Synthesis and physical properties of LaO1-xFxFeAs

We have prepared the newly discovered Fe-based superconducting material LaO_1-xF_xFeAs (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2) in polycrystalline form and have investigated the samples by means of structural, thermodynamic and transport measurements. Our investigations reveal a non superconducting phase at 0 ≤ x 0.04 which for x = 0 is characterized by a structural transition towards an orthorhombic distortion at T_s ≈ 160 K and antiferromagnetic spin order at T_N ≈ 138 K. Both transitions lead to strong anomalies in various transport properties as well as in magnetization and in specific heat. Remarkably, the transition temperatures are only weakly doping dependent up to x ≈ 0.04. However, the transitions are abruptly suppressed at x ≥ 0.05 in favour of a superconducting phase with a critical temperature T_c 20 K. Upon further increasing the F-doping T_c increases up to a maximum of T_c = 26.8 K at x = 0.1 which is followed by a decrease down to T_c ≈ 10 K at x ≥ 0.15.     

Electromagnetic vertex function of the pion at T>0

The matrix element of the electromagnetic current between pion states is calculated in quenched lattice QCD at a temperature of T=0.93 T_c. The non-perturbatively improved Sheikholeslami–Wohlert action is used together with the corresponding improved vector current. The electromagnetic vertex function is extracted for pion masses down to 360 MeV and momentum transfers Q²≤2.7 GeV².     

Fluorescence studies of confinement in polymer films and nanocomposites: Glass transition temperature, plasticizer effects, and sensitivity to stress relaxation and local polarity

Confinement effects in polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) films and nanocomposites are studied by fluorescence. The ability to employ an intensive measurable, the excited-state fluorescence lifetime, in defining the glass transition temperature, T_g, of polymers is demonstrated and compared to the use of an extensive measurable, fluorescence intensity. In addition, intrinsic fluorescence from the phenyl groups in polystyrene is used to determine the T_g-confinement effect in films as thin as ~15 nm. The decrease in T_g with decreasing film thickness (below ∼60 nm) agrees well with results obtained by extrinsic pyrene fluorescence. Dye label fluorescence is used to quantify the enhancement in T_g observed with decreasing thickness (below ~90 nm) in poly(methyl methacrylate) films; addition of 2–4 wt% dioctyl phthalate plasticizer reduces or eliminates the T_g-confinement effect in films down to 20 nm thickness. Intrinsic polystyrene fluorescence, which is sensitive to local conformation, is used to quantify the time scales (some tens of minutes) associated with stress relaxation in thin and ultrathin spin-coated films at T_g + 10 K. Finally, the shape of the fluorescence spectrum of pyrene doped at trace levels in polystyrene films and polystyrene-silica nanocomposites is used to determine effects of confinement on microenvironment polarity.     

Synthesis and characterization of electron beam evaporated LiCoO<Subscript>2</Subscript> thin films

LiCoO₂ thin films were prepared by electron beam evaporation technique using LiCoO₂ target with Li/Co ratio 1.1 in an oxygen partial pressure of 5 × 10⁻⁴ mbar. The films prepared at substrate temperature T _s < 573 K were amorphous in nature, and the films prepared at T _s > 573 K exhibited well defined (104), (101), and (003) peaks among which the (104) orientation predominates. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) data revealed that the films prepared in the substrate temperature range 673–773 K are nearly stoichiometric. The grain size increases with an increase of substrate temperature. The Co–e_g absorption bands, are empty and their peak position lies at around 1.7 eV above the top to the Co–t_2g bands. The fundamental absorption edge was observed at 2.32 eV. The films annealed at 1,023 K in a controlled oxygen environment exhibit (104) out plane texture with large grains. Paper presented at the Third International Conference on Ionic Devices (ICID 2006), Chennai, Tamilnadu, India, Dec. 7–9, 2006     

YBa2Cu3O7−δ /CeO2 heterostructures on sapphire R-plane

(001)YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ epitaxial films were prepared by laser ablation on surface. A thin (001)CeO₂ or (111)CeO₂ buffer layer was deposited between the substrate and the superconductor film to reduce their chemical interaction. In the initial stages of CeO₂ buffer formation, its orientation depended strongly on the intensity of cerium ion interaction with oxygen. Epitaxial growth of (001)YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ films was achieved both on and . The T _c temperature of epitaxial (001)YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ films was within 88–90 K, and the current J _c at 77 K was in excess of 10⁶ A/cm⁻². Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 205–208 (February 1998)     

Effect of low-level Ge additions on the superconducting transition in PbTe:Tl

A study is reported of the effect of low-level germanium additions (∼0.01–0.1 at. %) on the parameters of the superconducting transition, viz. the critical temperature T _c, the second critical magnetic field H _c2, and in PbTe doped with 2 at. % Tl, which are derived from the dependence of the electrical resistivity of a sample on temperature (0.4–4.2 K) and magnetic field (0–1.3 T). The discontinuity revealed by experimental data is related to the onset of a Ge-induced structural phase transition. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 1204–1205 (July 1998)     

NMR Studies on the Internal Structure of High-T c Superconductors and Other Anorganic Compounds

Spatially-resolved NMR is used to probe internal structures in highly correlated superconductors of optimally-doped (T _c = 85 K) and a heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn₅ (T _c = 2.3 K). The characteristic change of the properties of ²⁰⁵Tl-NMR in the vortex state provides a clear evidence of the antiferromagnetic order in the vortex cores below 20 K in . We also obtain anomalous ¹¹⁵In-NMR spectra of CeCoIn₅, which provides a microscopic evidence for the occurrence of a spatially-modulated superconducting order parameter expected in a Fulde–Ferrel–Larkin–Ovchinnkov (FFLO) state.     

Intrinsic Josephson effects in 60-K phase YBCO thin film mesas

We fabricatedc-axis oriented meas on YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ thin films. Columnar structures with an area of 20×20 μm² and a depth of 0.1 μm were formed on oxygen deficient films with a critical temperature (T _c ) of 64 K or less. The devices showed hysteretic I–V curves without any branches. The dependence of the critical current density on the temperature nearT _c is explained by the Ambegaokar-Baratoff relation.     

Carrier relaxation time divergence in single and double layer cuprates

We report the transient optical pump-probe reflectivity measurements on single and double layer cuprate single crystals and thin films of ten different stoichiometries. We find that with sufficiently low fluence the relaxation time ( of all samples exhibits a power law divergence with temperature . Further, the divergence has an onset temperature above the superconducting transition temperature for all superconducting samples. Possible causes of this divergence are discussed.Received: 30 June 2003, Published online: 23 December 2003PACS: 74.78.Bz High-T _c films - 74.72.-h Cuprate superconductors (high-T _c and insulating parent compounds) - 74.25.Gz Optical propertiesM.L. Schneider: Present address: NIST, mc 816.01, 325 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80305-3328, USA     

Influence of inter cell resonant tunneling on the out-of-plane electronic transport behavior in layered high T<Subscript>c</Subscript> cuprates

The influence of inter unit cell resonant tunneling between the copper-oxygen planes on the c-axis electronic conductivity (σ_c) in normal state of optimal doped bilayer high T_c cuprates like Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+x is investigated using extended Hubbard Hamiltonian including resonant tunneling term (T₁₂) between the planes in two adjoining cells. The expression for the out-of-plane (c-axis) conductivity is calculated within Kubo formalism and single particle Green's function by employing Green's function equations of motion technique within meanfield approximation. On the basis of numerical computation, it is pointed out that the renormalized c-axis conductivity increases exponentially with the increment in inter cell resonant tunneling. The effect of T₁₂ on renormalized c-axis conductivity is found to be prominent at low temperatures as compared to temperatures above room temperature (~300 °K). The Coulomb correlation suppresses the variation of renormalized c-axis conductivity with temperature, while renormalized c-axis conductivity increases on increasing carrier concentration. These theoretical results are viewed in terms of existing c-axis transport measurements.     

Oxygen ion transport numbers: assessment of combined measurement methods

Several modifications of the faradaic efficiency and electromagnetic field (EMF) methods, taking electrode polarisation resistance into account, were considered based on the analysis of ion transport numbers and p-type electronic conductivity of ceramics at 973–1,223 K. In air, the activation energies for p-type electronic and oxygen ionic transport are 115 ± 9 and 71 ± 5 kJ/mol, respectively. The oxygen ion transference numbers vary in the range 0.992–0.999, increasing when oxygen pressure or temperature decreases. The apparent electronic contribution to the total conductivity, estimated from the classical faradaic efficiency and EMF techniques was considerably higher than true transference numbers due to a non-negligible role of interfacial exchange processes. The modified measurement routes give reliable and similar results when p(O₂) values at the electrodes are high enough, whilst decreasing the oxygen pressure leads to a systematic error for all techniques associated with measurements of concentration cell EMF. This effect, presumably due to diffusion polarisation, increases with decreasing temperature. The most reliable results in the studied p(O₂) range were provided by the modified faradaic efficiency method.     

Optical studies of phase transitions in the (NH4)3VO2F4 crystal

(NH₄)₃VO₂F₄ crystals were grown, and polarization-optical studies and measurements of birefringence were conducted on crystal plates of various cuts over a wide temperature range. Phase transitions were detected at temperatures T _1↑ = 417 K, T _3↑ = 211 K, and T _4↑ = 205 K (on heating) and at T _1↓ = 413 K, T _3↓ = 210 K, and T _4↓ = 200 K (on cooling). The transitions are accompanied by anomalies of the birefringence and by twinning. The sequence of changes in the phase symmetry is assumed to be as follows: cubic Fm m ↔ orthorhombic Immm (I222₁) ↔ monoclinic 112/m) ↔ triclinic P . Near temperatures T ₂ ≈ 240–250 K, an additional anomaly of the birefringence is observed, with the crystal retaining the orthorhombic symmetry. Original Russian Text ? S.V. Mel’nikova, A G. Kocharova, 2009, published in Fizika Tverdogo Tela, 2009, Vol. 51, No. 3, pp. 562–564.     

Transverse Nernst-Ettingshausen effect, resonant scattering, and superconductivity in SnTe: In

The temperature dependences of the coefficient of the transverse Nernst-Ettingshausen effect in SnTe: In samples with different indium contents (1–16 at %) in the temperature range 100–300 K and the electrical resistivity at temperatures of 1.2–4.2 K and in magnetic fields of up to 10 kOe are investigated. The data obtained indicate the presence of resonant hole scattering into the band of quasi-local In impurity states in Sn_1?x In _x Te samples with In content x ≥ 0.05 and a superconducting transition with a critical temperature T _c ～ 1.5–2.2 K. The SnTe: In samples with the degree of filling of impurity states by electrons, which is close to 1/2, and the Fermi level ?_F pinned in the vicinity of the minimum energy dependence of the relaxation time τ(?) are characterized by inhomogeneities of a new type, i.e., inhomogeneities of the scattering parameter r = ?lnτ/?ln?| $ \varepsilon _F The temperature dependences of the coefficient of the transverse Nernst-Ettingshausen effect in SnTe: In samples with different indium contents (1–16 at %) in the temperature range 100–300 K and the electrical resistivity at temperatures of 1.2–4.2 K and in magnetic fields of up to 10 kOe are investigated. The data obtained indicate the presence of resonant hole scattering into the band of quasi-local In impurity states in Sn_1−x In _x Te samples with In content x ≥ 0.05 and a superconducting transition with a critical temperature T _c ∼ 1.5–2.2 K. The SnTe: In samples with the degree of filling of impurity states by electrons, which is close to 1/2, and the Fermi level ɛ_F pinned in the vicinity of the minimum energy dependence of the relaxation time τ(ɛ) are characterized by inhomogeneities of a new type, i.e., inhomogeneities of the scattering parameter r = ϖlnτ/∂lnɛ|, which are induced by fluctuations of the degree of filling of quasi-local states by electrons. Original Russian Text ? S.A. Nemov, V.I. Proshin, G.L. Tarantasov, R.V. Parfen’ev, D.V. Shamshur, A.V. Chernyaev, 2009, published in Fizika Tverdogo Tela, 2009, Vol. 51, No. 3, pp. 461–464.     

Azimuthal anisotropy of electrons from heavy flavor decays in \sqrt{s_{NN}} =200 GeV Au-Au collisions at PHENIX

The PHENIX experiment has measured the azimuthal anisotropy parameter v₂, the second harmonic of the azimuthal distribution, for electrons at mid-rapidity (|η|<0.35) as a function of transverse momentum (0.5<p_T (GeV/c)<5.0) in Au+Au collisions at  =200 GeV. From the result we have calculated the non-photonic electron v₂, which is expected to reflect charm quark azimuthal anisotropy, by subtracting the v₂ of electrons from other sources such as photon conversions and Dalitz decays.     

Structure and transport properties of ultrathin YBa2Cu3O7−x films

The crystal structure and transport properties of epitaxial c-oriented YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x films are investigated for high-T _c layer thicknesses from 5 to 300 nm. The films were prepared by laser deposition. Films less than 30 nm thick become predominantly single-domain in the direction of the c axis. As the thickness decreases, the orthorhombicity parameter of the YBaCuO lattice decreases, which correlates with the critical temperature degradation observed in films less than 9 nm thick. The obtained thickness dependence of the effective microwave surface resistance of a YBaCuO film agrees well with the computational result obtained in the framework of local electrodynamics for samples with a constant microwave conductance. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 63, No. 8, 608–613 (25 April 1996)     

Magnetotransport properties of a layered La1.6Ca1.4Mn2O7 polycrystal

Magnetotransport properties of a two-layered La_1.6Ca_1.4Mn₂O₇ polycrystal have been examined as a function of temperature and applied field. It was found that the magnetic transition temperature (T_c) is about 70 K higher than the insulator–metal transition temperature (T_p). Two peaks were observed on both the temperature dependence of the imaginary part of the ac magnetic susceptibility χ^′′(T ) and that of the magnetoresistance MR(T). One is slightly below T_p∼107 K and the other is near T_c∼170 K. Below 70 K, the MR ratio increases with decreasing temperature. Around and above T_p but below T_c, the magnetization shows some indication of saturation, whereas the MR ratio shows no indication of saturation. The magnetotransport properties can be explained by considering the anisotropy exchange interactions along the a–b plane and the c direction, and the low-temperature MR can be attributed to the effects of the nearly fully spin-polarized carriers’ tunneling through the insulating (La,Ca)₂O₂ layers between the adjacent MnO₂ bilayers. Received: 18 September 2000 / Accepted: 20 February 2001 / Published online: 26 April 2001     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">J</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">ψ</Emphasis> suppression and <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis></Subscript> spectra in RHIC and LHC energy collisions

In a hydrodynamic model, we have studied J/ψ production in Au+Au/Cu+Cu collisions at RHIC energy, GeV. At the initial time, J/ψ’s are randomly distributed in the fluid. As the fluid evolves in time, the free streaming J/ψ’s are dissolved if the local fluid temperature exceeds a threshold temperature T _J/ψ . Sequential melting of charmonium states (χ _c , ψ ^′ and J/ψ), with melting temperatures , T _J/ψ ≈2T _c and feed-down fraction F≈0.3, explains the PHENIX data on the centrality dependence of J/ψ suppression in Au+Au collisions. J/ψ p _T spectra and the nuclear modification factor in Au+Au collisions are also well explained in the model. The model however overpredicts the centrality dependence of J/ψ suppression in Cu+Cu collisions by 20–30%. The J/ψ p _T spectra are underpredicted by 20–30%. The model predicts that in central Pb+Pb collisions at LHC energy,  GeV, J/ψ’s are suppressed by a factor of ∼10. The model predicted a J/ψ p _T distribution in Pb+Pb collisions at LHC is similar to that in Au+Au collisions at RHIC.     

Electrophysical parameters of <Emphasis Type="Italic">c</Emphasis>-oriented Bi<Subscript>2</Subscript>Te<Subscript>3</Subscript> films with a low concentration of antistructural defects

Epitaxial c-oriented Bi₂Te₃ films 1.2 μm in thickness are grown by the hot wall method for a low supersaturation of the vapor phase over the surface of mica substrates. The hexagonal unit cell parameters a = 4.386 Å and c = 30.452 Å of the grown films almost coincide with the corresponding parameters of stoichiometric bulk Bi₂Te₃ crystals. At T = 100 K, the Hall concentration of electrons in the films is on the order of 8 × 10¹⁸ cm^?3, while the highest values of the thermoelectric coefficient (α ≈ 280 μV K^?1) are observed at temperatures on the order of 260 K. Under impurity conduction conditions, conductivity σ of the films increases upon cooling in inverse proportion to the squared temperature. In the temperature range 100–200 K, thermoelectric power parameter α²σ of Bi₂Te₃ films has values of 80–90 μW cm^?1 K^?2.     

Cuspons and Smooth Solitons of the Degasperis–Procesi Equation Under Inhomogeneous Boundary Condition

This paper is contributed to explore all possible single peakon solutions for the Degasperis–Procesi (DP) equation m _t  + m _x u + 3mu _x  = 0, m = u − u _xx . Our procedure shows that the DP equation either has cusp soliton and smooth soliton solutions only under the inhomogeneous boundary condition lim_|x|→ ∞ u =A ≠0, or possesses the regular peakon solutions ce ^{− |x − ct|} ∈ H ¹ (c is the wave speed) only when lim_|x|→ ∞ u = 0 (see Theorem 4.1). In particular, we first time obtain the stationary cuspon solution of the DP equation. Moreover we present new cusp solitons (in the space of ) and smooth soliton solutions in an explicit form. Asymptotic analysis and numerical simulations are provided for smooth solitons and cusp solitons of the DP equation.      

Centrality dependence of v 2 in Au + Au at \sqrt{s_{NN}}=200 GeV

One of the most striking results is the large elliptic flow (v ₂) at RHIC. Detailed mass and transverse momentum dependence of elliptic flow are well described by ideal hydrodynamic calculations for p _T<1 GeV/c, and by parton coalescence/recombination picture for p _T=2–6 GeV/c. The systematic error on v ₂ is dominated by so-called “non-flow effects”, which are correlations other than flow, such as resonance decays and jets. It is crucial to understand and reduce the systematic error from non-flow effects in order to understand the underlying collision dynamics. In this paper, we present the centrality dependence of v ₂ with respect to the first harmonic event plane at ZDC-SMD (v ₂{ZDC-SMD}) in Au + Au collisions at  GeV. A large rapidity gap (|Δη|>6) between midrapidity and the ZDC-SMD could enable us to minimize possible non-flow contributions. We compare the results of v ₂{ZDC-SMD} with v ₂{BBC}, which is measured by event plane determined at |η|=3.1–3.9. Possible non-flow contributions in those results will be discussed.