1,305 research outputs found
Effect of Sr substitution on superconductivity in Hg2(Ba1-ySry)2YCu2O8-d (part2): bond valence sum approach of the hole distribution
The effects of Sr substitution on superconductivity, and more particulary the
changes induced in the hole doping mechanism, were investigated in
Hg2(Ba1-ySry)2YCu2O8-d by a "bond valence sum" analysis with Sr content from y
= 0.0 to y = 1.0. A comparison with CuBa2YCu2O7-d and Cu2Ba2YCu2O8 systems
suggests a possible explanation of the Tc enhancement from 0 K for y = 0.0 to
42 K for y = 1.0. The charge distribution among atoms of the unit cell was
determined from the refined structure, for y = 0.0 to 1.0. It shows a charge
transfer to the superconducting CuO2 plane via two doping channels pi(1) and
pi(2), i.e. through O2(apical)-Cu and Ba/Sr-O1 bonds respectively.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Journal of Physics:
Condensed Matte
Non-collinear long-range magnetic ordering in HgCr2S4
The low-temperature magnetic structure of \HG has been studied by
high-resolution powder neutron diffraction. Long-range incommensurate magnetic
order sets in at T22K with propagation vector
\textbf{k}=(0,0,0.18). On cooling below T, the propagation vector
increases and saturates at the commensurate value \textbf{k}=(0,0,0.25). The
magnetic structure below T consists of ferromagnetic layers in the
\textit{ab}-plane stacked in a spiral arrangement along the \textit{c}-axis.
Symmetry analysis using corepresentations theory reveals a point group symmetry
in the ordered magnetic phase of 422 (D), which is incompatible with
macroscopic ferroelectricity. This finding indicates that the spontaneous
electric polarization observed experimentally cannot be coupled to the magnetic
order parameter
Electric field control of magnetic properties and electron transport in BaTiO3-based multiferroic heterostructures
In this paper, we report on a purely electric mechanism for achieving the electric control of the interfacial spin polarization and magnetoresistance in multiferroic tunneling junctions. We investigate micrometric devices based on the Co/Fe/BaTiO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 heterostructure, where Co/Fe and La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 are the magnetic electrodes and BaTiO3 acts both as a ferroelectric element and tunneling barrier. We show that, at 20 K, devices with a 2 nm thick BaTiO3 barrier present both tunneling electroresistance (TER = 12 ± 0.1%) and tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR). The latter depends on the direction of the BaTiO3 polarization, displaying a sizable change of the TMR from -0.32 ± 0.05% for the polarization pointing towards Fe, to -0.12 ± 0.05% for the opposite direction. This is consistent with the on-off switching of the Fe magnetization at the Fe/BaTiO3 interface, driven by the BaTiO3 polarization, we have previously demonstrated in x-ray magnetic circular dichroism experiments
Critical role for prokineticin 2 in CNS autoimmunity
Objective: To investigate the potential role of prokineticin 2 (PK2), a bioactive peptide involved in multiple biological functions including immune modulation, in CNS autoimmune demyelinating disease.
Methods: We investigated the expression of PK2 in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), and in patients with relapsing-remitting MS. We evaluated the biological effects of PK2 on expression of EAE and on development of T-cell response against myelin by blocking PK2 in vivo with PK2 receptor antagonists. We treated with PK2 immune cells activated against myelin antigen to explore the immune-modulating effects of this peptide in vitro.
Results: Pk2 messenger RNA was upregulated in spinal cord and lymph node cells (LNCs) of mice with EAE. PK2 protein was expressed in EAE inflammatory infiltrates and was increased in sera during EAE. In patients with relapsing-remitting MS, transcripts for PK2 were significantly increased in peripheral blood mononuclear cells compared with healthy controls, and PK2 serum concentrations were significantly higher. A PK2 receptor antagonist prevented or attenuated established EAE in chronic and relapsing-remitting models, reduced CNS inflammation and demyelination, and decreased the production of interferon (IFN)-γ and interleukin (IL)-17A cytokines in LNCs while increasing IL-10. PK2 in vitro increased IFN-γ and IL-17A and reduced IL-10 in splenocytes activated against myelin antigen.
Conclusion: These data suggest that PK2 is a critical immune regulator in CNS autoimmune demyelination and may represent a new target for therapy
Temperature and field dependence of the phase separation, structure, and magnetic ordering in LaCaMnO, (, 0.50, and 0.53)
Neutron powder diffraction measurements, combined with magnetization and
resistivity data, have been carried out in the doped perovskite
LaCaMnO (, 0.50, and 0.53) to elucidate the structural,
magnetic, and electronic properties of the system around the composition
corresponding to an equal number of Mn3+ and Mn4+. At room temperature all
three samples are paramagnetic and single phase, with crystallographic symmetry
Pnma. The samples then all become ferromagnetic (FM) at K. At
K, however, a second distinct crystallographic phase (denoted A-II)
begins to form. Initially the intrinsic widths of the peaks are quite large,
but they narrow as the temperature decreases and the phase fraction increases,
indicating microscopic coexistence. The fraction of the sample that exhibits
the A-II phase increases with decreasing temperature and also increases with
increasing Ca doping, but the transition never goes to completion to the lowest
temperatures measured (5 K) and the two phases therefore coexist in this
temperature-composition regime. Phase A-II orders antiferromagnetically (AFM)
below a N\'{e}el temperature K, with the CE-type magnetic
structure. Resistivity measurements show that this phase is a conductor, while
the CE phase is insulating. Application of magnetic fields up to 9 T
progressively inhibits the formation of the A-II phase, but this suppression is
path dependent, being much stronger for example if the sample is field-cooled
compared to zero-field cooling and then applying the field. The H-T phase
diagram obtained from the diffraction measurements is in good agreement with
the results of magnetization and resistivity.Comment: 12 pages, 3 tables, 11 figure
Nature of Electron Order in LaSrMnO
Synchrotron x-ray scattering measurements of the low-temperature structure of
the single-layer manganese oxide LaSrMnO, over the doping
range , indicate the existence of three distinct regions:
a disordered phase (), a charge-ordered phase (), and a
mixed phase (, the modulation vector associated
with the charge order is incommensurate with the lattice and depends linearly
on the concentration of electrons. The primary superlattice reflections
are strongly suppressed along the modulation direction and the higher harmonics
are weak, implying the existence of a largely transverse and nearly sinusoidal
structural distortion, consistent with a charge density wave of the
electrons.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Ferromagnetic Polarons in La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 and La0.33Ca0.67MnO3
Unrestricted Hartree-Fock calculations on La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 and La0.33Ca0.67MnO3
in the full magnetic unit cell show that the magnetic ground states of these
compounds consist of 'ferromagnetic molecules' or polarons ordered in
herring-bone patterns. Each polaron consists of either three or five Mn ions
separated by O- ions with a magnetic moment opposed to those of the Mn ions.
Ferromagnetic coupling within the polarons is strong while coupling between
them is relatively weak. Magnetic moments on the Mn ions range between 3.8 and
3.9 Bohr magnetons in La0.5Ca0.5MnO3 and moments on the O- ions are -0.7 Bohr
magnetons. Each polaron has a net magnetic moment of 7.0 Bohr magnetons, in
good agreement with recently reported magnetisation measurements from electron
microscopy. The polaronic nature of the electronic structure reported here is
obviously related to the Zener polaron model recently proposed for
Pr0.6Ca0.4MnO3 on the basis of neutron scattering data.Comment: 4 pages 5 figure
Infrared absorption from Charge Density Waves in magnetic manganites
The infrared absorption of charge density waves coupled to a magnetic
background is first observed in two manganites La{1-x}Ca{x}MnO{3} with x = 0.5
and x = 0.67. In both cases a BCS-like gap 2 Delta (T), which for x=0.5 follows
the hysteretic ferro-antiferromagnetic transition, fully opens at a finite T{0}
< T{Neel}, with 2 Delta(T{0})/kT{c} close to 5. These results may also explain
the unusual coexistence of charge ordering and ferromagnetism in
La{0.5}Ca{0.5}MnO{3}.Comment: File revtex + 3 figs. in epsf. To appear on Phys. Rev. Let
Governance arenas in EU direct corporate taxation
Report produced for the NewGov Project: the project is funded by the 6th Framework Programme of the European Union
Atomic-scale images of charge ordering in a mixed-valence manganite
Transition-metal perovskite oxides exhibit a wide range of extraordinary but
imperfectly understood phenomena. Charge, spin, orbital, and lattice degrees of
freedom all undergo order-disorder transitions in regimes not far from where
the best-known of these phenomena, namely high-temperature superconductivity of
the copper oxides, and the 'colossal' magnetoresistance of the manganese
oxides, occur. Mostly diffraction techniques, sensitive either to the spin or
the ionic core, have been used to measure the order. Unfortunately, because
they are only weakly sensitive to valence electrons and yield superposition of
signals from distinct mesoscopic phases, they cannot directly image mesoscopic
phase coexistence and charge ordering, two key features of the manganites. Here
we describe the first experiment to image charge ordering and phase separation
in real space with atomic-scale resolution in a transition metal oxide. Our
scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) data show that charge order is correlated
with structural order, as well as with whether the material is locally metallic
or insulating, thus giving an atomic-scale basis for descriptions of the
manganites as mixtures of electronically and structurally distinct phases.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 19 reference
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