438 research outputs found
Atomic Resolution Electron Holography
It has been demonstrated that electron holography is a very powerful tool to investigate an electromagnetic potential in medium resolution, since the phase of an electron wave is approximately proportional to the potential. Now, electron holography is at the second stage of development: to establish holography at atomic resolution and further to realize Gabor\u27s idea to improve the resolution restricted by the spherical aberration of the objective lens. We investigate the possibility of electron holography to get information at atomic resolution by computer simulations as well as by digital processing of electron holograms. We show that the phase distribution has more resemblance to the specimen structure than the amplitude distribution. We also compare electron holography with electron microscopy from an image processing point of view
Unusual superexchange pathways in a Ni triangular lattice of NiGaS with negative charge-transfer energy
We have studied the electronic structure of the Ni triangular lattice in
NiGaS using photoemission spectroscopy and subsequent model
calculations. The cluster-model analysis of the Ni 2 core-level spectrum
shows that the S 3 to Ni 3 charge-transfer energy is -1 eV and the
ground state is dominated by the configuration ( is a S 3 hole).
Cell perturbation analysis for the NiS triangular lattice indicates that
the strong S 3 hole character of the ground state provides the enhanced
superexchange interaction between the third nearest neighbor sites.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, accepted to PR
Colloidal Dynamics on Disordered Substrates
Using Langevin simulations we examine driven colloids interacting with
quenched disorder. For weak substrates the colloids form an ordered state and
depin elastically. For increasing substrate strength we find a sharp crossover
to inhomogeneous depinning and a substantial increase in the depinning force,
analogous to the peak effect in superconductors. The velocity versus driving
force curve shows criticality at depinning, with a change in scaling exponent
occuring at the order to disorder crossover. Upon application of a sudden pulse
of driving force, pronounced transients appear in the disordered regime which
are due to the formation of long-lived colloidal flow channels.Comment: 4 pages, 4 postscript figure
Deformation and Depinning of Superconducting Vortices from Artificial Defects: A Ginzburg-Landau Study
Using Ginzburg-Landau theory, we have performed detailed studies of vortices
in the presence of artificial defect arrays, for a thin film geometry. We show
that when a vortex approaches the vicinity of a defect, an abrupt transition
occurs in which the vortex core develops a ``string'' extending to the defect
boundary, while simultaneously the supercurrents and associated magnetic flux
spread out and engulf the defect. Current induced depinning of vortices is
shown to be dominated by the core string distortion in typical experimental
situations. Experimental consequences of this unusual depinning behavior are
discussed.Comment: 10 pages,9 figure
Domain walls in (Ga,Mn)As diluted magnetic semiconductor
We report experimental and theoretical studies of magnetic domain walls in an
in-plane magnetized (Ga,Mn)As dilute moment ferromagnetic semiconductor. Our
high-resolution electron holography technique provides direct images of domain
wall magnetization profiles. The experiments are interpreted based on
microscopic calculations of the micromagnetic parameters and
Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert simulations. We find that the competition of uniaxial
and biaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropies in the film is directly reflected
in orientation dependent wall widths, ranging from approximately 40 nm to 120
nm. The domain walls are of the N\'eel type and evolve from near-
walls at low-temperatures to large angle [10]-oriented walls and small
angle [110]-oriented walls at higher temperatures.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Re-parameterization Invariance in Fractional Flux Periodicity
We analyze a common feature of a nontrivial fractional flux periodicity in
two-dimensional systems. We demonstrate that an addition of fractional flux can
be absorbed into re-parameterization of quantum numbers. For an exact
fractional periodicity, all the electronic states undergo the
re-parameterization, whereas for an approximate periodicity valid in a large
system, only the states near the Fermi level are involved in the
re-parameterization.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, minor changes, final version to appear in J. Phys.
Soc. Jp
Effect of a Physical Phase Plate on Contrast Transfer in an Aberration-Corrected Transmission Electron Microscope
In this theoretical study we analyze contrast transfer of weak-phase objects
in a transmission electron microscope, which is equipped with an aberration
corrector (Cs-corrector) in the imaging lens system and a physical phase plate
in the back focal plane of the objective lens. For a phase shift of pi/2
between scattered and unscattered electrons induced by a physical phase plate,
the sine-type phase contrast transfer function is converted into a cosine-type
function. Optimal imaging conditions could theoretically be achieved if the
phase shifts caused by the objective lens defocus and lens aberrations would be
equal zero. In reality this situation is difficult to realize because of
residual aberrations and varying, non-zero local defocus values, which in
general result from an uneven sample surface topography. We explore the
conditions - i.e. range of Cs-values and defocus - for most favourable contrast
transfer as a function of the information limit, which is only limited by the
effect of partial coherence of the electron wave in Cs-corrected transmission
electron microscopes. Under high-resolution operation conditions we find that a
physical phase plate improves strongly low- and medium-resolution object
contrast, while improving tolerance to defocus and Cs-variations, compared to a
microscope without a phase plate
Quantum phases of electric dipole ensembles in atom chips
We present how a phase factor is generated when an electric dipole moves
along a closed trajectory inside a magnetic field gradient. The similarity of
this situation with charged particles in a magnetic field can be employed to
simulate condensed matter models, such as the quantum Hall effect and chiral
spin Hamiltonians, with ultra cold atoms integrated on atom chips. To
illustrate this we consider a triangular configuration of a two dimensional
optical lattice, where the chiral spin Hamiltonian can be generated between any three
neighbours on a lattice yielding an experimentally implementable chiral ground
state.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, REVTEX. Title slightly changed and conclusions
extende
Quantum Interference in Superconducting Wire Networks and Josephson Junction Arrays: Analytical Approach based on Multiple-Loop Aharonov-Bohm Feynman Path-Integrals
We investigate analytically and numerically the mean-field
superconducting-normal phase boundaries of two-dimensional superconducting wire
networks and Josephson junction arrays immersed in a transverse magnetic field.
The geometries we consider include square, honeycomb, triangular, and kagome'
lattices. Our approach is based on an analytical study of multiple-loop
Aharonov-Bohm effects: the quantum interference between different electron
closed paths where each one of them encloses a net magnetic flux. Specifically,
we compute exactly the sums of magnetic phase factors, i.e., the lattice path
integrals, on all closed lattice paths of different lengths. A very large
number, e.g., up to for the square lattice, exact lattice path
integrals are obtained. Analytic results of these lattice path integrals then
enable us to obtain the resistive transition temperature as a continuous
function of the field. In particular, we can analyze measurable effects on the
superconducting transition temperature, , as a function of the magnetic
filed , originating from electron trajectories over loops of various
lengths. In addition to systematically deriving previously observed features,
and understanding the physical origin of the dips in as a result of
multiple-loop quantum interference effects, we also find novel results. In
particular, we explicitly derive the self-similarity in the phase diagram of
square networks. Our approach allows us to analyze the complex structure
present in the phase boundaries from the viewpoint of quantum interference
effects due to the electron motion on the underlying lattices.Comment: 18 PRB-type pages, plus 8 large figure
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