72 research outputs found
High-field irreversible moment reorientation in the antiferromagnet FeTe
Magnetization measurements have been performed on single-crystalline
FeTe in pulsed magnetic fields up to 53 T
and temperatures from 4.2 to 65 K. At K, a non-reversible reorientation
of the antiferromagnetic moments is observed at T as the pulsed
field is on the rise. No anomaly is observed at during the fall of the
field and, as long as the temperature is unchanged, during both rises and falls
of additional field pulses. The transition at is reactivated if the
sample is warmed up above the N\'{e}el temperature K and cooled
down again. The magnetic field-temperature phase diagram of FeTe in
is also investigated. We present the temperature
dependence of , as well as that of the antiferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic
borderline in temperatures above 40 K.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Magnetic glassy phase in FeSeTe single crystals
The evolution of the magnetic order in FeSeTe crystals as a function of Se
content was investigated by means of ac/dc magnetometry and muon-spin
spectroscopy. Experimental results and self-consistent DFT calculations both
indicate that muons are implanted in vacant iron-excess sites, where they probe
a local field mainly of dipolar origin, resulting from an antiferromagnetic
(AFM) bicollinear arrangement of iron spins. This long-range AFM phase
disorders progressively with increasing Se content. At the same time all the
tested samples manifest a marked glassy character that vanishes for high Se
contents. The presence of local electronic/compositional inhomogeneities most
likely favours the growth of clusters whose magnetic moment "freezes" at low
temperature. This glassy magnetic phase justifies both the coherent muon
precession seen at short times in the asymmetry data, as well as the glassy
behaviour evidenced by both dc and ac magnetometry.Comment: Approved for publication in J. Phys.: Condens. Matte
Evidence for core-hole-mediated inelastic x-ray scattering from metallic FeTe
We present a detailed analysis of resonant inelastic scattering (RIXS) from
FeTe with unprecedented energy resolution. In contrast to the sharp
peaks typically seen in insulating systems at the transition metal edge,
we observe spectra which show different characteristic features. For low energy
transfer, we experimentally observe theoretically predicted many-body effects
of resonant Raman scattering from a non-interacting gas of fermions.
Furthermore, we find that limitations to this many-body electron-only theory
are realized at high Raman shift, where an exponential lineshape reveals an
energy scale not present in these considerations. This regime, identified as
emission, requires considerations of lattice degrees of freedom to understand
the lineshape. We argue that both observations are intrinsic general features
of many-body physics of metals.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Temperature and time scaling of the peak-effect vortex configuration in FeTeSe
An extensive study of the magnetic properties of FeTeSe
crystals in the superconducting state is presented. We show that weak
collective pinning, originating from spatial variations of the charge carrier
mean free path ( pinning), rules in this superconductor. Our results
are compatible with the nanoscale phase separation observed on this compound
and indicate that in spite of the chemical inhomogeneity spatial fluctuations
of the critical temperature are not important for pinning. A power law
dependence of the magnetization vs time, generally interpreted as signature of
single vortex creep regime, is observed in magnetic fields up to . For
magnetic fields applied along the c axis of the crystal the magnetization
curves exhibit a clear peak effect whose position shifts when varying the
temperature, following the same dependence as observed in
YBaCuO. The time and temperature dependence of the peak
position has been investigated. We observe that the occurrence of the peak at a
given magnetic field determines a specific vortex configuration that is
independent on the temperature. This result indicates that the influence of the
temperature on the vortex-vortex and vortex-defect interactions leading to the
peak effect in FeTeSe is negligible in the explored range of
temperatures.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Physical properties of thermoelectric zinc antimonide using first-principles calculations
We report first principles calculations of the structural, electronic,
elastic and vibrational properties of the semiconducting orthorhombic ZnSb
compound. We study also the intrinsic point defects in order to eventually
improve the thermoelectric properties of this already very promising
thermoelectric material. Concerning the electronic properties, in addition to
the band structure, we show that the Zn (Sb) crystallographically equivalent
atoms are not exactly equivalent from the electronic point of view. Lattice
dynamics, elastic and thermodynamic properties are found to be in good
agreement with experiments and they confirm the non equivalency of the zinc and
antimony atoms from the vibrational point of view. The calculated elastic
properties show a relatively weak anisotropy and the hardest direction is the y
direction. We observe the presence of low energy modes involving both Zn and Sb
atoms at about 5-6 meV, similarly to what has been found in Zn4Sb3 and we
suggest that the interactions of these modes with acoustic phonons could
explain the relatively low thermal conductivity of ZnSb. Zinc vacancies are the
most stable defects and this explains the intrinsic p-type conductivity of
ZnSb.Comment: 33 pages, 8 figure
Optical properties of BaFeCoAs
We present detailed temperature dependent optical data on
BaFeCoAs (BCFA), with x = 0.14, between 4 meV and 6.5 eV.
We analyze our spectra to determine the main optical parameters and show that
in this material the interband conductivity already starts around 10 meV. We
determine the superfluid density to be 2.2 10^{7}\Delta_{1}\pm\Delta_{2}\pm$ 2 meV.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Transport and superconducting properties of Fe-based superconductors: SmFeAs(O1-x Fx) versus Fe1+y (Te1-x, Sex)
We present transport and superconducting properties - namely resistivity,
magnetoresistivity, Hall effect, Seebeck effect, thermal conductivity, upper
critical field - of two different families of Fe-based superconductors, which
can be viewed in many respects as end members: SmFeAs(O1-xFx) with the largest
Tc and the largest anisotropy and Fe1+y(Te1-x,Sex), with the largest Hc2, the
lowest Tc and the lowest anisotropy. In the case of the SmFeAs(O1-xFx) series,
we find that a single band description allows to extract an approximated
estimation of band parameters such as carrier density and mobility from
experimental data, although the behaviour of Seebeck effect as a function of
doping demonstrates that a multiband description would be more appropriate. On
the contrary, experimental data of the Fe1+y(Te1-x,Sex) series exhibit a
strongly compensated behaviour, which can be described only within a multiband
model. In the Fe1+y(Te1-x,Sex) series, the role of the excess Fe, tuned by Se
stoichiometry, is found to be twofold: it dopes electrons in the system and it
introduces localized magnetic moments, responsible for Kondo like scattering
and likely pair-breaking of Cooper pairs. Hence, excess Fe plays a crucial role
also in determining superconducting properties such as the Tc and the upper
critical field Bc2. The huge Bc2 values of the Fe1+y(Te1-x,Sex) samples are
described by a dirty limit law, opposed to the clean limit behaviour of the
SmFeAs(O1-xFx) samples. Hence, magnetic scattering by excess Fe seems to drive
the system in the dirty regime, but its detrimental pairbreaking role seems not
to be as severe as predicted by theory. This issue has yet to be clarified,
addressing the more fundamental issue of the interplay between magnetism and
superconductivity
A common polymorphism in NR1H2 (LXRbeta) is associated with preeclampsia
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Preeclampsia is a frequent complication of pregnancy and a leading cause of perinatal mortality. Both genetic and environmental risk factors have been identified. Lipid metabolism, particularly cholesterol metabolism, is associated with this disease. Liver X receptors alpha (NR1H3, also known as LXRalpha) and beta (NR1H2, also known as LXRbeta) play a key role in lipid metabolism. They belong to the nuclear receptor superfamily and are activated by cholesterol derivatives. They have been implicated in preeclampsia because they modulate trophoblast invasion and regulate the expression of the endoglin (CD105) gene, a marker of preeclampsia. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between the <it>NR1H3 </it>and <it>NR1H2 </it>genes and preeclampsia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We assessed associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms of <it>NR1H3 </it>(rs2279238 and rs7120118) and <it>NR1H2 </it>(rs35463555 and rs2695121) and the disease in 155 individuals with preeclampsia and 305 controls. Genotypes were determined by high-resolution melting analysis. We then used a logistic regression model to analyze the different alleles and genotypes for those polymorphisms as a function of case/control status.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found no association between <it>NR1H3 </it>SNPs and the disease, but the <it>NR1H2 </it>polymorphism rs2695121 was found to be strongly associated with preeclampsia (genotype C/C: adjusted odds ratio, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.04-4.05; <it>p </it>= 0.039 and genotype T/C: adjusted odds ratio, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.01-3.42; <it>p </it>= 0.049).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study provides the first evidence of an association between the <it>NR1H2 </it>gene and preeclampsia, adding to our understanding of the links between cholesterol metabolism and this disease.</p
The response of tropical rainforests to drought : lessons from recent research and future prospects
Key message: we review the recent findings on the influence of drought on tree mortality, growth or ecosystem functioning in tropical rainforests. Drought plays a major role in shaping tropical rainforests and the response mechanisms are highly diverse and complex. The numerous gaps identified here require the international scientific community to combine efforts in order to conduct comprehensive studies in tropical rainforests on the three continents. These results are essential to simulate the future of these ecosystems under diverse climate scenarios and to predict the future of the global earth carbon balance. - Context: tropical rainforest ecosystems are characterized by high annual rainfall. Nevertheless, rainfall regularly fluctuates during the year and seasonal soil droughts do occur. Over the past decades, a number of extreme droughts have hit tropical rainforests, not only in Amazonia but also in Asia and Africa. The influence of drought events on tree mortality and growth or on ecosystem functioning (carbon and water fluxes) in tropical rainforest ecosystems has been studied intensively, but the response mechanisms are complex.- Aims: herein, we review the recent findings related to the response of tropical forest ecosystems to seasonal and extreme droughts and the current knowledge about the future of these ecosystems. - Results: this review emphasizes the progress made over recent years and the importance of the studies conducted under extreme drought conditions or in through-fall exclusion experiments in understanding the response of these ecosystems. It also points to the great diversity and complexity of the response of tropical rainforest ecosystems to drought. - Conclusion: the numerous gaps identified here require the international scientific community to combine efforts in order to conduct comprehensive studies in tropical forest regions. These results are essential to simulate the future of these ecosystems under diverse climate scenarios and to predict the future of the global earth carbon balance
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