222 research outputs found
Crystal-field effects in the mixed-valence compounds Yb2M3Ga9 (M= Rh, Ir)
Magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity, and electrical resistivity
measurements have been carried out on single crystals of the intermediate
valence compounds Yb2Rh3Ga9 and Yb2Ir3Ga9. These measurements reveal a large
anisotropy due apparently to an interplay between crystalline electric field
(CEF) and Kondo effects. The temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility
can be modelled using the Anderson impurity model including CEF within an
approach based on the Non-Crossing Approximation.Comment: Accepted to Phys. Rev.
On the origin of heavy quasiparticles in LiV_2O_4
An explanation is provided for the heavy quasiparticle excitations in
LiV_2O_4. It differs considerably from that of other known heavy-fermion
systems. Main ingredients of our theory are the cubic spinel structure of the
material and strong short-range correlations of the d electrons. The large
gamma-coefficient is shown to result from excitations of Heisenberg spin 1/2
rings and chains. The required coupling constant is calculated from LDA+U
calculations and is found to be of the right size. Also the calculated
Sommerfeld-Wilson ratio is reasonably close to the observed one.Comment: REVTEX, 5 pages, 2 figure
Electronic Structure and Fermiology of PuCoGa
By using a relativistic linear augmented-plane-wave method, we clarify energy
band structures and Fermi surfaces of recently discovered plutonium-based
superconductor PuCoGa. We find several cylindrical sheets of Fermi surfaces
with large volume, very similar to CeMIn (M=Ir and Co) isostructural with
PuCoGa, in spite of different -electron numbers between Ce and
Pu ions. The similarity is understood by a concept of electron-hole
conversion in a tight binding model constructed based on the - coupling
scheme. Based on the present results, we provide a possible scenario to explain
why a transition temperature is so high as 18.5K in PuCoGa.Comment: 4 pages, Revtex, with 4 figures embedded in the text. Submitted to
Phys. Rev. Let
Compressibility of and (M = Rh, Ir and Co) Compounds
The lattice parameters of the tetragonal compounds CeIn and
CeIn(Rh, Ir and Co) have been studied as a function of
pressure up to 15 GPa using a diamond anvil cell under both hydrostatic and
quasihydrostatic conditions at room temperature. The addition of In
layers to the parent CeIn compound is found to stiffen the lattice as the
2-layer systems (average of bulk modulus values is 70.4 GPa) have a
larger than CeIn (67 GPa), while the 1-layer systems with the are
even stiffer (average of is 81.4 GPa). Estimating the hybridization
using parameters from tight binding calculations shows that the dominant
hybridization is in nature between the Ce and In atoms. The values of
at the pressure where the superconducting transition temperature
reaches a maximum is the same for all CeIn compounds. By
plotting the maximum values of the superconducting transition temperature
versus for the studied compounds and Pu-based superconductors, we
find a universal versus behavior when these quantities are
normalized appropriately. These results are consistent with magnetically
mediated superconductivity.Comment: Updated version resubmitted to Phys. Rev.
An Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Variation of 4f Hybridization Across the La1-xCexIn3 Series
Crystal structures of a series of La1-xCexIn3 (x = 0.02, 0.2, 0.5, or 0.8)
intermetallic compounds have been investigated by both neutron and X-ray
diffraction, and their physical properties have been characterized by magnetic
susceptibility and specific heat measurements. Our results emphasize atypical
atomic displacement parameters (ADP) for the In and the rare-earth sites.
Depending on the x value, the In ADP presents either an "ellipsoidal"
elongation (La-rich compounds) or a "butterfly-like" distortion (Ce-rich
compounds). These deformations have been understood by theoretical techniques
based on the band theory and are the result of hybridization between conduction
electrons and 4f-electrons.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
Magnetic structure of antiferromagnetic NdRhIn5
The magnetic structure of antiferromagnetic NdRhIn5 has been determined using
neutron diffraction. It has a commensurate antiferromagnetic structure with a
magnetic wave vector (1/2,0,1/2) below T_N = 11K. The staggered Nd moment at
1.6K is 2.6mu_B aligned along the c-axis. We find the magnetic structure to be
closely related to that of its cubic parent compound NdIn3 below 4.6K. The
enhanced T_N and the absence of additional transitions below T_N for NdRhIn5
are interpreted in terms of an improved matching of the
crystalline-electric-field (CEF), magnetocrystalline, and exchange interaction
anisotropies. In comparison, the role of these competing anisotropies on the
magnetic properties of the structurally related compound CeRhIn5 is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Superfluid to normal phase transition and extreme regularity of superdeformed bands
We derive the exact semiclassical expression for the second inertial
parameter for the superfluid and normal phases. Interpolation between
these limiting values shows that the function changes sign at the
spin , which is critical for a rotational spectrum. The quantity
turns out to be a sensitive measure of the change in static pairing
correlations. The superfluid-to-normal transition reveals itself in the
specific variation of the ratio versus spin with the
plateau characteristic of the normal phase. We find this dependence to be
universal for normal deformed and superdeformed bands. The long plateau with a
small value explains the extreme regularity of
superdeformed bands.Comment: 30 pages in LaTeX, 6 figures (PostScript). To be published in
Yadernaya Fizika (Physics of Atomic Nuclei), special edition dedecated to the
90th birthday of Prof. I. I. Gurevit
Pharmacological levels of withaferin A (Withania somnifera) trigger clinically relevant anticancer effects specific to triple negative breast cancer cells
Withaferin A (WA) isolated from Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) has recently become an attractive phytochemical under investigation in various preclinical studies for treatment of different cancer types. In the present study, a comparative pathway-based transcriptome analysis was applied in epithelial-like MCF-7 and triple negative mesenchymal MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells exposed to different concentrations of WA which can be detected systemically in in vivo experiments. Whereas WA treatment demonstrated attenuation of multiple cancer hallmarks, the withanolide analogue Withanone (WN) did not exert any of the described effects at comparable concentrations. Pathway enrichment analysis revealed that WA targets specific cancer processes related to cell death, cell cycle and proliferation, which could be functionally validated by flow cytometry and real-time cell proliferation assays. WA also strongly decreased MDA-MB-231 invasion as determined by single-cell collagen invasion assay. This was further supported by decreased gene expression of extracellular matrix-degrading proteases (uPA, PLAT, ADAM8), cell adhesion molecules (integrins, laminins), pro-inflammatory mediators of the metastasis-promoting tumor microenvironment (TNFSF12, IL6, ANGPTL2, CSF1R) and concomitant increased expression of the validated breast cancer metastasis suppressor gene (BRMS1). In line with the transcriptional changes, nanomolar concentrations of WA significantly decreased protein levels and corresponding activity of uPA in MDA-MB-231 cell supernatant, further supporting its anti-metastatic properties. Finally, hierarchical clustering analysis of 84 chromatin writer-reader-eraser enzymes revealed that WA treatment of invasive mesenchymal MDA-MB-231 cells reprogrammed their transcription levels more similarly towards the pattern observed in non-invasive MCF-7 cells. In conclusion, taking into account that sub-cytotoxic concentrations of WA target multiple metastatic effectors in therapy-resistant triple negative breast cancer, WA-based therapeutic strategies targeting the uPA pathway hold promise for further (pre)clinical development to defeat aggressive metastatic breast cancer
Flaxino dark matter and stau decay
If the spontaneous breaking of Peccei-Quinn symmetry comes from soft
supersymmetry breaking, the fermionic partners of the symmetry-breaking fields
have mass of order the gravitino mass, and are called flatinos. The lightest
flatino, called here the flaxino, is a CDM candidate if it is the lightest
supersymmetric particle. We here explore flaxino dark matter assuming that the
lightest ordinary supersymmetric particle is the stau, with gravity-mediated
supersymmetry breaking. The decay of the stau to the flaxino is fast enough not
to spoil the standard predictions of Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, and its track
and decay can be seen in future colliders.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, to appear in JHE
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