Monte Carlo calculation of the current-voltage characteristics of a two dimensional lattice Coulomb gas

We have studied the nonlinear current-voltage characteristic of a two dimensional lattice Coulomb gas by Monte Carlo simulation. We present three different determinations of the power-law exponent $a(T)$ of the nonlinear current-voltage characteristic, $V \sim I^{a(T)+1}$. The determinations rely on both equilibrium and non-equilibrium simulations. We find good agreement between the different determinations, and our results also agree closely with experimental results for Hg-Xe thin film superconductors and for certain single crystal thin-film high temperature superconductors.Comment: late

Dynamic Scaling and Two-Dimensional High-Tc Superconductors

There has been ongoing debate over the critical behavior of two-dimensional superconductors; in particular for high Tc superconductors. The conventional view is that a Kosterlitz-Thouless-Berezinskii transition occurs as long as finite size effects do not obscure the transition. However, there have been recent suggestions that a different transition actually occurs which incorporates aspects of both the dynamic scaling theory of Fisher, Fisher, and Huse and the Kosterlitz-Thouless-Berezinskii transition. Of general interest is that this modified transition apparently has a universal dynamic critical exponent. Some have countered that this apparent universal behavior is rooted in a newly proposed finite-size scaling theory; one that also incorporates scaling and conventional two-dimensional theory. To investigate these issues we study DC voltage versus current data of a 12 angstrom thick YBCO film. We find that the newly proposed scaling theories have intrinsic flexibility that is relevant to the analysis of the experiments. In particular, the data scale according to the modified transition for arbitrarily defined critical temperatures between 0 K and 19.5 K, and the temperature range of a successful scaling collapse is related directly to the sensitivity of the measurement. This implies that the apparent universal exponent is due to the intrinsic flexibility rather than some real physical property. To address this intrinsic flexibility, we propose a criterion which would give conclusive evidence for phase transitions in two-dimensional superconductors. We conclude by reviewing results to see if our criterion is satisfied.Comment: 14 page

Microscopic nonequilibrium theory of double-barrier Josephson junctions

We study nonequilibrium charge transport in a double-barrier Josephson junction, including nonstationary phenomena, using the time-dependent quasiclassical Keldysh Green's function formalism. We supplement the kinetic equations by appropriate time-dependent boundary conditions and solve the time-dependent problem in a number of regimes. From the solutions, current-voltage characteristics are derived. It is understood why the quasiparticle current can show excess current as well as deficit current and how the subgap conductance behaves as function of junction parameters. A time-dependent nonequilibrium contribution to the distribution function is found to cause a non-zero averaged supercurrent even in the presence of an applied voltage. Energy relaxation due to inelastic scattering in the interlayer has a prominent role in determining the transport properties of double-barrier junctions. Actual inelastic scattering parameters are derived from experiments. It is shown as an application of the microscopic model, how the nature of the intrinsic shunt in double-barrier junctions can be explained in terms of energy relaxation and the opening of Andreev channels.Comment: Accepted for Phys. Rev.

MEASUREMENT OF POTENTIAL DIFFERENCES IN NONEQUILIBRIUM SUPERCONDUCTORS

Nous résumons brièvement les mesures antérieures des différences de potentiel dans les supraconducteurs hors d'équilibre et nous décrivons comment la résistance différentielle des centres de phase glissants peut être utilisée pour en déduire le temps de relaxation en mode transverse (déséquilibre des branches). Ensuite nous reportons nos mesures récentes de la dépendance en champ magnétique de ce temps de relaxation, qui est en bon accord avec la prédiction de Schmid et Schön.We briefly review previous measurements of potential differences in nonequilibrium superconductors and describe how the differential resistance of current-induced phase-slip centers in superconducting filaments can be used to infer the transverse-mode (branch-imbalance) relaxation time. We then report our recent measurements of the magnetic field dependence of this relaxation time, which is found to be in good agreement with the prediction by Schmid and Schön

Medical history, lifestyle, family history, and occupational risk factors for peripheral T-cell lymphomas: The interlymph non-hodgkin lymphoma subtypes project

Background: Accounting for 10%-15% of all non-Hodgkin lymphomas in Western populations, peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL) are the most common T-cell lymphoma but little is known about their etiology. Our aim was to identify etiologic risk factors for PTCL overall, and for specific PTCL subtypes, by analyzing data from 15 epidemiologic studies participating in the InterLymph Consortium. Methods: A pooled analysis of individual-level data for 584 histologically confirmed PTCL cases and 15 912 controls from 15 case-control studies conducted in Europe, North America, and Australia was undertaken. Data collected from questionnaires were harmonized to permit evaluation of a broad range of potential risk factors. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using logistic regression. Results: Risk factors associated with increased overall PTCL risk with a P value less than .05 included: a family history of hematologic malignancies (OR = 1.92, 95% CI = 1.30 to 2.84); celiac disease (OR = 17.8, 95% CI = 8.61 to 36.79); eczema (OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.07 to 1.85); psoriasis (OR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.17 to 3.32); smoking 40 or more years (OR = 1.92, 95% CI = 1.41 to 2.62); and employment as a textile worker (ever) (OR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.05 to 2.38) and electrical fitter (ever) (OR = 2.89, 95% CI = 1.41 to 5.95). Exposures associated with reduced overall PTCL risk included a personal history of allergies (OR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.54 to 0.87), alcohol consumption (ever) (OR = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.49 to 0.82), and having ever lived or worked on a farm (OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.55% to 0.95%). We also observed the well-established risk elevation for enteropathy-type PTCL among those with celiac disease in our data. Conclusions: Our pooled analyses identified a number of new potential risk factors for PTCL and require further validation in independent series