4,118 research outputs found
Mass-Enhanced Fermi Liquid Ground State in NaCoO
Magnetic, transport, and specific heat measurements have been performed on
layered metallic oxide NaCoO as a function of temperature .
Below a characteristic temperature =3040 K, electrical resistivity
shows a metallic conductivity with a behavior and magnetic susceptibility
deviates from the Curie-Weiss behavior showing a broad peak at 14 K. The
electronic specific heat coefficient is 60 mJ/molK at 2 K.
No evidence for magnetic ordering is found. These behaviors suggest the
formation of mass-enhanced Fermi liquid ground state analogous to that in
-electron heavy fermion compound LiVO.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. B 69 (2004
Defect structures in nematic liquid crystals around charged particles
We numerically study the orientation deformations in nematic liquid crystals
around charged particles. We set up a Ginzburg-Landau theory with inhomogeneous
electric field. If the dielectric anisotropy varepsilon_1 is positive, Saturn
ring defects are formed around the particles. For varepsilon_1<0, novel "ansa"
defects appear, which are disclination lines with their ends on the particle
surface. We find unique defect structures around two charged particles. To
lower the free energy, oppositely charged particle pairs tend to be aligned in
the parallel direction for varepsilon_1>0 and in the perpendicular plane for
varepsilon_1<0 with respect to the background director . For identically
charged pairs the preferred directions for varepsilon_1>0 and varepsilon_1<0
are exchanged. We also examie competition between the charge-induced anchoring
and the short-range anchoring. If the short-range anchoring is sufficiently
strong, it can be effective in the vicinity of the surface, while the director
orientation is governed by the long-range electrostatic interaction far from
the surface.Comment: 10 papes, 12 figures, to appear in European Physical Journal
Unconventional magnetic transition and transport behavior in Na0.75CoO2
Here we report an unconventional magnetic and transport phenomenon in a
layered cobalt oxide, NaxCoO2. Only for x = 0.75, a magnetic transition of the
second order was clearly detected at Tm ~ 22 K where an apparent specific-heat
jump, an onset of extremely small spontaneous magnetization, and a kink in
resistivity came in. Moreover large positive magnetoresistance effect was
observed below Tm. These features of the transition strongly indicate the
appearance of an unusual electronic state that may be attributed to the
strongly-correlated electrons in Na0.75CoO2.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Measurement of Analyzing Power for Proton-Carbon Elastic Scattering in the Coulomb-Nuclear Interference Region with a 22-GeV/c Polarized Proton Beam
The analyzing power for proton-carbon elastic scattering in the
coulomb-nuclear interference region of momentum transfer,
(GeV/, was measured with a 21.7
GeV/ polarized proton beam at the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron of
Brookhaven National Laboratory. The ratio of hadronic spin-flip to non-flip
amplitude, , was obtained from the analyzing power to be and .Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures and 1 table. Accepted by Physical Review Letter
Definition of the σW regulon of Bacillus subtilis in the absence of stress
Bacteria employ extracytoplasmic function (ECF) sigma factors for their responses to environmental stresses. Despite intensive research, the molecular dissection of ECF sigma factor regulons has remained a major challenge due to overlaps in the ECF sigma factor-regulated genes and the stimuli that activate the different ECF sigma factors. Here we have employed tiling arrays to single out the ECF σW regulon of the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis from the overlapping ECF σX, σY, and σM regulons. For this purpose, we profiled the transcriptome of a B. subtilis sigW mutant under non-stress conditions to select candidate genes that are strictly σW-regulated. Under these conditions, σW exhibits a basal level of activity. Subsequently, we verified the σW-dependency of candidate genes by comparing their transcript profiles to transcriptome data obtained with the parental B. subtilis strain 168 grown under 104 different conditions, including relevant stress conditions, such as salt shock. In addition, we investigated the transcriptomes of rasP or prsW mutant strains that lack the proteases involved in the degradation of the σW anti-sigma factor RsiW and subsequent activation of the σW-regulon. Taken together, our studies identify 89 genes as being strictly σW-regulated, including several genes for non-coding RNAs. The effects of rasP or prsW mutations on the expression of σW-dependent genes were relatively mild, which implies that σW-dependent transcription under non-stress conditions is not strictly related to RasP and PrsW. Lastly, we show that the pleiotropic phenotype of rasP mutant cells, which have defects in competence development, protein secretion and membrane protein production, is not mirrored in the transcript profile of these cells. This implies that RasP is not only important for transcriptional regulation via σW, but that this membrane protease also exerts other important post-transcriptional regulatory functions
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