Dissipative quantum-creep studies in single-crystal La2CuO4+δ

Temperature-dependent magnetic relaxation was studied in a La₂CuO_4+δ crystal in the low-temperature range 2–10 K. The experimental data exhibited a non-vanishing magnetic relaxation in the low-temperature limit. These data could be well interpreted by a quantum-creep theory, suggesting the non-vanishing relaxation at low temperatures due to quantum tunneling of vortices. The effective Euclidean action determined as /|d ln M/d ln t| showed a quadratic temperature dependence. The quantitative analysis of the effective Euclidean action yields a classical activation energy, crossover temperature and zero-temperature quantum-tunneling rate.     

Crossover from thermally activated flux creep to quantum tunneling of vortices in a YBa2Cu3O7−x film

We present the results of a study of flux creep in a ring-shaped epitaxial superconducting YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x film at low temperatures. Measurements between 2 and 20 K have been made and it is confirmed that the flux creep is a thermally activated process at temperatures exceeding 10 K. The low-temperature data are analyzed by assuming a crossover to quantum tunneling of the vortex lines. Using the fact that the critical current in our sample is almost independent of temperature below 20 K, we establish the temperature dependence of the Euclidian action S directly from the experimental data without any a priori assumptions. Our results imply that at temperatures below 8.5 K S(T)=S(0)(1−T²/T_qc²), with approximately the same value of T_qc≈15 K for the case of the remnant magnetization as well as in an external magnetic field of 1 kOe.     

Critical theory of overscreened Kondo fixed points

The low-temperature fixed point of the Kondo model, for k bands and a spin-s impurity, is well understood by Nozières' Fermi liquid theory for k 2s. However when k > 2s, a new type of non-trivial fixed point is known to occur. We study this fixed point using higher-level Kac-Moody conformal field theory and Cardy's approach to boundary critical phenomena. The specific heat and magnetization are shown to be determined by the leading irrelevant operator and the corresponding critical exponents are obtained exactly. The Wilson ratio is argued to be universal and its exact value is also calculated. The asymptotic finite-size spectrum is determined. Thermodynamic exponents agree precisely with the Bethe ansatz; for k = 2, S = 1/2, the Wilson ratio also agrees well with the approximate value obtained from the Bethe ansatz; the slope of the β-function agrees with the perturbative result in the large-k limit and the finite-size spectrum agrees excellently with approximate results obtained previously by Wilson's numerical renormalization group method in the case k = 2, S = 1/2.     

Li-doping effects on the electrical properties of ZnO films prepared by the chemical-bath deposition method

Zn_1−xLi_xO thin films, with x varying from 0.0 to 0.5, successfully have been deposited on glass substrates using the chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique. J–E characteristics, DC conductivity and dielectric measurements have been carried out. These measurements were done as a function of temperature, Li concentration and applied electric field intensity. The J–E characteristics are explained in terms of the Pool–Frenkel and Schottky effects. The J–E relation and DC conductivity are strongly dependent on both the Li concentration and applied electric field intensity. Dielectric hysteresis was observed between heating and cooling runs which revealed that the dielectric constant often increases slowly in the low-temperature region, then increases faster above the phase transition.     

Analysis of electron mobility versus temperature after photoexcitation in Si-doped AlxGa1−xAs

The low-temperature Hall mobility of photoexcited electrons has been measured in Si-doped MBE AlGaAs samples and compared with calculated data using the background acceptor density and the alloy scattering potential as free parameters. The possibility of discriminating between negative- or positive-U electron correlation energy for the DX centre has been investigated through a careful analysis of mobility versus temperature curves relating to different photoexcited electron densities. A crucial role of the acceptor density to explain the experimental data within the positive-U model has been evidenced.     

Hyperfine investigations of the magnetic state in ordered Pt3−xFe1+x

Mössbauer effect studies of Pt_3−xFe_1+x fcc ordered alloys in the range 4.2 K <T<300 K, in zero and in external magnetic field, for samples with x = 0.16 to 0.28, are reported. The low-temperature spectra show several satellite lines which are related to different excess-Fe nearest-neighbor configurations. Experiments in external fields give information on the different local spin structure at different concentrations.     

Low-temperature specific heat of Ni–Mn–Ga ferromagnetic shape memory alloys

Results of the low-temperature specific heat measurements (2–80 K) for one austenitic and three martensitic Ni–Mn–Ga ferromagnetic alloys are presented. The alloy compositions are chosen to comprise a wide span of valence electron concentrations e/a=7.3–7.78. Debye temperature (261–345 K) is found to be an increasing function of e/a while the experimental values of the Sommerfeld coefficient (2.9–3.4 mJ/mol K²) appear to be increasing in the martensitic region only. Observation of those trends rekindles the discussion about the role of vibrational and electronic contributions to the lattice instability and transformation mechanism of studied alloys.     

Chiral symmtry of Wilson fermions at finite temperature

Chiral properties of Wilson fermions at finite temperature are investigated by numerical methods. We show that when the quark mass is properly defined, for a given β and K (hopping parameter), its value is independent of whether the system is in the high-temperature phase or in the low-temperature phase. The temperature dependence of the pion screening mass at the chiral limit where the quark mass vanishes is consistent with the physical picture that the spontaneously broken chiral symmetry is recovered at T = T_c.     

Zero-modes and thermodynamics of disordered spin-1/2 ladders

The influence of non-magnetic doping on the thermodynamic properties of two-leg S = 1/2 spin ladders is studied in this paper. It is shown that, for a weak interchain coupling, the problem can be mapped onto a model of random mass Dirac (Majorana) fermions. We investigate in detail the structure of the fermionic states localized at an individual mass kink (zero-modes) in the framework of a generalized Dirac model. The low-temperature thermodynamic properties are dominated by these zero-modes. We use the single-fermion density of states, known to exhibit the Dyson singularity in the zero-energy limit, to construct the thermodynamics of the spin ladder. In particular, we find that the magnetic susceptibility χ diverges at T → 0 as 1/T ln²(1/T), and the specific heat behaves as C 1/ln³(1/T). The predictions on magnetic susceptibility are consistent with the most recent results of quantum Monte Carlo simulations on doped ladders with randomly distributed impurities. We also calculate the average staggered magnetic susceptibility induced in the system by such defects.     

AC losses in high-temperature superconductors: revisiting the fundamentals of the loss modelling

The fundamentals of the electromagnetic modelling of high-temperature superconductors are discussed. Special attention is paid to intrinsic features of high-temperature superconductors different to those of low-temperature superconductors. Examples of those features are strong thermal fluctuations, which results in enhanced flux creep and slanted E(J)-characteristics, anisotropy of critical current density and material resistivity, and the granularity of the material. Having established the fundamental principles for the loss modelling, the influence of thermal fluctuations, anisotropy and granularity on the AC losses are considered.     

Flux creep and flux flow for thallium ceramics in a pulsed magnetic field

The resistive properties of Tl-ceramics with T_c|=0=114 K were investigated in a pulsed magnetic field (B) up to 30 T and in the temperature range of 4.2 K<T<140 K. It was shown that the character of the field dependence of the resistance differs qualitatively in high-and low-temperature regions. At low (T80K) temperatures the dynamic magnetoresistance arising in the sample is analogous to that observed earlier in LaSrCuO [1] and YBaCuO [2] ceramics. This magnetoresistance is defined by the magnetic field variation rate and leads to the appearance of a minimum at the maximum of the magnetic field pulse, i.e. at . In the region of high temperatures (80 K T<T_c) or magnetic fields (at T60K) the sample resistance rises monotonically with B increase, and dynamic resistance is not observed. In this temperature range the existence of a scaling relation is shown (here B^* and T^* meet the condition k=(B^*, T^*)/ _n(T^*)=const) for the ceramics resistance (B,T), which can be represented as . An estimate for the upper critical field B_c2(0)B_o=1030±40 T is obtained.     

The antiferromagnetic Potts model in two dimensions: Berker-Kadanoff phase, antiferromagnetic transition, and the role of Beraha numbers

Using methods of integrable systems and conformal field theory, we study the Q-state Potts model on the square lattice with e^K real. We discover a surprisingly rich phase diagram that involves, besides the usual ferromagnetic critical line, an antiferromagnetic critical line and a Berker-Kadanoff phase (i.e., a massless low-temperature phase with coupling-independent exponents) that has singularities at the Baraha numbers (including Q integer) Q = 4cos²π/n. Critical properties are derived; we show in particular that the Q = 4cos²π/δ antiferromagnetic critical Potts model is in the “Z_δ−2” universality class with c = 2−6/δ. Extensions to other lattices are considered. We discuss the consequences of our results on the coloring problem and the Beraha conjecture. Three appendices deal with the geometrical interpretation of the Temperley-Lieb algebra and U_qsl(2) symmetry in the Potts and associated loops model, and with the vertex-Potts model correspondence in systems with free boundary conditions.     

On the limit distribution of layer block spin variables in the mean spherical model

The limit distribution of the layer block spin variables of the mean spherical model under Neumann–Dirichlet boundary conditions is investigated in the presence of an inhomogeneous external field which changes sign at distance Lx (0x1) from the Neumann boundary. The behaviour of the equation of state is studied in different temperature and field regimes: high-temperature bulk limit, critical finite-size scaling regime, and low-temperature moderate-field regime. A new classes of critical behaviour for the characteristic function of the limit distributions are obtained and studied in the three different regimes.     

Antiferromagnetism and the Kondo behaviour in Ce(Pt1−xPdx)Ga

We present the results of lattice parameters at room temperature, the static magnetic susceptibility and the magnetic resistivity between 1.8 and 300 K, and the low-temperature specific-heat measurements for the series Ce(Pt_1−xPd_x)Ga, (x=0.0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.8 and 1.0). Two maxima in the temperature dependence of the magnetic resistive curve for each sample are observed, one above 100 K, and another at around 4 K, which due to an interplay between crystal-field effect and the Kondo effect. As determined from the peak values of the temperature dependence of the specific heat data C(T), all samples exhibit antiferromagnetic ordering from 1.3 K for CePdGa to 3.4 K for CePtGa. The large reduction of entropy for each sample below T_N is associated with the Kondo effect.     

Landau damping of electrons with bouncing motion in a radio-frequency plasma

One-dimensional particle simulations have been conducted to study the interaction between a radio-frequency electrostatic wave and electrons with bouncing motion. It is shown that bounce resonance heating can occur at the first few harmonics of the bounce frequency (nω_b,n=1,2,3,...). In the parameter regimes in which bounce resonance overlaps with Landau resonance, the higher harmonic bounce resonance may accelerate electrons at the velocity much lower than the wave phase velocity to Landau resonance region, enhancing Landau damping of the wave. Meanwhile, Landau resonance can increase the number of electrons in the lower harmonic bounce resonance region. Thus electrons can be efficiently heated. The result might be applicable for collisionless electron heating in low-temperature plasma discharges.     

Photoluminescence of semiconducting glasses: the role of negative-U centers, and pressure effects

A theoretical model of photoluminescence (PL) in semiconducting glasses is suggested, which is related to negative-U centers and their (two-particle) excitations and from which characteristic PL energies and frequency dependence of the PL intensity are found. An associated mechanism of an anomalous low-temperature thermal quenching of PL is revealed. Pronounced pressure-induced effects in PL are predicted.     

Exponential corrections to low-temperature expansion of 2D non-abelian models

The thermodynamic limit of certain exponential corrections to the weak coupling expansion of two-dimensional models is investigated. The expectation values of operators contributing to the first-order coefficient of the low-temperature expansion of the free energy are calculated for the order O(e^−β). They are proven to diverge logarithmically with the volume for non-abelian models.     

The magnetic critical exponent in the three-state three-dimensional Potts model

We perform a numerical study of the Potts model q=3 in three dimensions with nearest neighbour and next to nearest neighbour couplings by means of the finite-size renormalization group method. The analysis of the magnetic critical exponents is complementary to the one of the thermal critical exponent already presented by us and confirms our conclusions that the transition from the disordered phase to the low-temperature ordered phase is first order.     

Design,fabrication, and characterization of Ti/Au transition-edge sensor with different dimensions of suspended beams

For photon detection, superconducting transition-edge sensor (TES) micro-calorimeters are excellent energy-resolving devices. In this study, we report our recent work in developing Ti-/Au-based TES. The Ti/Au TES devices were designed and implemented with a thickness ratio of 1:1 and different suspended structures using micromachining technology. The characteristics were evaluated and analyzed, including surface morphology, 3D deformation of suspended Ti/Au TES device structure, I-V characteristics, and low-temperature superconductivity. The results showed that the surface of Ti/Au has good homogeneity and the surface roughness of Ti/Au is significantly increased compared with the substrate. The structure of Ti/Au bilayer film significantly affects the deformation of suspended devices, but the deformation does not affect the I-V characteristics of the devices. For devices with the Ti/Au bilayer (150μm×150μm) and beams (100μm×25μm), the transition temperature (T_c) is 253 mK with a width of 6 mK, and the value of the temperature sensitivity α is 95.1.