Ultrafast Insulator-Metal Phase Transition in VO2 Studied by Multiterahertz Spectroscopy

The ultrafast photoinduced insulator-metal transition in VO2 is studied at different temperatures and excitation fluences using multi-THz probe pulses. The spectrally resolved mid-infrared response allows us to trace separately the dynamics of lattice and electronic degrees of freedom with a time resolution of 40 fs. The critical fluence of the optical pump pulse which drives the system into a long-lived metallic state is found to increase with decreasing temperature. Under all measurement conditions we observe a modulation of the eigenfrequencies of the optical phonon modes induced by their anharmonic coupling to the coherent wave packet motion of V-V dimers at 6.1 THz. Furthermore, we find a weak quadratic coupling of the electronic response to the coherent dimer oscillation resulting in a modulation of the electronic conductivity at twice the frequency of the wave packet motion. The findings are discussed in the framework of a qualitative model based on an approximation of local photoexcitation of the vanadium dimers from the insulating state.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures submitted to Physical Review

The logistics profile of the German chemical industry

The article aims at giving basic data and interpretations on the chemical logistics sector in Germany. The findings are based on a combination of primary research and secondary data in the field of logistics service providers, logistics agglomerations and logistics employment. Logistics service providers that are specialized in services for the chemical industry are identified. The special requirements for logistics handling goods for the chemical industry are derived and logistics clusters in the German chemical industry are presented. The development of logistics employment indicates that logistics activities in the chemical sector are frequently outsourced

Why it’s not just about the outcome: citizens also care about democratic decision-making

A well-known claim for citizens’ involvement in politics is that, when things are going well, they care little about participating in decision-making processes. Michael A. Strebel, Daniel Kübler and Frank Marcinkowski test this claim, and find that, in fact, democratic participation and transparency matter for citizens too, independently of the specific policy outcome

Anisotropic Topological Hall Effect with Real and Momentum Space Berry Curvature in the Antiskrymion Hosting Heusler Compound Mn1.4_{1.4}PtSn

The topological Hall effect (THE) is one of the key signatures of topologically non-trivial magnetic spin textures, wherein electrons feel an additional transverse voltage to the applied current. The magnitude of THE is often small compared to the anomalous Hall effect. Here, we find a large THE of 0.9 $\mu\Omega$cm that is of the same order of the anomalous Hall effect in the single crystalline antiskyrmion hosting Heusler compound Mn$_{1.4}$PtSn, a non-centrosymmetric tetragonal compound. The THE is highly anisotropic and survives in the whole temperature range where the spin structure is noncoplanar (<170 K). The THE is zero above the spin reorientation transition temperature of 170 K, where the magnetization will have a collinear and ferromagnetic alignment. The large value of the THE entails a significant contribution from the momentum space Berry curvature along with real space Berry curvature, which has never been observed earlier

Zinc(II) Complexes with Triplet Charge-Transfer Excited States Enabling Energy-Transfer Catalysis, Photoinduced Electron Transfer, and Upconversion

Many CuI complexes have luminescent triplet charge-transfer excited states with diverse applications in photophysics and photochemistry, but for isoelectronic ZnII compounds, this behavior is much less common, and they typically only show ligand-based fluorescence from singlet π–π* states. We report two closely related tetrahedral ZnII compounds, in which intersystem crossing occurs with appreciable quantum yields and leads to the population of triplet excited states with intraligand charge-transfer (ILCT) character. In addition to showing fluorescence from their initially excited 1ILCT states, these new compounds therefore undergo triplet–triplet energy transfer (TTET) from their 3ILCT states and consequently can act as sensitizers for photo-isomerization reactions and triplet–triplet annihilation upconversion from the blue to the ultraviolet spectral range. The photoactive 3ILCT state furthermore facilitates photoinduced electron transfer. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that mononuclear ZnII compounds with photophysical and photochemical properties reminiscent of well-known CuI complexes are accessible with suitable ligands and that they are potentially amenable to many different applications. Our insights seem relevant in the greater context of obtaining photoactive compounds based on abundant transition metals, complementing well-known precious-metal-based luminophores and photosensitizers

Currents, Torques, and Polarization Factors in Magnetic Tunnel Junctions

Application of Bardeen's tunneling theory to magnetic tunnel junctions having a general degree of atomic disorder reveals the close relationship between magneto-conduction and voltage-driven pseudo-torque, as well as the thickness dependence of tunnel-polarization factors. Among the results: 1) The torque generally varies as sin theta at constant applied voltage. 2) Whenever polarization factors are well defined, the voltage-driven torque on each moment is uniquely proportional to the polarization factor of the other magnet. 3) At finite applied voltage, this relation predicts significant voltage-asymmetry in the torque. For one sign of voltage the torque remains substantial even when the magnetoconductance is greatly diminished. 4) A broadly defined junction model, called ideal middle, allows for atomic disorder within the magnets and F/I interface regions. In this model, the spin dependence of a state-weighting factor proportional to the sum over general state index of evaluated within the (e.g. vacuum) barrier generalizes the local state density in previous theories of the tunnel-polarization factor. 5) For small applied voltage, tunnel-polarization factors remain legitimate up to first order in the inverse thickness of the ideal middle. An algebraic formula describes the first-order corrections to polarization factors in terms of newly defined lateral auto-correllation scales.Comment: This version no. 3 is thoroughly revised for clarity. Just a few notations and equations are changed, and references completed. No change in results. 17 pages including 4 figure