Longitudinal spin transfer of Lambda and anti-Lambda in polarized pp collisions at sqrt s=200 GeV at STAR

We report our measurement on longitudinal spin transfer, D_LL, from high energy polarized protons to $Lambda$ and $bar{Lambda}$ hyperons in proton-proton collisions at $sqrt{s} = 200 GeV$ with the STAR detector at RHIC. The current measurements cover $Lambda$, $barLambda$ pseudorapidity $|eta| < 1.2$ and transverse momenta $p_T$ up to $4GeV/c$ using the data taken in 2005. The longitudinal spin transfer is found to be D_LL= -0.03pm 0.13 (stat) pm 0.04(syst)$ for inclusive $Lambda$ and $D_{LL} = -0.12 pm 0.08(stat) pm 0.03(syst)$ for inclusive $bar{Lambda}$ hyperons with $<eta> = 0.5$ and $<p_T> = 3.7 GeV/c$. The prospects with 2009 data and the future measurements are also given.

The longitudinal polarization of hyperons in the forward region in polarized $pp$ collisions

We study the longitudinal polarization of hyperons and anti-hyperons at forward pseudorapidity, $2.5<eta<4$, in singly polarized $pp$ collisions at RHIC energies by using different parameterizations of the polarized parton densities and different models for the polarized fragmentation functions. The results show that the $Sigma^+$ polarization is able to distinguish different pictures on spin transfer in high energy fragmentation processes; and the polarization of $Lambda$ and $barLambda$ hyperons can provide sensitivity to the helicity distribution of strange sea quarks. The influence from beam remnant to hyperon polarization in the forward region is also discussed.

Universal critical behavior in single crystals and films of YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$

We have studied the normal-to-superconducting phase transition in optimally-doped YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ in zero external magnetic field using a variety of different samples and techniques. Using DC transport measurements, we find that the dynamical critical exponent $z=1.54pm0.14$, and the static critical exponent $ u=0.66pm0.10$ for both films (when finite-thickness effects are included in the data analysis) and single crystals (where finite-thickness effects are unimportant). We also measured thin films at different microwave frequencies and at different powers, which allowed us to systematically probe different length scales to avoid finite-thickness effects. DC transport measurements were also performed on the films used in the microwave experiments to provide a further consistency check. These microwave and DC measurements yielded a value of z consistent with the other results, $z=1.55pm0.15$. The neglect of finite-thickness, finite-current, and finite-frequency effects may account for the wide ranges of values for $ u$ and $z$ previously reported in the literature.

Dynamical scaling of $YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-delta}$ thin film conductivity in zero field

We study dynamic fluctuation effects of $YBa_2Cu_3O_{7-delta}$ thin films in zero field around $T_c$ by doing frequency-dependent microwave conductivity measurements at different powers. The length scales probed in the experiments are varied systematically allowing us to analyze data which are not affected by the finite thickness of the films, and to observe single-parameter scaling. DC current-voltage characteristics have also been measured to independently probe fluctuations in the same samples. The combination of DC and microwave measurements allows us to precisely determine critical parameters. Our results give a dynamical scaling exponent $z=1.55pm0.15$, which is consistent with model E-dynamics.

Frequency- and electric-field-dependent conductivity of single-walled carbon nanotube networks of varying density

We present measurements of the frequency and electric field dependent conductivity of single walled carbon nanotube(SWCNT) networks of various densities. The ac conductivity as a function of frequency is consistent with the extended pair approximation model and increases with frequency above an onset frequency $omega_0$ which varies over seven decades with a range of film thickness from sub-monolayer to 200 nm. The nonlinear electric field-dependent DC conductivity shows strong dependence on film thickness as well. Measurement of the electric field dependence of the resistance R(E) allows for the determination of a length scale $L_{E}$ possibly characterizing the distance between tube contacts, which is found to systematically decrease with increasing film thickness. The onset frequency $omega_0$ of ac conductivity and the length scale $L_{E}$ of SWCNT networks are found to be correlated, and a physically reasonable empirical formula relating them has been proposed. Such studies will help the understanding of transport properties and benefit the applications of this material system.

Concentration of the Spectral Measure for Large Random Matrices with Stable Entries

We derive concentration inequalities for functions of the empirical measure of large random matrices with infinitely divisible entries and, in particular, stable ones. We also give concentration results for some other functionals of these random matrices, such as the largest eigenvalue or the largest singular value.