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The effects of sintering temperature (Ts) and chemical substitution on the structural and magnetic properties of manganite compounds La1-xSrxMn1-yFeyO3 (0.025 <= x <= 0.7; y= 0.01,0.15) are explored in a search to optimize their magnetocaloric properties around room temperature. A ferromagnetic (FM) to paramagnetic (PM) phase transition is observed at a Curie temperature Tc that can be controlled to approach room temperature by Sr and Fe substitution, but also by adjusting the sintering temperature Ts. Accordingly, the magnetic entropy change (-DSM) quantifying the magnetocaloric effect (MCE) presents a peak at or close to Tc that shifts and broadens with both Sr and Fe doping and is further tuned with sintering temperature. Altogether, we show that it is possible to adjust the strength and dominance of the ferromagnetic coupling in these ceramics, but also using disorder as a tool to broaden and adjust the temperature range with significant magnetic entropy change., Comment: 61 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables. Supp. mat. : 3 figures, 1 table. Submitted to J. Magn. Magn. Mater

In this paper, we report on the magnetic and magnetocaloric features of Dy-substituted YMn$_2$O$_5$ (Y$_{1-x}$Dy$_x$Mn$_2$O$_5$) with $x=$ 0.6, 0.8, and 1 series elaborated by sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction and Raman measurements attest well the high quality of our polycrystalline samples that crystallize in an orthorhombic structure with the Pbam space group. The Raman phonon frequencies were carried out and compared with the lattice dynamics calculations to identify the vibrational properties of all detected modes at room temperature. As expected, our magnetic study reveals that the magnetization was enhanced by the substitution of Y$^{3+}$ by Dy$^{3+}$. The Dy-substituted YMn$_2$O$_5$ sets the N\'eel transition [TN (Mn)] in the temperature range going from 40 to 45 K favoring the emergence of a transition at a very low temperature due to the long-range ordering of the Dy3+ magnetic moments below 13K [TN (Dy)]. Dual peaks in the magnetic entropy change curve are also observed being in good agreement with magnetization data, which enlarges the range of application of these materials. On the other hand, a large magnetocaloric effect is observed close to 13 K which is mainly due the ordering of Dy$^{3+}$ magnetic moments. Also, the incommensurate antiferromagnetic transition of Mn magnetic moment taking place around 40 K affects slightly the entropy change. Our refrigerant capacity (RC) findings are higher compared to the average of RC for a, b, c axis of single crystal samples as HoMn$_2$O$_5$ and TbMn$_2$O$_5$, which confirms that our polycrystalline materials stand for promising magnetic refrigerant candidates that can be invested in space technology, hydrogen and helium liquefaction at cryogenic temperature.

We investigate spin-dependent conductance across a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) including a ferromagnetic insulating barrier. The MTJ consists of two half-metallic ferromagnetic La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 (LSMO) manganites as electrodes and La2NiMnO6 (LNMO) double perovskite as a ferromagnetic insulating barrier. The resistance of the junction is strongly dependent not only on the orientation of the magnetic moments in LSMO electrodes, but also on the direction of the magnetization of the LNMO barrier with respect to that of LSMO. The ratio of tunnel magnetoresistance reaches a maximum value of 24% at 10 K, and it decreases with temperature until it completely disappears above the critical temperature of LNMO at 280 K. The tunneling process is described using a mechanism which involves both empty and filled eg states of the LNMO barrier acting as a spin-filter. A magnetic insulating barrier is an interesting path for achieving room temperature magnetoresistance in oxide-based heterostructures.

We consider a variant of the $k$-center clustering problem in $\Re^d$, where the centers can be divided into two subsets, one, the red centers of size $p$, and the other, the blue centers of size $q$, where $p+q=k$, and such that each red center and each blue center must be apart a distance of at least some given $\alpha \geq 0$, with the aim of minimizing the covering radius. We provide a bi-criteria approximation algorithm for the problem and a polynomial time algorithm for the constrained problem where all centers must lie on a given line $\ell$., Comment: 12 pages. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2107.07914

In previous studies, we have reported that double perovskite La2NiMnO6 presents a non-negligible potential for room temperature magnetocaloric tasks. With the aim of improving even further the cooling performances and the working temperature range of double perovskites, we report the magnetic and magnetocaloric properties of La2MnFeO6 and ALaMnFeO6 (A = Sr, Ba, Ca) compounds. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Rietveld refinement show that La2MnFeO6 (LMFO) and CaLaMnFeO6 (CLMFO) samples crystallize in an orthorhombic structure with the Pnma space group. However, a rhombohedral structure with the R3C space group is obtained for BaLaMnFeO6 (BLMFO) and SrLaMnFeO6 (SLMFO) samples. Substituting La by Ba or Sr in LMFO leads to a clear increase of the Curie temperature (Tc) compared to LMFO from 150 K for BLMFO up to 350 K for SLMFO. Moreover, CLMFO shows the smallest Tc down to 70 K. Ferromagnetic-like behavior is observed for SLMFO and BLMFO while CLMFO's magnetism resembles that of LMFO. A clear connection between the structural parameters and the magnetic properties of these doped LMFO samples is unveiled as the highest Tc and the largest magnetization are observed for SLMFO which shows also bond angles closest to 180{\deg} and the smallest bond lengths, thus optimizing the superexchange interaction. The partial substitution of Sr for La leads in fact to a significant magnetocaloric effect over a wide operating temperature range extending beyond 300 K. For some optimal growth conditions, its entropy change varies slowly over an unusually large temperature range, which is of clear interest from a practical point of view., Comment: 35 pages including Supplemental materials, 17 figures. New version with additional data and extended analysis

The search for room-temperature magnetocaloric materials for refrigeration has led to investigations of double perovskites. In particular, a puzzle has appeared in the La$_2$MnNiO$_6$, La$_2$MnCoO$_6$ and La$_2$MnFeO$_6$ family of compounds. They share the same crystal structure, but while La$_2$MnNiO$_6$ and La$_2$MnCoO$_6$ are ferromagnets below room temperature, La$_2$MnFeO$_6$, contrary to simple expectations, is a ferrimagnet. To solve this puzzle, we use density-functional theory calculations to investigate the electronic structure and magnetic exchange interactions of the ordered double perovskites. Our study reveals the critical role played by local electron-electron interaction in the Fe-$d$ orbital to promote the Fe$^{3+}$ valence state with half-filled $d$-shell over Fe$^{2+}$ and to establish a ferrimagnetic ground state for La$_2$MnFeO$_6$. The importance of Hund's coupling and Jahn-Teller distortion on the Mn$^{4+}$ ion is also pointed out. Exchange constants are extracted by comparing different magnetically ordered states. Mean-field and classical Monte-Carlo calculations on the resulting model give trends in $T_C$ that are in agreement with experiments on this family of materials., Comment: accepted in Physics. Rev. B

Quasi-stationary states of the quantum system in the driving resonant field are considered without rotating wave approximation. Conditions under which the spontaneous emission could be suppressed in this system are investigated in the special case when the frequency of the driving field is essentially less than the frequency of spontaneous emission. It is shown that the characteristic parameters of the effect are substantially changed in comparison with the results corresponding to RWA. The real physical system for which the considered effects could be observed is described., Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures