Effect of nonuniform mechanical stresses on the domain structure of iron borate

A magnetooptic method is used to study the effect of nonuniform radial mechanical stresses on the domain structure, magnetic susceptibility, and magnetic hysteresis loops of a FeBO₃ single crystal. When a magnetic field is applied in the basal plane of FeBO₃ along the stress vector, a system of tapered domains appears in the crystal during magnetization. These domains exist in a certain temperature-dependent field range H₀ ≤ H ≤ H _c . The appearance of a system of tapered domains is found to substantially affect the technical magnetization of a stressed crystal. The results obtained are discussed within the thermodynamic theory of a domain structure. A theoretical model used is shown to adequately describe the experimental temperature and field dependences of the ratio \({D \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {D {\sqrt L }}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} {\sqrt L }}\) (where D and L are the average width and length of a tapered domain, respectively). The calculated value of D is approximately 1.3 times smaller than the experimentally observed domain width.     

Faraday effect on the Rb <Emphasis Type="Italic">D</Emphasis> <Subscript>1</Subscript> line in a cell with a thickness of half the wavelength of light

The rotation of the radiation polarization plane in a longitudinal magnetic field (Faraday effect) on the D₁ line in atomic Rb vapor has been studied with the use of a nanocell with the thickness L varying in the range of 100–900 nm. It has been shown that an important parameter is the ratio L/λ, where λ = 795 nm is the wavelength of laser radiation resonant with the D₁ line. The best parameters of the signal of rotation of the radiation polarization plane have been obtained at the thickness L = λ/2 = 397.5 nm. The fabricated nanocell had a large region with such a thickness. The spectral width of the signal reached at the thickness L = 397.5 nm is approximately 30 MHz, which is much smaller than the spectral width (≈ 500 MHz) reached with ordinary cells with a thickness in the range of 1–100 mm. The parameters of the Faraday rotation signal have been studied as functions of the temperature of the nanocell, the laser power, and the magnetic field strength. The signal has been reliably detected at the laser power P_L ≥ 1 μW, magnetic field strength B ≥ 0.5 G, and the temperature of the nanocell T ≥ 100°C. It has been shown that the maximum rotation angle of the polarization plane in the longitudinal magnetic field is reached on the F_g = 3 → F_e = 2 transition of the ⁸⁵Rb atom. The spectral profile of the Faraday rotation signal has a specific shape with a sharp peak, which promotes its applications. In particular, Rb atomic transitions in high magnetic fields about 1000 G are split into a large number of components, which are completely spectrally resolved and allow the study of the behavior of an individual transition.     

Interrelationship between the polarization moments of different parity upon optical pumping of atoms under the magnetic resonance conditions: I. Experiment on the <Superscript>133</Superscript>Cs and <Superscript>4</Superscript>He atoms

In an experiment with an optical pumping of ¹³³Cs atoms in the 6² S _1/2 ground state, the line shape of the D ^2f magnetic resonance signal for the transverse alignment component oscillating at a double frequency f of a radio-frequency (RF) magnetic field is found to strongly depend on the polarization of pumping radiation. On passage from a linearly polarized pumping light to a circularly polarized (CP) light with a sufficiently strong RF field the ordinary three-peak line with the highest central peak transforms into a two-peak line with a minimum at the center, so that the D ^2f signal line resembles the M ^f signal line of a transverse orientation oscillating at the RF field frequency f. This suggests that the orientation (the first-rank polarization moment (PM)) arising upon CP pumping affects the alignment (the second-rank PM); i.e., the PMs of Cs atoms with different parities of their ranks become coupled. No influence of the polarization of a pumping radiation on the line shape of the D ^2f signal is observed in a similar experiment with the ⁴He atoms in the 2³ S ₁ metastable state.     

Magnetization and Static Magnetic Susceptibility of Fine-Crystalline High-Temperature YBa<Subscript>2</Subscript>Cu<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">y</Emphasis></Subscript> Superconductors Synthesized by the Sol–Gel Method

A comparative study of the magnetization and static magnetic susceptibility of high-temperature superconductors (HTSC) YBa₂Cu₃O_y synthesized by two variants of the sol–gel method with different average sizes of crystallites 〈 D〉 ranging 0.4–2 μm has been performed in constant magnetic fields (Н ≤ 6 kOe). It has been shown that the different annealing temperatures and times, at which their crystal structure is formed, change both the average sizes of crystallites 〈D〉 and the sizes of the structural homogeneity regions 〈l〉 and, at the same time, the magnetic field penetration depth (λ) and the coherence length (ξ). As a result, such parameters as 〈D〉 ~ λ and 〈l〉 ~ ξ become comparable, leading to a change in the physical characteristics of HTSCs. It has also been shown that the superconducting transition temperature T_c determined from the measurements of magnetic characteristics in constant magnetic fields remains within values optimal for superconductivity (T_c ≈ 92 K) in the case of an optimal number (y) of oxygen atoms, which determine the levels of charge doping for a given compound.     

Commensurability effects in a Josephson tunnel junction in the field of an array of magnetic particles

Commensurability effects have been theoretically studied in a hybrid system consisting of a Josephson junction located in a nonuniform field induced by an array of magnetic particles. A periodic phase-difference distribution in the junction that is caused by the formation of a regular lattice of Abrikosov vortices generated by the magnetic field of the particles in superconducting electrodes is calculated. The dependence of the critical current through the junction I _c on the applied magnetic field H is shown to differ strongly from the conventional Fraunhofer diffraction pattern because of the periodic modulation of the Josephson phase difference created by the vortices. More specifically, the I _c(H) pattern contains additional resonance peaks, whose positions and heights depend on the parameters and magnetic state of the particles in the array. These specific features of the I _c(H) dependence are observed when the period of the Josephson current modulation by the field of the magnetic particles and the characteristic scale of the change in the phase difference by the applied magnetic field are commensurable. The conditions that determine the positions of the commensurability peaks are obtained, and they are found to agree well with experimental results.     

Study of the Insulating Magnetic Field in an Accelerating Ion Diode

The results of examination of the insulating magnetic field in an accelerating ion diode are presented. This field is produced in order to suppress the electron current and thus enhance the neutron yield of the D(d, n)³He nuclear reaction. The following two designs are discussed: a gas-filled diode with inertial electrostatic confinement of ions and a vacuum diode with a laser-plasma ion source and pulsed magnetic insulation. Although the insulating field of permanent magnets is highly nonuniform, it made it possible to extend the range of accelerating voltages to U = 200 kV and raise the neutron yield to Q = 10⁷ in the first design. The nonuniform field structure is less prominent in the device with pulsed magnetic insulation, which demonstrated efficient deuteron acceleration with currents up to 1 kA at U = 400 kV. The predicted neutron yield is as high as 109 neutrons/pulse.     

Superconducting Properties of Indium Nanostructured in Pores of Thin Films of SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Microspheres

Samples of a superconducting indium nanocomposite based on a thin-film porous dielectric matrix prepared by the Langmuir–Blodgett method are obtained for the first time, and their low-temperature electrophysical and magnetic properties are studied. Films with thickness b ≤ 5 μm were made from silicon dioxide spheres with diameter D = 200 and 250 nm; indium was introduced into the pores of the films from the melt at a pressure of P ≤ 5 kbar. Thus, a three-dimensional weakly ordered structure of indium nanogranules was created in the pores, forming a continuous current-conducting grid. Measurements of the temperature and magnetic field dependences of the resistance and magnetic moment of the samples showed an increase in the critical parameters of the superconductivity state of nanostructured indium (critical temperature T_c ≤ 3.62 K and critical magnetic field H_c at T = 0 K H_c(0) ≤ 1700 Oe) with respect to the massive material (T_c = 3.41 K, H_c(0) = 280 Oe). In the dependence of the resistance on temperature and the magnetic field, a step transition to the superconductivity state associated with the nanocomposite structure was observed. A pronounced hysteresis M(H) is observed in the dependence of the magnetic moment M of the nanocomposite on the magnetic field at T < T_c, caused by the multiply connected structure of the current-conducting indium grid. The results obtained are interpreted taking into account the dimensional dependence of the superconducting characteristics of the nanocomposite.     

Dependence of the magnetic and superconducting characteristics of fine-grained HTSCs YBa<Subscript>2</Subscript>Cu<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">y</Emphasis></Subscript> on the degree of structural disorder and type of oxygen vacancy ordering in chain planes

The characteristics determining different contributions to the magnetic susceptibility at T > T _C (Pauli susceptibility, coherence length at T = 0, and Curie constant) as functions of the degree of structural disorder have been analyzed for high-temperature superconducting YBa₂Cu₃O _y samples ( y ≈ 6.92, T _C ≈ 92 K) with micrometer and submicron average grain sizes D _av. It is shown that the decrease in these characteristics, which is observed in fine-grained samples with a decrease in D _av, occurs in various ways, depending on the number and type of oxygen vacancy ordering in chain planes.     

Zeeman effect and stark splitting of the electronic states of the rare-earth ion in the paramagnetic terbium garnets Tb<Subscript>3</Subscript>Ga<Subscript>5</Subscript>O<Subscript>12</Subscript> and Tb<Subscript>3</Subscript>Al<Subscript>5</Subscript>O<Subscript>12</Subscript>

The Zeeman effect in the ⁷ F ₆ → ⁵ D ₄ absorption band of the Tb³⁺ ion in the paramagnetic garnets Tb₃Ga₅O₁₂ and Tb₃Al₅O₁₂ was studied. The field dependences of the Zeeman splitting of some absorption lines are found to exhibit unusual behavior: as the magnetic field increases, the band splitting decreases rather than increases. Symmetry analysis relates these lines to 4f → 4f electron transitions of the doublet-quasi-doublet or quasi-doublet-doublet type, for which the field dependences of the splitting differ radically from the well-known field dependences of the Zeeman splitting for quasi-doublet-quasi-doublet or quasi-doublet-singlet transitions in a longitudinal magnetic field.     

Entanglement in Mixed-Spin (1/2, 3/2) Heisenberg XXZ Model with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction

In this paper, the entanglement in a mixed-spin (1/2, 3/2) Heisenberg XXZ model with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction in an inhomogeneous external magnetic field is studied. We not only calculate the ground-state entanglement but also investigate the behaviors of quantum phase transition following the changes of DM interaction and nonuniform magnetic field. More importantly, we note that the DM interaction improves the critical magnetic field B _c , the critical temperature T _c and broadens the region of entanglement.     

Polar Phase of Superfluid <Superscript>3</Superscript>He: Dirac Lines in the Parameter and Momentum Spaces

The time reversal symmetric polar phase of the spin-triplet superfluid ³He has two types of Dirac nodal lines. In addition to the Dirac loop in the spectrum of the fermionic Bogoliubov quasiparticles in the momentum space (p _x , p _y , p _z ), the spectrum of bosons (magnons) has Dirac loop in the 3D space of parameters—the components of magnetic field (H _x ,H _y ,H _z ). The bosonic Dirac system lives on the border between the type-I and type-II.     

Possibility of the use of the magnetic field for creating a quantum filter on the <Emphasis Type="Italic">D</Emphasis><Subscript>1</Subscript><Superscript>87</Superscript>Rb line

The possibility of the use of the F = 2?F = 1 transition of the D ₁ absorption line of the ⁸⁷Rb atom for creating of a single-photon quantum filter based on coherent population trapping (CPT) has been analyzed. It has been shown that the external magnetic field is necessary for ensuring the creation of the quantum filter on boson isotopes of alkali atoms. The field strength should be enough for the manifestation of the splitting of the Zeeman CPT resonances that is much larger than their spectral widths. The splittings of the CPT resonances, which characterize the nonlinearity of the Zeeman effect, have been measured for the ⁸⁷Rb atom and the possibility of the use of this system for the quantum filter is concluded.     

Magnetic phase diagram and correlation between metamagnetism and superconductivity in Ru<Subscript>0.9</Subscript>Sr<Subscript>2</Subscript>YCu<Subscript>2.1</Subscript>O<Subscript>7.9</Subscript>

The magnetic superconductorRu_0.9Sr₂YCu_2.1O_7.9 (Ru-1212Y) has beeninvestigated using neutron diffraction under variable temperature and magnetic field. Withthe complementary information from magnetization measurements, we propose a magnetic phasediagram T-H for the Ru-1212 system. Uniaxialantiferromagnetic (AFM) order of 1.2μ _B /Ruatoms with moments parallel to the c-axis is found below the magnetictransition temperature at  ~140 K in the absence of magnetic field. In addition,ferromagnetism (FM) in the ab-plane develops below  ~120 K, butis suppressed at lower temperature by superconducting correlations. Externally appliedmagnetic fields cause Ru-moments to realign from the c-axis to theab-plane, i.e. along the ?1,1,0? direction, and induce ferromagnetismin the plane with  ~1μ _B at 60 kOe.These observations of the weak ferromagnetism suppressed by superconductivity and thefield-induced metamagnetic transition between AFM and FM demonstrate not only competingorders of superconductivity and magnetism, but also suggest a certain vortex dynamicscontributing to these magnetic transitions.     

Calculation of the diffusion coefficient in acoustic turbulence

The first (Born) approximation commonly used to calculate the diffusion coefficient D_T of a passive scalar in acoustic turbulence is shown to be insufficient. Even for a small main parameter—the Mach number, M?1—the next approximation gives a larger contribution to D_T than does the first approximation, but negative in sign. We present a procedure for correctly calculating D_T based on the solution of a nonlinear DIA (direct interaction approximation) equation for the mean Green’s function of the problem. We include an additional term in the general formula for D_T that directly describes the compressibility of acoustic turbulence. This term has not been known previously and has been disregarded even in the Born approximation. A positive value was obtained for D_T=CM³u₀/p₀. The spectrum E(x) was assumed to be smooth at distances Δ x～M²?1.     

Magnetism of gadolinium nanoparticles near <Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">c</Emphasis></Subscript>

Influence of temperature and magnetic field H on magnetism of spherical Gd nanoparticles of different sizes (89, 63, 47, 28, and 18 nm) was studied in the temperature range 250 K < T < 325 K. The particles were obtained by metal vapor condensation in the flow of helium. The particles with d = 18 nm did not show a magnetic transition; their structure is a combination of two cubic phases (FCC1 and FCC2). Large particles remained in the HCP phase and had an admixture of the FCC1 phase, the amount of which decreased as the particle sizes increased; magnetic transition took place at T _c = 293 K. The admixture of O₂ did not alter the structure but decreased the magnetization σ and magnetic permeability μ. An orientation transition in polycrystalline gadolinium initiated by the magnetic field H was proved in an experiment. The orientation transition in Gd particles smaller than 63 nm, the magnetic structure of which is close to the single-domain structure, occurred near T _c without the influence of H.     

Localized superconductivity in superconductor-ferromagnet hybrid structures

The results of theoretical and experimental investigations of the peculiarities of the nucleation of superconductivity in the presence of a nonuniform magnetic field induced by ferromagnetic films or dots with out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy are reviewed. It is shown that the phase transition line of superconductor-ferromagnet hybrids in the H-T plane (H is an external magnetic field and T is temperature) is determined significantly by the spatial distribution of nonuniform magnetic field. It allows to control the thermodynamic and transport properties of superconductor-ferromagnet hybrids by tuning the magnetic state of the ferromagnet.     

Rotation of the inner shell in a C<Subscript>20</Subscript>@C<Subscript>80</Subscript> nanoparticle

The stability of a C₂₀@C₈₀ nanoparticle and the rotation of its inner shell are studied theoretically within the tight-binding approximation. It is found that the C₂₀ skeleton in the free state is described by space group D_3d; in the case where C₂₀ is placed into the C₈₀(I _h ) fullerene field, the space group of C₂₀ is raised to I _h due to isomerization. The total energy surface of the C₂₀@C₈₀ compound is scanned over two rotation angles. Based on an analysis of the surface relief and energy isoline map, orientational melting of the nanoparticle is predicted. A nanoparticle gyroscope—C₂₀ rotating in the field of C₈₀ at a certain relative orientation and energy supply—is also predicted to exist.     

Critical magnetic field of the vortex-free state in NbC thin films and prospects for its observation in MgB<Subscript>2</Subscript>

The critical magnetic fields H _c‖ and H _c2 are measured for thin films of the isotropic superconductor NbC. It is revealed that the critical fields exhibit strong anisotropy due to the vortex-free state of the film in a magnetic field aligned parallel to its surface. The H _c‖/H _c2 ratio at 2 K exceeds 6 and increases with increasing temperature. The dependence H _c‖(T) agrees quantitatively with the concepts of microscopic theory on the vortex-free state of a thin film of a clean superconductor in the temperature range below T _c . As the electron mean free path decreases under irradiation of the film with a low dose of He⁺ ions, the critical field H _c‖ remains unchanged near T _c but increases significantly at lower temperatures. The well-known theoretical models are used to estimate the electronic parameters and thicknesses of MgB₂ films for which the specific features associated with the vortex-free state of the two-gap superconductor can manifest themselves in the temperature dependence of the critical magnetic field H _c‖(T).     

Electro-optical properties of strontium-barium niobate crystals and their relation to the domain structure of the crystals

The electro-optical coefficients r _ij and half-wave voltage V_λ/2 of strontium-barium niobate crystals poled in the ferroelectric phase are shown to vary along the polar axis. The r _ij (z) and V_λ/2(z) dependences indicate the presence of a residual domain density D(z) and clearly depend on the sign of the polarizing field, with r _ij being minimum (D being maximum) near the negative electrode. This character of the D(z) distribution and, hence, the r _ij (z) and V_λ/2(z) coordinate dependences can be explained by predominant domain nucleation near the negative electrode, which is revealed when the switching processes are studied using 90° (Rayleigh) light scattering from domain walls.     

Electron paramagnetic resonance of Cr<Superscript>3+</Superscript>-Li<Superscript>+</Superscript> centers in (Cr,Li): Mg<Subscript>2</Subscript>SiO<Subscript>4</Subscript> synthetic forsterite

Synthetic single crystals of chromium-and lithium-doped forsterite, namely, (Cr,Li): Mg₂SiO₄, are studied using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. It is revealed that, apart from the known centers Cr³⁺(M1) and Cr³⁺(M2) (with local symmetries C_i and C_s, respectively), these crystals involve two new types of centers with C₁ symmetry, namely, Cr³⁺(M1)′ and Cr³⁺(M2)′ centers. The standard parameters D and E in a zero magnetic field [zero-field splitting (ZFS) parameters expressed in GHz] and principal components of the g tensor are determined as follows: D=31.35, E=8.28, and g=(1.9797, 1.9801, 1.9759) for Cr³⁺(M1)′ centers and D=15.171, E=2.283, and g=(1.9747, 1.9769, 1.9710) for Cr³⁺(M2)′ centers. It is found that the lowsymmetric effect of misalignment of the principal axes of the ZFS and g tensors most clearly manifests itself (i.e., its magnitude reaches 19°) in the case of Cr³⁺(M2)′ centers. The structural models Cr³⁺(M1)-Li⁺(M2) and Cr³⁺(M2)-Li⁺(M1) are proposed for the Cr³⁺(M1)′ and Cr³⁺(M2)′ centers, respectively. The concentrations of both centers are determined. It is demonstrated that, upon the formation of Cr³⁺-Li⁺ ion pairs, the M1 position for chromium appears to be two times more preferable than the M2 position. Reasoning from the results obtained, the R₁ line (the ²E → ⁴A₂ transition) observed in the luminescence spectra of (Cr,Li): Mg₂SiO₄ crystals in the vicinity of 699.6 nm is assigned to the Cr³⁺(M1)′ center.