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Electronic transport and magnetic properties of bulk and rapid melt quenched samples of the Mn$_3$Al Heusler alloy were studied. A correlation between the magnetic and structural states was established. For a cast sample, there is no ferromagnetic moment, and the behavior of the magnetic susceptibility (break at low temperatures and the Curie-Weiss law with high values of the paramagnetic Curie temperature) indicates a frustrated antiferromagnetic state. At the same time, for a rapid melt quenched sample, a ferrimagnetic state is observed with a moment close to compensation. The results of measurements of the electrical resistivity and the Hall effect evidence as well in favor of the implementation of these magnetic states., 8 pages, pdf only

The structure and optical properties of the Mn2FeAl Heusler alloy have been investigated. It is shown that the alloy crystallizes into a structure of the β-Mn type. The behavior of the optical conductivity of the alloy, which is anomalous for metallic systems (namely, the absence of a contribution from the intraband absorption and the presence of the intensive interband absorption), is observed in the IR spectral range. It is shown that this behavior is due to the following peculiarities of the electronic structure: the Fermi level is located in the region of a high density of states formed by the d states of Mn and Fe atoms.

The review considers various groups of Heusler compounds, which can have the properties of a semiconductor, a half-metallic ferromagnet, a spin gapless semiconductor, a topological semimetal, and a noncollinear antiferromagnet. In these Heusler compounds, "conventional" from the point of view of the crystal structure, unusual kinetic and magnetic properties can be observed, which are caused by the features of their electronic structure (e.g., presence of an energy gap for one spin projection) and magnetic state (e.g., strong ferromagnetism, compensated ferrimagnetism, etc.). Their magnetic and kinetic characteristics are very sensitive to external influences. Depending on the alloy composition and external parameters, transitions between the considered states can be realized. All this opens up further prospects for controlling the electronic and magnetic characteristics of such compounds and their practical application., 31 pages, pdf

Background Gastric and gastro-esophageal junction cancers (GCs) frequently recur after resection, but markers to predict recurrence risk are missing. T-cell infiltrates have been validated as prognostic markers in other cancer types, but not in GC because of methodological limitations of past studies. We aimed to define and validate the prognostic role of major T-cell subtypes in GC by objective computational quantification. Methods Surgically resected chemotherapy-naïve GCs were split into discovery (n = 327) and validation (n = 147) cohorts. CD8 (cytotoxic), CD45RO (memory), and FOXP3 (regulatory) T-cell densities were measured through multicolor immunofluorescence and computational image analysis. Cancer-specific survival (CSS) was assessed. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results CD45RO-cell and FOXP3-cell densities statistically significantly predicted CSS in both cohorts. Stage, CD45RO-cell, and FOXP3-cell densities were independent predictors of CSS in multivariable analysis; mismatch repair (MMR) and Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) status were not statistically significant. Combining CD45RO-cell and FOXP3-cell densities into the Stomach Cancer Immune Score showed highly statistically significant (all P ≤ .002) CSS differences (0.9 years median CSS to not reached). T-cell infiltrates were highest in EBV-positive GCs and similar in MMR-deficient and MMR-proficient GCs. Conclusion The validation of CD45RO-cell and FOXP3-cell densities as prognostic markers in GC may guide personalized follow-up or (neo)adjuvant treatment strategies. Only those 20% of GCs with the highest T-cell infiltrates showed particularly good CSS, suggesting that a small subgroup of GCs is highly immunogenic. The potential for T-cell densities to predict immunotherapy responses should be assessed. The association of high FOXP3-cell densities with longer CSS warrants studies into the biology of regulatory T cells in GC.

Mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) gastro-oesophageal adenocarcinomas (GOAs) show better outcomes than their MMR-proficient counterparts and high immunotherapy sensitivity. The hypermutator-phenotype of dMMR tumours theoretically enables high evolvability but their evolution has not been investigated. Here we apply multi-region exome sequencing (MSeq) to four treatment-naive dMMR GOAs. This reveals extreme intratumour heterogeneity (ITH), exceeding ITH in other cancer types >20-fold, but also long phylogenetic trunks which may explain the exquisite immunotherapy sensitivity of dMMR tumours. Subclonal driver mutations are common and parallel evolution occurs in RAS, PIK3CA, SWI/SNF-complex genes and in immune evasion regulators. MSeq data and evolution analysis of single region-data from 64 MSI GOAs show that chromosome 8 gains are early genetic events and that the hypermutator-phenotype remains active during progression. MSeq may be necessary for biomarker development in these heterogeneous cancers. Comparison with other MSeq-analysed tumour types reveals mutation rates and their timing to determine phylogenetic tree morphologies., Tumours that are deficient in mismatch-repair genes should, in theory, have higher evolvability. Here, the authors explore this theory in gastro-oesophageal tumours.

Parameters of the energy gap and, consequently, electronic, magnetic and galvanomagnetic properties in different X$_2$YZ Heusler alloys can vary quite strongly. In particular, half-metallic ferromagnets (HMFs) and spin gapless semiconductors (SGSs) with almost 100% spin polarization of charge carriers are promising materials for spintronics. The changes in the electrical, magnetic and galvanomagnetic properties of the Co$_2$YSi (Y = Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe) and Co$_2$MnZ Heusler alloys (Z = Al, Si, Ga, Ge) in possible HMF and/or SGS states were followed and their interconnection was established. Significant changes in the values of the magnetization and residual resistivity were found. At the same time, the correlations between the changes in these electronic and magnetic characteristics depending on the number of valence electrons and spin polarization are observed., 10 pages

The field dependence of magnetization at T = 4.2 K and in magnetic fields of up to 70 kOe, temperature dependences of magnetization (2 K < T < 300 K), heat capacity (2 K < T < 30 K) and magnetic susceptibility (2 K < T < 1000 K) for Mn1.99Co0.96Al1.05 and Mn1.79Co1.25Al0.96 alloys, closed in composition to the Mn2CoAl spin gapless semiconductor, were studied. Alloys studied were demonstrated to be the band ferromagnets. Their high-field (H > 11 kOe) magnetization is described in the Stoner models with the Rhodes-Wohlfarth parameter pRW = 1.3 for Mn1.99Co0.96Al1.05 and pRW = 2.3 for Mn1.79Co1.25Al0.96. When the composition deviates from the stoichiometric Mn2CoAl, the spontaneous moment decreases slightly, the effective moment, on the contrary, increases. In this case, a negative sign of the temperature-independent component of the paramagnetic susceptibility is observed. The density of states n(EF) at Fermi level and the Debye temperature ΘD of studied alloys have the usual values for 3d-metal alloys. © 2021 Author(s). The research was carried out within the state assignment of Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (theme “Spin” No. AAAA-A18-118020290104-2), was supported in part by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (projects Nos. 18-02-00739 and 20-32-90065) and by the Government of the Russian Federation (decision No. 211, contract No. 02.A03.21.0006). The authors would like to thank D. A. Shishkin and P. B. Terentyev for measuring the magnetic properties of alloys at high temperatures.

A single crystal of a topological Weyl semimetal WTe2 was grown and its electrical resistivity and galvanomagnetic properties (magnetoresistivity and the Hall effect) were investigated in detail in the temperature range from 1.8 K to 300 K and in magnetic fields of up to 9 T. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd. The research was carried out within the state assignment of Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (theme “Spin”, No. АААА-А18-118020290104-2), supported in part by RFBR (Project No. 20-32-90069) and the Government of Russian Federation (Decree No. 211, Contract No. 02.A03.21.0006).

Mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) gastro-oesophageal adenocarcinomas (GOAs) show better outcomes than their MMR-proficient counterparts and high immunotherapy sensitivity. The hypermutator-phenotype of dMMR tumours theoretically enables high evolvability but their evolution has not been investigated. Here we apply multi-region exome sequencing (MSeq) to four treatment-naive dMMR GOAs. This reveals extreme intratumour heterogeneity (ITH), exceeding ITH in other cancer types 20-fold, but also long phylogenetic trunks which may explain the exquisite immunotherapy sensitivity of dMMR tumours. Subclonal driver mutations are common and parallel evolution occurs in RAS, PIK3CA, SWI/SNF-complex genes and in immune evasion regulators. MSeq data and evolution analysis of single region-data from 64 MSI GOAs show that chromosome 8 gains are early genetic events and that the hypermutator-phenotype remains active during progression. MSeq may be necessary for biomarker development in these heterogeneous cancers. Comparison with other MSeq-analysed tumour types reveals mutation rates and their timing to determine phylogenetic tree morphologies.

The structural and magnetic properties (field dependences of the magnetization in magnetic fields of up to 6 kOe) of thin-film Co2FeAl, and Co2NiSi Heusler alloys grown by pulsed laser deposition on glass and a single-crystalline Al2O3 R-plane substrate at different growth temperatures (20, 280 and 420 °C) were studied. It was found that the stoichiometric composition of the films depends on the substrate temperature during growth and repeats the composition of the target for films grown at low temperatures. The films deposited on a single crystalline Al2O3 substrate have uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in the plane. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd. This work was partly supported by the state assignment of Minobrnauki of Russia (themes “Spin” No. АААА-А18-118020290104-2), RFBR grants (Nos. 18-32-00686 and 18-02-00739) and the Government of the Russian Federation (state contract No. 02.A03.21.0006).

WTe2 and MoTe2 single crystals were grown, and their electrical resistivity in the temperature range from 80 K to 300 K, optical properties at room temperature in the spectral range of 0.17-5.0 eV were studied as well as theoretical calculations of the electronic structure were performed. It is shown that the temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity of orthorhombic WTe2 has a metallic type with resistivity value of (0.5-1) mOhmcm, while hexagonal MoTe2 has a semiconductor one and resistivity value (0.5-1) Ohmcm, which is three orders of magnitude larger than the resistivity of WTe2. Optical properties indicated that there is no contribution from free carriers in the entire spectral range studied. The calculated densities of the electronic states of MoTe2 and WTe2 showed the presence of a bunch of the molybdenum and tungsten electronic states in a wide energy interval with strong admixing of tellurium states. In the WTe2 compound, the larger number of the electronic states is located near the Fermi energy, characterizing a more metallic state in this compound as compared to MoTe2. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd. Government Council on Grants, Russian Federation: 02, 211 Russian Foundation for Basic Research, RFBR: 17-52-52008 Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Minobrnauka: АААА-А18-118020190098-5 The research was carried out within the state assignment of Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (theme “Spin” No. АААА-А18-118020290104-2 and theme “Electron” No. АААА-А18-118020190098-5), supported in part by RFBR (Project No. 17-52-52008) and the Government of Russian Federation (Decree No. 211, Contract No. 02.A03.21.0006).

A topological semimetal PtSn4 single crystal was grown by method of crystallization from a solution in a melt. Then the electrical resistivity and galvanomagnetic properties (magnetoresistivity and the Hall effect) were studied in the temperature range from 4.2 to 80 K and in magnetic fields up to 100 kOe. The optical measurements were carried out at room temperature. The residual resistivity is shown to be low enough and amount to ∼ 0.5 μOhm•cm. The temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity has a metallic type, increasing monotonically with temperature. A sufficiently large magnetoresistance of 750% is observed. The majority carriers are supposed to be holes with a concentration of ∼ 6.8•10 21 cm -3 and mobility of ∼ 1950 cm 2 /Vs at T = 4.2 K as a result of the Hall effect studies. The optical properties of PtSn 4 have features characteristic of "bad" metals. © 2019 Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd. This work was partly supported by the state assignment of Russia (theme “Spin” No. АААА-А18-18020290104-2 and theme “Electron” No. АААА-А18-118020190098-5), by the RFBR (project No.17-52-52008) and by the Government of the Russian Federation (state contract No. 02.A03.21.0006).

The Co2 YSi (Y = Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) Heusler alloys can manifest the properties of half-metallic ferromagnets. These compounds are promising materials for spintronics since almost 100 % spin polarization of charge carriers can be realized at room temperature. We measured the electroresistivity, magnetic and galvanomagnetic properties of the Co2 YSi (Y = Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) Heusler alloys from 4.2 K to 300 K and in magnetic fields up to 100 kOe. The type, concentration and mobility of charge carriers were estimated. The Y-component variation in the Co2 YSi Heusler alloys is found to affect strongly the number of current carriers and alter the electronic band structure near the Fermi level E F and, consequently, the electronic transport and magnetic properties of the Co2 YSi (Y = Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni) Heusler alloys. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd. Russian Foundation for Basic Research, RFBR: 18-32-00686, 18-02-00739 Government Council on Grants, Russian Federation: 02. Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, UB RAS: 18-10-2-37 АААА-А18-118020290129-5 This work was partly supported by the state assignment of Minobrnauki of Russia (themes “Spin” No. АААА-А18-118020290104-2 and “Magnet” No. АААА-А18-118020290129-5), RFBR grants (Nos. 18-32-00686 and 18-02-00739), the Scientific Program of UB RAS (project No. 18-10-2-37) and the Government of the Russian Federation (state contract No. 02.A03.21.0006).