7,088 research outputs found
From RE-211 to RE-123. How to control the final microstructure of superconducting single-domains
This paper reviews the usual techniques for producing YBCO-type
single-domains and the microstructure of the as-obtained samples. The problems
of seed dissolution and parasite nucleations are discussed in details.
Formation of microstructural defects, such as pores and cracks, are examined.
An important part of this review is devoted to the study of the influence of
RE-211 particles [RE2BaCuO5 where RE denotes Y, Yb, Nd, Sm, Dy, Gd, Eu or a
mixture of them. Generally Nd4Ba2Cu2O10 is preferred to Nd2BaCuO5] on the
microstructure and properties of RE-Ba-Cu-O single-domains. Trapping/Pushing
theory is described in order to explain the spatial distribution of RE-211
particles in the RE-123 [(RE)Ba2Cu3O7-d] monoliths. Formation of RE-211-free
regions is discussed. Different ways to limit the RE-211 coarsening are
reviewed. Microstructural defects in the RE-123 matrix caused by the RE-211
particles are presented. It is also shown that RE-211 particles play a
significant role on the mechanical properties of single-domain samples. We
finish this review by discussing the Infiltration and Growth process as a good
technique to control the microstructure.Comment: review paper to be published in Supercond. Sci. Technol.; 19 figures;
137 references; 37 page
The nanoscale phase separation in hole-doped manganites
A macroscopic phase separation, in which ferromagnetic clusters are observed
in an insulating matrix, is sometimes observed, and believed to be essential to
the colossal magnetoresistive (CMR) properties of manganese oxides. The
application of a magnetic field may indeed trigger large magnetoresistance
effects due to the percolation between clusters allowing the movement of the
charge carriers. However, this macroscopic phase separation is mainly related
to extrinsic defects or impurities, which hinder the long-ranged charge-orbital
order of the system. We show in the present article that rather than the
macroscopic phase separation, an homogeneous short-ranged charge-orbital order
accompanied by a spin glass state occurs, as an intrinsic result of the
uniformity of the random potential perturbation induced by the solid solution
of the cations on the -sites of the structure of these materials. Hence the
phase separation does occur, but in a more subtle and interesting nanoscopic
form, here referred as ``homogeneous''. Remarkably, this ``nanoscale phase
separation'' alone is able to bring forth the colossal magnetoresistance in the
perovskite manganites, and is potentially relevant to a wide variety of other
magnetic and/or electrical properties of manganites, as well as many other
transition metal oxides, in bulk or thin film form as we exemplify throughout
the article.Comment: jpsj2 TeX style (J. Phys. Soc. Jpn); 18 pages, 7 figure
Ferromagnetism and interlayer exchange coupling in short period (Ga,Mn)As/GaAs superlattices
Magnetic properties of (Ga,Mn)As/GaAs superlattices are investigated. The
structures contain magnetic (Ga,Mn)As layers, separated by thin layers of
non-magnetic GaAs spacer. The short period GaMnAs/GaAs
superlattices exhibit a paramagnetic-to-ferromagnetic phase transition close to
60K, for thicknesses of (Ga,Mn)As down to 23 \AA. For
GaMnAs/GaAs superlattices of similar dimensions, the Curie
temperature associated with the ferromagnetic transition is found to oscillate
with the thickness of non magnetic spacer. The observed oscillations are
related to an interlayer exchange interaction mediated by the polarized holes
of the (Ga,Mn)As layers.Comment: REVTeX 4 style; 4 pages, 2 figure
The bicomplex quantum Coulomb potential problem
Generalizations of the complex number system underlying the mathematical
formulation of quantum mechanics have been known for some time, but the use of
the commutative ring of bicomplex numbers for that purpose is relatively new.
This paper provides an analytical solution of the quantum Coulomb potential
problem formulated in terms of bicomplex numbers. We define the problem by
introducing a bicomplex hamiltonian operator and extending the canonical
commutation relations to the form [X_i,P_k] = i_1 hbar xi delta_{ik}, where xi
is a bicomplex number. Following Pauli's algebraic method, we find the
eigenvalues of the bicomplex hamiltonian. These eigenvalues are also obtained,
along with appropriate eigenfunctions, by solving the extension of
Schrodinger's time-independent differential equation. Examples of solutions are
displayed. There is an orthonormal system of solutions that belongs to a
bicomplex Hilbert space.Comment: Clarifications; some figures removed; version to appear in Can. J.
Phy
Phase transition in a super superspin glass
We here confirm the occurrence of spin glass phase transition and extract
estimates of associated critical exponents of a highly monodisperse and densely
compacted system of bare maghemite nanoparticles. This system has earlier been
found to behave like an archetypal spin glass, with e.g. a sharp transition
from paramagnetic to non-equilibrium behavior, suggesting that this system
undergoes a spin-glass phase transition at a relatively high temperature,
140 K.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Structural domain and spin ordering induced glassy magnetic phase in single layered manganite PrSrMnO
The single layered manganite PrSrMnO undergoes
structural transition from high temperature tetragonal phase to low temperature
orthorhombic phase below room temperature. The orthorhombic phase was reported
to have two structural variants with slightly different lattice parameters and
Mn-3 levels show orbital ordering within both the variants, albeit having
mutually perpendicular ordering axis. In addition to orbital ordering, the
orthorhombic variants also order antiferromagnetically with different N\'eel
temperatures. Our magnetic investigation on the polycrystalline sample of
PrSrMnO shows large thermal hysteresis indicating the
first order nature of the tetragonal to orthorhombic transition. We observe
magnetic memory, large relaxation, frequency dependent ac susceptbility and
aging effects at low temperature, which indicate spin glass like magnetic
ground state in the sample. The glassy magnetic state presumably arises from
the interfacial frustration of orthorhombic domains with orbital and spin
orderings playing crucial role toward the competing magnetic interactions.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Accepted in Europhysics Letter
Pulsed Accretion in the T Tauri Binary TWA 3A
TWA 3A is the most recent addition to a small group of young binary systems
that both actively accrete from a circumbinary disk and have spectroscopic
orbital solutions. As such, it provides a unique opportunity to test binary
accretion theory in a well-constrained setting. To examine TWA 3A's
time-variable accretion behavior, we have conducted a two-year, optical
photometric monitoring campaign, obtaining dense orbital phase coverage (~20
observations per orbit) for ~15 orbital periods. From U-band measurements we
derive the time-dependent binary mass accretion rate, finding bursts of
accretion near each periastron passage. On average, these enhanced accretion
events evolve over orbital phases 0.85 to 1.05, reaching their peak at
periastron. The specific accretion rate increases above the quiescent value by
a factor of ~4 on average but the peak can be as high as an order of magnitude
in a given orbit. The phase dependence and amplitude of TWA 3A accretion is in
good agreement with numerical simulations of binary accretion with similar
orbital parameters. In these simulations, periastron accretion bursts are
fueled by periodic streams of material from the circumbinary disk that are
driven by the binary orbit. We find that TWA 3A's average accretion behavior is
remarkably similar to DQ Tau, another T Tauri binary with similar orbital
parameters, but with significantly less variability from orbit to orbit. This
is only the second clear case of orbital-phase-dependent accretion in a T Tauri
binary.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
The Planetary Nebula System and Dynamics in the Outer Halo of NGC 5128
The halos of elliptical galaxies are faint and difficult to explore, but they
contain vital clues to both structure and formation. We present the results of
an imaging and spectroscopic survey for planetary nebulae (PNe) in the nearby
elliptical NGC 5128. We extend the work of Hui et al.(1995) well into the halo
of the galaxy--out to distances of 100 and 50 kpc along the major and minor
axes. We now know of 1141 PNe in NGC 5128, 780 of which are confirmed. Of these
780 PNe, 349 are new from this survey, and 148 are at radii beyond 20 kpc. PNe
exist at distances up to 80 kpc (~15 r_e), showing that the stellar halo
extends to the limit of our data. This study represents by far the largest
kinematic study of an elliptical galaxy to date, both in the number of velocity
tracers and in radial extent. We confirm the large rotation of the PNe along
the major axis, and show that it extends in a disk-like feature into the halo.
The rotation curve of the stars flattens at ~100 km/s with V/sigma between 1
and 1.5, and with the velocity dispersion of the PNe falling gradually at
larger radii. The two-dimensional velocity field exhibits a zero-velocity
contour with a pronounced twist, showing that the galaxy potential is likely
triaxial in shape, tending toward prolate. The total dynamical mass of the
galaxy within 80 kpc is ~5 x 10^{11} M_sun, with M/L_B ~ 13. This mass-to-light
ratio is much lower than what is typically expected for elliptical galaxies.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures (figures 3-8 best viewed in color), accepted for
publication in the Astrophysical Journa
Coexistence of long-ranged charge and orbital order and spin-glass state in single-layered manganites with weak quenched disorder
The relationship between orbital and spin degrees of freedom in the
single-crystals of the hole-doped PrCaMnO, 0.3
0.7, has been investigated by means of ac-magnetometry and charge
transport. Even though there is no cation ordering on the -site, the
quenched disorder is extremely weak in this system due to the very similar
ionic size of Pr and Ca. A clear asymmetric response of the
system to the under- (respective over-) hole doping was observed. The
long-ranged charge-orbital order established for half doping (=0.5) subsists
in the over-doping case ( 0.5), albeit rearranged to accommodate the
extra holes introduced in the structure. The charge-orbital order is however
destabilized by the presence of extra localized electrons (under-doping,
0.5), leading to its disappearance below =0.35. We show that in an
intermediate under-doped region, with 0.35 0.5, the
``orbital-master spin-slave'' relationship commonly observed in half-doped
manganites does not take place. The long-ranged charge-orbital order is not
accompanied by an antiferromagnetic transition at low temperatures, but by a
frustrated short-ranged magnetic state bringing forth a spin-glass phase. We
discuss in detail the nature and origin of this spin-glass state, which, as in
the half-doped manganites with large quenched disorder, is not related to the
macroscopic phase separation observed in crystals with minor defects or
impurities.Comment: EPL style; 6 pages, 5 figure
- …