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We report on a search for ultralow-mass axionlike dark matter by analyzing the ratio of the spin-precession frequencies of stored ultracold neutrons and ^{199}Hg atoms for an axion-induced oscillating electric dipole moment of the neutron and an axion-wind spin-precession effect. No signal consistent with dark matter is observed for the axion mass range 10^{-24}≤m_{a}≤10^{-17} eV. Our null result sets the first laboratory constraints on the coupling of axion dark matter to gluons, which improve on astrophysical limits by up to 3 orders of magnitude, and also improves on previous laboratory constraints on the axion coupling to nucleons by up to a factor of 40.

The nonlinear magneto-optical effects in aomic vapors is discussed with reference to Macaluso and Crobino contributions in the field of linear magneto-optical effects around atomic resonances. Research shows that the nonlinear magneto-optics facilitate observation of ultranarrow magneto-optical resonances. Furthermore, they find application in the sensitive magnetometry and nonlinear magneto-optical tomography.

We demonstrate an all-electrical donor nuclear spin polarization method in silicon by exploiting the tunable interaction of donor bound electrons with a two-dimensional electron gas, and achieve over two orders of magnitude nuclear hyperpolarization at T = 5 K and B = 12 T with an in-plane magnetic field. We also show an intricate dependence of nuclear polarization effects on the orientation of the magnetic field, and both hyperpolarization and antipolarization can be controllably achieved in the quantum Hall regime. Our results demonstrate that donor nuclear spin qubits can be initialized through local gate control of electrical currents without the need for optical excitation, enabling the implementation of nuclear spin qubit initialization in dense multiqubit arrays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The neutron beams produced by the Soreq Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF) operating with the liquid lithium target (LiLiT) present scientific opportunities in nuclear astrophysics. Of interest are measurements (in our setup) of 1.5 to 3.0 MeV alpha-particles and 1.5 MeV protons, emanating from the interaction of neutrons with ^{7}Be. The deduced cross sections, are important for understanding the cosmological “Primordial ^{7}Li Problem.” However, major experimental challenges arise when measuring such low-energy charged particles due to the high flux neutron beams produced by the LiLiT (up to ∼5×10^{10} n/sec/cm^{2}). We present a study of the operation of CR39 nuclear track detectors (NTD), in such a high neutron flux. The CR39 plates were energy calibrated with 3.18 MeV alpha-particles from a ^{148}Gd standard radioactive source, and by using Rutherford backscattering of 1.5 MeV alpha-particles as well as 1.5 MeV protons from a thin (100 μg/cm^{2}) gold foil. The plates were etched in a 6.25 N NaOH solution for 30 minutes at 90^{∘}C to produce micron-sized circular pits. The alpha (3.18 MeV) and proton (1.5 MeV) etch efficiencies were measured to be 93.3±6.1% and 8.7±1.3%, respectively. After etching, the plates were scanned with a fully automated microscope. A segmentation algorithm that addressed the challenges posed by the intense neutron beam was developed. A measurement of the interaction of cold neutrons with CR39 showed that the ^{17}O(n,α)^{14}C reaction inside the CR39 was a major source of background. Since the tracks were formed inside the CR39, this background extended up to the full energy deposit of ∼2.1 MeV. This neutron-beam-induced background inside the CR39 plates, observed here for the first time, will most likely be the limiting factor for observing ∼2 MeV alpha-particles with CR39, in measurements of small cross sections (below a few mb) of (n,α) reactions. However, in measurements of larger cross sections, this ^{17}O(n,α) “background line” can be used as an internal self-calibration of alpha-particles with energies up to ∼2.1MeV, and thus allow to correct for piece-to-piece variations in the energy-to-track size calibration of CR39 plates.

Birds are known for their extremely acute sense of vision. The very peculiar structural distribution of five different types of cones in the retina underlies this exquisite ability to sample light. It was recently found that each cone population as well as their total population display a disordered pattern in which long-wavelength density fluctuations vanish [Jiao et al., Phys. Rev. E 89, 022721 (2014)]. This property, known as hyperuniformity, is also present in perfect crystals. In situations like the avian retina in which both the global structure and that of each component display hyperuniformity, the system is said to be multihyperuniform. In this work, we aim at devising a minimal statistical-mechanical model that can reproduce the main features of the spatial distribution of photoreceptors in avian retina, namely the presence of disorder, multihyperuniformity, and local heterocoordination. This last feature is key to avoiding local clustering of the same type of photoreceptors, an undesirable feature for the efficient sampling of light. For this purpose, we formulate a minimal statistical-mechanical model that definitively exhibits the required structural properties: an equimolar three-component mixture (one component to sample each primary color: red, green, and blue) of nonadditive hard disks to which a long-range logarithmic repulsion is added between like particles. Interestingly, a Voronoi analysis of our idealized system of photoreceptors shows that the space-filling Voronoi polygons display a rather uniform area distribution, symmetrically centered around that of a regular lattice, a structural property also found in human retina. Disordered multihyperuniformity offers an alternative to generate photoreceptor patterns with minimal long-range concentration and density fluctuations. This is the key to overcoming the difficulties in devising an efficient visual system in which crystal-like order is absent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disordered multihyperuniform many-particle systems are exotic amorphous states that allow exquisite color sensing capabilities due to their anomalous suppression of density fluctuations for distinct subsets of particles, as recently evidenced in photoreceptor mosaics in avian retina. Motivated by this biological finding, we present a statistical-mechanical model that rigorously achieves disordered multihyperuniform many-body systems by tuning interactions in binary mixtures of nonadditive hard-disk plasmas. We demonstrate that multihyperuniformity competes with phase separation and stabilizes a clustered phase. Our work provides a systematic means to generate disordered multihyperuniform solids, and hence lays the groundwork to explore their potentially unique photonic, phononic, electronic, and transport properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the behavior of a classical two-component ionic plasma made up of nonadditive hard disks with additional logarithmic Coulomb interactions between them. Due to the Coulomb repulsion, long-wavelength total density fluctuations are suppressed and the system is globally hyperuniform. Short-range volume effects lead to phase separation or to heterocoordination for positive or negative nonadditivities, respectively. These effects compete with the hidden long-range order imposed by hyperuniformity. As a result, the critical behavior of the mixture is modified, with long-wavelength concentration fluctuations partially damped when the system is charged. It is also shown that the decrease of configurational entropy due to hyperuniformity originates from contributions beyond the two-particle level. Finally, despite global hyperuniformity, we show that in our system the spatial configuration associated with each component separately is not hyperuniform, i.e., the system is not "multihyperuniform". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Equal volume mixtures of small and large polytetrafluorethylene spheres are shaken in an atmosphere of controlled humidity which allows one to also control their tribocharging. We find that the contact numbers are charge dependent: As the charge density of the beads increases, the number of same-type contacts decreases and the number of opposite-type contacts increases. This change is not caused by a global segregation of the sample. Hence, tribocharging can be a way to tune the local composition of a granular material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrafast lattice dynamics of a few quintuple layers (QLs) of the topological insulator (TI) Bi2Te3 is studied with time-resolved optical pump-probe spectroscopy. Both optical and acoustic phonons are photogenerated and detected. Here, in order to get new insights into out-of-equilibrium electron-phonon coupling and phonons dynamics in confined TI, different nanostructures are investigated (single or polycrystalline QL assemblies and nanocrystallized islands). Contrary to previous literature claims, we show that even for nanostructures containing only 10 QLs, the symmetric A1g(I) coherent optical phonon is efficiently photogenerated and no restriction due to structural confinement appears. We also observe that whatever the arrangement of the nanostructures, the A1g(I) optical phonon features are similar (lifetime). We also report the observation of confined coherent acoustic phonons propagating from QLs to QLs whose spectrum is, this time, very sensitive to the atomic arrangement. In the case of the single-crystalline ultrathin film, time-of-flight analysis of these acoustic phonons provides direct estimates of the elastic properties of these nanostructures as well as some estimates of van der Waals interactions between QLs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fruitful approach towards neuromorphic computing is to mimic mechanisms of the brain in physical devices, which has led to successful replication of neuronlike dynamics and learning in the past. However, there remains a large set of neural self-organization mechanisms whose role for neuromorphic computing has yet to be explored. One such mechanism is homeostatic plasticity, which has recently been proposed to play a key role in shaping network dynamics and correlations. Here, we study—from a statistical-physics point of view—the emergent collective dynamics in a homeostatically regulated neuromorphic device that emulates a network of excitatory and inhibitory leaky integrate-and-fire neurons. Importantly, homeostatic plasticity is only active during the training stage and results in a heterogeneous weight distribution that we fix during the analysis stage. We verify the theoretical prediction that reducing the external input in a homeostatically regulated neural network increases temporal correlations, measuring autocorrelation times exceeding 500ms, despite single-neuron timescales of only 20ms, both in experiments on neuromorphic hardware and in computer simulations. However, unlike theoretically predicted near-critical fluctuations, we find that temporal correlations can originate from an emergent bistability. We identify this bistability as a fluctuation-induced stochastic switching between metastable active and quiescent states in the vicinity of a nonequilibrium phase transition. Our results thereby constitute a complementary mechanism for emergent autocorrelations in networks of spiking neurons with implications for future developments in neuromorphic computing.

We measure valence-to-core x-ray emission spectra of compressed crystalline GeO_{2} up to 56 GPa and of amorphous GeO_{2} up to 100 GPa. In a novel approach, we extract the Ge coordination number and mean Ge-O distances from the emission energy and the intensity of the Kβ^{′′} emission line. The spectra of high-pressure polymorphs are calculated using the Bethe-Salpeter equation. Trends observed in the experimental and calculated spectra are found to match only when utilizing an octahedral model. The results reveal persistent octahedral Ge coordination with increasing distortion, similar to the compaction mechanism in the sequence of octahedrally coordinated crystalline GeO_{2} high-pressure polymorphs.

By combination of two independent approaches, nuclear resonant inelastic x-ray scattering and firstprinciples calculations in the framework of density functional theory, we demonstrate significant changes in the element-resolved vibrational density of states across the first-order transition from the ferromagnetic low temperature to the paramagnetic high temperature phase of LaFe13-xSx. These changes originate from the itinerant electron metamagnetism associated with Fe and lead to a pronounced magneto-elastic softening despite the large volume decrease at the transition. The increase in lattice entropy associated with the Fe subsystem is significant and contributes cooperatively with the magnetic and electronic entropy changes to the excellent magneto- and barocaloric properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coupling of submonolayer coverages of Fe-phthalocyanine molecules on bare and oxygen-covered ferromagnetic Co(001) films was studied by x-ray-absorption spectroscopy, especially the x-ray magnetic circular dichroism, in combination with density functional theory. We observe that the magnetic moments of the paramagnetic molecules are aligned even at room temperature, resulting from a magnetic coupling to the substrate. While the magnetization of the Fe ions directly adsorbed on the Co surface is parallel to the magnetization of the Co film, the introduction of an oxygen interlayer leads to an antiparallel alignment. As confirmed by theory, the coupling strength is larger for the system FePc/Co than for FePc/O/Co, causing a stronger temperature dependence of the Fe magnetization for the latter system. Furthermore, the calculations reveal that the coupling mechanism changes due to the O layer from mostly direct exchange to Co of the bare surface to a 180° antiferromagnetic superexchange via the O atoms. Finally, by comparing the experimental x-ray-absorption spectra at the N K edge with the corresponding calculations, the contribution of the individual orbitals has been determined and the two inequivalent N atoms of the molecules could be distinguished [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the key factors behind the rapid evolution of molecular spintronics is the efficient realization of spin manipulation of organic molecules with a magnetic center. The spin state of such molecules may depend crucially on the interaction with the substrate on which they are adsorbed. In this paper we demonstrate, using ab initio density functional calculations, that the stabilization of a high spin state of an iron porphyrin (FeP) molecule can be achieved via chemisorption on magnetic substrates of different species and orientations, viz., Co(001), Ni(001), Ni(110), and Ni(111). The signature of chemisorption of FeP on magnetic substrates is evident from broad features in N K x-ray absorption (XA) and Fe L2,3 x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) measurements. Our theoretical calculations show that the strong covalent interaction with the substrate increases Fe-N bond lengths in FeP and hence a switching to a high spin state (S = 2) from an intermediate spin state (S = 1) is achieved. Due to chemisorption, ferromagnetic exchange interaction is established through a direct exchange between Fe and substrate magnetic atoms as well as through an indirect exchange via the N atoms in FeP. The mechanism of exchange interaction is further analyzed by considering structural models constructed from ab initio calculations. Also, it is found that the exchange interaction between Fe in FeP and a Ni substrate is almost 4 times smaller than with a Co substrate. Finally, we illustrate the possibility of detecting a change in the molecular spin state by XMCD, Raman spectroscopy, and spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural and magnetic properties of Fe octaethylporphyrin molecules on Cu(001) have been investigated by means of density functional theory (DFT) methods and x-ray absorption spectroscopy. The molecules have been adsorbed on the bare metal surface and on an oxygen-covered surface, which shows a √2 x 2√2R45° reconstruction. In order to allow for a direct comparison between magnetic moments obtained from sum-rule analysis and DFT, we calculate the spin dipolar term 7T(θ), which is also important in view of the magnetic anisotropy of the molecule. The measured x-ray magnetic circular dichroism shows a strong dependence on the photon incidence angle, which we could relate to a huge value of 7T(θ), e.g., on Cu(001), 7T(θ) amounts to -2.07 μR for normal incidence leading to a reduction of the effective spin moment (ms + 7T(θ)). Calculations have also been performed to study the influence of possible ligands such as CI and O atoms on the magnetic properties of the molecule and the interaction between molecule and surface because the experimental spectra display a clear dependence on the ligand, which is used to stabilize the molecule in the gas phase. Both types of ligands weaken the hybridization between surface and porphyrin molecule and change the magnetic spin state of the molecule, but the changes in the x-ray absorption are clearly related to residual CI ligands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fe3O4 nanoparticles have been investigated as they are biocompatible and their surface can be functionalized. We synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles using a water-in-oil microemulsion method. Bare and silica-coated iron oxide nanoparticles of a core size of 6 nm dispersed in ethanol have been investigated by means of x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Due to a dedicated experimental setup the particles can be measured directly in dispersion. XAS allows us to disentangle the contributions of the Fe2+ and Fe3+ ions and therefore to estimate the amount of Fe3O4 in the particles. In case of the silica coated particles a high amount of magnetite was obtained. In contrast, the bare nanoparticles showed indications of a further oxidation into &ggr;-Fe2O3 even in dispersion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Element-specific magnetic moments of epitaxially grown Fe3Si in DO3 crystal symmetry were analyzed by means of x-ray absorption spectroscopy and its associated magnetic circular dichroism. To detect the weak magnetization induced at the Si sites, measurements were performed at both the Si Ê edge and the Si L3 2 edges. By band structure calculations based on either the SPR-KKR method or FLAPW with GGA, the spectroscopic features could be reproduced and provide an insight to the underlying physics. In addition, comparison of the experimental data to calculated spectra made it possible for us to estimate the induced effective spin and orbital magnetic moment of Si in our sample, i.e., &mgr;effs = (--0.011 ± 0.005) &mgr;B and &mgr;I = (--0.003 ± 0.003) &mgr;B, respectively. The sign and the order of magnitude of the tiny orbital magnetic moment has been confirmed by application of the magneto-optical sum rule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability (MRT) of a finite slab is studied analytically using the ideal MHD model. The slab may be accelerated by an arbitrary combination of magnetic pressure and fluid pressure, thus allowing an arbitrary degree of anisotropy intrinsic to the acceleration mechanism. The effect of feedthrough in the finite slab is also analyzed. The classical feedthrough solution obtained by Taylor in the limit of zero magnetic field, the single interface MRT solution of Chandrasekhar in the limit of infinite slab thickness, and Harris' stability condition on purely magnetic driven MRT, are all readily recovered in the analytic theory as limiting cases. In general, we find that MRT retains robust growth if it exists. However, feed through may be substantially reduced if there are magnetic fields on both sides of the slab, and if the MRT mode invokes bending of the magnetic field lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiturn (or turn-by-turn) data acquisition has proven to be a new source of direct measurements for Twiss parameters in storage rings. On the other hand, closed-orbit measurements are a long-known tool for analyzing closed-orbit perturbations with conventional beam position monitor (BPM) systems and are necessarily available at every storage ring. This paper aims at combining the advantages of multiturn measurements and closed-orbit data. We show that only two multiturn BPMs and four correctors in one localized drift space in the storage ring (diagnostic drift) are sufficient for model-independent and absolute measuring of β and φ functions at all BPMs, including the conventional ones, instead of requiring all BPMs being equipped with multiturn electronics.

We present the result of an experiment to measure the electric dipole moment (EDM) of the neutron at the Paul Scherrer Institute using Ramsey's method of separated oscillating magnetic fields with ultracold neutrons. Our measurement stands in the long history of EDM experiments probing physics violating time-reversal invariance. The salient features of this experiment were the use of a ^{199}Hg comagnetometer and an array of optically pumped cesium vapor magnetometers to cancel and correct for magnetic-field changes. The statistical analysis was performed on blinded datasets by two separate groups, while the estimation of systematic effects profited from an unprecedented knowledge of the magnetic field. The measured value of the neutron EDM is d_{n}=(0.0±1.1_{stat}±0.2_{sys})×10^{-26}  e.cm.

We describe a spin-echo method for ultracold neutrons (UCNs) confined in a precession chamber and exposed to a |B0|=1  μT magnetic field. We have demonstrated that the analysis of UCN spin-echo resonance signals in combination with knowledge of the ambient magnetic field provides an excellent method by which to reconstruct the energy spectrum of a confined ensemble of neutrons. The method takes advantage of the relative dephasing of spins arising from a gravitationally induced striation of stored UCNs of different energies, and also permits an improved determination of the vertical magnetic-field gradient with an exceptional accuracy of 1.1  pT/cm. This novel combination of a well-known nuclear resonance method and gravitationally induced vertical striation is unique in the realm of nuclear and particle physics and should prove to be invaluable for the assessment of systematic effects in precision experiments such as searches for an electric dipole moment of the neutron or the measurement of the neutron lifetime.

A clock comparison experiment, analyzing the ratio of spin precession frequencies of stored ultracold neutrons and 199Hg atoms, is reported. No daily variation of this ratio could be found, from which is set an upper limit on the Lorentz invariance violating cosmic anisotropy field b perpendicular < 2 x 10(-20) eV (95% C.L.). This is the first limit for the free neutron. This result is also interpreted as a direct limit on the gravitational dipole moment of the neutron |gn| < 0.3 eV/c2 m from a spin-dependent interaction with the Sun. Analyzing the gravitational interaction with the Earth, based on previous data, yields a more stringent limit |gn| < 3 x 10(-4) eV/c2 m.

We have observed bulk solidification of 4He induced by nucleation on positive alkali ions in pressurized superfluid helium. The ions are extracted into the liquid from alkali-doped solid He by a static electric field. The experiments prove the existence of charged particles in a solid structure composed of doped He that was recently shown to coexist with superfluid helium below the He solidification pressure. This supports our earlier suggestion that the Coulomb interaction of positive ions surrounded by a solid He shell (snowballs) and electrons trapped in spherical cavities (electron bubbles), together with surface tension, is responsible for the stability of that structure against melting. We have determined the density of charges in the sample by two independent methods.

In case a mirror world with a copy of our ordinary particle spectrum would exist, the neutron n and its degenerate partner, the mirror neutron n', could potentially mix and undergo nn' oscillations. The interaction of an ordinary magnetic field with the ordinary neutron would lift the degeneracy between the mirror partners, diminish the n' amplitude in the n wave function and, thus, suppress its observability. We report an experimental comparison of ultracold neutron storage in a trap with and without superimposed magnetic field. No influence of the magnetic field is found and, assuming negligible mirror magnetic fields, a limit on the oscillation time taunn' > 103 s (95% C.L.) is derived.

We have observed several new spectral features in the fluorescence of cesium atoms implanted in the hcp phase of solid helium following laser excitation to the 62P states. Based on calculations of the emission spectra using semiempirical Cs-He pair potentials the newly discovered lines can be assigned to the decay of specific Cs*Hen exciplexes: an apple-shaped Cs(APi3/2)He2 and a dumbbell-shaped Cs(APi1/2)Hen exciplex with a well-defined number n of bound helium atoms. While the former has been observed in other environments, it was commonly believed that exciplexes with n>2 might not exist. The calculations suggest Cs(APi1/2)He7 to be the most probable candidate for that exciplex, in which the helium atoms are arranged on a ring around the waist of the dumbbell-shaped electronic density distribution of the cesium atom.

We have detected by optical means nonfluorescing 85Rb and 87Rb atoms implanted in a body centered cubic 4He crystal. In contrast to cesium the resonance fluorescence of rubidium is strongly quenched by the helium matrix, and the weak resonance absorption of the two Rb isotopes was detected using a double resonance technique. From a comparative study of the (optically detected) magnetic resonance spectra of 85Rb, 87Rb, and 133Cs we infer their effective g(F) factors and conclude that they are not perturbed by the He matrix at a level of 2 x 10(-4). We show further that optical pumping of Rb proceeds via depopulation, whereas for Cs it proceeds via repopulation.