Switching of +/-360deg domain wall states in a nanoring by an azimuthal Oersted field

We demonstrate magnetic switching between two $360^\circ$ domain wall vortex states in cobalt nanorings, which are candidate magnetic states for robust and low power MRAM devices. These $360^\circ$ domain wall (DW) or "twisted onion" states can have clockwise or counterclockwise circulation, the two states for data storage. Reliable switching between the states is necessary for any realistic device. We accomplish this switching by applying a circular Oersted field created by passing current through a metal atomic force microscope tip placed at the center of the ring. After initializing in an onion state, we rotate the DWs to one side of the ring by passing a current through the center, and can switch between the two twisted states by reversing the current, causing the DWs to split and meet again on the opposite side of the ring. A larger current will annihilate the DWs and create a perfect vortex state in the rings.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Author's Preface

This paper is focused on the structure, chemical composition, optical and mechanical properties of coatings consisting in an Alsingle bondN matrix incorporating different Au contents (up to 2.5 at.%). The Au was incorporated in the matrix atomically or in the form of very small nanoparticles (< 1 nm). With the increase in the Au content both the refractive index and the coefficient of extinction were increased. The AlN matrix presented a crystalline wurtzite phase, stable up to 1000 °C. With annealing at 400 °C the precipitation of XRD detectable Au nanoparticles was possible, originating SPR light absorption. The Alsingle bondN + Au coatings exhibited hardness values between 15 and 24 GPa, with no significant changes after the annealing treatments at low temperatures. These coatings are of interest to the decorative applications

Statistical Mechanics of Two-dimensional Foams

The methods of statistical mechanics are applied to two-dimensional foams under macroscopic agitation. A new variable -- the total cell curvature -- is introduced, which plays the role of energy in conventional statistical thermodynamics. The probability distribution of the number of sides for a cell of given area is derived. This expression allows to correlate the distribution of sides ("topological disorder") to the distribution of sizes ("geometrical disorder") in a foam. The model predictions agree well with available experimental data

Rheological behavior of human blood in uniaxial extensional flow

We present an investigation of the rheological behavior of whole human blood under uniaxial extensional flow. For that purpose, capillary breakup experiments were carried out by combining the slow retraction method, high-speed imaging techniques and an immiscible oil bath. The use of the oil bath was aimed at reducing liquid loss by evaporation and to reduce light refraction effects, thus allowing the visualization of the blood cells during the filament thinning. Extensional relaxation times were measured for whole blood samples collected from a total of thirteen healthy adult volunteers from both genders, with hematocrit levels between 38.7% and 46.3%. For this range of red blood cell concentrations, the variation of the extensional relaxation time is small, with the average extensional relaxation times measured in air and in oil being 114±30 μs and 259±47 μs, respectively. An increase of the red blood cells concentration leads to an increase of the bulk viscosity of the sample, which delays the thinning of the filament and consequently the time to breakup. In addition, blood aging was found to reduce the relaxation time while the absence of anticoagulant increases it significantly

Young's modulus of (Ti,Si)N films by surface acoustic waves and indentation techniques

Ti1yxSixNy films with Si contents up to 17.5 at.% and N contents close to 50 at.% were prepared by r.f. reactive magnetron sputtering. Film densities are within the range 3.4–5.1 gycm3.X-Ray diffraction patterns indicated the formation of two crystalline phases.In the case of low surface mobility, a metastable (Ti, Si)N phase was formed, where Si atoms occupied Ti positions. With increasing surface mobility, a crystalline TiN phase was observed.This behaviour may be explained by the occurrence of Si3N4 segregation, leading to the formation of a nanocomposite film of the type nc-TiNync-(Ti,Si)Nya-Si3N4, although the presence of Si3N4 phase is difficult to prove.In some of the films, a mixture of the (Ti,Si)N metastable phase with the TiN phase was observed, which indicates that the segregation of both TiN and Si3N4 phases is not complete.The Young’s modulus, Ef, of each coating was evaluated using both indentation tests and the surface acoustic waves (SAW) method.For most samples, the results obtained by these two methods are in good agreement.Some differences were observed in films prepared with a bias voltage of y50 V and Si contents higher than 5.9 at.%. For these samples, indentation values of approximately 10–20% higher than those obtained from SAW were found.This discrepancy is related to the nanostructure of these coatings, and it should be pointed out that the SAW results are strongly correlated with the density of the material.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT)European Community Fund (FEDER)German/Portuguese DAAD/ICCTI Institution

Crescimento de gramíneas e leguminosas forrageiras tropicais sob sombreamento.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de níveis de sombreamento artificial (0%, 30%, 50% e 70%) nas taxas de acúmulo de matéria seca de quatro gramíneas (Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu, B. humidicola cv. Quicuio-da-amazônia, Panicum maximum cv. Massai e Paspalum notatum cv. Pensacola) e três leguminosas forrageiras (Arachis pintoi cv. Belmonte, A. pintoi BRA-031143 e Pueraria phaseoloides), em Rio Branco, Acre. No período de novembro de 1999 a abril de 2001, foram realizados nove cortes para medição das taxas de acúmulo de matéria seca. Os capins marandu e massai tiveram o melhor desempenho entre as gramíneas, aliando boa tolerância ao sombreamento e alta capacidade produtiva, constituindo opções importantes na composição de sistemas silvipastoris em áreas com solos bem drenados. O quicuio-da-amazônia apresentou menor tolerância ao sombreamento, podendo ser usado em sistemas silvipastoris com baixa densidade arbórea, em áreas com chuvas bem distribuídas ou com solos mal drenados. O capim-pensacola apresentou alta tolerância ao sombreamento, mas baixa capacidade produtiva, não sendo recomendado para a região. O Arachis pintoi cv. Belmonte demonstrou maior capacidade produtiva e tolerância ao sombreamento que as demais leguminosas

Maker Club in Pre-School

The project allows pre-school children to develop the problematization of what they are learning and, in secondary school, students’ perspectives of cooperative in the development of scientific literacy. In this type of activity, children, with the help of high school students, deepen and consolidate behavioral values for life, thus enabling a positive change in their attitudes, in the way of believing, innovating, planning and persisting to conquer. Theactivities developed are accessible, both in approach and availability as well as in the cost of materials

Spin configurations in Co2FeAl0.4Si0.6 Heusler alloy thin film elements

We determine experimentally the spin structure of half-metallic Co2FeAl0.4Si0.6 Heusler alloy elements using magnetic microscopy. Following magnetic saturation, the dominant magnetic states consist of quasi-uniform configurations, where a strong influence from the magnetocrystalline anisotropy is visible. Heating experiments show the stability of the spin configuration of domain walls in confined geometries up to 800 K. The switching temperature for the transition from transverse to vortex walls in ring elements is found to increase with ring width, an effect attributed to structural changes and consequent changes in magnetic anisotropy, which start to occur in the narrower elements at lower temperatures.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Gravitational Collapse, Black Holes and Naked Singularities

This article gives an elementary review of gravitational collapse and the cosmic censorship hypothesis. Known models of collapse resulting in the formation of black holes and naked singularities are summarized. These models, when taken together, suggest that the censorship hypothesis may not hold in classical general relativity. The nature of the quantum processes that take place near a naked singularity, and their possible implication for observations, is briefly discussed.Comment: 17 pages, Latex File. Based on a talk given at the Discussion Workshop on Black Holes, Bangalore, 9-12 Dec. 1997, to appear in the Conference Proceeding

On isotropic cylindrically symmetric stellar models

We attempt to match the most general cylindrically symmetric vacuum space-time with a Robertson-Walker interior. The matching conditions show that the interior must be dust filled and that the boundary must be comoving. Further, we show that the vacuum region must be polarized. Imposing the condition that there are no trapped cylinders on an initial time slice, we can apply a result of Thorne's and show that trapped cylinders never evolve. This results in a simplified line element which we prove to be incompatible with the dust interior. This result demonstrates the impossibility of the existence of an isotropic cylindrically symmetric star (or even a star which has a cylindrically symmetric portion). We investigate the problem from a different perspective by looking at the expansion scalars of invariant null geodesic congruences and, applying to the cylindrical case, the result that the product of the signs of the expansion scalars must be continuous across the boundary. The result may also be understood in relation to recent results about the impossibility of the static axially symmetric analogue of the Einstein-Straus model.Comment: 13 pages. To appear in Classical and Quantum Gravit