2,365 research outputs found
Large magnetocrystalline anisotropy in tetragonally distorted Heuslers: a systematic study
With a view to the design of hard magnets without rare earths we explore the
possibility of large magnetocrystalline anisotropy energies in Heusler
compounds that are unstable with respect to a tetragonal distortion. We
consider the Heusler compounds FeYZ with Y = (Ni, Co, Pt), and CoYZ
with Y = (Ni, Fe, Pt) where, in both cases, Z = (Al, Ga, Ge, In, Sn). We find
that for the CoNiZ, CoPtZ, and FePtZ families the cubic phase is
always, at , unstable with respect to a tetragonal distortion, while, in
contrast, for the FeNiZ and FeCoZ families this is the case for only 2
compounds -- FeCoGe and FeCoSn. For all compounds in which a tetragonal
distortion occurs we calculate the MAE finding remarkably large values for the
Pt containing Heuslers, but also large values for a number of the other
compounds (e.g. CoNiGa has an MAE of -2.11~MJ/m). The tendency to a
tetragonal distortion we find to be strongly correlated with a high density of
states at the Fermi level in the cubic phase. As a corollary to this fact we
observe that upon doping compounds for which the cubic structure is stable such
that the Fermi level enters a region of high DOS, a tetragonal distortion is
induced and a correspondingly large value of the MAE is then observed.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
Persistence of characteristics of an ordered flux line lattice above the second peak in
We report Small Angle Neutron Scattering measurements of the flux lines
lattice (FLL) in . As previously reported, the
scattered intensity decreases strongly when the magnetic field is increased,
but it remains measurable far above the second peak. The direct observation of
Bragg peaks proves that the characteristics of a lattice are still present. No
structural features related to a symmetry breaking, such as a liquid like or an
amorphous state, can be observed. However, the associated scattered intensity
is very low and is difficult to explain. We discuss the coexistence between two
FLL states as a possible interpretation.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys Rev
Spin-density fluctuations and the fluctuation-dissipation theorem in 3d ferromagnetic metals
Spatial and time scales of spin density fluctuations (SDF) were analyzed in
3d ferromagnets using ab initio linear response calculations of complete
wavevector and energy dependence of the dynamic spin susceptibility tensor. We
demonstrate that SDF are spread continuously over the entire Brillouin zone and
while majority of them reside within the 3d bandwidth, a significant amount
comes from much higher energies. A validity of the adiabatic approximation in
spin dynamics is discussed. The SDF spectrum is shown to have two main
constituents: a minor low-energy spin wave contribution and a much larger
high-energy component from more localized excitations. Using the
fluctuation-dissipation theorem (FDT), the on-site spin correlator (SC) and the
related effective fluctuating moment were properly evaluated and their
universal dependence on the 3d band population is further discussed
Tamoxifen, 17beta-oestradiol and the calmodulin antagonist J8 inhibit human melanoma cell invasion through fibronectin.
Invasion through stromal extracellular matrix (ECM) is part of the complex, multistep process of tumour cell invasion and metastasis. Our group has previously demonstrated that calcium and calmodulin are important in another step in the metastatic cascade - that of attachment of cells to ECM. Interestingly, the non-steroidal anti-oestrogen tamoxifen (which also has calmodulin antagonist activity), used in the treatment of breast cancer and now in metastatic cutaneous melanoma, can inhibit the attachment of normal and neoplastic cells to ECM. In this study, we investigated whether such drugs, known to inhibit cell attachment, could also subsequently reduce their invasion through a layer of human fibronectin. We examined the ability of the specific calmodulin antagonist J8, tamoxifen and its two major metabolites, N-desmethyltamoxifen (N-des) and 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4-OH), as well as the pure anti-oestrogen ICI 182,780 and 17beta-oestradiol to inhibit invasion of the human cutaneous melanoma cell line, A375-SM, uveal melanoma cells and uveal melanocytes. A375-SM cells and uveal melanoma cells showed a high level of invasion (15.2% and 33.7% respectively) compared with melanocytes (around 5%) under the experimental conditions used. Submicromolar concentrations of N-des, tamoxifen, J8 and 17beta-oestradiol significantly reduced the invasiveness of the A375-SM cell line. The uveal melanoma cells also showed similar inhibition, although at higher concentrations of these agents. 4-OH and ICI 182, 780 had little or no effect on invasion of A375-SM cells (these were not tested on uveal melanoma cells). All cells used in this study were found to be negative for type I nuclear oestrogen receptors, reinforcing the possibility that tamoxifen and 17beta-oestradiol can act via mechanisms unrelated to binding to classical oestrogen receptors to inhibit tumour cell invasion
Ab initio study of ultrafast spin dynamics in Gd<sub>x</sub>(FeCo)<sub>1−x</sub> alloys
Using an ultrashort laser pulse, we explore ab initio the spin dynamics of Gdx(FeCo)1-x at femtosecond time scales. Optical excitations are found to drive charges from Fe majority d-states to unoccupied Gd f-minority states with f-electron character excited occupation lagging behind that of the d-electron character, leading to substantial demagnetization of both species while leaving the global moment almost unchanged. For x > 0.33, this results in the creation of an ultrafast ferromagnetic (FM) transient by the end of the laser pulse with the Gd demagnetization rate slower than that of Fe. For all concentrations, the Gd moments begin to rotate from their ground state orientations developing in-plane moments of between 0.2 and 0.5 μB. Thus, the ultrafast spin dynamics of the material captures three important ingredients of all optical switching that occurs at much later (picosecond) times: (i) the development of a FM transient, (ii) the different rates of demagnetization of Fe and Gd, and (iii) the breaking of the collinear symmetry of the ground state. Furthermore, several predictions are made about the behavior of Fe-Gd alloys that can be experimentally tested and can lead to a spin-filtering device
Direct observation of the flux-line vortex glass phase in a type II superconductor
The order of the vortex state in La_{1.9} Sr_{0.1} CuO_{4} is probed using
muon spin rotation and small-angle neutron scattering. A transition from a
Bragg glass to a vortex glass is observed, where the latter is composed of
disordered vortex lines. In the vicinity of the transition the microscopic
behavior reflects a delicate interplay of thermally-induced and pinning-induced
disorder.Comment: 14 pages, 4 colour figures include
Accurate screened exchange band structures for transition metal monoxides MnO, FeO, CoO and NiO
We report calculations of the band structures and density of states of the
four transition metal monoxides MnO, FeO, CoO and NiO using the hybrid density
functional sX-LDA. Late transition metal oxides are prototypical examples of
strongly correlated materials, which pose challenges for electronic structure
methods. We compare our results with available experimental data and show that
our calculations yield accurate predictions for the fundamental band gaps and
valence bands of FeO, CoO and NiO. For MnO, the band gaps are underestimated,
suggesting additional many-body effects that are not captured by our screened
hybrid functional approach.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 3 table
Probing fractal magnetic domains on multiple length scales in Nd2Fe14B
Using small-angle neutron scattering, we demonstrate that the complex
magnetic domain patterns at the surface of Nd2Fe14B, revealed by quantitative
Kerr and Faraday microscopy, propagate into the bulk and exhibit structural
features with dimensions down to 6 nm, the domain wall thickness. The observed
fractal nature of the domain structures provides an explanation for the
anomalous increase in the bulk magnetization of Nd2Fe14B below the
spin-reorientation transition. These measurements open up a rich playground for
studies of fractal structures in highly anisotropic magnetic systems.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett. (4 pages, 4 figures
Muons as Local Probes of Three-body Correlations in the Mixed State of Type-II Superconductors
The vortex glass state formed by magnetic flux lines in a type-II
superconductor is shown to possess non-trivial three-body correlations. While
such correlations are usually difficult to measure in glassy systems, the
magnetic fields associated with the flux vortices allow us to probe these via
muon-spin rotation measurements of the local field distribution. We show via
numerical simulations and analytic calculations that these observations provide
detailed microscopic insight into the local order of the vortex glass and more
generally validate a theoretical framework for correlations in glassy systems.Comment: 4+ pages, high-quality figures available on reques
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