17,997 research outputs found
Low-temperature synthesis of SmFeAsO0.7F0.3 wires with high transport critical current density
Ag-sheathed SmFeAsO0.7F0.3 (Sm-1111) superconducting wires were prepared by a
one-step solid state reaction at temperatures as low as 850~900C, instead of
commonly used temperatures of 1150~1250C. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the
as-sintered samples is well indexed on the basis of tetragonal ZrCuSiAs-type
structure. We characterized transport critical current density Jc of the
SmFeAsO0.7F0.3 wires in increasing and subsequently decreasing fields, by a
resistive four-probe method. A transport Jc as high as ~1300 A/cm^2 at 4.2 K
and self field has been observed for the first time in Sm-1111 type
polycrystalline superconductors. The Jc also shows a rapid depression in small
applied fields as well as a magnetic-history dependence, indicating weak-linked
grain boundaries. The low-temperature synthesis method can be very beneficial
to fabricating the RE-1111 iron oxynictides in a convenient and safe way.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure
Photoassociative Production and Trapping of Ultracold KRb Molecules
We have produced ultracold heteronuclear KRb molecules by the process of
photoassociation in a two-species magneto-optical trap. Following decay of the
photoassociated KRb*, the molecules are detected using two-photon ionization
and time-of-flight mass spectroscopy of KRb. A portion of the metastable
triplet molecules thus formed are magnetically trapped. Photoassociative
spectra down to 91 cm below the K(4) + Rb (5) asymptote have
been obtained. We have made assignments to all eight of the attractive Hund's
case (c) KRb* potential curves in this spectral region.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Dynamical Axion Field in Topological Magnetic Insulators
Axions are very light, very weakly interacting particles postulated more than
30 years ago in the context of the Standard Model of particle physics. Their
existence could explain the missing dark matter of the universe. However,
despite intensive searches, they have yet to be detected. In this work, we show
that magnetic fluctuations of topological insulators couple to the
electromagnetic fields exactly like the axions, and propose several experiments
to detect this dynamical axion field. In particular, we show that the axion
coupling enables a nonlinear modulation of the electromagnetic field, leading
to attenuated total reflection. We propose a novel optical modulators device
based on this principle.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Effect of phase relaxation on quantum superpositions in complex collisions
We study the effect of phase relaxation on coherent superpositions of
rotating clockwise and anticlockwise wave packets in the regime of strongly
overlapping resonances of the intermediate complex. Such highly excited
deformed complexes may be created in binary collisions of heavy ions, molecules
and atomic clusters. It is shown that phase relaxation leads to a reduction of
the interference fringes, thus mimicking the effect of decoherence. This
reduction is crucial for the determination of the phase--relaxation width from
the data on the excitation function oscillations in heavy--ion collisions and
bimolecular chemical reactions. The difference between the effects of phase
relaxation and decoherence is discussed.Comment: Extended revised version; 9 pages and 3 colour ps figure
Quantum delayed-choice experiment with a beam splitter in a quantum superposition
A quantum system can behave as a wave or as a particle, depending on the
experimental arrangement. When for example measuring a photon using a
Mach-Zehnder interferometer, the photon acts as a wave if the second
beam-splitter is inserted, but as a particle if this beam-splitter is omitted.
The decision of whether or not to insert this beam-splitter can be made after
the photon has entered the interferometer, as in Wheeler's famous
delayed-choice thought experiment. In recent quantum versions of this
experiment, this decision is controlled by a quantum ancilla, while the beam
splitter is itself still a classical object. Here we propose and realize a
variant of the quantum delayed-choice experiment. We configure a
superconducting quantum circuit as a Ramsey interferometer, where the element
that acts as the first beam-splitter can be put in a quantum superposition of
its active and inactive states, as verified by the negative values of its
Wigner function. We show that this enables the wave and particle aspects of the
system to be observed with a single setup, without involving an ancilla that is
not itself a part of the interferometer. We also study the transition of this
quantum beam-splitter from a quantum to a classical object due to decoherence,
as observed by monitoring the interferometer output.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, Accepted by Physical Review Letter
RHEBI Expression in Embryonic and Postnatal Mouse
Ras homolog enriched in brain (RHEB1) is a member within the superfamily of GTP-binding proteins encoded by the RAS oncogenes. RHEB1 is located at the crossroad of several important pathways including the insulin-signaling pathways and thus plays an important role in different physiological processes. To understand better the physiological relevance of RHEB1 protein, the expres- sion pattern of RHEB1 was analyzed in both embryonic (at E3.5–E16.5) and adult (1-month old) mice. RHEB1 immu- nostaining and X-gal staining were used for wild-type and Rheb1 gene trap mutant mice, respectively. These inde- pendent methods revealed similar RHEB1 expression pat- terns during both embryonic and postnatal developments. Ubiquitous uniform RHEB1/β-gal and/or RHEB1 expres- sion was seen in preimplantation embryos at E3.5 and post- implantation embryos up to E12.5. Between stages E13.5 and E16.5, RHEB1 expression levels became complex: In particular, strong expression was identified in neural tis- sues, including the neuroepithelial layer of the mesenceph- alon, telencephalon, and neural tube of CNS and dorsal root ganglia. In addition, strong expression was seen in certain peripheral tissues including heart, intestine, muscle, and urinary bladder. Postnatal mice have broad spatial RHEB1 expression in different regions of the cerebral cortex, sub- cortical regions (including hippocampus), olfactory bulb, medulla oblongata, and cerebellum (particularly in Purkinje cells). Significant RHEB1 expression was also viewed in internal organs including the heart, intestine, urinary blad- der, and muscle. Moreover, adult animals have complex tis- sue- and organ-specific RHEB1 expression patterns with different intensities observed throughout postnatal develop- ment. Its expression level is in general comparable in CNS and other organs of mouse. Thus, the expression pattern of RHEB1 suggests that it likely plays a ubiquitous role in the development of the early embryo with more tissue-specific roles in later development
Proximity-induced superconductivity in nanowires: Mini-gap state and differential magnetoresistance oscillations
We study proximity-induced superconductivity in gold nanowires as a function
of the length of the nanowire, magnetic field, and excitation current. Short
nanowires exhibit a sharp superconducting transition, whereas long nanowires
show nonzero resistance. At intermediate lengths, however, we observe two sharp
transitions; the normal and superconducting regions are separated by what we
call the mini-gap phase. Additionally, we detect periodic oscillations in the
differential magnetoresistance. We provide a theoretical model for the mini-gap
phase as well as the periodic oscillations in terms of the coexistence of
proximity-induced superconductivity with a normal region near the center of the
wire, created either by temperature or application of a magnetic field.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
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