Linear magnetoresistance in the low-field limit in density-wave materials.

The magnetoresistance (MR) of a material is typically insensitive to reversing the applied field direction and varies quadratically with magnetic field in the low-field limit. Quantum effects, unusual topological band structures, and inhomogeneities that lead to wandering current paths can induce a cross-over from quadratic to linear MR with increasing magnetic field. Here we explore a series of metallic charge- and spin-density-wave systems that exhibit extremely large positive linear MR. By contrast to other linear MR mechanisms, this effect remains robust down to miniscule magnetic fields of tens of Oersted at low temperature. We frame an explanation of this phenomenon in a semiclassical narrative for a broad category of materials with partially gapped Fermi surfaces due to density waves.

Hidden one-dimensional spin modulation in a three-dimensional metal.

Pressure can transform a transparent material into an opaque one, quench the moments in a magnet and force solids to flow like liquids. At 15 GPa, the pressure found 500 km below the earth's surface, the semiconductors silicon and germanium superconduct. Yet, at this same pressure, we show here that the magnetism in metallic GdSi remains completely robust even as it shrinks by one-seventh of its volume. Non-resonant X-ray magnetic diffraction in a specially designed diamond anvil cell, combined with band structure calculations, reveal the stability of the incommensurate spin density wave, which can be traced to a persistently nested portion of the Fermi surface that becomes increasingly one-dimensional under pressure. A cooperative interaction between nested, itinerant spins and local magnetic moments provides the organizing principle for the modulated magnetic order, salient both for its insights into the role of topology in ordered states and its potential functionality.

Thermal avalanches near a Mott transition.

We probe the volume collapse transition (ΔV/Vo âˆ¼ 15%) between the isostructural γ and α phases (T âˆ¼ 100 K) of Ce0.9Th0.1 using the Hall effect, three-terminal capacitive dilatometry, and electrical resistivity measurements. Hall effect measurements confirm the itinerant ground state as the carrier concentration increases by a factor of 7 in the α phase, γ phase (nH = 5.28 × 10(26) m(-3)), and the α phase (nH = 3.76 × 10(27) m(-3)). We were able to detect a noise spectrum consisting of avalanches while slowly varying the temperature through the hysteretic region. We surmise that the avalanches originate from intergranular stresses at the interfaces between partially transformed high-volume and low-volume phases. The statistical distribution of avalanches obey power laws with energy exponent ϵ ≃ 1.5. Hall effect measurements, combined with universal critical exponents, point to short electron mean-free percolation pathways and carrier localization at phase interfaces. Carrier localization was predicted many years ago for elemental cerium by Johansson (1974 Phil. Mag. 30 469).

Incommensurate antiferromagnetism in a pure spin system via cooperative organization of local and itinerant moments.

Materials with strong correlations are prone to spin and charge instabilities, driven by Coulomb, magnetic, and lattice interactions. In materials that have significant localized and itinerant spins, it is not obvious which will induce order. We combine electrical transport, X-ray magnetic diffraction, and photoemission studies with band structure calculations to characterize successive antiferromagnetic transitions in GdSi. GdSi has both sizable local moments and a partially nested Fermi surface, without confounding contributions from orbital effects. We identify a route to incommensurate order where neither type of moment dominates, but is rooted in cooperative feedback between them. The nested Fermi surface of the itinerant electrons induces strong interactions between local moments at the nesting vector, whereas the ordered local moments in turn provide the necessary coupling for a spin-density wave to form among the itinerant electrons. This mechanism echoes the cooperative interactions between electrons and ions in charge-density-wave materials, and should be germane across a spectrum of transition-metal and rare-earth intermetallic compounds.

Band structure of SnTe studied by photoemission spectroscopy.

We present an angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study of the electronic structure of SnTe and compare the experimental results to ab initio band structure calculations as well as a simplified tight-binding model of the p bands. Our study reveals the conjectured complex Fermi surface structure near the L points showing topological changes in the bands from disconnected pockets, to open tubes, and then to cuboids as the binding energy increases, resolving lingering issues about the electronic structure. The chemical potential at the crystal surface is found to be 0.5 eV below the gap, corresponding to a carrier density of p=1.14 × 10(21) cm(-3) or 7.2 × 10(-2) holes per unit cell. At a temperature below the cubic-rhombohedral structural transition a small shift in spectral energy of the valance band is found, in agreement with model predictions.

Observation of a continuous phase transition in a shape-memory alloy.

Elastic neutron-scattering, inelastic x-ray scattering, specific-heat, and pressure-dependent electrical transport measurements have been made on single crystals of AuZn and Au0.52Zn0.48. Elastic neutron scattering detects new commensurate Bragg peaks (modulation) appearing at Q =(1.33,0.67,0) at temperatures corresponding to each sample's transition temperature (TM = 64 and 45 K, respectively). Although the new Bragg peaks appear in a discontinuous manner in the Au0.52Zn0.48 sample, they appear in a continuous manner in AuZn. Surprising us, the temperature dependence of the AuZn Bragg peak intensity and the specific-heat jump near TM are in favorable accord with a continuous transition. A fit to the pressure dependence of TM suggests the presence of a critical end point in the AuZn phase diagram located at TM* = 2.7 K and p* = 3.1 GPa.

Combined experimental and theoretical investigation of the premartensitic transition in Ni2MnGa.

Ultraviolet-photoemission (UPS) measurements and supporting specific-heat, thermal-expansion, resistivity, and magnetic-moment measurements are reported for the magnetic shape-memory alloy Ni2MnGa over the temperature range 100T(PM) is due to the Ni d minority-spin electrons. Below T(M) this peak disappears, resulting in an enhanced density of states at energies around 0.8 eV. This enhancement reflects Ni d and Mn d electronic contributions to the majority-spin density of states.

Modelling the magnetic signature of neuronal tissue.

Neuronal communication in the brain involves electrochemical currents, which produce magnetic fields. Stimulus-evoked brain responses lead to changes in these fields and can be studied using magneto- and electro-encephalography (MEG/EEG). In this paper we model the spatiotemporal distribution of the magnetic field of a physiologically idealized but anatomically realistic neuron to assess the possibility of using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for directly mapping the neuronal currents in the human brain. Our results show that the magnetic field several centimeters from the centre of the neuron is well approximated by a dipole source, but the field close to the neuron is not, a finding particularly important for understanding the possible contrast mechanism underlying the use of MRI to detect and locate these currents. We discuss the importance of the spatiotemporal characteristics of the magnetic field in cortical tissue for evaluating and optimizing an experiment based on this mechanism and establish an upper bound for the expected MRI signal change due to stimulus-induced cortical response. Our simulations show that the expected change of the signal magnitude is 1.6% and its phase shift is 1 degrees . An unexpected finding of this work is that the cortical orientation with respect to the external magnetic field has little effect on the predicted MRI contrast. This encouraging result shows that magnetic resonance contrast directly based on the neuronal currents present in the cortex is theoretically a feasible imaging technique. MRI contrast generation based on neuronal currents depends on the dendritic architecture and we obtained high-resolution optical images of cortical tissue to discuss the spatial structure of the magnetic field in grey matter.

Pinning frequencies of the collective modes in alpha-uranium.

Uranium is the only known element that features a charge-density wave (CDW) and superconductivity. We report a comparison of the specific heat of single-crystal and polycrystalline alpha-uranium. In the single crystal we find excess contributions to the heat capacity at 41 K, 38 K, and 23 K, with a Debye temperature ThetaD = 265 K. In the polycrystalline sample the heat capacity curve is thermally broadened (ThetaD = 184 K), but no excess heat capacity was observed. The excess heat capacity Cphi (taken as the difference between the single-crystal and polycrystal heat capacities) is well described in terms of collective-mode excitations above their respective pinning frequencies. This attribution is represented by a modified Debye spectrum with two cutoff frequencies, a pinning frequency V0 for the pinned CDW (due to grain boundaries in the polycrystal), and a normal Debye acoustic frequency occurring in the single crystal.

Tricritical phenomena at the gamma-->alpha transition in Ce0.9-xLaxTh0.1 alloys.

The gamma-->alpha isostructural transition in the Ce0.9-xLaxTh0.1 system is measured as a function of La alloying using specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, resistivity, thermal expansivity or striction measurements. A line of discontinuous transitions, as indicated by the change in volume, decreases exponentially from 118 K to close to 0 K with increasing La doping, and the transition changes from being first-order to continuous at a critical concentration, x(c) approximately 0.14. At the tricritical point, the coefficient of the linear T term in the specific heat gamma and the magnetic susceptibility increase rapidly near x(c) and approach large values at x=0.35 signifying that a heavy Fermi-liquid state evolves at large doping. The Wilson ratio reaches a value above 2 for a narrow range of concentrations near x(c), where the specific heat and susceptibility vary most rapidly with the doping concentration.

Microscopic calculation of the inclusive electron scattering structure function in 16O

We calculate the charge form factor and the longitudinal structure function for 16O and compare with the available experimental data, up to a momentum transfer of 4 fm(-1). The ground-state correlations are generated using the coupled-cluster [ exp(S)] method, together with the realistic v18 NN interaction and the Urbana IX three-nucleon interaction. Center-of-mass corrections are dealt with by adding a center-of-mass Hamiltonian to the usual internal Hamiltonian, and by means of a many-body expansion for the computation of the observables measured in the center-of-mass system.

Time dependence of the 137Cs resuspension factor on the Romanian territory after the Chernobyl accident.

On the basis of the radioactivity levels in aerosol and atmospherical deposition samples due to the Chernobyl accident, the resuspension factor of 137Cs as a four-parameter function has been inferred. The standard procedure to derive the dependence of resuspension on time assumes that the initial deposit is instantaneous. A simple method assuming a constant deposition rate over a fixed period has been proposed. Also, based on existing experimental data, an attempt was made to consider a realistic time dependence of the deposition rate to cope with the particular case of the Chernobyl accident. The differences between the two models are outlined. The Chernobyl direct deposit has been assumed to be the deposit measured between 30 April and 30 June 1986. The calculated values of the resuspension factor are consistent with the IAEA's recommended model and depend on the rainfall that occurred in June 1986 and the site-specific disturbance conditions during the first 100 d following 1 July 1986 and only on artificial disturbance by humans and vehicles after that.