390 research outputs found
Critical temperature of superconductor/ferromagnet bilayers
Superconductor/ferromagnet bilayers are known to exhibit nontrivial
dependence of the critical temperature T_c on the thickness d_f of the
ferromagnetic layer. We develop a general method for investigation of T_c as a
function of the bilayer's parameters. It is shown that interference of
quasiparticles makes T_c(d_f) a nonmonotonic function. The results are in good
agreement with experiment. Our method also applies to multilayered structures.Comment: 4 pages, 2 EPS figures; the style file jetpl.cls is included. Version
2: typos correcte
The role of the Fraunhofer lines in solar brightness variability
The solar brightness varies on timescales from minutes to decades. A clear
identification of the physical processes behind such variations is needed for
developing and improving physics-based models of solar brightness variability
and reconstructing solar brightness in the past. This is, in turn, important
for better understanding the solar-terrestrial and solar-stellar connections.
We estimate the relative contributions of the continuum, molecular, and
atomic lines to the solar brightness variations on different timescales.
Our approach is based on the assumption that variability of the solar
brightness on timescales greater than a day is driven by the evolution of the
solar surface magnetic field. We calculated the solar brightness variations
employing the solar disc area coverage of magnetic features deduced from the
MDI/SOHO observations. The brightness contrasts of magnetic features relative
to the quiet Sun were calculated with a non-LTE radiative transfer code as
functions of disc position and wavelength. By consecutive elimination of
molecular and atomic lines from the radiative transfer calculations, we
assessed the role of these lines in producing solar brightness variability.
We show that the variations in Fraunhofer lines define the amplitude of the
solar brightness variability on timescales greater than a day and even the
phase of the total solar irradiance variability over the 11-year cycle. We also
demonstrate that molecular lines make substantial contribution to solar
brightness variability on the 11-year activity cycle and centennial timescales.
In particular, our model indicates that roughly a quarter of the total solar
irradiance variability over the 11-year cycle originates in molecular lines.
The maximum of the absolute spectral brightness variability on timescales
greater than a day is associated with the CN violet system between 380 and 390
nm.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in
Astronomy&Astrophysic
Azimuthal expansion of high-latitude auroral arcs
International audienceWe used the TV auroral observations in Barentsburg (78.05° N 14.12° E) in Spitsbergen archipelago, together with the data of the CUTLASS HF radars and the POLAR satellite images to study azimuthal (in the east-west direction) expansion of the high-latitude auroral arcs. It is shown that the east or west edge of the arc moved in the same direction as the convection flow, westward in the pre-midnight sector and eastward in the post-midnight sector. The velocity of arc expansion was of the order of 2.5 km/s, which is 2?3 times larger than the convection velocity measured in the arc vicinity and 2?3 times smaller than the velocity of the bright patches propagating along the arc. The arc expanded from the active auroras seen from the POLAR satellite around midnight as a region of enhanced luminosity, which might be the auroral bulge or WTS. The pole- or equatorward drift of the arcs occurred at the velocity of the order of 100 m/s that was close to the convection velocity in the same direction. These experimental results can be well explained in terms of the interchange (or flute) instability
Magnetoresistance of a semiconducting magnetic wire with domain wall
We investigate theoretically the influence of the spin-orbit interaction of
Rashba type on the magnetoresistance of a semiconducting ferromagnetic
nanostructure with a laterally constrained domain wall. The domain wall is
assumed sharp (on the scale of the Fermi wave length of the charge carriers).
It is shown that the magnetoresistance in such a case can be considerably
large, which is in a qualitative agreement with recent experimental
observations. It is also shown that spin-orbit interaction may result in an
increase of the magnetoresistance. The role of localization corrections is also
briefly discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Evidence for two-dimensional nucleation of superconductivity in MgB
According to the crystal structure of MgB and band structure
calculations quasi-two-dimensional (2D) boron planes are responsible for the
superconductivity. We report on critical fields and resistance measurements of
30 nm thick MgB films grown on MgO single crystalline substrate. A linear
temperature dependence of the parallel and perpendicular upper critical fields
indicate a 3D-like penetration of magnetic field into the sample. Resistivity
measurements, in contrast, yield a temperature dependence of fluctuation
conductivity above T which agrees with the Aslamazov-Larkin theory of
fluctuations in 2D superconductors. We consider this finding as an experimental
evidence of two-dimensional nucleation of superconductivity in MgB.Comment: 5 RevTex pages, 3 PostScript Figures ZIPed in archive Sidoren.zip.
Submitted to EuroPhys. Lett. December 3, 200
Spectral analysis of acoustic car noise
© Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd. The results of the Fourier spectroscopy of the acoustic noise of an internal combustion engine are presented. The sound was recorded using a voice recorder placed near the engine under varied operating conditions for the four-cylinder petrol engine. The distinctive characteristics of the periodograms where associated with the certain physical processes in the engine
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