Neutrino scattering on atomic electrons in searches for the neutrino magnetic moment

The scattering of a neutrino on atomic electrons is considered in the situation where the energy transferred to the electrons is comparable to the characteristic atomic energies, as relevant to the current experimental search for the neutrino magnetic moment. The process is induced by the standard electroweak interaction as well as by the possible neutrino magnetic moment. Quantum-mechanical sum rules are derived for the inclusive cross section at a fixed energy deposited in the atomic system, and it is shown that the differential over the energy transfer cross section is given, modulo very small corrections, by the same expression as for free electrons, once all possible final states of the electronic system are taken into account. Thus, the atomic effects effectively cancel in the inclusive process.     

Quantum tunneling of the magnetic moment in a free nanoparticle

We study tunneling of the magnetic moment in a particle that has full rotational freedom. Exact energy levels are obtained and the ground-state magnetic moment is computed for a symmetric rotor. The effect of mechanical freedom on spin tunneling manifests itself in a strong dependence of the magnetic moment on the moments of inertia of the rotor. The energy of the particle exhibits quantum phase transitions between states with different values of the magnetic moment. Particles of various shapes are investigated and the quantum phase diagram is obtained.     

Rayleigh scattering of light by two-dimensional electrons in a high magnetic field

Resonance Rayleigh scattering of light by a two-dimensional electron system in the ultraquantum limit is investigated. The scattering process under study involves electronic states belonging to the two spin sublevels of the zero Landau level. It is shown that the main contribution to resonance Rayleigh scattering originates from the fluctuations of the random potential in the quantum well hosting the two-dimensional system.     

The scattering of electrons moving in a magnetic field

The problem investigated here is that of the scattering of relativistic electrons by a spherically symmetric force center. In contrast to the usual formulation of the problem it is assumed that the electrons are traveling in a constant and uniform magnetic field.     

Magnetic correction to the anomalous magnetic moment of electrons

We investigate the leading order correction of anomalous magnetic moment (AMM) to electrons in a weak magnetic field and find that the magnetic correction is negative and magnetic field dependent, indicating a magnetic catalysis effect for the electron gas. In the laboratory, to measure the g − 2, the magnitude of the magnetic field B is several T, and correspondingly the magnetic correction to the AMM of electron/muon is around 10⁻³⁴/10⁻⁴², therefore the magnetic correction can be safely neglected in the current measurement. However, when the magnitude of the magnetic field strength is comparable with the electron mass, the magnetic correction of the electron's AMM will become considerable. This general magnetic correction to the charged fermion's AMM can be extended to study quantum chromodynamic matter under a strong magnetic field.     

Energy-exchange processes by tunneling electrons

Resistive heating, emission heating or cooling (e.g., the Nottingham effect), and thermal fluctuation radiation are examples of energy exchange processes which are fundamental in electron field emission and in tunneling junctions of scanning tunneling microscopy. These exchange processes are analyzed for both electronic tunneling processes. We first discuss the energy delivered by a monoatomic tip in the field emission process. Strong phonon excitation is expected for field emission currents exceeding 1 nA. Secondly we present a theoretical calculation of the thermal deposition associated with the Nottingham effect in a tunneling junction. The calculation is based on the free electron model for the electrode materials and the tunneling process across a planar vacuum gap. Our results show that the thermal power is deposited not only at the electron receiving electrode but also at the emitting electrode. This originates from a finite probability for electrons below the Fermi level to tunnel through the tunneling barrier replaced by electrons starting from the Fermi level. The comparison between the calculations and the recent STM measurements is given. Finally we discuss the other energy exchange processes in the tunneling junction, and conclude that the thermal coupling between the tip and the sample of STM is extremely small under UHV conditions. This is important for high temperature STM.     

Method for measuring the anomalous magnetic moment of free electrons

It is shown that a previously described method for measuring the spin resonance of free electrons in a trap can also be used to measure their (g-2) anomaly. The electrons are trapped in an electrostatic quadrupole field with a superimposed homogeneous axial magnetic field, and are polarized by spin exchange. The spin and (g-2) resonance are monitored through the spin dependence of the excitation processe+Na (3S)→e+Na(3P). Calculations are made of the energy levels and transition probabilities of the trapped electrons.     

Direct observation of the quantum tunneling of single hydrogen atoms with a scanning tunneling microscope

Single hydrogen atoms were imaged on the Cu(001) surface by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The vibrations of individual H and D atoms against the surface were excited and detected by inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (STM-IETS). Variable temperature measurements of H atom diffusion showed a transition from thermally activated diffusion to quantum tunneling at 60 K. Regimes of phonon-assisted and electron-limited quantum tunneling were observed. The thermal diffusion rate of D atoms varied over 7 orders of magnitude between 80 and 50 K with no transition to quantum tunneling down to a thermal hopping rate of 4x10(-7) s(-1).     

Inelastic tunneling of electrons through a quantum dot with an embedded single molecular magnet

We report a theoretical analysis of electron transport through a quantum dot with an embedded biaxial single-molecule magnet (SMM) based on mapping of the many-body interaction-system onto a one-body problem by means of the non-equilibrium Green function technique. It is found that the conducting current exhibits a stepwise behavior and the nonlinear differential conductance displays additional peaks with variation of the sweeping speed and the magnitude of magnetic field. This observation can be interpreted by the interaction of electron-spin with the SMM and the quantum tunneling of magnetization. The inelastic conductance and the corresponding tunneling processes are investigated with normal as well as ferromagnetic electrodes. In the case of ferromagnetic configuration, the coupling to the SMM leads to an asymmetric tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR), which can be enhanced or suppressed greatly in certain regions. Moreover, a sudden TMR-switch with the variation of magnetic field is observed, which is seen to be caused by the inelastic tunneling.     

Direct observation of tunneling in KDP using Neutron Compton scattering

Neutron Compton scattering measurements presented here of the momentum distribution of hydrogen in KH2PO4 just above and well below the ferroelectric transition temperature are sufficiently sensitive to show clearly that the proton is coherent over both sites in the high temperature phase, a result that invalidates the commonly accepted order-disorder picture of the transition. The Born-Oppenheimer potential for the hydrogen, extracted directly from data for the first time, is consistent with neutron dif-fraction data, and the vibrational spectrum is in substantial agreement with infrared absorption measurements. The measurements are sensitive enough to detect the effect of surrounding ligands on the hydrogen bond, and can be used to study the systematic effect of the variation of these ligands in other hydrogen bonded systems.     

Resonant tunneling of electrons between two-dimensional systems of different densities in a quantizing magnetic field

The results of experimental investigation of the vertical electron transport in a GaAs/Al_0.3Ga_0.7As/GaAs single-barrier tunneling heterostructure with a doped barrier are presented. Two-dimensional accumulation layers appear on different sides of the barrier as a result of the ionization of Si donors in the barrier layer. The nonmonotonic shift of the current peak is found in the I–V curve of the tunneling diode in a magnetic field perpendicular to the planes of two-dimensional layers. Such a behavior is shown to be successfully explained in the model of appearing the Coulomb pseudogap and the pinning of the spin-split Landau levels at the Fermi levels of the contacts. In this explanation, it is necessary to assume that the Landé factor is independent of the filling factors of the Landau levels and is g* = 7.5 for both layers.     

Itinerant nature of atom-magnetization excitation by tunneling electrons

We have performed single-atom magnetization curve (SAMC) measurements and inelastic scanning tunneling spectroscopy (ISTS) on individual Fe atoms on a Cu(111) surface. The SAMCs show a broad distribution of magnetic moments with 3.5 μB being the mean value. ISTS reveals a magnetization excitation with a lifetime of 200 fsec which decreases by a factor of 2 upon application of a magnetic field of 12 T. The experimental observations are quantitatively explained by the decay of the magnetization excitation into Stoner modes of the itinerant electron system as shown by newly developed theoretical modeling.     

Revelation of Ni magnetic moment in GdNi single crystal by soft X-ray magnetic circular dichroism

Magnetic moment of Ni in GdNi single crystal was studied through the soft X-ray absorption spectra (XAS) and the magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) at the Ni L_2,3-edges and the Gd M_4,5-edges. Our experiment revealed for the first time that the Ni 3d band is not filled completely even at the content of 50 at.% of Gd and the Ni does retain a total magnetic moment coupling antiparallel to that of Gd. This result implied that the Ni in GdNi holds an intrinsic magnetic moment even at 50 at.% of Gd and contradicts the well-known charge transfer model. Further by employing the magneto-optical sum rule, the spin and orbital angular magnetic moment were evaluated and discussed.     

Experimental evidence of zero forward scattering by magnetic spheres

Magnetically induced diffraction patterns by micron sized magnetic spheres dispersed in a ferrofluid disappear at a certain critical magnetic field. This critical field is found to depend on the concentration of the ferrofluid and on the volume of the magnetic spheres. We attribute this effect to the zero forward scattering by magnetic spheres as predicted by Kerker, Wang, and Giles [J. Opt. Soc. Am. 73, 765 (1983)]. We suggest that such a dispersion can be used to study the optical analogues of localization of electrons in condensed matter, the Hall effect, and the anisotropic diffusion, etc. The combination of the micron sized magnetic spheres and the ferrofluid will also be useful to design magnetically tunable photonic devices.     

The polarization of electrons by tunneling through a spin-dependent surface potential

A model calculation is discussed which demonstrates that the spin-dependence of the surface potential can be an important factor in determining the field-emitted electron spin polarization (FEESP) from ferromagnetic metals. The significance of this model calculation for the interpretation of FEESP from Ni and Fe is discussed.     

Elastic scattering of electrons by benzene

Relative differential cross-sections for the elastic scattering of electrons from benzene have been measured at incident energies 300, 500, 700 and 900eV and for scattering angles between 30° and 120°. The results are discussed and compared with the independent atom model (IAM) calculations. Two different sets of scattering amplitudes for the constituent atoms of benzene were used in these calculations, one obtained from first Born approximation and the other from partial wave analysis of the Dirac equation. Only the static interaction was taken into account in the calculations. The higher the incident energy, the better is the observed agreement between experiment and theory. This indicates that at higher energies, absorption, exchange and polarization effects are not significant as compared to the static interaction and that the IAM satisfactorily predicts the interference of scattering from the individual atoms of C₆H₆.