Magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of (MnCo)1-xGe compounds

The crystal structure, magnetic properties, and heat capacity of the (MnCo)1-xGe compounds with x ≤ 0.05 have been studied. It was found that, as the deviation from the MnCoGe stoichiometric composition increases, the temperature of structural transition from the low-temperature phase with the orthorhombic TiNiSi-type structure to the high-temperature phase with the hexagonal Ni2In-type phase decreases rapidly, whereas the magnetic ordering temperature varies slightly. The temperature of structural transition for the composition with x = 0.02 approximately coincides with the Curie temperature of the hexagonal phase, and the transition is accompanied by a significant entropy change, namely, ΔS = 34 J/(kg K). The application of high magnetic field in the transition-temperature range causes an increase in the relative volume of the orthorhombic phase. An analysis of magnetocaloric properties of these compounds, which was performed with the formal application of the Maxwell's relationship near the temperature of first-order structural phase transition, is shown to give overestimated values of the entropy change. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2013

A coded aperture with sub-mean free-path thickness for neutron implosion geometry imaging on inertial confinement fusion and inertial fusion energy experiments

Inertial confinement fusion and inertial fusion energy experiments diagnose the geometry of the fusion region through imaging of the neutrons released through fusion reactions. Pinhole arrays typically used for such imaging require thick substrates to obtain high contrast along with a small pinhole diameter to obtain high resolution capability, resulting in pinholes that have large aspect ratios. This leads to expensive pinhole arrays that have small solid angles and are difficult to align. Here, we propose a coded aperture with scatter and partial attenuation (CASPA) for fusion neutron imaging that relaxes the thick substrate requirement for good image contrast. These coded apertures are expected to scale to larger solid angles and are easier to align without sacrificing imaging resolution or throughput. We use Monte Carlo simulations (Geant4) to explore a coded aperture design to measure neutron implosion asymmetries on fusion experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and discuss the viability of this technique, matching the current nominal resolution of 10 µm. The results show that a 10 mm thick tungsten CASPA can image NIF implosions with neutron yields above 1014 with quality comparable to unprocessed data from a current NIF neutron imaging aperture. This CASPA substrate is 20 times thinner than the current aperture arrays for fusion neutron imaging and less than one mean free-path of 14.1 MeV neutrons through the substrate. Since the resolution, solid angle, and throughput are decoupled in coded aperture imaging, the resolution and solid angle achievable with future designs will be limited primarily by manufacturing capability

Optical, Magnetic and Magneto-Transport Properties of Nd 1-xAxMn0.5Fe0.5O3-δ (A=Ca, Sr, Ba; x=0, 0.25)

The effect of A-site doping by alkaline earth metals (A = Ca, Sr and Ba) on optical, magnetic, and electrical properties of Nd1-xAxMn0.5Fe0·5O3-δ (x = 0, 0.25) has been investigated. The UV–vis absorption spectra show that the A-site doping decreases the absorption. Two values of optical band-gap energy (Eg) can be estimated for each studied sample: the higher Eg value is associated with the charge transfer involving iron cations and the lower Eg value – with the charge transfer via manganese cations. Partial substitution of neodymium by alkaline earth metals decreases the Néel temperature (TN) and induces significant irreversibility between the zero-field cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled (FC) data below TN. The field-dependent magnetization at 3 K indicates antiferromagnetic ordering with a spin canting. Temperature dependencies of resistivity demonstrate the change from metallic to semiconductor-type conduction (with increasing temperature) at T = Tp < TN. The Tp temperature significantly decreases with doping. The introduction of alkaline earth metals in Nd1-xAxMn0.5Fe0·5O3-δ noticeably reduces the resistivity in the semiconducting region. The small polaron hopping (SPH) mechanism of conduction is suggested at T > TN. Within the range of Tp < T < TN, the resistivity data are interpreted by the variable range hopping (VRH) mechanism. A significant value of magnetoresistance (∼44%) is observed only for Nd0.75Sr0·25Mn0·5Fe0·5O3-δ at 120 K. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.A. S. acknowledges, the financial support provided by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (Indo-Russian project (INT/RUS/RFBR/P-239); A.R.G and V.A.C. acknowledge the financial support from Indo-Russian project (RFBR grant No 16-53-45010); and A.H. acknowledges financial support obtained from the Government of the Russian Federation by Act 211 agreement 02.A03.21.0006

Forward model for the superconducting imaging-surface meg system

We have recently completed a novel whole-head MEG system based on the Superconducting Imaging-Surface (SIS) concept originally proposed by van Hulsteyn, et al.[l]. The SIS concept is generally described as a source near a superconducting surface. The source field induces Meissner currents in the superconductor equivalent to a source image 'behind' the surface. A sensor (SQUIDS in our system) placed on the source-side of the SIS will measure the superposed fields from the real and image sources. A second consequence of the Meissner effect is to shield the SQUIDS sensors near the SIS from external or background fields. The shape of the SIS used in our MEG system is a hemisphere with two cut-outs at the nominal ear-locations. A brim is added around the entire periphery with a smooth 0.5 cm radius transition between brim and hemisphere. Benefits of the SIS concept over existing systems include significantly enhanced signal-to-noise as a consequence of the SIS shielding and inherently generating pseudo-first order gradient fields at the sensors. One of the most significant challenges in realizing this system has been to accurately describe how the SIS system impacts the forward physics of any source model. Two approaches have been examined. The first is a hybrid analytical and empirical model using the analytic formalism to describe the hemisphere [1] and a correction matrix derived from empirical measurements to correct for edge effects. This approach proved overly complex and difficult in practice to obtain sufficient empirical data to derive a well-conditioned correction matrix. The second approach, reported here, was to develop a boundary element model (BEM) description of the SIS using the exact as-built geometry. Each element is described by a uniform magnetization arising from a distribution of Meissner currents in the superconductor such that B{perpendicular} = 0 at the surface. B{sub i} at each element is a superposition of the source field and the fields resulting from currents in all other elements. A precision phantom was developed to test the model. Modeled and measured magnetic field distributions agreed with typically less than 1% (< 0.1% in most cases) discrepancy at all SQUID sensors for more than 60 phantom coil positions. The attached figure shows modeled and measured magnetic field distributions for 25 such phantom coils

The crystal structure, chemical bonding, and magnetic properties of the intercalation compounds CrxZrTe2 (x = 0–0.3)

New intercalation compounds CrxZrTe2 were synthesized in the Cr concentration range of x = 0–0.3. A thorough study of the crystal and electronic structure has been performed. It was found that there is competition in the distribution of the Cr atoms over the octa- and tetrahedral sites in the van der Waals gap, depending on the Cr content. The ordering of the Cr atoms was found at x ≥ 0.25; at the same time, the lattice symmetry decreases from trigonal P-3m1 to monoclinic F2/m. This ordering stabilizes the octahedral coordination of the Cr atoms by Te atoms. The analysis of the experimental data on the electronic structure and DOS calculations showed that the Cr 3d states are spin-split. However, these Cr states are still overlapped by non-spin-split Zr and Te states. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.The research was carried out within the state assignment of Minobrnauki of Russia (theme “Electron” No. AAAA-A18-118020190098-5, theme “Spin” No. AAAA-A18-118020290104-2 and theme “Quantum” No. AAAA-A18-118020190095-4) and with partial financial support of the RFBR (project 20-03-00275). This work has been done using facilities of the Shared Service Centre “Ural-M”, Institute of Metallurgy of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The sample synthesis were performed within the RSF grant (project No.17-73-10219). I.P., and S.N. acknowledge funding from EUROFEL project (RoadMap Esfri). This project has received funding from the EU-H2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 654360 having benefitted from the Access provided by IOM-CNR in Trieste (Italy) within the framework of the NFFA-Europe Transnational Access Activity. We thank Federica Bondino and Elena Magnano for the kind support and we acknowledge the Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste for providing access to its synchrotron radiation facilities

First bromine doped cryogenic implosion at the National Ignition Facility

We report on the first experiment dedicated to the study of nuclear reactions on dopants in a cryogenic capsule at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). This was accomplished using bromine doping in the inner layers of the CH ablator of a capsule identical to that used in the NIF shot N140520. The capsule was doped with 3$\times$10$^{16}$ bromine atoms. The doped capsule shot, N170730, resulted in a DT yield that was 2.6 times lower than the undoped equivalent. The Radiochemical Analysis of Gaseous Samples (RAGS) system was used to collect and detect $^{79}$Kr atoms resulting from energetic deuteron and proton ion reactions on $^{79}$Br. RAGS was also used to detect $^{13}$N produced dominantly by knock-on deuteron reactions on the $^{12}$C in the ablator. High-energy reaction-in-flight neutrons were detected via the $^{209}$Bi(n,4n)$^{206}$Bi reaction, using bismuth activation foils located 50 cm outside of the target capsule. The robustness of the RAGS signals suggest that the use of nuclear reactions on dopants as diagnostics is quite feasible

Application of NMR for quantification of magnetic nanoparticles and development of paper-based assay

H1 NMR relaxometry is a method that is extremely sensitive to the presence of magnetic nanoparticles, which significantly affect the transverse relaxation time of the water proton. Accordingly, the use of magnetic nanoparticles as labels allows detection of even extremely small amounts of the test substance. This paper analyzes the prospects for applying the method of solid-phase NMR-relaxometric determination of biologically active molecules. The nitrocellulose membranes are chosen as a solid phase and nanoparticles based on iron core with a carbon shell are used as magnetic labels. The possibility of detecting small concentrations of magnetic particles in porous medium is demonstrated. Finally, the ability to detect extremely low concentrations of an analyte, in this case, streptavidin protein (0.5 ng/ml to 100 ng/ml), which is actively used in various fields of biology and medicine, is demonstrated. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.Russian Science Foundation, RSF: 17-15-01116The work was carried out within the Russian Science Foundation project 17-15-01116. equipment of the Ural Center for Shared Use Modern nanotechnology UrFU was used