Thermal activation energy of 3D vortex matter in NaFe1-xCoxAs (x=0.01, 0.03 and 0.07) single crystals

We report on the thermally activated flux flow dependency on the doping dependent mixed state in NaFe1-xCoxAs (x=0.01, 0.03, and 0.07) crystals using the magnetoresistivity in the case of B//c-axis and B//ab-plane. It was found clearly that irrespective of the doping ratio, magnetoresistivity showed a distinct tail just above the Tc, offset associated with the thermally activated flux flow (TAFF) in our crystals. Furthermore, in TAFF region the temperature dependence of the activation energy follows the relation U(T, B)=U_0 (B) (1-T/T_c )^q with q=1.5 in all studied crystals. The magnetic field dependence of the activation energy follows a power law of U_0 (B)~B^(-{\alpha}) where the exponent {\alpha} is changed from a low value to a high value at a crossover field of B=~2T, indicating the transition from collective to plastic pinning in the crystals. Finally, it is suggested that the 3D vortex phase is the dominant phase in the low-temperature region as compared to the TAFF region in our series samples

Epitaxial growth and the magnetic properties of orthorhombic YTiO3 thin films

High-quality YTiO3 thin films were grown on LaAlO3 (110) substrates at low oxygen pressures (<10-8 Torr) using pulsed laser deposition. The in-plane asymmetric atomic arrangements at the substrate surface allowed us to grow epitaxial YTiO3 thin films, which have an orthorhombic crystal structure with quite different a- and b-axes lattice constants. The YTiO3 film exhibited a clear ferromagnetic transition at 30 K with a saturation magnetization of about 0.7 uB/Ti. The magnetic easy axis was found to be along the [1-10] direction of the substrate, which differs from the single crystal easy axis direction, i.e., [001].Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Dielectric constants of Ir, Ru, Pt, and IrO2: Contributions from bound charges

We investigated the dielectric functions $\epsilon$($\omega$) of Ir, Ru, Pt, and IrO$_2$, which are commonly used as electrodes in ferroelectric thin film applications. In particular, we investigated the contributions from bound charges $\epsilon^{b}$($\omega$), since these are important scientifically as well as technologically: the $\epsilon_1^{b}$(0) of a metal electrode is one of the major factors determining the depolarization field inside a ferroelectric capacitor. To obtain $\epsilon_1^{b}$(0), we measured reflectivity spectra of sputtered Pt, Ir, Ru, and IrO2 films in a wide photon energy range between 3.7 meV and 20 eV. We used a Kramers-Kronig transformation to obtain real and imaginary dielectric functions, and then used Drude-Lorentz oscillator fittings to extract $\epsilon_1^{b}$(0) values. Ir, Ru, Pt, and IrO$_2$ produced experimental $\epsilon_1^{b}$(0) values of 48$\pm$10, 82$\pm$10, 58$\pm$10, and 29$\pm$5, respectively, which are in good agreement with values obtained using first-principles calculations. These values are much higher than those for noble metals such as Cu, Ag, and Au because transition metals and IrO$_2$ have such strong d-d transitions below 2.0 eV. High $\epsilon_1^{b}$(0) values will reduce the depolarization field in ferroelectric capacitors, making these materials good candidates for use as electrodes in ferroelectric applications.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures, 2 table

Multiple conducting carriers generated in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures

We have found that there is more than one type of conducting carriers generated in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures by comparing the sheet carrier density and mobility from optical transmission spectroscopy with those from dc-transport measurements. When multiple types of carriers exist, optical characterization dominantly reflects the contribution from the high-density carriers whereas dc-transport measurements may exaggerate the contribution of the high-mobility carriers even though they are present at low-density. Since the low-temperature mobilities determined by dc-transport in the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures are much higher than those extracted by optical method, we attribute the origin of high-mobility transport to the low-density conducting carriers.Comment: 3 figures, supplemental materia

Rotating a Bose-Einstein condensate by shaking an anharmonic axisymmetric magnetic potential

We present an experimental method for rotating a Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in an axisymmetric magnetic potential. This method is based on the anharmonicity of the trapping potential, which couples the center-of-mass motion of the condensate to its internal motion. By circularly shaking the trapping potential, we generate a circular center-of-mass motion of the condensate around the trap center. The circulating condensate undergoes rotating shape deformation and eventually relaxes into a rotating condensate with a vortex lattice. We discuss the vortex nucleation mechanism and in particular, the role of the thermal cloud in the relaxation process. Finally, we investigate the dependence of the vortex nucleation on the elliptical polarization of the trap shaking. The response of the condensate is asymmetric with respect to the sign of the shaking polarization, demonstrating the gauge field effect due to the spin texture of the condensate in the magnetic potential.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure

Evidence of metallic clustering in annealed Ga1-xMnxAs from atypical scaling behavior of the anomalous Hall coefficient

We report on the anomalous Hall coefficient and longitudinal resistivity scaling relationships on a series of annealed Ga1-xMnxAs epilayers (x~0.055). As-grown samples exhibit scaling parameter n of ~ 1. Near the optimal annealing temperature, we find n ~ 2 to be consistent with recent theories on the intrinsic origins of anomalous Hall Effect in Ga1-xMnxAs. For annealing temperatures far above the optimum, we note n > 3, similar behavior to certain inhomogeneous systems. This observation of atypical behavior agrees well with characteristic features attributable to spherical resonance from metallic inclusions from optical spectroscopy measurements.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure