906 research outputs found
Ab initio calculations of the physical properties of transition metal carbides and nitrides and possible routes to high-Tc
Ab initio linear-response calculations are reported of the phonon spectra and
the electron-phonon interaction for several transition metal carbides and
nitrides in a NaCl-type structure. For NbC, the kinetic, optical, and
superconducting properties are calculated in detail at various pressures and
the normal-pressure results are found to well agree with the experiment.
Factors accounting for the relatively low critical temperatures Tc in
transition metal compounds with light elements are considered and the possible
ways of increasing Tc are discussed.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure
Field-Dependent Critical Current in Type-II Superconducting Strips: Combined Effect of Bulk Pinning and Geometrical Edge Barrier
Recent theoretical and experimental research on low-bulk-pinning
superconducting strips has revealed striking dome-like magnetic-field
distributions due to geometrical edge barriers. The observed magnetic-flux
profiles differ strongly from those in strips in which bulk pinning is
dominant. In this paper we theoretically describe the current and field
distributions of a superconducting strip under the combined influence of both a
geometrical edge barrier and bulk pinning at the strip's critical current Ic,
where a longitudinal voltage first appears. We calculate Ic and find its
dependence upon a perpendicular applied magnetic field Ha. The behavior is
governed by a parameter p, defined as the ratio of the bulk-pinning critical
current Ip to the geometrical-barrier critical current Is0. We find that when p
> 2/pi and Ip is field-independent, Ic vs Ha exhibits a plateau for small Ha,
followed by the dependence Ic-Ip ~ 1/Ha in higher magnetic fields.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Fig. 1 revised, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Metallic ground state and glassy transport in single crystalline URhGe: Enhancement of disorder effects in a strongly correlated electron system
We present a detailed study of the electronic transport properties on a
single crystalline specimen of the moderately disordered heavy fermion system
URhGe. For this material, we find glassy electronic transport in a
single crystalline compound. We derive the temperature dependence of the
electrical conductivity and establish metallicity by means of optical
conductivity and Hall effect measurements. The overall behavior of the
electronic transport properties closely resembles that of metallic glasses,
with at low temperatures an additional minor spin disorder contribution. We
argue that this glassy electronic behavior in a crystalline compound reflects
the enhancement of disorder effects as consequence of strong electronic
correlations.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in PR
Dipole Interactions and Electrical Polarity in Nanosystems -- the Clausius-Mossotti and Related Models
Point polarizable molecules at fixed spatial positions have solvable
electrostatic properties in classical approximation, the most familiar being
the Clausius-Mossotti (CM) formula. This paper generalizes the model and
imagines various applications to nanosystems. The behavior is worked out for a
sequence of octahedral fragments of simple cubic crystals, and the crossover to
the bulk CM law is found. Some relations to fixed moment systems are discussed
and exploited. The one-dimensional dipole stack is introduced as an important
model system. The energy of interaction of parallel stacks is worked out, and
clarifies the diverse behavior found in different crystal structures. It also
suggests patterns of self-organization which polar molecules in solution might
adopt. A sum rule on the stack interaction is found and tested. Stability of
polarized states under thermal fluctuations is discussed, using the
one-dimensional domain wall as an example. Possible structures for polar hard
ellipsoids are considered. An idea is formulated for enhancing polarity of
nanosystems by intentionally adding metallic coatings.Comment: 18 pages (includes 6 embedded figures and 3 tables). New references,
and other small improvements. Scheduled for publication by J. Chem. Phys.,
Jan. 200
Self-organized criticality induced by quenched disorder: experiments on flux avalanches in NbH films
We present an experimental study of the influence of quenched disorder on the
distribution of flux avalanches in type-II superconductors. In the presence of
much quenched disorder, the avalanche sizes are power-law distributed and show
finite size scaling, as expected from self-organized criticality (SOC).
Furthermore, the shape of the avalanches is observed to be fractal. In the
absence of quenched disorder, a preferred size of avalanches is observed and
avalanches are smooth. These observations indicate that a certain minimum
amount of disorder is necessary for SOC behavior. We relate these findings to
the appearance or non-appearance of SOC in other experimental systems,
particularly piles of sand.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Influence of oxygen ordering kinetics on Raman and optical response in YBa_2Cu_3O_{6.4}
Kinetics of the optical and Raman response in YBa_2Cu_3O_{6.4} were studied
during room temperature annealing following heat treatment. The superconducting
T_c, dc resistivity, and low-energy optical conductivity recover slowly,
implying a long relaxation time for the carrier density. Short relaxation times
are observed for the B_{1g} Raman scattering -- magnetic, continuum, and phonon
-- and the charge transfer band. Monte Carlo simulations suggest that these two
relaxation rates are related to two length scales corresponding to local oxygen
ordering (fast) and long chain and twin formation (slow).Comment: REVTeX, 3 pages + 4 PostScript (compressed) figure
Boron Isotope Effect in Superconducting MgB
We report the preparation method of, and boron isotope effect for MgB, a
new binary intermetallic superconductor with a remarkably high superconducting
transition temperature (B) = 40.2 K. Measurements of both
temperature dependent magnetization and specific heat reveal a 1.0 K shift in
between MgB and MgB. Whereas such a high transition
temperature might imply exotic coupling mechanisms, the boron isotope effect in
MgB is consistent with the material being a phonon-mediated BCS
superconductor.Comment: One figure and related discussion adde
Optical transparency and local electronic structure of Yb-doped Y 2 O 3 ceramics with tetravalent additives
The results of optical transmission and X-ray core-level spectra measurements of Yb:Y 2 O 3 ceramics with different tetravalent sintering additives (ZrO 2 , CeO 2 and HfO 2 ) fabricated from nanopowders (produced by the laser ablation method) and then annealed at 1400 °C in air for 2 h are presented. It is found that the transmission values for ZrO 2 - and HfO 2 -doped ceramics at the lasing wavelengths are higher than those of CeO 2 -doped samples. The X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) O 1s spectra show that the relative intensity of oxygen defect peak detected for 3Yb:Y 2 O 3 + 5CeO 2 ceramics decreases substantially and consistently compared to that of 5Yb:Y 2 O 3 + 5HfO 2 and 3Yb:Y 2 O 3 + 5ZrO 2 samples. This can be attributed to a more complete filling of oxygen vacancies due to annealing-induced oxygen diffusion into the highly defective sintered ceramics. The measurements of XPS Ce 3d spectra showed that the insufficiently complete filling of the oxygen vacancies in the 3Yb:Y 2 O 3 + 5CeO 2 compound is due to the appreciable presence of trivalent cerium ions. © 2019 by the authors.Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Minobrnauka: 3.7270.2017/8.9This study was supported by FASO (Theme "Electron" No. AAAA-A18-118020190098-5). The XPS measurements were supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (Project No. 3.7270.2017/8.9) and the Government of the Russian Federation (Act 211, agreement No. 02.A03.21.0006). Fabrication of ceramic samples was performed in the framework of the state task of IEP UB RAS
All-electron GW calculation based on the LAPW method: application to wurtzite ZnO
We present a new, all-electron implementation of the GW approximation and
apply it to wurtzite ZnO. Eigenfunctions computed in the local-density
approximation (LDA) by the full-potential linearized augmented-plane-wave
(LAPW) or the linearized muffin-tin-orbital (LMTO) method supply the input for
generating the Green function G and the screened Coulomb interaction W. A mixed
basis is used for the expansion of W, consisting of plane waves in the
interstitial region and augmented-wavefunction products in the
augmentation-sphere regions. The frequency-dependence of the dielectric
function is computed within the random-phase approximation (RPA), without a
plasmon-pole approximation. The Zn 3d orbitals are treated as valence states
within the LDA; both core and valence states are included in the self-energy
calculation. The calculated bandgap is smaller than experiment by about 1eV, in
contrast to previously reported GW results. Self-energy corrections are
orbital-dependent, and push down the deep O 2s and Zn 3d levels by about 1eV
relative to the LDA. The d level shifts closer to experiment but the size of
shift is underestimated, suggesting that the RPA overscreens localized states.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Gaussian random waves in elastic media
Similar to the Berry conjecture of quantum chaos we consider elastic analogue
which incorporates longitudinal and transverse elastic displacements with
corresponding wave vectors. Based on that we derive the correlation functions
for amplitudes and intensities of elastic displacements. Comparison to numerics
in a quarter Bunimovich stadium demonstrates excellent agreement.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
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