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Precessional dynamics of a Co50Fe50(0.7)/Ni90Fe10(5)/Dy(1)/Ru(3) (thicknesses in nm) thin film have been explored by low temperature time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect and phase-resolved x-ray ferromagnetic resonance measurements. As the temperature was decreased from 300 to 140 K, the magnetic damping was found to increase rapidly while the resonance field was strongly reduced. Static x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements revealed increasing ferromagnetic order of the Dy moment antiparallel to that of Co50Fe50/Ni90Fe10. Increased coupling of the Dy orbital moment to the precessing spin magnetization leads to significantly increased damping and gyromagnetic ratio of the film while leaving its magnetic anisotropy effectively unchanged.

Element-specific phase-resolved x-ray ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) was used to study spin pumping within Co50Fe50(3)/ Cu(6)/ Ni80Fe20(5) (thicknesses in nm) spin valve structures with large areas, so that edge effects typical of nanopillars used in standard magnetotransport experiments could be neglected. The phase of precession of the Co50Fe50 fixed layer was recorded as FMR was induced in the Ni80Fe20 free layer. The field dependence of the fixed layer phase contains a clear signature of spin transfer torque (STT) coupling due to spin pumping. Fitting the phase delay yields the spin mixing conductance, the quantity that controls all spin transfer phenomena. The STT coupling is destroyed by insertion of Ta into the middle of the Cu layer.

Phase resolved X-ray Ferromagnetic Resonance (XFMR) has been measured in fluorescence yield, widening the application of XFMR to opaque samples on opaque substrates. Magnetization dynamics were excited in a Co50Fe50(0.7)/Ni90Fe10(5) bilayer by means of a continuous wave microwave excitation, while X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism (XMCD) spectra were measured stroboscopically at different points in the precession cycle. By tuning the x-ray energy to the L3 edge of Ni or Fe, the dependence of the real and imaginary components of the magnetic susceptibility upon the strength of an externally applied static was determined. First results from measurements on a Co50Fe50(0.7)/Ni90Fe10(5)/Dy(1) sample confirm that enhanced damping results from the addition of the Dy cap.

Nanoscale heat conduction across tunnel junctions prepared through natural oxidation of metal electrodes is experimentally studied. The thermal resistance of AlOx tunnel barriers increases linearly with barrier thickness, which is consistent with the prevailing theory of heat conduction in highly disordered materials. Heat conduction across tunnel junctions is strongly impeded by finite thermal resistance at interfaces between barrier and electrode layers, which can be exploited to create superior thermal barrier coatings. The thermal conductivity of nanolaminates consisting of a series of Ta/TaOx tunnel junctions is determined to be well below the minimum thermal conductivity limit. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Nanoscale heat conduction across tunnel junctions prepared through natural oxidation of metal electrodes is experimentally studied. The thermal resistance of AlOx tunnel barriers increases linearly with barrier thickness, which is consistent with the prevailing theory of heat conduction in highly disordered materials. Heat conduction across tunnel junctions is strongly impeded by finite thermal resistance at interfaces between barrier and electrode layers, which can be exploited to create superior thermal barrier coatings. The thermal conductivity of nanolaminates consisting of a series of Ta/TaOx tunnel junctions is determined to be well below the minimum thermal conductivity limit. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Maintaining deep sea animals in in situ conditions has always been technically difficult because of the high-pressure requirements. Even more difficult are any attempts in manipulating or sampling these organisms while keeping them alive in high-pressure aquaria. We present a technique to withdraw blood samples by vascular catheterization which allows withdrawal of samples of during maintenance of specimens under high-pressure conditions. We have developed this technique to answer a long debated question, how carbon dioxide is transported from the ambient sea water to the bacterial symbionts inside the trophosome of the hydrothermal vent tubeworm Riftia pachyptila. Our results indicate that the carbon supply to the symbionts is mainly through inorganic CO2 while its incorporation into malate and succinate may serve storage functions at periods of low CO2 availability in the environment.

Maintaining deep sea animals in in situ conditions has always been technically difficult because of the high-pressure requirements. Even more difficult are any attempts in manipulating or sampling these organisms while keeping them alive in high-pressure aquaria. We present a technique to withdraw blood samples by vascular catheterization which allows withdrawal of samples of during maintenance of specimens under high-pressure conditions. We have developed this technique to answer a long debated question, how carbon dioxide is transported from the ambient sea water to the bacterial symbionts inside the trophosome of the hydrothermal vent tubeworm Riftia pachyptila. Our results indicate that the carbon supply to the symbionts is mainly through inorganic CO2 while its incorporation into malate and succinate may serve storage functions at periods of low CO2 availability in the environment.

Oxygen, while being an obligate fuel for aerobic life, has been shown to be toxic through its deleterious reactive species, which can cause oxidative stress and lead ultimately to cell and organism death. In marine organisms, reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as the superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide, are generated within respiring cells and tissues and also by photochemical processes in sea water. Considering both the reduced metabolic rate of nektonic organisms thriving in the deep sea and the physico-chemical conditions of this dark, poorly oxygenated environment, the meso- and bathypelagic waters of the oceans might be considered as refuges against oxidative dangers. This hypothesis prompted us to investigate the activities of the three essential enzymes (superoxide dismutase, SOD; catalase, CAT; glutathione peroxidase, GPX) constitutive of the antioxidative arsenal of cells in the tissues of 16 species of meso- and bathypelagic fishes occurring between the surface and a depth of 1300 m. While enzymatic activities were detected in all tissues from all species, the levels of SOD and GPX decreased in parallel with the exponential reduction in the metabolic activity as estimated by citrate synthase activity. In contrast, CAT was affected neither by the metabolic activity nor by the depth of occurrence of the fishes. High levels of metabolic and antioxidative enzymes were detected in the light organs of bioluminescent species. The adjustment of the activity of SOD and GPX to the decreased metabolic activity associated with deep-sea living suggests that these antioxidative defense mechanisms are used primarily against metabolically produced ROS, whereas the maintenance of CAT activity throughout all depths could be indicative of another role. The possible reasons for the occurrence of such a reduced antioxidative arsenal in deep-sea species are discussed.

We report mechanical detection of ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) signals from microscopic Co single layer thin films using a magnetic resonance force microscope (MRFM). Variations in the magnetic anisotropy field and the inhomogeneity of were clearly observed in the FMR spectra of microscopic Co thin films 500 and 1000 Å thick and ~ 40 × 200 µm^2 in lateral extent. This demonstrates the important potential that MRFM detection of FMR holds for microscopic characterization of spatial distribution of magnetic properties in magnetic layered materials and devices.

We report mechanical detection of ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) signals from microscopic Co single layer thin films using a magnetic resonance force microscope (MRFM). Variations in the magnetic anisotropy field and the inhomogeneity of were clearly observed in the FMR spectra of microscopic Co thin films 500 and 1000 Å thick and ~ 40 × 200 µm^2 in lateral extent. This demonstrates the important potential that MRFM detection of FMR holds for microscopic characterization of spatial distribution of magnetic properties in magnetic layered materials and devices.

The magnetic resonance force microscope (MRFM) marries the techniques of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), to produce a three-dimensional imaging instrument with high, potentially atomic-scale, resolution. The principle of the MRFM has been successfully demonstrated in numerous experiments. By virtue of its unique capabilities, the MRFM shows promise to make important contributions in fields ranging from three-dimensional materials characterization to bio-molecular structure determination. Here we focus on its application to the characterization and study of layered magnetic materials; the ability to illuminate the properties of buried interfaces in such materials is a particularly important goal. While sensitivity and spatial resolution are currently still far from their theoretical limits, they are nonetheless comparable to or superior to that achievable in conventional MRI. Further improvement of the MRFM will involve operation at lower temperature, application of larger field gradients, introduction of advanced mechanical resonators and improved reduction of the spurious coupling when the magnet is on the resonator.

The metabolic rates of 33 species of pelagic cephalopods from California and Hawaii were measured and correlated with minimum depth of occurrence. Mean metabolic rates ranged from 0.07 {mu}mol O2g-1 h-1 for the deep-living vampire squid, Vampyroteuthis infernalis, to 8.79 {mu}mol O2 g-1 h-1 for Gonatus onyx, a vertically migrating squid. An individual of V. infernalis, which lives within the oxygen minimum layer off California, had the lowest mass-specific metabolic rate ever measured for a cephalopod (0.02 {mu}mol O2g-1 h-1, 1050 g wet weight). For species collected in sufficient quantity and size range, metabolism was related to body size. Critical partial pressures of oxygen (Pc) were determined for Hawaiian and Californian cephalopods. Pc values for Hawaiian animals were considerably higher than for those taken off California, a trend that corresponds to the higher levels of environmental oxygen in the Hawaiian waters. Buffering capacity ({beta}) of mantle muscle, assayed in eight cephalopod species, was used to estimate the capacity for glycolytic energy production. Mean {beta} ranged from 1.43 slykes for a bathypelagic octopod, Japetella heathi, to 77.08 slykes for an epipelagic squid. Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis. Significant declines with increasing depth of occurrence were observed for both metabolism and {beta}. The decline in metabolic parameters with depth is interpreted as a decreased reliance on locomotory abilities for predator/prey interactions in the light-limited deep sea. The decline in metabolism with depth observed for pelagic cephalopods was significantly steeper than that previously observed for either pelagic fishes or crustaceans. We suggest that since strong locomotory abilities are not a priority in the deep sea, deeper-living cephalopods may rely more heavily on means of locomotion that are more efficient than jet propulsion via mantle contractions--means such as fin swimming or medusoid swimming utilizing the arms and extensive webbing pre

The metabolic rates of 33 species of pelagic cephalopods from California and Hawaii were measured and correlated with minimum depth of occurrence. Mean metabolic rates ranged from 0.07 {mu}mol O2g-1 h-1 for the deep-living vampire squid, Vampyroteuthis infernalis, to 8.79 {mu}mol O2 g-1 h-1 for Gonatus onyx, a vertically migrating squid. An individual of V. infernalis, which lives within the oxygen minimum layer off California, had the lowest mass-specific metabolic rate ever measured for a cephalopod (0.02 {mu}mol O2g-1 h-1, 1050 g wet weight). For species collected in sufficient quantity and size range, metabolism was related to body size. Critical partial pressures of oxygen (Pc) were determined for Hawaiian and Californian cephalopods. Pc values for Hawaiian animals were considerably higher than for those taken off California, a trend that corresponds to the higher levels of environmental oxygen in the Hawaiian waters. Buffering capacity ({beta}) of mantle muscle, assayed in eight cephalopod species, was used to estimate the capacity for glycolytic energy production. Mean {beta} ranged from 1.43 slykes for a bathypelagic octopod, Japetella heathi, to 77.08 slykes for an epipelagic squid. Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis. Significant declines with increasing depth of occurrence were observed for both metabolism and {beta}. The decline in metabolic parameters with depth is interpreted as a decreased reliance on locomotory abilities for predator/prey interactions in the light-limited deep sea. The decline in metabolism with depth observed for pelagic cephalopods was significantly steeper than that previously observed for either pelagic fishes or crustaceans. We suggest that since strong locomotory abilities are not a priority in the deep sea, deeper-living cephalopods may rely more heavily on means of locomotion that are more efficient than jet propulsion via mantle contractions--means such as fin swimming or medusoid swimming utilizing the arms and extensive webbing pre

The deep-sea hydrothermal vent tubeworm Riftia pachyptila (Vestimentifera) lacks a digestive tract entirely. Nutriments are presumably provided to the animal by symbiotic chemoautotrophic bacteria which are harbored in a specialized organ of the animal, the trophosome. These bacteria are proposed to fix carbon dioxide from the ambient seawater using the energy gained from oxidation of sulfide which is emitted by the hydrothermal vents. The significance of the trophosome for the evolution of the pogonophoran and vestimentiferan body plan is discussed.

The deep-sea hydrothermal vent tubeworm Riftia pachyptila (Vestimentifera) lacks a digestive tract entirely. Nutriments are presumably provided to the animal by symbiotic chemoautotrophic bacteria which are harbored in a specialized organ of the animal, the trophosome. These bacteria are proposed to fix carbon dioxide from the ambient seawater using the energy gained from oxidation of sulfide which is emitted by the hydrothermal vents. The significance of the trophosome for the evolution of the pogonophoran and vestimentiferan body plan is discussed.

The deep-sea hydrothermal vent tubeworm Riftia pachyptila (Vestimentifera) lacks a digestive tract entirely. Nutriments are presumably provided to the animal by symbiotic chemoautotrophic bacteria which are harbored in a specialized organ of the animal, the trophosome. These bacteria are proposed to fix carbon dioxide from the ambient seawater using the energy gained from oxidation of sulfide which is emitted by the hydrothermal vents. The significance of the trophosome for the evolution of the pogonophoran and vestimentiferan body plan is discussed.

We have studied the consequence of structure on the magnetic properties of 304 stainless steel in two distinct crystalline states. Ordinary 304 stainless steel has an fcc structure and is nonmagnetic at room temperature. By using a vapor quenching method, we have fabricated single-phase metastable bcc 304 stainless steel which is strongly ferromagnetic. Films a few µm thick have been made by high-rate sputter deposition onto substrates at room temperature or liquid-nitrogen temperature. Vibrating sample magnetometry and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy reveal that the bcc phase has a magnetization of 130 emu/g, due largely to the Fe moment. The Curie temperature is found to be excess of 550 °C. Upon subsequent annealing above 550 °C, the metastable bcc state transforms back into the usual nonmagnetic fcc phase. The changes in the magnetic properties and the structure of these films during the transformation are examined.