(today) SrRuO3 is a metallic ferromagnet. Its electrical resistivity is reported for temperatures up to 1000K; its Hall coefficient for temperatures up to 300K; its specific heat for temperatures up to 230K. The energy bands have been calculated by self-consistent spin-density functional theory, which finds a ferromagnetic ordered moment of 1.45µB per Ru atom. The measured linear specific heat coefficient γ is 30mJ/mole, which exceeds the theoretical value by a factor of 3.7. A transport mean free path at room temperature of ≈ 10Å is found. The resistivity increases nearly linearly with temperature to 1000K in spite of such a short mean free path that resistivity saturation would be expected. The Hall coefficient is small and positive above the Curie temperature, and exhibits both a low-field and a high-field anomalous behavior below the Curie temperature.65.40. Em,75.40.Cx,71.25.Pi,72.15.Eb,72.15.Gd

The Fermi surface of rare-earth tri-tellurides (RTe3) is investigated in terms of the nesting driven charge-density wave formation using positron annihilation and first-principles LMTO calculations. Fermi surface nesting is revealed as a strong candidate for driving charge-density wave formation in these compounds. The nesting vector obtained from positron annihilation experiments on GdTe3 is determined to be q = (0.28 ± 0.02, 0, 0) a * , (a * = 2π/a), in excellent agreement with previous experimental and theoretical studies.

We present electronic-structure calculations, electrical resistivity data, and the first specific-heat measurements in the normal and superconducting states of quasi-one-dimensional M 2 Mo 6 Se 6 ͑M =Tl,In,Rb͒. Rb 2 Mo 6 Se 6 undergoes a metal-insulator transition at ϳ170 K: electronic-structure calculations indicate that this is likely to be driven by the formation of a dynamical charge-density wave. However, Tl 2 Mo 6 Se 6 and In 2 Mo 6 Se 6 remain metallic down to low temperature, with superconducting transitions at T c = 4.2 K and 2.85 K, respectively. The absence of any metal-insulator transition in these materials is due to a larger in-plane bandwidth, leading to increased interchain hopping which suppresses the density wave instability. Electronic heat-capacity data for the superconducting compounds reveal an exceptionally low density of states D E F = 0.055 states eV −1 atom −1 , with BCS fits showing 2⌬ / k B T c Ն 5 for Tl 2 Mo 6 Se 6 and 3.5 for In 2 Mo 6 Se 6 . Modeling the lattice specific heat with a set of Einstein modes, we obtain the approximate phonon density of states F͑͒. Deconvolving the resistivity for the two superconductors then yields their electron-phonon transport coupling function ␣ tr 2 F͑͒. In Tl 2 Mo 6 Se 6 and In 2 Mo 6 Se 6 , F͑͒ is dominated by an optical "guest ion" mode at ϳ5 meV and a set of acoustic modes from ϳ10 to 30 meV. Rb 2 Mo 6 Se 6 exhibits a similar spectrum; however, the optical phonon has a lower intensity and is shifted to ϳ8 meV. Electrons in Tl 2 Mo 6 Se 6 couple strongly to both sets of modes, whereas In 2 Mo 6 Se 6 only displays significant coupling in the 10-18 meV range. Although pairing is clearly not mediated by the guest ion phonon, we believe it has a beneficial effect on superconductivity in Tl 2 Mo 6 Se 6 , given its extraordinarily large coupling strength and higher T c compared to In 2 Mo 6 Se 6 .

We present the design, motion planning and control of an aerial manipulator for non-trivial physical interaction tasks, such as pushing while sliding on curved surfaces-a task which is motivated by the increasing interest in autonomous non-destructive tests for industrial plants. The proposed aerial manipulator consists of a multidirectional-thrust aerial vehicle-to enhance physical interaction capabilities-endowed with a 2-DoFs lightweight arm-to enlarge its workspace. This combination makes it a truly-redundant manipulator going beyond standard aerial manipulators based on collinear multirotor platforms. The controller is based on a PID method with a 'displaced' positional part that ensures asymptotic stability despite the arm elasticity. A kinodynamic task-constrained and control-aware global motion planner is used. Experiments show that the proposed aerial manipulator system, equipped with an Eddy Current probe, is able to scan a metallic pipe sliding the sensor over its surface and preserving the contact. From the measures, a weld on the pipe is successfully detected and mapped.

The rare earth nickel borocarbides, with the generic formula RNi2B2C, have recently been shown to display a rich variety of phenomena. Most striking has been the competition between, and even coexistence of, antiferromagnetism and superconductivity. We have measured the Fermi surface (FS) of LuNi2B2C, and shown that it possesses nesting features capable of explaining some of the phenomena experimentally observed. In particular, it had previously been conjectured that a particular sheet of FS is responsible for the modulated magnetic structures manifest in some of the series. We report the first direct experimental observation of this sheet.