Low-Prandtl-number B\'enard-Marangoni convection in a vertical magnetic field

The effect of a homogeneous magnetic field on surface-tension-driven B\'{e}nard convection is studied by means of direct numerical simulations. The flow is computed in a rectangular domain with periodic horizontal boundary conditions and the free-slip condition on the bottom wall using a pseudospectral Fourier-Chebyshev discretization. Deformations of the free surface are neglected. Two- and three-dimensional flows are computed for either vanishing or small Prandtl number, which are typical of liquid metals. The main focus of the paper is on a qualitative comparison of the flow states with the non-magnetic case, and on the effects associated with the possible near-cancellation of the nonlinear and pressure terms in the momentum equations for two-dimensional rolls. In the three-dimensional case, the transition from a stationary hexagonal pattern at the onset of convection to three-dimensional time-dependent convection is explored by a series of simulations at zero Prandtl number.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figure

Role of semicore states in the electronic structure of group-III nitrides: An exact exchange study

The bandstructure of the zinc-blende phase of AlN, GaN, InN is calculated employing the exact-exchange (EXX) Kohn-Sham density-functional theory and a pseudopotential plane-wave approach. The cation semicore d electrons are treated both as valence and as core states. The EXX bandgaps of AlN and GaN (obtained with the Ga 3d electrons included as core states) are in excellent agreement with previous EXX results, GW calculations and experiment. Inclusion of the semicore d electrons as valence states leads to a large reduction in the EXX bandgaps of GaN and InN. Contrary to common belief, the removal of the self-interaction, by the EXX approach, does not account for the large disagreement for the position of the semicore d electrons between the LDA results and experiment.Comment: 10 pages including 3 figures; related publications can be found at http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/th/th.htm

Non-Volatile Memory Characteristics of Submicrometre Hall Structures Fabricated in Epitaxial Ferromagnetic MnAl Films on GaAs

Hall-effect structures with submicrometre linewidths (<0.3pm) have been fabricated in ferromagnetic thin films of Mn[sub 0.60]Al[sub 0.40] which are epitaxially grown on a GaAs substrate. The MnAl thin films exhibit a perpendicular remanent magnetisation and an extraordinary Hall effect with square hysteretic behaviour. The presence of two distinct stable readout states demonstrates the potential of using ultrasmall ferromagnetic volumes for electrically addressable, nonvolatile storage of digital information

Commensurability effects in Andreev antidot billiards

An Andreev billiard was realized in an array of niobium filled antidots in a high-mobility InAs/AlGaSb heterostructure. Below the critical temperature T_C of the Nb dots we observe a strong reduction of the resistance around B=0 and a suppression of the commensurability peaks, which are usually found in antidot lattices. Both effects can be explained in a classical Kubo approach by considering the trajectories of charge carriers in the semiconductor, when Andreev reflection at the semiconductor-superconductor interface is included. For perfect Andreev reflection, we expect a complete suppression of the commensurability features, even though motion at finite B is chaotic.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Epitaxial-tau(Mn,Ni)Al/(Al,Ga)As heterostructures: Magnetic and magneto-optic properties

Ferromagnetic Perpendicularly magnetized epitaxial thin films of tau (Mn,Ni)AI have been successfully grown on AlAs/GaAs heterostructures by molecular beam epitaxy. We have investigated the polar Kerr rotation and magnetization of tau MnAl and (Mn,Ni) Al as a function of Mn and Ni concentration. The largest polar Kerr rotation and remnant magnetization were obtained for Mn0.5Al0.5 thin films with values of 0.16-degrees and 224 emu/cm3, respectively. We observed that the Kerr rotation and magnetization remained constant with Ni additions up to about 12 at. % and subsequently decreased with further Ni additions. We discuss these results and one possible method of enhancing the Kerr rotation

Spatial structure of Mn-Mn acceptor pairs in GaAs

The local density of states of Mn-Mn pairs in GaAs is mapped with cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy and compared with theoretical calculations based on envelope-function and tight-binding models. These measurements and calculations show that the crosslike shape of the Mn-acceptor wavefunction in GaAs persists even at very short Mn-Mn spatial separations. The resilience of the Mn-acceptor wave-function to high doping levels suggests that ferromagnetism in GaMnAs is strongly influenced by impurity-band formation. The envelope-function and tight-binding models predict similarly anisotropic overlaps of the Mn wave-functions for Mn-Mn pairs. This anisotropy implies differing Curie temperatures for Mn $\delta$-doped layers grown on differently oriented substrates.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Quantitative Study of Magnetotransport through a (Ga,Mn)As Single Ferromagnetic Domain

We have performed a systematic investigation of the longitudinal and transverse magnetoresistance of a single ferromagnetic domain in (Ga,Mn)As. We find that, by taking into account the intrinsic dependence of the resistivity on the magnetic induction, an excellent agreement between experimental results and theoretical expectations is obtained. Our findings provide a detailed and fully quantitative validation of the theoretical description of magnetotransport through a single ferromagnetic domain. Our analysis furthermore indicates the relevance of magneto-impurity scattering as a mechanism for magnetoresistance in (Ga,Mn)As.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; v2: missing references included, figures recompressed to improve readabilit

Resistance effects due to magnetic guiding orbits

The Hall and magnetoresistance of a two dimensional electron gas subjected to a magnetic field barrier parallel to the current direction is studied as function of the applied perpendicular magnetic field. The recent experimental results of Nogaret {\em et al.} [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 84}, 2231 (2000)] for the magneto- and Hall resistance are explained using a semi-classical theory based on the Landauer-B\"{u}ttiker formula. The observed positive magnetoresistance peak is explained as due to a competition between a decrease of the number of conducting channels as a result of the growing magnetic field, from the fringe field of the ferromagnetic stripe as it becomes magnetized, and the disappearance of snake orbits and the subsequent appearance of cycloidlike orbits.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Voltage controlled spin injection in a (Ga,Mn)As/(Al,Ga)As Zener diode

The spin polarization of the electron current in a p-(Ga,Mn)As-n-(Al,Ga)As-Zener tunnel diode, which is embedded in a light-emitting diode, has been studied theoretically. A series of self-consistent simulations determines the charge distribution, the band bending, and the current-voltage characteristics for the entire structure. An empirical tight-binding model, together with the Landauer- Buttiker theory of coherent transport has been developed to study the current spin polarization. This dual approach allows to explain the experimentally observed high magnitude and strong bias dependence of the current spin polarization.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. B Rapid Communication