Energy of dendritic avalanches in thin-film superconductors

A method for calculating stored magnetic energy in a thin superconducting film based on quantitative magneto-optical imaging is developed. Energy and magnetic moment are determined with these calculations for full hysteresis loops in a thin film of the superconductor NbN. Huge losses in energy are observed when dendritic avalanches occur. Magnetic energy, magnetic moment, sheet current and magnetic flux distributions, all extracted from the same calibrated magneto-optical images, are analyzed and discussed. Dissipated energy and the loss in moment when dendritic avalanches occur are related to each other. Calculating these losses for specific spatially-resolved flux avalanches is a great advantage, because of their unpredictable and non-reproducible nature. The relative losses in energy are much higher than the relative losses in moment

Iron spin transition in Earth's mantle

High-pressure Mössbauer spectroscopy on several compositions across the (Mg,Fe)O magnesiowüstite solid solution confirms that ferrous iron (Fe(2+)) undergoes a high-spin to low-spin transition at pressures and for compositions relevant to the bulk of the Earth's mantle. High-resolution x-ray diffraction measurements document a volume change of 4–5% across the pressure-induced spin transition, which is thus expected to cause seismological anomalies in the lower mantle. The spin transition can lead to dissociation of Fe-bearing phases such as magnesiowüstite, and it reveals an unexpected richness in mineral properties and phase equilibria for the Earth's deep interior