Low Magnetic Field Research Articles

Lyα Absorption in a “Croissant-like” Heliosphere

Lyα absorption profiles have been used to detect astrospheres and heliospheric absorption from the hydrogen wall and heliotail. Using magnetohydrodynamic models of the heliosphere, we can compare simulated to observed Lyα profiles to probe the neutral hydrogen within and near the heliosphere. There is an ongoing controversy whether the heliosphere has a long “comet-like” tail or a short “croissant-like” tail. Here we present the first Lyα absorption investigation using a croissant-like heliosphere. With identical boundary conditions we compare the BU model, which presents a croissant-like tail, and the Moscow model, which presents a comet-like tail. The BU and Moscow models present nearly identical Lyα profiles toward nose targets (α Cen and 36 Oph). Differences in Lyα profiles are shown toward the tail target (HD 35296). Despite the shortened heliotail of the croissant model, significant downwind heliosheath absorption is seen, just 5% shallower and shifted by 4 km s−1. This implies that an extended tail model is not required to reproduce the heliosheath Lyα absorption observations. Finer observation gratings may be able to resolve this shift. Additionally, when using higher interstellar medium (ISM) neutral and plasma densities and lower magnetic field (∣B LISM∣ = 3.2 μG, α BV ≈ 40°) than in the Moscow model, we find better agreement with observed Lyα profiles. None of the models presented show agreement in all directions simultaneously. Furthermore, we show that for the ISM conditions with the least certainty (n p,LISM, n H,LISM, T LISM, B LISM), B LISM has the most significant effect on the structure of the hydrogen wall and Lyα profiles.

Quantized conductance in hybrid split-gate arrays of superconducting quantum point contacts with semiconducting two-dimensional electron systems

A quantum point contact (QPC)—a constriction in a semiconducting two-dimensional electron system with a quantized conductance—is a building block of novel spintronic and topological electronic circuits. QPCs can also be used as readout electronics, charge sensors, or switches in quantum nanocircuits. A short and impurity-free constriction with superconducting contacts is a Cooper-pair QPC analogue known as a superconducting quantum point contact (SQPC). The technological development of such quantum devices has been prolonged due to the challenges of maintaining their geometrical requirement and near-unity superconductor-semiconductor interface transparency. Here, we develop advanced nanofabrication, material and device engineering techniques and report on an innovative realization of nanoscale hybrid SQPC arrays with split gate technology in semiconducting 2D electron systems. We exploit the special gate tunability of the quantum wells, and demonstrate the first experimental observation of conductance quantization in hybrid InGaAs-Nb SQPCs. We observe reproducible quantized conductance at zero magnetic fields in multiple quantum nanodevices fabricated in a single chip and systematically investigate the quantum transport of SQPCs at low and high magnetic fields for their potential applications in quantum metrology, for extremely accurate voltage standards, and fault-tolerant quantum technologies. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

New Issues on Electromagnetic Biocompatibility

The paper presents some aspects on the concept of electromagnetic biocompatibility (EMBC), fully supported by epidemiological studies and in the same time by the latest document of the SCENIHR (an organism of the European Commission), regarding extremely low frequency magnetic fields. Modern life is full of artificially generated electric and magnetic fields. We are always exposed to those electromagnetic fields composed of various frequency components. One of these sources is represented by the frequency of 50Hz, the electric power frequency of commercial power transmission and distribution and of household electric appliances. It can be mentioned also high frequencies near 1GHz for cellular phones, and other intermediate frequencies for various appliances. The authors, adepts of the prudential avoidance policy, present several examples of possible harmful effects determined by extremely low frequency magnetic fields, dedicated to building services engineering in residences and in the industrial environment, along with several methods of mitigating them.

Field-induced Bose–Einstein condensation in zigzag spin chain KGaCu(PO4)2

Single crystals of GaKCu(PO4)2 were synthesized using the hydrothermal method, and subsequent measurements of specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, and high-field magnetization were performed. A broad peak is observed in the magnetic susceptibility and specific heat curves, with the maximum values appearing at about 11.5 K and 5.29 K, respectively. The highest maximum peak value of susceptibility is observed when the magnetic field is applied along the c-axis, followed by the a-axis, b-axis, and polycrystalline samples. These indicate that the system exhibits one-dimensional magnetism and the magnetic easy axis is the c axis. The magnetization at 2 K reveals the occurrence of a field-induced Bose–Einstein condensation (BEC) phase within the magnetic field range of approximately 8−12 T. High-field magnetization up to 40 T indicates that the compound reaches magnetization saturation as the field exceeds H s = 12 T. Through systematic measurements, a field-temperature (H−T) phase diagram was constructed, and dome-like phase boundaries were observed. The findings suggest that GaKCu(PO4)2 is a spin gap system and a promising candidate for studying BEC of magnons due to its phase transition boundary occurring at low magnetic fields.

Observation of zigzag domains in the surface layer of Fe-based microwires by magnetic force microscopy

The magnetic domain structure of the surface layer of Fe-based amorphous microwires with a diameter of 20 µm (after glass removal) was investigated. An approach has been developed to study the domain structure of the curved surface of a microwire by magnetic force microscopy. It was found that in low magnetic fields the domain structure of the surface layer consisted of zigzag-shaped domains elongated along the microwire axis. These domains are inclined to the microwire axis at an angle of 45 degrees. An increase in the magnetic field along the microwire axis resulted in the transformation of the magnetic structure to the structure consisting of ring domains with an opposite orientation of the magnetic moment. The geometric parameters of both types of the domain structure were determined. The width of zigzag-shaped domains was 2 µm. The width of ring domain was 2.5–5 µm.

Detection of sub-nmol amounts of the antiviral drug favipiravir in 19F MRI using photo-chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization

In biological tissues, 19F magnetic resonance (MR) enables the non-invasive, background-free detection of 19F-containing biomarkers. However, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is usually low because biomarkers are typically present at low concentrations. Measurements at low magnetic fields further reduce the SNR. In a proof-of-principal study we applied LED-based photo-chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization (photo-CIDNP) to amplify the 19F signal at 0.6 T. For the first time, 19F MR imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy (MRS) of a fully biocompatible model system containing the antiviral drug favipiravir has been successfully performed. This fluorinated drug has been used to treat Ebola and COVID-19. Since the partially cyclic reaction scheme for photo-CIDNP allows for multiple data acquisitions, averaging further improved the SNR. The mean signal gain factor for 19F has been estimated to be in the order of 103. An in-plane resolution of 0.39 × 0.39 mm2 enabled the analysis of spatially varying degrees of hyperpolarization. The minimal detectable amount of favipiravir per voxel was estimated to about 500 pmol. The results show that 19F photo-CIDNP is a promising method for the non-invasive detection of suitable 19F-containing drugs and other compounds with very low levels of the substance.

Enhancing Intrinsic Magnetic Hardness by Modulating Antagonistic Interactions in the Rare-Earth-Free Magnetic Solid Solution Hf2 Fe1-δ Ru5-x Irx+δ B2.

The quinary members in the solid solution Hf2 Fe1-δ Ru5-x Irx+δ B2 (x=1-4, VE=63-66) have been investigated experimentally and computationally. They were synthesized via arc-melting and analyzed by EDX and X-ray diffraction. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations predicted a preference for magnetic ordering in all members, but with a strong competition between ferro- and antiferromagnetism arising from interchain Fe-Fe interactions. The spin exchange and magnetic anisotropy energies predicted the lowest magnetic hardness for x=1 and 3 and the highest for x=2. Magnetization measurements confirm the DFT predictions and demonstrate that the antiferromagnetic ordering (TN =55-70 K) found at low magnetic fields changed to ferromagnetic (TC =150-750 K) at higher fields, suggesting metamagnetic behavior for all samples. As predicted, Hf2 FeRu3 Ir2 B2 has the highest intrinsic coercivity (Hc =74 kA/m) reported to date for Ti3 Co5 B2 -type phases. Furthermore, all coercivities outperform that of ferromagnetic Hf2 FeIr5 B2 , indicating the importance of AFM interactions in enhancing magnetic anisotropy in these materials. Importantly, two members (x=1 and 4) maintain intrinsic coercivities in the semi-hard range at room temperature. This study opens an avenue for controlling magnetic hardness by modulating antagonistic AFM and FM interactions in low-dimensional rare-earth-free magnetic materials.

Swimming polarity inversion in uncultured magnetotactic cocci.

Magnetotactic bacteria are microorganisms that produce intracellular magnetic nanoparticles organized in chains, conferring a magnetic moment to the bacterial body that allows it to swim following the geomagnetic field lines. Magnetotactic bacteria usually display two swimming polarities in environmental samples: the South-seeking (SS) polarity and the North-seeking (NS) polarity, characterized by the bacteria swimming antiparallel or parallel to the magnetic field lines, respectively. It has been observed that in the presence of inhomogeneous magnetic fields, NS magnetotactic bacteria can change their swimming polarity to SS or vice versa. The present study analyzes populations of NS cocci obtained from SS cocci isolated in the presence of a magnet. The aim was to study differences in the swimming characteristics and magnetic moment among both populations of cocci. For that, trajectories were recorded and the velocity and angle among the velocity and the applied magnetic field were calculated. In addition, micrographs from both SS and NS cocci were obtained and their magnetosomes were measured to analyze their length, width, aspect ratio and magnetic moment, to finally obtain the magnetic moment for each coccus. The results showed the following properties of NS relative to SS cocci: higher velocities, narrow bacterial magnetic moment distribution, higher dispersion in the distribution of angles among the velocity and the applied magnetic field and lower magnetic field sensibility. Those differences cannot be explained by the simple change in magnetic polarity of the magnetosome chain and can be related to the existence of an active magnetoreceptive process in magnetotactic bacteria.

Kagome Quantum Oscillations in Graphene Superlattices.

Electronic spectra of solids subjected to a magnetic field are often discussed in terms of Landau levels and Hofstadter-butterfly-style Brown-Zak minibands manifested by magneto-oscillations in two-dimensional electron systems. Here, we present the semiclassical precursors of these quantum magneto-oscillations which appear in graphene superlattices at low magnetic field near the Lifshitz transitions and persist at elevated temperatures. These oscillations originate from Aharonov-Bohm interference of electron waves following open trajectories that belong to a kagome-shaped network of paths characteristic for Lifshitz transitions in the moire superlattice minibands of twistronic graphenes.

Effects of gamma-irradiation on the superconducting properties of FeTe0.55Se0.45 single crystals grown by self-flux method

We have investigated the effect of gamma (γ)-irradiation on the structural and superconducting properties of FeTe0.55Se0.45 single crystals grown by the self-flux method. The impact of γ-irradiation on the superconducting transition temperature (TC), critical current density (JC), and vortex pinning mechanism has been systematically studied. The x-ray diffraction study reveals the growth of single crystals along the c-axis. The superconductivity has been confirmed in pristine and γ-irradiated samples through temperature-dependent resistivity (ρ(T)) and magnetization [M(T)] measurements. After irradiation, a slight improvement is observed in the upper critical field Hc2(0) values. The values of thermally activated energy have been calculated and a crossover from a single to collective vortex pinning regime is observed. Additionally, we have analyzed the vortex phase diagrams, revealing a transition from vortex liquid to vortex glass state. Furthermore, the presence of second magnetization peak (SMP) or fishtail effect has been noticed in the M(H) loops, and with increasing temperature, the position of SMP (Hsp) shifts toward lower magnetic field regions. The critical current density has been estimated by Bean's critical state model at different magnetic fields [JC(H)] and temperatures [JC(T)]. The defects through gamma-irradiation lead to a significant threefold increase in JC compared to pristine samples in self-field and at 2 K. The pinning mechanisms have been explained using collective pinning theory and the Dew-Hughes model by analyzing the normalized pinning force density. Our analysis indicates that δl-pinning is dominant and point defects are present in all the samples.

Low noise magnetic field compensation based on differential biplanar coils with small coil constant

Magnetic field noise is a key factor limiting the resolution of quantum precise measurement. In active magnetic field compensation systems, the large coil constant and fixed noise of the coil and current source, respectively, cause excessive noise. This study proposes a differential biplanar coils (DBCs) design method by comprehensively optimizing two sets of biplanar coils with differential evolution (DE) algorithm, which can reduce the coil constant by two magnitude orders while ensuring high uniformity. The peak-to-peak magnetic field at the center point is reduced to 0.8 pT, and the magnetic field noise is reduced to 8 fT/Hz, which is a reduction of 94.4%. The low noise active magnetic compensation system based on the differential biplanar coils can improve the accuracy of the magnetic shielding room (MSR) internal magnetic field control and reduce magnetic field noise effectively. The proposed method contributes to generating a near-zero magnetic field environment with low magnetic field noise, which is critical to promoting magnetoencephalography (MEG) measurements.

Influence of the phonon-bottleneck effect and low-energy vibrational modes on the slow spin-phonon relaxation in Kramers-ions-based Cu(II) and Co(II) complexes with 4-amino-3,5-bis-(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazole and dicyanamide.

Two new complexes, bis-[4-amino-3,5-bis-(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazole-κ2N2,N6]bis-(dicyanamide-κN8)copper(II), [Cu(abpt)2(dca)2] (1) and bis-[4-amino-3,5-bis-(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazole-κ2N2,N6]bis-(dicyanamide-κN8)cobalt(II), [Co(abpt)2(dca)2] (2), have been prepared and magneto-structurally characterised. Single crystal studies of both complexes have shown that their crystal structures are molecular, in which the central atoms are six-coordinated in the form of a distorted octahedron by two bidentate abpt and two monodentate dca ligands. Even if both complexes have the same composition and crystallize in the same P1̄ space group, they are not isostructural. Both structures contain strong intermolecular N-H⋯N hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking interactions. IR spectra are consistent with the solved structures of both complexes and confirmed the terminal character of the dca ligands and the bidentate coordination of the abpt ligands. The analysis of the magnetic properties showed that both complexes exhibit field-induced slow spin-phonon relaxation. In both complexes, the slow spin-phonon relaxation is influenced by a severe phonon-bottleneck effect that affects the direct process, a dominant relaxation mechanism at low temperatures in both complexes. The phonon-bottleneck effect in 1 was suppressed by simply reducing the crystallite size, and further analysis of the field dependence of the relaxation time yielded the characteristic energy of vibrational modes of 11 cm-1 participating in the Raman process at low magnetic fields. The analysis of magnetic properties and ab initio calculations confirmed that 2 represents a system with a moderate uniaxial anisotropy yielding an average energy barrier of 82 cm-1 (from all four nonequivalent Co(II) sites in the structure of 2).

Low field controllable continuous spin switching in the thulium-ytterbium single crystal.

We report the spin reorientation transition (SRT) and the low field controllable continuous spin switching (SSW) of the Tm0.75Yb0.25FeO3 (TYFO) single crystal in this study. The SRT, characterized by the transition from Γ2(Fx, Cy, Gz)-Γ4(Gx, Ay, Fz), occurs within the temperature range of 20-27 K. Under an external magnetic field of 50 Oe, the SSW occurs along the c-axis at approximately 98 K due to the reversal of Tm3+ magnetic moment induced by the magnetic coupling change between Tm3+ and Fe3+, transitioning from a parallel to an antiparallel alignment. Notably, a continuous SSW is observed along the a-axis at low temperatures, which has not been previously reported in rare earth orthoferrites. This unique behavior can be easily manipulated by low magnetic fields within the temperature range of 2-20 K. Both the spin reorientation transition and spin switching phenomena in the TYFO single crystal arise from interactions between rare earth ions and iron ions and can be effectively regulated by applied low magnetic fields, making it a promising material for low-field spin devices.

Giant low-field magnetocaloric effect in unstable antiferromagnetic Tm1–xErxNi2Si2 (x = 0.2, 0.4) compounds

Magnetic refrigeration (MR) technology is regarded as an ideal solution for cryogenic applications, relying on magnetocaloric materials which provide necessary chilling effect. A series of polycrystalline Tm1–xErxNi2Si2 (x = 0.2, 0.4) compounds was synthesized, and their magnetic properties, magnetic phase transition together with magnetocaloric effect (MCE) were studied. The Tm1–xErxNi2Si2 (x = 0.2, 0.4) compounds display a field-induced metamagnetic transition from antiferromagnetic (AFM) to ferromagnetism (FM) in excess of 0.2 T, respectively. Meanwhile, the AFM ground state is unstable. Under the field change of 0–2 T, the values of maximal magnetic entropy change (−ΔSMmax) and refrigerant capacity (RC) for Tm0.8Er0.2Ni2Si2 compound are 17.9 J/(kg·K) and 83.5 J/kg, respectively. The large reversible MCE under low magnetic fields (≤2 T) indicates that Tm0.8Er0.2Ni2Si2 compound can serve as potential candidate materials for cryogenic magnetic refrigeration.

Unveiling the crystal and magnetic texture of iron oxide nanoflowers.

Iron oxide nanoflowers (IONF) are densely packed multi-core aggregates known for their high saturation magnetization and initial susceptibility, as well as low remanence and coercive field. This study reports on how the local magnetic texture originating at the crystalline correlations among the cores determines the special magnetic properties of individual IONF over a wide size range from 40 to 400 nm. Regardless of this significant size variation in the aggregates, all samples exhibit a consistent crystalline correlation that extends well beyond the IONF cores. Furthermore, a nearly zero remnant magnetization, together with the presence of a persistently blocked state, and almost temperature-independent field-cooled magnetization, support the existence of a 3D magnetic texture throughout the IONF. This is confirmed by magnetic transmission X-ray microscopy images of tens of individual IONF, showing, in all cases, a nearly demagnetized state caused by the vorticity of the magnetic texture. Micromagnetic simulations agree well with these experimental findings, showing that the interplay between the inter-core direct exchange coupling and the demagnetizing field is responsible for the highly vortex-like spin configuration that stabilizes at low magnetic fields and appears to have partial topological protection. Overall, this comprehensive study provides valuable insights into the impact of crystalline texture on the magnetic properties of IONF over a wide size range, offering a deeper understanding of their potential applications in fields such as biomedicine and water remediation.

Highly efficient superradiant oscillator with front-extraction output in TE11 mode operating at low magnetic field

With a low guiding magnetic field, a highly efficient X-band coaxial superradiant relativistic backward wave oscillator (SR-RBWO) with a front-extraction cavity and a built-in mode converter is proposed in this paper. The coaxial structure is used to reduce the guiding magnetic field of the intense relativistic electron beam. To decrease the transmission loss of microwave power in the slow wave structure (SWS), a front-extraction cavity is introduced. The inner conductor of the coaxial SWS is hollowed out as the output waveguide, and then, the microwave is extracted by the front-extraction cavity and enters the hollow waveguide rather than re-enter the SWS to output. With this improvement, the power conversion factor K can be increased by 0.44 even more. Making use of the feature of longer SWSs of SR-RBWOs, a built-in mode converter is designed, which can convert the circular TM01 mode propagating in the output waveguide into the circular TE11 radiation mode that can be radiated into free space directly. Therefore, the length of the radiation system can be reduced significantly, which is beneficial to the miniaturization of the entire high-power microwave system. Particle-in-cell simulation demonstrates that with a diode voltage of 180 kV and a guiding magnetic field of 0.37 T, the output SR pulse with an average power of 1.00 GW corresponding to power conversion factor K = 1.8 can be obtained.

The average magnetic anisotropy of polystyrene in polymersomes self-assembled from poly(ethylene glycol)-b-polystyrene.

Using the diamagnetic anisotropy of polymers for the characterization of polymers and polymer aggregates is a relatively new approach in the field of soft-matter and polymer research. So far, a good and thorough quantitative description of these diamagnetic properties has been lacking. Using a simple equation that links the magnetic properties of an average polymer repeating unit to those of the polymer vesicle of any shape, we measured, using magnetic birefringence, the average diamagnetic anisotropy of a polystyrene (PS) repeating unit, ΔχPS, inside a poly(ethylene glycol)-polystyrene (PEG-PS) polymersome membrane as a function of the PS-length and as a function of the preparation method. All obtained values of ΔχPS have a negative sign which results in polymers tending to align perpendicular to an applied magnetic field. Combined, the same order of magnitude of ΔχPS (10-12 m3 mol-1) for all polymersome shapes proves that the individual polymers are organized similarly regardless of the PS length and polymersome shape. Furthermore, the value found is only a fraction (∼1%) of what it can maximally be due to the random coiling of the polymers. We, therefore, predict that further ordering of the polymers within the membrane could lead to similar responses at much lower magnetic fields, possibly obtainable with permanent magnets, which would be highly advantageous for practical applications.

The impact of ferrofluid actuated by an external magnetic field on heat exchange performances of curved channels

The development rules of ferrofluid flow and heat exchange in curved channels under the influence of external magnetic field were thoroughly investigated using the finite element method. The comprehensive strengthening performance of elbows under magnetic fields was evaluated based on the factors including the dimensionless pressure coefficient, heat transfer coefficient, and comprehensive strengthening factor. The results demonstrate that the heat transfer coefficient can be improved by increasing the volume fraction of ferrofluid in the presence of lower or no magnetic field, while it exhibits no significant variation with the increase of the volume fraction for higher magnetic fields. For a given volume fraction, a lower magnetic field may slightly inhibit heat transport of ferrofluid. A higher magnetic field can induce a complex swirling flow of the fluid along the curved axis. As the curvature decreases, the magnetic field effect becomes stronger, leading to the coupling of the magnetic field force with the centrifugal force. This coupling results in three pairs of secondary vortices on the cross-section and the heat exchange capacity is significantly enhanced. Within the study, the heat transfer coefficient of the curved tube with a dimensionless curvature of 0.067 for the magnetic field intensity of 1800G increased by 43.51%, and the comprehensive strengthening factor is 1.326, compared to without a magnetic field.

Physical management in algodystrophy syndrome

Aim: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is characterised by chronic pain, swelling, and vasomotor dysfunction. The disorder often gradually leads to muscle dystrophy, bone defects, and decreased limb function. The etiology of this condition has not been fully established. Aim. To analyse the physical therapy in CRPS patients treated at the Division of Physical Medicine of the Department of Rehabilitation in 2012-2022. Materials and Methods: The study involved a group of 58 patients after distal epiphyseal fractures of the forearm and crus. Testing concerned the following: hand or foot skin temperature, hand grip strength, pain intensity, bone radiographs, and psychosomatic profile according to Zung’s scale. Physical therapy included whirlpool massage, lidocaine and calcium iontophoresis, variable low frequency magnetic fields, and kinesiotherapy. Results: After 6-week treatment, we achieved full clinical improvement in 82% of the patients and partial improvement in 18% (these were patients in whom the treatment was introduced at an advanced stage of the disorder). Conclusions: 1. Complex regional pain syndrome is a difficult clinical problem. 2. Early diagnosis and introduction of focused physical therapy allow for full restoration of limb function.

Magnetic Structure Design of Wireless Power Transfer for Free-Rotating UAV With Low Stray Magnetic Fields

Magnetic Structure Design of Wireless Power Transfer for Free-Rotating UAV With Low Stray Magnetic Fields