Effect of irradiation with Ne<Superscript>+</Superscript> ions on the transformations of domain structures of a uniaxial magnetic film in an AC magnetic field

Effects of irradiation with Ne⁺ ions on the transformations of domain structures (DSs) that occur in a uniaxial magnetic film under the action of an ac magnetic field are investigated. Transitions of a DS from an amorphous state into a hexagonal lattice and a labyrinthine structure are considered. The irradiation is found to lead to a change in the amplitudes of the ac field at which phase transformations of the DS occur. The effect of the magnitude of the ac field on the number of domains in a block with a hexagonal lattice has been studied. It is shown that the process of annealing of defects in a DS consisting of blocks with a hexagonal lattice can be described by the equation of a first-order reaction. The irradiation-induced change in the energy of activation for the annealing of defects in the DS has been found.     

Effect of residual stress on nematic domains in BaFe_(2-x)Ni_xAs_2 studied by angular magnetoresistance

We have studied the angular magnetoresistance of iron pnictides BaFe_(2-x)Ni_xAs_2, which shows clear 180 degree periodicity as fitted by a cosine function. In the x = 0.065 sample, the phase of the two-fold symmetry changes 90 degrees above the tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural transition temperature Ts. Since the phase at low temperature is associated with the rotation of orthorhombic domains by magnetic field, we show that even vacuum grease can push the presence of orthorhombic domains at temperatures much higher than Ts. Our results suggest that residual stress may have significant effects in studying the nematic orders and its fluctuations in iron pnictides.     

Modeling of the loading path dependent magnetomechanical behavior of Galfenol alloy

The magnetomechanical behavior of single-crystal Galfenol alloy was found to be strongly dependent on the loading paths. An energy-based anisotropic domain rotation model, assuming that the interaction between domains can be ignored and the probability of the magnetic moment pointing along a particular direction is related to the free energy along this direction, is used to simulate the magnetostriction versus magnetic field and stress curve and to track the magnetic domain motion trail. The main reason for loading path dependent effect is the rotation/flipping of the magnetic domains under different loading paths. The effect of loading and unloading paths on 90° magnetic domain motion was studied by choosing different loading and unloading state and paths. The results show that prior loading magnetic field can make the 90° magnetic domains flip to the directions of 45° domains because the magnetic field is the driving force to make the domains rotate, and the final loading state and the loading path both have great influence on the motion of 90° magnetic domains.     

基于统计方法的动态光谱差值提取

为实现血液成分无创检测,针对动态光谱(dynamic spectrum, DS)时域单拍提取法存在的不足,提出时域差值提取法,即顺序提取各波长对数光电脉搏波上相距理想差值间隔的两对应采样点的绝对差值构成差值DS,利用统计方法优选若干有效差值DS进行叠加平均获取最终DS输出。对48例志愿者的实验数据分别利用差值提取法和单拍提取法进行DS提取,结果表明：差值提取法提取DS的去噪效果略优于单拍提取法;对单一个体可获取有效DS的平均个数由48个改善为130个,有效DS间均方误差的平均值由0.39改善为0.006,运算速度提升了近20倍。新方法显著提高了DS提取的质量。     

基于狄拉克半金属的可调谐的太赫兹宽频带纯线偏振转换器

本文基于新型材料狄拉克半金属(Dirac semimetals,DSs),设计了一款高纯度宽频带可调谐线偏振转换器,偏振转换率(PCR)超过99%的相对带宽为15.72%。在频段5.25~6.14 THz内,椭度角接近0°,偏振方位角约等于-90°。这种转换性能主要是源于顶层超表面的各向异性和局域的表面等离子体激元谐振(LSPRs)的激发。此外,通过改变费米能的大小可以使所设计的偏振转换器在不同的频带范围内实现宽频带偏振转换。最后,通过半解析的方法对偏振转换特性进行了理论分析。该设计在太赫兹通信、成像、无损检测等领域具有一定的应用价值,同时为宽频带可调谐太赫兹线偏振转换器的设计提供了新思路。     

Radio frequency field intensity mapping using a composite spin-echo sequence

A novel radio frequency (RF) field intensity mapping or imaging method using a composite NMR spin-echo sequence is proposed. A composite spin-echo RF pulse with 90 degrees y-180 degrees x-90 degrees y sequence makes phase change in the final image depending on the RF field intensity on the object. The resultant phase change or phase map can be used to obtain the actual RF flip-angle map for a given condition which includes the status of tuning and RF inhomogeneity, etc. Bloch equation has been solved numerically to obtain the effects of the RF field intensity as well as the main magnetic field inhomogeneity and the results are used for the mapping (imaging) of the RF field intensity. Phantom studies have been performed using a 1.5 Tesla whole body MRI system and the results are presented.     

Domain structure in magnetic films with a saturation magnetization higher than the anisotropy field

The domain structure (DS) of yttrium-iron garnet films with uniaxial anisotropy fields higher than ∼120 Oe was found to have a 3D character: there is a stripe domain structure of a certain type in the surface layer and a structure of another type in the film bulk. It was revealed that in the absence of an external magnetic field, the boundaries of both DSs are almost perpendicular, whereas with an increase in an external field applied in the film plane along the boundaries of the interior-volume DS, the boundaries of the surface DS are gradually reoriented along the external field. This phenomenon is theoretically explained on the basis of the micromagnetic model, which describes DS formation in ferrite films.     

Picosecond snapshot of the speckles from ferroelectric BaTiO3 by means of x-ray lasers

A picosecond x-ray laser speckle has been conducted to study the dynamics of a disordered surface domain structure (BaTiO3 with 90 degrees c/a domains) as a function of temperature for the first time. The transient surface structures induced by ferroelectric domains decrease as temperature increases towards the Curie temperature T(c) and completely disappear above T(c). The dramatic change of the spatial configuration of the c/a domains was observed to occur from a temperature 2 degrees C below T(c), near which the average correlated domain size at equilibrium decreases as (T(c)-T)(0.37+/-0.02).     

Comparing the efficiencies of different detect strategies in the ping-pong protocol

The way to compare the efficiencies of different detect strategies (DSs) in the “ping-pong” protocol is studied. The trade-off between information gain and disturbance is calculated and compared for different DSs. The comparison result primely tallies with our intuitional analysis. It is shown that the analysis of this trade-off is a feasible way to compare the performances of different DSs in theory. Supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2006AA01Z419), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 90604023 and 6087319), the National Laboratory for Modern Communications Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 9140C1101010601), the Natural Science Foundation of Beijing (Grant No. 4072020), and the ISN Open Foundation.     

A model for the dynamics of spins 3/2 in biological media: signal loss during radiofrequency excitation in triple-quantum-filtered sodium MRI

We have derived the differential equations that describe the dynamics of spin-3/2 nuclei in the presence of radiofrequency (RF) fields and both static and fluctuating quadrupolar interactions. The formalism presented was used to predict the sodium triple-quantum-filtered (TQ-filtered) signal loss in a whole-body scanner, where the widths of the hard 90 degrees RF pulses are on the same order of magnitude as the transverse relaxation times. A small piece of bovine nasal cartilage, known for exhibiting residual quadrupolar splittings, was used to test the theory. The sample was modeled as consisting of small domains, each characterized by a static quadrupolar interaction constant, with an overall Gaussian distribution across the sample. An increase of about 15% in the TQ-filtered signal strength, as the 90 degrees RF pulse width was decreased from 500 to 100 micros, was predicted and demonstrated experimentally for this particular sample.     

On the role of relaxation processes in the acoustic mechanism of supramolecular structure formation in nematic liquid crystals

We have for the first time developed and tested a model constructed on the basis of nonequilibrium hydrodynamics and postulating that the structural relaxation processes of a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) in wave fields are important for the formation of supramolecular structures in the form of a system of linear domains in a planar mesophase layer. Distortions in the macrostructure of an NLC layer in the field of longitudinal waves were observed in the frequency range of 0.9–18.9 MHz. The values of the spatial period of domains at the threshold of the effect and the threshold amplitudes of the vibrational speed were determined for 10–300-μm-thick layers in wave fields with different degrees of uniformity for the temperature range where the mesophase exists. The simulation results are compared to experimental data.     

Carr-Purcell sequences with composite pulses

We present novel Carr-Purcell-like sequences using composite pulses that exhibit improved performance in strongly inhomogeneous fields. The sequences are designed to retain the intrinsic error correction of the standard Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) sequence. This is achieved by matching the excitation pulse with the refocusing cycle such that the initial transverse magnetization lies along the axis n(Beta) characterizing the overall rotation of the refocusing cycle. Such sequences are suitable for relaxation measurements. It is shown that in sufficiently inhomogeneous fields, the echo amplitudes have an initial transient modulation that is limited to the first few echoes and then decay with the intrinsic relaxation time of the sample. We show different examples of such sequences that are constructed from simple composite pulses. Sequences of the form 90 degrees (0)-(90 degrees (90-theta/2)-theta(180-theta/2)-90 degrees (90-theta/2))(n) with theta approximately 90 degrees and 270 degrees generate signal over a bandwidth larger than that of the conventional CPMG sequence, resulting in an improved signal-to-noise ratio in inhomogeneous fields. The new sequence 127 degrees (x,y)-(127 degrees (x)-127 degrees (-x))(n) only excites signal off-resonance with a spectrum that is bimodal, peaking at Delta omega(0)=+/-omega(1). Depending on the phase and exact timing of the first pulse, symmetric or antisymmetric excitation is obtained. We also demonstrate several new sequences with improved dependence on the RF field strength. The sequence (22.5 degrees (67.5)-90 degrees (-22.5))-(90 degrees (67.5)-45 degrees (157.5)-90 degrees (67.5))(n) has the property that the phase of the signal depends on B(1), allowing coarse B(1) imaging in a one-dimensional experiment.     

Stationary and dynamical properties of finite N-unit Langevin models subjected to multiplicative noises

We have studied the finite N-unit Langevin model subjected to multiplicative noises, by using the augmented moment method (AMM), as a continuation of our previous paper [H. Hasegawa, J. Phys. Soc. Japan 75 (2006) 033001]. Effects of couplings on stationary and dynamical properties of the model have been investigated. The difference and similarity between the results of diffusive and sigmoid couplings are studied in details. Time dependences of average and fluctuations in local and global variables calculated by the AMM are in good agreement with those of direct simulations (DSs). We also discuss stationary distributions of local and global variables with the use of the Fokker–Planck equation (FPE) method and DSs. It is demonstrated that stationary distributions show much variety when multiplicative noise and external inputs are taken into account.     

Number of degrees of freedom of the radiated field over multiple bounded domains

The problem of determining the number of degrees of freedom (NDF) of the field radiated by an electric current supported over a bounded rectilinear domain and observed over multiple bounded domains parallel to the source is addressed. The analysis is achieved by means of the singular value decomposition of the radiation operator so that the NDF is identified as the number of 'significant' singular values. The aim is to analyze whether the multidomain observation allows to increase the available NDF. By analytical arguments, we show that collecting data over multiple domains shapes the singular value behavior but it still presents a steep decay in correspondence to an index dictated by the observation domain that subtends the largest observation angular sector.     

Signal enhancement in the triple-quantum magic-angle spinning NMR of spins-3/2 in solids: the FAM-RIACT-FAM sequence

We achieve a significant signal enhancement for the triple-quantum magic-angle spinning NMR of a spin-3/2 system, by using an amplitude-modulated radiofrequency field, followed by a selective 90 degrees pulse and a phase-shifted strong rf field, for the triple-quantum excitation, and an amplitude-modulated radiofrequency field for the conversion of triple-quantum coherence to observable single-quantum coherence. The experiment is demonstrated on the (87)Rb NMR of polycrystalline rubidium nitrate.     

Conjugation,number of Dewar resonance structures (DSs) in homologous polyzethrene and related conjugated polycyclic hydrocarbon series,and kinked versus straight

Kinked polyzethrenes are more stable than linear polyzethrenes making them better candidates as materials for organic electronic devices (e.g., organic field effect transistors, nonlinear optics, and semiconductors) because of their greater singlet biradical properties. For series of molecules constructed by successive attachment of a given aufbau unit, we are able to derive analytical or recursion expressions relating certain properties. For example, starting with a few known number of Dewar resonance structures (DSs) for such a series, one is often able to derive analytical or recursion expressions for these DS values by our method of successive differences which then lead to either constant or Fibonacci numbers, respectively. The increasing order of π-electronic stability of isomers with the same number of Kekulé structures (K) is determined by their increasing number of DSs. Kinked polycyclic conjugated polyenes with a single classical structure (i.e., K = 1) are more conjugated and stable than their straight polycyclic isomers with a single classical structure.     

Population rate codes carried by mean, fluctuation and synchrony of neuronal firings

A population of firing neurons is expected to carry information not only by the mean firing rate but also by fluctuation and synchrony among neurons. In order to examine this possibility, we have studied responses of neuronal ensembles to three kinds of inputs: mean-, fluctuation- and synchrony-driven inputs. The generalized rate-code model including additive and multiplicative noise [H. Hasegawa, Phys. Rev. E 75 (2007) 051904] has been studied by direct simulations (DSs) and the augmented moment method (AMM) in which equations of motion for mean firing rate, fluctuation and synchrony are derived. Results calculated by the AMM are in good agreement with those by DSs. The independent component analysis (ICA) of our results has shown that mean firing rate, fluctuation (or variability) and synchrony may carry independent information in the population rate-code model. The input-output relation of mean firing rates is shown to have higher sensitivity for larger multiplicative noise, as recently observed in prefrontal cortex. A comparison is made between results obtained by the integrate-and-fire (IF) model and our rate-code model.     

Unusual polarization patterns in flat epitaxial ferroelectric nanoparticles

We investigate the effects of a lattice misfit strain on a ground state and polarization patterns in flat perovskite nanoparticles (nanoislands of BaTiO3 and PZT) with the use of an ab initio derived effective Hamiltonian. We show that the strain strongly controls the balance between the depolarizing field and the polarization anizotropy in determining the equilibrium polarization patterns. Compressive strain favors 180 degrees stripe or tweed domains while a tensile strain leads to in-plane vortex formation, with the unusual intermediate phase(s) where both ordering motifs coexist. The results may allow us to explain contradictions in recent experimental data for ferroelectric nanoparticles.     

Formation of phase domain structures in thin films under conditions of a first-order magnetic phase transition

This paper reports on the results of a theoretical investigation into the magnetic and resonance properties of thin films in the range of the transition from a paramagnetic state to a ferromagnetic state in the case where the magnetic transition is a first-order phase transformation. It is demonstrated that, in an external magnetic field directed perpendicular to the film plane, the formation of a specific domain structure consisting of domains of the coexisting paramagnetic and ferromagnetic phases can appear to be energetically favorable. The parameters of the equilibrium system of stripe phase domains and their dependences on the temperature, the magnetic field, and the characteristics of the material are calculated. The specific features of the magnetic resonance spectra under the conditions of formed stripe phase domains are considered. A relationship is derived for the dependence of the resonance field of the system of ferromagnetic domains on the magnetization and temperature. It is shown that the alternating external field can fulfill an orientation function in the formation of stripe phase domains.