Electromagnetic waves in gravitational wave spacetimes

We have considered the propagation of electromagnetic waves in a space-time representing an exact gravitational plane wave and calculated the induced changes on the four-potential field Aμ of a plane electromagnetic wave. By choosing a suitable photon round-trip in a Michelson interferometer, we have been able to identify the physical effects of the exact gravitational wave on the electromagnetic field, i.e. phase shift, change of the polarization vector, angular deflection and delay. These results have been exploited to study the response of an interferometric gravitational wave detector beyond the linear approximation of the general theory of relativity. A much more detailled examination of this problem can be found in our paper recently published in Classical and Quantum Gravity (28 (2011) 235007)

Current Induced Order Parameter Dynamics: Microscopic Theory Applied to Co/Cu/Co spin valves

Transport currents can alter alter order parameter dynamics and change steady states in superconductors, in ferromagnets, and in hybrid systems. In this article we present a scheme for fully microscopic evaluation of order parameter dynamics that is intended for application to nanoscale systems. The approach relies on time-dependent mean-field-theory, on an adiabatic approximation, and on the use of non-equilibrium Greens function (NEGF) theory to calculate the influence of a bias voltage across a system on its steady-state density matrix. We apply this scheme to examine the spin-transfer torques which drive magnetization dynamics in Co/Cu/Co spin-valve structures. Our microscopic torques are peaked near Co/Cu interfaces, in agreement with most previous pictures, but suprisingly act mainly on Co transition metal $d$-orbitals rather than on $s$-orbitals as generally supposed.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Ab-initio GMR and current-induced torques in Au/Cr multilayers

We report on an {\em ab-initio} study of giant magnetoresistance (GMR) and current-induced-torques (CITs) in Cr/Au multilayers that is based on non-equilibrium Green's functions and spin density functional theory. We find substantial GMR due primarily to a spin-dependent resonance centered at the Cr/Au interface and predict that the CITs are strong enough to switch the antiferromagnetic order parameter at current-densities $\sim 100$ times smaller than typical ferromagnetic metal circuit switching densities.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure