155 research outputs found
Random local strain effects in homovalent-substituted relaxor ferroelectrics: a first-principles study of BaTi0.74Zr0.26O3
We present first-principles supercell calculations on BaTi0.74Zr0.26O3, a
prototype material for relaxors with a homovalent substitution. From a
statistical analysis of relaxed structures, we give evidence for four types of
Ti-atom polar displacements: along the , , or
directions of the cubic unit cell, or almost cancelled. The type of a Ti
displacement is entirely determined by the Ti/Zr distribution in the adjacent
unit cells. The underlying mechanism involves local strain effects that ensue
from the difference in size between the Ti4+ and Zr4+ cations. These results
shed light on the structural mechanisms that lead to disordered Ti
displacements in BaTi(1-x)Zr(x)O3 relaxors, and probably in other BaTiO3-based
relaxors with homovalent substitution.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Experimental study of the competition between Kondo and RKKY interactions for Mn spins in a model alloy system
The quasicrystal Al-Pd-Mn is a model system for an experimental study of the
competition between Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yoshida (RKKY) and Kondo
interactions. First, specific of such alloys, only a few Mn atoms carry an
effective spin and their concentration x is tunable over several orders of
magnitude, even though the Mn amount is almost constant. Second, the
characteristic energy scales for the interactions lie in the Kelvin range.
Hence we could study the magnetization on both side of these energy scales,
covering a range of temperatures [0.1-100 K] and magnetic fields (mu_B H/k_B= 0
to 5 K) for 22 samples and x varying over 2 decades. Using very general Kondo
physics arguments, and thus carrying out the data analysis with no preconceived
model, we found a very robust and simple result: The magnetization is a sum of
a pure Kondo (T_K=3.35K) and a pure RKKY contributions, whatever the moment
concentration is and this surprisingly up to the concentration where the RKKY
couplings dominate fully and thus cannot be considered as a perturbation.Comment: 18 pages, 18 figure
Colossal Spin-Phonon Anomalies and the Ferroelectric Phase Transition in the Model Multiferroic Bifeo3
We report a temperature-dependent Raman and neutron scattering investigation
of the multiferroic material bismuth ferrite BiFeO3 (BFO).Comment: submitted to PRL (July 2005
Non-collinear magnetism in Al-Mn topologically disordered systems
We have performed the first ab-initio calculations of a possible complex
non-collinear magnetic structure in aluminium-rich Al-Mn liquids within the
real-space tight-binding LMTO method. In our previous work we predicted the
existence of large magnetic moments in Al-Mn liquids [A.M. Bratkovsky, A.V.
Smirnov, D. N. Manh, and A. Pasturel, \prb {\bf 52}, 3056 (1995)] which has
been very recently confirmed experimentally. Our present calculations show that
there is a strong tendency for the moments on Mn to have a non-collinear
(random) order retaining their large value of about 3~. The d-electrons
on Mn demonstrate a pronounced non-rigid band behaviour which cannot be
reproduced within a simple Stoner picture. The origin of the magnetism in these
systems is a topological disorder which drives the moments formation and
frustrates their directions in the liquid phase.Comment: 10 pages, RevTex 3.0, 24kb. 3 PS figures available on request from
[email protected] The work has been presented at ERC
``Electronic Structire of Solids'' (Lunteren, The Netherlands, 9-14 September
1995
EXAFS study of lead-free relaxor ferroelectric BaTi(1-x)Zr(x)O3 at the Zr K-edge
Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) experiments at the Zr K-edge
were carried out on perovskite relaxor ferroelectrics BaTi(1-x)Zr(x)O3 (BTZ) (x
= 0.25, 0.30, 0.35), and on BaZrO3 for comparison. Structural information up to
4.5 A around the Zr atoms is obtained, revealing that the local structure
differs notably from the average Pm-3m cubic structure deduced from X-ray
diffraction. In particular, our results show that the distance between Zr atoms
and their first oxygen neighbors is independent of the Zr substitution rate x
and equal to that measured in BaZrO3, while the X-ray cubic cell parameter
increases linearly with x. Furthermore, we show that the Zr atoms tend to
segregate in Zr-rich regions. We propose that the relaxor behavior in BTZ is
linked to random elastic fields generated by this particular chemical
arrangement, rather than to random electric fields as is the case in most
relaxors.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, 4 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Hidden magnetic frustration by quantum relaxation in anisotropic Nd-langasite
The static and dynamic magnetic properties of the NdGaSiO
compound, which appears as the first materialization of a rare-earth
kagome-type lattice, were re-examined, owing to contradictory results in the
previous studies. Neutron scattering, magnetization and specific heat
measurements were performed and analyzed, in particular by fully taking account
of the crystal electric field effects on the Nd ions. One of the novel
findings is that the peculiar temperature independent spin dynamics observed
below 10 K expresses single-ion quantum processes. This would short-circuit the
frustration induced cooperative dynamics, which would emerge only at very low
temperature
RNAi-mediated suppression of vimentin or glial fibrillary acidic protein prevents the establishment of Müller glial cell hypertrophy in progressive retinal degeneration.
Gliosis is a complex process comprising upregulation of intermediate filament (IF) proteins, particularly glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and vimentin, changes in glial cell morphology (hypertrophy) and increased deposition of inhibitory extracellular matrix molecules. Gliosis is common to numerous pathologies and can have deleterious effects on tissue function and regeneration. The role of IFs in gliosis is controversial, but a key hypothesized function is the stabilization of glial cell hypertrophy. Here, we developed RNAi approaches to examine the role of GFAP and vimentin in vivo in a murine model of inherited retinal degeneration, the Rhodopsin knockout (Rho-/- ) mouse. Specifically, we sought to examine the role of these IFs in the establishment of Müller glial hypertrophy during progressive degeneration, as opposed to (more commonly assessed) acute injury. Prevention of Gfap upregulation had a significant effect on the morphology of reactive Müller glia cells in vivo and, more strikingly, the reduction of Vimentin expression almost completely prevented these cells from undergoing degeneration-associated hypertrophy. Moreover, and in contrast to studies in knockout mice, simultaneous suppression of both GFAP and vimentin expression led to severe changes in the cytoarchitecture of the retina, in both diseased and wild-type eyes. These data demonstrate a crucial role for Vimentin, as well as GFAP, in the establishment of glial hypertrophy and support the further exploration of RNAi-mediated knockdown of vimentin as a potential therapeutic approach for modulating scar formation in the degenerating retina
Spin-orbit readout using thin films of topological insulator Sb2Te3 deposited by industrial magnetron sputtering
Driving a spin-logic circuit requires the production of a large output signal
by spin-charge interconversion in spin-orbit readout devices. This should be
possible by using topological insulators, which are known for their high
spin-charge interconversion efficiency. However, high-quality topological
insulators have so far only been obtained on a small scale, or with large scale
deposition techniques which are not compatible with conventional industrial
deposition processes. The nanopatterning and electrical spin injection into
these materials has also proven difficult due to their fragile structure and
low spin conductance. We present the fabrication of a spin-orbit readout device
from the topological insulator Sb2Te3 deposited by large-scale industrial
magnetron sputtering on SiO2. Despite a modification of the Sb2Te3 layer
structural properties during the device nanofabrication, we measured a sizeable
output voltage that can be unambiguously ascribed to a spin-charge
interconversion process
Assessing the ultra-central flow puzzle in the Bayesian era
An outstanding problem in the field of relativistic heavy-ion collisions is
the inability for any simulation model to accurately describe experimental flow
data in extremely central collisions -- in particular, models always predict
either an elliptic flow that is too large or triangular flow that is too small
(or both). We reassess the status of this puzzle in light of recent progress in
Bayesian parameter estimation, in which a large model parameter space can be
efficiently explored to determine what parameters are necessary for a good fit
to experimental results, and how well state-of-the-art models are able to
describe data. We explore predictions for flow in ultra-central collisions from
multiple recent Bayesian models that were tuned to various observables in
different collision systems at typical centralities. We find that, while
ultra-central data can now be described with better accuracy than in previous
calculations, tension with experimental observation remains, and progressively
gets worse as one goes to more central collisions. Thus, the physics of
ultra-central collisions is still not fully understood. A resolution to this
puzzle will be an important step in solidifying our understanding of the
physics of the strong interactions in these extreme conditions, as well as
increasing our confidence in the results of precision analyses.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Corneal Transduction by Intra-Stromal Injection of AAV Vectors In Vivo in the Mouse and Ex Vivo in Human Explants
The cornea is a transparent, avascular tissue that acts as the major refractive surface of the eye. Corneal transparency, assured by the inner stroma, is vital for this role. Disruption in stromal transparency can occur in some inherited or acquired diseases. As a consequence, light entering the eye is blocked or distorted, leading to decreased visual acuity. Possible treatment for restoring transparency could be via viral-based gene therapy. The stroma is particularly amenable to this strategy due to its immunoprivileged nature and low turnover rate. We assayed the potential of AAV vectors to transduce keratocytes following intra-stromal injection in vivo in the mouse cornea and ex vivo in human explants. In murine and human corneas, we transduced the entire stroma using a single injection, preferentially targeted keratocytes and achieved long-term gene transfer (up to 17 months in vivo in mice). Of the serotypes tested, AAV2/8 was the most promising for gene transfer in both mouse and man. Furthermore, transgene expression could be transiently increased following aggression to the cornea
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