715 research outputs found
An electronic instability in bismuth far beyond the quantum limit
We present a transport study of semi-metallic bismuth in presence of a
magnetic field applied along the trigonal axis extended to 55 T for electric
conductivity and to 45 T for thermoelectric response. The results uncover a new
field scale at about 40 T in addition to the previously detected ones. Large
anomalies in all transport properties point to an intriguing electronic
instability deep in the ultraquantum regime. Unexpectedly, both the sheer
magnitude of conductivity and its metallic temperature dependence are enhanced
by this instability.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Odd-frequency pairing in normal metal/superconductor junctions
We study the induced odd-frequency pairing states in ballistic normal
metal/superconductor (N/S) junctions where a superconductor has even-frequency
symmetry in the bulk and a normal metal layer has an arbitrary length. Using
the quasiclassical Green's function formalism, we demonstrate that, quite
generally, the pair amplitude in the junction has an admixture of an
odd-frequency component due to the breakdown of translational invariance near
the N/S interface where the pair potential acquires spatial dependence. If a
superconductor has even-parity pair potential (spin-singlet s-wave state), the
odd-frequency pairing component with odd-parity is induced near the N/S
interface, while in the case of odd-parity pair potential (spin-triplet
-wave or spin-singlet -wave) the odd-frequency component with
even-parity is generated. We show that in conventional s-wave junctions, the
amplitude of the odd-frequency pairing state is enhanced at energies
corresponding to the peaks in the local density of states (LDOS). In - and
-wave junctions, the amplitude of the odd-frequency component on the S
side of the N/S interface is enhanced at zero energy where the midgap Andreev
resonant state (MARS) appears due to the sign change of the pair potential. The
odd-frequency component extends into the N region and exceeds the
even-frequency component at energies corresponding to the LDOS peak positions,
including the MARS.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figure
Electronic structures of CeRu ( = Si, Ge) in the paramagnetic phase studied by soft X-ray ARPES and hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
Soft and hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (PES) has been performed for
one of the heavy fermion system CeRuSi and a -localized ferromagnet
CeRuGe in the paramagnetic phase. The three-dimensional band structures
and Fermi surface (FS) shapes of CeRuSi have been determined by soft
X-ray -dependent angle resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES). The
differences in the Fermi surface topology and the non- electronic
structures between CeRuSi and CeRuGe are qualitatively
explained by the band-structure calculation for both itinerant and
localized models, respectively. The Ce valences in CeRu ( = Si, Ge)
at 20 K are quantitatively estimated by the single impurity Anderson model
calculation, where the Ce 3d hard X-ray core-level PES and Ce 3d X-ray
absorption spectra have shown stronger hybridization and signature for the
partial contribution to the conduction electrons in CeRuSi.Comment: 8figure
Layer dependent band dispersion and correlations using tunable Soft X-ray ARPES
Soft X-ray Angle-Resolved Photoemission Spectroscopy is applied to study
in-plane band dispersions of Nickel as a function of probing depth. Photon
energies between 190 and 780 eV were used to effectively probe up to 3-7
layers. The results show layer dependent band dispersion of the Delta_2
minority-spin band which crosses the Fermi level in 3 or more layers, in
contrast to known top 1-2 layers dispersion obtained using ultra-violet rays.
The layer dependence corresponds to an increased value of exchange splitting
and suggests reduced correlation effects in the bulk compared to the surface.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures Revised text and figur
Temperature-dependence of spin-polarized transport in ferromagnet / unconventional superconductor junctions
Tunneling conductance in ferromagnet / unconventional superconductor
junctions is studied theoretically as a function of temperatures and
spin-polarization in feromagnets. In d-wave superconductor junctions, the
existence of a zero-energy Andreev bound state drastically affects the
temperature-dependence of the zero-bias conductance (ZBC). In p-wave triplet
superconductor junctions, numerical results show a wide variety in
temperature-dependence of the ZBC depending on the direction of the magnetic
moment in ferromagnets and the pairing symmetry in superconductors such as
, and -wave pair potential. The last one is a
promising symmetry of SrRuO. From these characteristic features in the
conductance, we may obtain the information about the degree of
spin-polarization in ferromagnets and the direction of the -vector in
triplet superconductors
Fractional ac Josephson effect in unconventional superconductors
For certain orientations of Josephson junctions between two p_x-wave or two
d-wave superconductors, the subgap Andreev bound states produce a 4pi-periodic
relation between the Josephson current I and the phase difference phi: I ~
sin(phi/2). Consequently, the ac Josephson current has the fractional frequency
eV/h, where V is the dc voltage. In the tunneling limit, the Josephson current
is proportional to the first power (not square) of the electron tunneling
amplitude. Thus, the Josephson current between unconventional superconductors
is carried by single electrons, rather than by Cooper pairs. The fractional ac
Josephson effect can be observed experimentally by measuring frequency spectrum
of microwave radiation from the junction.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, RevTEX 4; v2. - minor typos corrected in proof
Zero-bias conductance peak splitting due to multiband effect in tunneling spectroscopy
We study how the multiplicity of the Fermi surface affects the zero-bias peak
in conductance spectra of tunneling spectroscopy. As case studies, we consider
models for organic superconductors -(BEDT-TTF)Cu(NCS) and
(TMTSF)ClO. We find that multiplicity of the Fermi surfaces can lead to
a splitting of the zero-bias conductance peak (ZBCP). We propose that the
presence/absence of the ZBCP splitting is used as a probe to distinguish the
pairing symmetry in -(BEDT-TTF)Cu(NCS).Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
A Hot Helium Plasma in the Galactic Center Region
Recent X-ray observations by the space mission Chandra confirmed the
astonishing evidence for a diffuse, hot, thermal plasma at a temperature of 9.
K (8 keV) found by previous surveys to extend over a few hundred parsecs
in the Galactic Centre region. This plasma coexists with the usual components
of the interstellar medium such as cold molecular clouds and a soft (~0.8 keV)
component produced by supernova remnants, and its origin remains uncertain.
First, simple calculations using a mean sound speed for a hydrogen-dominated
plasma have suggested that it should not be gravitationally bound, and thus
requires a huge energy source to heat it in less than the escape time. Second,
an astrophysical mechanism must be found to generate such a high temperature.
No known source has been identified to fulfill both requirements. Here we
address the energetics problem and show that the hot component could actually
be a gravitationally confined helium plasma. We illustrate the new prospects
this opens by discussing the origin of this gas, and by suggesting possible
heating mechanisms.Comment: 9 pages, accepted for publication in APJ
Magnetic Reynolds number dependence of reconnection rate and flow structure of the self-similar evolution model of fast magnetic reconnection
This paper investigates Magnetic Reynolds number dependence of the
``self-similar evolution model'' (Nitta et al. 2001) of fast magnetic
reconnection. I focused my attention on the flow structure inside and around
the reconnection outflow, which is essential to determine the entire
reconnection system (Nitta et al. 2002). The outflow is consist of several
regions divided by discontinuities, e.g., shocks, and it can be treated by a
shock-tube approximation (Nitta 2004). By solving the junction conditions
(e.g., Rankine-Hugoniot condition), the structure of the reconnection outflow
is obtained. Magnetic reconnection in most astrophysical problems is
characterized by a huge dynamic range of its expansion ( for typical
solar flares) in a free space which is free from any influence of external
circumstances. Such evolution results in a spontaneous self-similar expansion
which is controlled by two intrinsic parameters: the plasma- and the
magnetic Reynolds number. The plasma- dependence had been investigated in
our previous paper. This paper newly clarifies the relation between the
reconnection rate and the inflow structure just outside the Petschek-like slow
shock: As the magnetic Reynolds number increases, strongly converging inflow
toward the Petschek-like slow shock forms, and it significantly reduces the
reconnection rate.Comment: 16 pages. to appear in ApJ (2006 Jan. 20 issue
- …