479 research outputs found
Structural Transition Kinetics and Activated Behavior in the Superconducting Vortex Lattice
Using small-angle neutron scattering, we investigated the behavior of a
metastable vortex lattice state in MgB2 as it is driven towards equilibrium by
an AC magnetic field. This shows an activated behavior, where the AC field
amplitude and cycle count are equivalent to, respectively, an effective
"temperature" and "time". The activation barrier increases as the metastable
state is suppressed, corresponding to an aging of the vortex lattice.
Furthermore, we find a cross-over from a partial to a complete suppression of
metastable domains depending on the AC field amplitude, which may empirically
be described by a single free parameter. This represents a novel kind of
collective vortex behavior, most likely governed by the nucleation and growth
of equilibrium vortex lattice domains.Comment: 5 pages plus 3 pages of supplemental materia
Topological energy barrier for skyrmion lattice formation in MnSi
We report the direct measurement of the topological skyrmion energy barrier
through a hysteresis of the skyrmion lattice in the chiral magnet MnSi.
Measurements were made using small-angle neutron scattering with a custom-built
resistive coil to allow for high-precision minor hysteresis loops. The
experimental data was analyzed using an adapted Preisach model to quantify the
energy barrier for skyrmion formation and corroborated by the minimum-energy
path analysis based on atomistic spin simulations. We reveal that the skyrmion
lattice in MnSi forms from the conical phase progressively in small domains,
each of which consisting of hundreds of skyrmions, and with an activation
barrier of several eV.Comment: Final accepted versio
Pauli Paramagnetic Effects on Vortices in Superconducting TmNi2B2C
The magnetic field distribution around the vortices in TmNi2B2C in the
paramagnetic phase was studied experimentally as well as theoretically. The
vortex form factor, measured by small-angle neutron scattering, is found to be
field independent up to 0.6 Hc2 followed by a sharp decrease at higher fields.
The data are fitted well by solutions to the Eilenberger equations when
paramagnetic effects due to the exchange interaction with the localized 4f Tm
moments are included. The induced paramagnetic moments around the vortex cores
act to maintain the field contrast probed by the form factor.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Observations of Pauli Paramagnetic Effects on the Flux Line Lattice in CeCoIn5
From small-angle neutron scattering studies of the flux line lattice (FLL) in
CeCoIn5, with magnetic field applied parallel to the crystal c-axis, we obtain
the field- and temperature-dependence of the FLL form factor, which is a
measure of the spatial variation of the field in the mixed state. We extend our
earlier work [A.D. Bianchi et al. 2008 Science 319, 177] to temperatures up to
1250 mK. Over the entire temperature range, paramagnetism in the flux line
cores results in an increase of the form factor with field. Near H_c2 the form
factor decreases again, and our results indicate that this fall-off extends
outside the proposed FFLO region. Instead, we attribute the decrease to a
paramagnetic suppression of Cooper pairing. At higher temperatures, a gradual
crossover towards more conventional mixed state behavior is observed.Comment: Submitted to New Journal of Physics, 13 pages, 4 figure
Vortex lattice structure in BaFe2(As0.67P0.33)2 by the small-angle neutron scattering technique
We have observed a magnetic vortex lattice (VL) in BaFe2(As_{0.67}P_{0.33})2
(BFAP) single crystals by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). With the field
along the c-axis, a nearly isotropic hexagonal VL was formed in the field range
from 1 to 16 T, which is a record for this technique in the pnictides, and no
symmetry changes in the VL were observed. The temperature-dependence of the VL
signal was measured and confirms the presence of (non d-wave) nodes in the
superconducting gap structure for measurements at 5 T and below. The nodal
effects were suppressed at high fields. At low fields, a VL reorientation
transition was observed between 1 T and 3 T, with the VL orientation changing
by 45{\deg}. Below 1 T, the VL structure was strongly affected by pinning and
the diffraction pattern had a fourfold symmetry. We suggest that this (and
possibly also the VL reorientation) is due to pinning to defects aligned with
the crystal structure, rather than being intrinsic.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
Structural studies of metastable and equilibrium vortex lattice domains in MgB2
The vortex lattice in MgB2 is characterized by the presence of long-lived
metastable states, which arise from cooling or heating across the equilibrium
phase boundaries. A return to the equilibrium configuration can be achieved by
inducing vortex motion. Here we report on small-angle neutron scattering
studies of MgB2, focusing on the structural properties of the vortex lattice as
it is gradually driven from metastable to equilibrium states by an AC magnetic
field. Measurements were performed using initial metastable states obtained
either by cooling or heating across the equilibrium phase transition. In all
cases, the longitudinal correlation length remains constant and comparable to
the sample thickness. Correspondingly, the vortex lattice may be considered as
a system of straight rods, where the formation and growth of equilibrium state
domains only occurs in the two-dimensional plane perpendicular to the applied
field direction. Spatially resolved raster scans of the sample were performed
with apertures as small as 80 microns, corresponding to only 1.2*10^6 vortices
for an applied field of 0.5 T. These revealed spatial variations in the
metastable and equilibrium vortex lattice populations, but individual domains
were not directly resolved. A statistical analysis of the data indicates an
upper limit on the average domain size of approximately 50 microns.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure
Outer-Sphere Contributions to the Electronic Structure of Type Zero Copper Proteins
Bioinorganic canon states that active-site
thiolate coordination promotes rapid electron transfer (ET)
to and from type 1 copper proteins. In recent work, we have
found that copper ET sites in proteins also can be constructed
without thiolate ligation (called “type zero” sites). Here we
report multifrequency electron paramagnetic resonance
(EPR), magnetic circular dichroism (MCD), and nuclear
magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic data together with
density functional theory (DFT) and spectroscopy-oriented
configuration interaction (SORCI) calculations for type zero Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin variants. Wild-type (type 1) and type
zero copper centers experience virtually identical ligand fields. Moreover, O-donor covalency is enhanced in type zero centers
relative that in the C112D (type 2) protein. At the same time, N-donor covalency is reduced in a similar fashion to type 1
centers. QM/MM and SORCI calculations show that the electronic structures of type zero and type 2 are intimately linked to the
orientation and coordination mode of the carboxylate ligand, which in turn is influenced by outer-sphere hydrogen bonding
L edge X ray absorption study of mononuclear vanadium complexes and spectral predictions using a restricted open shell configuration interaction ansatz
A series of mononuclear V<sup>(V)</sup>, V<sup>(IV)</sup> and V<sup>(III)</sup> complexes were investigated by V L-edge near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy. The spectra show significant sensitivity to the vanadium oxidation state and the coordination environment surrounding the vanadium center. The L-edge spectra are interpreted with the aid of the recently developed Density Functional Theory/Restricted Open Shell Configuration Interaction Singles (DFT/ROCIS) method. This method is calibrated for the prediction of vanadium L-edges with different hybrid density functionals and basis sets. For the B3LYP/def2-TZVP(-f) and BHLYP/def2-TZVP(-f) functional/basis-set combinations, good to excellent agreement between calculated and experimental spectra is obtained. A treatment of the spin–orbit coupling interaction to all orders is achieved by quasi-degenerate perturbation theory (QDPT), in conjunction with DFT/ROCIS for the calculation of the molecular multiplets while accounting for dynamic correlation and anisotropic covalency. The physical origin of the observed spectral features is discussed qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of spin multiplicities, magnetic sublevels and individual 2p to 3d core level excitations. This investigation is an important prerequisite for future applications of the DFT/ROCIS method to vanadium L-edge absorption spectroscopy and vanadium-based heterogeneous catalysts
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