Similarities between normal- and super-currents in topological insulator magnetic tunnel junctions

This work compares the normal-current in a NM/Fi/NM junction with the super-current in a SC/Fi/SC junction, where both are topological insulator systems. NM and Fi are normal region and ferromagnetic region of thickness d with exchange energy m playing a role of the mass of the Dirac electrons and with the gate voltage V_G, respectively. SC is superconducting region induced by a s-wave superconductor. We show that, interestingly, the critical super-current passing through a SC/Fi/SC junction behaves quite similar to the normal-current passing through a NM/Fi/NM junction. The normal-current and super-current exhibit N-peak oscillation, found when currents are plotted as a function of the magnetic barrier strength χ ∼ md  /?$?$v_F. With the barrier strength Z ∼ V_Gd  /?$?$v_F, the number of peaks N is determined through the relation Z ∼ Nπ + σπ (with 0 < σ?1$\sigma ?1$ for χ < Z). The normal- and the super-currents also exhibit oscillating with the same height for all of peaks, corresponding to the Dirac fermion tunneling behavior. These anomalous oscillating currents due to the interplay between gate voltage and magnetic field in the barrier were not found in graphene-based NM/Fi/NM and SC/Fi/SC junctions. This is due to the different magnetic effect between the Dirac fermions in topological insulator and graphene.     

Physical properties of the cubic spinel LiMn2O4

We have performed an ab initio study of structural, electronic, magnetic, vibrational and thermal properties of the cubic spinel LiMn₂O₄ by employing the density functional theory, the linear-response formalism, and the plane-wave pseudopotential method. An analysis of the electronic structure with the help of electronic density of states shows that the density of states at the Fermi level (N (E_F)) is found to be governed by the Mn 3d electrons with some contributions from the 2p states of O atoms. It is important to note that the contribution of Mn 3d states to N(_EF)$N\left(E_F\right)$ is as much as 85%. From our phonon calculations, we have obtained that the main contribution to phonon density of states (below 250 cm⁻¹) comes from the coupled motion of Mn and O atoms while phonon modes between 250 cm⁻¹ and 375 cm⁻¹ are characterized by the vibrations of all the three types of atoms. The contribution from Li increases rapidly at higher frequency (above 375 cm⁻¹) due to the light mass of this atom. Finally, the specific heat and the Debye temperature at 300 K are calculated to be 249.29 J/mol K and 820.80 K respectively.     

The role of dipolar interaction in nanocomposite permanent magnets

The effects of dipolar interactions on the magnetization behaviors and magnetic properties of the nanocomposite magnets have been studied by micromagnetic simulations. Numerical results show that the dipolar interaction plays an important role during the demagnetization process, especially in the magnets with large soft-phase content _vs$v_{\mathrm{s}}$. For the isotropic nanocomposites, the remanence enhancement can be controlled through adjustments of the grain size D   and _vs$v_{\mathrm{s}}$. However, the appearance of magnetic vortex state leads to a very low remanence in the magnets with large D   and _vs$v_{\mathrm{s}}$. The dependence of coercivity on D   and _vs$v_{\mathrm{s}}$ can be attributed to the exchange-induced magnetization reversal near the grain boundaries and the low nucleation field of soft phase, respectively. For the anisotropic nanocomposites, the reduced remanence _mr$m_{\mathrm{r}}$ is equal to 1.0$1.0$ for the magnets with small D   or with low _vs$v_{\mathrm{s}}$. However, _mr$m_{\mathrm{r}}$ decreases with increasing _vs$v_{\mathrm{s}}$ for the magnet with large D   due to the influence of dipolar interactions. The difference between the calculated coercivity _Hc$H_{\mathrm{c}}$ with and without considering dipolar interaction shows that the dipolar interaction plays a more important role during the magnetization reversal in the soft phase than that in the hard phase. The maximum calculated energy product of the isotropic nanocomposites is only about 40 MGOe due to the conflicting relation between remanence and coercivity, while that of the anisotropic nanocomposites is 112 MGOe. This reminds us that the alignment of hard grain is important to obtain high performance.     

Quantum modulation effect in a graphene-based magnetic tunnel junction

The electronic (quantum) transport in a NG/F_B/FG tunnel junction (where NG, F_B and FG are a normal graphene layer, a ferromagnetic barrier connected to a gate and a ferromagnetic graphene layer, respectively) is investigated. The motions of the electrons in the graphene layers are taken to be governed by the Dirac Equation. Parallel (P) and antiparallel alignment (AP) of the magnetizations in the barrier and in the ferromagnetic graphene are considered. Our work focuses on the oscillation of the electrical conductance (Gq), of the spin conductance (Gs) and of the tunneling magneto resistance (TMR) of this magnetic tunnel junction. We find that, the quantum modulation due to the effect of the exchange field in F_B will be seen in the plots the conductance and of the TMR as functions of the thickness of ferromagnetic barrier (L). The period of two multiplied sinusoidal terms of the modulation are seen to be controlled by varying the gate potential and the exchange field of the F_B layer. The phenomenon, a quantum beating, is built up with two oscillating spin conductance components which have different periods of oscillation related to the splitting of Dirac's energies in the F_B region. The amplitudes of oscillations of Gq, Gs and TMR are not seen to decrease as the thickness increases. The decaying behaviors seen in the conventional transport through an insulator do not appear.     

Exact Fermi energy,susceptibilities, and their singularities for an electron gas in a uniform magnetic field at T = 0 °K

Exact analysis is presented to derive the magnetic response functions and their singularities of free-electron gas in a uniform magnetic field of arbitrary strength at T = 0 °K. The newly defined functions, Λ_μ(s) = ∑₀^[s])(s ? n)^μ of $\text{μ =}\text{?1}\text{2}\text{,}\text{1}\text{2}\text{,}\text{3}\text{2}$, are employed to obtain the Fermi energy, magnetization, and susceptibility as functions of B. It is revealed that the spin susceptibility is composed of two parts, χ_s1 and χ_s2, where χ_s2 is purely oscillatory diamagnetic. A graphical method of finding the Fermi energy ?_F(B) as a function of B has been obtained. The system is shown to become totally one-dimensional electron gas in the field B greater than $\text{B}{}_{\mathrm{\downarrow }}\text{= (2ηn)}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>2</mtext><mtext>3</mtext>}}$ and the total energy satisfies $\text{E}{}_{\mathrm{t}}\text{=}\text{1}\text{3}\text{?}{}_{\mathrm{F}}\text{(B)N}$. The obvious extension of the present theory to the Bloch electrons on the ellipsoidal constant energy surface is also discussed.     

Magnetic and transport properties of single-crystal Yb3Cu4Ge4

The magnetic and transport properties of single-crystal Yb₃Cu₄Ge₄ with the Gd₃Cu₄Ge₄-type orthorhombic structure are presented. Magnetization along the b-axis at 2 K saturates to 2.8_μB/Yb$2.8{\mu }_{\mathrm{B}}/\mathrm{Yb}$ at 3 kOe, while that along the a- and c-axes at 2 K are gradually increasing to the value of 1.5_μB/Yb$1.5{\mu }_{\mathrm{B}}/\mathrm{Yb}$ and 0.39_μB/Yb$0.39{\mu }_{\mathrm{B}}/\mathrm{Yb}$ at 50 kOe, respectively. The electrical resistivity within the ab-plane shows a metallic behavior in contrast to a broad maximum at around 30 K for that along the c-axis. Each resistivity for the principal axis suddenly decreases below 8 K. The specific heat shows a λ-type$\lambda \mathrm{-}\mathrm{type}$ sharp peak at 7.8 K. The electronic specific heat coefficient is estimated to be 29.4 mJ/mol Yb K² by fitting the magnetic part of the specific heat below 3 K. The magnetic entropy released up to T_C is 68% of that of R ln 2, expected for the doublet ground state. It is revealed that Yb₃Cu₄Ge₄ is categorized to a weak heavy-fermion system showing a ferromagnetic transition at 7.8 K with uniaxial anisotropy along the b-axis.     

Susceptibilities of the S = 12 XY model on the square lattice at T = 0

For the $\text{S =}\text{1}\text{2}\text{XY}$ model at T = 0 four susceptibilities have been calculated exactly on a sequence of finite square lattices and extrapolated to the infinite square lattice. For the ferromagnet χ_zz = 0 while χ_xx ～ N^2.9; for the antiferromagnet $\text{J}{}_{\mathrm{\chi xx}}\text{N(gμ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>B</mtext>}}\text{)}{}^2\text{= 0.025 ± 0.002}$ and $\text{J}{}_{\mathrm{\chi xx}}\text{N(gμ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>B</mtext>}}\text{)}{}^2\text{= 0.13 ± 0.03}$.     

Spin-polarized scanning tunneling spectroscopy of dislocation lines in Fe films on W(1 1 0)

We have studied the spin-resolved electronic properties of dislocation lines on the Fe double-layer (DL) on W(1 1 0) by spin-polarized scanning tunneling spectroscopy. The data reveal that the dislocation lines are ferromagnetically ordered with the magnetic contrast exhibiting a pronounced bias-dependence. By comparing tunneling spectra which were measured on the pseudomorphic DL and at different lateral separation from the dislocation line, we find a pronounced shift of a peak which originally appears at positive sample bias towards the Fermi level _EF$E_{\mathrm{F}}$. In contrast, the binding energy of a peak just below _EF$E_{\mathrm{F}}$ remains constant but increases in intensity. This causes a pronounced modification of the bias voltage-dependent magnetic asymmetry.     

Effect of the frustration to the ground state energy and entropy of the spin-glass in the random bond Ising model on the square lattice

The energies and the entropies of the spin-glass state and the paramagnetic state at T = 0 of the random-bond Ising mixture of the ferromagnetic bond (concentration p) and the antiferromagnetic bond (concentration 1 ? p) on the square lattice are calculated by the method of the square approximation in the simple version. A self-consistent relation that the partial trace of the normalized density matrix of the square cluster is equal to that of the vertex ($\text{tr}\text{(}{}_{\mathrm{jkl}}\text{?}\text{?}{}^{\mathrm{(4)}}\text{(i,j,k,l) =}\text{?}\text{?}{}^{\mathrm{(1)}}\text{(i)}$) leads to an integral equation for the distribution function of the effective fields, and it is solved exactly at T = 0. The symmetric solution of the integral equation contains the paramagnetic state and two spin-glass states, SG1 and SG2. The energies and the entropies of these states are obtained as functions of the concentration p. The values of the energies per spin at $\text{p =}\text{1}\text{2}$ are -0.75|E_F|, -0.72746|E_F|, -0.72543|E_F|, and correspond to a minimum, a saddle point, and a maximum, respectively, and the values of the entropies are 0, 0.082886k_B, and 0.054457k_B, respectively. The present results are compared with those of the pair approximation and discussed.     

Effect of target density on YBCO thin films deposited from nanograined targets

Nanograined YBa₂Cu₃O_6+x${\text{YBa}}_2{\text{Cu}}_3{\text{O}}_{6+x}$ (YBCO) targets with grain sizes of 25–45 nm and different densities were prepared with sol–gel method. The properties of the thin films laser deposited from these targets were systematically studied. It was found that most parameters are not clearly affected by the target density, although the surface roughness decreased with target density. A small effect of decreasing J_c$J_{\text{c}}$ with increasing target density was observed, but this can be interpreted as film to film variation. On the other hand, a negative correlation between the accommodation field, B^∗$B^{\ast }$, and zero field J_c$J_{\text{c}}$ was observed and B^∗$B^{\ast }$ was found to increase with increasing number of lattice defects. Thus target density is found not to have a large effects on the superconducting or structural properties of YBCO thin films.     

Resolution of the discrepancies concerning the optical and microwave values for B0 and D0 of the X 3Σg− state of O2

The discrepancies concerning the optical and microwave values of B₀ and D₀ for the X${}^3\text{Σ}{}_{\mathrm{g}}{}^{\mathrm{?}}$ state of O₂ have been removed by a nonlinear least-squares fit to all of the lines of the O₂, $\text{b}{}^1\text{Σ}{}_{\mathrm{g}}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{-X}{}^3\text{Σ}{}_{\mathrm{g}}{}^{\mathrm{?}}$ Red Atmospheric bands recorded by Babcock and Herzberg (Astrophys. J., 108, 167, 1948). The resulting values for B₀″ and D₀″ are in excellent agreement with the Raman and microwave values. Improved values are determined for B₁″, D₁″, γ₁″ (spin-rotation), and ?₁″ (spin-spin). Both γ_v″ and ?_v″ increase in magnitude from v″ = 0 to v″ = 1. Improved Dunham Y_i0 and Y_i1 expansion coefficients are determined for the $\text{b}{}^1\text{Σ}{}_{\mathrm{g}}{}^{\mathrm{+}}$ state, from which the Rydberg-Klein-Rees potential is constructed.     

Revised molecular constants,RKR potential,and long-range analysis for the B3Π(0u+) state of Cl2, and rotationally dependent Franck-Condon factors for Cl2 (BX1Σg+)

Literature data for the line frequencies of the B³Π(0_u⁺) ← X¹Σ_g⁺ transition of Cl₂ are fitted directly by least squares to obtain new molecular constants. The constants from individual bands are merged to obtain single-valued estimates of the rotational constants for each vibrational level of the B state. The results are combined with recent data from the B → X system in emission to obtain new RKR turning points for the B and X states, and Franck-Condon factors for the B-X system. The new constants are also used to provide revised long-range parameters for Cl₂(B) which differ from those of earlier work. In particular, the coefficient C₅ of the leading term in the inverse-power long-range potential is now found to be $\text{C}{}_5\text{= 1.16(2) × 10}{}^5\text{A}\text{?}{}^5\text{cm}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}$. Theoretical results for the variation of centrifugal distortion parameters for levels near dissociation are tested for D_v and H_v, and an extrapolation based on this behavior is used to facilitate determination of reliable B_v and G(v) values for the highest observed B-state levels.     

Ferromagnetic properties of Fe-substituted ZnO-based magnetic semiconductor

The diluted magnetic semiconductor Zn_1−x⁵⁷Fe_xO (x=0.01, 0.02, 0.03) compounds were prepared by the solid-state reaction method. The crystal structure of _Zn0.97⁵⁷_Fe0.03O${\mathrm{Zn}}_{0.97}{}^{57}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{0.03}\mathrm{O}$ at room temperature is determined to be a hexagonal structure of P6₃mc with lattice constants a₀=3.252 Å and c₀=5.205 Å by Rietveld refinement. The Bragg factors R_B and R_F were determined as 3.23% and 2.81%. From the inverse susceptibility versus T curve, the paramagnetic Curie temperature is found to be 2.7 K and effective moment is found to be 4.01 μ_B, thereby suggesting that the exchange interactions between Fe ions are ferromagnetic. Mössbauer spectra of _Zn0.97⁵⁷_Fe0.03O${\mathrm{Zn}}_{0.97}{}^{57}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{0.03}\mathrm{O}$ have been taken at various temperatures ranging from 4.2 to 295 K. Mössbauer spectrum for _Zn0.97⁵⁷_Fe0.03O${\mathrm{Zn}}_{0.97}{}^{57}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{0.03}\mathrm{O}$ at 4.2 K has shown ferromagnetic phase (sextet), and the spectra were fitted based on a random distribution model of Fe ions.     

The E → B transition (3000–3140 Å) in Br2

The region 3030–3140 Å of the emission spectrum of Br₂ is reinvestigated using sources containing separated ⁷⁹Br₂ and ⁸¹Br₂. The analysis, which spans v′ levels 0–15 and v″ levels 8–31, indicates that the transition in this region is the analog of the E → B system in I₂, and it is so redesignated. The following spectroscopic constants are obtained for the E state of ⁷⁹Br₂: T_e = 49 779.06 cm^?1, ω_e = 150.46 cm^?1, ω_eχ_e = 0.383 cm^?1, B_e = 0.04172 cm^?1, $\text{R}{}_{\mathrm{e}}\text{= 3.20}\text{A}\text{?}$.