Charge Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition in superconducting NbTiN films.

Three decades after the prediction of charge-vortex duality in the critical vicinity of the two-dimensional superconductor-insulator transition (SIT), one of the fundamental implications of this duality-the charge Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) transition that should occur on the insulating side of the SIT-has remained unobserved. The dual picture of the process points to the existence of a superinsulating state endowed with zero conductance at finite temperature. Here, we report the observation of the charge BKT transition on the insulating side of the SIT in 10 nm thick NbTiN films, identified by the BKT critical behavior of the temperature and magnetic field dependent resistance, and map out the magnetic-field dependence of the critical temperature of the charge BKT transition. Finally, we ascertain the effects of the finite electrostatic screening length and its divergence at the magnetic field-tuned approach to the superconductor-insulator transition.

Chaotic advection in a 2-D mixed convection flow.

Two-dimensional numerical simulations of particle advection in a channel flow with spatially periodic heating have been carried out. The velocity field is found to be periodic above a critical Rayleigh number of around 18 000 and a Reynolds number of 10. Particle motion becomes chaotic in the lower half plane almost immediately after this critical value is surpassed, as characterized by the power spectral density and Poincare section of the flow. As the Rayleigh number is increased further, particle motion in the entire domain becomes chaotic. (c) 1995 American Institute of Physics.