332 research outputs found

    Fermi Surface Reconstruction in CeRh1x_{1-x}Cox_{x}In5_{5}

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    The evolution of the Fermi surface of CeRh1x_{1-x}Cox_xIn5_5 was studied as a function of Co concentration xx via measurements of the de Haas-van Alphen effect. By measuring the angular dependence of quantum oscillation frequencies, we identify a Fermi surface sheet with ff-electron character which undergoes an abrupt change in topology as xx is varied. Surprisingly, this reconstruction does not occur at the quantum critical concentration xcx_c, where antiferromagnetism is suppressed to T=0. Instead we establish that this sudden change occurs well below xcx_c, at the concentration x ~ 0.4 where long range magnetic order alters its character and superconductivity appears. Across all concentrations, the cyclotron effective mass of this sheet does not diverge, suggesting that critical behavior is not exhibited equally on all parts of the Fermi surface.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

    Optical study of interactions in a d-electron Kondo lattice with ferromagnetism

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    We report on a comprehensive optical, transport and thermodynamic study of the Zintl compound Yb14_{14}MnSb11_{11}, demonstrating that it is the first ferromagnetic Kondo lattice compound in the underscreened limit. We propose a scenerio whereby the combination of Kondo and Jahn-Teller effects provides a consistent explanation of both transport and optical data.Comment: 4 page

    Collapse of the hyperfine magnetic field at the Ru site in ferromagnetic rare earth intermetallics

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    The M\"{o}ssbauer Effect(ME) is frequently used to investigate magnetically ordered systems. One usually assumes that the magnetic order induces a hyperfine magnetic field, BhyperfineB_{hyperfine}, at the ME active site. This is the case in the ruthenates, where the temperature dependence of BhyperfineB_{hyperfine} at 99^{99}Ru sites tracks the temperature dependence of the ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic order. However this does not happen in the rare-earth intermetallics, GdRu2_2 and HoRu2_2. Specific heat, magnetization, magnetic susceptibility, M\"{o}ssbauer effect, and neutron diffraction have been used to study the nature of the magnetic order in these materials. Both materials are found to order ferromagnetically at 82.3 and 15.3 K, respectively. Despite the ferromagnetic order of the rare earth moments in both systems, there is no evidence of a correspondingly large BhyperfineB_{hyperfine} in the M\"{o}ssbauer spectrum at the Ru site. Instead the measured spectra consist of a narrow peak at all temperatures which points to the absence of magnetic order. To understand the surprising absence of a transferred hyperfine magnetic field, we carried out {\it ab initio} calculations which show that spin polarization is present only on the rare-earth site. The electron spin at the Ru sites is effectively unpolarized and, as a result, BhyperfineB_{hyperfine} is very small at those sites. This occurs because the 4dd Ru electrons form broad conduction bands rather than localized moments. These 4dd conduction bands are polarized in the region of the Fermi energy and mediate the interaction between the localized rare earth moments.Comment: 34 pages -Revtex + 17 ps figure

    Roughness Signature of Tribological Contact Calculated by a New Method of Peaks Curvature Radius Estimation on Fractal Surfaces

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    This paper proposes a new method of roughness peaks curvature radii calculation and its application to tribological contact analysis as characteristic signature of tribological contact. This method is introduced via the classical approach of the calculation of radius of asperity. In fact, the proposed approach provides a generalization to fractal profiles of the Nowicki's method [Nowicki B. Wear Vol.102, p.161-176, 1985] by introducing a fractal concept of curvature radii of surfaces, depending on the observation scale and also numerically depending on horizontal lines intercepted by the studied profile. It is then established the increasing of the dispersion of the measures of that lines with that of the corresponding radii and the dependence of calculated radii on the fractal dimension of the studied curve. Consequently, the notion of peak is mathematically reformulated. The efficiency of the proposed method was tested via simulations of fractal curves such as those described by Brownian motions. A new fractal function allowing the modelling of a large number of physical phenomena was also introduced, and one of the great applications developed in this paper consists in detecting the scale on which the measurement system introduces a smoothing artifact on the data measurement. New methodology is applied to analysis of tribological contact in metal forming process

    Non-Fermi liquid behavior in a fluctuating valence system, the filled skutterudite compound CeRu_{4}As_{12}

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    Electrical resistivity ρ\rho, specific heat C, and magnetic susceptibility χ\chi measurements made on the filled skutterudite CeRu_4As_{12} reveal non-Fermi liquid (NFL) T - dependences at low T, i.e., ρ\rho(T) \sim T^{1.4} and weak power law or logarithmic divergences in C(T)/T and χ\chi(T). Measurements also show that the T - dependence of the thermoelectric power S(T) deviates from that seen in other Ce systems. The NFL behavior appears to be associated with fluctuations of the Ce valence between 3^+ and 4^+ rather than a typical Kondo lattice scenario that would be appropriate for an integral Ce valence of 3^+.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure

    Carbon dynamics of the Weddell Gyre, Southern Ocean

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    The accumulation of carbon within the Weddell Gyre and its exchanges across the gyre boundaries are investigated with three recent full-depth oceanographic sections enclosing this climatically important region. The combination of carbonmeasurements with ocean circulation transport estimates from a box inverse analysis reveals that deepwater transports associated with Warm Deep Water (WDW) and Weddell Sea Deep Water dominate the gyre’s carbon budget, while a dual-cell vertical overturning circulation leads to both upwelling and the delivery of large quantities of carbon to the deep ocean. Historical sea surface pCO2 observations, interpolated using a neural network technique, confirm the net summertime sink of 0.044 to 0.058 ± 0.010 Pg C / yr derived from the inversion. However, a wintertime outgassing signal similar in size results in a statistically insignificant annual air-to-sea CO2 flux of 0.002± 0.007 Pg C / yr (mean 1998–2011) to 0.012 ± 0.024 Pg C/ yr (mean 2008–2010) to be diagnosed for the Weddell Gyre. A surface layer carbon balance, independently derived fromin situ biogeochemical measurements, reveals that freshwater inputs and biological drawdown decrease surface ocean inorganic carbon levels more than they are increased by WDW entrainment, resulting in an estimated annual carbon sink of 0.033 ± 0.021 Pg C / yr. Although relatively less efficient for carbon uptake than the global oceans, the summertime Weddell Gyre suppresses the winter outgassing signal, while its biological pump and deepwater formation act as key conduits for transporting natural and anthropogenic carbon to the deep ocean where they can reside for long time scales

    Vaccines against toxoplasma gondii : challenges and opportunities

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    Development of vaccines against Toxoplasma gondii infection in humans is of high priority, given the high burden of disease in some areas of the world like South America, and the lack of effective drugs with few adverse effects. Rodent models have been used in research on vaccines against T. gondii over the past decades. However, regardless of the vaccine construct, the vaccines have not been able to induce protective immunity when the organism is challenged with T. gondii, either directly or via a vector. Only a few live, attenuated T. gondii strains used for immunization have been able to confer protective immunity, which is measured by a lack of tissue cysts after challenge. Furthermore, challenge with low virulence strains, especially strains with genotype II, will probably be insufficient to provide protection against the more virulent T. gondii strains, such as those with genotypes I or II, or those genotypes from South America not belonging to genotype I, II or III. Future studies should use animal models besides rodents, and challenges should be performed with at least one genotype II T. gondii and one of the more virulent genotypes. Endpoints like maternal-foetal transmission and prevention of eye disease are important in addition to the traditional endpoint of survival or reduction in numbers of brain cysts after challenge
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