Thickness dependent magnetotransport in ultra-thin manganite films

To understand the near-interface magnetism in manganites, uniform, ultra-thin films of La_{0.67}Sr_{0.33}MnO_3 were grown epitaxially on single crystal (001) LaAlO_3 and (110) NdGaO_3 substrates. The temperature and magnetic field dependent film resistance is used to probe the film's structural and magnetic properties. A surface and/or interface related dead-layer is inferred from the thickness dependent resistance and magnetoresistance. The total thickness of the dead layer is estimated to be $\sim 30 \AA$ for films on NdGaO_3 and $\sim 50 \AA$ for films on LaAlO_3.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

k-dependent SU(4) model of high-temperature superconductivity and its coherent-state solutions

We extend the SU(4) model [1-5] for high-Tc superconductivity to an SU(4)k model that permits explicit momentum (k) dependence in predicted observables. We derive and solve gap equations that depend on k, temperature, and doping from the SU(4)k coherent states, and show that the new SU(4)k model reduces to the original SU(4) model for observables that do not depend explicitly on momentum. The results of the SU(4)k model are relevant for experiments such as ARPES that detect explicitly k-dependent properties. The present SU(4)k model describes quantitatively the pseudogap temperature scale and may explain why the ARPES-measured T* along the anti-nodal direction is larger than other measurements that do not resolve momentum. It also provides an immediate microscopic explanation for Fermi arcs observed in the pseudogap region. In addition, the model leads to a prediction that even in the underdoped regime, there exist doping-dependent windows around nodal points in the k-space, where antiferromagnetism may be completely suppressed for all doping fractions, permitting pure superconducting states to exist.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

High-severity wildfire leads to multi-decadal impacts on soil biogeochemistry in mixed-conifer forests.

During the past century, systematic wildfire suppression has decreased fire frequency and increased fire severity in the western United States of America. While this has resulted in large ecological changes aboveground such as altered tree species composition and increased forest density, little is known about the long-term, belowground implications of altered, ecologically novel, fire regimes, especially on soil biological processes. To better understand the long-term implications of ecologically novel, high-severity fire, we used a 44-yr high-severity fire chronosequence in the Sierra Nevada where forests were historically adapted to frequent, low-severity fire, but were fire suppressed for at least 70 yr. High-severity fire in the Sierra Nevada resulted in a long-term (44 +yr) decrease (>50%, P < 0.05) in soil extracellular enzyme activities, basal microbial respiration (56-72%, P < 0.05), and organic carbon (>50%, P < 0.05) in the upper 5 cm compared to sites that had not been burned for at least 115 yr. However, nitrogen (N) processes were only affected in the most recent fire site (4 yr post-fire). Net nitrification increased by over 600% in the most recent fire site (P < 0.001), but returned to similar levels as the unburned control in the 13-yr site. Contrary to previous studies, we did not find a consistent effect of plant cover type on soil biogeochemical processes in mid-successional (10-50 yr) forest soils. Rather, the 44-yr reduction in soil organic carbon (C) quantity correlated positively with dampened C cycling processes. Our results show the drastic and long-term implication of ecologically novel, high-severity fire on soil biogeochemistry and underscore the need for long-term fire ecological experiments