CrAs is a well-known helimagnet with the double-helix structure originating from the competition between the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) and antiferromagnetic exchange interaction $J$. By resonant soft X-ray scattering (RSXS), we observe
the magnetic peak (0~0~$q_m$) that emerges at the helical transition with $T_S$ $approx$ 267.5 K. Intriguingly, the helimagnetic domains significantly shrink on cooling below $sim$255 K, opposite to the conventional thermal effect. The weakening of DMI on cooling is found to play a critical role here. It causes the helical wave vector to vary, ordered spins to rotate, and extra helimagnetic domain boundaries to form at local defects, thus leading to the anomalous shrinkage of helimagnetic domains. Our results indicate that the size of magnetic helical domains can be controlled by tuning DMI in certain helimagnets.
We present a structural and magnetic study on two batches of polycrystalline LiNi$_{0.8}$Mn$_{0.1}$Co$_{0.1}$O$_2$ (commonly known as Li NMC 811), a Ni-rich Li ion battery cathode material, using elemental analysis, X-ray and neutron diffraction, mag
netometry, and polarised neutron scattering measurements. We find that the samples, labelled S1 and S2, have the composition Li$_{1-x}$Ni$_{0.9+x-y}$Mn$_y$Co$_{0.1}$O$_2$, with $x = 0.025(2)$, $y = 0.120(2)$ for S1 and $x = 0.002(2)$, $y = 0.094(2)$ for S2, corresponding to different concentrations of magnetic ions and excess Ni$^{2+}$ in the Li$^+$layers. Both samples show a peak in the zero-field cooled (ZFC) dc susceptibility at 8.0(2) K but the temperature at which the ZFC and FC (field-cooled) curves deviate is substantially different: 64(2) K for S1 and 122(2) K for S2. Ac susceptibility measurements show that the transition for S1 shifts with frequency whereas no such shift is observed for S2 within the resolution of our measurements. Our results demonstrate the sample dependence of magnetic properties in Li NMC 811, consistent with previous reports on the parent material LiNiO$_2$. We further establish that a combination of experimental techniques are necessary to accurately determine the chemical composition of next generation battery materials with multiple cations.
Solar chromosphere and coronal heating is a big question for astrophysics. Daily measurement of 985 solar spectral irradiances (SSIs) at the spectral intervals 1-39 nm and 116-2416 nm during March 1 2003 to October 28 2017 is utilized to investigate
phase relation respectively with daily sunspot number, the Mount Wilson Sunspot Index, and the Magnetic Plage Strength Index. All SSIs which form in the whole heated region: the upper photosphere, chromosphere, transition region, and corona are found to be significantly more correlated to weak magnetic activity than to strong magnetic activity, and to dance in step with weak magnetic activity. All SSIs which form in the low photosphere (the unheated region), which indicate the energy leaked from the solar subsurface are found to be more related to strong magnetic activity instead and in anti-phase with weak magnetic activity. In the upper photosphere and chromosphere, strong magnetic activity should lead SSI by about a solar rotation, also displaying that weak magnetic activity should take effect on heating there. It is thus small-scale weak magnetic activity that effectively heats the upper solar atmosphere.
Andreev reflection spectroscopy with unpolarized and highly spin-polarized currents has been utilized to study an intermetallic single-crystal superconductor NiBi3. Magnetoresistance at zero bias voltage of point contacts shows the occurrence and sup
pression of Andreev reflection by unpolarized and polarized current, respectively. The gap value, its symmetry and temperature dependence have been determined using an unpolarized current. The spin state in the NiBi3 sample is determined to be antiparallel using a highly spin-polarized current. The gap value 2Delta/kBT, gap symmetry and its temperature dependence, combined with the antiparallel spin state show that the bulk NiBi3 is a singlet s-wave superconductor.
Solar photospheric magnetic field plays a dominant role in the variability of total solar irradiance (TSI). The modulation of magnetic flux at six specific ranges on TSI is characterized for the first time. The daily flux values of magnetic field at
four ranges are extracted from MDI/{sl SOHO}, together with daily flux of active regions (MF$_{text{ar}}$) and quiet regions (MF$_{text{qr}}$); the first four ranges (MF$_{1-4}$) are: 1.5--2.9, 2.9--32.0, 32.0--42.7, and 42.7--380.1 ($times 10^{18}$ Mx per element), respectively. Cross-correlograms show that MF$_4$, MF$_{text{qr}}$, and MF$_{text{ar}}$ are positively correlated with TSI, while MF$_2$ is negatively correlated with TSI; the correlations between MF$_1$, MF$_3$ and TSI are insignificant. The bootstrapping tests confirm that the impact of MF$_4$ on TSI is more significant than that of MF$_{text{ar}}$ and MF$_{text{qr}}$, and MF$_{text{ar}}$ leads TSI by one rotational period. By extracting the rotational variations in the MFs and TSI, the modulations of the former on the latter at the solar rotational timescale are clearly illustrated and compared during solar maximum and minimum times, respectively. Comparison of the relative amplitudes of the long-term variation show that TSI is in good agreement with the variation of MF$_4$ and MF$_{text{ar}}$; besides, MF$_2$ is in antiphase with TSI, and it lags the latter by about 1.5 years.
Current sheet is believed to be the region of energy dissipation via magnetic reconnection in solar flares. However, its properties, for example, the dynamic process, have not been fully understood. Here we report a current sheet in a solar flare (SO
L2017-09-10T16:06) that was clearly observed by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory as well as the EUV Imaging Spectrometer on Hinode. The high-resolution imaging and spectroscopic observations show that the current sheet is mainly visible in high temperature (>10 MK) passbands, particularly in the Fe XXIV 192.03 line with a formation temperature of ~18 MK. The hot Fe XXIV 192.03 line exhibits very large nonthermal velocities up to 200 km/s in the current sheet, suggesting that turbulent motions exist there. The largest turbulent velocity occurs at the edge of the current sheet, with some offset with the strongest line intensity. At the central part of the current sheet, the turbulent velocity is negatively correlated with the line intensity. From the line emission and turbulent features we obtain a thickness in the range of 7--11 Mm for the current sheet. These results suggest that the current sheet has internal fine and dynamic structures that may help the magnetic reconnection within it proceeds efficiently.
The two-dimensional electron gas occurring between the band insulators SrTiO$_3$ and LaAlO$_3$ continues to attract considerable interest, due to the possibility of dynamic control over the carrier density, and the ensuing phenomena such as magnetism
and superconductivity. The formation of this conducting interface is sensitive to the growth conditions, but despite numerous investigations, there are still questions about the details of the physics involved. In particular, not much is known about the electronic structure of the growing LaAlO$_3$ layer at the growth temperature (around 800 $^o$C) in oxygen (pressure around $5times 10^{-5}$ mbar), since analysis techniques at these conditions are not readily available. We developed a pulsed laser deposition system inside a low-energy electron microscope in order to study this issue. The setup allows for layer-by-layer growth control and in-situ measurements of the angle-dependent electron reflection intensity, which can be used as a fingerprint of the electronic structure of the surface layers during growth. By using different substrate terminations and growth conditions we observe two families of reflectivity maps, which we can connect either to samples with an AlO$_2$-rich surface and a conducting interface; or to samples with a LaO-rich surface and an insulating interface. Our observations emphasize that substrate termination and stoichiometry determine the electronic structure of the growing layer, and thereby the conductance of the interface.
We investigate the probability distribution of order imbalance calculated from the order flow data of 43 Chinese stocks traded on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Two definitions of order imbalance are considered based on the order number and the order s
ize. We find that the order imbalance distributions of individual stocks have power-law tails. However, the tail index fluctuates remarkably from stock to stock. We also investigate the distributions of aggregated order imbalance of all stocks at different timescales $Delta{t}$. We find no clear trend in the tail index with respect $Delta{t}$. All the analyses suggest that the distributions of order imbalance are asymmetric.
In 1976 Larkin and Ovchinnikov [Sov. Phys. JETP 41, 960 (1976)] predicted that vortex matter in superconductors driven by an electrical current can undergo an abrupt dynamic transition from a flux-flow regime to a more dissipative state at sufficient
ly high vortex velocities. Typically this transition manifests itself as a large voltage jump at a particular current density, so-called instability current density $J^*$, which is smaller than the depairing current. By tuning the effective pinning strength in Al films, using an artificial periodic pinning array of triangular holes, we show that a unique and well defined instability current density exists if the pinning is strong, whereas a series of multiple voltage transitions appear in the relatively weaker pinning regime. This behavior is consistent with time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau simulations, where the multiple-step transition can be unambiguously attributed to the progressive development of vortex chains and subsequently phase-slip lines. In addition, we explore experimentally the magnetic braking effects, caused by a thick Cu layer deposited on top of the superconductor, on the instabilities and the vortex ratchet effect
A two-state epidemic model in networks with links mimicking two kinds of relationships between connected nodes is introduced. Links of weights w1 and w0 occur with probabilities p and 1-p, respectively. The fraction of infected nodes rho(p) shows a n
on-monotonic behavior, with rho drops with p for small p and increases for large p. For small to moderate w1/w0 ratios, rho(p) exhibits a minimum that signifies an optimal suppression. For large w1/w0 ratios, the suppression leads to an absorbing phase consisting only of healthy nodes within a range p_L =< p =< p_R, and an active phase with mixed infected and healthy nodes for p < p_L and p>p_R. A mean field theory that ignores spatial correlation is shown to give qualitative agreement and capture all the key features. A physical picture that emphasizes the intricate interplay between infections via w0 links and within clusters formed by nodes carrying the w1 links is presented. The absorbing state at large w1/w0 ratios results when the clusters are big enough to disrupt the spread via w0 links and yet small enough to avoid an epidemic within the clusters. A theory that uses the possible local environments of a node as variables is formulated. The theory gives results in good agreement with simulation results, thereby showing the necessity of including longer spatial correlations.
