Modelling the energy gap in transition metal/aluminium bilayers"

We present an application of the generalised proximity effect theory.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, presented at workshop on low temperature superconducting electronics at the University of Twente, The Netherland

Proximity effect model for x-ray transition edge sensors

Transition Edge Sensors are ultra-sensitive superconducting detectors with applications in many areas of research, including astrophysics. The device consists of a superconducting thin film, often with additional normal metal features, held close to its transition temperature and connected to two superconducting leads of a higher transition temperature. There is currently no way to reliably assess the performance of a particular device geometry or material composition without making and testing the device. We have developed a proximity effect model based on the Usadel equations to predict the effects of device geometry and material composition on sensor performance. The model is successful in reproducing I-V curves for two devices currently under study. We use the model to suggest the optimal size and geometry for TESs, considering how small the devices can be made before their performance is compromised. In the future, device modelling prior to manufacture will reduce the need for time-consuming and expensive testing.This work was partly supported by ESA CTP contract with No. 4000114932/15/NL/BW and EU H2020 AHEAD program

CLOVER - A new instrument for measuring the B-mode polarization of the CMB

We describe the design and expected performance of Clover, a new instrument designed to measure the B-mode polarization of the cosmic microwave background. The proposed instrument will comprise three independent telescopes operating at 90, 150 and 220 GHz and is planned to be sited at Dome C, Antarctica. Each telescope will feed a focal plane array of 128 background-limited detectors and will measure polarized signals over angular multipoles 20 < l < 1000. The unique design of the telescope and careful control of systematics should enable the B-mode signature of gravitational waves to be measured to a lensing-confusion-limited tensor-to-scalar ratio r~0.005.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. To appear in the proceedings of the XXXVIXth Rencontres de Moriond "Exploring the Universe

First characterization of a superconducting filter-bank spectrometer for hyper-spectral microwave atmospheric sounding with transition edge sensor readout

We describe the design, fabrication, integration and characterization of a prototype superconducting filter bank with transition edge sensor readout designed to explore millimetre-wave detection at frequencies in the range 40 to 65 GHz. Results indicate highly uniform filter channel placement in frequency and high overall detection efficiency. The route to a full atmospheric sounding instrument in this frequency range is discussed.Centre for Earth Observing Instrumentation UK (CEOI

Comparative effectiveness of personalized lifestyle management strategies for cardiovascular disease risk reduction

Background-Evidence shows that healthy diet, exercise, smoking interventions, and stress reduction reduce cardiovascular disease risk. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of these lifestyle interventions for individual risk profiles and determine their rank order in reducing 10-year cardiovascular disease risk. Methods and Results-We computed risks using the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Pooled Cohort Equations for a variety of individual profiles. Using published literature on risk factor reductions through diverse lifestyle interventions-group therapy for stopping smoking, Mediterranean diet, aerobic exercise (walking), and yoga-we calculated the risk reduction through each of these interventions to determine the strategy associated with the maximum benefit for each profile. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to test the robustness of the results. In the base-case analysis, yoga was associated with the largest 10-year cardiovascular disease risk reductions (maximum absolute reduction 16.7% for the highest-risk individuals). Walking generally ranked second (max 11.4%), followed by Mediterranean diet (max 9.2%), and group therapy for smoking (max 1.6%). If the individual was a current smoker and successfully quit smoking (ie, achieved complete smoking cessation), then stopping smoking yielded the largest reduction. Probabilistic and 1-way sensitivity analysis confirmed the demonstrated trend. Conclusions-This study reports the comparative effectiveness of several forms of lifestyle modifications and found smoking cessation and yoga to be the most effective forms of cardiovascular disease prevention. Future research should focus on patient adherence to personalized therapies, cost-effectiveness of these strategies, and the potential for enhanced benefit when interventions are performed simultaneously rather than as single measures

The Causal Structure of Emotions in Aristotle: Hylomorphism, Causal Interaction between Mind and Body, and Intentionality

Recently, a strong hylomorphic reading of Aristotelian emotions has been put forward, one that allegedly eliminates the problem of causal interaction between soul and body. Taking the presentation of emotions in de An. I 1 as a starting point and basic thread, but relying also on the discussion of Rh. II, I will argue that this reading only takes into account two of the four causes of emotions, and that, if all four of them are included into the picture, then a causal interaction of mind and body remains within Aristotelian emotions, independent of how strongly their hylomorphism is understood. Beyond the discussion with this recent reading, the analysis proposed of the fourfold causal structure of emotions is also intended as a hermeneutical starting point for a comprehensive analysis of particular emotions in Aristotle. Through the different causes Aristotle seems to account for many aspects of the complex phenomenon of emotion, including its physiological causes, its mental causes, and its intentional object

Dynamics of nonequilibrium quasiparticles in a double superconducting tunnel junction detector

We study a class of superconductive radiation detectors in which the absorption of energy occurs in a long superconductive strip while the redout stage is provided by superconductive tunnel junctions positioned at the two ends of the strip. Such a device is capable both of imaging and energy resolution. In the established current scheme, well studied from the theoretical and experimental point of view, a fundamental ingredient is considered the presence of traps, or regions adjacent to the junctions made of a superconducting material of lower gap. We reconsider the problem by investigating the dynamics of the radiation induced excess quasiparticles in a simpler device, i.e. one without traps. The nonequilibrium excess quasiparticles can be seen to obey a diffusion equation whose coefficients are discontinuous functions of the position. Based on the analytical solution to this equation, we follow the dynamics of the quasiparticles in the device, predict the signal formation of the detector and discuss the potentiality offered by this configuration.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures Submitted to Superconducting Science and Technolog

Prime ideals in nilpotent Iwasawa algebras

Let G be a nilpotent complete p-valued group of finite rank and let k be a field of characteristic p. We prove that every faithful prime ideal of the Iwasawa algebra kG is controlled by the centre of G, and use this to show that the prime spectrum of kG is a disjoint union of commutative strata. We also show that every prime ideal of kG is completely prime. The key ingredient in the proof is the construction of a non-commutative valuation on certain filtered simple Artinian rings