6,117 research outputs found
Domain studies of CoCr with perpendicular anisotropy
R.F. Magnetron sputtered CoCr films (79/21 at%) with various thicknesses are magnetically characterized. The domain structure is observed by digitally enhanced Kerr microscopy and depends on the Hc/Hk values of the samples. For low and high coercivity films a comparison is made between the measured VSM hysteresis, domain period and a theoretical domain model. The domain shape is a function of the magnetic history of the sample and the bending created by the deposition process
Neutron monitors and muon detectors for solar modulation studies: Interstellar flux, yield function, and assessment of critical parameters in count rate calculations
Particles count rates at given Earth location and altitude result from the
convolution of (i) the interstellar (IS) cosmic-ray fluxes outside the solar
cavity, (ii) the time-dependent modulation of IS into Top-of-Atmosphere (TOA)
fluxes, (iii) the rigidity cut-off (or geomagnetic transmission function) and
grammage at the counter location, (iv) the atmosphere response to incoming TOA
cosmic rays (shower development), and (v) the counter response to the various
particles/energies in the shower. Count rates from neutron monitors or muon
counters are therefore a proxy to solar activity. In this paper, we review all
ingredients, discuss how their uncertainties impact count rate calculations,
and how they translate into variation/uncertainties on the level of solar
modulation (in the simple Force-Field approximation). The main
uncertainty for neutron monitors is related to the yield function. However,
many other effects have a significant impact, at the 5-10\% level on
values. We find no clear ranking of the dominant effects, as some depend on the
station position and/or the weather and/or the season. An abacus to translate
any variation of count rates (for neutron and detectors) to a variation
of the solar modulation is provided.Comment: 28 pages, 16 figures, 9 tables, match accepted version in AdSR (minor
corrections, Dorman (1974,2004,2009) reference textbooks added
Spontaneous spin textures in dipolar spinor condensates
We have mapped out a detailed phase diagram that shows the ground state
structure of a spin-1 condensate with magnetic dipole-dipole interactions. We
show that the interplay between the dipolar and the spin-exchange interactions
induces a rich variety of quantum phases that exhibit spontaneous magnetic
ordering in the form of intricate spin textures.Comment: 4.1 pages, 4 figure
Thermal Stability of the Magnetization in Perpendicularly Magnetized Thin Film Nanomagnets
Understanding the stability of thin film nanomagnets with perpendicular
magnetic anisotropy (PMA) against thermally induced magnetization reversal is
important when designing perpendicularly magnetized patterned media and
magnetic random access memories. The leading-order dependence of magnetization
reversal rates are governed by the energy barrier the system needs to surmount
in order for reversal to proceed. In this paper we study the reversal dynamics
of these systems and compute the relevant barriers using the string method of
E, Vanden-Eijnden, and Ren. We find the reversal to be often spatially
incoherent; that is, rather than the magnetization flipping as a rigid unit,
reversal proceeds instead through a soliton-like domain wall sweeping through
the system. We show that for square nanomagnetic elements the energy barrier
increases with element size up to a critical length scale, beyond which the
energy barrier is constant. For circular elements the energy barrier continues
to increase indefinitely, albeit more slowly beyond a critical size. In both
cases the energy barriers are smaller than those expected for coherent
magnetization reversal.Comment: 5 pages, 4 Figure
Neutron monitors and muon detectors for solar modulation studies: 2. time series
The level of solar modulation at different times (related to the solar
activity) is a central question of solar and galactic cosmic-ray physics. In
the first paper of this series, we have established a correspondence between
the uncertainties on ground-based detectors count rates and the parameter
(modulation level in the force-field approximation) reconstructed from
these count rates. In this second paper, we detail a procedure to obtain a
reference time series from neutron monitor data. We show that we can
have an unbiased and accurate reconstruction (). We also discuss the potential of Bonner spheres spectrometers and muon
detectors to provide time series. Two by-products of this calculation
are updated values for the cosmic-ray database and a web interface to
retrieve and plot from the 50's to today
(\url{http://lpsc.in2p3.fr/crdb}).Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables. AdSR, in press. Web interface to get
modulation parameter phi(t): new tab in http://lpsc.in2p3.fr/crd
Hysteresis loops of magnetic thin films with perpendicular anisotropy
We model the magnetization of quasi two-dimensional systems with easy
perpendicular (z-)axis anisotropy upon change of external magnetic field along
z. The model is derived from the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation for
magnetization evolution, written in closed form in terms of the z component of
the magnetization only. The model includes--in addition to the external
field--magnetic exchange, dipolar interactions and structural disorder. The
phase diagram in the disorder/interaction strength plane is presented, and the
different qualitative regimes are analyzed. The results compare very well with
observed experimental hysteresis loops and spatial magnetization patterns, as
for instance for the case of Co-Pt multilayers.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure
Nanoscale Zeeman localization of charge carriers in diluted magnetic semiconductor-permalloy hybrids
We investigate the possibility of charge carrier localization in magnetic
semiconductors due to the presence of a highly inhomogeneous external magnetic
field. As an example, we study in detail the properties of a magnetic
semiconductor-permalloy disk hybrid system. We find that the giant Zeeman
respose of the magnetic semiconductor in conjuction with the highly non-uniform
magnetic field created by the vortex state of a permalloy disk can lead to
Zeeman localized states at the interface of the two materials. These trapped
state are chiral, with chirality controlled by the orientation of the core
magnetization of the permalloy disk. We calculate the energy spectrum and the
eigenstates of these Zeeman localized states, and discuss their experimental
signatures in spectroscopic probes.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
Constraints on the average magnetic field strength of relic radio sources 0917+75 and 1401-33 from XMM-Newton observations
We observed two relic radio sources, 0917+75 and 1401-33, with the XMM-Newton
X-ray observatory. We did not detect any X-ray emission, thermal or
non-thermal, in excess of the local background level from either target. This
imposes new upper limits on the X-ray flux due to inverse Compton scattering of
photons from the cosmic microwave background by relativistic electrons in the
relic sources, and new lower limits on the magnetic field strength from the
relative strength of the radio and X-ray emission. The combination of radio and
X-ray observations provides a measure of the magnetic field independent of
equipartition or minimum energy assumptions. Due to increasing sensitivity of
radio observations, the known population of cluster relics has been growing;
however, studies of non-thermal X-ray emission from relics remain scarce. Our
study adds to the small sample of relics studied in X-rays. In both relics, our
field strength lower limits are slightly larger than estimates of the
equipartition magnetic field.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by MNRA
Macrospin Models of Spin Transfer Dynamics
The current-induced magnetization dynamics of a spin valve are studied using
a macrospin (single domain) approximation and numerical solutions of a
generalized Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation. For the purpose of quantitative
comparison with experiment [Kiselev {\it et al.} Nature {\bf 425}, 380 (2003)],
we calculate the resistance and microwave power as a function of current and
external field including the effects of anisotropies, damping, spin-transfer
torque, thermal fluctuations, spin-pumping, and incomplete absorption of
transverse spin current. While many features of experiment appear in the
simulations, there are two significant discrepancies: the current dependence of
the precession frequency and the presence/absence of a microwave quiet magnetic
phase with a distinct magnetoresistance signature. Comparison is made with
micromagnetic simulations designed to model the same experiment.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures. Email [email protected] for a
pdf with higher quality figure
Forbidden oxygen lines at various nucleocentric distances in comets
To study the formation of the [OI] lines - i.e., 5577 A (the green line),
6300 A and 6364 A (the two red lines) - in the coma of comets and to determine
the parent species of the oxygen atoms using the green to red-doublet emission
intensity ratio (G/R ratio) and the lines velocity widths. We acquired at the
ESO VLT high-resolution spectroscopic observations of comets C/2002 T7
(LINEAR), 73P-C/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, 8P/Tuttle, and, 103P/Hartley 2 when
they were close to the Earth (< 0.6 au). Using the observed spectra, we
determined the intensities and the widths of the three [OI] lines. We have
spatially extracted the spectra in order to achieve the best possible
resolution of about 1-2", i.e., nucleocentric projected distances of 100 to 400
km depending on the geocentric distance of the comet. We have decontaminated
the [OI] green line from C2 lines blends. It is found that the observed G/R
ratio on all four comets varies as a function of nucleocentric projected
distance. This is mainly due to the collisional quenching of O(1S) and O(1D) by
water molecules in the inner coma. The observed green emission line width is
about 2.5 km/s and decreases as the distance from the nucleus increases which
can be explained by the varying contribution of CO2 to the O(1S) production in
the innermost coma. The photodissociation of CO2 molecules seems to produce
O(1S) closer to the nucleus while the water molecule forms all the O(1S) and
O(1D) atoms beyond 1000 km. Thus we conclude that the main parent species
producing O(1S) and O(1D) in the inner coma is not always the same. The
observations have been interpreted in the framework of the
coupled-chemistry-emission model of Bhardwaj & Raghuram (2012) and the upper
limits of CO2 relative abundances are derived from the observed G/R ratios.
Measuring the [OI] lines could indeed provide a new way to determine the CO2
relative abundance in comets.Comment: accepted for publication in A&A, the abstract is shortene
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