distribution along the graphene
ribbon.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
Differences in Adolescents' Alcohol Use and Smoking Behavior between Educational Tracks:Do Popularity Norms Matter?
Explanations about differences in drinking and smoking rates between educational tracks have so far mainly focused on factors outside the classroom. The extent to which these behaviors are rewarded with popularity within a classroom—so called popularity norms—and their interaction with individual characteristics could explain the observed differences in risk behavior. 1860 adolescents (M(age) = 13.04; 50% girls) from 81 different classrooms reported three times during one academic year about their own and their classmates behavior. Overall, in vocational tracks popularity norms for alcohol and smoking were more positive and predicted classroom differences in alcohol and smoking. Knowledge about classroom processes can advance the field in unraveling the functional aspects of risk behavior in adolescence. Preregistration: The hypotheses and the analytical plan of this study were preregistered under number #39136 (https://aspredicted.org/blind.php?x=gx77p6)
Polaron effects in electron channels on a helium film
Using the Feynman path-integral formalism we study the polaron effects in
quantum wires above a liquid helium film. The electron interacts with
two-dimensional (2D) surface phonons, i.e. ripplons, and is confined in one
dimension (1D) by an harmonic potential. The obtained results are valid for
arbitrary temperature (), electron-phonon coupling strength (), and
lateral confinement (). Analytical and numerical results are
obtained for limiting cases of , , and . We found the
surprising result that reducing the electron motion from 2D to quasi-1D makes
the self-trapping transition more continuous.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
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