Frequency Modulation of Spin-Transfer Oscillators

Spin-polarized dc electric current flowing into a magnetic layer can induce precession of the magnetization at a frequency that depends on current. We show that addition of an ac current to this dc bias current results in a frequency modulated (FM) spectral output, generating sidebands spaced at the modulation frequency. The sideband amplitudes and shift of the center frequency with drive amplitude are in good agreement with a nonlinear FM model that takes into account the nonlinear frequency-current relation generally induced by spin transfer. Single-domain simulations show that ac current modulates the cone angle of the magnetization precession, in turn modulating the frequency via the demagnetizing field. These results are promising for communications and signal processing applications of spin-transfer oscillators.Comment: 13 pages, 3 Figure

Temperature dependent dynamic and static magnetic response in magnetic tunnel junctions with Permalloy layers

Ferromagnetic resonance and static magnetic properties of CoFe/Al2O3/CoFe/Py and CoFe/Al2O3/CoFeB/Py magnetic tunnel junctions and of 25nm thick single-layer Permalloy(Py) films have been studied as a function of temperature down to 2K. The temperature dependence of the ferromagnetic resonance excited in the Py layers in magnetic tunnel junctions shows knee-like enhancement of the resonance frequency accompanied by an anomaly in the magnetization near 60K. We attribute the anomalous static and dynamic magnetic response at low temperatures to interface stress induced magnetic reorientation transition at the Py interface which could be influenced by dipolar soft-hard layer coupling through the Al2O3 barrier

The disappearing hand: vestibular stimulation does not improve hand localisation.

Bodily self-consciousness depends on the coherent integration of sensory information. In addition to visual and somatosensory information processing, vestibular contributions have been proposed and investigated. Vestibular information seems especially important for self-location, but remains difficult to study. This randomised controlled experiment used the MIRAGE multisensory illusion box to induce a conflict between the visually- and proprioceptively-encoded position of one hand. Over time, the perceived location of the hand slowly shifts, due to the fact that proprioceptive input is progressively weighted more heavily than the visual input. We hypothesised that left cold caloric vestibular stimulation (CVS) augments this shift in hand localisation. The results from 24 healthy participants do not support our hypothesis: CVS had no effect on the estimations with which the perceived position of the hand shifted from the visually- to the proprioceptively-encoded position. Participants were more likely to report that their hand was 'no longer there' after CVS. Taken together, neither the physical nor the subjective data provide evidence for vestibular enhanced self-location

Laparoscopic Loop Ileostomy Reversal: Reducing Morbidity While Improving Functional Outcomes

The main advantage of a laparoscopic loop ileostomy reversal was found to be visualization of adhesions for lysis and mobilization of the stoma and small bowel

Current-Driven Microwave Dynamics in Magnetic Point Contacts as a Function of Applied Field Angle

We have measured microwave frequency, current-driven magnetization dynamics in point contacts made to Co90Fe10/Cu/ Ni80Fe20 spin valves as a function of applied field strength and angle relative to the film plane. As the field direction is varied from parallel to nearly perpendicular, the device power output increases by roughly two orders of magnitude while the frequencies of the excitations decrease. For intermediate angles the excited frequency does not monotonically vary with applied current and also exhibits abrupt, current-dependent jumps. For certain ranges of current, and applied field strength and direction, the excitation linewidths decrease to a few megahertz, leading to quality factors over 18,000

Flux flow of Abrikosov-Josephson vortices along grain boundaries in high-temperature superconductors

We show that low-angle grain boundaries (GB) in high-temperature superconductors exhibit intermediate Abrikosov vortices with Josephson cores, whose length $l$ along GB is smaller that the London penetration depth, but larger than the coherence length. We found an exact solution for a periodic vortex structure moving along GB in a magnetic field $H$ and calculated the flux flow resistivity $R_F(H)$, and the nonlinear voltage-current characteristics. The predicted $R_F(H)$ dependence describes well our experimental data on $7^{\circ}$ unirradiated and irradiated $YBa_2Cu_3O_7$ bicrystals, from which the core size $l(T)$, and the intrinsic depairing density $J_b(T)$ on nanoscales of few GB dislocations were measured for the first time. The observed temperature dependence of $J_b(T)=J_{b0}(1-T/T_c)^2$ indicates a significant order parameter suppression in current channels between GB dislocation cores.Comment: 5 pages 5 figures. Phys. Rev. Lett. (accepted

Predictive representations can link model-based reinforcement learning to model-free mechanisms

Humans and animals are capable of evaluating actions by considering their long-run future rewards through a process described using model-based reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms. The mechanisms by which neural circuits perform the computations prescribed by model-based RL remain largely unknown; however, multiple lines of evidence suggest that neural circuits supporting model-based behavior are structurally homologous to and overlapping with those thought to carry out model-free temporal difference (TD) learning. Here, we lay out a family of approaches by which model-based computation may be built upon a core of TD learning. The foundation of this framework is the successor representation, a predictive state representation that, when combined with TD learning of value predictions, can produce a subset of the behaviors associated with model-based learning, while requiring less decision-time computation than dynamic programming. Using simulations, we delineate the precise behavioral capabilities enabled by evaluating actions using this approach, and compare them to those demonstrated by biological organisms. We then introduce two new algorithms that build upon the successor representation while progressively mitigating its limitations. Because this framework can account for the full range of observed putatively model-based behaviors while still utilizing a core TD framework, we suggest that it represents a neurally plausible family of mechanisms for model-based evaluation