Direct determination of the spin structure of Nd2_2Ir2_2O7_7 by means of neutron diffraction

We report on the spin structure of the pyrochlore iridate Nd$_2$Ir$_2$O$_7$ that could be directly determined by means of powder neutron diffraction. Our magnetic structure refinement unravels a so-called all-in/all-out magnetic structure that appears in both, the Nd and the Ir sublattice. The ordered magnetic moments at 1.8 K amount to 0.34(1) $\mu_\mathrm{B}$/Ir$^{4+}$ and 1.27(1) $\mu_\mathrm{B}$/Nd$^{3+}$. The Nd$^{3+}$ moment size at 1.8 K is smaller than that expected for the Nd$^{3+}$ ground state doublet. On the other hand, the size of the ordered moments of the Ir$^{4+}$ ions at 1.8 K agrees very well with the value expected for a $J_\mathrm{eff}$ = 1/2 state based on the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling in this system. Finally, our measurements reveal a parallel alignment of the Nd$^{3+}$ moments with the net moment of its six nearest neighboring Ir$^{4+}$ ions.Comment: http://journals.aps.org/prb/pdf/10.1103/PhysRevB.94.16110

Pattern Synthesis of Dual-band Shared Aperture Interleaved Linear Antenna Arrays

This paper presents an approach to improve the efficiency of an array aperture by interleaving two different arrays in the same aperture area. Two sub-arrays working at different frequencies are interleaved in the same linear aperture area. The available aperture area is efficiently used. The element positions of antenna array are optimized by using Invasive Weed Optimization (IWO) to reduce the peak side lobe level (PSLL) of the radiation pattern. To overcome the shortness of traditional methods which can only fulfill the design of shared aperture antenna array working at the same frequency, this method can achieve the design of dual-band antenna array with wide working frequency range. Simulation results show that the proposed method is feasible and efficient in the synthesis of dual-band shared aperture antenna array

Pipelined genetic propagation

© 2015 IEEE.Genetic Algorithms (GAs) are a class of numerical and combinatorial optimisers which are especially useful for solving complex non-linear and non-convex problems. However, the required execution time often limits their application to small-scale or latency-insensitive problems, so techniques to increase the computational efficiency of GAs are needed. FPGA-based acceleration has significant potential for speeding up genetic algorithms, but existing FPGA GAs are limited by the generational approaches inherited from software GAs. Many parts of the generational approach do not map well to hardware, such as the large shared population memory and intrinsic loop-carried dependency. To address this problem, this paper proposes a new hardware-oriented approach to GAs, called Pipelined Genetic Propagation (PGP), which is intrinsically distributed and pipelined. PGP represents a GA solver as a graph of loosely coupled genetic operators, which allows the solution to be scaled to the available resources, and also to dynamically change topology at run-time to explore different solution strategies. Experiments show that pipelined genetic propagation is effective in solving seven different applications. Our PGP design is 5 times faster than a recent FPGA-based GA system, and 90 times faster than a CPU-based GA system

Magnetic moment and magnetic anisotropy of linear and zigzag 4{\it d} and 5{\it d} transition metal nanowires: First-principles calculations

An extensive {\it ab initio} study of the physical properties of both linear and zigzag atomic chains of all 4$d$ and 5$d$ transition metals (TM) within the GGA by using the accurate PAW method, has been carried out. All the TM linear chains are found to be unstable against the corresponding zigzag structures. All the TM chains, except Nb, Ag and La, have a stable (or metastable) magnetic state in either the linear or zigzag or both structures. Magnetic states appear also in the sufficiently stretched Nb and La linear chains and in the largely compressed Y and La chains. The spin magnetic moments in the Mo, Tc, Ru, Rh, W, Re chains could be large ($\geq$1.0 $\mu_B$/atom). Structural transformation from the linear to zigzag chains could suppress the magnetism already in the linear chain, induce the magnetism in the zigzag structure, and also cause a change of the magnetic state (ferromagnetic to antiferroamgetic or vice verse). The calculations including the spin-orbit coupling reveal that the orbital moments in the Zr, Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os, Ir and Pt chains could be rather large ($\geq$0.1 $\mu_B$/atom). Importantly, large magnetic anisotropy energy ($\geq$1.0 meV/atom) is found in most of the magnetic TM chains, suggesting that these nanowires could have fascinating applications in ultrahigh density magnetic memories and hard disks. In particular, giant magnetic anisotropy energy ($\geq$10.0 meV/atom) could appear in the Ru, Re, Rh, and Ir chains. Furthermore, the magnetic anisotropy energy in several elongated linear chains could be as large as 40.0 meV/atom. A spin-reorientation transition occurs in the Ru, Ir, Ta, Zr, La and Zr, Ru, La, Ta and Ir linear chains when they are elongated. Remarkably, all the 5$d$ as well as Tc and Pd chains show the colossal magnetic anisotropy (i.e., it is impossible to rotate magnetization into certain directions). Finally, the electronic band structure and density of states of the nanowires have also been calculated in order to understand the electronic origin of the large magnetic anisotropy and orbital magnetic moment as well as to estimate the conduction electron spin polarization.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev.

Globalization or Localization? A longitudinal study of successful American and Chinese online store websites

This paper reports the results of a longitudinal study of 2562 images on the homepages of successful American and Chinese online store websites,with the goal of determining whether cultural factors impact their visual presentation and evolution. Descriptive and statistical content analyses reveal that the U.S. and Chinese online store sites showed significant cross-national image differences from their inception; moreover, the Chinese sites diverged further from the U.S. sites over time, strengthening their own cultural identity and suggesting a trend towards localization in a diverse and dynamic world market. These findings support the view that although English-speaking Western culture is widespread in today’s Information Age, other cultures are not necessarily undermined

NIR Calibrations for Soybean Seeds and Soy Food Composition Analysis: Total Carbohydrates, Oil, Proteins and Water Contents

Conventional chemical analysis techniques are expensive, time consuming, and often destructive. The non-invasive Near Infrared (NIR) technology was introduced over the last decades for wide-scale, inexpensive chemical analysis of food and crop seed composition (see Williams and Norris, 1987; Wilcox and Cavins, 1995; Buning and Diller, 2000 for reviews of the NIR technique development stage prior to 1998, when Diode Arrays were introduced to NIR). NIR spectroscopic measurements obey Lambert and Beer’s law, and quantitative measurements can be successfully made with high speed and ease of operation. NIR has been used in a great variety of food applications. General applications of products analyzed come from all sectors of the food industry including meats, grains, and dairy products (Shadow, 1998)