We consider the interplay between superconducting (SC) and commensurate spin-density-wave (SDW) orders in iron pnictides by analyzing a multiple-order Ginzburg–Landau free energy. We are particularly interested in whether the doping-induced transition between the two states is first order or whether the two pure phases are separated by an intermediate phase with coexisting SC and SDW orders. Fo...

A general method is known to exist for studying Abelian and non-Abelian gauge theories, as well as Euclidean quantum gravity, at one-loop level on manifolds with boundary. In the latter case, boundary conditions on metric perturbations h can be chosen to be completely invariant under infinitesimal diffeomorphisms, to preserve the invariance group of the theory and BRST symmetry. In the de Donde...

The distortion field defined by the ellipticities of galaxy shapes as projected on the sky can be uniquely decomposed into a gradient and a curl component. If the observed ellipticities are induced by weak gravitational lensing, then the distortion field is curl free. Here we show that, in contrast, the distortion field resulting from intrinsic spin alignments is not curl free. This provides a ...

The ESA Euclid mission aims to answer the question of how the universe originated through the mapping of the dark Universe. One method to investigate this geometry is to measure subtle changes in ellipticity using image sensors such as the CCD. However, the radiation environment in space plays a major part in the performance of CCD-based camera systems. When placed in space, a CCD becomes damag...