Nonequilibrium spin-transfer torque in SFNFS junctions

We report theoretical results for the nonequilibrium spin current and spin-transfer torque in voltage-biased SFNFS Josephson structures. The subharmonic gap structures and high voltage asymptotic behaviors of the dc and ac components of the spin current are analyzed and related to the spin-dependent inelastic scattering of quasiparticles at both F layers.Comment: minor changes, published versio

Speed of Meridional Flows and Magnetic Flux Transport on the Sun

We use the magnetic butterfly diagram to determine the speed of the magnetic flux transport on the solar surface towards the poles. The manifestation of the flux transport is clearly visible as elongated structures extended from the sunspot belt to the polar regions. The slopes of these structures are measured and interpreted as meridional magnetic flux transport speed. Comparison with the time-distance helioseismology measurements of the mean speed of the meridional flows at the depth of 3.5--12 Mm shows a generally good agreement, but the speeds of the flux transport and the meridional flow are significantly different in areas occupied by the magnetic field. The local circulation flows around active regions, especially the strong equatorward flows on the equatorial side of active regions affect the mean velocity profile derived by helioseismology, but do not influence the magnetic flux transport. The results show that the mean longitudinally averaged meridional flow measurements by helioseismology may not be used directly in solar dynamo models for describing the magnetic flux transport, and that it is necessary to take into account the longitudinal structure of these flows.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted in ApJ Letter

Magnon squeezing in an antiferromagnet: reducing the spin noise below the standard quantum limit

At absolute zero temperature, thermal noise vanishes when a physical system is in its ground state, but quantum noise remains as a fundamental limit to the accuracy of experimental measurements. Such a limitation, however, can be mitigated by the formation of squeezed states. Quantum mechanically, a squeezed state is a time-varying superposition of states for which the noise of a particular observable is reduced below that of the ground state at certain times. Quantum squeezing has been achieved for a variety of systems, including the electromagnetic field, atomic vibrations in solids and molecules, and atomic spins, but not so far for magnetic systems. Here we report on an experimental demonstration of spin wave (i.e., magnon) squeezing. Our method uses femtosecond optical pulses to generate correlations involving pairs of magnons in an antiferromagnetic insulator, MnF2. These correlations lead to quantum squeezing in which the fluctuations of the magnetization of a crystallographic unit cell vary periodically in time and are reduced below that of the ground state quantum noise. The mechanism responsible for this squeezing is stimulated second order Raman scattering by magnon pairs. Such squeezed states have important ramifications in the emerging fields of spintronics and quantum computing involving magnetic spin states or the spin-orbit coupling mechanism

A Generalization of Mathieu Subspaces to Modules of Associative Algebras

We first propose a generalization of the notion of Mathieu subspaces of associative algebras $\mathcal A$, which was introduced recently in [Z4] and [Z6], to $\mathcal A$-modules $\mathcal M$. The newly introduced notion in a certain sense also generalizes the notion of submodules. Related with this new notion, we also introduce the sets $\sigma(N)$ and $\tau(N)$ of stable elements and quasi-stable elements, respectively, for all $R$-subspaces $N$ of $\mathcal A$-modules $\mathcal M$, where $R$ is the base ring of $\mathcal A$. We then prove some general properties of the sets $\sigma(N)$ and $\tau(N)$. Furthermore, examples from certain modules of the quasi-stable algebras [Z6], matrix algebras over fields and polynomial algebras are also studied.Comment: A new case has been added; some mistakes and misprints have been corrected. Latex, 31 page

Current practice and challenges towards handling uncertainty for effective outcomes in maintenance

The combination of viable heuristic attributes with statistical measurements presents significant challenges in industrial maintenance for complex assets under through-life service contracts. Techniques to obtain and process heuristic attributes raise numerous uncertainties which often go undefined and unmitigated. A holistic view of these uncertainties may improve decision-making capabilities and reduce maintenance costs and turnaround time. It is therefore necessary to identify and rank factors that influence uncertainties originating from challenges in the above context. This, along with an identification of who contributes to such challenges and current practice to handle them, sets the focus for this study. The influence of 32 categorised factors on uncertainty is assessed through a questionnaire completed by nine experienced maintenance managers from a leading defence company. The pedigree approach is applied to score validity of respondents’ answers according to their experience and job role to normalise scores. Results are discussed in interviews with respondents along with current practice in and ways to improve uncertainty assessment. Scores are weighted through the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) in order to identify the most influential factors on uncertainty in maintenance. The analysis revealed that these include: intellectual property rights (IPR), maintainer performance, quality of information, resistance to change, stakeholder communication and technology integration. These are verified with 40 practitioners from various industrial backgrounds. From the interviews, it is deemed that a holistic view of heuristic and statistical attributes ultimately allows for more accomplished decision-making but requires trade-offs between quality and cost over the asset’s life cycle

Lowest eigenvalue of the nuclear shell model Hamiltonian

In this paper we investigate regular patterns of matrix elements of the nuclear shell model Hamiltonian $H$, by sorting the diagonal matrix elements from the smaller to larger values. By using simple plots of non-zero matrix elements and lowest eigenvalues of artificially constructed "sub-matrices" $h$ of $H$, we propose a new and simple formula which predicts the lowest eigenvalue with remarkable precisions.Comment: six pages, four figures, Physical Review C, in pres