Finite Magnetic Field Research Articles

Nonvolatile current-induced topological charge imbalance of magnetic textures

The topological charge of magnetic solitons gives rise to characteristic Hall-type effects, which allows to recognize the nontrivial topology of the spin textures, such as skyrmions or antiskyrmions. The selective manipulation of topological magnetic textures with different topological charges could substantially enrich potential applications but remains largely elusive. Here, we report an electrical control of net topological charge in a magnetic film hosting both skyrmions and antiskyrmions at finite magnetic field or bimerons and antibimerons at zero field, where their distinct responses to the current-induced torques result in a nonvolatile imbalance between the two oppositely charged topological textures. Both the magnitude and the sign of the resulting topological charge are found to be controllable efficiently by adjusting the orientation of the driving current with and without magnetic field. Our findings open the way to the on-demand manipulation of topological spin textures and provide more opportunities for designing spin-texture-based multifunctional devices.

Quantum order by disorder is a key to understanding the magnetic phases of BaCo2(AsO4)2

BaCo2(AsO4)2 (BCAO), a honeycomb cobaltate, is considered a promising candidate for materials displaying the Kitaev quantum spin liquid state. This assumption is based on the distinctive characteristics of Co2+ ions (3d7) within an octahedral crystal environment, resulting in spin-orbit-coupled Jeff = 1/2 doublet states. However, recent experimental observations and theoretical analyses have raised questions regarding this hypothesis. Despite these uncertainties, reports of continuum excitations reminiscent of spinon excitations have prompted further investigations. In this study, we explore the magnetic phases of BCAO under both in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic fields, employing dc and ac magnetic susceptibilities, capacitance, and torque magnetometry measurement. Our results affirm the existence of multiple field-induced magnetic phases, with strong anisotropy of the phase boundaries between in-plane and out-of-plane fields. To elucidate the nature of these phases, we develop a minimal anisotropic exchange model. This model, supported by combined first principles calculations and theoretical modeling, quantitatively reproduces our experimental data. In BCAO, the combination of strong bond-independent XXZ anisotropy and geometric frustration leads to significant quantum order by disorder effects that stabilize colinear phases under both zero and finite magnetic fields.

Flux pinning in superconducting multilayer 2H-NbSe2 nano-step junction

Abstract Superconductors exhibit dissipationless supercurrents even under finite bias and magnetic field conditions, provided these remain below the critical values. However, type-II superconductors in the flux flow regime display Ohmic dissipation arising from vortex dynamics under finite magnetic fields. The interplay between supercurrent and Ohmic dissipation in a type-II superconductor is dictated by vortex motion and the robustness of vortex pinning forces. In this study, we present an experimental investigation of the superconducting phase transitions and vortex dynamics in the atomically thin type-II superconductor 2H-NbSe2. We fabricated a high-quality multilayer 2H-NbSe2 with a step junction, demonstrating supercurrent in clean limit below a critical temperature of 6.6 K and a high residual resistance ratio of 17. The upper critical field was estimated to be 4.5 T and the Ginzburg-Landau coherence length 8.6 nm. Additionally, we observed phase transitions induced by vortex viscous dynamics in the 2H-NbSe2 step junction. Analysis of the pinning force density using the Dew-Hughes model indicates that the pinning force in the 2H-NbSe2 device can be attributed to step junction, related to the surface-Δκ type of pinning centers. Our findings pave the way for engineering pinning forces by introducing artificial pinning centers through partial atomic thickness variation in layered 2D superconductors while minimizing unwanted quality degradation in the system.

Phase diagram and baryon number fluctuations at finite temperature and magnetic field in a chiral model with screened interactions

Phase diagram and baryon number fluctuations at finite temperature and magnetic field in a chiral model with screened interactions

The Optical Forces and Torques Exerted by Airy Light-Sheet on Magnetic Particles Utilized for Targeted Drug Delivery.

The remarkable properties of magnetic nanostructures have sparked considerable interest within the biomedical domain, owing to their potential for diverse applications. In targeted drug delivery systems, therapeutic molecules can be loaded onto magnetic nanocarriers and precisely guided and released within the body with the assistance of an externally applied magnetic field. However, conventional external magnetic fields generated by permanent magnets or electromagnets are limited by finite magnetic field gradients, shallow penetration depths, and low precision. The novel structured light field known as the Airy light-sheet possesses unique characteristics such as non-diffraction, self-healing, and self-acceleration, which can potentially overcome the limitations of traditional magnetic fields to some extent. While existing studies have primarily focused on the manipulation of dielectric particles by Airy light-sheet, comprehensive analyses exploring the intricate interplay between Airy light-sheet and magnetic nanostructures are currently lacking in the literature, with only preliminary theoretical discussions available. This study systematically explores the mechanical response of magnetic spherical particles under the influence of Airy light-sheet, including radiation forces and spin torques. Furthermore, we provide an in-depth analysis of the effects of particle size, permittivity, permeability, and incident light-sheet parameters on the mechanical effects. Our research findings not only offer new theoretical guidance and practical references for the application of magnetic nanoparticles in biomedicine but also provide valuable insights for the manipulation of other types of micro/nanoparticles using structured light fields.

Exact-Two-Component Complete Active Space Method with Variational Treatment of Magnetic Field and Spin-Orbit Coupling: Application to X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy.

We introduce an exact-two-component complete active space self-consistent-field (X2C-CASSCF) method formulated under the restricted-magnetic-balance condition. This framework allows for the nonperturbative treatment of static magnetic fields using gauge-including atomic orbitals (GIAOs). The GIAO-X2C-CASSCF methodology effectively captures all microstates within the same 2J + 1-degenerate manifold and their splitting in a static magnetic field, which are not accessible through single-reference-based methods. We also present mathematical recursive expressions for evaluating one-electron relativistic integrals by using GIAOs in the presence of a finite magnetic field. Benchmark studies include oxygen and nitrogen K-edge X-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy (XMCD) for closed-shell organic compounds, as well as L-edge XMCD spectroscopy for the high-spin open-shell transition metal ion Mn2+ and the tetrahedral Mn(II)O46- complex.

Spatial Dependence of Local Density of States in Semiconductor-Superconductor Hybrids.

Majorana bound states are expected to appear in one-dimensional semiconductor-superconductor hybrid systems, provided they are homogeneous enough to host a global topological phase. In order to experimentally investigate the uniformity of the system, we study the spatial dependence of the local density of states in multiprobe devices where several local tunneling probes are positioned along a gate-defined wire in a two-dimensional electron gas. Spectroscopy at each probe reveals a hard induced gap and an absence of subgap states at zero magnetic field. However, subgap states emerging at a finite magnetic field are not always correlated between different probes. Moreover, we find that the extracted critical field and effective g-factor vary significantly across the length of the wire. Upon studying several such devices, we do however find examples of striking correlations in the local density of states measured at different tunnel probes. We discuss possible sources of variation across devices.

Fermionized Dual Vortex Theory for Magnetized Kagomé Spin Liquid

Abstract Inspired by the recent quantum oscillation measurement on the kagomé lattice antiferromagnet in finite magnetic fields, we raise the question about the physical contents of the emergent fermions and the gauge fields if the U(1) spin liquid is relevant for the finite-field kagomé lattice antiferromagnet. Clearly, the magnetic field is non-perturbative in this regime, and the finite-field state has no direct relation with the U(1) Dirac spin liquid proposal at zero field. We here consider the fermionized dual vortex liquid state as one possible candidate theory to understand the magnetized kagomé spin liquid. Within the dual vortex theory, the $S^z$ magnetization is the emergent U(1) gauge flux, and the fermionized dual vortex is the emergent fermion. The magnetic field polarizes the spin component that modulates the U(1) gauge flux for the fermionized vortices and generates the quantum oscillation. Within the mean-field theory, we discuss the gauge field correlation, the vortex-antivortex continuum and the vortex thermal Hall effect.

Investigate of thermodynamic behavior of magnetized two-flavor quark-gluon plasma

In this paper, we extend the self-consistent quasi-particle model proposed by Zong et al. [Phys. Lett. B 711, 65 (2012)] to the case of finite magnetic field. The vacuum infinity zero-point energy is successfully eliminated by introducing a classical thermo-magnetic background field [Formula: see text] in the effective Lagrangian based on Zong’s method. By considering relativistic Landau energy levels, we have applied the improved quasi-particle model to the case of a two-flavor quark gluon plasma. We obtain a finite partition function and calculate the energy density, pressure and entropy density at zero chemical potential. These results are qualitatively consistent with the results of previous literature works.

Magnetostriction related to skyrmion-lattice formation in chiral magnet FeGe

The B20 type chiral magnet FeGe exhibits the formation of skyrmion-lattice (SkL) phases in the vicinity of the magnetic ordering temperature. The SkL is a magnetic superlattice composed of vortex-type topological spin objects, and it has experimentally been known that its formation requires the existence of an intermediate (IM) phase between SkL and the paramagnetic (PM) phases. We take interest in how the crystal lattice experiences the formation of these topological spin texture. In this study, we observed the so-called spin–orbit coupling induced magnetostriction related to these topological spin texture formation, in addition to the ac magnetization anomalies. The temperature and magnetic field dependences of the lattice parameter reflected the transformation of phases, such as helimagnetic (HM), SkL, IM, conical (CM), and PM phases. In the PM region, a phase characterized as gaseous skyrmions was detected similarly to the case of the same B20 type MnSi. Furthermore, the HM, CM, and IM phases were also divided into two regions. Thus, the precise phase diagram near Tc was reconstructed from the prospect of the magnetostriction such that we demonstrated that the stabilization of skyrmions needs a finite magnetic field.

Magnetization without spin: Effective Lagrangian of itinerant electrons

In this paper, an effective Lagrangian of an itinerant electron system of finite density at a finite magnetic field is obtained. It includes a Chern-Simons term of electromagnetic potentials of lower-scale dimensions compared to those studied before. This term has an origin in the many-body wave function and a unique topological property that is independent of a spin degree of freedom. The coupling strength is proportional to ρeB, which is singular at B=0 for a constant charge density. The effective Lagrangian at a finite B represents the physical effects at B≠0 properly. A universal shift of the magnetic field known as the Slater-Pauling curve is obtained from the effective Lagrangian.

Effect of Coriolis force on electrical conductivity tensor for the rotating hadron resonance gas

We have investigated the influence of the Coriolis force on the electrical conductivity of hadronic matter formed in relativistic nuclear collisions, employing the hadron resonance gas model. A rotating matter in the peripheral heavy-ion collisions can be expected from the initial stage of quark matter to late-stage hadronic matter. Present work is focused on rotating hadronic matter, whose medium constituents—hadron resonances—can face a nonzero Coriolis force, which can influence the hadronic flow or conductivity. We estimate this conductivity tensor by using the relativistic Boltzmann transport equation. In the absence of Coriolis force, an isotropic conductivity tensor for hadronic matter is expected. However, our study finds that the presence of Coriolis force can generate an anisotropic conductivity tensor with three main conductivity components—parallel, perpendicular, and Hall—similarly to the effect of Lorentz force at a finite magnetic field. Our study has indicated that a noticeable anisotropy of conductivity tensor can be found within the phenomenological range of angular velocity Ω=0.001–0.02 GeV and hadronic scattering radius a=0.2–2 fm. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Mitigating Singularities in Control of Magnetic Capsule Endoscopes Using a Novel Nested Electromagnetic Coil System

Magnetic actuation systems that utilize external electromagnetic coils present a promising approach for controlling untethered small-scale robots, notably in medical applications. However, these systems frequently experience actuation singularities at which robotic control over the agent is lost or severely diminished. Such singularities may lead to excessively large current or rapid current changes that significantly affect the robots’ stability in specific areas of the workspace. In order to effectively mitigate these actuation singularities, this paper introduces a closed-loop control method using a novel nested electromagnetic coil system, leveraging finite element analysis-based magnetic field data and a novel controller combining a singularity solver and optimal current control method. The electromagnetic system has 12 coils nested in four coil units, each having three concentric coils with different outer radius, surrounding a central workspace. We call the 12-coil system Variable Outer Radius Individually Addressable Coil Stacks (VORIACS). Here, we experimentally evaluate the method for closed-loop trajectory tracking of a soft magnetic capsule endoscope (PillCam™) and a permanent magnet robot inside the VORIACS system at different magnetic field orientations. The results demonstrate that the VORIACS system with a singularity solver reduces root mean square (RMS) position tracking errors of the PillCam™by 46% to 50% and orientation tracking errors by 41% to 42% compared to a standard 4-coil system. Moreover, the system can achieve a notable 60.73% reduction in RMS position error, with sub-millimeter precision control when controlling the permanent magnet robot. We further manipulate the PillCam™for tracking a medical application-inspired complex trajectory, showcasing the system’s potential in precise control of magnetic devices for medical use.

Enhancing a loosely coupled inductive wireless power transfer system for LED-driven slurry photocatalytic reactors

To improve the irradiation profile in a conventional photocatalytic reactor, an LED-based light emitter energized by the inductive power transmission (IPT) method has been proposed recently. However, technical challenges such as low coupling due to the asymmetrical wireless coupler, dynamic impedance due to multiple receivers and changing magnetic properties in the transmitter core, and ease in upscaling remain to be addressed. This work proposes an IPT system for an LED-based photocatalytic reactor using a toroidal transformer to match the impedance between a modified Helmholtz transmitter coil and a class-E inverter. A finite element magnetic field simulation and analytical calculation of the induced voltage are used to assess the field uniformity inside the coil. The mutual inductance at selected locations within the coil volume and the power transfer efficiency (PTE) are evaluated. The proposed system requires less than 2 W to generate a uniform magnetic field inside a 10.6 L acrylic cylinder with an induced voltage of 13.9 ± 0.95 Vrms along the cylinder’s central axis. The proposed wireless coupler achieves a coupling coefficient of 0.013–0.034 and a PTE of 23.7%, outperforming similar systems with asymmetrical coupler design while offering a versatile solution for integrating IPT technology into wastewater treatment.

Selective and quasi-continuous switching of ferroelectric Chern insulator devices for neuromorphic computing.

Quantum materials exhibit dissipationless topological edge state transport with quantized Hall conductance, offering notable potential for fault-tolerant computing technologies. However, the development of topological edge state-based computing devices remains a challenge. Here we report the selective and quasi-continuous ferroelectric switching of topological Chern insulator devices, showcasing a proof-of-concept demonstration in noise-immune neuromorphic computing. We fabricate this ferroelectric Chern insulator device by encapsulating magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene with doubly aligned h-BN layers and observe the coexistence of the interfacial ferroelectricity and the topological Chern insulating states. The observed ferroelectricity exhibits an anisotropic dependence on the in-plane magnetic field. By tuning the amplitude of the gate voltage pulses, we achieve ferroelectric switching between any pair of Chern insulating states in the presence of a finite magnetic field, resulting in 1,280 ferroelectric states with distinguishable Hall resistance levels on a single device. Furthermore, we demonstrate deterministic switching between two arbitrary levels among the record-high number of ferroelectric states. This unique switching capability enables the implementation of a convolutional neural network resistant to external noise, utilizing the quantized Hall conductance levels of the Chern insulator device as weights. Our study provides a promising avenue towards the development of topological quantum neuromorphic computing, where functionality and performance can be drastically enhanced by topological quantum materials.

Human Head Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Using Finite Element Method

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a wearable neuromodulation technique. It is approved for several therapies for various neurological disorders, including major depressive disorder, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, and post-traumatic stress disorder. This method became an alternative neuromodulation technique for such brain-related disorders. However, it has shown significant improvement in this alternative approach. Studies based on this technique have shown limited efficacy. They might be associated with current levels, poor coil locality, optimal coil size, and neuromodulator settings. It has been shown in this research that coil heating is related to higher levels of current. Thus, it is required to analyze the impact of the current levels on the induced magnetic distribution to define the optimal current range for the TMS coils. It is not feasible to investigate this research with experimental tests and analytic methods. Alternatively, using an advanced computational model of the coils and accounting for different human head anatomical layers, coil current capacity can be optimized based on finite element magnetic field distribution. This paper aims to investigate the impact of the coil current levels on the induced magnetic field distribution. The current capacity of the coils can be optimized based on the required magnetic field. In this way, the overheating may be reduced and may result in increased efficacy. As a proof-of-concept, a prototype coil and multi-layered geometrical human head models were generated using geometric shapes. The fundamental human head tissue layers were generated based on their average thickness. The model was simulated based on a finite element magnetic simulation using appropriate boundary conditions and neuromodulator settings. The various coil current levels were applied to analyze the outcome. The models were simulated, and the results were recorded based on these current levels. Results showed that there is a direct relation between applied current levels and induced magnetic flux density in the region of interest.

A domain wall and chiral edge currents in holographic chiral phase transitions

We investigate spatially inhomogeneous solutions in a top-down holographic model: the D3/D7 model which provides a holographic description of the chiral phase transition for a finite external magnetic field, chemical potential, and temperature. We numerically find a domain wall (or kink) solution in the three dimensional space, which incorporates between the chiral symmetry broken phase at the spatial infinity, under the homogeneous sources. Along with the inhomogeneity of the chiral condensate, the charge density is also spatially modulated. The modulated charge density and finite magnetic field lead to the chiral edge current close to the domain wall. We explore the dependences of those profiles on the chemical potential and temperature near the first and second order phase transition points. Our results indicate that the inhomogeneous solutions we found are in good agreement with those obtained by the Ginzburg-Landau theory in the vicinity of the transition points.

Superconducting diode effect sign change in epitaxial Al-InAs Josephson junctions

There has recently been a surge of interest in studying the superconducting diode effect (SDE) partly due to the possibility of uncovering the intrinsic properties of a material system. A change of sign of the SDE at finite magnetic field has previously been attributed to different mechanisms. Here, we observe the SDE in epitaxial Al-InAs Josephson junctions with strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC). We show that this effect strongly depends on the orientation of the in-plane magnetic field. In the presence of a strong magnetic field, we observe a change of sign in the SDE. Simulation and measurement of supercurrent suggest that depending on the superconducting widths, WS, this sign change may not necessarily be related to 0–π or topological transitions. We find that the strongest sign change in junctions with narrow WS is consistent with SOC-induced asymmetry of the critical current under magnetic-field inversion, while in wider WS, the sign reversal could be related to 0–π transitions and topological superconductivity.

Spectral Asymmetry Induces a Re-Entrant Quantum Hall Effect in a Topological Insulator.

The band inversion of topological materials in three spatial dimensions is intimately connected to the parity anomaly of 2D massless Dirac fermions, known from quantum field theory. At finite magnetic fields, the parity anomaly reveals itself as a non-zero spectral asymmetry, i.e., an imbalance between the number of conduction and valence band Landau levels, due to the unpaired zero Landau level. This work reports the realization of this 2D Dirac physics at a single surface of the 3D topological insulator (Hg,Mn)Te. An unconventional re-entrant sequence of quantized Hall plateaus in the measured Hall resistance can be directly related to the occurrence of spectral asymmetry in a single topological surface state. The effect should be observable in any topological insulator where the transport is dominated by a single Dirac surfacestate.

Energy loss of heavy quarks in the presence of magnetic field

We study the heavy quark energy loss in the presence of a background magnetic field. The analysis considers the high magnetic field generated by spectators from initial hard collisions that were incorporated using the medium-modified Debye mass, determined from quark condensates at finite temperature and magnetic field via recent lattice quantum chromodynamics calculations. We analyse the impact of medium polarization on the heavy quark propagation in a quark–gluon plasma formed in relativistic heavy-ion colliders like relativistic heavy ion collider and large hadron collider. For simplification, we considered the static medium with constant temperature and magnetic field values. Then, we explore the nuclear modification factor (R AA) at different magnitudes of magnetic field strengths at fixed temperatures. The energy loss of heavy quarks significantly increases, leading to R AA suppression at higher magnetic field values.