We study the depinning of domain walls by pure diffusive spin currents in a nonlocal spin valve structure based on two ferromagnetic permalloy elements with copper as the nonmagnetic spin conduit. The injected spin current is absorbed by the second p
ermalloy structure with a domain wall and from the dependence of the wall depinning field on the spin current density we find an efficiency of 6*10^{-14}T/(A/m^2), which is more than an order of magnitude larger than for conventional current induced domain wall motion. Theoretically we reproduce this high efficiency, which arises from the surface torques exerted by the absorbed spin current that lead to efficient depinning.
We present Hall-effect measurements of two-leg ladder compounds Sr_{14-x}Ca_xCu_24O_41 (0 <= x <= 11.5) with the aim to determine the number of carriers participating in dc transport. Distribution of holes between the ladder and chain subsystems is o
ne of the crucial questions important for understanding the physics of these compounds. Our Hall effect and resistivity measurements show typical semiconducting behavior for x < 11.5. However, for x=11.5, the results are completely different, and the Hall coefficient and resistivity behavior is qualitatively similar to that of high temperature copper-oxide superconductors. We have determined the effective number of carriers at room temperature and compared it to the number of holes in the ladders obtained by other experimental techniques. We propose that going from x=0 to x=11.5 less than 1 hole per formula unit is added to the ladders and is responsible for a pronounced change in resistivity with Ca doping.
