213 research outputs found
Dynamics of the magnetic and structural a -> e phase transition in Iron
We have studied the high-pressure iron bcc to hcp phase transition by
simultaneous X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism (XMCD) and X-ray Absorption
Spectroscopy (XAS) with an X-ray dispersive spectrometer. The combination of
the two techniques allows us to obtain simultaneously information on both the
structure and the magnetic state of Iron under pressure. The magnetic and
structural transitions simultaneously observed are sharp. Both are of first
order in agreement with theoretical prediction. The pressure domain of the
transition observed (2.4 0.2 GPa) is narrower than that usually cited in
the literature (8 GPa). Our data indicate that the magnetic transition slightly
precedes the structural one, suggesting that the origin of the instability of
the bcc phase in iron with increasing pressure is to be attributed to the
effect of pressure on magnetism as predicted by spin-polarized full potential
total energy calculations
Inequivalent routes across the Mott transition in V2O3 explored by X-ray absorption
The changes in the electronic structure of V2O3 across the metal-insulator
transition induced by temperature, doping and pressure are identified using
high resolution x-ray absorption spectroscopy at the V pre K-edge. Contrary to
what has been taken for granted so far, the metallic phase reached under
pressure is shown to differ from the one obtained by changing doping or
temperature. Using a novel computational scheme, we relate this effect to the
role and occupancy of the a1g orbitals. This finding unveils the inequivalence
of different routes across the Mott transition in V2O
A new internally heated diamond anvil cell system for time-resolved optical and x-ray measurements
We have developed a new internally heated diamond anvil cell (DAC) system for in situ high-pressure and high-temperature x-ray and optical experiments. We have adopted a self-heating W/Re gasket design allowing for both sample confinement and heating. This solution has been seldom used in the past but proved to be very efficient to reduce the size of the heating spot near the sample region, improving heating and cooling rates as compared to other resistive heating strategies. The system has been widely tested under high-temperature conditions by performing several thermal emission measurements. A robust relationship between electric power and average sample temperature inside the DAC has been established up to about 1500 K by a measurement campaign on different simple substances. A micro-Raman spectrometer was used for various in situ optical measurements and allowed us to map the temperature distribution of the sample. The distribution resulted to be uniform within the typical uncertainty of these measurements (5% at 1000 K). The high-temperature performances of the DAC were also verified in a series of XAS (x-ray absorption spectroscopy) experiments using both nano-polycrystalline and single-crystal diamond anvils. XAS measurements of germanium at 3.5 GPa were obtained in the 300 K-1300 K range, studying the melting transition and nucleation to the crystal phase. The achievable heating and cooling rates of the DAC were studied exploiting a XAS dispersive setup, collecting series of near-edge XAS spectra with sub-second time resolution. An original XAS-based dynamical temperature calibration procedure was developed and used to monitor the sample and diamond temperatures during the application of constant power cycles, indicating that heating and cooling rates in the 100 K/s range can be easily achieved using this device
Magnetic circular dichroism of x-ray absorption spectroscopy at rare-earth L2,3 edges in RE2Fe14B compounds (RE = La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu)
Magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) in the x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS)
at the L2,3 edges for almost entire series of rare-earth (RE) elements in
RE2Fe14B, is studied experimentally and theoretically. By a quantitative
comparison of the complicated MCD spectral shapes, we find that (i) the 4f-5d
intra-atomic exchange interaction not only induces the spin and orbital
polarization of the 5d states, which is vital for the MCD spectra of the
electric dipole transition from the 2p core states to the empty 5d conduction
band, but also it accompanies a contraction of the radial part of the 5d wave
function depending on its spin and orbital state, which results in the
enhancement of the 2p-5d dipole matrix element, (ii) there are cases where the
spin polarization of the 5d states due to the hybridization with the spin
polarized 3d states of surrounding irons plays important roles, and (iii) the
electric quadrupole transition from the 2p core states to the magnetic vale!
nce 4f states is appreciable at the pre-edge region of the dipole spectrum.
Especially, our results evidence that it is important to include the
enhancement effect of the dipole matrix element in the correct interpretation
of the MCD spectra at the RE L2,3 edges.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, REVTe
Quiescience as a mechanism for cyclical hypoxia and acidosis
Tumour tissue characteristically experiences fluctuations in substrate supply. This unstable microenvironment drives constitutive metabolic changes within cellular populations and, ultimately, leads to a more aggressive phenotype. Previously, variations in substrate levels were assumed to occur through oscillations in the hæmodynamics of nearby and distant blood vessels. In this paper we examine an alternative hypothesis, that cycles of metabolite concentrations are also driven by cycles of cellular quiescence and proliferation. Using a mathematical modelling approach, we show that the interdependence between cell cycle and the microenvironment will induce typical cycles with the period of order hours in tumour acidity and oxygenation. As a corollary, this means that the standard assumption of metabolites entering diffusive equilibrium around the tumour is not valid; instead temporal dynamics must be considered
Rare earth contributions to the X-ray magnetic circular dichroism at the Co K edge in rare earth-cobalt compounds investigated by multiple-scattering calculations
The X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) has been measured at the Co K
edge in Co-hcp and R-Co compounds (R=La, Tb, Dy). The structure of the
experimental XMCD spectra in the near-edge region has been observed to be
highly sensitive to the magnetic environment of the absorbing site.
Calculations of the XMCD have been carried out at the Co K edge in Co metal,
LaCo and TbCo within the multiple-scattering framework including the
spin-orbit coupling. In the three systems, the XMCD spectra in the near-edge
region are well reproduced. The possibility to separate and quantitatively
estimate the local effects from those due to the neighboring atoms in the XMCD
cross section makes possible a more physical understanding of the spectra. The
present results emphasize the major role played by the states of the Tb
ions in the XMCD spectrum at the Co K edge in the TbCo compound.Comment: 34 pages, revtex, 10 eps figures included with epsf, after referee
revie
Structure and Magnetism of well-defined cobalt nanoparticles embedded in a niobium matrix
Our recent studies on Co-clusters embedded in various matrices reveal that
the co-deposition technique (simultaneous deposition of two beams : one for the
pre-formed clusters and one for the matrix atoms) is a powerful tool to prepare
magnetic nanostructures with any couple of materials even though they are
miscible. We study, both sharply related, structure and magnetism of the Co/Nb
system. Because such a heterogeneous system needs to be described at different
scales, we used microscopic and macroscopic techniques but also local selective
absorption ones. We conclude that our clusters are 3 nm diameter f.c.c
truncated octahedrons with a pure cobalt core and a solid solution between Co
and Nb located at the interface which could be responsible for the magnetically
inactive monolayers we found. The use of a very diluted Co/Nb film, further
lithographed, would allow us to achieve a pattern of microsquid devices in view
to study the magnetic dynamics of a single-Co cluster.Comment: 7 TeX pages, 9 Postscript figures, detailed heading adde
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