6,467 research outputs found
Type I superconductivity in the Dirac semimetal PdTe2
The superconductor PdTe was recently classified as a Type II Dirac
semimetal, and advocated to be an improved platform for topological
superconductivity. Here we report magnetic and transport measurements conducted
to determine the nature of the superconducting phase. Surprisingly, we find
that PdTe is a Type I superconductor with K and a critical
field mT. Our crystals also exhibit the intermediate
state as demonstrated by the differential paramagnetic effect. For we
observe superconductivity of the surface sheath. This calls for a close
examination of superconductivity in PdTe in view of the presence of
topological surface states.Comment: 5 page
Weak magnetism phenomena in heavy-fermion superconductors: selected SR studies
The behavior of the so-called weak moment antiferromagnetic states, observed
in the heavy-fermion superconductors UPt and URuSi, is discussed in
view of recent SR results obtained as function of control parameters like
chemical substitution and external pressure. In UPt, the Pd substitution
for Pt reveals the dynamical character of the weak moment order. On the other
hand, SR measurements performed on samples in which Th substitutes U
suggest that crystallographic disorder on the magnetic sites deeply affects the
fluctuation timescale. In URuSi, a phase separation between the
so-called hidden order state, present at ambient pressure, and an
antiferromagnetic state, occurring under pressure, is observed. In view of the
pressure-temperature phase diagram obtained by SR, it is deduced that the
respective order parameters have different symmetries.Comment: To appear in: J. Phys.: Cond. Matte
Muon spin rotation study of the topological superconductor SrxBi2Se3
We report transverse-field (TF) muon spin rotation experiments on single
crystals of the topological superconductor SrBiSe with nominal
concentrations and ( K). The TF spectra (
mT), measured after cooling to below in field, did not show any
additional damping of the muon precession signal due to the flux line lattice
within the experimental uncertainty. This puts a lower bound on the magnetic
penetration depth m. However, when we induce disorder in
the vortex lattice by changing the magnetic field below a sizeable
damping rate is obtained for . The data provide microscopic
evidence for a superconducting volume fraction of in the
crystal and thus bulk superconductivity.Comment: 6 pages, includes 4 figure
Might EPR particles communicate through a wormhole?
We consider the two-particle wave function of an Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen
system, given by a two dimensional relativistic scalar field model. The Bohm-de
Broglie interpretation is applied and the quantum potential is viewed as
modifying the Minkowski geometry. In this way an effective metric, which is
analogous to a black hole metric in some limited region, is obtained in one
case and a particular metric with singularities appears in the other case,
opening the possibility, following Holland, of interpreting the EPR
correlations as being originated by an effective wormhole geometry, through
which the physical signals can propagate.Comment: Corrected version, to appears in EP
Surface water sanitation and biomass production in a large constructed wetland in the Netherlands
In Western-Europe, agricultural practices have contributed to environmental problems such as eutrophication of surface and ground water, flooding, drought and desiccation of surrounding natural habitats. Solutions that reduce the impact of these problems are urgently needed. Common reed (Phragmites australis) is capable of sanitizing surface water and may function as green energy source because of its high productivity. Here, the results of an experiment in a constructed wetland in the Netherlands are presented where two different sanitation treatments were compared. Depending on the residence time and volume per unit area, reed is capable to reduce the total amount of nitrogen in the water with average efficiencies from 32 to 47% and the total amount of phosphorous with 27–45%. Although biomass production still varies largely between different parts of the constructed wetland, a rapid increase in biomass was observed since planting. Constructed wetlands with reed provide opportunities to improve water quality and reed produces enough biomass to serve as green energy source. Moreover, these wetlands also function as a flood water reservoir and are possibly advantageous for biodiversity. The optimal moment of reed harvesting depends on the goal of the owner. This moment should be chosen wisely, as it may have consequences for reed filter regeneration, biomass production, biodiversity, methane emission and water sanitation efficiency
Superconductivity under pressure in the Dirac semimetal PdTe2
The Dirac semimetal PdTe was recently reported to be a type-I
superconductor (1.64 K, mT) with unusual
superconductivity of the surface sheath. We here report a high-pressure study,
GPa, of the superconducting phase diagram extracted from
ac-susceptibility and transport measurements on single crystalline samples.
shows a pronounced non-monotonous variation with a maximum 1.91 K around 0.91 GPa, followed by a gradual decrease to 1.27 K at 2.5 GPa.
The critical field of bulk superconductivity in the limit ,
, follows a similar trend and consequently the -curves
under pressure collapse on a single curve: .
Surface superconductivity is robust under pressure as demonstrated by the large
superconducting screening signal that persists for applied dc-fields . Surprisingly, for GPa the superconducting transition
temperature at the surface is larger than of the bulk. Therefore
surface superconductivity may possibly have a non-trivial nature and is
connected to the topological surface states detected by ARPES. We compare the
measured pressure variation of with recent results from band structure
calculations and discuss the importance of a Van Hove singularity.Comment: manuscript 9 pages with 8 figures + supplemental material 3 pages
with 6 figure
Estimate of halo ellipticity as a function of radius with flexions
The cold dark matter theory predicts triaxial dark matter haloes. The radial
distribution of halo ellipticity depends on baryonic processes and the nature
of dark matter particles (collisionless or collisional). Here we show that we
can use lensing flexion ratios to measure the halo ellipticity as a function of
radius. We introduce a weight function and study the relationship between the
first and second order statistics of flexion ratios, both of which can be used
to reduce the bias in the estimate of ellipticity. we perform numerical tests
for our method, and demonstrate that it can reduce the bias and determine the
halo ellipticity as a function of radius. We also point out that the minimum
mean flexion ratio can be used to trace the centres of galaxy clusters.Comment: 9 pages,9 figures, MNRAS accepte
The Determination of the Homogeneity of a Vitis vinif era L. cv. Cape Riesling Vineyard
The value of Principal Component and Stepwise Discriminant analyses in selecting uniform plants for experimental purposes is discussed. Twenty seven variables were taken into account to establish the homogeniety (uniform plants) of 297 Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cape Riesling vines. A detailed study of the relationship and interrelationship of these variables resulted in 208 vines being selected as a uniform population. This selection provides the researcher with the possibility of using single vines as experimental units. However, it must be pointed out that Principal Component and Stepwise Discriminant analyses can only be used as an aid to normal statistical evaluation of experimental results and not as substitute for statistical experimental design
Growth Characteristics of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cape Riesling
The effect of topping on the growth behaviour of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Cape Riesling vineyard was investigated. Shoot and leaf growth of both topped and untopped vines, can be described as sigmoidal. Shoot (cm) and leaf growth (cm') of the topped vines were significantly more than that of the untopped vines and are attributed to lateral shoot growth. Topping had no effect on bunch development. The development of skin, pulp and seed of both topped and untopped vines expressed as a percentage dry mass per berry can be described by a hyperbolic function for the skin, linear for the pulp and parabolic for the seed
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