Matching fields of a long superconducting film

We obtain the vortex configurations, the matching fields and the magnetization of a superconducting film with a finite cross section. The applied magnetic field is normal to this cross section, and we use London theory to calculate many of its properties, such as the local magnetic field, the free energy and the induction for the mixed state. Thus previous similar theoretical works, done for an infinitely long superconducting film, are recovered here, in the special limit of a very long cross section.Comment: Contains a REVTeX file and 4 figure

Magnetic Pinning of Vortices in a Superconducting Film: The (anti)vortex-magnetic dipole interaction energy in the London approximation

The interaction between a superconducting vortex or antivortex in a superconducting film and a magnetic dipole with in- or out-of-plane magnetization is investigated within the London approximation. The dependence of the interaction energy on the dipole-vortex distance and the film thickness is studied and analytical results are obtained in limiting cases. We show how the short range interaction with the magnetic dipole makes the co-existence of vortices and antivortices possible. Different configurations with vortices and antivortices are investigated.Comment: 12 pages, 12 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Flux-Induced Vortex in Mesoscopic Superconducting Loops

We predict the existence of a quantum vortex for an unusual situation. We study the order parameter in doubly connected superconducting samples embedded in a uniform magnetic field. For samples with perfect cylindrical symmetry, the order parameter has been known for long and no vortices are present in the linear regime. However, if the sample is not symmetric, there exist ranges of the field for which the order parameter vanishes along a line, parallel to the field. In many respects, the behavior of this line is qualitatively different from that of the vortices encountered in type II superconductivity. For samples with mirror symmetry, this flux-induced vortex appears at the thin side for small fluxes and at the opposite side for large fluxes. We propose direct and indirect experimental methods which could test our predictions.Comment: 6 pages, Latex, 4 figs., uses RevTex, extended to situations far from cylindrical symmetr

Importin α7 Is Essential for Zygotic Genome Activation and Early Mouse Development

Importin α is involved in the nuclear import of proteins. It also contributes to spindle assembly and nuclear membrane formation, however, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we studied the function of importin α7 by gene targeting in mice and show that it is essential for early embryonic development. Embryos lacking importin α7 display a reduced ability for the first cleavage and arrest completely at the two-cell stage. We show that the zygotic genome activation is severely disturbed in these embryos. Our findings indicate that importin α7 is a new member of the small group of maternal effect genes

Superconductivity in multi-phase Mg-B-O compounds

Structures of MgB2-based materials manufactured under pressure (up to 2 GPa) by different methods having high superconducting performance and connectivity are multiphase and contain different Mg-B-O compounds. Some oxygen can be incorporated into MgB2 and boron into MgO structures, MgBx (X=4-20) inclusions contain practically no oxygen. Regulating manufacturing temperature, pressure, introducing additions one can influence oxygen and boron distribution in the materials and thus, affect the formation, amount and sizes of Mg-B-O and MgBx inclusions and changing type of pinning, pinning force and so affect critical current density jc. The boron concentration increase in initial Mg and B mixture allows obtaining sample containing 88.5 wt% of MgB12 with Tc of 37.4 K (estimated magnetically)

From a nonlinear string to a weakly interacting Bose gas

We investigate a real scalar field whose dynamics is governed by a nonlinear wave equation. We show that classical description can be applied to a quantum system of many interacting bosons provided that some quantum ingredients are included. An universal action has to be introduced in order to define particle number. The value of this action should be equal to the Planck constant. This constrain can be imposed by removing high frequency modes from the dynamics by introducing a cut-off. We show that the position of the cut-off has to be carefully adjusted. Finally, we show the proper choice of the cut-off ensures that all low frequency eigenenmodes which are taken into account are macroscopically occupied.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

The Flux-Line Lattice in Superconductors

Magnetic flux can penetrate a type-II superconductor in form of Abrikosov vortices. These tend to arrange in a triangular flux-line lattice (FLL) which is more or less perturbed by material inhomogeneities that pin the flux lines, and in high-$T_c$ supercon- ductors (HTSC's) also by thermal fluctuations. Many properties of the FLL are well described by the phenomenological Ginzburg-Landau theory or by the electromagnetic London theory, which treats the vortex core as a singularity. In Nb alloys and HTSC's the FLL is very soft mainly because of the large magnetic penetration depth: The shear modulus of the FLL is thus small and the tilt modulus is dispersive and becomes very small for short distortion wavelength. This softness of the FLL is enhanced further by the pronounced anisotropy and layered structure of HTSC's, which strongly increases the penetration depth for currents along the c-axis of these uniaxial crystals and may even cause a decoupling of two-dimensional vortex lattices in the Cu-O layers. Thermal fluctuations and softening may melt the FLL and cause thermally activated depinning of the flux lines or of the 2D pancake vortices in the layers. Various phase transitions are predicted for the FLL in layered HTSC's. The linear and nonlinear magnetic response of HTSC's gives rise to interesting effects which strongly depend on the geometry of the experiment.Comment: Review paper for Rep.Prog.Phys., 124 narrow pages. The 30 figures do not exist as postscript file