High quality factor photonic cavity for dark matter axion searches.

Searches for dark matter axions involve the use of microwave resonant cavities operating in a strong magnetic field. Detector sensitivity is directly related to the cavity quality factor, which is limited, until recently, to the use of non-superconducting metals by the presence of the external magnetic field. In this paper, we present a cavity of novel design whose quality factor is not affected by a magnetic field. It is based on a photonic structure by the use of sapphire rods. The quality factor at cryogenic temperature is in excess of 5 × 105 for a selected mode.

Axion Search with a Quantum-Limited Ferromagnetic Haloscope.

A ferromagnetic axion haloscope searches for dark matter in the form of axions by exploiting their interaction with electronic spins. It is composed of an axion-to-electromagnetic field transducer coupled to a sensitive rf detector. The former is a photon-magnon hybrid system, and the latter is based on a quantum-limited Josephson parametric amplifier. The hybrid system consists of ten 2.1 mm diameter yttrium iron garnet spheres coupled to a single microwave cavity mode by means of a static magnetic field. Our setup is the most sensitive rf spin magnetometer ever realized. The minimum detectable field is 5.5×10^{-19} T with 9 h integration time, corresponding to a limit on the axion-electron coupling constant g_{aee}≤1.7×10^{-11} at 95% C.L. The scientific run of our haloscope resulted in the best limit on dark matter axions to electron coupling constant in a frequency span of about 120 MHz, corresponding to the axion-mass range 42.4-43.1 µeV. This is also the first apparatus to perform a wide axion-mass scanning by only changing the static magnetic field.

Transfer characteristics and contact resistance in Ni- and Ti-contacted graphene-based field-effect transistors.

We produced graphene-based field-effect transistors by contacting mono- and bi-layer graphene by sputtering Ni or Ti as metal electrodes. We performed electrical characterization of the devices by measuring their transfer and output characteristics. We clearly observed the presence of a double-dip feature in the conductance curve for Ni-contacted transistors, and we explain it in terms of charge transfer and graphene doping under the metal contacts. We also studied the contact resistance between the graphene and the metal electrodes with larger values of ~30 kΩµm(2) recorded for Ti contacts. Importantly, we prove that the contact resistance is modulated by the back-gate voltage.

Condylar-mandibular asymmetry, a reality.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the possibility to recognize a condylar-mandibular asymmetry through a panoramic radiograph. Results from a previous work, in which 100 skulls from the Museum of the Institute of Anatomy of the University of Pavia were studied and measured, showed the presence of asymmetry. Using the same skulls we examined the possible correlation between morphological and radiological data. We did not find out correlation's between the condylar asymmetry evaluated at the anatomical level and the radiological asymmetry which was indeed found. This is probably due to the different positioning of the jaws during the two different measuring processes. Nevertheless our results confirm the daily experience of dentistry: asymmetry of mandibular condyle can be one of the mayor causes for the asymmetry of the stomatognatic apparatus.