434 research outputs found
Spin injection and spin accumulation in permalloy-copper mesoscopic spin valves
We study the electrical injection and detection of spin currents in a lateral
spin valve device, using permalloy (Py) as ferromagnetic injecting and
detecting electrodes and copper (Cu) as non-magnetic metal. Our multi-terminal
geometry allows us to experimentally distinguish different magneto resistance
signals, being 1) the spin valve effect, 2) the anomalous magneto resistance
(AMR) effect and 3) Hall effects. We find that the AMR contribution of the Py
contacts can be much bigger than the amplitude of the spin valve effect, making
it impossible to observe the spin valve effect in a 'conventional' measurement
geometry. However, these 'contact' magneto resistance signals can be used to
monitor the magnetization reversal process, making it possible to determine the
magnetic switching fields of the Py contacts of the spin valve device. In a
'non local' spin valve measurement we are able to completely isolate the spin
valve signal and observe clear spin accumulation signals at T=4.2 K as well as
at room temperature. We obtain spin diffusion lengths in copper of 1 micrometer
and 350 nm at T=4.2 K and room temperature respectively.Comment: 8 pages (incl. figures), 7 figures, RevTex, conferenc
Magnetohydrodynamics spectrum of gravitating plane plasmas with flow.
The ideal magnetohydrodynamic spectrum of gravitating plane plasmas with equilibrium flow is investigated. Flow makes the spectral problem non-self-adjoint, so that the spectrum can become overstable. The criteria for cluster spectra to appear are derived analytically and both stable and unstable sides of the spectrum are examined numerically. Above certain critical values of the shear flow at the resonant surface, the gravitating interchange modes disappear However, the local extrema of the continua can then take over the cluster spectrum
All-photochemical rotation of molecular motors with a phosphorus stereoelement
Unidirectional molecular rotation based on alternating photochemical and thermal isomerizations of overcrowded alkenes is well established, but rotary cycles based purely on photochemical isomerizations are rare. Herein we report three new second-generation molecular motors featuring a phosphorus center in the lower half, which engenders a unique element of axial chirality. These motors exhibit unusual behavior, in that all four diastereomeric states can interconvert solely photochemically. Kinetic analysis and modeling reveal that the behavior of the new motors is consistent with all-photochemical unidirectional rotation. Furthermore, X-ray crystal structures of all four diastereomeric states of two of these new motors were obtained, which constitute the first achievements of crystallographic characterization of the full 360° rotational cycle of overcrowded-alkene-based molecular motors. Finally, the axial phosphorus stereoelement in the phosphine motor can be thermally inverted, and this epimerization enables a “shortcut” of the traditional rotational cycle of these compounds
Crystal structures and freezing of dipolar fluids
We investigate the crystal structure of classical systems of spherical
particles with an embedded point dipole at T=0. The ferroelectric ground state
energy is calculated using generalizations of the Ewald summation technique.
Due to the reduced symmetry compared to the nonpolar case the crystals are
never strictly cubic. For the Stockmayer (i.e., Lennard-Jones plus dipolar)
interaction three phases are found upon increasing the dipole moment:
hexagonal, body-centered orthorhombic, and body-centered tetragonal. An even
richer phase diagram arises for dipolar soft spheres with a purely repulsive
inverse power law potential . A crossover between qualitatively
different sequences of phases occurs near the exponent . The results are
applicable to electro- and magnetorheological fluids. In addition to the exact
ground state analysis we study freezing of the Stockmayer fluid by
density-functional theory.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.
Theorem on the Distribution of Short-Time Particle Displacements with Physical Applications
The distribution of the initial short-time displacements of particles is
considered for a class of classical systems under rather general conditions on
the dynamics and with Gaussian initial velocity distributions, while the
positions could have an arbitrary distribution. This class of systems contains
canonical equilibrium of a Hamiltonian system as a special case. We prove that
for this class of systems the nth order cumulants of the initial short-time
displacements behave as the 2n-th power of time for all n>2, rather than
exhibiting an nth power scaling. This has direct applications to the initial
short-time behavior of the Van Hove self-correlation function, to its
non-equilibrium generalizations the Green's functions for mass transport, and
to the non-Gaussian parameters used in supercooled liquids and glasses.Comment: A less ambiguous mathematical notation for cumulants was adopted and
several passages were reformulated and clarified. 40 pages, 1 figure.
Accepted by J. Stat. Phy
Predicting mental imagery based BCI performance from personality, cognitive profile and neurophysiological patterns
Mental-Imagery based Brain-Computer Interfaces (MI-BCIs) allow their users to send commands
to a computer using their brain-activity alone (typically measured by ElectroEncephaloGraphy—
EEG), which is processed while they perform specific mental tasks. While very
promising, MI-BCIs remain barely used outside laboratories because of the difficulty
encountered by users to control them. Indeed, although some users obtain good control
performances after training, a substantial proportion remains unable to reliably control an
MI-BCI. This huge variability in user-performance led the community to look for predictors of
MI-BCI control ability. However, these predictors were only explored for motor-imagery
based BCIs, and mostly for a single training session per subject. In this study, 18 participants
were instructed to learn to control an EEG-based MI-BCI by performing 3 MI-tasks, 2
of which were non-motor tasks, across 6 training sessions, on 6 different days. Relationships
between the participants’ BCI control performances and their personality, cognitive
profile and neurophysiological markers were explored. While no relevant relationships with
neurophysiological markers were found, strong correlations between MI-BCI performances
and mental-rotation scores (reflecting spatial abilities) were revealed. Also, a predictive
model of MI-BCI performance based on psychometric questionnaire scores was proposed.
A leave-one-subject-out cross validation process revealed the stability and reliability of this
model: it enabled to predict participants’ performance with a mean error of less than 3
points. This study determined how users’ profiles impact their MI-BCI control ability and
thus clears the way for designing novel MI-BCI training protocols, adapted to the profile of
each user
Harmonic Solid Theory of Photoluminescence in the High Field Two-Dimensional Wigner Crystal
Motivated by recent experiments on radiative recombination of two-dimensional
electrons in acceptor doped GaAs-AlGaAs heterojunctions as well as the success
of a harmonic solid model in describing tunneling between two-dimensional
electron systems, we calculate within the harmonic approximation and the time
dependent perturbation theory the line shape of the photoluminescence spectrum
corresponding to the recombination of an electron with a hole bound to an
acceptor atom. The recombination process is modeled as a sudden perturbation of
the Hamiltonian for the in-plane degrees of freedom of the electron. We include
in the perturbation, in addition to changes in the equilibrium positions of
electrons, changes in the curvatures of the harmonically approximated
potential. The computed spectra have line shapes similar to that seen in a
recent experiment. The spectral width, however, is roughly a factor of 3
smaller than that seen in experiment if one assumes a perfect Wigner crystal
for the initial state state of the system, whereas a simple random disorder
model yields a width a factor of 3 too large. We speculate on the possible
mechanisms that may lead to better quantitative agreement with experiment.Comment: 22 pages, RevTex, 8 figures. Submitted to the Physical Review
Statistical Mechanics of Vacancy and Interstitial Strings in Hexagonal Columnar Crystals
Columnar crystals contain defects in the form of vacancy/interstitial loops
or strings of vacancies and interstitials bounded by column ``heads'' and
``tails''. These defect strings are oriented by the columnar lattice and can
change size and shape by movement of the ends and forming kinks along the
length. Hence an analysis in terms of directed living polymers is appropriate
to study their size and shape distribution, volume fraction, etc. If the
entropy of transverse fluctuations overcomes the string line tension in the
crystalline phase, a string proliferation transition occurs, leading to a
supersolid phase. We estimate the wandering entropy and examine the behaviour
in the transition regime. We also calculate numerically the line tension of
various species of vacancies and interstitials in a triangular lattice for
power-law potentials as well as for a modified Bessel function interaction
between columns as occurs in the case of flux lines in type-II superconductors
or long polyelectrolytes in an ionic solution. We find that the centered
interstitial is the lowest energy defect for a very wide range of interactions;
the symmetric vacancy is preferred only for extremely short interaction ranges.Comment: 22 pages (revtex), 15 figures (encapsulated postscript
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