Femtosecond Demagnetization and Hot Hole Relaxation in Ferromagnetic GaMnAs

We have studied ultrafast photoinduced demagnetization in GaMnAs via two-color time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr spectroscopy. Below-bandgap midinfrared pump pulses strongly excite the valence band, while near-infrared probe pulses reveal sub-picosecond demagnetization that is followed by an ultrafast ($\sim$1 ps) partial recovery of the Kerr signal. Through comparison with InMnAs, we attribute the signal recovery to an ultrafast energy relaxation of holes. We propose that the dynamical polarization of holes through $p$-$d$ scattering is the source of the observed probe signal. These results support the physical picture of femtosecond demagnetization proposed earlier for InMnAs, identifying the critical roles of both energy and spin relaxation of hot holes.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Kondo Universal Scaling for a Quantum Dot Coupled to Superconducting Leads

We study competition between the Kondo effect and superconductivity in a single self-assembled InAs quantum dot contacted with Al lateral electrodes. Due to Kondo enhancement of Andreev reflections the zero-bias anomaly develops sidepeaks, separated by the superconducting gap energy Delta. For ten valleys of different Kondo temperature T_K we tune the gap Delta with an external magnetic field. We find that the zero-bias conductance in each case collapses onto a single curve with Delta/kT_K as the only relevant energy scale, providing experimental evidence for universal scaling in this system.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Ontology for Data Representation in the Production of Cotton Fiber in Brazil

An important feature in computer systems developed for the agricultural sector is to satisfy the heterogeneity of data generated in different processes. Most problems related with this heterogeneity arise from the lack of standard for different computing solutions proposed. An efficient solution for that is to create a single standard for data exchange. The study on the actual process involved in cotton production was based on a research developed by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) that reports all phases as a result of the compilation of several theoretical and practical researches related to cotton crop. The proposition of a standard starts with the identification of the most important classes of data involved in the process, and includes an ontology that is the systematization of concepts related to the production of cotton fiber and results in a set of classes, relations, functions and instances. The results are used as a reference for the development of computational tools, transforming implicit knowledge into applications that support the knowledge described. This research is based on data from the Midwest of Brazil. The choice of the cotton process as a study case comes from the fact that Brazil is one of the major players and there are several improvements required for system integration in this segment

Mechanism of carrier-induced ferromagnetism in magnetic semiconductors

Taking into account both random impurity distribution and thermal fluctuations of localized spins, we have performed a model calculation for the carrier (hole) state in Ga$_{1-x}$Mn$_x$As by using the coherent potential approximation (CPA). The result reveals that a {\it p}-hole in the band tail of Ga$_{1-x}$Mn$_x$As is not like a free carrier but is rather virtually bounded to impurity sites. The carrier spin strongly couples to the localized {\it d} spins on Mn ions. The hopping of the carrier among Mn sites causes the ferromagnetic ordering of the localized spins through the double-exchange mechanism. The Curie temperature obtained by using conventional parameters agrees well with the experimental result.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Lifetime of Gapped Excitations in a Collinear Quantum Antiferromagnet

We demonstrate that local modulations of magnetic couplings have a profound effect on the temperature dependence of the relaxation rate of optical magnons in a wide class of antiferromagnets in which gapped excitations coexist with acoustic spin waves. In a two-dimensional collinear antiferromagnet with an easy-plane anisotropy, the disorder-induced relaxation rate of the gapped mode, Gamma_imp=Gamma_0+A(TlnT)^2, greatly exceeds the magnon-magnon damping, Gamma_m-m=BT^5, negligible at low temperatures. We measure the lifetime of gapped magnons in a prototype XY antiferromagnet BaNi2(PO4)2 using a high-resolution neutron-resonance spin-echo technique and find experimental data in close accord with the theoretical prediction. Similarly strong effects of disorder in the three-dimensional case and in noncollinear antiferromagnets are discussed.Comment: 4.5 pages + 2.5 pages supplementary material, published versio

Optical properties of metallic (III,Mn)V ferromagnetic semiconductors in the infrared to visible range

We report on a study of the ac conductivity and magneto-optical properties of metallic ferromagnetic (III,Mn)V semiconductors in the infrared to visible spectrum. Our analysis is based on the successful kinetic exchange model for (III,Mn)V ferromagnetic semiconductors. We perform the calculations within the Kubo formalism and treat the disorder effects pertubatively within the Born approximation, valid for the metallic regime. We consider an eight-band Kohn-Luttinger model (six valence bands plus two conduction bands) as well as a ten-band model with additional dispersionless bands simulating phenomenologically the upper-mid-gap states induced by antisite and interstitial impurities. These models qualitatively account for optical-absorption experiments and predict new features in the mid-infrared Kerr angle and magnetic-circular-dichroism properties as a function of Mn concentration and free carrier density.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, some typos correcte

Frustrated quantum-spin system on a triangle coupled with ege_g lattice vibrations - Correspondence to Longuet-Higgins et al.'s Jahn-Teller model -

We investigate the quantum three spin model $({\bf S_1},{\bf S_2},{\bf S_3})$ of spin$=1/2$ on a triangle, in which spins are coupled with lattice-vibrational modes through the exchange interaction depending on distances between spin sites. The present model corresponds to the dynamic Jahn-Teller system $E_g\otimes e_g$ proposed by Longuet-Higgins {\it et al.}, Proc.R.Soc.A.{\bf 244},1(1958). This correspondence is revealed by using the transformation to Nakamura-Bishop's bases proposed in Phys.Rev.Lett.{\bf 54},861(1985). Furthermore, we elucidate the relationship between the behavior of a chiral order parameter ${\hat \chi}={\bf S_1\cdot(S_2\times S_3)}$ and that of the electronic orbital angular momentum ${\hat \ell_z}$ in $E_g\otimes e_g$ vibronic model: The regular oscillatory behavior of the expectation value $$for vibronic structures with increasing energy can also be found in that of$$. The increase of the additional anharmonicity(chaoticity) is found to yield a rapidly decaying irregular oscillation of $$

Far-infrared photo-conductivity of electrons in an array of nano-structured antidots

We present far-infrared (FIR) photo-conductivity measurements for a two-dimensional electron gas in an array of nano-structured antidots. We detect, resistively and spectrally resolved, both the magnetoplasmon and the edge-magnetoplasmon modes. Temperature-dependent measurements demonstrates that both modes contribute to the photo resistance by heating the electron gas via resonant absorption of the FIR radiation. Influences of spin effect and phonon bands on the collective excitations in the antidot lattice are observed.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure