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A system that possesses translational symmetry but breaks orientational symmetry is known as a nematic phase. While there are many examples of nematic phases in a wide range of contexts, such as in liquid crystals, complex oxides, and superconductors, of particular interest is the magnetic analogue, where the spin, charge, and orbital degrees of freedom of the electron are intertwined. The difficulty of spin nematics is the unambiguous realization and characterization of the phase. Here we present an entirely new type of magnetic nematic phase, which replaces the basis of individual spins with magnetic helices. The helical basis allows for the direct measurement of the order parameters with soft X-ray scattering and a thorough characterization of the nematic phase and its thermodynamic transitions. We discover two distinct nematic phases with unique spatio-temporal correlation signatures. Using coherent X-ray methods, we find that near the phase boundary between the two nematic phases, fluctuations coexist on the timescale of both seconds and sub-nanoseconds. Additionally, we have determined that the fluctuations occur simultaneously with a reorientation of the magnetic helices, indicating that there is spontaneous symmetry breaking and new degrees of freedom become available. Our results provide a novel framework for characterizing exotic phases and the phenomena presented can be mapped onto a broad class of physical systems.

Geomagnetic activity is often described using summary indices to summarize the likelihood of space weather impacts, as well as when parameterizing space weather models. The geomagnetic index $\text{K}_\text{p}$ in particular, is widely used for these purposes. Current state-of-the-art forecast models provide deterministic $\text{K}_\text{p}$ predictions using a variety of methods -- including empirically-derived functions, physics-based models, and neural networks -- but do not provide uncertainty estimates associated with the forecast. This paper provides a sample methodology to generate a 3-hour-ahead $\text{K}_\text{p}$ prediction with uncertainty bounds and from this provide a probabilistic geomagnetic storm forecast. Specifically, we have used a two-layered architecture to separately predict storm ($\text{K}_\text{p}\geq 5^-$) and non-storm cases. As solar wind-driven models are limited in their ability to predict the onset of transient-driven activity we also introduce a model variant using solar X-ray flux to assess whether simple models including proxies for solar activity can improve the predictions of geomagnetic storm activity with lead times longer than the L1-to-Earth propagation time. By comparing the performance of these models we show that including operationally-available information about solar irradiance enhances the ability of predictive models to capture the onset of geomagnetic storms and that this can be achieved while also enabling probabilistic forecasts., Comment: The article has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate (JSWSC)

Computational analysis has become ubiquitous within the heliophysics community. However, community standards for peer-review of codes and analysis have lagged behind these developments. This absence has contributed to the reproducibility crisis, where inadequate analysis descriptions and loss of scientific data have made scientific studies difficult or impossible to replicate. The heliophysics community has responded to this challenge by expressing a desire for a more open, collaborative set of analysis tools. This article summarizes the current state of these efforts and presents an overview of many of the existing Python heliophysics tools. It also outlines the challenges facing community members who are working towards the goal of an open, collaborative, Python heliophysics toolkit and presents guidelines that can ease the transition from individualistic data analysis practices to an accountable, communalistic environment., Comment: Published in JGR

The antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic phase transition in B2-ordered FeRh is imaged in laterally confined nanopatterned islands using photoemission electron microscopy with x-ray magnetic circular dichroism contrast. The resulting magnetic images directly detail the progression in the shape and size of the FM phase domains during heating and cooling through the transition. In 5 um square islands this domain development during heating is shown to proceed in three distinct modes: nucleation, growth, and merging, each with subsequently greater energy costs. In 0.5 um islands, which are smaller than the typical final domain size, the growth mode is stunted and the transition temperature was found to be reduced by 20 K. The modification to the transition temperature is found by high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy to be due to a 100 nm chemically disordered edge grain present as a result of ion implantation damage during the patterning. FeRh has unique possibilities for magnetic memory applications; the inevitable changes to its magnetic properties due to subtractive nanofabrication will need to be addressed in future work in order to progress from sheet films to suitable patterned devices.

The theory of algebraic extensions of Banach algebras is well established, and there are many constructions which yield interesting extensions. In particular, Cole's method for extending uniform algebras by adding square roots of functions to a given uniform algebra has been used to solve many problems within uniform algebra theory. However, there are numerous other examples in the theory of uniform algebras that can be realised as extensions of a uniform algebra, and these more general extensions have received little attention in the literature. In this paper, we investigate more general classes of uniform algebra extensions. We introduce a new class of extensions of uniform algebras, and show that several important properties of the original uniform algebra are preserved in these extensions. We also show that several well-known examples from the theory of uniform algebras belong to these more general classes of uniform algebra extensions., Comment: 28 pages

Let $X$ be a perfect, compact subset of the complex plane. We consider algebras of those functions on $X$ which satisfy a generalised notion of differentiability, which we call $\mathcal{F}$-differentiability. In particular, we investigate a notion of quasianalyticity under this new notion of differentiability and provide some sufficient conditions for certain algebras to be quasianalytic. We give an application of our results in which we construct an essential, natural uniform algebra $A$ on a locally connected, compact Hausdorff space $X$ such that $A$ admits no non-trivial Jensen measures yet is not regular. This construction improves an example of the first author (2001)., Comment: Submitted, 23 pages

We report on the crossover from the thermal to athermal regime of an artificial spin ice formed from a square array of magnetic islands whose lateral size, 30~nm~$\times$~70~nm, is small enough that they are superparamagnetic at room temperature. We used resonant magnetic soft x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) as a method to observe the time-time correlations of the fluctuating magnetic configurations of spin ice during cooling, which are found to slow abruptly as a freezing temperature $T_0 = 178 \pm 5$~K is approached. This slowing is well-described by a Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann law, implying that the frozen state is glassy, with the freezing temperature being commensurate with the strength of magnetostatic interaction energies in the array. The activation temperature, $T_\mathrm{A} = 40 \pm 10$~K, is much less than that expected from a Stoner-Wohlfarth coherent rotation model. Zero-field-cooled/field-cooled magnetometry reveals a freeing up of fluctuations of states within islands above this temperature, caused by variation in the local anisotropy axes at the oxidised edges. This Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann behavior implies that the system enters a glassy state on freezing, which is unexpected for a system with a well-defined ground state.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has recently opened a shallow underground laboratory intended for measurement of low-concentration levels of radioactive isotopes in samples collected from the environment. The development of a low-background liquid scintillation counter is currently underway to further augment the measurement capabilities within this underground laboratory. Liquid scintillation counting is especially useful for measuring charged particle (e.g., $\beta$, $\alpha$) emitting isotopes with no (or very weak) gamma-ray yields. The combination of high-efficiency detection of charged particle emission in a liquid scintillation cocktail coupled with the low-background environment of an appropriately-designed shield located in a clean underground laboratory provides the opportunity for increased-sensitivity measurements of a range of isotopes. To take advantage of the 35 meters-water-equivalent overburden of the underground laboratory, a series of simulations have evaluated the scintillation counter's shield design requirements to assess the possible background rate achievable. This report presents the design and background evaluation for a shallow underground, low background liquid scintillation counter design for sample measurements.

Let $X$ be a perfect, compact subset of the complex plane, and let $D^{(1)}(X)$ denote the (complex) algebra of continuously complex-differentiable functions on $X$. Then $D^{(1)}(X)$ is a normed algebra of functions but, in some cases, fails to be a Banach function algebra. Bland and the second author investigated the completion of the algebra $D^{(1)}(X)$, for certain sets $X$ and collections $\mathcal{F}$ of paths in $X$, by considering $\mathcal{F}$-differentiable functions on $X$. In this paper, we investigate composition, the chain rule, and the quotient rule for this notion of differentiability. We give an example where the chain rule fails, and give a number of sufficient conditions for the chain rule to hold. Where the chain rule holds, we observe that the Fa\'a di Bruno formula for higher derivatives is valid, and this allows us to give some results on homomorphisms between certain algebras of $\mathcal{F}$-differentiable functions., Comment: 12 pages, submitted

Swiss cheese sets are compact subsets of the complex plane obtained by deleting a sequence of open disks from a closed disk. Such sets have provided numerous counterexamples in the theory of uniform algebras. In this paper, we introduce a topological space whose elements are what we call "abstract Swiss cheeses". Working within this topological space, we show how to prove the existence of "classical" Swiss cheese sets (as discussed in a paper of Feinstein and Heath from 2010) with various desired properties. We first give a new proof of the Feinstein-Heath classicalisation theorem. We then consider when it is possible to "classicalise" a Swiss cheese while leaving disks which lie outside a given region unchanged. We also consider sets obtained by deleting a sequence of open disks from a closed annulus, and we obtain an analogue of the Feinstein-Heath theorem for these sets. We then discuss regularity for certain uniform algebras. We conclude with an application of these techniques to obtain a classical Swiss cheese set which has the same properties as a non-classical example of O'Farrell (1979)., Comment: To appear in the Journal of Mathematical Analysis and Applications

Chemically ordered B2 FeRh exhibits a remarkable antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic phase transition that is first order. It thus shows phase coexistence, usually by proceeding though nucleation at random defect sites followed by propagation of phase boundary domain walls. The transition occurs at a temperature that can be varied by doping other metals onto the Rh site. We have taken advantage of this to yield control over the transition process by preparing an epilayer with oppositely directed doping gradients of Pd and Ir throughout its height, yielding a gradual transition that occurs between 350~K and 500~K. As the sample is heated, a horizontal antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic phase boundary domain wall moves gradually up through the layer, its position controlled by the temperature. This mobile magnetic domain wall affects the magnetisation and resistivity of the layer in a way that can be controlled, and hence exploited, for novel device applications., Comment: submitted to APL Materials

Swiss cheese sets have been used in the literature as useful examples in the study of rational approximation and uniform algebras. In this paper, we give a survey of Swiss cheese constructions and related results. We describe some notable examples of Swiss cheese sets in the literature. We explain the various abstract notions of Swiss cheeses, and how they can be manipulated to obtain desirable properties. In particular, we discuss the Feinstein-Heath classicalisation theorem and related results. We conclude with the construction of a new counterexample to a conjecture of S. E. Morris, using a classical Swiss cheese set., Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the Seventh Function Spaces Conference, Contemporary Mathematics

Computational analysis has become ubiquitous within the heliophysics community. However, community standards for peer review of codes and analysis have lagged behind these developments. This absence has contributed to the reproducibility crisis, where inadequate analysis descriptions and loss of scientific data have made scientific studies difficult or impossible to replicate. The heliophysics community has responded to this challenge by expressing a desire for a more open, collaborative set of analysis tools. This article summarizes the current state of these efforts and presents an overview of many of the existing Python heliophysics tools. It also outlines the challenges facing community members who are working toward the goal of an open, collaborative, Python heliophysics toolkit and presents guidelines that can ease the transition from individualistic data analysis practices to an accountable, communalistic environment.

Quasi-periodic energetic particle injections have been observed at geosynchronous orbit on the dusk-side during a steady magnetospheric convection event. We examine high-resolution auroral imager data and ground magnetometer data associated with the first of these injections and conclude that it was not associated with classical sub-storm signatures. It is proposed that these injections are caused by the explosive nonlinear growth of a shear flow-ballooning instability in the region where sub-auroral polarization streams (SAPS) also occur. It is suggested that interchange will occur preferentially in the low-conductivity SAPS region since the magnetic Richardson number is lowest there and the "line-tying" effect will also be least stabilizing there. We propose that the observed particle injection signatures and auroral morphology constitute a new type of SAPS-associated explosive "onset-like" disturbance that can occur during intervals of strong convection.