423 research outputs found
Growth and magnetic properties of multiferroic LaxBi1-xMnO3 thin films
A comparative study of LaxBi1-xMnO3 thin films grown on SrTiO3 substrates is reported. It is shown that these films grow epitaxially in a narrow pressure-temperature range. A detailed structural and compositional characterization of the films is performed within the growth window. The structure and the magnetization of this system are investigated. We find a clear correlation between the magnetization and the unit-cell volume that we ascribe to Bi deficiency and the resultant introduction of a mixed valence on the Mn ions. On these grounds, we show that the reduced magnetization of LaxBi1-xMnO3 thin films compared to the bulk can be explained quantitatively by a simple model, taking into account the deviation from nominal composition and the Goodenough-Kanamori-Anderson rules of magnetic interactions
Effective properties of ageing linear viscoelastic media with spheroidal inhomogeneities
International audienc
Structural and functional characterization of (110)-oriented epitaxial La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 electrodes and SrTiO3 tunnel barriers
La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 (LCMO) films have been deposited on (110)-oriented SrTiO3 (STO) substrates. X-ray diffraction and high-resolution electron microscopy reveal that the (110) LCMO films are epitaxial and anisotropically in-plane strained, with higher relaxation along the [1¿10] direction than along the [001] direction; x-ray absorption spectroscopy data signaled the existence of a single intermediate Mn3+/4+ 3d-state at the film surface. Their magnetic properties are compared to those of (001) LCMO films grown simultaneously on (001) STO substrates It is found that (110) LCMO films present a higher Curie temperature (TC) and a weaker decay of magnetization when approaching TC than their (001) LCMO counterparts. These improved films have been subsequently covered by nanometric STO layers. Conducting atomic-force experiments have shown that STO layers, as thin as 0.8 nm, grown on top of the (110) LCMO electrode, display good insulating properties. We will show that the electric conductance across (110) STO layers, exponentially depending on the barrier thickness, is tunnel-like. The barrier height in STO (110) is found to be similar to that of STO (001). These results show that the (110) LCMO electrodes can be better electrodes than (001) LCMO for magnetic tunnel junctions, and that (110) STO are suitable insulating barriers
Percolation and epidemics in a two-dimensional small world
Percolation on two-dimensional small-world networks has been proposed as a
model for the spread of plant diseases. In this paper we give an analytic
solution of this model using a combination of generating function methods and
high-order series expansion. Our solution gives accurate predictions for
quantities such as the position of the percolation threshold and the typical
size of disease outbreaks as a function of the density of "shortcuts" in the
small-world network. Our results agree with scaling hypotheses and numerical
simulations for the same model.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 2 table
Full oxide heterostructure combining a high-Tc diluted ferromagnet with a high-mobility conductor
We report on the growth of heterostructures composed of layers of the
high-Curie temperature ferromagnet Co-doped (La,Sr)TiO3 (Co-LSTO) with
high-mobility SrTiO3 (STO) substrates processed at low oxygen pressure. While
perpendicular spin-dependent transport measurements in STO//Co-LSTO/LAO/Co
tunnel junctions demonstrate the existence of a large spin polarization in
Co-LSTO, planar magnetotransport experiments on STO//Co-LSTO samples evidence
electronic mobilities as high as 10000 cm2/Vs at T = 10 K. At high enough
applied fields and low enough temperatures (H < 60 kOe, T < 4 K) Shubnikov-de
Haas oscillations are also observed. We present an extensive analysis of these
quantum oscillations and relate them with the electronic properties of STO, for
which we find large scattering rates up to ~ 10 ps. Thus, this work opens up
the possibility to inject a spin-polarized current from a high-Curie
temperature diluted oxide into an isostructural system with high-mobility and a
large spin diffusion length.Comment: to appear in Phys. Rev.
Small world effects in evolution
For asexual organisms point mutations correspond to local displacements in
the genotypic space, while other genotypic rearrangements represent long-range
jumps. We investigate the spreading properties of an initially homogeneous
population in a flat fitness landscape, and the equilibrium properties on a
smooth fitness landscape. We show that a small-world effect is present: even a
small fraction of quenched long-range jumps makes the results indistinguishable
from those obtained by assuming all mutations equiprobable. Moreover, we find
that the equilibrium distribution is a Boltzmann one, in which the fitness
plays the role of an energy, and mutations that of a temperature.Comment: 13 pages and 5 figures. New revised versio
Relaxation Properties of Small-World Networks
Recently, Watts and Strogatz introduced the so-called small-world networks in
order to describe systems which combine simultaneously properties of regular
and of random lattices. In this work we study diffusion processes defined on
such structures by considering explicitly the probability for a random walker
to be present at the origin. The results are intermediate between the
corresponding ones for fractals and for Cayley trees.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure
Effect of interface bonding on spin-dependent tunneling from the oxidized Co surface
We demonstrate that the factorization of the tunneling transmission into the
product of two surface transmission functions and a vacuum decay factor allows
one to generalize Julliere's formula and explain the meaning of the ``tunneling
density of states'' in some limiting cases. Using this factorization we
calculate spin-dependent tunneling from clean and oxidized fcc Co surfaces
through vacuum into Al using the principal-layer Green's function approach. We
demonstrate that a monolayer of oxygen on the Co (111) surface creates a
spin-filter effect due to the Co-O bonding which produces an additional
tunneling barrier in the minority-spin channel. This changes the minority-spin
dominated conductance for the clean Co surface into a majority spin dominated
conductance for the oxidized Co surface.Comment: 7 pages, revtex4, 4 embedded eps figure
Small-World Networks: Links with long-tailed distributions
Small-world networks (SWN), obtained by randomly adding to a regular
structure additional links (AL), are of current interest. In this article we
explore (based on physical models) a new variant of SWN, in which the
probability of realizing an AL depends on the chemical distance between the
connected sites. We assume a power-law probability distribution and study
random walkers on the network, focussing especially on their probability of
being at the origin. We connect the results to L\'evy Flights, which follow
from a mean field variant of our model.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys.Rev.
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