Field and angular dependence of the Sommerfeld coefficient in Al-doped MgB2 single crystals

International audienceThe angular and field dependence of the Sommerfeld coefficient = lim Cel /T T→0 Cel being the electronic contribution to the specific heat has been measured in Al-doped MgB2 single crystals for x=0, x=0.1, and x 0.2 . We show that the decomposition previously introduced to describe H, where is the angle between the applied field and the c axis in pure samples Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 137001 2007 is well adapted to doped samples: e.g., the contribution of the band to the specific heat is proportional to B/Bc2 whereas the contribution of the band is isotropic but highly nonlinear in field. We hence present the evolution of the coherence lengths of the two bands and corresponding Fermi velocities with doping

Galois geometries and applications

Proceedings of the international conference Galois geometries and applications, Ghent, Belgium, May 25-29, 200

AC Microcalorimetry of Superconducting MgCNi3 Single Crystals

Proceedings of the CSMAG'07 Conference, Kosice, July 9-12, 2007International audienceThe low-temperature speci¯c heat of single-crystal samples of super- conducting MgCNi3 with typical dimensions 200 ¹m were measured for the ¯rst time. A computer controlled ac microcalorimeter using an optical ¯ber and an infrared light-emitting diode as the heat source was used down to 2 K at magnetic ¯elds up to 8 T. The speci¯c heat data suggest a moderate coupling in MgCNi3

Geometrical barriers and lower critical field in MgB2 single crystals

International audienceThe first penetration field sHpd has been deduced from local magnetization and specific heat measurements in magnesium diboride single crystals. For Ha ic, the geometrical barriers (GB) play a dominant role in the irreversibility mechanism. In thin samples, neglecting the GB in this direction would then lead to a large overestimation of Hc1 deduced from Hp through the standard elliptical formula. The lower critical field is found to be isotropic at low temperature (0.11±0.01 T)

The origin of the high velocity circumstellar gas around SN 1998S

Modelling of high resolution Balmer line profiles in the early-time spectra of SN 1998S shows that the inferred fast (roughly 400 km/s) circumstellar (CS) gas on days 23 and 42 post-explosion is confined to a narrow, negative velocity gradient shell just above the photosphere. This gas may be identified with a slow (v < 40 km/s) progenitor wind accelerated at the ejecta-wind interface. In this scenario, the photosphere coincides with a cool dense shell formed in the reverse shock. Acceleration by radiation from the supernova or by a shock-accelerated relativistic particle precursor are both possible explanations for the observed fast CS gas. An alternative, equally plausible scenario is that the fast CS gas is accelerated within shocked clouds engulfed by the outer shock, as it propagates through the intercloud wind.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. MNRAS, accepted. Typos added, acknowledgments correcte

Investigation of the ferromagnetic transition in the correlated 4d perovskites SrRu1−x_{1-x}Rhx_xO3_3

The solid-solution SrRu$_{1-x}$Rh$_x$O$_3$ ($0\le x \le1$) is a variable-electron-configuration system forming in the nearly-cubic-perovskite basis, ranging from the ferromagnetic 4$d^4$ to the enhanced paramagnetic 4$d^5$. Polycrystalline single-phase samples were obtained over the whole composition range by a high-pressure-heating technique, followed by measurements of magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, specific heat, thermopower, and electrical resistivity. The ferromagnetic order in long range is gradually suppressed by the Rh substitution and vanishes at $x \sim 0.6$. The electronic term of specific-heat shows unusual behavior near the critical Rh concentration; the feature does not match even qualitatively with what was reported for the related perovskites (Sr,Ca)RuO$_3$. Furthermore, another anomaly in the specific heat was observed at $x \sim 0.9$.Comment: Accepted for publication in PR

Nab: Measurement Principles, Apparatus and Uncertainties

The Nab collaboration will perform a precise measurement of 'a', the electron-neutrino correlation parameter, and 'b', the Fierz interference term in neutron beta decay, in the Fundamental Neutron Physics Beamline at the SNS, using a novel electric/magnetic field spectrometer and detector design. The experiment is aiming at the 10^{-3} accuracy level in (Delta a)/a, and will provide an independent measurement of lambda = G_A/G_V, the ratio of axial-vector to vector coupling constants of the nucleon. Nab also plans to perform the first ever measurement of 'b' in neutron decay, which will provide an independent limit on the tensor weak coupling.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, talk presented at the International Workshop on Particle Physics with Slow Neutrons, Grenoble, 29-31 May 2008; to appear in Nucl. Instrum. Meth. in Physics Research

Search for narrow resonances in e+ e- annihilation between 1.85 and 3.1 GeV with the KEDR Detector

We report results of a search for narrow resonances in e+ e- annihilation at center-of-mass energies between 1.85 and 3.1 GeV performed with the KEDR detector at the VEPP-4M e+ e- collider. The upper limit on the leptonic width of a narrow resonance Gamma(R -> ee) Br(R -> hadr) < 120 eV has been obtained (at 90 % C.L.)

Measurement of \Gamma_{ee}(J/\psi)*Br(J/\psi->e^+e^-) and \Gamma_{ee}(J/\psi)*Br(J/\psi->\mu^+\mu^-)

The products of the electron width of the J/\psi meson and the branching fraction of its decays to the lepton pairs were measured using data from the KEDR experiment at the VEPP-4M electron-positron collider. The results are \Gamma_{ee}(J/\psi)*Br(J/\psi->e^+e^-)=(0.3323\pm0.0064\pm0.0048) keV, \Gamma_{ee}(J/\psi)*Br(J/\psi->\mu^+\mu^-)=(0.3318\pm0.0052\pm0.0063) keV. Their combinations \Gamma_{ee}\times(\Gamma_{ee}+\Gamma_{\mu\mu})/\Gamma=(0.6641\pm0.0082\pm0.0100) keV, \Gamma_{ee}/\Gamma_{\mu\mu}=1.002\pm0.021\pm0.013 can be used to improve theaccuracy of the leptonic and full widths and test leptonic universality. Assuming e\mu universality and using the world average value of the lepton branching fraction, we also determine the leptonic \Gamma_{ll}=5.59\pm0.12 keV and total \Gamma=94.1\pm2.7 keV widths of the J/\psi meson.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

New precise determination of the \tau lepton mass at KEDR detector

The status of the experiment on the precise $\tau$ lepton mass measurement running at the VEPP-4M collider with the KEDR detector is reported. The mass value is evaluated from the $\tau^+\tau^-$ cross section behaviour around the production threshold. The preliminary result based on 6.7 pb$^{-1}$ of data is $m_{\tau}=1776.80^{+0.25}_{-0.23} \pm 0.15$ MeV. Using 0.8 pb$^{-1}$ of data collected at the $\psi'$ peak the preliminary result is also obtained: $\Gamma_{ee}B_{\tau\tau}(\psi') = 7.2 \pm 2.1$ eV.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures; The 9th International Workshop on Tau-Lepton Physics, Tau0