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Seeing is believing: visualization of antiferromagnetic domains
Abstract Understanding and utilizing novel antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials has been recently one of the central issues in condensed matter physics, as well as in materials science and engineering. The relevant contemporary topics include multiferroicity, topological magnetism and AFM spintronics. The ability to image magnetic domains in AFM materials is of key importance for the success of these exciting fields. While imaging techniques of magnetic domains on the surfaces of ferro-(ferri)magnetic materials with, for example, magneto-optical Kerr microscopy and magnetic force microscopy have been available for a number of decades, AFM domain imaging is a relatively new development. We review various experimental techniques utilizing scanning, optical, and synchrotron X-ray probes to visualize AFM domains and domain walls, and to unveil their physical properties. We also discuss the existing challenges and opportunities in these techniques, especially with further increase of spatial and temporal resolution.
Excitons in van der Waals magnetic materials
Two-dimensional magnetic semiconductors provide a unique platform where long-range magnetic order coexists with strongly bound excitons. Because excitonic states and magnetic moments originate from the same electronic orbitals and couple via intrinsic exchange interactions, optical excitations in these systems exhibit pronounced sensitivity to magnetic order. Recent experiments show unusually strong magneto-optical responses and direct exciton–magnon coupling, establishing new routes for controlling light–matter interactions with spin degrees of freedom. Here, this Review surveys key developments, focusing on representative material systems, experimental signatures, and theoretical frameworks used to describe these phenomena. We conclude with perspectives on how this rapidly evolving field could enable next-generation optoelectronic and quantum technologies leveraging the coupled dynamics of light, charge and spin.
ZnO–ferromagnetic metal vertically aligned nanocomposite thin films for magnetic, optical and acoustic metamaterials
Magnetoacoustic waves generated in piezoelectric and ferromagnetic coupled nanocomposite films through magnetically driven surface acoustic waves present great promise of loss-less data transmissions.
An overview of the facilities, activities, and developments at the University of North Texas Ion Beam Modification and Analysis Laboratory (IBMAL)
The Ion Beam Modification and Analysis Laboratory (IBMAL) at the University of North Texas includes several accelerator facilities with capabilities of producing a variety of ion beams from tens of keV to several MeV in energy. The four accelerators are used for research, graduate and undergraduate education, and industrial applications. The NEC 3MV Pelletron tandem accelerator has three ion sources for negative ions: He Alphatross and two different SNICS-type sputter ion sources. Presently, the tandem accelerator has four high-energy beam transport lines and one low-energy beam transport line directly taken from the negative ion sources for different research experiments. For the low-energy beam line, the ion energy can be varied from {approx}20 to 80 keV for ion implantation/modification of materials. The four post-acceleration beam lines include a heavy-ion nuclear microprobe; multi-purpose PIXE, RBS, ERD, NRA, and broad-beam single-event upset; high-energy ion implantation line; and trace-element accelerator mass spectrometry. The NEC 3MV single-ended Pelletron accelerator has an RF ion source mainly for hydrogen, helium and heavier inert gases. We recently installed a capacitive liner to the terminal potential stabilization system for high terminal voltage stability and high-resolution microprobe analysis. The accelerator serves a beam line for standard RBS and RBS/C. Another beamline for high energy focused ion beam application using a magnetic quadrupole lens system is currently under construction. This beam line will also serve for developmental work on an electrostatic lens system. The third accelerator is a 200 kV Cockcroft-Walton accelerator with an RF ion source. The fourth accelerator is a 2.5 MV Van de Graaff accelerator, which was in operation for last several decades is currently planned to be used mainly for educational purpose. Research projects that will be briefly discussed include materials synthesis/modification for photonic, electronic, and magnetic applications, surface sputtering and micro-fabrication of materials, development of high-energy ion microprobe systems, and educational and outreach activities.
The mechanism of chemisorption of hydrogen atom on graphene: Insights from the reaction force and reaction electronic flux
At the PBE-D3/cc-pVDZ level of theory, the hydrogen chemisorption on graphene was analyzed using the reaction force and reaction electronic flux (REF) theories in combination with electron population analysis. It was found that chemisorption energy barrier is mainly dominated by structural work (∼73%) associated to the substrate reconstruction whereas the electronic work is the greatest contribution of the reverse energy barrier (∼67%) in the desorption process. Moreover, REF shows that hydrogen chemisorption is driven by charge transfer processes through four electronic events taking place as H approaches the adsorbent surface: (a) intramolecular charge transfer in the adsorbent surface; (b) surface reconstruction; (c) substrate magnetization and adsorbent carbon atom develops a sp{sup 3} hybridization to form the σC-H bond; and (d) spontaneous intermolecular charge transfer to reach the final chemisorbed state.
Quantum size effects in layered VX{sub 2} (X = S, Se) materials: Manifestation of metal to semimetal or semiconductor transition
Most of the two dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDC) are nonmagnetic in pristine form. However, 2D pristine VX{sub 2} (X = S, Se, Te) materials are found to be ferromagnetic. Using spin polarized density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we have studied the electronic, magnetic, and surface properties of this class of materials in both trigonal prismatic H- and octahedral T-phase. Our calculations reveal that they exhibit materially different properties in those two polymorphs. Most importantly, detailed investigation of electronic structure explored the quantum size effect in H-phase of these materials thereby leading to metal to semimetal (H-VS{sub 2}) or semiconductor (H-VSe{sub 2}) transition when downsizing from bilayer to corresponding monolayer.
HSX as an example of a resilient non-resonant divertor
This study describes an initial description of the resilient divertor properties of quasi-symmetric (QS) stellarators using the HSX (Helically Symmetric eXperiment) configuration as a test-case. Divertors in high-performance QS stellarators will need to be resilient to changes in plasma configuration that arise due to evolution of plasma pressure profiles and bootstrap currents for divertor design. Resiliency is tested by examining the changes in strike point patterns from the field line following, which arise due to configurational changes. A low strike point variation with high configuration changes corresponds to high resiliency. The HSX edge displays resilient properties with configuration changes arising from the (1) wall position, (2) plasma current, and (3) external coils. The resilient behavior is lost if large edge islands intersect the wall structure. The resilient edge properties are corroborated by heat flux calculations from the fully 3-D plasma simulations using EMC3-EIRENE. Additionally, the strike point patterns are found to correspond to high curvature regions of magnetic flux surfaces.
Enhanced room-temperature spin Seebeck effect in a YIG/C 60 /Pt layered heterostructure
We report on large enhancement of the longitudinal spin Seebeck effect (LSSE) in the Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 (YIG)/Pt system at room temperature due to the addition of a thin layer of organic semiconductor (C 60 ) in between the YIG and the Pt. LSSE measurements show that the LSSE voltage increases significantly, from the initial value of 150 nV for the YIG/Pt structure to 240 nV for the YIG/C 60 (5nm)/Pt structure. Radio-frequency transverse susceptibility experiments reveal a significant decrease in the surface perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) of the YIG film when C 60 is deposited on it. These results suggest that the LSSE enhancement may be attributed to increased spin mixing conductance, the decreased PMA, and the large spin diffusion length of C 60 .
A fast low-to-high confinement mode bifurcation dynamics in the boundary-plasma gyrokinetic code XGC1
Here, a fast edge turbulence suppression event has been simulated in the electrostatic version of the gyrokinetic particle-in-cell code XGC1 in a realistic diverted tokamak edge geometry under neutral particle recycling. The results show that the sequence of turbulent Reynolds stress followed by neoclassical ion orbit-loss driven together conspire to form the sustaining radial electric field shear and to quench turbulent transport just inside the last closed magnetic flux surface. As a result, the main suppression action is located in a thin radial layer around ψ N ≃0.96–0.98, where ψ N is the normalized poloidal flux, with the time scale ~0.1 ms.
X-point ion orbit physics in scrape-off layer and generation of a localized electrostatic potential perturbation around X-point
It has been well-known that the logarithmically vanishing poloidal magnetic field strength Bθ near the magnetic X-point in a tokamak plasma yields the so-called ion X-loss or X-transport of ions when the ion temperature is high enough [C.S. Chang et al., Phys. Plasmas 9, 3884 (2002)], which has a notable impact on the physics just inside the magnetic separatrix surface; e.g., most prominently, to force a well-structure in the global negative radial electric field hence a pressure pedestal buildup. In this brief communication, we show that a similar effect exists in the scrape-off (SOL) layer near the X-point that can create a localized electrostatic potential structure around the X-point and have a significant impact on the near-SOL physics in the case when the ion dynamics are not collision-dominated.
Faraday-effect polarimetry for current profile measurement in the tokamak plasma edge
Toroidal current profile measurements in the tokamak plasma edge are critical for fusion plasma physics research and model validation. A three-wave Faraday-effect polarimeter-interferometer with a sub-centimeter spatial resolution is proposed on the DIII-D tokamak to determine the edge current profile via Abel inversion. By using probe beams with 316 µm wavelength, a low-field-side, vertical-view, single-pass optical layout covering the plasma edge region (R = 2.15–2.27 m) is assessed. Measurements with no greater than 0.1° polarimetric systematic uncertainty, no greater than 0.01° polarimetric root-mean-square noise (1 kHz bandwidth), and a 0.8 cm radial chord spacing are considered feasible based on the achieved performance of existing systems using similar wavelengths on fusion devices. Furthermore, synthetic diagnostic calculations taking various factors into account, such as diagnostic uncertainty and quality of magnetic flux surfaces, find that the edge current profile can be determined with up to 0.12 MA/m 2 uncertainty, or about 10% of the peak current density in the pedestal of an investigated high-confinement plasma.
A near X-point charge exchange neutral spectroscopy (CENS) system for DIII-D
A 16 channel spectroscopy system has been installed on DIII-D to provide information about the energy distribution of the atomic neutrals using the Doppler shift and broadening of passive Balmer-α emission. Here, the lines of sight are dominantly in the toroidal direction, with tangencies near the lowest point on closed magnetic flux surfaces moving from the lower divertor upward into the confined plasma. This allows the system to provide details of the neutrals as they undergo various atomic physics processes while traveling upward from the lower divertor. The spectrally resolved measurements provide several advantages that complement typical optical filter based measurements of hydrogenic spectral lines. These include more direct measurements of the neutrals that fuel deeper in the plasma and capturing neutral velocity distribution information via the Doppler broadened and shifted line. In addition, the spectral separation of higher energy “thermal” neutrals and bright cold emission from the scrape-off layer allows for a more straightforward calculation of the underlying neutral densities based on the emission because of the dependence of the thermal emission on confined plasma properties that are approximately flux functions and well measured.
Thermally frustrated phase transition at high pressure in B 2-ordered FeV
X-ray diffraction measurements of equiatomic B2-ordered FeV were performed in a diamond-anvil cell at room temperature at several pressure points up to 80 GPa that showed the cubic phase to be stable with no indication of structural phase transitions. Density functional theory at 0 K predicts Fermi surface nesting, an electronic topological transition, and a phonon dynamical instability within the experimentally investigated pressure range. Nevertheless, the instability is absent in phonon dispersion curves extracted from ab initio molecular dynamics simulations below the critical volume at temperatures as low as 10 K, indicating that thermal atomic displacements can frustrate the phase transition by renormalizing the phonon dispersion curves. Ferrimagnetism is critical for the stability of the cubic phase at low temperature, but thermal atomic displacements are enough to support the structure at and above the Néel temperature.
Pedestal and edge electrostatic turbulence characteristics from an XGC1 gyrokinetic simulation
Understanding the multi-scale neoclassical and turbulence physics in the edge region (pedestal + scrape-off layer (SOL)) is required in order to reliably predict performance in future fusion devices. We explore turbulent characteristics in the edge region from a multi-scale neoclassical and turbulent XGC1 gyrokinetic simulation in a DIII-D like tokamak geometry, here excluding neutrals and collisions. For an H-mode type plasma with steep pedestal, it is found that the electron density fluctuations increase towards the separatrix, and stay high well into the SOL, reaching a maximum value of $\delta {n}_{e}/{\bar{n}}_{e}\sim 0.18$. Blobs are observed, born around the magnetic separatrix surface and propagate radially outward with velocities generally less than 1 km s –1 . Strong poloidal motion of the blobs is also present, near 20 km s –1 , consistent with E × B rotation. The electron density fluctuations show a negative skewness in the closed field-line pedestal region, consistent with the presence of 'holes', followed by a transition to strong positive skewness across the separatrix and into the SOL. These simulations indicate that not only neoclassical phenomena, but also turbulence, including the blob-generation mechanism, can remain important in the steep H-mode pedestal and SOL. Lastly, qualitative comparisons will be made to experimental observations.
Elimination of MHD current sheets by modifications to the plasma wall in a fixed boundary model
Models of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equilibia that for computational convenience assume the existence of a system of nested magnetic flux surfaces tend to exhibit singular current sheets. These sheets are located on resonant flux surfaces that are associated with rational values of the rotational transform. We study the possibility of eliminating these singularities by suitable modifications of the plasma boundary, which we prescribe in a fixed boundary setting. We find that relatively straightforward iterative procedures can be used to eliminate weak current sheets that are generated at resonant flux surfaces by the nonlinear interactions of resonating wall harmonics. These types of procedures may prove useful in the design of fusion devices with configurations that enjoy improved stability and transport properties.
An improved current potential method for fast computation of stellarator coil shapes
Several fast methods for computing stellarator coil shapes are compared, including the classical NESCOIL procedure, its generalization using truncated singular value decomposition, and a Tikhonov regularization approach we call REGCOIL in which the squared current density is included in the objective function. Considering W7-X and NCSX geometries, and for any desired level of regularization, we find the REGCOIL approach simultaneously achieves lower surface-averaged and maximum values of both current density (on the coil winding surface) and normal magnetic field (on the desired plasma surface). This approach therefore can simultaneously improve the free-boundary reconstruction of the target plasma shape while substantially increasing the minimum distances between coils, preventing collisions between coils while improving access for ports and maintenance. The REGCOIL method also allows finer control over the level of regularization, it preserves convexity to ensure the local optimum found is the global optimum, and it eliminates two pathologies of NESCOIL: the resulting coil shapes become independent of the arbitrary choice of angles used to parameterize the coil surface, and the resulting coil shapes converge rather than diverge as Fourier resolution is increased. We therefore contend that REGCOIL should be used instead of NESCOIL for applications in which a fast and robust method for coil calculation is needed, such as when targeting coil complexity in fixed-boundary plasma optimization, or for scoping new stellarator geometries.
Performance assessment of long-legged tightly-baffled divertor geometries in the ARC reactor concept
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