Magnetic relaxation of type II superconductors in a mixed state of entrapped and shielded flux

The magnetic relaxation has been investigated in type II superconductors when the initial magnetic state is realized with entrapped and shielded flux (ESF) contemporarily. This flux state is produced by an inversion in the magnetic field ramp rate due to for example a magnetic field overshoot. The investigation has been faced both numerically and by measuring the magnetic relaxation in BSCCO tapes. Numerical computations have been performed in the case of an infinite thick strip and of an infinite slab, showing a quickly relaxing magnetization in the first seconds. As verified experimentally, the effects of the overshoot cannot be neglected simply by cutting the first 10-100 seconds in the magnetic relaxation. On the other hand, at very long times, the magnetic states relax toward those corresponding to field profiles with only shielded flux or only entrapped flux, depending on the amplitude of the field change with respect to the full penetration field of the considered superconducting samples. In addition, we have performed numerical simulations in order to reproduce the relaxation curves measured on the BSCCO(2223) tapes; this allowed us to interpret correctly also the first seconds of the $M(t)$ curves.Comment: 9 pages, 12 figures submit to PR

An Improved Prediction Method for Noise Generated by Conventional Profile Coaxial Jets

A semiempirical model for predicting the noise generated by conventional velocity profile jets exhausting from coaxial nozzles is presented and compared with small scale static and simulated flight data. Improvements to the basic circular jet noise prediction are developed which improve the accuracy, especially at high jet velocity and near the jet axis

Multicolour photometry of Balloon 090100001: linking the two classes of pulsating hot subdwarfs

We present results of the multicolour UBVR photometry of the high-amplitude EC14026-type star, Balloon 090100001. The data span over a month and consist of more than a hundred hours of observations. Fourier analysis of these data led us to the detection of at least 30 modes of pulsation of which 22 are independent. The frequencies of 13 detected modes group in three narrow ranges, around 2.8, 3.8 and 4.7 mHz, where the radial fundamental mode, the first and second overtones are likely to occur. Surprisingly, we also detect 9 independent modes in the low-frequency domain, between 0.15 and 0.4 mHz. These modes are typical for pulsations found in PG1716+426-type stars, discovered recently among cool B-type subdwarfs. The modes found in these stars are attributed to the high-order g modes. As both kinds of pulsations are observed in Balloon 090100001, it represents a link between the two classes of pulsating hot subdwarfs. At present, it is probably the most suitable target for testing evolutionary scenarios and internal constitution models of these stars by means of asteroseismology. Three of the modes we discovered form an equidistant frequency triplet which can be explained by invoking rotational splitting of an $\ell$ = 1 mode. The splitting amounts to about 1.58 $\mu$Hz, leading to a rotation period of 7.1 $\pm$ 0.1 days.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS. For full-resolution postscript file, visit http://www.as.wsp.krakow.pl/~andy/balloon.ps.g

Evidence of a new low field cross-over in the vortex critical velocity of type-II superconducting thin films

We measure current-voltage characteristics as function of magnetic field and temperature in Nb strips of different thickness and width. The instability voltage of the flux flow state related to the vortex critical velocity v* is studied and compared with the Larkin-Ovchinnikov theory. Beside the usual power-law dependence v* ~ B^-1/2, in the low field range a new cross-over field, Bcr1, is observed below which v* decreases by further lowering the external magnetic field B. We ascribe this unexpected cross-over to vortex channeling due to a fan-like penetration of the applied magnetic field as confirmed by magneto-optic imaging. The observation of Bcr1 becomes a direct evidence of a general feature in type-II superconducting films at low fields, that is a channel-like vortex motion induced by the inhomogeneous magnetic state caused by the relatively strong pinning

Detection of the Vortex Dynamic Regimes in MgB2 by Third Harmonic AC Susceptibility Measurements

In a type-II superconductor the generation of higher harmonics in the magnetic response to an alternating magnetic field is a consequence of the non-linearity in the I-V relationship. The shape of the current-voltage (I-V) curve is determined by the current dependence of the thermal activation energy U(J) and is thus related to the dynamical regimes governing the vortex motion. In order to investigate the vortex dynamics in MgB2 bulk superconductors we have studied the fundamental (chi1) and third (chi3) harmonics of the ac magnetic susceptibility. Measurements have been performed as a function of the temperature and the dc magnetic field, up to 9 T, for various frequencies and amplitudes of the ac field. We show that the analysis of the behaviour in frequency of chi3(T) and chi3(B) curves can provide clear information about the non-linearity in different regions of the I-V characteristic. By comparing the experimental curves with numerical simulations of the non-linear diffusion equation for the magnetic field we are able to resolve the crossover between a dissipative regime governed by flux creep and one dominated by flux flow phenomena.Comment: to be published in "Horizons in Superconductivity Research" (Nova Science Publishers, Inc., NY, 2003

Spectroscopic and Photometric Study of the Contact Binary BO CVn

We present the results of the study of the contact binary system BO CVn. We have obtained physical parameters of the components based on combined analysis of new, multi-color light curves and spectroscopic mass ratio. This is the first time the latter has been determined for this object. We derived the contact configuration for the system with a very high filling factor of about 88 percent. We were able to reproduce the observed light curve, namely the flat bottom of the secondary minimum, only if a third light has been added into the list of free parameters. The resulting third light contribution is significant, about 20-24 percent, while the absolute parameters of components are: M1=1.16, M2=0.39, R1=1.62 and R2=1.00 (in solar units). The O-C diagram shows an upward parabola which, under the conservative mass transfer assumption, would correspond to a mass transfer rate of dM/dt = 6.3 \times 10-8M\odot/yr, matter being transferred from the less massive component to the more massive one. No cyclic, short-period variations have been found in the O-C diagram (but longer-term variations remain a possibility)Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables, accepted for publication by New Astronom