Resonance magnetoplasticity in the EPR scheme under ultralow magnetic fields

Resonance relaxation displacements of dislocations in NaCl crystals exposed to crossed ultralow magnetic fields (static field B = 26–261 μT and radiofrequency field B ～ 3 μT) in the electron paramagnetic resonance scheme are studied. The effect is also observed in the magnetic field of the Earth when crossed with a pulsed pump field with a resonance duration of ～0.5 μs. Changes in the microhardness of crystals of ZnO, triglycine sulfate, and potassium hydrogen phthalate after their exposure to the magnetic field of the Earth and the orthogonally directed pump field are found out.     

Resonance THz spectroscopy in high magnetic fields

The employment of the high-magnetic-field resonance spectroscopy to probe magnetic excitations in the THz frequency range is reported. To illustrate the great potential of this technique in solid state physics, we present results of recent electron spin resonance studies of the quantum-tunneling effect in the single-molecule magnet Mn12tba and of the soliton–magnon crossover in Cu-PM, a spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain system with a staggered transverse field. Among others, we report on the successful use of the THz-range time-domain and free electron laser spectroscopy to study magnetic excitation spectra in pulsed magnetic fields.     

Laser-polarized (129)Xe NMR and MRI at ultralow magnetic fields

Laser-polarized (129)Xe and a high-T(c)superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) are used to obtain magnetic resonance images in porous materials at a magnetic field of 2.3 mT, corresponding to a Larmor frequency of 27 kHz. Image resolution of 1 mm is obtained with gradients of only 1 mT/m. The resolution of xenon chemical shifts in different physicochemical environments at ultralow fields is also demonstrated. Details of the circulating flow optical pumping apparatus and the SQUID spectrometer are presented.     

Electric stimulation of magnetoplasticity and magnetic hardening in crystals

The effect of electric field E on the magnetoplastic effect (MPE) has been investigated in NaCl crystals with different impurities, which provide either the plasticization of the samples in the magnetic field (positive MPE) or their magnetic hardening (negative MPE). The mobility of individual dislocations under the joint action of the magnetic and electric fields and the mechanical load on the crystals has been studied. The sharp electric stimulation of the MPE of both signs has been revealed, i.e., an increase or a decrease in the mean free path of dislocations that is roughly proportional to exp(±E/E ₀) at E ? E ₀ ～ 1–10 kV/m. In particular, in the negative-MPE NaCl(Pb) crystals, the accompanying electric field enhances the magnetic suppression of plasticity. The results are attributed to the electrically induced transformation of the additional part of the pinning impurity ions Me⁺⁺ to the magnetically active state of Me⁺ on the dislocations. The subsequent magnetic transformation of the structure of these pinning centers should lead to a sharper variation of the dislocation pinning force (either an increase or a decrease, depending on the MPE sign).     

Effect of magnetic field on mechanics of nonmagnetic crystals: The nature of magnetoplasticity

The magnetoplastic effect in mechanics of nonmagnetic crystals is attributed to spin evolution in the spin-selective nanoscale reactor created by electron transfer from a dislocation to a stopper. In this “dislocation + stopper” system, dislocation depinning is facilitated because the Coulomb attraction between the dislocation and the stopper is switched off. Since magnetic field stimulates the singlet-to-triplet conversion of the nanoscale reactor (the reverse electron transfer is forbidden), the nanoscale reactor with switched-off Coulomb interaction has a longer lifetime. The resulting increase in depinning rate and dislocation mobility provides a physical explanation for magnetoplasticity.     

Biexciton in magnetic fields

The binding energy and structure of biexcitons in strong magnetic field is investigated using the stochastic variational method. The magnetic field confines the electrons and positrons in a small volume leading to Wigner-crystal like states of particles.     

Tunneling in magnetic fields

Tunneling effects in external magnetic fields are discussed in the model problem of a charged particle on a vertical rotating circle in a uniform gravitational field. The magnetic fields used are the ones for the monopole and a certain solution that arises in the context of the classical Weinberg-Salam model. Using instanton methods and the Gaussian approximation, various consequences regarding the tunnelling amplitudes and the level splittings in the presence of magnetic fields are obtained.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance in inhomogeneous magnetic fields

The response of the spin system has been investigated by numerical simulations in the case of a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiment performed in inhomogeneous static and radiofrequency fields. The particular case of the NMR-MOUSE was considered. The static field and the component of the radiofrequency field perpendicular to the static field were evaluated as well as the spatial distribution of the maximum NMR signal detected by the surface coil. The NMR response to various pulse sequences was evaluated numerically for the case of an ensemble of isolated spins (1/2). The behavior of the echo train in Carr-Purcell-like pulse sequences used for measurements of transverse relaxation and self-diffusion was simulated and compared with the experiment. The echo train is shown to behave qualitatively differently depending on the particular phase schemes used in these pulse sequences. Different echo trains are obtained, because of the different superposition of Hahn and stimulated echoes forming mixed echoes as a result of the spatial distribution of pulse flip angles. The superposition of Hahn and stimulated echoes originating from different spatial regions leads to distortions of the mixed echoes in intensity, shape, and phase. The volume selection produced by Carr-Purcell-like pulse sequences is also investigated for the NMR-MOUSE. The developed numerical simulation procedure is useful for understanding a variety of experiments performed with the NMR-MOUSE and for improving its performance. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Cosmological magnetic fields

Magnetic fields are observed not only in stars, but in galaxies, clusters, and even high redshift Lyman-α systems. In principle, these fields could play an important role in structure formation and also affect the anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB). The study of cosmological magnetic fields aims not only to quantify these effects on large-scale structure and the CMB, but also to answer one of the outstanding puzzles of modern cosmology: when and how do magnetic fields originate? They are either primoridial, i.e. created before the onset of structure formation, or they are generated during the process of structure formation itself.     

宇宙磁场

磁场在宇宙中无处不在,贯穿各种天体。磁场对天体形成、辐射和演化起重要作用,也是宇宙线研究的基础。以前人们对宇宙磁场的理解主要是来自对地球和太阳磁场的测量和物理解释。近20年来,对宇宙更大尺度天体的磁场测量取得很大进展：发现了银河系具备沿着银河旋臂的几万光年尺度磁场,强度为2—4 μG;发现了银河系晕里具有环向磁场,在银道面上下方向相反;发现了银河系中心有极向磁场的观测证据;发现了邻近旋涡星系可能具有万光年尺度磁场的证据;发现了星系团几千万光年范围内磁场存在的证据。宇宙学模拟也显示在宇宙超大纤维结构中应该有磁场存在。这些磁场可能都是宇宙早期产生并在天体形成和演化过程中得以发扬光大。     

Fluctuating magnetic fields

Some problems pertaining to the behaviour of a classical spin under the influence of a random Gaussian magnetic field are discussed. It is shown that, in agreement with simple expectations, the magnetic moment is effectively decreased to lowest order. Various physical applications and connections with group theory are pointed out.     

Resonance double magnetic bremsstrahlung in a strong magnetic field

The possibility of resonance double magnetic bremsstrahlung in the approximation of weakly excited electron states in a strong external magnetic field is analyzed. The differential probability of this process in the Breit-Wigner form is obtained. The probability of double magnetic bremsstrahlung (second-order process of perturbation theory) is compared with the probability of magnetic bremsstrahlung (first-order process of perturbation theory).     

Graphene in high magnetic fields

Carbon-based nano-materials, such as graphene and carbon nanotubes, represent a fascinating research area aiming at exploring their remarkable physical and electronic properties. These materials not only constitute a playground for physicists, they are also very promising for practical applications and are envisioned as elementary bricks of the future of the nano-electronics. As for graphene, its potential already lies in the domain of opto-electronics where its unique electronic and optical properties can be fully exploited. Indeed, recent technological advances have demonstrated its effectiveness in the fabrication of solar cells and ultra-fast lasers, as well as touch-screens and sensitive photo-detectors. Although the photo-voltaic technology is now dominated by silicon-based devices, the use of graphene could very well provide higher efficiency. However, before the applied research to take place, one must first demonstrates the operativeness of carbon-based nano-materials, and this is where the fundamental research comes into play. In this context, the use of magnetic field has been proven extremely useful for addressing their fundamental properties as it provides an external and adjustable parameter which drastically modifies their electronic band structure. In order to induce some significant changes, very high magnetic fields are required and can be provided using both DC and pulsed technology, depending of the experimental constraints. In this article, we review some of the challenging experiments on single nano-objects performed in high magnetic and low temperature. We shall mainly focus on the high-field magneto-optical and magneto-transport experiments which provided comprehensive understanding of the peculiar Landau level quantization of the Dirac-type charge carriers in graphene and thin graphite.