Fabrication and properties of the meander nanowires based on ultra-thin Nb films

We report the fabrication and the study of superconducting properties of ultra-thin Nb superconducting meander nanowires, which can be used as superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors （SNSPDs）. The ultra-thin （about 7- nm thick） Nb films are patterned into micro-bridges, and 100-nm wide meander nanowires by using e-beam lithography （EBL）. The average transition temperature （Tc） of the nanowires is about 4.8 K and the critical current density jc is about 2.8 × 10^6 A/cm2. Superconducting characteristics of the specimens at different applied magnetic fields up to 8 T （parallel or perpendicular to the specimen） are systematically investigated. The normalized temperature t （= T/Tc） dependences of the parallel critical field （HcⅡ） for both the micro-bridge and the meander nanowire are almost the same, following the Ginzburg and Landau （GL） formalism for ultra-thin films. However, in perpendicular field and in the vicinity of Tc （〉 0.95Tc）, the critical field Hc⊥ of the nanowire exhibits a down-turn curvature nonlinear temperature dependence while the micro-bridge displays a linear temperature dependence. The nonlinear behavior of Hc⊥ in the nanowire is believed to be due to the fact that in the vicinity of Tc the coherence length becomes larger than the line width. Additionally, the localization of carriers in the nanowire could also contribute to the nonlinear behavior. The resistive transitions could be described by the phase-slip model for quasi-one-dimensional system. Moreover, the hysteresis in I-V curve of the meander nanowires can be illustrated by a simple model of localized normal hotspot maintained by Joule heating.     

Formation of epitaxial Tl_2Ba_2Ca_2Cu_3O_(10) superconducting films by dc-magnetron sputtering and triple post-annealing method

For obtaining pure phase T12Ba2Ca2Cu3O10 （T1-2223） films with good superconducting properties, the growth technique is improved by dc magnetron sputtering and a triple post-annealing process. The triple post-annealing process comprises annealing twice in argon and once in oxygen at different temperatures. In the first low-temperature annealing phase in argon, T12Ba2CaCu2O8 （T1-2212） is obtained to effectively minimize evaporation in the next step. With the increase of temperature in the second annealing stage in argon, the previously prepared T1-2212 inter-phase is converted into T1-2223 phase. An additional annealing in oxygen is also adopted to improve the properties of T1-2223 films, each containing an optimal oxygen content value. The results of X-ray diffraction （XRD） θ-2θ scans, 09 scans and rotational φ scans show that each of the T1-2223 films has a high phase purity and an epitaxial structure. Smooth films are observed by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The critical temperatures Tc of the films are measured to be about 120 K and the critical current densities Jc can reach 4.0 MA/cm2 at 77 K at self field.     

Critical phenomena in a disc-percolation model and their application to relativistic heavy ion collisions

By studying the critical phenomena in continuum-percolation of discs, we find a new approach to locate the critical point, i.e. using the inflection point of P∞ as an evaluation of the percolation threshold. The susceptibility, defined as the derivative of P∞, possesses a finite-size scaling property, where the scaling exponent is the reciprocal of v, the critical exponent of the correlation length. A possible application of this approach to the study of the critical phenomena in relativistic heavy ion collisions is discussed. The critical point for deconfinement can be extracted by the inflection point of PQGP -- the probability for the event with QGP formation. The finite-size scaling of its derivative can give the critical exponent v, which is a rare case that can provide an experimental measure of a critical exponent in heavy ion collisions.     

Interplay of superconductivity and d-f correlation in CeFeAslPOl_yFy

The recent discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in iron-based pnictides （chalcogenides） not only trig- gers tremendous enthusiasm in searching for new superconducting materials, but also opens a new avenue to the study of the Kondo physics. CeFeAsO is a parent compound of the 1111-type iron-based superconductors. It shows 3d- antiferromagnetic （AFM） ordering below 139 K and 4f-AFM ordering below 4 K. On the other hand, the phosphide CeFePO is a ferromagnetically corelated heavy-fermion （HF） metal with Kondo scale TK 10 K. These properties set up a new platform for research of the interplay among magnetism, Kondo effect, and superconductivity （SC）. In this review, we present the recent progress in the study of chemical pressure effect in CeFeAsOl_yFy （y = 0 and 0.05）. This P/As-doping in CeFeAsO serves as an effective controlling parameter which leads to two magnetic critical points, Xcl -- 0.4 and Xc2 - 0.92, associated with suppression of 3d and 4f magnetism, respectively. We also observe a turning point of AFM-FM ordering of Ce3＋ moment at Xc3 - 0.37. The SC is absent in the phase diagram, which is attributed to the destruction to Cooper pair by Ce-FM fluctuations in the vicinity of Xcl. We continue to investigate CeFeAsl-xPxO0.95Fo.os. With the separation of xcl and xc3, this chemical pressure results in a broad SC region 0〈 x 〈 0.53, while the original HF behavior is driven away by 5% F- doping. Different roles of P and F dopings are addressed, and the interplay between SC and Ce-4f magnetism is also discussed.     

Cumulants in the 3-dimensional Ising,O（2） and O（4） spin models

Based on the universal properties of a critical point in different systems and that the QCD phase transitions fall into the same universality classes as the 3-dimensional Ising, O（2） or O（4） spin models, the critical behavior of cumulants and higher cumulant ratios of the order parameter from the three kinds of spin models is studied. We found that all higher cumulant ratios change dramatically the sign near the critical temperature. The qualitative critical behavior of the same order cumulant ratio is consistent in these three models.     

Exploring FeSe-based superconductors by liquid ammonia method

Our recent progress on the preparation of a series of new FeSe-based superconductors and the clarification of SC phases in potassium-intercalated iron selenides are reviewed here. By the liquid ammonia method, metals Li, Na, Ca, Sr, Ba, Eu, and Yb are intercalated in between FeSe layers and form superconductors with transition temperatures of 30 K～46 K, which cannot be obtained by high-temperature routes. In the potassium-intercalated iron selenides, we demonstrate that at least two SC phases exist, K x Fe 2 Se 2 (NH 3 ) y (x ≈ 0.3 and 0.6), determined mainly by the concentration of potassium. NH 3 has little, if any, effect on superconductivity, but plays an important role in stabilizing the structures. All these results provide a new starting point for studying the intrinsic properties of this family of superconductors, especially for their particular electronic structures.     

Early warning signals of abrupt temperature change in different regions of China over the past 50 years

In this paper, the early warning signals of abrupt temperature change in different regions of China are investigated. Seven regions are divided on the basis of different climate temperature patterns, obtained through the rotated empirical orthogonal function, and the signal-to-noise temperature ratios for each region are then calculated. Based on the concept of critical slowing down, the temperature data that contain noise in the different regions of China are preprocessed to study the early warning signals of abrupt climate change. First, the Mann-Kendall method is used to identify the instant of abrupt climate change in the temperature data. Second, autocorrelation coefficients that can identify critical slowing down are calculated. The results show that the critical slowing down phenomenon appeared in temperature data about 5-10 years before abrupt climate change occurred, which indicates that the critical slowing down phenomenon is a possible early warning signal for abrupt climate change, and that noise has less influence on the detection results of the early warning signals. Accordingly, this demonstrates that the model is reliable in identifying the early warning signals of abrupt climate change based on detecting the critical slowing down phenomenon, which provides an experimental basis for the actual application of the method.     

Phase diagrams of spin-3/2 Ising model in the presence of random crystal field within the effective field theory based on two approximations

The bimodal random crystal field （A） effects are investigated on the phase diagrams of spin-3/2 Ising model by using the effective-field theory with correlations based on two approximations： the general van der Waerden identity and the approximated van der Waerden identity. In our approach, the crystal field is either turned on or turned off randomly for a given probability p or q = 1 -p, respectively. Then the phase diagrams are constructed on the （A,kT/J） and （p,kT/J） planes for given p and A, respectively, when the coordination number is z = 3. Furthermore, the effect of randomization of the crystal field is illustrated on the （△,kT/J） plane for p = 0.5 when z - 3,4, and 6. All these are carried out for both approximations and then the results are compared to point out the differences. In addition to the lines of second-order phase transitions, the model also exhibits first-order phase transitions and the lines of which terminate at the isolated critical points for high p values.     

Criticality in Two-Variable Earthquake Model on a Random Graph

A two-variable earthquake model on a quenched random graph is established here. It can be seen as a generalization of the OFC models. We numerically study the critical behavior of the model when the system is nonconservative： the result indicates that the model exhibits self-organized criticality deep within the nonconservative regime. The probability distribution for avalanche size obeys finite size scaling. We compare our mode/with the mode/ introduced by Stefano Lise and Maya Paczuski [Phys. Rev. Lett. 88 （2002） 228301], it is proved that they are not in the same universality class.     

Dynamics Behaviors and Scaling in Intermittent Turbulence of a Shell Model

In this paper, the dynamics behaviors on fo-δ parameter surface is investigated for Gledzer-Ohkitani- Yamada model We indicate the type of intermittency chaos transitions is saddle node bifurcation. We plot phase diagram on fo-δ parameter surface, which is divided into periodic, quasi-periodic, and intermittent chaos areas. By means of varying Taylor-microscale Reynolds number, we calculate the extended self-similarity of velocity structure function.     

A Quenched Study for QCD Phase-Transition on Anisotropic Lattices

The QCD deconfinement phase transition in pure SU（3） gauge theory is studied on an anlsotropic lattice. The critical temperature is determined to be Tc ≈ 285 MeV. The relation between the deconfinement phase transition and the breakdown of Z（3） center symmetry is also discussed.     

Relaxation Property and Stability Analysis of the Quasispecies Models

The relaxation property of both Eigen model and Crow-Kimura model with a single peak fitness landscape is studied from phase transition point of view. We first analyze the eigenvalue spectra of the replication mutation matrices. For sufficiently long sequences, the almost crossing point between the largest and seeond-largest eigenvalues locates the error threshold at which critical slowing down behavior appears. We calculate the critical exponent in the limit of infinite sequence lengths and compare it with the result from numerical curve fittings at sufficiently long sequences. We find that for both models the relaxation time diverges with exponent 1 at the error （mutation） threshold point. Results obtained from both methods agree quite well. From the unlimited correlation length feature, the first order phase transition is further confirmed. Finally with linear stability theory, we show that the two model systems are stable for all ranges of mutation rate. The Igigen model is asymptotically stable in terms of mutant classes, and the Crow-Kimura model is completely stable.     

Critical size of iron nanoparticles on liquid substrates

We study the iron atomic aggregates deposited on silicone oil surfaces by using atomic force microscopy.The aggregates are composed of disk-shaped nanoparticles with the mean diameterΦc≈31.7 nm and height Hc≈4.5 nm,which are nearly independent of the nominal film thickness.The experiment shows that a material condensation process must occur in the nanoparticles during the growth period.The anomalous phenomenon is explained.     

Critical Dimension for Stable Self-Gravitating Stars in AdS

We study the self-gravitating stars with a linear equation of state, P = aρ, in AdS space, where a is a constant parameter. There exists a critical dimension, beyond which the stars are always stable with any central energy density; below which there exists a maximal mass configuration for a certain central energy density and when the central energy density continues to increase, the configuration becomes unstable. We find that the critical dimension depends on the parameter a, it runs from d = 11.1429 to 10.1291 as a varies from a = 0 to 1. The lowest integer dimension for a dynamically stable self-gravitating configuration should be d = 12 for any a E [0, 1] rather than d = 11, the latter is the case of self-gravitating radiation configurations in AdS space.     

Characterization of Phase Transition in Heisenberg Fluids from Density Functional Theory

The phase transition of Heisenberg fluid has been investigated with the density functional theory in mean-field approximation （MF）. The matrix of the second derivatives of the grand canonical potential Ω with respect to the particle density fluctuations and the magnetization fluctuations has been investigated and diagonalized. The smallest eigenvalue being 0 signalizes the phase instability and the related eigenvector characterizes this phase transition. We find a Curie line where the order parameter is pure magnetization and a spinodal where the order parameter is a mixture of particle density and magnetization. Along the spinodal, the character of phase instability changes continuously from predominant condensation to predominant ferromagnetic phase transition with the decrease of total density. The spinodal meets the Curie line at the critical endpoint with the reduced density p＊=pσ3=0.224 and the reduced temperature T＊ =kT/ε=1.87 （σ is the diameter of Heisenberg hard sphere and e is the coupling constant）.     

Quantum critical point of an itinerant antiferromagnet in a heavy fermion

A quantum critical point of the heavy fermion Ce(Ru(1-x)Rh(x))2Si2, (x = 0,0.03) has been studied by single-crystalline neutron scattering. By accurately measuring the dynamical susceptibility at the antiferromagnetic wave vector k3 = 0.35c*, we have shown that the inverse energy width gamma(k3), i.e., the inverse correlation time, depends on temperature as gamma(k3) = c1 + c2T((3/2)+/-0.1), where c1 and c2 are x dependent constants, in a low temperature range. This critical exponent 3/2 +/- 0.1 proves that the quantum critical point is controlled by that of the itinerant antiferromagnet.     

Swelling-collapse transition of self-attracting walks

We study the structural properties of self-attracting walks in d dimensions using scaling arguments and Monte Carlo simulations. We find evidence of a transition analogous to the Theta transition of polymers. Above a critical attractive interaction u(c), the walk collapses and the exponents nu and k, characterizing the scaling with time t of the mean square end-to-end distance approximately t(2nu) and the average number of visited sites approximately t(k), are universal and given by nu=1/(d+1) and k=d/(d+1). Below u(c), the walk swells and the exponents are as with no interaction, i.e., nu=1/2 for all d, k=1/2 for d=1 and k=1 for d>/=2. At u(c), the exponents are found to be in a different universality class.     

Remarks on interpretations of the Eotvos experiment and misinterpretation of E=mc^2

The Eotvos experiment on the verification of equivalence between inertial mass and gravitational mass of a body is famous for its accuracy. A question is, however, can these experimental results be applied to the case of a physical space in general relativity, where the space coordinates could be arbitrary？ It is pointed out that it can be validly applied because it has been proven that Einstein＇s equivalence principle for a physical space must have a frame of reference with the Euclidean-like structure. Will claimed further that such an overall accuracy can be translated into an accuracy of the equivalence between inertial mass and each type of energy. It is shown that, according to general relativity, such a claim is incorrect. The root of this problem is due to an inadequate understanding of special relativity that produced the famous equation E=mc^2, which must be understood in terms of energy conservation. Concurrently, it is pointed out that this error is a problem in Will＇s book, ‘Theory and Experiment in Gravitational Physics＇.     

First-Principles Calculations of Atomic and Electronic Properties of T1 and In on Si（111）

The atomic and electronic structures of T1 and In on Si（111） surfaces are investigated using the firstprinciples total energy calculations. Total energy optimizations show that the energetically favored structure is 1/3 ML T1 adsorbed at the T4 sites on Si（111） surfaces. The adsorption energy difference of one T1 adatom between （√3 × √3） and （1 × 1） is less than that of each In adatom. The DOS indicates that TI 6p and Si 3p electrons play a very important role in the formation of the surface states. It is concluded that the bonding of TI adatoms on Si（111） surfaces is mainly polar covalent, which is weaker than that of In on Si（111）. So T1 atom is more easy to be migrated than In atom in the same external electric field and the structures of T1 on Si（111） is prone to switch between （√3 × √3） and （1 × 1）.     

Study on the pre-chopper in CSNS LEBT

Physical designing of the pre-chopper in CSNS LEBT is carried out, which includes the deflecting voltage, the length and the width of the deflecting plates, and the gap between the deflecting plates. The most outstanding feature of the design is that both the gap and the width vary with the beam envelope size. So both the requried deflecting voltage and the loaded capacitance are lowered. In order to avoid destruction of the space charge neutralization by the pre-chopper in the whole LEBT, an electron-trapping electrode is arranged to confine the electrostatic field of the pre-chopper to the local area. To examine the reliability of the pre-chopping design in CSNS LEBT, a similar pre-chopping design in ADS RFQ LEBT is set up and an experiment on the pre-chopper is prepared. 3-dimensional simulations are carried out to determine the loaded capacitance and the applied voltage of the electron-trapping electrode.