Search

A long-standing challenge in ultrafast magnetism and in functional materials research in general, has been the generation of a universal, ultrafast stimulus able to switch between stable magnetic states. Solving it would open up many new opportunities for fundamental studies, with potential impact on future data storage technologies. Ideally, step-like magnetic field transients with infinitely fast rise time would serve this purpose. Here, we develop a new approach to generate ultrafast magnetic field steps, based on an ultrafast quench of supercurrents in a superconductor. Magnetic field steps with millitesla amplitude, picosecond risetimes and slew rates approaching 1 GT/s are achieved. We test the potential of this technique by coherently rotating the magnetization in a ferrimagnet. With suitable improvements in the geometry of the device, these magnetic steps can be made both larger and faster, leading to new applications that range from quenches across phase transitions to complete switching of magnetic order parameters., Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures with supplementary material

The Beam Expander Testing X-ray facility (BEaTriX) is a unique X-ray apparatus now operated at the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera (OAB), in Merate, Italy. It has been specifically designed to measure the point spread function (PSF) and the effective area (EA) of the X-ray mirror modules (MMs) of the Advanced Telescope for High-ENergy Astrophysics (ATHENA), based on silicon pore optics (SPO) technology, for verification before integration into the mirror assembly. To this end, BEaTriX generates a broad, uniform, monochromatic, and collimated X-ray beam at 4.51 keV. [...] In BEaTriX, a micro-focus X-ray source with a titanium anode is placed in the focus of a paraboloidal mirror, which generates a parallel beam. A crystal monochromator selects the 4.51 keV line, which is expanded to the final size by a crystal asymmetrically cut with respect to the crystalline planes. [...] After characterization, the BEaTriX beam has the nominal dimensions of 170 mm x 60 mm, with a vertical divergence of 1.65 arcsec and a horizontal divergence varying between 2.7 and 3.45 arcsec, depending on the monochromator setting: either high collimation or high intensity. The flux per area unit varies from 10 to 50 photons/s/cm2 from one configuration to the other. The BEaTriX beam performance was tested using an SPO MM, whose entrance pupil was fully illuminated by the expanded beam, and its focus was directly imaged onto the camera. The first light test returned a PSF and an EA in full agreement with expectations. As of today, the 4.51 keV beamline of BEaTriX is operational and can characterize modular X-ray optics, measuring their PSF and EA with a typical exposure of 30 minutes. [...] We expect BEaTriX to be a crucial facility for the functional test of modular X-ray optics, such as the SPO MMs for ATHENA., Comment: Accepted on 29 June 2022 for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, Sect. 13, Astronomical instrumentation of Astronomy and Astrophysics. Version after language correction

Hypersonic flight regime is conventionally defined for Mach larger than 5; in these conditions, the flying object becomes enveloped in a plasma. This plasma is densest in thin surface layers, but in typical situations of interest it impacts electromagnetic wave propagation in an electrically large volume. We address this problem with a hybrid approach. We employ Equivalence Theorem to separate the inhomogeneous plasma region from the surrounding free space via an equivalent (Huygens) surface, and the Eikonal approximation to Maxwell equations in the large inhomogeneous region for obtaining equivalent currents on the separating surface. Then, we obtain the scattered field via (exact) free space radiation of these surface equivalent currents. The method is extensively tested against reference results and then applied to a real-life re-entry vehicle with full 3D plasma computed via Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulations. We address both scattering (RCS) from the entire vehicle and radiation from the on-board antennas. From our results, significant radio link path losses can be associated with plasma spatial variations (gradients) and collisional losses, to an extent that matches well the usually perceived blackout in crossing layers in cutoff. Furthermore, we find good agreement with existing literature concerning significant alterations of the radar response (RCS) due to the plasma envelope.

Charge density waves are a common occurrence in all families of high critical temperature superconducting cuprates. Although consistently observed in the underdoped region of the phase diagram and at relatively low temperatures, it is still unclear to what extent they influence the unusual properties of these systems. Using resonant x-ray scattering we carefully determined the temperature dependence of charge density modulations in (Y,Nd)Ba$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-{\delta}}$ for three doping levels. We discovered short-range dynamical charge density fluctuations besides the previously known quasi-critical charge density waves. They persist up to well above the pseudogap temperature T*, are characterized by energies of few meV and pervade a large area of the phase diagram, so that they can play a key role in shaping the peculiar normal-state properties of cuprates., Comment: 34 pages, 4 figures, 11 supplementary figures

The BEaTriX (Beam Expander Testing X-ray facility) project is an X-ray apparatus under construction at INAF/OAB to generate a broad (200 x 60 mm2), uniform and low-divergent X-ray beam within a small lab (6 x 15 m2). BEaTriX will consist of an X-ray source in the focus a grazing incidence paraboloidal mirror to obtain a parallel beam, followed by a crystal monochromation system and by an asymmetrically-cut diffracting crystal to perform the beam expansion to the desired size. Once completed, BEaTriX will be used to directly perform the quality control of focusing modules of large X-ray optics such as those for the ATHENA X-ray observatory, based on either Silicon Pore Optics (baseline) or Slumped Glass Optics (alternative), and will thereby enable a direct quality control of angular resolution and effective area on a number of mirror modules in a short time, in full X-ray illumination and without being affected by the finite distance of the X-ray source. However, since the individual mirror modules for ATHENA will have an optical quality of 3-4 arcsec HEW or better, BEaTriX is required to produce a broad beam with divergence below 1-2 arcsec, and sufficient flux to quickly characterize the PSF of the module without being significantly affected by statistical uncertainties. Therefore, the optical components of BEaTriX have to be selected and/or manufactured with excellent optical properties in order to guarantee the final performance of the system. In this paper we report the final design of the facility and a detailed performance simulation., Comment: Accepted paper, pre-print version. The finally published manuscript can be downloaded from http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.2238952

By tuning the radiative coupling of localized surface plasmons to diffracted orders, we demonstrate how stop-gaps in plasmonic crystals of nanorods may be opened and tuned. The stop-gap arises from the mutual coupling of surface lattice resonances (SLRs), which are collective resonances associated with counter-propagating surface polaritons. We present experimental results for three different nanorod arrays, where we show how the dispersion of SLRs can be controlled by modifying the size of the rods. Combining experiments with numerical simulations, we show how the properties of the stop-gap can be tailored by tuning a single structural factor. We find that the central frequency of the stop-gap falls quadratically, the frequency width of the stop-gap rises linearly, and the in-plane momentum width of the standing waves rises quadratically, as the width of the nanorods increases. These relationships hold for a broad range of nanorod widths, including duty cycles of the array between 20% to 80%. We discuss the physics in terms of a coupled oscillator analog, which relates the tunability of the stop-gaps to the coupling strength of plasmonic modes., Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures

We demonstrate the coupling of bright and dark Surface Lattice Resonances (SLRs), which are collective Fano resonances in 2D plasmonic crystals. As a result of this coupling, a frequency stop-gap in the dispersion relation of SLRs is observed. The different field symmetries of the low and high frequency SLR bands lead to pronounced differences in their coupling to free space radiation. Standing waves of very narrow spectral width compared to localized surface plasmon resonances are formed at the high frequency band edge, while subradiant damping onsets at the low frequency band edge leading the resonance into darkness. We introduce a coupled oscillator analog to the plasmonic crystal, which serves to elucidate the physics of the coupled plasmonic resonances and to estimate very high quality factors (Q>700) for SLRs, which are the highest known for any 2D plasmonic crystal., Comment: 13 pages (in preprint), 4 figures, 1 table

We demonstrate that the emission of light by fluorescent molecules in the proximity of periodic arrays of nanoantennas or plasmonic crystals can be strongly modified when the arrays are covered by a dielectric film. The coupling between localized surface plasmon resonances and photonic states leads to surface modes which increase the density of optical states and improve light extraction. Excited dye molecules preferentially decay radiatively into these modes, exhibiting an enhanced and directional emission., Comment: 5 figures