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Abstract:

An ultrafast electronic phase transition, associated with melting of orbital order, is driven in La1/2Sr3/2MnO4 by selectively exciting the Mn-O stretching mode with femtosecond pulses at 16 microm wavelength. The energy coupled into this vibration is less than 1% of that necessary to induce the transition thermally. Nonthermal melting of this electronic phase originates from coherent lattice displacements comparable to the static Jahn-Teller distortion.

Abstract:

Soft x-ray resonant scattering (XRS) has been used to observe directly, for the first time, the ordering of localized electronic states on both the Mn and the Tb sites in multiferroic TbMnO3. Large resonant enhancements of the x-ray scattering cross-section were observed when the incident photon energy was tuned to either the Mn L or Tb M edges which provide information on the Mn 3d and Tb 4f electronic states, respectively. The temperature dependence of the XRS signal establishes, in a model independent way, that in the high-temperature phase (28 K≤T≤42 K) the Mn 3d sublattice displays long-range order. The Tb 4f sublattices are found to order only on entering the combined ferroelectric/magnetic state below 28 K. Our results are discussed with respect to recent hard XRS experiments (sensitive to spatially extended orbitals) and neutron scattering. © 2008 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Abstract:

Ultra-small superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIOs) were synthesized by co-precipitation of iron chloride salts with ammonia and then encapsulated with thin (~2nm) layers of silica. The particles have been characterized for size, diffraction pattern, surface charge, and magnetic properties. This rapid and economical synthesis has a number of industrial applications; however, the silica-coated particles have been optimized for use in medical applications as MR contrast agents, biosensors, DNA capturing, bioseparation and enzyme immobilization.

Abstract:

We have investigated charge dynamics in the static stripe ordered phase of La2-x Srx Ni O4+δ at lattice temperatures below the charge ordering transition, via optical conductivity measurements at low energies (1-10 meV). The thermally activated dynamic response of the charge stripes is found to be characteristic of a collective mode such as a pinned charge density wave. At incommensurate doping levels, the pinning energy is reduced, owing to the presence of real-space defects in the stripe order, and a pronounced increase in the oscillator strength is seen. The results provide compelling evidence for the existence of low-energy collective modes of the charge stripes. © 2008 The American Physical Society.

Abstract:

An ac photopyroelectric calorimeter has been used to simultaneously measure the specific heat (cp), thermal conductivity (K), and thermal diffusivity (D) around the antiferromagnetic to paramagnetic phase transition in CoO and NiO single crystals. Up to now, no agreement on the critical behavior of both oxides has been obtained. The results for seven samples grown in different laboratories have been compared. We have found that, irrespective of the origin of the samples, the critical exponent and amplitude ratio of cp, D, and K in NiO agree with the predictions of the three-dimensional Heisenberg model for isotropic antiferromagnets, which contradicts previous results. On the other hand, the sharpness of the peak of specific heat and of the dip of thermal diffusivity, together with the value of the critical exponent α in CoO, highly increase as crystal quality improves. For the best sample, a value α=0.81 has been obtained, which is not only higher than previously reported results, but far away from any universality class. © 2008 The American Physical Society.