A chiral link between structure and magnetism in MnSi

We consider crystal and magnetic chiral structures for MnSi and isostructural metal silicides, where a complete set of structural and magnetic measurements allows us to define both magnetic and structural chiral configurations. We show that magnetic symmetry inherits chirality from the crystal structure. We derive, with emphasis on symmetry arguments, a new type of magneto-structural relation, namely a symmetrized coupling between structural and magnetic chiralities that provides a structural control on the magnetic chirality.     

Magnetic nanostructures as amplifiers of transverse fields in magnetic resonance

We introduce the concept of amplifying the transverse magnetic fields produced and/or detected with inductive coils in magnetic resonance settings by using the reversible transverse susceptibility properties of magnetic nanostructures. First, we describe the theoretical formalism of magnetic flux amplification through the coil in the presence of a large perpendicular DC magnetic field (typical of magnetic resonance systems) achieved through the singularity in the reversible transverse susceptibility in anisotropic single domain magnetic nanoparticles. We experimentally demonstrate the concept of transverse magnetic flux amplification in an inductive coil system using oriented nanoparticles with uni-axial magnetic anisotropy. We also propose a composite ferromagnetic/anti-ferromagnetic core/shell nanostructure system with uni-directional magnetic anisotropy that, in principle, provides maximal transverse magnetic flux amplification.     

Lamellar-like structures in ferrofluids placed in strong magnetic fields

We consider a ferrofluid system consisting of magnetic particles interacting with a magnetic dipole–dipole interaction. We study the strong magnetic field regime where all magnetic dipoles are completely polarized in the direction of the magnetic field. We introduce a lattice gas model that serves to describe space ordering phenomena in such systems. It is found that, within mean field theory, this model predicts a second order phase transition to a phase with inhomogeneous lamellar-like ordering below a certain critical temperature.     

Magnetostatic modes in coupled antiferromagnet/ferromagnet bilayers

We study the influence of interface effects on the magnetostatic modes propagating in a coupled ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic bilayer. We assume that the magnetic layers are thick enough to be described by the bulk parameters and they are coupled through the interaction between the magnetic moments located at the interface. We use a phenomenological approach taking into account the presence of different magnetic layers in the system to calculate the modified dynamical response of each material. We use the corrected magnetic permeability of the layers to obtain a correlation between the interface characteristics and the physical behavior of the magnetic excitations propagating in the system.     

From bubble to Skyrmion: Dynamic transformation mediated by a strong magnetic tip

Skyrmions in thin metallic ferromagnetic films are stable due to competition between the RKKY interaction and uniaxial magnetic anisotropy. We study static nonlinear excitations in magnetic film in the presence of strong cylindrical magnetic tip of nanometer size. We mimic the RKKY interaction by the next-nearest-neighbors ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic exchange interactions. We demonstrate analytically and numerically dissipative transformation of a bubble created by a strong magnetic tip into a stable Skyrmion.     

Dynamical behavior of coupled magnetic bilayers

We obtain the magnetic susceptibility of systems constituted of two coupled magnetic layers. We consider that the coupling of the films is well described by a Heisenberg like interaction to write the equation of motion for the magnetization of each part of the system. The dynamical response of each constituent material is calculated taking into account the presence of an interacting magnetic media (a magnetic layer) in its border. The susceptibility obtained incorporates the effects of a different magnetic film in the neighborhood (via the interfilm interaction), as well as the properties of the interface. We use a procedure similar to the effective medium approach developed for superlattices to obtain an effective magnetic permeability for the whole system. We show that the knowledge of this property allows one to have information on the interface of the magnetic bilayer through the analysis of its optical properties. We illustrate this point by calculating the dispersion relation of magnetic polaritons propagating in a system consisting of an antiferromagnetic (MnF₂) layer grown in direct contact with a ferromagnetic film (Fe). We also simulate numerically an optical experiment where ATR (Attenuated Total Reflection) spectra are obtained.     

Kondo-transport spectroscopy of single molecule magnets

We demonstrate that in a single molecule magnet strongly coupled to electrodes the Kondo effect involves all magnetic excitations. This Kondo effect is induced by the quantum tunneling of the magnetic moment. Importantly, the Kondo temperature TK can be much larger than the magnetic splittings. We find a strong modulation of the Kondo effect as a function of the transverse anisotropy parameter or a longitudinal magnetic field. Both for integer and half-integer spin this can be used for an accurate transport spectroscopy of the magnetic states in low magnetic fields on the order of the easy-axis anisotropy parameter. We set up a relationship between the Kondo effects for successive integer and half-integer spins.     

Color superconducting matter in a magnetic field

We investigate the effect of a magnetic field on cold dense quark matter using an effective model with four-Fermi interactions. We find that the gap parameters representing the predominant pairing between the different quark flavors show oscillatory behavior as a function of the magnetic field. We point out that due to electric and color neutrality constraints the magnetic fields as strong as presumably existing inside magnetars might induce significant deviations from the gap structure at a zero magnetic field.     

Aharonov-Bohm effect as a probe of interaction between magnetic impurities

We study the effects of the RKKY interaction between magnetic impurities on the mesoscopic conductance fluctuations of a metal ring with dilute magnetic impurities. At sufficiently low temperatures and strong magnetic fields, the loss of electron coherence occurs mainly due to the scattering off rare pairs of strongly coupled magnetic impurities. We establish a relation between the dephasing rate and the distribution function of the exchange interaction within such pairs. In the case of the RKKY exchange interaction, this rate exhibits 1/B(2) behavior in strong magnetic fields. We demonstrate that the Aharonov-Bohm conductance oscillations may be used as a probe of the distribution function of the exchange interaction between magnetic impurities in metals.     

Phase diagram of the spin Hall effect

We obtain analytic formulas for the frequency-dependent spin-Hall conductivity of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in the presence of impurities, linear spin-orbit Rashba interaction, and external magnetic field perpendicular to the 2DEG. We show how different mechanisms (skew scattering, side jump, and spin precession) can be brought in or out of focus by changing controllable parameters such as frequency, magnetic field, and temperature. We find, in particular, that the dc spin-Hall conductivity vanishes in the absence of a magnetic field, while a magnetic field restores the skew-scattering and side jump contributions proportionally to the ratio of magnetic and Rashba fields.     

Spectroscopic and magnetic mirages of impurities in nanoscopic systems

We present exact results for magnetic impurities in nanoscopic systems with focusing properties. We analyze the spectroscopic and magnetic properties of Kondo, intermediate valence, and magnetic impurities on a sphere with a metallic surface. Exact calculations show the occurrence of spectroscopic and magnetic mirages at the antipodes of the impurity location. Comparison with calculations performed using effective models validates previous calculations of spectroscopic mirages. Our results predict the existence of a strong magnetic mirage in the experimentally realizable elliptic corral.     

Observation of a complex nanoscale magnetic structure in a hexagonal Fe monolayer

We have observed a novel magnetic structure in the pseudomorphic Fe monolayer on Ir(111). Using spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy we find a nanometer-sized two-dimensional magnetic unit cell. A collinear magnetic structure is proposed consisting of 15 Fe atoms per unit cell with 7 magnetic moments pointing in one and 8 moments in the opposite direction. First-principles calculations verify that such an unusual magnetic state is indeed lower in energy than all solutions of the classical Heisenberg model. We demonstrate that the complex magnetic structure is induced by the strong Fe-Ir hybridization.     

Magnetization and actuation of polymeric microstructures with magnetic nanoparticles for application in microfluidics

An increasing number of lab-on-a-chip devices require advanced fluid manipulations. We intend to address this requirement by incorporating polymeric responsive materials on the walls of the microfluidic channels of such devices. In this paper we present a magnetic polymer made from commercially available functionalized magnetic nanoparticles and PDMS. Loadings of this polymer up to 5% volume of magnetic material were achieved. We report on the Young's modulus of this material and describe its magnetization behavior with a combination of inter-particle interaction and particle cluster demagnetization effects. The magnetic polymer can have a magnetic susceptibility up to 0.5 and by curing in a magnetic field, a magnetic anisotropy of a factor 2 in susceptibility can be created. Finally, a finite element model simulation is performed to quantify the amplitude of motion of a microstructure made of this magnetic polymer, and the local magnetic actuation with a current running in a micro-fabricated wire is discussed.     

AC-driven anomalous stochastic diffusion and chaotic transport in magnetic superlattices

We study regular and chaotic motion of the charge carriers in a two-dimensional electron gas subject to a spatially periodic magnetic field and to an AC electric field. We show how the interplay between the time-periodic electric and the spatially-periodic magnetic field leads to dynamical chaos and to fast stochastic diffusion of the electrons. The cases of a one-dimensional magnetic modulation with AC pumping and of a pure two-dimensional magnetic modulation are compared. We find the direct effect of anomalous diffusion and Lévy flights on the conductivity of a sample.     

Energy barrier distributions for magnetic nanoparticles with competing cubic and uniaxial anisotropies

We report in this study the effect of the competition between cubic and uniaxial anisotropies on the magnetic properties of magnetic nanoparticles. We have employed Monte Carlo simulations in our calculations and we have seen that the observed behavior is very different for the cases where easy uniaxial axes are completely random oriented or parallel to an external magnetic field. We have also calculated the effective energy barrier distribution probed during the isothermal magnetic relaxation and a two peak structure is observed only for a random orientation of uniaxial axes.     

Wegner Estimate and Anderson Localization for Random Magnetic Fields

We consider a two dimensional magnetic Schrödinger operator with a spatially stationary random magnetic field. We assume that the magnetic field has a positive lower bound and that it has Fourier modes on arbitrarily short scales. We prove the Wegner estimate at arbitrary energy, i.e. we show that the averaged density of states is finite throughout the whole spectrum. We also prove Anderson localization at the bottom of the spectrum.     

Effects of rotation on Landau states of electrons on a spherical shell

Based on a previously observed analogy between electromagnetic and non-inertial effects, we investigate the competition between magnetic field and rotation in the quantum motion of an electron constrained to the surface of a sphere. We solve numerically the Schrödinger equation of the problem for the energy eigenvalues and the eigenfunctions and compare the effects of the magnetic field and rotation. We obtain that, for a weak magnetic field, an electron can not distinguish between magnetic field and rotation, since they lead to equivalent behavior. But this is no longer true for strong magnetic fields. However, surprisingly, even though the rotation and magnetic fields play different roles in the electronic properties of the system, when together, each influence of the magnetic field on the energy levels can be separately balanced by rotation. We also show that no matter the intensity of the magnetic field, it is always possible to destroy the Landau levels in the sphere by rotation.     

Hanle effect in coherent backscattering

We study the shape of the coherent-backscattering (CBS) cone obtained when resonant light illuminates a thick cloud of laser-cooled rubidium atoms in the presence of a homogenous magnetic field. We observe new magnetic field-dependent anisotropies in the CBS signal. We show that the observed behavior is due to the modification of the atomic-radiation pattern by the magnetic field (Hanle effect in the excited state).     

Low-frequency magnetic noise in micron-scale magnetic tunnel junctions

We have observed low-frequency noise due to quasiequilibrium thermal magnetization fluctuations in micron-scale magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs). This strongly field-dependent magnetic noise occurs within the magnetic hysteresis loops, either as 1/f or Lorentzian (random telegraph) noise. We attribute it to the thermally excited hopping of magnetic domain walls between pinning sites. Our results show that magnetic stability is a crucial factor in reducing the low-frequency noise in small MTJs.