Micromagnetic simulations of the magnetization precession induced by a spin polarized current in a point contact geometry

This paper is devoted to numerical simulations of the magnetization dynamics driven by a spin-polarized current in extended ferromagnetic multilayers when a point-contact setup is used. We present (i) detailed analysis of methodological problems arising by such simulations and (ii) physical results obtained on a system similar to that studied in Rippard et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., v. 92, 027201 (2004). We demonstrate that the usage of a standard Slonczewski formalism for the phenomenological treatment of a spin-induced torque leads to a qualitative disagreement between simulation results and experimental observations and discuss possible reasons for this discrepancy.Comment: Invited paper on MMM2005 (San Jose); accepted for publication in J. Applied Physic

Purification and biochemical/molecular characterisation of antimicrobial peptides produced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and evaluation of their mode of action

Tese apresentada para obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Engenharia AlimentarABSTRACT: The antagonistic effect exerted by Saccharomyces cerevisiae against other microbial species during wine fermentations was recently ascribed to its capacity to secrete antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). The main goal of the present work was to purify, identify and characterize those AMPs. Firstly, the AMPs were purified by means of chromatographic techniques (size-exclusion and ion-exchange) and then characterized regarding their amino acid sequence, codifying genes and antimicrobial/biochemical properties. Analysis of the purified AMPs by mass spectrometry revealed that the natural biocide is mainly composed by two peptides (AMP1 and AMP2/3) derived from the isoenzymes of the glycolytic protein glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). The spectrum of action of the naturally-excreted AMPs, which we named saccharomycin, is wide and includes several wine-related non-Saccharomyces yeasts, such as Hanseniaspora guilliermondii, Torulaspora delbrueckii, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Lachancea thermotolerans and Dekkera bruxellensis, as well as bacteria such as Oenococcus oeni. The antimicrobial effect of saccharomycin is significantly higher than that of synthetic analogues (AMP1 and AMP2/3) and depends on their complementary action and relative proportion. The mode of action of the AMPs was evaluated against sensitive yeast cells. The AMPs induce cell membrane permeabilization, loss of pH homeostasis and increase/decrease of H+-influx/-efflux. They also induce cell molecular markers typical of death by apoptosis in H. guilliermondii. Our work also revealed the accumulation of these GAPDH-derived peptides on the surface of stationary-grown (48 h) cells of S. cerevisiae, which induce death of non-Saccharomyces yeasts (H. guilliermondii and L. thermotolerans) by direct cell-cell contact. Finally, S. cerevisiae strains over-expressing these AMPs prevented growth of D. bruxellensis in co-fermentations, decreasing the levels of sulphur dioxide needed to control wine spoilage. Thus, the potential of these AMPs to be used as biopreservative in wine seems promising.RESUMO: O efeito antagónico de Saccharomyces cerevisiae contra outras espécies microbianas durante fermentações vínicas foi recentemente atribuído à sua capacidade de excretar péptidos antimicrobianos (PAMs). O principal objetivo do presente estudo foi purificar, identificar e caracterizar estes PAMs. Primeiramente, os PAMs foram purificados por técnicas cromatográficas (exclusão molecular e permuta iónica) e posteriormente caracterizados quanto à sua sequência de aminoácidos, aos genes que os codificam e às suas propriedades antimicrobianas/bioquímicas. Os PAMs purificados foram, em seguida, analisados por espectrometria de massa, revelando que o biocida natural é composto maioritariamente por dois PAMs (PAM1 e PAM2/3) originários das três isoenzimas da proteína glicolítica gliceraldeído-3-fosfato desidrogenase. O espectro de ação dos PAMs naturais, os quais designámos por saccharomycin, é amplo e inclui várias leveduras vínicas, tais como Hanseniaspora guilliermondii, Torulaspora delbrueckii, Kluyveromyces marxianus, Lachancea thermotolerans e Dekkera bruxellensis, assim como a bactéria vínica Oenococcus oeni. O efeito antimicrobiano de saccharomycin é bastante mais acentuado do que o efeito dos análogos quimicamente sintetizados (PAM1 e PAM2/3) e depende da sua ação complementar, assim como da sua proporção relativa. O modo de ação dos PAMs foi analisado em leveduras sensíveis, verificando-se que estes induzem permeabilização da membrana celular, perda da homeostase do pH e aumento/decréscimo do influxo/efluxo de H+. Verificou-se igualmente, que os PAMs induzem morte por apoptose em H. guilliermondii. Descobrimos, ainda, que estes PAMs se acumulam na superfície de células estacionárias (48 h) de S. cerevisiae, as quais são capazes de induzir a morte de leveduras não-Saccharomyces (H. guilliermondii e L. thermotolerans) por contacto celular direto. Por fim, uma estirpe laboratorial de S. cerevisiae foi manipulada geneticamente de forma a sobre-expressar cada um dos PAMs, verificando-se que as estirpes manipuladas apresentaram um elevado efeito antimicrobiano contra D. bruxellensis, o que permitiu reduzir os níveis de dióxido de enxofre normalmente aplicados em vinhos. Assim, a utilização destes PAMs como um bioconservante alternativo no vinho parece promissora.N/

Magnetization precession due to a spin polarized current in a thin nanoelement: numerical simulation study

In this paper a detailed numerical study (in frames of the Slonczewski formalism) of magnetization oscillations driven by a spin-polarized current through a thin elliptical nanoelement is presented. We show that a sophisticated micromagnetic model, where a polycrystalline structure of a nanoelement is taken into account, can explain qualitatively all most important features of the magnetization oscillation spectra recently observed experimentally (S.I. Kiselev et al., Nature, vol. 425, p. 380 (2003), namely: existence of several equidistant spectral bands, sharp onset and abrupt disappearance of magnetization oscillations with increasing current, absence of the out-of-plane regime predicted by a macrospin model and the relation between frequencies of so called small-angle and quasichaotic oscillations. However, a quantitative agreement with experimental results (especially concerning the frequency of quasichaotic oscillations) could not be achieved in the region of reasonable parameter values, indicating that further model refinement is necessary for a complete understanding of the spin-driven magnetization precession even in this relatively simple experimental situation.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. B; In this revised version figure positions on the page have been changed to ensure correct placements of the figure caption

Spin-torque driven magnetization dynamics in a nanocontact setup for low external fields: numerical simulation study

We present numerical simulation studies of the steady-state magnetization dynamics driven by a spin-polarized current in a point contact geometry for the case of a relatively large contact diameter (D = 80 nm) and small external field (H = 30 Oe). We show, that under these conditions the magnetization dynamics is qualitatively different from the dynamics observed for small contacts in large external fields. In particular, the 'bullet' mode with a homogeneous mode core, which was the dominating localized mode for small contacts, is not found here. Instead, all localized oscillation modes observed in simulations correspond to different motion kinds of vortex-antivortex (V-AV) pairs. These kinds include rotational and translational motion of pairs with the V-AV distance d ~ D and creation/annihilation of much smaller (satellite) V-AV pairs. We also show that for the geometry studied here the Oersted field has a qualitative effect on the magnetization dynamics of a 'free' layer. This effect offers a possibility to control magnetization dynamics by a suitable electric contact setup, optimized to produce a desired Oersted field. Finally, we demonstrate that when the magnetization dynamics of the 'fixed' layer (induced only by the stray field interaction with the 'free' layer) is taken into account, the threshold current for the oscillation onset is drastically reduced and new types of localized modes appear. In conclusion, we show that our simulations reproduce semiquantitatively several important features of the magnetization dynamics in a point contact system for low external fields reported experimentally.Comment: 26 pages, 12 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Spatial Resolution Attainable with Cathode Strip Chambers at the Trigger Level

A simple network of comparators applied to the strip signals of a cathode strip chamber allows quick hit localization to within a halfstrip width, or +/- a quarter-strip. A six-plane chamber with 6.4 mm wide strips was tested in a high-energy muon beam. The chamber was placed behind a 30 cm thick iron block. We show that patterns of hits localized to within a halfstrip allowed us to identify 300 GeV/c muon tracks with 99% probability and 0.7 mm spatial resolution in the presence of muon bremsstrahlung radiation. This technique of finding muon tracks will be used in the cathode strip chambers of the CMS Endcap Muon System

Magnonic Metamaterials

A large proportion of the recent growth of the volume of electromagnetics research has been associated with the emergence of so called electromagnetic metamaterials1 and the discovered ability to design their unusual properties by tweaking the geometry and structure of the constituent “meta-atoms”. For example, negative permittivity and negative permeability can be achieved, leading to negative refractive index metamaterials. The negative permeability could be obtained via geometrical control of high frequency currents, e.g. in arrays of split ring resonators, or alternatively one could rely on spin resonances in natural magnetic materials, as was suggested by Veselago. The age of nanotechnology therefore sets an intriguing quest for additional benefits to be gained by structuring natural magnetic materials into so called magnonic metamaterials, in which the frequency and strength of resonances based on spin waves (magnons) are determined by the geometry and magnetization configuration of meta-atoms. Spin waves can have frequencies of up to hundreds of GHz (in the exchange dominated regime) and have already been shown to play an important role in the high frequency magnetic response of composites. Moreover, in view of the rapid advances in the field of magnonics, which in particular promises devices employing propagating spin waves, the appropriate design of magnonic metamaterials with properties defined with respect to propagating spin waves rather than electromagnetic waves acquires an independent and significant importance

Search for Neutral Higgs Bosons in e+e- Collisions at sqrt(s) ~189GeV

A search for neutral Higgs bosons has been performed with the OPAL detector at LEP, using approximately 170 pb-1 of e+e- collision data collected at sqrt(s)~189GeV. Searches have been performed for the Standard Model (SM) process e+e- to H0Z0 and the MSSM processes e+e- to H0Z0, A0h0. The searches are sensitive to the b b-bar and tau antitau decay modes of the Higgs bosons, and also to the MSSM decay mode h0 to A0A0. OPAL search results at lower centre-of-mass energies have been incorporated in the limits we set, which are valid at the 95% confidence level. For the SM Higgs boson, we obtain a lower mass bound of 91.0 GeV. In the MSSM, our limits are mh>74.8GeV and mA>76.5GeV, assuming tan(beta)>1, that the mixing of the scalar top quarks is either zero or maximal, and that the soft SUSY-breaking masses are 1 TeV. For the case of zero scalar top mixing, we exclude values of tan(beta) between 0.72 and 2.19.Comment: 38 pages, 15 figures, submitted Euro. Phys. J.

Measurements of Flavour Dependent Fragmentation Functions in Z^0 -> qq(bar) Events

Fragmentation functions for charged particles in Z -> qq(bar) events have been measured for bottom (b), charm (c) and light (uds) quarks as well as for all flavours together. The results are based on data recorded between 1990 and 1995 using the OPAL detector at LEP. Event samples with different flavour compositions were formed using reconstructed D* mesons and secondary vertices. The \xi_p = ln(1/x_E) distributions and the position of their maxima \xi_max are also presented separately for uds, c and b quark events. The fragmentation function for b quarks is significantly softer than for uds quarks.Comment: 29 pages, LaTeX, 5 eps figures (and colour figs) included, submitted to Eur. Phys. J.

Bose-Einstein Correlations in e+e- to W+W- at 172 and 183 GeV

Bose-Einstein correlations between like-charge pions are studied in hadronic final states produced by e+e- annihilations at center-of-mass energies of 172 and 183 GeV. Three event samples are studied, each dominated by one of the processes W+W- to qqlnu, W+W- to qqqq, or (Z/g)* to qq. After demonstrating the existence of Bose-Einstein correlations in W decays, an attempt is made to determine Bose-Einstein correlations for pions originating from the same W boson and from different W bosons, as well as for pions from (Z/g)* to qq events. The following results are obtained for the individual chaoticity parameters lambda assuming a common source radius R: lambda_same = 0.63 +- 0.19 +- 0.14, lambda_diff = 0.22 +- 0.53 +- 0.14, lambda_Z = 0.47 +- 0.11 +- 0.08, R = 0.92 +- 0.09 +- 0.09. In each case, the first error is statistical and the second is systematic. At the current level of statistical precision it is not established whether Bose-Einstein correlations, between pions from different W bosons exist or not.Comment: 24 pages, LaTeX, including 6 eps figures, submitted to European Physical Journal