896 research outputs found
A cyclopentadienyl functionalized silylene-a flexible ligand for Si- And C-coordination
The synthesis of a 1,2,3,4-tetramethylcyclopentadienyl (Cp) substituted four-membered N-heterocyclic silylene [{PhC(NtBu) }Si(CMeH)] is reported first. Then, selected reactions with transition metal and a calcium precursor are shown. The proton of the Cp-unit is labile. This results in two different reaction pathways: (1) deprotonation and (2) rearrangement reactions. Deprotonation was achieved by the reaction of [{PhC(NtBu) }Si(CMeH)] with suitable zinc precursors. Rearrangement to [{PhC(NtBu) }(CMe)SiH], featuring a formally tetravalent silicon RCSi(R′)-H unit, was observed when the proton of the Cp ring was shifted from the Cp-ring to the silylene in the presence of a Lewis acid. This allows for the coordination of the Cp-ring to a calcium compound. Furthermore, upon reaction with transition metal dimers [MCl(cod)] (M = Rh, Ir; cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) the proton stays at the Cp-ring and the silylene reacts as a sigma donor, which breaks the dimeric structure of the precursors
Reflectionless tunneling in ballistic normal-metal--superconductor junctions
We investigate the phenomenon of reflectionless tunneling in ballistic
normal-metal--superconductor (NS) structures, using a semiclassical formalism.
It is shown that applied magnetic field and superconducting phase difference
both impair the constructive interference leading to this effect, but in a
qualitatively different way. This is manifested both in the conductance and in
the shot noise properties of the system considered. Unlike diffusive systems,
the features of the conductance are sharp, and enable fine spatial control of
the current, as well as single channel manipulations. We discuss the
possibility of conducting experiments in ballistic semiconductor-superconductor
structures with smooth interfaces and some of the phenomena, specific to such
structures, that could be measured. A general criterion for the barrier at NS
interfaces, though large, to be effectively transparent to pair current is
obtained.Comment: published versio
New quantum phases in a one-dimensional Josephson array
We examine the phase diagram of an ordered one-dimensional Josephson array of
small grains. The average grain charge in such a system can be tuned by means
of gate voltage. At small grain-to-grain conductance, this system is strongly
correlated because of the charge discreteness constraint (Coulomb blockade). At
the gate voltages in the vicinity of the charge degeneracy points, we find new
phases equivalent to a commensurate charge density wave and to a repulsive
Luttinger liquid. The existence of these phases can be probed through a special
dependence of the Josephson current on the gate voltage.Comment: 4 pages, including 1 eps figur
Fracton pairing mechanism for "strange" superconductors: Self-assembling organic polymers and copper-oxide compounds
Self-assembling organic polymers and copper-oxide compounds are two classes
of "strange" superconductors, whose challenging behavior does not comply with
the traditional picture of Bardeen, Cooper, and Schrieffer (BCS)
superconductivity in regular crystals. In this paper, we propose a theoretical
model that accounts for the strange superconducting properties of either class
of the materials. These properties are considered as interconnected
manifestations of the same phenomenon: We argue that superconductivity occurs
in the both cases because the charge carriers (i.e., electrons or holes)
exchange {\it fracton excitations}, quantum oscillations of fractal lattices
that mimic the complex microscopic organization of the strange superconductors.
For the copper oxides, the superconducting transition temperature as
predicted by the fracton mechanism is of the order of K. We suggest
that the marginal ingredient of the high-temperature superconducting phase is
provided by fracton coupled holes that condensate in the conducting
copper-oxygen planes owing to the intrinsic field-effect-transistor
configuration of the cuprate compounds. For the gate-induced superconducting
phase in the electron-doped polymers, we simultaneously find a rather modest
transition temperature of K owing to the limitations imposed by
the electron tunneling processes on a fractal geometry. We speculate that
hole-type superconductivity observes larger onset temperatures when compared to
its electron-type counterpart. This promises an intriguing possibility of the
high-temperature superconducting states in hole-doped complex materials. A
specific prediction of the present study is universality of ac conduction for
.Comment: 12 pages (including separate abstract page), no figure
Dynamics of Quantum Phase Transition in an Array of Josephson Junctions
We study the dynamics of the Mott insulator-superfluid quantum phase
transition in a periodic 1D array of Josephson junctions. We show that crossing
the critical point diabatically i.e. at a finite rate with a quench time
induces finite quantum fluctuations of the current around the loop
proportional to . This scaling could be experimentally verified
with in array of weakly coupled Bose-Einstein condensates or superconducting
grains.Comment: 4 pages in RevTex, 3 .eps figures; 2 references added; accepted for
publication in Phys.Rev.Let
Primary physical education, coaches and continuing professional development
This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Sport, Education and Society, 16(4), 485 - 505, 2011, copyright @ Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13573322.2011.589645.Physical education (PE) in primary schools has traditionally been taught by qualified primary teachers. More recently, some teaching of PE in primary schools has been undertaken by coaches (mostly football coaches). These coaches hold national governing body awards but do not hold teaching qualifications. Thus, coaches may not be adequately prepared to teach PE in curriculum time. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of a group of community-based football coaches working in primary schools for the impact of a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme on their ability to undertake ‘specified work’ to cover PE in primary schools. The programme focused on four areas identified as important to enable coaches to cover specified work: short- and medium-term planning, pedagogy, knowledge of the curriculum and reflection. Results showed that for the majority of coaches the CPD programme had made them more aware of the importance of these four areas and had helped to develop their knowledge and ability to put this into practice in covering planning, preparation and assessment time. However, further input is still required to develop coaches’ knowledge and understanding in all four areas, but especially their curriculum knowledge, as well as their ability to put these into practice consistently. These findings are discussed in relation to the implications of employing coaches to cover the teaching of PE in primary schools and, if employed, what CPD coaches need to develop the necessary knowledge, skill and understanding for covering specified work in schools
Universal Intermediate Phases of Dilute Electronic and Molecular Glasses
Generic intermediate phases with anomalous properties exist over narrow
composition ranges adjacent to connectivity transitions. Analysis of both
simple classical and complex quantum percolation shows how topological concepts
can be used to understand many mysterious properties of high temperature
superconductors, including the remarkably similar phase diagrams of
La(2-x)SrxCuO4 and C(60+y).Comment: 13 pages, 2 figs., 21 ref
Soft systems methodology: a context within a 50-year retrospective of OR/MS
Soft systems methodology (SSM) has been used in the practice of operations research and management science OR/MS) since the early 1970s. In the 1990s, it emerged as a viable academic discipline. Unfortunately, its proponents consider SSM and traditional systems thinking to be mutually exclusive. Despite the differences claimed by SSM proponents between the two, they have been complementary. An extensive sampling of the OR/MS literature over its entire lifetime demonstrates the richness with which the non-SSM literature has been addressing the very same issues as does SSM
Josephson effects in dilute Bose-Einstein condensates
We propose an experiment that would demonstrate the ``dc'' and ``ac''
Josephson effects in two weakly linked Bose-Einstein condensates. We consider a
time-dependent barrier, moving adiabatically across the trapping potential. The
phase dynamics are governed by a ``driven-pendulum'' equation, as in
current-driven superconducting Josephson junctions. At a critical velocity of
the barrier (proportional to the critical tunneling current), there is a sharp
transition between the ``dc'' and ``ac'' regimes. The signature is a sudden
jump of a large fraction of the relative condensate population. Analytical
predictions are compared with a full numerical solution of the time dependent
Gross-Pitaevskii equation, in an experimentally realistic situation.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
Quantal phases, disorder effects and superconductivity in spin-Peierls systems
In view of recent developments in the investigation on cuprate high-T superconductors and the spin-Peierls compound CuGeO, we study the
effect of dilute impurity doping on the spin-Peierls state in quasi-one
dimensional systems. We identify a common origin for the emergence of
antiferromagnetic order upon the introduction of static vacancies, and
superconductivity for mobile holes.Comment: 4 pages revtex; revised versio
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