Cosmological magnetic field: a fossil of density perturbations in the early universe

The origin of the substantial magnetic fields that are found in galaxies and on even larger scales, such as in clusters of galaxies, is yet unclear. If the second-order couplings between photons and electrons are considered, then cosmological density fluctuations, which explain the large-scale structure of the universe, can also produce magnetic fields on cosmological scales before the epoch of recombination. By evaluating the power spectrum of these cosmological magnetic fields on a range of scales, we show here that magnetic fields of 10(-18.1) gauss are generated at a 1-megaparsec scale and can be even stronger at smaller scales (10(-14.1) gauss at 10 kiloparsecs). These fields are large enough to seed magnetic fields in galaxies and may therefore have affected primordial star formation in the early universe.     

Moissanite: a window for high-pressure experiments

We achieved a pressure of 52.1 gigapascals with moissanite anvils, which have optical, thermal, electric, magnetic, and x-ray properties that rival those of diamond. The mode-softening of D(2)O toward the pressure-induced hydrogen bond symmetrization and the Raman shifts of diamond under hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic compressions were studied with moissanite anvils in the spectral regions normally obscured by diamond anvils. Moissanite anvil cells allow maximum sample volumes 1000 times larger than those allowed by diamond anvil cells and may enable the next level of advancement in high-pressure experiments.     

磁性超晶格中静磁波的表面退磁效应

利用等效介质理论，在考虑磁性层表面动力学退磁场影响的前提下，首先给出了动力学磁化率，然后求出了色散方程。当坐标系的，轴垂直于层间界面，饱和磁化和外场均沿z轴方向时，数值计算结果表明：表面静磁波可以在任意磁性层的相对厚度时存在，同时表面波的传播方向处在x-z平面的第三和第四象限中。这两结论与以往的结果不同。体静磁模频率的连续区在表面模频率的上方。     

Mesoscopic phase coherence in a quantum spin fluid

Mesoscopic quantum phase coherence is important because it improves the prospects for handling quantum degrees of freedom in technology. Here we show that the development of such coherence can be monitored using magnetic neutron scattering from a one-dimensional spin chain of an oxide of nickel (Y2BaNiO5), a quantum spin fluid in which no classical static magnetic order is present. In the cleanest samples, the quantum coherence length is 20 nanometers, which is almost an order of magnitude larger than the classical antiferromagnetic correlation length of 3 nanometers. We also demonstrate that the coherence length can be modified by static and thermally activated defects in a quantitatively predictable manner.     

Toroidal dipolar response in a metamaterial

Toroidal multipoles are fundamental electromagnetic excitations different from those associated with the familiar charge and magnetic multipoles. They have been held responsible for parity violation in nuclear and particle physics, but direct evidence of their existence in classical electrodynamics has remained elusive. We report on the observation of a resonant electromagnetic response in an artificially engineered medium, or metamaterial, that cannot be attributed to magnetic or charge multipoles and can only be explained by the existence of a toroidal dipole. Our direct experimental evidence of the toroidal response brings attention to the often ignored electromagnetic interactions involving toroidal multipoles, which could be present in naturally occurring systems, especially at the macromolecule level, where toroidal symmetry is ubiquitous.     

Turbulent dynamics in the solar convection zone

Observations of the sun reveal highly complex flows and magnetic structures that must result from turbulent convection in the solar envelope. A remarkable degree of large-scale coherence emerges from the small-scale turbulent dynamics, as seen in the cycles of magnetic activity and in the differential rotation profile of this star. High-performance computing now permits numerical simulations of compressible turbulence and magnetohydrodynamics with sufficient resolution to show that compact structures of vorticity and magnetic fields can coexist with larger scales. Such structured turbulence is yielding transport properties for heat and angular momentum at considerable variance with earlier models. These simulations are elucidating the coupling of turbulent fluid motions with rotation and magnetic fields, which must control the interlinked differential rotation and magnetic dynamo action.     

Giant fluctuations of coulomb drag in a bilayer system

The Coulomb drag in a system of two parallel layers is the result of electron-electron interaction between the layers. We have observed reproducible fluctuations of the drag, both as a function of magnetic field and electron concentration, which are a manifestation of quantum interference of electrons in the layers. At low temperatures the fluctuations exceed the average drag, giving rise to random changes of the sign of the drag. The fluctuations are found to be much larger than previously expected, and we propose a model that explains their enhancement by considering fluctuations of local electron properties.     

Organic superconductors--new benchmarks

Recent advances in the design and synthesis of organic synthetic metals have yielded materials that have the highest superconducting transition temperatures (T(c) approximately 13 kelvin) reported for these systems. These materials have crystal structures consisting of alternating layers of organic donor molecules and inorganic anions. Organic superconductors have various electronic and magnetic properties and crystal structures that are similar to those of the inorganic copper oxide superconductors (which have high T(c) values); these similarities include highly anisotropic conductivities, critical fields, and short coherence lengths. The largest number of organic superconductors, including those with the highest T(c) values, are charge-transfer salts derived from the electron donor molecule BEDT-TTF or ET [bis(ethylenedithio)-tetrathiafulvalene]. The synthesis and crystal structures of these salts are discussed; their electrical, magnetic, and band electronic structure properties and their many similarities to the copper oxide superconductors are treated as well.     

Efficiency of convection in variable stars and the sun

Observed changes in the pulsation periods of Cepheid variables can be used to place an upper limit on changes in convective efficiency in their outer layers. This limit implies changes no larger than those recently suggested as occurring in the sun.     

Granular convection observed by magnetic resonance imaging

Vibrations in a granular material can spontaneously produce convection rolls reminiscent of those seen in fluids. Magnetic resonance imaging provides a sensitive and noninvasive probe for the detection of these convection currents, which have otherwise been difficult to observe. A magnetic resonance imaging study of convection in a column of poppy seeds yielded data about the detailed shape of the convection rolls and the depth dependence of the convection velocity. The velocity was found to decrease exponentially with depth; a simple model for this behavior is presented here.     

Nanoscale Magnetic Domains in Mesoscopic Magnets

The basic magnetic properties of three-dimensional nanostructured materials can be drastically different from those of a continuous film. High-resolution magnetic force microscopy studies of magnetic submicrometer-sized cobalt dots with geometrical dimensions comparable to the width of magnetic domains reveal a variety of intricate domain patterns controlled by the details of the dot geometry. By changing the thickness of the dots, the width of the geometrically constrained magnetic domains can be tuned. Concentric rings and spirals with vortex configurations have been stabilized, with particular incidence in the magnetization reversal process as observed in the ensemble-averaged hysteresis loops.     

老化和磁场处理对大白菜种子生理生化指标的影响

为研究大白菜种子老化后的生理生化变化以及磁处理对种子活力的影响,采用高温高湿的人工环境和人工磁场,测定种子老化后活力指标的变化。结果表明:4个大白菜品种随着老化时间的增加,发芽率、发芽势、发芽指数及活力指数都呈下降趋势,发芽势的下降幅度要大于发芽率的下降幅度。老化种子浸出液的电导率随老化时间的延长而逐渐增加,超氧化物歧化酶、过氧化物酶及过氧化氢酶的活性逐渐降低。经过磁场处理后的老化种子的各项活力指标的变化趋势与未经磁场处理的大体一致,但变化幅度明显变小,特别在老化后期,这种趋势更加明显。表明磁场处理在一定程度上可提高大白菜种子抗老化能力,品种间存在一定差异。     

Electrical sources in human somatosensory cortex: identification by combined magnetic and potential recordings

Magnetic fields and electrical potentials produced by neuronal activity have different properties that can be used for the identification of electrical sources in the human brain. Fields and potentials occurring 20 to 30 milliseconds after median nerve stimulation in human subjects were compared in order to investigate the sources of evoked potential components that have been attributed by different investigators to the thalamus or thalamocortical afferents, to separate radial sources in somatosensory cortex and motor cortex, or to a tangential source in somatosensory cortex. The magnetic and potential wave forms were highly similar in morphology, and their spatial distributions were centered over sensorimotor cortex, were dipolar in shape, and differed in orientation by approximately 90 degrees; distances between the minimum and maximum of the magnetic distributions were about 60 percent of those of the potential distributions. These results cannot be accounted for by thalamic sources or radial cortical sources alone, but are consistent with a tangential source in somatosensory cortex, with an additional smaller contribution from radial sources.     

趋磁性木材的制备与多功能化修饰

受生物体磁场感应特征的启发而被开发利用的趋磁性木材是一种新型的功能性材料,当前对它的研究仍在起步阶段。文中系统地探讨了水热工艺参数,如反应的温度、时间和反应物的浓度对趋磁性木材结构和性能的影响,并通过扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)仪和磁学测量系统对趋磁性木材的表面形貌、晶体类型和磁性能进行了分析。结果发现,高的反应温度有利于在木材表面生成粒径更大的磁性粒子,从而得到具有更高饱和磁化强度的磁性木材。反应时间对趋磁性木材形成初期的形貌和磁性有重要影响,但当反应时间达到8 h时,木材上磁性粒子数量达到饱和状态。反应物浓度对生长在木材表面磁性粒子的纯度具有很重要的影响,合适的反应物浓度能够确保得到高纯度的磁性粒子。此外,在优化工艺的基础上对趋磁性木材进行疏水改性,可以得到同时具有抗紫外老化性能、超疏水性和磁性的多功能性木材,拓展了趋磁性木材的应用领域。     

Search for magnetic monopoles in the lunar sample

An electromagnetic search for magnetic monopoles of the minimum size predicted by Dirac, or of any larger magnitude, has been performed on 8.37 kilograms of lunar surface material. No monopole was found. This experimnent sets new limists on the production cross section for monopoles and on their occurrence in cosmic radiation.     

Comparing Immature Development and Life History Traits in Two Coexisting Host-Feeding Parasitoids,Diglyphus isaea and Neochrysocharis formosa (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae)

Coexisting natural enemies that share a common host resource in the same guild usually exhibit variation in their life history traits, due to their need to share a similar ecological niche. In this study, we compared the immature development times and adult life history traits of two coexisting, host-feeding parasitoids, Diglyphus isaea Walker and Neochrysocharis formosa Westwood (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), of which both attack larvae of the same agromyzid leafminers. These two species are both synovigenic, idiobiont parasitoids, whose adults consume host fluids (“host feeding”) and lay anhydropic eggs. Of the two, D. isaea has a larger body but little or no initial egg load, and engages in similar lifetime host-feeding events. However, it achieves higher fecundity, longer adult longevity, and higher host suppression ability than N. formosa, which has a smaller body and higher initial egg load. Although D. isaea engages in similar lifetime host-feeding events with N. formosa, all of its gains in life history traits per host-feeding event of D. isaea were larger than those of N. formosa. The age-specific fecundity and host mortality curves of N. formosa were more skewed in early life than those of D. isaea. In addition, the ovigeny index of N. formosa was negatively correlated to body size. Our results confirmed that two coexisting parasitoids, which share the same host resource, show different immature development patterns and life history traits, suggesting that different resource allocation mode could be a general rule of coexisting species sharing the same habitat or host.     

Coherent spin oscillations in a disordered magnet

Most materials freeze when cooled to sufficiently low temperature. We find that magnetic dipoles randomly distributed in a solid matrix condense into a spin liquid with spectral properties on cooling that are the diametric opposite of those for conventional glasses. Measurements of the nonlinear magnetic dynamics in the low-temperature liquid reveal the presence of coherent spin oscillations composed of hundreds of spins with lifetimes of up to 10 seconds. These excitations can be labeled by frequency and manipulated by the magnetic fields from a loop of wire and can permit the encoding of information at multiple frequencies simultaneously.     

Magnetic lineations in the ancient crust of mars

The Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, in a highly elliptical polar orbit, obtained vector magnetic field measurements above the surface of Mars (altitudes >100 kilometers). Crustal magnetization, mainly confined to the most ancient, heavily cratered martian highlands, is frequently organized in east-west-trending linear features, the longest extending over 2000 kilometers. Crustal remanent magnetization exceeds that of terrestrial crust by more than an order of magnitude. Groups of quasi-parallel linear features of alternating magnetic polarity were found. They are reminiscent of similar magnetic features associated with sea floor spreading and crustal genesis on Earth but with a much larger spatial scale. They may be a relic of an era of plate tectonics on Mars.     

Magnetosphere sawtooth oscillations induced by ionospheric outflow

The sawtooth mode of convection of Earth's magnetosphere is a 2- to 4-hour planetary-scale oscillation powered by the solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere (SW-M-I) interaction. Using global simulations of geospace, we have shown that ionospheric O(+) outflows can generate sawtooth oscillations. As the outflowing ions fill the inner magnetosphere, their pressure distends the nightside magnetic field. When the outflow fluence exceeds a threshold, magnetic field tension cannot confine the accumulating fluid; an O(+)-rich plasmoid is ejected, and the field dipolarizes. Below the threshold, the magnetosphere undergoes quasi-steady convection. Repetition and the sawtooth period are controlled by the strength of the SW-M-I interaction, which regulates the outflow fluence.     

Spreading of the ocean floor: new evidence

It is suggested that the entire history of the ocean basins, in terms of oceanfloor spreading,is contained frozen in the oceanic crust. Variations in the intensity and polarity of Earth's magnetic field are considered to be recorded in the remanent magnetism of the igneous rocks as they solidified and cooled through the Curie temperature at the crest of an oceanic ridge, and subsequently spread away from it at a steady rate. The hypothesis is supported by the extreme linearity and continuity of oceanic magnetic anomalies and their symmetry about the axes of ridges. If the proposed reversal time scale for the last 4 million years is combined with the model, computed anomaly profiles show remarkably good agreement with those observed, and one can deduce rates of spreading for all active parts of the midoceanic ridge system for which magnetic profilesor surveys are available. The rates obtained are in exact agreement with those needed to account for continental drift. An exceptionally high rate of spreading (approximately 4.5 cm/year) in the South Pacific enables one to deduce by extrapolation considerable details of the reversal time scale back to 11.5 million years ago. Again, this scale can be applied to other parts of the ridge system. Thus one isled to the suggestion that the crest of the East Pacific Rise in the northeast Pacific has been overridden and modified by the westward drift of North America, with the production of the anomalous width and unique features of the American cordillera in the western United States. The oceanicmagnetic anomalies also indicate that there was a change in derection of crustal spreading in this region during Pliocene time from eastwest to southeast-northwest. A profile from the crest to the boundary of the East Pacific Rise, and the difference between axial-zone and flank anomalies over ridges, suggest increase in the frequency of reversal of Earth's magnetic field, together, possibly, with decrease in its intensity, approximately 25 million years ago. Within the framework of ocean-floor spreading, it is suggested that magnetic anomaliesmay indicate the nature of oceanic fracture zones and distinguish the parts of the ridge system that are actively spreading. Thus data derived during the past year lend remarkable support to thehypothesis that magnetic anomalies may reveal the history of the ocean basins.