24,823 research outputs found
X-ray imaging of spin currents and magnetisation dynamics at the nanoscale
Understanding how spins move in time and space is the aim of both fundamental
and applied research in modern magnetism. Over the past three decades, research
in this field has led to technological advances that have had a major impact on
our society, while improving the understanding of the fundamentals of spin
physics. However, important questions still remain unanswered, because it is
experimentally challenging to directly observe spins and their motion with a
combined high spatial and temporal resolution. In this article, we present an
overview of the recent advances in X-ray microscopy that allow researchers to
directly watch spins move in time and space at the microscopically relevant
scales. We discuss scanning X-ray transmission microscopy (STXM) at resonant
soft X-ray edges, which is available at most modern synchrotron light sources.
This technique measures magnetic contrast through the X-ray magnetic circular
dichroism (XMCD) effect at the resonant absorption edges, while focusing the
X-ray radiation at the nanometre scale, and using the intrinsic pulsed
structure of synchrotron-generated X-rays to create time-resolved images of
magnetism at the nanoscale. In particular, we discuss how the presence of spin
currents can be detected by imaging spin accumulation, and how the
magnetisation dynamics in thin ferromagnetic films can be directly imaged. We
discuss how a direct look at the phenomena allows for a deeper understanding of
the the physics at play, that is not accessible to other, more indirect
techniques. Finally, we present an overview of the exciting opportunities that
lie ahead to further understand the fundamentals of novel spin physics,
opportunities offered by the appearance of diffraction limited storage rings
and free electron lasers.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figure
Magnetic Vortex Resonance in Patterned Ferromagnetic Dots
We report a high-resolution experimental detection of the resonant behavior
of magnetic vortices confined in small disk-shaped ferromagnetic dots. The
samples are magnetically soft Fe-Ni disks of diameter 1.1 and 2.2 um, and
thickness 20 and 40 nm patterned via electron beam lithography onto microwave
co-planar waveguides. The vortex excitation spectra were probed by a vector
network analyzer operating in reflection mode, which records the derivative of
the real and the imaginary impedance as a function of frequency. The spectra
show well-defined resonance peaks in magnetic fields smaller than the
characteristic vortex annihilation field. Resonances at 162 and 272 MHz were
detected for 2.2 and 1.1 um disks with thickness 40 nm, respectively. A
resonance peak at 83 MHz was detected for 20-nm thick, 2-um diameter disks. The
resonance frequencies exhibit weak field dependence, and scale as a function of
the dot geometrical aspect ratio. The measured frequencies are well described
by micromagnetic and analytical calculations that rely only on known properties
of the dots (such as the dot diameter, thickness, saturation magnetization, and
exchange stiffness constant) without any adjustable parameters. We find that
the observed resonance originates from the translational motion of the magnetic
vortex core.Comment: submitted to PRB, 17 pages, 5 Fig
Supersonic optical tunnels for Bose-Einstein condensates
We propose a method for the stabilisation of a stack of parallel vortex rings
in a Bose-Einstein condensate. The method makes use of a hollow laser beam
containing an optical vortex. Using realistic experimental parameters we
demonstrate numerically that our method can stabilise up to 9 vortex rings.
Furthermore we point out that the condensate flow through the tunnel formed by
the core of the optical vortex can be made supersonic by inserting a
laser-generated hump potential. We show that long-living immobile condensate
solitons generated in the tunnel exhibit sonic horizons. Finally, we discuss
prospects of using these solitons for analogue gravity experiments.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, published versio
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