484 research outputs found
Fermi surface of the colossal magnetoresistance perovskite La_{0.7}Sr_{0.3}MnO_{3}
Materials that exhibit colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) are currently the
focus of an intense research effort, driven by the technological applications
that their sensitivity lends them to. Using the angular correlation of photons
from electron-positron annihilation, we present a first glimpse of the Fermi
surface of a material that exhibits CMR, supported by ``virtual crystal''
electronic structure calculations. The Fermi surface is shown to be
sufficiently cubic in nature that it is likely to support nesting.Comment: 5 pages, 5 PS figure
Dispersive Gap Mode of Phonons in Anisotropic Superconductors
We estimate the effect of the superconducting gap anisotropy in the
dispersive gap mode of phonons, which is observed by the neutron scattering on
borocarbide superconductors. We numerically analyze the phonon spectrum
considering the electron-phonon coupling, and examine contributions coming from
the gap suppression and the sign change of the pairing function on the Fermi
surface. When the sign of the pairing function is changed by the nesting
translation, the gap mode does not appear. We also discuss the suppression of
the phonon softening of the Kohn anomaly due to the onset of superconductivity.
We demonstrate that observation of the gap dispersive mode is useful for
sorting out the underlying superconducting pairing function.Comment: 7 pages, 12 figures, to be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jp
Superconductivity Near Ferromagnetism in MgCNi3
An unusual quasi-two-dimensional heavy band mass van Hove singularity (vHs)
lies very near the Fermi energy in MgCNi3, recently reported to superconduct at
8.5 K. This compound is strongly exchange enhanced and is unstable to
ferromagnetism upon hole doping with 12% Mg --> Na or Li. The 1/4-depleted fcc
(frustrated) Ni sublattice and lack of Fermi surface nesting argues against
competing antiferromagnetic and charge density wave instabilities. We identify
an essentially infinite mass along the M-Gamma line, leading to
quasi-two-dimensionality of this vHs may promote unconventional p-wave pairing
that could coexist with superconductivity.Comment: 4 two-column pages, 4 figure
Colossal Positive Magnetoresistance in a Doped Nearly Magnetic Semiconductor
We report on a positive colossal magnetoresistance (MR) induced by
metallization of FeSb, a nearly magnetic or "Kondo" semiconductor with 3d
ions. We discuss contribution of orbital MR and quantum interference to
enhanced magnetic field response of electrical resistivity.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Nesting properties and anisotropy of the Fermi surface of LuNiBC
The rare earth nickel borocarbides, with the generic formula
NiBC, have recently been shown to display a rich variety of
phenomena. Most striking has been the competition between, and even coexistence
of, antiferromagnetism and superconductivity. We have measured the Fermi
surface (FS) of LuNiBC, and shown that it possesses nesting
features capable of explaining some of the phenomena experimentally observed.
In particular, it had previously been conjectured that a particular sheet of FS
is responsible for the modulated magnetic structures manifest in some of the
series. We report the first direct experimental observation of this sheet.Comment: 4 pages, 4 PS figure
Core pinning by intragranular nanoprecipitates in polycrystalline MgCNi_3
The nanostructure and magnetic properties of polycrystalline MgCNi_3 were
studied by x-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and vibrating sample
magnetometry. While the bulk flux-pinning force curve F_p(H) indicates the
expected grain-boundary pinning mechanism just below T_c = 7.2 K, a systematic
change to pinning by a nanometer-scale distribution of core pinning sites is
indicated by a shift of F_p(H) with decreasing temperature. The lack of scaling
of F_p(H) suggests the presence of 10 to 20% of nonsuperconducting regions
inside the grains, which are smaller than the diameter of fluxon cores 2xi at
high temperature and become effective with decreasing temperature when xi(T)
approaches the nanostructural scale. Transmission electron microscopy revealed
cubic and graphite nanoprecipitates with 2 to 5 nm size, consistent with the
above hypothesis since xi(0) = 6 nm. High critical current densities, more than
10^6 A/cm^2 at 1 T and 4.2 K, were obtained for grain colonies separated by
carbon. Dirty-limit behavior seen in previous studies may be tied to electron
scattering by the precipitates, indicating the possibility that strong core
pinning might be combined with a technologically useful upper critical field if
versions of MgCNi_3 with higher T_c can be found.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, submitted to PR
The mechanical relaxation study of polycrystalline MgCNi3
The mechanical relaxation spectra of a superconducting and a
non-superconducting MgCNi3 samples were measured from liquid nitrogen
temperature to room temperature at frequency of kilohertz. There are two
internal friction peaks (at 300 K labeled as P1 and 125 K as P2) for the
superconducting sample. For the non-superconducting one, the position of P1
shifts to 250 K, while P2 is almost completely depressed. It is found that the
peak position of P2 shifts towards higher temperature under higher measuring
frequency. The calculated activation energy is 0.13eV. We propose an
explanation relating P2 to the carbon atom jumping among the off-center
positions. And further we expect that the behaviors of carbon atoms maybe
correspond to the normal state crossovers around 150 K and 50 K observed by
many other experiments.Comment: 4 figure
Social effects on age-related and sex-specific immune cell profiles in a wild mammal
Evidence for age-related changes in innate and adaptive immune responses is increasing in wild populations. Such changes have been linked to fitness, and knowledge of the factors driving immune response variation is important for understanding the evolution of immunity. Age-related changes in immune profiles may be owing to factors such as immune system development, sex-specific behaviour and responses to environmental conditions. Social environments may also contribute to variation in immunological responses, for example, through transmission of pathogens and stress arising from resource and mate competition. Yet, the impact of the social environment on age-related changes in immune cell profiles is currently understudied in the wild. Here, we tested the relationship between leukocyte cell composition (proportion of neutrophils and lymphocytes [innate and adaptive immunity, respectively] that were lymphocytes) and age, sex and group size in a wild population of European badgers (Meles meles). We found that the proportion of lymphocytes in early life was greater in males in smaller groups compared to larger groups, but with a faster age-related decline in smaller groups. By contrast, the proportion of lymphocytes in females was not significantly related to age or group size. Our results provide evidence of sex-specific age-related changes in immune cell profiles in a wild mammal, which are influenced by the social environment
Thermopower and thermal conductivity of superconducting perovskite
The thermopower and thermal conductivity of superconducting perovskite
( 8 K) have been studied. The thermopower is negative
from room temperature to 10 K. Combining with the negative Hall coefficient
reported previously, the negative thermopower definetly indicates that the
carrier in is electron-type. The nonlinear temperature dependence of
thermopower below 150 K is explained by the electron-phonon interaction
renormalization effects. The thermal conductivity is of the order for
intermetallics, larger than that of borocarbides and smaller than . In
the normal state, the electronic contribution to the total thermal conductivity
is slightly larger than the lattice contribution. The transverse
magnetoresistance of is also measured. It is found that the classical
Kohler's rule is valid above 50 K. An electronic crossover occures at , resulting in the abnormal behavior of resistivity, thermopower, and
magnetoresistance below 50 K.Comment: Revised on 12 September 2001, Phys. Rev. B in pres
X-ray absorption and optical spectroscopy studies of (MgAl)B
X-ray absorption spectroscopy and optical reflectance measurements have been
carried out to elucidate the evolution of the electronic structure in
(MgAl)B for \emph{x} = 0.0,0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4. The
important role of B 2\emph{p} hole states to superconductivity has
been identified, and the decrease in the hole carrier number is
\emph{quantitatively} determined. The rate of the decrease in the hole
concentration agree well with the theoretical calculations. On the other
hand,while the evolution of the electronic structure is gradual through the
doping range, suppression is most significant at \emph{x} = 0.4. These
results suggest that the superstructure in (MgAl)B, in
addition to the holes, can affect the lattice dynamics and contributes
to the suppression effect. Other possible explanations like the
topological change of the band Fermi surface are also discussed.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures. Phys. Rev. B, in pres
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