950 research outputs found
Dynamic response of exchange bias in graphene nanoribbons
The dynamics of magnetic hysteresis, including the training effect and the
field sweep rate dependence of the exchange bias, is experimentally
investigated in exchange-coupled potassium split graphene nanoribbons (GNRs).
We find that, at low field sweep rate, the pronounced absolute training effect
is present over a large number of cycles. This is reflected in a gradual
decrease of the exchange bias with the sequential field cycling. However, at
high field sweep rate above 0.5 T/min, the training effect is not prominent.
With the increase in field sweep rate, the average value of exchange bias field
grows and is found to follow power law behavior. The response of the exchange
bias field to the field sweep rate variation is linked to the difference in the
time it takes to perform a hysteresis loop measurement compared with the
relaxation time of the anti-ferromagnetically aligned spins. The present
results may broaden our current understanding of magnetism of GNRs and would be
helpful in establishing the GNRs based spintronic devices.Comment: Accepted Applied Physics Letters (In press
Fluctuation-induced first-order phase transition in Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya helimagnets
Two centuries of research on phase transitions have repeatedly highlighted
the importance of critical fluctuations that abound in the vicinity of a
critical point. They are at the origin of scaling laws obeyed by thermodynamic
observables close to second-order phase transitions resulting in the concept of
universality classes, that is of paramount importance for the study of
organizational principles of matter. Strikingly, in case such soft fluctuations
are too abundant they may alter the nature of the phase transition profoundly;
the system might evade the critical state altogether by undergoing a
discontinuous first-order transition into the ordered phase.
Fluctuation-induced first-order transitions have been discussed broadly and are
germane for superconductors, liquid crystals, or phase transitions in the early
universe, but clear experimental confirmations remain scarce. Our results from
neutron scattering and thermodynamics on the model Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM)
helimagnet (HM) MnSi show that such a fluctuation-induced first-order
transition is realized between its paramagnetic and HM state with remarkable
agreement between experiment and a theory put forward by Brazovskii. While our
study clarifies the nature of the HM phase transition in MnSi that has puzzled
scientists for several decades, more importantly, our conclusions entirely
based on symmetry arguments are also relevant for other DM-HMs with only weak
cubic magnetic anisotropies. This is in particular noteworthy in light of a
wide range of recent discoveries that show that DM helimagnetism is at the
heart of problems such as topological magnetic order, multiferroics, and
spintronics.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, 2 table
Electron Transport Through Molecules: Self-consistent and Non-self-consistent Approaches
A self-consistent method for calculating electron transport through a
molecular device is proposed. It is based on density functional theory
electronic structure calculations under periodic boundary conditions and
implemented in the framework of the nonequilibrium Green function approach. To
avoid the substantial computational cost in finding the I-V characteristic of
large systems, we also develop an approximate but much more efficient
non-self-consistent method. Here the change in effective potential in the
device region caused by a bias is approximated by the main features of the
voltage drop. As applications, the I-V curves of a carbon chain and an aluminum
chain sandwiched between two aluminum electrodes are calculated -- two systems
in which the voltage drops very differently. By comparing to the
self-consistent results, we show that this non-self-consistent approach works
well and can give quantitatively good results.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure
Electron Transport Through Molecules: Gate Induced Polarization and Potential Shift
We analyze the effect of a gate on the conductance of molecules by separately
evaluating the gate-induced polarization and the potential shift of the
molecule relative to the leads. The calculations use ab initio density
functional theory combined with a Green function method for electron transport.
For a general view, we study several systems: (1) atomic chains of C or Al
sandwiched between Al electrodes, (2) a benzene molecule between Au leads, and
(3) (9,0) and (5,5) carbon nanotubes. We find that the polarization effect is
small because of screening, while the effect of the potential shift is
significant, providing a mechanism for single-molecule transistors.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Bi-stable tunneling current through a molecular quantum dot
An exact solution is presented for tunneling through a negative-U d-fold
degenerate molecular quantum dot weakly coupled to electrical leads. The tunnel
current exhibits hysteresis if the level degeneracy of the negative-U dot is
larger than two (d>2). Switching occurs in the voltage range V1 < V < V2 as a
result of attractive electron correlations in the molecule, which open up a new
conducting channel when the voltage is above the threshold bias voltage V2.
Once this current has been established, the extra channel remains open as the
voltage is reduced down to the lower threshold voltage V1. Possible
realizations of the bi-stable molecular quantum dots are fullerenes, especially
C60, and mixed-valence compounds.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. (v2) Figure updated to compare the current
hysteresis for degeneracies d=4 and d>>1 of the level in the dot, minor
corrections in the text. To appear in Phys. Rev.
Seroprevalence and demographic factors associated with hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV infection from a hospital emergency department testing programme, London, United Kingdom, 2015 to 2016
Inelastic electron tunneling via molecular vibrations in single-molecule transistors
In single-molecule transistors, we observe inelastic cotunneling features
that correspond energetically to vibrational excitations of the molecule, as
determined by Raman and infrared spectroscopy. This is a form of inelastic
electron tunneling spectroscopy of single molecules, with the transistor
geometry allowing in-situ tuning of the electronic states via a gate electrode.
The vibrational features shift and change shape as the electronic levels are
tuned near resonance, indicating significant modification of the vibrational
states. When the molecule contains an unpaired electron, we also observe
vibrational satellite features around the Kondo resonance.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Supplementary information available upon reques
Survey and online discussion groups to develop a patient-rated outcome measure on acceptability of treatment response in vitiligo
BackgroundVitiligo is a chronic depigmenting skin disorder which affects around 0.5-1% of the world’s population. The outcome measures used most commonly in trials to judge treatment success focus on repigmentation. Patient-reported outcome measures of treatment success are rarely used, although recommendations have been made for their inclusion in vitiligo trials. This study aimed to evaluate the face validity of a new patient-reported outcome measure of treatment response, for use in future trials and clinical practice. MethodAn online survey to gather initial views on what constitutes treatment success for people with vitiligo or their parents/carers, followed by online discussion groups with patients to reach consensus on what constitutes treatment success for individuals with vitiligo, and how this can be assessed in the context of trials. Participants were recruited from an existing database of vitiligo patients and through posts on the social network sites Facebook and Twitter. ResultsA total of 202 survey responses were received, of which 37 were excluded and 165 analysed. Three main themes emerged as important in assessing treatment response: a) the match between vitiligo and normal skin (how well it blends in); b) how noticeable the vitiligo is and c) a reduction in the size of the white patches. The majority of respondents said they would consider 80% or more repigmentation to be a worthwhile treatment response after 9 months of treatment. Three online discussion groups involving 12 participants led to consensus that treatment success is best measured by asking patients how noticeable their vitiligo is after treatment. This was judged to be best answered using a 5-point Likert scale, on which a score of 4 or 5 represents treatment success. ConclusionsThis study represents the first step in developing a patient reported measure of treatment success in vitiligo trials. Further work is now needed to assess its construct validity and responsiveness to change.<br/
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