Magneto-quantum oscillation experiments in high-temperature superconductors show a strong thermally induced suppression of the oscillation amplitude approaching the critical dopings [B. J. Ramshaw, Science 348, 317 (2014)SCIEAS0036-807510.1126/science.aaa4990; H. Shishido, Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 057008 (2010)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.104.057008; P. Walmsley, Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 257002 (2013)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.110.257002] - in support of a quantum-critical origin of their phase diagrams.

First-principles calculations combining density-functional theory and continuum solvation models enable realistic theoretical modeling and design of electrochemical systems. When a reaction proceeds in such systems, the number of electrons in the portion of the system treated quantum mechanically changes continuously, with a balancing charge appearing in the continuum electrolyte. A grand-canonical ensemble of electrons at a chemical potential set by the electrode potential is therefore the ideal description of such systems that directly mimics the experimental condition.

We present a study of the magnetic dynamics associated with nanosecond scale magnetic switching driven by the spin Hall effect in 3-terminal nanoscale magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) with in-plane magnetization.

We report in situ low-energy electron diffraction intensity versus voltage [LEED-I(V)] studies of the surface atomic structure of epitaxially grown (001)pc-oriented (pc=pseudocubic) thin films of the correlated 3d transition-metal oxide LaNiO3. Our analysis indicates the presence of large out-of-plane bucklings of the topmost LaO layers but only minor bucklings of the topmost NiO2 layers, in close agreement with earlier surface x-ray diffraction data.

A catalyst functions by stabilizing reaction intermediates, usually through surface adsorption. In the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), surface oxygen adsorption plays an indispensable role in the electrocatalysis. The relationship between the adsorption energetics and OER kinetics, however, has not yet been experimentally measured. Herein we report an experimental relationship between the adsorption of surface oxygen and the kinetics of the OER on IrO2(110) epitaxially grown on a TiO2(110) single crystal.

ZnGeN2 and other heterovalent ternary semiconductors have important potential applications in optoelectronics, but ordering of the cation sublattice, which can affect the band gap, lattice parameters, and phonons, is not yet well understood. Here the effects of growth and processing conditions on the ordering of the ZnGeN2 cation sublattice were investigated using x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Polycrystalline ZnGeN2 was grown by exposing solid Ge to Zn and NH3 vapors at temperatures between 758 °C and 914 °C.

Recent discoveries regarding current-induced spin-orbit torques produced by heavy-metal/ferromagnet and topological-insulator/ferromagnet bilayers provide the potential for dramatically improved efficiency in the manipulation of magnetic devices. However, in experiments performed to date, spin-orbit torques have an important limitation - the component of torque that can compensate magnetic damping is required by symmetry to lie within the device plane.

Mechanical damage is central to both initiation and progression of osteoarthritis (OA). However, specific causal links between mechanics and cartilage damage are incompletely understood, which results in an inability to predict failure. The lack of understanding is primarily due to the difficulty in simultaneously resolving the high rates and small length scales relevant to the problem and in correlating such measurements to the resulting fissures.

Theoretical limits to the performance of superconductors in high magnetic fields parallel to their surfaces are of key relevance to current and future accelerating cavities, especially those made of new higher-T c materials such as Nb3Sn, NbN, and MgB2. Indeed, beyond the so-called superheating field , flux will spontaneously penetrate even a perfect superconducting surface and ruin the performance. We present intuitive arguments and simple estimates for , and combine them with our previous rigorous calculations, which we summarize.

We study the dynamics of entropy in a time dependent potential and explore how disorder influences this entropy flow. We show that disorder can trap entropy at the edge of the atomic cloud enabling a novel cooling method. We demonstrate the feasibility of our cooling technique by analyzing the evolution of entropy in a one-dimensional Fermi lattice gas with a time dependent superlattice potential. © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.