Precision specific-heat studies of thin superfluid films

Quantum superconductor-insulator transition: implications of BKT critical behavior

We explore the implications of Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) critical behavior on the two-dimensional (2D) quantum superconductor-insulator (QSI) transition driven by the tuning parameter x. Concentrating on the sheet resistance R(x,T) BKT behavior implies: an explicit quantum scaling function for R(x,T) along the superconducting branch ending at the nonuniversal critical value Rc = R(xc); a BKT-transition line T(c)(x) [proportionality] (x - x(c))(zν[overline]), where z is the dynamic exponent and ν[overline] the exponent of the zero-temperature correlation length; independent estimates of zν[overline], z and ν[overline] from the x dependence of the nonuniversal parameters entering the BKT expression for the sheet resistance. To illustrate the potential and the implications of this scenario we analyze the data of Bollinger et al (2011 Nature 472 458) taken on gate voltage tuned epitaxial films of La2-xSrxCuO4 that are one unit cell in thickness. The resulting estimates, z ~/= 3.1 and ν[overline] ~/= 0.52, indicate a clean 2D-QSI critical point where hyperscaling, the proportionality between d/λ(2)(0) and Tc, and the correspondence between the quantum phase transitions in D dimensions and the classical ones in (D + z) dimensions are violated.

Behavior of mesogenic molecules deposited at the alumina-air interface: a deuteron NMR study

Thin molecular depositions of 4(')-pentyl-4-cyonobiphenyl (5CB) mesogenic molecules are investigated via quadrupole-perturbed deuteron nuclear magnetic resonance (DNMR) spectroscopy. Uniform and controlled thickness molecular surface depositions are prepared on the inner cylindrical surfaces of Anopore membranes by the solvent-evaporation technique. As a result, 5CB molecules are found in two different configurations: a bulklike one with parallel axial arrangement, and a surface one with planar radial arrangement. If the 5CB surface coverage exceeds c approximately 0.35, only the bulk state is present. In the coverage range between 0.015 and 0.35, the bulklike state and the surface layer coexist, conforming to a typical dewetting scenario. Below c approximately 0.015, only the surface layer is present. The dilution of the surface deposition with decreasing coverage is manifested as an increase in the DNMR doublet frequency splitting. The surface orientational order parameter Q, the surface biaxiality eta, and the diffusion coefficient D(S) are determined from the DNMR spectral patterns obtained at different sample orientations in the external magnetic field. These angular patterns prove that in highly diluted surface depositions the molecules lie flat on the surface. However, they are not frozen and their molecular axes rapidly reorient on the DNMR measurement time scale, typically 10(-4) s, while remaining confined to the surface. Simultaneously, molecules diffuse over the surface with a surface diffusion constant on the order of 10(-11) m(2) s(-1). Such molecular diffusion is responsible for an effective biaxiality on the DNMR time scale. However, an inherent biaxiality cannot be completely ruled out and thus may play a minor role. The surface phase has a two-dimensional (2D) gas character with some (possible) indicators of 2D-liquid properties.

Deuteron NMR study of monolayer thick films of nematogenic molecules

We present a deuteron NMR study of molecular thickness films of a nematogenic material in cylindrical pores. Compared to liquid crystal in bulk or completely filling the pores, a reduced quadrupole splitting is found. It strongly depends on thickness, but only weakly on temperature, even crossing the bulk nematic-isotropic transition. This demonstrates the presence of a 2D-like film that eventually coexists with a bulklike phase suggesting a dewetting behavior. Motionally averaged angular patterns with biaxiallike features reveal unexpectedly fast surface molecular diffusion.