540 research outputs found
Spin excitations used to probe the nature of the exchange coupling in the magnetically ordered ground state of PrCaMnO
We have used time-of-flight inelastic neutron scattering to measure the spin
wave spectrum of the canonical half-doped manganite
PrCaMnO, in its magnetic and orbitally ordered phase. The
data, which cover multiple Brillouin zones and the entire energy range of the
excitations, are compared with several different models that are all consistent
with the CE-type magnetic order, but arise through different exchange coupling
schemes. The Goodenough model, i.e. an ordered state comprising strong nearest
neighbor ferromagnetic interactions along zig-zag chains with antiferromagnetic
inter-chain coupling, provides the best description of the data, provided that
further neighbor interactions along the chains are included. We are able to
rule out a coupling scheme involving formation of strongly bound ferromagnetic
dimers, i.e. Zener polarons, on the basis of gross features of the observed
spin wave spectrum. A model with weaker dimerization reproduces the observed
dispersion but can be ruled out on the basis of discrepancies between the
calculated and observed structure factors at certain positions in reciprocal
space. Adding further neighbor interactions results in almost no dimerization,
i.e. recovery of the Goodenough model. These results are consistent with
theoretical analysis of the degenerate double exchange model for half-doping,
and provide a recipe for how to interpret future measurements away from
half-doping, where degenerate double exchange models predict more complex
ground states.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figure
Allantoin Crystal Formation in Bagrada hilaris (Burmeister) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) Females.
Bagrada hilaris is a polyphagous herbivore reported as an invasive pest in the United States. During the course of dissecting Burmeister hilaris unique crystals were observed in both the midgut and oviducts. Crystals were identified using X-ray diffraction techniques. Both acicular (i.e., needle-like, slender, and/or tapered) and cubic (i.e., cube shaped) crystals were observed in six of 75 individuals examined (8.0%). The crystals were mainly observed in females (6.7%), followed by males (1.3%) with no crystals observed in the minimal number of nymphs examined (0%). Crystals of both types were detected in the midgut and lateral oviducts of the females and midgut in males. The acicular crystals often appeared as distinct bundles when present in the midgut and oviducts. Crystals varied in size with the acicular crystals ranging from 0.12 mm to 0.5 mm in length although the cubic crystals ranged in length from 0.25 mm to over 1.0 mm with widths of ∼0.25 mm. The cubic crystals were identified as allantoin although the acicular crystals were most likely dl-allantoin in combination with halite. While allantoin in a soluble form is often found in insect tissues and excreta; being present as a crystal, especially in such a large form, is curious and raises some interesting questions. More research is warranted to further understand mechanisms associated with such crystal formation in B. hilaris and can lead to a better understanding of the excretory process in this species and the role allantoin plays in the elimination of excess nitrogen
Determination of the crystal structure of CuSnTi by full profile Rietveld analysis
The crystal structure of the new ternary phase CuSnTi is determined by full profile Rietveld analysis of the powder diffractogram. 104 reflections were refined to a final RBragg value of 5.60%. CuSnTi crystallizes with the spacegroup P63/mmc and is isostructural to InNi2. The lattice parameters are a=0.439 555(5) nm and c=0.601 505(9) n
Electron doping evolution of the magnetic excitations in NaFeCoAs
We use time-of-flight (ToF) inelastic neutron scattering (INS) spectroscopy
to investigate the doping dependence of magnetic excitations across the phase
diagram of NaFeCoAs with and .
The effect of electron-doping by partially substituting Fe by Co is to form
resonances that couple with superconductivity, broaden and suppress low energy
( meV) spin excitations compared with spin waves in undoped NaFeAs.
However, high energy ( meV) spin excitations are weakly Co-doping
dependent. Integration of the local spin dynamic susceptibility
of NaFeCoAs reveals a total
fluctuating moment of 3.6 /Fe and a small but systematic reduction
with electron doping. The presence of a large spin gap in the Co-overdoped
nonsuperconducting NaFeCoAs suggests that Fermi surface
nesting is responsible for low-energy spin excitations. These results parallel
Ni-doping evolution of spin excitations in BaFeNiAs, confirming
the notion that low-energy spin excitations coupling with itinerant electrons
are important for superconductivity, while weakly doping dependent high-energy
spin excitations result from localized moments.Comment: 14 pages, 16 figure
Spin pseudogap in Ni-doped SrCuO2
The S=1/2 spin chain material SrCuO2 doped with 1% S=1 Ni-impurities is
studied by inelastic neutron scattering. At low temperatures, the spectrum
shows a pseudogap \Delta ~ 8 meV, absent in the parent compound, and not
related to any structural phase transition. The pseudogap is shown to be a
generic feature of quantum spin chains with dilute defects. A simple model
based on this idea quantitatively accounts for the exprimental data measured in
the temperature range 2-300 K, and allows to represent the momentum-integrated
dynamic structure factor in a universal scaling form.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Evolution of brown carbon in wildfire plumes
Particulate brown carbon (BrC) in the atmosphere absorbs light at subvisible wavelengths and has poorly constrained but potentially large climate forcing impacts. BrC from biomass burning has virtually unknown lifecycle and atmospheric stability. Here, BrC emitted from intense wildfires was measured in plumes transported over 2 days from two main fires, during the 2013 NASA SEAC4RS mission. Concurrent measurements of organic aerosol (OA) and black carbon (BC) mass concentration, BC coating thickness, absorption Ångström exponent, and OA oxidation state reveal that the initial BrC emitted from the fires was largely unstable. Using back trajectories to estimate the transport time indicates that BrC aerosol light absorption decayed in the plumes with a half-life of 9 to 15 h, measured over day and night. Although most BrC was lost within a day, possibly through chemical loss and/or evaporation, the remaining persistent fraction likely determines the background BrC levels most relevant for climate forcing
Global and regional effects of the photochemistry of CH_3O_2NO_2: evidence from ARCTAS
Using measurements from the NASA Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) experiment, we show that methyl peroxy nitrate (CH_3O_2NO_2) is present in concentrations of ~5–15 pptv in the springtime arctic upper troposphere. We investigate the regional and global effects of CH_3O_2NO_2 by including its chemistry in the GEOS-Chem 3-D global chemical transport model. We find that at temperatures below 240 K inclusion of CH_3O_2NO_2 chemistry results in decreases of up to ~20 % in NO_x, ~20 % in N_2O_5, ~5 % in HNO3, ~2 % in ozone, and increases in methyl hydrogen peroxide of up to ~14 %. Larger changes are observed in biomass burning plumes lofted to high altitude. Additionally, by sequestering NO_x at low temperatures, CH_3O_2NO_2 decreases the cycling of HO_2 to OH, resulting in a larger upper tropospheric HO_2 to OH ratio. These results may impact some estimates of lightning NO_x sources as well as help explain differences between models and measurements of upper tropospheric composition
Brown carbon aerosol in the North American continental troposphere: sources, abundance, and radiative forcing
Chemical components of organic aerosol (OA) selectively absorb light at short wavelengths. In this study, the prevalence, sources, and optical importance of this so called brown carbon (BrC) aerosol component are investigated throughout the North American continental tropospheric column during a summer of extensive biomass burning. Spectrophotometric absorption measurements on extracts of bulk aerosol samples collected from an aircraft over the central USA were analyzed to directly quantify BrC abundance. BrC was found to be prevalent throughout the 1 to 12 km altitude measurement range, with dramatic enhancements in biomass-burning plumes. BrC to black carbon (BC) ratios, under background tropospheric conditions, increased with altitude, consistent with a corresponding increase in the absorption Ångström exponent (AAE) determined from a three-wavelength particle soot absorption photometer (PSAP). The sum of inferred BC absorption and measured BrC absorption at 365 nm was within 3 % of the measured PSAP absorption for background conditions and 22 % for biomass burning. A radiative transfer model showed that BrC absorption reduced top-of atmosphere (TOA) aerosol forcing by ∼ 20 % in the background troposphere. Extensive radiative model simulations applying this study background tropospheric conditions provided a look-up chart for determining radiative forcing efficiencies of BrC as a function of a surface-measured BrC : BC ratio and single scattering albedo (SSA). The chart is a first attempt to provide a tool for better assessment of brown carbon’s forcing effect when one is limited to only surface data. These results indicate that BrC is an important contributor to direct aerosol radiative forcing
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