776 research outputs found
Interaction-driven spin precession in quantum-dot spin valves
We analyze spin-dependent transport through spin valves composed of an
interacting quantum dot coupled to two ferromagnetic leads. The spin on the
quantum dot and the linear conductance as a function of the relative angle
of the leads' magnetization directions is derived to lowest order in
the dot-lead coupling strength. Due to the applied bias voltage spin
accumulates on the quantum dot, which for finite charging energy experiences a
torque, resulting in spin precession. The latter leads to a non-trivial,
interaction-dependent, -dependence of the conductance. In particular,
we find that the spin-valve effect is reduced for all .Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, version to be published in Phys. Rev. Let
Electric-field controlled spin reversal in a quantum dot with ferromagnetic contacts
Manipulation of the spin-states of a quantum dot by purely electrical means
is a highly desirable property of fundamental importance for the development of
spintronic devices such as spin-filters, spin-transistors and single-spin
memory as well as for solid-state qubits. An electrically gated quantum dot in
the Coulomb blockade regime can be tuned to hold a single unpaired spin-1/2,
which is routinely spin-polarized by an applied magnetic field. Using
ferromagnetic electrodes, however, the properties of the quantum dot become
directly spin-dependent and it has been demonstrated that the ferromagnetic
electrodes induce a local exchange-field which polarizes the localized spin in
the absence of any external fields. Here we report on the experimental
realization of this tunneling-induced spin-splitting in a carbon nanotube
quantum dot coupled to ferromagnetic nickel-electrodes. We study the
intermediate coupling regime in which single-electron states remain well
defined, but with sufficiently good tunnel-contacts to give rise to a sizable
exchange-field. Since charge transport in this regime is dominated by the
Kondo-effect, we can utilize this sharp many-body resonance to read off the
local spin-polarization from the measured bias-spectroscopy. We show that the
exchange-field can be compensated by an external magnetic field, thus restoring
a zero-bias Kondo-resonance, and we demonstrate that the exchange-field itself,
and hence the local spin-polarization, can be tuned and reversed merely by
tuning the gate-voltage. This demonstrates a very direct electrical control
over the spin-state of a quantum dot which, in contrast to an applied magnetic
field, allows for rapid spin-reversal with a very localized addressing.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figure
Kondo quantum dot coupled to ferromagnetic leads: Numerical renormalization group study
We systematically study the influence of ferromagnetic leads on the Kondo
resonance in a quantum dot tuned to the local moment regime. We employ Wilson's
numerical renormalization group method, extended to handle leads with a spin
asymmetric density of states, to identify the effects of (i) a finite spin
polarization in the leads (at the Fermi-surface), (ii) a Stoner splitting in
the bands (governed by the band edges) and (iii) an arbitrary shape of the
leads density of states. For a generic lead density of states the quantum dot
favors being occupied by a particular spin-species due to exchange interaction
with ferromagnetic leads leading to a suppression and splitting of the Kondo
resonance. The application of a magnetic field can compensate this asymmetry
restoring the Kondo effect. We study both the gate-voltage dependence (for a
fixed band structure in the leads) and the spin polarization dependence (for
fixed gate voltage) of this compensation field for various types of bands.
Interestingly, we find that the full recovery of the Kondo resonance of a
quantum dot in presence of leads with an energy dependent density of states is
not only possible by an appropriately tuned external magnetic field but also
via an appropriately tuned gate voltage. For flat bands simple formulas for the
splitting of the local level as a function of the spin polarization and gate
voltage are given.Comment: 18 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in PR
Crossover from Kondo assisted suppression to co-tunneling enhancement of tunneling magnetoresistance via ferromagnetic nanodots in MgO tunnel barriers
Recently, it has been shown that magnetic tunnel junctions with thin MgO
tunnel barriers exhibit extraordinarily high tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR)
values at room temperature1, 2. However, the physics of spin dependent
tunneling through MgO barriers is only beginning to be unravelled. Using planar
magnetic tunnel junctions in which ultra-thin layers of magnetic metals are
deposited in the middle of a MgO tunnel barrier here we demonstrate that the
TMR is strongly modified when these layers are discontinuous and composed of
small pancake shaped nanodots. At low temperatures, in the Coulomb blockade
regime, for layers less than ~1 nm thick, the conductance of the junction is
increased at low bias consistent with Kondo assisted tunneling. In the same
regime we observe a suppression of the TMR. For slightly thicker layers, and
correspondingly larger nanodots, the TMR is enhanced at low bias, consistent
with co-tunneling.Comment: Nano Letters (in press
Tubulin is actively exported from the nucleus through the Exportin1/CRM1 pathway
Microtubules of all eukaryotic cells are formed by α- and β-tubulin heterodimers. In addition to the well known cytoplasmic tubulins, a subpopulation of tubulin can occur in the nucleus. So far, the potential function of nuclear tubulin has remained elusive. In this work, we show that α- and β-tubulins of various organisms contain multiple conserved nuclear export sequences, which are potential targets of the Exportin 1/CRM1 pathway. We demonstrate exemplarily that these NES motifs are sufficient to mediate export of GFP as model cargo and that this export can be inhibited by leptomycin B, an inhibitor of the Exportin 1/CRM1 pathway. Likewise, leptomycin B causes accumulation of GFP-tagged tubulin in interphase nuclei, in both plant and animal model cells. Our analysis of nuclear tubulin content supports the hypothesis that an important function of nuclear tubulin export is the exclusion of tubulin from interphase nuclei, after being trapped by nuclear envelope reassembly during telophase
Tubulin is actively exported from the nucleus through the Exportin1/CRM1 pathway
Microtubules of all eukaryotic cells are formed by α- and β-tubulin heterodimers. In addition to the well known cytoplasmic tubulins, a subpopulation of tubulin can occur in the nucleus. So far, the potential function of nuclear tubulin has remained elusive. In this work, we show that α- and β-tubulins of various organisms contain multiple conserved nuclear export sequences, which are potential targets of the Exportin 1/CRM1 pathway. We demonstrate exemplarily that these NES motifs are sufficient to mediate export of GFP as model cargo and that this export can be inhibited by leptomycin B, an inhibitor of the Exportin 1/CRM1 pathway. Likewise, leptomycin B causes accumulation of GFP-tagged tubulin in interphase nuclei, in both plant and animal model cells. Our analysis of nuclear tubulin content supports the hypothesis that an important function of nuclear tubulin export is the exclusion of tubulin from interphase nuclei, after being trapped by nuclear envelope reassembly during telophase
Indirect Exchange Interaction between two Quantum Dots in an Aharonov-Bohm Ring
We investigate the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction between
two spins located at two quantum dots embedded in an Aharonov-Bohm (AB) ring.
In such a system the RKKY interaction, which oscillates as a function of the
distance between two local spins, is affected by the flux. For the case of the
ferromagnetic RKKY interaction, we find that the amplitude of AB oscillations
is enhanced by the Kondo correlations and an additional maximum appears at half
flux, where the interaction is switched off. For the case of the
antiferromagnetic RKKY interaction, we find that the phase of AB oscillations
is shifted by pi, which is attributed to the formation of a singlet state
between two spins for the flux value close to integer value of flux.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure
Spintronic transport and Kondo effect in quantum dots
We investigate the spin-dependent transport properties of quantum-dot based
structures where Kondo correlations dominate the electronic dynamics. The
coupling to ferromagnetic leads with parallel magnetizations is known to give
rise to nontrivial effects in the local density of states of a single quantum
dot. We show that this influence strongly depends on whether charge
fluctuations are present or absent in the dot. This result is confirmed with
numerical renormalization group calculations and perturbation theory in the
on-site interaction. In the Fermi-liquid fixed point, we determine the
correlations of the electric current at zero temperature (shot noise) and
demonstrate that the Fano factor is suppressed below the Poissonian limit for
the symmetric point of the Anderson Hamiltonian even for nonzero lead
magnetizations. We discuss possible avenues of future research in this field:
coupling to the low energy excitations of the ferromagnets (magnons), extension
to double quantum dot systems with interdot antiferromagnetic interaction and
effect of spin-polarized currents on higher symmetry Kondo states such as
SU(4).Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures. Proceedings of the 3rd Intl. Conf. on Physics
and Applications of Spin-Related Phenomena in Semiconductors, Santa Barbara,
200
NRG study of the Kondo effect in the presence of itinerant-electron ferromagnetism
The Kondo effect in quantum dots (QDs) - artificial magnetic impurities -
attached to ferromagnetic leads is studied with the numerical renormalization
group (NRG) method. It is shown that the QD level is spin-split due to presence
of ferromagnetic electrodes, leading to a suppression of the Kondo effect. We
find that the Kondo effect can be restored by compensating this splitting with
a magnetic field. Although the resulting Kondo resonance then has an unusual
spin asymmetry with a reduced Kondo temperature, the ground state is still a
locally-screened state, describable by Fermi liquid theory and a generalized
Friedel sum rule, and transport in the unitary limit is not spin dependent.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Study on early inflorescence development in bread wheat (T. aestivum L.) lines with non-standard SCR-morphotype
Features of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) inflorescence development define its architecture and have an impact on yield potential. Wheat lines and forms with altered inflorescence morphology are important genetic resources for the study on the genetic mechanisms underlying plant developmental programs and inflorescence architecture; they are also important for practical use to increase productivity. Normally, wheat spikelets are arranged in two parallel rows along the spike axis. The SCR (screwed spike rachis) lines represent a non-standard morphotype, which is characterized by a spiral arrangement of spikelets along the spiked rachis. The study of the early stages of the inflorescence development in SCR-lines using light and scanning electron microscopy revealed that the spiral arrangement of spikelets were not related to changes at the early stage of inflorescence development, and resulted from spiral growth of spike rachis cells at later stages of spike growth. Thus, the spiral arrangement of spikelets in cereal inflorescence may have resulted not only from peculiarities of the mutual arrangement of spikelet meristems (phyllotaxis), but also from cell growth features at later stages of inflorescence growth. It was shown that SCR is inherited as a dominant monogenic trait; its expression can be modified by genotypic background. The SCR-lines characterized using light and scanning electron microscopy represent an important genetic resource for further study of the molecular-genetic mechanisms determining plant architecture. Furthermore, they can be used to develop wheat lines and cultivars with new inflorescence phenotypes
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