Additional Spin Research Articles

Magnon Mediated Domain Wall Heat Conductance in Ferromagnetic Wires

A theoretical study of magnon-mediated heat transport in electrically insulating 1D ferromagnetic wires containing a domain wall is presented. In the regime of validity of continuum micromagnetism a domain wall is found to have no effect on the heat conductance. However, spin waves are found to be reflected by domain walls with widths of a few lattice spacings, which is associated with emergence of an additional spin wave bound state. We also discuss the role of dipolar interactions in high dimensions to generalize the argument in our previous work. The resulting reduction of the heat conductance due to a DW should be significant for thin wires of Yttrium Iron Garnet with sharply defined magnetic domains.

The graphene/Au/Ni interface and its application in the construction of a graphene spin filter

A modification of the contact of graphene with ferromagnetic electrodes in a model of the graphene spin filter allowing restoration of the graphene electronic structure is proposed. It is suggested for this aim to intercalate into the interface between the graphene and the ferromagnetic (Ni or Co) electrode a Au monolayer to block the strong interaction between the graphene and Ni (Co) and, thus, prevent destruction of the graphene electronic structure which evolves in direct contact of graphene with Ni (Co). It is also suggested to insert an additional buffer graphene monolayer with the size limited by that of the electrode between the main graphene sheet providing spin current transport and the Au/Ni electrode injecting the spin current. This will prevent the spin transport properties of graphene from influencing contact phenomena and eliminate pinning of the graphene electronic structure relative to the Fermi level of the metal, thus ensuring efficient outflow of injected electrons into the graphene. The role of the spin structure of the graphene/Au/Ni interface with enhanced spin–orbit splitting of graphene π states is also discussed, and its use is proposed for additional spin selection in the process of the electron excitation.

Topological Phases of the Spin-1/2 Ferromagnetic–Antiferromagnetic Alternating Heisenberg Chain with Frustrated Next-Nearest-Neighbour Interaction

The spin-1/2 ferromagnetic–antiferromagnetic alternating Heisenberg chain with ferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbour (NNN) interaction is investigated. The ground state is the Haldane phase for weak NNN interaction, and is the ferromagnetic phase for weak antiferromagnetic interaction. We find a series of topologically distinct spin-gap phases with various magnitudes of edge spins for strong NNN interaction. The phase boundaries between these phases are determined on the basis of the DMRG calculation with additional spins that compensate the edge spins. It is found that each of the exact solutions with short-range antiferromagnetic correlation on the ferromagnetic–nonmagnetic phase boundary is representative of each spin gap phase.

Routing quantum information in spin chains

Two different models for performing efficiently routing of a quantum state are presented. Both cases involve an XX spin chain working as data bus and additional spins that play the role of sender and receivers, one of which is selected to be the target of the quantum state transmission protocol via a coherent quantum coupling mechanism making use of local/global magnetic fields. Quantum routing is achieved, in the first of the models considered, by weakly coupling the sender and the receiver to the data bus. In the second model, strong magnetic fields acting on additional spins located between the sender/receiver and the data bus allow us to perform high fidelity routing.

The order parameter of glass transition: Spontaneously delocalized nanoscale solitary wave with transverse ripplon-like soft wave

In macromolecular self-avoiding random walk, movement of each chain-particle accompanies an instantaneous spin system with de Gennes n = 0 that provides extra energy, extra vacancy volume and relaxation time needed for chain-particles co-movement. Using these additional and instantaneous spin systems not only directly yields the same Brownian motion mode in glass transition (GT) and reptation-tube model, but also proves that the entangled chain length corresponding to the Reynolds number in hydrodynamics and the inherent diffusion - delocalization mode of entangled chains, from frozen glass state to melt liquid state, is a chain-size solitary wave with transverse ripplon-like soft wave. Thus, the order parameter of GT is found. The various currently available GT theories, such as Static Replica, Random First-Order Transition, Potential Energy Landscape, Mode-Coupling and Nanoscale Heterogeneity, can be unified using the additional and instantaneous spin system. GT served as an inspiration and continues to serve as the paradigm in the universal random delocalization transitions from disorder to more disorder until turbulence.

Thermal valence-bond-solid transition of quantum spins in two dimensions

We study the $S=1/2$ Heisenberg ($J$) model on the two-dimensional (2D) square lattice in the presence of additional higher-order spin interactions ($Q$) which lead to a valence-bond-solid (VBS) ground state. Using quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we analyze the thermal VBS transition. We find continuously varying exponents, with the correlation-length exponent $\ensuremath{\nu}$ close to the Ising value for large $Q/J$ and diverging when $Q/J$ approaches the quantum-critical point (the critical temperature ${T}_{c}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$). We identify the transition with a class of conformal field theories with charge $c=1$ and critical exponents varying between those of the 2D Ising model and the Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) fixed point. We find explicit evidence for KT physics by studying the emergence of $U(1)$ symmetry of the order parameter at $T={T}_{c}$ when ${T}_{c}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$.

Effects of Mg, Ag, and Al Substitutions on Magnetic Excitations in the Triangular-Lattice Antiferromagnet CuCrO2

Magnetic excitations in CuCrO$_{2}$, CuCr$_{0.97}$Mg$_{0.03}$O$_{2}$, Cu$_{0.85}$Ag$_{0.15}$CrO$_{2}$, and CuCr$_{0.85}$Al$_{0.15}$O$_{2}$ have been studied by powder inelastic neutron scattering to elucidate the element substitution effects on the spin dynamics in the Heisenberg triangular-lattice antiferromagnet CuCrO$_{2}$. The magnetic excitations in CuCr$_{0.97}$Mg$_{0.03}$O$_{2}$ consist of a dispersive component and a flat component. Though this feature is apparently similar to CuCrO$_{2}$, the energy structure of the excitation spectrum shows some difference from that in CuCrO$_{2}$. On the other hand, in Cu$_{0.85}$Ag$_{0.15}$CrO$_{2}$ and CuCr$_{0.85}$Al$_{0.15}$O$_{2}$ the flat components are much reduced, the low-energy parts of the excitation spectra become intense, and additional low-energy diffusive spin fluctuations are induced. We argued the origins of these changes in the magnetic excitations are ascribed to effects of the doped holes or change of the dimensionality in the magnetic correlations.

Determining the depth of insertion of dynamically invisible membrane peptides by gel-phase 1H spin diffusion heteronuclear correlation NMR

Solid-state NMR determination of the depth of insertion of membrane peptides and proteins has so far utilized (1)H spin diffusion and paramagnetic relaxation enhancement experiments, which are typically conducted in the liquid-crystalline phase of the lipid bilayer. For membrane proteins or peptide assemblies that undergo intermediate-timescale motion in the liquid-crystalline membrane, these approaches are no longer applicable because the protein signals are broadened beyond detection. Here we show that the rigid-solid HETCOR experiment, with an additional spin diffusion period, can be used to determine the depth of proteins in gel-phase lipid membranes, where the proteins are immobilized to give high-intensity solid-state NMR spectra. Demonstration on two membrane peptides with known insertion depths shows that well-inserted peptides give rise to high lipid cross peak intensities and low water cross peaks within a modest spin diffusion mixing time, while surface-bound peptides have higher water than lipid cross peaks. Furthermore, well-inserted membrane peptides have nearly identical (1)H cross sections as the lipid chains, indicating equilibration of the peptide and lipid magnetization. Using this approach, we measured the membrane topology of the α-helical fusion peptide of the paramyxovirus, PIV5, in the anionic POPC/POPG membrane, in which the peptide undergoes intermediate-timescale motion at physiological temperature. The gel-phase HETCOR spectra indicate that the α-helical fusion peptide is well inserted into the POPC/POPG bilayer, spanning both leaflets. This insertion motif gives insight into the functional role of the α-helical PIV5 fusion peptide in virus-cell membrane fusion.

Nuclear Spin Relaxation and Molecular Interactions of a Novel Triazolium-Based Ionic Liquid

Nuclear spin relaxation, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) techniques are used to determine supramolecular arrangement of 3-methyl-1-octyl-4-phenyl-1H-triazol-1,2,3-ium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide [OMPhTz][Tf2N], an example of a triazolium-based ionic liquid. The results obtained showed first-order thermodynamic dependence for nuclear spin relaxation of the anion. First-order relaxation dependence is interpreted as through-bond dipolar relaxation. Greater than first-order dependence was found in the aliphatic protons, aromatic carbons (including nearest neighbors), and carbons at the end of the aliphatic tail. Greater than first order thermodynamic dependence of spin relaxation rates is interpreted as relaxation resulting from at least one mechanism additional to through-bond dipolar relaxation. In rigid portions of the cation, an additional spin relaxation mechanism is attributed to anisotropic effects, while greater than first order thermodynamic dependence of the octyl side chain's spin relaxation rates is attributed to cation-cation interactions. Little interaction between the anion and the cation was observed by spin relaxation studies or by ESI-MS. No extended supramolecular structure was observed in this study, which was further supported by MS and SAXS. nuclear Overhauser enhancement (NOE) factors are used in conjunction with spin-lattice relaxation time (T1) measurements to calculate rotational correlation times for C-H bonds (the time it takes for the vector represented by the bond between the two atoms to rotate by one radian). The rotational correlation times are used to represent segmental reorientation dynamics of the cation. A combination of techniques is used to determine the segmental interactions and dynamics of this example of a triazolium-based ionic liquid.

Spin-Selective Reaction with a Third Radical Destroys Spin Correlation in the Surviving Radical Pairs

The goal of this work is to reveal the effect that an irreversible spin-selective reaction of a partner of the spin-correlated radical pair (SCRP) with a third paramagnetic particle has on the spin state of the surviving SCRPs in the absence of spin exchange interaction. As studied SCRPs, we used the geminate (excess electron/radical cation) pairs generated by ionizing irradiation of tetramethyl-para-phenylenediamine solutions in n-dodecane. As a spin-selective reaction, the scavenging of electrons by nitroxide radicals from the bulk of the solution was used. Both the electron scavenging reaction and the spin correlation in the surviving SCRPs were monitored by measuring the recombination fluorescence decays of the irradiated solutions under the same experimental conditions. It was found that the spin-selective electron scavenging results in the acceleration of spin correlation decay in the remaining unreacted SCRPs. In accordance with the suggested theoretical model, the rate of this additional spin correlation decay is revealed to be equal to the scavenging rate.

Ion Diffusion in Solids Probed by Muon-Spin Spectroscopy

Diffusion of Li+ ions in solids is a basic principle behind the operation of Li-ion batteries. Although a diffusion coefficient of Li+ (DLi) in solids is usually evaluated by 7Li-NMR, difficulties arise for materials that contain magnetic ions. This is because the magnetic ions contribute additional spin–lattice relaxation processes that are considerably larger than the 1/T1 expected from only Li diffusion. As a result, it is very difficult to estimate correct DLi by Li-NMR, although DLi is one of the primary parameters that govern the charge and discharge rate of a Li-ion battery, particularly for the case of a future solid-state battery. We have, therefore, initiated to measure DLi in solids with muon-spin relaxation (μSR). Here, we summarize our μSR work on Li-diffusion and compare the μSR result with that obtained by QENS from the viewpoint of time window.

Degenerating the elliptic Schlesinger system

We study various ways of degenerating the Schlesinger system on the elliptic curve with R marked points. We construct a limit procedure based on an infinite shift of the elliptic curve parameter and on shifts of the marked points. We show that using this procedure allows obtaining a nonautonomous Hamiltonian system describing the Toda chain with additional spin sl(N, ℂ) degrees of freedom.

Spin waves in the classical Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the kagome lattice

We investigate spin waves in the classical Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the kagome lattice by means of Monte Carlo and spin dynamics simulations. Using sophisticated sampling algorithms we were able to establish thermal equilibrium at temperatures as low as T = 10−6|J|/kB, and from the dynamic structure factor we could precisely determine frequencies of spin waves. Results agree well with theoretical predictions for acoustic modes. Measurements in different coordinate systems as well as theoretical considerations showed that optical modes, which were apparently found in a recent study [1], are in fact artifacts and do not indicate the existence of additional spin wave modes.

Spin torque due to non-uniform Rashba spin orbit effect

Following the early theoretical descriptions of the spin-orbit-induced spin torque [S. G. Tan et al., arXiv:0705.3502 (2007); S. G. Tan et al., Ann. Phys. 326, 207 (2011)]10.1016/j.aop.2010.11.014, the first experimental observation of such effect was reported by L. M. Miron et al., Nature Mater 9, 230 (2010). We present in this article three additional spin torque terms that arise from the non-uniformity in magnetization space of the Rashba spin-orbit effect. We propose a simple Rashba gradient device consisting of a heterogeneous trilayer structure, which could potentially lower switching current by n orders of magnitude, where n = −log10(|ΔM|/|M|) is a measure of the magnetization change across the device.

Composite Higgs sketch

The coupling of a composite Higgs to the standard model fields can deviate substantially from the standard model values. In this case perturbative unitarity might break down before the scale of compositeness is reached, which would suggest that additional composites should lie well below this scale. In this paper we account for the presence of an additional spin 1 custodial triplet of rhos. We examine the implications of requiring perturbative unitarity up to the compositeness scale and find that one has to be close to saturating certain unitarity sum rules involving the Higgs and the rho couplings. Given these restrictions on the parameter space we investigate the main phenomenological consequences of the spin 1 triplet. We find that they can substantially enhance the Higgs di-photon rate at the LHC even with a reduced Higgs coupling to gauge bosons. The main existing LHC bounds arise from di-boson searches, especially in the experimentally clean channel where the charged rhos decay to a W-boson and a Z, which then decay leptonically. We find that a large range of interesting parameter space with 700 GeV < m(rho) < 2 TeV is currently experimentally viable.

Spin-Injection Spectroscopy of a Spin-Orbit Coupled Fermi Gas

The coupling of the spin of electrons to their motional state lies at the heart of recently discovered topological phases of matter. Here we create and detect spin-orbit coupling in an atomic Fermi gas, a highly controllable form of quantum degenerate matter. We directly reveal the spin-orbit gap via spin-injection spectroscopy, which characterizes the energy-momentum dispersion and spin composition of the quantum states. For energies within the spin-orbit gap, the system acts as a spin diode. We also create a spin-orbit coupled lattice and probe its spinful band structure, which features additional spin gaps and a fully gapped spectrum. In the presence of s-wave interactions, such systems should display induced p-wave pairing, topological superfluidity, and Majorana edge states.

Magnonic Domain Wall Heat Conductance in Ferromagnetic Wires

We present a theoretical study of magnon-mediated heat transport in electrically insulating ferromagnetic wires containing a domain wall (DW). In the regime of validity of continuum micromagnetism, a DW is found to have no effect on the heat conductance. However, spin waves are found to be reflected by DWs with widths of a few lattice spacings, which is associated with emergence of an additional spin wave bound state. The resulting DW heat conductance should be significant for thin films of yttrium iron garnet with sharply defined magnetic domains.

Higgs and dark matter hints of an oasis in the desert

Recent LHC results suggest a standard model (SM)-like Higgs boson in the vicinity of 125 GeV with no clear indications yet of physics beyond the SM. At the same time, the SM is incomplete, since additional dynamics are required to accommodate cosmological dark matter (DM). In this paper we show that interactions between weak scale DM and the Higgs which are strong enough to yield a thermal relic abundance consistent with observation can easily destabilize the electroweak vacuum or drive the theory into a non-perturbative regime at a low scale. As a consequence, new physics--beyond the DM itself--must enter at a cutoff well below the Planck scale and in some cases as low as O(10 - 1000 TeV), a range relevant to indirect probes of flavor and CP violation. In addition, this cutoff is correlated with the DM mass and scattering cross-section in a parameter space which will be probed experimentally in the near term. Specifically, we consider the SM plus additional spin 0 or 1/2 states with singlet, triplet, or doublet electroweak quantum numbers and quartic or Yukawa couplings to the Higgs boson. We derive explicit expressions for the full two-loop RGEs and one-loop threshold corrections for these theories.

Electronic and magnetic properties of molecule-metal interfaces: Transition-metal phthalocyanines adsorbed on Ag(100)

We present a systematic investigation of molecule-metal interactions for transition-metal phthalocyanines (TMPc, with TM = Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) adsorbed on Ag(100). Scanning tunneling spectroscopy and density functional theory provide insight into the charge transfer and hybridization mechanisms of TMPc as a function of increasing occupancy of the 3d metal states. We show that all four TMPc receive approximately one electron from the substrate. Charge transfer occurs from the substrate to the molecules, inducing a charge reorganization in FePc and CoPc, while adding one electron to ligand \pi-orbitals in NiPc and CuPc. This has opposite consequences on the molecular magnetic moment: in FePc and CoPc the interaction with the substrate tends to reduce the TM spin, whereas in NiPc and CuPc an additional spin is induced on the aromatic Pc ligand, leaving the TM spin unperturbed. In CuPc, the presence of both TM and ligand spins leads to a triplet ground state arising from intramolecular exchange coupling between d and \pi electrons. In FePc and CoPc the magnetic moment of C and N atoms is antiparallel to that of the TM. The different character and symmetry of the frontier orbitals in the TMPc series leads to varying degrees of hybridization and correlation effects, ranging from the mixed-valence (FePc, CoPc) to the Kondo regime (NiPc, CuPc). Coherent coupling between Kondo and inelastic excitations induces finite-bias Kondo resonances involving vibrational transitions in both NiPc and CuPc and triplet-singlet transitions in CuPc.

Injection and detection of spin in a semiconductor by tunneling via interface states

Injection and detection of spin accumulation in a semiconductor having localized states at the interface is evaluated. Spin transport from a ferromagnetic contact by sequential, two-step tunneling via interface states is treated not in itself, but in parallel with direct tunneling. The spin accumulation induced in the semiconductor channel is not suppressed, as previously argued, but genuinely enhanced by the additional spin current via interface states. Spin detection with a ferromagnetic contact yields a weighted average of the spin accumulation in the channel and in the localized states. In the regime where the spin accumulation in the localized states is much larger than that in the channel, the detected spin signal is insensitive to the spin accumulation in the localized states and the ferromagnet probes the spin accumulation in the semiconductor channel.