Comment on "Quantitative x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy: Quadrupole effects, shake up, Shirley background, and relative sensitivity factors from a database of true x-ray photoelectron spectra"

This Comment demonstrates that a comparison analysis by Seah and Gilmore between experimental data on the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy intensities and theoretical data by Trzhaskovskaya et al. is misleading due to a number of serious errors made by Seah and Gilmore (Phys. Rev. B, 73, 174113).Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Nonsingular vortices in (s+d)-wave superconductors

The structure of a single flux line in (s+d)-wave superconductors has been analyzed within the Ginzburg-Landau (GL) model generalized for two order parameter components. The fourfold symmetric singular vortex solution is shown to be unstable in a certain range of the GL parameters with respect to the mutual shift of s- and d- wave unit vortices. The resulting nonsingular vortex structure is studied both analytically and numerically.Comment: 2 pages, 2 eps figures, M2S-HTSC-VI conference paper, using Elsevier style espcrc2.st

Magnetization reversal of ferromagnetic nanodisc placed above a superconductor

Using numerical simulation we have studied a magnetization distribution and a process of magnetization reversal in nanoscale magnets placed above a superconductor plane. In order to consider an influence of superconductor on magnetization distribution in the nanomagnet we have used London approximation. We have found that for usual values of London penetration depth the ground state magnetization is mostly unchanged. But at the same time the fields of vortex nucleation and annihilation change significantly: the interval where vortex is stable enlarges on 100-200 Oe for the particle above the superconductor. Such fields are experimentally observable so there is a possibility of some practical applications of this effect.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure

Solving the difference initial-boundary value problems by the operator exponential method

We suggest a modification of the operator exponential method for the numerical solving the difference linear initial boundary value problems. The scheme is based on the representation of the difference operator for given boundary conditions as the perturbation of the same operator for periodic ones. We analyze the error, stability and efficiency of the scheme for a model example of the one-dimensional operator of second difference

Electromagnetic wave refraction at an interface of a double wire medium

Plane-wave reflection and refraction at an interface with a double wire medium is considered. The problem of additional boundary conditions (ABC) in application to wire media is discussed and an ABC-free approach, known in the solid state physics, is used. Expressions for the fields and Poynting vectors of the refracted waves are derived. Directions and values of the power density flow of the refracted waves are found and the conservation of the power flow through the interface is checked. The difference between the results, given by the conventional model of wire media and the model, properly taking into account spatial dispersion, is discussed.Comment: 17 pages, 11 figure

Localization of superconductivity in superconductor-electromagnet hybrids

We investigate the nucleation of superconductivity in a superconducting Al strip under the influence of the magnetic field generated by a current-carrying Nb wire, perpendicularly oriented and located underneath the strip. The inhomogeneous magnetic field, induced by the Nb wire, produces a spatial modulation of the critical temperature T_c, leading to a controllable localization of the superconducting order parameter (OP) wave function. We demonstrate that close to the phase boundary T_c(B_ext) the localized OP solution can be displaced reversibly by either applying an external perpendicular magnetic field B_ext or by changing the amplitude of the inhomogeneous field.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Hybridization and interference effects for localized superconducting states in strong magnetic field

Within the Ginzburg-Landau model we study the critical field and temperature enhancement for crossing superconducting channels formed either along the sample edges or domain walls in thin-film magnetically coupled superconducting - ferromagnetic bilayers. The corresponding Cooper pair wave function can be viewed as a hybridization of two order parameter (OP) modes propagating along the boundaries and/or domain walls. Different momenta of hybridized OP modes result in the formation of vortex chains outgoing from the crossing point of these channels. Near this crossing point the wave functions of the modes merge giving rise to the increase in the critical temperature for a localized superconducting state. The origin of this critical temperature enhancement caused by the wave function squeezing is illustrated for a limiting case of approaching parallel boundaries and/or domain walls. Using both the variational method and numerical simulations we have studied the critical temperature dependence and OP structure vs the applied magnetic field and the angle between the crossing channels.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figure

Mesoscopic cross-film cryotrons: Vortex trapping and dc-Josephson-like oscillations of the critical current

We investigate theoretically and experimentally the transport properties of a plain Al superconducting strip in the presence of a single straight current-carrying wire, oriented perpendicular to the superconducting strip. It is well known that the critical current of the superconducting strip, Ic, in such cryotron--like system can be tuned by changing the current in the control wire, Iw. We demonstrated that the discrete change in the number of the pinned vortices/antivortices inside the narrow and long strip nearby the current-carrying wire results in a peculiar oscillatory dependence of Ic on Iw.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Magnetic-field-induced crossover from the inverse Faraday effect to the optical orientation in EuTe

A time-resolved optical pump-probe technique has been applied for studying the ultrafast dynamics in the magnetic semiconductor EuTe near the absorption band gap. We show that application of external magnetic field up to 6 T results in crossover from the inverse Faraday effect taking place on the femtosecond time scale to the optical orientation phenomenon with an evolution in the picosecond time domain. We propose a model which includes both these processes possessing different spectral and temporal properties. The circularly polarized optical pumping induces the optical electronic transition $4f^75d^0 \rightarrow 4f^65d^1$ forming the absorption band gap in EuTe. The observed crossover is related to a strong magnetic-field shift of the band gap in EuTe at low temperatures. It was found that manipulation of spin states on intrinsic defect levels takes place on a time scale of 19 ps in the applied magnetic field of 6 T.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure