The inferior caval vein draining into the left atrial cavity : a rare case

The inferior vena cava (IVC) draining into the left atrium (LA) is exceedingly rare in the setting of the usual atrial arrangement (situs solitus). This article describes a patient with this unique anomaly, and its repair.peer-reviewe

Polarization and light curve variability: the "patchy shell" model

Recent advances in early detection and detailed monitoring of GRB afterglows have revealed variability in some afterglow light curves. One of the leading models for this behavior is the patchy shell model. This model attributes the variability to random angular fluctuations in the relativistic jet energy. These an-axisymmetric fluctuations should also impose variations in the degree and angle of polarization that are correlated to the light curve variability. In this letter we present a solution of the light curve and polarization resulting from a given spectrum of energy fluctuations. We compare light curves produced using this solution to the variable light curve of GRB 021004 and we show that the main features in both the light curve and the polarization fluctuations are very well reproduced by this model. We use our results to draw constraints on the characteristics of the energy fluctuations that might have been present in GRB 021004.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, Final version to appear in ApJ

Superconducting Volume Fraction in Overdoped Regime of La_2-x_Sr_x_CuO_4_: Implication for Phase Separation from Magnetic-Susceptibility Measurement

We have grown a single crystal of La_2-x_Sr_x_CuO_4_ in which the Sr concentration, x, continuously changes from 0.24 to 0.29 in the overdoped regime and obtained many pieces of single crystals with different x values by slicing the single crystal. From detailed measurements of the magnetic susceptibility, chi, of each piece, it has been found that the absolute value of chi at the measured lowest temperature 2 K, |chi_2K_|, on field cooling rapidly decreases with increasing x as well as the superconducting (SC) transition temperature. As the value of |chi_2K_| is regarded as corresponding to the SC volume fraction in a sample, it has been concluded that a phase separation into SC and normal-state regions occurs in a sample of La_2-x_Sr_x_CuO_4_ in the overdoped regime.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, ver. 2 has been accepted in J. Phys. Soc. Jp

Magnetic Phase Diagram of the Hole-doped Ca2−x_{2-x}Nax_{x}CuO2_{2}Cl2_{2} Cuprate Superconductor

We report on the magnetic phase diagram of a hole-doped cuprate Ca$_{2-x}$Na$_{x}$CuO$_{2}$Cl$_{2}$, which is free from buckling of CuO$_2$ planes, determined by muon spin rotation and relaxation. It is characterized by a quasi-static spin glass-like phase over a range of sodium concentration ($0.05\leq x\leq 0.12$), which is held between long range antiferromagnetic (AF) phase ($x\leq 0.02$) and superconducting phase where the system is non-magnetic for $x\geq 0.15$. The obtained phase diagram qualitatively agrees well with that commonly found for hole-doped high-\tc cuprates, strongly suggesting that the incomplete suppression of the AF order for $x>0.02$ is an essential feature of the hole-doped cuprates.Comment: 5 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Energy Injection Episodes in Gamma Ray Bursts: The Light Curves and Polarization Properties of GRB 021004

Several GRB afterglow light curves deviate strongly from the power law decay observed in most bursts. We show that these variations can be accounted for by including refreshed shocks in the standard fireball model previously used to interpret the overall afterglow behavior. As an example we consider GRB 021004 that exhibited strong light curve variations and has a reasonably well time-resolved polarimetry. We show that the light curves in the R-band, X-rays and in the radio can be accounted for by four energy injection episodes in addition to the initial event. The polarization variations are shown to be a consequence of the injections.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. To appear in ApJ

Muon spin relaxation studies of incommensurate magnetism and superconductivity in stage-4 La2_{2}CuO4.11_{4.11} and La1.88_{1.88}Sr0.12_{0.12}CuO4_{4}

This paper reports muon spin relaxation (MuSR) measurements of two single crystals of the title high-Tc cuprate systems where static incommensurate magnetism and superconductivity coexist. By zero-field MuSR measurements and subsequent analyses with simulations, we show that (1) the maximum ordered Cu moment size (0.36 Bohr magneton) and local spin structure are identical to those in prototypical stripe spin systems with the 1/8 hole concentration; (2) the static magnetism is confined to less than a half of the volume of the sample, and (3) regions with static magnetism form nano-scale islands with the size comparable to the in-plane superconducting coherence length. By transverse-field MuSR measurements, we show that Tc of these systems is related to the superfluid density, in the same way as observed in cuprate systems without static magnetism. We discuss a heuristic model involving percolation of these nanoscale islands with static magnetism as a possible picture to reconcile heterogeneity found by the present MuSR study and long-range spin correlations found by neutron scattering.Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B. E-mail: [email protected]

Boson-fermion model beyond mean-field approximation

A model of hybridized bosons and fermions is studied beyond the mean field approximation. The divergent boson self-energy at zero temperature makes the Cooper pairing of fermions impossible.The frequency and momentum dependence of the self- energy and the condensation temperature $T_{c}$ of initially localized bosons are calculated analytically. The value of the boson condensation temperature $T_{c}$ is below $1K$ which rules out the boson-fermion model with the initially localized bosons as a phenomenological explanation of high-temperature superconductivity. The intra-cell density-density fermion-boson interaction dominates in the fermion self-energy. The model represents a normal metal with strongly damped bosonic excitations. The latter play the role of normal impurities.Comment: 16 pages, Latex, 5 figures available upon reques