2,840 research outputs found
Soft superconducting gap in semiconductor-based Majorana nanowires
We develop a theory for the proximity effect in
superconductor-semiconductor-normal metal tunneling structures, which have
recently been extensively studied experimentally, leading to the observation of
transport signatures consistent with the predicted zero-energy Majorana bound
states. We show that our model for the semiconductor nanowire having multiple
occupied subbands with different transmission probabilities through the barrier
reproduces the observed "soft-gap" behavior associated with substantial subgap
tunneling conductance. We study the manifestations of the soft gap phenomenon
both in the tunneling conductance and in local density of states measurements
and discuss the correlations between these two quantities. We emphasize that
the proximity effect associated with the hybridization between low-lying states
in the multiband semiconductor and the normal metal states in the lead is an
intrinsic effect leading to the soft gap problem. In addition to the intrinsic
contribution, there may be extrinsic effects, such as, for example, interface
disorder, exacerbating the soft gap problem. Our work establishes the generic
possibility of an ubiquitous presence of an intrinsic soft gap in the
superconductor-semiconductor-normal metal tunneling transport conductance
induced by the inverse proximity effect of the normal metal.Comment: published version, 11+ pages, 8 figure
Dimensional crossover in spin-orbit-coupled semiconductor nanowires with induced superconducting pairing
We show that the topological Majorana modes in nanowires much longer than the
superconducting coherence length are adiabatically connected with discrete
zero-energy states generically occurring in short nanowires. We demonstrate
that these zero-energy crossings can be tuned by an external magnetic field and
are protected by the particle-hole symmetry. We study the evolution of the
low-energy spectrum and the splitting oscillations as a function of magnetic
field, wire length, and chemical potential, manifestly establishing that the
low-energy physics of short wires is related to that occurring in long wires.
This physics, which represents a hallmark of spinless p-wave superconductivity,
can be observed in tunneling conductance measurements.Comment: published version, 7 pages, 7 color figure
Proximity effect at the superconductor - topological insulator interface
We study the excitation spectrum of a topological insulator in contact with
an s-wave superconductor, starting from a microscopic model, and develop an
effective low-energy model for the proximity effect. In the vicinity of the
Dirac cone vertex, the effective model describing the states localized at the
interface is well approximated by a model of Dirac electrons experiencing
superconducting s-wave pairing. Away from the cone vertex, the induced pairing
potential develops a p-wave component with a magnitude sensitive to the
structure of the interface. Observing the induced s-wave superconductivity may
require tuning the chemical potential close to the Dirac point. Furthermore, we
find that the proximity of the superconductor leads to a significant
renormalization of the original parameters of the effective model describing
the surface states of a topological insulator.Comment: 4+ pages, 3 figures (published version
Non-equilibrium spin dynamics in a trapped Fermi gas with effective spin-orbit interaction
We consider a trapped atomic system in the presence of spatially varying
laser fields. The laser-atom interaction generates a pseudospin degree of
freedom (referred to simply as spin) and leads to an effective spin-orbit
coupling for the fermions in the trap. Reflections of the fermions from the
trap boundaries provide a physical mechanism for effective momentum relaxation
and non-trivial spin dynamics due to the emergent spin-orbit coupling. We
explicitly consider evolution of an initially spin-polarized Fermi gas in a
two-dimensional harmonic trap and derive non-equilibrium behavior of the spin
polarization. It shows periodic echoes with a frequency equal to the harmonic
trapping frequency. Perturbations, such as an asymmetry of the trap, lead to
the suppression of the spin echo amplitudes. We discuss a possible experimental
setup to observe spin dynamics and provide numerical estimates of relevant
parameters.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; published versio
Nodal/Antinodal Dichotomy and the Two Gaps of a Superconducting Doped Mott Insulator
We study the superconducting state of the hole-doped two-dimensional Hubbard
model using Cellular Dynamical Mean Field Theory, with the Lanczos method as
impurity solver. In the under-doped regime, we find a natural decomposition of
the one-particle (photoemission) energy-gap into two components. The gap in the
nodal regions, stemming from the anomalous self-energy, decreases with
decreasing doping. The antinodal gap has an additional contribution from the
normal component of the self-energy, inherited from the normal-state pseudogap,
and it increases as the Mott insulating phase is approached.Comment: Corrected typos, 4.5 pages, 4 figure
High-grade cervical dysplasia in pregnancy – psychological and medical challenges
Despite being rare, the incidence of pregnancy-related cancer is expected to rise as women continue to delay childbearing and give birth later in their reproductive years. In this broad category, tumors like breast cancer, dermatological neoplasia and cervical cancer are most common and tend to arise in women of childbearing age. All pregnant women with clinical and cytologic suspicion of cervical cancer, except for squamous atypia or low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, should undergo colposcopy, with or without biopsy, the latter being avoided if possible due to possible complications which, although rare, may involve preterm labor initiation.
Some studies have attempted to assimilate comparable results of USG with MRI during the gestational period by determining the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of trans-rectal ultrasound (TRUS) in comparison to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In order to identify the proper way to diagnose and treat the disease, because of the complexity due to pregnancy, a multidisciplinary team consisting of a gynecologist, medical and surgical oncologist, and radiologist should be assembled. Both maternal and fetal wellbeing should be taken into consideration when the medical team must choose among termination of pregnancy, delay of maternal treatment, and iatrogenic preterm delivery. Psychological counseling also plays an important role and due to the sensitivity of the issue, should continue through gestation and the postpartum.
In order to develop optimal guidelines for diagnosis, treatment, and outcome issues, large scale prospective studies are needed, but feasibility may be limited due to the scarcity of cervical cancer cases associated with pregnancy
The psychosocial impact of vaginal delivery and cesarean section in primiparous women
The aim of this study was to identify how the method of delivery and birth experience interfere with maternal psychological status early after puerperium. We conducted a prospective study on 148 women after puerperium from November 2017 to January 2018 in Bucur Maternity Hospital. Women that delivered vaginally mobilized in the first 6 hours in 73.7% of the cases, but for cesarean section after 12- 24 hours in 43.6% of the cases. Women described good support from the obstetrician in 58.1% of the cases. 90.5% of the women reported that the method of delivery did not have an impact on infant care and 73% had no lactation problems. The majority described little trauma, in 32.4% of the cases. 70.3% of the patients reported that they wanted to have more children and 59.5% of them desired the same method of delivery. Negative feelings, lactation, and taking care of the baby were not influenced in this study by the method of delivery, but by prematurity of birth and the complications that women experienced at birth
Electronic and magnetic properties of metallic phases under coexisting short-range interaction and diagonal disorder
We study a three-dimensional Anderson-Hubbard model under the coexistence of
short-range interaction and diagonal disorder within the Hartree-Fock
approximation. We show that the density of states at the Fermi energy is
suppressed in the metallic phases near the metal-insulator transition as a
proximity effect of the soft Hubbard gap in the insulating phases. The
transition to the insulator is characterized by a vanishing DOS in contrast to
formation of a quasiparticle peak at the Fermi energy obtained by the dynamical
mean field theory in pure systems. Furthermore, we show that there exist frozen
spin moments in the paramagnetic metal.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, published versio
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