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We have studied the magnetization depth profiles in a [57Fe(dFe)/Cr(dCr)]x30 multilayer with ultrathin Fe layers and nominal thickness of the chromium spacers dCr 2.0 nm using nuclear resonance scattering of synchrotron radiation. The presence of a broad pure-magnetic half-order (1/2) Bragg reflection has been detected at zero external field. The joint fit of the reflectivity curves and Mossbauer spectra of reflectivity measured near the critical angle and at the "magnetic" peak reveals that the magnetic structure of the multilayer is formed by two spirals, one in the odd and another one in the even iron layers, with the opposite signs of rotation. The double-spiral structure starts from the surface with the almost antiferromagnetic alignment of the adjacent Fe layers. The rotation of the two spirals leads to nearly ferromagnetic alignment of the two magnetic subsystems at some depth, where the sudden turn of the magnetic vectors by ~180 deg (spin-flop) appears, and both spirals start to rotate in opposite directions. The observation of this unusual double-spiral magnetic structure suggests that the unique properties of giant magneto-resistance devices can be further tailored using ultrathin magnetic layers., Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures

A possibility of further development of Synchrotron M\"{o}ssbauer Source (SMS) of $^{57}$Fe 14.4 keV radiation is considered. The principles and detailed description of the SMS device is given in Refs. Phys. Rev. A 84, 053851 (2011) G. V. Smirnov et al, J. Synchrotron Rad., v. 19, 559 (2012) V. Potapkin et al. The perfect crystal of Iron Borate, FeBO$_{3}$, is the central element of this device. The coherent nuclear fluorescence of IB crystal illuminated by synchrotron radiation produces the sharply directed beam of 14.4 keV M\"{o}ssbauer radiation from the crystal set at the pure nuclear Bragg reflection. Up to now the low angle scattering geometry was used for generation of the coherent $\gamma $ radiation. The analysis performed in the present paper shows that the source of about two times larger power can be obtained when nearly backward scattering geometry is employed. This result can be efficiently applied in development of high resolution spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation.

We report the results of our multicolor observations of PG 1115+080 with the 1.5-m telescope of the Maidanak Observatory (Uzbekistan, Central Asia) in 2001-2006. Monitoring data in filter R spanning the 2004, 2005 and 2006 seasons (76 data points) demonstrate distinct brightness variations of the source quasar with the total amplitude of almost 0.4 mag. Our R light curves have shown image C leading B by 16.4d and image (A1+A2) by 12d that is inconsistent with the previous estimates obtained by Schechter et al. in 1997 - 24.7d between B and C and 9.4d between (A1+A2) and C. The new values of time delays in PG 1115+080 must result in larger values for the Hubble constant, thus reducing difference between its estimates taken from the gravitational lenses and with other methods. Also, we analyzed variability of the A2/A1 flux ratio, as well as color changes in the archetypal "fold" lens PG 1115+080. We found the A1/A2 flux ratio to grow during 2001-2006 and to be larger at longer wavelengths. In particular, the A2/A1 flux ratio reached 0.85 in filter I in 2006. We also present evidence that both the A1 and A2 images might have undergone microlensing during 2001-2006, with the descending phase for A1 and initial phase for A2. We find that the A2/A1 flux ratio anomaly in PG 1115 can be well explained both by microlensing and by finite distance of the source quasar from the caustic fold., Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, 8 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRAS

We report new estimates of the time delays in the quadruple gravitationally lensed quasar PG1115+080, obtained from the monitoring data in filter R with the 1.5-m telescope at the Maidanak Mountain (Uzbekistan, Central Asia) in 2004-2006. The time delays are 16.4 days between images C and B, and 12 days between C and A1+A2, with image C being leading for both pairs. The only known estimates of the time delays in PG1115 are those based on observations by Schechter et al. (1997) -- 23.7 and 9.4 days between images C and B, C and A1+A2, respectively, as calculated by Schechter et al., and 25 and 13.3 days as revised by Barkana (1997) for the same image components with the use of another method. The new values of time delays in PG 1115+080 may be expected to provide larger estimates of the Hubble constant thus decreasing a diversity between the H_0 estimates taken from gravitationally lensed quasars and with other methods., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

Assuming a two-component quasar structure model consisting of a central compact source and an extended outer feature, we produce microlensing simulations for a population of star-like objects in the lens galaxy. Such a model is a simplified version of that adopted to explain the brightness variations observed in Q0957 (Schild & Vakulik 2003). The microlensing light curves generated for a range of source parameters were compared to the light curves obtained in the framework of the OGLE program. With a large number of trials we built, in the domain of the source structure parameters, probability distributions to find "good" realizations of light curves. The values of the source parameters which provide the maximum of the joint probability distribution calculated for all the image components, have been accepted as estimates for the source structure parameters. The results favour the two-component model of the quasar brightness structure over a single compact central source model, and in general the simulations confirm the Schild-Vakulik model that previously described successfully the microlensing and other properties of Q0957. Adopting 3300 km/s for the transverse velocity of the source, the effective size of the central source was determined to be about 2x10^15 cm, and Epsilon =2 was obtained for the ratio of the integral luminosity of the outer feature to that of the central source., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, LaTeX