4,218 research outputs found
Epitaxial Thin Films of the Giant-Dielectric-Constant Material CaCu_3Ti_4O_{12} Grown by Pulsed-laser Deposition
Pulsed-laser deposition has been used to grow epitaxial thin films of the
giant-dielectric-constant material CaCu_3Ti_4O_{12} on LaAlO_3 and SrTiO_3
substrates with or without various conducting buffer layers. The latter include
YBa_2Cu_3O_7, La_{1.85}Sr_{0.15}CuO_{4+\delta} and LaNiO_3. Above 100K - 150K
the thin films have a temperature independent dielectric constant as do single
crystals. The value of the dielectric constant is of the order of 1500 over a
wide temperature region, potentially making it a good candidate for many
applications. The frequency dependence of its dielectric properties below 100K
- 150K indicates an activated relaxation process.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Indications of incommensurate spin fluctuations in doped triangular antiferromagnets
The incommensurate spin fluctuation of the doped triangular antiferromagnet
is studied within the t-J model. It is shown that the commensurate peak near
the half-filling is split into six incommensurate peaks in the underdoped and
optimally doped regimes. The incommensurability increases with the hole
concentration at lower dopings, and saturates at higher dopings. Although the
incommensurability is almost energy independent, the weight of these
incommensurate peaks decreases with energy and temperature.Comment: 5 pages, seven figures are include
Mixed-valent regime of the two-channel Anderson impurity as a model for UBe_13
We investigate the mixed-valent regime of a two-configuration Anderson
impurity model for uranium ions, with separate quadrupolar and magnetic
doublets. With a new Monte Carlo approach and the non-crossing approximation we
find: (i) A non-Fermi-liquid fixed point with two-channel Kondo model critical
behavior; (ii) Distinct energy scales for screening the low-lying and excited
doublets; (iii) A semi-quantitative explanation of magnetic-susceptibility data
for UThBe assuming 60-70% quadrupolar doublet ground-state
weight, supporting the quadrupolar-Kondo interpretation.Comment: 4 Pages, 3 eps figures; submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Nonmonotonic Temperature-dependent Resistance in Low Density 2D Hole Gases
The low temperature longitudinal resistance-per-square Rxx(T) in ungated
GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells of high peak hole mobility 1.7x10^6 cm^2/Vs is
metallic for 2D hole density p as low as 3.8x10^9 cm-2. The electronic
contribution to the resistance, R_{el}(T), is a nonmonotonic function of T,
exhibiting thermal activation, R_{el}(T) ~ exp{-E_a/kT}, for kT<<E_F and a
heretofore unnoted decay R_{el}(T) ~ 1/T for k_T>EF. The form of R_{el}(T) is
independent of density, indicating a fundamental relationship between the low
and high T scattering mechanisms in the metallic state
Influence of Hybridization on the Properties of the Spinless Falicov-Kimball Model
Without a hybridization between the localized f- and the conduction (c-)
electron states the spinless Falicov-Kimball model (FKM) is exactly solvable in
the limit of high spatial dimension, as first shown by Brandt and Mielsch. Here
I show that at least for sufficiently small c-f-interaction this exact
inhomogeneous ground state is also obtained in Hartree-Fock approximation. With
hybridization the model is no longer exactly solvable, but the approximation
yields that the inhomogeneous charge-density wave (CDW) ground state remains
stable also for finite hybridization V smaller than a critical hybridization
V_c, above which no inhomogeneous CDW solution but only a homogeneous solution
is obtained. The spinless FKM does not allow for a ''ferroelectric'' ground
state with a spontaneous polarization, i.e. there is no nonvanishing
-expectation value in the limit of vanishing hybridization.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Dominance of Vaccine Serotypes in Pediatric Invasive Pneumococcal Infections in Portugal (2012-2015)
We evaluated the impact of continued 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) use in the private market (uptake of 61%) in pediatric invasive pneumococcal disease (pIPD) in Portugal (2012-2015). The most frequently detected serotypes were: 3 (n = 32, 13.8%), 14 (n = 23, 9.9%), 1 (n = 23, 9.9%), 7F (n = 15, 6.4%), 19A (n = 13, 5.6%), 6B and 15B/C (both n = 12, 5.2%), and 24F, 10A and 12B (all with n = 10, 4.3%). Taken together, non-PCV13 serotypes were responsible for 42.2% of pIPD with a known serotype. The use of PCR to detect and serotype pneumococci in both pleural and cerebrospinal fluid samples contributed to 18.1% (n = 47) of all pIPD. Serotype 3 was mostly detected by PCR (n = 21/32, 65.6%) and resulted from a relevant number of vaccine failures. The incidence of pIPD varied in the different age groups but without a clear trend. There were no obvious declines of the incidence of pIPD due to serotypes included in any of the PCVs, and PCV13 serotypes still accounted for the majority of pIPD (57.8%). Our study indicates that a higher vaccination uptake may be necessary to realize the full benefits of PCVs, even after 15 years of moderate use, and highlights the importance of using molecular methods in pIPD surveillance, since these can lead to substantially increased case ascertainment and identification of particular serotypes as causes of pIPD.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Doping a semiconductor to create an unconventional metal
Landau Fermi liquid theory, with its pivotal assertion that electrons in
metals can be simply understood as independent particles with effective masses
replacing the free electron mass, has been astonishingly successful. This is
true despite the Coulomb interactions an electron experiences from the host
crystal lattice, its defects, and the other ~1022/cm3 electrons. An important
extension to the theory accounts for the behaviour of doped semiconductors1,2.
Because little in the vast literature on materials contradicts Fermi liquid
theory and its extensions, exceptions have attracted great attention, and they
include the high temperature superconductors3, silicon-based field effect
transistors which host two-dimensional metals4, and certain rare earth
compounds at the threshold of magnetism5-8. The origin of the non-Fermi liquid
behaviour in all of these systems remains controversial. Here we report that an
entirely different and exceedingly simple class of materials - doped small gap
semiconductors near a metal-insulator transition - can also display a non-Fermi
liquid state. Remarkably, a modest magnetic field functions as a switch which
restores the ordinary disordered Fermi liquid. Our data suggest that we have
finally found a physical realization of the only mathematically rigourous route
to a non-Fermi liquid, namely the 'undercompensated Kondo effect', where there
are too few mobile electrons to compensate for the spins of unpaired electrons
localized on impurity atoms9-12.Comment: 17 pages 4 figures supplemental information included with 2 figure
Ferramentas de modelação UML: avaliação na perspetiva dos utilizadores
As ferramentas de modelação servem para orientar e disciplinar o processo de desenvolvimento de software durante a fase de projeto. Entretanto, tais ferramentas não são totalmente exploradas do ponto de vista funcional, seja por complexidade do assunto abordado ou pela usabilidade das mesmas. Este trabalho propõe avaliar o uso de três ferramentas de modelação de sistema, por meio de um estudo que utiliza alunos da Pós-Graduação em Informática Aplicada às Organizações. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar a usabilidade das três ferramentas, que permitem a modelação de sistema utilizando a notação da UML. São apresentados estudos referentes aos níveis de aceitação e de utilização das ferramentas analisadas. Com base nos resultados preliminares deste estudo, pode-se verificar que a ferramenta Visio possui melhor usabilidade e funcionalidade do que as outras ferramentas.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
Thermodynamic analysis of the Quantum Critical behavior of Ce-lattice compounds
A systematic analysis of low temperature magnetic phase diagrams of Ce
compounds is performed in order to recognize the thermodynamic conditions to be
fulfilled by those systems to reach a quantum critical regime and,
alternatively, to identify other kinds of low temperature behaviors. Based on
specific heat () and entropy () results, three different types of
phase diagrams are recognized: i) with the entropy involved into the ordered
phase () decreasing proportionally to the ordering temperature
(), ii) those showing a transference of degrees of freedom from the
ordered phase to a non-magnetic component, with their jump
() vanishing at finite temperature, and iii) those ending in a
critical point at finite temperature because their do not decrease
with producing an entropy accumulation at low temperature.
Only those systems belonging to the first case, i.e. with as
, can be regarded as candidates for quantum critical behavior.
Their magnetic phase boundaries deviate from the classical negative curvature
below \,K, denouncing frequent misleading extrapolations down to
T=0. Different characteristic concentrations are recognized and analyzed for
Ce-ligand alloyed systems. Particularly, a pre-critical region is identified,
where the nature of the magnetic transition undergoes significant
modifications, with its discontinuity strongly
affected by magnetic field and showing an increasing remnant entropy at . Physical constraints arising from the third law at are discussed
and recognized from experimental results
Dectin-1 isoforms contribute to distinct Th1/Th17 cell activation in mucosal candidiasis
We thank Dr. Cristina Massi Benedetti for digital art and editingRecognition of β-glucans by dectin-1 has been shown to mediate cell activation, cytokine production and a variety of antifungal responses. Here, we report that the functional activity of dectin-1 in mucosal immunity to Candida albicans is influenced by the genetic background of the host. Dectin-1 was required for the proper control of gastrointestinal and vaginal candidiasis in C57BL/6 but not BALB/c mice, the latter actually showing increased resistance in the absence of dectin-1. Susceptibility of dectin-1-deficient C57BL/6 mice to infection was associated with defective IL-17A, aryl hydrocarbon receptor-dependent IL-22 production as well as adaptive Th1 responses. In contrast, resistance of dectin-1-deficient BALB/c mice was associated with increased IL-17A and IL-22 production, and the skewing towards Th1/Treg immune responses that provide immunological memory. Disparate canonical/noncanonical NF-κB signaling pathways downstream dectin-1were activated in the two different mouse strains. Thus, the net activity of dectin-1 in antifungal mucosal immunity is dependent on the host’s genetic background that affects both the innate cytokine production as well as the adaptive Th1/Th17 cell activation upon dectin-1 signaling.The studies were supported by the Specific Targeted Research Project “ALLFUN” (FP7−HEALTH−2009 contract number 260338 to LR) and the Italian Project AIDS 2010 by ISS (Istituto Superiore di Sanità - contract number 40H40 to LR) and Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Perugia Project n. 2011.0124.021. AC and CC were financially supported by fellowships from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal (contracts SFRH/BPD/46292/2008 and SFRH/BD/65962/2009, respectively)
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