Bypassing Dynamical Freezing in Artificial Kagome Ice.

Spin liquids are correlated, disordered states of matter that fluctuate even at low temperatures. Experimentally, the extensive degeneracy characterizing their low-energy manifold is expected to be lifted, for example, because of dipolar interactions, leading to an ordered ground state at absolute zero. However, this is not what is usually observed, and many systems, whether they are chemically synthesized or nanofabricated, dynamically freeze before magnetic ordering sets in. In artificial realizations of highly frustrated magnets, ground state configurations, and even low-energy manifolds, thus remain out of reach for practical reasons. Here, we show how dynamical freezing can be bypassed in an artificial kagome ice. We illustrate the efficiency of our method by demonstrating that the a priori dynamically inaccessible ordered ground state and fragmented spin liquid configurations can be obtained reproducibly, imaged in real space at room temperature, and studied conveniently. We then identify the mechanism by which dynamical freezing occurs in the dipolar kagome ice.

Spin stress contribution to the lattice dynamics of FePt.

Invar-behavior occurring in many magnetic materials has long been of interest to materials science. Here, we show not only invar behavior of a continuous film of FePt but also even negative thermal expansion of FePt nanograins upon equilibrium heating. Yet, both samples exhibit pronounced transient expansion upon laser heating in femtosecond x-ray diffraction experiments. We show that the granular microstructure is essential to support the contractive out-of-plane stresses originating from in-plane expansion via the Poisson effect that add to the uniaxial contractive stress driven by spin disorder. We prove the spin contribution by saturating the magnetic excitations with a first laser pulse and then detecting the purely expansive response to a second pulse. The contractive spin stress is reestablished on the same 100-ps time scale that we observe for the recovery of the ferromagnetic order. Finite-element modeling of the mechanical response of FePt nanosystems confirms the morphology dependence of the dynamics.

Colossal magnetic phase transition asymmetry in mesoscale FeRh stripes.

Coupled order parameters in phase-transition materials can be controlled using various driving forces such as temperature, magnetic and electric field, strain, spin-polarized currents and optical pulses. Tuning the material properties to achieve efficient transitions would enable fast and low-power electronic devices. Here we show that the first-order metamagnetic phase transition in FeRh films becomes strongly asymmetric in mesoscale structures. In patterned FeRh stripes we observed pronounced supercooling and an avalanche-like abrupt transition from the ferromagnetic to the antiferromagnetic phase, while the reverse transition remains nearly continuous over a broad temperature range. Although modest asymmetry signatures have been found in FeRh films, the effect is dramatically enhanced at the mesoscale. The activation volume of the antiferromagnetic phase is more than two orders of magnitude larger than typical magnetic heterogeneities observed in films. The collective behaviour upon cooling results from the role of long-range ferromagnetic exchange correlations that become important at the mesoscale and should be a general property of first-order metamagnetic phase transitions.

Photoinduced Enhancement of the Charge Density Wave Amplitude.

Symmetry breaking and the emergence of order is one of the most fascinating phenomena in condensed matter physics. It leads to a plethora of intriguing ground states found in antiferromagnets, Mott insulators, superconductors, and density-wave systems. Exploiting states of matter far from equilibrium can provide even more striking routes to symmetry-lowered, ordered states. Here, we demonstrate for the case of elemental chromium that moderate ultrafast photoexcitation can transiently enhance the charge-density-wave (CDW) amplitude by up to 30% above its equilibrium value, while strong excitations lead to an oscillating, large-amplitude CDW state that persists above the equilibrium transition temperature. Both effects result from dynamic electron-phonon interactions, providing an efficient mechanism to selectively transform a broad excitation of the electronic order into a well-defined, long-lived coherent lattice vibration. This mechanism may be exploited to transiently enhance order parameters in other systems with coupled degrees of freedom.

Engineered materials for all-optical helicity-dependent magnetic switching.

The possibility of manipulating magnetic systems without applied magnetic fields have attracted growing attention over the past fifteen years. The low-power manipulation of the magnetization, preferably at ultrashort timescales, has become a fundamental challenge with implications for future magnetic information memory and storage technologies. Here we explore the optical manipulation of the magnetization in engineered magnetic materials. We demonstrate that all-optical helicity-dependent switching (AO-HDS) can be observed not only in selected rare earth-transition metal (RE-TM) alloy films but also in a much broader variety of materials, including RE-TM alloys, multilayers and heterostructures. We further show that RE-free Co-Ir-based synthetic ferrimagnetic heterostructures designed to mimic the magnetic properties of RE-TM alloys also exhibit AO-HDS. These results challenge present theories of AO-HDS and provide a pathway to engineering materials for future applications based on all-optical control of magnetic order.

Dynamic switching of the spin circulation in tapered magnetic nanodisks.

Magnetic vortices are characterized by the sense of in-plane magnetization circulation and by the polarity of the vortex core. With each having two possible states, there are four possible stable magnetization configurations that can be utilized for a multibit memory cell. Dynamic control of vortex core polarity has been demonstrated using both alternating and pulsed magnetic fields and currents. Here, we show controlled dynamic switching of spin circulation in vortices using nanosecond field pulses by imaging the process with full-field soft X-ray transmission microscopy. The dynamic reversal process is controlled by far-from-equilibrium gyrotropic precession of the vortex core, and the reversal is achieved at significantly reduced field amplitudes when compared with static switching. We further show that both the field pulse amplitude and duration required for efficient circulation reversal can be controlled by appropriate selection of the disk geometry.

Current-induced domain wall motion and magnetization dynamics in CoFeB/Cu/Co nanostripes.

Current-induced domain wall motion and magnetization dynamics in the CoFeB layer of CoFeB/Cu/Co nanostripes were studied using photoemission electron microscopy combined with x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD-PEEM). Quasi-static measurements show that current-induced domain wall motion in the CoFeB layer is similar to the one observed in the NiFe layer of NiFe/Cu/Co trilayers, although the threshold current densities for domain wall depinning are lower. Time-resolved XMCD-PEEM measurements are used as an efficient probe of domain wall depinning statistics. They also reveal that, during the application of current pulses, the CoFeB magnetization rotates in the direction transverse to the nanostripe. The corresponding tilt angles have been quantified and compared to analytical and micromagnetic calculations, highlighting the influence of magnetostatic interactions between the two magnetic layers on the magnetization rotation.

Focused ion beam fabrication of spintronic nanostructures: an optimization of the milling process.

Focused ion beam (FIB) milling has been used to fabricate magnetic nanostructures (wires, squares, discs) from single magnetic layers (Co, permalloy) and spin-valve (permalloy/Cu/Co) multilayers (thicknesses 5-50 nm) prepared by ion beam sputtering deposition. Milled surfaces of metallic thin films typically exhibit residual roughness, which is also transferred onto the edges of the milled patterns. This can lead to domain wall pinning and influence the magnetization behaviour of the nanostructures. We have investigated the milling process and the influence of the FIB parameters (incidence angle, dwell time, overlap and ion beam current) on the roughness of the milled surface. It has been found that the main reasons for increased roughness are different sputter yields for various crystallographic orientations of the grains in polycrystalline magnetic thin films. We have found that the oblique ion beam angle, long dwell time and overlap < 1 are favourable parameters for suppression of this intrinsic roughness. Finally, we have shown how to determine the ion dose necessary to mill through the whole thin film up to the silicon substrate from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images only.

Interactions of phenytoin and phenobarbital in terms of order and temporal spacing of administration in monkeys.

The present study investigated order and temporal spacing interactions of phenytoin and phenobarbital in terms of plasma levels during multiple dosing in monkeys. Phenytoin at a dose of 30 mg/kg and pehnobarbital at a dose of 3 mg/kg and phenobarbital at a dose of 3 mg/kg were administered separately to 4 animals (control group) by nasogastric intubation daily for 10 days. In four subsequent 10-day periods the drugs were administered together in 4 other animals (interaction group) at different times of the day (immediately following one another, 1/2 hr apart, and 6 hr apart) and in a different order of administration (either phenobarbital first and phenytoin later, or the reverse). Blood samples were obtained on the 5th, 8th, and 10th day of each 10-day period. The plasma data indicated: (a) phenytoin is capable of autoinduction, (b) phenobarbital lowers the levels of phenytoin under the four methods of administration studied here, and (c) phenytoin can affect the levels of phenobarbital. The latter interaction is a function of order and temporal spacing of drug administration.

Efficacy of standard anticonvulsants in monkey model with spontaneous motor seizures.

Monkeys were rendered chronically epileptic by injection of alumina gel into the pre- and postcentral gyrus. To test the validity of this primate model, the effects of diphenylhydantoin (DPH), phenobarbital, and primidone on spontaneous seizures evaluated for 8 months with a Latin-Squar experimental design. All three drugs were effective, the frequency of seizures being reduced by at least one-half during 6 weeks with treatment as compared with 6 weeks without. In most monkeys the frequency and severity of seizures were correlated to the number of interictal spikes in the EEG, and were inversely related to the level of drug in plasma. During withdrawal of phenobarbital and primidone, epileptic activity increased over that during control periods. Side effects were minimal with all three drugs. Patterns of behavior, although they differed from one monkey to the next, exhibited trends specific to each drug but particularly DPH. The seizures of some animals seemed to be related to the sleep-waking cycle.