2D Kagome Ordering in the 3D Frustrated Spinel Li2Mn2O4

muSR experiments on the geometrically frustrated spinel oxide, Li2Mn2O4, show the development of spin correlations over a range of length scales with decreasing temperature. Increased relaxation below 150 K is consistent with the onset of spin correlations. Below 50 K, spin order on a length scale, which is long range for the muSR probe, appears abruptly in temperature, consistent with prior neutron diffraction results. The oscillations in the zero field asymmetry are analyzed using a three frequency model. By locating the muon site this is shown to be consistent with the unexpected 2D q = root 3 x root 3 structure on the Kagome planes proposed originally from neutron data. Longitudinal field data demonstrate that some spin dynamics persist even at 2 K. Thus, a very complex magnetic ground state, featuring the co-existence of long length scale 2D ordering and significant spin dynamics, is proposed. This is unusual considering the 3D topology of the Mn3+ spins in this material.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, to be submitted to J. Phys. Cond. Mat

Absence of zero field muon spin relaxation induced by superconductivity in the B phase of UPt3_3

We present muon spin relaxation measurements performed on crystals of the heavy fermion superconductor UPt$_3$. In zero applied field, contrary to a previous report, we do not observe an increase of the internal magnetic field in the lower superconducting phase (the B phase). Our result gives an experimental upper bound of the magnetic field that could be associated with the superconducting state.Comment: 4 pages, REVTeX 3.0, 2 PostScript figure

Muon spin rotation and relaxation in magnetic materials

A review of the muon spin rotation and relaxation ($\mu$SR) studies on magnetic materials published from July 1993 is presented. It covers the investigation of magnetic phase diagrams, of spin dynamics and the analysis of the magnetic properties of superconductors. We have chosen to focus on selected experimental works in these different topics. In addition, a list of published works is provided.Comment: Review article, 59 pages, LaTeX with IoP macro

ChemR23 Dampens Lung Inflammation and Enhances Anti-viral Immunity in a Mouse Model of Acute Viral Pneumonia

Viral diseases of the respiratory tract, which include influenza pandemic, children acute bronchiolitis, and viral pneumonia of the elderly, represent major health problems. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells play an important role in anti-viral immunity, and these cells were recently shown to express ChemR23, the receptor for the chemoattractant protein chemerin, which is expressed by epithelial cells in the lung. Our aim was to determine the role played by the chemerin/ChemR23 system in the physiopathology of viral pneumonia, using the pneumonia virus of mice (PVM) as a model. Wild-type and ChemR23 knock-out mice were infected by PVM and followed for functional and inflammatory parameters. ChemR23−/− mice displayed higher mortality/morbidity, alteration of lung function, delayed viral clearance and increased neutrophilic infiltration. We demonstrated in these mice a lower recruitment of plasmacytoid dendritic cells and a reduction in type I interferon production. The role of plasmacytoid dendritic cells was further addressed by performing depletion and adoptive transfer experiments as well as by the generation of chimeric mice, demonstrating two opposite effects of the chemerin/ChemR23 system. First, the ChemR23-dependent recruitment of plasmacytoid dendritic cells contributes to adaptive immune responses and viral clearance, but also enhances the inflammatory response. Second, increased morbidity/mortality in ChemR23−/− mice is not due to defective plasmacytoid dendritic cells recruitment, but rather to the loss of an anti-inflammatory pathway involving ChemR23 expressed by non-leukocytic cells. The chemerin/ChemR23 system plays important roles in the physiopathology of viral pneumonia, and might therefore be considered as a therapeutic target for anti-viral and anti-inflammatory therapies

Vampires in the village Žrnovo on the island of Korčula: following an archival document from the 18th century

Središnja tema rada usmjerena je na raščlambu spisa pohranjenog u Državnom arhivu u Mlecima (fond: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) koji se odnosi na događaj iz 1748. godine u korčulanskom selu Žrnovo, kada su mještani – vjerujući da su se pojavili vampiri – oskvrnuli nekoliko mjesnih grobova. U radu se podrobno iznose osnovni podaci iz spisa te rečeni događaj analizira u širem društvenom kontekstu i prate se lokalna vjerovanja.The main interest of this essay is the analysis of the document from the State Archive in Venice (file: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) which is connected with the episode from 1748 when the inhabitants of the village Žrnove on the island of Korčula in Croatia opened tombs on the local cemetery in the fear of the vampires treating. This essay try to show some social circumstances connected with this event as well as a local vernacular tradition concerning superstitions

Gapless Spin Liquid Ground State in the S=1/2 Vanadium Oxyfluoride Kagome Antiferromagnet [NH4 ]2[C7H14N][V7O6F18]

The vanadium oxyfluoride [NH4]2[C7H14N][V7O6F18] (DQVOF) is a geometrically frustrated magnetic bilayer material. The structure consists of S=½ kagome planes of V4+ d1 ions with S=1 V3+ d2 ions located between the kagome layers. Muon spin relaxation measurements demonstrate the absence of spin freezing down to 40 mK despite an energy scale of 60 K for antiferromagnetic exchange interactions. From magnetization and heat capacity measurements we conclude that the S=1 spins of the interplane V3+ ions are weakly coupled to the kagome layers, such that DQVOF can be viewed as an experimental model for S=½ kagome physics, and that it displays a gapless spin liquid ground state.PostprintPeer reviewe