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Seeking new order parameters and the related broken symmetry and studying their relationship with phase transition have been important topics in condensed matter physics. Here, by using spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we confirm the helical spin texture caused by spin-layer locking in the nodal region in the cuprate superconductor Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ δ and discover the anisotropy of spin polarizations at nodes along Γ – X and Γ – Y directions. The breaking of C 4 rotational symmetry in electronic spin texture may give deeper insights into understanding the ground state of cuprate superconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustaining exotic quantum mechanical phases at high temperatures is a long-standing goal of condensed matter physics. Among them, half-metals are spin-polarized conductors that are essential for realizing room-temperature spin current sources. However, typical half-metals are low-temperature phases whose spin polarization rapidly deteriorates with temperature increase. Here, we first show that a low-temperature insulator with an unequal charge gap for the two spin channels can arise from competing Mott and band insulating tendencies. We establish that thermal fluctuations can drive this insulator to a half-metal through a first-order phase transition by closing the charge gap for one spin channel. This half-metal has 100% spin polarization at the onset temperature of metallization. Further, varying the strength of electron repulsion can enhance the onset temperature while preserving spin polarization. We outline experimental scenarios for realizing this tunable finite temperature half-metal. Maintaining full spin polarization in half-metallic materials with temperature increase has remained a longstanding challenge for engineering room-temperature spintronics applications. Here, the authors theoretically propose a way to achieve half-metallicity with complete spin polarization at high temperatures by tuning thermal fluctuations, electron correlation, and charge transfer effects in a low-temperature Mott insulator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the origin of the enhancement of current-perpendicular-to-plane giant magnetoresistance (CPP-GMR) effect by inserting a thin amorphous CoFeBTa (CFBT) underlayer below a Co 2 (Mn 0.6 Fe 0.4 )Ge (CMFG) Heusler alloy ferromagnetic (FM) layer. Large magnetoresistance ratio of ∼25% and resistance change-area product of ∼7.5 mΩ μm 2 were obtained at room temperature by inserting a CFBT (1.2 nm) underlayer. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope analyses confirmed that the CMFG FM layer deposited on the CFBT underlayer was amorphous in the as-deposited state and crystallized to a B2-ordered polycrystalline film by annealing at 300 °C. The degree of B2 order ( S B2 ) of the CMFG films was estimated by anomalous XRD using x-ray energies around the Co K- absorption edge. S B2 of the CMFG film deposited on the amorphous CFBT (1.2 nm) underlayer was ∼0.76, much larger than that of the CMFG film deposited on a crystalline CoFe underlayer ( S B2 ∼0.47). First-principles calculations indicated that the spin polarization of the sp -conduction electrons in CMFG increases with increasing S B2 , which accounts for the enhanced CPP-GMR effect in the pseudo spin-valve by inserting an amorphous CFBT underlayer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe the principle, the preparation, and the calibration of a spin-polarizing electron mirror in multichannel spin polarimetry. We show data obtained by two independent devices (a goniometer-type LEED set-up and a momentum-microscope set-up) and compare them to the results of a relativistic multiple scattering theory. We also discuss the effects of misalignment and mosaic structure of the crystal. For multi-channel detection we find a 5000-fold increase of efficiency over a single-channel spin-detector. The lifetime of the detector is more than 6 months in ultra-high vacuum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elementary spin excitations (magnons) play a fundamental role in condensed matter physics, since many phenomena e.g. magnetic ordering, electrical (as well as heat) transport properties, ultrafast magnetization processes, and most importantly electron/spin dynamics can only be understood when these quasi-particles are taken into consideration. In addition to their fundamental importance, magnons may also be used for information processing in modern spintronics. Here the concept of spin excitations in ultrathin itinerant magnets is discussed and reviewed. Starting with a historical introduction, different classes of magnons are introduced. Different theoretical treatments of spin excitations in solids are outlined. Interaction of spin-polarized electrons with a magnetic surface is discussed. It is shown that, based on the quantum mechanical conservation rules, a magnon can only be excited when a minority electron is injected into the system. While the magnon creation process is forbidden by majority electrons, the magnon annihilation process is allowed instead. These fundamental quantum mechanical selection rules, together with the strong interaction of electrons with matter, make the spin-polarized electron spectroscopies as appropriate tools to excite and probe the elementary spin excitations in low-dimensional magnets e.g ultrathin films and nanostructures. The focus is put on the experimental results obtained by spin-polarized electron energy loss spectroscopy and spin-polarized inelastic tunneling spectroscopy. The magnon dispersion relation, lifetime, group and phase velocity measured using these approaches in various ultrathin magnets are discussed in detail. The differences and similarities with respect to the bulk excitations are addressed. The role of the temperature, atomic structure, number of atomic layers, lattice strain, electronic complexes and hybridization at the interfaces are outlined. A possibility of simultaneous probing of magnons and phonons in complex low-dimensional ferromagnetic oxide nanostructures is discussed. The influence of the relativistic spin–orbit coupling on high-energy magnons is addressed. It is shown how the spin–orbit coupling breaks the energy degeneracy of the magnons excited in an ultrathin ferromagnet, and how it influences their lifetime, amplitude, group and phase velocity. A potential application of these new effects in modern spintronics is outlined. It is illustrated how one can take advantage of collective nature of magnons and use these quasi-particles for probing the magnetic exchange interaction at buried interfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The molecular compound K6 [V15IVAs6IIIO42(H2O)] .8H2O , in short V15, has shown important quantum effects such as coherent spin oscillations. The details of the spin quantum dynamics depend on the exact form of the spin Hamiltonian. In this study, we present a precise analysis of the intramolecular interactions in V15. To that purpose, we performed high-field electron spin resonance measurements at 120 GHz and extracted the resonance fields as a function of crystal orientation and temperature. The data are compared against simulations using exact diagonalization to obtain the parameters of the molecular spin Hamiltonian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding phase transitions in quantum matters constitutes a significant part of present day condensed matter physics. Quantum phase transitions concern ground state properties of many-body systems, and hence their signatures are expected to be pronounced in low-energy states. Here we report signature of a quantum critical point manifested in strongly out-of-equilibrium states with finite energy density with respect to the ground state and extensive (subsystem) entanglement entropy, generated by an external pulse. These non-equilibrium states are evidently completely disordered (e.g., paramagnetic in case of a magnetic ordering transition). The pulse is applied by switching a coupling of the Hamiltonian from an initial value (λI) to a final value (λF) for sufficiently long time and back again. The signature appears as non-analyticities (kinks) in the energy absorbed by the system from the pulse as a function of λF at critical-points (i.e., at values of λF corresponding to static critical-points of the system). As one excites higher and higher eigenstates of the final Hamiltonian H(λF) by increasing the pulse height , the non-analyticity grows stronger monotonically with it. This implies adding contributions from higher eigenstates help magnifying the non-analyticity, indicating strong imprint of the critical-point on them. Our findings are grounded on exact analytical results derived for Ising and XY chains in transverse field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]