Intermediate Magnetic Fields Research Articles

Stiff, porous scaffolds from magnetized alumina particles aligned by magnetic freeze casting

Bone consists of a hard mineral phase and a compliant biopolymer phase resulting in a composite material that is both lightweight and strong. Osteoporosis that degrades spongy bone preferentially over time leads to bone brittleness in the elderly. A porous ceramic material that can mimic spongy bone for a one-time implant provides a potential solution for the future needs of an aging population. Scaffolds made by magnetic freeze casting resemble the aligned porosity of spongy bone. A magnetic field applied throughout freezing induces particle chaining and alignment of lamellae structures between growing ice crystals. After freeze drying to extract the ice and sintering to strengthen the scaffold, cubes from the scaffold center are mechanically compressed along longitudinal (z-axis, ice growth direction) and transverse (y-axis, magnetic field direction) axes. The best alignment of lamellar walls in the scaffold center occurs when applying magnetic freeze casting with the largest particles (350nm) at an intermediate magnetic field strength (75mT), which also agrees with stiffness enhancement results in both z and y-axes. Magnetic moments of different sized magnetized alumina particles help determine the ideal magnetic field strength needed to induce alignment in the scaffold center rather than just at the poles.

Strain-induced intervortex interaction and vortex lattices in tetragonal superconductors

In superconductors with strong coupling between superconductivity and elasticity manifested in a strong dependence of transition temperature on pressure, there is an additional contribution to inter-vortex interactions due to the strain field generated by vortices. When vortex lines are along the $c$ axis of a tetragonal crystal, a square vortex lattice (VL) is favored at low vortex densities, because the vortex-induced strains contribution to the inter-vortex interactions is long range. At intermediate magnetic fields, the triangular lattice is stabilized. The triangular lattice evolves to the square lattice upon increasing magnetic field, and eventually the system locks to the square structure. We argue, however, that as $B$ approaches $H_{c2}$ the elastic inter-vortex interactions disappear faster than the standard London interactions, so that VL should return to the triangular structure. Our results are compared to VLs observed in the heavy fermion superconductor $\mathrm{CeCoIn_5}$.

Vortex dynamics in phase separated Tl0.58Rb0.42Fe1.72Se2 crystals

Abstract We report the critical current density J c and the vortex dynamics in phase-separated Tl 0.58 Rb 0.42 Fe 1.72 Se 2 crystals by performing magnetization measurements. Structural investigation reveals micro- and nanoscopic phase separation between 122 (superconducting) and 245 (not superconducting) phases. Micrometric phase separation refers to 245 islands with typical diameters of 2 µm embedded in a multiply-connected 122 superconducting network. Nanoscopic phase separation refers to 245 nanoprecipitates embedded in the 122 superconducting paths. The 245 nanoprecipitates with size comparable to the coherence length produce strong vortex pinning. It was observed that the temperature dependence of the flux creep rate presents a peak at intermediate temperatures and magnetic fields lower than 0.5 T. The peak is systematically suppressed as the magnetic field is increased, and it could be related with relaxation generated by double-kink excitations. Double-kinks are low-energy depinning excitations usually associated with strong pinning produced by correlated disorder.

Berry phase transition in twisted bilayer graphene

The electronic dispersion of a graphene bilayer is highly dependent on rotational mismatch between layers and can be further manipulated by electrical gating. This allows for an unprecedented control over electronic properties and opens up the possibility of flexible band structure engineering. Here we present novel magnetotransport data in a twisted bilayer, crossing the energetic border between decoupled monolayers and coupled bilayer. In addition a transition in Berry phase between π and 2π is observed at intermediate magnetic fields. Analysis of Fermi velocities and gate induced charge carrier densities suggests an important role of strong layer asymmetry for the observed phenomena.

Effective-mass model and magneto-optical properties in hybrid perovskites.

Hybrid inorganic-organic perovskites have proven to be a revolutionary material for low-cost photovoltaic applications. They also exhibit many other interesting properties, including giant Rashba splitting, large-radius Wannier excitons, and novel magneto-optical effects. Understanding these properties as well as the detailed mechanism of photovoltaics requires a reliable and accessible electronic structure, on which models of transport, excitonic, and magneto-optical properties can be efficiently developed. Here we construct an effective-mass model for the hybrid perovskites based on the group theory, experiment, and first-principles calculations. Using this model, we relate the Rashba splitting with the inversion-asymmetry parameter in the tetragonal perovskites, evaluate anisotropic g-factors for both conduction and valence bands, and elucidate the magnetic-field effect on photoluminescence and its dependence on the intensity of photoexcitation. The diamagnetic effect of exciton is calculated for an arbitrarily strong magnetic field. The pronounced excitonic peak emerged at intermediate magnetic fields in cyclotron resonance is assigned to the 3D±2 states, whose splitting can be used to estimate the difference in the effective masses of electron and hole.

Studies of Landé gJ-factors of singly ionized lanthanum by laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy

Laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy, using a cooled hollow cathode discharge lamp as source of ions, was used to observe the Zeeman splitting of 18 lines of La II in the wavelength range 629.6–680.9nm, in external intermediate magnetic fields up to 800 G. The recorded hyperfine-Zeeman patterns were analyzed in detail using already known accurate hyperfine structure A- and B-constants. From the recordings the Landé gJ-factors for some levels belonging to the 5d2, 5d6s, 5d6p, 4f5d, 4f6s and 4f6p configurations of La II were determined. The obtained experimental gJ-factors are compared with earlier measurements and theoretical calculations.

Dark-resonance Doppler cooling and high fluorescence in trapped Ca-43 ions at intermediate magnetic field

We demonstrate simple and robust methods for Doppler cooling and obtaining high fluorescence from trapped 43Ca+ ions at a magnetic field of 146 Gauss. This field gives access to a magnetic-field-independent ‘atomic clock’ qubit transition within the ground level hyperfine structure of the ion, but also causes the complex internal structure of the 64 states relevant to Doppler cooling to be spread over many times the atomic transition line-width. Using a time-dependent optical Bloch equation simulation of the system we develop a simple scheme to Doppler-cool the ion on a two-photon dark resonance, which is robust to typical experimental variations in laser intensities, detunings and polarizations. We experimentally demonstrate cooling to a temperature of 0.3 mK, slightly below the Doppler limit for the corresponding two-level system, and then use Raman sideband laser cooling to cool further to the ground states of the ion’s radial motional modes. These methods will enable two-qubit entangling gates with this ion, which is one of the most promising qubits so far developed.

Rate of Molecular Transfer of Allyl Alcohol across an AOT Surfactant Layer Using Muon Spin Spectroscopy.

The transfer rate of a probe molecule across the interfacial layer of a water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion was investigated using a combination of transverse field muon spin rotation (TF-μSR), avoided level crossing muon spin resonance (ALC-μSR), and Monte Carlo simulations. Reverse microemulsions consist of nanometer-sized water droplets dispersed in an apolar solvent separated by a surfactant monolayer. Although the thermodynamic, static model of these systems has been well described, our understanding of their dynamics is currently incomplete. For example, what is the rate of solute transfer between the aqueous and apolar solvents, and how this is influenced by the structure of the interface? With an appropriate choice of system and probe molecule, μSR offers a unique opportunity to directly probe these interfacial transfer dynamics. Here, we have employed a well characterized w/o microemulsion stabilized by bis(2-ethylhexyl) sodium sulfosuccinate (Aerosol OT), with allyl alcohol (CH2═CH-CH2-OH, AA) as the probe. Resonances due to both muoniated radicals, CMuH2-C*H-CH2-OH and C*H2-CHMu-CH2-OH, were observed with the former being the dominant species. All resonances displayed solvent dependence, with those in the microemulsion observed as a single resonance located at intermediate magnetic fields to those present in either of the pure solvents. Observation of a single resonance is strong evidence for interfacial transfer being in the fast exchange limit. Monte Carlo calculations of the ΔM = 0 ALC resonances are consistent with the experimental data, indicating exchange rates greater than 10(9) s(-1), placing the rate of interfacial transfer at the diffusion limit.

Evaluation of biological effects of intermediate frequency magnetic field on differentiation of embryonic stem cell.

The embryotoxic effect of intermediate frequency (IF) magnetic field (MF) was evaluated using murine embryonic stem (ES) cells and fibroblast cells based on the embryonic stem cell test (EST). The cells were exposed to 21 kHz IF–MF up to magnetic flux density of 3.9 mT during the cell proliferation process (7 days) or the cell differentiation process (10 days) during which an embryonic body differentiated into myocardial cells. As a result, there was no significant difference in the cell proliferation between sham- and IF–MF-exposed cells for both ES and fibroblast cells. Similarly, the ratio of the number of ES-derived cell aggregates differentiated to myocardial cells to total number of cell aggregates was not changed by IF–MF exposure. In addition, the expressions of a cardiomyocytes-specific gene, Myl2, and an early developmental gene, Hba-x, in the exposed cell aggregate were not altered. Since the magnetic flux density adopted in this study is much higher than that generated by an inverter of the electrical railway, an induction heating (IH) cooktop, etc. in our daily lives, these results suggested that IF–MF in which the public is exposed to in general living environment would not have embryotoxic effect.

Spark plasma sintered MgB2 co-added with c-BN and C60

High density (above 92%) superconducting bulks of MgB2 co-added with cubic BN (c-BN) and fullerenes (C60) were obtained by the ex-situ spark plasma sintering (SPS). Compositions were (MgB2)(1−x)(C)x(c-BN)0.01, x = 0.0125, 0.025, 0.05, 0.075. The co-added sample (MgB2)0.975(C)0.025(c-BN)0.01 shows a marginally higher critical current density Jc at intermediate magnetic fields and below 15 K than for optimum samples added with c-BN or C60. For this sample, pinning is in the point pinning limit and the δTc mechanism is dominant. At high magnetic fields co-added samples are inferior to samples added with one additive, but are superior to pristine sample. Co-addition of c-BN and C60 is not effective for vortex pinning when compared with individual addition. The result is discussed based on phase formation aspects, microstructural details and residual strain. It was found that in the presence of C60, c-BN consumption with formation of MgNB9 is intensified with implications on different elements that influence pinning.

Magnetic droplet solitons in orthogonal spin valves

We review the recent experimental advancements in the realization and understanding of magnetic droplet solitons generated by spin transfer torque in orthogonal nanocontact based spin torque nanooscillators (STNOs) fabricated on extended spin valves and spin valve nanowires. The magnetic droplets are detected and studied using the STNO microwave signal and its resistance, the latter both quasistatically and time-resolved. The droplet nucleation current is found to have a minimum at intermediate magnetic field strengths and the nature of the nucleation changes gradually from a single sharp step well above this field, mode-hopping around the minimum, and continuous at low fields. The mode-hopping and continuous transitions are ascribed to droplet drift instability and re-nucleation at different time scales, which is corroborated by time-resolved measurements. We argue that the use of tilted anisotropy fixed layers could reduce the nucleation current further, move the nucleation current minimum to lower fields, and potentially remove the need for an applied magnetic field altogether. Finally, evidence of an edge mode droplet in a nanowire is presented.

Hysteresis of the viscoelastic properties and the normal force in magnetically and mechanically soft magnetoactive elastomers: Effects of filler composition, strain amplitude and magnetic field

Hysteresis in dynamic modulus, loss factor and normal forces of magnetoactive elastomers (MAEs) comprising various proportions of small (3–5 μm) and large (50–60 μm) ferromagnetic particles are experimentally studied using dynamic torsion performed at a fixed oscillation frequency in varying DC magnetic fields. It is shown that hysteresis is a characteristic feature of MAEs observed both under increasing/decreasing magnetic field strength and increasing/decreasing strain amplitude. This hysteresis is attributed to the specific rearrangement of the magnetic filler network under simultaneously applied magnetic field and shear deformation. Rheological properties of the magnetic filler network formed in the magnetic field and, therefore, the rheological properties of MAEs depend strongly on the filler composition and the magnetic field magnitude. Larger magnetic particles and higher magnetic fields provide stronger magnetic networks. Both factors result in the extension of the linear viscoelastic regime to larger strain amplitudes and lead to higher values of shear storage and loss moduli. It is found that the hysteresis width maximises at an intermediate magnetic field where it is attributed to the balance between elastic and magnetic particle interactions. This is apparently where the most significant restructuring of the magnetic network occurs. The hysteresis width decreases with increasing fraction of large particles in the magnetic filler. The loss factor grows significantly when the magnetic network is physically broken by large strains γ > 1%. A huge (more than one order of magnitude) increase of normal force at maximum magnetic field strengths is observed. It is predicted that any physical quantity depending on the internal structuring of the magnetic filler should demonstrate hysteresis either with a changing magnetic field and constant deformation amplitude or under variable deformation in a constant magnetic field.

Magnetic catalysis and inverse magnetic catalysis in QCD

We investigate the effects of strong magnetic fields on the QCD phase structure at vanishing density by solving the gluon and quark gap equations, and by studying the dynamics of the quark scattering with the four-Fermi coupling. The chiral crossover temperature as well as the chiral condensate are computed. For asymptotically large magnetic fields we find magnetic catalysis, while we find inverse magnetic catalysis for intermediate magnetic fields. Moreover, for large magnetic fields the chiral phase transition for massless quarks turns into a crossover. The underlying mechanisms are then investigated analytically within a few simplifications of the full numerical analysis. We find that a combination of gluon screening effects and the weakening of the strong coupling is responsible for the phenomenon of inverse catalysis. In turn, the magnetic catalysis for large magnetic fields is already indicated by simple arguments based on dimensionality.

Finite isospin chiral perturbation theory in a magnetic field

The phase diagram of finite isospin, zero temperature QCD with the pions coupled to photons in a uniform external magnetic field is explored in the low field, small isospin density regime for which chiral perturbation theory is a valid description. For realistic pion masses, the system behaves as a type-II superconductor: a uniform superconducting state is formed at low-enough magnetic fields, a vortex state for intermediate magnetic fields and finally a normal state for large magnetic fields. In each these phases (including the vortex phase), the $\pi^{0}$ remains uncondensed just as in the zero-external field problem. The critical magnetic field where the phase transition from the uniform superconducting state to a vortex state occurs was found numerically.

Critical current and flux pinning properties of the superconducting Ti–V alloys

We present a study on the critical current density and the flux-line pinning properties of a series of annealed and as cast samples of Ti100−xVx (x=20, 30, 40 and 60) alloys, performed with the help of magnetization measurements. We show that the grain boundaries are the dominant flux pinning centers in the Ti–V alloys in the low and intermediate magnetic field regime. In the high magnetic field regime, the dislocation networks and the point pinning mechanism provided by the ω phase present in these alloys are more effective than the grain boundaries. While in the low magnetic fields we find the signature of surface effects enhancing the pinning force density, a peak effect in the critical current is observed in these alloys in the high field regime near the upper critical field HC2. Using the existing theories we provide an analysis of the pinning force density over a large range of magnetic fields, and obtain some new insight on the influence of various metallurgical phases, grain boundaries and dislocation networks on the flux-line pinning properties of these alloys.

Effects of 21-kHz intermediate frequency magnetic fields on blood properties and immune systems of juvenile rats

Purpose: Due to a lack of science-based evidence, we explored the effects of exposure to intermediate frequency magnetic fields (IF-MF) on experimental animals. We assessed several immunological parameters to determine the effect of exposure of the whole body to IF-MF.Materials and methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (4–5 weeks old) were divided into three groups: Cage-control, sham, and 3.8-mT (rms) exposure groups. The animals were exposed to IF-MF at 21 kHz under fixed conditions in an acrylic holder. Exposure was performed for 1 h/day for 14 consecutive days. On the 15th day following the exposure, biochemical and hematological parameters in blood were analyzed. The effects of the exposure on immunological functions such as the cytotoxic activity of lymphocytes, chemotactic and phagocytic activity of granulocytes, and T (cluster of differentiation 4 [CD4] and cluster of differentiation 8 [CD8])-cell frequency were also examined.Results: Hematological parameters were not affected by IF-MF exposure. Other immune functions such as the cytotoxic activity and phagocytic activity were not affected. Populations of T cells after exposure also did not show any significant differences. In blood biochemistry, there was significant difference in inorganic phosphorus level between sham and exposure group. However, this will not induce any pathophysiological status, because they were still within physiological range. Overall, no significant effect by exposure of IF-MF was observed under our experimental conditions.Conclusions: Our results suggest that exposure to 21-kHz sinusoidal IF-MF at 3.8 mT for 1 h/day for 14 days did not affect immune function in juvenile rats.

Anomalous sequence of quantum Hall liquids revealing a tunable Lifshitz transition in bilayer graphene.

Bilayer graphene is a unique system where both the Fermi energy and the low-energy electron dispersion can be tuned. This is brought about by an interplay between trigonal warping and the band gap opened by a transverse electric field. Here, we drive the Lifshitz transition in bilayer graphene to experimentally controllable carrier densities by applying a large transverse electric field to a h-BN-encapsulated bilayer graphene structure. We perform magnetotransport measurements and investigate the different degeneracies in the Landau level spectrum. At low magnetic fields, the observation of filling factors -3 and -6 quantum Hall states reflects the existence of three maxima at the top of the valence-band dispersion. At high magnetic fields, all integer quantum Hall states are observed, indicating that deeper in the valence band the constant energy contours are singly connected. The fact that we observe ferromagnetic quantum Hall states at odd-integer filling factors testifies to the high quality of our sample. This enables us to identify several phase transitions between correlated quantum Hall states at intermediate magnetic fields, in agreement with the calculated evolution of the Landau level spectrum. The observed evolution of the degeneracies, therefore, reveals the presence of a Lifshitz transition in our system.

Intermediate frequency magnetic field generated by a wireless power transmission device does not cause genotoxicity in vitro.

The aim of this study was to evaluate effects of intermediate frequency magnetic fields (IFMF) generated by a wireless power transmission (WPT) based on magnetic resonance from the perspective of cellular genotoxicity on cultured human lens epithelial cells (HLECs). We evaluated the effects of exposure to 90 kHz magnetic fields at 93.36 µT on cellular genotoxicity in vitro for 2 and 4 h. The magnetic flux density is approximately 3.5 times higher than the reference level recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines. For assessment of genotoxicity, we studied cellular proliferation, apoptosis and DNA damage by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, flow cytometry analysis, alkaline comet assay and phosphorylated histone H2AX (γH2AX) foci formation test. We did not detect any effect of a 90 kHz IFMF generated by WPT based on magnetic resonance on cell proliferation, apoptosis, comet assay, and γH2AX foci formation test. Our results indicated that exposure to 90 kHz IFMF generated by WPT based on magnetic resonance at 93.36 µT for 2 and 4 h does not cause detectable cellular genotoxicity.

Coherent control of an NV− center with one adjacent 13C

We investigate the theoretically achievable fidelities when coherently controlling an effective three-qubit system consisting of a negatively charged nitrogen vacancy (15NV−) center in diamond with an additional nearby carbon 13C spin via square and two frequency component radio and microwave frequency pulses in different magnetic field regimes. Such a system has potentially interesting applications in quantum information-related tasks such as distributed quantum computation or quantum repeater schemes. We find that the best fidelities can be achieved in an intermediate magnetic field regime. However, with only square pulses it will be challenging to reach the fidelity threshold(s) predicted by current models of fault-tolerant quantum computing.

Magnetoresistance of disordered graphene: From low to high temperatures

We present the magnetoresistance (MR) of highly doped monolayer graphene layers grown by chemical vapor deposition on 6H-SiC. The magnetotransport studies are performed on a large temperature range, from $T=1.7$ K up to room temperature. The MR exhibits a maximum in the temperature range 120--240 K. The maximum is observed at intermediate magnetic fields ($B=2--6$ T), in between the weak localization and the Shubnikov-de Haas regimes. It results from the competition of two mechanisms. First, the low-field magnetoresistance increases continuously with $T$ and has a purely classical origin. This positive MR is induced by thermal averaging and finds its physical origin in the energy dependence of the mobility around the Fermi energy. Second, the high-field negative MR originates from the electron-electron interaction (EEI). The transition from the diffusive to the ballistic regime is observed. The amplitude of the EEI correction points towards the coexistence of both long- and short-range disorder in these samples.