3,062 research outputs found
Broken symmetry of row switching in 2D Josephson junction arrays
We present an experimental and theoretical study of row switching in
two-dimensional Josephson junction arrays. We have observed novel dynamic
states with peculiar percolative patterns of the voltage drop inside the
arrays. These states were directly visualized using laser scanning microscopy
and manifested by fine branching in the current-voltage characteristics of the
arrays. Numerical simulations show that such percolative patterns have an
intrinsic origin and occur independently of positional disorder. We argue that
the appearance of these dynamic states is due to the presence of various
metastable superconducting states in arrays.Comment: 4 Pages, 6 Figure
Possible first order transition in the two-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau model induced by thermally fluctuating vortex cores
We study the two-dimensional Ginzburg-Landau model of a neutral superfluid in
the vicinity of the vortex unbinding transition. The model is mapped onto an
effective interacting vortex gas by a systematic perturbative elimination of
all fluctuating degrees of freedom (amplitude {\em and} phase of the order
parameter field) except the vortex positions. In the Coulomb gas descriptions
derived previously in the literature, thermal amplitude fluctuations were
neglected altogether. We argue that, if one includes the latter, the vortices
still form a two- dimensional Coulomb gas, but the vortex fugacity can be
substantially raised. Under the assumption that Minnhagen's generic phase
diagram of the two- dimensional Coulomb gas is correct, our results then point
to a first order transition rather than a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition,
provided the Ginzburg-Landau correlation length is large enough in units of a
microscopic cutoff length for fluctuations. The experimental relevance of these
results is briefly discussed. [Submitted to J. Stat. Phys.]Comment: 36 pages, LaTeX, 6 figures upon request, UATP2-DB1-9
In-plane fluxon in layered superconductors with arbitrary number of layers
I derive an approximate analytic solution for the in-plane vortex (fluxon) in
layered superconductors and stacked Josephson junctions (SJJ's) with arbitrary
number of layers. The validity of the solution is verified by numerical
simulation. It is shown that in SJJ's with large number of thin layers,
phase/current and magnetic field of the fluxon are decoupled from each other.
The variation of phase/current is confined within the Josephson penetration
depth, , along the layers, while magnetic field decays at the
effective London penetration depth, . For comparison
with real high- superconducting samples, large scale numerical simulations
with up to 600 SJJ's and with in-plane length up to 4000 %, are
presented. It is shown, that the most striking feature of the fluxon is a
Josephson core, manifesting itself as a sharp peak in magnetic induction at the
fluxon center.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Was presented in part at the First Euroconference
on Vortex Matter in Superconductors (Crete, September 1999
A two-component parameterization of marine ice-nucleating particles based on seawater biology and sea spray aerosol measurements in the Mediterranean Sea
Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) have a large impact on the climate-relevant properties of clouds over the oceans. Studies have shown that sea spray aerosols (SSAs), produced upon bursting of bubbles at the ocean surface, can be an important source of marine INPs, particularly during periods of enhanced biological productivity. Recent mesocosm experiments using natural seawater spiked with nutrients have revealed that marine INPs are derived from two separate classes of organic matter in SSAs. Despite this finding, existing parameterizations for marine INP abundance are based solely on single variables such as SSA organic carbon (OC) or SSA surface area, which may mask specific trends in the separate classes of INP. The goal of this paper is to improve the understanding of the connection between ocean biology and marine INP abundance by reporting results from a field study and proposing a new parameterization of marine INPs that accounts for the two associated classes of organic matter. The PEACETIME cruise took place from 10 May to 10 June 2017 in the Mediterranean Sea. Throughout the cruise, INP concentrations in the surface microlayer (INPSML) and in SSAs (INPSSA) produced using a plunging aquarium apparatus were continuously monitored while surface seawater (SSW) and SML biological properties were measured in parallel. The organic content of artificially generated SSAs was also evaluated. INPSML concentrations were found to be lower than those reported in the literature, presumably due to the oligotrophic nature of the Mediterranean Sea. A dust wet deposition event that occurred during the cruise increased the INP concentrations measured in the SML by an order of magnitude, in line with increases in iron in the SML and bacterial abundances. Increases in INPSSA were not observed until after a delay of 3 days compared to increases in the SML and are likely a result of a strong influence of bulk SSW INPs for the temperatures investigated (T=â18ââC for SSAs, T=â15ââC for SSW). Results confirmed that INPSSA are divided into two classes depending on their associated organic matter. Here we find that warm (Tâ„â22ââC) INPSSA concentrations are correlated with water-soluble organic matter (WSOC) in the SSAs, but also with SSW parameters (particulate organic carbon, POCSSW and INPSSW,â16C) while cold INPSSA (T<â22ââC) are correlated with SSA water-insoluble organic carbon (WIOC) and SML dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations. A relationship was also found between cold INPSSA and SSW nano- and microphytoplankton cell abundances, indicating that these species might be a source of water-insoluble organic matter with surfactant properties and specific IN activities. Guided by these results, we formulated and tested multiple parameterizations for the abundance of INPs in marine SSAs, including a single-component model based on POCSSW and a two-component model based on SSA WIOC and OC. We also altered a previous model based on OCSSA content to account for oligotrophy of the Mediterranean Sea. We then compared this formulation with the previous models. This new parameterization should improve attempts to incorporate marine INP emissions into numerical models
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