Optical magnetometer with submicron spatial resolution based on Rb vapors

It is shown experimentally that use of fluorescence and transmission spectra obtained from nanocells with the thickness of column of rubidium atomic vapor L = λ/2 and L = λ, respectively (λ = 794 nm is the wavelength of laser radiation close to resonance with D ₁-line transition of Rb atoms), by means of a narrowband diode laser allows spectral separation and study of variations of probabilities of atomic transitions between ground and excited states of hfs of D ₁ lines of ⁸⁵Rb and ⁸⁷Rb atoms in the range of magnetic fields from 10 to 5000 G. Small thickness of atomic vapor column (∼390 nm and ∼794 nm) allows applying permanent magnets simplifying essentially creation of strong magnetic fields. Advantages of this technique are discussed as compared with the technique of saturated absorption. The obtained results show that a nanocell with submicrom thickness of vapor column may serve as a basis for designing a magnetometer with submicron local spatial resolution which is important in case of measuring strongly inhomogeneous magnetic fields. Experimental data are in good agreement with the theoretical results.     

Current helicity pattern of large-scale magnetic field on the photosphere

Following Pevtsov and Latushko, we study the current helicity pattern of the large-scale magnetic field on the photosphere. We use the same technique as theirs to derive the vector magnetic field (B _r , B _θ , B _ϕ ) from full-disk longitudinal magnetograms based on the assumption that large-scale magnetic fields evolve rather slowly and the variations of the longitudinal magnetic fields within certain time duration are caused by the changing position angles only. Different from their study, we have calculated the current helicity maps directly from the derived vector magnetograms, rather than from obtaining the latitudinal variation of h _c by ignoring the role of B _θ component and averaging B _r and B _ϕ over all solar longitudes. This approach significantly strengthens the evidence of the hemispheric rule presented in the reconstructed vector magnetic field. Our study shows that the established hemispheric sign rule, that is, positive helicity sign in the southern hemisphere and negative helicity sign in the northern hemisphere, is applicable everywhere in the global magnetic field, namely, also evident in weak fields outside active regions, and that the obtained sign pattern is independent of the longitudinal magnetograms and the parameters that we have used.     

Fine Structure of the Optical Spectrum and Multiparticle Excitations in Rb2MnCl4

Results of experimental investigations into the optical absorption spectrum of Rb₂Mn_xCd_1–x Cl₄ solid solutions corresponding to ⁶ A _1g ⁴ A _1g ⁴ E _g transitions in manganese ions are presented. The spectra were measured at variable temperatures, magnetic fields, and concentrations x. The magnetic phase transitions accompanying variations of these parameters cause considerable changes in the spectrum. The exciton and exciton-magnon bands, their cold and hot magnon analogs, and the phonon satellite bands have been detected. The specific features of the optical absorption spectrum caused by the low-dimensional magnetic order are elucidated.     

Investigation of the impurity hyperfine field polarization in polycrystalline Rare Earth ferromagnets

Time differential perturbed angular correlation spectra of¹¹¹Cd in ferromagnetic polycrystalline Dy have been measured at 4.2 K in external magnetic fields up to 60 kG. The experimental data were well reproduced by a calculation which assumed that the angular distribution of the magnetic hyperfine fields is identical to that of the magnetic moments of the 4f-shells. The distribution of the 4f-moments was derived from magnetic anisotropy data. The results of this work seem to justify the application of the integral perturbed angular correlation technique for the determination of magnetic hyperfine fields in incompletely polarized ferromagnetic samples. The magnetic hyperfine fields of¹⁷⁷Hf:Gd and¹⁷⁷Hf:Dy have been measured by this method as:H _hf(Hf:Gd)=–375(60)kG andH _hf(Hf:Dy)=–225(45)kG.     

Search for magnetic fields due to anyons in high-T c superconductors

We have searched for anomalous internal magnetic fields in highT _c materials which are predicted to occur in anyon and flux phase models of superconductivity. The magnitude, anisotropy and temperature dependence of the observed fields inc-axis oriented samples of sintered YBa₂CuO₃O₇ and of thick-film Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈ are consistent with a conventional nuclear dipolar origin. An upper limit of ≲0.08 mT is set for any anomalous magnetic fields along thec-axis atμ ⁺ sites in bulk CuO₂ superconductors.     

Helimagnetism of CuxZn1−xCr2Se4 (for 0.0 ≤ × ≤ 0.1)

Abstract

The magnetization, the susceptibility and the magnetic anisotropy field of Cu _x Zn_1?xCr₂Se₄ compounds have been studied at low temperatures (down to 2.9 K) in: high magnetic stationary fields (up to 14 T), high pulsed magnetic fields (up to 25 T), medium magnetic stationary fields (up to 0.6 T). The magnetic structure of these spinels was studied by neutron powder diffraction.

The magnetic properties of Cu_xZn_1?xCr₂Se₄ are explained in terms of the molecular field approximation assuming the existence of 90° exchange interactions, ferromagnetic for Cr-Se-Cr between the nearest Cr ions and antiferromagnetic for Cr-Se-Se-Cr between the second-nearest Cr ions. The exchange parameters and integrals for the whole series under consideration are calculated. Taking into account the three magnetic phase transitions observed in these spinels (Juszczyk, Krok, Okońska-Koz?owska, Broda, Warczewski, Byszewski, 1981) and the neutron diffraction studies a modification of the simple spin spiral forced by a strong magnetic field is described.     

Electronic topological transition in an <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-BiSb semiconductor alloy in the quantum limit range of magnetic fields for H‖<Emphasis Type="Italic">C</Emphasis><Subscript>2</Subscript>

The galvanomagnetic properties of single-crystal samples of the Bi_0.93Sb_0.07 semiconductor alloy with the electron density n = 1.6 × 10¹⁷ cm⁻³ in magnetic fields up to 14 T at T = 1.6 K have been investigated. The resistivity ρ and Hall coefficient R have been measured as functions of the magnetic field directed along the binary axis of a crystal for a current flowing through a sample along the bisector axis; i.e., the components ρ₂₂ and R _{32, 1} have been measured. The strong anisotropy of the electron spectrum of the samples makes it possible to separately observe quantum oscillations of the magnetoresistance ρ₂₂(H) for H ‖ C ₂ in low magnetic fields for two equivalent ellipsoids with small extremal cross sections (secondary ellipsoids) and in high magnetic fields for electrons of the ellipsoid with a large extremal cross section (main ellipsoid). An increase in the energy of the electrons of secondary ellipsoids in the quantum limit magnetic fields is accompanied by the flow of electrons to the main ellipsoid; i.e., an electronic topological transition occurs from the three-valley electron spectrum to the single-valley one. After the flow stops, the Fermi energy E _F increases from 18 meV to 27.8 meV. With an increase in the quantizing magnetic field, the Fermi energy of the electrons decreases both in the region of quantum oscillations of the resistance that are attributed to the electrons of the secondary ellipsoids and in the region of oscillations associated with the electrons of the main ellipsoid. The Hall coefficient R _{32, 1} decreases in high magnetic fields; this behavior indicates the absence of the electron magnetic freezing effect.     

Metamagnetism in Ce(Ga,Al)2

Effect of Al substitution on the magnetic properties of Ce(Ga_1−x Al _x )₂ (x=0, 0.1 and 0.5) system has been studied. The magnetic state of CeGa₂ is found to be FM with a T _C of 8 K, whereas the compounds with x=0.1 and 0.5 are AFM and possess T _N of about 9 K. These two compounds undergo metamagnetic transition and the critical fields are about 1.2 T and 0.5 T. respectively at 2 K. These variations are explained on the basis of helical spin structure in these compounds.     

Crystal field spectroscopy by inelastic neutron scattering

We present a review of inelastic neutron scattering results on very diluted rare earth (RE)-Laves phases. A systematic investigation to study crystal electric fields, experienced by single rare earth ions in a metallic environment, was done on (RE,R)Al₂, with RE=Pr, Nd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm andR=Sc, Y, La. We show the influence of the 4f-ions on the crystal fields as well as the influence of the host lattices. The rare earth atoms in ScAl₂ have been studied for the first time and most of the other alloys, with LaAl₂ and YAl₂ as hosts, have been studied for the first time with magnetic atom concentrations below 1 at% and/or with good resolution for low energy excitations. Furthermore we studied the dynamics of 4f-moments, which are coupled to the conduction electrons by determining the coupling constants. We present a comprehensive set of crystal field parameters and coupling constants from these systematic studies and discuss them qualitatively within the available theoretical models. The influence of magnetic atom concentration on crystal field spectra will be shown in part II.     

Preparation and properties of sputtered Ho x Mo6S8−y thin films

Films of Ho _x Mo₆S_8–y , in which ferromagnetism and superconductivity can coexist, have been made by a d.c. getter sputtering method. These films have been characterized by x-rays, ion beams, measurements of resistance versus external magnetic fields and temperature, critical temperature and a.c. susceptibility. Resistance measurements in zero magnetic field did not show reentrance to the normal state in contrast to the a.c. susceptibility measurements which did show reentrant behaviour at a temperatureT _{c 2}=0.6 K.Resistance measurements in external magnetic fields parallel to the film surface show that this field induces reentrance to the normal state atT _{c 2}=0.6 K whereas in perpendicular magnetic field up to 2 kOe the films were still superconducting down to 70 mK. Such anomalous behaviour is explained in terms of a model by Tachiki et al.     

Multiband calculation of exciton diamagnetic shift in InP/InGaP self-assembled quantum dots

Exciton states in self-assembled InP/In_0.49Ga_0.51P quantum dots subject to magnetic fields up to 50 T are calculated. Strain and band mixing are explicitly taken into account in the single-particle models of the electronic structure, while an exact diagonalization approach is adopted to compute the exciton states. Reasonably good agreement with magneto-photoluminescence measurements on InP self-assembled quantum dots is found. As a result of the polarization and angular momentum sensitive selection rules, the exciton ground state is dark. For in-plane polarized light, the magnetic field barely affects the exciton spatial localization, and consequently the exciton oscillator strength for recombination increases only slightly with increasing field. For z polarized light, a sharp increase of the oscillator strength beyond 30 T is found which is attributed to the enhanced s character of the relevant portion of the exciton wave function.     

Magnetocaloric properties of La<Subscript>1 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>K<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> manganites

A technology for obtaining single-phase ceramic samples of La_{1 − x} K _x MnO₃ manganites, as well as the dependence of their structure parameters on the potassium content, is described. The magnetocaloric effect in the samples has been measured by two direct methods, the classical method and the magnetic field modulation method, and has been calculated from the specific heat data. The values of the magnetocaloric effect obtained by these methods are significantly different. The observed discrepancies have been explained. Correlation between the doping level and the value of the effect has been found. It has been shown that the magnetic-field dependence of variation of the magnetic entropy near T _C in weak fields corresponds to theoretical calculations and that the value of the magnetocaloric effect in high magnetic fields can be predicted using this dependence.     

Quantum oscillations of the resistivity and hall coefficient and the quantum limit in Bi<Subscript>0.93</Subscript>Sb<Subscript>0.07</Subscript> alloys in a magnetic field along the trigonal axis

The dependences of the electrical resistivity ρ and the Hall coefficient R on the magnetic field have been measured for single-crystal samples of the n-Bi_0.93Sb_0.07 semiconductor alloys with electron concentrations in the range 1 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻³ < n < 2 × 10¹⁸ cm⁻³. It has been found that the measured dependences exhibit Shubnikov-de Haas quantum oscillations. The magnetic fields corresponding to the maxima of the quantum oscillations of the electrical resistivity are in good agreement with the calculated values of the magnetic fields in which the Landau quantum level with the number N intersects the Fermi level. The quantum oscillations of the Hall coefficient with small numbers are characterized by a significant spin splitting. In a magnetic field directed along the trigonal axis, the quantum oscillations of the resistivity ρ and the Hall coefficient R are associated with electrons of the three-valley semiconductor and are in phase with the magnetic field. In the case of a magnetic field directed parallel to the binary axis, the quantum oscillations associated both with electrons of the secondary ellipsoids in weaker magnetic fields and with electrons of the main ellipsoid in strong magnetic fields (after the overflow of electrons from the secondary ellipsoids to the main ellipsoid) are also in phase. In magnetic fields of the quantum limit ħω _c /2 ≥ E _F, the electrical conductivity increases with an increase in the magnetic field: σ₂₂(H) ∼ H ^k . A theoretical evaluation of the exponent in this expression for a nonparabolic semiconductor leads to values of k close to the experimental values in the range 4 ≤ k ≤ 4.6, which were obtained for samples of the semiconductor alloys with different electron concentrations. A further increase in the magnetic field results in a decrease of the exponent k and in the transition to the inequality σ₂₂(H) ≤ σ₂₁(H).     

Arrays of interacting ferromagnetic nanofilaments: Small-angle neutron diffraction study

Magnetic properties of spatially ordered arrays of interacting nanofilaments have been studied by means of small-angle diffraction of polarized neutrons. Several diffraction maxima or rings that correspond to the scattering of the highly ordered structure of pores/filaments with hexagonal packing have been observed in neutron scattering intensity maps. The interference (nuclear-magnetic) and pure magnetic contributions to the scattering have been analyzed during the magnetic reversal of the nanofilament array in a field applied perpendicular to the nanofilament axis. The average magnetization and the interference contribution proportional to it increase with the field and are saturated at H = H _S . The magnetic reversal process occurs almost without hysteresis. The intensity of the magnetic contribution has hysteresis behavior in the magnetic reversal process for both the positive and negative fields that form the field dependence of the intensity in a butterfly shape. It has been shown that this dependence is due to the magnetostatic interaction between the filaments in the field range of H ≤ H _S . A theory for describing the magnetic properties of the arrays of interacting ferromagnetic nanofilaments in the magnetic field has been proposed.     

Magnetic properties of the Nd<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Gd<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>(BO<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>4</Subscript> single crystal

The magnetic properties of the Nd_0.5Gd_0.5Fe₃(BO₃)₄ single crystal have been studied in principal crystallographic directions in magnetic fields to 90 kG in the temperature range 2–300 K; in addition, the heat capacity has been measured in the range 2–300 K. It has been found that, below the Néel temperature T _N = 32 K down to 2 K, the single crystal exhibits an easy-plane antiferromagnetic structure. A hysteresis has been detected during magnetization of the crystal in the easy plane in fields of 1.0–3.5 kG, and a singularity has been found in the temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility in the easy plane at a temperature of 11 K in fields B < 1 kG. It has been shown that the singularity is due to appearance of the hysteresis. The origin of the magnetic properties of the crystal near the hysteresis has been discussed.     

Crystal field effects on the saturation magnetic moment of Sm3+ ion in ferronagnetic samarium compounds

The effects of cubic crystal fields on the saturation magnetic moment of Sm³⁺ ion in ferromagnetic compounds have been investigated. In samarium compounds with magnetic elements, the exchange fieldH _ex acting on Sm³⁺ ion is taken to be proportional to the sublattice magnetization of the magnetic element, while in compounds with nonmagnetic elementsH _ex is taken to be proportional to the spin average of the Sm³⁺ ion and is determined self-consistently. In both types of compoundsH _ex is assumed to be along [001] direction. The saturation magnetic moment is calculated by taking into account the admixture of excited (J=7/2 andJ=9/2) levels into the ground (J=5/2) level of Sm³⁺ ion by crystal fields and exchange fields. It is shown that depending upon the strength, the crystal fields quench or enhance the magnetic moment from the free ion value, and in some cases force Sm³⁺ ion to behave effectively like an (L+S) ion rather than an (L−S)ion. The crystal fields may have important bearing on the performance of samarium compounds as permanent magnet materials.     

Influence of quantization of band states on the effective electron mass in quaternary alloys

Summary An attempt is made to study the effective electron mass in quaternary alloys, taking a In_1−x Ga _x As _y P_1−y lattice matched to InP, by using the three-band Kane model under different physical conditions,e.g. bulk specimens, magnetic quantization, cross-field configuration, quantum well, electric-field-aided quantum well, magnetic-field-aided quantum well, quantum well under cross fields, quantum well wires, electric-field-aided quantum well wires, magnetic-field-aided quantum well wires and quantum well wires under cross fields by formulating the respective expressions. We have plotted the effective Fermi level mass with various physical variables under different conditions. In the presence of a quantizing magnetic field the effective mass depends on the spin splitting of Landau levels due to the spin-orbit splitting parameter of the valence bands. Under cross-field configuration and the various quantum confined low-dimensional systems, the effective masses depend on the respective quantum numbers in addition to the Fermi energies even for parabolic models because of the inherent features of such systems. In addition, the corresponding results for relatively wide-gap materials have also been obtained from our generalized formulations under certain limiting conditions.     

μ + SR studies of antiferromagnetic chromiumSR studies of antiferromagnetic chromium

μ ⁺ SR measurements have been performed on Cr single crystals at temperatures 60 mK≤T≤295 K in applied magnetic fields 0≤B _appl≤1.5 T. The temperature dependence of the observed precession frequencies and transverse relaxation rates can be explained by the assumption that theμ ⁺ are hopping between adjacent tetrahedral interstices. At temperaturesT≤11 K evidence for an interaction between theμ ⁺ and the spin-density waves in Cr has been found. The directions and magnitudes of the lattice magnetic moments are unaffected by the applied magnetic fields.     

Layer resolved magnetization reversal study in SmCo5/Fe nanocomposite bilayers

A hard/soft SmCo5/Fe nanocomposite magnetic bilayer system is fabricated on x-ray transparent 100-200 nm thin Si3N4 films by magnetron sputtering.The microscopic magnetic domain pattern and its behaviours during magnetization reversal in the hard and the soft magnetic phases are studied separately by element specific magnetic soft x-ray microscopy at a spatial resolution of better than 25 nm.We observe that the domain patterns for the soft and hard phases show coherent behaviours in varying magnetic fields.We derive local M(H) curves from the images of Fe and SmCo5 separately and find the switches for hard and soft phases to be the same.