233 research outputs found
Further support for the alignment of cattle along magnetic field lines: reply to Hert et al.
Hert et al. (J Comp Physiol A, 2011) challenged one part of the study by Begall et al. (PNAS 105:13451–13455, 2008) claiming that they could not replicate the finding of preferential magnetic alignment of cattle recorded in aerial images of Google Earth. However, Hert and co-authors used a different statistical approach and applied the statistics on a sample partly unsuitable to examine magnetic alignment. About 50% of their data represent noise (resolution of the images is too poor to enable unambiguous measurement of the direction of body axes, pastures are on slopes, near settlements or high voltage power-lines, etc.). Moreover, the authors have selected for their analysis only ~ 40% of cattle that were present on the pastures analyzed. Here, we reanalyze all usable data and show that cattle significantly align their body axes in North–South direction on pastures analyzed by Hert and co-authors. This finding thus supports our previous study. In addition, we show by using aerial Google Earth images with good resolution, that the magnetic alignment is more pronounced in resting than in standing cattle
Experimental observation of the optical spin-orbit torque
Spin polarized carriers electrically injected into a magnet from an external
polarizer can exert a spin transfer torque (STT) on the magnetization. The phe-
nomenon belongs to the area of spintronics research focusing on manipulating
magnetic moments by electric fields and is the basis of the emerging
technologies for scalable magnetoresistive random access memories. In our
previous work we have reported experimental observation of the optical
counterpart of STT in which a circularly polarized pump laser pulse acts as the
external polarizer, allowing to study and utilize the phenomenon on several
orders of magnitude shorter timescales than in the electric current induced
STT. Recently it has been theoretically proposed and experimentally
demonstrated that in the absence of an external polarizer, carriers in a magnet
under applied electric field can develop a non-equilibrium spin polarization
due to the relativistic spin-orbit coupling, resulting in a current induced
spin-orbit torque (SOT) acting on the magnetization. In this paper we report
the observation of the optical counterpart of SOT. At picosecond time-scales,
we detect excitations of magnetization of a ferromagnetic semiconductor
(Ga,Mn)As which are independent of the polarization of the pump laser pulses
and are induced by non-equilibrium spin-orbit coupled photo-holes.Comment: 4 figure, supplementary information. arXiv admin note: text overlap
with arXiv:1101.104
Direct measurement of the three dimensional magnetization vector trajectory in GaMnAs by a magneto-optical pump-and-probe method
We report on a quantitative experimental determination of the
three-dimensional magnetization vector trajectory in GaMnAs by means of the
static and time-resolved pump-and-probe magneto-optical measurements. The
experiments are performed in a normal incidence geometry and the time evolution
of the magnetization vector is obtained without any numerical modeling of
magnetization dynamics. Our experimental method utilizes different polarization
dependences of the polar Kerr effect and magnetic linear dichroism to
disentangle the pump-induced out-of-plane and in-plane motions of
magnetization, respectively. We demonstrate that the method is sensitive enough
to allow for the determination of small angle excitations of the magnetization
in GaMnAs. The method is readily applicable to other magnetic materials with
sufficiently strong circular and linear magneto-optical effects.Comment: main paper: 7 pages, 3 figures; supplementary information: 11 pages,
6 figure
Multiple-stable anisotropic magnetoresistance memory in antiferromagnetic MnTe
Commercial magnetic memories rely on the bistability of ordered spins in ferromagnetic materials. Recently, experimental bistable memories have been realized using fully compensated antiferromagnetic metals. Here we demonstrate a multiple-stable memory device in epitaxial MnTe, an antiferromagnetic counterpart of common II–VI semiconductors. Favourable micromagnetic characteristics of MnTe allow us to demonstrate a smoothly varying zero-field antiferromagnetic anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) with a harmonic angular dependence on the writing magnetic field angle, analogous to ferromagnets. The continuously varying AMR provides means for the electrical read-out of multiple-stable antiferromagnetic memory states, which we set by heat-assisted magneto recording and by changing the writing field direction. The multiple stability in our memory is ascribed to different distributions of domains with the Neel vector aligned along one of the three magnetic easy axes. The robustness against strong magnetic field perturbations combined with the multiple stability of the magnetic memory states are unique properties of antiferromagnets
Experimental observation of the optical spin transfer torque
The spin transfer torque is a phenomenon in which angular momentum of a spin
polarized electrical current entering a ferromagnet is transferred to the
magnetization. The effect has opened a new research field of electrically
driven magnetization dynamics in magnetic nanostructures and plays an important
role in the development of a new generation of memory devices and tunable
oscillators. Optical excitations of magnetic systems by laser pulses have been
a separate research field whose aim is to explore magnetization dynamics at
short time scales and enable ultrafast spintronic devices. We report the
experimental observation of the optical spin transfer torque, predicted
theoretically several years ago building the bridge between these two fields of
spintronics research. In a pump-and-probe optical experiment we measure
coherent spin precession in a (Ga,Mn)As ferromagnetic semiconductor excited by
circularly polarized laser pulses. During the pump pulse, the spin angular
momentum of photo-carriers generated by the absorbed light is transferred to
the collective magnetization of the ferromagnet. We interpret the observed
optical spin transfer torque and the magnetization precession it triggers on a
quantitative microscopic level. Bringing the spin transfer physics into optics
introduces a fundamentally distinct mechanism from the previously reported
thermal and non-thermal laser excitations of magnets. Bringing optics into the
field of spin transfer torques decreases by several orders of magnitude the
timescales at which these phenomena are explored and utilized.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Investigation of magneto-structural phase transition in FeRh by reflectivity and transmittance measurements in visible and near-infrared spectral region
Magneto-structural phase transition in FeRh epitaxial layers was studied optically. It is shown that the transition between the low-temperature antiferromagnetic phase and the high-temperature ferromagnetic phase is accompanied by a rather large change of the optical response in the visible and near-infrared spectral ranges. This change is consistent with ab initio calculations of reflectivity and transmittance. Phase transition temperatures in a series of FeRh films with thicknesses ranging from 6 to 100 nm is measured thereby demonstrating the utility of the method to quickly characterise samples. Spatially resolved imaging of their magnetic properties with a micrometer resolution shows that the phase transition occurs at different temperatures in different parts of the sample
Femtosecond control of electric currents at the interfaces of metallic ferromagnetic heterostructures
The idea to utilize not only the charge but also the spin of electrons in the
operation of electronic devices has led to the development of spintronics,
causing a revolution in how information is stored and processed. A novel
advancement would be to develop ultrafast spintronics using femtosecond laser
pulses. Employing terahertz (10 Hz) emission spectroscopy, we
demonstrate optical generation of spin-polarized electric currents at the
interfaces of metallic ferromagnetic heterostructures at the femtosecond
timescale. The direction of the photocurrent is controlled by the helicity of
the circularly polarized light. These results open up new opportunities for
realizing spintronics in the unprecedented terahertz regime and provide new
insights in all-optical control of magnetism.Comment: 3 figures and 2 tables in the main tex
Light Perception in Two Strictly Subterranean Rodents: Life in the Dark or Blue?
BACKGROUND: The African mole-rats (Bathyergidae, Rodentia) are strictly subterranean, congenitally microphthalmic rodents that are hardly ever exposed to environmental light. Because of the lack of an overt behavioural reaction to light, they have long been considered to be blind. However, recent anatomical studies have suggested retention of basic visual capabilities. In this study, we employed behavioural tests to find out if two mole-rat species are able to discriminate between light and dark, if they are able to discriminate colours and, finally, if the presence of light in burrows provokes plugging behaviour, which is assumed to have a primarily anti-predatory function. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDING: We used a binary choice test to show that the silvery mole-rat Heliophobius argenteocinereus and the giant mole-rat Fukomys mechowii exhibit a clear photoavoidance response to full-spectrum ("white"), blue and green-yellow light, but no significant reaction to ultraviolet or red light during nest building. The mole-rats thus retain dark/light discrimination capabilities and a capacity to perceive short to medium-wavelength light in the photopic range of intensities. These findings further suggest that the mole-rat S opsin has its absorption maximum in the violet/blue part of the spectrum. The assay did not yield conclusive evidence regarding colour discrimination. To test the putative role of vision in bathyergid anti-predatory behaviour, we examined the reaction of mole-rats to the incidence of light in an artificial burrow system. The presence of light in the burrow effectively induced plugging of the illuminated tunnel. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings suggest that the photopic vision is conserved and that low acuity residual vision plays an important role in predator avoidance and tunnel maintenance in the African mole-rats
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