Spin Anisotropy and Slow Dynamics in Spin Glasses

We report on an extensive study of the influence of spin anisotropy on spin glass aging dynamics. New temperature cycle experiments allow us to compare quantitatively the memory effect in four Heisenberg spin glasses with various degrees of random anisotropy and one Ising spin glass. The sharpness of the memory effect appears to decrease continuously with the spin anisotropy. Besides, the spin glass coherence length is determined by magnetic field change experiments for the first time in the Ising sample. For three representative samples, from Heisenberg to Ising spin glasses, we can consistently account for both sets of experiments (temperature cycle and magnetic field change) using a single expression for the growth of the coherence length with time.Comment: 4 pages and 4 figures - Service de Physique de l'Etat Condense CNRS URA 2464), DSM/DRECAM, CEA Saclay, Franc

A new experimental procedure for characterizing quantum effects in small magnetic particle systems

A new experimental procedure is discussed, which aims at separating thermal from quantum behavior independently of the energy barrier distribution in small particle systems. Magnetization relaxation data measured between 60 mK and 5 K on a sample of nanoparticles is presented. The comparison between experimental data and numerical calculations shows a clear departure from thermal dynamics for our sample, which was not obvious without using the new procedure presented here.Comment: LaTeX source, 6 pages, 5 PostScript figure

The relative influences of disorder and of frustration on the glassy dynamics in magnetic systems

The magnetisation relaxations of three different types of geometrically frustrated magnetic systems have been studied with the same experimental procedures as previously used in spin glasses. The materials investigated are Y$_2$Mo$_2$O$_7$ (pyrochlore system), SrCr$_{8.6}$Ga$_{3.4}$O$_{19}$ (piled pairs of Kagom\'e layers) and (H$_3$O)Fe$_3$(SO$_4$)$_2$(OH)$_6$ (jarosite compound). Despite a very small amount of disorder, all the samples exhibit many characteristic features of spin glass dynamics below a freezing temperature $T_g$, much smaller than their Curie-Weiss temperature $\theta$. The ageing properties of their thermoremanent magnetization can be well accounted for by the same scaling law as in spin glasses, and the values of the scaling exponents are very close. The effects of temperature variations during ageing have been specifically investigated. In the pyrochlore and the bi-Kagom\'e compounds, a decrease of temperature after some waiting period at a certain temperature $T_p$ re-initializes ageing and the evolution at the new temperature is the same as if the system were just quenched from above $T_g$. However, as the temperature is raised back to $T_p$, the sample recovers the state it had previously reached at that temperature. These features are known in spin glasses as rejuvenation and memory effects. They are clear signatures of the spin glass dynamics. In the Kagom\'e compound, there is also some rejuvenation and memory, but much larger temperature changes are needed to observe the effects. In that sense, the behaviour of this compound is quantitatively different from that of spin glasses.Comment: latex VersionCorrigee4.tex, 4 files, 3 figures, 5 pages (Proceedings of the International Conference on Highly Frustrated Magnetism (HFM2003), August 26-30, 2003, Institut Laue Langevin (ILL), Grenoble, France

Competencies for human resource development practitioners

This paper reports on research into the required competencies of human resource development practitioners (HRD) in selected South African organizations. The research identified the level of importance and of satisfaction with the main competencies amongst HRD practitioners. Data was gathered from a random sample of business establishments. Data analysis indicated, firstly the importance of various competencies and the present satisfaction level, and secondly the differences between groups of some biographical variables in terms of the average level of importance and satisfaction of competencies. The results obtained have definite implications in the field of HRD and for education and training programmes offered by tertiary education institutions.Business Managemen

Linear response subordination to intermittent energy release in off-equilibrium aging dynamics

The interpretation of experimental and numerical data describing off-equilibrium aging dynamics crucially depends on the connection between spontaneous and induced fluctuations. The hypothesis that linear response fluctuations are statistically subordinated to irreversible outbursts of energy, so-called quakes, leads to predictions for averages and fluctuations spectra of physical observables in reasonable agreement with experimental results [see e.g. Sibani et al., Phys. Rev. B74:224407, 2006]. Using simulational data from a simple but representative Ising model with plaquette interactions, direct statistical evidence supporting the hypothesis is presented and discussed in this work. A strict temporal correlation between quakes and intermittent magnetization fluctuations is demonstrated. The external magnetic field is shown to bias the pre-existent intermittent tails of the magnetic fluctuation distribution, with little or no effect on the Gaussian part of the latter. Its impact on energy fluctuations is shown to be negligible. Linear response is thus controlled by the quakes and inherits their temporal statistics. These findings provide a theoretical basis for analyzing intermittent linear response data from aging system in the same way as thermal energy fluctuations, which are far more difficult to measure.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures. Text improve

Aging, rejuvenation and memory phenomena in spin glasses

In this paper, we review several important features of the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of spin glasses. Starting with the simplest experiments, we discuss the scaling laws used to describe the isothermal aging observed in spin glasses after a quench down to the low temperature phase. We report in particular new results on the sub-aging behaviour of spin glasses. We then discuss the rejuvenation and memory effects observed when a spin glass is submitted to temperature variations during aging, from the point of view of both energy landscape pictures and of real space pictures. We highlight the fact that both approaches point out the necessity of hierarchical processes involved in aging. Finally, we report an investigation of the effect of small temperature variations on aging in spin glass samples with various anisotropies which indicates that this hierarchy depends on the spin anisotropy.Comment: submitted for the Proceedings of Stat Phys 22, Bangalore (India