129 research outputs found
Hybridization gap and anisotropic far-infrared optical conductivity of URu2Si2
We performed far-infrared optical spectroscopy measurements on the heavy
fermion compound URu 2 Si 2 as a function of temperature. The light's
electric-field was applied along the a-axis or the c-axis of the tetragonal
structure. We show that in addition to a pronounced anisotropy, the optical
conductivity exhibits for both axis a partial suppression of spectral weight
around 12 meV and below 30 K. We attribute these observations to a change in
the bandstructure below 30 K. However, since these changes have no noticeable
impact on the entropy nor on the DC transport properties, we suggest that this
is a crossover phenomenon rather than a thermodynamic phase transition.Comment: To be published in Physical Review
Fermi-surface reconstruction and two-carrier model for the Hall effect in YBa2Cu4O8
Pulsed field measurements of the Hall resistivity and magnetoresistance of
underdoped YBa2Cu4O8 are analyzed self-consistently using a simple model based
on coexisting electron and hole carriers. The resultant mobilities and Hall
numbers are found to vary markedly with temperature. The conductivity of the
hole carriers drops by one order of magnitude below 30 K, explaining the
absence of quantum oscillations from these particular pockets. Meanwhile the
Hall coefficient of the electron carriers becomes strongly negative below 50 K.
The overall quality of the fits not only provides strong evidence for
Fermi-surface reconstruction in Y-based cuprates, it also strongly constrains
the type of reconstruction that might be occurring.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, updated after publication in Physical Review B
(Rapid Communication
Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in YBa_2Cu_4O_8
We report the observation of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in the underdoped
cuprate superconductor YBaCuO (Y124). For field aligned along the
c-axis, the frequency of the oscillations is T, which corresponds
to % of the total area of the first Brillouin zone. The effective
mass of the quasiparticles on this orbit is measured to be times
the free electron mass. Both the frequency and mass are comparable to those
recently observed for ortho-II YBaCuO (Y123-II). We show that
although small Fermi surface pockets may be expected from band structure
calculations in Y123-II, no such pockets are predicted for Y124. Our results
therefore imply that these small pockets are a generic feature of the copper
oxide plane in underdoped cuprates.Comment: v2: Version of paper accepted for publication in Physical Review
Letters. Only minor changes to the text and reference
Skutterudite Results Shed Light on Heavy Fermion Physics
Only few selected examples among the great diversity of anomalous rare earth
skutterudite are reviewed. Focus is first given on PrFe4P12 in comparison with
URu2Si2. For PrFe4P12, great progress has been made on determining the nature
of the order parameter (OP). A non magnetic order parameter with a multipolar
component emerges here while for URu2Si2 the nature of the so-called hidden
order remains mysterious. The two systems have several similarities in their
temperature--pressure (T, P) and magnetic field--temperature (H, T) phase
diagrams, in their spin dynamics, in their nesting character and in their high
sensitivity to impurities. Advances on one side must stimulate new views on the
other. Besides general considerations on the choice of the OP, a simple basic
problem is the treatment of the Kondo coupling in a system with low charge
carrier number for the cases of uncompensated and compensated semi-metal. An
interesting problem is also the possible decoupling between exciton modes and
itinerant carriers.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, proceedings of International Conference on "New
Quantum Phenomena in Skutterudite and Related Systems
Optical Self Energy in Graphene due to Correlations
In highly correlated systems one can define an optical self energy in analogy
to its quasiparticle (QP) self energy counterpart. This quantity provides
useful information on the nature of the excitations involved in inelastic
scattering processes. Here we calculate the self energy of the intraband
optical transitions in graphene originating in the electron-electron
interaction (EEI) as well as electron-phonon interaction (EPI). Although optics
involves an average over all momenta () of the charge carriers, the
structure in the optical self energy is nevertheless found to mirror mainly
that of the corresponding quasiparticles for equal to or near the Fermi
momentum . Consequently plasmaronic structures which are associated with
momenta near the Dirac point at are not important in the intraband
optical response. While the structure of the electron-phonon interaction (EPI)
reflects the sharp peaks of the phonon density of states, the excitation
spectrum associated with the electron-electron interaction is in comparison
structureless and flat and extends over an energy range which scales linearly
with the value of the chemical potential. Modulations seen on the edge of the
interband optical conductivity as it rises towards its universal background
value are traced to structure in the quasiparticle self energies around
of the lower Dirac cone associated with the occupied states.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figure
Field Reentrance of the Hidden Order State of URu2Si2 under Pressure
Combination of neutron scattering and thermal expansion measurements under
pressure shows that the so-called hidden order phase of URu2Si2 reenters in
magnetic field when antiferromagnetism (AF) collapses at H_AF (T). Macroscopic
pressure studies of the HO-AF boundaries were realized at different pressures
via thermal expansion measurements under magnetic field using a strain gauge.
Microscopic proof at a given pressure is the reappearance of the resonance at
Q_0=(1,0,0) under field which is correlated with the collapse of the AF Bragg
reflections at Q_0.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in J. Phys. Soc. Jp
Precise study of the resonance at Q0=(1,0,0) in URu2Si2
New inelastic neutron scattering experiments have been performed on URu2Si2
with special focus on the response at Q0=(1,0,0), which is a clear signature of
the hidden order (HO) phase of the compound. With polarized inelastic neutron
experiments, it is clearly shown that below the HO temperature (T0 = 17.8 K) a
collective excitation (the magnetic resonance at E0 \approx 1.7 meV) as well as
a magnetic continuum co-exist. Careful measurements of the temperature
dependence of the resonance lead to the observation that its position shifts
abruptly in temperature with an activation law governed by the partial gap
opening and that its integrated intensity has a BCS-type temperature
dependence. Discussion with respect to recent theoretical development is made
Giant Faraday rotation in single- and multilayer graphene
Optical Faraday rotation is one of the most direct and practically important
manifestations of magnetically broken time-reversal symmetry. The rotation
angle is proportional to the distance traveled by the light, and up to now
sizeable effects were observed only in macroscopically thick samples and in
two-dimensional electron gases with effective thicknesses of several
nanometers. Here we demonstrate that a single atomic layer of carbon - graphene
- turns the polarization by several degrees in modest magnetic fields. The
rotation is found to be strongly enhanced by resonances originating from the
cyclotron effect in the classical regime and the inter-Landau-level transitions
in the quantum regime. Combined with the possibility of ambipolar doping, this
opens pathways to use graphene in fast tunable ultrathin infrared
magneto-optical devices
Structural and optical properties of (In,Ga)As/GaP quantum dots and (GaAsPN/GaPN) diluted-nitride nanolayers coherently grown onto GaP and Si substrates for photonics and photovoltaics applications
San Francisco, California, United StatesInternational audienceLattice-matched GaP-based nanostructures grown on silicon substrates is a highly rewarded route for coherent integration of photonics and high-efficiency photovoltaic devices onto silicon substrates. We report on the structural and optical properties of selected MBE-grown nanostructures on both GaP substrates and GaP/Si pseudo-substrates. As a first stumbling block, the GaP/Si interface growth has been optimised thanks to a complementary set of thorough structural analyses. Photoluminescence and time-resolved photoluminescence studies of self-assembled (In,Ga)As quantum dots grown on GaP substrate demonstrate a proximity of two different types of optical transitions interpreted as a competition between conduction band states in X and Γ valleys. Structural properties and optical studies of GaAsP(N)/GaP(N) quantum wells coherently grown on GaP substrates and GaP/Si pseudo substrates are reported. Our results are found to be suitable for light emission applications in the datacom segment. Then, possible routes are drawn for larger wavelengths applications, in order to address the chip-to-chip and within-a-chip optical interconnects and the optical telecom segments. Finally, results on GaAsPN/GaP heterostructures and diodes, suitable for PV applications are reporte
The association between farming activities, precipitation, and the risk of acute gastrointestinal illness in rural municipalities of Quebec, Canada: a cross-sectional study
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Increasing livestock density and animal manure spreading, along with climate factors such as heavy rainfall, may increase the risk of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI). In this study we evaluated the association between farming activities, precipitation and AGI.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional telephone survey of randomly selected residents (n = 7006) of 54 rural municipalities in Quebec, Canada, was conducted between April 2007 and April 2008. AGI symptoms and several risk factors were investigated using a phone questionnaire. We calculated the monthly prevalence of AGI, and used multivariate logistic regression, adjusting for several demographic and risk factors, to evaluate the associations between AGI and both intensive farming activities and cumulative weekly precipitation. Cumulative precipitation over each week, from the first to sixth week prior to the onset of AGI, was analyzed to account for both the delayed effect of precipitation on AGI, and the incubation period of causal pathogens. Cumulative precipitation was treated as a four-category variable: high (≥90<sup>th </sup>percentile), moderate (50<sup>th </sup>to <90<sup>th </sup>percentile), low (10<sup>th </sup>to <50<sup>th </sup>percentile), and very low (<10<sup>th </sup>percentile) precipitation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall monthly prevalence of AGI was 5.6% (95% CI 5.0%-6.1%), peaking in winter and spring, and in children 0-4 years old. Living in a territory with intensive farming was negatively associated with AGI: adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 0.70 (95% CI 0.51-0.96). Compared to low precipitation periods, high precipitation periods in the fall (September, October, November) increased the risk of AGI three weeks later (OR = 2.20; 95% CI 1.09-4.44) while very low precipitation periods in the summer (June, July, August) increased the risk of AGI four weeks later (OR = 2.19; 95% CI 1.02-4.71). Further analysis supports the role of water source on the risk of AGI.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>AGI poses a significant burden in Quebec rural municipalities with a peak in winter. Intensive farming activities were found to be negatively associated with AGI. However, high and very low precipitation levels were positively associated with the occurrence of AGI, especially during summer and fall. Thus, preventive public health actions during such climate events may be warranted.</p
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