The Effect of Ru substitution for Ni on the superconductivity in MgCNi3-xRux

The superconductor MgCNi3 has been chemically doped by partial substitution of Ru for Ni in the solid solution MgCNi3-xRux for 0<x<0.5. Magnetic and specific heat measurements show that the Sommerfeld parameter (gamma_exp) and TC decrease immediately on Ru substitution, but that a TC above 2K is maintained even for a relatively large decrease in gamma_exp. Ferromagnetism is not observed to develop through Ru substitution, and the normal state magnetic susceptibility is suppressed.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figure

Herbs, thyme essential oil and condensed tannin extracts as dietary supplements for broilers, and their effects on performance, digestibility, volatile fatty acids and organoleptic properties

International audienceABSTRACT 1. Herbs, thyme essential oil (EO) and condensed tannin (CT) extracts were compared for their effects as dietary supplements, on broiler growth performance, nutrient digestibility and volatile fatty acid (VFA) profiles in the gut. Cooked meat from the birds fed diets with 4 herbs and an EO extract was compared by a taste panel against those fed the control treatment, for organoleptic properties in the meat. 2. Female broiler chicks were fed wheat-soybean meal diets from 0-42 days of age. These chicks were fed either the basal ration (control), or the basal ration with one of rosemary, garlic or yarrow herbs, mimosa, cranberry or grapeseed CT's, or thyme EO supplements (8 treatments in total). Body mass (BM) and feed consumption (AFC) were measured (7, 21 and 42 days of age). 3. The garlic supplement tended (P>0.05) to improve growth rate over the first 7 days, while mimosa CT and thyme EO supplements reduced weight gains. The mimosa supplement in diets lowered (P<0.05) AFC up to study day 21. Meanwhile, the addition of a cranberry supplement reduced the digestibility of DM, OM and N, compared to the controls. Dietary thyme EO, yarrow, rosemary and garlic supplements modified caecal isovaleric and isobutyric acid proportions (Other VFA; P<0.05). Dietary herb supplements affected the intensity of meat flavour (P<0.001), and the potential of observing both garlic (P<0.001) and abnormal (P<0.001) flavours. There were large differences between the consumption of red and white meat samples, while meat temperature affected several flavour attributes. 4. Dietary garlic and grapeseed CT supplements maintained broiler performance and digestibility similarly to those birds fed the control diet, and these supplements appear suitable for dietary inclusion. Careful choices are necessary when selecting dietary plant extract supplements for broilers, but beneficial effects can be observed

Magnetically driven ferroelectric order in Ni3_3V2_2O8_8

We show that for Ni$_3$V$_2$O$_8$ long-range ferroelectric and incommensurate magnetic order appear simultaneously in a single phase transition. The temperature and magnetic field dependence of the spontaneous polarization show a strong coupling between magnetic and ferroelectric orders. We determine the magnetic symmetry of this system by constraining the data to be consistent with Landau theory for continuous phase transitions. This phenomenological theory explains our observation the spontaneous polarization is restricted to lie along the crystal b axis and predicts that the magnitude should be proportional to a magnetic order parameter.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Structural and magnetic characterization of the complete delafossite solid solution (CuAlO2){1-x}(CuCrO2){x}

We have prepared the complete delafossite solid solution series between diamagnetic CuAlO2 and the t2g^3 frustrated antiferromagnet CuCrO2. The evolution with composition x in CuAl(1-x)Cr(x)O2 of the crystal structure and magnetic properties has been studied and is reported here. The room-temperature unit cell parameters follow the Vegard law and increase with x as expected. The effective moment is equal to the Cr^3+ spin-only S = 3/2 value throughout the entire solid solution. Theta is negative, indicating that the dominant interactions are antiferromagnetic, and its magnitude increases with Cr substitution. For dilute Cr compositions, J_BB was estimated by mean-field theory to be 2.0 meV. Despite the sizable Theta, long-range antiferromagnetic order does not develop until very large x, and is preceeded by glassy behavior. Data presented here, and that on dilute Al-substitution from Okuda et al., suggest that the reduction in magnetic frustration due to the presence of non-magnetic Al does not have as dominant an effect on magnetism as chemical disorder and dilution of the magnetic exchange. For all samples, the 5 K isothermal magnetization does not saturate in fields up to 5 T and minimal hysteresis is observed. The presence of antiferromagnetic interactions is clearly evident in the sub-Brillouin behavior with a reduced magnetization per Cr atom. An inspection of the scaled Curie plot reveals that significant short-range antiferromagnetic interactions occur in CuCrO2 above its Neel temperature, consistent with its magnetic frustration. Uncompensated short-range interactions are present in the Al-substituted samples and are likely a result of chemical disorder

Magnetodielectric coupling in Mn3O4

We have investigated the dielectric anomalies associated with spin ordering transitions in the tetragonal spinel Mn$_3$O$_4$, using thermodynamic, magnetic, and dielectric measurements. We find that two of the three magnetic ordering transitions in Mn$_3$O$_4$ lead to decreases in the temperature dependent dielectric constant at zero applied field. Applying a magnetic field to the polycrystalline sample leaves these two dielectric anomalies practically unchanged, but leads to an increase in the dielectric constant at the intermediate spin-ordering transition. We discuss possible origins for this magnetodielectric behavior in terms of spin-phonon coupling. Band structure calculations suggest that in its ferrimagnetic state, Mn$_3$O$_4$ corresponds to a semiconductor with no orbital degeneracy due to strong Jahn-Teller distortion.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Competing Magnetic Phases on a "Kagome Staircase"

We present thermodynamic and neutron data on Ni_3V_2O_8, a spin-1 system on a kagome staircase. The extreme degeneracy of the kagome antiferromagnet is lifted to produce two incommensurate phases at finite T - one amplitude modulated, the other helical - plus a commensurate canted antiferromagnet for T ->0. The H-T phase diagram is described by a model of competing first and second neighbor interactions with smaller anisotropic terms. Ni_3V_2O_8 thus provides an elegant example of order from sub leading interactions in a highly frustrated systemComment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Laser-free pelvic alignment in an online adaptive radiotherapy environment.

The MR-Linac (MRL) provides a novel treatment modality that enables online adaptive treatments, but also creates new challenges for patient positioning in a laser-free environment. The accuracy and duration of prostate patient set-up on the MRL using two different methods for patient alignment was determined to establish standard of practice on the MRL. Differences in set-up accuracy were significant in the longitudinal direction and are accounted for in online plan adaption. Both methods recorded similar set-up times. The vendor recommended alignment method involves less manipulation of the patient and will be adopted as the standard positioning method for prostate and other pelvic patients on the MRL in future