Strain-induced magnetic phase transition in SrCoO3−δ_{3-\delta} thin films

It has been well established that both in bulk at ambient pressure and for films under modest strains, cubic SrCoO$_{3-\delta}$ ($\delta < 0.2$) is a ferromagnetic metal. Recent theoretical work, however, indicates that a magnetic phase transition to an antiferromagnetic structure could occur under large strain accompanied by a metal-insulator transition. We have observed a strain-induced ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic phase transition in SrCoO$_{3-\delta}$ films grown on DyScO$_3$ substrates, which provide a large tensile epitaxial strain, as compared to ferromagnetic films under lower tensile strain on SrTiO$_3$ substrates. Magnetometry results demonstrate the existence of antiferromagnetic spin correlations and neutron diffraction experiments provide a direct evidence for a G-type antiferromagnetic structure with Ne\'el temperatures between $T_N \sim 135\,\pm\,10\,K$ and $\sim 325\,\pm\,10\,K$ depending on the oxygen content of the samples. Therefore, our data experimentally confirm the predicted strain-induced magnetic phase transition to an antiferromagnetic state for SrCoO$_{3-\delta}$ thin films under large epitaxial strain.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Does the enhancement observed in γγ→DDˉ\gamma\gamma\to D\bar{D} contain two PP-wave higher charmonia?

Solved is a new puzzle raised by the observation of an enhancement structure Z(3930) in $\gamma\gamma\to D\bar{D}$. If categorizing Z(3930) as $\chi_{c2}(2P)$ suggested by Belle and BaBar, we must explain why $\chi_{c0}(2P)$ dominantly decaying into $D\bar{D}$ is missing in the $D\bar{D}$ invariant mass spectrum. In this work, we propose that the Z(3930) enhancement structure may contain two $P$-wave higher charmonia {$\chi_{c0}(2P)$} and $\chi_{c2}(2P)$. We show that this assumption is supported by our analysis of the $D\bar{D}$ invariant mass spectrum and $\cos\theta^\ast$ distribution of $\gamma\gamma\to D\bar{D}$. This observation would not only provide valuable information of two P-wave higher charmonia $\chi_{c0}(2P)$ and $\chi_{c2}(2P)$, but also serve as the crucial test of our novel proposal to the observed enhancement structure Z(3930), especially at the forthcoming BelleII and the approved SuperB.Comment: 5 pages, 2 tables, 3 figures. More contents and discussions adde

Estimation of Phonon Dispersion Relations Using Correlation Effects Among Thermal Displacements of Atoms

Neutron diffraction measurement of powder α-Fe sample at 295 K was carried out at the high resolution powder diffractometer installed at Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). Crystal parameters were determined from Rietveld analysis. The correlation effects among thermal displacements of atoms were estimated from a generalized equation based on the results of fomer diffuse scattering analysis. The force constants among atoms were obtained using an equation for transforming of the correlation effects to force constants. The force constants and the crystal structure of α-Fe were used to estimate the phonon dispersion relations, phonon density of states, and specific heat by computer simulation. The obtained force constants among first-nearest-neighboring atoms is 2.3 eV/Å2 at 295 K and the specific heat is 185 meV/K at 150 K. The calculated phonon dispersion relations and specific heat of α-Fe are similar to those obtained from inelastic neutron scattering and specific heat measurements, respectively. Received: 04 October 2014; Revised: 22 January 2015; Accepted: 30 March 201

Thermal denaturation of A-DNA

The DNA molecule can take various conformational forms. Investigations focus mainly on the so-called ‘B-form’, schematically drawn in the famous paper by Watson and Crick [1]. This is the usual form of DNA in a biological environment and is the only form that is stable in an aqueous environment. Other forms, however, can teach us much about DNA. They have the same nucleotide base pairs for ‘building blocks’ as B-DNA, but with different relative positions, and studying these forms gives insight into the interactions between elements under conditions far from equilibrium in the B-form. Studying the thermal denaturation is particularly interesting because it provides a direct probe of those interactions which control the growth of the fluctuations when the ‘melting’ temperature is approached. Here we report such a study on the ‘A-form’ using calorimetry and neutron scattering. We show that it can be carried further than a similar study on B-DNA, requiring the improvement of thermodynamic models for DNA