Asymmetric Little–Parks oscillations in full shell double nanowires

Little–Parks oscillations of a hollow superconducting cylinder are of interest for flux-driven topological superconductivity in single Rashba nanowires. The oscillations are typically symmetric in the orientation of the applied magnetic flux. Using double InAs nanowires coated by an epitaxial superconducting Al shell which, despite the non-centro-symmetric geometry, behaves effectively as one hollow cylinder, we demonstrate that a small misalignment of the applied parallel field with respect to the axis of the nanowires can produce field-asymmetric Little–Parks oscillations. These are revealed by the simultaneous application of a magnetic field perpendicular to the misaligned parallel field direction. The asymmetry occurs in both the destructive regime, in which superconductivity is destroyed for half-integer quanta of flux through the shell, and in the non-destructive regime, where superconductivity is depressed but not fully destroyed at these flux values.

Setting the scene for BUFFALO: a study of the matter distribution in the HFF galaxy cluster MACS J0416.1−2403 and its parallel field

ABSTRACT In the context of the Beyond Ultradeep Frontier Fields And Legacy Observations (BUFFALO) survey, we present a new analysis of the merging galaxy cluster MACS J0416.1−2403 (z = 0.397) and its parallel field using Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF) data. We measure the surface mass density from a weak-lensing analysis and characterize the overall matter distribution in both the cluster and parallel fields. The surface mass distribution derived for the parallel field shows clumpy overdensities connected by filament-like structures elongated in the direction of the cluster core. We also characterize the X-ray emission in the parallel field and compare it with the lensing mass distribution. We identify five mass peaks at the >5σ level over the two fields, four of them being in the cluster one. Three of them are located close to galaxy overdensities and one is also close to an excess in the X-ray emission. Nevertheless, two of them have neither optical nor X-ray counterpart and are located close to the edges of the field of view, thus further studies are needed to confirm them as substructures. Finally, we compare our results with the predicted subhalo distribution of one of the Hydrangea/C-EAGLE simulated cluster. Significant differences are obtained suggesting the simulated cluster is at a more advanced evolutionary stage than MACS J0416.1−2403. Our results anticipate the upcoming BUFFALO observations that will link the two HFF fields, extending further the HST coverage.

Anisotropic Temperature-Dependent Interaction of Ferromagnetic Nanoparticles Embedded Inside CNT

We analyze the magnetization versus magnetic field curves of Fe-based nanoparticles embedded inside CNT. Measurements were performed at different temperatures and orientations of the magnetic field. We demonstrate that, for the parallel field the magnetic anisotropy dominates and the coherent anisotropy is of great importance at low temperatures. At high temperatures, the exchange coupling becomes stronger, but the coherent anisotropy still occurs. For the perpendicular field, the coherence anisotropy is absent, and the dimensionality of the system reduces to 2D. The results are discussed in the framework of the correlation functions of the magnetic anisotropy axes.