332 research outputs found
Antiferromagnetically coupled CoFeB/Ru/CoFeB trilayers
This work reports on the magnetic interlayer coupling between two amorphous
CoFeB layers, separated by a thin Ru spacer. We observe an antiferromagnetic
coupling which oscillates as a function of the Ru thickness x, with the second
antiferromagnetic maximum found for x=1.0 to 1.1 nm. We have studied the
switching of a CoFeB/Ru/CoFeB trilayer for a Ru thickness of 1.1 nm and found
that the coercivity depends on the net magnetic moment, i.e. the thickness
difference of the two CoFeB layers. The antiferromagnetic coupling is almost
independent on the annealing temperatures up to 300 degree C while an annealing
at 350 degree C reduces the coupling and increases the coercivity, indicating
the onset of crystallization. Used as a soft electrode in a magnetic tunnel
junction, a high tunneling magnetoresistance of about 50%, a well defined
plateau and a rectangular switching behavior is achieved.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure
Hierarchically Porous Gd3+-Doped CeO2 Nanostructures for the Remarkable Enhancement of Optical and Magnetic Properties
Rare earth ion-doped CeO2 has attracted more and more attention because of its special electrical, optical, magnetic, or catalytic properties. In this paper, a facile electrochemical deposition route was reported for the direct growth of the porous Gd-doped CeO2. The formation process of Gd-doped CeO2 composites was investigated. The obtained deposits were characterized by SEM, EDS, XRD, and XPS. The porous Gd3+- doped CeO2 (10 at% Gd) displays a typical type I adsorption isotherm and yields a large specific surface area of 135 m2/g. As Gd3+ ions were doped into CeO2 lattice, the absorption spectrum of Gd3+-doped CeO2 nanocrystals exhibited a red shift compared with porous CeO2 nanocrystals and bulk CeO2, and the luminescence of Gd3+-doped CeO2 deposits was remarkably enhanced due to the presence of more oxygen vacancies. In addition, the strong magnetic properties of Gd-doped CeO2 (10 at% Gd) were observed, which may be caused by Gd3+ ions or more oxygen defects in deposits. In addition, the catalytic activity of porous Gd-doped CeO2 toward CO oxidation was studied
High-energy photoemission on Fe3O4: Small polaron physics and the Verwey transition
We have studied the electronic structure and charge ordering (Verwey)
transition of magnetite (Fe3O4) by soft x-ray photoemission. Due to the
enhanced probing depth and the use of different surface preparations we are
able to distinguish surface and volume effects in the spectra. The pseudogap
behavior of the intrinsic spectra and its temperature dependence give evidence
for the existence of strongly bound small polarons consistent with both dc and
optical conductivity. Together with other recent structural and theoretical
results our findings support a picture in which the Verwey transition contains
elements of a cooperative Jahn-Teller effect, stabilized by local Coulomb
interaction
Morphologies of three-dimensional shear bands in granular media
We present numerical results on spontaneous symmetry breaking strain
localization in axisymmetric triaxial shear tests of granular materials. We
simulated shear band formation using three-dimensional Distinct Element Method
with spherical particles. We demonstrate that the local shear intensity, the
angular velocity of the grains, the coordination number, and the local void
ratio are correlated and any of them can be used to identify shear bands,
however the latter two are less sensitive. The calculated shear band
morphologies are in good agreement with those found experimentally. We show
that boundary conditions play an important role. We discuss the formation
mechanism of shear bands in the light of our observations and compare the
results with experiments. At large strains, with enforced symmetry, we found
strain hardening.Comment: 6 pages 5 figures, low resolution figures
Critical packing in granular shear bands
In a realistic three-dimensional setup, we simulate the slow deformation of
idealized granular media composed of spheres undergoing an axisymmetric
triaxial shear test. We follow the self-organization of the spontaneous strain
localization process leading to a shear band and demonstrate the existence of a
critical packing density inside this failure zone. The asymptotic criticality
arising from the dynamic equilibrium of dilation and compaction is found to be
restricted to the shear band, while the density outside of it keeps the memory
of the initial packing. The critical density of the shear band depends on
friction (and grain geometry) and in the limit of infinite friction it defines
a specific packing state, namely the \emph{dynamic random loose packing}
Quantification of Methane Emissions from Indoor-Fed Fogera Dairy Cows Using Laser Methane Detector
Portable laser methane detectors (LMDs) may be an economical means of estimating CH4 emissions from ruminants. Here, we validated an LMD-based approach and then used that approach to evaluate CH4 emissions from indigenous dairy cows in a dryland area of Ethiopia. First, we validated our LMD-based approach in Simmental crossbred beef cattle (n = 2) housed in respiration chambers and fed either a high- or low-concentrate diet. We found that the exhaled air CH4 concentrations measured by LMD were linearly correlated with the CH4 emissions determined by infrared-absorption-based gas analyzer (r2 = 0.55). On the basis of these findings, we constructed an estimation equation to determine CH4 emissions (y, mg minâ1) from LMD CH4 concentrations (x, ppm m) as y = 0.4259x + 38.61. Next, we used our validated LMD approach to examine CH4 emissions in Fogera dairy cows grazed for 8 h dâ1 (GG, n = 4), fed indoors on natural-grassland hay (CG1, n = 4), or fed indoors on Napier-grass (Pennisetum purpureum) hay (CG2, n = 4). All the cows were supplemented with concentrate feed. Daily CH4 emissions did not differ among the three groups; however, a numerically greater milk yield was obtained from the CG2 cows than from the GG cows, suggesting that Napier-grass hay might be better than natural-grassland hay for indoor feeding. The CG1 cows had higher CH4 emissions per feed intake than the other groups, without significant increases in milk yield and body-weight gain, suggesting that natural-grassland hay cannot be recommended for indoor-fed cows. These findings demonstrate the potential of using LMDs to rapidly and economically evaluate feeding regimens for dairy cows in areas under financial constraint, while taking CH4 emissions into consideration
Origin of "hot-spots" in the pseudogap regime of Nd(1.85)Ce(0.15)CuO(4): LDA+DMFT+Sigma_k study
Material specific electronic band structure of the electron-doped high-Tc
cuprate Nd(1.85)Ce(0.15)CuO(4) (NCCO) is calculated within the pseudo gap
regime, using the recently developed generalized LDA+DMFT+Sigma_k scheme.
LDA/DFT (density functional theory within local density approximation) provides
model parameters (hopping integral values, local Coulomb interaction strength)
for the one-band Hubbard model, which is solved by DMFT (dynamical mean-field
theory). To take into account pseudogap fluctuations LDA+DMFT is supplied with
"external" k-dependent self-energy Sigma_k, which describes interaction of
correlated conducting electrons with non-local Heisenberg-like
antiferromagnetic (AFM) spin fluctuations responsible for pseudo gap formation.
Within this LDA+DMFT+Sigma_k approach we demonstrate the formation of
pronounced "hot-spots" on the Fermi surface (FS) map in NCCO, opposite to our
recent calculations for Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8-d) (Bi2212), which have produced
rather extended region of FS "destruction". There are several physical reasons
for this fact: (i) the "hot-spots" in NCCO are located closer to Brillouin zone
center; (ii) correlation length of AFM fluctuations \xi is larger for NCCO;
(iii) pseudogap potential \Delta is stronger, than in Bi2212. Comparison of our
theoretical data with recent bulk sensitive high-energy angle-resolved
photoemission (ARPES) data for NCCO provides good semiquantitative agreement.
Based on that comparison alternative explanation of the van-Hove singularity at
-0.3 eV is proposed. Optical conductivity both for Bi2212 and NCCO is also
calculated within LDA+DMFT+Sigma_k and compared with experimental results,
demonstrating satisfactory agreement.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, 1 tabl
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