Concepts of flywheels for energy storage using autostable high-T(sub c) superconducting magnetic bearings

A flywheel for energy storage using autostable high-T(sub c) superconducting magnetic bearings has been built. The rotating disk has a total weight of 2.8 kg. The maximum speed is 9240 rpm. A process that allows accelerated, reliable and reproducible production of melt-textured superconducting material used for the bearings has been developed. In order to define optimum configurations for radial and axial bearings, interaction forces in three dimensions and vertical and horizontal stiffness have been measured between superconductors and permanent magnets in different geometries and various shapes. Static as well as dynamic measurements have been performed. Results are being reported and compared to theoretical models

Phonon Assisted Multimagnon Optical Absorption and Long Lived Two-Magnon States in Undoped Lamellar Copper Oxides

We calculate the effective charge for multimagnon infrared (IR) absorption assisted by phonons in the parent insulating compounds of cuprate superconductors and the spectra for two-magnon absorption using interacting spin-wave theory. Recent measured bands in the mid IR [Perkins et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 71} 1621 (1993)] are interpreted as involving one phonon plus a two-magnon virtual bound state, and one phonon plus higher multimagnon absorption processes. The virtual bound state consists of a narrow resonance occurring when the magnon pair has total momentum close to $(\pi,0)$.Comment: 4 page

Solution of the Multi-Channel Anderson Impurity Model: Ground state and thermodynamics

We present the solution of the SU(N) x SU(M) Anderson impurity model using the Bethe-Ansatz. We first explain what extensions to the formalism were required for the solution. Subsequently we determine the ground state and derive the thermodynamics over the full range of temperature and fields. We identify the different regimes of valence fluctuation at high temperatures, followed by moment formation or intrinsic mixed valence at intermediate temperatures and a low temperature non-Fermi liquid phase. Among other things we obtain the impurity entropy, charge valence and specific heat over the full range of temperature. We show that the low-energy physics is governed by a line of fixed points. This describes non-Fermi-liquid behavior in the integral valence regime, associated with moment formation, as well as in the mixed valence regime where no moment forms.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl

The Electron-Phonon Interaction in the Presence of Strong Correlations

We investigate the effect of strong electron-electron repulsion on the electron-phonon interaction from a Fermi-liquid point of view: the strong interaction is responsible for vertex corrections, which are strongly dependent on the $v_Fq/\omega$ ratio. These corrections generically lead to a strong suppression of the effective coupling between quasiparticles mediated by a single phonon exchange in the $v_Fq/\omega \gg 1$ limit. However, such effect is not present when $v_Fq/\omega \ll 1$. Analyzing the Landau stability criterion, we show that a sizable electron-phonon interaction can push the system towards a phase-separation instability. A detailed analysis is then carried out using a slave-boson approach for the infinite-U three-band Hubbard model. In the presence of a coupling between the local hole density and a dispersionless optical phonon, we explicitly confirm the strong dependence of the hole-phonon coupling on the transferred momentum versus frequency ratio. We also find that the exchange of phonons leads to an unstable phase with negative compressibility already at small values of the bare hole-phonon coupling. Close to the unstable region, we detect Cooper instabilities both in s- and d-wave channels supporting a possible connection between phase separation and superconductivity in strongly correlated systems.Comment: LateX 3.14, 04.11.1994 Preprint no.101

Quasiparticle Effective Mass for the Two- and Three-Dimensional Electron Gas

We calculate the quasiparticle effective mass for the electron gas in two and three dimensions in the metallic region. We employ the single particle scattering potential coming from the Sj\"{o}lander-Stott theory and enforce the Friedel sum rule by adjusting the effective electron mass in a scattering calculation. In 3D our effective mass is a monotonically decreasing function of $r_s$ throughout the whole metallic domain, as implied by the most recent numerical results. In 2D we obtain reasonable agreement with the experimental data, as well as with other calculations based on the Fermi liquid theory. We also present results of a variety of different treatments for the effective mass in 2D and 3D.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure

Role of Van Hove Singularities and Momentum Space Structure in High-Temperature Superconductivity

There is a great deal of interest in attributing the high critical temperatures of the cuprates to either the proximity of the Fermi level to a van Hove singularity or to structure of the superconducting pairing potential in momentum space far from the Fermi surface. We examine these ideas by calculating the critical temperature Tc for model Einstein-phonon- and spin-fluctuation-mediated superconductors within both the standard, Fermi-surface-restricted Eliashberg theory and the exact mean field theory, which accounts for the full momentum structure of the pairing potential and the energy dependence of the density of states. By using two models of spin-fluctuation-mediated pairing in the cuprates, we demonstrate that our results are independent of the details of the dynamical susceptibility, which is taken to be the pairing potential. We also compare these two models against available neutron scattering data, since these data provide the most direct constraints on the susceptibility. We conclude that the van Hove singularity does not drastically alter Tc from its value when the density of states is constant and that the effect of momentum structure is significant but secondary in importance to that of the energy dependence in the density of states.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures upon request, revtex version 2, vHs-

Polarons and bipolarons in strongly interacting electron-phonon systems

The Holstein Hubbard and Holstein t--J models are studied for a wide range of phonon frequencies, electron--electron and electron--phonon interaction strengths on finite lattices with up to ten sites by means of direct Lanczos diagonalization. Previously the necessary truncation of the phononic Hilbert space caused serious limitations to either very small systems (four or even two sites) or to weak electron--phonon coupling, in particular in the adiabatic regime. Using parallel computers we were able to investigate the transition from `large' to `small' polarons in detail. By resolving the low--lying eigenstates of the Hamiltonian and by calculating the spectral function we can identify a polaron band in the strong--coupling case, whose dispersion deviates from the free--particle dispersion at low and intermediate phonon frequencies. For two electrons (holes) we establish the existence of bipolaronic states and discuss the formation of a bipolaron band. For the 2D Holstein t--J model we demonstrate that the formation of hole--polarons is favoured by strong Coulomb correlations. Analyzing the hole--hole correlation functions we find that hole binding is enhanced as a dynamical effect of the electron--phonon interaction.Comment: 23 pages (Revtex) with 13 figures (ps, uuencoded

The Depression Network (DeNT) Study: methodology and sociodemographic characteristics of the first 470 affected sibling pairs from a large multi-site linkage genetic study

Glaxo Wellcome Research and Development

Polygenic risk for circulating reproductive hormone levels and their influence on hippocampal volume and depression susceptibility

Altered reproductive hormone levels have been associated with the pathophysiology of depressive disorders and this risk may be imparted by their modulatory effect upon hippocampal structure and function. Currently it is unclear whether altered levels of reproductive hormones are causally associated with hippocampal volume reductions and the risk of depressive disorders. Here, we utilize genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics from a GWAS focusing on reproductive hormones, consisting of 2913 individuals. Using this data, we generated polygenic risk scores (PRS) for estradiol, progesterone, prolactin and testosterone in the European RADIANT cohort consisting of 176 postpartum depression (PPD) cases (100% female, mean age: 41.6 years old), 2772 major depressive disorder (MDD) cases (68.6% female, mean age: 46.9 years old) and 1588 control participants (62.5% female, mean age: 42.4 years old), for which there was also a neuroimaging subset of 111 individuals (60.4% female, mean age: 50.0 years old). Only the best-fit PRS for estradiol showed a significant negative association with hippocampal volume, as well as many of its individual subfields; including the molecular layer and granule cell layer of the dentate gyrus, subiculum, CA1, CA2/3 and CA4 regions. Interestingly, several of these subfields are implicated in adult hippocampal neurogenesis. When we tested the same estradiol PRS for association with case-control status for PPD or MDD there was no significant relationship observed. Here, we provide evidence that genetic risk for higher plasma estradiol is negatively associated with hippocampal volume, but this does not translate into an increased risk of MDD or PPD. This work suggests that the relationship between reproductive hormones, the hippocampus, and depression is complex, and that there may not be a clear-cut pathway for etiology or risk moderation