Unconventional magnetism in all-carbon nanofoam

We report production of nanostructured carbon foam by a high-repetition-rate, high-power laser ablation of glassy carbon in Ar atmosphere. A combination of characterization techniques revealed that the system contains both sp2 and sp3 bonded carbon atoms. The material is a novel form of carbon in which graphite-like sheets fill space at very low density due to strong hyperbolic curvature, as proposed for ?schwarzite?. The foam exhibits ferromagnetic-like behaviour up to 90 K, with a narrow hysteresis curve and a high saturation magnetization. Such magnetic properties are very unusual for a carbon allotrope. Detailed analysis excludes impurities as the origin of the magnetic signal. We postulate that localized unpaired spins occur because of topological and bonding defects associated with the sheet curvature, and that these spins are stabilized due to the steric protection offered by the convoluted sheets.Comment: 14 pages, including 2 tables and 7 figs. Submitted to Phys Rev B 10 September 200

Experimental evidence of new tetragonal polymorphs of silicon formed through ultrafast laser-induced confined microexplosion

Ordinary materials can transform into novel phases at extraordinary high pressure and temperature. The recently developed method of ultrashort laser-induced confined microexplosions initiates a non-equilibrium disordered plasma state. Ultra-high quenching rates overcome kinetic barriers to the formation of new metastable phases, which are preserved in the surrounding pristine crystal for subsequent exploitation. Here we demonstrate that confined microexplosions in silicon produce several metastable end phases. Comparison with an ab initio random structure search reveals six energetically competitive potential phases, four tetragonal and two monoclinic structures. We show the presence of bt8 and st12, which have been predicted theoretically previously, but have not been observed in nature or in laboratory experiments. In addition, the presence of the as yet unidentified silicon phase, Si-VIII and two of our other predicted tetragonal phases are highly likely within laser-affected zones. These findings may pave the way for new materials with novel and exotic properties

Magneto-optic Kerr effect in a spin-polarized zero-moment ferrimagnet

The magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) is often assumed to be proportional to the magnetisation of a magnetically ordered metallic sample; in metallic ferrimagnets with chemically distinct sublattices, such as rare-earth transition-metal alloys, it depends on the difference between the sublattice contributions. Here we show that in a highly spin polarized, fully compensated ferrimagnet, where the sublattices are chemically similar, MOKE is observed even when the net moment is strictly zero. We analyse the spectral ellipsometry and MOKE of Mn 2 Ru x Ga, and show that this behaviour is due to a highly spin-polarized conduction band dominated by one of the two manganese sublattices which creates helicity-dependent reflectivity determined by a broad Drude tail. Our findings open new prospects for studying spin dynamics in the infra-red.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Generation of spin currents via Raman scattering

We show theoretically that stimulated spin flip Raman scattering can be used to inject spin currents in doped semiconductors with spin split bands. A pure spin current, where oppositely oriented spins move in opposite directions, can be injected in zincblende crystals and structures. The calculated spin current should be detectable by pump-probe optical spectroscopy and anomalous Hall effect measurement

Gallium transformation under femtosecond laser excitation: Phase coexistence and incomplete melting

The reversible phase transition induced by femtosecond laser excitation of Gallium has been studied by measuring the dielectric function at 775 nm with ~ 200 fs temporal resolution. The real and imaginary parts of the transient dielectric function were calculated from absolute reflectivity of Gallium layer measured at two different angles of incidence, using Fresnel formulas. The time-dependent electron-phonon effective collision frequency, the heat conduction coefficient and the volume fraction of a new phase were restored directly from the experimental data, and the time and space dependent electron and lattice temperatures in the layer undergoing phase transition were reconstructed without ad hoc assumptions. We converted the temporal dependence of the electron-phonon collision rate into the temperature dependence, and demonstrated, for the first time, that the electron-phonon collision rate has a non-linear character. This temperature dependence converges into the known equilibrium function during the cooling stage. The maximum fraction of a new phase in the laser-excited Gallium layer reached only 60% even when the deposited energy was two times the equilibrium enthalpy of melting. We have also demonstrated that the phase transition pace and a fraction of the transformed material depended strongly on the thickness of the laser-excited Gallium layer, which was of the order of several tens of nanometers for the whole range of the pump laser fluencies up to the damage threshold. The kinetics of the phase transformation after the laser excitation can be understood on the basis of the classical theory of the first-order phase transition while the duration of non-thermal stage appears to be comparable to the sub-picosecond pulse length.Comment: 28 pages, including 9 figs. Submitted to Phys. Rev. B 14 March 200

Graphene as a quantum surface with curvature-strain preserving dynamics

We discuss how the curvature and the strain density of the atomic lattice generate the quantization of graphene sheets as well as the dynamics of geometric quasiparticles propagating along the constant curvature/strain levels. The internal kinetic momentum of Riemannian oriented surface (a vector field preserving the Gaussian curvature and the area) is determined.Comment: 13p, minor correction

Spin relaxation of conduction electrons in bulk III-V semiconductors

Spin relaxation time of conduction electrons through the Elliot-Yafet, D'yakonov-Perel and Bir-Aronov-Pikus mechanisms is calculated theoretically for bulk GaAs, GaSb, InAs and InSb of both $n$- and $p$-type. Relative importance of each spin relaxation mechanism is compared and the diagrams showing the dominant mechanism are constructed as a function of temperature and impurity concentrations. Our approach is based upon theoretical calculation of the momentum relaxation rate and allows understanding of the interplay between various factors affecting the spin relaxation over a broad range of temperature and impurity concentration.Comment: an error in earlier version correcte

The onset of circulation triggers a metabolic switch required for endothelial to hematopoietic transition

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) emerge during development from the vascular wall of the main embryonic arteries. The onset of circulation triggers several processes that provide critical external factors for HSC generation. Nevertheless, it is not fully understood how and when the onset of circulation affects HSC emergence. Here we show that in Ncx1-/- mouse embryos devoid of circulation the HSC lineage develops until the phenotypic pro-HSC stage. However, these cells reside in an abnormal microenvironment, fail to activate the hematopoietic program downstream of Runx1, and are functionally impaired. Single-cell transcriptomics shows that during the endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition, Ncx1-/- cells fail to undergo a glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation metabolic switch present in wild-type cells. Interestingly, experimental activation of glycolysis results in decreased intraembryonic hematopoiesis. Our results suggest that the onset of circulation triggers metabolic changes that allow HSC generation to proceed

Baseline Configuration of the Cryogenic System for the International Linear Collider

The paper discusses the main constraints and boundary conditions and describes the baseline configuration of the International Linear Collider (ILC) cryogenic system. The cryogenic layout, architecture and the cooling principle are presented. The paper addresses a plan for study and development required to demonstrate and improve the performance, to reduce cost and to attain the desired reliability