172 research outputs found
Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell state in quasi-one-dimensional superconductors
The properties of a quasi-one-dimensional (quasi-1D) superconductor with {\it
an open Fermi surface} are expected to be unusual in a magnetic field. On the
one hand, the quasi-1D structure of the Fermi surface strongly favors the
formation of a non-uniform state (Larkin-Ovchinnikov-Fulde-Ferrell (LOFF)
state) in the presence of a magnetic field acting on the electron spins. On the
other hand, a magnetic field acting on an open Fermi surface induces a
dimensional crossover by confining the electronic wave-functions wave-functions
along the chains of highest conductivity, which results in a divergence of the
orbital critical field and in a stabilization at low temperature of a cascade
of superconducting phases separated by first order transistions. In this paper,
we study the phase diagram as a function of the anisotropy. We discuss in
details the experimental situation in the quasi-1D organic conductors of the
Bechgaard salts family and argue that they appear as good candidates for the
observation of the LOFF state, provided that their anisotropy is large enough.
Recent experiments on the organic quasi-1D superconductor (TMTSF)ClO
are in agreement with the results obtained in this paper and could be
interpreted as a signature of a high-field superconducting phase. We also point
out the possibility to observe a LOFF state in some quasi-2D organic
superconductors.Comment: 24 pages+17 figures (upon request), RevTex, ORSAY-LPS-24109
Preliminary data on COVID-19 in patients with hemoglobinopathies : A multicentre ICET-A study
Objectives: This study aims to investigate, retrospectively, the epidemiological and clinical characteristics, laboratory results, radiologic findings, and outcomes of COVID-19 in patients with transfusion-dependent β thalassemia major (TM), β-thalassemia intermedia (TI) and sickle cell disease (SCD). Design: A total of 17 Centers, from 10 countries, following 9,499 patients with hemoglobinopathies, participated in the survey. Main outcome data: Clinical, laboratory, and radiologic findings and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 were collected from medical records and summarized. Results: A total of 13 patients, 7 with TM, 3 with TI, and 3 with SCD, with confirmed COVID-19, were identified in 6 Centers from different countries. The overall mean age of patients was 33.7±12.3 years (range:13-66); 9/13 (69.2%) patients were females. Six patients had pneumonia, and 4 needed oxygen therapy. Increased C-reactive protein (6/10), high serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH; 6/10), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR; 6/10) were the most common laboratory findings. 6/10 patients had an exacerbation of anemia (2 with SCD). In the majority of patients, the course of COVID-19 was moderate (6/10) and severe in 3/10 patients. A 30-year-old female with TM, developed a critical SARS-CoV-2 infection, followed by death in an Intensive Care Unit. In one Center (Oman), the majority of suspected cases were observed in patients with SCD between the age of 21 and 40 years. A rapid clinical improvement of tachypnea/dyspnea and oxygen saturation was observed, after red blood cell exchange transfusion, in a young girl with SCD and worsening of anemia (Hb level from 9.2 g/dl to 6.1g/dl). Conclusions: The data presented in this survey permit an early assessment of the clinical characteristics of COVID 19 in different countries. 70% of symptomatic patients with COVID-19 required hospitalization. The presence of associated co-morbidities can aggravate the severity of COVID- 19, leading to a poorer prognosis irrespective of age
Measurement of the W+W-gamma Cross Section and Direct Limits on Anomalous Quartic Gauge Boson Couplings at LEP
The process e+e- -> W+W-gamma is analysed using the data collected with the
L3 detector at LEP at a centre-of-mass energy of 188.6GeV, corresponding to an
integrated luminosity of 176.8pb^-1. Based on a sample of 42 selected W+W-
candidates containing an isolated hard photon, the W+W-gamma cross section,
defined within phase-space cuts, is measured to be: sigma_WWgamma = 290 +/- 80
+/- 16 fb, consistent with the Standard Model expectation. Including the
process e+e- -> nu nu gamma gamma, limits are derived on anomalous
contributions to the Standard Model quartic vertices W+W- gamma gamma and W+W-Z
gamma at 95% CL: -0.043 GeV^-2 < a_0/Lambda^2 < 0.043 GeV^-2 0.08 GeV^-2 <
a_c/Lambda^2 < 0.13 GeV^-2 0.41 GeV^-2 < a_n/Lambda^2 < 0.37 GeV^-2
Production of Single W Bosons at \sqrt{s}=189 GeV and Measurement of WWgamma Gauge Couplings
Single W boson production in electron-positron collisions is studied with the
L3 detector at LEP. The data sample collected at a centre-of-mass energy of
\sqrt{s} = 188.7GeV corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 176.4pb^-1.
Events with a single energetic lepton or two acoplanar hadronic jets are
selected. Within phase-space cuts, the total cross-section is measured to be
0.53 +/- 0.12 +/- 0.03 pb, consistent with the Standard Model expectation.
Including our single W boson results obtained at lower \sqrt{s}, the WWgamma
gauge couplings kappa_gamma and lambda_gamma are determined to be kappa_gamma =
0.93 +/- 0.16 +/- 0.09 and lambda_gamma = -0.31 +0.68 -0.19 +/- 0.13
Measurement of Bose-Einstein Correlations in e+e- -> W+W- at root(s)=189GeV
We investigate Bose-Einstein correlations (BEC) in W-pair production at
root(s)=189GeV using the L3 detector at LEP. We observe BEC between particles
from a single W decay in good agreement with those from a light-quark Z decay
sample. We investigate their possible existence between particles coming from
different W's. No evidence for such inter-W BEC is found
Search for Manifestations of New Physics in Fermion-Pair Production at LEP
The measurements of hadron and lepton-pair production cross sections and
leptonic forward-backward asymmetries performed with the L3 detector at
centre-of-mass energies between 130 GeV and 189 GeV are used to search for new
physics phenomena such as: contact interactions, exchange of virtual
leptoquarks, scalar quarks and scalar neutrinos, effects of TeV strings in
models of quantum gravity with large extra dimensions and non-zero sizes of the
fermions. No evidence for these phenomena is found and new limits on their
parameters are set
Measurement of the Tau Branching Fractions into Leptons
Using data collected with the L3 detector near the Z resonance, corresponding
to an integrated luminosity of 150pb-1, the branching fractions of the tau
lepton into electron and muon are measured to be
B(tau->e nu nu) = (17.806 +- 0.104 (stat.) +- 0.076 (syst.)) %,
B(tau->mu nu nu) = (17.342 +- 0.110 (stat.) +- 0.067 (syst.)) %.
From these results the ratio of the charged current coupling constants of the
muon and the electron is determined to be g_mu/g_e = 1.0007 +- 0.0051. Assuming
electron-muon universality, the Fermi constant is measured in tau lepton decays
as G_F = (1.1616 +- 0.0058) 10^{-5} GeV^{-2}. Furthermore, the coupling
constant of the strong interaction at the tau mass scale is obtained as
alpha_s(m_tau^2) = 0.322 +- 0.009 (exp.) +- 0.015 (theory)
Higgs Candidates in e+e- Interactions at root(s) = 206.6 GeV
In a search for the Standard Model Higgs boson, carried out on 212.5 pb-1 of
data collected by the L3 detector at the highest LEP centre-of-mass energies,
including 116.5 pb-1 above root(s) = 206GeV, an excess of candidates for the
process e+e- -> Z* -> HZ is found for Higgs masses near 114.5GeV. We present an
analysis of our data and the characteristics of our strongest candidates.Comment: Footnote added, matches the version to be published in Physics
Letters
Search for Charged Higgs Bosons in e+e- Collisions at Centre-of-Mass Energies up to 202 GeV
A search for pair-produced charged Higgs bosons is performed with the L3
detector at LEP using data collected at centre-of-mass energies between 192 and
202 GeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 233.2 pb^-1. Decays into
a charm and a strange quark or into a tau lepton and its neutrino are
considered. The observed events are consistent with the expectations from
Standard Model background processes. Including data taken at lower
centre-of-mass energies, lower limits on the charged Higgs mass are derived at
the 95% confidence level. They vary from 67.4 to 79.9GeV as a function of the
H^+/- --> tau nu branching ratio
Search for Neutral Higgs Bosons of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model in e+e- Interactions at root(s)=192-202GeV
A search for the lightest neutral CP-even and the neutral CP-odd Higgs bosons
of the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model is performed using 233.2 pb-1 of
integrated luminosity collected with the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass
energies 192-202 GeV. No signal is observed and lower mass limits are given as
a function of tan(beta) for two scalar top mixing hypotheses. For tan(beta)
greater than 0.8, they are mh > 83.4 GeV and mA > 83.8 GeV at 95 % confidence
level
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