Cosmic bubble and domain wall instabilities II: fracturing of colliding walls

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Braden, Jonathan; Bond, J. Richard; Mersini-Houghton, Laura, E-mail: j.braden@ucl.ac.uk, E-mail: bond@cita.utoronto.ca, E-mail: mersini@physics.unc.edu

2015-08-01

We study collisions between nearly planar domain walls including the effects of small initial nonplanar fluctuations. These perturbations represent the small fluctuations that must exist in a quantum treatment of the problem. In a previous paper, we demonstrated that at the linear level a subset of these fluctuations experience parametric amplification as a result of their coupling to the planar symmetric background. Here we study the full three-dimensional nonlinear dynamics using lattice simulations, including both the early time regime when the fluctuations are well described by linear perturbation theory as well as the subsequent stage of fully nonlinear evolution. Wemore » find that the nonplanar fluctuations have a dramatic effect on the overall evolution of the system. Specifically, once these fluctuations begin to interact nonlinearly the split into a planar symmetric part of the field and the nonplanar fluctuations loses its utility. At this point the colliding domain walls dissolve, with the endpoint of this being the creation of a population of oscillons in the collision region. The original (nearly) planar symmetry has been completely destroyed at this point and an accurate study of the system requires the full three-dimensional simulation.« less

Cosmic bubble and domain wall instabilities II: fracturing of colliding walls

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Braden, Jonathan; Department of Physics, University of Toronto,60 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H8; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London,Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT

2015-08-26

We study collisions between nearly planar domain walls including the effects of small initial nonplanar fluctuations. These perturbations represent the small fluctuations that must exist in a quantum treatment of the problem. In a previous paper, we demonstrated that at the linear level a subset of these fluctuations experience parametric amplification as a result of their coupling to the planar symmetric background. Here we study the full three-dimensional nonlinear dynamics using lattice simulations, including both the early time regime when the fluctuations are well described by linear perturbation theory as well as the subsequent stage of fully nonlinear evolution. Wemore » find that the nonplanar fluctuations have a dramatic effect on the overall evolution of the system. Specifically, once these fluctuations begin to interact nonlinearly the split into a planar symmetric part of the field and the nonplanar fluctuations loses its utility. At this point the colliding domain walls dissolve, with the endpoint of this being the creation of a population of oscillons in the collision region. The original (nearly) planar symmetry has been completely destroyed at this point and an accurate study of the system requires the full three-dimensional simulation.« less

Spin-wave-driven high-speed domain-wall motions in soft magnetic nanotubes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Jaehak; Yoo, Myoung-Woo; Kim, Sang-Koog, E-mail: sangkoog@snu.ac.kr

We report on a micromagnetic simulation study of interactions between propagating spin waves and a head-to-head domain wall in geometrically confined magnetic nanotubes. We found that incident spin waves of specific frequencies can lead to sufficiently high-speed (on the order of a few hundreds of m/s or higher) domain-wall motions in the same direction as that of the incident spin-waves. The domain-wall motions and their speed vary remarkably with the frequency and the amplitude of the incident spin-waves. High-speed domain-wall motions originate from the transfer torque of spin waves' linear momentum to the domain wall, through the partial or completemore » reflection of the incident spin waves from the domain wall. This work provides a fundamental understanding of the interaction of the spin waves with a domain wall in the magnetic nanotubes as well as a route to all-magnetic control of domain-wall motions in the magnetic nanoelements.« less

Wall-Resolved Large-Eddy Simulation of Flow Separation Over NASA Wall-Mounted Hump

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Uzun, Ali; Malik, Mujeeb R.

2017-01-01

This paper reports the findings from a study that applies wall-resolved large-eddy simulation to investigate flow separation over the NASA wall-mounted hump geometry. Despite its conceptually simple flow configuration, this benchmark problem has proven to be a challenging test case for various turbulence simulation methods that have attempted to predict flow separation arising from the adverse pressure gradient on the aft region of the hump. The momentum-thickness Reynolds number of the incoming boundary layer has a value that is near the upper limit achieved by recent direct numerical simulation and large-eddy simulation of incompressible turbulent boundary layers. The high Reynolds number of the problem necessitates a significant number of grid points for wall-resolved calculations. The present simulations show a significant improvement in the separation-bubble length prediction compared to Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes calculations. The current simulations also provide good overall prediction of the skin-friction distribution, including the relaminarization observed over the front portion of the hump due to the strong favorable pressure gradient. We discuss a number of problems that were encountered during the course of this work and present possible solutions. A systematic study regarding the effect of domain span, subgrid-scale model, tunnel back pressure, upstream boundary layer conditions and grid refinement is performed. The predicted separation-bubble length is found to be sensitive to the span of the domain. Despite the large number of grid points used in the simulations, some differences between the predictions and experimental observations still exist (particularly for Reynolds stresses) in the case of the wide-span simulation, suggesting that additional grid resolution may be required.

Functional Properties at Domain Walls in BiFeO3: Electrical, Magnetic, and Structural investigations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Qing; Yang, C.-H.; Yu, P.; Gajek, M.; Seidel, J.; Ramesh, R.; Wang, F.; Chu, Y.-H.; Martin, L. W.; Spaldin, N.; Rother, A.

2009-03-01

BiFeO3 (BFO) is a widely studied robust ferroelectric, antiferromagnetic multiferroic. Conducting-atomic force microscopy studies reveal the presence of enhanced conductivity at certain types of domain walls in BFO. We have completed detailed TEM studies of the physical structure at these domain walls as well as in-depth DFT calculations of the evolution of electronic structure at these domain walls. These studies reveal two major contributions to the observed conduction: the formation of an electrostatic potential at the domain walls as well as a structurally-driven change in the electronic structure (i.e., a lower band gap locally) at the domain walls. We will discuss the use of optical characterization techniques as a way of probing this change in electronic structure at domain walls as well as detailed IV characterization both in atmospheric and UHV environments. Finally, the evolution of magnetism at these domain walls has been studied through the use of photoemission measurements. Initial findings point to a significant change in the magnetic order at these domain walls in BFO.

Strain induced parametric pumping of a domain wall and its depinning from a notch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nepal, Rabindra; Gungordu, Utkan; Kovalev, Alexey

Using Thiele's method and detailed micromagnetic simulations, we study resonant oscillation of a domain wall in a notch of a ferromagnetic nanowire due to the modulation of magnetic anisotropy by external AC strain. Such resonant oscillation results from the parametric pumping of domain wall by AC strain at frequency about double the free domain wall oscillation frequency, which is mainly determined by the perpendicular anisotropy and notch geometry. This effect leads to a substantial reduction in depinning field or current required to depin a domain wall from the notch, and offers a mechanism for efficient domain wall motion in a notched nanowire. Our theoretical model accounts for the pinning potential due to a notch by explicitly calculating ferromagnetic energy as a function of notch geometry parameters. We also find similar resonant domain wall oscillations and reduction in the domain wall depinning field or current due to surface acoustic wave in soft ferromagnetic nanowire without uniaxial anisotropy that energetically favors an in-plane domain wall. DOE Early Career Award DE-SC0014189 and DMR- 1420645.

Curvature perturbation and domain wall formation with pseudo scaling scalar dynamics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ema, Yohei; Nakayama, Kazunori; Takimoto, Masahiro, E-mail: ema@hep-th.phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp, E-mail: kazunori@hep-th.phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp, E-mail: takimoto@hep-th.phys.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp

2016-02-01

Cosmological dynamics of scalar field with a monomial potential φ{sup n} with a general background equation of state is revisited. It is known that if n is smaller than a critical value, the scalar field exhibits a coherent oscillation and if n is larger it obeys a scaling solution without oscillation. We study in detail the case where n is equal to the critical value, and find a peculiar scalar dynamics which is neither oscillating nor scaling solution, and we call it a pseudo scaling solution. We also discuss cosmological implications of a pseudo scaling scalar dynamics, such as themore » curvature perturbation and the domain wall problem.« less

Optical, electrical and elastic properties of ferroelectric domain walls in lithium niobate and lithium titanate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Sungwon

Ferroelectric LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 crystals have developed, over the last 50 years as key materials for integrated and nonlinear optics due to their large electro-optic and nonlinear optical coefficients and a broad transparency range from 0.4 mum-4.5 mum wavelengths. Applications include high speed optical modulation and switching in 40GHz range, second harmonic generation, optical parametric amplification, pulse compression and so on. Ferroelectric domain microengineering has led to electro-optic scanners, dynamic focusing lenses, total internal reflection switches, and quasi-phase matched (QPM) frequency doublers. Most of these applications have so far been on non-stoichiometric compositions of these crystals. Recent breakthroughs in crystal growth have however opened up an entirely new window of opportunity from both scientific and technological viewpoint. The growth of stoichiometric composition crystals has led to the discovery of many fascinating effects arising from the presence or absence of atomic defects, such as an order of magnitude changes in coercive fields, internal fields, domain backswitching and stabilization phenomenon. On the nanoscale, unexpected features such as the presence of wide regions of optical contrast and strain have been discovered at 180° domain walls. Such strong influence of small amounts of nonstoichiometric defects on material properties has led to new device applications, particularly those involving domain patterning and shaping such as QPM devices in thick bulk crystals and improved photorefractive damage compositions. The central focus of this dissertation is to explore the role of nonstoichiometry and its precise influence on macroscale and nanoscale properties in lithium niobate and tantalate. Macroscale properties are studied using a combination of in-situ and high-speed electro-optic imaging microscopy and electrical switching experiments. Local static and dynamic strain properties at individual domain walls is studied using X-ray synchrotron imaging with and without in-situ electric fields. Nanoscale optical properties are studied using Near Field Scanning Optical Microscopy(NSOM). Finite Difference Time Domain(FDTD) codes, Beam Propagation Method(BPM) codes and X-ray tracing codes have been developed to successfully simulate NSOM images and X-ray topography images to extract the local optical and strain properties, respectively. A 3-D ferroelectric domain simulation code based on Time Dependent Ginzburg Landau(TDGL) theory and group theory has been developed to understand the nature of these local wall strains and the preferred wall orientations. By combining these experimental and numerical tools, We have also proposed a defect-dipole model and a mechanism by which the defect interacts with the domain walls. This thesis has thus built a more comprehensive picture of the influence of defects on domain walls on nanoscale and macroscale, and raises new scientific questions about the exact nature of domain walls-defect interactions. Besides the specific problem of ferroelectrics, the experimental and simulation tools, developed in this thesis will have wider application in the area of materials science.

Topological domain walls in helimagnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schoenherr, P.; Müller, J.; Köhler, L.; Rosch, A.; Kanazawa, N.; Tokura, Y.; Garst, M.; Meier, D.

2018-05-01

Domain walls naturally arise whenever a symmetry is spontaneously broken. They interconnect regions with different realizations of the broken symmetry, promoting structure formation from cosmological length scales to the atomic level1,2. In ferroelectric and ferromagnetic materials, domain walls with unique functionalities emerge, holding great promise for nanoelectronics and spintronics applications3-5. These walls are usually of Ising, Bloch or Néel type and separate homogeneously ordered domains. Here we demonstrate that a wide variety of new domain walls occurs in the presence of spatially modulated domain states. Using magnetic force microscopy and micromagnetic simulations, we show three fundamental classes of domain walls to arise in the near-room-temperature helimagnet iron germanium. In contrast to conventional ferroics, the domain walls exhibit a well-defined inner structure, which—analogous to cholesteric liquid crystals—consists of topological disclination and dislocation defects. Similar to the magnetic skyrmions that form in the same material6,7, the domain walls can carry a finite topological charge, permitting an efficient coupling to spin currents and contributions to a topological Hall effect. Our study establishes a new family of magnetic nano-objects with non-trivial topology, opening the door to innovative device concepts based on helimagnetic domain walls.

A reduced-dimensional model for near-wall transport in cardiovascular flows

PubMed Central

Hansen, Kirk B.

2015-01-01

Near-wall mass transport plays an important role in many cardiovascular processes, including the initiation of atherosclerosis, endothelial cell vasoregulation, and thrombogenesis. These problems are characterized by large Péclet and Schmidt numbers as well as a wide range of spatial and temporal scales, all of which impose computational difficulties. In this work, we develop an analytical relationship between the flow field and near-wall mass transport for high-Schmidt-number flows. This allows for the development of a wall-shear-stress-driven transport equation that lies on a codimension-one vessel-wall surface, significantly reducing computational cost in solving the transport problem. Separate versions of this equation are developed for the reaction-rate-limited and transport-limited cases, and numerical results in an idealized abdominal aortic aneurysm are compared to those obtained by solving the full transport equations over the entire domain. The reaction-rate-limited model matches the expected results well. The transport-limited model is accurate in the developed flow regions, but overpredicts wall flux at entry regions and reattachment points in the flow. PMID:26298313

Domain wall in a quantum anomalous Hall insulator as a magnetoelectric piston

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Upadhyaya, Pramey; Tserkovnyak, Yaroslav

2016-07-01

We theoretically study the magnetoelectric coupling in a quantum anomalous Hall insulator state induced by interfacing a dynamic magnetization texture to a topological insulator. In particular, we propose that the quantum anomalous Hall insulator with a magnetic configuration of a domain wall, when contacted by electrical reservoirs, acts as a magnetoelectric piston. A moving domain wall pumps charge current between electrical leads in a closed circuit, while applying an electrical bias induces reciprocal domain-wall motion. This pistonlike action is enabled by a finite reflection of charge carriers via chiral modes imprinted by the domain wall. Moreover, we find that, when compared with the recently discovered spin-orbit torque-induced domain-wall motion in heavy metals, the reflection coefficient plays the role of an effective spin-Hall angle governing the efficiency of the proposed electrical control of domain walls. Quantitatively, this effective spin-Hall angle is found to approach a universal value of 2, providing an efficient scheme to reconfigure the domain-wall chiral interconnects for possible memory and logic applications.

Skyrmion domain wall collision and domain wall-gated skyrmion logic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, Xiangjun; Pong, Philip W. T.; Zhou, Yan

2016-08-01

Skyrmions and domain walls are significant spin textures of great technological relevance to magnetic memory and logic applications, where they can be used as carriers of information. The unique topology of skyrmions makes them display emergent dynamical properties as compared with domain walls. Some studies have demonstrated that the two topologically inequivalent magnetic objects could be interconverted by using cleverly designed geometric structures. Here, we numerically address the skyrmion domain wall collision in a magnetic racetrack by introducing relative motion between the two objects based on a specially designed junction. An electric current serves as the driving force that moves a skyrmion toward a trapped domain wall pair. We see different types of collision dynamics depending on the driving parameters. Most importantly, the modulation of skyrmion transport using domain walls is realized in this system, allowing a set of domain wall-gated logical NOT, NAND, and NOR gates to be constructed. This work provides a skyrmion-based spin-logic architecture that is fully compatible with racetrack memories.

Velocity Enhancement by Synchronization of Magnetic Domain Walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hrabec, Aleš; Křižáková, Viola; Pizzini, Stefania; Sampaio, João; Thiaville, André; Rohart, Stanislas; Vogel, Jan

2018-06-01

Magnetic domain walls are objects whose dynamics is inseparably connected to their structure. In this Letter, we investigate magnetic bilayers, which are engineered such that a coupled pair of domain walls, one in each layer, is stabilized by a cooperation of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and flux-closing mechanism. The dipolar field mediating the interaction between the two domain walls links not only their position but also their structure. We show that this link has a direct impact on their magnetic-field-induced dynamics. We demonstrate that in such a system the coupling leads to an increased domain wall velocity with respect to single domain walls. Since the domain wall dynamics is observed in a precessional regime, the dynamics involves the synchronization between the two walls to preserve the flux closure during motion. Properties of these coupled oscillating walls can be tuned by an additional in-plane magnetic field enabling a rich variety of states, from perfect synchronization to complete detuning.

Disk in a groove with friction: An analysis of static equilibrium and indeterminacy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donolato, Cesare

2018-05-01

This note studies the statics of a rigid disk placed in a V-shaped groove with frictional walls and subjected to gravity and a torque. The two-dimensional equilibrium problem is formulated in terms of the angles that contact forces form with the normal to the walls. This approach leads to a single trigonometric equation in two variables whose domain is determined by Coulomb's law of friction. The properties of solutions (existence, uniqueness, or indeterminacy) as functions of groove angle, friction coefficient and applied torque are derived by a simple geometric representation. The results modify some of the conclusions by other authors on the same problem.

Comparison of Current and Field Driven Domain Wall Motion in Beaded Permalloy Nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lage, Enno; Dutta, Sumit; Ross, Caroline A.

2015-03-01

Domain wall based devices are promising candidates for non-volatile memory devices with no static power consumption. A common approach is the use of (field assisted) current driven domain wall motion in magnetic nanowires. In such systems local variations in linewidth act as obstacles for propagating domain walls. In this study we compare simulated field driven and current driven domain wall motion in permalloy nanowires with anti-notches. The simulations were obtained using the Object Oriented MicroMagnetics Framework (OOMMF). The wires with a constant thickness of 8 nm exhibit linewidths ranging from 40 nm to 300 nm. Circular shaped anti-notches extend the linewidth locally by 10% to 30% and raise information about the domain wall propagation in such beaded nanowires. The results are interpreted in terms of the observed propagation behavior and summarized in maps indicating ranges of different ability to overcome the pinning caused by anti-notches of different sizes. Furthermore, regimes of favored domain wall type (transverse walls or vortex walls) and complex propagation effects like walker breakdown behavior or dynamic change between domain wall structures are identified The authors thank the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for funding.

Current at domain walls, roughly speaking: nanoscales studies of disorder roughening and conduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paruch, Patrycja

2013-03-01

Domain walls in (multi)ferroic materials are the thin elastic interfaces separating regions with different orientations of magnetisation, electric polarisation, or spontaneous strain. Understanding their behaviour, and controlling domain size and stability, is key for their integration into applications, while fundamentally, domain walls provide an excellent model system in which the rich physics of disordered elastic interfaces can be accesses. In addition, domain walls can present novel properties, quite different from those of their parent materials, making them potentially useful as active components in future nano-devices. Here, we present our atomic force microscopy studies of ferroelectric domain walls in epitaxial Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 and BiFeO3 thin films, in which we use piezorespose force microscopy to show unusual domain wall roughening behaviour, with very localised disorder regions in the sample leading to a complex, multi-affine scaling of the domain wall shape. We also show the effects of temperature, environmental conditions, and defects on switching dynamics and domain wall roughness. We combine these observations with parallel conductive-tip atomic force microscopy current measurements, which also show highly localised variations in conduction, and highlight the key role played by oxygen vacancies in the observed domain wall conduction.

Functional electronic inversion layers at ferroelectric domain walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mundy, J. A.; Schaab, J.; Kumagai, Y.; Cano, A.; Stengel, M.; Krug, I. P.; Gottlob, D. M.; Doğanay, H.; Holtz, M. E.; Held, R.; Yan, Z.; Bourret, E.; Schneider, C. M.; Schlom, D. G.; Muller, D. A.; Ramesh, R.; Spaldin, N. A.; Meier, D.

2017-06-01

Ferroelectric domain walls hold great promise as functional two-dimensional materials because of their unusual electronic properties. Particularly intriguing are the so-called charged walls where a polarity mismatch causes local, diverging electrostatic potentials requiring charge compensation and hence a change in the electronic structure. These walls can exhibit significantly enhanced conductivity and serve as a circuit path. The development of all-domain-wall devices, however, also requires walls with controllable output to emulate electronic nano-components such as diodes and transistors. Here we demonstrate electric-field control of the electronic transport at ferroelectric domain walls. We reversibly switch from resistive to conductive behaviour at charged walls in semiconducting ErMnO3. We relate the transition to the formation--and eventual activation--of an inversion layer that acts as the channel for the charge transport. The findings provide new insight into the domain-wall physics in ferroelectrics and foreshadow the possibility to design elementary digital devices for all-domain-wall circuitry.

Oscillatory behavior of the domain wall dynamics in a curved cylindrical magnetic nanowire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moreno, R.; Carvalho-Santos, V. L.; Espejo, A. P.; Laroze, D.; Chubykalo-Fesenko, O.; Altbir, D.

2017-11-01

Understanding the domain wall dynamics is an important issue in modern magnetism. Here we present results of domain wall displacement in curved cylindrical nanowires at a constant magnetic field. We show that the average velocity of a transverse domain wall increases with curvature. Contrary to what is observed in stripes, in a curved wire the transverse domain wall oscillates along and rotates around the nanowire with the same frequency. These results open the possibility of new oscillation-based applications.

Resistance of domain walls created by means of a magnetic force microscope in transversally magnetized epitaxial Fe wires

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hassel, C.; Stienen, S.; Roemer, F. M.

2009-07-20

Magnetic domain walls are created in a controllable way in transversally magnetized epitaxial Fe wires on GaAs(110) by approaching a magnetic force microscope (MFM) tip. The electrical resistance-change due to the addition of these domain walls is measured. The anisotropic magnetoresistance as well as the intrinsic domain wall resistance contribute to the resistance-change. The efficiency of this procedure is proven by MFM images, which are obtained subsequent to the domain wall creation at a larger sample-to-probe distance. The contribution of the anisotropic magnetoresistance is calculated using micromagnetic calculations, thus making it possible to quantify the intrinsic domain wall resistance.

Minimization of Ohmic Losses for Domain Wall Motion in a Ferromagnetic Nanowire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tretiakov, O. A.; Liu, Y.; Abanov, Ar.

2010-11-01

We study current-induced domain-wall motion in a narrow ferromagnetic wire. We propose a way to move domain walls with a resonant time-dependent current which dramatically decreases the Ohmic losses in the wire and allows driving of the domain wall with higher speed without burning the wire. For any domain-wall velocity we find the time dependence of the current needed to minimize the Ohmic losses. Below a critical domain-wall velocity specified by the parameters of the wire the minimal Ohmic losses are achieved by dc current. Furthermore, we identify the wire parameters for which the losses reduction from its dc value is the most dramatic.

Driving chiral domain walls in antiferromagnets using rotating magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Keming; Xing, Lingdi; Yuan, H. Y.; Wang, Weiwei

2018-05-01

We show theoretically and numerically that an antiferromagnetic domain wall can be moved by a rotating magnetic field in the presence of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI). Two motion modes are found: rigid domain wall motion at low frequency (corresponding to the perfect frequency synchronization) and the oscillating motion at high frequency. In the full synchronized region, the steady velocity of the domain wall is universal, in the sense that it depends only on the frequency of the rotating field and the ratio between DMI strength and exchange constant. The domain wall velocity is independent of the Gilbert damping and the rotating field strength. Moreover, a rotating field in megahertz is sufficient to move the antiferromagnetic domain wall.

Field driven magnetic racetrack memory accompanied with the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, June-Seo; Lee, Hyeon-Jun; Hong, Jung-Il; You, Chun-Yeol

2018-06-01

The in-plane magnetic field pulse driven domain wall motion on a perpendicularly magnetized nanowire is numerically investigated by performing micromagnetic simulations and magnetic domain wall dynamics are evaluated analytically with one-dimensional collective coordinate models including the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. With the action of the precession torque, the chirality and the magnetic field direction dependent displacements of the magnetic domain walls are clearly observed. In order to move Bloch type and Neel type domain walls, a longitudinal and a transverse in-plane magnetic field pulse are required, respectively. The domain wall type (Bloch or Neel) can easily be determined by the dynamic motion of the domain walls under the applied pulse fields. By applying a temporally asymmetric in-plane field pulse and successive notches in the perpendicularly magnetized nanowire strip line with a proper interval, the concept of racetrack memory based on the synchronous displacements of the chirality dependent multiple domain walls is verified to be feasible. Requirement of multiple domain walls with homogeneous chirality is achieved with the help of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction.

Phase transition solutions in geometrically constrained magnetic domain wall models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Shouxin; Yang, Yisong

2010-02-01

Recent work on magnetic phase transition in nanoscale systems indicates that new physical phenomena, in particular, the Bloch wall width narrowing, arise as a consequence of geometrical confinement of magnetization and leads to the introduction of geometrically constrained domain wall models. In this paper, we present a systematic mathematical analysis on the existence of the solutions of the basic governing equations in such domain wall models. We show that, when the cross section of the geometric constriction is a simple step function, the solutions may be obtained by minimizing the domain wall energy over the constriction and solving the Bogomol'nyi equation outside the constriction. When the cross section and potential density are both even, we establish the existence of an odd domain wall solution realizing the phase transition process between two adjacent domain phases. When the cross section satisfies a certain integrability condition, we prove that a domain wall solution always exists which links two arbitrarily designated domain phases.

Néel walls between tailored parallel-stripe domains in IrMn/CoFe exchange bias layers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ueltzhöffer, Timo, E-mail: timo.ueltzhoeffer@physik.uni-kassel.de; Schmidt, Christoph; Ehresmann, Arno

Tailored parallel-stripe magnetic domains with antiparallel magnetizations in adjacent domains along the long stripe axis have been fabricated in an IrMn/CoFe Exchange Bias thin film system by 10 keV He{sup +}-ion bombardment induced magnetic patterning. Domain walls between these domains are of Néel type and asymmetric as they separate domains of different anisotropies. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism asymmetry images were obtained by x-ray photoelectron emission microscopy at the Co/Fe L{sub 3} edges at the synchrotron radiation source BESSY II. They revealed Néel-wall tail widths of 1 μm in agreement with the results of a model that was modified in order to describemore » such walls. Similarly obtained domain core widths show a discrepancy to values estimated from the model, but could be explained by experimental broadening. The rotation senses in adjacent walls were determined, yielding unwinding domain walls with non-interacting walls in this layer system.« less

Wave radiation and diffraction by a two-dimensional floating body with an opening near a side wall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Hong-sheng; Zhou, Hua-wei

2013-08-01

The radiation and diffraction problem of a two-dimensional rectangular body with an opening floating on a semi-infinite fluid domain of finite water depth is analysed based on the linearized velocity potential theory through an analytical solution procedure. The expressions for potentials are obtained by the method of variation separation, in which the unknown coefficients are determined by the boundary condition and matching requirement on the interface. The effects of the position of the hole and the gap between the body and side wall on hydrodynamic characteristics are investigated. Some resonance is observed like piston motion in a moon pool and sloshing in a closed tank because of the existence of restricted fluid domains.

Energy landscape scheme for an intuitive understanding of complex domain dynamics in ferroelectric thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heon Kim, Tae; Yoon, Jong-Gul; Hyub Baek, Seung; Park, Woong-Kyu; Mo Yang, Sang; Yup Jang, Seung; Min, Taeyuun; Chung, Jin-Seok; Eom, Chang-Beom; Won Noh, Tae

2015-07-01

Fundamental understanding of domain dynamics in ferroic materials has been a longstanding issue because of its relevance to many systems and to the design of nanoscale domain-wall devices. Despite many theoretical and experimental studies, a full understanding of domain dynamics still remains incomplete, partly due to complex interactions between domain-walls and disorder. We report domain-shape-preserving deterministic domain-wall motion, which directly confirms microscopic return point memory, by observing domain-wall breathing motion in ferroelectric BiFeO3 thin film using stroboscopic piezoresponse force microscopy. Spatial energy landscape that provides new insights into domain dynamics is also mapped based on the breathing motion of domain walls. The evolution of complex domain structure can be understood by the process of occupying the lowest available energy states of polarization in the energy landscape which is determined by defect-induced internal fields. Our result highlights a pathway for the novel design of ferroelectric domain-wall devices through the engineering of energy landscape using defect-induced internal fields such as flexoelectric fields.

Energy landscape scheme for an intuitive understanding of complex domain dynamics in ferroelectric thin films.

PubMed

Kim, Tae Heon; Yoon, Jong-Gul; Baek, Seung Hyub; Park, Woong-kyu; Yang, Sang Mo; Yup Jang, Seung; Min, Taeyuun; Chung, Jin-Seok; Eom, Chang-Beom; Noh, Tae Won

2015-07-01

Fundamental understanding of domain dynamics in ferroic materials has been a longstanding issue because of its relevance to many systems and to the design of nanoscale domain-wall devices. Despite many theoretical and experimental studies, a full understanding of domain dynamics still remains incomplete, partly due to complex interactions between domain-walls and disorder. We report domain-shape-preserving deterministic domain-wall motion, which directly confirms microscopic return point memory, by observing domain-wall breathing motion in ferroelectric BiFeO3 thin film using stroboscopic piezoresponse force microscopy. Spatial energy landscape that provides new insights into domain dynamics is also mapped based on the breathing motion of domain walls. The evolution of complex domain structure can be understood by the process of occupying the lowest available energy states of polarization in the energy landscape which is determined by defect-induced internal fields. Our result highlights a pathway for the novel design of ferroelectric domain-wall devices through the engineering of energy landscape using defect-induced internal fields such as flexoelectric fields.

Energy landscape scheme for an intuitive understanding of complex domain dynamics in ferroelectric thin films

PubMed Central

Heon Kim, Tae; Yoon, Jong-Gul; Hyub Baek, Seung; Park, Woong-kyu; Mo Yang, Sang; Yup Jang, Seung; Min, Taeyuun; Chung, Jin-Seok; Eom, Chang-Beom; Won Noh, Tae

2015-01-01

Fundamental understanding of domain dynamics in ferroic materials has been a longstanding issue because of its relevance to many systems and to the design of nanoscale domain-wall devices. Despite many theoretical and experimental studies, a full understanding of domain dynamics still remains incomplete, partly due to complex interactions between domain-walls and disorder. We report domain-shape-preserving deterministic domain-wall motion, which directly confirms microscopic return point memory, by observing domain-wall breathing motion in ferroelectric BiFeO3 thin film using stroboscopic piezoresponse force microscopy. Spatial energy landscape that provides new insights into domain dynamics is also mapped based on the breathing motion of domain walls. The evolution of complex domain structure can be understood by the process of occupying the lowest available energy states of polarization in the energy landscape which is determined by defect-induced internal fields. Our result highlights a pathway for the novel design of ferroelectric domain-wall devices through the engineering of energy landscape using defect-induced internal fields such as flexoelectric fields. PMID:26130159

Enhancement of Local Photovoltaic Current at Ferroelectric Domain Walls in BiFeO3

PubMed Central

Yang, Ming-Min; Bhatnagar, Akash; Luo, Zheng-Dong; Alexe, Marin

2017-01-01

Domain walls, which are intrinsically two dimensional nano-objects exhibiting nontrivial electronic and magnetic behaviours, have been proven to play a crucial role in photovoltaic properties of ferroelectrics. Despite this recognition, the electronic properties of domain walls under illumination until now have been accessible only to macroscopic studies and their effects upon the conduction of photovoltaic current still remain elusive. The lack of understanding hinders the developing of nanoscale devices based on ferroelectric domain walls. Here, we directly characterize the local photovoltaic and photoconductive properties of 71° domain walls on BiFeO3 thin films with a nanoscale resolution. Local photovoltaic current, proven to be driven by the bulk photovoltaic effect, has been probed over the whole illuminated surface by using a specially designed photoelectric atomic force microscopy and found to be significantly enhanced at domain walls. Additionally, spatially resolved photoconductive current distribution reveals a higher density of excited carriers at domain walls in comparison with domains. Our measurements demonstrate that domain wall enhanced photovoltaic current originates from its high conduction rather than the internal electric field. This photoconduction facilitated local photovoltaic current is likely to be a universal property of topological defects in ferroelectric semiconductors. PMID:28216672

Enhancement of Local Photovoltaic Current at Ferroelectric Domain Walls in BiFeO3.

PubMed

Yang, Ming-Min; Bhatnagar, Akash; Luo, Zheng-Dong; Alexe, Marin

2017-02-20

Domain walls, which are intrinsically two dimensional nano-objects exhibiting nontrivial electronic and magnetic behaviours, have been proven to play a crucial role in photovoltaic properties of ferroelectrics. Despite this recognition, the electronic properties of domain walls under illumination until now have been accessible only to macroscopic studies and their effects upon the conduction of photovoltaic current still remain elusive. The lack of understanding hinders the developing of nanoscale devices based on ferroelectric domain walls. Here, we directly characterize the local photovoltaic and photoconductive properties of 71° domain walls on BiFeO 3 thin films with a nanoscale resolution. Local photovoltaic current, proven to be driven by the bulk photovoltaic effect, has been probed over the whole illuminated surface by using a specially designed photoelectric atomic force microscopy and found to be significantly enhanced at domain walls. Additionally, spatially resolved photoconductive current distribution reveals a higher density of excited carriers at domain walls in comparison with domains. Our measurements demonstrate that domain wall enhanced photovoltaic current originates from its high conduction rather than the internal electric field. This photoconduction facilitated local photovoltaic current is likely to be a universal property of topological defects in ferroelectric semiconductors.

Minimization of Ohmic losses for domain wall motion in ferromagnetic nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abanov, Artem; Tretiakov, Oleg; Liu, Yang

2011-03-01

We study current-induced domain-wall motion in a narrow ferromagnetic wire. We propose a way to move domain walls with a resonant time-dependent current which dramatically decreases the Ohmic losses in the wire and allows driving of the domain wall with higher speed without burning the wire. For any domain wall velocity we find the time-dependence of the current needed to minimize the Ohmic losses. Below a critical domain-wall velocity specified by the parameters of the wire the minimal Ohmic losses are achieved by dc current. Furthermore, we identify the wire parameters for which the losses reduction from its dc value is the most dramatic. This work was supported by the NSF Grant No. 0757992 and Welch Foundation (A-1678).

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gaul, Alexander; Holzinger, Dennis; Müglich, Nicolas David

A magnetic domain texture has been deterministically engineered in a topographically flat exchange-biased (EB) thin film system. The texture consists of long-range periodically arranged unit cells of four individual domains, characterized by individual anisotropies, individual geometry, and with non-collinear remanent magnetizations. The texture has been engineered by a sequence of light-ion bombardment induced magnetic patterning of the EB layer system. The magnetic texture's in-plane spatial magnetization distribution and the corresponding domain walls have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis (SEMPA). The influence of magnetic stray fields emerging from neighboring domain walls and the influence of the differentmore » anisotropies of the adjacent domains on the Néel type domain wall core's magnetization rotation sense and widths were investigated. It is shown that the usual energy degeneracy of clockwise and counterclockwise rotating magnetization through the walls is revoked, suppressing Bloch lines along the domain wall. Estimates of the domain wall widths for different domain configurations based on material parameters determined by vibrating sample magnetometry were quantitatively compared to the SEMPA data.« less

Skyrmions from Instantons inside Domain Walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eto, Minoru; Nitta, Muneto; Ohashi, Keisuke; Tong, David

2005-12-01

Some years ago, Atiyah and Manton described a method to construct approximate Skyrmion solutions from Yang-Mills instantons. Here we present a dynamical realization of this construction using domain walls in a five-dimensional gauge theory. The non-Abelian gauge symmetry is broken in each vacuum but restored in the core of the domain wall, allowing instantons to nestle inside the wall. We show that the world volume dynamics of the wall is given by the Skyrme model, including the four-derivative term, and the instantons appear as domain wall Skyrmions.

Domain wall kinetics of lithium niobate single crystals near the hexagonal corner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Ju Won; Ko, Do-Kyeong; Yu, Nan Ei; Kitamura, Kenji; Ro, Jung Hoon

2015-03-01

A mesospheric approach based on a simple microscopic 2D Ising model in a hexagonal lattice plane is proposed to explain macroscopic "asymmetric in-out domain wall motion" observation in the (0001) plane of MgO-doped stoichiometric lithium niobate. Under application of an electric field that was higher than the conventional coercive field (Ec) to the ferroelectric crystal, a natural hexagonal domain was obtained with walls that were parallel to the Y-axis of the crystal. When a fraction of the coercive field of around 0.1Ec is applied in the reverse direction, this hexagonal domain is shrunk (moved inward) from the corner site into a shape with a corner angle of around 150° and 15° wall slopes to the Y-axis. A flipped electric field of 0.15Ec is then applied to recover the natural hexagonal shape, and the 150° corner shape changes into a flat wall with 30° slope (moved outward). The differences in corner domain shapes between inward and outward domain motion were analyzed theoretically in terms of corner and wall site energies, which are described using the domain corner angle and wall slope with respect to the crystal Y-axis, respectively. In the inward domain wall motion case, the energy levels of the evolving 150° domain corner and 15° slope walls are most competitive, and could co-exist. In the outward case, the energy levels of corners with angles >180° are highly stable when compared with the possible domain walls; only a flat wall with 30° slope to the Y-axis is possible during outward motion.

Remarkably enhanced current-driven 360° domain wall motion in nanostripe by tuning in-plane biaxial anisotropy.

PubMed

Su, Yuanchang; Weng, Lianghao; Dong, Wenjun; Xi, Bin; Xiong, Rui; Hu, Jingguo

2017-10-17

By micromagnetic simulations, we study the current-driven 360° domain wall (360DW) motion in ferromagnetic nanostripe with an in-plane biaxial anisotropy. We observe the critical annihilation current of 360° domain wall can be enhanced through such a type of anisotropy, the reason of which is the suppression of out-of-plane magnetic moments generated simultaneously with domain-wall motion. In details, We have found that the domain-wall width is only related to K y  - K x , with K x(y) the anisotropy constant in x(y) direction. Taking domain-wall width into consideration, a prior choice is to keep K y  ≈ K x with large enough K. The mode of domain-wall motion has been investigated as well. The traveling-wave-motion region increases with K, while the average DW velocity is almost unchanged. Another noteworthy feature is that a Walker-breakdown-like motion exists before annihilation. In this region, though domain wall moves with an oscillating behavior, the average velocity does not reduce dramatically, but even rise again for a large K.

Fem Formulation for Heat and Mass Transfer in Porous Medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azeem; Soudagar, Manzoor Elahi M.; Salman Ahmed, N. J.; Anjum Badruddin, Irfan

2017-08-01

Heat and mass transfer in porous medium can be modelled using three partial differential equations namely, momentum equation, energy equation and mass diffusion. These three equations are coupled to each other by some common terms that turn the whole phenomenon into a complex problem with inter-dependable variables. The current article describes the finite element formulation of heat and mass transfer in porous medium with respect to Cartesian coordinates. The problem under study is formulated into algebraic form of equations by using Galerkin's method with the help of two-node linear triangular element having three nodes. The domain is meshed with smaller sized elements near the wall region and bigger size away from walls.

Robust ferromagnetism carried by antiferromagnetic domain walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hirose, Hishiro T.; Yamaura, Jun-Ichi; Hiroi, Zenji

2017-02-01

Ferroic materials, such as ferromagnetic or ferroelectric materials, have been utilized as recording media for memory devices. A recent trend for downsizing, however, requires an alternative, because ferroic orders tend to become unstable for miniaturization. The domain wall nanoelectronics is a new developing direction for next-generation devices, in which atomic domain walls, rather than conventional, large domains themselves, are the active elements. Here we show that atomically thin magnetic domain walls generated in the antiferromagnetic insulator Cd2Os2O7 carry unusual ferromagnetic moments perpendicular to the wall as well as electron conductivity: the ferromagnetic moments are easily polarized even by a tiny field of 1 mT at high temperature, while, once cooled down, they are surprisingly robust even in an inverse magnetic field of 7 T. Thus, the magnetic domain walls could serve as a new-type of microscopic, switchable and electrically readable magnetic medium which is potentially important for future applications in the domain wall nanoelectronics.

Domain Wall Formation in Ferromagnetic Layers: An Ab Initio Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herper, Heike C.

Domain walls are an inherent feature of ferromagnetic (FM) films consisting of layers with different magnetic orientations. Since FM films are used in electrical devices the question of the influence of domain walls on, e.g., the magnetoresistance has attracted much interest. Besides discussing the resistance contribution of domain walls, it is appropriate to study different types of domain walls and their energy of formation. The behaviour of domain walls is usually discussed within model calculations. In the present paper it is done within an ab initio Green's function technique for layered systems, i.e., the fully relativistic, spin-polarized screened Korringa-Kohn Rostoker method. Results are presented for fcc Co layers covered by two semi-infinite fcc Pt(001) bulk systems or by bulk fcc Co(001), respectively. The resistance, which is caused by the different types of domain walls is discussed within a Kubo-Greenwood approach considering Co(001)/Co24/Co(001) as an example.

Robust ferromagnetism carried by antiferromagnetic domain walls

PubMed Central

Hirose, Hishiro T.; Yamaura, Jun-ichi; Hiroi, Zenji

2017-01-01

Ferroic materials, such as ferromagnetic or ferroelectric materials, have been utilized as recording media for memory devices. A recent trend for downsizing, however, requires an alternative, because ferroic orders tend to become unstable for miniaturization. The domain wall nanoelectronics is a new developing direction for next-generation devices, in which atomic domain walls, rather than conventional, large domains themselves, are the active elements. Here we show that atomically thin magnetic domain walls generated in the antiferromagnetic insulator Cd2Os2O7 carry unusual ferromagnetic moments perpendicular to the wall as well as electron conductivity: the ferromagnetic moments are easily polarized even by a tiny field of 1 mT at high temperature, while, once cooled down, they are surprisingly robust even in an inverse magnetic field of 7 T. Thus, the magnetic domain walls could serve as a new-type of microscopic, switchable and electrically readable magnetic medium which is potentially important for future applications in the domain wall nanoelectronics. PMID:28195565

The formation and evolution of domain walls

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Press, William H.; Ryden, Barbara S.; Spergel, David N.

1991-01-01

Domain walls are sheet-like defects produced when the low energy vacuum has isolated degenerate minima. The researchers' computer code follows the evolution of a scalar field, whose dynamics are determined by its Lagrangian density. The topology of the scalar field determines the evolution of the domain walls. This approach treats both wall dynamics and reconnection. The researchers investigated not only potentials that produce single domain walls, but also potentials that produce a network of walls and strings. These networks arise in axion models where the U(1) Peccei-Quinn symmetry is broken into Z sub N discrete symmetries. If N equals 1, the walls are bounded by strings and the network quickly disappears. For N greater than 1, the network of walls and strings behaved qualitatively just as the wall network shown in the figures given here. This both confirms the researchers' pessimistic view that domain walls cannot play an important role in the formation of large scale structure and implies that axion models with multiple minimum can be cosmologically disastrous.

Magnetic field control of 90°, 180°, and 360° domain wall resistance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majidi, Roya

2012-10-01

In the present work, we have compared the resistance of the 90°, 180°, and 360° domain walls in the presence of external magnetic field. The calculations are based on the Boltzmann transport equation within the relaxation time approximation. One-dimensional Néel-type domain walls between two domains whose magnetization differs by angle of 90°, 180°, and 360° are considered. The results indicate that the resistance of the 360° DW is more considerable than that of the 90° and 180° DWs. It is also found that the domain wall resistance can be controlled by applying transverse magnetic field. Increasing the strength of the external magnetic field enhances the domain wall resistance. In providing spintronic devices based on magnetic nanomaterials, considering and controlling the effect of domain wall on resistivity are essential.

Field enhancement of electronic conductance at ferroelectric domain walls

DOE PAGES

Vasudevan, Rama K.; Cao, Ye; Laanait, Nouamane; ...

2017-11-06

Ferroelectric domain walls have continued to attract widespread attention due to both the novelty of the phenomena observed and the ability to reliably pattern them in nanoscale dimensions. But, the conductivity mechanisms remain in debate, particularly around nominally uncharged walls. Here, we posit a conduction mechanism relying on field-modification effect from polarization re-orientation and the structure of the reverse-domain nucleus. Through conductive atomic force microscopy measurements on an ultra-thin (001) BiFeO 3 thin film, in combination with phase-field simulations, we show that the field-induced twisted domain nucleus formed at domain walls results in local-field enhancement around the region of themore » atomic force microscope tip. In conjunction with slight barrier lowering, these two effects are sufficient to explain the observed emission current distribution. Our results suggest that different electronic properties at domain walls are not necessary to observe localized enhancement in domain wall currents.« less

Domain wall magnetoresistance in BiFeO3 thin films measured by scanning probe microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Domingo, N.; Farokhipoor, S.; Santiso, J.; Noheda, B.; Catalan, G.

2017-08-01

We measure the magnetotransport properties of individual 71° domain walls in multiferroic BiFeO3 by means of conductive—atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) in the presence of magnetic fields up to one Tesla. The results suggest anisotropic magnetoresistance at room temperature, with the sign of the magnetoresistance depending on the relative orientation between the magnetic field and the domain wall plane. A consequence of this finding is that macroscopically averaged magnetoresistance measurements for domain wall bunches are likely to underestimate the magnetoresistance of each individual domain wall.

The influence of annealing on domain wall propagation in bistable amorphous microwire with unidirectional effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Onufer, Jozef; Ziman, Ján; Duranka, Peter; Kladivová, Mária

2018-07-01

The effect of gradual annealing on the domain wall mobility (velocity), nucleation, critical depinning and propagation fields in amorphous FeSiB microwires has been studied. A new experimental set-up, presented in this paper, allows measurement of average domain wall velocity for four different conditions and detection of the presence of unidirectional effect in wall propagation without manipulation of the microwire. The proposed interpretation is that a domain wall is considered as a relatively long object which can change its axial dimension due to inhomogeneity of damping forces acting on the wall during its propagation. It is demonstrated that unidirectional effect in domain wall propagation can be strongly reduced by annealing the wire at temperatures higher than 350 °C.

Axion monodromy and the weak gravity conjecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hebecker, Arthur; Rompineve, Fabrizio; Westphal, Alexander

2016-04-01

Axions with broken discrete shift symmetry (axion monodromy) have recently played a central role both in the discussion of inflation and the `relaxion' approach to the hierarchy problem. We suggest a very minimalist way to constrain such models by the weak gravity conjecture for domain walls: while the electric side of the conjecture is always satisfied if the cosine-oscillations of the axion potential are sufficiently small, the magnetic side imposes a cutoff, Λ3 ˜ mf M pl, independent of the height of these `wiggles'. We compare our approach with the recent related proposal by Ibanez, Montero, Uranga and Valenzuela. We also discuss the non-trivial question which version, if any, of the weak gravity conjecture for domain walls should hold. In particular, we show that string compactifications with branes of different dimensions wrapped on different cycles lead to a `geometric weak gravity conjecture' relating volumes of cycles, norms of corresponding forms and the volume of the compact space. Imposing this `geometric conjecture', e.g. on the basis of the more widely accepted weak gravity conjecture for particles, provides at least some support for the (electric and magnetic) conjecture for domain walls.

Magnetoresistance of non-180° domain wall in the presence of electron-photon interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majidi, Roya

2013-04-01

In the present paper, influence of photon on resistance of non-180° domain wall in metallic magnetic nanowires has been studied using the semiclassical approach. The analysis has been based on the Boltzmann transport equation, within the relaxation time approximation. The one-dimensional Néel-type domain wall between two ferromagnetic domains with relative magnetization angle less than 180° is considered. By increasing this angle, the contribution of the domain wall in the resistivity of the nanowire becomes considerable. It is also found that the fundamental contribution of the domain wall in resistivity can be controlled by propagating photon. These results are valuable in designing spintronic devices based on magnetic nanowires.

Magnetic domain wall gratings for magnetization reversal tuning and confined dynamic mode localization.

PubMed

Trützschler, Julia; Sentosun, Kadir; Mozooni, Babak; Mattheis, Roland; McCord, Jeffrey

2016-08-04

High density magnetic domain wall gratings are imprinted in ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic thin films by local ion irradiation by which alternating head-to-tail-to-head-to-tail and head-to-head-to-tail-to-tail spatially overlapping domain wall networks are formed. Unique magnetic domain processes result from the interaction of anchored domain walls. Non-linear magnetization response is introduced by the laterally distributed magnetic anisotropy phases. The locally varying magnetic charge distribution gives rise to localized and guided magnetization spin-wave modes directly constrained by the narrow domain wall cores. The exchange coupled multiphase material structure leads to unprecedented static and locally modified dynamic magnetic material properties.

Magnetic domain wall gratings for magnetization reversal tuning and confined dynamic mode localization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trützschler, Julia; Sentosun, Kadir; Mozooni, Babak; Mattheis, Roland; McCord, Jeffrey

2016-08-01

High density magnetic domain wall gratings are imprinted in ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic thin films by local ion irradiation by which alternating head-to-tail-to-head-to-tail and head-to-head-to-tail-to-tail spatially overlapping domain wall networks are formed. Unique magnetic domain processes result from the interaction of anchored domain walls. Non-linear magnetization response is introduced by the laterally distributed magnetic anisotropy phases. The locally varying magnetic charge distribution gives rise to localized and guided magnetization spin-wave modes directly constrained by the narrow domain wall cores. The exchange coupled multiphase material structure leads to unprecedented static and locally modified dynamic magnetic material properties.

The not-so-harmless axion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dine, Michael; Fischler, Willy

1983-01-01

Cosmological aspects of a very weakly interacting axion are discussed. A solution to the problem of domain walls discussed by Sikivie is mentioned. Demanding that axions do not dominate the present energy density of the universe is shown to give an upper bound on the axion decay constant of at most 1012 GeV.

Corrections to the thin wall approximation in general relativity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garfinkle, David; Gregory, Ruth

1989-01-01

The question is considered whether the thin wall formalism of Israel applies to the gravitating domain walls of a lambda phi(exp 4) theory. The coupled Einstein-scalar equations that describe the thick gravitating wall are expanded in powers of the thickness of the wall. The solutions of the zeroth order equations reproduce the results of the usual Israel thin wall approximation for domain walls. The solutions of the first order equations provide corrections to the expressions for the stress-energy of the wall and to the Israel thin wall equations. The modified thin wall equations are then used to treat the motion of spherical and planar domain walls.

Optical and Acoustic Device Applications of Ferroelastic Crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meeks, Steven Wayne

This dissertation presents the discovery of a means of creating uniformly periodic domain gratings in a ferroelastic crystal of neodymium pentaphosphate (NPP). The uniform and non-uniform domain structures which can be created in NPP have the potential applications as tunable active gratings for lasers, tunable diffraction gratings, tunable Bragg reflection gratings, tunable acoustic filters, optical modulators, and optical domain wall memories. The interaction of optical and acoustic waves with ferroelastic domain walls in NPP is presented in detail. Acoustic amplitude reflection coefficients from a single domain wall in NPP are much larger than other ferroelastic-ferroelectrics such as gadolinium molybdate (GMO). Domain walls of NPP are used to make two demonstration acoustic devices: a tunable comb filter and a tunable delay line. The tuning process is accomplished by moving the position of the reflecting surface (the domain wall). A theory of the reflection of optical waves from NPP domain walls is discussed. The optical reflection is due to a change in the polarization of the wave, and not a change in the index, as the wave crosses the domain wall. Theoretical optical power reflection coefficients show good agreement with the experimentally measured values. The largest optical reflection coefficient of a single domain wall is at a critical angle and is 2.2% per domain wall. Techniques of injecting periodic and aperiodic domain walls into NPP are presented. The nucleation process of the uniformly periodic domain gratings in NPP is described in terms of a newly-discovered domain structure, namely the ferroelastic bubble. A ferroelastic bubble is the elastic analogue to the well-known magnetic bubble. The period of the uniformly periodic domain grating is tunable from 100 to 0.5 microns and the grating period may be tuned relatively rapidly. The Bragg efficiency of these tunable gratings is 77% for an uncoated crystal. Several demonstration devices which use these periodic structures are discussed. These devices are a tunable active grating laser (TAG laser), a tunable active grating (TAG), and a tunable acoustic bulk wave filter.

Effective description of domain wall strings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodrigues, Davi R.; Abanov, Ar.; Sinova, J.; Everschor-Sitte, K.

2018-04-01

The analysis of domain wall dynamics is often simplified to one-dimensional physics. For domain walls in thin films, more realistic approaches require the description as two-dimensional objects. This includes the study of vortices and curvatures along the domain walls as well as the influence of boundary effects. Here we provide a theory in terms of soft modes that allows us to analytically study the physics of extended domain walls and their stability. By considering irregularly shaped skyrmions as closed domain walls, we analyze their plasticity and compare their dynamics with those of circular skyrmions. Our theory directly provides an analytical description of the excitation modes of magnetic skyrmions, previously accessible only through sophisticated micromagnetic numerical calculations and spectral analysis. These analytical expressions provide the scaling behavior of the different physics on parameters that experiments can test.

Domain wall conductivity in KTiOPO4 crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindgren, G.; Canalias, C.

2017-07-01

We study the local ionic conductivity of ferroelectric domain walls and domains in KTiOPO4 single-crystals. We show a fourfold increase in conductivity at the domain walls, compared to that of the domains, attributed to an increased concentration of defects. Our current-voltage measurements reveal memristive-like behavior associated with topographic changes and permanent charge displacement. This behavior is observed for all the voltage sweep-rates at the domain walls, while it only occurs for low frequencies at the domains. We attribute these findings to the redistribution of ions due to the applied bias and their effect on the tip-sample barrier.

Domain-wall superconductivity in superconductor-ferromagnet hybrids.

PubMed

Yang, Zhaorong; Lange, Martin; Volodin, Alexander; Szymczak, Ritta; Moshchalkov, Victor V

2004-11-01

Superconductivity and magnetism are two antagonistic cooperative phenomena, and the intriguing problem of their coexistence has been studied for several decades. Recently, artificial hybrid superconductor-ferromagnet systems have been commonly used as model systems to reveal the interplay between competing superconducting and magnetic order parameters, and to verify the existence of new physical phenomena, including the predicted domain-wall superconductivity (DWS). Here we report the experimental observation of DWS in superconductor-ferromagnet hybrids using a niobium film on a BaFe(12)O(19) single crystal. We found that the critical temperature T(c) of the superconductivity nucleation in niobium increases with increasing field until it reaches the saturation field of BaFe(12)O(19). In accordance with the field-shift of the maximum value of T(c), pronounced hysteresis effects have been found in resistive transitions. We argue that the compensation of the applied field by the stray fields of the magnetic domains as well as the change in the domain structure is responsible for the appearance of the DWS and the coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism in the superconductor-ferromagnet hybrids.

Motion of a Spherical Domain Wall and the Large-Scale Structure Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, K.; Tomita, K.

1991-11-01

The evolution of a wall-like structure in the universe is investigated by assuming a simplified model of a domain wall. The domain wall is approximated as a thin spherical shell with domain wall-like matter, which is assumed to interact with dust-like dark matter in an entirely inelastic manner, and its motion in an expanding universe is numerically studied in the general-relativistic treatment. We evaluate the lifetime of the wall, which is defined as the characteristic time for the wall to shrink due to its own tension. It is necessary that this time is not smaller than the cosmic age, in order that the walls avoid the collapse to the present time and play an important role in the structure formation of the universe. It is shown that, in spite of the above interaction, the strong restriction is imposed on the surface density of the domain walls and the allowed values are too small to have any influences on the background model.

Temporary formation of highly conducting domain walls for non-destructive read-out of ferroelectric domain-wall resistance switching memories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Jun; Bai, Zi Long; Chen, Zhi Hui; He, Long; Zhang, David Wei; Zhang, Qing Hua; Shi, Jin An; Park, Min Hyuk; Scott, James F.; Hwang, Cheol Seong; Jiang, An Quan

2018-01-01

Erasable conductive domain walls in insulating ferroelectric thin films can be used for non-destructive electrical read-out of the polarization states in ferroelectric memories. Still, the domain-wall currents extracted by these devices have not yet reached the intensity and stability required to drive read-out circuits operating at high speeds. This study demonstrated non-destructive read-out of digital data stored using specific domain-wall configurations in epitaxial BiFeO3 thin films formed in mesa-geometry structures. Partially switched domains, which enable the formation of conductive walls during the read operation, spontaneously retract when the read voltage is removed, reducing the accumulation of mobile defects at the domain walls and potentially improving the device stability. Three-terminal memory devices produced 14 nA read currents at an operating voltage of 5 V, and operated up to T = 85 °C. The gap length can also be smaller than the film thickness, allowing the realization of ferroelectric memories with device dimensions far below 100 nm.

Tunable short-wavelength spin wave excitation from pinned magnetic domain walls

PubMed Central

Van de Wiele, Ben; Hämäläinen, Sampo J.; Baláž, Pavel; Montoncello, Federico; van Dijken, Sebastiaan

2016-01-01

Miniaturization of magnonic devices for wave-like computing requires emission of short-wavelength spin waves, a key feature that cannot be achieved with microwave antennas. In this paper, we propose a tunable source of short-wavelength spin waves based on highly localized and strongly pinned magnetic domain walls in ferroelectric-ferromagnetic bilayers. When driven into oscillation by a microwave spin-polarized current, the magnetic domain walls emit spin waves with the same frequency as the excitation current. The amplitude of the emitted spin waves and the range of attainable excitation frequencies depend on the availability of domain wall resonance modes. In this respect, pinned domain walls in magnetic nanowires are particularly attractive. In this geometry, spin wave confinement perpendicular to the nanowire axis produces a multitude of domain wall resonances enabling efficient spin wave emission at frequencies up to 100 GHz and wavelengths down to 20 nm. At high frequency, the emission of spin waves in magnetic nanowires becomes monochromatic. Moreover, pinning of magnetic domain wall oscillators onto the same ferroelectric domain boundary in parallel nanowires guarantees good coherency between spin wave sources, which opens perspectives towards the realization of Mach-Zehnder type logic devices and sensors. PMID:26883893

Tunable inertia of chiral magnetic domain walls

PubMed Central

Torrejon, Jacob; Martinez, Eduardo; Hayashi, Masamitsu

2016-01-01

The time it takes to accelerate an object from zero to a given velocity depends on the applied force and the environment. If the force ceases, it takes exactly the same time to completely decelerate. A magnetic domain wall is a topological object that has been observed to follow this behaviour. Here we show that acceleration and deceleration times of chiral Neel walls driven by current are different in a system with low damping and moderate Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya exchange constant. The time needed to accelerate a domain wall with current via the spin Hall torque is much faster than the time it needs to decelerate once the current is turned off. The deceleration time is defined by the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya exchange constant whereas the acceleration time depends on the spin Hall torque, enabling tunable inertia of chiral domain walls. Such unique feature of chiral domain walls can be utilized to move and position domain walls with lower current, key to the development of storage class memory devices. PMID:27882932

PREFACE: Domain wall dynamics in nanostructures Domain wall dynamics in nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marrows, C. H.; Meier, G.

2012-01-01

Domain structures in magnetic materials are ubiquitous and have been studied for decades. The walls that separate them are topological defects in the magnetic order parameter and have a wide variety of complex forms. In general, their investigation is difficult in bulk materials since only the domain structure on the surface of a specimen is visible. Cutting the sample to reveal the interior causes a rearrangement of the domains into a new form. As with many other areas of magnetism, the study of domain wall physics has been revitalised by the advent of nanotechnology. The ability to fabricate nanoscale structures has permitted the formation of simplified and controlled domain patterns; the development of advanced microscopy methods has permitted them to be imaged and then modelled; subjecting them to ultrashort field and current pulses has permitted their dynamics to be explored. The latest results from all of these advances are described in this special issue. Not only has this led to results of great scientific beauty, but also to concepts of great applicability to future information technologies. In this issue the reader will find the latest results for these domain wall dynamics and the high-speed processes of topological structures such as domain walls and magnetic vortices. These dynamics can be driven by the application of magnetic fields, or by flowing currents through spintronic devices using the novel physics of spin-transfer torque. This complexity has been studied using a wide variety of experimental techniques at the edge of the spatial and temporal resolution currently available, and can be described using sophisticated analytical theory and computational modelling. As a result, the dynamics can be engineered to give rise to finely controlled memory and logic devices with new functionality. Moreover, the field is moving to study not only the conventional transition metal ferromagnets, but also complex heterostructures, novel magnets and even other forms of ordered phases such as antiferromagnetism and ferroelectricity. We would like to thank the scientists from all over the world who happily agreed to contribute their latest results to this special issue, and the Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter staff for their help, patience and professionalism. In such a fast-moving field it is not possible to give a definitive account, and this special issue can be no more than a snapshot of the current state of knowledge regarding this topic. Nevertheless, we hope that this collection of papers is a useful resource for experienced workers in the field, forms a useful introduction to researchers early in their careers and inspires others in related areas of nanotechnology to enter into the study of domain dynamics in nanostructures. Domain wall dynamics in nanostructures contents Temperature estimation in a ferromagnetic Fe-Ni nanowire involving a current-driven domain wall motionA Yamaguchi, A Hirohata, T Ono and H Miyajima Magnetization reversal in magnetic nanostripes via Bloch wall formation M Zeisberger and R Mattheis Magnetic soft x-ray microscopy of the domain wall depinning process in permalloy magnetic nanowiresMi-Young Im, Lars Bocklage, Guido Meier and Peter Fischer Domain wall propagation in meso- and nanoscale ferroelectrics R G P McQuaid, M McMillen, L-W Chang, A Gruverman and J M Gregg Transverse and vortex domain wall structure in magnetic nanowires with uniaxial in-plane anisotropyM T Bryan, S Bance, J Dean, T Schrefl and D A Allwood The stochastic nature of the domain wall motion along high perpendicular anisotropy strips with surface roughness Eduardo Martinez Temperature-dependent dynamics of stochastic domain-wall depinning in nanowiresClemens Wuth, Peter Lendecke and Guido Meier Controlled pinning and depinning of domain walls in nanowires with perpendicular magnetic anisotropyTheo Gerhardt, André Drews and Guido Meier The interaction of transverse domain wallsBenjamin Krüger The increase of the spin-transfer torque threshold current density in coupled vortex domain wallsS Lepadatu, A P Mihai, J S Claydon, F Maccherozzi, S S Dhesi, C J Kinane, S Langridge and C H Marrows Large RF susceptibility of transverse domain wallsO Rousseau, S Petit-Watelot and M Viret Expansion and relaxation of magnetic mirror domains in a Pt/Co/Pt/Co/Pt multilayer with antiferromagnetic interlayer couplingP J Metaxas, R L Stamps, J-P Jamet, J Ferré, V Baltz and B Rodmacq Current-induced domain wall motion and magnetization dynamics in CoFeB/Cu/Co nanostripesV Uhlíř, J Vogel, N Rougemaille, O Fruchart, Z Ishaque, V Cros, J Camarero, J C Cezar, F Sirotti and S Pizzini Roles of the magnetic field and electric current in thermally activated domain wall motion in a submicrometer magnetic strip with perpendicular magnetic anisotropySatoru Emori and Geoffrey S D Beach Electrical domain morphologies in compositionally graded ferroelectric filmsM B Okatan, A L Roytburd, V Nagarajan and S P Alpay Domain-wall pinning by local control of anisotropy in Pt/Co/Pt strips J H Franken, M Hoeijmakers, R Lavrijsen and H J M Swagten Experimental detection of domain wall propagation above the Walker field Kouta Kondou, Norikazu Ohshima, Daichi Chiba, Shinya Kasai, Kensuke Kobayashi and Teruo Ono Enhanced functionality in magnonics by domain walls and inhomogeneous spin configurationsG Duerr, R Huber and D Grundler Domain wall motion in perpendicular anisotropy nanowires with edge roughness Maximilian Albert, Matteo Franchin, Thomas Fischbacher, Guido Meier and Hans Fangohr Determination of the spin torque non-adiabaticity in perpendicularly magnetized nanowiresJ Heinen, D Hinzke, O Boulle, G Malinowski, H J M Swagten, B Koopmans, C Ulysse, G Faini, B Ocker, J Wrona and M Kläui Domain wall dynamics driven by spin transfer torque and the spin-orbit field Masamitsu Hayashi, Yoshinobu Nakatani, Shunsuke Fukami, Michihiko Yamanouchi, Seiji Mitani and Hideo Ohno Dynamic propagation and nucleation in domain wall nanowire devicesL O'Brien, D E Read, D Petit and R P Cowburn Influence of a transport current on a domain wall in an antiferromagnetic metalA C Swaving and R A Duine

Ferroelectric domain wall motion induced by polarized light

PubMed Central

Rubio-Marcos, Fernando; Del Campo, Adolfo; Marchet, Pascal; Fernández, Jose F.

2015-01-01

Ferroelectric materials exhibit spontaneous and stable polarization, which can usually be reoriented by an applied external electric field. The electrically switchable nature of this polarization is at the core of various ferroelectric devices. The motion of the associated domain walls provides the basis for ferroelectric memory, in which the storage of data bits is achieved by driving domain walls that separate regions with different polarization directions. Here we show the surprising ability to move ferroelectric domain walls of a BaTiO3 single crystal by varying the polarization angle of a coherent light source. This unexpected coupling between polarized light and ferroelectric polarization modifies the stress induced in the BaTiO3 at the domain wall, which is observed using in situ confocal Raman spectroscopy. This effect potentially leads to the non-contact remote control of ferroelectric domain walls by light. PMID:25779918

Phase Domain Walls in Weakly Nonlinear Deep Water Surface Gravity Waves.

PubMed

Tsitoura, F; Gietz, U; Chabchoub, A; Hoffmann, N

2018-06-01

We report a theoretical derivation, an experimental observation and a numerical validation of nonlinear phase domain walls in weakly nonlinear deep water surface gravity waves. The domain walls presented are connecting homogeneous zones of weakly nonlinear plane Stokes waves of identical amplitude and wave vector but differences in phase. By exploiting symmetry transformations within the framework of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation we demonstrate the existence of exact analytical solutions representing such domain walls in the weakly nonlinear limit. The walls are in general oblique to the direction of the wave vector and stationary in moving reference frames. Experimental and numerical studies confirm and visualize the findings. Our present results demonstrate that nonlinear domain walls do exist in the weakly nonlinear regime of general systems exhibiting dispersive waves.

Phase Domain Walls in Weakly Nonlinear Deep Water Surface Gravity Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsitoura, F.; Gietz, U.; Chabchoub, A.; Hoffmann, N.

2018-06-01

We report a theoretical derivation, an experimental observation and a numerical validation of nonlinear phase domain walls in weakly nonlinear deep water surface gravity waves. The domain walls presented are connecting homogeneous zones of weakly nonlinear plane Stokes waves of identical amplitude and wave vector but differences in phase. By exploiting symmetry transformations within the framework of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation we demonstrate the existence of exact analytical solutions representing such domain walls in the weakly nonlinear limit. The walls are in general oblique to the direction of the wave vector and stationary in moving reference frames. Experimental and numerical studies confirm and visualize the findings. Our present results demonstrate that nonlinear domain walls do exist in the weakly nonlinear regime of general systems exhibiting dispersive waves.

Domain wall formation in late-time phase transitions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kolb, Edward W.; Wang, Yun

1992-01-01

We examine domain wall formulation in late time phase transitions. We find that in the invisible axion domain wall phenomenon, thermal effects alone are insufficient to drive different parts of the disconnected vacuum manifold. This suggests that domain walls do not form unless either there is some supplemental (but perhaps not unreasonable) dynamics to localize the scalar field responsible for the phase transition to the low temperature maximum (to an extraordinary precision) before the onset of the phase transition, or there is some non-thermal mechanism to produce large fluctuations in the scalar field. The fact that domain wall production is not a robust prediction of late time transitions may suggest future directions in model building.

Excitations of interface pinned domain walls in constrained geometries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martins, S. M. S. B.; Oliveira, L. L.; Rebouças, G. O. G.; Dantas, Ana L.; Carriço, A. S.

2018-05-01

We report a theoretical investigation of the equilibrium pattern and the spectra of head-to-head and Neel domain walls of flat Fe and Py stripes, exchange coupled with a vicinal antiferromagnetic substrate. We show that the domain wall excitation spectrum is tunable by the strength of the interface field. Furthermore, strong interface coupling favors localized wall excitations.

Domain walls in the extensions of the Standard Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krajewski, Tomasz; Lalak, Zygmunt; Lewicki, Marek; Olszewski, Paweł

2018-05-01

Our main interest is the evolution of domain walls of the Higgs field in the early Universe. The aim of this paper is to understand how dynamics of Higgs domain walls could be influenced by yet unknown interactions from beyond the Standard Model. We assume that the Standard Model is valid up to certain, high, energy scale Λ and use the framework of the effective field theory to describe physics below that scale. Performing numerical simulations with different values of the scale Λ we are able to extend our previous analysis [1]. Our recent numerical simulations show that evolution of Higgs domain walls is rather insensitive to interactions beyond the Standard Model as long as masses of new particles are grater than 1012 GeV. For lower values of Λ the RG improved effective potential is strongly modified at field strengths crucial to the evolution of domain walls. However, we find that even for low values of Λ, Higgs domain walls decayed shortly after their formation for generic initial conditions. On the other hand, in simulations with specifically chosen initial conditions Higgs domain walls can live longer and enter the scaling regime. We also determine the energy spectrum of gravitational waves produced by decaying domain walls of the Higgs field. For generic initial field configurations the amplitude of the signal is too small to be observed in planned detectors.

Ferroelectricity of domain walls in rare earth iron garnet films.

PubMed

Popov, A I; Zvezdin, K A; Gareeva, Z V; Mazhitova, F A; Vakhitov, R M; Yumaguzin, A R; Zvezdin, A K

2016-11-16

In this paper, we report on electric polarization arising in a vicinity of Bloch-like domain walls in rare-earth iron garnet films. The domain walls generate an intrinsic magnetic field that breaks an antiferroelectric structure formed in the garnets due to an exchange interaction between rare earth and iron sublattices. We explore 180° domain walls whose formation is energetically preferable in the films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Magnetic and electric structures of the 180° quasi-Bloch domain walls have been simulated at various relations between system parameters. Singlet, doublet ground states of rare earth ions and strongly anisotropic rare earth Ising ions have been considered. Our results show that electric polarization appears in rare earth garnet films at Bloch domain walls, and the maximum of magnetic inhomogeneity is not always linked to the maximum of electric polarization. A number of factors including the temperature, the state of the rare earth ion and the type of a wall influence magnetically induced electric polarization. We show that the value of polarization can be enhanced by the shrinking of the Bloch domain wall width, decreasing the temperature, and increasing the deviations of magnetization from the Bloch rotation that are regulated by impacts given by magnetic anisotropies of the films.

Current-driven second-harmonic domain wall resonance in ferromagnetic metal/nonmagnetic metal bilayers: A field-free method for spin Hall angle measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hajiali, M. R.; Hamdi, M.; Roozmeh, S. E.; Mohseni, S. M.

2017-10-01

We study the ac current-driven domain wall motion in bilayer ferromagnetic metal (FM)/nonmagnetic metal (NM) nanowires. The solution of the modified Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation including all the spin transfer torques is used to describe motion of the domain wall in the presence of the spin Hall effect. We show that the domain wall center has a second-harmonic frequency response in addition to the known first-harmonic excitation. In contrast to the experimentally observed second-harmonic response in harmonic Hall measurements of spin-orbit torque in magnetic thin films, this second-harmonic response directly originates from spin-orbit torque driven domain wall dynamics. Based on the spin current generated by domain wall dynamics, the longitudinal spin motive force generated voltage across the length of the nanowire is determined. The second-harmonic response introduces additionally a practical field-free and all-electrical method to probe the effective spin Hall angle for FM/NM bilayer structures that could be applied in experiments. Our results also demonstrate the capability of utilizing FM/NM bilayer structures in domain wall based spin-torque signal generators and resonators.

Stability of topological defects in chiral superconductors: London theory.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vakaryuk, V.

2011-12-22

This paper examines the thermodynamic stability of chiral domain walls and vortices-topological defects which can exist in chiral superconductors. Using London theory it is demonstrated that at sufficiently small applied and chiral fields the existence of domain walls and vortices in the sample is not favored and the sample's configuration is a single domain. The particular chirality of the single-domain configuration is neither favored nor disfavored by the applied field. Increasing the field leads to an entry of a domain-wall loop or a vortex into the sample. The formation of a straight domain wall is never preferred in equilibrium. Valuesmore » of the entry (critical) fields for both types of defects, as well as the equilibrium size of the domain-wall loop, are calculated. We also consider a mesoscopic chiral sample and calculate its zero-field magnetization, susceptibility, and a change in the magnetic moment due to a vortex or a domain-wall entry. We show that in the case of a soft domain wall whose energetics is dominated by the chiral current (and not by the surface tension) its behavior in mesoscopic samples is substantially different from that in the bulk case and can be used for a controllable transfer of edge excitations. The applicability of these results to Sr{sub 2}RuO{sub 4} - a tentative chiral superconductor - is discussed.« less

Stability of topological defects in chiral superconductors: London theory

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vakaryuk, Victor

2011-12-01

This paper examines the thermodynamic stability of chiral domain walls and vortices—topological defects which can exist in chiral superconductors. Using London theory it is demonstrated that at sufficiently small applied and chiral fields the existence of domain walls and vortices in the sample is not favored and the sample's configuration is a single domain. The particular chirality of the single-domain configuration is neither favored nor disfavored by the applied field. Increasing the field leads to an entry of a domain-wall loop or a vortex into the sample. The formation of a straight domain wall is never preferred in equilibrium. Valuesmore » of the entry (critical) fields for both types of defects, as well as the equilibrium size of the domain-wall loop, are calculated. We also consider a mesoscopic chiral sample and calculate its zero-field magnetization, susceptibility, and a change in the magnetic moment due to a vortex or a domain-wall entry. We show that in the case of a soft domain wall whose energetics is dominated by the chiral current (and not by the surface tension) its behavior in mesoscopic samples is substantially different from that in the bulk case and can be used for a controllable transfer of edge excitations. The applicability of these results to Sr 2 RuO 4 —a tentative chiral superconductor—is discussed.« less

Direct observation of interlocked domain walls and topological four-state vortex-like domain patterns in multiferroic YMnO{sub 3} single crystal

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tian, Lei; School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian Jiaotong University, Dalian, Liaoning 116028; Wang, Yumei, E-mail: wangym@iphy.ac.cn

2015-03-16

Using the advanced spherical aberration-corrected high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscope imaging techniques, we investigated atomic-scale structural features of domain walls and domain patterns in YMnO{sub 3} single crystal. Three different types of interlocked ferroelectric-antiphase domain walls and two abnormal topological four-state vortex-like domain patterns are identified. Each ferroelectric domain wall is accompanied by a translation vector, i.e., 1/6[210] or −1/6[210], demonstrating its interlocked nature. Different from the four-state vortex domain patterns caused by a partial edge dislocation, two four-state vortex-like domain configurations have been obtained at atomic level. These observed phenomena can further extend our understandingmore » of the fascinating vortex domain patterns in multiferroic hexagonal rare-earth manganites.« less

Curvature-induced domain wall pinning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yershov, Kostiantyn V.; Kravchuk, Volodymyr P.; Sheka, Denis D.; Gaididei, Yuri

2015-09-01

It is shown that a local bend of a nanowire is a source of pinning potential for a transversal head-to-head (tail-to-tail) domain wall. Eigenfrequency of the domain wall free oscillations at the pinning potential and the effective friction are determined as functions of the curvature and domain wall width. The pinning potential originates from the effective curvature-induced Dzyaloshinsky-like term in the exchange energy. The theoretical results are verified by means of micromagnetic simulations for the case of parabolic shape of the wire bend.

Time as an Observable in Nonrelativistic Quantum Mechanics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hahne, G. E.

2003-01-01

The argument follows from the viewpoint that quantum mechanics is taken not in the usual form involving vectors and linear operators in Hilbert spaces, but as a boundary value problem for a special class of partial differential equations-in the present work, the nonrelativistic Schrodinger equation for motion of a structureless particle in four- dimensional space-time in the presence of a potential energy distribution that can be time-as well as space-dependent. The domain of interest is taken to be one of two semi-infinite boxes, one bounded by two t=constant planes and the other by two t=constant planes. Each gives rise to a characteristic boundary value problem: one in which the initial, input values on one t=constant wall are given, with zero asymptotic wavefunction values in all spatial directions, the output being the values on the second t=constant wall; the second with certain input values given on both z=constant walls, with zero asymptotic values in all directions involving time and the other spatial coordinates, the output being the complementary values on the z=constant walls. The first problem corresponds to ordinary quantum mechanics; the second, to a fully time-dependent version of a problem normally considered only for the steady state (time-independent Schrodinger equation). The second problem is formulated in detail. A conserved indefinite metric is associated with space-like propagation, where the sign of the norm of a unidirectional state corresponds to its spatial direction of travel.

Hawking radiation from a Reisner-Nordström domain wall

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Greenwood, Eric, E-mail: esg3@buffalo.edu

2010-01-01

We investigate the effect on the Hawking radiation given off during the time of collapse of a Reisner-Nordström domain wall. Using the functional Schrödinger formalism we are able to probe the time-dependent regime, which is out of the reach of the standard approximations like the Bogolyubov method. We calculate the occupation number of particles for a scalar field and complex scalar field. We demonstrate that the particles from the scalar field are unaffected by the charge of the Reisner-Nordström domain wall, as is expected since the scalar field doesn't carry any charge, which would couple to the charge of themore » Reisner-Nordström domain wall. Here the situation effectively reduces to the uncharged case, a spherically symmetric domain wall. To take the charge into account, we consider the complex scalar field which represents charged particles and anti-particles. Here investigate two different cases, first the non-extremal case and second the extremal case. In the non-extremal case we demonstrate that when the particle (anti-particle) carries charge opposite to that of the domain wall, the occupation number becomes suppressed during late times of the collapse. Therefore the dominate occupation number is when the particle (anti-particle) carries the same charge as the domain wall, as expected due to the Coulomb potential carried by the domain walls. In the extremal case we demonstrate that as time increases the temperature of the radiation decreases until when the domain wall reaches the horizon and the temperature then goes to zero. This is in agreement with the Hawking temperature for charged black holes.« less

Coupling between Current and Dynamic Magnetization : from Domain Walls to Spin Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lucassen, M. E.

2012-05-01

So far, we have derived some general expressions for domain-wall motion and the spin motive force. We have seen that the β parameter plays a large role in both subjects. In all chapters of this thesis, there is an emphasis on the determination of this parameter. We also know how to incorporate thermal fluctuations for rigid domain walls, as shown above. In Chapter 2, we study a different kind of fluctuations: shot noise. This noise is caused by the fact that an electric current consists of electrons, and therefore has fluctuations. In the process, we also compute transmission and reflection coefficients for a rigid domain wall, and from them the linear momentum transfer. More work on fluctuations is done in Chapter 3. Here, we consider a (extrinsically pinned) rigid domain wall under the influence of thermal fluctuations that induces a current via spin motive force. We compute how the resulting noise in the current is related to the β parameter. In Chapter 4 we look into in more detail into the spin motive forces from field driven domain walls. Using micro magnetic simulations, we compute the spin motive force due to vortex domain walls explicitly. As mentioned before, this gives qualitatively different results than for a rigid domain wall. The final subject in Chapter 5 is the application of the general expression for spin motive forces to magnons. Although this might seem to be unrelated to domain-wall motion, this calculation allows us to relate the β parameter to macroscopic transport coefficients. This work was supported by Stichting voor Fundamenteel Onderzoek der Materie (FOM), the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), and by the European Research Council (ERC) under the Seventh Framework Program (FP7).

Free-electron gas at charged domain walls in insulating BaTiO3

PubMed Central

Sluka, Tomas; Tagantsev, Alexander K.; Bednyakov, Petr; Setter, Nava

2013-01-01

Hetero interfaces between metal-oxides display pronounced phenomena such as semiconductor-metal transitions, magnetoresistance, the quantum hall effect and superconductivity. Similar effects at compositionally homogeneous interfaces including ferroic domain walls are expected. Unlike hetero interfaces, domain walls can be created, displaced, annihilated and recreated inside a functioning device. Theory predicts the existence of 'strongly' charged domain walls that break polarization continuity, but are stable and conduct steadily through a quasi-two-dimensional electron gas. Here we show this phenomenon experimentally in charged domain walls of the prototypical ferroelectric BaTiO3. Their steady metallic-type conductivity, 109 times that of the parent matrix, evidence the presence of stable degenerate electron gas, thus adding mobility to functional interfaces. PMID:23651996

Domain wall remote pinning in magnetic nano wires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Read, Dan; Miguel, Jorge; Maccherozzi, Francesco; Cavill, Stuart; Dhesi, Sarnjeet; Cardiff University Collaboration; Diamond Light Source Collaboration

2013-03-01

In the current race for information storage media with ever increasing density the position of magnetic domain walls, the region in a magnetic system where the local magnetization continually rotates its direction between adjacent magnetic domains, is one of the most promising routes for future storage media devices. Information storage requires ultrafast read-out and writing operations, but domain walls need to be pinned so that the information is safely stored in the long term. Here we investigate the use of remote magnetostatic charges to trap domain walls. By using X-ray photoelectron emission microscopy we have followed the position of domain walls of opposite charge being pinned or repelled by pinning potentials of increasing strength. Micromagnetic simulations show an excellent agreement with the experimental results. We demonstrate the attractive or repulsive character of the interaction between domain wall and trap depending upon the sign of their magnetic charges. These quasi-static experiments are the antecedent to ultrafast time-resolved XMCD-PEEM experiments where the spin-transfer torque effect will be studied dynamically by applying picosecond-long current pulses across the magnetic nanowire.

Electric-field control of magnetic domain-wall velocity in ultrathin cobalt with perpendicular magnetization.

PubMed

Chiba, D; Kawaguchi, M; Fukami, S; Ishiwata, N; Shimamura, K; Kobayashi, K; Ono, T

2012-06-06

Controlling the displacement of a magnetic domain wall is potentially useful for information processing in magnetic non-volatile memories and logic devices. A magnetic domain wall can be moved by applying an external magnetic field and/or electric current, and its velocity depends on their magnitudes. Here we show that the applying an electric field can change the velocity of a magnetic domain wall significantly. A field-effect device, consisting of a top-gate electrode, a dielectric insulator layer, and a wire-shaped ferromagnetic Co/Pt thin layer with perpendicular anisotropy, was used to observe it in a finite magnetic field. We found that the application of the electric fields in the range of ± 2-3 MV cm(-1) can change the magnetic domain wall velocity in its creep regime (10(6)-10(3) m s(-1)) by more than an order of magnitude. This significant change is due to electrical modulation of the energy barrier for the magnetic domain wall motion.

Domain walls and ferroelectric reversal in corundum derivatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Meng; Vanderbilt, David

2017-01-01

Domain walls are the topological defects that mediate polarization reversal in ferroelectrics, and they may exhibit quite different geometric and electronic structures compared to the bulk. Therefore, a detailed atomic-scale understanding of the static and dynamic properties of domain walls is of pressing interest. In this work, we use first-principles methods to study the structures of 180∘ domain walls, both in their relaxed state and along the ferroelectric reversal pathway, in ferroelectrics belonging to the family of corundum derivatives. Our calculations predict their orientation, formation energy, and migration energy and also identify important couplings between polarization, magnetization, and chirality at the domain walls. Finally, we point out a strong empirical correlation between the height of the domain-wall-mediated polarization reversal barrier and the local bonding environment of the mobile A cations as measured by bond-valence sums. Our results thus provide both theoretical and empirical guidance for future searches for ferroelectric candidates in materials of the corundum derivative family.

Domain walls and ferroelectric reversal in corundum derivatives

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Meng; Vanderbilt, David

Domain walls are the topological defects that mediate polarization reversal in ferroelectrics, and they may exhibit quite different geometric and electronic structures compared to the bulk. Therefore, a detailed atomic-scale understanding of the static and dynamic properties of domain walls is of pressing interest. In this work, we use first-principles methods to study the structures of 180° domain walls, both in their relaxed state and along the ferroelectric reversal pathway, in ferroelectrics belonging to the family of corundum derivatives. Our calculations predict their orientation, formation energy, and migration energy, and also identify important couplings between polarization, magnetization, and chirality at the domain walls. Finally, we point out a strong empirical correlation between the height of the domain-wall mediated polarization reversal barrier and the local bonding environment of the mobile A cations as measured by bond valence sums. Our results thus provide both theoretical and empirical guidance to further search for ferroelectric candidates in materials of the corundum derivative family. The work is supported by ONR Grant N00014-12-1-1035.

Domain walls and the C P anomaly in softly broken supersymmetric QCD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Draper, Patrick

2018-04-01

In ordinary QCD with light, degenerate, fundamental flavors, C P symmetry is spontaneously broken at θ =π , and domain wall solutions connecting the vacua can be constructed in chiral perturbation theory. In some cases the breaking of C P saturates a 't Hooft anomaly, and anomaly inflow requires nontrivial massless excitations on the domain walls. Analogously, C P can be spontaneously broken in supersymmetric QCD (SQCD) with light flavors and small soft breaking parameters. We study C P breaking and domain walls in softly broken SQCD with Nf

Nanoscale Origins of Ferroelastic Domain Wall Mobility in Ferroelectric Multilayers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Huang, Hsin-Hui; Hong, Zijian; Xin, Huolin L.

Here we investigate the nanoscale origins of ferroelastic domain wall motion in ferroelectric multilayer thin films that lead to giant electromechanical responses. We present direct evidence for complex underpinning factors that result in ferroelastic domain wall mobility using a combination of atomic-level aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and phase-field simulations in model epitaxial (001) tetragonal (T) PbZr xTi 1-xO 3 (PZT)/rhombohedral (R) PbZr xTi 1-xO 3 (PZT) bilayer heterostructures. The local electric dipole distribution is imaged on an atomic scale for a ferroelastic domain wall that nucleates in the R-layer and cuts through the composition breaking the T/R interface.more » Our studies reveal a highly complex polarization rotation domain structure that is nearly on the knife-edge at the vicinity of this wall. Induced phases, namely tetragonal-like and rhombohedral-like monoclinic were observed close to the interface, and exotic domain arrangements, such as a half-four-fold closure structure, are observed. Phase field simulations show this is due to the minimization of the excessive elastic and electrostatic energies driven by the enormous strain gradient present at the location of the ferroelastic domain walls. Thus, in response to an applied stimulus, such as an electric field, any polarization reorientation must minimize the elastic and electrostatic discontinuities due to this strain gradient, which would induce a dramatic rearrangement of the domain structure. This insight into the origins of ferroelastic domain wall motion will allow researchers to better “craft” such multilayered ferroelectric systems with precisely tailored domain wall functionality and enhanced sensitivity, which can be exploited for the next generation of integrated piezoelectric technologies.« less

Nanoscale Origins of Ferroelastic Domain Wall Mobility in Ferroelectric Multilayers

DOE PAGES

Huang, Hsin-Hui; Hong, Zijian; Xin, Huolin L.; ...

2016-10-31

Here we investigate the nanoscale origins of ferroelastic domain wall motion in ferroelectric multilayer thin films that lead to giant electromechanical responses. We present direct evidence for complex underpinning factors that result in ferroelastic domain wall mobility using a combination of atomic-level aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and phase-field simulations in model epitaxial (001) tetragonal (T) PbZr xTi 1-xO 3 (PZT)/rhombohedral (R) PbZr xTi 1-xO 3 (PZT) bilayer heterostructures. The local electric dipole distribution is imaged on an atomic scale for a ferroelastic domain wall that nucleates in the R-layer and cuts through the composition breaking the T/R interface.more » Our studies reveal a highly complex polarization rotation domain structure that is nearly on the knife-edge at the vicinity of this wall. Induced phases, namely tetragonal-like and rhombohedral-like monoclinic were observed close to the interface, and exotic domain arrangements, such as a half-four-fold closure structure, are observed. Phase field simulations show this is due to the minimization of the excessive elastic and electrostatic energies driven by the enormous strain gradient present at the location of the ferroelastic domain walls. Thus, in response to an applied stimulus, such as an electric field, any polarization reorientation must minimize the elastic and electrostatic discontinuities due to this strain gradient, which would induce a dramatic rearrangement of the domain structure. This insight into the origins of ferroelastic domain wall motion will allow researchers to better “craft” such multilayered ferroelectric systems with precisely tailored domain wall functionality and enhanced sensitivity, which can be exploited for the next generation of integrated piezoelectric technologies.« less

Domain imaging in ferroelectric thin films via channeling-contrast backscattered electron microscopy

DOE PAGES

Ihlefeld, Jon F.; Michael, Joseph R.; McKenzie, Bonnie B.; ...

2016-09-16

We report that ferroelastic domain walls provide opportunities for deterministically controlling mechanical, optical, electrical, and thermal energy. Domain wall characterization in micro- and nanoscale systems, where their spacing may be of the order of 100 nm or less is presently limited to only a few techniques, such as piezoresponse force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. These respective techniques cannot, however, independently characterize domain polarization orientation and domain wall motion in technologically relevant capacitor structures or in a non-destructive manner, thus presenting a limitation of their utility. In this work, we show how backscatter scanning electron microscopy utilizing channeling contrast yieldmore » can image the ferroelastic domain structure of ferroelectric films with domain wall spacing as narrow as 10 nm.« less

Visualizing domain wall and reverse domain superconductivity.

PubMed

Iavarone, M; Moore, S A; Fedor, J; Ciocys, S T; Karapetrov, G; Pearson, J; Novosad, V; Bader, S D

2014-08-28

In magnetically coupled, planar ferromagnet-superconductor (F/S) hybrid structures, magnetic domain walls can be used to spatially confine the superconductivity. In contrast to a superconductor in a uniform applied magnetic field, the nucleation of the superconducting order parameter in F/S structures is governed by the inhomogeneous magnetic field distribution. The interplay between the superconductivity localized at the domain walls and far from the walls leads to effects such as re-entrant superconductivity and reverse domain superconductivity with the critical temperature depending upon the location. Here we use scanning tunnelling spectroscopy to directly image the nucleation of superconductivity at the domain wall in F/S structures realized with Co-Pd multilayers and Pb thin films. Our results demonstrate that such F/S structures are attractive model systems that offer the possibility to control the strength and the location of the superconducting nucleus by applying an external magnetic field, potentially useful to guide vortices for computing application.

Visualizing domain wall and reverse domain superconductivity

PubMed Central

Iavarone, M.; Moore, S. A.; Fedor, J.; Ciocys, S. T.; Karapetrov, G.; Pearson, J.; Novosad, V.; Bader, S. D.

2014-01-01

In magnetically coupled, planar ferromagnet-superconductor (F/S) hybrid structures, magnetic domain walls can be used to spatially confine the superconductivity. In contrast to a superconductor in a uniform applied magnetic field, the nucleation of the superconducting order parameter in F/S structures is governed by the inhomogeneous magnetic field distribution. The interplay between the superconductivity localized at the domain walls and far from the walls leads to effects such as re-entrant superconductivity and reverse domain superconductivity with the critical temperature depending upon the location. Here we use scanning tunnelling spectroscopy to directly image the nucleation of superconductivity at the domain wall in F/S structures realized with Co-Pd multilayers and Pb thin films. Our results demonstrate that such F/S structures are attractive model systems that offer the possibility to control the strength and the location of the superconducting nucleus by applying an external magnetic field, potentially useful to guide vortices for computing application. PMID:25164004

Interconnected magnetic tunnel junctions for spin-logic applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manfrini, Mauricio; Vaysset, Adrien; Wan, Danny; Raymenants, Eline; Swerts, Johan; Rao, Siddharth; Zografos, Odysseas; Souriau, Laurent; Gavan, Khashayar Babaei; Rassoul, Nouredine; Radisic, Dunja; Cupak, Miroslav; Dehan, Morin; Sayan, Safak; Nikonov, Dmitri E.; Manipatruni, Sasikanth; Young, Ian A.; Mocuta, Dan; Radu, Iuliana P.

2018-05-01

With the rapid progress of spintronic devices, spin-logic concepts hold promises of energy-delay conscious computation for efficient logic gate operations. We report on the electrical characterization of domain walls in interconnected magnetic tunnel junctions. By means of spin-transfer torque effect, domains walls are produced at the common free layer and its propagation towards the output pillar sensed by tunneling magneto-resistance. Domain pinning conditions are studied quasi-statically showing a strong dependence on pillar size, ferromagnetic free layer width and inter-pillar distance. Addressing pinning conditions are detrimental for cascading and fan-out of domain walls across nodes, enabling the realization of domain-wall-based logic technology.

Current-induced three-dimensional domain wall propagation in cylindrical NiFe nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, D. W.; Purnama, I.; Lim, G. J.; Gan, W. L.; Murapaka, C.; Lew, W. S.

2016-04-01

We report on the magnetization configurations in single NiFe cylindrical nanowires grown by template-assisted electrodeposition. Angular anisotropic magnetoresistance measurements reveal that a three-dimensional helical domain wall is formed naturally upon relaxation from a saturated state. Micromagnetic simulations support the helical domain wall properties and its reversal process, which involves a splitting of the clockwise and anticlockwise vortices. When a pulsed current is applied to the nanowire, the helical domain wall propagation is observed with a minimum current density needed to overcome its intrinsic pinning.

Annealing effect on current-driven domain wall motion in Pt/[Co/Ni] wire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furuta, Masaki; Liu, Yang; Sepehri-Amin, Hossein; Hono, Kazuhiro; Zhu, Jian-Gang Jimmy

2017-09-01

The annealing effect on the efficiency of current-driven domain wall motion governed by the spin Hall effect in perpendicularly magnetized Pt/[Co/Ni] wires is investigated experimentally. Important physical parameters, such as the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya Interaction (DMI), spin Hall angle, and perpendicular anisotropy field strength, for the domain wall motion are all characterized at each annealing temperature. It is found that annealing of wires at temperatures over 120 °C causes significant reduction of the domain wall velocity. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis shows pronounced Co diffusion across the Pt/Co interface resulted from annealing at relatively high temperatures. The combined modeling study shows that the reduction of DMI caused by annealing is mostly responsible for the domain wall velocity reduction due to annealing.

Eavesdropping on spin waves inside the domain-wall nanochannel via three-magnon processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Beining; Wang, Zhenyu; Cao, Yunshan; Yan, Peng; Wang, X. R.

2018-03-01

One recent breakthrough in the field of magnonics is the experimental realization of reconfigurable spin-wave nanochannels formed by a magnetic domain wall with a width of 10-100 nm [Wagner et al., Nat. Nano. 11, 432 (2016), 10.1038/nnano.2015.339]. This remarkable progress enables an energy-efficient spin-wave propagation with a well-defined wave vector along its propagating path inside the wall. In the mentioned experiment, a microfocus Brillouin light scattering spectroscopy was taken in a line-scans manner to measure the frequency of the bounded spin wave. Due to their localization nature, the confined spin waves can hardly be detected from outside the wall channel, which guarantees the information security to some extent. In this work, we theoretically propose a scheme to detect/eavesdrop on the spin waves inside the domain-wall nanochannel via nonlinear three-magnon processes. We send a spin wave (ωi,ki) in one magnetic domain to interact with the bounded mode (ωb,kb) in the wall, where kb is parallel with the domain-wall channel defined as the z ̂ axis. Two kinds of three-magnon processes, i.e., confluence and splitting, are expected to occur. The confluence process is conventional: conservation of energy and momentum parallel with the wall indicates a transmitted wave in the opposite domain with ω (k ) =ωi+ωb and (ki+kb-k ) .z ̂=0 , while the momentum perpendicular to the domain wall is not necessary to be conserved due to the nonuniform internal field near the wall. We predict a stimulated three-magnon splitting (or "magnon laser") effect: the presence of a bound magnon propagating along the domain wall channel assists the splitting of the incident wave into two modes, one is ω1=ωb,k1=kb identical to the bound mode in the channel, and the other one is ω2=ωi-ωb with (ki-kb-k2) .z ̂=0 propagating in the opposite magnetic domain. Micromagnetic simulations confirm our theoretical analysis. These results demonstrate that one is able to uniquely infer the spectrum of the spin wave in the domain-wall nanochannel once we know both the injection and the transmitted waves.

Directional radiation pattern in structural-acoustic coupled system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Hee-Seon; Kim, Yang-Hann

2005-07-01

In this paper we demonstrate the possibility of designing a radiator using structural-acoustic interaction by predicting the pressure distribution and radiation pattern of a structural-acoustic coupling system that is composed by a wall and two spaces. If a wall separates spaces, then the wall's role in transporting the acoustic characteristics of the spaces is important. The spaces can be categorized as bounded finite space and unbounded infinite space. The wall considered in this study composes two plates and an opening, and the wall separates one space that is highly reverberant and the other that is unbounded without any reflection. This rather hypothetical circumstance is selected to study the general coupling problem between the finite and infinite acoustic domains. We developed an equation that predicts the energy distribution and energy flow in the two spaces separated by a wall, and its computational examples are presented. Three typical radiation patterns that include steered, focused, and omnidirected are presented. A designed radiation pattern is also presented by using the optimal design algorithm.

Continuum analysis of the nucleus growth of reverse domains in large ferroelectric crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Neumeister, Peter; Balke, Herbert; Lupascu, Doru C.

2009-04-01

Polarization reversal in ferroelectrics arises due to domain nucleation and domain wall motion. The nucleation of reverse domains at crystal boundaries is the fundamental initiation process observed in single crystals. The classical continuum approach by Landauer determines an insurmountable energy barrier to extrinsic domain nucleation. We rediscuss the continuum approach. Predetermined surface states are found to be a misleading concept. Alternate energy contributions, for example, due to a dead layer or due to charge injection as well as reduced domain wall energy and anisotropy of domain wall energy, have to be included into a convincing picture of domain nucleation.

The stability of steady motion of magnetic domain wall: Role of higher-order spin-orbit torques

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

He, Peng-Bin, E-mail: hepengbin@hnu.edu.cn; Yan, Han; Cai, Meng-Qiu

The steady motion of magnetic domain wall driven by spin-orbit torques is investigated analytically in the heavy/ferromagnetic metal nanowires for three cases with a current transverse to the in-plane and perpendicular easy axis, and along the in-plane easy axis. By the stability analysis of Walker wall profile, we find that if including the higher-order spin-orbit torques, the Walker breakdown can be avoided in some parameter regions of spin-orbit torques with a current transverse to or along the in-plane easy axis. However, in the case of perpendicular anisotropy, even considering the higher-order spin-orbit torques, the velocity of domain wall cannot bemore » efficiently enhanced by the current. Furthermore, the direction of wall motion is dependent on the configuration and chirality of domain wall with a current along the in-plane easy axis or transverse to the perpendicular one. Especially, the direction of motion can be controlled by the initial chirality of domain wall. So, if only involving the spin-orbit mechanism, it is preferable to adopt the scheme of a current along the in-plane easy axis for enhancing the velocity and controlling the direction of domain wall.« less

Finite Difference Time Marching in the Frequency Domain: A Parabolic Formulation for the Convective Wave Equation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baumeister, K. J.; Kreider, K. L.

1996-01-01

An explicit finite difference iteration scheme is developed to study harmonic sound propagation in ducts. To reduce storage requirements for large 3D problems, the time dependent potential form of the acoustic wave equation is used. To insure that the finite difference scheme is both explicit and stable, time is introduced into the Fourier transformed (steady-state) acoustic potential field as a parameter. Under a suitable transformation, the time dependent governing equation in frequency space is simplified to yield a parabolic partial differential equation, which is then marched through time to attain the steady-state solution. The input to the system is the amplitude of an incident harmonic sound source entering a quiescent duct at the input boundary, with standard impedance boundary conditions on the duct walls and duct exit. The introduction of the time parameter eliminates the large matrix storage requirements normally associated with frequency domain solutions, and time marching attains the steady-state quickly enough to make the method favorable when compared to frequency domain methods. For validation, this transient-frequency domain method is applied to sound propagation in a 2D hard wall duct with plug flow.

Finite Difference Time Marching in the Frequency Domain: A Parabolic Formulation for Aircraft Acoustic Nacelle Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baumeister, Kenneth J.; Kreider, Kevin L.

1996-01-01

An explicit finite difference iteration scheme is developed to study harmonic sound propagation in aircraft engine nacelles. To reduce storage requirements for large 3D problems, the time dependent potential form of the acoustic wave equation is used. To insure that the finite difference scheme is both explicit and stable, time is introduced into the Fourier transformed (steady-state) acoustic potential field as a parameter. Under a suitable transformation, the time dependent governing equation in frequency space is simplified to yield a parabolic partial differential equation, which is then marched through time to attain the steady-state solution. The input to the system is the amplitude of an incident harmonic sound source entering a quiescent duct at the input boundary, with standard impedance boundary conditions on the duct walls and duct exit. The introduction of the time parameter eliminates the large matrix storage requirements normally associated with frequency domain solutions, and time marching attains the steady-state quickly enough to make the method favorable when compared to frequency domain methods. For validation, this transient-frequency domain method is applied to sound propagation in a 2D hard wall duct with plug flow.

Magnetic domain walls as reconfigurable spin-wave nano-channels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wagner, Kai

Research efforts to utilize spin waves as information carriers for wave based logic in micro- and nano-structured ferromagnetic materials have increased tremendously over the recent years. However, finding efficient means of tailoring and downscaling guided spin-wave propagation in two dimensions, while maintaining energy efficiency and reconfigurability, still remains a delicate challenge. Here we target these challenges by spin-wave transport inside nanometer-scaled potential wells formed along magnetic domain walls. For this, we investigate the magnetization dynamics of a rectangular-like element in a Landau state exhibiting a so called 180° Néel wall along its center. By microwave antennae the rf-excitation is constricted to one end of the domain wall and the spin-wave intensities are recorded by means of Brillouin-Light Scattering microscopy revealing channeled transport. Additional micromagnetic simulations with pulsed as well as cw-excitation are performed to yield further insight into this class of modes. We find several spin-wave modes quantized along the width of the domain wall yet with well defined wave vectors along the wall, exhibiting positive dispersion. In a final step, we demonstrate the flexibility of these spin-wave nano-channels based on domain walls. In contrast to wave guides realised by fixed geometries, domain walls can be easily manipulated. Here we utilize small external fields to control its position with nanometer precision over a micrometer range, while still enabling transport. Domain walls thus, open the perspective for reprogrammable and yet non-volatile spin-wave waveguides of nanometer width. Financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft within project SCHU2922/1-1 is gratefully acknowledged.

Understanding disordered systems through numerical simulation and algorithm development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sweeney, Sean Michael

Disordered systems arise in many physical contexts. Not all matter is uniform, and impurities or heterogeneities can be modeled by fixed random disorder. Numerous complex networks also possess fixed disorder, leading to applications in transportation systems, telecommunications, social networks, and epidemic modeling, to name a few. Due to their random nature and power law critical behavior, disordered systems are difficult to study analytically. Numerical simulation can help overcome this hurdle by allowing for the rapid computation of system states. In order to get precise statistics and extrapolate to the thermodynamic limit, large systems must be studied over many realizations. Thus, innovative algorithm development is essential in order reduce memory or running time requirements of simulations. This thesis presents a review of disordered systems, as well as a thorough study of two particular systems through numerical simulation, algorithm development and optimization, and careful statistical analysis of scaling properties. Chapter 1 provides a thorough overview of disordered systems, the history of their study in the physics community, and the development of techniques used to study them. Topics of quenched disorder, phase transitions, the renormalization group, criticality, and scale invariance are discussed. Several prominent models of disordered systems are also explained. Lastly, analysis techniques used in studying disordered systems are covered. In Chapter 2, minimal spanning trees on critical percolation clusters are studied, motivated in part by an analytic perturbation expansion by Jackson and Read that I check against numerical calculations. This system has a direct mapping to the ground state of the strongly disordered spin glass. We compute the path length fractal dimension of these trees in dimensions d = {2, 3, 4, 5} and find our results to be compatible with the analytic results suggested by Jackson and Read. In Chapter 3, the random bond Ising ferromagnet is studied, which is especially useful since it serves as a prototype for more complicated disordered systems such as the random field Ising model and spin glasses. We investigate the effect that changing boundary spins has on the locations of domain walls in the interior of the random ferromagnet system. We provide an analytic proof that ground state domain walls in the two dimensional system are decomposable, and we map these domain walls to a shortest paths problem. By implementing a multiple-source shortest paths algorithm developed by Philip Klein, we are able to efficiently probe domain wall locations for all possible configurations of boundary spins. We consider lattices with uncorrelated dis- order, as well as disorder that is spatially correlated according to a power law. We present numerical results for the scaling exponent governing the probability that a domain wall can be induced that passes through a particular location in the system's interior, and we compare these results to previous results on the directed polymer problem.

Interface Engineering of Domain Structures in BiFeO 3 Thin Films

DOE PAGES

Chen, Deyang; Chen, Zuhuang; He, Qian; ...

2016-12-07

A wealth of fascinating phenomena have been discovered at the BiFeO 3 domain walls, examples such as domain wall conductivity, photovoltaic effects, and magnetoelectric coupling. Thus, the ability to precisely control the domain structures and accurately study their switching behaviors is critical to realize the next generation of novel devices based on domain wall functionalities. In this work, the introduction of a dielectric layer leads to the tunability of the depolarization field both in the multilayers and superlattices, which provides a novel approach to control the domain patterns of BiFeO 3 films. Moreover, we are able to study the switchingmore » behavior of the first time obtained periodic 109° stripe domains with a thick bottom electrode. Besides, the precise controlling of pure 71° and 109° periodic stripe domain walls enable us to make a clear demonstration that the exchange bias in the ferromagnet/BiFeO 3 system originates from 109° domain walls. Lastly, our findings provide future directions to study the room temperature electric field control of exchange bias and open a new pathway to explore the room temperature multiferroic vortices in the BiFeO 3 system.« less

Ratchet Effects and Domain Wall Energy Landscapes in Amorphous Magnetic Films with 2D Arrays of Asymmetric Holes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, J. I.; Alija, A.; Sobrado, I.; Perez-Junquera, A.; Rodriguez-Rodriguez, G.; Velez, M.; Alameda, J. M.; Marconi, V. I.; Kolton, A. B.; Parrondo, J. M. R.

2009-03-01

The driven motion of domain walls in extended magnetic films patterned with 2D arrays of asymmetric holes has been found to be subject to two different crossed ratchet effects [1] which results in an inversion of the sign of domain wall motion rectification as a function of the applied magnetic field. This effect can be understood in terms of the competition between drive, elasticity and asymmetric pinning as revealed by a simple 4̂-model. In order to optimize the asymmetric hole design, the relevant energy landscapes for domain wall motion across the array of asymmetric holes have been calculated by micromagnetic simulations as a function of array geometrical characteristics. The effects of a transverse magnetic field on these two crossed ratchet effects will also be discussed in terms of the decrease in domain wall energy per unit area and of the modifications in the magnetostatic barriers for domain wall pinning at the asymmetric inclusions. Work supported by Spanish MICINN.[1] A. Perez-Junquera et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 100 (2008) 037203

Trajectory and chirality of vortex domain walls in ferromagnetic nanowires with an asymmetric Y-branch

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brandão, J.; Mello, A.; Garcia, F.; Sampaio, L. C.

2017-03-01

The motion and trajectory of vortex domain walls (VDWs) driven by magnetic field were investigated in Fe80Ni20 nanowires with an asymmetric Y-shape branch. By using the focused magneto-optical Kerr effect, we have probed the injection, pinning, and propagation of VDWs in the branch and in the wire beyond the branch entrance. Hysteresis cycles measured at these points show 3 and 4 jumps in the magnetization reversal, respectively. Micromagnetic simulations were carried out to obtain the number of jumps in the hysteresis cycles, and the magnetization process involved in each jump. Based on simulations and from the size of the jumps in the measured hysteresis cycles, one obtains the histogram of the domain wall type probability. While in the branch domain walls of different types are equiprobable, in the nanowire vortex domain walls with counter clockwise and clockwise chiralities and transverse-down domain walls are measured with probabilities of 65%, 25%, and 10%, respectively. These results provide an additional route to select the trajectory and chirality of VDWs in magnetic nanostructures.

Magnetoelectric domain wall dynamics and its implications for magnetoelectric memory

DOE PAGES

Belashchenko, K. D.; Tchernyshyov, O.; Kovalev, Alexey A.; ...

2016-03-30

Domain wall dynamics in a magnetoelectric antiferromagnet is analyzed, and its implications for magnetoelectric memory applications are discussed. Cr 2O 3 is used in the estimates of the materials parameters. It is found that the domain wall mobility has a maximum as a function of the electric field due to the gyrotropic coupling induced by it. In Cr 2O 3, the maximal mobility of 0.1 m/(s Oe) is reached at E≈0.06 V/nm. Fields of this order may be too weak to overcome the intrinsic depinning field, which is estimated for B-doped Cr 2O 3. These major drawbacks for device implementationmore » can be overcome by applying a small in-plane shear strain, which blocks the domain wall precession. Domain wall mobility of about 0.7 m/(s Oe) can then be achieved at E = 0.2 V/nm. Furthermore, a split-gate scheme is proposed for the domain-wall controlled bit element; its extension to multiple-gate linear arrays can offer advantages in memory density, programmability, and logic functionality.« less

Effect of spin transfer torque on domain wall motion regimes in [Co/Ni] superlattice wires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le Gall, S.; Vernier, N.; Montaigne, F.; Thiaville, A.; Sampaio, J.; Ravelosona, D.; Mangin, S.; Andrieu, S.; Hauet, T.

2017-05-01

The combined effect of magnetic field and current on domain wall motion is investigated in epitaxial [Co/Ni] microwires. Both thermally activated and flow regimes are found to be strongly affected by current. All experimental data can be understood by taking into account both adiabatic and nonadiabatic components of the spin transfer torque, the parameters of which are extracted. In the precessional flow regime, it is shown that the domain wall can move in the electron flow direction against a strong applied field, as previously observed. In addition, for a large range of applied magnetic field and injected current, a stochastic domain wall displacement after each pulse is observed. Two-dimensional micromagnetic simulations, including some disorder, show a random fluctuation of the domain wall position that qualitatively matches the experimental results.

Stabilization of domain walls between traveling waves by nonlinear mode coupling in Taylor-Couette flow.

PubMed

Heise, M; Hoffmann, Ch; Abshagen, J; Pinter, A; Pfister, G; Lücke, M

2008-02-15

We present a new mechanism that allows the stable existence of domain walls between oppositely traveling waves in pattern-forming systems far from onset. It involves a nonlinear mode coupling that results directly from the nonlinearities in the underlying momentum balance. Our work provides the first observation and explanation of such strongly nonlinearly driven domain walls that separate structured states by a phase generating or annihilating defect. Furthermore, the influence of a symmetry breaking externally imposed flow on the wave domains and the domain walls is studied. The results are obtained for vortex waves in the Taylor-Couette system by combining numerical simulations of the full Navier-Stokes equations and experimental measurements.

Magnetoresistive sensors based on the elasticity of domain walls.

PubMed

Zhang, Xueying; Vernier, Nicolas; Cao, Zhiqiang; Leng, Qunwen; Cao, Anni; Ravelosona, Dafine; Zhao, Weisheng

2018-06-19

Magnetic sensors based on the magnetoresistance effects have a promising application prospect due to their excellent sensitivity and advantages in terms of the integration. However, competition between higher sensitivity and larger measuring range remains a problem. Here, we propose a novel mechanism for the design of magnetoresistive sensors: probing the perpendicular field by detecting the expansion of the elastic magnetic Domain Wall (DW) in the free layer of a spin valve or a magnetic tunnel junction. Performances of devices based on this mechanism, such as the sensitivity and the measuring range can be tuned by manipulating the geometry of the device, without changing the intrinsic properties of the material, thus promising a higher integration level and a better performance. The mechanism is theoretically explained based on the experimental results. Two examples are proposed and their functionality and performances are verified via micromagnetic simulation. © 2018 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Large exchange-dominated domain wall velocities in antiferromagnetically coupled nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuteifan, Majd; Lubarda, M. V.; Fu, S.; Chang, R.; Escobar, M. A.; Mangin, S.; Fullerton, E. E.; Lomakin, V.

2016-04-01

Magnetic nanowires supporting field- and current-driven domain wall motion are envisioned for methods of information storage and processing. A major obstacle for their practical use is the domain-wall velocity, which is traditionally limited for low fields and currents due to the Walker breakdown occurring when the driving component reaches a critical threshold value. We show through numerical and analytical modeling that the Walker breakdown limit can be extended or completely eliminated in antiferromagnetically coupled magnetic nanowires. These coupled nanowires allow for large domain-wall velocities driven by field and/or current as compared to conventional nanowires.

Domain walls of linear polarization in isotropic Kerr media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Louis, Y.; Sheppard, A. P.; Haelterman, M.

1997-09-01

We present a new type of domain-wall vector solitary waves in isotropic self-defocusing Kerr media. These domain walls consist of localized structures separating uniform field domains of orthogonal linear polarizations. They result from the interplay between diffraction, self-phase modulation and cross-phase modulation in cases where the nonlinear birefringence coefficient B = {χxyyx(3)}/{χxxxx(3)} is negative. Numerical simulations show that these new vector solitary waves are stable.

Wall mechanics and exocytosis define the shape of growth domains in fission yeast.

PubMed

Abenza, Juan F; Couturier, Etienne; Dodgson, James; Dickmann, Johanna; Chessel, Anatole; Dumais, Jacques; Carazo Salas, Rafael E

2015-10-12

The amazing structural variety of cells is matched only by their functional diversity, and reflects the complex interplay between biochemical and mechanical regulation. How both regulatory layers generate specifically shaped cellular domains is not fully understood. Here, we report how cell growth domains are shaped in fission yeast. Based on quantitative analysis of cell wall expansion and elasticity, we develop a model for how mechanics and cell wall assembly interact and use it to look for factors underpinning growth domain morphogenesis. Surprisingly, we find that neither the global cell shape regulators Cdc42-Scd1-Scd2 nor the major cell wall synthesis regulators Bgs1-Bgs4-Rgf1 are reliable predictors of growth domain geometry. Instead, their geometry can be defined by cell wall mechanics and the cortical localization pattern of the exocytic factors Sec6-Syb1-Exo70. Forceful re-directioning of exocytic vesicle fusion to broader cortical areas induces proportional shape changes to growth domains, demonstrating that both features are causally linked.

Investigation of Ferroelectric Domain Walls by Raman Spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stone, Gregory A.

Ferroelectric materials are characterized by an intrinsic spontaneous electric dipole moment that can be manipulated by the application of an electric field. Regions inside the crystal, known as domains, can have the spontaneous dipole moments oriented in a different direction than the surrounding crystal. Due to favorable piezoelectric, pyroelectric, electro-optic, and nonlinear optical properties, ferroelectric materials are attractive for commercial applications. Many devices, such as nonlinear frequency converters, require precisely engineered domain patterns. The properties of domains and their boundaries, known as domain walls, are vital to the performance and limitations of these devices. As a result, ferroelectric domains and the domain walls have been the focus of many scientific studies. Despite all this work, questions remain regarding their properties. This work is aimed at developing a better understanding of the properties of the domain wall using confocal Raman spectroscopy. Raman spectra taken from domain walls in Lithium Niobate and Lithium Tantalate reveal two distinct changes in the Raman spectra: (1) Shifts in frequency of the bulk Raman modes, which persists over a range of 0.2-0.5 mu m from the domain wall. The absence of this effect in defect free stoichiometric Lithium Tantalate indicates that the shifts are related to defects inside the crystal. (2) The presence of Raman modes corresponding to phonons propagating orthogonal to the laser beam axis, which are not collected in the bulk crystal. The phonons also preferential propagate normal to the domain wall. These modes are detected up to 0.35 mum from the domain wall. The observation and separation of these effects was made possible by the optimized spatial resolution (0.23 mum) of a home-built scanning confocal microscope and the fact that degeneracy of the transverse and longitudinal phonon polarization is lifted by polar phonons in Lithium Niobate and Lithium Tantalate. Raman investigations on other interfaces such as front, side and bottom surfaces revealed a similar appearance of modes due to distortion of wave fronts and reflection. These surfaces are studied to provide insight into mechanism that give rise to Raman modes typically absent for the particular orientation of the crystal.

Polarization domain walls in optical fibres as topological bits for data transmission

PubMed Central

Gilles, M.; Bony, P-Y.; Garnier, J.; Picozzi, A.; Guasoni, M.; Fatome, J.

2016-01-01

Domain walls are topological defects which occur at symmetry-breaking phase transitions. While domain walls have been intensively studied in ferromagnetic materials, where they nucleate at the boundary of neighbouring regions of oppositely aligned magnetic dipoles, their equivalent in optics have not been fully explored so far. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the existence of a universal class of polarization domain walls in the form of localized polarization knots in conventional optical fibres. We exploit their binding properties for optical data transmission beyond the Kerr limits of normally dispersive fibres. In particular, we demonstrate how trapping energy in well-defined train of polarization domain walls allows undistorted propagation of polarization knots at a rate of 28 GHz along a 10 km length of normally dispersive optical fibre. These results constitute the first experimental observation of kink-antikink solitary wave propagation in nonlinear fibre optics. PMID:28168000

Topological-charge-driven reversal of ferromagnetic rings via 360∘ domain-wall formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oyarce, A. L. Gonzalez; Trypiniotis, T.; Roy, P. E.; Barnes, C. H. W.

2013-05-01

We study the reversal mechanism between opposite closed flux states of ferromagnetic nanorings driven by an azimuthal magnetic field. The reversal proceeds via the formation of 360∘ domain walls, and we show that the role of interacting nucleation sites is essential for the process to take place. Such nucleation is seen to create domain walls with the right topological charge conditions for 360∘ domain-wall formation. Given the symmetry of the system, we utilize an energetic description as a function of the azimuthal field magnitude, which clearly reveals the different stages of this reversal process. The annihilation of the 360∘ domain walls that is necessary for the reversal process to complete is controlling the field value at the final stage of the process. Such a fundamental mechanism for ring reversal has several implications and will guide the design of the various data-storage-device proposals based on nanorings.

Magnetic domain wall creep and depinning: A scalar field model approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caballero, Nirvana B.; Ferrero, Ezequiel E.; Kolton, Alejandro B.; Curiale, Javier; Jeudy, Vincent; Bustingorry, Sebastian

2018-06-01

Magnetic domain wall motion is at the heart of new magnetoelectronic technologies and hence the need for a deeper understanding of domain wall dynamics in magnetic systems. In this context, numerical simulations using simple models can capture the main ingredients responsible for the complex observed domain wall behavior. We present a scalar field model for the magnetization dynamics of quasi-two-dimensional systems with a perpendicular easy axis of magnetization which allows a direct comparison with typical experimental protocols, used in polar magneto-optical Kerr effect microscopy experiments. We show that the thermally activated creep and depinning regimes of domain wall motion can be reached and the effect of different quenched disorder implementations can be assessed with the model. In particular, we show that the depinning field increases with the mean grain size of a Voronoi tessellation model for the disorder.

AC magnetic-field response of the ferromagnetic superconductor UGe2 with different magnetized states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, Hiroyuki; Yamaguchi, Akira; Kawasaki, Ikuto; Sumiyama, Akihiko; Motoyama, Gaku; Yamamura, Tomoo

2018-01-01

We have performed parallel measurements of dc-magnetization and ac-magnetic susceptibility for a ferromagnetic superconductor, UGe2, in the ferromagnetic-superconducting phase. dc-magnetization measurements revealed that adequate demagnetizing of the sample allows for the preparation of various magnetized states with different zero-field residual magnetization. We observed that these states exhibit varying ac superconducting response at large ac-field amplitudes. The amount of ac flux penetration is less in the demagnetized state involving many domain walls. This result seems to contradict the theory that considers the domain walls as weak links. Moreover, the ferromagnetic domain walls enforce the shielding capability of superconductivity. This observation sheds light on the role of the domain walls on superconductivity, which has been a controversial issue for several decades. Two possible scenarios are presented to explain the enhancement of the shielding capability by the domain walls.

Mobile metallic domain walls in an all-in-all-out magnetic insulator

DOE PAGES

Ma, Eric Yue; Cui, Yong -Tao; Ueda, Kentaro; ...

2015-10-30

Magnetic domain walls are boundaries between regions with different configurations of the same magnetic order. In a magnetic insulator, where the magnetic order is tied to its bulk insulating property, it has been postulated that electrical properties are drastically different along the domain walls, where the order is inevitably disturbed. Here we report the discovery of highly conductive magnetic domain walls in a magnetic insulator, Nd 2Ir 2O 7, that has an unusual all-in-all-out magnetic order, via transport and spatially resolved microwave impedance microscopy. The domain walls have a virtually temperature-independent sheet resistance of ~1 kilohm per square, show smoothmore » morphology with no preferred orientation, are free from pinning by disorders, and have strong thermal and magnetic field responses that agree with expectations for all-in-all-out magnetic order.« less

Mobile metallic domain walls in an all-in-all-out magnetic insulator.

PubMed

Ma, Eric Yue; Cui, Yong-Tao; Ueda, Kentaro; Tang, Shujie; Chen, Kai; Tamura, Nobumichi; Wu, Phillip M; Fujioka, Jun; Tokura, Yoshinori; Shen, Zhi-Xun

2015-10-30

Magnetic domain walls are boundaries between regions with different configurations of the same magnetic order. In a magnetic insulator, where the magnetic order is tied to its bulk insulating property, it has been postulated that electrical properties are drastically different along the domain walls, where the order is inevitably disturbed. Here we report the discovery of highly conductive magnetic domain walls in a magnetic insulator, Nd2Ir2O7, that has an unusual all-in-all-out magnetic order, via transport and spatially resolved microwave impedance microscopy. The domain walls have a virtually temperature-independent sheet resistance of ~1 kilohm per square, show smooth morphology with no preferred orientation, are free from pinning by disorders, and have strong thermal and magnetic field responses that agree with expectations for all-in-all-out magnetic order. Copyright © 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Control of domain wall pinning by localised focused Ga {sup +} ion irradiation on Au capped NiFe nanowires

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burn, D. M., E-mail: d.burn@imperial.ac.uk; Atkinson, D.

2014-10-28

Understanding domain wall pinning and propagation in nanowires are important for future spintronics and nanoparticle manipulation technologies. Here, the effects of microscopic local modification of the magnetic properties, induced by focused-ion-beam intermixing, in NiFe/Au bilayer nanowires on the pinning behavior of domain walls was investigated. The effects of irradiation dose and the length of the irradiated features were investigated experimentally. The results are considered in the context of detailed quasi-static micromagnetic simulations, where the ion-induced modification was represented as a local reduction of the saturation magnetization. Simulations show that domain wall pinning behavior depends on the magnitude of the magnetizationmore » change, the length of the modified region, and the domain wall structure. Comparative analysis indicates that reduced saturation magnetisation is not solely responsible for the experimentally observed pinning behavior.« less

Magnetic domain wall conduits for single cell applications.

PubMed

Donolato, M; Torti, A; Kostesha, N; Deryabina, M; Sogne, E; Vavassori, P; Hansen, M F; Bertacco, R

2011-09-07

The ability to trap, manipulate and release single cells on a surface is important both for fundamental studies of cellular processes and for the development of novel lab-on-chip miniaturized tools for biological and medical applications. In this paper we demonstrate how magnetic domain walls generated in micro- and nano-structures fabricated on a chip surface can be used to handle single yeast cells labeled with magnetic beads. In detail, first we show that the proposed approach maintains the microorganism viable, as proven by monitoring the division of labeled yeast cells trapped by domain walls over 16 hours. Moreover, we demonstrate the controlled transport and release of individual yeast cells via displacement and annihilation of individual domain walls in micro- and nano-sized magnetic structures. These results pave the way to the implementation of magnetic devices based on domain walls technology in lab-on-chip systems devoted to accurate individual cell trapping and manipulation.

David Adler Lectureship Award in the Field of Materials Physics: Racetrack Memory - a high-performance, storage class memory using magnetic domain-walls manipulated by current

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parkin, Stuart

2012-02-01

Racetrack Memory is a novel high-performance, non-volatile storage-class memory in which magnetic domains are used to store information in a ``magnetic racetrack'' [1]. The magnetic racetrack promises a solid state memory with storage capacities and cost rivaling that of magnetic disk drives but with much improved performance and reliability: a ``hard disk on a chip''. The magnetic racetrack is comprised of a magnetic nanowire in which a series of magnetic domain walls are shifted to and fro along the wire using nanosecond-long pulses of spin polarized current [2]. We have demonstrated the underlying physics that makes Racetrack Memory possible [3,4] and all the basic functions - creation, and manipulation of a train of domain walls and their detection. The physics underlying the current induced dynamics of domain walls will also be discussed. In particular, we show that the domain walls respond as if they have mass, leading to significant inertial driven motion of the domain walls over long times after the current pulses are switched off [3]. We also demonstrate that in perpendicularly magnetized nanowires there are two independent current driving mechanisms: one derived from bulk spin-dependent scattering that drives the domain walls in the direction of electron flow, and a second interfacial mechanism that can drive the domain walls either along or against the electron flow, depending on subtle changes in the nanowire structure. Finally, we demonstrate thermally induced spin currents are large enough that they can be used to manipulate domain walls. [4pt] [1] S.S.P. Parkin, US Patent 6,834,005 (2004); S.S.P. Parkin et al., Science 320, 190 (2008); S.S.P. Parkin, Scientific American (June 2009). [0pt] [2] M. Hayashi, L. Thomas, R. Moriya, C. Rettner and S.S.P. Parkin, Science 320, 209 (2008). [0pt] [3] L. Thomas, R. Moriya, C. Rettner and S.S.P. Parkin, Science 330, 1810 (2010). [0pt] [4] X. Jiang et al. Nat. Comm. 1:25 (2010) and Nano Lett. 11, 96 (2011).

Electric field control of magnon-induced magnetization dynamics in multiferroics.

PubMed

Risinggård, Vetle; Kulagina, Iryna; Linder, Jacob

2016-08-24

We consider theoretically the effect of an inhomogeneous magnetoelectric coupling on the magnon-induced dynamics of a ferromagnet. The magnon-mediated magnetoelectric torque affects both the homogeneous magnetization and magnon-driven domain wall motion. In the domains, we predict a reorientation of the magnetization, controllable by the applied electric field, which is almost an order of magnitude larger than that observed in other physical systems via the same mechanism. The applied electric field can also be used to tune the domain wall speed and direction of motion in a linear fashion, producing domain wall velocities several times the zero field velocity. These results show that multiferroic systems offer a promising arena to achieve low-dissipation magnetization rotation and domain wall motion by exciting spin-waves.

Topological Magnonics: A Paradigm for Spin-Wave Manipulation and Device Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, X. S.; Zhang, H. W.; Wang, X. R.

2018-02-01

Conventional magnonic devices use magnetostatic waves whose properties are sensitive to device geometry and the details of magnetization structure, so the design and the scalability of the device or circuitry are difficult. We propose topological magnonics, in which topological exchange spin waves are used as information carriers, that do not suffer from conventional problems of magnonic devices with additional nice features of nanoscale wavelength and high frequency. We show that a perpendicularly magnetized ferromagnet on a honeycomb lattice is generically a topological magnetic material in the sense that topologically protected chiral edge spin waves exist in the band gap as long as a spin-orbit-induced nearest-neighbor pseudodipolar interaction (and/or a next-nearest-neighbor Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction) is present. The edge spin waves propagate unidirectionally along sample edges and domain walls regardless of the system geometry and defects. As a proof of concept, spin-wave diodes, spin-wave beam splitters, and spin-wave interferometers are designed by using sample edges and domain walls to manipulate the propagation of topologically protected chiral spin waves. Since magnetic domain walls can be controlled by magnetic fields or electric current or fields, one can essentially draw, erase, and redraw different spin-wave devices and circuitry on the same magnetic plate so that the proposed devices are reconfigurable and tunable. The topological magnonics opens up an alternative direction towards a robust, reconfigurable and scalable spin-wave circuitry.

Giant spin torque in hybrids with anisotropic p-d exchange interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korenev, V. L.

2014-03-01

Control of magnetic domain wall movement by the spin-polarized current looks promising for creation of a new generation of magnetic memory devices. A necessary condition for this is the domain wall shift by a low-density current. Here, I show that a strongly anisotropic exchange interaction between mobile heavy holes and localized magnetic moments enormously increases the current-induced torque on the domain wall as compared to systems with isotropic exchange. This enables one to control the domain wall motion by current density 104 A/cm2 in ferromagnet/semiconductor hybrids. The experimental observation of the anisotropic torque will facilitate the integration of ferromagnetism into semiconductor electronics.

Geometrical control of pure spin current induced domain wall depinning.

PubMed

Pfeiffer, A; Reeve, R M; Voto, M; Savero-Torres, W; Richter, N; Vila, L; Attané, J P; Lopez-Diaz, L; Kläui, Mathias

2017-03-01

We investigate the pure spin-current assisted depinning of magnetic domain walls in half ring based Py/Al lateral spin valve structures. Our optimized geometry incorporating a patterned notch in the detector electrode, directly below the Al spin conduit, provides a tailored pinning potential for a transverse domain wall and allows for a precise control over the magnetization configuration and as a result the domain wall pinning. Due to the patterned notch, we are able to study the depinning field as a function of the applied external field for certain applied current densities and observe a clear asymmetry for the two opposite field directions. Micromagnetic simulations show that this can be explained by the asymmetry of the pinning potential. By direct comparison of the calculated efficiencies for different external field and spin current directions, we are able to disentangle the different contributions from the spin transfer torque, Joule heating and the Oersted field. The observed high efficiency of the pure spin current induced spin transfer torque allows for a complete depinning of the domain wall at zero external field for a charge current density of [Formula: see text] A m -2 , which is attributed to the optimal control of the position of the domain wall.

Nanoscale control of stripe-ordered magnetic domain walls by vertical spin transfer torque in La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jing; Wu, Shizhe; Ma, Ji; Xie, Lishan; Wang, Chuanshou; Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed; Zhang, Yuelin; Xia, Ke; Nan, Ce-Wen; Zhang, Jinxing

2018-02-01

Stripe-ordered domains with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy have been intensively investigated due to their potential applications in high-density magnetic data-storage devices. However, the conventional control methods (e.g., epitaxial strain, local heating, magnetic field, and magnetoelectric effect) of the stripe-ordered domain walls either cannot meet the demands for miniaturization and low power consumption of spintronic devices or require high strength of the electric field due to the small value of the magnetoelectric effect at room temperature. Here, a domain-wall resistive effect of 0.1% was clarified in La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 thin films between the configurations of current in the plane and perpendicular to the plane of walls. Furthermore, a reversible nanoscale control of the domain-wall re-orientation by vertical spin transfer torque across the probe/film interface was achieved, where a probe voltage of 0.1 V was applied on a manganite-based capacitor. We also demonstrated that the stripe-ordered magnetic domain-wall re-orientation strongly depends on the AC frequency of the scanning probe voltage which was applied on the capacitor.

Proposal for a Domain Wall Nano-Oscillator driven by Non-uniform Spin Currents

PubMed Central

Sharma, Sanchar; Muralidharan, Bhaskaran; Tulapurkar, Ashwin

2015-01-01

We propose a new mechanism and a related device concept for a robust, magnetic field tunable radio-frequency (rf) oscillator using the self oscillation of a magnetic domain wall subject to a uniform static magnetic field and a spatially non-uniform vertical dc spin current. The self oscillation of the domain wall is created as it translates periodically between two unstable positions, one being in the region where both the dc spin current and the magnetic field are present, and the other, being where only the magnetic field is present. The vertical dc spin current pushes it away from one unstable position while the magnetic field pushes it away from the other. We show that such oscillations are stable under noise and can exhibit a quality factor of over 1000. A domain wall under dynamic translation, not only being a source for rich physics, is also a promising candidate for advancements in nanoelectronics with the actively researched racetrack memory architecture, digital and analog switching paradigms as candidate examples. Devising a stable rf oscillator using a domain wall is hence another step towards the realization of an all domain wall logic scheme. PMID:26420544

Domain wall dynamics driven by spin transfer torque and the spin-orbit field.

PubMed

Hayashi, Masamitsu; Nakatani, Yoshinobu; Fukami, Shunsuke; Yamanouchi, Michihiko; Mitani, Seiji; Ohno, Hideo

2012-01-18

We have studied current-driven dynamics of domain walls when an in-plane magnetic field is present in perpendicularly magnetized nanowires using an analytical model and micromagnetic simulations. We model an experimentally studied system, ultrathin magnetic nanowires with perpendicular anisotropy, where an effective in-plane magnetic field is developed when current is passed along the nanowire due to the Rashba-like spin-orbit coupling. Using a one-dimensional model of a domain wall together with micromagnetic simulations, we show that the existence of such in-plane magnetic fields can either lower or raise the threshold current needed to cause domain wall motion. In the presence of the in-plane field, the threshold current differs for positive and negative currents for a given wall chirality, and the wall motion becomes sensitive to out-of-plane magnetic fields. We show that large non-adiabatic spin torque can counteract the effect of the in-plane field.

Microwave a.c. conductivity of domain walls in ferroelectric thin films

DOE PAGES

Tselev, Alexander; Yu, Pu; Cao, Ye; ...

2016-05-31

Ferroelectric domain walls are of great interest as elementary building blocks for future electronic devices due to their intrinsic few-nanometre width, multifunctional properties and field-controlled topology. To realize the electronic functions, domain walls are required to be electrically conducting and addressable non-destructively. However, these properties have been elusive because conducting walls have to be electrically charged, which makes them unstable and uncommon in ferroelectric materials. Here we reveal that spontaneous and recorded domain walls in thin films of lead zirconate and bismuth ferrite exhibit large conductance at microwave frequencies despite being insulating at d.c. We explain this effect by morphologicalmore » roughening of the walls and local charges induced by disorder with the overall charge neutrality. a.c. conduction is immune to large contact resistance enabling completely non-destructive walls read-out. Finally, this demonstrates a technological potential for harnessing a.c. conduction for oxide electronics and other materials with poor d.c. conduction, particularly at the nanoscale.« less

Microwave a.c. conductivity of domain walls in ferroelectric thin films

PubMed Central

Tselev, Alexander; Yu, Pu; Cao, Ye; Dedon, Liv R.; Martin, Lane W.; Kalinin, Sergei V.; Maksymovych, Petro

2016-01-01

Ferroelectric domain walls are of great interest as elementary building blocks for future electronic devices due to their intrinsic few-nanometre width, multifunctional properties and field-controlled topology. To realize the electronic functions, domain walls are required to be electrically conducting and addressable non-destructively. However, these properties have been elusive because conducting walls have to be electrically charged, which makes them unstable and uncommon in ferroelectric materials. Here we reveal that spontaneous and recorded domain walls in thin films of lead zirconate and bismuth ferrite exhibit large conductance at microwave frequencies despite being insulating at d.c. We explain this effect by morphological roughening of the walls and local charges induced by disorder with the overall charge neutrality. a.c. conduction is immune to large contact resistance enabling completely non-destructive walls read-out. This demonstrates a technological potential for harnessing a.c. conduction for oxide electronics and other materials with poor d.c. conduction, particularly at the nanoscale. PMID:27240997

Dynamical evolution of domain walls in an expanding universe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Press, William H.; Ryden, Barbara S.; Spergel, David N.

1989-01-01

Whenever the potential of a scalar field has two or more separated, degenerate minima, domain walls form as the universe cools. The evolution of the resulting network of domain walls is calculated for the case of two potential minima in two and three dimensions, including wall annihilation, crossing, and reconnection effects. The nature of the evolution is found to be largely independent of the rate at which the universe expands. Wall annihilation and reconnection occur almost as fast as causality allows, so that the horizon volume is 'swept clean' and contains, at any time, only about one, fairly smooth, wall. Quantitative statistics are given. The total area of wall per volume decreases as the first power of time. The relative slowness of the decrease and the smoothness of the wall on the horizon scale make it impossible for walls to both generate large-scale structure and be consistent with quadrupole microwave background anisotropy limits.

Boundary Asymptotic Analysis for an Incompressible Viscous Flow: Navier Wall Laws

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

El Jarroudi, M.; Brillard, A.

2008-06-15

We consider a new way of establishing Navier wall laws. Considering a bounded domain {omega} of R{sup N}, N=2,3, surrounded by a thin layer {sigma}{sub {epsilon}}, along a part {gamma}{sub 2} of its boundary {partial_derivative}{omega}, we consider a Navier-Stokes flow in {omega} union {partial_derivative}{omega} union {sigma}{sub {epsilon}} with Reynolds' number of order 1/{epsilon} in {sigma}{sub {epsilon}}. Using {gamma}-convergence arguments, we describe the asymptotic behaviour of the solution of this problem and get a general Navier law involving a matrix of Borel measures having the same support contained in the interface {gamma}{sub 2}. We then consider two special cases where wemore » characterize this matrix of measures. As a further application, we consider an optimal control problem within this context.« less

Domain wall energy landscapes in amorphous magnetic films with asymmetric arrays of holes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alija, A.; Pérez-Junquera, A.; Rodríguez-Rodríguez, G.; Vélez, M.; Marconi, V. I.; Kolton, A. B.; Anguita, J. V.; Alameda, J. M.; Parrondo, J. M. R.; Martín, J. I.

2009-02-01

Arrays of asymmetric holes have been defined in amorphous Co-Si films by e-beam lithography in order to study domain wall motion across the array subject to the asymmetric pinning potential created by the holes. Experimental results on Kerr effect magnetooptical measurements and hysteresis loops are compared with micromagnetic simulations in films with arrays of triangular holes. These show that the potential asymmetry favours forward wall propagation for flat walls but, if the wall contains a kink, net backward wall propagation is preferred at low fields, in agreement with minor loop experiments. The difference between the fields needed for forward and backward flat wall propagation increases as the size of the triangular holes is reduced, becoming maximum for 1 µm triangles, which is the characteristic length scale set by domain wall width.

Domain walls in supersymmetric QCD: The taming of the zoo

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Binosi, Daniele; ter Veldhuis, Tonnis

We provide a unified picture of the domain wall spectrum in supersymmetric QCD with N{sub c} colors and N{sub f} flavors of quarks in the (anti) fundamental representation. Within the framework of the Veneziano-Yankielowicz-Taylor effective Lagrangian, we consider domain walls connecting chiral symmetry breaking vacua, and we take the quark masses to be degenerate. For N{sub f}/N{sub c}<1/2, there is one BPS saturated domain wall for any value of the quark mass m. For 1/2{<=}N{sub f}/N{sub c}<1 there are two critical masses m{sub *} and m{sub **} which depend on the number of colors and flavors only through the ratiomore » N{sub f}/N{sub c}. If mm{sub **}, there is no domain wall. We numerically determine m{sub *} and m{sub **} as a function of N{sub f}/N{sub c}, and we find that m{sub **} approaches a constant value in the limit that this ratio goes to 1.« less

Magnon-induced non-Markovian friction of a domain wall in a ferromagnet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Se Kwon; Tchernyshyov, Oleg; Galitski, Victor; Tserkovnyak, Yaroslav

2018-05-01

Motivated by the recent study on the quasiparticle-induced friction of solitons in superfluids, we theoretically study magnon-induced intrinsic friction of a domain wall in a one-dimensional ferromagnet. To this end, we start by obtaining the hitherto overlooked dissipative interaction of a domain wall and its quantum magnon bath to linear order in the domain-wall velocity and to quadratic order in magnon fields. An exact expression for the pertinent scattering matrix is obtained with the aid of supersymmetric quantum mechanics. We then derive the magnon-induced frictional force on a domain wall in two different frameworks: time-dependent perturbation theory in quantum mechanics and the Keldysh formalism, which yield identical results. The latter, in particular, allows us to verify the fluctuation-dissipation theorem explicitly by providing both the frictional force and the correlator of the associated stochastic Langevin force. The potential for magnons induced by a domain wall is reflectionless, and thus the resultant frictional force is non-Markovian similar to the case of solitons in superfluids. They share an intriguing connection to the Abraham-Lorentz force that is well known for its causality paradox. The dynamical responses of a domain wall are studied under a few simple circumstances, where the non-Markovian nature of the frictional force can be probed experimentally. Our work, in conjunction with the previous study on solitons in superfluids, shows that the macroscopic frictional force on solitons can serve as an effective probe of the microscopic degrees of freedom of the system.

Multi-resolution MPS method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, Masayuki; Cardoso, Rui; Bahai, Hamid

2018-04-01

In this work, the Moving Particle Semi-implicit (MPS) method is enhanced for multi-resolution problems with different resolutions at different parts of the domain utilising a particle splitting algorithm for the finer resolution and a particle merging algorithm for the coarser resolution. The Least Square MPS (LSMPS) method is used for higher stability and accuracy. Novel boundary conditions are developed for the treatment of wall and pressure boundaries for the Multi-Resolution LSMPS method. A wall is represented by polygons for effective simulations of fluid flows with complex wall geometries and the pressure boundary condition allows arbitrary inflow and outflow, making the method easier to be used in flow simulations of channel flows. By conducting simulations of channel flows and free surface flows, the accuracy of the proposed method was verified.

Electric field control of magnon-induced magnetization dynamics in multiferroics

PubMed Central

Risinggård, Vetle; Kulagina, Iryna; Linder, Jacob

2016-01-01

We consider theoretically the effect of an inhomogeneous magnetoelectric coupling on the magnon-induced dynamics of a ferromagnet. The magnon-mediated magnetoelectric torque affects both the homogeneous magnetization and magnon-driven domain wall motion. In the domains, we predict a reorientation of the magnetization, controllable by the applied electric field, which is almost an order of magnitude larger than that observed in other physical systems via the same mechanism. The applied electric field can also be used to tune the domain wall speed and direction of motion in a linear fashion, producing domain wall velocities several times the zero field velocity. These results show that multiferroic systems offer a promising arena to achieve low-dissipation magnetization rotation and domain wall motion by exciting spin-waves. PMID:27554064

Direct observation of charged domain walls in hybrid improper ferroelectric (Ca,Sr)3Ti2O7

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurushima, Kousuke; Yoshimoto, Wataru; Ishii, Yui; Cheong, Sang-Wook; Mori, Shigeo

2017-10-01

We investigated ferroelectric (FE) domain wall structures including “charged domain walls” of hybrid improper FE (Ca,Sr)3Ti2O7 at the subatomic resolution by dark-field transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution state-of-the-art aberration-corrected high-angle annular-dark-field (HAADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Dark-field TEM and high-resolution HAADF-STEM images obtained in the FE phase of single crystals of Ca2.46Sr0.54Ti2O7 revealed the formation of abundant charged domain walls with the head-to-head and tail-to-tail configurations in the FE domain structure, in addition to the FE 180° domain structure. The charged domain walls with the head-to-head and tail-to-tail FE polarizations exist stably and can be characterized as the unique double arc-type displacement of Ca/Sr ions in a unit cell without charge accumulation.

Magnetoconductance signatures of chiral domain-wall bound states in magnetic topological insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tiwari, Kunal L.; Coish, W. A.; Pereg-Barnea, T.

2017-12-01

Recent magnetoconductance measurements performed on magnetic topological insulator candidates have revealed butterfly-shaped hysteresis. This hysteresis has been attributed to the formation of gapless chiral domain-wall bound states during a magnetic-field sweep. We treat this phenomenon theoretically, providing a link between microscopic magnetization dynamics and butterfly hysteresis in magnetoconductance. Further, we illustrate how a spatially resolved conductance measurement can probe the most striking feature of the domain-wall bound states: their chirality. This work establishes a regime where a definitive link between butterfly hysteresis in longitudinal magneto-conductance and domain-wall bound states can be made. This analysis provides an important tool for the identification of magnetic topological insulators.

A Novel Plasma Membrane-Anchored Protein Regulates Xylem Cell-Wall Deposition through Microtubule-Dependent Lateral Inhibition of Rho GTPase Domains.

PubMed

Sugiyama, Yuki; Wakazaki, Mayumi; Toyooka, Kiminori; Fukuda, Hiroo; Oda, Yoshihisa

2017-08-21

Spatial control of cell-wall deposition is essential for determining plant cell shape [1]. Rho-type GTPases, together with the cortical cytoskeleton, play central roles in regulating cell-wall patterning [2]. In metaxylem vessel cells, which are the major components of xylem tissues, active ROP11 Rho GTPases form oval plasma membrane domains that locally disrupt cortical microtubules, thereby directing the formation of oval pits in secondary cell walls [3-5]. However, the regulatory mechanism that determines the planar shape of active Rho of Plants (ROP) domains is still unknown. Here we show that IQD13 associates with cortical microtubules and the plasma membrane to laterally restrict the localization of ROP GTPase domains, thereby directing the formation of oval secondary cell-wall pits. Loss and overexpression of IQD13 led to the formation of abnormally round and narrow secondary cell-wall pits, respectively. Ectopically expressed IQD13 increased the presence of parallel cortical microtubules by promoting microtubule rescue. A reconstructive approach revealed that IQD13 confines the area of active ROP domains within the lattice of the cortical microtubules, causing narrow ROP domains to form. This activity required the interaction of IQD13 with the plasma membrane. These findings suggest that IQD13 positively regulates microtubule dynamics as well as their linkage to the plasma membrane, which synergistically confines the area of active ROP domains, leading to the formation of oval secondary cell-wall pits. This finding sheds light on the role of microtubule-plasma membrane linkage as a lateral fence that determines the planar shape of Rho GTPase domains. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Resonant tunneling across a ferroelectric domain wall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, M.; Tao, L. L.; Velev, J. P.; Tsymbal, E. Y.

2018-04-01

Motivated by recent experimental observations, we explore electron transport properties of a ferroelectric tunnel junction (FTJ) with an embedded head-to-head ferroelectric domain wall, using first-principles density-functional theory calculations. We consider a FTJ with L a0.5S r0.5Mn O3 electrodes separated by a BaTi O3 barrier layer and show that an in-plane charged domain wall in the ferroelectric BaTi O3 can be induced by polar interfaces. The resulting V -shaped electrostatic potential profile across the BaTi O3 layer creates a quantum well and leads to the formation of a two-dimensional electron gas, which stabilizes the domain wall. The confined electronic states in the barrier are responsible for resonant tunneling as is evident from our quantum-transport calculations. We find that the resonant tunneling is an orbital selective process, which leads to sharp spikes in the momentum- and energy-resolved transmission spectra. Our results indicate that domain walls embedded in FTJs can be used to control the electron transport.

Domain walls in single-chain magnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pianet, Vivien; Urdampilleta, Matias; Colin, Thierry; Clérac, Rodolphe; Coulon, Claude

2017-12-01

The topology and creation energy of domain walls in different magnetic chains (called Single-Chain Magnets or SCMs) are discussed. As these domain walls, that can be seen as "defects", are known to control both static and dynamic properties of these one-dimensional systems, their study and understanding are necessary first steps before a deeper discussion of the SCM properties at finite temperature. The starting point of the paper is the simple regular ferromagnetic chain for which the characteristics of the domain walls are well known. Then two cases will be discussed (i) the "mixed chains" in which isotropic and anisotropic classical spins alternate, and (ii) the so-called "canted chains" where two different easy axis directions are present. In particular, we show that "strictly narrow" domain walls no longer exist in these more complex cases, while a cascade of phase transitions is found for canted chains as the canting angle approaches 45∘. The consequence for thermodynamic properties is briefly discussed in the last part of the paper.

Domain wall assisted GMR head with spin-Hall effect

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arun, R., E-mail: arunbdu@gmail.com; Sabareesan, P., E-mail: sendtosabari@gmail.com; Daniel, M., E-mail: danielcnld@gmail.com

2016-05-06

We theoretically study the dynamics of a field induced domain wall in the Py/Pt bi-layer structure in the presence of spin-Hall effect (SHE) by solving the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation along with the adiabatic, nonadiabatic and SHE spin-transfer torques (STTs). It is observed that a weak magnetic field moves the domain wall with high velocity in the presence of SHE and the direction of the velocity is changed by changing the direction of the weak field. The numerical results show that the magnetization of the ferromagnetic layer can be reversed quickly through domain wall motion by changing the direction of amore » weak external field in the presence of SHE while the direction of current is fixed. The SHE reduces the magnetization reversal time of 1000 nm length strip by 14.7 ns. This study is extended to model a domain wall based GMR (Giant Magnetoresistance) read head with SHE.« less

Emergence of Huge Negative Spin-Transfer Torque in Atomically Thin Co layers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Je, Soong-Geun; Yoo, Sang-Cheol; Kim, Joo-Sung; Park, Yong-Keun; Park, Min-Ho; Moon, Joon; Min, Byoung-Chul; Choe, Sug-Bong

2017-04-01

Current-induced domain wall motion has drawn great attention in recent decades as the key operational principle of emerging magnetic memory devices. As the major driving force of the motion, the spin-orbit torque on chiral domain walls has been proposed and is currently extensively studied. However, we demonstrate here that there exists another driving force, which is larger than the spin-orbit torque in atomically thin Co films. Moreover, the direction of the present force is found to be the opposite of the prediction of the standard spin-transfer torque, resulting in the domain wall motion along the current direction. The symmetry of the force and its peculiar dependence on the domain wall structure suggest that the present force is, most likely, attributed to considerable enhancement of a negative nonadiabatic spin-transfer torque in ultranarrow domain walls. Careful measurements of the giant magnetoresistance manifest a negative spin polarization in the atomically thin Co films which might be responsible for the negative spin-transfer torque.

Search for domain wall dark matter with atomic clocks on board global positioning system satellites.

PubMed

Roberts, Benjamin M; Blewitt, Geoffrey; Dailey, Conner; Murphy, Mac; Pospelov, Maxim; Rollings, Alex; Sherman, Jeff; Williams, Wyatt; Derevianko, Andrei

2017-10-30

Cosmological observations indicate that dark matter makes up 85% of all matter in the universe yet its microscopic composition remains a mystery. Dark matter could arise from ultralight quantum fields that form macroscopic objects. Here we use the global positioning system as a ~ 50,000 km aperture dark matter detector to search for such objects in the form of domain walls. Global positioning system navigation relies on precision timing signals furnished by atomic clocks. As the Earth moves through the galactic dark matter halo, interactions with domain walls could cause a sequence of atomic clock perturbations that propagate through the satellite constellation at galactic velocities ~ 300 km s -1 . Mining 16 years of archival data, we find no evidence for domain walls at our current sensitivity level. This improves the limits on certain quadratic scalar couplings of domain wall dark matter to standard model particles by several orders of magnitude.

Out-of-plane chiral domain wall spin-structures in ultrathin in-plane magnets

DOE PAGES

Chen, Gong; Kang, Sang Pyo; Ophus, Colin; ...

2017-05-19

Chiral spin textures in ultrathin films, such as skyrmions or chiral domain walls, are believed to offer large performance advantages in the development of novel spintronics technologies. While in-plane magnetized films have been studied extensively as media for current- and field-driven domain wall dynamics with applications in memory or logic devices, the stabilization of chiral spin textures in in-plane magnetized films has remained rare. Here we report a phase of spin structures in an in-plane magnetized ultrathin film system where out-of-plane spin orientations within domain walls are stable. Moreover, while domain walls in in-plane films are generally expected to bemore » non-chiral, we show that right-handed spin rotations are strongly favoured in this system, due to the presence of the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. These results constitute a platform to explore unconventional spin dynamics and topological phenomena that may enable high-performance in-plane spin-orbitronics devices.« less

Domain wall dynamics along curved strips under current pulses: The influence of Joule heating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raposo, Victor; Moretti, Simone; Hernandez, Maria Auxiliadora; Martinez, Eduardo

2016-01-01

The current-induced domain wall dynamics along curved ferromagnetic strips is studied by coupling the magnetization dynamics to the heat transport. Permalloy strips with uniform and non-uniform cross section are evaluated, taking into account the influence of the electrical contacts used to inject the current pulses and the substrate on top of which the ferromagnetic strip is sited. Micromagnetic simulations indicate that the geometry and the non-ferromagnetic materials in the system play a significant role in the current-induced domain wall dynamics. Due to the natural pinning, domain walls are hardly affected by the spin-transfer torques when placed in uniform cross section strips under current pulses with reduced magnitude. On the contrary, the current-induced domain wall displacement is significantly different in strips with non-uniform cross section, where thermal gradients emerge as due to the Joule heating. It is found that these thermal gradients can assist or act against the pure spin-transfer torques, in agreement with the recent experimental observations.

Insights into substrate specificity of NlpC/P60 cell wall hydrolases containing bacterial SH3 domains

DOE PAGES

Xu, Qingping; Mengin-Lecreulx, Dominique; Liu, Xueqian W.; ...

2015-09-15

Bacterial SH3 (SH3b) domains are commonly fused with papain-like Nlp/P60 cell wall hydrolase domains. To understand how the modular architecture of SH3b and NlpC/P60 affects the activity of the catalytic domain, three putative NlpC/P60 cell wall hydrolases were biochemically and structurally characterized. In addition, these enzymes all have γ-d-Glu-A 2pm (A 2pm is diaminopimelic acid) cysteine amidase (ordl-endopeptidase) activities but with different substrate specificities. One enzyme is a cell wall lysin that cleaves peptidoglycan (PG), while the other two are cell wall recycling enzymes that only cleave stem peptides with an N-terminall-Ala. Their crystal structures revealed a highly conserved structuremore » consisting of two SH3b domains and a C-terminal NlpC/P60 catalytic domain, despite very low sequence identity. Interestingly, loops from the first SH3b domain dock into the ends of the active site groove of the catalytic domain, remodel the substrate binding site, and modulate substrate specificity. Two amino acid differences at the domain interface alter the substrate binding specificity in favor of stem peptides in recycling enzymes, whereas the SH3b domain may extend the peptidoglycan binding surface in the cell wall lysins. Remarkably, the cell wall lysin can be converted into a recycling enzyme with a single mutation.Peptidoglycan is a meshlike polymer that envelops the bacterial plasma membrane and bestows structural integrity. Cell wall lysins and recycling enzymes are part of a set of lytic enzymes that target covalent bonds connecting the amino acid and amino sugar building blocks of the PG network. These hydrolases are involved in processes such as cell growth and division, autolysis, invasion, and PG turnover and recycling. To avoid cleavage of unintended substrates, these enzymes have very selective substrate specificities. Our biochemical and structural analysis of three modular NlpC/P60 hydrolases, one lysin, and two recycling enzymes, show that they may have evolved from a common molecular architecture, where the substrate preference is modulated by local changes. These results also suggest that new pathways for recycling PG turnover products, such as tracheal cytotoxin, may have evolved in bacteria in the human gut microbiome that involve NlpC/P60 cell wall hydrolases.« less

Insights into substrate specificity of NlpC/P60 cell wall hydrolases containing bacterial SH3 domains

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Qingping; Mengin-Lecreulx, Dominique; Liu, Xueqian W.

Bacterial SH3 (SH3b) domains are commonly fused with papain-like Nlp/P60 cell wall hydrolase domains. To understand how the modular architecture of SH3b and NlpC/P60 affects the activity of the catalytic domain, three putative NlpC/P60 cell wall hydrolases were biochemically and structurally characterized. In addition, these enzymes all have γ-d-Glu-A 2pm (A 2pm is diaminopimelic acid) cysteine amidase (ordl-endopeptidase) activities but with different substrate specificities. One enzyme is a cell wall lysin that cleaves peptidoglycan (PG), while the other two are cell wall recycling enzymes that only cleave stem peptides with an N-terminall-Ala. Their crystal structures revealed a highly conserved structuremore » consisting of two SH3b domains and a C-terminal NlpC/P60 catalytic domain, despite very low sequence identity. Interestingly, loops from the first SH3b domain dock into the ends of the active site groove of the catalytic domain, remodel the substrate binding site, and modulate substrate specificity. Two amino acid differences at the domain interface alter the substrate binding specificity in favor of stem peptides in recycling enzymes, whereas the SH3b domain may extend the peptidoglycan binding surface in the cell wall lysins. Remarkably, the cell wall lysin can be converted into a recycling enzyme with a single mutation.Peptidoglycan is a meshlike polymer that envelops the bacterial plasma membrane and bestows structural integrity. Cell wall lysins and recycling enzymes are part of a set of lytic enzymes that target covalent bonds connecting the amino acid and amino sugar building blocks of the PG network. These hydrolases are involved in processes such as cell growth and division, autolysis, invasion, and PG turnover and recycling. To avoid cleavage of unintended substrates, these enzymes have very selective substrate specificities. Our biochemical and structural analysis of three modular NlpC/P60 hydrolases, one lysin, and two recycling enzymes, show that they may have evolved from a common molecular architecture, where the substrate preference is modulated by local changes. These results also suggest that new pathways for recycling PG turnover products, such as tracheal cytotoxin, may have evolved in bacteria in the human gut microbiome that involve NlpC/P60 cell wall hydrolases.« less

Insights into Substrate Specificity of NlpC/P60 Cell Wall Hydrolases Containing Bacterial SH3 Domains

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Qingping; Mengin-Lecreulx, Dominique; Liu, Xueqian W.

ABSTRACT Bacterial SH3 (SH3b) domains are commonly fused with papain-like Nlp/P60 cell wall hydrolase domains. To understand how the modular architecture of SH3b and NlpC/P60 affects the activity of the catalytic domain, three putative NlpC/P60 cell wall hydrolases were biochemically and structurally characterized. These enzymes all have γ-d-Glu-A 2pm (A 2pm is diaminopimelic acid) cysteine amidase (ordl-endopeptidase) activities but with different substrate specificities. One enzyme is a cell wall lysin that cleaves peptidoglycan (PG), while the other two are cell wall recycling enzymes that only cleave stem peptides with an N-terminall-Ala. Their crystal structures revealed a highly conserved structure consistingmore » of two SH3b domains and a C-terminal NlpC/P60 catalytic domain, despite very low sequence identity. Interestingly, loops from the first SH3b domain dock into the ends of the active site groove of the catalytic domain, remodel the substrate binding site, and modulate substrate specificity. Two amino acid differences at the domain interface alter the substrate binding specificity in favor of stem peptides in recycling enzymes, whereas the SH3b domain may extend the peptidoglycan binding surface in the cell wall lysins. Remarkably, the cell wall lysin can be converted into a recycling enzyme with a single mutation. IMPORTANCEPeptidoglycan is a meshlike polymer that envelops the bacterial plasma membrane and bestows structural integrity. Cell wall lysins and recycling enzymes are part of a set of lytic enzymes that target covalent bonds connecting the amino acid and amino sugar building blocks of the PG network. These hydrolases are involved in processes such as cell growth and division, autolysis, invasion, and PG turnover and recycling. To avoid cleavage of unintended substrates, these enzymes have very selective substrate specificities. Our biochemical and structural analysis of three modular NlpC/P60 hydrolases, one lysin, and two recycling enzymes, show that they may have evolved from a common molecular architecture, where the substrate preference is modulated by local changes. These results also suggest that new pathways for recycling PG turnover products, such as tracheal cytotoxin, may have evolved in bacteria in the human gut microbiome that involve NlpC/P60 cell wall hydrolases.« less

Electrically controlled pinning of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya domain walls

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sato, Koji; Tretiakov, Oleg A., E-mail: olegt@imr.tohoku.ac.jp; School of Natural Sciences, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok 690950

We propose a method to all-electrically control a domain-wall position in a ferromagnetic nanowire with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. The strength of this interaction can be controlled by an external electric field, which in turn allows a fine tuning of the pinning potential of a spin-spiral domain wall. It allows to create more mobile pinning sites and can also be advantageous for ultra-low power electronics.

Spin-orbit-torque-induced magnetic domain wall motion in Ta/CoFe nanowires with sloped perpendicular magnetic anisotropy.

PubMed

Zhang, Yue; Luo, Shijiang; Yang, Xiaofei; Yang, Chang

2017-05-17

In materials with the gradient of magnetic anisotropy, spin-orbit-torque-induced magnetization behaviour has attracted attention because of its intriguing scientific principle and potential application. Most of the magnetization behaviours microscopically originate from magnetic domain wall motion, which can be precisely depicted using the standard cooperative coordinate method (CCM). However, the domain wall motion in materials with the gradient of magnetic anisotropy using the CCM remains lack of investigation. In this paper, by adopting CCM, we established a set of equations to quantitatively depict the spin-orbit-torque-induced motion of domain walls in a Ta/CoFe nanotrack with weak Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction and magnetic anisotropy gradient. The equations were solved numerically, and the solutions are similar to those of a micromagnetic simulation. The results indicate that the enhanced anisotropy along the track acts as a barrier to inhibit the motion of the domain wall. In contrast, the domain wall can be pushed to move in a direction with reduced anisotropy, with the velocity being accelerated by more than twice compared with that for the constant anisotropy case. This substantial velocity manipulation by anisotropy engineering is important in designing novel magnetic information devices with high reading speeds.

Current-induced domain wall motion in permalloy nanowires with a rectangular cross-section

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ai, J. H.; Miao, B. F.; Sun, L.

2011-11-01

We performed micromagnetic simulations of the current-induced domain wall motion in permalloy nanowires with rectangular cross-section. In the absence of the nonadiabatic spin-transfer term, a threshold current, J{sub c} is required to drive the domain wall moving continuously. We find that J{sub c} is proportional to the maximum cross product of the demagnetization field and magnetization orientation of the domain wall and the domain wall width. With varying both the wire thickness and width, a minimum threshold current in the order of 10{sup 6} A/cm{sup 2} is obtained when the thickness is equivalent to the wire width. With the nonadiabaticmore » spin-transfer term, the calculated domain wall velocity {nu} equals to the adiabatic spin transfer velocity u when the current is far above the Walker limit J{sub w}. Below J{sub w}, {nu}=({beta}/{alpha})u, where {beta} is the nonadiabatic parameter and {alpha} is the damping factor. For different {beta}, we find the Walker limit can be scaled as J{sub w}=({alpha}/{beta}-{alpha})J{sub c}. Our simulations agree well with the one dimensional analytical calculation, suggesting the findings are the general behaviors of the systems in this particular geometry.« less

The CWB2 Cell Wall-Anchoring Module Is Revealed by the Crystal Structures of the Clostridium difficile Cell Wall Proteins Cwp8 and Cwp6.

PubMed

Usenik, Aleksandra; Renko, Miha; Mihelič, Marko; Lindič, Nataša; Borišek, Jure; Perdih, Andrej; Pretnar, Gregor; Müller, Uwe; Turk, Dušan

2017-03-07

Bacterial cell wall proteins play crucial roles in cell survival, growth, and environmental interactions. In Gram-positive bacteria, cell wall proteins include several types that are non-covalently attached via cell wall binding domains. Of the two conserved surface-layer (S-layer)-anchoring modules composed of three tandem SLH or CWB2 domains, the latter have so far eluded structural insight. The crystal structures of Cwp8 and Cwp6 reveal multi-domain proteins, each containing an embedded CWB2 module. It consists of a triangular trimer of Rossmann-fold CWB2 domains, a feature common to 29 cell wall proteins in Clostridium difficile 630. The structural basis of the intact module fold necessary for its binding to the cell wall is revealed. A comparison with previously reported atomic force microscopy data of S-layers suggests that C. difficile S-layers are complex oligomeric structures, likely composed of several different proteins. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Domain-wall guided nucleation of superconductivity in hybrid ferromagnet-superconductor-ferromagnet layered structures.

PubMed

Gillijns, W; Aladyshkin, A Yu; Lange, M; Van Bael, M J; Moshchalkov, V V

2005-11-25

Domain-wall superconductivity is studied in a superconducting Nb film placed between two ferromagnetic Co/Pd multilayers with perpendicular magnetization. The parameters of top and bottom ferromagnetic films are chosen to provide different coercive fields, so that the magnetic domain structure of the ferromagnets can be selectively controlled. From the dependence of the critical temperature Tc on the applied magnetic field H, we have found evidence for domain-wall superconductivity in this three-layered F/S/F structure for different magnetic domain patterns. The phase boundary, calculated numerically for this structure from the linearized Ginzburg-Landau equation, is in good agreement with the experimental data.

Domain-wall trapping in a ferromagnetic nanowire network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saitoh, E.; Tanaka, M.; Miyajima, H.; Yamaoka, T.

2003-05-01

The magnetic domain configuration in a submicron Ni81Fe19 wire network has been investigated by magnetic force microscopy. To improve the responsivity of the magnetic force microscope, an active quality factor autocontrol method was adopted. In the remanent state, domain walls were observed trapped firmly at the vertexes of the network. The magnetic domain configurations appear to minimize the exchange energy at the vertexes. These results indicate that the magnetic property of the ferromagnetic network can be described in terms of the uniform magnetic moments of the wires and interwire magnetic interactions at the vertexes. The observed structure of the domain walls is well reproduced by micromagnetic simulations.

On flows of viscoelastic fluids under threshold-slip boundary conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baranovskii, E. S.

2018-03-01

We investigate a boundary-value problem for the steady isothermal flow of an incompressible viscoelastic fluid of Oldroyd type in a 3D bounded domain with impermeable walls. We use the Fujita threshold-slip boundary condition. This condition states that the fluid can slip along a solid surface when the shear stresses reach a certain critical value; otherwise the slipping velocity is zero. Assuming that the flow domain is not rotationally symmetric, we prove an existence theorem for the corresponding slip problem in the framework of weak solutions. The proof uses methods for solving variational inequalities with pseudo-monotone operators and convex functionals, the method of introduction of auxiliary viscosity, as well as a passage-to-limit procedure based on energy estimates of approximate solutions, Korn’s inequality, and compactness arguments. Also, some properties and estimates of weak solutions are established.

Reflection of antiferromagnetic vortices on a supersonic domain wall in yttrium orthoferrite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chetkin, M. V.; Kurbatova, Yu. N.; Shapaeva, T. B.; Borschegovsky, O. A.

2007-04-01

Reflection of solitary flexural waves propagating in a supersonic domain wall of yttrium orthoferrite from the domain wall part moving with the transverse-sound velocity is observed experimentally. This observation confirms that such a reflection of a solitary flexural wave leads to a change in the sign of the topological charge of the antiferromagnetic vortex accompanied by this wave, which proves a direct relationship between these two objects.

Conduction at domain walls in oxide multiferroics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seidel, J.; Martin, L. W.; He, Q.; Zhan, Q.; Chu, Y.-H.; Rother, A.; Hawkridge, M. E.; Maksymovych, P.; Yu, P.; Gajek, M.; Balke, N.; Kalinin, S. V.; Gemming, S.; Wang, F.; Catalan, G.; Scott, J. F.; Spaldin, N. A.; Orenstein, J.; Ramesh, R.

2009-03-01

Domain walls may play an important role in future electronic devices, given their small size as well as the fact that their location can be controlled. Here, we report the observation of room-temperature electronic conductivity at ferroelectric domain walls in the insulating multiferroic BiFeO3. The origin and nature of the observed conductivity are probed using a combination of conductive atomic force microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and first-principles density functional computations. Our analyses indicate that the conductivity correlates with structurally driven changes in both the electrostatic potential and the local electronic structure, which shows a decrease in the bandgap at the domain wall. Additionally, we demonstrate the potential for device applications of such conducting nanoscale features.

Conduction at domain walls in oxide multiferroics.

PubMed

Seidel, J; Martin, L W; He, Q; Zhan, Q; Chu, Y-H; Rother, A; Hawkridge, M E; Maksymovych, P; Yu, P; Gajek, M; Balke, N; Kalinin, S V; Gemming, S; Wang, F; Catalan, G; Scott, J F; Spaldin, N A; Orenstein, J; Ramesh, R

2009-03-01

Domain walls may play an important role in future electronic devices, given their small size as well as the fact that their location can be controlled. Here, we report the observation of room-temperature electronic conductivity at ferroelectric domain walls in the insulating multiferroic BiFeO(3). The origin and nature of the observed conductivity are probed using a combination of conductive atomic force microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and first-principles density functional computations. Our analyses indicate that the conductivity correlates with structurally driven changes in both the electrostatic potential and the local electronic structure, which shows a decrease in the bandgap at the domain wall. Additionally, we demonstrate the potential for device applications of such conducting nanoscale features.

On thick domain walls in general relativity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goetz, Guenter; Noetzold, Dirk

1989-01-01

Planar scalar field configurations in general relativity differ considerably from those in flat space. It is shown that static domain walls of finite thickness in curved space-time do not possess a reflection symmetry. At infinity, the space-time tends to the Taub vacuum on one side of the wall and to the Minkowski vacuum (Rindler space-time) on the other. Massive test particles are always accelerated towards the Minkowski side, i.e., domain walls are attractive on the Taub side, but repulsive on the Minkowski side (Taub-vacuum cleaner). It is also proved that the pressure in all directions is always negative. Finally, a brief comment is made concerning the possibility of infinite, i.e., bigger than horizon size, domain walls in our universe. All of the results are independent of the form of the potential V(phi) greater than or equal to 0 of the scalar field phi.

Ferroelectric translational antiphase boundaries in nonpolar materials

PubMed Central

Wei, Xian-Kui; Tagantsev, Alexander K.; Kvasov, Alexander; Roleder, Krystian; Jia, Chun-Lin; Setter, Nava

2014-01-01

Ferroelectric materials are heavily used in electro-mechanics and electronics. Inside the ferroelectric, domain walls separate regions in which the spontaneous polarization is differently oriented. Properties of ferroelectric domain walls can differ from those of the domains themselves, leading to new exploitable phenomena. Even more exciting is that a non-ferroelectric material may have domain boundaries that are ferroelectric. Many materials possess translational antiphase boundaries. Such boundaries could be interesting entities to carry information if they were ferroelectric. Here we show first that antiphase boundaries in antiferroelectrics may possess ferroelectricity. We then identify these boundaries in the classical antiferroelectric lead zirconate and evidence their polarity by electron microscopy using negative spherical-aberration imaging technique. Ab initio modelling confirms the polar bi-stable nature of the walls. Ferroelectric antiphase boundaries could make high-density non-volatile memory; in comparison with the magnetic domain wall memory, they do not require current for operation and are an order of magnitude thinner. PMID:24398704

Photodrive of magnetic bubbles via magnetoelastic waves

PubMed Central

Ogawa, Naoki; Koshibae, Wataru; Beekman, Aron Jonathan; Nagaosa, Naoto; Kubota, Masashi; Kawasaki, Masashi; Tokura, Yoshinori

2015-01-01

Precise control of magnetic domain walls continues to be a central topic in the field of spintronics to boost infotech, logic, and memory applications. One way is to drive the domain wall by current in metals. In insulators, the incoherent flow of phonons and magnons induced by the temperature gradient can carry the spins, i.e., spin Seebeck effect, but the spatial and time dependence is difficult to control. Here, we report that coherent phonons hybridized with spin waves, magnetoelastic waves, can drive magnetic bubble domains, or curved domain walls, in an iron garnet, which are excited by ultrafast laser pulses at a nonabsorbing photon energy. These magnetoelastic waves were imaged by time-resolved Faraday microscopy, and the resultant spin transfer force was evaluated to be larger for domain walls with steeper curvature. This will pave a path for the rapid spatiotemporal control of magnetic textures in insulating magnets. PMID:26150487

Photodrive of magnetic bubbles via magnetoelastic waves.

PubMed

Ogawa, Naoki; Koshibae, Wataru; Beekman, Aron Jonathan; Nagaosa, Naoto; Kubota, Masashi; Kawasaki, Masashi; Tokura, Yoshinori

2015-07-21

Precise control of magnetic domain walls continues to be a central topic in the field of spintronics to boost infotech, logic, and memory applications. One way is to drive the domain wall by current in metals. In insulators, the incoherent flow of phonons and magnons induced by the temperature gradient can carry the spins, i.e., spin Seebeck effect, but the spatial and time dependence is difficult to control. Here, we report that coherent phonons hybridized with spin waves, magnetoelastic waves, can drive magnetic bubble domains, or curved domain walls, in an iron garnet, which are excited by ultrafast laser pulses at a nonabsorbing photon energy. These magnetoelastic waves were imaged by time-resolved Faraday microscopy, and the resultant spin transfer force was evaluated to be larger for domain walls with steeper curvature. This will pave a path for the rapid spatiotemporal control of magnetic textures in insulating magnets.

Enhanced spin transfer torque effect for transverse domain walls in cylindrical nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franchin, Matteo; Knittel, Andreas; Albert, Maximilian; Chernyshenko, Dmitri S.; Fischbacher, Thomas; Prabhakar, Anil; Fangohr, Hans

2011-09-01

Recent studies have predicted extraordinary properties for transverse domain walls in cylindrical nanowires: zero depinning current, the absence of the Walker breakdown, and applications as domain wall oscillators. In order to reliably control the domain wall motion, it is important to understand how they interact with pinning centers, which may be engineered, for example, through modulations in the nanowire geometry (such as notches or extrusions) or in the magnetic properties of the material. In this paper we study the motion and depinning of transverse domain walls through pinning centers in ferromagnetic cylindrical nanowires. We use (i) magnetic fields and (ii) spin-polarized currents to drive the domain walls along the wire. The pinning centers are modelled as a section of the nanowire which exhibits a uniaxial crystal anisotropy where the anisotropy easy axis and the wire axis enclose a variable angle θP. Using (i) magnetic fields, we find that the minimum and the maximum fields required to push the domain wall through the pinning center differ by 30%. On the contrary, using (ii) spin-polarized currents, we find variations of a factor 130 between the minimum value of the depinning current density (observed for θP=0∘, i.e., anisotropy axis pointing parallel to the wire axis) and the maximum value (for θP=90∘, i.e., anisotropy axis perpendicular to the wire axis). We study the depinning current density as a function of the height of the energy barrier of the pinning center using numerical and analytical methods. We find that for an industry standard energy barrier of 40kBT, a depinning current of about 5μA (corresponding to a current density of 6×1010A/m2 in a nanowire of 10nm diameter) is sufficient to depin the domain wall. We reveal and explain the mechanism that leads to these unusually low depinning currents. One requirement for this depinning mechanism is for the domain wall to be able to rotate around its own axis. With the right barrier design, the spin torque transfer term is acting exactly against the damping in the micromagnetic system, and thus the low current density is sufficient to accumulate enough energy quickly. These key insights may be crucial in furthering the development of novel memory technologies, such as the racetrack memory, that can be controlled through low current densities.

Localization of Stable and Chaotic Nonpropagating Structures in Nonlinear Mesoscopic Lattices.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenfield, Alan Barry

Recent developments in the study of non-linear localized states, especially non-propagating ones, are outlined. Theoretical models of linear and nonlinear states in a lattice of coupled pendulums and related systems are reviewed. Particular attention is paid to those states which can be described by the Nonlinear Schrodinger equation as well as states where two modes can coexist and states exhibiting chaos. Measurement of localized stable and chaotic states in a 35 site physical pendulum lattice is reported. Various measurement techniques that were used are explained. States that were measured include the tanh profile or kink soliton, and the corresponding uniform state in the wavelength 2 mode, a similar soliton and uniform state in the wavelength 4 mode, a domain wall between the wavelength 2 and 4 modes and a domain wall between a chaotic state and the wavelength 2 mode. Amplitude profiles were measured for the stable kink and domain wall states and smooth curves were obtained by dividing the kink states by the corresponding uniform states. Return maps were measured for two sites in the chaotic domain wall. Simulation of a chaotic domain wall in a 50 site numerical lattice is reported. This system has the advantage that its parameters can be modified much more easily than those of the physical lattice. An attempt is made at quantifying the level of chaos as a function of lattice site with fractal dimension calculations on return maps embedded in a three dimensional space. The drive plane of the chaotic domain wall is mapped out in the drive amplitude - drive frequency plane. Transitions to various stable and quasiperiodic domain walls are noted.

Subspace-based optimization method for inverse scattering problems with an inhomogeneous background medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xudong

2010-07-01

This paper proposes a version of the subspace-based optimization method to solve the inverse scattering problem with an inhomogeneous background medium where the known inhomogeneities are bounded in a finite domain. Although the background Green's function at each discrete point in the computational domain is not directly available in an inhomogeneous background scenario, the paper uses the finite element method to simultaneously obtain the Green's function at all discrete points. The essence of the subspace-based optimization method is that part of the contrast source is determined from the spectrum analysis without using any optimization, whereas the orthogonally complementary part is determined by solving a lower dimension optimization problem. This feature significantly speeds up the convergence of the algorithm and at the same time makes it robust against noise. Numerical simulations illustrate the efficacy of the proposed algorithm. The algorithm presented in this paper finds wide applications in nondestructive evaluation, such as through-wall imaging.

Geometrical Dependence of Domain-Wall Propagation and Nucleation Fields in Magnetic-Domain-Wall Sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borie, B.; Kehlberger, A.; Wahrhusen, J.; Grimm, H.; Kläui, M.

2017-08-01

We study the key domain-wall properties in segmented nanowire loop-based structures used in domain-wall-based sensors. The two reasons for device failure, namely, distribution of the domain-wall propagation field (depinning) and the nucleation field are determined with magneto-optical Kerr effect and giant-magnetoresistance (GMR) measurements for thousands of elements to obtain significant statistics. Single layers of Ni81 Fe19 , a complete GMR stack with Co90 Fe10 /Ni81Fe19 as a free layer, and a single layer of Co90 Fe10 are deposited and industrially patterned to determine the influence of the shape anisotropy, the magnetocrystalline anisotropy, and the fabrication processes. We show that the propagation field is influenced only slightly by the geometry but significantly by material parameters. Simulations for a realistic wire shape yield a curling-mode type of magnetization configuration close to the nucleation field. Nonetheless, we find that the domain-wall nucleation fields can be described by a typical Stoner-Wohlfarth model related to the measured geometrical parameters of the wires and fitted by considering the process parameters. The GMR effect is subsequently measured in a substantial number of devices (3000) in order to accurately gauge the variation between devices. This measurement scheme reveals a corrected upper limit to the nucleation fields of the sensors that can be exploited for fast characterization of the working elements.

Wall of fundamental constants

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Olive, Keith A.; School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455; Peloso, Marco

2011-02-15

We consider the signatures of a domain wall produced in the spontaneous symmetry breaking involving a dilatonlike scalar field coupled to electromagnetism. Domains on either side of the wall exhibit slight differences in their respective values of the fine-structure constant, {alpha}. If such a wall is present within our Hubble volume, absorption spectra at large redshifts may or may not provide a variation in {alpha} relative to the terrestrial value, depending on our relative position with respect to the wall. This wall could resolve the contradiction between claims of a variation of {alpha} based on Keck/Hires data and of themore » constancy of {alpha} based on Very Large Telescope data. We derive the properties of the wall and the parameters of the underlying microscopic model required to reproduce the possible spatial variation of {alpha}. We discuss the constraints on the existence of the low-energy domain wall and describe its observational implications concerning the variation of the fundamental constants.« less

Walls, anomalies, and deconfinement in quantum antiferromagnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Komargodski, Zohar; Sulejmanpasic, Tin; Ünsal, Mithat

2018-02-01

We consider the Abelian-Higgs model in 2 +1 dimensions with instanton-monopole defects. This model is closely related to the phases of quantum antiferromagnets. In the presence of Z2 preserving monopole operators, there are two confining ground states in the monopole phase, corresponding to the valence bond solid (VBS) phase of quantum magnets. We show that the domain wall carries a 't Hooft anomaly in this case. The anomaly can be saturated by, e.g., charge-conjugation breaking on the wall or by the domain wall theory becoming gapless (a gapless model that saturates the anomaly is S U (2) 1 WZW). Either way the fundamental scalar particles (i.e., spinons) which are confined in the bulk are deconfined on the domain wall. This Z2 phase can be realized either with spin-1/2 on a rectangular lattice or spin-1 on a square lattice. In both cases the domain wall contains spin-1/2 particles (which are absent in the bulk). We discuss the possible relation to recent lattice simulations of domain walls in VBS. We further generalize the discussion to Abrikosov-Nielsen-Olsen (ANO) vortices in a dual superconductor of the Abelian-Higgs model in 3 +1 dimensions and to the easy-plane limit of antiferromagnets. In the latter case the wall can undergo a variant of the BKT transition (consistent with the anomalies) while the bulk is still gapped. The same is true for the easy-axis limit of antiferromagnets. We also touch upon some analogies to Yang-Mills theory.

Cross-tie walls and magnetic singularities on the surface of permalloy films (abstract)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Y.; Kueny, A.; Koymen, A. R.

1997-04-01

An understanding of the surface magnetic microstructure of thin polycrystalline permalloy films is important for the development of improved magnetoresistive sensors. Scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis (SEMPA) was used to image the surface magnetic domain structure of permalloy films in ultrahigh vacuum. The SEMPA system uses a compact Mott electron spin polarimeter with a Th foil (operating at 25 keV) that has been attached to the back of a hemispherical energy analyzer. Two orthogonal in-plane components of the electron spin polarization were measured to obtain magnetic domain images with excellent contrast. 350 Å Ni83Fe17 films, deposited by Honeywell-Micro Switch using dc magnetron sputtering, were studied. The samples were demagnetized along the easy axis by an ac magnetic field with decreasing amplitude. Using SEMPA, zigzag domain walls separating two large approximately head-on domains were observed. Cross-tie walls were observed with a periodic vortex structure along the straight edges of the zigzag domain walls. The cross-tie walls occur at the points where the magnetization is reversed by 180° across the straight edges of the wall. At high magnification, the elliptical and hyperbolic singularities at the cross-tie walls were clearly observed. In addition, the Néel part and the Bloch part of the cross-tie were distinguished This is a detailed study of cross-tie walls on sputter deposited thin permalloy films using SEMPA and our results are in good agreement with theoretical calculations.

The Most Abundant Glycoprotein of Amebic Cyst Walls (Jacob) Is a Lectin with Five Cys-Rich, Chitin-Binding Domains

PubMed Central

Frisardi, Marta; Ghosh, Sudip K.; Field, Jessica; Van Dellen, Katrina; Rogers, Rick; Robbins, Phillips; Samuelson, John

2000-01-01

The infectious stage of amebae is the chitin-walled cyst, which is resistant to stomach acids. In this study an extraordinarily abundant, encystation-specific glycoprotein (Jacob) was identified on two-dimensional protein gels of cyst walls purified from Entamoeba invadens. Jacob, which was acidic and had an apparent molecular mass of ∼100 kDa, contained sugars that bound to concanavalin A and ricin. The jacob gene encoded a 45-kDa protein with a ladder-like series of five Cys-rich domains. These Cys-rich domains were reminiscent of but not homologous to the Cys-rich chitin-binding domains of insect chitinases and peritrophic matrix proteins that surround the food bolus in the insect gut. Jacob bound purified chitin and chitin remaining in sodium dodecyl sulfate-treated cyst walls. Conversely, the E. histolytica plasma membrane Gal/GalNAc lectin bound sugars of intact cyst walls and purified Jacob. In the presence of galactose, E. invadens formed wall-less cysts, which were quadranucleate and contained Jacob and chitinase (another encystation-specific protein) in secretory vesicles. A galactose lectin was found to be present on the surface of wall-less cysts, which phagocytosed bacteria and mucin-coated beads. These results suggest that the E. invadens cyst wall forms when the plasma membrane galactose lectin binds sugars on Jacob, which in turn binds chitin via its five chitin-binding domains. PMID:10858239

Magnetic force microscopy studies in bulk polycrystalline iron

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abuthahir, J.; Kumar, Anish

2018-02-01

The paper presents magnetic force microscopy (MFM) studies on the effect of crystallographic orientation and external magnetic field on magnetic microstructure in a bulk polycrystalline iron specimen. The magneto crystalline anisotropic effect on the domain structure is characterized with the support of electron backscatter diffraction study. The distinct variations in magnetic domain structure are observed based on the crystallographic orientation of the grain surface normal with respect to the cube axis i.e. the easy axis of magnetization. Further, the local magnetization behavior is studied in-situ by MFM in presence of external magnetic field in the range of -2000 to 2000 Oe. Various micro-magnetization phenomena such as reversible and irreversible domain wall movements, expansion and contraction of domains, Barkhausen jump, bowing of a pinned domain wall and nucleation of a spike domain are visualized. The respective changes in the magnetic microstructure are compared with the bulk magnetization obtained using vibrating sample magnetometer. Bowing of a domain wall, pinned at two points, upon application of magnetic field is used to estimate the domain wall energy density. The MFM studies in presence of external field applied in two perpendicular directions are used to reveal the influence of the crystalline anisotropy on the local micro-magnetization.

Domain topology and domain switching kinetics in a hybrid improper ferroelectric

PubMed Central

Huang, F. -T.; Xue, F.; Gao, B.; Wang, L. H.; Luo, X.; Cai, W.; Lu, X. -Z.; Rondinelli, J. M.; Chen, L. Q.; Cheong, S. -W.

2016-01-01

Charged polar interfaces such as charged ferroelectric walls or heterostructured interfaces of ZnO/(Zn,Mg)O and LaAlO3/SrTiO3, across which the normal component of electric polarization changes suddenly, can host large two-dimensional conduction. Charged ferroelectric walls, which are energetically unfavourable in general, were found to be mysteriously abundant in hybrid improper ferroelectric (Ca,Sr)3Ti2O7 crystals. From the exploration of antiphase boundaries in bilayer-perovskites, here we discover that each of four polarization-direction states is degenerate with two antiphase domains, and these eight structural variants form a Z4 × Z2 domain structure with Z3 vortices and five distinct types of domain walls, whose topology is directly relevant to the presence of abundant charged walls. We also discover a zipper-like nature of antiphase boundaries, which are the reversible creation/annihilation centres of pairs of two types of ferroelectric walls (and also Z3-vortex pairs) in 90° and 180° polarization switching. Our results demonstrate the unexpectedly rich nature of hybrid improper ferroelectricity. PMID:27215944

Enhancement of exchange bias in ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic core-shell nanoparticles through ferromagnetic domain wall formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Rui; Ding, Shilei; Lai, Youfang; Tian, Guang; Yang, Jinbo

2018-01-01

The spin configuration in the ferromagnetic part during the magnetization reversal plays a crucial role in the exchange bias effect. Through Monte Carlo simulation, the exchange bias effect in ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic core-shell nanoparticles is investigated. Magnetization reversals in the ferromagnetic core were controlled between the coherent rotation and the domain wall motion by modulating the ferromagnetic domain wall width with parameters of uniaxial anisotropy constant and exchange coupling strength. An anomalous monotonic dependence of exchange bias on the uniaxial anisotropy constant is found in systems with small exchange coupling, showing an obvious violation of classic Meiklejohn-Bean model, while domain walls are found to form close to the interface and propagate in the ferromagnetic core with larger uniaxial anisotropy in both branches of the hysteresis. The asymmetric magnetization reversal with the formation of a spherical domain wall dramatically reduces the coercive field in the ascending branch, leading to the enhancement of the exchange bias. The results provide another degree of freedom to optimize the magnetic properties of magnetic nanoparticles for applications.

Textural domain walls in superfluid 3He-B

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mizushima, Takeshi

Owing to the richness of symmetry, the superfluid 3He serves as a rich repository of topological quantum phenomena. This includes the emergence of surface Majorana fermions and their quantum mass acquisition at the topological critical point. Furthermore, the marriage of the prototype topological superfluid with nanofabrication techniques brings about a rich variety of spontaneous symmetry breaking, such as the formation of the stripe order and nontrivial domain walls. In this work, we examine the possible formation of textural domain walls in the superfluid 3He-B confined to a thin slab with a sub-micron thickness. When an applied magnetic field is much higher than the dipolar field, two nearly degenerate ground states appear, which are characterized by the Ising order associated with the spontaneous breaking of a magnetic order-two symmetry, lcirc;z = + 1 and - 1 . We here discuss the structure of the textural domain wall formed by the spatial modulation of the Ising order, such as low-lying quasiparticle excitations and spontaneous spin current. We also report bosonic modes bound to the textural domain wall.

Evolution of domain walls in the early universe. Ph.D. Thesis - Chicago Univ.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kawano, Lawrence

1989-01-01

The evolution of domain walls in the early universe is studied via 2-D computer simulation. The walls are initially configured on a triangular lattice and then released from the lattice, their evolution driven by wall curvature and by the universal expansion. The walls attain an average velocity of about 0.3c and their surface area per volume (as measured in comoving coordinates) goes down with a slope of -1 with respect to conformal time, regardless of whether the universe is matter or radiation dominated. The additional influence of vacuum pressure causes the energy density to fall away from this slope and steepen, thus allowing a situation in which domain walls can constitute a significant portion of the energy density of the universe without provoking an unacceptably large perturbation upon the microwave background.

Is the great attractor really a great wall

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stebbins, Albert; Turner, Michael S.

1988-01-01

Some of the cosmological consequences are discussed of a late time phase transition which produces light domain walls. The observed peculiar velocity field of the Universe and the observed isotropy of the microwave background radiation severely constrain the wall surface density in such a scenario. The most interesting consequence of such a phase transition is the possibility that the local, coherent streaming motion reported by the Seven Samurai could be explained by the repulsive effect of a relic domain wall with the Hubble volume (the Great Wall).

Controlling depinning and propagation of single domain-walls in magnetic microwires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiménez, Alejandro; del Real, Rafael P.; Vázquez, Manuel

2013-03-01

The magnetization reversal in magnetostrictive amorphous microwires takes place by depinning and propagation of a single domain wall. This is a consequence of the particular domain structure determined by the strong uniaxial anisotropy from the reinforcement of magnetoelastic and shape contributions. In the present study, after an overview on the current state-of-the art on the topic, we introduce the general behaviour of single walls in 30 to 40 cm long Fe-base microwires propagating under homogeneous field. Depending on the way the walls are generated, we distinguish among three different walls namely, standard wall, DWst, depinned and propagating from the wire's end under homogeneous field which motion is the first one to switch on; reverse wall, DWrev, propagating from the opposite end under non-homogeneous field, and defect wall, DWdef, nucleated around local defect. Both, DWrev and DWdef are observed only under large enough applied field. In the subsequent section, we study the propagation of a wall under applied field smaller than the switching field. There, we conclude that a minimum field, Hdep,0, is needed to depin the DWst, as well as that a minimum field, Hprop,0, is required for the wall to propagate long distances. In the last section, we analyse the shape of induced signals in the pickup coils upon the crossing of the walls and its correlation to the domain walls shape. We conclude that length and shape of the wall are significantly distorted by the fact that the wall is typically as long as the measuring coils. Contribution to the Topical Issue "New Trends in Magnetism and Magnetic Materials", edited by Francesca Casoli, Massimo Solzi and Paola Tiberto.

Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking of Domain Walls in Phase-Competing Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishizuka, Hiroaki; Yamada, Yasusada; Nagaosa, Naoto

2018-05-01

In this study, we investigate the nature of domain walls in an ordered phase in the phase-competing region of two Ising-type order parameters. We consider a two-component ϕ4 theory and show that the domain wall of the ground-state (primary) order parameter shows a second-order phase transition associated with the secondary order parameter of the competing phase; the effective theory of the phase transition is given by the Landau theory of an Ising-type phase transition. We find that the phase boundary of this phase transition is different from the spinodal line of the competing order. The phase transition is detected experimentally by the divergence of the susceptibility corresponding to the secondary order when the temperature is quenched to introduce the domain walls.

Mapping the Landscape of Domain-Wall Pinning in Ferromagnetic Films Using Differential Magneto-Optical Microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Badea, Robert; Berezovsky, Jesse

2016-06-01

The propagation of domain walls in a ferromagnetic film is largely determined by domain-wall pinning at defects in the material. In this article, we map the effective potential landscape for domain-wall pinning in permalloy films by raster scanning a single ferromagnetic vortex and monitoring the hysteretic vortex displacement vs applied magnetic field. The measurement is carried out using a differential magneto-optical microscopy technique which yields spatial sensitivity of approximately 10 nm. We present a simple algorithm for extracting an effective pinning potential from the measurement of vortex displacement vs applied field. The resulting maps of the pinning potential reveal distinct types of pinning sites, which we attribute to quasi-zero-, one-, and two-dimensional defects in the permalloy film.

The effects of the structure characteristics on Magnetic Barkhausen noise in commercial steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Yu; Li, Zhe; Chen, Juan; Qi, Xin

2018-04-01

This study has been done by separately measuring Magnetic Barkhausen noise (MBN) under different structure characteristics, namely the carbon content, hardness, roughness, and elastic modulus in commercial steels. The result of the experiments shows a strong dependence of MBN parameters (peak height, Root mean square (RMS), and average value) on structure characteristics. These effects, according to this study, can be explained by two kinds of source mechanisms of the MBN, domain wall nucleation and wall propagation. The discovery obtained in this paper can provide basic knowledge to understand the existing surface condition problem of Magnetic Barkhausen noise as a non-destructive evaluation technique and bring MBN into wider application.

Mining data from hemodynamic simulations for generating prediction and explanation models.

PubMed

Bosnić, Zoran; Vračar, Petar; Radović, Milos D; Devedžić, Goran; Filipović, Nenad D; Kononenko, Igor

2012-03-01

One of the most common causes of human death is stroke, which can be caused by carotid bifurcation stenosis. In our work, we aim at proposing a prototype of a medical expert system that could significantly aid medical experts to detect hemodynamic abnormalities (increased artery wall shear stress). Based on the acquired simulated data, we apply several methodologies for1) predicting magnitudes and locations of maximum wall shear stress in the artery, 2) estimating reliability of computed predictions, and 3) providing user-friendly explanation of the model's decision. The obtained results indicate that the evaluated methodologies can provide a useful tool for the given problem domain. © 2012 IEEE

Characteristic microwave background distortions from collapsing domain wall bubbles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goetz, Guenter; Noetzold, Dirk

1990-01-01

The magnitude and angular pattern of distortions of the microwave background are analyzed by collapsing spherical domain walls. A characteristic pattern of redshift distortions of red or blue spikes surrounded by blue discs was found. The width and height of a spike is related to the diameter and magnitude of the disc. A measurement of the relations between these quantities thus can serve as an unambiguous indicator for a collapsing spherical domain wall. From the redshift distortion in the blue discs an upper bound was found on the surface energy density of the walls sigma is less than or approximately 8 MeV cubed.

Gapped fermionic spectrum from a domain wall in seven dimension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukhopadhyay, Subir; Rai, Nishal

2018-05-01

We obtain a domain wall solution in maximally gauged seven dimensional supergravity, which interpolates between two AdS spaces and spontaneously breaks a U (1) symmetry. We analyse frequency dependence of conductivity and find power law behaviour at low frequency. We consider certain fermions of supergravity in the background of this domain wall and compute holographic spectral function of the operators in the dual six dimensional theory. We find fermionic operators involving bosons with non-zero expectation value lead to gapped spectrum.

Tachyon condensation due to domain-wall annihilation in Bose-Einstein condensates.

PubMed

Takeuchi, Hiromitsu; Kasamatsu, Kenichi; Tsubota, Makoto; Nitta, Muneto

2012-12-14

We show theoretically that a domain-wall annihilation in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates causes tachyon condensation accompanied by spontaneous symmetry breaking in a two-dimensional subspace. Three-dimensional vortex formation from domain-wall annihilations is considered a kink formation in subspace. Numerical experiments reveal that the subspatial dynamics obey the dynamic scaling law of phase-ordering kinetics. This model is experimentally feasible and provides insights into how the extra dimensions influence subspatial phase transition in higher-dimensional space.

Characteristic microwave-background distortions from collapsing spherical domain walls

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goetz, Guenter; Notzold, Dirk

1990-01-01

The redshift distortion induced by collapsing spherical domain walls is calculated. The most frequent microwave background distortions are found to occur at large angles in the form of blue disks. This is the angular region currently measured by the COBE satellite. COBE could therefore detect signals predicted here for domain walls with surface energy density of the order of MeV. Such values for sigma are proposed in the late-time phase-transition scenario of Hill et al. (1989).

Phase separation in the six-vertex model with a variety of boundary conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyberg, I.; Korepin, V.; Ribeiro, G. A. P.; Viti, J.

2018-05-01

We present numerical results for the six-vertex model with a variety of boundary conditions. Adapting an algorithm for domain wall boundary conditions, proposed in the work of Allison and Reshetikhin [Ann. Inst. Fourier 55(6), 1847-1869 (2005)], we examine some modifications of these boundary conditions. To be precise, we discuss partial domain wall boundary conditions, reflecting ends, and half turn boundary conditions (domain wall boundary conditions with half turn symmetry). Dedicated to the memory of Ludwig Faddeev

Conduction at domain walls in insulating Pb(Zr0.2 Ti0.8)O3 thin films.

PubMed

Guyonnet, Jill; Gaponenko, Iaroslav; Gariglio, Stefano; Paruch, Patrycja

2011-12-01

Domain wall conduction in insulating Pb(Zr(0.2) Ti(0.8))O(3) thin films is demonstrated. The observed electrical conduction currents can be clearly differentiated from displacement currents associated with ferroelectric polarization switching. The domain wall conduction, nonlinear and highly asymmetric due to the specific local probe measurement geometry, shows thermal activation at high temperatures, and high stability over time. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Anomaly inflow on QCD axial domain-walls and vortices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukushima, Kenji; Imaki, Shota

2018-06-01

We study the chiral effective theory in the presence of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) vortices. Gauge invariance requires novel terms from vortex singularities in the gauged Wess-Zumino-Witten action, which incorporate anomaly-induced currents along the vortices. We examine these terms for systems with QCD axial domain-walls bounded by vortices (vortons) under magnetic fields. We discuss how the baryon and electric charge conservations are satisfied in these systems through interplay between domain-walls and vortices, manifesting Callan-Harvey's mechanism of anomaly inflow.

Magnetic domain pattern asymmetry in (Ga, Mn)As/(Ga,In)As with in-plane anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herrera Diez, L.; Rapp, C.; Schoch, W.; Limmer, W.; Gourdon, C.; Jeudy, V.; Honolka, J.; Kern, K.

2012-04-01

Appropriate adjustment of the tensile strain in (Ga, Mn)As/(Ga,In)As films allows for the coexistence of in-plane magnetic anisotropy, typical of compressively strained (Ga, Mn)As/GaAs films, and the so-called cross-hatch dislocation pattern seeded at the (Ga,In)As/GaAs interface. Kerr microscopy reveals a close correlation between the in-plane magnetic domain and dislocation patterns, absent in compressively strained materials. Moreover, the magnetic domain pattern presents a strong asymmetry in the size and number of domains for applied fields along the easy [11¯0] and hard [110] directions which is attributed to different domain wall nucleation/propagation energies. This strong influence of the dislocation lines in the domain wall propagation/nucleation provides a lithography-free route to the effective trapping of domain walls in magneto-transport devices based on (Ga, Mn)As with in-plane anisotropy.

Manipulation of a Nuclear Spin by a Magnetic Domain Wall in a Quantum Hall Ferromagnet.

PubMed

Korkusinski, M; Hawrylak, P; Liu, H W; Hirayama, Y

2017-03-06

The manipulation of a nuclear spin by an electron spin requires the energy to flip the electron spin to be vanishingly small. This can be realized in a many electron system with degenerate ground states of opposite spin polarization in different Landau levels. We present here a microscopic theory of a domain wall between spin unpolarized and spin polarized quantum Hall ferromagnet states at filling factor two with the Zeeman energy comparable to the cyclotron energy. We determine the energies and many-body wave functions of the electronic quantum Hall droplet with up to N = 80 electrons as a function of the total spin, angular momentum, cyclotron and Zeeman energies from the spin singlet ν = 2 phase, through an intermediate polarization state exhibiting a domain wall to the fully spin-polarized phase involving the lowest and the second Landau levels. We demonstrate that the energy needed to flip one electron spin in a domain wall becomes comparable to the energy needed to flip the nuclear spin. The orthogonality of orbital electronic states is overcome by the many-electron character of the domain - the movement of the domain wall relative to the position of the nuclear spin enables the manipulation of the nuclear spin by electrical means.

Manipulation of a Nuclear Spin by a Magnetic Domain Wall in a Quantum Hall Ferromagnet

PubMed Central

Korkusinski, M.; Hawrylak, P.; Liu, H. W.; Hirayama, Y.

2017-01-01

The manipulation of a nuclear spin by an electron spin requires the energy to flip the electron spin to be vanishingly small. This can be realized in a many electron system with degenerate ground states of opposite spin polarization in different Landau levels. We present here a microscopic theory of a domain wall between spin unpolarized and spin polarized quantum Hall ferromagnet states at filling factor two with the Zeeman energy comparable to the cyclotron energy. We determine the energies and many-body wave functions of the electronic quantum Hall droplet with up to N = 80 electrons as a function of the total spin, angular momentum, cyclotron and Zeeman energies from the spin singlet ν = 2 phase, through an intermediate polarization state exhibiting a domain wall to the fully spin-polarized phase involving the lowest and the second Landau levels. We demonstrate that the energy needed to flip one electron spin in a domain wall becomes comparable to the energy needed to flip the nuclear spin. The orthogonality of orbital electronic states is overcome by the many-electron character of the domain - the movement of the domain wall relative to the position of the nuclear spin enables the manipulation of the nuclear spin by electrical means. PMID:28262758

Intrinsic domain wall flexing from current-induced spin torque

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golovatski, Elizabeth; Flatté, Michael

2012-02-01

Spin torque generated by coherent carrier transport in domain walls [1] is a major component in the development of spintronic devices [2]. We model spin torque in N'eel walls [3] using a piecewise linear transfer-matrix method [4] to calculate spin torque on interior wall segments. For a π wall with a total positive torque (current left-to-right), we find the largest positive and negative spin torques left of the central region, 4-5 orders of magnitude larger than the center. The wall's rightward push comes from the back of the wall; all other significant regions pull to the left. Adding a second wall (both walls with positive total torque) changes the first wall little, but produces spin torques in the second wall with large canceling torques on the left, and the push rightward from a smaller torque on the right. The gradient of torque across the wall generates an intrinsic domain wall flexing (distinct from extrinsic wall flexing from pinning centers [5]). Work supported by an ARO MURI.[4pt] [1] M. Yamanouchi et al., Nature 428, 539 (2004).[0pt] [2] S. Parkin et al., Science 320, 190 (2008)[0pt] [3] G. Vignale and M. Flatt'e, Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 098302 (2002)[0pt] [4] E. Golovatski and M. Flatt'e, Phys. Rev. B, 84, 115210 (2011)[0pt] [5] A. Balk et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 077205 (2011).

A numerical method for the dynamics of non-spherical cavitation bubbles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lucca, G.; Prosperetti, A.

1982-01-01

A boundary integral numerical method for the dynamics of nonspherical cavitation bubbles in inviscid incompressible liquids is described. Only surface values of the velocity potential and its first derivatives are involved. The problem of solving the Laplace equation in the entire domain occupied by the liquid is thus avoided. The collapse of a bubble in the vicinity of a solid wall and the collapse of three bubbles with collinear centers are considered.

Depinning of the transverse domain wall trapped at magnetic impurities patterned in planar nanowires: Control of the wall motion using low-intensity and short-duration current pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paixão, E. L. M.; Toscano, D.; Gomes, J. C. S.; Monteiro, M. G.; Sato, F.; Leonel, S. A.; Coura, P. Z.

2018-04-01

Understanding and controlling of domain wall motion in magnetic nanowires is extremely important for the development and production of many spintronic devices. It is well known that notches are able to pin domain walls, but their pinning potential strength are too strong and it demands high-intensity current pulses to achieve wall depinning in magnetic nanowires. However, traps of pinning can be also originated from magnetic impurities, consisting of located variations of the nanowire's magnetic properties, such as exchange stiffness constant, saturation magnetization, anisotropy constant, damping parameter, and so on. In this work, we have performed micromagnetic simulations to investigate the depinning mechanism of a transverse domain wall (TDW) trapped at an artificial magnetic defect using spin-polarized current pulses. In order to create pinning traps, a simplified magnetic impurity model, only based on a local reduction of the exchange stiffness constant, have been considered. In order to provide a background for experimental studies, we have varied the parameter related to the pinning potential strength of the magnetic impurity. By adjusting the pinning potential of magnetic impurities and choosing simultaneously a suitable current pulse, we have found that it is possible to obtain domain wall depinning by applying low-intensity and short-duration current pulses. Furthermore, it was considered a planar magnetic nanowire containing a linear distribution of equally-spaced magnetic impurities and we have demonstrated the position control of a single TDW by applying sequential current pulses; that means the wall movement from an impurity to another.

Magnetic properties, domain-wall creep motion, and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in Pt/Co/Ir thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shepley, Philippa M.; Tunnicliffe, Harry; Shahbazi, Kowsar; Burnell, Gavin; Moore, Thomas A.

2018-04-01

We study the magnetic properties of perpendicularly magnetized Pt/Co/Ir thin films and investigate the domain-wall creep method of determining the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction in ultrathin films. Measurements of the Co layer thickness dependence of saturation magnetization, perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, and symmetric and antisymmetric (i.e., DM) exchange energies in Pt/Co/Ir thin films have been made to determine the relationship between these properties. We discuss the measurement of the DM interaction by the expansion of a reverse domain in the domain-wall creep regime. We show how the creep parameters behave as a function of in-plane bias field and discuss the effects of domain-wall roughness on the measurement of the DM interaction by domain expansion. Whereas modifications to the creep law with DM field and in-plane bias fields have taken into account changes in the energy barrier scaling parameter α , we find that both α and the velocity scaling parameter v0 change as a function of in-plane bias field.

Dynamical properties of epitaxial ferroelectric superlattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Y.; Gerhardt, R. A.; Erbil, A.

1997-04-01

The dynamical properties of epitaxial ferroelectric heterostructures have been investigated by studying the dielectric behavior under external electric field. A phenomenon with a giant permittivity was observed. At low frequencies, real permittivities as high as 420 000 have been measured. Real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant show large dispersion at high frequencies. In dc measurements, a nonlinear resistance is observed with a well-defined threshold field, correlating with the dc bias-field dependence of ac permittivities. We model these observations as a result of the motion of pinned domain-wall lattices, having sliding-mode motion at high electric fields. The good agreement between the experimental and theoretical results suggests that the deposited interdigitated electrode pattern plays a crucial role in controlling domain-wall dynamics. The pinning of the domain wall comes from a nucleation barrier to the creation of new domain walls.

Displacement Current in Domain Walls of Bismuth Ferrite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prosandeev, Sergey; Yang, Yurong; Paillard, Charles; Bellaiche, L.

2018-03-01

In 1861, Maxwell conceived the idea of the displacement current, which then made laws of electrodynamics more complete and also resulted in the realization of devices exploiting such displacement current. Interestingly, it is presently unknown if such displacement current can result in large intrinsic ac current in ferroic systems possessing domains, despite the flurry of recent activities that have been devoted to domains and their corresponding conductivity in these compounds. Here, we report first-principles-based atomistic simulations that predict that the transverse (polarization-related) displacement currents of 71° and 109° domains in the prototypical BiFeO3 multiferroic material are significant at the walls of such domains and in the GHz regime, and, in fact, result in currents that are at least of the same order of magnitude than previously reported dc currents (that are likely extrinsic in nature and due to electrons). Such large, localized and intrinsic ac currents are found to originate from low-frequency vibrations at the domain walls, and may open the door to the design of novel devices functioning in the GHz or THz range and in which currents would be confined within the domain wall.

Domain pinning near a single-grain boundary in tetragonal and rhombohedral lead zirconate titanate films

DOE PAGES

Marincel, Dan M.; Zhang, H. R.; Briston, J.; ...

2015-04-27

The interaction of grain boundaries with ferroelectric domain walls strongly influences the extrinsic contribution to piezoelectric activity in Pb(Zr,Ti)O 3 (PZT), ubiquitous in modern transducers and actuators. However, the fundamental understanding of these phenomena has been limited by complex mechanisms originating from the interplay of atomic-level domain wall pinning, collective domain wall dynamics, and emergent mesoscopic behavior. This contribution utilizes engineered grain boundaries created by depositing epitaxial PZT films with various Zr:Ti ratio onto 24º SrTiO 3 tilt bicrystals. The nonlinear piezoelectric response and surface domain structure across the boundary are investigated using piezoresponse force microscopy whilst cross section domainmore » structure is studied using transmission electron microscopy. The grain boundary reduces domain wall motion over a width of 800±70 nm for PZT 45:55 and 450±30 nm for PZT 52:48. Phase field modeling provides an understanding of the elastic and electric fields associated with the grain boundary and local domain configurations. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that complex mesoscopic behaviors can be explored to complement atomic-level pictures of the material system.« less

Application of the method of lines for solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations using a nonuniform grid distribution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abolhassani, J. S.; Tiwari, S. N.

1983-01-01

The feasibility of the method of lines for solutions of physical problems requiring nonuniform grid distributions is investigated. To attain this, it is also necessary to investigate the stiffness characteristics of the pertinent equations. For specific applications, the governing equations considered are those for viscous, incompressible, two dimensional and axisymmetric flows. These equations are transformed from the physical domain having a variable mesh to a computational domain with a uniform mesh. The two governing partial differential equations are the vorticity and stream function equations. The method of lines is used to solve the vorticity equation and the successive over relaxation technique is used to solve the stream function equation. The method is applied to three laminar flow problems: the flow in ducts, curved-wall diffusers, and a driven cavity. Results obtained for different flow conditions are in good agreement with available analytical and numerical solutions. The viability and validity of the method of lines are demonstrated by its application to Navier-Stokes equations in the physical domain having a variable mesh.

Nowa, a novel protein with minicollagen Cys-rich domains, is involved in nematocyst formation in Hydra.

PubMed

Engel, Ulrike; Ozbek, Suat; Streitwolf-Engel, Ruth; Petri, Barbara; Lottspeich, Friedrich; Holstein, Thomas W; Oezbek, Suat; Engel, Ruth

2002-10-15

The novel protein Nowa was identified in nematocysts, explosive organelles of Hydra, jellyfish, corals and other CNIDARIA: Biogenesis of these organelles is complex and involves assembly of proteins inside a post-Golgi vesicle to form a double-layered capsule with a long tubule. Nowa is the major component of the outer wall, which is formed very early in morphogenesis. The high molecular weight glycoprotein has a modular structure with an N-terminal sperm coating glycoprotein domain, a central C-type lectin-like domain, and an eightfold repeated cysteine-rich domain at the C-terminus. Interestingly, the cysteine-rich domains are homologous to the cysteine-rich domains of minicollagens. We have previously shown that the cysteines of these minicollagen cysteine-rich domains undergo an isomerization process from intra- to intermolecular disulfide bonds, which mediates the crosslinking of minicollagens to networks in the inner wall of the capsule. The minicollagen cysteine-rich domains present in both proteins provide a potential link between Nowa in the outer wall and minicollagens in the inner wall. We propose a model for nematocyst formation that integrates cytoskeleton rearrangements around the post-Golgi vesicle and protein assembly inside the vesicle to generate a complex structure that is stabilized by intermolecular disulfide bonds.

Highly mobile ferroelastic domain walls in compositionally graded ferroelectric thin films

DOE PAGES

Damodaran, Anoop; Okatan, M. B.; Kacher, J.; ...

2016-02-15

Domains and domain walls are critical in determining the response of ferroelectrics, and the ability to controllably create, annihilate, or move domains is essential to enable a range of next-generation devices. Whereas electric-field control has been demonstrated for ferroelectric 180° domain walls, similar control of ferroelastic domains has not been achieved. Here, using controlled composition and strain gradients, we demonstrate deterministic control of ferroelastic domains that are rendered highly mobile in a controlled and reversible manner. Through a combination of thin-film growth, transmission-electron-microscopy-based nanobeam diffraction and nanoscale band-excitation switching spectroscopy, we show that strain gradients in compositionally graded PbZr 1-xTimore » xO 3 heterostructures stabilize needle-like ferroelastic domains that terminate inside the film. These needle-like domains are highly labile in the out-of-plane direction under applied electric fields, producing a locally enhanced piezoresponse. This work demonstrates the efficacy of novel modes of epitaxy in providing new modalities of domain engineering and potential for as-yet-unrealized nanoscale functional devices.« less

Highly mobile ferroelastic domain walls in compositionally graded ferroelectric thin films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Damodaran, Anoop; Okatan, M. B.; Kacher, J.

Domains and domain walls are critical in determining the response of ferroelectrics, and the ability to controllably create, annihilate, or move domains is essential to enable a range of next-generation devices. Whereas electric-field control has been demonstrated for ferroelectric 180° domain walls, similar control of ferroelastic domains has not been achieved. Here, using controlled composition and strain gradients, we demonstrate deterministic control of ferroelastic domains that are rendered highly mobile in a controlled and reversible manner. Through a combination of thin-film growth, transmission-electron-microscopy-based nanobeam diffraction and nanoscale band-excitation switching spectroscopy, we show that strain gradients in compositionally graded PbZr 1-xTimore » xO 3 heterostructures stabilize needle-like ferroelastic domains that terminate inside the film. These needle-like domains are highly labile in the out-of-plane direction under applied electric fields, producing a locally enhanced piezoresponse. This work demonstrates the efficacy of novel modes of epitaxy in providing new modalities of domain engineering and potential for as-yet-unrealized nanoscale functional devices.« less

a Proposed Benchmark Problem for Scatter Calculations in Radiographic Modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaenisch, G.-R.; Bellon, C.; Schumm, A.; Tabary, J.; Duvauchelle, Ph.

2009-03-01

Code Validation is a permanent concern in computer modelling, and has been addressed repeatedly in eddy current and ultrasonic modeling. A good benchmark problem is sufficiently simple to be taken into account by various codes without strong requirements on geometry representation capabilities, focuses on few or even a single aspect of the problem at hand to facilitate interpretation and to avoid that compound errors compensate themselves, yields a quantitative result and is experimentally accessible. In this paper we attempt to address code validation for one aspect of radiographic modeling, the scattered radiation prediction. Many NDT applications can not neglect scattered radiation, and the scatter calculation thus is important to faithfully simulate the inspection situation. Our benchmark problem covers the wall thickness range of 10 to 50 mm for single wall inspections, with energies ranging from 100 to 500 keV in the first stage, and up to 1 MeV with wall thicknesses up to 70 mm in the extended stage. A simple plate geometry is sufficient for this purpose, and the scatter data is compared on a photon level, without a film model, which allows for comparisons with reference codes like MCNP. We compare results of three Monte Carlo codes (McRay, Sindbad and Moderato) as well as an analytical first order scattering code (VXI), and confront them to results obtained with MCNP. The comparison with an analytical scatter model provides insights into the application domain where this kind of approach can successfully replace Monte-Carlo calculations.

Current polarity-dependent manipulation of antiferromagnetic domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wadley, Peter; Reimers, Sonka; Grzybowski, Michal J.; Andrews, Carl; Wang, Mu; Chauhan, Jasbinder S.; Gallagher, Bryan L.; Campion, Richard P.; Edmonds, Kevin W.; Dhesi, Sarnjeet S.; Maccherozzi, Francesco; Novak, Vit; Wunderlich, Joerg; Jungwirth, Tomas

2018-05-01

Antiferromagnets have several favourable properties as active elements in spintronic devices, including ultra-fast dynamics, zero stray fields and insensitivity to external magnetic fields1. Tetragonal CuMnAs is a testbed system in which the antiferromagnetic order parameter can be switched reversibly at ambient conditions using electrical currents2. In previous experiments, orthogonal in-plane current pulses were used to induce 90° rotations of antiferromagnetic domains and demonstrate the operation of all-electrical memory bits in a multi-terminal geometry3. Here, we demonstrate that antiferromagnetic domain walls can be manipulated to realize stable and reproducible domain changes using only two electrical contacts. This is achieved by using the polarity of the current to switch the sign of the current-induced effective field acting on the antiferromagnetic sublattices. The resulting reversible domain and domain wall reconfigurations are imaged using X-ray magnetic linear dichroism microscopy, and can also be detected electrically. Switching by domain-wall motion can occur at much lower current densities than those needed for coherent domain switching.

Complex oxide ferroelectrics: Electrostatic doping by domain walls

DOE PAGES

Maksymovych, Petro

2015-06-19

Electrically conducting interfaces can form, rather unexpectedly, by breaking the translational symmetry of electrically insulating complex oxides. For example, a nanometre-thick heteroepitaxial interface between electronically insulating LaAlO 3 and SrTiO 3 supports a 2D electron gas1 with high mobility of >1,000 cm 2 V -1 s -1 (ref. 2). Such interfaces can exhibit magnetism, superconductivity and phase transitions that may form the functional basis of future electronic devices2. A peculiar conducting interface can be created within a polar ferroelectric oxide by breaking the translational symmetry of the ferroelectric order parameter and creating a so-called ferroelectric domain wall (Fig. 1a,b). Ifmore » the direction of atomic displacements changes at the wall in such a way as to create a discontinuity in the polarization component normal to the wall (Fig. 1a), the domain wall becomes electrostatically charged. It may then attract compensating mobile charges of opposite sign produced by dopant ionization, photoexcitation or other effects, thereby locally, electrostatically doping the host ferroelectric film. In contrast to conductive interfaces between epitaxially grown oxides, domain walls can be reversibly created, positioned and shaped by electric fields, enabling reconfigurable circuitry within the same volume of the material. Now, writing in Nature Nanotechnology, Arnaud Crassous and colleagues at EPFL and University of Geneva demonstrate control and stability of charged conducting domain walls in ferroelectric thin films of BiFeO 3 down to the nanoscale.« less

Domain shape instabilities and dendrite domain growth in uniaxial ferroelectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shur, Vladimir Ya.; Akhmatkhanov, Andrey R.

2018-01-01

The effects of domain wall shape instabilities and the formation of nanodomains in front of moving walls obtained in various uniaxial ferroelectrics are discussed. Special attention is paid to the formation of self-assembled nanoscale and dendrite domain structures under highly non-equilibrium switching conditions. All obtained results are considered in the framework of the unified kinetic approach to domain structure evolution based on the analogy with first-order phase transformation. This article is part of the theme issue `From atomistic interfaces to dendritic patterns'.

Melting of Domain Wall in Charge Ordered Dirac Electron of Organic Conductor α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohki, Daigo; Matsuno, Genki; Omori, Yukiko; Kobayashi, Akito

2018-05-01

The origin of charge order melting is identified by using the real space dependent mean-field theory in the extended Hubbard model describing an organic Dirac electron system α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3. In this model, the width of a domain wall which arises between different types of the charge ordered phase exhibits a divergent increase with decreasing the strength of electron-electron correlations. By analyzing the finite-size effect carefully, it is shown that the divergence coincides with a topological transition where a pair of Dirac cones merges in keeping with a finite gap. It is also clarified that the gap opening point and the topological transition point are different, which leads to the existence of an exotic massive Dirac electron phase with melted-type domain wall and gapless edge states. The present result also indicated that multiple metastable states are emerged in massive Dirac Electron phase. In the trivial charge ordered phase, the gapless domain-wall bound state takes place instead of the gapless edge states, accompanying with a form change of the domain wall from melted-type into hyperbolic-tangent-type.

Temperature dependence of the domain wall magneto-Seebeck effect: avoiding artifacts of lead contributions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernández Scarioni, Alexander; Krzysteczko, Patryk; Sievers, Sibylle; Hu, Xiukun; Schumacher, Hans W.

2018-06-01

We study the resistive and thermopower signatures of a single domain wall in a magnetic nanowire in the temperature range from 4 K to 204 K. The results are compared to the anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) and anisotropic magneto-Seebeck (AMS) data of the whole permalloy nanowire. The AMS ratio of the nanowire reveals a sign change at a temperature of 98 K, while the AMR ratio is positive over the complete temperature range. This behavior is also observed for the domain wall, allowing an attribution of the measured signatures to the domain wall magneto-Seebeck and domain wall magnetoresistive contributions. However, the observed zero crossing of the AMS ratio, in both types of measurements is not expected for permalloy, since the Mott formula predicts a temperature dependency of the AMS identical to the AMR. We discuss the origin of this behavior and can attribute it to the contributions of the lead and the protective platinum layer used in our devices. A correction scheme is presented and applied. Such contributions could also play a role in the analysis of magneto-Seebeck effects in other nanoscale devices, such as the tunnel magneto-Seebeck effect of magnetic tunnel junctions.

Electrical conduction at domain walls in multiferroic BiFeO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seidel, Jan; Martin, Lane; He, Qing; Zhan, Qian; Chu, Ying-Hao; Rother, Axel; Hawkridge, Michael; Maksymovych, Peter; Yu, Pu; Gajek, Martin; Balke, Nina; Kalinin, Sergei; Gemming, Sybille; Wang, Feng; Catalán, Gustau; Scott, James; Spaldin, Nicola; Orenstein, Joseph; Ramesh, Ramamoorthy

2009-03-01

We report the observation of room temperature electronic conductivity at ferroelectric domain walls in BiFeO3. The origin and nature of the observed conductivity is probed using a combination of conductive atomic force microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy and first-principles density functional computations. We show that a structurally driven change in both the electrostatic potential and local electronic structure (i.e., a decrease in band gap) at the domain wall leads to the observed electrical conductivity. We estimate the conductivity in the wall to be several orders of magnitude higher than for the bulk material. Additionally we demonstrate the potential for device applications of such conducting nanoscale features.

Novel Chiral Magnetic Domain Wall Structure in Fe/Ni/Cu(001) Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, G.; Zhu, J.; Quesada, A.; Li, J.; N'Diaye, A. T.; Huo, Y.; Ma, T. P.; Chen, Y.; Kwon, H. Y.; Won, C.; Qiu, Z. Q.; Schmid, A. K.; Wu, Y. Z.

2013-04-01

Using spin-polarized low energy electron microscopy, we discovered a new type of domain wall structure in perpendicularly magnetized Fe/Ni bilayers grown epitaxially on Cu(100). Specifically, we observed unexpected Néel-type walls with fixed chirality in the magnetic stripe phase. Furthermore, we find that the chirality of the domain walls is determined by the film growth order with the chirality being right handed in Fe/Ni bilayers and left handed in Ni/Fe bilayers, suggesting that the underlying mechanism is the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction at the film interfaces. Our observations may open a new route to control chiral spin structures using interfacial engineering in transition metal heterostructures.

Coarsening and persistence in a one-dimensional system of orienting arrowheads: Domain-wall kinetics with A +B →0

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khandkar, Mahendra D.; Stinchcombe, Robin; Barma, Mustansir

2017-01-01

We demonstrate the large-scale effects of the interplay between shape and hard-core interactions in a system with left- and right-pointing arrowheads <> on a line, with reorientation dynamics. This interplay leads to the formation of two types of domain walls, >< (A ) and <> (B ). The correlation length in the equilibrium state diverges exponentially with increasing arrowhead density, with an ordered state of like orientations arising in the limit. In this high-density limit, the A domain walls diffuse, while the B walls are static. In time, the approach to the ordered state is described by a coarsening process governed by the kinetics of domain-wall annihilation A +B →0 , quite different from the A +A →0 kinetics pertinent to the Glauber-Ising model. The survival probability of a finite set of walls is shown to decay exponentially with time, in contrast to the power-law decay known for A +A →0 . In the thermodynamic limit with a finite density of walls, coarsening as a function of time t is studied by simulation. While the number of walls falls as t-1/2, the fraction of persistent arrowheads decays as t-θ where θ is close to 1/4 , quite different from the Ising value. The global persistence too has θ =1/4 , as follows from a heuristic argument. In a generalization where the B walls diffuse slowly, θ varies continuously, increasing with increasing diffusion constant.

Coarsening and persistence in a one-dimensional system of orienting arrowheads: Domain-wall kinetics with A+B→0.

PubMed

Khandkar, Mahendra D; Stinchcombe, Robin; Barma, Mustansir

2017-01-01

We demonstrate the large-scale effects of the interplay between shape and hard-core interactions in a system with left- and right-pointing arrowheads <> on a line, with reorientation dynamics. This interplay leads to the formation of two types of domain walls, >< (A) and <> (B). The correlation length in the equilibrium state diverges exponentially with increasing arrowhead density, with an ordered state of like orientations arising in the limit. In this high-density limit, the A domain walls diffuse, while the B walls are static. In time, the approach to the ordered state is described by a coarsening process governed by the kinetics of domain-wall annihilation A+B→0, quite different from the A+A→0 kinetics pertinent to the Glauber-Ising model. The survival probability of a finite set of walls is shown to decay exponentially with time, in contrast to the power-law decay known for A+A→0. In the thermodynamic limit with a finite density of walls, coarsening as a function of time t is studied by simulation. While the number of walls falls as t^{-1/2}, the fraction of persistent arrowheads decays as t^{-θ} where θ is close to 1/4, quite different from the Ising value. The global persistence too has θ=1/4, as follows from a heuristic argument. In a generalization where the B walls diffuse slowly, θ varies continuously, increasing with increasing diffusion constant.

Bianchi type-I domain walls with negative constant deceleration parameter in Brans-Dicke theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katore, S. D.

2011-04-01

Bianchi type-I space-time is considered in the presence of a domain walls source in the scalar-tensor theory of gravitation proposed by Brans and Dicke (C.H. Brans and R.H. Dicke, Phys. Rev. 24, 925 (1961)). With the help of the special law of variation for Hubble's parameter proposed by Bermann (M.S. Berman, Nuovo Cimento B 74, 182 (1983)) a cosmological model with negative constant deceleration parameter is obtained in the presence of domain walls. Some physical properties of the model are also discussed.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zohar, S.; Choi, Y.; Love, D. M.

We use X-ray Excited Luminescence Microscopy to investigate the elemental and layer resolved magnetic reversal in an interlayer exchange coupled (IEC) epitaxial Fe/Cr wedge/Co heterostructure. The transition from strongly coupled parallel Co-Fe reversal for Cr thickness t(Cr) < 0.34 nm to weakly coupled layer independent reversal for t(Cr) > 1.5 nm is punctuated at 0.34 < t(Cr) < 1.5 nm by a combination of IEC guided domain wall motion and stationary zig zag domain walls. Domain walls nucleated at switching field minima are guided by IEC spatial gradients and collapse at switching field maxima.

Vortex Ring Dynamics in Radially Confined Domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, Kelley; Niebel, Casandra; Jung, Sunghwan; Vlachos, Pavlos

2010-11-01

Vortex ring dynamics have been studied extensively in semi-infinite quiescent volumes. However, very little is known about vortex-ring formation in wall-bounded domains where vortex wall interaction will affect both the vortex ring pinch-off and propagation velocity. This study addresses this limitation and studies vortex formation in radially confined domains to analyze the affect of vortex-ring wall interaction on the formation and propagation of the vortex ring. Vortex rings were produced using a pneumatically driven piston cylinder arrangement and were ejected into a long cylindrical tube which defined the confined downstream domain. A range of confinement domains were studied with varying confinement diameters Velocity field measurements were performed using planar Time Resolved Digital Particle Image Velocimetry (TRDPIV) and were processed using an in-house developed cross-correlation PIV algorithm. The experimental analysis was used to facilitate the development of a theoretical model to predict the variations in vortex ring circulation over time within confined domains.

Symmetry breaking and electrical frustration during tip-induced polarization switching in the non-polar cut of lithium niobate single crystals

DOE PAGES

Ievlev, Anton; Alikin, Denis O.; Morozovska, A. N.; ...

2014-12-15

Polarization switching in ferroelectric materials is governed by a delicate interplay between bulk polarization dynamics and screening processes at surfaces and domain walls. Here we explore the mechanism of tip-induced polarization switching in the non-polar cuts of uniaxial ferroelectrics. In this case, in-plane component of polarization vector switches, allowing for detailed observations of resultant domain morphologies. We observe surprising variability of resultant domain morphologies stemming from fundamental instability of formed charged domain wall and associated electric frustration. In particular, we demonstrate that controlling vertical tip position allows the polarity of the switching to be controlled. This represents very unusual formmore » of symmetry breaking where mechanical motion in vertical direction controls the lateral domain growth. The implication of these studies for ferroelectric devices and domain wall electronics are discussed.« less

Edge states in gated bilayer-monolayer graphene ribbons and bilayer domain walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirzakhani, M.; Zarenia, M.; Peeters, F. M.

2018-05-01

Using the effective continuum model, the electron energy spectrum of gated bilayer graphene with a step-like region of decoupled graphene layers at the edge of the sample is studied. Different types of coupled-decoupled interfaces are considered, i.e., zigzag (ZZ) and armchair junctions, which result in significant different propagating states. Two non-valley-polarized conducting edge states are observed for ZZ type, which are mainly located around the ZZ-ended graphene layers. Additionally, we investigated both BA-BA and BA-AB domain walls in the gated bilayer graphene within the continuum approximation. Unlike the BA-BA domain wall, which exhibits gapped insulating behaviour, the domain walls surrounded by different stackings of bilayer regions feature valley-polarized edge states. Our findings are consistent with other theoretical calculations, such as from the tight-binding model and first-principles calculations, and agree with experimental observations.

Substrate clamping effects on irreversible domain wall dynamics in lead zirconate titanate thin films.

PubMed

Griggio, F; Jesse, S; Kumar, A; Ovchinnikov, O; Kim, H; Jackson, T N; Damjanovic, D; Kalinin, S V; Trolier-McKinstry, S

2012-04-13

The role of long-range strain interactions on domain wall dynamics is explored through macroscopic and local measurements of nonlinear behavior in mechanically clamped and released polycrystalline lead zirconate-titanate (PZT) films. Released films show a dramatic change in the global dielectric nonlinearity and its frequency dependence as a function of mechanical clamping. Furthermore, we observe a transition from strong clustering of the nonlinear response for the clamped case to almost uniform nonlinearity for the released film. This behavior is ascribed to increased mobility of domain walls. These results suggest the dominant role of collective strain interactions mediated by the local and global mechanical boundary conditions on the domain wall dynamics. The work presented in this Letter demonstrates that measurements on clamped films may considerably underestimate the piezoelectric coefficients and coupling constants of released structures used in microelectromechanical systems, energy harvesting systems, and microrobots.

Dispersive Stiffness of Dzyaloshinskii Domain Walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pellegren, J. P.; Lau, D.; Sokalski, V.

2017-07-01

It is well documented that subjecting perpendicular magnetic films that exhibit the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction to an in-plane magnetic field results in a domain wall (DW) energy σ , which is highly anisotropic with respect to the orientation of the DW in the film plane Θ . We demonstrate that this anisotropy has a profound impact on the elastic response of the DW as characterized by the surface stiffness σ ˜ (Θ )=σ (Θ )+σ''(Θ ) and evaluate its dependence on the length scale of deformation. The influence of stiffness on DW mobility in the creep regime is assessed, with analytic and numerical calculations showing trends in σ ˜ that better represent experimental measurements of domain wall velocity in magnetic thin films compared to σ alone. Our treatment provides experimental support for theoretical models of the mobility of anisotropic elastic manifolds and makes progress toward a more complete understanding of magnetic domain wall creep.

Correlation between the viscoelastic heterogeneity and the domain wall motion of Fe-based metallic glass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ouyang, S.; Song, L. J.; Liu, Y. H.; Huo, J. T.; Wang, J. Q.; Xu, W.; Li, J. L.; Wang, C. T.; Wang, X. M.; Li, R. W.

2018-06-01

The soft magnetic properties of Fe-based metallic glasses are reduced significantly by external and residual stresses, e.g., the susceptibility decreases and coercivity increases, which limits their application severely. Unraveling the micromechanism of how the stress influences the soft magnetic properties is of great help for enhancing the performance of Fe-based metallic glasses. In this work, we investigate the effect of viscoelastic heterogeneity on the motion of magnetic domain wall surrounding nanoindentations. Compared to the matrix, dissipation of the viscoelastic heterogeneity increases toward the nanoindentation. Meanwhile, the motion of domain wall under external magnetic field becomes more difficult toward the nanoindentations. A correlation between the viscoelastic dissipation and the moving ability of magnetic domain walls is observed, which can be well fitted using magnetoelastic coupling theory. This suggests that manipulating the microscale viscoelastic heterogeneity is probably a helpful strategy for enhancing the soft magnetic properties of metallic glasses.

Excess velocity of magnetic domain walls close to the depinning field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caballero, Nirvana B.; Fernández Aguirre, Iván; Albornoz, Lucas J.; Kolton, Alejandro B.; Rojas-Sánchez, Juan Carlos; Collin, Sophie; George, Jean Marie; Diaz Pardo, Rebeca; Jeudy, Vincent; Bustingorry, Sebastian; Curiale, Javier

2017-12-01

Magnetic field driven domain wall velocities in [Co/Ni] based multilayers thin films have been measured using polar magneto-optic Kerr effect microscopy. The low field results are shown to be consistent with the universal creep regime of domain wall motion, characterized by a stretched exponential growth of the velocity with the inverse of the applied field. Approaching the depinning field from below results in an unexpected excess velocity with respect to the creep law. We analyze these results using scaling theory to show that this speeding up of domain wall motion can be interpreted as due to the increase of the size of the deterministic relaxation close to the depinning transition. We propose a phenomenological model to accurately fit the observed excess velocity and to obtain characteristic values for the depinning field Hd, the depinning temperature Td, and the characteristic velocity scale v0 for each sample.

Efficient computation of turbulent flow in ribbed passages using a non-overlapping near-wall domain decomposition method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Adam; Utyuzhnikov, Sergey

2017-08-01

Turbulent flow in a ribbed channel is studied using an efficient near-wall domain decomposition (NDD) method. The NDD approach is formulated by splitting the computational domain into an inner and outer region, with an interface boundary between the two. The computational mesh covers the outer region, and the flow in this region is solved using the open-source CFD code Code_Saturne with special boundary conditions on the interface boundary, called interface boundary conditions (IBCs). The IBCs are of Robin type and incorporate the effect of the inner region on the flow in the outer region. IBCs are formulated in terms of the distance from the interface boundary to the wall in the inner region. It is demonstrated that up to 90% of the region between the ribs in the ribbed passage can be removed from the computational mesh with an error on the friction factor within 2.5%. In addition, computations with NDD are faster than computations based on low Reynolds number (LRN) models by a factor of five. Different rib heights can be studied with the same mesh in the outer region without affecting the accuracy of the friction factor. This is tested with six different rib heights in an example of a design optimisation study. It is found that the friction factors computed with NDD are almost identical to the fully-resolved results. When used for inverse problems, NDD is considerably more efficient than LRN computations because only one computation needs to be performed and only one mesh needs to be generated.

Monte Carlo simulation of ferroelectric domain growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, B. L.; Liu, X. P.; Fang, F.; Zhu, J. L.; Liu, J.-M.

2006-01-01

The kinetics of two-dimensional isothermal domain growth in a quenched ferroelectric system is investigated using Monte Carlo simulation based on a realistic Ginzburg-Landau ferroelectric model with cubic-tetragonal (square-rectangle) phase transitions. The evolution of the domain pattern and domain size with annealing time is simulated, and the stability of trijunctions and tetrajunctions of domain walls is analyzed. It is found that in this much realistic model with strong dipole alignment anisotropy and long-range Coulomb interaction, the powerlaw for normal domain growth still stands applicable. Towards the late stage of domain growth, both the average domain area and reciprocal density of domain wall junctions increase linearly with time, and the one-parameter dynamic scaling of the domain growth is demonstrated.

Heat transfer about a vertical permeable membrane

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kaviany, M.

1988-05-01

The natural convection heat transfer about both sides of vertical walls without any seepage has been studied and the effects of the wall thickness and thermal conductivity on the local and average heat transfer rates have been determined. Viskanta and Lankford have concluded that in predicting the heat transfer rate through the wall, for low-thermal-conductivity walls the a priori unknown wall surface temperatures can be walls the a priori unknown wall surface temperatures can be estimated as the arithmetic average of the reservoir temperatures without loss of accuracy (for most practical situations). Sparrow and Prakash treated the surface temperature asmore » variable but used the local temperature along with the available isothermal boundary-layer analysis for determination of the local heat transfer rate and found this to be reasonable at relatively low Grashof numbers. In this study the heat trasnfer rate between two reservoirs of different temperature connected in part through a permeable membrane is analyzed. Rather than solving the complete problem numerically for the three domains (fluid-wall-fluid), the available results on the effects of suction and blowing on the natural convection boundary layer are used in an analysis of the membranes with low thermal conductivity and small seepage velocities, which are characteristic of membranes considered. This will lead to rather simple expressions for the determination of the heat transfer rate.« less

Thickness, humidity, and polarization dependent ferroelectric switching and conductivity in Mg doped lithium niobate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Neumayer, Sabine M.; Rodriguez, Brian J., E-mail: brian.rodriguez@ucd.ie; Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4

2015-12-28

Mg doped lithium niobate (Mg:LN) exhibits several advantages over undoped LN such as resistance to photorefraction, lower coercive fields, and p-type conductivity that is particularly pronounced at domain walls and opens up a range of applications, e.g., in domain wall electronics. Engineering of precise domain patterns necessitates well founded knowledge of switching kinetics, which can differ significantly from that of undoped LN. In this work, the role of humidity and sample composition in polarization reversal has been investigated under application of the same voltage waveform. Control over domain sizes has been achieved by varying the sample thickness and initial polarizationmore » as well as atmospheric conditions. In addition, local introduction of proton exchanged phases allows for inhibition of domain nucleation or destabilization, which can be utilized to modify domain patterns. Polarization dependent current flow, attributed to charged domain walls and band bending, demonstrates the rectifying ability of Mg:LN in combination with suitable metal electrodes that allow for further tailoring of conductivity.« less

Grand unified brane world scenario

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arai, Masato; Blaschke, Filip; Eto, Minoru; Sakai, Norisuke

2017-12-01

We present a field theoretical model unifying grand unified theory (GUT) and brane world scenario. As a concrete example, we consider S U (5 ) GUT in 4 +1 dimensions where our 3 +1 dimensional spacetime spontaneously arises on five domain walls. A field-dependent gauge kinetic term is used to localize massless non-Abelian gauge fields on the domain walls and to assure the charge universality of matter fields. We find the domain walls with the symmetry breaking S U (5 )→S U (3 )×S U (2 )×U (1 ) as a global minimum and all the undesirable moduli are stabilized with the mass scale of MGUT. Profiles of massless standard model particles are determined as a consequence of wall dynamics. The proton decay can be exponentially suppressed.

Influence of rotating in-plane field on vertical Bloch lines in the walls of second kind of dumbbell domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, H. Y.; Hu, H. N.; Sun, Y. P.; Nie, X. F.

2004-08-01

Influence of rotating in-plane field on vertical Bloch lines in the walls of second kind of dumbbell domains (IIDs) was investigated, and a critical in-plane field range [ Hip1, Hip2] of which vertical-Bloch lines (VBLs) annihilated in IIDs is found under rotating in-plane field ( Hip1 is the maximal critical in-plane-field of which hard domains remain stable, Hip2 is the minimal critical in-plane-field of which all of the hard domains convert to soft bubbles (SBs, without VBLs)). It shows that the in-plane field range [ Hip1, Hip2] changes with the change of the rotating angle Δ ϕ. Hip1 maintains stable, while Hip2 decreases with the decreasing of rotating angle Δ ϕ. Comparing it with the spontaneous shrinking experiment of IIDs under both bias field and in-plane field, we presume that under the application of in-plane field there exists a direction along which the VBLs in the domain walls annihilate most easily, and it is in the direction that domain walls are perpendicular to the in-plane field.

Evolution of light domain walls interacting with dark matter, part 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Massarotti, Alessandro

1990-01-01

The evolution of domain walls generated in the early Universe is discussed considering an interaction between the walls and a major gaseous component of the dark matter. The walls are supposed able to reflect the particles elastically and with a reflection coefficient of unity. A toy Lagrangian that could give rise to such a phenomenon is discussed. In the simple model studied, highly non-relativistic and slowly varying speeds are obtained for the domain walls (approximately 10 (exp -2)(1+z)(exp -1)) and negligible distortions of the microwave background. In addition, these topological defects may provide a mechanism of forming the large scale structure of the Universe, by creating fluctuations in the dark matter (delta rho/rho approximately O(1)) on a scale comparable with the distance the walls move from the formation (in the model d less than 20 h(exp -1) Mpc). The characteristic scale of the wall separation can be easily chosen to be of the order of 100 Mpc instead of being restricted to the horizon scale, as usually obtained.

Energy-efficient writing scheme for magnetic domain-wall motion memory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Kab-Jin; Yoshimura, Yoko; Ham, Woo Seung; Ernst, Rick; Hirata, Yuushou; Li, Tian; Kim, Sanghoon; Moriyama, Takahiro; Nakatani, Yoshinobu; Ono, Teruo

2017-04-01

We present an energy-efficient magnetic domain-writing scheme for domain wall (DW) motion-based memory devices. A cross-shaped nanowire is employed to inject a domain into the nanowire through current-induced DW propagation. The energy required for injecting the magnetic domain is more than one order of magnitude lower than that for the conventional field-based writing scheme. The proposed scheme is beneficial for device miniaturization because the threshold current for DW propagation scales with the device size, which cannot be achieved in the conventional field-based technique.

Imaging domain walls between nematic quantum Hall phases on the surface of bismuth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Hao; Randeria, Mallika T.; Feldman, Benjamin E.; Ji, Huiwen; Cava, Robert J.; Yazdani, Ali

The sensitivity of nematic electronic phases to disorder results in short range ordering and the formation of domains. Local probes are required to investigate the character of these domains and the boundaries between them, which remain hidden in global measurements that average over microscopic configurations. In this talk, I will describe measurements performed with a scanning tunneling microscope to study local nematic order on the surface of bismuth at high magnetic field. By imaging individual anisotropic cyclotron orbit wavefunctions that are pinned to atomic-scale surface defects, we directly resolve local nematic behavior and study the evolution of nematic states across a domain wall. Through spectroscopic mapping, we explore how the broken-symmetry Landau levels disperse across the domain wall, the influence of exchange interactions at such a boundary, and the formation of one-dimensional edge states.

Universal current-velocity relation of skyrmion motion in chiral magnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iwasaki, Junichi; Mochizuki, Masahito; Nagaosa, Naoto

2013-03-01

Current-driven motion of the magnetic domain wall requires large critical current density jc ~109 -1012 A/m2, at which the joule heating is a serious problem. The skyrmions recently discovered in chiral magnets, on the other hand, have much smaller critical current of jc ~105 -106 A/m2. We present a numerical simulation of the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation, which reveals a remarkably robust and universal current-velocity relation of the slyrmion motion driven by the spin transfer torque unaffected by either impurities or nonadiabatic effect in sharp contrast to the case of domain wall or spin helix (HL). Simulation results are analyzed using a theory based on Thiele's equation, and it is concluded that this surprising behavior is due to the Magnus force and flexible shape-deformation of individual skyrmions and skyrmion crystal (SkX), which enable them to avoid pinning centers and then weaken the net pinning force. Dynamical deformation of SkX leads to the fluctuation of Bragg peak with large amplitude, which can be detected by the recent neutron-scattering experiment.

Evolution of thick domain walls in de Sitter universe

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dolgov, A.D.; Godunov, S.I.; Rudenko, A.S., E-mail: dolgov@fe.infn.it, E-mail: sgodunov@itep.ru, E-mail: a.s.rudenko@inp.nsk.su

We consider thick domain walls in a de Sitter universe following paper by Basu and Vilenkin. However, we are interested not only in stationary solutions found therein, but also investigate the general case of domain wall evolution with time. When the wall thickness parameter, δ{sub 0}, is smaller than H {sup −1}/√2, where H is the Hubble parameter in de Sitter space-time, then the stationary solutions exist, and initial field configurations tend with time to the stationary ones. However, there are no stationary solutions for δ{sub 0} ≥ H {sup −1}/√2. We have calculated numerically the rate of the wallmore » expansion in this case and have found that the width of the wall grows exponentially fast for δ{sub 0} >> H {sup −1}. An explanation for the critical value δ{sub 0} {sub c} = H {sup −1}/√2 is also proposed.« less

Antiferromagnetic domain wall as spin wave polarizer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lan, Jin; Yu, Weichao; Xiao, Jiang

Spin waves are collective excitations of local magnetizations that can effectively propagate information even in magnetic insulators. In antiferromagnet, spin waves are endowed with additional polarization freedom. Here we propose that the antiferromagnetic domain wall can act as a spin wave polarizer, which perfectly passes one linearly polarized spin wave while substantially reflects the perpendicular one. We show that the polarizing effect lies in the suppression of one linear polarization inside domain wall, in close analogy to the wire-grid optical polarizer. Our finding opens up new possibilities in magnonic processing by harnessing spin wave polarization in antiferromagnet.

Subatomic movements of a domain wall in the Peierls potential.

PubMed

Novoselov, K S; Geim, A K; Dubonos, S V; Hill, E W; Grigorieva, I V

2003-12-18

The discrete nature of crystal lattices plays a role in virtually every material property. But it is only when the size of entities hosted by a crystal becomes comparable to the lattice period--as occurs for dislocations, vortices in superconductors and domain walls--that this discreteness is manifest explicitly. The associated phenomena are usually described in terms of a background Peierls 'atomic washboard' energy potential, which was first introduced for the case of dislocation motion in the 1940s. This concept has subsequently been invoked in many situations to describe certain features in the bulk behaviour of materials, but has to date eluded direct detection and experimental scrutiny at a microscopic level. Here we report observations of the motion of a single magnetic domain wall at the scale of the individual peaks and troughs of the atomic energy landscape. Our experiments reveal that domain walls can become trapped between crystalline planes, and that they propagate by distinct jumps that match the lattice periodicity. The jumps between valleys are found to involve unusual dynamics that shed light on the microscopic processes underlying domain-wall propagation. Such observations offer a means for probing experimentally the physics of topological defects in discrete lattices--a field rich in phenomena that have been subject to extensive theoretical study.

Domain wall and interphase boundary motion in (1-x)Bi(Mg 0.5 Ti 0.5 )O 3 –xPbTiO 3 near the morphotropic phase boundary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tutuncu, Goknur; Chen, Jun; Fan, Longlong

Electric field-induced changes in the domain wall motion of (1-x)Bi(Mg 0.5Ti 0.5)O 3–xPbTiO 3 (BMT-xPT) near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) where x = 0.37 (BMT-37PT) and x =0.38 (BMT-38PT), are studied by means of synchrotron x-ray diffraction. Through Rietveld analysis and profile fitting, a mixture of coexisting monoclinic (Cm) and tetragonal (P4mm) phases is identified at room temperature. Extrinsic contributions to the property coefficients are evident from electric-field-induced domain wall motion in both the tetragonal and monoclinic phases, as well as through the interphase boundary motion between the two phases. Domain wall motion in the tetragonal and monoclinic phasesmore » for BMT-37PT is larger than that of BMT-38PT, possibly due to this composition's closer proximity to the MPB. Increased interphase boundary motion was also observed in BMT-37PT. Lattice strain, which is a function of both intrinsic piezoelectric strain and elastic interactions of the grains (the latter originating from domain wall and interphase boundary motion), is similar for the respective tetragonal and monoclinic phases.« less

Magnetization reversal process in (Sm, Dy, Gd) (Co, Fe, Cu, Zr)z magnets with different cellular structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Lei; Liu, Zhuang; Zhang, Xin; Feng, Yanping; Wang, Chunxiao; Sun, Yingli; Lee, Don; Yan, Aru; Wu, Qiong

2017-05-01

Magnetization reversal mechanism is found to vary with cellular structures by a comparative study of the magnetization processes of three (Sm, Dy, Gd) (Co, Fe, Cu, Zr)z magnets with different cellular structures. Analysis of domain walls, initial magnetization curves and recoil loops indicates that the morphology of cellular structure has a significant effect on the magnetization process, besides the obvious connection to the difference of domain energy density between cell boundary phase (CBP) and main phase. The magnetization of Sample 2 (with a moderate cell size and uniformly continuous CBPs) behaves as a strong coherence domain-wall pinning effect to the domain wall and lead to a highest coercivity in the magnet. The magnetization of Sample 1 (with thin and discontinuous CBPs) shows an inconsistent pinning effect to the domain wall while that of Sample 3 (with thick and aggregate CBPs) exhibits a two-phase separation magnetization. Both the two cases lead to lower coercivities. A simplified model is given as well to describe the relationships among cellular structure and magnetization behavior.

Fresnel Lorentz Microscopy Imaging of Domains in Fe3O4 Nanoparticle Arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majetich, S. A.; Evarts, E. R.; Hogg, C.; Yamamoto, K.; Hirayama, T.

2009-03-01

Fresnel Lorentz microscopy was used to study the magnetic domain structures of self-assembled nanoparticle arrays as a function of temperature, from 24 to 605 C. 11 nm diameter Fe3O4 nanoparticles with an edge-to-edge spacing of 2.5 nm form magnetic domains through magnetostatic interactions alone. At room temperature stripe domains were evident in monolayer arrays. The average domain size in monolayer regions is larger than that in bilayers. Mean field theories predict a reduced stabilization energy for bilayers, relative to that for monolayers. The domain wall positions were fairly stable up to 500 C, though the contrast in the walls diminished, indicating reduced magnetic order. Above 500 C there were large temperature-dependent changes. The walls surrounding the smaller domains disappeared at lower temperatures than those of the larger domains. Some magnetic contrast was visible up to 575 C, close to the Curie temperature of Fe3O4 (585 C). Transmission electron microscopy after cooling showed that the particle shape and position in the ordered arrays had been preserved during the high temperature imaging experiments.

Molecular dissection of Phaseolus vulgaris polygalacturonase-inhibiting protein 2 reveals the presence of hold/release domains affecting protein trafficking toward the cell wall

PubMed Central

De Caroli, Monica; Lenucci, Marcello S.; Manualdi, Francesca; Dalessandro, Giuseppe; De Lorenzo, Giulia; Piro, Gabriella

2015-01-01

The plant endomembrane system is massively involved in the synthesis, transport and secretion of cell wall polysaccharides and proteins; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying trafficking toward the apoplast are largely unknown. Besides constitutive, the existence of a regulated secretory pathway has been proposed. A polygalacturonase inhibitor protein (PGIP2), known to move as soluble cargo and reach the cell wall through a mechanism distinguishable from default, was dissected in its main functional domains (A, B, C, D), and C sub-fragments (C1–10), to identify signals essential for its regulated targeting. The secretion patterns of the fluorescent chimeras obtained by fusing different PGIP2 domains to the green fluorescent protein (GFP) were analyzed. PGIP2 N-terminal and leucine-rich repeat domains (B and C, respectively) seem to operate as holding/releasing signals, respectively, during PGIP2 transit through the Golgi. The B domain slows down PGIP2 secretion by transiently interacting with Golgi membranes. Its depletion leads, in fact, to the secretion via default (Sp2-susceptible) of the ACD-GFP chimera faster than PGIP2. Depending on its length (at least the first 5 leucine-rich repeats are required), the C domain modulates B interaction with Golgi membranes allowing the release of chimeras and their extracellular secretion through a Sp2 independent pathway. The addition of the vacuolar sorting determinant Chi to PGIP2 diverts the path of the protein from cell wall to vacuole, suggesting that C domain is a releasing rather than a cell wall sorting signal. PMID:26379688

Domain structures and Prco antisite point defects in double-perovskite PrBaCo2O5+δ and PrBa0.8Ca0.2Co2O5+δ.

PubMed

Ding, Yong; Chen, Yu; Pradel, Ken C; Zhang, Weilin; Liu, Meilin; Wang, Zhong Lin

2018-06-15

Owing to the excellent mixed-ionic and electronic conductivity and fast oxygen kinetics at reduced temperature (<800 °C), double-perovskite oxides such as PrBaCo 2 O 5+δ exhibit excellent properties as an oxygen electrode for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), we revealed high-density antiphase domain boundaries (APBs) and 90° domain walls in PrBaCo 2 O 5+δ grains. Besides the regular lamellar 90° domain walls in {021} planes, irregular fine 90° domains are attached to the curved APBs. Electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) reveals the composition variation across some of the 90° domain walls. There are fewer Co and more Ba ions approaching the 90° domain walls, while the changes in Pr and O ions are not detectable. We assume that the extra Ba 2+ cations replace the Pr 3+ cations, while the Pr 3+ cations go to the Co site to form Pr Co antisite point defects and become Pr 4+ . In this case, the Pr 4+ cations will help to balance the local charges and have compatible ionic radius with that of Co 3+ . The local strain field around the 90° domain walls play a crucial role in the stabilization of such Pr Co antisite point defects. The antisite point defects have been observed in our high-resolution TEM images and aberration-corrected high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) scanning TEM images. After Ca 2+ doped into PrBaCo 2 O 5+δ to improve the structure stability, we observed tweed structures in the PrBa 0.8 Ca 0.2 Co 2 O 5+δ grain. The tweed structure is composed of high-density intersected needle-shaped 90° domain walls, which is linked to a strong local strain field and composition variation. Even when the temperature is increased to 750 °C, the domain structures are still stable as revealed by our in situ TEM investigation. Therefore, the influence of the domain structures and the Pr Co antisite defects on the ionic and electric conductivities must be considered. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Self-organization of the magnetization in ferromagnetic nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanov, A. A.; Orlov, V. A.

2017-10-01

In this work we demonstrate the occurrence of the characteristic spatial scale in the distribution of magnetization unrelated to the domain wall or crystallite size with using computer simulation of magnetization in a polycrystalline ferromagnetic nanowire. This is the stochastic domain size. We show that this length is included in the spectral density of the pinning force of domain wall on inhomogeneities of the crystallographic anisotropy. The constant and distribution of easy axes directions of the effective anisotropy of stochastic domain, are analytically calculated.

Microwave background distortions from domain walls

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goetz, Guenter; Noetzold, Dirk

1990-01-01

Domain walls arising in a cosmic phase transition after decoupling were recently proposed as seeds for the formation of large scale structure. The distortion induced in the microwave background radiation is calculated in dependence of the wall thickness, surface density, scalar field potential, cosmic redshift and the velocity of the wall. It was found that the maximal redshift distortion for both spherical and planar walls is of the order pi G sigma H(sup -1)(sub 0), where sigma is the surface energy density and H(sup -1)(sub 0) the Hubble parameter. It was also found that, for a wall thickness smaller than the horizon, walls can be treated as infinitely thin, i.e., the redshift distortion is independent of the wall thickness and the specific form of the scalar potential. For planar walls moving with a Lorentz-factor gamma the redshift distortion is enhanced by gamma cubed.

An exact solution for a thick domain wall in general relativity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goetz, Guenter; Noetzold, Dirk

1989-01-01

An exact solution of the Einstein equations for a static, planar domain wall with finite thickness is presented. At infinity, density and pressure vanish and the space-time tends to the Minkowski vacuum on one side of the wall and to the Taub vacuum on the other side. A surprising feature of this solution is that the density and pressure distribution are symmetric about the central plane of the wall whereas the space-time metric and therefore also the gravitational field experienced by a test particle is asymmetric.

Axion domain wall baryogenesis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Daido, Ryuji; Kitajima, Naoya; Takahashi, Fuminobu, E-mail: daido@tuhep.phys.tohoku.ac.jp, E-mail: kitajima@tuhep.phys.tohoku.ac.jp, E-mail: fumi@tuhep.phys.tohoku.ac.jp

2015-07-01

We propose a new scenario of baryogenesis, in which annihilation of axion domain walls generates a sizable baryon asymmetry. Successful baryogenesis is possible for a wide range of the axion mass and decay constant, m ≅ 10{sup 8}–10{sup 13} GeV and f ≅ 10{sup 13}–10{sup 16} GeV . Baryonic isocurvature perturbations are significantly suppressed in our model, in contrast to various spontaneous baryogenesis scenarios in the slow-roll regime. In particular, the axion domain wall baryogenesis is consistent with high-scale inflation which generates a large tensor-to-scalar ratio within the reach of future CMB B-mode experiments. We also discuss the gravitational waves produced by the domainmore » wall annihilation and its implications for the future gravitational wave experiments.« less

Magnetic Snell's law and spin-wave fiber with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Weichao; Lan, Jin; Wu, Ruqian; Xiao, Jiang

2016-10-01

Spin waves are collective excitations propagating in the magnetic medium with ordered magnetizations. Magnonics, utilizing the spin wave (magnon) as an information carrier, is a promising candidate for low-dissipation computation and communication technologies. We discover that, due to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, the scattering behavior of the spin wave at a magnetic domain wall follows a generalized Snell's law, where two magnetic domains work as two different mediums. Similar to optical total reflection that occurs at water-air interfaces, spin waves may experience total reflection at the magnetic domain walls when their incident angle is larger than a critical value. We design a spin-wave fiber using a magnetic domain structure with two domain walls, and demonstrate that such a spin-wave fiber can transmit spin waves over long distances by total internal reflections, in analogy to an optical fiber.

The external PASTA domain of the essential serine/threonine protein kinase PknB regulates mycobacterial growth.

PubMed

Turapov, Obolbek; Loraine, Jessica; Jenkins, Christopher H; Barthe, Philippe; McFeely, Daniel; Forti, Francesca; Ghisotti, Daniela; Hesek, Dusan; Lee, Mijoon; Bottrill, Andrew R; Vollmer, Waldemar; Mobashery, Shahriar; Cohen-Gonsaud, Martin; Mukamolova, Galina V

2015-07-01

PknB is an essential serine/threonine protein kinase required for mycobacterial cell division and cell-wall biosynthesis. Here we demonstrate that overexpression of the external PknB_PASTA domain in mycobacteria results in delayed regrowth, accumulation of elongated bacteria and increased sensitivity to β-lactam antibiotics. These changes are accompanied by altered production of certain enzymes involved in cell-wall biosynthesis as revealed by proteomics studies. The growth inhibition caused by overexpression of the PknB_PASTA domain is completely abolished by enhanced concentration of magnesium ions, but not muropeptides. Finally, we show that the addition of recombinant PASTA domain could prevent regrowth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and therefore offers an alternative opportunity to control replication of this pathogen. These results suggest that the PknB_PASTA domain is involved in regulation of peptidoglycan biosynthesis and maintenance of cell-wall architecture.

The external PASTA domain of the essential serine/threonine protein kinase PknB regulates mycobacterial growth

PubMed Central

Turapov, Obolbek; Loraine, Jessica; Jenkins, Christopher H.; Barthe, Philippe; McFeely, Daniel; Forti, Francesca; Ghisotti, Daniela; Hesek, Dusan; Lee, Mijoon; Bottrill, Andrew R.; Vollmer, Waldemar; Mobashery, Shahriar; Cohen-Gonsaud, Martin; Mukamolova, Galina V.

2015-01-01

PknB is an essential serine/threonine protein kinase required for mycobacterial cell division and cell-wall biosynthesis. Here we demonstrate that overexpression of the external PknB_PASTA domain in mycobacteria results in delayed regrowth, accumulation of elongated bacteria and increased sensitivity to β-lactam antibiotics. These changes are accompanied by altered production of certain enzymes involved in cell-wall biosynthesis as revealed by proteomics studies. The growth inhibition caused by overexpression of the PknB_PASTA domain is completely abolished by enhanced concentration of magnesium ions, but not muropeptides. Finally, we show that the addition of recombinant PASTA domain could prevent regrowth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and therefore offers an alternative opportunity to control replication of this pathogen. These results suggest that the PknB_PASTA domain is involved in regulation of peptidoglycan biosynthesis and maintenance of cell-wall architecture. PMID:26136255

Cosmic strings - A problem or a solution?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bennett, David P.; Bouchet, Francois R.

1988-01-01

The most fundamental issue in the theory of cosmic strings is addressed by means of Numerical Simulations: the existence of a scaling solution. The resolution of this question will determine whether cosmic strings can form the basis of an attractive theory of galaxy formation or prove to be a cosmological disaster like magnetic monopoles or domain walls. After a brief discussion of our numerical technique, results are presented which, though still preliminary, offer the best support to date of this scaling hypothesis.

Making Home Sweet and Sturdy: Toxoplasma gondii ppGalNAc-Ts Glycosylate in Hierarchical Order and Confer Cyst Wall Rigidity

PubMed Central

Tomita, Tadakimi; Sugi, Tatsuki; Yakubu, Rama; Tu, Vincent; Ma, Yanfen

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT The protozoan intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii forms latent cysts in the central nervous system (CNS) and persists for the lifetime of the host. This cyst is cloaked with a glycosylated structure called the cyst wall. Previously, we demonstrated that a mucin-like glycoprotein, CST1, localizes to the cyst wall and confers structural rigidity on brain cysts in a mucin-like domain-dependent manner. The mucin-like domain of CST1 is composed of 20 units of threonine-rich tandem repeats that are O-GalNAc glycosylated. A family of enzymes termed polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases (ppGalNAc-Ts) initiates O-GalNAc glycosylation. To identify which isoforms of ppGalNAc-Ts are responsible for the glycosylation of the CST1 mucin-like domain and to evaluate the function of each ppGalNAc-T in the overall glycosylation of the cyst wall, all five ppGalNAc-T isoforms were deleted individually from the T. gondii genome. The ppGalNAc-T2 and -T3 deletion mutants produced various glycosylation defects on the cyst wall, implying that many cyst wall glycoproteins are glycosylated by T2 and T3. Both T2 and T3 glycosylate the CST1 mucin-like domain, and this glycosylation is necessary for CST1 to confer structural rigidity on the cyst wall. We established that T2 is required for the initial glycosylation of the mucin-like domain and that T3 is responsible for the sequential glycosylation on neighboring acceptor sites, demonstrating hierarchical glycosylation by two distinct initiating and filling-in ppGalNAc-Ts in an intact organism. PMID:28074022

Δmix parameter in the overlap on domain-wall mixed action

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lujan, M.; Alexandru, A.; Chen, Y.; Draper, T.; Freeman, W.; Gong, M.; Lee, F. X.; Li, A.; Liu, K. F.; Mathur, N.

2012-07-01

A direct calculation of the mixed action parameter Δmix with valence overlap fermions on a domain-wall fermion sea is presented. The calculation is performed on four ensembles of the 2+1 flavor domain-wall gauge configurations: 243×64 (aml=0.005, a=0.114fm) and 323×64 (aml=0.004, 0.006, 0.008, a=0.085fm). For pion masses close to 300 MeV we find Δmix=0.030(6)GeV4 at a=0.114fm and Δmix=0.033(12)GeV4 at a=0.085fm. The results are quite independent of the lattice spacing and they are significantly smaller than the results for valence domain-wall fermions on asqtad sea or those of valence overlap fermions on clover sea. Combining the results extracted from these two ensembles, we get Δmix=0.030(6)(5)GeV4, where the first error is statistical and the second is the systematic error associated with the fitting method.

Logic and memory concepts for all-magnetic computing based on transverse domain walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vandermeulen, J.; Van de Wiele, B.; Dupré, L.; Van Waeyenberge, B.

2015-06-01

We introduce a non-volatile digital logic and memory concept in which the binary data is stored in the transverse magnetic domain walls present in in-plane magnetized nanowires with sufficiently small cross sectional dimensions. We assign the digital bit to the two possible orientations of the transverse domain wall. Numerical proofs-of-concept are presented for a NOT-, AND- and OR-gate, a FAN-out as well as a reading and writing device. Contrary to the chirality based vortex domain wall logic gates introduced in Omari and Hayward (2014 Phys. Rev. Appl. 2 044001), the presented concepts remain applicable when miniaturized and are driven by electrical currents, making the technology compatible with the in-plane racetrack memory concept. The individual devices can be easily combined to logic networks working with clock speeds that scale linearly with decreasing design dimensions. This opens opportunities to an all-magnetic computing technology where the digital data is stored and processed under the same magnetic representation.

Axial U(1) current in Grabowska and Kaplan's formulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamada, Yu; Kawai, Hikaru

2017-06-01

Recently, Grabowska and Kaplan [Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 211602 (2016); Phys. Rev. D 94, 114504 (2016)] suggested a nonperturbative formulation of a chiral gauge theory, which consists of the conventional domain-wall fermion and a gauge field that evolves by gradient flow from one domain wall to the other. We introduce two sets of domain-wall fermions belonging to complex conjugate representations so that the effective theory is a 4D vector-like gauge theory. Then, as a natural definition of the axial-vector current, we consider a current that generates simultaneous phase transformations for the massless modes in 4 dimensions. However, this current is exactly conserved and does not reproduce the correct anomaly. In order to investigate this point precisely, we consider the mechanism of the conservation. We find that this current includes not only the axial current on the domain wall but also a contribution from the bulk, which is nonlocal in the sense of 4D fields. Therefore, the local current is obtained by subtracting the bulk contribution from it.

Transmission XMCD-PEEM imaging of an engineered vertical FEBID cobalt nanowire with a domain wall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wartelle, A.; Pablo-Navarro, J.; Staňo, M.; Bochmann, S.; Pairis, S.; Rioult, M.; Thirion, C.; Belkhou, R.; de Teresa, J. M.; Magén, C.; Fruchart, O.

2018-01-01

Using focused electron-beam-induced deposition, we fabricate a vertical, platinum-coated cobalt nanowire with a controlled three-dimensional structure. The latter is engineered to feature bends along the height: these are used as pinning sites for domain walls, which are obtained at remanence after saturation of the nanostructure in a horizontally applied magnetic field. The presence of domain walls is investigated using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) coupled to photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM). The vertical geometry of our sample combined with the low incidence of the x-ray beam produce an extended wire shadow which we use to recover the wire’s magnetic configuration. In this transmission configuration, the whole sample volume is probed, thus circumventing the limitation of PEEM to surfaces. This article reports on the first study of magnetic nanostructures standing perpendicular to the substrate with XMCD-PEEM. The use of this technique in shadow mode enabled us to confirm the presence of a domain wall without direct imaging of the nanowire.

Shape of isolated domains in lithium tantalate single crystals at elevated temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shur, V. Ya.; Akhmatkhanov, A. R.; Chezganov, D. S.; Lobov, A. I.; Baturin, I. S.; Smirnov, M. M.

2013-12-01

The shape of isolated domains has been investigated in congruent lithium tantalate (CLT) single crystals at elevated temperatures and analyzed in terms of kinetic approach. The obtained temperature dependence of the growing domain shape in CLT including circular shape at temperatures above 190 °C has been attributed to increase of relative input of isotropic ionic conductivity. The observed nonstop wall motion and independent domain growth after merging in CLT as opposed to stoichiometric lithium tantalate have been attributed to difference in wall orientation. The computer simulation has confirmed applicability of the kinetic approach to the domain shape explanation.

Thickness, humidity, and polarization dependent ferroelectric switching and conductivity in Mg doped lithium niobate

DOE PAGES

Neumayer, Sabine M.; Strelcov, Evgheni; Manzo, Michele; ...

2015-12-28

Mg doped lithium niobate (Mg:LN) exhibits several advantages over undoped LN such as resistance to photorefraction, lower coercive fields, and p-type conductivity that is particularly pronounced at domain walls and opens up a range of applications, e.g., in domain wall electronics. Engineering of precise domain patterns necessitates well founded knowledge of switching kinetics, which can differ significantly from that of undoped LN. In this work, the role of humidity and sample composition in polarization reversal has been investigated under application of the same voltage waveform. Control over domain sizes has been achieved by varying the sample thickness and initial polarizationmore » as well as atmospheric conditions. Additionally, local introduction of proton exchanged phases allows for inhibition of domain nucleation or destabilization, which can be utilized to modify domain patterns. In polarization dependent current flow, attributed to charged domain walls and band bending, it the rectifying ability of Mg: LN in combination with suitable metal electrodes that allow for further tailoring of conductivity is demonstrated.« less

FAST TRACK COMMUNICATION Critical exponents of domain walls in the two-dimensional Potts model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubail, Jérôme; Lykke Jacobsen, Jesper; Saleur, Hubert

2010-12-01

We address the geometrical critical behavior of the two-dimensional Q-state Potts model in terms of the spin clusters (i.e. connected domains where the spin takes a constant value). These clusters are different from the usual Fortuin-Kasteleyn clusters, and are separated by domain walls that can cross and branch. We develop a transfer matrix technique enabling the formulation and numerical study of spin clusters even when Q is not an integer. We further identify geometrically the crossing events which give rise to conformal correlation functions. This leads to an infinite series of fundamental critical exponents h_{\\ell _1-\\ell _2,2\\ell _1}, valid for 0 <= Q <= 4, that describe the insertion of ell1 thin and ell2 thick domain walls.

Controllable Magnetization Processes Induced by Nucleation Sites in Permalloy Rings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ying-Jiun; Hsu, Chia-Jung; Liao, Chun-Neng; Huang, Hao-Ting; Lee, Chiun-Peng; Chiu, Yi-Hsun; Tung, Tzu-Yun; Lai, Mei-Feng

2010-02-01

Different arrangements of notches as nucleation sites are demonstrated experimentally and numerically to effectively control the magnetization processes of permalloy rings. In the ring with notches at the same side with respect to field direction, two same-helicity vortex domain walls in the onion state lead to two-step switching going through flux-closure state; in the ring with diagonal notches two opposite-helicity vortex domain walls lead to one-step switching skipping flux-closure state. The switching processes are repeatable in contrast to rings without notches where helicites of two vortex domain walls are random so the switching processes can not be controlled.

A small cellulose binding domain protein in Phytophtora is cell wall localized

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cellulose binding domains (CBD) are structurally conserved regions linked to catalytic regions of cellulolytic enzymes. While widespread amongst saprophytic fungi that subsist on plant cell wall polysaccharides, they are not generally present in plant pathogenic fungi. A genome wide survey of CBDs w...

Conjugate Heat Transfer Study in Hypersonic Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sahoo, Niranjan; Kulkarni, Vinayak; Peetala, Ravi Kumar

2018-04-01

Coupled and decoupled conjugate heat transfer (CHT) studies are carried out to imitate experimental studies for heat transfer measurement in hypersonic flow regime. The finite volume based solvers are used for analyzing the heat interaction between fluid and solid domains. Temperature and surface heat flux signals are predicted by both coupled and decoupled CHT analysis techniques for hypersonic Mach numbers. These two methodologies are also used to study the effect of different wall materials on surface parameters. Effectiveness of these CHT solvers has been verified for the inverse problem of wall heat flux recovery using various techniques reported in the literature. Both coupled and decoupled CHT techniques are seen to be equally useful for prediction of local temperature and heat flux signals prior to the experiments in hypersonic flows.

Numerical simulation of vortical ideal fluid flow through curved channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moshkin, N. P.; Mounnamprang, P.

2003-04-01

A numerical algorithm to study the boundary-value problem in which the governing equations are the steady Euler equations and the vorticity is given on the inflow parts of the domain boundary is developed. The Euler equations are implemented in terms of the stream function and vorticity. An irregular physical domain is transformed into a rectangle in the computational domain and the Euler equations are rewritten with respect to a curvilinear co-ordinate system. The convergence of the finite-difference equations to the exact solution is shown experimentally for the test problems by comparing the computational results with the exact solutions on the sequence of grids. To find the pressure from the known vorticity and stream function, the Euler equations are utilized in the Gromeka-Lamb form. The numerical algorithm is illustrated with several examples of steady flow through a two-dimensional channel with curved walls. The analysis of calculations shows strong dependence of the pressure field on the vorticity given at the inflow parts of the boundary. Plots of the flow structure and isobars, for different geometries of channel and for different values of vorticity on entrance, are also presented.

Domain wall and interphase boundary motion in (1−x)Bi(Mg{sub 0.5}Ti{sub 0.5})O{sub 3}–xPbTiO{sub 3} near the morphotropic phase boundary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tutuncu, Goknur; Chen, Jun; Fan, Longlong

Electric field-induced changes in the domain wall motion of (1−x)Bi(Mg{sub 0.5}Ti{sub 0.5})O{sub 3}–xPbTiO{sub 3} (BMT-xPT) near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) where x = 0.37 (BMT-37PT) and x = 0.38 (BMT-38PT), are studied by means of synchrotron x-ray diffraction. Through Rietveld analysis and profile fitting, a mixture of coexisting monoclinic (Cm) and tetragonal (P4mm) phases is identified at room temperature. Extrinsic contributions to the property coefficients are evident from electric-field-induced domain wall motion in both the tetragonal and monoclinic phases, as well as through the interphase boundary motion between the two phases. Domain wall motion in the tetragonal and monoclinic phases for BMT-37PT ismore » larger than that of BMT-38PT, possibly due to this composition's closer proximity to the MPB. Increased interphase boundary motion was also observed in BMT-37PT. Lattice strain, which is a function of both intrinsic piezoelectric strain and elastic interactions of the grains (the latter originating from domain wall and interphase boundary motion), is similar for the respective tetragonal and monoclinic phases.« less

Direct Imaging of the Relaxation of Individual Ferroelectric Interfaces in a Tensile-Strained Film

DOE PAGES

Li, Linglong; Cao, Ye; Somnath, Suhas; ...

2017-03-15

Understanding the dynamic behavior of interfaces in ferroic materials is an important field of research with widespread practical implications, as the motion of domain walls and phase boundaries are associated with substantial increases in dielectric and piezoelectric effects. Although commonly studied in the macroscopic regime, the local dynamics of interfaces have received less attention, with most studies limited to domain growth and/or reversal by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). Here, spatial mapping of local domain wall-related relaxation in a tensile-strained PbTiO 3 thin film using time-resolved band-excitation PFM is demonstrated, which allows exploring of the field-induced strain (piezoresponse) as a functionmore » of applied voltage and time. Through multivariate statistical analysis on the resultant 4-dimensional dataset (x,y,V,t) with functional fitting, it is determined that the relaxation is strongly correleated with the distance to the domain walls, and varies based on the type of domain wall present in the probed volume. Phase-field modeling shows the relaxation behavior near and away from the interfaces, and confirms the modulation of the z-component of polarization by wall motion, yielding the observed piezoresponse relaxation. Lastly, these studies shed light on the local dynamics of interfaces in ferroelectric thin films, and are therefore important for the design of ferroelectric-based components in microelectromechanical systems.« less

Topological defects in the Georgi-Machacek model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chatterjee, Chandrasekar; Kurachi, Masafumi; Nitta, Muneto

2018-06-01

We study topological defects in the Georgi-Machacek model in a hierarchical symmetry breaking in which extra triplets acquire vacuum expectation values before the doublet. We find a possibility of topologically stable non-Abelian domain walls and non-Abelian flux tubes (vortices or cosmic strings) in this model. In the limit of the vanishing U (1 )Y gauge coupling in which the custodial symmetry becomes exact, the presence of a vortex spontaneously breaks the custodial symmetry, giving rise to S2 Nambu-Goldstone (NG) modes localized around the vortex corresponding to non-Abelian fluxes. Vortices are continuously degenerated by these degrees of freedom, thereby called non-Abelian. By taking into account the U (1 )Y gauge coupling, the custodial symmetry is explicitly broken, the NG modes are lifted to become pseudo-NG modes, and all non-Abelian vortices fall into a topologically stable Z string. This is in contrast to the standard model in which Z strings are nontopological and are unstable in the realistic parameter region. Non-Abelian domain walls also break the custodial symmetry and are accompanied by localized S2 NG modes. Finally, we discuss the existence of domain wall solutions bounded by flux tubes, where their S2 NG modes match. The domain walls may quantum mechanically decay by creating a hole bounded by a flux tube loop, and would be cosmologically safe. Gravitational waves produced from unstable domain walls could be detected by future experiments.

A quasi-Lagrangian finite element method for the Navier-Stokes equations in a time-dependent domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lozovskiy, Alexander; Olshanskii, Maxim A.; Vassilevski, Yuri V.

2018-05-01

The paper develops a finite element method for the Navier-Stokes equations of incompressible viscous fluid in a time-dependent domain. The method builds on a quasi-Lagrangian formulation of the problem. The paper provides stability and convergence analysis of the fully discrete (finite-difference in time and finite-element in space) method. The analysis does not assume any CFL time-step restriction, it rather needs mild conditions of the form $\\Delta t\\le C$, where $C$ depends only on problem data, and $h^{2m_u+2}\\le c\\,\\Delta t$, $m_u$ is polynomial degree of velocity finite element space. Both conditions result from a numerical treatment of practically important non-homogeneous boundary conditions. The theoretically predicted convergence rate is confirmed by a set of numerical experiments. Further we apply the method to simulate a flow in a simplified model of the left ventricle of a human heart, where the ventricle wall dynamics is reconstructed from a sequence of contrast enhanced Computed Tomography images.

Building bridges: formin1 of Arabidopsis forms a connection between the cell wall and the actin cytoskeleton.

PubMed

Martinière, Alexandre; Gayral, Philippe; Hawes, Chris; Runions, John

2011-04-01

Actin microfilament (MF) organization and remodelling is critical to cell function. The formin family of actin binding proteins are involved in nucleating MFs in Arabidopsis thaliana. They all contain formin homology domains in the intracellular, C-terminal half of the protein that interacts with MFs. Formins in class I are usually targeted to the plasma membrane and this is true of Formin1 (AtFH1) of A. thaliana. In this study, we have investigated the extracellular domain of AtFH1 and we demonstrate that AtFH1 forms a bridge from the actin cytoskeleton, across the plasma membrane and is anchored within the cell wall. AtFH1 has a large, extracellular domain that is maintained by purifying selection and that contains four conserved regions, one of which is responsible for immobilising the protein. Protein anchoring within the cell wall is reduced in constructs that express truncations of the extracellular domain and in experiments in protoplasts without primary cell walls. The 18 amino acid proline-rich extracellular domain that is responsible for AtFH1 anchoring has homology with cell-wall extensins. We also have shown that anchoring of AtFH1 in the cell wall promotes actin bundling within the cell and that overexpression of AtFH1 has an inhibitory effect on organelle actin-dependant dynamics. Thus, the AtFH1 bridge provides stable anchor points for the actin cytoskeleton and is probably a crucial component of the signalling response and actin-remodelling mechanisms. © 2011 The Authors. The Plant Journal © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Trapping and Injecting Single Domain Walls in Magnetic Wire by Local Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vázquez, Manuel; Basheed, G. A.; Infante, Germán; Del Real, Rafael P.

2012-01-01

A single domain wall (DW) moves at linearly increasing velocity under an increasing homogeneous drive magnetic field. Present experiments show that the DW is braked and finally trapped at a given position when an additional antiparallel local magnetic field is applied. That position and its velocity are further controlled by suitable tuning of the local field. In turn, the parallel local field of small amplitude does not significantly affect the effective wall speed at long distance, although it generates tail-to-tail and head-to-head pairs of walls moving along opposite directions when that field is strong enough.

Topological defects in alternative theories to cosmic inflation and string cosmology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexander, Stephon H. S.

The physics of the Early Universe is described in terms of the inflationary paradigm, which is based on a marriage between Einstein's general theory of relativity minimally coupled to quantum field theory. Inflation was posed to solve some of the outstanding problems of the Standard Big Bang Cosmology (SBB) such as the horizon, formation of structure and monopole problems. Despite its observational and theoretical successes, inflation is plagued with fine tuning and initial singularity problems. On the other hand, superstring/M theory, a theory of quantum gravity, possesses symmetries which naturally avoid space-time singularities. This thesis investigates alternative theories to cosmic inflation for solving the initial singularity, horizon and monopole problems, making use of topological defects. It was proposed by Dvali, Liu and Vaschaspati that the monopole problem can be solved without inflation if domain walls "sweep" up the monopoles in the early universe, thus reducing their number density significantly. Necessary for this mechanism to work is the presence of an attractive force between the monopole and the domain wall as well as a channel for the monopole's unwinding. We show numerically and analytically in two field theory models that for global defects the attraction is a universal result but the unwinding is model specific. The second part of this thesis investigates a string/M theory inspired model for solving the horizon problem. It was proposed by Moffat, Albrecht and Magueijo that the horizon problem is solved with a "phase transition" associated with a varying speed of light before the surface of last scattering. We provide a string/M theory mechanism based on assuming that our space-time is a D-3 brane probing a bulk supergravity black hole bulk background. This mechanism provides the necessary time variation of the velocity of light to solve the horizon problem. We suggest a mechanism which stablilizes the speed of light on the D-3 brane. We finally address the cosmological initial singularity problem using the target space duality inherent in string/M theory. It was suggested by Brandenberger and Vafa that superstring theory can solve the singularity problem and in addition explain why only three spatial dimensions can become large. We show that under specific conditions this mechanism still persists when including the effects of D-branes.

Effects of biases in domain wall network evolution. II. Quantitative analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Correia, J. R. C. C. C.; Leite, I. S. C. R.; Martins, C. J. A. P.

2018-04-01

Domain walls form at phase transitions which break discrete symmetries. In a cosmological context, they often overclose the Universe (contrary to observational evidence), although one may prevent this by introducing biases or forcing anisotropic evolution of the walls. In a previous work [Correia et al., Phys. Rev. D 90, 023521 (2014), 10.1103/PhysRevD.90.023521], we numerically studied the evolution of various types of biased domain wall networks in the early Universe, confirming that anisotropic networks ultimately reach scaling while those with a biased potential or biased initial conditions decay. We also found that the analytic decay law obtained by Hindmarsh was in good agreement with simulations of biased potentials, but not of biased initial conditions, and suggested that the difference was related to the Gaussian approximation underlying the analytic law. Here, we extend our previous work in several ways. For the cases of biased potential and biased initial conditions, we study in detail the field distributions in the simulations, confirming that the validity (or not) of the Gaussian approximation is the key difference between the two cases. For anisotropic walls, we carry out a more extensive set of numerical simulations and compare them to the canonical velocity-dependent one-scale model for domain walls, finding that the model accurately predicts the linear scaling regime after isotropization. Overall, our analysis provides a quantitative description of the cosmological evolution of these networks.

Controlling electric and magnetic currents in artificial spin ice (Presentation Recording)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Branford, Will R.

2015-09-01

I will discuss the collective properties of arrays of single domain nanomagnets called Artificial Spin Ice.1 The shape of each nanomagnet controls the magnetic anisotropy and the elements are closely spaced so dipolar interactions are important. The honeycomb lattice geometry prevents the satisfaction of all dipole interactions. Here I will show direct magnetic imaging studies of magnetic charge flow.2 The magnetic charge is carried by transverse domain walls and the chirality of the domain wall is found to control the direction of propagation.3,4 Injection of domain walls within the arrays with local fields is also explored.5 References 1 Branford, W. R., Ladak, S., Read, D. E., Zeissler, K. and Cohen, L. F. Emerging Chirality in Artificial Spin Ice. Science 335, 1597-1600, (2012). 2 Ladak, S., Read, D. E., Perkins, G. K., Cohen, L. F. and Branford, W. R. Direct observation of magnetic monopole defects in an artificial spin-ice system. Nature Physics 6, 359-363, (2010). 3 Burn, D. M., Chadha, M., Walton, S. K. and Branford, W. R. Dynamic interaction between domain walls and nanowire vertices. Phys. Rev. B 90, 144414, (2014). 4 Zeissler, K., Walton, S. K., Ladak, S., Read, D. E., Tyliszczak, T., Cohen, L. F. and Branford, W. R. The non-random walk of chiral magnetic charge carriers in artificial spin ice. Sci Rep-Uk 3, 1252, (2013). 5 Pushp, A., Phung, T., Rettner, C., Hughes, B. P., Yang, S. H., Thomas, L. and Parkin, S. S. P. Domain wall trajectory determined by its fractional topological edge defects. Nature Physics 9, 505-511, (2013).

Halbach Effect at the Nanoscale from Chiral Spin Textures.

PubMed

Marioni, Miguel A; Penedo, Marcos; Baćani, Mirko; Schwenk, Johannes; Hug, Hans J

2018-04-11

Mallinson's idea that some spin textures in planar magnetic structures could produce an enhancement of the magnetic flux on one side of the plane at the expense of the other gave rise to permanent magnet configurations known as Halbach magnet arrays. Applications range from wiggler magnets in particle accelerators and free electron lasers to motors and magnetic levitation trains, but exploiting Halbach arrays in micro- or nanoscale spintronics devices requires solving the problem of fabrication and field metrology below a 100 μm size. In this work, we show that a Halbach configuration of moments can be obtained over areas as small as 1 μm × 1 μm in sputtered thin films with Néel-type domain walls of unique domain wall chirality, and we measure their stray field at a controlled probe-sample distance of 12.0 ± 0.5 nm. Because here chirality is determined by the interfacial Dyzaloshinkii-Moriya interaction, the field attenuation and amplification is an intrinsic property of this film, allowing for flexibility of design based on an appropriate definition of magnetic domains. Skyrmions (<100 nm wide) illustrate the smallest kind of such structures, for which our measurement of stray magnetic fields and mapping of the spin structure shows they funnel the field toward one specific side of the film given by the sign of the Dyzaloshinkii-Moriya interaction parameter D.

Numerical simulation of water evaporation inside vertical circular tubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ocłoń, Paweł; Nowak, Marzena; Majewski, Karol

2013-10-01

In this paper the results of simplified numerical analysis of water evaporation in vertical circular tubes are presented. The heat transfer in fluid domain (water or wet steam) and solid domain (tube wall) is analyzed. For the fluid domain the temperature field is calculated solving energy equation using the Control Volume Method and for the solid domain using the Finite Element Method. The heat transfer between fluid and solid domains is conjugated using the value of heat transfer coefficient from evaporating liquid to the tube wall. It is determined using the analytical Steiner-Taborek correlation. The pressure changes in fluid are computed using Friedel model.

Shape of isolated domains in lithium tantalate single crystals at elevated temperatures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shur, V. Ya., E-mail: vladimir.shur@usu.ru; Akhmatkhanov, A. R.; Baturin, I. S.

2013-12-09

The shape of isolated domains has been investigated in congruent lithium tantalate (CLT) single crystals at elevated temperatures and analyzed in terms of kinetic approach. The obtained temperature dependence of the growing domain shape in CLT including circular shape at temperatures above 190 °C has been attributed to increase of relative input of isotropic ionic conductivity. The observed nonstop wall motion and independent domain growth after merging in CLT as opposed to stoichiometric lithium tantalate have been attributed to difference in wall orientation. The computer simulation has confirmed applicability of the kinetic approach to the domain shape explanation.

Raman signatures of ferroic domain walls captured by principal component analysis.

PubMed

Nataf, G F; Barrett, N; Kreisel, J; Guennou, M

2018-01-24

Ferroic domain walls are currently investigated by several state-of-the art techniques in order to get a better understanding of their distinct, functional properties. Here, principal component analysis (PCA) of Raman maps is used to study ferroelectric domain walls (DWs) in LiNbO 3 and ferroelastic DWs in NdGaO 3 . It is shown that PCA allows us to quickly and reliably identify small Raman peak variations at ferroelectric DWs and that the value of a peak shift can be deduced-accurately and without a priori-from a first order Taylor expansion of the spectra. The ability of PCA to separate the contribution of ferroelastic domains and DWs to Raman spectra is emphasized. More generally, our results provide a novel route for the statistical analysis of any property mapped across a DW.

Extrinsic pinning of magnetic domain walls in CoFeB-MgO nanowires with perpendicular anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xueying; Vernier, Nicolas; Zhao, Weisheng; Vila, Laurent; Ravelosona, Dafiné

2018-05-01

In this work, we have studied the mechanism of domain wall motion in 0.2-1.5 μm wide nanowires based on Ta/CoFeB/MgO films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. We show that domain wall propagation can be completely stopped due to the presence of strong pinning sites along the nanowires. From the analysis of the distribution of the strongest depinning fields as a function of the wire width, we evidence the presence of extrinsic pinning sites in nanowires, probably induced by edge damages, that dominate over the intrinsic pinning of the magnetic films even for these large wire widths.

Nonlinear dielectric response and transient current: An effective potential for ferroelectric domain wall displacement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Placeres Jiménez, Rolando; Pedro Rino, José; Marino Gonçalves, André; Antonio Eiras, José

2013-09-01

Ferroelectric domain walls are modeled as rigid bodies moving under the action of a potential field in a dissipative medium. Assuming that the dielectric permittivity follows the dependence ɛ '∝1/(α+βE2), it obtained the exact expression for the effective potential. Simulations of polarization current correctly predict a power law. Such results could be valuable in the study of domain wall kinetic and ultrafast polarization processes. The model is extended to poled samples allowing the study of nonlinear dielectric permittivity under subswitching electric fields. Experimental nonlinear data from PZT 20/80 thin films and Fe+3 doped PZT 40/60 ceramic are reproduced.

Arabidopsis leucine-rich repeat extensin (LRX) proteins modify cell wall composition and influence plant growth.

PubMed

Draeger, Christian; Ndinyanka Fabrice, Tohnyui; Gineau, Emilie; Mouille, Grégory; Kuhn, Benjamin M; Moller, Isabel; Abdou, Marie-Therese; Frey, Beat; Pauly, Markus; Bacic, Antony; Ringli, Christoph

2015-06-24

Leucine-rich repeat extensins (LRXs) are extracellular proteins consisting of an N-terminal leucine-rich repeat (LRR) domain and a C-terminal extensin domain containing the typical features of this class of structural hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins (HRGPs). The LRR domain is likely to bind an interaction partner, whereas the extensin domain has an anchoring function to insolubilize the protein in the cell wall. Based on the analysis of the root hair-expressed LRX1 and LRX2 of Arabidopsis thaliana, LRX proteins are important for cell wall development. The importance of LRX proteins in non-root hair cells and on the structural changes induced by mutations in LRX genes remains elusive. The LRX gene family of Arabidopsis consists of eleven members, of which LRX3, LRX4, and LRX5 are expressed in aerial organs, such as leaves and stem. The importance of these LRX genes for plant development and particularly cell wall formation was investigated. Synergistic effects of mutations with gradually more severe growth retardation phenotypes in double and triple mutants suggest a similar function of the three genes. Analysis of cell wall composition revealed a number of changes to cell wall polysaccharides in the mutants. LRX3, LRX4, and LRX5, and most likely LRX proteins in general, are important for cell wall development. Due to the complexity of changes in cell wall structures in the lrx mutants, the exact function of LRX proteins remains to be determined. The increasingly strong growth-defect phenotypes in double and triple mutants suggests that the LRX proteins have similar functions and that they are important for proper plant development.

Newly identified bacteriolytic enzymes that target a wide range of clinical isolates of Clostridium difficile.

PubMed

Mehta, Krunal K; Paskaleva, Elena E; Wu, Xia; Grover, Navdeep; Mundra, Ruchir V; Chen, Kevin; Zhang, Yongrong; Yang, Zhiyong; Feng, Hanping; Dordick, Jonathan S; Kane, Ravi S

2016-12-01

Clostridium difficile has emerged as a major cause of infectious diarrhea in hospitalized patients, with increasing mortality rate and annual healthcare costs exceeding $3 billion. Since C. difficile infections are associated with the use of antibiotics, there is an urgent need to develop treatments that can inactivate the bacterium selectively without affecting commensal microflora. Lytic enzymes from bacteria and bacteriophages show promise as highly selective and effective antimicrobial agents. These enzymes often have a modular structure, consisting of a catalytic domain and a binding domain. In the current work, using consensus catalytic domain and cell-wall binding domain sequences as probes, we analyzed in silico the genome of C. difficile, as well as phages infecting C. difficile. We identified two genes encoding cell lytic enzymes with possible activity against C. difficile. We cloned the genes in a suitable expression vector, expressed and purified the protein products, and tested enzyme activity in vitro. These newly identified enzymes were found to be active against C. difficile cells in a dose-dependent manner. We achieved a more than 4-log reduction in the number of viable bacteria within 5 h of application. Moreover, we found that the enzymes were active against a wide range of C. difficile clinical isolates. We also characterized the biocatalytic mechanism by identifying the specific bonds cleaved by these enzymes within the cell wall peptidoglycan. These results suggest a new approach to combating the growing healthcare problem associated with C. difficile infections. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2016;113: 2568-2576. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Reversible optical control of macroscopic polarization in ferroelectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rubio-Marcos, Fernando; Ochoa, Diego A.; Del Campo, Adolfo; García, Miguel A.; Castro, Germán R.; Fernández, José F.; García, José E.

2018-01-01

The optical control of ferroic properties is a subject of fascination for the scientific community, because it involves the establishment of new paradigms for technology1-9. Domains and domain walls are known to have a great impact on the properties of ferroic materials1-24. Progress is currently being made in understanding the behaviour of the ferroelectric domain wall, especially regarding its dynamic control10-12,17,19. New research is being conducted to find effective methodologies capable of modulating ferroelectric domain motion for future electronics. However, the practical use of ferroelectric domain wall motion should be both stable and reversible (rewritable) and, in particular, be able to produce a macroscopic response that can be monitored easily12,17. Here, we show that it is possible to achieve a reversible optical change of ferroelectric domains configuration. This effect leads to the tuning of macroscopic polarization and its related properties by means of polarized light, a non-contact external control. Although this is only the first step, it nevertheless constitutes the most crucial one in the long and complex process of developing the next generation of photo-stimulated ferroelectric devices.

Scaling properties of multitension domain wall networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliveira, M. F.; Martins, C. J. A. P.

2015-02-01

We study the asymptotic scaling properties of domain wall networks with three different tensions in various cosmological epochs. We discuss the conditions under which a scale-invariant evolution of the network (which is well established for simpler walls) still applies and also consider the limiting case where defects are locally planar and the curvature is concentrated in the junctions. We present detailed quantitative predictions for scaling densities in various contexts, which should be testable by means of future high-resolution numerical simulations.

Witten Effect and Fractional Charges on the Domain Wall and the D-Brane-Like Dot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanazawa, I.; Maeda, R.

2018-04-01

We have discussed the anomalous excitations such as dyons, Majorana fermions, and quark-like fermions on the domain wall in topological materials and the D-brane-like dot, and the relation to low-energy hadrons in QCD, from the viewpoint of a field-theoretical formula.

A small cellulose binding domain protein (CBD1) is highly variable in the nonbinding amino terminus

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The small cellulose binding domain protein CBD1 is tightly bound to the cellulosic cell wall of the plant pathogenic stramenophile Phytophthora infestans. Transgene expression of the protein in plants has also demonstrated binding to plant cell walls. A study was undertaken using 47 isolates of P. ...

The Möbius domain wall fermion algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brower, Richard C.; Neff, Harmut; Orginos, Kostas

2017-11-01

We present a review of the properties of generalized domain wall Fermions, based on a (real) Möbius transformation on the Wilson overlap kernel, discussing their algorithmic efficiency, the degree of explicit chiral violations measured by the residual mass (mres) and the Ward-Takahashi identities. The Möbius class interpolates between Shamir's domain wall operator and Boriçi's domain wall implementation of Neuberger's overlap operator without increasing the number of Dirac applications per conjugate gradient iteration. A new scaling parameter (α) reduces chiral violations at finite fifth dimension (Ls) but yields exactly the same overlap action in the limit Ls → ∞. Through the use of 4d Red/Black preconditioning and optimal tuning for the scaling α(Ls) , we show that chiral symmetry violations are typically reduced by an order of magnitude at fixed Ls. We argue that the residual mass for a tuned Möbius algorithm with α = O(1 /Lsγ) for γ < 1 will eventually fall asymptotically as mres = O(1 /Ls1+γ) in the case of a 5D Hamiltonian with out a spectral gap.

Influence of Joule heating on current-induced domain wall depinning

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moretti, Simone, E-mail: simone.moretti@usal.es; Raposo, Victor; Martinez, Eduardo

2016-06-07

The domain wall depinning from a notch in a Permalloy nanostrip on top of a SiO{sub 2}/Si substrate is studied theoretically under application of static magnetic fields and the injection of short current pulses. The influence of Joule heating on current-induced domain wall depinning is explored self-consistently by coupling the magnetization dynamics in the ferromagnetic strip to the heat transport throughout the system. Our results indicate that Joule heating plays a remarkable role in these processes, resulting in a reduction in the critical depinning field and/or in a temporary destruction of the ferromagnetic order for typically injected current pulses. Inmore » agreement with experimental observations, similar pinning-depinning phase diagrams can be deduced for both current polarities when the Joule heating is taken into account. These observations, which are incompatible with the sole contribution of spin transfer torques, provide a deeper understanding of the physics underlying these processes and establish the real scope of the spin transfer torque. They are also relevant for technological applications based on current-induced domain-wall motion along soft strips.« less

Six-dimensional regularization of chiral gauge theories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukaya, Hidenori; Onogi, Tetsuya; Yamamoto, Shota; Yamamura, Ryo

2017-03-01

We propose a regularization of four-dimensional chiral gauge theories using six-dimensional Dirac fermions. In our formulation, we consider two different mass terms having domain-wall profiles in the fifth and the sixth directions, respectively. A Weyl fermion appears as a localized mode at the junction of two different domain walls. One domain wall naturally exhibits the Stora-Zumino chain of the anomaly descent equations, starting from the axial U(1) anomaly in six dimensions to the gauge anomaly in four dimensions. Another domain wall implies a similar inflow of the global anomalies. The anomaly-free condition is equivalent to requiring that the axial U(1) anomaly and the parity anomaly are canceled among the six-dimensional Dirac fermions. Since our formulation is based on a massive vector-like fermion determinant, a nonperturbative regularization will be possible on a lattice. Putting the gauge field at the four-dimensional junction and extending it to the bulk using the Yang-Mills gradient flow, as recently proposed by Grabowska and Kaplan, we define the four-dimensional path integral of the target chiral gauge theory.

Coupled numerical approach combining finite volume and lattice Boltzmann methods for multi-scale multi-physicochemical processes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Li; He, Ya-Ling; Kang, Qinjun

2013-12-15

A coupled (hybrid) simulation strategy spatially combining the finite volume method (FVM) and the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), called CFVLBM, is developed to simulate coupled multi-scale multi-physicochemical processes. In the CFVLBM, computational domain of multi-scale problems is divided into two sub-domains, i.e., an open, free fluid region and a region filled with porous materials. The FVM and LBM are used for these two regions, respectively, with information exchanged at the interface between the two sub-domains. A general reconstruction operator (RO) is proposed to derive the distribution functions in the LBM from the corresponding macro scalar, the governing equation of whichmore » obeys the convection–diffusion equation. The CFVLBM and the RO are validated in several typical physicochemical problems and then are applied to simulate complex multi-scale coupled fluid flow, heat transfer, mass transport, and chemical reaction in a wall-coated micro reactor. The maximum ratio of the grid size between the FVM and LBM regions is explored and discussed. -- Highlights: •A coupled simulation strategy for simulating multi-scale phenomena is developed. •Finite volume method and lattice Boltzmann method are coupled. •A reconstruction operator is derived to transfer information at the sub-domains interface. •Coupled multi-scale multiple physicochemical processes in micro reactor are simulated. •Techniques to save computational resources and improve the efficiency are discussed.« less

Possible roles of Peccei-Quinn symmetry in an effective low energy model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suematsu, Daijiro

2017-12-01

The strong C P problem is known to be solved by imposing Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry. However, the domain wall problem caused by the spontaneous breaking of its remnant discrete subgroup could make models invalid in many cases. We propose a model in which the PQ charge is assigned quarks so as to escape this problem without introducing any extra colored fermions. In the low energy effective model resulting after the PQ symmetry breaking, both the quark mass hierarchy and the CKM mixing could be explained through Froggatt-Nielsen mechanism. If the model is combined with the lepton sector supplemented by an inert doublet scalar and right-handed neutrinos, the effective model reduces to the scotogenic neutrino mass model in which both the origin of neutrino masses and dark matter are closely related. The strong C P problem could be related to the quark mass hierarchy, neutrino masses, and dark matter through the PQ symmetry.

Hearing the signal of dark sectors with gravitational wave detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jaeckel, Joerg; Khoze, Valentin V.; Spannowsky, Michael

2016-11-01

Motivated by advanced LIGO (aLIGO)'s recent discovery of gravitational waves, we discuss signatures of new physics that could be seen at ground- and space-based interferometers. We show that a first-order phase transition in a dark sector would lead to a detectable gravitational wave signal at future experiments, if the phase transition has occurred at temperatures few orders of magnitude higher than the electroweak scale. The source of gravitational waves in this case is associated with the dynamics of expanding and colliding bubbles in the early universe. At the same time we point out that topological defects, such as dark sector domain walls, may generate a detectable signal already at aLIGO. Both bubble and domain-wall scenarios are sourced by semiclassical configurations of a dark new physics sector. In the first case, the gravitational wave signal originates from bubble wall collisions and subsequent turbulence in hot plasma in the early universe, while the second case corresponds to domain walls passing through the interferometer at present and is not related to gravitational waves. We find that aLIGO at its current sensitivity can detect smoking-gun signatures from domain-wall interactions, while future proposed experiments including the fifth phase of aLIGO at design sensitivity can probe dark sector phase transitions.

Impurity-generated non-Abelions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simion, G.; Kazakov, A.; Rokhinson, L. P.; Wojtowicz, T.; Lyanda-Geller, Y. B.

2018-06-01

Two classes of topological superconductors and Majorana modes in condensed matter systems are known to date: one in which disorder induced by impurities strongly suppresses topological superconducting gap and is detrimental to Majorana modes, and another where Majorana fermions are protected by a disorder-robust topological superconductor gap. Observation and control of Majorana fermions and other non-Abelions often requires a symmetry of an underlying system leading to a gap in the single-particle or quasiparticle spectra. In semiconductor structures, impurities that provide charge carriers introduce states into the gap and enable conductance and proximity-induced superconductivity via the in-gap states. Thus a third class of topological superconductivity and Majorana modes emerges, in which topological superconductivity and Majorana fermions appear exclusively when impurities generate in-gap states. We show that impurity-enabled topological superconductivity is realized in a quantum Hall ferromagnet, when a helical domain wall is coupled to an s -wave superconductor. As an example of emergence of topological superconductivity in quantum Hall ferromagnets, we consider the integer quantum Hall effect in Mn-doped CdTe quantum wells. Recent experiments on transport through the quantum Hall ferromagnet domain wall in this system indicated a vital role of impurities in the conductance, but left unresolved the question whether impurities preclude generation of Majorana fermions and other non-Abelions in such systems in general. Here, solving a general quantum-mechanical problem of impurity bound states in a system of spin-orbit coupled Landau levels, we demonstrate that impurity-induced Majorana modes emerge at boundaries between topological and conventional superconducting states generated in a domain wall due to proximity to an s superconductor. We consider both short-range disorder and a smooth random potential. The phase diagram of the system is defined by characteristic disorder, gate voltage induced angular momentum splitting of impurity levels, and by a proximity superconducting gap. The phase diagram exhibits two ranges of gate voltage with conventional superconducting order separated by a gate voltage range with topological superconductivity. We show that electrostatic control of domain walls in an integer quantum Hall ferromagnet allows manipulation of Majorana fermions. Ferromagnetic transitions in the fractional quantum Hall regime may lead to the formation and electrostatic control of higher order non-Abelian excitations.

Dipolar ferromagnetic phase transition in Fe3O4 nanoparticle arrays observed by Lorentz microscopy and electron holography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, Kazuo; Hogg, Charles R.; Yamamuro, Saeki; Hirayama, Tsukasa; Majetich, Sara A.

2011-02-01

Dipolar ferromagnetism formed in Fe3O4 nanoparticle arrays is revealed by Fresnel Lorentz microscopy and electron holography. Dipolar domain walls do not lie preferentially along macrograin boundaries but depend on the overall shape of the assembly, meaning magnetostatic energy dominates. The domain structures are imaged at different temperatures for both monolayer and bilayer arrays. The domain wall contrast in the monolayer region is visible until 575 °C, and the magnetic order parameter steeply drops toward the temperature. In the bilayer region, finer and more complicated domains are formed.

Dynamics of chiral domain wall under the spin-orbit torques in heavy metal/ferromagnet bilayers with in-plane anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, Han; He, Peng-Bin; Cai, Meng-Qiu; Li, Zai-Dong

2017-11-01

The dynamics of domain wall driven by the spin-orbit torques is theoretically studied in the heavy metal/ferromagnet bilayer with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) and in-plane magnetic anisotropy. Based on the Walker profile, we infer that DMI has a selectivity for the chirality of head-to-head (tail-to-tail) static wall. By analyzing the dynamic equations obtained from the collective coordinates methods, we find that there exists a switching or a hysteresis of the polarity of wall in the low-current regime. In the presence of DMI, the wall can keep sustained propagation which velocity saturates for high current and is proportional to the strength of DMI. Furthermore, the DMI makes the adjacent walls possess the same chirality and move in the same direction.

Spinmotive force due to domain wall motion in high field regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ieda, Jun'ichi; Yamane, Yuta; Maekawa, Sadamichi

2012-02-01

Spinmotive force associated with a moving vortex domain wall is investigated numerically. Dynamics of magnetization textures such as a domain wall exerts a non-conservative spin-force on conduction electrons [1], offering a new concept of magnetic devices [2]. This spinmotive force in permalloy nanowires has been detected by voltage measurement [3] where magnitude of the signal is limited less than 500 nV. Theoretically it is suggested that the spinmotive force signal increases as a function of external magnetic fields. At higher magnetic fields, however, the wall propagation mode becomes rather chaotic involving transformations of the wall structure and it remains to be seen how the spinmotive force appears. Numerical simulations show that the spinmotive force scales with the field even in a field range where the wall motion is no longer associated coherent precession. This feature has been tested in a recent experiment [4]. Further enhancement of the spinmotive force is explored by designing ferromagnetic nanostructures [5] and materials. [1] S. Barnes and S. Maekawa, PRL (2007). [2] S. Barnes, J. Ieda, and S. Maekawa, APL (2006). [3] S. A. Yang et al., PRL (2009). [4] M. Hayashi, J. Ieda et al., submitted. [5] Y. Yamane, J. Ieda et al., APEX (2011).

Technical advances for abdominal wall closure after intestinal and multivisceral transplantation.

PubMed

Gerlach, Undine A; Pascher, Andreas

2012-06-01

Abdominal wall closure after intestinal transplantation (ITX) or multivisceral transplantation (MVTX) is challenging because of the loss of abdominal domain and wall elasticity as a result of previous operations and donor-to-recipient weight and height mismatch. We report on abdominal wall closure management in 30 ITX and MVTX recipients. In 60% of patients (n = 18), a primary abdominal closure (PAC) was achieved, in 40% (n = 12) a staged closure (SAC) was necessary. Patients with PAC had undergone less pretransplant operations and required less posttransplant relaparotomies. They were mainly ITX recipients or more abdominal domain because of a longer intestinal remnant. A literature review revealed different strategies to overcome a failed primary closure. They focus on graft reduction or an enlargement of the abdominal domain. The latter includes temporary coverage with prosthetic materials for SAC. Definite abdominal closure is achieved by skin only closure, or by using acellular dermal matrix, rotational flaps, rectus muscle fascia or abdominal wall grafts. Abdominal wall reconstruction after ITX/MVTX is commonly demanded and can be conducted by different strategies. The technique should be easy to use in a timely manner and should prevent abdominal infections, intestinal fistulation, incisional hernias, and wound dehiscence.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stubos, A.K.; Caseiras, C.P.; Buchlin, J.M.

The transient two-phase flow and phase change heat transfer processes in porous media are investigated. Based on an enthalpic approach, a one-domain formulation of the problem is developed, avoiding explicit internal boundary tracking between single- and two-phase regions. An efficient numerical scheme is applied to obtain the solution on a fixed two-dimensional grid. The transient response of a liquid-saturated, self-heated porous bed is examined in detail. A physical interpretation of a liquid-saturated, self-heated porous bed is examined in detail. A physical interpretation of the computed response to fast power transients is attempted. Comparisons with experimental data are made regarding themore » average void fraction and the limiting dryout heat flux. The numerical approach is extended, keeping the one-domain formulation, to include the surrounding wall structure in the calculation.« less

Multi-region approach to free-boundary three-dimensional tokamak equilibria and resistive wall instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferraro, N. M.; Jardin, S. C.; Lao, L. L.; Shephard, M. S.; Zhang, F.

2016-05-01

Free-boundary 3D tokamak equilibria and resistive wall instabilities are calculated using a new resistive wall model in the two-fluid M3D-C1 code. In this model, the resistive wall and surrounding vacuum region are included within the computational domain. This implementation contrasts with the method typically used in fluid codes in which the resistive wall is treated as a boundary condition on the computational domain boundary and has the advantage of maintaining purely local coupling of mesh elements. This new capability is used to simulate perturbed, free-boundary non-axisymmetric equilibria; the linear evolution of resistive wall modes; and the linear and nonlinear evolution of axisymmetric vertical displacement events (VDEs). Calculated growth rates for a resistive wall mode with arbitrary wall thickness are shown to agree well with the analytic theory. Equilibrium and VDE calculations are performed in diverted tokamak geometry, at physically realistic values of dissipation, and with resistive walls of finite width. Simulations of a VDE disruption extend into the current-quench phase, in which the plasma becomes limited by the first wall, and strong currents are observed to flow in the wall, in the SOL, and from the plasma to the wall.

Structure of a tethered polymer under flow using molecular dynamics and hybrid molecular-continuum simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delgado-Buscalioni, Rafael; Coveney, Peter V.

2006-03-01

We analyse the structure of a single polymer tethered to a solid surface undergoing a Couette flow. We study the problem using molecular dynamics (MD) and hybrid MD-continuum simulations, wherein the polymer and the surrounding solvent are treated via standard MD, and the solvent flow farther away from the polymer is solved by continuum fluid dynamics (CFD). The polymer represents a freely jointed chain (FJC) and is modelled by Lennard-Jones (LJ) beads interacting through the FENE potential. The solvent (modelled as a LJ fluid) and a weakly attractive wall are treated at the molecular level. At large shear rates the polymer becomes more elongated than predicted by existing theoretical scaling laws. Also, along the normal-to-wall direction the structure observed for the FJC is, surprisingly, very similar to that predicted for a semiflexible chain. Comparison with previous Brownian dynamics simulations (which exclude both solvent and wall potential) indicates that these effects are due to the polymer-solvent and polymer-wall interactions. The hybrid simulations are in perfect agreement with the MD simulations, showing no trace of finite size effects. Importantly, the extra cost required to couple the MD and CFD domains is negligible.

Magnetoresistance due to domain walls in an epitaxial microfabricated Fe wire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rüdiger, U.; Yu, J.; Kent, A. D.; Parkin, S. S. P.

1998-08-01

The domain wall (DW) contribution to magnetoresistance has been investigated using an epitaxial microfabricated bcc (110) Fe wires of 2 μm linewidth. A strong in-plane uniaxial component to the magnetic anisotropy perpendicular to the wire axis causes a regular stripe domain pattern with closure domains. The stripe domain width in zero-applied magnetic field is strongly affected by the magnetic history and can be continuously varied from 0.45 to 1.8 μm. This enables a measurement of the resistivity as a function of DW density in a single wire. Clear evidence is presented that the resistivity is reduced in the presence of DWs at low temperatures.

Asymptotic analysis of dissipative waves with applications to their numerical simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hagstrom, Thomas

1990-01-01

Various problems involving the interplay of asymptotics and numerics in the analysis of wave propagation in dissipative systems are studied. A general approach to the asymptotic analysis of linear, dissipative waves is developed. It was applied to the derivation of asymptotic boundary conditions for numerical solutions on unbounded domains. Applications include the Navier-Stokes equations. Multidimensional traveling wave solutions to reaction-diffusion equations are also considered. A preliminary numerical investigation of a thermo-diffusive model of flame propagation in a channel with heat loss at the walls is presented.

Isospin Breaking Corrections to the HVP with Domain Wall Fermions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boyle, Peter; Guelpers, Vera; Harrison, James; Juettner, Andreas; Lehner, Christoph; Portelli, Antonin; Sachrajda, Christopher

2018-03-01

We present results for the QED and strong isospin breaking corrections to the hadronic vacuum polarization using Nf = 2 + 1 Domain Wall fermions. QED is included in an electro-quenched setup using two different methods, a stochastic and a perturbative approach. Results and statistical errors from both methods are directly compared with each other.

Logic circuit prototypes for three-terminal magnetic tunnel junctions with mobile domain walls

PubMed Central

Currivan-Incorvia, J. A.; Siddiqui, S.; Dutta, S.; Evarts, E. R.; Zhang, J.; Bono, D.; Ross, C. A.; Baldo, M. A.

2016-01-01

Spintronic computing promises superior energy efficiency and nonvolatility compared to conventional field-effect transistor logic. But, it has proven difficult to realize spintronic circuits with a versatile, scalable device design that is adaptable to emerging material physics. Here we present prototypes of a logic device that encode information in the position of a magnetic domain wall in a ferromagnetic wire. We show that a single three-terminal device can perform inverter and buffer operations. We demonstrate one device can drive two subsequent gates and logic propagation in a circuit of three inverters. This prototype demonstration shows that magnetic domain wall logic devices have the necessary characteristics for future computing, including nonlinearity, gain, cascadability, and room temperature operation. PMID:26754412

Boundary effects and the onset of Taylor vortices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rucklidge, A. M.; Champneys, A. R.

2004-05-01

It is well established that the onset of spatially periodic vortex states in the Taylor-Couette flow between rotating cylinders occurs at the value of Reynolds number predicted by local bifurcation theory. However, the symmetry breaking induced by the top and bottom plates means that the true situation should be a disconnected pitchfork. Indeed, experiments have shown that the fold on the disconnected branch can occur at more than double the Reynolds number of onset. This leads to an apparent contradiction: why should Taylor vortices set in so sharply at the Reynolds number predicted by the symmetric theory, given such large symmetry-breaking effects caused by the boundary conditions? This paper offers a generic explanation. The details are worked out using a Swift-Hohenberg pattern formation model that shares the same qualitative features as the Taylor-Couette flow. Onset occurs via a wall mode whose exponential tail penetrates further into the bulk of the domain as the driving parameter increases. In a large domain of length L, we show that the wall mode creates significant amplitude in the centre at parameter values that are O( L-2) away from the value of onset in the problem with ideal boundary conditions. We explain this as being due to a Hamiltonian Hopf bifurcation in space, which occurs at the same parameter value as the pitchfork bifurcation of the temporal dynamics. The disconnected anomalous branch remains O(1) away from the onset parameter since it does not arise as a bifurcation from the wall mode.

Determination of magnetic domain state of carbon coated iron nanoparticles via 57Fe zero-external-field NMR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manjunatha, M.; Kumar, Rajeev; Sahoo, Balaram; Damle, Ramakrishna; Ramesh, K. P.

2018-05-01

The magnetic domain state of carbon coated iron nanopowder (Fe@C) was studied by the internal field nuclear magnetic resonance (IFNMR) at 77 K using the spin echo technique. The structure and magnetic properties of the sample were further characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Mössbauer spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Raman Spectroscopy. The obtained IFNMR results of Fe@C powder were compared with that of micron sized carbonyl iron (CI) and electrolytic iron (EI) powders. The calculated critical size of the single domain iron particles in Fe@C is ∼ 16 nm. A higher enhancement in echo amplitude was observed due to better response of the domain walls of multidomain particles in comparison to the single domain particles. The echo signal of CI and EI particles exhibit a single narrow intense peak corresponding to the domain walls, whereas Fe@C exhibits two low amplitude peaks at two different frequencies: a low frequency (46.6 MHz) peak corresponds to the response of the domain walls of the multidomain particles and the other high frequency (47.2 MHz) signal (a shoulder) corresponding to the response of the magnetic nuclei inside the domain. Our results help in determining the domain state of iron-based magnetic particles using 57Fe-IFNMR.

Magnetically Defined Qubits on 3D Topological Insulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira, Gerson J.; Loss, Daniel

2014-03-01

We explore potentials that break time-reversal symmetry to confine the surface states of 3D topological insulators into quantum wires and quantum dots. A magnetic domain wall on a ferromagnet insulator cap layer provides interfacial states predicted to show the quantum anomalous Hall effect. Here, we show that confinement can also occur at magnetic domain heterostructures, with states extended in the inner domain, as well as interfacial QAHE states at the surrounding domain walls. The proposed geometry allows the isolation of the wire and dot from spurious circumventing surface states. For the quantum dots, we find that highly spin-polarized quantized QAHE states at the dot edge constitute a promising candidate for quantum computing qubits. See [Ferreira and Loss, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 106802 (2013)]. We explore potentials that break time-reversal symmetry to confine the surface states of 3D topological insulators into quantum wires and quantum dots. A magnetic domain wall on a ferromagnet insulator cap layer provides interfacial states predicted to show the quantum anomalous Hall effect. Here, we show that confinement can also occur at magnetic domain heterostructures, with states extended in the inner domain, as well as interfacial QAHE states at the surrounding domain walls. The proposed geometry allows the isolation of the wire and dot from spurious circumventing surface states. For the quantum dots, we find that highly spin-polarized quantized QAHE states at the dot edge constitute a promising candidate for quantum computing qubits. See [Ferreira and Loss, Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 106802 (2013)]. We acknowledge support from the Swiss NSF, NCCR Nanoscience, NCCR QSIT, and the Brazillian Research Support Center Initiative (NAP Q-NANO) from Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa (PRP/USP).

Crystal Structure of Chitinase ChiW from Paenibacillus sp. str. FPU-7 Reveals a Novel Type of Bacterial Cell-Surface-Expressed Multi-Modular Enzyme Machinery

PubMed Central

Itoh, Takafumi; Hibi, Takao; Suzuki, Fumiko; Sugimoto, Ikumi; Fujiwara, Akihiro; Inaka, Koji; Tanaka, Hiroaki; Ohta, Kazunori; Fujii, Yutaka; Taketo, Akira; Kimoto, Hisashi

2016-01-01

The Gram-positive bacterium Paenibacillus sp. str. FPU-7 effectively hydrolyzes chitin by using a number of chitinases. A unique chitinase with two catalytic domains, ChiW, is expressed on the cell surface of this bacterium and has high activity towards various chitins, even crystalline chitin. Here, the crystal structure of ChiW at 2.1 Å resolution is presented and describes how the enzyme degrades chitin on the bacterial cell surface. The crystal structure revealed a unique multi-modular architecture composed of six domains to function efficiently on the cell surface: a right-handed β-helix domain (carbohydrate-binding module family 54, CBM-54), a Gly-Ser-rich loop, 1st immunoglobulin-like (Ig-like) fold domain, 1st β/α-barrel catalytic domain (glycoside hydrolase family 18, GH-18), 2nd Ig-like fold domain and 2nd β/α-barrel catalytic domain (GH-18). The structure of the CBM-54, flexibly linked to the catalytic region of ChiW, is described here for the first time. It is similar to those of carbohydrate lyases but displayed no detectable carbohydrate degradation activities. The CBM-54 of ChiW bound to cell wall polysaccharides, such as chin, chitosan, β-1,3-glucan, xylan and cellulose. The structural and biochemical data obtained here also indicated that the enzyme has deep and short active site clefts with endo-acting character. The affinity of CBM-54 towards cell wall polysaccharides and the degradation pattern of the catalytic domains may help to efficiently decompose the cell wall chitin through the contact surface. Furthermore, we clarify that other Gram-positive bacteria possess similar cell-surface-expressed multi-modular enzymes for cell wall polysaccharide degradation. PMID:27907169

Making Home Sweet and Sturdy: Toxoplasma gondii ppGalNAc-Ts Glycosylate in Hierarchical Order and Confer Cyst Wall Rigidity.

PubMed

Tomita, Tadakimi; Sugi, Tatsuki; Yakubu, Rama; Tu, Vincent; Ma, Yanfen; Weiss, Louis M

2017-01-10

The protozoan intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii forms latent cysts in the central nervous system (CNS) and persists for the lifetime of the host. This cyst is cloaked with a glycosylated structure called the cyst wall. Previously, we demonstrated that a mucin-like glycoprotein, CST1, localizes to the cyst wall and confers structural rigidity on brain cysts in a mucin-like domain-dependent manner. The mucin-like domain of CST1 is composed of 20 units of threonine-rich tandem repeats that are O-GalNAc glycosylated. A family of enzymes termed polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferases (ppGalNAc-Ts) initiates O-GalNAc glycosylation. To identify which isoforms of ppGalNAc-Ts are responsible for the glycosylation of the CST1 mucin-like domain and to evaluate the function of each ppGalNAc-T in the overall glycosylation of the cyst wall, all five ppGalNAc-T isoforms were deleted individually from the T. gondii genome. The ppGalNAc-T2 and -T3 deletion mutants produced various glycosylation defects on the cyst wall, implying that many cyst wall glycoproteins are glycosylated by T2 and T3. Both T2 and T3 glycosylate the CST1 mucin-like domain, and this glycosylation is necessary for CST1 to confer structural rigidity on the cyst wall. We established that T2 is required for the initial glycosylation of the mucin-like domain and that T3 is responsible for the sequential glycosylation on neighboring acceptor sites, demonstrating hierarchical glycosylation by two distinct initiating and filling-in ppGalNAc-Ts in an intact organism. Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that infects a third of the world's population. It can cause severe congenital disease and devastating encephalitis in immunocompromised individuals. We identified two glycosyltransferases, ppGalNAc-T2 and -T3, which are responsible for glycosylating cyst wall proteins in a hierarchical fashion. This glycosylation confers structural rigidity on the brain cyst. Our studies provide new insights into the mechanisms of O-GalNAc glycosylation in T. gondii. Copyright © 2017 Tomita et al.

The SPOR Domain, a Widely Conserved Peptidoglycan Binding Domain That Targets Proteins to the Site of Cell Division.

PubMed

Yahashiri, Atsushi; Jorgenson, Matthew A; Weiss, David S

2017-07-15

Sporulation-related repeat (SPOR) domains are small peptidoglycan (PG) binding domains found in thousands of bacterial proteins. The name "SPOR domain" stems from the fact that several early examples came from proteins involved in sporulation, but SPOR domain proteins are quite diverse and contribute to a variety of processes that involve remodeling of the PG sacculus, especially with respect to cell division. SPOR domains target proteins to the division site by binding to regions of PG devoid of stem peptides ("denuded" glycans), which in turn are enriched in septal PG by the intense, localized activity of cell wall amidases involved in daughter cell separation. This targeting mechanism sets SPOR domain proteins apart from most other septal ring proteins, which localize via protein-protein interactions. In addition to SPOR domains, bacteria contain several other PG-binding domains that can exploit features of the cell wall to target proteins to specific subcellular sites. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

Improper origin of polar displacements at CaTiO3 and CaMnO3 twin walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barone, Paolo; Di Sante, Domenico; Picozzi, Silvia

2014-04-01

Recent interest in novel functionalities arising at domain walls of ferroic materials naturally calls for a microscopic understanding. To this end, first-principles calculations have been performed in order to provide solid evidence of polar distortions in the twin walls of nonpolar CaTiO3 and magnetic CaMnO3. We show that such polar displacements arise from rotation and/or tilting octahedral distortions—cooperatively acting at the twin wall in both considered systems—rather than from a proper secondary ferroelectric instability, as often believed. Our results are in excellent agreement with experimental observations of domain walls in CaTiO3. In addition, we show that magnetic properties at the twin wall in CaMnO3 are also modified, thus suggesting an unexplored route to achieve and detect multiferroic ordering in a single-phase material.

Tunneling decay of false domain walls: The silence of the lambs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Haberichter, Mareike, E-mail: M.Haberichter@kent.ac.uk; School of Mathematics, Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NF; MacKenzie, Richard, E-mail: richard.mackenzie@umontreal.ca

We study the decay of “false” domain walls, that is, metastable states of the quantum theory where the true vacuum is trapped inside the wall with the false vacuum outside. We consider a theory with two scalar fields, a shepherd field and a field of sheep. The shepherd field serves to herd the solitons of the sheep field so that they are nicely bunched together. However, quantum tunnelling of the shepherd field releases the sheep to spread out uncontrollably. We show how to calculate the tunnelling amplitude for such a disintegration.

Gust Acoustics Computation with a Space-Time CE/SE Parallel 3D Solver

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, X. Y.; Himansu, A.; Chang, S. C.; Jorgenson, P. C. E.; Reddy, D. R. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The benchmark Problem 2 in Category 3 of the Third Computational Aero-Acoustics (CAA) Workshop is solved using the space-time conservation element and solution element (CE/SE) method. This problem concerns the unsteady response of an isolated finite-span swept flat-plate airfoil bounded by two parallel walls to an incident gust. The acoustic field generated by the interaction of the gust with the flat-plate airfoil is computed by solving the 3D (three-dimensional) Euler equations in the time domain using a parallel version of a 3D CE/SE solver. The effect of the gust orientation on the far-field directivity is studied. Numerical solutions are presented and compared with analytical solutions, showing a reasonable agreement.

Cubic spline anchored grid pattern algorithm for high-resolution detection of subsurface cavities by the IR-CAT method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kassab, A.J.; Pollard, J.E.

An algorithm is presented for the high-resolution detection of irregular-shaped subsurface cavities within irregular-shaped bodies by the IR-CAT method. The theoretical basis of the algorithm is rooted in the solution of an inverse geometric steady-state heat conduction problem. A Cauchy boundary condition is prescribed at the exposed surface, and the inverse geometric heat conduction problem is formulated by specifying the thermal condition at the inner cavities walls, whose unknown geometries are to be detected. The location of the inner cavities is initially estimated, and the domain boundaries are discretized. Linear boundary elements are used in conjunction with cubic splines formore » high resolution of the cavity walls. An anchored grid pattern (AGP) is established to constrain the cubic spline knots that control the inner cavity geometry to evolve along the AGP at each iterative step. A residual is defined measuring the difference between imposed and computed boundary conditions. A Newton-Raphson method with a Broyden update is used to automate the detection of inner cavity walls. During the iterative procedure, the movement of the inner cavity walls is restricted to physically realistic intermediate solutions. Numerical simulation demonstrates the superior resolution of the cubic spline AGP algorithm over the linear spline-based AGP in the detection of an irregular-shaped cavity. Numerical simulation is also used to test the sensitivity of the linear and cubic spline AGP algorithms by simulating bias and random error in measured surface temperature. The proposed AGP algorithm is shown to satisfactorily detect cavities with these simulated data.« less

Cosmology of biased discrete symmetry breaking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gelmini, Graciela B.; Gleiser, Marcelo; Kolb, Edward W.

1988-01-01

The cosmological consequences of spontaneous breaking of an approximate discrete symmetry are studied. The breaking leads to formation of proto-domains of false and true vacuum separated by domain walls of thickness determined by the mass scale of the model. The cosmological evolution of the walls is extremely sensitive to the magnitude of the biasing; several scenarios are possible, depending on the interplay between the surface tension on the walls and the volume pressure from the biasing. Walls may disappear almost immediately after they form, or may live long enough to dominate the energy density of the Universe and cause power-law inflation. Limits are obtained on the biasing that characterizes each possible scenario.

Cross-Linked Peptidoglycan Mediates Lysostaphin Binding to the Cell Wall Envelope of Staphylococcus aureus†

PubMed Central

Gründling, Angelika; Schneewind, Olaf

2006-01-01

Staphylococcus simulans bv. staphylolyticus secretes lysostaphin, a bacteriocin that cleaves pentaglycine cross bridges in the cell wall of Staphylococcus aureus. The C-terminal cell wall-targeting domain (CWT) of lysostaphin is required for selective binding of this bacteriocin to S. aureus cells; however, the molecular target for this was unknown. We used purified green fluorescent protein fused to CWT (GFP-CWT) to reveal species-specific association of the reporter with staphylococci. GFP-CWT bound S. aureus cells as well as purified peptidoglycan sacculi. The addition of cross-linked murein, disaccharides linked to interconnected wall peptides, blocked GFP-CWT binding to staphylococci, whereas murein monomers or lysostaphin-solubilized cell wall fragments did not. S. aureus strain Newman variants lacking the capacity for synthesizing polysaccharide capsule (capFO), poly-N-acetylglucosamine (icaAC), lipoprotein (lgt), cell wall-anchored proteins (srtA), or the glycolipid anchor of lipoteichoic acid (ypfP) bound GFP-CWT similar to wild-type staphylococci. A tagO mutant strain, defective in the synthesis of polyribitol wall teichoic acid attached to the cell wall envelope, displayed increased GFP-CWT binding. In contrast, a femAB mutation, reducing both the amount and the length of peptidoglycan cross-linking (monoglycine cross bridges), showed a dramatic reduction in GFP-CWT binding. Thus, the CWT domain of lysostaphin directs the bacteriocin to cross-linked peptidoglycan, which also serves as the substrate for its glycyl-glycine endopeptidase domain. PMID:16547033

Cross-linked peptidoglycan mediates lysostaphin binding to the cell wall envelope of Staphylococcus aureus.

PubMed

Gründling, Angelika; Schneewind, Olaf

2006-04-01

Staphylococcus simulans bv. staphylolyticus secretes lysostaphin, a bacteriocin that cleaves pentaglycine cross bridges in the cell wall of Staphylococcus aureus. The C-terminal cell wall-targeting domain (CWT) of lysostaphin is required for selective binding of this bacteriocin to S. aureus cells; however, the molecular target for this was unknown. We used purified green fluorescent protein fused to CWT (GFP-CWT) to reveal species-specific association of the reporter with staphylococci. GFP-CWT bound S. aureus cells as well as purified peptidoglycan sacculi. The addition of cross-linked murein, disaccharides linked to interconnected wall peptides, blocked GFP-CWT binding to staphylococci, whereas murein monomers or lysostaphin-solubilized cell wall fragments did not. S. aureus strain Newman variants lacking the capacity for synthesizing polysaccharide capsule (capFO), poly-N-acetylglucosamine (icaAC), lipoprotein (lgt), cell wall-anchored proteins (srtA), or the glycolipid anchor of lipoteichoic acid (ypfP) bound GFP-CWT similar to wild-type staphylococci. A tagO mutant strain, defective in the synthesis of polyribitol wall teichoic acid attached to the cell wall envelope, displayed increased GFP-CWT binding. In contrast, a femAB mutation, reducing both the amount and the length of peptidoglycan cross-linking (monoglycine cross bridges), showed a dramatic reduction in GFP-CWT binding. Thus, the CWT domain of lysostaphin directs the bacteriocin to cross-linked peptidoglycan, which also serves as the substrate for its glycyl-glycine endopeptidase domain.

Domain switching of fatigued ferroelectric thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tak Lim, Yun; Yeog Son, Jong; Shin, Young-Han

2014-05-01

We investigate the domain wall speed of a ferroelectric PbZr0.48Ti0.52O3 (PZT) thin film using an atomic force microscope incorporated with a mercury-probe system to control the degree of electrical fatigue. The depolarization field in the PZT thin film decreases with increasing the degree of electrical fatigue. We find that the wide-range activation field previously reported in ferroelectric domains result from the change of the depolarization field caused by the electrical fatigue. Domain wall speed exhibits universal behavior to the effective electric field (defined by an applied electric field minus the depolarization field), regardless of the degree of the electrical fatigue.

Broadband impedance boundary conditions for the simulation of sound propagation in the time domain.

PubMed

Bin, Jonghoon; Yousuff Hussaini, M; Lee, Soogab

2009-02-01

An accurate and practical surface impedance boundary condition in the time domain has been developed for application to broadband-frequency simulation in aeroacoustic problems. To show the capability of this method, two kinds of numerical simulations are performed and compared with the analytical/experimental results: one is acoustic wave reflection by a monopole source over an impedance surface and the other is acoustic wave propagation in a duct with a finite impedance wall. Both single-frequency and broadband-frequency simulations are performed within the framework of linearized Euler equations. A high-order dispersion-relation-preserving finite-difference method and a low-dissipation, low-dispersion Runge-Kutta method are used for spatial discretization and time integration, respectively. The results show excellent agreement with the analytical/experimental results at various frequencies. The method accurately predicts both the amplitude and the phase of acoustic pressure and ensures the well-posedness of the broadband time-domain impedance boundary condition.

The Toxoplasma gondii cyst wall protein CST1 is critical for cyst wall integrity and promotes bradyzoite persistence

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tomita, Tadakimi; Bzik, David J.; Ma, Yan Fen

2013-12-26

Toxoplasma gondii infects up to one third of the world’s population. A key to the success of T.gondii is its ability to persist for the life of its host as bradyzoites within tissue cysts. The glycosylated cyst wall is the key structural feature that facilitates persistence and oral transmission of this parasite. We have identified CST1 (TGME49_064660) as a 250 kDa SRS (SAG1 related sequence) domain protein with a large mucin-like domain. CST1 is responsible for the Dolichos biflorus Agglutinin (DBA) lectin binding characteristic of T. gondii cysts. Deletion of CST1 results in a fragile brain cyst phenotype revealed bymore » a thinning and disruption of the underlying region of the cyst wall. These defects are reversed by complementation of CST1. Additional complementation experiments demonstrate that the CST1-mucin domain is necessary for the formation of a normal cyst wall structure, the ability of the cyst to resist mechanical stress and binding of DBA to the cyst wall. RNA-seq transcriptome analysis demonstrated dysregulation of bradyzoite genes within the various cst1 mutants. These results indicate that CST1 functions as a key structural component that reinforces the cyst wall structure and confers essential sturdiness to the T. gondii tissue cyst.« less

The dynamics of domain walls and strings

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gregory, Ruth; Haws, David; Garfinkle, David

1989-01-01

The leading order finite-width corrections to the equation of motion describing the motion of a domain wall are derived. The regime in which this equation of motion is invalid is discussed. Spherically and cylindrically symmetric solutions to this equation of motion are found. A misconception that has arisen in recent years regarding the rigidity (or otherwise) of cosmic strings is also clarified.

Chiral interface at the finite temperature transition point of QCD

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frei, Z.; Patkos, A.

1990-01-01

The domain wall between coexisting chirally symmetric and broken symmetry regions is studied in a saddle point approximation to the effective three-flavor sigma model. In the chiral limit the surface tension varies in the range ((40 to -50)MeV)(exp 3). The width of the domain wall is estimated to be approximately or equal to 4.5 fm.

Domain wall fermion and CP symmetry breaking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujikawa, Kazuo; Suzuki, Hiroshi

2003-02-01

We examine the CP properties of chiral gauge theory defined by a formulation of the domain wall fermion, where the light field variables q and q¯ together with Pauli-Villars fields Q and Q¯ are utilized. It is shown that this domain wall representation in the infinite flavor limit N=∞ is valid only in the topologically trivial sector, and that the conflict among lattice chiral symmetry, strict locality and CP symmetry still persists for finite lattice spacing a. The CP transformation generally sends one representation of lattice chiral gauge theory into another representation of lattice chiral gauge theory, resulting in the inevitable change of propagators. A modified form of lattice CP transformation motivated by the domain wall fermion, which keeps the chiral action in terms of the Ginsparg-Wilson fermion invariant, is analyzed in detail; this provides an alternative way to understand the breaking of CP symmetry at least in the topologically trivial sector. We note that the conflict with CP symmetry could be regarded as a topological obstruction. We also discuss the issues related to the definition of Majorana fermions in connection with the supersymmetric Wess-Zumino model on the lattice.

Domain wall motion and electromechanical strain in lead-free piezoelectrics: Insight from the model system (1 - x)Ba(Zr 0.2Ti 0.8)O 3-x(Ba 0.7Ca 0.3)TiO 3 using in situ high-energy X-ray diffraction during application of electric fields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tutuncu, Goknur; Li, Binzhi; Bowman, Keith

The piezoelectric compositions (1 - x)Ba(Zr 0.2Ti 0.8)O 3–x(Ba 0.7Ca 0.3)TiO 3 (BZT-xBCT) span a model lead-free morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) between room temperature rhombohedral and tetragonal phases at approximately x = 0.5. In the present work, in situ X-ray diffraction measurements during electric field application are used to elucidate the origin of electromechanical strain in several compositions spanning the tetragonal compositional range 0.6 ≤ x ≤ 0.9. As BCT concentration decreases towards the MPB, the tetragonal distortion (given by c/a-1) decreases concomitantly with an increase in 90° domain wall motion. The increase in observed macroscopic strain is predominantly attributedmore » to the increased contribution from 90° domain wall motion. The results demonstrate that domain wall motion is a significant factor in achieving high strain and piezoelectric coefficients in lead-free polycrystalline piezoelectrics.« less

The Mobius domain wall fermion algorithm

DOE PAGES

Brower, Richard C.; Neff, Harmut; Orginos, Kostas

2017-07-22

We present a review of the properties of generalized domain wall Fermions, based on a (real) Möbius transformation on the Wilson overlap kernel, discussing their algorithmic efficiency, the degree of explicit chiral violations measured by the residual mass (m res) and the Ward–Takahashi identities. The Möbius class interpolates between Shamir’s domain wall operator and Boriçi’s domain wall implementation of Neuberger’s overlap operator without increasing the number of Dirac applications per conjugate gradient iteration. A new scaling parameter (α) reduces chiral violations at finite fifth dimension (L s) but yields exactly the same overlap action in the limit L s →more » ∞ . Through the use of 4d Red/Black preconditioning and optimal tuning for the scaling α(L s), we show that chiral symmetry violations are typically reduced by an order of magnitude at fixed Ls . Here, we argue that the residual mass for a tuned Möbius algorithm with α = O(1/L s γ) for γ < 1 will eventually fall asymptotically as m res = O(1/L s 1+γ) in the case of a 5D Hamiltonian with out a spectral gap.« less

The Mobius domain wall fermion algorithm

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brower, Richard C.; Neff, Harmut; Orginos, Kostas

We present a review of the properties of generalized domain wall Fermions, based on a (real) Möbius transformation on the Wilson overlap kernel, discussing their algorithmic efficiency, the degree of explicit chiral violations measured by the residual mass (m res) and the Ward–Takahashi identities. The Möbius class interpolates between Shamir’s domain wall operator and Boriçi’s domain wall implementation of Neuberger’s overlap operator without increasing the number of Dirac applications per conjugate gradient iteration. A new scaling parameter (α) reduces chiral violations at finite fifth dimension (L s) but yields exactly the same overlap action in the limit L s →more » ∞ . Through the use of 4d Red/Black preconditioning and optimal tuning for the scaling α(L s), we show that chiral symmetry violations are typically reduced by an order of magnitude at fixed Ls . Here, we argue that the residual mass for a tuned Möbius algorithm with α = O(1/L s γ) for γ < 1 will eventually fall asymptotically as m res = O(1/L s 1+γ) in the case of a 5D Hamiltonian with out a spectral gap.« less

FRW and domain walls in higher spin gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aros, R.; Iazeolla, C.; Noreña, J.; Sezgin, E.; Sundell, P.; Yin, Y.

2018-03-01

We present exact solutions to Vasiliev's bosonic higher spin gravity equations in four dimensions with positive and negative cosmological constant that admit an interpretation in terms of domain walls, quasi-instantons and Friedman-Robertson-Walker (FRW) backgrounds. Their isometry algebras are infinite dimensional higher-spin extensions of spacetime isometries generated by six Killing vectors. The solutions presented are obtained by using a method of holomorphic factorization in noncommutative twistor space and gauge functions. In interpreting the solutions in terms of Fronsdal-type fields in space-time, a field-dependent higher spin transformation is required, which is implemented at leading order. To this order, the scalar field solves Klein-Gordon equation with conformal mass in ( A) dS 4 . We interpret the FRW solution with de Sitter asymptotics in the context of inflationary cosmology and we expect that the domain wall and FRW solutions are associated with spontaneously broken scaling symmetries in their holographic description. We observe that the factorization method provides a convenient framework for setting up a perturbation theory around the exact solutions, and we propose that the nonlinear completion of particle excitations over FRW and domain wall solutions requires black hole-like states.

Dispersive elastic properties of Dzyaloshinskii domain walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pellegren, James; Lau, Derek; Sokalski, Vincent

Recent studies on the asymmetric field-driven growth of magnetic bubble domains in perpendicular thin films exhibiting an interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) have provided a wealth of experimental evidence to validate models of creep phenomena, as key properties of the domain wall (DW) can be altered with the application of an external in-plane magnetic field. While asymmetric growth behavior has been attributed to the highly anisotropic DW energy, σ (θ) , which results from the combination of DMI and the in-plane field, many experimental results remain anomalous. In this work, we demonstrate that the anisotropy of DW energy alters the elastic response of the DW as characterized by the surface stiffness, σ (θ) = σ (θ) + σ (θ) , and evaluate the impact of this stiffness on the creep law. We find that at in-plane fields larger than and antiparallel to the effective field due to DMI, the DW stiffness decreases rapidly, suggesting that higher energy walls can actually become more mobile than their low energy counterparts. This result is consistent with experiments on CoNi multilayer films where velocity curves for domain walls with DMI fields parallel and antiparallel to the applied field cross over at high in-plane fields.

Multi-region approach to free-boundary three-dimensional tokamak equilibria and resistive wall instabilities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ferraro, N. M.; Jardin, S. C.; Lao, L. L.

Free-boundary 3D tokamak equilibria and resistive wall instabilities are calculated using a new resistive wall model in the two-fluid M3D-C1 code. In this model, the resistive wall and surround- ing vacuum region are included within the computational domain. Our implementation contrasts with the method typically used in fluid codes in which the resistive wall is treated as a boundary condition on the computational domain boundary and has the advantage of maintaining purely local coupling of mesh elements. We use this new capability to simulate perturbed, free-boundary non- axisymmetric equilibria; the linear evolution of resistive wall modes; and the linear andmore » nonlinear evolution of axisymmetric vertical displacement events (VDEs). Calculated growth rates for a resistive wall mode with arbitrary wall thickness are shown to agree well with the analytic theory. Equilibrium and VDE calculations are performed in diverted tokamak geometry, at physically real- istic values of dissipation, and with resistive walls of finite width. Simulations of a VDE disruption extend into the current-quench phase, in which the plasma becomes limited by the first wall, and strong currents are observed to flow in the wall, in the SOL, and from the plasma to the wall.« less

Multi-region approach to free-boundary three-dimensional tokamak equilibria and resistive wall instabilities

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ferraro, N. M., E-mail: nferraro@pppl.gov; Lao, L. L.; Jardin, S. C.

Free-boundary 3D tokamak equilibria and resistive wall instabilities are calculated using a new resistive wall model in the two-fluid M3D-C1 code. In this model, the resistive wall and surrounding vacuum region are included within the computational domain. This implementation contrasts with the method typically used in fluid codes in which the resistive wall is treated as a boundary condition on the computational domain boundary and has the advantage of maintaining purely local coupling of mesh elements. This new capability is used to simulate perturbed, free-boundary non-axisymmetric equilibria; the linear evolution of resistive wall modes; and the linear and nonlinear evolutionmore » of axisymmetric vertical displacement events (VDEs). Calculated growth rates for a resistive wall mode with arbitrary wall thickness are shown to agree well with the analytic theory. Equilibrium and VDE calculations are performed in diverted tokamak geometry, at physically realistic values of dissipation, and with resistive walls of finite width. Simulations of a VDE disruption extend into the current-quench phase, in which the plasma becomes limited by the first wall, and strong currents are observed to flow in the wall, in the SOL, and from the plasma to the wall.« less

Multi-region approach to free-boundary three-dimensional tokamak equilibria and resistive wall instabilities

DOE PAGES

Ferraro, N. M.; Jardin, S. C.; Lao, L. L.; ...

2016-05-20

Free-boundary 3D tokamak equilibria and resistive wall instabilities are calculated using a new resistive wall model in the two-fluid M3D-C1 code. In this model, the resistive wall and surround- ing vacuum region are included within the computational domain. Our implementation contrasts with the method typically used in fluid codes in which the resistive wall is treated as a boundary condition on the computational domain boundary and has the advantage of maintaining purely local coupling of mesh elements. We use this new capability to simulate perturbed, free-boundary non- axisymmetric equilibria; the linear evolution of resistive wall modes; and the linear andmore » nonlinear evolution of axisymmetric vertical displacement events (VDEs). Calculated growth rates for a resistive wall mode with arbitrary wall thickness are shown to agree well with the analytic theory. Equilibrium and VDE calculations are performed in diverted tokamak geometry, at physically real- istic values of dissipation, and with resistive walls of finite width. Simulations of a VDE disruption extend into the current-quench phase, in which the plasma becomes limited by the first wall, and strong currents are observed to flow in the wall, in the SOL, and from the plasma to the wall.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krajewski, Tomasz; Lalak, Zygmunt; Lewicki, Marek

We study domain walls which can be created in the Standard Model under the assumption that it is valid up to very high energy scales. We focus on domain walls interpolating between the physical electroweak vacuum and the global minimum appearing at very high field strengths. The creation of the network which ends up in the electroweak vacuum percolating through the Universe is not as difficult to obtain as one may expect, although it requires certain tuning of initial conditions. Our numerical simulations confirm that such domain walls would swiftly decay and thus cannot dominate the Universe. We discuss themore » possibility of detection of gravitational waves produced in this scenario. We have found that for the standard cosmology the energy density of these gravitational waves is too small to be observed in present and planned detectors.« less

Electronic transport in organometallic perovskite CH{sub 3}NH{sub 3}PbI{sub 3}: The role of organic cation orientations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berdiyorov, G. R., E-mail: gberdiyorov@qf.org.qa; El-Mellouhi, F.; Madjet, M. E.

Density functional theory in combination with the nonequilibrium Green's function formalism is used to study the electronic transport properties of methylammonium lead-iodide perovskite CH{sub 3}NH{sub 3}PbI{sub 3}. Electronic transport in homogeneous ferroelectric and antiferroelectric phases, both of which do not contain any charged domain walls, is quite similar. The presence of charged domain wall drastically (by about an order of magnitude) enhances the electronic transport in the lateral direction. The increase of the transmission originates from the smaller variation of the electrostatic potential profile along the charged domain walls. This fact may provide a tool for tuning transport properties ofmore » such hybrid materials by manipulating molecular cations having dipole moment.« less

Micromagnetic evaluation of the dissipated heat in cylindrical magnetic nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernandez-Roldan, Jose Angel; Serantes, David; del Real, Rafael P.; Vazquez, Manuel; Chubykalo-Fesenko, Oksana

2018-05-01

Magnetic nanowires (NWs) are promising candidates for heat generation under AC-field application due to their large shape anisotropy. They may be used for catalysis, hyperthermia, or water purification treatments. In the present work, we theoretically evaluate the heat dissipated by a single magnetic nanowire, originated from the domain wall (DW) dynamics under the action of an AC-field. We compare the Permalloy NWs (which demagnetize via the transverse wall propagation) with the Co fcc NWs whose reversal mode is via a vortex domain wall. The average hysteresis loop areas—which are proportional to the Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)—as a function of the field frequency have a pronounced maximum in the range 200 MHz-1 GHz. This maximum frequency is smaller in Permalloy than that in Co and depends on the nanowire length. A simple model related to the nucleation and propagation time and DW velocity (higher for the vortex than for the transverse domain wall) is proposed to explain the non-monotonic SAR dependence on the frequency.

Field-Polarity-Dependent Domain Growth in Epitaxial BaTiO 3 Films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roth, Robert; Guo, Er-Jia; Rafique, Mohsin

The growth of circular tip-induced domains has been studied in epitaxial BaTiO 3 (BTO) films as a function of writing voltage and time using piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). While abundant for Pb(Zr,Ti)O 3 (PZT) films, such studies are rare for BTO. Strong relaxation of written domains is observed in the form of reduction of the PFM amplitude inside the area of written domains which occurs additionally to a decrease of the domain radius. The domain wall velocity observed for negative tip voltage is systematically smaller than that for positive tip voltage. Based on maps of the positive and negative switchingmore » fields, the effective driving field for both polarities has been estimated. The polarity-dependent effective field cannot account for the different velocities, indicating a polarity-dependent mobility of the domain walls.« less

Field-Polarity-Dependent Domain Growth in Epitaxial BaTiO 3 Films

DOE PAGES

Roth, Robert; Guo, Er-Jia; Rafique, Mohsin; ...

2018-03-23

The growth of circular tip-induced domains has been studied in epitaxial BaTiO 3 (BTO) films as a function of writing voltage and time using piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). While abundant for Pb(Zr,Ti)O 3 (PZT) films, such studies are rare for BTO. Strong relaxation of written domains is observed in the form of reduction of the PFM amplitude inside the area of written domains which occurs additionally to a decrease of the domain radius. The domain wall velocity observed for negative tip voltage is systematically smaller than that for positive tip voltage. Based on maps of the positive and negative switchingmore » fields, the effective driving field for both polarities has been estimated. The polarity-dependent effective field cannot account for the different velocities, indicating a polarity-dependent mobility of the domain walls.« less

Unfolding of Vortices into Topological Stripes in a Multiferroic Material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, X.; Mostovoy, M.; Han, M. G.; Horibe, Y.; Aoki, T.; Zhu, Y.; Cheong, S.-W.

2014-06-01

Multiferroic hexagonal RMnO3 (R =rare earths) crystals exhibit dense networks of vortex lines at which six domain walls merge. While the domain walls can be readily moved with an applied electric field, the vortex cores so far have been impossible to control. Our experiments demonstrate that shear strain induces a Magnus-type force pulling vortices and antivortices in opposite directions and unfolding them into a topological stripe domain state. We discuss the analogy between this effect and the current-driven dynamics of vortices in superconductors and superfluids.

Engineering topological defect patterns of Bose condensates in shaken optical lattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Lei; Clark, Logan W.; Gaj, Anita; Chin, Cheng

2017-04-01

Topological defects emerge and play an essential role in the dynamics of systems undergoing continuous, symmetry-breaking phase transitions. Here, we study the topological defects (domain walls) which form when a Bose condensate in a shaken optical lattice undergoes a quantum phase transition and separates into domains of superfluid with finite momentum. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the ability to control the pattern of domain walls using a digital micromirror device. We further explore implementations of this technique to study dynamics near the phase transition and the evolution of topological defects.

Advanced magneto-optical microscopy: Imaging from picoseconds to centimeters - imaging spin waves and temperature distributions (invited)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Urs, Necdet Onur; Mozooni, Babak; Kustov, Mikhail

2016-05-15

Recent developments in the observation of magnetic domains and domain walls by wide-field optical microscopy based on the magneto-optical Kerr, Faraday, Voigt, and Gradient effect are reviewed. Emphasis is given to the existence of higher order magneto-optical effects for advanced magnetic imaging. Fundamental concepts and advances in methodology are discussed that allow for imaging of magnetic domains on various length and time scales. Time-resolved imaging of electric field induced domain wall rotation is shown. Visualization of magnetization dynamics down to picosecond temporal resolution for the imaging of spin-waves and magneto-optical multi-effect domain imaging techniques for obtaining vectorial information are demonstrated.more » Beyond conventional domain imaging, the use of a magneto-optical indicator technique for local temperature sensing is shown.« less

Analytical modeling of drug dynamics induced by eluting stents in the coronary multi-layered curved domain.

PubMed

d'Errico, Michele; Sammarco, Paolo; Vairo, Giuseppe

2015-09-01

Pharmacokinetics induced by drug eluting stents (DES) in coronary walls is modeled by means of a one-dimensional multi-layered model, accounting for vessel curvature and non-homogeneous properties of the arterial tissues. The model includes diffusion mechanisms, advection effects related to plasma filtration through the walls, and bio-chemical drug reactions. A non-classical Sturm-Liouville problem with discontinuous coefficients is derived, whose closed-form analytical solution is obtained via an eigenfunction expansion. Soundness and consistency of the proposed approach are shown by numerical computations based on possible clinical treatments involving both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. The influence of the main model parameters on drug delivery mechanisms is analyzed, highlighting the effects induced by vessel curvature and yielding comparative indications and useful insights into the concurring mechanisms governing the pharmacokinetics. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Successful experiments on an external MHD Accelerator: wall confinement of the plasma, annihilation of the electrothermal instability by magnetic gradient inversion, creation of a stable spiral current pattern

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petit, Jean-Pierre; Dore, Jean-Christophe

2013-09-01

MHD propulsion has been extensively studied since the fifties. To shift from propulsion to an MHD Aerodyne, one only needs to accelerate the air externally, along its outer skin, using Lorentz forces. We present a set of successful experiments, obtained around a model, placed in low density air. We successfully dealt with various problems: wall confinement of two-temperature plasma obtained by inversion of the magnetic pressure gradient, annihilation of the Velikhov electrothermal instability by magnetic confinement of the streamers, establishment of a stable spiral distribution of the current, obtained by an original method. Another direction of research is devoted to the study of an MHD-controlled inlet which, coupled with a turbofan engine and implying an MHD-bypass system, would extend the flight domain to hypersonic conditions. Research manager

Controlled motion of domain walls in submicron amorphous wires

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ţibu, Mihai; Lostun, Mihaela; Rotărescu, Cristian

Results on the control of the domain wall displacement in cylindrical Fe{sub 77.5}Si{sub 7.5}B{sub 15} amorphous glass-coated submicron wires prepared by rapid quenching from the melt are reported. The control methods have relied on conical notches with various depths, up to a few tens of nm, made in the glass coating and in the metallic nucleus using a focused ion beam (FIB) system, and on the use of small nucleation coils at one of the sample ends in order to apply magnetic field pulses aimed to enhance the nucleation of reverse domains. The notch-based method is used for the firstmore » time in the case of cylindrical ultrathin wires. The results show that the most efficient technique of controlling the domain wall motion in this type of samples is the simultaneous use of notches and nucleation coils. Their effect depends on wire diameter, notch depth, its position on the wire length, and characteristics of the applied pulse.« less

Non-Debye domain-wall-induced dielectric response in Sr0.61-xCexBa0.39Nb2O6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleemann, W.; Dec, J.; Miga, S.; Woike, Th.; Pankrath, R.

2002-06-01

Two different non-Debye dielectric spectra are observed in a polydomain relaxor-ferroelectric Sr0.61-xBa0.39Nb2O6:Ce3+x single crystal in the vicinity of its transition temperature, Tc~320 K. At infralow frequencies the susceptibility varies as χ*~ω-β, β~0.2, and is attributed to an irreversible creep-like viscous motion of domain walls, while logarithmic dispersion due to reversible wall relaxation [T. Nattermann, Y. Shapir, and I. Vilfan, Phys. Rev. B 42, 8577 (1990)] occurs at larger ω.

Visualization and manipulation of magnetic domains in the quasi-two-dimensional material F e3GeT e2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Giang D.; Lee, Jinhwan; Berlijn, Tom; Zou, Qiang; Hus, Saban M.; Park, Jewook; Gai, Zheng; Lee, Changgu; Li, An-Ping

2018-01-01

The magnetic domains in two-dimensional layered material F e3GeT e2 are studied by using a variable-temperature scanning tunneling microscope with a magnetic tip after in situ cleaving of single crystals. A stripy domain structure is revealed in a zero-field-cooled sample below the ferromagnetic transition temperature of 205 K, which is replaced by separate double-walled domains and bubble domains when cooling the sample under a magnetic field of a ferromagnetic Ni tip. The Ni tip can further convert the double-walled domain to a bubble domain pattern as well as move the Neel-type chiral bubble in submicrometer distance. The temperature-dependent evolutions of both zero-field-cooled and field-cooled domain structures correlate well with the bulk magnetization from magnetometry measurements. Atomic resolution scanning tunneling images and spectroscopy are acquired to understand the atomic and electronic structures of the material, which are further corroborated by first-principles calculations.

The contribution of 180° domain wall motion to dielectric properties quantified from in situ X-ray diffraction

DOE PAGES

Fancher, C. M.; Brewer, S.; Chung, C. C.; ...

2016-12-27

Here, the contribution of 180° domain wall motion to polarization and dielectric properties of ferroelectric materials has yet to be determined experimentally. In this paper, an approach for estimating the extent of (180°) domain reversal during application of electric fields is presented. We demonstrate this method by determining the contribution of domain reversal to polarization in soft lead zirconate titanate during application of strong electric fields. At the maximum applied field, domain reversal was determined to account for >80% of the measured macroscopic polarization. We also apply the method to quantify the contribution of domain reversal to the weak-field dielectricmore » permittivity of BaTiO 3. The results of this analysis determined that domain reversal accounts for up to ~70% of the macroscopic dielectric permittivity in BaTiO 3. These results demonstrate the predominance of domain reversal to high and low-field dielectric response in ferroelectric polycrystalline materials.« less

Dependence of the ferroelectric domain shape on the electric field of the microscope tip

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Starkov, Alexander S.; Starkov, Ivan A., E-mail: starkov@feec.vutbr.cz

2015-08-21

A theory of an equilibrium shape of the domain formed in an electric field of a scanning force microscope (SFM) tip is proposed. We do not assume a priori that the domain has a fixed form. The shape of the domain is defined by the minimum of the free energy of the ferroelectric. This energy includes the energy of the depolarization field, the energy of the domain wall, and the energy of the interaction between the domain and the electric field of the SFM tip. The contributions of the apex and conical part of the tip are examined. Moreover, inmore » the proposed approach, any narrow tip can be considered. The surface energy is determined on the basis of the Ginzburg-Landau-Devonshire theory and takes into account the curvature of the domain wall. The variation of the free energy with respect to the domain shape leads to an integro-differential equation, which must be solved numerically. Model results are illustrated for lithium tantalate ceramics.« less

The contribution of 180° domain wall motion to dielectric properties quantified from in situ X-ray diffraction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fancher, C. M.; Brewer, S.; Chung, C. C.

2017-03-01

The contribution of 180° domain wall motion to polarization and dielectric properties of ferroelectric materials has yet to be determined experimentally. In this paper, an approach for estimating the extent of (180°) domain reversal during application of electric fields is presented. We demonstrate this method by determining the contribution of domain reversal to polarization in soft lead zirconate titanate during application of strong electric fields. At the maximum applied field, domain reversal was determined to account for >80% of the measured macroscopic polarization. We also apply the method to quantify the contribution of domain reversal to the weak-field dielectric permittivitymore » of BaTiO 3. The results of this analysis determined that domain reversal accounts for up to ~70% of the macroscopic dielectric permittivity in BaTiO 3. These results demonstrate the predominance of domain reversal to high and low-field dielectric response in ferroelectric polycrystalline materials.« less

PROCEEDINGS OF RIKEN BNL RESEARCH CENTER WORKSHOP ENTITLED - DOMAIN WALL FERMIONS AT TEN YEARS (VOLUME 84)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

BLUM,T.; SONI,A.

The workshop was held to mark the 10th anniversary of the first numerical simulations of QCD using domain wall fermions initiated at BNL. It is very gratifying that in the intervening decade widespread use of domain wall and overlap fermions is being made. It therefore seemed appropriate at this stage for some ''communal introspection'' of the progress that has been made, hurdles that need to be overcome, and physics that can and should be done with chiral fermions. The meeting was very well attended, drawing about 60 registered participants primarily from Europe, Japan and the US. It was quite remarkablemore » that pioneers David Kaplan, Herbert Neuberger, Rajamani Narayanan, Yigal Shamir, Sinya Aoki, and Pavlos Vranas all attended the workshop. Comparisons between domain wall and overlap formulations, with their respective advantages and limitations, were discussed at length, and a broad physics program including pion and kaon physics, the epsilon regime, nucleon structure, and topology, among others, emerged. New machines and improved algorithms have played a key role in realizing realistic dynamical fermion lattice simulations (small quark mass, large volume, and so on), so much in fact that measurements are now as costly. Consequently, ways to make the measurements more efficient were also discussed. We were very pleased to see the keen and ever growing interest in chiral fermions in our community and the significant strides our colleagues have made in bringing chiral fermions to the fore of lattice QCD calculations. Their contributions made the workshop a success, and we thank them deeply for sharing their time and ideas. Finally, we must especially acknowledge Norman Christ and Bob Mawhinney for their early and continued collaboration without which the success of domain wall fermions would not have been possible.« less

Electronic states of domain structure in 1T-TaS2-x Se x observed by STM/STS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujii, D.; Iwasaki, T.; Akiyama, K.; Fujisawa, Y.; Demura, S.; Sakata, H.

2018-03-01

We report on a systematic scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS) study on 1T–TaS2-x Se x (x = 0, 0.3, 1.0) at 4.2 K. While the compounds with x = 0 and 0.3, which undergoes the Mott transition, showed the commensurate charge density wave (CDW) with the period of \\sqrt{13}{a}0× \\sqrt{13}{a}0 (a 0 is in-plane lattice constant), the compound with x=1, which shows superconductivity at 3.5 K, exhibits anomalous domain structure: The domain structure consists of regions with regular array of David-stars divided by bright contrasted walls at positive bias voltage. We found the domain wall showed the different electronic state from that of the domain.

Primordial black hole and wormhole formation by domain walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Heling; Garriga, Jaume; Vilenkin, Alexander

2017-04-01

In theories with a broken discrete symmetry, Hubble sized spherical domain walls may spontaneously nucleate during inflation. These objects are subsequently stretched by the inflationary expansion, resulting in a broad distribution of sizes. The fate of the walls after inflation depends on their radius. Walls smaller than a critical radius fall within the cosmological horizon early on and collapse due to their own tension, forming ordinary black holes. But if a wall is large enough, its repulsive gravitational field becomes dominant much before the wall can fall within the cosmological horizon. In this ``supercritical'' case, a wormhole throat develops, connecting the ambient exterior FRW universe with an interior baby universe, where the exponential growth of the wall radius takes place. The wormhole pinches off in a time-scale comparable to its light-crossing time, and black holes are formed at its two mouths. As discussed in previous work, the resulting black hole population has a wide distribution of masses and can have significant astrophysical effects. The mechanism of black hole formation has been previously studied for a dust-dominated universe. Here we investigate the case of a radiation-dominated universe, which is more relevant cosmologically, by using numerical simulations in order to find the initial mass of a black hole as a function of the wall size at the end of inflation. For large supercritical domain walls, this mass nearly saturates the upper bound according to which the black hole cannot be larger than the cosmological horizon. We also find that the subsequent accretion of radiation satisfies a scaling relation, resulting in a mass increase by about a factor of 2.

Primordial black hole and wormhole formation by domain walls

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deng, Heling; Garriga, Jaume; Vilenkin, Alexander, E-mail: heling.deng@tufts.edu, E-mail: garriga@cosmos.phy.tufts.edu, E-mail: vilenkin@cosmos.phy.tufts.edu

In theories with a broken discrete symmetry, Hubble sized spherical domain walls may spontaneously nucleate during inflation. These objects are subsequently stretched by the inflationary expansion, resulting in a broad distribution of sizes. The fate of the walls after inflation depends on their radius. Walls smaller than a critical radius fall within the cosmological horizon early on and collapse due to their own tension, forming ordinary black holes. But if a wall is large enough, its repulsive gravitational field becomes dominant much before the wall can fall within the cosmological horizon. In this ''supercritical'' case, a wormhole throat develops, connectingmore » the ambient exterior FRW universe with an interior baby universe, where the exponential growth of the wall radius takes place. The wormhole pinches off in a time-scale comparable to its light-crossing time, and black holes are formed at its two mouths. As discussed in previous work, the resulting black hole population has a wide distribution of masses and can have significant astrophysical effects. The mechanism of black hole formation has been previously studied for a dust-dominated universe. Here we investigate the case of a radiation-dominated universe, which is more relevant cosmologically, by using numerical simulations in order to find the initial mass of a black hole as a function of the wall size at the end of inflation. For large supercritical domain walls, this mass nearly saturates the upper bound according to which the black hole cannot be larger than the cosmological horizon. We also find that the subsequent accretion of radiation satisfies a scaling relation, resulting in a mass increase by about a factor of 2.« less

The FERONIA Receptor Kinase Maintains Cell-Wall Integrity during Salt Stress through Ca2+ Signaling.

PubMed

Feng, Wei; Kita, Daniel; Peaucelle, Alexis; Cartwright, Heather N; Doan, Vinh; Duan, Qiaohong; Liu, Ming-Che; Maman, Jacob; Steinhorst, Leonie; Schmitz-Thom, Ina; Yvon, Robert; Kudla, Jörg; Wu, Hen-Ming; Cheung, Alice Y; Dinneny, José R

2018-03-05

Cells maintain integrity despite changes in their mechanical properties elicited during growth and environmental stress. How cells sense their physical state and compensate for cell-wall damage is poorly understood, particularly in plants. Here we report that FERONIA (FER), a plasma-membrane-localized receptor kinase from Arabidopsis, is necessary for the recovery of root growth after exposure to high salinity, a widespread soil stress. The extracellular domain of FER displays tandem regions of homology with malectin, an animal protein known to bind di-glucose in vitro and important for protein quality control in the endoplasmic reticulum. The presence of malectin-like domains in FER and related receptor kinases has led to widespread speculation that they interact with cell-wall polysaccharides and can potentially serve a wall-sensing function. Results reported here show that salinity causes softening of the cell wall and that FER is necessary to sense these defects. When this function is disrupted in the fer mutant, root cells explode dramatically during growth recovery. Similar defects are observed in the mur1 mutant, which disrupts pectin cross-linking. Furthermore, fer cell-wall integrity defects can be rescued by treatment with calcium and borate, which also facilitate pectin cross-linking. Sensing of these salinity-induced wall defects might therefore be a direct consequence of physical interaction between the extracellular domain of FER and pectin. FER-dependent signaling elicits cell-specific calcium transients that maintain cell-wall integrity during salt stress. These results reveal a novel extracellular toxicity of salinity, and identify FER as a sensor of damage to the pectin-associated wall. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Control and manipulation of antiferromagnetic skyrmions in racetrack

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Haiyan; Jin, Chendong; Song, Chengkun; Wang, Jinshuai; Wang, Jianbo; Liu, Qingfang

2017-12-01

Controllable manipulations of magnetic skyrmions are essential for next-generation spintronic devices. Here, the duplication and merging of skyrmions, as well as logical AND and OR functions, are designed in antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials with a cusp or smooth Y-junction structures. The operational time are in the dozens of picoseconds, enabling ultrafast information processing. A key factor for the successful operation is the relatively complex Y-junction structures, where domain walls propagate through in a controlled manner, without significant risks of pinning, vanishing or unwanted depinning of existing domain walls, as well as the nucleation of new domain walls. The motions of a multi-bit, namely the motion of an AFM skyrmion-chain in racetrack, are also investigated. Those micromagnetic simulations may contribute to future AFM skyrmion-based spintronic devices, such as nanotrack memory, logic gates and other information processes.

Extreme Lagrangian acceleration in confined turbulent flow.

PubMed

Kadoch, Benjamin; Bos, Wouter J T; Schneider, Kai

2008-05-09

A Lagrangian study of two-dimensional turbulence for two different geometries, a periodic and a confined circular geometry, is presented to investigate the influence of solid boundaries on the Lagrangian dynamics. It is found that the Lagrangian acceleration is even more intermittent in the confined domain than in the periodic domain. The flatness of the Lagrangian acceleration as a function of the radius shows that the influence of the wall on the Lagrangian dynamics becomes negligible in the center of the domain, and it also reveals that the wall is responsible for the increased intermittency. The transition in the Lagrangian statistics between this region, not directly influenced by the walls, and a critical radius which defines a Lagrangian boundary layer is shown to be very sharp with a sudden increase of the acceleration flatness from about 5 to about 20.

Comparison between spin-orbit torques measured by domain-wall motions and harmonic measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Joo-Sung; Nam, Yune-Seok; Kim, Dae-Yun; Park, Yong-Keun; Park, Min-Ho; Choe, Sug-Bong

2018-05-01

Here we report the comparison of the spin torque efficiencies measured by three different experimental schemes for Pt/Co/X stacks with material X (= Pt, Ta, Ti, Al, Au, Pd, and Ru. 7 materials). The first two spin torque efficiencies ɛDW (1 ) and ɛDW (2 ) are quantified by the measurement of spin-torque-induced effective field for domain-wall depinning and creeping motions, respectively. The last one—longitudinal spin torque efficiency ɛL—is measured by harmonic signal measurement of the magnetization rotation with uniform magnetization configuration. The results confirm that, for all measured Pt/Co/X stacks, ɛDW (1 ) and ɛDW (2 ) are exactly consistent to each other and these two efficiencies are roughly proportional to ɛL with proportionality constant π/2, which comes from the integration over the domain-wall configuration.

Impact-acoustics inspection of tile-wall bonding integrity via wavelet transform and hidden Markov models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luk, B. L.; Liu, K. P.; Tong, F.; Man, K. F.

2010-05-01

The impact-acoustics method utilizes different information contained in the acoustic signals generated by tapping a structure with a small metal object. It offers a convenient and cost-efficient way to inspect the tile-wall bonding integrity. However, the existence of the surface irregularities will cause abnormal multiple bounces in the practical inspection implementations. The spectral characteristics from those bounces can easily be confused with the signals obtained from different bonding qualities. As a result, it will deteriorate the classic feature-based classification methods based on frequency domain. Another crucial difficulty posed by the implementation is the additive noise existing in the practical environments that may also cause feature mismatch and false judgment. In order to solve this problem, the work described in this paper aims to develop a robust inspection method that applies model-based strategy, and utilizes the wavelet domain features with hidden Markov modeling. It derives a bonding integrity recognition approach with enhanced immunity to surface roughness as well as the environmental noise. With the help of the specially designed artificial sample slabs, experiments have been carried out with impact acoustic signals contaminated by real environmental noises acquired under practical inspection background. The results are compared with those using classic method to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mendl, Christian B.; Spohn, Herbert

The nonequilibrium dynamics of anharmonic chains is studied by imposing an initial domain-wall state, in which the two half lattices are prepared in equilibrium with distinct parameters. Here, we analyse the Riemann problem for the corresponding Euler equations and, in specific cases, compare with molecular dynamics. Additionally, the fluctuations of time-integrated currents are investigated. In analogy with the KPZ equation, their typical fluctuations should be of size t 1/3 and have a Tracy–Widom GUE distributed amplitude. The proper extension to anharmonic chains is explained and tested through molecular dynamics. Our results are calibrated against the stochastic LeRoux lattice gas.

Unconventional Magnetic Domain Structure in the Ferromagnetic Phase of MnP Single Crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koyama, Tsukasa; Yano, Shin-ichiro; Togawa, Yoshihiko; Kousaka, Yusuke; Mori, Shigeo; Inoue, Katsuya; Kishine, Jun-ichiro; Akimitsu, Jun

2012-04-01

We have studied ferromagnetic (FM) structures in the FM phase of MnP single crystals by low-temperature Lorentz transmission electron microscopy and small-angle electron diffraction analysis. In Lorentz Fresnel micrographs, striped FM domain structures were observed at an external magnetic field less than 10 Oe in specimens with the ab-plane in their plane. From real- and reciprocal-space analyses, it was clearly identified that striped FM domains oriented to the c-axis appear with Bloch-type domain walls in the b-direction and order regularly along the a-axis with a constant separation less than 100 nm. Moreover, the magnetic chirality reverses in alternate FM domain walls. These specific spin configuration of striped FM domains will affect the magnetic phase transition from the FM phase to the proper screw spiral phase at low temperature or to the FAN phase in magnetic fields in MnP.

Domain wall motion and electromechanical strain in lead-free piezoelectrics: Insight from the model system (1 − x)Ba(Zr{sub 0.2}Ti{sub 0.8})O{sub 3}–x(Ba{sub 0.7}Ca{sub 0.3})TiO{sub 3} using in situ high-energy X-ray diffraction during application of electric fields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tutuncu, Goknur; Li, Binzhi; Bowman, Keith

The piezoelectric compositions (1 − x)Ba(Zr{sub 0.2}Ti{sub 0.8})O{sub 3}–x(Ba{sub 0.7}Ca{sub 0.3})TiO{sub 3} (BZT-xBCT) span a model lead-free morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) between room temperature rhombohedral and tetragonal phases at approximately x = 0.5. In the present work, in situ X-ray diffraction measurements during electric field application are used to elucidate the origin of electromechanical strain in several compositions spanning the tetragonal compositional range 0.6 ≤ x ≤ 0.9. As BCT concentration decreases towards the MPB, the tetragonal distortion (given by c/a-1) decreases concomitantly with an increase in 90° domain wall motion. The increase in observed macroscopic strain is predominantly attributed to the increased contribution from 90°more » domain wall motion. The results demonstrate that domain wall motion is a significant factor in achieving high strain and piezoelectric coefficients in lead-free polycrystalline piezoelectrics.« less

Annihilation of Domain Walls in a Ferromagnetic Wire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Anirban; Huang, Kevin; Tchernyshyov, Oleg

We study the annihilation of topological solitons in one of the simplest systems that support them: a one-dimensional ferromagnetic wire with an easy axis along its length. In the presence of energy dissipation due to viscous losses, two solitons (domain walls) on the wire, when released from afar, approach each other and eventually annihilate to create a uniformly magnetized state. Starting from a class of exact solutions for stationary two-domain-wall configurations in the absence of dissipation, we develop an effective theory that describes this annihilation in terms of four collective coordinates: a) the two zero modes corresponding to the location of the center and the average azimuthal angle of the full structure and b) their two conjugate momenta which describe the relative twist and the relative separation of the two domain walls respectively. Comparison with micromagnetic simulation on OOOMF confirms that this theory captures well the essential physics of the process. We believe this work will be a good starting point for studying the annihilation of more complicated topological solitons like vortices and skyrmions in ferromagnetic thin films. This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering under Award DE-FG02-08ER46544.

Domain wall motion in ferroelectrics: Barkhausen noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shur, V.; Rumyantsev, E.; Kozhevnikov, V.; Nikolaeva, E.; Shishkin, E.

2002-03-01

The switching current noise has been recorded during polarization reversal in single-crystalline gadolinium molybdate (GMO) and lithium tantalate (LT). Analysis of Barkhausen noise (BN) data allows to classify the noise types by determination of the critical indexes and fractal dimensions. BN is manifested as the short pulses during the polarization reversal. We have analyzed the BN data recorded in GMO and LT with various types of controlled domain structure. The data treatment in terms of probability distribution of duration, area and energy of individual pulses reveals the critical behavior typical for the fractal records in time. We used the Fourier transform and Hurst's rescaled range analysis for obtaining the Hurst factor, fractal dimension and classifying the noise types. We investigated by computer simulation the mechanism of sideways motion of 180O domain wall by nucleation at the wall taking into account the nuclei-nuclei interaction. It was shown that the moving domain walls display the fractal shape and their motion is accompanied by Flicker noise, which is in accord with experimental data. The research was made possible in part by Programs "Basic Research in Russian Universities" and "Priority Research in High School. Electronics", by Grant No. 01-02-17443 of RFBR, by Award No.REC-005 of CRDF.

Wood cell-wall structure requires local 2D-microtubule disassembly by a novel plasma membrane-anchored protein.

PubMed

Oda, Yoshihisa; Iida, Yuki; Kondo, Yuki; Fukuda, Hiroo

2010-07-13

Plant cells have evolved cortical microtubules, in a two-dimensional space beneath the plasma membrane, that regulate patterning of cellulose deposition. Although recent studies have revealed that several microtubule-associated proteins facilitate self-organization of transverse cortical microtubules, it is still unknown how diverse patterns of cortical microtubules are organized in different xylem cells, which are the major components of wood. Using our newly established in vitro xylem cell differentiation system, we found that a novel microtubule end-tracking protein, microtubule depletion domain 1 (MIDD1), was anchored to distinct plasma membrane domains and promoted local microtubule disassembly, resulting in pits on xylem cell walls. The introduction of RNA interference for MIDD1 resulted in the failure of local microtubule depletion and the formation of secondary walls without pits. Conversely, the overexpression of MIDD1 reduced microtubule density. MIDD1 has two coiled-coil domains for the binding to microtubules and for the anchorage to plasma membrane domains, respectively. Combination of the two coils caused end tracking of microtubules during shrinkage and suppressed their rescue events. Our results indicate that MIDD1 integrates spatial information in the plasma membrane with cortical microtubule dynamics for determining xylem cell wall pattern. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Numerical Boundary Conditions for Computational Aeroacoustics Benchmark Problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tam, Chritsopher K. W.; Kurbatskii, Konstantin A.; Fang, Jun

1997-01-01

Category 1, Problems 1 and 2, Category 2, Problem 2, and Category 3, Problem 2 are solved computationally using the Dispersion-Relation-Preserving (DRP) scheme. All these problems are governed by the linearized Euler equations. The resolution requirements of the DRP scheme for maintaining low numerical dispersion and dissipation as well as accurate wave speeds in solving the linearized Euler equations are now well understood. As long as 8 or more mesh points per wavelength is employed in the numerical computation, high quality results are assured. For the first three categories of benchmark problems, therefore, the real challenge is to develop high quality numerical boundary conditions. For Category 1, Problems 1 and 2, it is the curved wall boundary conditions. For Category 2, Problem 2, it is the internal radiation boundary conditions inside the duct. For Category 3, Problem 2, they are the inflow and outflow boundary conditions upstream and downstream of the blade row. These are the foci of the present investigation. Special nonhomogeneous radiation boundary conditions that generate the incoming disturbances and at the same time allow the outgoing reflected or scattered acoustic disturbances to leave the computation domain without significant reflection are developed. Numerical results based on these boundary conditions are provided.

Measurements of ultrafast spin-profiles and spin-diffusion properties in the domain wall area at a metal/ferromagnetic film interface.

PubMed

Sant, T; Ksenzov, D; Capotondi, F; Pedersoli, E; Manfredda, M; Kiskinova, M; Zabel, H; Kläui, M; Lüning, J; Pietsch, U; Gutt, C

2017-11-08

Exciting a ferromagnetic material with an ultrashort IR laser pulse is known to induce spin dynamics by heating the spin system and by ultrafast spin diffusion processes. Here, we report on measurements of spin-profiles and spin diffusion properties in the vicinity of domain walls in the interface region between a metallic Al layer and a ferromagnetic Co/Pd thin film upon IR excitation. We followed the ultrafast temporal evolution by means of an ultrafast resonant magnetic scattering experiment in surface scattering geometry, which enables us to exploit the evolution of the domain network within a 1/e distance of 3 nm to 5 nm from the Al/FM film interface. We observe a magnetization-reversal close to the domain wall boundaries that becomes more pronounced closer to the Al/FM film interface. This magnetization-reversal is driven by the different transport properties of majority and minority carriers through a magnetically disordered domain network. Its finite lateral extension has allowed us to measure the ultrafast spin-diffusion coefficients and ultrafast spin velocities for majority and minority carriers upon IR excitation.

Imaging the Dynamics of the Ferroelectric Stripe Phase Near a Field-Driven Phase Transition in Bismuth Ferrite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laanait, Nouamane; Li, Qian; Zhang, Zhan; Kalinin, Sergei

Electric field-driven phase transitions in multiferroic systems such as Bismuth Ferrite could potentially host interesting domain dynamics due to the coexistence of multiple order parameters. Structural imaging of these dynamics under a host of elastic and electric boundary conditions is therefore of interest. Here, we present X-ray diffraction microscopy (XDM) studies of the domain wall dynamics in a bismuth ferrite thin-film near the field-driven transition from rhombohedral to monoclinic (R to M). XDM is a novel full-field imaging technique that uses Bragg diffraction contrast to image structural configurations with sub-100nm lateral resolutions and fast acquisition times (milliseconds to seconds per image). We find that under electric fields 100 kV/cm, a bismuth ferrite thin-film (100 nm BiFeO3/DyScO3 (110)) undergoes a structural phase transition but that this new phase (M) is pinned by the preexisting ferroelectric/ferroelastic stripe phase (R). At higher fields ( 300 kV/cm), we observe unusually slow domain wall dynamics in the stripe phase, consisting of periodicity doubling, domain wall roughening and crowding. These observed ferroelastic domain wall spatial dynamics are weakly constrained by the crystal symmetry of the orthorhombic substrate but exhibit nonlinear dynamics more commonly associated with disordered nematic systems. This work was supported by the Eugene P. Wigner Fellowship program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy facility.

Experimental Measurements of a High Reynolds Num- ber Adverse Pressure Gradient Turbulent Boundary Layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atkinson, Callum; Amili, Omid; Stanislas, Michel; Cuvier, Christophe; Foucaut, Jean-Marc; Srinath, Sricharan; Laval, Jean-Philippe; Kaehler, Christian; Hain, Rainer; Scharnowski, Sven; Schroeder, Andreas; Geisler, Reinhard; Agocs, Janos; Roese, Anni; Willert, Christian; Klinner, Joachim; Soria, Julio

2016-11-01

The study of adverse pressure gradient turbulent boundary layers is complicated by the need to characterise both the local pressure gradient and it's upstream flow history. It is therefore necessary to measure a significant streamwise domain at a resolution sufficient to resolve the small scales features. To achieve this collaborative particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements were performed in the large boundary layer wind-tunnel at the Laboratoire de Mecanique de Lille, including: planar measurements spanning a streamwise domain of 3.5m using 16 cameras covering 15 δ spanwise wall-normal stereo-PIV measurements, high-speed micro-PIV of the near wall region and wall shear stress; and streamwise wall-normal PIV in the viscous sub layer. Details of the measurements and preliminary results will be presented.

Role of spin diffusion in current-induced domain wall motion for disordered ferromagnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akosa, Collins Ashu; Kim, Won-Seok; Bisig, André; Kläui, Mathias; Lee, Kyung-Jin; Manchon, Aurélien

2015-03-01

Current-induced spin transfer torque and magnetization dynamics in the presence of spin diffusion in disordered magnetic textures is studied theoretically. We demonstrate using tight-binding calculations that weak, spin-conserving impurity scattering dramatically enhances the nonadiabaticity. To further explore this mechanism, a phenomenological drift-diffusion model for incoherent spin transport is investigated. We show that incoherent spin diffusion indeed produces an additional spatially dependent torque of the form ˜∇2[m ×(u .∇ ) m ] +ξ ∇2[(u .∇ ) m ] , where m is the local magnetization direction, u is the direction of injected current, and ξ is a parameter characterizing the spin dynamics (precession, dephasing, and spin-flip). This torque, which scales as the inverse square of the domain wall width, only weakly enhances the longitudinal velocity of a transverse domain wall but significantly enhances the transverse velocity of vortex walls. The spatial-dependent spin transfer torque uncovered in this study is expected to have significant impact on the current-driven motion of abrupt two-dimensional textures such as vortices, skyrmions, and merons.

Effect of electrical and mechanical poling history on domain orientation and piezoelectric properties of soft and hard PZT ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marsilius, Mie; Granzow, Torsten; Jones, Jacob L.

2011-02-01

The superior piezoelectric properties of all polycrystalline ferroelectrics are based on the extent of non-180° domain wall motion under electrical and mechanical poling loads. To distinguish between 180° and non-180° domain wall motion in a soft-doped and a hard-doped lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic, domain texture measurements were performed using x-ray and neutron diffraction after different loading procedures. Comparing the results to measurements of the remanent strain and piezoelectric coefficient allowed the differentiation between different microstructural contributions to the macroscopic parameters. Both types of ceramic showed similar behavior under electric field, but the hard-doped material was more susceptible to mechanical load. A considerable fraction of the piezoelectric coefficient originated from poling by the preferred orientation of 180° domains.

Magnetic domain wall engineering in a nanoscale permalloy junction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Junlin; Zhang, Xichao; Lu, Xianyang; Zhang, Jason; Yan, Yu; Ling, Hua; Wu, Jing; Zhou, Yan; Xu, Yongbing

2017-08-01

Nanoscale magnetic junctions provide a useful approach to act as building blocks for magnetoresistive random access memories (MRAM), where one of the key issues is to control the magnetic domain configuration. Here, we study the domain structure and the magnetic switching in the Permalloy (Fe20Ni80) nanoscale magnetic junctions with different thicknesses by using micromagnetic simulations. It is found that both the 90-° and 45-° domain walls can be formed between the junctions and the wire arms depending on the thickness of the device. The magnetic switching fields show distinct thickness dependencies with a broad peak varying from 7 nm to 22 nm depending on the junction sizes, and the large magnetic switching fields favor the stability of the MRAM operation.

Light domain walls, massive neutrinos and the large scale structure of the Universe

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Massarotti, Alessandro

1991-01-01

Domain walls generated through a cosmological phase transition are considered, which interact nongravitationally with light neutrinos. At a redshift z greater than or equal to 10(exp 4), the network grows rapidly and is virtually decoupled from the matter. As the friction with the matter becomes dominant, a comoving network scale close to that of the comoving horizon scale at z of approximately 10(exp 4) gets frozen. During the later phases, the walls produce matter wakes of a thickness d of approximately 10h(exp -1)Mpc, that may become seeds for the formation of the large scale structure observed in the Universe.

Vortex formation in magnetic narrow rings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bland, J. A. C.

2002-03-01

Underlying the current interest in magnetic elements is the possibility such systems provide both for the study of fundamental phenomena in magnetism (such as domain wall trapping and spin switching) and for technological applications, such as high density magnetic storage or magnetic random access memories (MRAM). One key issue is to control the magnetic switching precisely. To achieve this one needs first to have a well defined and reproducible remanent state, and second the switching process itself must be simple and reproducible. Among the many studied geometries, rings are shown to exhibit several advantages over other geometries, in that they show relatively simple stable magnetic states at remanence, with fast and simple magnetisation switching mechanisms. This is borne out of our systematic investigation of the magnetic properties of epitaxial and polycrystalline Co rings, where both the static, dynamic and transport properties have been studied. Magnetic measurements and micromagnetic simulations show that for appropriate ring structures a two step switching process occurs at high fields, indicating the existence of two different stable states. In addition to the vortex state, which occurs at intermediate fields, we have identified a new bi-domain state, which we term the `onion state', corresponding to opposite circulation of the magnetisation in each half of the ring. The magnetic elements were fabricated using a new technique based on the pre-patterning of Si ring structures and subsequent epitaxial growth of Cu/Co/Cu sandwich films on top of the Si elements. This technique has allowed the growth of epitaxial fcc Co(001) structures and in contrast to conventional lithographic methods, no damage to the magnetic layer structure is introduced by the patterning process [1,2]. We have studied the magnetic switching properties of arrays of narrow Co(100) epitaxial ring magnets, with outer diameters between 1 μm and 2 μm, varying inner diameters and varying film thickness, using magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE) magnetometry. The data indicates that the outer diameter of the ring only plays a minor role in determining the value of the switching field. As a general trend, the switching field decreases with increasing ring width and with decreasing film thickness. In particular, the dependence of the switching field on ring width becomes more pronounced for smaller ring widths. This stems from the fact that the vortex state becomes more stable for the narrower rings due to the exchange energy contribution to the barrier for reversal to the onion state. Thicker films also favour the vortex state over the onion state, since the magnetostatic energy associated with the latter state increases with film thickness [3]. Using micromagnetic simulations we show also that the magnetisation reversal in narrow rings can take place via a nucleation-free domain wall motion process when a field pulse is applied in the plane of the film and perpendicular to the net magnetisation. Switching times of the order of 400 ps can be achieved with this approach. A lower bound for the depinning time of the domain walls and a weak dependence of the domain wall velocity with the applied field are described [4]. The magnetic nanostructure of epitaxial fcc Co/Cu(001) circular elements has been imaged with scanning electron microscopy with polarisation analysis (SEMPA) [5]. The elements vary from disks to rings according to the dimensions of the inner diameter of the ring structure and have a nominal composition 4 nm Au/2 nm Cu/34 nm Co/100 nm Cu. In this study the outer diameter was fixed at 1.7 μm while the smallest ring width varies in the range 0.3-0.5 μm. A closed flux quadrant configuration is observed for some of the disks, characteristic of systems with cubic anisotropy (i.e., near vortex structure), besides other more complex configurations at remanence. The width of the 90^o domain wall in the disks is around 0.20 ± 0.05 μm. This value is larger than what expected for continuous films and is a result of the constraints imposed by the geometry of the element. The value is in good agreement with micromagnetic calculations. For the rings we observe directly the `onion-state', the closest configuration to saturation that these structures allow [1]. The results prove that this state is stable in zero applied field. The internal structure of the two head-to-head domain walls in the onion state is analysed. Wider rings (ring width w=0.5 μm) present vortex walls, whereas thinner ones (ring width w=0.3 μm) exhibit transverse walls [6]. This is in good agreement with micromagnetic simulations. We have also investigated the magnetic states and the switching properties of magnetic rings using magneto-resistance (MR) measurements. We chose narrow rings, where particularly simple magnetic states are expected. Some of the rings have notches of different sizes that help to pin, and thereby define, the positions of domain walls. The rings were fabricated using a multi-stage lift-off process, where six non-magnetic contacts in different positions of the ring were made. The rings consist of polycrystalline Co or Ni_80Fe_20 3-30 nm thick capped with 6 nm Au, with outer ring diameter 1.4 μm, ring width 80 nm, and notches of different sizes. Conventional MR-H loop measurements with a fixed magnetic field direction, and measurements with rotating constant field magnitude were performed. In one example of the first type of MR measurements, the direction of the field and the contacts were chosen so that at saturation the magnetization is perpendicular to the current. As expected, at saturation the resistance is low whereas at remanence it is high. There is a clear two-step switching process between the `onion' state and the vortex state as expected from previous studies on rings [1]. During the first switching the resistance increases, corresponding to the transition into the vortex state. Since no domain wall is present between the contacts, the magnetization is everywhere parallel to the current, and the resistance is high. After the second switching into the reverse `onion' state a domain wall is now present between the contacts. This means some of the magnetization in the transverse domain wall is perpendicular to the current and hence the resistance decreases. This shows that one can clearly distinguish between the onion and vortex state using MR measurements. In addition, using the field dependent voltage drop between different contacts, the switching field at which each part of the ring reverses can be determined. >From the second type of measurements clear hysteretic behaviour is seen, indicating that there is some domain wall pinning. This demonstrates that the position of the domain walls can be identified by looking at the voltage drop between different contacts. By measuring at different magnitudes of the applied field the pinning strength of the domain walls is determined, and in particular the dependence of the domain wall pinning on the notch size. Furthermore the structure of the domain wall changes for different notch sizes, and hence the contribution of the wall to the resistance changes as well. Real-time measurements between different contacts might allow for domain wall speed measurements and other domain wall propagation studies. References: [1] J. Rothman, M. Kläui, L. Lopez-Diaz, C.A.F. Vaz, A. Bleloch, J.A.C. Bland, Z. Cui, R. Speaks, Phys. Rev. Lett. 86 (2001) 1098. [2] Z. Cui, J. Rothman, M. Kläui, L. Lopez-Diaz, C.A.F. Vaz, J.A.C. Bland, to be published. [3] M. Kläui, L. Lopez-Diaz, J. Rothman, C.A.F. Vaz, J.A.C. Bland, Z. Cui, J. Magn. Magn. Mat., to be published. [4] L. Lopez-Diaz, J. Rothman, M. Kläui, J.A.C. Bland, IEEE Trans. Mag. 36 (2000) 3155. [5] C.A.F. Vaz, L. Lopez-Diaz, M. Kläui, J.A.C. Bland, T.L. Monchesky, J. Unguris, Z. Cui, 46th MMM Conference, Seattle, 2001. [6] R. D. McMichael and M. J. Donahue, IEEE Trans. Mag. 33, 4167-4169 (1997).

Low temperature and high field regimes of connected kagome artificial spin ice: the role of domain wall topology.

PubMed

Zeissler, Katharina; Chadha, Megha; Lovell, Edmund; Cohen, Lesley F; Branford, Will R

2016-07-22

Artificial spin ices are frustrated magnetic nanostructures where single domain nanobars act as macrosized spins. In connected kagome artificial spin ice arrays, reversal occurs along one-dimensional chains by propagation of ferromagnetic domain walls through Y-shaped vertices. Both the vertices and the walls are complex chiral objects with well-defined topological edge-charges. At room temperature, it is established that the topological edge-charges determine the exact switching reversal path taken. However, magnetic reversal at low temperatures has received much less attention and how these chiral objects interact at reduced temperature is unknown. In this study we use magnetic force microscopy to image the magnetic reversal process at low temperatures revealing the formation of quite remarkable high energy remanence states and a change in the dynamics of the reversal process. The implication is the breakdown of the artificial spin ice regime in these connected structures at low temperatures.

Pulse dynamics of dual-wavelength dissipative soliton resonances and domain wall solitons in a Tm fiber laser with fiber-based Lyot filter.

PubMed

Wang, Pan; Zhao, Kangjun; Xiao, Xiaosheng; Yang, Changxi

2017-11-27

We report on the first demonstration of dual-wavelength square-wave pulses in a thulium-doped fiber laser. Under appropriate cavity parameters, dual-wavelength dissipative soliton resonances (DSRs) and domain wall solitons (DWSs) are successively obtained. Meanwhile, dark pulses generation is achieved at the dual-wavelength DWSs region due to the overlap of the two domain wall pulses. The fiber-based Lyot filter, conducted by inserting PMF between an in-line PBS and a PD-ISO, facilitates the generation of dual-wavelength operation. The polarization-resolved investigation suggests that the cross coupling between two orthogonal polarization components in the high nonlinear fiber plays an important role in the square-wave pulses formation. The investigation may be helpful for further understanding the square-wave pulse formation and has potential in application filed of multi-wavelength pulsed fiber lasers.

Frequency dependent polarisation switching in h-ErMnO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruff, Alexander; Li, Ziyu; Loidl, Alois; Schaab, Jakob; Fiebig, Manfred; Cano, Andres; Yan, Zewu; Bourret, Edith; Glaum, Julia; Meier, Dennis; Krohns, Stephan

2018-04-01

We report an electric-field poling study of the geometrically-driven improper ferroelectric h-ErMnO3. From a detailed dielectric analysis, we deduce the temperature and the frequency dependent range for which single-crystalline h-ErMnO3 exhibits purely intrinsic dielectric behaviour, i.e., free from the extrinsic so-called Maxwell-Wagner polarisations that arise, for example, from surface barrier layers. In this regime, ferroelectric hysteresis loops as a function of frequency, temperature, and applied electric fields are measured, revealing the theoretically predicted saturation polarisation on the order of 5-6 μC/cm2. Special emphasis is put on frequency dependent polarisation switching, which is explained in terms of domain-wall movement similar to proper ferroelectrics. Controlling the domain walls via electric fields brings us an important step closer to their utilization in domain-wall-based electronics.

Low field domain wall dynamics in artificial spin-ice basis structure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kwon, J.; School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798; Goolaup, S.

2015-10-28

Artificial magnetic spin-ice nanostructures provide an ideal platform for the observation of magnetic monopoles. The formation of a magnetic monopole is governed by the motion of a magnetic charge carrier via the propagation of domain walls (DWs) in a lattice. To date, most experiments have been on the static visualization of DW propagation in the lattice. In this paper, we report on the low field dynamics of DW in a unit spin-ice structure measured by magnetoresistance changes. Our results show that reversible DW propagation can be initiated within the spin-ice basis. The initial magnetization configuration of the unit structure stronglymore » influences the direction of DW motion in the branches. Single or multiple domain wall nucleation can be induced in the respective branches of the unit spin ice by the direction of the applied field.« less

Exact BPS domain walls at finite gauge coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blaschke, Filip

2017-01-01

Bogomol'nyi-Prasad-Sommerfield solitons in models with spontaneously broken gauge symmetry have been intensively studied at the infinite gauge coupling limit, where the governing equation-the so-called master equation-is exactly solvable. Except for a handful of special solutions, the standing impression is that analytic results at finite coupling are generally unavailable. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate, using domain walls in Abelian-Higgs models as the simplest example, that exact solitons at finite gauge coupling can be readily obtained if the number of Higgs fields (NF ) is large enough. In particular, we present a family of exact solutions, describing N domain walls at arbitrary positions in models with at least NF≥2 N +1 . We have also found that adding together any pair of solutions can produce a new exact solution if the combined tension is below a certain limit.

Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index theorem for domain-wall fermion Dirac operator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukaya, Hidenori; Onogi, Tetsuya; Yamaguchi, Satoshi

2018-03-01

Recently, the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer(APS) index theorem attracts attention for understanding physics on the surface of materials in topological phases. Although it is widely applied to physics, the mathematical set-up in the original APS index theorem is too abstract and general (allowing non-trivial metric and so on) and also the connection between the APS boundary condition and the physical boundary condition on the surface of topological material is unclear. For this reason, in contrast to the Atiyah-Singer index theorem, derivation of the APS index theorem in physics language is still missing. In this talk, we attempt to reformulate the APS index in a "physicist-friendly" way, similar to the Fujikawa method on closed manifolds, for our familiar domain-wall fermion Dirac operator in a flat Euclidean space. We find that the APS index is naturally embedded in the determinant of domain-wall fermions, representing the so-called anomaly descent equations.

The corkscrew instability of a Fréedericksz domain wall in a nematic liquid crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Lózar Muñoz, Alberto; Bock, Thomas; Müller, Matthias; Schöpf, Wolfgang; Rehberg, Ingo

2003-06-01

A liquid crystal with slightly positive dielectric anisotropy is investigated in the planar configuration. This system allows for competition between electroconvection and the homogeneous Fréedericksz transition, leading to a rather complicated bifurcation scenario. We report measurements of a novel instability leading to the `corkscrew' pattern. This state is closely connected to the Fréedericksz state as it manifests itself as a regular modulation along a Fréedericksz domain wall, although its frequency dependence indicates that electroconvection must play a crucial role. It can be understood in terms of a pitchfork bifurcation from a straight domain wall. Quantitative characterization is performed in terms of amplitude, wavelength and relaxation time. Its wavelength is of the order of the probe thickness, while its ondulation amplitude is an order of magnitude smaller. The relaxation time is comparable to the one obtained for electroconvection.

Strain-controlled magnetic domain wall propagation in hybrid piezoelectric/ferromagnetic structures

PubMed Central

Lei, Na; Devolder, Thibaut; Agnus, Guillaume; Aubert, Pascal; Daniel, Laurent; Kim, Joo-Von; Zhao, Weisheng; Trypiniotis, Theodossis; Cowburn, Russell P.; Chappert, Claude; Ravelosona, Dafiné; Lecoeur, Philippe

2013-01-01

The control of magnetic order in nanoscale devices underpins many proposals for integrating spintronics concepts into conventional electronics. A key challenge lies in finding an energy-efficient means of control, as power dissipation remains an important factor limiting future miniaturization of integrated circuits. One promising approach involves magnetoelectric coupling in magnetostrictive/piezoelectric systems, where induced strains can bear directly on the magnetic anisotropy. While such processes have been demonstrated in several multiferroic heterostructures, the incorporation of such complex materials into practical geometries has been lacking. Here we demonstrate the possibility of generating sizeable anisotropy changes, through induced strains driven by applied electric fields, in hybrid piezoelectric/spin-valve nanowires. By combining magneto-optical Kerr effect and magnetoresistance measurements, we show that domain wall propagation fields can be doubled under locally applied strains. These results highlight the prospect of constructing low-power domain wall gates for magnetic logic devices. PMID:23340418

Soft x-ray coherent diffraction imaging on magnetic nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Xiaowen; Lee, James; Mishra, Shrawan; Parks, Daniel; Tyliszczak, Tolek; Shapiro, David; Roy, Sujoy; Kevan, Steve; Stxm Team At Als Collaboration; Soft X-Ray Microscopy Group At Als Collaboration; Soft X-ray scattering at ALS, LBL Team

2014-03-01

Coherent soft X-rays diffraction imaging enable coherent magnetic resonance scattering at transition metal L-edge to be probed so that magnetic domains could be imaged with very high spatial resolution with phase contrast, reaching sub-10nm. One of the overwhelming advantages of using coherent X-rays is the ability to resolve phase contrast images with linearly polarized light with both phase and absorption contrast comparing to real-space imaging, which can only be studied with circularly polarized light with absorption contrast only. Here we report our first results on high-resolution of magnetic domains imaging of CoPd multilayer thin film with coherent soft X-ray ptychography method. We are aiming to resolve and understand magnetic domain wall structures with the highest obtainable resolution here at Advanced Light Source. In principle types of magnetic domain walls could be studied so that Neel or Bloch walls can be distinguished by imaging. This work at LBNL was supported by the Director, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, of the US Department of Energy (contract no. DE-AC02- 05CH11231).

Fast switching and signature of efficient domain wall motion driven by spin-orbit torques in a perpendicular anisotropy magnetic insulator/Pt bilayer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avci, Can Onur; Rosenberg, Ethan; Baumgartner, Manuel; Beran, Lukáš; Quindeau, Andy; Gambardella, Pietro; Ross, Caroline A.; Beach, Geoffrey S. D.

2017-08-01

We report fast and efficient current-induced switching of a perpendicular anisotropy magnetic insulator thulium iron garnet by using spin-orbit torques (SOT) from the Pt overlayer. We first show that, with quasi-DC (10 ms) current pulses, SOT-induced switching can be achieved with an external field as low as 2 Oe, making TmIG an outstanding candidate to realize efficient switching in heterostructures that produce moderate stray fields without requiring an external field. We then demonstrate deterministic switching with fast current pulses (≤20 ns) with an amplitude of ˜1012 A/m2, similar to all-metallic structures. We reveal that, in the presence of an initially nucleated domain, the critical switching current is reduced by up to a factor of five with respect to the fully saturated initial state, implying efficient current-driven domain wall motion in this system. Based on measurements with 2 ns-long pulses, we estimate the domain wall velocity of the order of ˜400 m/s per j = 1012 A/m2.

Real-time trajectory optimization on parallel processors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Psiaki, Mark L.

1993-01-01

A parallel algorithm has been developed for rapidly solving trajectory optimization problems. The goal of the work has been to develop an algorithm that is suitable to do real-time, on-line optimal guidance through repeated solution of a trajectory optimization problem. The algorithm has been developed on an INTEL iPSC/860 message passing parallel processor. It uses a zero-order-hold discretization of a continuous-time problem and solves the resulting nonlinear programming problem using a custom-designed augmented Lagrangian nonlinear programming algorithm. The algorithm achieves parallelism of function, derivative, and search direction calculations through the principle of domain decomposition applied along the time axis. It has been encoded and tested on 3 example problems, the Goddard problem, the acceleration-limited, planar minimum-time to the origin problem, and a National Aerospace Plane minimum-fuel ascent guidance problem. Execution times as fast as 118 sec of wall clock time have been achieved for a 128-stage Goddard problem solved on 32 processors. A 32-stage minimum-time problem has been solved in 151 sec on 32 processors. A 32-stage National Aerospace Plane problem required 2 hours when solved on 32 processors. A speed-up factor of 7.2 has been achieved by using 32-nodes instead of 1-node to solve a 64-stage Goddard problem.

Effect of defects, magnetocrystalline anisotropy, and shape anisotropy on magnetic structure of iron thin films by magnetic force microscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xu, Ke; Schreiber, Daniel K.; Li, Yulan

Microstructures of magnetic materials, including defects and crystallographic orientations, are known to strongly influence magnetic domain structures. Measurement techniques such as magnetic force microscopy (MFM) thus allow study of correlations between microstructural and magnetic properties. The present work probes effects of anisotropy and artificial defects on the evolution of domain structure with applied field. Single crystal iron thin films on MgO substrates were milled by Focused Ion Beam (FIB) to create different magnetically isolated squares and rectangles in [110] crystallographic orientations, having their easy axis 45° from the sample edge. To investigate domain wall response on encountering non-magnetic defects, amore » 150 nm diameter hole was created in the center of some samples. By simultaneously varying crystal orientation and shape, both magnetocrystalline anisotropy and shape anisotropy, as well as their interaction, could be studied. Shape anisotropy was found to be important primarily for the longer edge of rectangular samples, which exaggerated the FIB edge effects and provided nucleation sites for spike domains in non-easy axis oriented samples. Center holes acted as pinning sites for domain walls until large applied magnetic fields. The present studies are aimed at deepening the understanding of the propagation of different types of domain walls in the presence of defects and different crystal orientations.« less

Effect of defects, magnetocrystalline anisotropy, and shape anisotropy on magnetic structure of iron thin films by magnetic force microscopy

DOE PAGES

Xu, Ke; Schreiber, Daniel K.; Li, Yulan; ...

2017-02-10

Microstructures of magnetic materials, including defects and crystallographic orientations, are known to strongly influence magnetic domain structures. Measurement techniques such as magnetic force microscopy (MFM) thus allow study of correlations between microstructural and magnetic properties. The present work probes effects of anisotropy and artificial defects on the evolution of domain structure with applied field. Single crystal iron thin films on MgO substrates were milled by Focused Ion Beam (FIB) to create different magnetically isolated squares and rectangles in [110] crystallographic orientations, having their easy axis 45° from the sample edge. To investigate domain wall response on encountering non-magnetic defects, amore » 150 nm diameter hole was created in the center of some samples. By simultaneously varying crystal orientation and shape, both magnetocrystalline anisotropy and shape anisotropy, as well as their interaction, could be studied. Shape anisotropy was found to be important primarily for the longer edge of rectangular samples, which exaggerated the FIB edge effects and provided nucleation sites for spike domains in non-easy axis oriented samples. Center holes acted as pinning sites for domain walls until large applied magnetic fields. The present studies are aimed at deepening the understanding of the propagation of different types of domain walls in the presence of defects and different crystal orientations.« less

Correlation between impurity distribution and location of ferroelectric domain walls in Nd : Mg : LiNbO 3 single crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naumova, I. I.; Evlanova, N. F.; Blokhin, S. A.; Lavrishchev, S. V.

1998-04-01

Using selective chemical etching, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and wave dispersive X-ray (WDX) microanalysis we showed that the ferroelectric domain walls coincide with the maxima and minima Nd-impurity modulation in a periodically poled Nd : Mg : LiNbO 3 crystal grown by the Czochralski method along the normal to the (0 1 1¯ 2) face. Asymmetric form of the Nd-modulation produces nonequal positive and negative domains for one period. Variations of instantaneous rate of growth were estimated for facet and nonfacet crystal region in the framework of Burton-Prim-Slichter theory.

Immobile defects in ferroelastic walls: Wall nucleation at defect sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, X.; Salje, E. K. H.; Ding, X.; Sun, J.

2018-02-01

Randomly distributed, static defects are enriched in ferroelastic domain walls. The relative concentration of defects in walls, Nd, follows a power law distribution as a function of the total defect concentration C: N d ˜ C α with α = 0.4 . The enrichment Nd/C ranges from ˜50 times when C = 10 ppm to ˜3 times when C = 1000 ppm. The resulting enrichment is due to nucleation at defect sites as observed in large scale MD simulations. The dynamics of domain nucleation and switching is dependent on the defect concentration. Their energy distribution follows the power law with exponents during yield between ɛ ˜ 1.82 and 2.0 when the defect concentration increases. The power law exponent is ɛ ≈ 2.7 in the plastic regime, independent of the defect concentration.

Simulation of Z(3) walls and string production via bubble nucleation in a quark-hadron transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gupta, Uma Shankar; Mohapatra, Ranjita K.; Srivastava, Ajit M.; Tiwari, Vivek K.

2010-10-01

We study the dynamics of confinement-deconfinement phase transition in the context of relativistic heavy-ion collisions within the framework of effective models for the Polyakov loop order parameter. We study the formation of Z(3) walls and associated strings in the initial transition from the confining (hadronic) phase to the deconfining [quark-gluon plasma (QGP)] phase via the so-called Kibble mechanism. Essential physics of the Kibble mechanism is contained in a sort of domain structure arising after any phase transition which represents random variation of the order parameter at distances beyond the typical correlation length. We implement this domain structure by using the Polyakov loop effective model with a first order phase transition and confine ourselves with temperature/time ranges so that the first order confinement-deconfinement transition proceeds via bubble nucleation, leading to a well defined domain structure. The formation of Z(3) walls and associated strings results from the coalescence of QGP bubbles expanding in the confining background. We investigate the evolution of the Z(3) wall and string network. We also calculate the energy density fluctuations associated with Z(3) wall network and strings which decay away after the temperature drops below the quark-hadron transition temperature during the expansion of QGP. We discuss evolution of these quantities with changing temperature via Bjorken’s hydrodynamical model and discuss possible experimental signatures resulting from the presence of Z(3) wall network and associate strings.

Simulation of Z(3) walls and string production via bubble nucleation in a quark-hadron transition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gupta, Uma Shankar; Tiwari, Vivek K.; Mohapatra, Ranjita K.

2010-10-01

We study the dynamics of confinement-deconfinement phase transition in the context of relativistic heavy-ion collisions within the framework of effective models for the Polyakov loop order parameter. We study the formation of Z(3) walls and associated strings in the initial transition from the confining (hadronic) phase to the deconfining [quark-gluon plasma (QGP)] phase via the so-called Kibble mechanism. Essential physics of the Kibble mechanism is contained in a sort of domain structure arising after any phase transition which represents random variation of the order parameter at distances beyond the typical correlation length. We implement this domain structure by using themore » Polyakov loop effective model with a first order phase transition and confine ourselves with temperature/time ranges so that the first order confinement-deconfinement transition proceeds via bubble nucleation, leading to a well defined domain structure. The formation of Z(3) walls and associated strings results from the coalescence of QGP bubbles expanding in the confining background. We investigate the evolution of the Z(3) wall and string network. We also calculate the energy density fluctuations associated with Z(3) wall network and strings which decay away after the temperature drops below the quark-hadron transition temperature during the expansion of QGP. We discuss evolution of these quantities with changing temperature via Bjorken's hydrodynamical model and discuss possible experimental signatures resulting from the presence of Z(3) wall network and associate strings.« less

Dynamic depinning phase transition in magnetic thin film with anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, L.; Zheng, B.; Jin, M. H.; Wang, L.; Zhou, N. J.

2018-02-01

The dynamic pinning effects induced by quenched disorder are significant in manipulating the domain-wall motion in nano-magnetic materials. Through numerical simulations of the nonstationary domain-wall dynamics with the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation, we confidently detect a dynamic depinning phase transition in a magnetic thin film with anisotropy, which is of second order. The transition field, static and dynamic exponents are accurately determined, based on the dynamic scaling behavior far from stationary.

Universal Pinning Energy Barrier for Driven Domain Walls in Thin Ferromagnetic Films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeudy, V.; Mougin, A.; Bustingorry, S.; Savero Torres, W.; Gorchon, J.; Kolton, A. B.; Lemaître, A.; Jamet, J.-P.

2016-07-01

We report a comparative study of magnetic field driven domain wall motion in thin films made of different magnetic materials for a wide range of field and temperature. The full thermally activated creep motion, observed below the depinning threshold, is shown to be described by a unique universal energy barrier function. Our findings should be relevant for other systems whose dynamics can be modeled by elastic interfaces moving on disordered energy landscapes.

Magneto-optic gradient effect in domain-wall images: At the crossroads of magneto-optics and micromagnetics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kambersky, V.; Schaefer, R.; Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research, Helmholtzstrasse 20, 01069 Dresden

2011-07-15

An anomalous symmetry of magneto-optical images of ferromagnetic domain walls was reported by Schaefer and Hubert [Phys. Status Solidi A 118, 271 (1990)] and interpreted in terms of light amplitudes proportional to the magnetization gradient. We present analytic and numerical calculations supporting such proportionality under additional conditions implied by classical rules of micromagnetics and address some objections presented by Banno [Phys. Rev. A 77, 033818 (2008)] against such proportionality.

Nonrelativistic Nambu-Goldstone Modes Associated with Spontaneously Broken Space-Time and Internal Symmetries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobayashi, Michikazu; Nitta, Muneto

2014-09-01

We show that a momentum operator of a translational symmetry may not commute with an internal symmetry operator in the presence of a topological soliton in nonrelativistic theories. As a striking consequence, there appears a coupled Nambu-Goldstone mode with a quadratic dispersion consisting of translational and internal zero modes in the vicinity of a domain wall in an O(3) σ model, a magnetic domain wall in ferromagnets with an easy axis.

Domain Wall Evolution in Phase Transforming Oxides

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-01-14

configumtions under driving forces (e.g. changes in temperature and electric fields) in an effort to: 1) understand the underlying linkage between -1...configurations under driving forces (e.g. changes in temperature and electric fields) in an effort to: 1) understand the underlying linkage between...Extensive domain wall motion and deaging resistance in morphotropic 0.55Bi(Ni1/2Ti1/2)O3–0.45PbTiO3 polycrystalline ferroelectrics, Applied Physics Letters

Segmental front line dynamics of randomly pinned ferroelastic domain walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puchberger, S.; Soprunyuk, V.; Schranz, W.; Carpenter, M. A.

2018-01-01

Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) measurements as a function of temperature, frequency, and dynamic force amplitude are used to perform a detailed study of the domain wall motion in LaAlO3. In previous DMA measurements Harrison et al. [Phys. Rev. B 69, 144101 (2004), 10.1103/PhysRevB.69.144101] found evidence for dynamic phase transitions of ferroelastic domain walls in LaAlO3. In the present work we focus on the creep-to-relaxation region of domain wall motion using two complementary methods. We determine, in addition to dynamic susceptibility data, waiting time distributions of strain jerks during slowly increasing stress. These strain jerks, which result from self-similar avalanches close to the depinning threshold, follow a power-law behavior with an energy exponent ɛ =1.7 ±0.1 . Also, the distribution of waiting times between events follows a power law N (tw) ∝tw-(n +1 ) with an exponent n =0.9 , which transforms to a power law of susceptibility S (ω ) ∝ω-n . The present dynamic susceptibility data can be well fitted with a power law, with the same exponent (n =0.9 ) up to a characteristic frequency ω ≈ω* , where a crossover from stochastic DW motion to the pinned regime is well described using the scaling function of Fedorenko et al. [Phys. Rev. B 70, 224104 (2004), 10.1103/PhysRevB.70.224104].

Current induced domain wall motion and tilting in Pt/Co/Ta structures with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in the presence of the Dyzaloshinskii–Moriya interaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yun, Jijun; Li, Dong; Cui, Baoshan; Guo, Xiaobin; Wu, Kai; Zhang, Xu; Wang, Yupei; Mao, Jian; Zuo, Yalu; Xi, Li

2018-04-01

Current induced domain wall motion (CIDWM) was studied in Pt/Co/Ta structures with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and the Dyzaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI) by the spin-orbit torque (SOT). We measured the strength of DMI and SOT efficiency in Pt/Co/Ta with the variation of the thickness of Ta using a current induced hysteresis loop shift method. The results indicate that the DMI stabilizes a chiral Néel-type domain wall (DW), and the DW motion can be driven by the enhanced large SOT generated from Pt and Ta with opposite signs of spin Hall angle in Pt/Co/Ta stacks. The CIDWM velocity, which is 104 times larger than the field driven DW velocity, obeys a creep law, and reaches around tens of meters per second with current density of ~106 A cm‑2. We also found that the Joule heating accompanied with current also accelerates the DW motion. Meanwhile, a domain wall tilting was observed, which increases with current density increasing. These results can be explained by the spin Hall effect generated from both heavy metals Pt and Ta, inherent DMI, and the current accompanying Joule heating effect. Our results could provide some new designing prospects to move multiple DWs by SOT for achieving racetrack memories.

Rbt1 protein domains analysis in Candida albicans brings insights into hyphal surface modifications and Rbt1 potential role during adhesion and biofilm formation.

PubMed

Monniot, Céline; Boisramé, Anita; Da Costa, Grégory; Chauvel, Muriel; Sautour, Marc; Bougnoux, Marie-Elisabeth; Bellon-Fontaine, Marie-Noëlle; Dalle, Frédéric; d'Enfert, Christophe; Richard, Mathias L

2013-01-01

Cell wall proteins are central to the virulence of Candida albicans. Hwp1, Hwp2 and Rbt1 form a family of hypha-associated cell surface proteins. Hwp1 and Hwp2 have been involved in adhesion and other virulence traits but Rbt1 is still poorly characterized. To assess the role of Rbt1 in the interaction of C. albicans with biotic and abiotic surfaces independently of its morphological state, heterologous expression and promoter swap strategies were applied. The N-terminal domain with features typical of the Flo11 superfamily was found to be essential for adhesiveness to polystyrene through an increase in cell surface hydrophobicity. A 42 amino acid-long domain localized in the central part of the protein was shown to enhance the aggregation function. We demonstrated that a VTTGVVVVT motif within the 42 amino acid domain displayed a high β-aggregation potential and was responsible for cell-to-cell interactions by promoting the aggregation of hyphae. Finally, we showed through constitutive expression that while Rbt1 was directly accessible to antibodies in hyphae, it was not so in yeast. Similar results were obtained for another cell wall protein, namely Iff8, and suggested that modification of the cell wall structure between yeast and hyphae can regulate the extracellular accessibility of cell wall proteins independently of gene regulation.

Dynamical implications of sample shape for avalanches in 2-dimensional random-field Ising model with saw-tooth domain wall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tadić, Bosiljka

2018-03-01

We study dynamics of a built-in domain wall (DW) in 2-dimensional disordered ferromagnets with different sample shapes using random-field Ising model on a square lattice rotated by 45 degrees. The saw-tooth DW of the length Lx is created along one side and swept through the sample by slow ramping of the external field until the complete magnetisation reversal and the wall annihilation at the open top boundary at a distance Ly. By fixing the number of spins N =Lx ×Ly = 106 and the random-field distribution at a value above the critical disorder, we vary the ratio of the DW length to the annihilation distance in the range Lx /Ly ∈ [ 1 / 16 , 16 ] . The periodic boundary conditions are applied in the y-direction so that these ratios comprise different samples, i.e., surfaces of cylinders with the changing perimeter Lx and height Ly. We analyse the avalanches of the DW slips between following field updates, and the multifractal structure of the magnetisation fluctuation time series. Our main findings are that the domain-wall lengths materialised in different sample shapes have an impact on the dynamics at all scales. Moreover, the domain-wall motion at the beginning of the hysteresis loop (HLB) probes the disorder effects resulting in the fluctuations that are significantly different from the large avalanches in the central part of the loop (HLC), where the strong fields dominate. Specifically, the fluctuations in HLB exhibit a wide multi-fractal spectrum, which shifts towards higher values of the exponents when the DW length is reduced. The distributions of the avalanches in this segments of the loops obey power-law decay and the exponential cutoffs with the exponents firmly in the mean-field universality class for long DW. In contrast, the avalanches in the HLC obey Tsallis density distribution with the power-law tails which indicate the new categories of the scale invariant behaviour for different ratios Lx /Ly. The large fluctuations in the HLC, on the other hand, have a rather narrow spectrum which is less sensitive to the length of the wall. These findings shed light to the dynamical criticality of the random-field Ising model at its lower critical dimension; they can be relevant to applications of the dynamics of injected domain walls in two-dimensional nanowires and ferromagnetic films.

Temporal slow-growth formulation for direct numerical simulation of compressible wall-bounded flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Topalian, Victor; Oliver, Todd A.; Ulerich, Rhys; Moser, Robert D.

2017-08-01

A slow-growth formulation for DNS of wall-bounded turbulent flow is developed and demonstrated to enable extension of slow-growth modeling concepts to wall-bounded flows with complex physics. As in previous slow-growth approaches, the formulation assumes scale separation between the fast scales of turbulence and the slow evolution of statistics such as the mean flow. This separation enables the development of approaches where the fast scales of turbulence are directly simulated while the forcing provided by the slow evolution is modeled. The resulting model admits periodic boundary conditions in the streamwise direction, which avoids the need for extremely long domains and complex inflow conditions that typically accompany spatially developing simulations. Further, it enables the use of efficient Fourier numerics. Unlike previous approaches [Guarini, Moser, Shariff, and Wray, J. Fluid Mech. 414, 1 (2000), 10.1017/S0022112000008466; Maeder, Adams, and Kleiser, J. Fluid Mech. 429, 187 (2001), 10.1017/S0022112000002718; Spalart, J. Fluid Mech. 187, 61 (1988), 10.1017/S0022112088000345], the present approach is based on a temporally evolving boundary layer and is specifically tailored to give results for calibration and validation of Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence models. The use of a temporal homogenization simplifies the modeling, enabling straightforward extension to flows with complicating features, including cold and blowing walls. To generate data useful for calibration and validation of RANS models, special care is taken to ensure that the mean slow-growth forcing is closed in terms of the mean and other quantities that appear in standard RANS models, ensuring that there is no confounding between typical RANS closures and additional closures required for the slow-growth problem. The performance of the method is demonstrated on two problems: an essentially incompressible, zero-pressure-gradient boundary layer and a transonic boundary layer over a cooled, transpiring wall. The results show that the approach produces flows that are qualitatively similar to other slow-growth methods as well as spatially developing simulations and that the method can be a useful tool in investigating wall-bounded flows with complex physics.

Si(111) strained layers on Ge(111): Evidence for c (2 ×4 ) domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhachuk, R.; Coutinho, J.; Dolbak, A.; Cherepanov, V.; Voigtländer, B.

2017-08-01

The tensile-strained Si (111 ) layers grown on top of Ge (111 ) substrates are studied by combining scanning tunneling microscopy, low-energy electron diffraction, and first-principles calculations. It is shown that the layers exhibit c (2 ×4 ) domains, which are separated by domain walls along <1 ¯10 > directions. A model structure for the c (2 ×4 ) domains is proposed, which shows low formation energy and good agreement with the experimental data. The results of our calculations suggest that Ge atoms are likely to replace Si atoms with dangling bonds on the surface (rest-atoms and adatoms), thus significantly lowering the surface energy and inducing the formation of domain walls. The experiments and calculations demonstrate that when surface strain changes from compressive to tensile, the (111) reconstruction converts from dimer-adatom-stacking fault-based to adatom-based structures.

Local conductance: A means to extract polarization and depolarizing fields near domain walls in ferroelectrics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Douglas, A. M.; Kumar, A.; Gregg, J. M.

Conducting atomic force microscopy images of bulk semiconducting BaTiO{sub 3} surfaces show clear stripe domain contrast. High local conductance correlates with strong out-of-plane polarization (mapped independently using piezoresponse force microscopy), and current-voltage characteristics are consistent with dipole-induced alterations in Schottky barriers at the metallic tip-ferroelectric interface. Indeed, analyzing current-voltage data in terms of established Schottky barrier models allows relative variations in the surface polarization, and hence the local domain structure, to be determined. Fitting also reveals the signature of surface-related depolarizing fields concentrated near domain walls. Domain information obtained from mapping local conductance appears to be more surface-sensitive than thatmore » from piezoresponse force microscopy. In the right materials systems, local current mapping could therefore represent a useful complementary technique for evaluating polarization and local electric fields with nanoscale resolution.« less

Charged magnetic domain walls as observed in nanostructured thin films: dependence on both film thickness and anisotropy.

PubMed

Favieres, C; Vergara, J; Madurga, V

2013-02-13

The magnetic domain configurations of soft magnetic, nanostructured, pulsed laser-deposited Co films were investigated. Their dependence on both the thickness t (20 nm ≤ t ≤ 200 nm) and the anisotropy was studied. Charged zigzag walls, with a characteristic saw-tooth vertex angle θ, were observed. θ changed with t from θ ≈ 17° to ≈25°, presenting an intermediate sharp maximum that has not been described before. The reduced length of the zigzag walls also exhibited a peak at t ≈ 70 nm. The relationship between the total reduced length and the density energy of the magnetic wall allowed us to establish a change from a Néel-type to a Bloch-type core of the zigzag walls at this thickness, t ≈ 70 nm. We also accounted for the magnetic energy arising from the surface roughness of the thinner films after imaging the film surface morphologies. Moreover, this distinctive behaviour of the zigzag walls of these low-anisotropy films was compared to that of high-anisotropy films.

Magnetic antiskyrmions above room temperature in tetragonal Heusler materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nayak, Ajaya K.; Kumar, Vivek; Ma, Tianping; Werner, Peter; Pippel, Eckhard; Sahoo, Roshnee; Damay, Franoise; Rößler, Ulrich K.; Felser, Claudia; Parkin, Stuart S. P.

2017-08-01

Magnetic skyrmions are topologically stable, vortex-like objects surrounded by chiral boundaries that separate a region of reversed magnetization from the surrounding magnetized material. They are closely related to nanoscopic chiral magnetic domain walls, which could be used as memory and logic elements for conventional and neuromorphic computing applications that go beyond Moore’s law. Of particular interest is ‘racetrack memory’, which is composed of vertical magnetic nanowires, each accommodating of the order of 100 domain walls, and that shows promise as a solid state, non-volatile memory with exceptional capacity and performance. Its performance is derived from the very high speeds (up to one kilometre per second) at which chiral domain walls can be moved with nanosecond current pulses in synthetic antiferromagnet racetracks. Because skyrmions are essentially composed of a pair of chiral domain walls closed in on themselves, but are, in principle, more stable to perturbations than the component domain walls themselves, they are attractive for use in spintronic applications, notably racetrack memory. Stabilization of skyrmions has generally been achieved in systems with broken inversion symmetry, in which the asymmetric Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction modifies the uniform magnetic state to a swirling state. Depending on the crystal symmetry, two distinct types of skyrmions have been observed experimentally, namely, Bloch and Néel skyrmions. Here we present the experimental manifestation of another type of skyrmion—the magnetic antiskyrmion—in acentric tetragonal Heusler compounds with D2d crystal symmetry. Antiskyrmions are characterized by boundary walls that have alternating Bloch and Néel type as one traces around the boundary. A spiral magnetic ground-state, which propagates in the tetragonal basal plane, is transformed into an antiskyrmion lattice state under magnetic fields applied along the tetragonal axis over a wide range of temperatures. Direct imaging by Lorentz transmission electron microscopy shows field-stabilized antiskyrmion lattices and isolated antiskyrmions from 100 kelvin to well beyond room temperature, and zero-field metastable antiskyrmions at low temperatures. These results enlarge the family of magnetic skyrmions and pave the way to the engineering of complex bespoke designed skyrmionic structures.

Active listening room compensation for massive multichannel sound reproduction systems using wave-domain adaptive filtering.

PubMed

Spors, Sascha; Buchner, Herbert; Rabenstein, Rudolf; Herbordt, Wolfgang

2007-07-01

The acoustic theory for multichannel sound reproduction systems usually assumes free-field conditions for the listening environment. However, their performance in real-world listening environments may be impaired by reflections at the walls. This impairment can be reduced by suitable compensation measures. For systems with many channels, active compensation is an option, since the compensating waves can be created by the reproduction loudspeakers. Due to the time-varying nature of room acoustics, the compensation signals have to be determined by an adaptive system. The problems associated with the successful operation of multichannel adaptive systems are addressed in this contribution. First, a method for decoupling the adaptation problem is introduced. It is based on a generalized singular value decomposition and is called eigenspace adaptive filtering. Unfortunately, it cannot be implemented in its pure form, since the continuous adaptation of the generalized singular value decomposition matrices to the variable room acoustics is numerically very demanding. However, a combination of this mathematical technique with the physical description of wave propagation yields a realizable multichannel adaptation method with good decoupling properties. It is called wave domain adaptive filtering and is discussed here in the context of wave field synthesis.

Numerical simulation of liquid jet impact on a rigid wall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aganin, A. A.; Guseva, T. S.

2016-11-01

Basic points of a numerical technique for computing high-speed liquid jet impact on a rigid wall are presented. In the technique the flows of the liquid and the surrounding gas are governed by the equations of gas dynamics in the density, velocity, and pressure, which are integrated by the CIP-CUP method on dynamically adaptive grids without explicitly tracking the gas-liquid interface. The efficiency of the technique is demonstrated by the results of computing the problems of impact of the liquid cone and the liquid wedge on a wall in the mode with the shockwave touching the wall by its edge. Numerical solutions of these problems are compared with the analytical solution of the problem of impact of the plane liquid flow on a wall. Applicability of the technique to the problems of the high-speed liquid jet impact on a wall is illustrated by the results of computing a problem of impact of a cylindrical liquid jet with the hemispherical end on a wall covered by a layer of the same liquid.

Theory of the disordered ν =5/2 quantum thermal Hall state: Emergent symmetry and phase diagram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lian, Biao; Wang, Juven

2018-04-01

Fractional quantum Hall (FQH) system at Landau level filling fraction ν =5 /2 has long been suggested to be non-Abelian, either Pfaffian (Pf) or antiPfaffian (APf) states by numerical studies, both with quantized Hall conductance σx y=5 e2/2 h . Thermal Hall conductances of the Pf and APf states are quantized at κx y=7 /2 and κx y=3 /2 , respectively, in a proper unit. However, a recent experiment shows the thermal Hall conductance of ν =5 /2 FQH state is κx y=5 /2 . It has been speculated that the system contains random Pf and APf domains driven by disorders, and the neutral chiral Majorana modes on the domain walls may undergo a percolation transition to a κx y=5 /2 phase. In this paper, we do perturbative and nonperturbative analyses on the domain walls between Pf and APf. We show the domain wall theory possesses an emergent SO(4) symmetry at energy scales below a threshold Λ1, which is lowered to an emergent U (1 )×U (1) symmetry at energy scales between Λ1 and a higher value Λ2, and is finally lowered to the composite fermion parity symmetry Z2F above Λ2. Based on the emergent symmetries, we propose a phase diagram of the disordered ν =5 /2 FQH system and show that a κx y=5 /2 phase arises at disorder energy scales Λ >Λ1 . Furthermore, we show the gapped double-semion sector of ND compact domain walls contributes nonlocal topological degeneracy 2ND-1, causing a low-temperature peak in the heat capacity. We implement a nonperturbative method to bootstrap generic topological 1 +1 D domain walls (two-surface defects) applicable to any 2 +1 D non-Abelian topological order. We also identify potentially relevant spin topological quantum field theories (TQFTs) for various ν =5 /2 FQH states in terms of fermionic version of U (1) ±8 Chern-Simons theory ×Z8 -class TQFTs.

The secondary cell wall polysaccharide of Bacillus anthracis provides the specific binding ligand for the C-terminal cell wall-binding domain of two phage endolysins, PlyL and PlyG

PubMed Central

Ganguly, Jhuma; Low, Lieh Y; Kamal, Nazia; Saile, Elke; Forsberg, L Scott; Gutierrez-Sanchez, Gerardo; Hoffmaster, Alex R; Liddington, Robert; Quinn, Conrad P; Carlson, Russell W; Kannenberg, Elmar L

2013-01-01

Endolysins are bacteriophage enzymes that lyse their bacterial host for phage progeny release. They commonly contain an N-terminal catalytic domain that hydrolyzes bacterial peptidoglycan (PG) and a C-terminal cell wall-binding domain (CBD) that confers enzyme localization to the PG substrate. Two endolysins, phage lysin L (PlyL) and phage lysin G (PlyG), are specific for Bacillus anthracis. To date, the cell wall ligands for their C-terminal CBD have not been identified. We recently described structures for a number of secondary cell wall polysaccharides (SCWPs) from B. anthracis and B. cereus strains. They are covalently bound to the PG and are comprised of a -ManNAc-GlcNAc-HexNAc- backbone with various galactosyl or glucosyl substitutions. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) showed that the endolysins PlyL and PlyG bind to the SCWP from B. anthracis (SCWPBa) with high affinity (i.e. in the μM range with dissociation constants ranging from 0.81 × 10−6 to 7.51 × 10−6 M). In addition, the PlyL and PlyG SCWPBa binding sites reside with their C-terminal domains. The dissociation constants for the interactions of these endolysins and their derived C-terminal domains with the SCWPBa were in the range reported for other protein–carbohydrate interactions. Our findings show that the SCWPBa is the ligand that confers PlyL and PlyG lysin binding and localization to the PG. PlyL and PlyG also bound the SCWP from B. cereus G9241 with comparable affinities to SCWPBa. No detectable binding was found to the SCWPs from B. cereus ATCC (American Type Culture Collection) 10987 and ATCC 14579, thus demonstrating specificity of lysin binding to SCWPs. PMID:23493680

Boron bridging of rhamnogalacturonan-II, monitored by gel electrophoresis, occurs during polysaccharide synthesis and secretion but not post-secretion

PubMed Central

Chormova, Dimitra; Messenger, David J; Fry, Stephen C

2014-01-01

The cell-wall pectic domain rhamnogalacturonan-II (RG-II) is cross-linked via borate diester bridges, which influence the expansion, thickness and porosity of the wall. Previously, little was known about the mechanism or subcellular site of this cross-linking. Using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) to separate monomeric from dimeric (boron-bridged) RG-II, we confirmed that Pb2+ promotes H3BO3-dependent dimerisation in vitro. H3BO3 concentrations as high as 50 mm did not prevent cross-linking. For in-vivo experiments, we successfully cultured ‘Paul's Scarlet’ rose (Rosa sp.) cells in boron-free medium: their wall-bound pectin contained monomeric RG-II domains but no detectable dimers. Thus pectins containing RG-II domains can be held in the wall other than via boron bridges. Re-addition of H3BO3 to 3.3 μm triggered a gradual appearance of RG-II dimer over 24 h but without detectable loss of existing monomers, suggesting that only newly synthesised RG-II was amenable to boron bridging. In agreement with this, Rosa cultures whose polysaccharide biosynthetic machinery had been compromised (by carbon starvation, respiratory inhibitors, anaerobiosis, freezing or boiling) lost the ability to generate RG-II dimers. We conclude that RG-II normally becomes boron-bridged during synthesis or secretion but not post-secretion. Supporting this conclusion, exogenous [3H]RG-II was neither dimerised in the medium nor cross-linked to existing wall-associated RG-II domains when added to Rosa cultures. In conclusion, in cultured Rosa cells RG-II domains have a brief window of opportunity for boron-bridging intraprotoplasmically or during secretion, but secretion into the apoplast is a point of no return beyond which additional boron-bridging does not readily occur. PMID:24320597

Development of a process control computer device for the adaptation of flexible wind tunnel walls

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barg, J.

1982-01-01

In wind tunnel tests, the problems arise of determining the wall pressure distribution, calculating the wall contour, and controlling adjustment of the walls. This report shows how these problems have been solved for the high speed wind tunnel of the Technical University of Berlin.

A boundary element method for steady incompressible thermoviscous flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dargush, G. F.; Banerjee, P. K.

1991-01-01

A boundary element formulation is presented for moderate Reynolds number, steady, incompressible, thermoviscous flows. The governing integral equations are written exclusively in terms of velocities and temperatures, thus eliminating the need for the computation of any gradients. Furthermore, with the introduction of reference velocities and temperatures, volume modeling can often be confined to only a small portion of the problem domain, typically near obstacles or walls. The numerical implementation includes higher order elements, adaptive integration and multiregion capability. Both the integral formulation and implementation are discussed in detail. Several examples illustrate the high level of accuracy that is obtainable with the current method.

Shocks, Rarefaction Waves, and Current Fluctuations for Anharmonic Chains

DOE PAGES

Mendl, Christian B.; Spohn, Herbert

2016-10-04

The nonequilibrium dynamics of anharmonic chains is studied by imposing an initial domain-wall state, in which the two half lattices are prepared in equilibrium with distinct parameters. Here, we analyse the Riemann problem for the corresponding Euler equations and, in specific cases, compare with molecular dynamics. Additionally, the fluctuations of time-integrated currents are investigated. In analogy with the KPZ equation, their typical fluctuations should be of size t 1/3 and have a Tracy–Widom GUE distributed amplitude. The proper extension to anharmonic chains is explained and tested through molecular dynamics. Our results are calibrated against the stochastic LeRoux lattice gas.

On the fakeness of fake supergravity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Celi, Alessio; Proeyen, Antoine van; Ceresole, Anna

2005-02-15

We revisit and complete the study of curved BPS-domain walls in matter-coupled 5D, N=2 supergravity and carefully analyze the relation to gravitational theories known as ''fake supergravities.'' We first show that curved BPS-domain walls require the presence of nontrivial hypermultiplet scalars, whereas walls that are solely supported by vector multiplet scalars are necessarily flat, due to the constraints from very special geometry. We then recover fake supergravity as the effective description of true supergravity where one restricts the attention to the flowing scalar field of a given BPS-domain wall. In general, however, true supergravity can be simulated by fake supergravitymore » at most locally, based upon two choices: (i) a suitable adapted coordinate system on the scalar manifold, such that only one scalar field plays a dynamical role, and (ii) a gauge fixing of the SU(2) connection on the quaternionic-Kaehler manifold, as this connection does not fit the simple formalism of fake supergravity. Employing these gauge and coordinate choices, the BPS-equations for both vector and hypermultiplet scalars become identical to the fake supergravity equations, once the line of flow is determined by the full supergravity equations.« less

Locomotion of microorganisms near a no-slip boundary in a viscoelastic fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yazdi, Shahrzad; Ardekani, Arezoo M.; Borhan, Ali

2014-10-01

Locomotion of microorganisms plays a vital role in most of their biological processes. In many of these processes, microorganisms are exposed to complex fluids while swimming in confined domains, such as spermatozoa in mucus of mammalian reproduction tracts or bacteria in extracellular polymeric matrices during biofilm formation. Thus, it is important to understand the kinematics of propulsion in a viscoelastic fluid near a no-slip boundary. We use a squirmer model with a time-reversible body motion to analytically investigate the swimming kinematics in an Oldroyd-B fluid near a wall. Analysis of the time-averaged motion of the swimmer shows that both pullers and pushers in a viscoelastic fluid swim towards the no-slip boundary if they are initially located within a small domain of "attraction" in the vicinity of the wall. In contrast, neutral swimmers always move towards the wall regardless of their initial distance from the wall. Outside the domain of attraction, pullers and pushers are both repelled from the no-slip boundary. Time-averaged locomotion is most pronounced at a Deborah number of unity. We examine the swimming trajectories of different types of swimmers as a function of their initial orientation and distance from the no-slip boundary.

Long-range stripe nanodomains in epitaxial (110) BiFeO 3 thin films on (100) NdGaO 3 substrate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sharma, Yogesh; Agarwal, Radhe; Phatak, Charudatta

Here, we report the observation of ferroelectric and ferroelastic nanodomains in (110)-oriented BiFeO 3 (BFO) thin films epitaxially grown on low symmetric (100) NdGaO 3 (NGO) substrate. We observed long range ordering of ferroelectric 109° stripe nanodomains separated by periodic vertical domain walls in as-grown 130 nm thick BFO films. The effect of La 0.67Sr 0.33CoO 3 (LSCO) conducting interlayer on domain configurations in BFO/NGO film was also observed with relatively short range-ordering of stripe domains due to the modified electrostatic boundary conditions in BFO/LSCO/NGO film. Additional studies on B-site doping of Nb ions in BFO films showed change inmore » the domain structures due to doping induced change in lattice anisotropy while maintaining the stripe domain morphology with 109° domain wall. Finally, this long-range array of ferroelectric and ferroelastic domains can be useful for optoelectronic devices and ferroelastic templates for strain coupled artificial magnetoelectric heterostructures.« less

Long-range stripe nanodomains in epitaxial (110) BiFeO 3 thin films on (100) NdGaO 3 substrate

DOE PAGES

Sharma, Yogesh; Agarwal, Radhe; Phatak, Charudatta; ...

2017-07-07

Here, we report the observation of ferroelectric and ferroelastic nanodomains in (110)-oriented BiFeO 3 (BFO) thin films epitaxially grown on low symmetric (100) NdGaO 3 (NGO) substrate. We observed long range ordering of ferroelectric 109° stripe nanodomains separated by periodic vertical domain walls in as-grown 130 nm thick BFO films. The effect of La 0.67Sr 0.33CoO 3 (LSCO) conducting interlayer on domain configurations in BFO/NGO film was also observed with relatively short range-ordering of stripe domains due to the modified electrostatic boundary conditions in BFO/LSCO/NGO film. Additional studies on B-site doping of Nb ions in BFO films showed change inmore » the domain structures due to doping induced change in lattice anisotropy while maintaining the stripe domain morphology with 109° domain wall. Finally, this long-range array of ferroelectric and ferroelastic domains can be useful for optoelectronic devices and ferroelastic templates for strain coupled artificial magnetoelectric heterostructures.« less

Mobile atom traps using magnetic nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Allwood, D. A.; Schrefl, T.; Hrkac, G.; Hughes, I. G.; Adams, C. S.

2006-07-01

By solving the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation using a finite element method we show that an atom trap can be produced above a ferromagnetic nanowire domain wall. Atoms experience trap frequencies of up to a few megahertz, and can be transported by applying a weak magnetic field along the wire. Lithographically defined nanowire patterns could allow quantum information processing by bringing domain walls in close proximity at certain places to allow trapped atom interactions and far apart at others to allow individual addressing.

Axially symmetric non-static domain walls in scalar-tensor theories of gravitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Adhav, K. S.; Nimkar, A. S.; Naidu, R. L.

2007-12-01

An axially symmetric non-static space-time is considered in the presence of thick domain walls in the scalar-tensor theories formulated by Brans and Dicke (Phys. Rev. 124:925, 1961) and Saez and Ballester (Phys. Lett. A 113:467, 1985). Exact cosmological models, in both the theories, are presented with the help of special law of variation proposed by Berman (Nuovo Cim. B 74:182, 1983), for Hubble’s parameter. Some physical and kinematical properties of the models are discussed.

Universal depinning transition of domain walls in ultrathin ferromagnets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diaz Pardo, R.; Savero Torres, W.; Kolton, A. B.; Bustingorry, S.; Jeudy, V.

2017-05-01

We present a quantitative and comparative study of magnetic-field-driven domain-wall depinning transition in different ferromagnetic ultrathin films over a wide range of temperature. We reveal a universal scaling function accounting for both drive and thermal effects on the depinning transition, including critical exponents. The consistent description we obtain for both the depinning and subthreshold thermally activated creep motion should shed light on the universal glassy dynamics of thermally fluctuating elastic objects pinned by disordered energy landscapes.

Nucleon structure from 2+1-flavor domain-wall QCD

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohta, Shigemi

2018-03-01

Nucleon-structure calculations of isovector vector-and axialvector-current form factors, transversity and scalar charge, and quark momentum and helicity fractions are reported from two recent 2+1-flavor dynamical domain-wall fermions lattice-QCD ensembles generated jointly by the RIKEN-BNL-Columbia and UKQCD Collaborations with Iwasaki × dislocation-suppressing-determinatn-ratio gauge action at inverse lattice spacing of 1.378(7) GeV and pion mass values of 249.4(3) and 172.3(3) MeV.

G-structures and domain walls in heterotic theories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lukas, Andre; Matti, Cyril

2011-01-01

We consider heterotic string solutions based on a warped product of a four-dimensional domain wall and a six-dimensional internal manifold, preserving two supercharges. The constraints on the internal manifolds with SU(3) structure are derived. They are found to be generalized half-flat manifolds with a particular pattern of torsion classes and they include half-flat manifolds and Strominger's complex non-Kahler manifolds as special cases. We also verify that previous heterotic compactifications on half-flat mirror manifolds are based on this class of solutions.

Haemodynamics of giant cerebral aneurysm: A comparison between the rigid-wall, one-way and two-way FSI models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khe, A. K.; Cherevko, A. A.; Chupakhin, A. P.; Bobkova, M. S.; Krivoshapkin, A. L.; Orlov, K. Yu

2016-06-01

In this paper a computer simulation of a blood flow in cerebral vessels with a giant saccular aneurysm at the bifurcation of the basilar artery is performed. The modelling is based on patient-specific clinical data (both flow domain geometry and boundary conditions for the inlets and outlets). The hydrodynamic and mechanical parameters are calculated in the frameworks of three models: rigid-wall assumption, one-way FSI approach, and full (two-way) hydroelastic model. A comparison of the numerical solutions shows that mutual fluid- solid interaction can result in qualitative changes in the structure of the fluid flow. Other characteristics of the flow (pressure, stress, strain and displacement) qualitatively agree with each other in different approaches. However, the quantitative comparison shows that accounting for the flow-vessel interaction, in general, decreases the absolute values of these parameters. Solving of the hydroelasticity problem gives a more detailed solution at a cost of highly increased computational time.

Structure of the Bacteriophage [phi]KZ Lytic Transglycosylase gp144

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fokine, Andrei; Miroshnikov, Konstantin A.; Shneider, Mikhail M.

2008-04-02

Lytic transglycosylases are enzymes that act on the peptidoglycan of bacterial cell walls. They cleave the glycosidic linkage between N-acetylmuramoyl and N-acetylglucosaminyl residues with the concomitant formation of a 1,6-anhydromuramoyl product. The x-ray structure of the lytic transglycosylase gp144 from the Pseudomonas bacteriophage {phi}KZ has been determined to 2.5-{angstrom} resolution. This protein is probably employed by the bacteriophage in the late stage of the virus reproduction cycle to destroy the bacterial cell wall to release the phage progeny. {phi}KZ gp144 is a 260-residue {alpha}-helical protein composed of a 70-residue N-terminal cell wall-binding domain and a C-terminal catalytic domain. The foldmore » of the N-terminal domain is similar to the peptidoglycan-binding domain from Streptomyces albus G d-Ala-d-Ala carboxypeptidase and to the N-terminal prodomain of human metalloproteinases that act on extracellular matrices. The C-terminal catalytic domain of gp144 has a structural similarity to the catalytic domain of the transglycosylase Slt70 from Escherichia coli and to lysozymes. The gp144 catalytic domain has an elongated groove that can bind at least five sugar residues at sites A-E. As in other lysozymes, the peptidoglycan cleavage (catalyzed by Glu{sup 115} in gp144) occurs between sugar-binding subsites D and E. The x-ray structure of the {phi}KZ transglycosylase complexed with the chitotetraose (N-acetylglucosamine){sub 4} has been determined to 2.6-{angstrom} resolution. The N-acetylglucosamine residues of the chitotetraose bind in sites A-D.« less

Longitudinal domain wall formation in elongated assemblies of ferromagnetic nanoparticles

PubMed Central

Varón, Miriam; Beleggia, Marco; Jordanovic, Jelena; Schiøtz, Jakob; Kasama, Takeshi; Puntes, Victor F.; Frandsen, Cathrine

2015-01-01

Through evaporation of dense colloids of ferromagnetic ~13 nm ε-Co particles onto carbon substrates, anisotropic magnetic dipolar interactions can support formation of elongated particle structures with aggregate thicknesses of 100–400 nm and lengths of up to some hundred microns. Lorenz microscopy and electron holography reveal collective magnetic ordering in these structures. However, in contrast to continuous ferromagnetic thin films of comparable dimensions, domain walls appear preferentially as longitudinal, i.e., oriented parallel to the long axis of the nanoparticle assemblies. We explain this unusual domain structure as the result of dipolar interactions and shape anisotropy, in the absence of inter-particle exchange coupling. PMID:26416297

Revisiting the Ladder on a Wall Problem

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salu, Yehuda

2011-01-01

The problem of a ladder leaning on a wall has been a staple of introductory physics for years. It is discussed in numerous physics textbooks and in journals. Now, it even has an Internet presence. Postings from students seek help for "ladder on a wall" problems. A quick review of those postings would show that they all deal with frictionless…

Experimental Evidence of Chiral Ferrimagnetism in Amorphous GdCo Films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Streubel, Robert; Lambert, Charles-Henri; Kent, Noah

Inversion symmetry breaking has become a vital research area in modern magnetism with phenomena including the Rashba effect, spin Hall effect, and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI)-a vector spin exchange. The latter one may stabilize chiral spin textures with topologically nontrivial properties, such as Skyrmions. So far, chiral spin textures have mainly been studied in helimagnets and thin ferromagnets with heavy-element capping. Here, the concept of chirality driven by interfacial DMI is generalized to complex multicomponent systems and demonstrated on the example of chiral ferrimagnetism in amorphous GdCo films. Utilizing Lorentz microscopy and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy, and tailoring thickness,more » capping, and rare-earth composition, reveal that 2 nm thick GdCo films preserve ferrimagnetism and stabilize chiral domain walls. Finally, the type of chiral domain walls depends on the rare-earth composition/saturation magnetization, enabling a possible temperature control of the intrinsic properties of ferrimagnetic domain walls.« less

Exciting Quantized Vortex Rings in a Superfluid Unitary Fermi Gas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bulgac, Aurel

2014-03-01

In a recent article, Yefsah et al., Nature 499, 426 (2013) report the observation of an unusual quantum excitation mode in an elongated harmonically trapped unitary Fermi gas. After phase imprinting a domain wall, they observe collective oscillations of the superfluid atomic cloud with a period almost an order of magnitude larger than that predicted by any theory of domain walls, which they interpret as a possible new quantum phenomenon dubbed ``a heavy soliton'' with an inertial mass some 50 times larger than one expected for a domain wall. We present compelling evidence that this ``heavy soliton'' is instead a quantized vortex ring by showing that the main aspects of the experiment can be naturally explained within an extension of the time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) to superfluid systems. The numerical simulations required the solution of some 260,000 nonlinear coupled time-dependent 3-dimensional partial differential equations and was implemented on 2048 GPUs on the Cray XK7 supercomputer Titan of the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility.

Steady motion of skyrmions and domains walls under diffusive spin torques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elías, Ricardo Gabriel; Vidal-Silva, Nicolas; Manchon, Aurélien

2017-03-01

We explore the role of the spin diffusion of conducting electrons in two-dimensional magnetic textures (domain walls and skyrmions) with spatial variation of the order of the spin precession length λex. The effect of diffusion reflects in four additional torques that are third order in spatial derivatives of magnetization and bilinear in λex and in the nonadiabatic parameter β'. In order to study the dynamics of the solitons when these diffusive torques are present, we derive the Thiele equation in the limit of steady motion and we compare the results with the nondiffusive limit. When considering a homogenous current these torques increase the longitudinal velocity of transverse domain walls of width Δ by a factor (λex/Δ)2(α/3), α being the magnetic damping constant. In the case of single skyrmions with core radius r0these new contributions tend to increase the Magnus effect in an amount proportional to (λex/r0) 2(1 +2 α β') .

Notch-Boosted Domain Wall Propagation in Magnetic Nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiang Rong; Yuan, Hauiyang

Magnetic domain wall (DW) motion along a nanowire underpins many proposals of spintronic devices. High DW propagation velocity is obviously important because it determines the device speed. Thus it is interesting to search for effective control knobs of DW dynamics. We report a counter-intuitive finding that notches in an otherwise homogeneous magnetic nanowire can boost current-induced domain wall (DW) propagation. DW motion in notch-modulated wires can be classified into three phases: 1) A DW is pinned around a notch when the current density is below the depinning current density. 2) DW propagation velocity above the depinning current density is boosted by notches when non-adiabatic spin-transfer torque strength is smaller than the Gilbert damping constant. The boost can be many-fold. 3) DW propagation velocity is hindered when non-adiabatic spin-transfer torque strength is larger than the Gilbert damping constant. This work was supported by Hong Kong GRF Grants (Nos. 163011151 and 605413) and the Grant from NNSF of China (No. 11374249).

Current-induced instability of domain walls in cylindrical nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Weiwei; Zhang, Zhaoyang; Pepper, Ryan A.; Mu, Congpu; Zhou, Yan; Fangohr, Hans

2018-01-01

We study the current-driven domain wall (DW) motion in cylindrical nanowires using micromagnetic simulations by implementing the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation with nonlocal spin-transfer torque in a finite difference micromagnetic package. We find that in the presence of DW, Gaussian wave packets (spin waves) will be generated when the charge current is suddenly applied to the system. This effect is excluded when using the local spin-transfer torque. The existence of spin waves emission indicates that transverse domain walls can not move arbitrarily fast in cylindrical nanowires although they are free from the Walker limit. We establish an upper velocity limit for DW motion by analyzing the stability of Gaussian wave packets using the local spin-transfer torque. Micromagnetic simulations show that the stable region obtained by using nonlocal spin-transfer torque is smaller than that by using its local counterpart. This limitation is essential for multiple DWs since the instability of Gaussian wave packets will break the structure of multiple DWs.

Magnetization Processes in Ribbons of Soft Magnetic Amorphous Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skulkina, N. A.; Ivanov, O. A.; Mazeeva, A. K.; Kuznetsov, P. A.; Stepanova, E. A.; Blinova, O. V.; Mikhalitsyna, E. A.

2018-02-01

Using iron-based (Fe-B-Si-C; Fe-Ni-Si-B) and cobalt-based (Co-Fe-Ni-Cr-Mn-Si-B) soft magnetic alloys as examples, we have studied the dependences of the remanence measured using minor hysteresis loops on the maximum induction. The different degrees of stabilization of the 180° and 90° domain walls allows these dependences to be used to analyze the magnetization processes that occur in the rapidly quenched soft magnetic alloys. It has been established from the B r( B m) dependences that, in the ribbons of soft magnetic amorphous alloys, the processes of the rotation of the magnetization oriented perpendicular to the ribbon plane start before the end of the processes of the displacement of the walls of domains with planar magnetization. After the end of the magnetization rotation processes, the magnetization processes can be interpreted as the displacement of the domain walls with a planar magnetization accompanied by a decrease in their number and a transition to a bistable state.

Experimental Evidence of Chiral Ferrimagnetism in Amorphous GdCo Films

DOE PAGES

Streubel, Robert; Lambert, Charles-Henri; Kent, Noah; ...

2018-05-23

Inversion symmetry breaking has become a vital research area in modern magnetism with phenomena including the Rashba effect, spin Hall effect, and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI)-a vector spin exchange. The latter one may stabilize chiral spin textures with topologically nontrivial properties, such as Skyrmions. So far, chiral spin textures have mainly been studied in helimagnets and thin ferromagnets with heavy-element capping. Here, the concept of chirality driven by interfacial DMI is generalized to complex multicomponent systems and demonstrated on the example of chiral ferrimagnetism in amorphous GdCo films. Utilizing Lorentz microscopy and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy, and tailoring thickness,more » capping, and rare-earth composition, reveal that 2 nm thick GdCo films preserve ferrimagnetism and stabilize chiral domain walls. Finally, the type of chiral domain walls depends on the rare-earth composition/saturation magnetization, enabling a possible temperature control of the intrinsic properties of ferrimagnetic domain walls.« less

Moduli stabilising in heterotic nearly Kähler compactifications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klaput, Michael; Lukas, Andre; Matti, Cyril; Svanes, Eirik E.

2013-01-01

We study heterotic string compactifications on nearly Kähler homogeneous spaces, including the gauge field effects which arise at order α'. Using Abelian gauge fields, we are able to solve the Bianchi identity and supersymmetry conditions to this order. The four-dimensional external space-time consists of a domain wall solution with moduli fields varying along the transverse direction. We find that the inclusion of α' corrections improves the moduli stabilization features of this solution. In this case, one of the dilaton and the volume modulus asymptotes to a constant value away from the domain wall. It is further shown that the inclusion of non-perturbative effects can stabilize the remaining modulus and "lift" the domain wall to an AdS vacuum. The coset SU(3)/U(1)2 is used as an explicit example to demonstrate the validity of this AdS vacuum. Our results show that heterotic nearly Kähler compactifications can lead to maximally symmetric four-dimensional space-times at the non-perturbative level.

Heritage House Maintenance Using 3d City Model Application Domain Extension Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohd, Z. H.; Ujang, U.; Liat Choon, T.

2017-11-01

Heritage house is part of the architectural heritage of Malaysia that highly valued. Many efforts by the Department of Heritage to preserve this heritage house such as monitoring the damage problems of heritage house. The damage problems of heritage house might be caused by wooden decay, roof leakage and exfoliation of wall. One of the initiatives for maintaining and documenting this heritage house is through Three-dimensional (3D) of technology. 3D city models are widely used now and much used by researchers for management and analysis. CityGML is a standard tool that usually used by researchers to exchange, storing and managing virtual 3D city models either geometric and semantic information. Moreover, it also represent multi-scale of 3D model in five level of details (LoDs) whereby each of level give a distinctive functions. The extension of CityGML was recently introduced and can be used for problems monitoring and the number of habitants of a house.

Ferroelectric negative capacitance domain dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffmann, Michael; Khan, Asif Islam; Serrao, Claudy; Lu, Zhongyuan; Salahuddin, Sayeef; Pešić, Milan; Slesazeck, Stefan; Schroeder, Uwe; Mikolajick, Thomas

2018-05-01

Transient negative capacitance effects in epitaxial ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 capacitors are investigated with a focus on the dynamical switching behavior governed by domain nucleation and growth. Voltage pulses are applied to a series connection of the ferroelectric capacitor and a resistor to directly measure the ferroelectric negative capacitance during switching. A time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau approach is used to investigate the underlying domain dynamics. The transient negative capacitance is shown to originate from reverse domain nucleation and unrestricted domain growth. However, with the onset of domain coalescence, the capacitance becomes positive again. The persistence of the negative capacitance state is therefore limited by the speed of domain wall motion. By changing the applied electric field, capacitor area or external resistance, this domain wall velocity can be varied predictably over several orders of magnitude. Additionally, detailed insights into the intrinsic material properties of the ferroelectric are obtainable through these measurements. A new method for reliable extraction of the average negative capacitance of the ferroelectric is presented. Furthermore, a simple analytical model is developed, which accurately describes the negative capacitance transient time as a function of the material properties and the experimental boundary conditions.

Theory of Current-Driven Domain Wall Motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tatara, Gen

2004-03-01

Current-induced motion of a domain wall is studied starting from a microscopic Hamiltonian with an exchange interaction between conduction electrons and spins of the wall [1]. With a key observation that the position X and the angle φ0 the wall magnetization forms with the easy plane are the proper collective coordinates to describe its dynamics, it follows straightforwardly that the electric current affects the wall motion in two different ways, in agreement with Berger's pioneering observations[2]. The first is as a force, or momentum transfer, due to the reflection of conduction electrons. This force is proportional to the charge current j and wall resistivity ρ_w, and hence becomes important in thin walls. The other is as a spin torque or spin transfer[3], which is dominant for thick walls where the spin of conduction electron follows the magnetization adiabatically. The motion of a domain wall under a steady current is studied in two limiting cases. In the adiabatic case, we show that even without a pinning force, there is a threshold spin current, j_s^cr∝ K_⊥λ, below which the wall does not move (K_⊥ and λ being the hard-axis magnetic anisotropy and wall thickness, respectively). Below the threshold, the transferred angular momentum is used to shift φ0 and not to the wall motion. The pinning potential V0 affects j_s^cr only if it is very strong, V0 > K_⊥/α, where α is the damping parameter in the Landau-Lifshits-Gilbert equation. Therefore, the critical current for the adiabatic wall does not suffer very much from weak pinning, which is consistent with experimental observations[4]. The wall velocity after depinning is found to be ∝[(j_s/j_s^cr)^2-1]^1/2. In the case of thin wall, driven by a force ∝ ρw j, the critical current density is given by j^cr∝ V_0/ρ_w. In nanocontacts, this is estimated to be ˜ 10^7[A/m^2]. This small critical current would be advantageous for device application. [1] G.Tatara and H.Kohno, cond-mat/0308464. [2] L.Berger, J.Appl.Phys.55,1954(1984); 71,2721(1992);73,6405(1993). [3] J.C.Slonczewski, J.Magn.Magn.Mater. 159,L1(1996); L.Berger, Phys.Rev.B54,9353(1996). [4] S.S.P.Parkin, private communication; T.Ono, private communication.

Cell Wall Architecture of the Elongating Maize Coleoptile1

PubMed Central

Carpita, Nicholas C.; Defernez, Marianne; Findlay, Kim; Wells, Brian; Shoue, Douglas A.; Catchpole, Gareth; Wilson, Reginald H.; McCann, Maureen C.

2001-01-01

The primary walls of grasses are composed of cellulose microfibrils, glucuronoarabinoxylans (GAXs), and mixed-linkage β-glucans, together with smaller amounts of xyloglucans, glucomannans, pectins, and a network of polyphenolic substances. Chemical imaging by Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy revealed large differences in the distributions of many chemical species between different tissues of the maize (Zea mays) coleoptile. This was confirmed by chemical analyses of isolated outer epidermal tissues compared with mesophyll-enriched preparations. Glucomannans and esterified uronic acids were more abundant in the epidermis, whereas β-glucans were more abundant in the mesophyll cells. The localization of β-glucan was confirmed by immunocytochemistry in the electron microscope and quantitative biochemical assays. We used field emission scanning electron microscopy, infrared microspectroscopy, and biochemical characterization of sequentially extracted polymers to further characterize the cell wall architecture of the epidermis. Oxidation of the phenolic network followed by dilute NaOH extraction widened the pores of the wall substantially and permitted observation by scanning electron microscopy of up to six distinct microfibrillar lamellae. Sequential chemical extraction of specific polysaccharides together with enzymic digestion of β-glucans allowed us to distinguish two distinct domains in the grass primary wall. First, a β-glucan-enriched domain, coextensive with GAXs of low degrees of arabinosyl substitution and glucomannans, is tightly associated around microfibrils. Second, a GAX that is more highly substituted with arabinosyl residues and additional glucomannan provides an interstitial domain that interconnects the β-glucan-coated microfibrils. Implications for current models that attempt to explain the biochemical and biophysical mechanism of wall loosening during cell growth are discussed. PMID:11598229

Current-controlled unidirectional edge-meron motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, Xiangjun; Pong, Philip W. T.; Zhou, Yan

2016-11-01

In order to address many of the challenges and bottlenecks currently experienced by traditional charge-based technologies, various alternatives are being actively explored to provide potential solutions of device miniaturization and scaling in the post-Moore's-law era. Amongst these alternatives, spintronic physics and devices have recently attracted rapidly increasing interest by exploiting the additional degree of electrons-spin. For example, magnetic domain-wall racetrack-memory and logic devices have been realized via manipulating domain-wall motion. As compared to domain-wall-based devices, magnetic skyrmions have the advantages of ultrasmall size (typically 5-100 nm in diameter), facile current-driven motion, topological stability, and peculiar emergent electrodynamics, promising for next-generation electronics applications in the post-Moore's-law regime. Here, a magnetic meron device, which behaves similarly to a PN-junction diode, is demonstrated for the first time, by tailoring the current-controlled unidirectional motion of edge-merons (i.e., fractional skyrmions) in a nanotrack with interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. The working principles of the meron device, theoretically predicted from the Thiele equation for topological magnetic objects, are further verified using micromagnetic simulations. The present study has revealed the topology-independent transport property of different magnetic objects and is expected to open the vista toward integrated composite circuitry (with unified data storage and processing) based on a single magnetic chip, as the meron device can be used, either as a building block to develop complex logic components or as a signal controller to interconnect skyrmion, domain-wall, and even spin-wave devices.

Growth- and Stress-Induced PASTA Kinase Phosphorylation in Enterococcus faecalis.

PubMed

Labbe, Benjamin D; Kristich, Christopher J

2017-11-01

Transmembrane Ser/Thr kinases containing extracellular PASTA domains are ubiquitous among Actinobacteria and Firmicutes Such PASTA kinases regulate critical processes, including antibiotic resistance, cell division, toxin production, and virulence, and are essential for viability in certain organisms. Based on in vitro studies with purified extracellular and intracellular fragments of PASTA kinases, a model for signaling has been proposed, in which the extracellular PASTA domains bind currently undefined ligands (typically thought to be peptidoglycan, or fragments thereof) to drive kinase dimerization, which leads to enhanced kinase autophosphorylation and enhanced phosphorylation of substrates. However, this model has not been rigorously tested in vivo Enterococcus faecalis is a Gram-positive intestinal commensal and major antibiotic-resistant opportunistic pathogen. In E. faecalis , the PASTA kinase IreK drives intrinsic resistance to cell wall-active antimicrobials, suggesting that such antimicrobials may trigger IreK signaling. Here we show that IreK responds to cell wall stress in vivo by enhancing its phosphorylation and that of a downstream substrate. This response requires both the extracellular PASTA domains and specific phosphorylatable residues in the kinase domain. Thus, our results provide in vivo evidence, with an intact full-length PASTA kinase in its native physiological environment, that supports the prevailing model of PASTA kinase signaling. In addition, we show that IreK responds to a signal associated with growth and/or cell division, in the absence of cell wall-active antimicrobials. Surprisingly, the ability of IreK to respond to growth and/or division does not require the extracellular PASTA domains, suggesting that IreK monitors multiple parameters for sensory input in vivo IMPORTANCE Transmembrane Ser/Thr kinases containing extracellular PASTA domains are ubiquitous among Actinobacteria and Firmicutes and regulate critical processes. The prevailing model for signaling by PASTA kinases proposes that the extracellular PASTA domains bind ligands to drive kinase dimerization, enhanced autophosphorylation, and enhanced phosphorylation of substrates. However, this model has not been rigorously tested in vivo We show that the PASTA kinase IreK of Enterococcus faecalis responds to cell wall stress in vivo by enhancing its phosphorylation and that of a downstream substrate. This response requires the PASTA domains and phosphorylatable residues in the kinase domain. Thus, our results provide in vivo evidence, with an intact full-length PASTA kinase in its native physiological environment, that supports the prevailing model of PASTA kinase signaling. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

Growth- and Stress-Induced PASTA Kinase Phosphorylation in Enterococcus faecalis

PubMed Central

Labbe, Benjamin D.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Transmembrane Ser/Thr kinases containing extracellular PASTA domains are ubiquitous among Actinobacteria and Firmicutes. Such PASTA kinases regulate critical processes, including antibiotic resistance, cell division, toxin production, and virulence, and are essential for viability in certain organisms. Based on in vitro studies with purified extracellular and intracellular fragments of PASTA kinases, a model for signaling has been proposed, in which the extracellular PASTA domains bind currently undefined ligands (typically thought to be peptidoglycan, or fragments thereof) to drive kinase dimerization, which leads to enhanced kinase autophosphorylation and enhanced phosphorylation of substrates. However, this model has not been rigorously tested in vivo. Enterococcus faecalis is a Gram-positive intestinal commensal and major antibiotic-resistant opportunistic pathogen. In E. faecalis, the PASTA kinase IreK drives intrinsic resistance to cell wall-active antimicrobials, suggesting that such antimicrobials may trigger IreK signaling. Here we show that IreK responds to cell wall stress in vivo by enhancing its phosphorylation and that of a downstream substrate. This response requires both the extracellular PASTA domains and specific phosphorylatable residues in the kinase domain. Thus, our results provide in vivo evidence, with an intact full-length PASTA kinase in its native physiological environment, that supports the prevailing model of PASTA kinase signaling. In addition, we show that IreK responds to a signal associated with growth and/or cell division, in the absence of cell wall-active antimicrobials. Surprisingly, the ability of IreK to respond to growth and/or division does not require the extracellular PASTA domains, suggesting that IreK monitors multiple parameters for sensory input in vivo. IMPORTANCE Transmembrane Ser/Thr kinases containing extracellular PASTA domains are ubiquitous among Actinobacteria and Firmicutes and regulate critical processes. The prevailing model for signaling by PASTA kinases proposes that the extracellular PASTA domains bind ligands to drive kinase dimerization, enhanced autophosphorylation, and enhanced phosphorylation of substrates. However, this model has not been rigorously tested in vivo. We show that the PASTA kinase IreK of Enterococcus faecalis responds to cell wall stress in vivo by enhancing its phosphorylation and that of a downstream substrate. This response requires the PASTA domains and phosphorylatable residues in the kinase domain. Thus, our results provide in vivo evidence, with an intact full-length PASTA kinase in its native physiological environment, that supports the prevailing model of PASTA kinase signaling. PMID:28808126

Barkhausen noise in FeCoB amorphous alloys (abstract)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durin, G.; Bertotti, G.

1996-04-01

In recent years, the Barkhausen effect has been indicated as a promising tool to investigate and verify the ideas about the self-organization of physical complex systems displaying power law distributions and 1/f noise. When measured at low magnetization rates, the Barkhausen signal displays 1/fα-type spectra (with α=1.5÷2) and power law distributions of duration and size of the Barkhausen jumps. These experimental data are quite well described by the model of Alessandro et al. which is based on a stochastic description of the domain wall dynamics over a pinning field with brownian properties. Yet, this model always predicts a 1/f 2 spectrum, and, at the moment, it is not clear if it can take into account possible effects of self-organization of the magnetization process. In order to improve the power of the model and clarify this problem, we have performed a thorough investigation of the noise spectra and the amplitude distributions of a wide set of FeCoB amorphous alloys. The stationary amplitude distribution of the signal is very well fitted by the gamma distribution P(ν)=νc-1 exp(-ν)/Γ(c), where ν is proportional to the domain wall velocity, and c is a dimensionless parameter. As predicted in Ref. , this parameter is found to have a parabolic dependence on the magnetization rate. In particular, the linear coefficient is related to the amplitude of the fluctuations of the pinning field, a parameter which can be measured directly from the power spectra. In all measured cases, the power spectra show α exponents less than 2, and thus poorly fitted by the model. Actually, the absolute value of the high frequency spectral density is not consistent with the c parameter determined from the amplitude distribution data. This discrepancy requires to introduce effects not taken into account in the model, as the propagation of the jumps along the domain wall. This highly enhances the fit of the data and indicates effects of propagation on the scale of a few millimeters. These results are analyzed in terms of new descriptions of the statistical properties of the pinning field based on fractional brownian processes.

Bulk magnetic domain structures visualized by neutron dark-field imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grünzweig, C.; David, C.; Bunk, O.; Dierolf, M.; Frei, G.; Kühne, G.; Schäfer, R.; Pofahl, S.; Rønnow, H. M. R.; Pfeiffer, F.

2008-09-01

We report on how a neutron grating interferometer can yield projection images of the internal domain structure in bulk ferromagnetic samples. The image contrast relies on the ultrasmall angle scattering of unpolarized neutrons at domain wall structures in the specimen. The results show the basic domains of (110)-oriented sheets in an FeSi test sample. The obtained domain structures could be correlated with surface sensitive magneto-optical Kerr effect micrographs.

Optimized Setup and Protocol for Magnetic Domain Imaging with In Situ Hysteresis Measurement.

PubMed

Liu, Jun; Wilson, John; Davis, Claire; Peyton, Anthony

2017-11-07

This paper elaborates the sample preparation protocols required to obtain optimal domain patterns using the Bitter method, focusing on the extra steps compared to standard metallographic sample preparation procedures. The paper proposes a novel bespoke rig for dynamic domain imaging with in situ BH (magnetic hysteresis) measurements and elaborates the protocols for the sensor preparation and the use of the rig to ensure accurate BH measurement. The protocols for static and ordinary dynamic domain imaging (without in situ BH measurements) are also presented. The reported method takes advantage of the convenience and high sensitivity of the traditional Bitter method and enables in situ BH measurement without interrupting or interfering with the domain wall movement processes. This facilitates establishing a direct and quantitative link between the domain wall movement processes-microstructural feature interactions in ferritic steels with their BH loops. This method is anticipated to become a useful tool for the fundamental study of microstructure-magnetic property relationships in steels and to help interpret the electromagnetic sensor signals for non-destructive evaluation of steel microstructures.

Optimized Setup and Protocol for Magnetic Domain Imaging with In Situ Hysteresis Measurement

PubMed Central

Liu, Jun; Wilson, John; Davis, Claire; Peyton, Anthony

2017-01-01

This paper elaborates the sample preparation protocols required to obtain optimal domain patterns using the Bitter method, focusing on the extra steps compared to standard metallographic sample preparation procedures. The paper proposes a novel bespoke rig for dynamic domain imaging with in situ BH (magnetic hysteresis) measurements and elaborates the protocols for the sensor preparation and the use of the rig to ensure accurate BH measurement. The protocols for static and ordinary dynamic domain imaging (without in situ BH measurements) are also presented. The reported method takes advantage of the convenience and high sensitivity of the traditional Bitter method and enables in situ BH measurement without interrupting or interfering with the domain wall movement processes. This facilitates establishing a direct and quantitative link between the domain wall movement processes–microstructural feature interactions in ferritic steels with their BH loops. This method is anticipated to become a useful tool for the fundamental study of microstructure–magnetic property relationships in steels and to help interpret the electromagnetic sensor signals for non-destructive evaluation of steel microstructures. PMID:29155796

Step by Step: Biology Undergraduates’ Problem-Solving Procedures during Multiple-Choice Assessment

PubMed Central

Prevost, Luanna B.; Lemons, Paula P.

2016-01-01

This study uses the theoretical framework of domain-specific problem solving to explore the procedures students use to solve multiple-choice problems about biology concepts. We designed several multiple-choice problems and administered them on four exams. We trained students to produce written descriptions of how they solved the problem, and this allowed us to systematically investigate their problem-solving procedures. We identified a range of procedures and organized them as domain general, domain specific, or hybrid. We also identified domain-general and domain-specific errors made by students during problem solving. We found that students use domain-general and hybrid procedures more frequently when solving lower-order problems than higher-order problems, while they use domain-specific procedures more frequently when solving higher-order problems. Additionally, the more domain-specific procedures students used, the higher the likelihood that they would answer the problem correctly, up to five procedures. However, if students used just one domain-general procedure, they were as likely to answer the problem correctly as if they had used two to five domain-general procedures. Our findings provide a categorization scheme and framework for additional research on biology problem solving and suggest several important implications for researchers and instructors. PMID:27909021

An immersed boundary method for modeling a dirty geometry data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Onishi, Keiji; Tsubokura, Makoto

2017-11-01

We present a robust, fast, and low preparation cost immersed boundary method (IBM) for simulating an incompressible high Re flow around highly complex geometries. The method is achieved by the dispersion of the momentum by the axial linear projection and the approximate domain assumption satisfying the mass conservation around the wall including cells. This methodology has been verified against an analytical theory and wind tunnel experiment data. Next, we simulate the problem of flow around a rotating object and demonstrate the ability of this methodology to the moving geometry problem. This methodology provides the possibility as a method for obtaining a quick solution at a next large scale supercomputer. This research was supported by MEXT as ``Priority Issue on Post-K computer'' (Development of innovative design and production processes) and used computational resources of the K computer provided by the RIKEN Advanced Institute for Computational Science.

Cosmologically allowed regions for the axion decay constant Fa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawasaki, Masahiro; Sonomoto, Eisuke; Yanagida, Tsutomu T.

2018-07-01

If the Peccei-Quinn symmetry is already broken during inflation, the decay constant Fa of the axion can be in a wide region from 1011GeV to 1018GeV for the axion being the dominant dark matter. In this case, however, the axion causes the serious cosmological problem, isocurvature perturbation problem, which severely constrains the Hubble parameter during inflation. The constraint is relaxed when Peccei-Quinn scalar field takes a large value ∼Mp (Planck scale) during inflation. In this letter, we point out that the allowed region of the decay constant Fa is reduced to a rather narrow region for a given tensor-to-scalar ratio r when Peccei-Quinn scalar field takes ∼Mp during inflation. For example, if the ratio r is determined as r ≳10-3 in future measurements, we can predict Fa ≃ (0.1- 1.4) ×1012GeV for domain wall number NDW = 6.

Observation of polarization domain wall solitons in weakly birefringent cavity fiber lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, H.; Tang, D. Y.; Zhao, L. M.; Wu, X.

2009-08-01

We report on the experimental observation of two types of phase-locked vector soliton in weakly birefringent cavity erbium-doped fiber lasers. While a phase-locked dark-dark vector soliton was only observed in fiber lasers of positive dispersion, a phase-locked dark-bright vector soliton was obtained in fiber lasers of either positive or negative dispersion. Numerical simulations confirmed the experimental observations and further showed that the observed vector solitons are the two types of phase-locked polarization domain wall solitons theoretically predicted.

D meson semileptonic form factors in Nf = 3 QCD with Möbius domain-wall quarks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaneko, Takashi; Colquhoun, Brian; Fukaya, Hidenori; Hashimoto, Shoji

2018-03-01

e present our calculation of D → π and D → K semileptonic form factors in Nf = 2 + 1 lattice QCD. We simulate three lattice cutoffs a-1 ≃ 2.5, 3.6 and 4.5 GeV with pion masses as low as 230 MeV. The Möbius domain-wall action is employed for both light and charm quarks. We present our results for the vector and scalar form factors and discuss their dependence on the lattice spacing, light quark masses and momentum transfer.

Topological Luttinger liquids from decorated domain walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parker, Daniel E.; Scaffidi, Thomas; Vasseur, Romain

2018-04-01

We introduce a systematic construction of a gapless symmetry-protected topological phase in one dimension by "decorating" the domain walls of Luttinger liquids. The resulting strongly interacting phases provide a concrete example of a gapless symmetry-protected topological (gSPT) phase with robust symmetry-protected edge modes. Using boundary conformal field theory arguments, we show that while the bulks of such gSPT phases are identical to conventional Luttinger liquids, their boundary critical behavior is controlled by a different, strongly coupled renormalization group fixed point. Our results are checked against extensive density matrix renormalization group calculations.

Higher dimensional curved domain walls on Kähler surfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Akbar, Fiki T., E-mail: ftakbar@fi.itb.ac.id; Gunara, Bobby E., E-mail: bobby@fi.itb.ac.id; Radjabaycolle, Flinn C.

In this paper we study some aspects of curved BPS-like domain walls in higher dimensional gravity theory coupled to scalars where the scalars span a complex Kähler surface with scalar potential turned on. Assuming that a fake superpotential has a special form which depends on Kähler potential and a holomorphic function, we prove that BPS-like equations have a local unique solution. Then, we analyze the vacuum structure of the theory including their stability using dynamical system and their existence in ultraviolet-infrared regions using renormalization group flow.

Nonperturbative renormalization of quark bilinear operators and B{sub K} using domain wall fermions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aoki, Y.; Dawson, C.; Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973

2008-09-01

We present a calculation of the renormalization coefficients of the quark bilinear operators and the K-K mixing parameter B{sub K}. The coefficients relating the bare lattice operators to those in the RI/MOM scheme are computed nonperturbatively and then matched perturbatively to the MS scheme. The coefficients are calculated on the RBC/UKQCD 2+1 flavor dynamical lattice configurations. Specifically we use a 16{sup 3}x32 lattice volume, the Iwasaki gauge action at {beta}=2.13 and domain wall fermions with L{sub s}=16.

Pinpointing chiral structures with front-back polarized neutron reflectometry.

PubMed

O'Donovan, K V; Borchers, J A; Majkrzak, C F; Hellwig, O; Fullerton, E E

2002-02-11

A new development in spin-polarized neutron reflectometry enables us to more fully characterize the nucleation and growth of buried domain walls in layered magnetic materials. We applied this technique to a thin-film exchange-spring magnet. After first measuring the reflectivity with the neutrons striking the front, we measure with the neutrons striking the back. Simultaneous fits are sensitive to the presence of spiral spin structures. The technique reveals previously unresolved features of field-dependent domain walls in exchange-spring systems and has sufficient generality to apply to a variety of magnetic systems.

Domain wall roughness and creep in nanoscale crystalline ferroelectric polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Z.; Poddar, Shashi; Ducharme, Stephen; Hong, X.

2013-09-01

We report piezo-response force microscopy studies of the static and dynamic properties of domain walls (DWs) in 11 to 36 nm thick films of crystalline ferroelectric poly(vinylidene-fluoride-trifluorethylene). The DW roughness exponent ζ ranges from 0.39 to 0.48 and the DW creep exponent μ varies from 0.20 to 0.28, revealing an unexpected effective dimensionality of ˜1.5 that is independent of film thickness. Our results suggest predominantly 2D ferroelectricity in the layered polymer and we attribute the fractal dimensionality to DW deroughening due to the correlations between the in-plane and out-of-plane polarization, an effect that can be exploited to achieve high lateral domain density for developing nanoscale ferroelectrics-based applications.

Effects of spatially engineered Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in ferromagnetic films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mulkers, Jeroen; Van Waeyenberge, Bartel; Milošević, Milorad V.

2017-04-01

The Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) is a chiral interaction that favors formation of domain walls. Recent experiments and ab initio calculations show that there are multiple ways to modify the strength of the interfacially induced DMI in thin ferromagnetic films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. In this paper we reveal theoretically the effects of spatially varied DMI on the magnetic state in thin films. In such heterochiral 2D structures we report several emergent phenomena, ranging from the equilibrium spin canting at the interface between regions with different DMI, over particularly strong confinement of domain walls and skyrmions within high-DMI tracks, to advanced applications such as domain tailoring nearly at will, design of magnonic waveguides, and much improved skyrmion racetrack memory.

Universal Ferroelectric Switching Dynamics of Vinylidene Fluoride-trifluoroethylene Copolymer Films

PubMed Central

Hu, Wei Jin; Juo, Deng-Ming; You, Lu; Wang, Junling; Chen, Yi-Chun; Chu, Ying-Hao; Wu, Tom

2014-01-01

In this work, switching dynamics of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] copolymer films are investigated over unprecedentedly wide ranges of temperature and electric field. Remarkably, domain switching of copolymer films obeys well the classical domain nucleation and growth model although the origin of ferroelectricity in organic ferroelectric materials inherently differs from the inorganic counterparts. A lower coercivity limit of 50 MV/m and 180° domain wall energy of 60 mJ/m2 are determined for P(VDF-TrFE) films. Furthermore, we discover in copolymer films an anomalous temperature-dependent crossover behavior between two power-law scaling regimes of frequency-dependent coercivity, which is attributed to the transition between flow and creep motions of domain walls. Our observations shed new light on the switching dynamics of semi-crystalline ferroelectric polymers, and such understandings are critical for realizing their reliable applications. PMID:24759786

ABI domain containing proteins contribute to surface protein display and cell division in Staphylococcus aureus

PubMed Central

Frankel, Matthew B.; Wojcik, Brandon; DeDent, Andrea C.; Missiakas, Dominique M.; Schneewind, Olaf

2012-01-01

Summary The human pathogen Staphyloccocus aureus requires cell wall anchored surface proteins to cause disease. During cell division, surface proteins with YSIRK signal peptides are secreted into the cross wall, a layer of newly synthesized peptidoglycan between separating daughter cells. The molecular determinants for the trafficking of surface proteins are, however, still unknown. We screened mutants with non-redundant transposon insertions by fluorescence-activated cell sorting for reduced deposition of protein A (SpA) into the staphylococcal envelope. Three mutants, each of which harbored transposon insertions in genes for transmembrane proteins, displayed greatly reduced envelope abundance of SpA and surface proteins with YSIRK signal peptides. Characterization of the corresponding mutations identified three transmembrane proteins with abortive infectivity (ABI) domains, elements first described in lactococci for their role in phage exclusion. Mutations in genes for ABI domain proteins, designated spdA, spdB and spdC (surface protein display), diminish the expression of surface proteins with YSIRK signal peptides, but not of precursor proteins with conventional signal peptides. spdA, spdB and spdC mutants display an increase in the thickness of cross walls and in the relative abundance of staphylococci with cross walls, suggesting that spd mutations may represent a possible link between staphylococcal cell division and protein secretion. PMID:20923422

ABI domain-containing proteins contribute to surface protein display and cell division in Staphylococcus aureus.

PubMed

Frankel, Matthew B; Wojcik, Brandon M; DeDent, Andrea C; Missiakas, Dominique M; Schneewind, Olaf

2010-10-01

The human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus requires cell wall anchored surface proteins to cause disease. During cell division, surface proteins with YSIRK signal peptides are secreted into the cross-wall, a layer of newly synthesized peptidoglycan between separating daughter cells. The molecular determinants for the trafficking of surface proteins are, however, still unknown. We screened mutants with non-redundant transposon insertions by fluorescence-activated cell sorting for reduced deposition of protein A (SpA) into the staphylococcal envelope. Three mutants, each of which harboured transposon insertions in genes for transmembrane proteins, displayed greatly reduced envelope abundance of SpA and surface proteins with YSIRK signal peptides. Characterization of the corresponding mutations identified three transmembrane proteins with abortive infectivity (ABI) domains, elements first described in lactococci for their role in phage exclusion. Mutations in genes for ABI domain proteins, designated spdA, spdB and spdC (surface protein display), diminish the expression of surface proteins with YSIRK signal peptides, but not of precursor proteins with conventional signal peptides. spdA, spdB and spdC mutants display an increase in the thickness of cross-walls and in the relative abundance of staphylococci with cross-walls, suggesting that spd mutations may represent a possible link between staphylococcal cell division and protein secretion. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Fatigue effect in ferroelectric crystals: Growth of the frozen domains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shur, V. Ya.; Akhmatkhanov, A. R.; Baturin, I. S.

2012-06-01

The model of the fatigue effect during cyclic switching caused by growth of the frozen domain area with charged domain walls has been proposed. It was claimed on the basis of the previous experimental results that for switching in increasing field the frozen domain area started to grow at the given sub-threshold field value and stopped at the threshold field. The influence of the shape and frequency of the field pulses used for cyclic switching has been considered. The uniaxial ferroelectric stoichiometric lithium tantalate single crystals produced by vapor transport equilibration with record low value of coercive field have been chosen as a model material for experimental verification of the model. The formation of the charged domain walls as a result of cyclic switching has been revealed by analysis of the domain images obtained by optical and Raman confocal microscopy. It has been shown that the fatigue degree is equal to the fraction of the frozen domain area. The experimental dependence of the switched charge on the cycle number has been successfully fitted by modified Kolmogorov-Avrami formula. The experimentally observed frequency independence of fatigue profile for rectangular pulses and frequency dependence for triangular pulses has been explained by proposed model.

Test techniques: A survey paper on cryogenic tunnels, adaptive wall test sections, and magnetic suspension and balance systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kilgore, Robert A.; Dress, David A.; Wolf, Stephen W. D.; Britcher, Colin P.

1989-01-01

The ability to get good experimental data in wind tunnels is often compromised by things seemingly beyond our control. Inadequate Reynolds number, wall interference, and support interference are three of the major problems in wind tunnel testing. Techniques for solving these problems are available. Cryogenic wind tunnels solve the problem of low Reynolds number. Adaptive wall test sections can go a long way toward eliminating wall interference. A magnetic suspension and balance system (MSBS) completely eliminates support interference. Cryogenic tunnels, adaptive wall test sections, and MSBS are surveyed. A brief historical overview is given and the present state of development and application in each area is described.

Time-Dependent Parabolic Finite Difference Formulation for Harmonic Sound Propagation in a Two-Dimensional Duct with Flow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kreider, Kevin L.; Baumeister, Kenneth J.

1996-01-01

An explicit finite difference real time iteration scheme is developed to study harmonic sound propagation in aircraft engine nacelles. To reduce storage requirements for future large 3D problems, the time dependent potential form of the acoustic wave equation is used. To insure that the finite difference scheme is both explicit and stable for a harmonic monochromatic sound field, a parabolic (in time) approximation is introduced to reduce the order of the governing equation. The analysis begins with a harmonic sound source radiating into a quiescent duct. This fully explicit iteration method then calculates stepwise in time to obtain the 'steady state' harmonic solutions of the acoustic field. For stability, applications of conventional impedance boundary conditions requires coupling to explicit hyperbolic difference equations at the boundary. The introduction of the time parameter eliminates the large matrix storage requirements normally associated with frequency domain solutions, and time marching attains the steady-state quickly enough to make the method favorable when compared to frequency domain methods. For validation, this transient-frequency domain method is applied to sound propagation in a 2D hard wall duct with plug flow.

Edge-closed laminated structures for thin-film heads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herman, D. A.; Argyle, B. E.; Lee, H.-P.; Trouilloud, P. O.; Petek, B.

1991-04-01

Magnetic film laminations containing nonmagnetic spacers have been explored with the hope of eliminating domain walls to diminish Barkhausen instabilities. Such laminates have limitations however, which originate in their ``edge-curling walls'' (ECWs).1 We have developed a new structure, free of ECWs, in which flux closure at opposing edges occurs via edge-shorting material added to circulate the easy-axis flux of the flat layers. We show experimentally with Kerr-effect imaging that (1) this edge-closed laminated (ECL) structure can support an (ECW-free) ``easy-axis'' (EA) magnetic state under conditions as modeled recently by Slonczewski,2 and (2) that this EA state is quite robust in the face of imperfect structure fabrication. This is, if the imperfections are not too severe, the resultant states depart minimally from the pure EA state and conduct hard-axis-driven flux nearly as well. Flat-film ECL elements in diamond, stripe, and recording-head-yoke shapes, plus experimental heads with ECL top yokes, were fabricated. Our domain images verify some key predictions from Slonczewski's static equilibrium modeling; additional results taken in applied magnetic fields extend the micromagnetic understanding. The sketch shows a typical domain pattem for a yoke-shaped element. The most stable state in the open portion of the yoke is the single domain shown. This remanent pattern was stable in the face of (slowly varying) external fields up to the 150 Oe that could be applied. The pole tip region contained a few 180° walls as indicated. On close inspection, these walls were seen to end in vestigial, nontouching, closure domains as predicted by the model when only partial flux closure occurs via the edge shorting material. The wall spacing in the tip varied somewhat following saturation-demagnetization cycles. The dynamic stability of this EA state was investigated in the experimental heads having ECL top yokes. The pseudodynamic LAMOM technique3 was applied using ``write'' pulsations. The EA state was stable up to twice typical write currents. A movie of dynamic results will be shown.

Electric field driven evolution of topological domain structure in hexagonal manganites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, K. L.; Zhang, Y.; Zheng, S. H.; Lin, L.; Yan, Z. B.; Liu, J.-M.; Cheong, S.-W.

2017-10-01

Controlling and manipulating the topological state represents an important topic in condensed matters for both fundamental researches and applications. In this work, we focus on the evolution of a real-space topological domain structure in hexagonal manganites driven by electric field, using the analytical and numerical calculations based on the Ginzburg-Landau theory. It is revealed that the electric field drives a transition of the topological domain structure from the type-I pattern to the type-II one. In particular, it is identified that a high electric field can enforce the two antiphase-plus-ferroelectric (AP +FE ) domain walls with Δ Φ =π /3 to approach each other and to merge into one domain wall with Δ Φ = 2 π /3 eventually if the electric field is sufficiently high, where Δ Φ is the difference in the trimerization phase between two neighboring domains. Our simulations also reveal that the vortex cores of the topological structure can be disabled at a sufficiently high critical electric field by suppressing the structural trimerization therein, beyond which the vortex core region is replaced by a single ferroelectric domain without structural trimerization (Q = 0 ). Our results provide a stimulating reference for understanding the manipulation of real-space topological domain structure in hexagonal manganites.

Investigation of domain walls in PPLN by confocal raman microscopy and PCA analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shur, Vladimir Ya.; Zelenovskiy, Pavel; Bourson, Patrice

2017-07-01

Confocal Raman microscopy (CRM) is a powerful tool for investigation of ferroelectric domains. Mechanical stresses and electric fields existed in the vicinity of neutral and charged domain walls modify frequency, intensity and width of spectral lines [1], thus allowing to visualize micro- and nanodomain structures both at the surface and in the bulk of the crystal [2,3]. Stresses and fields are naturally coupled in ferroelectrics due to inverse piezoelectric effect and hardly can be separated in Raman spectra. PCA is a powerful statistical method for analysis of large data matrix providing a set of orthogonal variables, called principal components (PCs). PCA is widely used for classification of experimental data, for example, in crystallization experiments, for detection of small amounts of components in solid mixtures etc. [4,5]. In Raman spectroscopy PCA was applied for analysis of phase transitions and provided critical pressure with good accuracy [6]. In the present work we for the first time applied Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method for analysis of Raman spectra measured in periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN). We found that principal components demonstrate different sensitivity to mechanical stresses and electric fields in the vicinity of the domain walls. This allowed us to separately visualize spatial distribution of fields and electric fields at the surface and in the bulk of PPLN.

Möbius domain-wall fermions on gradient-flowed dynamical HISQ ensembles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berkowitz, Evan; Bouchard, Chris; Chang, Chia Cheng; Clark, M. A.; Joó, Bálint; Kurth, Thorsten; Monahan, Christopher; Nicholson, Amy; Orginos, Kostas; Rinaldi, Enrico; Vranas, Pavlos; Walker-Loud, André

2017-09-01

We report on salient features of a mixed lattice QCD action using valence Möbius domain-wall fermions solved on the dynamical Nf=2 +1 +1 highly improved staggered quark sea-quark ensembles generated by the MILC Collaboration. The approximate chiral symmetry properties of the valence fermions are shown to be significantly improved by utilizing the gradient-flow scheme to first smear the highly improved staggered quark configurations. The greater numerical cost of the Möbius domain-wall inversions is mitigated by the highly efficient QUDA library optimized for NVIDIA GPU accelerated compute nodes. We have created an interface to this optimized QUDA solver in Chroma. We provide tuned parameters of the action and performance of QUDA using ensembles with the lattice spacings a ≃{0.15 ,0.12 ,0.09 } fm and pion masses mπ≃{310 ,220 ,130 } MeV . We have additionally generated two new ensembles with a ˜0.12 fm and mπ˜{400 ,350 } MeV . With a fixed flow time of tg f=1 in lattice units, the residual chiral symmetry breaking of the valence fermions is kept below 10% of the light quark mass on all ensembles, mres≲0.1 ×ml , with moderate values of the fifth dimension L5 and a domain-wall height M5≤1.3 . As a benchmark calculation, we perform a continuum, infinite volume, physical pion and kaon mass extrapolation of FK±/Fπ± and demonstrate our results are independent of flow time and consistent with the FLAG determination of this quantity at the level of less than one standard deviation.

Membrane covered duct lining for high-frequency noise attenuation: prediction using a Chebyshev collocation method.

PubMed

Huang, Lixi

2008-11-01

A spectral method of Chebyshev collocation with domain decomposition is introduced for linear interaction between sound and structure in a duct lined with flexible walls backed by cavities with or without a porous material. The spectral convergence is validated by a one-dimensional problem with a closed-form analytical solution, and is then extended to the two-dimensional configuration and compared favorably against a previous method based on the Fourier-Galerkin procedure and a finite element modeling. The nonlocal, exact Dirichlet-to-Neumann boundary condition is embedded in the domain decomposition scheme without imposing extra computational burden. The scheme is applied to the problem of high-frequency sound absorption by duct lining, which is normally ineffective when the wavelength is comparable with or shorter than the duct height. When a tensioned membrane covers the lining, however, it scatters the incident plane wave into higher-order modes, which then penetrate the duct lining more easily and get dissipated. For the frequency range of f=0.3-3 studied here, f=0.5 being the first cut-on frequency of the central duct, the membrane cover is found to offer an additional 0.9 dB attenuation per unit axial distance equal to half of the duct height.

A role for CSLD3 during cell-wall synthesis in apical plasma membranes of tip-growing root-hair cells.

PubMed

Park, Sungjin; Szumlanski, Amy L; Gu, Fangwei; Guo, Feng; Nielsen, Erik

2011-07-17

In plants, cell shape is defined by the cell wall, and changes in cell shape and size are dictated by modification of existing cell walls and deposition of newly synthesized cell-wall material. In root hairs, expansion occurs by a process called tip growth, which is shared by root hairs, pollen tubes and fungal hyphae. We show that cellulose-like polysaccharides are present in root-hair tips, and de novo synthesis of these polysaccharides is required for tip growth. We also find that eYFP-CSLD3 proteins, but not CESA cellulose synthases, localize to a polarized plasma-membrane domain in root hairs. Using biochemical methods and genetic complementation of a csld3 mutant with a chimaeric CSLD3 protein containing a CESA6 catalytic domain, we provide evidence that CSLD3 represents a distinct (1→4)-β-glucan synthase activity in apical plasma membranes during tip growth in root-hair cells.

Role of flexoelectric coupling in polarization rotations at the a-c domain walls in ferroelectric perovskites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cao, Ye; Chen, Long-Qing; Kalinin, Sergei V.

Ferroelectric and ferroelastic domain walls play important roles in ferroelectric properties. However, their couplings with flexoelectricity have been less understood. Here, we applied phase-field simulation to investigate the flexoelectric coupling with ferroelectric a/c twin structures in lead ziconate titanate thin films. Local stress gradients were found to exist near twin walls that created both lateral and vertical electric fields through the flexoelectric effect, resulting in polarization inclinations from either horizontal or normal orientation, polarization rotation angles deviated from 90°, and consequently highly asymmetric a/c twin walls. Furthermore, by tuning the flexoelectric strengths in a reasonable range from first-principles calculations, wemore » found that the transverse flexoelectric coefficient has a larger influence on the polarization rotation than longitudinal and shear coefficients. And as polar rotations that commonly occur at compositional morphotropic phase boundaries contribute to the piezoelectric enhancement, this work calls for further exploration of alternative strain-engineered polar rotations via flexoelectricity in ferroelectric thin films.« less

Role of flexoelectric coupling in polarization rotations at the a-c domain walls in ferroelectric perovskites

DOE PAGES

Cao, Ye; Chen, Long-Qing; Kalinin, Sergei V.

2017-05-16

Ferroelectric and ferroelastic domain walls play important roles in ferroelectric properties. However, their couplings with flexoelectricity have been less understood. Here, we applied phase-field simulation to investigate the flexoelectric coupling with ferroelectric a/c twin structures in lead ziconate titanate thin films. Local stress gradients were found to exist near twin walls that created both lateral and vertical electric fields through the flexoelectric effect, resulting in polarization inclinations from either horizontal or normal orientation, polarization rotation angles deviated from 90°, and consequently highly asymmetric a/c twin walls. Furthermore, by tuning the flexoelectric strengths in a reasonable range from first-principles calculations, wemore » found that the transverse flexoelectric coefficient has a larger influence on the polarization rotation than longitudinal and shear coefficients. And as polar rotations that commonly occur at compositional morphotropic phase boundaries contribute to the piezoelectric enhancement, this work calls for further exploration of alternative strain-engineered polar rotations via flexoelectricity in ferroelectric thin films.« less

A Cross-Domain Collaborative Filtering Algorithm Based on Feature Construction and Locally Weighted Linear Regression

PubMed Central

Jiang, Feng; Han, Ji-zhong

2018-01-01

Cross-domain collaborative filtering (CDCF) solves the sparsity problem by transferring rating knowledge from auxiliary domains. Obviously, different auxiliary domains have different importance to the target domain. However, previous works cannot evaluate effectively the significance of different auxiliary domains. To overcome this drawback, we propose a cross-domain collaborative filtering algorithm based on Feature Construction and Locally Weighted Linear Regression (FCLWLR). We first construct features in different domains and use these features to represent different auxiliary domains. Thus the weight computation across different domains can be converted as the weight computation across different features. Then we combine the features in the target domain and in the auxiliary domains together and convert the cross-domain recommendation problem into a regression problem. Finally, we employ a Locally Weighted Linear Regression (LWLR) model to solve the regression problem. As LWLR is a nonparametric regression method, it can effectively avoid underfitting or overfitting problem occurring in parametric regression methods. We conduct extensive experiments to show that the proposed FCLWLR algorithm is effective in addressing the data sparsity problem by transferring the useful knowledge from the auxiliary domains, as compared to many state-of-the-art single-domain or cross-domain CF methods. PMID:29623088

A Cross-Domain Collaborative Filtering Algorithm Based on Feature Construction and Locally Weighted Linear Regression.

PubMed

Yu, Xu; Lin, Jun-Yu; Jiang, Feng; Du, Jun-Wei; Han, Ji-Zhong

2018-01-01

Cross-domain collaborative filtering (CDCF) solves the sparsity problem by transferring rating knowledge from auxiliary domains. Obviously, different auxiliary domains have different importance to the target domain. However, previous works cannot evaluate effectively the significance of different auxiliary domains. To overcome this drawback, we propose a cross-domain collaborative filtering algorithm based on Feature Construction and Locally Weighted Linear Regression (FCLWLR). We first construct features in different domains and use these features to represent different auxiliary domains. Thus the weight computation across different domains can be converted as the weight computation across different features. Then we combine the features in the target domain and in the auxiliary domains together and convert the cross-domain recommendation problem into a regression problem. Finally, we employ a Locally Weighted Linear Regression (LWLR) model to solve the regression problem. As LWLR is a nonparametric regression method, it can effectively avoid underfitting or overfitting problem occurring in parametric regression methods. We conduct extensive experiments to show that the proposed FCLWLR algorithm is effective in addressing the data sparsity problem by transferring the useful knowledge from the auxiliary domains, as compared to many state-of-the-art single-domain or cross-domain CF methods.

Bifurcation and stability analysis of rotating chemical spirals in circular domains: Boundary-induced meandering and stabilization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bär, Markus; Bangia, Anil K.; Kevrekidis, Ioannis G.

2003-05-01

Recent experimental and model studies have revealed that the domain size may strongly influence the dynamics of rotating spirals in two-dimensional pattern forming chemical reactions. Hartmann et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 1384 (1996)], report a frequency increase of spirals in circular domains with diameters substantially smaller than the spiral wavelength in a large domain for the catalytic NO+CO reaction on a microstructured platinum surface. Accompanying simulations with a simple reaction-diffusion system reproduced the behavior. Here, we supplement these studies by a numerical bifurcation and stability analysis of rotating spirals in a simple activator-inhibitor model. The problem is solved in a corotating frame of reference. No-flux conditions are imposed at the boundary of the circular domain. At large domain sizes, eigenvalues and eigenvectors very close to those corresponding to infinite medium translational invariance are observed. Upon decrease of domain size, we observe a simultaneous change in the rotation frequency and a deviation of these eigenvalues from being neutrally stable (zero real part). The latter phenomenon indicates that the translation symmetry of the spiral solution is appreciably broken due to the interaction with the (now nearby) wall. Various dynamical regimes are found: first, the spiral simply tries to avoid the boundary and its tip moves towards the center of the circular domain corresponding to a negative real part of the “translational” eigenvalues. This effect is noticeable at a domain radius of R

Prediction and Experimental Evidence for Thermodynamically Stable Charged Orbital Domain Walls

DOE PAGES

Li, Qing’an; Gray, K. E.; Wilkins, S. B.; ...

2014-08-18

On theoretical grounds, we show that orbital domain walls (ODWs), which are known to exist in the charge and orbital ordered layered manganite LaSr 2Mn 2O 7, should be partially charged as a result of competition between orbital-induced strain and Coulomb repulsion. Furthermore, this unexpected result provides the necessary condition for the known thermodynamic stability of these ODWs, which are unlike the more typical domain walls that arise only from an external field. We offer experimental data consistent with this theoretical framework through a combined transport and x-ray-diffraction study. In particular, our transport data on this charge and orbital orderedmore » manganite exhibit abrupt transformations to higher conductance at a threshold electric field. As transport phenomena closely resemble effects found for sliding charge-density waves (SCDWs) in pseudo-one-dimensional (1D) materials, a SCDW along such pseudo-1D ODWs provides a natural explanation of our data. Importantly, x-ray-diffraction data eliminate heating and melting of charge order as tenable alternative explanations of our data.« less

Transcript Profiling Identifies NAC-Domain Genes Involved in Regulating Wall Ingrowth Deposition in Phloem Parenchyma Transfer Cells of Arabidopsis thaliana

PubMed Central

Wu, Yuzhou; Hou, Jiexi; Yu, Fen; Nguyen, Suong T. T.; McCurdy, David W.

2018-01-01

Transfer cells (TCs) play important roles in facilitating enhanced rates of nutrient transport at key apoplasmic/symplasmic junctions along the nutrient acquisition and transport pathways in plants. TCs achieve this capacity by developing elaborate wall ingrowth networks which serve to increase plasma membrane surface area thus increasing the cell's surface area-to-volume ratio to achieve increased flux of nutrients across the plasma membrane. Phloem parenchyma (PP) cells of Arabidopsis leaf veins trans-differentiate to become PP TCs which likely function in a two-step phloem loading mechanism by facilitating unloading of photoassimilates into the apoplasm for subsequent energy-dependent uptake into the sieve element/companion cell (SE/CC) complex. We are using PP TCs in Arabidopsis as a genetic model to identify transcription factors involved in coordinating deposition of the wall ingrowth network. Confocal imaging of pseudo-Schiff propidium iodide-stained tissue revealed different profiles of temporal development of wall ingrowth deposition across maturing cotyledons and juvenile leaves, and a basipetal gradient of deposition across mature adult leaves. RNA-Seq analysis was undertaken to identify differentially expressed genes common to these three different profiles of wall ingrowth deposition. This analysis identified 68 transcription factors up-regulated two-fold or more in at least two of the three experimental comparisons, with six of these transcription factors belonging to Clade III of the NAC-domain family. Phenotypic analysis of these NAC genes using insertional mutants revealed significant reductions in levels of wall ingrowth deposition, particularly in a double mutant of NAC056 and NAC018, as well as compromised sucrose-dependent root growth, indicating impaired capacity for phloem loading. Collectively, these results support the proposition that Clade III members of the NAC-domain family in Arabidopsis play important roles in regulating wall ingrowth deposition in PP TCs. PMID:29599795

Transcript Profiling Identifies NAC-Domain Genes Involved in Regulating Wall Ingrowth Deposition in Phloem Parenchyma Transfer Cells of Arabidopsis thaliana.

PubMed

Wu, Yuzhou; Hou, Jiexi; Yu, Fen; Nguyen, Suong T T; McCurdy, David W

2018-01-01

Transfer cells (TCs) play important roles in facilitating enhanced rates of nutrient transport at key apoplasmic/symplasmic junctions along the nutrient acquisition and transport pathways in plants. TCs achieve this capacity by developing elaborate wall ingrowth networks which serve to increase plasma membrane surface area thus increasing the cell's surface area-to-volume ratio to achieve increased flux of nutrients across the plasma membrane. Phloem parenchyma (PP) cells of Arabidopsis leaf veins trans -differentiate to become PP TCs which likely function in a two-step phloem loading mechanism by facilitating unloading of photoassimilates into the apoplasm for subsequent energy-dependent uptake into the sieve element/companion cell (SE/CC) complex. We are using PP TCs in Arabidopsis as a genetic model to identify transcription factors involved in coordinating deposition of the wall ingrowth network. Confocal imaging of pseudo-Schiff propidium iodide-stained tissue revealed different profiles of temporal development of wall ingrowth deposition across maturing cotyledons and juvenile leaves, and a basipetal gradient of deposition across mature adult leaves. RNA-Seq analysis was undertaken to identify differentially expressed genes common to these three different profiles of wall ingrowth deposition. This analysis identified 68 transcription factors up-regulated two-fold or more in at least two of the three experimental comparisons, with six of these transcription factors belonging to Clade III of the NAC-domain family. Phenotypic analysis of these NAC genes using insertional mutants revealed significant reductions in levels of wall ingrowth deposition, particularly in a double mutant of NAC056 and NAC018 , as well as compromised sucrose-dependent root growth, indicating impaired capacity for phloem loading. Collectively, these results support the proposition that Clade III members of the NAC-domain family in Arabidopsis play important roles in regulating wall ingrowth deposition in PP TCs.

Direct observation of magnetic domains by Kerr microscopy in a Ni-Mn-Ga magnetic shape-memory alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perevertov, O.; Heczko, O.; Schäfer, R.

2017-04-01

The magnetic domains in a magnetic shape-memory Ni-Mn-Ga alloy were observed by magneto-optical Kerr microscopy using monochromatic blue LED light. The domains were observed for both single- and multivariant ferroelastic states of modulated martensite. The multivariant state with very fine twins was spontaneously formed after transformation from high-temperature austenite. For both cases, bar domains separated by 180∘ domain walls were found and their dynamics was studied. A quasidomain model was applied to explain the domains in the multivariant state.

Surface Proteins of Gram-Positive Bacteria and Mechanisms of Their Targeting to the Cell Wall Envelope

PubMed Central

Navarre, William Wiley; Schneewind, Olaf

1999-01-01

The cell wall envelope of gram-positive bacteria is a macromolecular, exoskeletal organelle that is assembled and turned over at designated sites. The cell wall also functions as a surface organelle that allows gram-positive pathogens to interact with their environment, in particular the tissues of the infected host. All of these functions require that surface proteins and enzymes be properly targeted to the cell wall envelope. Two basic mechanisms, cell wall sorting and targeting, have been identified. Cell well sorting is the covalent attachment of surface proteins to the peptidoglycan via a C-terminal sorting signal that contains a consensus LPXTG sequence. More than 100 proteins that possess cell wall-sorting signals, including the M proteins of Streptococcus pyogenes, protein A of Staphylococcus aureus, and several internalins of Listeria monocytogenes, have been identified. Cell wall targeting involves the noncovalent attachment of proteins to the cell surface via specialized binding domains. Several of these wall-binding domains appear to interact with secondary wall polymers that are associated with the peptidoglycan, for example teichoic acids and polysaccharides. Proteins that are targeted to the cell surface include muralytic enzymes such as autolysins, lysostaphin, and phage lytic enzymes. Other examples for targeted proteins are the surface S-layer proteins of bacilli and clostridia, as well as virulence factors required for the pathogenesis of L. monocytogenes (internalin B) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (PspA) infections. In this review we describe the mechanisms for both sorting and targeting of proteins to the envelope of gram-positive bacteria and review the functions of known surface proteins. PMID:10066836

Gene Mining for Proline Based Signaling Proteins in Cell Wall of Arabidopsis thaliana

PubMed Central

Ihsan, Muhammad Z.; Ahmad, Samina J. N.; Shah, Zahid Hussain; Rehman, Hafiz M.; Aslam, Zubair; Ahuja, Ishita; Bones, Atle M.; Ahmad, Jam N.

2017-01-01

The cell wall (CW) as a first line of defense against biotic and abiotic stresses is of primary importance in plant biology. The proteins associated with cell walls play a significant role in determining a plant's sustainability to adverse environmental conditions. In this work, the genes encoding cell wall proteins (CWPs) in Arabidopsis were identified and functionally classified using geneMANIA and GENEVESTIGATOR with published microarrays data. This yielded 1605 genes, out of which 58 genes encoded proline-rich proteins (PRPs) and glycine-rich proteins (GRPs). Here, we have focused on the cellular compartmentalization, biological processes, and molecular functioning of proline-rich CWPs along with their expression at different plant developmental stages. The mined genes were categorized into five classes on the basis of the type of PRPs encoded in the cell wall of Arabidopsis thaliana. We review the domain structure and function of each class of protein, many with respect to the developmental stages of the plant. We have then used networks, hierarchical clustering and correlations to analyze co-expression, co-localization, genetic, and physical interactions and shared protein domains of these PRPs. This has given us further insight into these functionally important CWPs and identified a number of potentially new cell-wall related proteins in A. thaliana. PMID:28289422

Local twin domains and tip-voltage-induced domain switching of monoclinic M C phase in Pb ( M g 1 / 3 N b 2 / 3 ) O 3 - 0.34 PbTi O 3 single crystal revealed by piezoresponse force microscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Ruixue; Yang, Bin; Luo, Zhenlin

2016-08-29

Here, the monoclinic (M) phases in high-performance relaxor-based ferroelectric single crystals have been recognized to be a vital structural factor for the outstanding piezoelectric property. However, due to the complexity of the structure in M phases, the understanding about it is still limited. In this paper, the local twin domains and tip-voltage-induced domain switching of the M C phase in Pb(Mg 1/3Nb 2/3)O 3 - 0.34PbTiO 3 (PMN-0.34PT) single crystal have been intensively investigated by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). By theoretically analyzing the experimental patterns of domain walls on the (001) C face, the specific M C twin domains inmore » the initial annealed state of a selected area have been clarified, and the polarization orientation of the M C phase in this sample is determined to be at an angle of 29 degrees to the < 001 > C directions. In addition, based on the evolution of domains and the motion of domain walls under the step-increased PFM tip dc voltage (V dc), the switching process and features of different types of M C domain variants are visually revealed« less

Could the electroweak scale be linked to the large scale structure of the Universe?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chakravorty, Alak; Massarotti, Alessandro

1991-01-01

We study a model where the domain walls are generated through a cosmological phase transition involving a scalar field. We assume the existence of a coupling between the scalar field and dark matter and show that the interaction between domain walls and dark matter leads to an energy dependent reflection mechanism. For a simple Yakawa coupling, we find that the vacuum expectation value of the scalar field is theta approx. equals 30GeV - 1TeV, in order for the model to be successful in the formation of large scale 'pancake' structures.

Bias-free spin-wave phase shifter for magnonic logic

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Louis, Steven; Tyberkevych, Vasyl; Slavin, Andrei

2016-06-15

A design of a magnonic phase shifter operating without an external bias magnetic field is proposed. The phase shifter uses a localized collective spin wave mode propagating along a domain wall “waveguide” in a dipolarly-coupled magnetic dot array with a chessboard antiferromagnetic (CAFM) ground state. It is demonstrated numerically that the remagnetization of a single magnetic dot adjacent to the domain wall waveguide introduces a controllable phase shift in the propagating spin wave mode without significant change to the mode amplitude. It is also demonstrated that a logic XOR gate can be realized in the same system.

Giant Permittivity in Epitaxial Ferroelectric Heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erbil, A.; Kim, Y.; Gerhardt, R. A.

1996-08-01

A giant permittivity associated with the motion of domain walls is reported in epitaxial hetero- structures having alternating layers of ferroelectric and nonferroelectric oxides. At low frequencies, permittivities as high as 420 000 are found. Real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant show large dispersion at high frequencies. In dc measurements, a nonlinear resistance is observed with a well-defined threshold field correlated with the dc bias-field dependence of ac permittivities. We interpret the observations as a result of the motion of a pinned domain wall lattice at low electric fields and sliding-mode motion at high electric fields.

Low-drag events in transitional wall-bounded turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whalley, Richard D.; Park, Jae Sung; Kushwaha, Anubhav; Dennis, David J. C.; Graham, Michael D.; Poole, Robert J.

2017-03-01

Intermittency of low-drag pointwise wall shear stress measurements within Newtonian turbulent channel flow at transitional Reynolds numbers (friction Reynolds numbers 70 - 130) is characterized using experiments and simulations. Conditional mean velocity profiles during low-drag events closely approach that of a recently discovered nonlinear traveling wave solution; both profiles are near the so-called maximum drag reduction profile, a general feature of turbulent flow of liquids containing polymer additives (despite the fact that all results presented are for Newtonian fluids only). Similarities between temporal intermittency in small domains and spatiotemporal intermittency in large domains is thereby found.

Origin of excess low-energy states in a disordered superconductor in a Zeeman field.

PubMed

Loh, Y L; Trivedi, N; Xiong, Y M; Adams, P W; Catelani, G

2011-08-05

Tunneling density of states measurements of disordered superconducting Al films in high Zeeman fields reveal a significant population of subgap states which cannot be explained by standard BCS theory. We provide a natural explanation of these excess states in terms of a novel disordered Larkin-Ovchinnikov phase that occurs near the spin-paramagnetic transition at the Chandrasekhar-Clogston critical field. The disordered Larkin-Ovchinnikov superconductor is characterized by a pairing amplitude that changes sign at domain walls. These domain walls carry magnetization and support Andreev bound states that lead to distinct spectral signatures at low energy.

Small deformations of kinks and walls

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morris, J. R.

2018-06-01

A Rayleigh-Schrödinger type of perturbation scheme is employed to study weak self-interacting scalar potential perturbations occurring in scalar field models describing 1D domain kinks and 3D domain walls. The solutions for the unperturbed defects are modified by the perturbing potentials. An illustration is provided by adding a cubic potential to the familiar quartic kink potential and solving for the first order correction to the kink solution, using a "slab approximation". A result is the appearance of an asymmetric scalar potential with different, nondegenerate, vacuum values and the subsequent formation of vacuum bubbles.

Phase-Field Simulations of Topological Structures and Topological Phase Transitions in Ferroelectric Oxide Heterostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zijian Hong

Ferroelectrics are materials that exhibit spontaneous electric polarization which can be switched between energy-degenerated states by external stimuli (e.g., mechanical force and electric field) that exceeds a critical value. They have wide potential applications in memories, capacitors, piezoelectric and pyroelectric sensors, and nanomechanical systems. Topological structures and topological phase transitions have been introduced to the condensed matter physics in the past few decades and have attracted broad attentions in various disciplines due to the rich physical insights and broad potential applications. Ferromagnetic topological structures such as vortex and skyrmion are known to be stabilized by the antisymmetric chiral interaction (e.g., Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction). Without such interaction, ferroelectric topological structures (i.e., vortex, flux-closure, skyrmions, and merons) have been studied only recently with other designing strategies, such as reducing the dimension of the ferroelectrics. The overarching goal of this dissertation is to investigate the topological structures in ferroelectric oxide perovskites as well as the topological phase transitions under external applied forces. Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) with morphotropic phase boundary is widely explored for high piezoelectric and dielectric properties. The domain structure of PZT tetragonal/rhombohedral (T/R) bilayer is investigated. Strong interfacial coupling is shown, with large polarization rotation to a lower symmetry phase near the T/R interface. Interlayer domain growth can also be captured, with T-domains in the R layer and R-domains in the T layer. For thin PZT bilayer with 5nm of T-layer and 20 nm of R-layer, the a1/a 2 twin domain structure is formed in the top T layer, which could be fully switched to R domains under applied bias. While a unique flux-closure pattern is observed both theoretically and experimentally in the thick bilayer film with 50 nm of thickness for both T and R layers. It is revealed that the bilayer system could facilitate the motion of the ferroelastic adomain in the top T-layer since the a-domain is not directly embedded in the substrate with high density of defects which can pin the domain wall. Excellent dielectric and piezoelectric responses are demonstrated due to the large polarization rotation and the highly mobile domain walls in both the thick and thin bilayer systems. density of defects which can pin the domain wall. Excellent dielectric and piezoelectric responses are demonstrated due to the large polarization rotation and the highly mobile domain walls in both the thick and thin bilayer systems. The long-range ordered polar vortex array is observed in the (PbTiO 3)n/(SrTiO3)n (PTOn/STOn with n=10˜20) superlattices with combined experimental and theoretical studies. Phase-field simulations reveal the three-dimensional textures of the polar vortex arrays. The neighboring vortices rotate in the opposite directions, which extended into tube-like vortex lines perpendicular to the vortex plane. The thickness-dependent phase diagram is predicted and verified by experimental observations. The energetics (the contributions from elastic, electrostatic, gradient and Landau chemical energies) accompanying the phase transitions are analyzed in details. The dominating depolarization energy at short periodicity (n<10) favors a1/ a2 twin domain, while the large elastic relaxation and Landau energy reduction at large periodicity (n>20) leads to the formation of flux-closure domain with both 90° a/c domain walls and 180° c+/c - domain walls, counterbalancing of the individual energies at intermediate periodicities (n=10˜20) gives rise to the formation of exotic vortex structure with continuous polarization rotation surrounding a singularity-like vortex core. Analytical calculations are performed, showing that the stability of the polar vortex structure is directly related to the length of Pi times bulk domain wall width, where vortex structure can be expected when the geometric length scale of the ferroelectrics is close to this value. The role of insulating STO is further revealed, which shows that a rich phase diagram can be formed by simply tuning the thickness of this layer. Wave-like polar spiral phase is simulated by substituting part of the PTO with BiFeO3 (BFO) in the PTO/STO superlattice (i.e., in a (PTO) 4/(BFO)4/(PTO)4/(STO)12 tricolor system) which has demonstrate ordered polar vortex lattice. This spiral phase is made up of semi-vortex cores that are floating up-down in the ferroelectric PTO layers, giving rise to a net in-plane polarization. An increase of Curie temperature and topological to regular domain transition temperature (over 200 K) is observed, due to the higher Curie temperature and larger spontaneous polarization in BFO layers. This unidirectional spiral state can be reversibly switched by experimentally feasible in-plane field, which evolves into a metastable vortex structure in-between two spiral phases with opposite in-plane directions. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).

Optical investigation of domain resonances in magnetic garnet films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahlmann, N.; Gerhardt, R.; Dötsch, H.

1996-08-01

Magnetic garnet films of composition (Y,Bi) 3(Fe,Al) 5O 12 are grown by liquid phase epitaxy on [111] oriented substrates of Gd 3Ga 5O 12. Lattices of parallel stripe domains are stabilized by a static induction applied in the film plane. The two branches DR ± of the domain resonance and the domain wall resonance DWR are excited by microwave magnetic fields in the frequency range up to 6 GHz. Light passing the stripe domain lattice parallel to the film normal is modulated at the excitation frequency. A modulation bandwidth of more than 2 GHz is observed. The resonances can be calculated with high accuracy by a hybridization model, if the quality factor Q of the film exceeds 0.5. For Q < 0.5 a simple approximation is used to describe the superposition of the DR + and DR - resonances. The superposition model predicts two stability states of the resonance DR + which are observed experimentally. From the optical measurements precession angles of the resonance DR - of nearly 6° and wall oscillation amplitudes up to 25 nm are derived.

Magnetic microstructure and magnetic properties of uniaxial itinerant ferromagnet Fe 3GeTe 2

DOE PAGES

León-Brito, Neliza; Bauer, Eric Dietzgen; Ronning, Filip; ...

2016-08-28

Here, magnetic force microscopy was used to observe the magnetic microstructure of Fe 3GeTe 2 at 4 K on the (001) surface. The surface magnetic structure consists of a two-phase domain branching pattern that is characteristic for highly uniaxial magnets in the plane perpendicular to the magnetic easy axis. The average surface magnetic domain width D s = 1.3 μm determined from this pattern, in combination with intrinsic properties calculated from bulk magnetization data (the saturation magnetization M s = 376 emu/cm 3 and the uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy constant K u = 1.46 × 10 7 erg/cm 3), was usedmore » to determine the following micromagnetic parameters for Fe 3GeTe 2 from phenomenological models: the domain wall energy γ w = 4.7 erg/cm 2, the domain wall thickness δ w = 2.5 nm, the exchange stiffness constant A ex = 0.95 × 10 –7 erg/cm, the exchange length l ex = 2.3 nm, and the critical single domain particle diameter d c = 470 nm.« less

Shear-strain gradient induced polarization reversal in ferroelectric BaTiO3 thin films: A first-principles total-energy study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Guannan; Huang, Xiaokun; Hu, Jingsan; Zhang, Weiyi

2017-04-01

Based on the first-principles total-energy calculation, we have studied the shear-strain gradient effect on the polarization reversal of ferroelectric BaTiO3 thin films. By calculating the energies of double-domain supercells for different electric polarization, shear-strain gradients, and domain-wall displacement, we extracted, in addition to the domain-wall energy, the polarization energy, elastic energy, and flexoelectric coefficient of a single domain. The constructed Landau-Devonshire phenomenological theory yields a critical shear-strain gradient of 9.091 ×107/m (or a curvature radius (R ) of 110 Å) for reversing the 180∘ domain at room temperature, which is on the same order of the experimentally estimated value of 3.333 ×107/m (R =300 Å ). In contrast to the commonly used linear response theory, the flexoelectric coefficient derived from fitting the total energy to a Landau-Devonshire energy functional does not depend on the specific pseudopotential. Thus, our method offers an alternative numerical approach to study the flexoelectric effect.

Step by Step: Biology Undergraduates' Problem-Solving Procedures during Multiple-Choice Assessment.

PubMed

Prevost, Luanna B; Lemons, Paula P

2016-01-01

This study uses the theoretical framework of domain-specific problem solving to explore the procedures students use to solve multiple-choice problems about biology concepts. We designed several multiple-choice problems and administered them on four exams. We trained students to produce written descriptions of how they solved the problem, and this allowed us to systematically investigate their problem-solving procedures. We identified a range of procedures and organized them as domain general, domain specific, or hybrid. We also identified domain-general and domain-specific errors made by students during problem solving. We found that students use domain-general and hybrid procedures more frequently when solving lower-order problems than higher-order problems, while they use domain-specific procedures more frequently when solving higher-order problems. Additionally, the more domain-specific procedures students used, the higher the likelihood that they would answer the problem correctly, up to five procedures. However, if students used just one domain-general procedure, they were as likely to answer the problem correctly as if they had used two to five domain-general procedures. Our findings provide a categorization scheme and framework for additional research on biology problem solving and suggest several important implications for researchers and instructors. © 2016 L. B. Prevost and P. P. Lemons. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Dynamic Motion and Communication in the Streptococcal C1 Phage Lysin, PlyC

PubMed Central

Reboul, Cyril F.; Cowieson, Nathan P.; Costa, Mauricio G. S.; Kass, Itamar; Jackson, Colin; Perahia, David; Buckle, Ashley M.; McGowan, Sheena

2015-01-01

The growing problem of antibiotic resistance underlies the critical need to develop new treatments to prevent and control resistant bacterial infection. Exogenous application of bacteriophage lysins results in rapid and specific destruction of Gram-positive bacteria and therefore lysins represent novel antibacterial agents. The PlyC phage lysin is the most potent lysin characterized to date and can rapidly lyse Group A, C and E streptococci. Previously, we have determined the X-ray crystal structure of PlyC, revealing a complicated and unique arrangement of nine proteins. The scaffold features a multimeric cell-wall docking assembly bound to two catalytic domains that communicate and work synergistically. However, the crystal structure appeared to be auto-inhibited and raised important questions as to the mechanism underlying its extreme potency. Here we use small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and reveal that the conformational ensemble of PlyC in solution is different to that in the crystal structure. We also investigated the flexibility of the enzyme using both normal mode (NM) analysis and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Consistent with our SAXS data, MD simulations show rotational dynamics of both catalytic domains, and implicate inter-domain communication in achieving a substrate-ready conformation required for enzyme function. Our studies therefore provide insights into how the domains in the PlyC holoenzyme may act together to achieve its extraordinary potency. PMID:26470022