Oscillatory magnetoconductance of narrow quantum waveguides in the presence of inhomogeneous magnetic fields

We present quantum mechanical calculations of magnetoconductance of narrow quantum waveguides in the presence of inhomogeneous perpendicular magnetic field with the use of a model of two coupled tight-binding chains and the transfer-matrix method. The variation of the magnetoconductance with the magnetic flux φ threading one unit cell in the chains for different Fermi energies of the electrons is presented. The effect of magnetically defined ‘barriers’ on the conductance as a function of the Fermi energy is studied in detail for various samples with different magnetically structural configurations. The profile of the conductance depends on the magnitude and the relative direction of the magnetic field piercing the magnetic ‘barriers’. The behaviors of the conductance for the linear-variation and other modulation functions of the magnetic field in a finite region are shown. The abrupt change of the magnetic field in the interface between two adjacent regions causes striking oscillation structures imposed upon the conductance steps. When the magnetic field is varied smoothly (adiabatically) the oscillation structures in the conductance are substantially suppressed and smeared out and finally replaced by the rounded conductance step in the corner. The presence of a magnetically defined cavity in the waveguide leads to pronounced oscillations and the appearance of resonant dip-peak pair in the conductance.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance in inhomogeneous magnetic fields

The response of the spin system has been investigated by numerical simulations in the case of a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiment performed in inhomogeneous static and radiofrequency fields. The particular case of the NMR-MOUSE was considered. The static field and the component of the radiofrequency field perpendicular to the static field were evaluated as well as the spatial distribution of the maximum NMR signal detected by the surface coil. The NMR response to various pulse sequences was evaluated numerically for the case of an ensemble of isolated spins (1/2). The behavior of the echo train in Carr-Purcell-like pulse sequences used for measurements of transverse relaxation and self-diffusion was simulated and compared with the experiment. The echo train is shown to behave qualitatively differently depending on the particular phase schemes used in these pulse sequences. Different echo trains are obtained, because of the different superposition of Hahn and stimulated echoes forming mixed echoes as a result of the spatial distribution of pulse flip angles. The superposition of Hahn and stimulated echoes originating from different spatial regions leads to distortions of the mixed echoes in intensity, shape, and phase. The volume selection produced by Carr-Purcell-like pulse sequences is also investigated for the NMR-MOUSE. The developed numerical simulation procedure is useful for understanding a variety of experiments performed with the NMR-MOUSE and for improving its performance. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Cosmology with inhomogeneous magnetic fields

We review spacetime dynamics in the presence of large-scale electromagnetic fields and then consider the effects of the magnetic component on perturbations to a spatially homogeneous and isotropic universe. Using covariant techniques, we refine and extend earlier work and provide the magnetohydrodynamic equations that describe inhomogeneous magnetic cosmologies in full general relativity. Specialising this system to perturbed Friedmann–Robertson–Walker models, we examine the effects of the field on the expansion dynamics and on the growth of density inhomogeneities, including non-adiabatic modes. We look at scalar perturbations and obtain analytic solutions for their linear evolution in the radiation, dust and inflationary eras. In the dust case we also calculate the magnetic analogue of the Jeans length. We then consider the evolution of vector perturbations and find that the magnetic presence generally reduces the decay rate of these distortions. Finally, we examine the implications of magnetic fields for the evolution of cosmological gravitational waves.     

Selective saturation in strongly inhomogeneous magnetic fields

The possibility to produce selective saturation by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) sequences of low-power radio-frequency pulses in strongly inhomogeneous magnetic fields is explored. The saturation of parts of the sensitive volume is produced by a particular pulse sequence with reduced amplitude distribution and the spectrum of the recorded signal is compared with the simulated spectrum. The spectra of the recorded free induction decays and echo signals are in good agreement with the simulated spectra of the pulse sequence, which demonstrates the effect of the selective saturation. The results obtained are an important step towards the development of new mobile and lowpower NMR equipments operating with inhomogeneous magnetic fields.     

Double-quantum-filtered NMR signals in inhomogeneous magnetic fields

The possibility of exciting and detecting proton NMR double-quantum coherences in inhomogeneous static and radiofrequency magnetic fields was investigated. For this purpose specialized pulse sequences which partially refocus the strongly inhomogeneous evolution of the spin system and generate double-quantum buildup and decay curves were implemented on the NMR MOUSE (mobile universal surface explorer). The theoretical justification of the method was developed for the simple two-spin-1/2 system. The performances of the same pulse sequences were also tested on a solid-state high-field NMR spectrometer. It was shown that DQ decay curves have a better signal-to-noise ratio in the initial time regime than DQ buildup curves. The double-quantum buildup and decay curves were recorded for a series of cross-linked natural rubber samples. These curves give access to quantitative values of the ratio of proton total residual dipolar couplings which are in good agreement with those measured in homogeneous fields. A linear dependence of these ratios on the sulfur-accelerator content was found.     

Multi-echo imaging in highly inhomogeneous magnetic fields

A new pulsed field gradient multi-echo imaging technique to encode position in the phase of every echo generated by a CPMG sequence in the presence of a strongly inhomogeneous static magnetic field is presented. It was applied to improve the sensitivity in an imaging experiment by adding the echo train acquired during the CPMG sequence and to spatially resolve relaxation times of inhomogeneous specimens using single-sided probes. The sequence was implemented in a new bar-magnet MOUSE equipped with a gradient coil system to apply a pulsed magnetic field with a constant gradient along one spatial coordinate. An important reduction by a factor larger than two orders of magnitude in the acquisition time was obtained compared to the previously published single-point imaging technique.     

Itinerant electron transport in microscopically inhomogeneous magnetic fields

We report on magnetoresistance measurements in thin nickel films modulated by a periodic magnetic field emanating from micromagnetic arrays fabricated at the film surface. By increasing the strength of the magnetic potential using nickel and dysprosium micromagnets, we are able to quench the anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) in the film.     

Diffusion exchange NMR spectroscopy in inhomogeneous magnetic fields

Two-dimensional diffusion exchange experiments in the presence of a strong, static magnetic field gradient are presented. The experiments are performed in the stray field of a single sided NMR sensor with a proton Larmor frequency of 11.7 MHz. As a consequence of the strong and static magnetic field gradient the magnetization has contributions from different coherence pathways. In order to select the desired coherence pathways, a suitable phase cycling scheme is introduced. The pulse sequence is applied to study diffusion as well as the molecular exchange properties of organic solvents embedded in a mesoporous matrix consisting of a sieve of zeolites with a pore size of 0.8 nm and grain size of 2 μm. This pulse sequence extends the possibilities of the study of transport properties in porous media, with satisfying sensitivity in measurement times of a few hours, in a new generation of relatively inexpensive low-field NMR mobile devices.     

Selective NMR excitation in strongly inhomogeneous magnetic fields

The NMR-MOUSE is a unilateral and mobile NMR sensor which operates with highly inhomogeneous magnetic fields. To produce a mobile NMR unit, RF excitation is sought, which can be produced with the most simple equipment, in particular nonlinear, low-power amplifiers, and to observe a free induction decay in strongly inhomogeneous fields, the excitation needs to be selective. The possibility to produce selective excitation by sequences of hard low-power radiofrequency pulses in the strongly inhomogeneous magnetic fields of the NMR-MOUSE is explored. The use of the DANTE sequence for selection of magnetization from parts of the sensitive volume was investigated for longitudinal and transverse magnetization by computer simulations and experiments. The spectra of the recorded FIDs and echo signals are in good agreement with those simulated for the excitation, which verifies the concept of the DANTE excitation. The results obtained are an important step towards a low-power operation of the NMR-MOUSE to improve its mobility.     

Charge density excitations in bilayer graphene in high magnetic field

The charge-density excitations in bilayer graphene at the filling-factor ν 1 at small momenta are considered in the frame of the Hartree-Fock approximation. The presence of small asymmetry of graphene layers is included. The dependence of the magnetoplasmon energy on the bilayer ground state is shown. The energy splitting proportional to $ \sqrt H $ for the symmetric case with half-filled zero-energy levels is found both for bilayer and monolayer graphene.     

Correlation between long-wavelength magnetic excitations and an inhomogeneous magnetic structure in γ-FeNi alloys

An energy analysis of small-angle neutron scattering in Fe _x Ni_1?x (x = 0.50, 0.57, 0.65 at %) alloys is performed at various temperatures and wavevectors. Low-energy long-wavelength magnetic excitations other than spin waves of the Holstein-Primakoff type are detected. These data and the data obtained earlier for the Fe_0.65Ni_0.35 alloy indicate that the density of states of the low-energy long-wavelength magnetic excitations correlates with the inhomogeneity of the magnetic structure of the alloys, which is caused by the iron concentration and a competing exchange interaction (J _NiNi > 0, J _FeNi > 0, J _FeFe < 0).     

Coulomb impurity problem of graphene in magnetic fields

Analytical solutions to the Coulomb impurity problem of graphene in the absence of a magnetic field show that when the dimensionless strength of the Coulomb potential g$g$ reaches a critical value the solutions become supercritical with imaginary eigenenergies. Application of a magnetic field is a singular perturbation, and no analytical solutions are known except at a denumerably infinite set of magnetic fields. We find solutions to this problem by numerical diagonalization of the large Hamiltonian matrices. Solutions are qualitatively different from those of zero magnetic field. All energies are discrete and no complex energies are allowed. We have computed the finite-size scaling function of the probability density containing an s$s$-wave component of the Dirac wavefunctions. This function depends on the coupling constant, regularization parameter, and the gap. In the limit of vanishing regularization parameter our findings are consistent with the expected values of the exponent ν$\nu$ which determines the asymptotic behavior of the wavefunction near r=0$r=0$.     

Landau-level splitting in graphene in high magnetic fields

The quantum Hall (QH) effect in two-dimensional electrons and holes in high quality graphene samples is studied in strong magnetic fields up to 45 T. QH plateaus at filling factors nu = 0, +/-1, +/-4 are discovered at magnetic fields B > 20 T, indicating the lifting of the fourfold degeneracy of the previously observed QH states at nu = +/-4(absolute value(n) + 1/2), where n is the Landau-level index. In particular, the presence of the nu = 0, +/-1 QH plateaus indicates that the Landau level at the charge neutral Dirac point splits into four sublevels, lifting sublattice and spin degeneracy. The QH effect at nu = +/-4 is investigated in a tilted magnetic field and can be attributed to lifting of the spin degeneracy of the n = 1 Landau level.