Magnetic skyrmion lattices in heavy fermion superconductor UPt3

Topological analysis of nearly SO(3)_{spin} symmetric Ginzburg--Landau theory, proposed for UPt$_{3}$ by Machida et al, shows that there exists a new class of solutions carrying two units of magnetic flux: the magnetic skyrmion. These solutions do not have singular core like Abrikosov vortices and at low magnetic fields they become lighter for strongly type II superconductors. Magnetic skyrmions repel each other as $1/r$ at distances much larger then the magnetic penetration depth $\lambda$, forming a relatively robust triangular lattice. The magnetic induction near $H_{c1}$ is found to increase as $(H-H_{c1})^{2}$. This behavior agrees well with experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 2 column format; v2:misprint in the title is correcte

Magnetic skyrmions and their lattices in triplet superconductors

Complete topological classification of solutions in SO(3) symmetric Ginzburg-Landau free energy has been performed and a new class of solutions in weak external magnetic field carrying two units of magnetic flux has been identified. These solutions, magnetic skyrmions, do not have singular core like Abrikosov vortices and at low magnetic field become lighter for strongly type II superconductors. As a consequence, the lower critical magnetic field Hc1 is reduced by a factor of log(kappa). Magnetic skyrmions repel each other as 1/r at distances much larger then magnetic penetration depth forming relatively robust triangular lattice. Magnetic induction near Hc1 increases gradually as (H-Hc1)^2. This agrees very well with experiments on heavy fermion superconductor UPt3. Newly discovered Ru based compounds Sr2RuO4 and Sr2YRu(1-x)Cu(x)O6 are other possible candidates to possess skyrmion lattices. Deviations from exact SO(3) symmetry are also studied.Comment: 23 pages, 10 eps figure

Microtubules in Bacteria: Ancient Tubulins Build a Five-Protofilament Homolog of the Eukaryotic Cytoskeleton

Microtubules play crucial roles in cytokinesis, transport, and motility, and are therefore superb targets for anti-cancer drugs. All tubulins evolved from a common ancestor they share with the distantly related bacterial cell division protein FtsZ, but while eukaryotic tubulins evolved into highly conserved microtubule-forming heterodimers, bacterial FtsZ presumably continued to function as single homopolymeric protofilaments as it does today. Microtubules have not previously been found in bacteria, and we lack insight into their evolution from the tubulin/FtsZ ancestor. Using electron cryomicroscopy, here we show that the tubulin homologs BtubA and BtubB form microtubules in bacteria and suggest these be referred to as “bacterial microtubules” (bMTs). bMTs share important features with their eukaryotic counterparts, such as straight protofilaments and similar protofilament interactions. bMTs are composed of only five protofilaments, however, instead of the 13 typical in eukaryotes. These and other results suggest that rather than being derived from modern eukaryotic tubulin, BtubA and BtubB arose from early tubulin intermediates that formed small microtubules. Since we show that bacterial microtubules can be produced in abundance in vitro without chaperones, they should be useful tools for tubulin research and drug screening

Sub-Dominant Pairing Channels in Unconventional Superconductors: Ginzburg-Landau Theory

A Ginzburg-Landau theory is developed for unconventional superconductors with the three relevant singlet pairing channels. Various consequences of the sub-dominant channels (i.e., s- and d_{xy}-channels) are examined in detail. (1) In the case of a d_{x^2-y^2}+is-wave superconductor, The structure of a single vortex above and below T_{DS} is four-fold and two-fold symmetric, respectively. (2) In the case of a d_{x^2-y^2}+id_{xy}-wave superconductor, there is also a second order zero-field phase transition from the pure d_{x^2-y^2}-phase to the Time-reversal-symmetry-breaking d_{x^2-y^2}+id_{xy}-wave phase at the temperature T_{DD'}. But the subdominant phase can (not) be induced by vortices above T_{DD'}. Below the time-reversal- symmetry-breaking transition, the sub-dominant phase in the mixed state is nontrivial: it survives at low fields, but may disappear above a field (increasing with decreasing temperature) presumably via a first-order transition. (3)By including the strong coupling effects, a time-reversal-symmetry -breaking coupling term between the d_{x^2-y^2}- and d_{xy}-waves is found to have significant effects on the low temperature behavior of d_{x^2-y^2}+id_{xy} superconductors. In a magnetic field, a d_{x^2-y^2}+id_{xy} state is always established, but the field-dependence of d_{xy}-amplitude above T_{DD'} is different from that below T_{DD'}. Above but not very close to T_{DD'}, the induced minimum gap Delta_0 proportional to B/(T-T_{DD'}).Comment: updated, 7 two-column pages with one embedded figure, one formula corrected, to appear in Phys. Rev. B 6