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- ItemEnergy balances and greenhouse gas emissions of palm oil biodiesel in Indonesia(Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2011) Harsono, Soni Sisbudi; Prochnow, Annette; Grundmann, Philipp; Hansen, Anja; Hallmann, ClaudiaThis study presents a cradle-to-gate assessment of the energy balances and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of Indonesian palm oil biodiesel production, including the stages of land-use change (LUC), agricultural phase, transportation, milling, biodiesel processing, and comparing the results from different farming systems, including company plantations and smallholder plantations (either out growers or independent growers) in different locations in Kalimantan and Sumatra of Indonesia. The findings demonstrate that there are considerable differences between the farming systems and the locations in net energy yields (43.6–49.2 GJ t 1 biodiesel yr 1) as well as GHG emissions (1969.6–5626.4 kg CO2eq t 1 biodiesel yr 1). The output to input ratios are positive in all cases. The largest GHG emissions result from LUC effects, followed by the transesterification, fertilizer production, agricultural production processes, milling, and transportation. Ecosystem carbon payback times range from 11 to 42 years.
- ItemHigh-field ESR studies of the quantum spin magnet CaCu2O 3(Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2006) Goiran, M.; Costes, M.; Broto, J.M.; Chou, F.C.; Klingeler, R.; Arushanov, E.; Drechsler, S.-L.; Büchner, B.; Kataev, V.We report an electron spin resonance (ESR) study of the s = 1/2 Heisenberg pseudo-ladder magnet CaCu2O3 in pulsed magnetic fields up to 40 T. At sub-terahertz frequencies we observe an ESR signal originating from a small amount of uncompensated spins residing presumably at the imperfections of the strongly antiferromagnetically correlated host spin lattice. The data give evidence that these few per cent of 'extra' spin states are coupled strongly to the bulk spins and are involved in the antiferromagnetic (AF) ordering at TN = 25 K. By mapping the frequency/resonance field diagram we have determined a small gap for magnetic excitations below TN of the order of ~0.3–0.8 meV. Such a small value of the gap explains the occurrence of the spin-flop transition in CaCu2O3 at weak magnetic fields μ0Hsf ~ 3 T. Qualitative changes of the ESR response with the increasing field strength give indications that strong magnetic fields reduce the AF correlations and may even suppress the long-range magnetic order in CaCu2O3. ESR data support scenarios with a significant role of the 'extra' spin states for the properties of low-dimensional quantum magnets.
- ItemOptical study of orbital excitations in transition-metal oxides(Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2005) Rückamp, R.; Benckiser, E.; Haverkort, M.W.; Roth, H.; Lorenz, T.; Freimuth, A.; Jongen, L.; Möller, A.; Meyer, G.; Reutler, P.; Büchner, B.; Revcolevschi, A.; Cheong, S.-W.; Sekar, C.; Krabbes, G.; Grüninger, M.The orbital excitations of a series of transition-metal compounds are studied by means of optical spectroscopy. Our aim was to identify signatures of collective orbital excitations by comparison with experimental and theoretical results for predominantly local crystal-field excitations. To this end, we have studied TiOCl, RTiO3 (R = La, Sm and Y), LaMnO3, Y2BaNiO5, CaCu2O3 and K4Cu4OCl10, ranging from early to late transition-metal ions, from t2g to eg systems, and including systems in which the exchange coupling is predominantly three-dimensional, one-dimensional or zero-dimensional. With the exception of LaMnO3, we find orbital excitations in all compounds. We discuss the competition between orbital fluctuations (for dominant exchange coupling) and crystal-field splitting (for dominant coupling to the lattice). Comparison of our experimental results with configuration-interaction cluster calculations in general yields good agreement, demonstrating that the coupling to the lattice is important for a quantitative description of the orbital excitations in these compounds. However, detailed theoretical predictions for the contribution of collective orbital modes to the optical conductivity (e.g. the line shape or the polarization dependence) are required to decide on a possible contribution of orbital fluctuations at low energies, in particular, in case of the orbital excitations at ≈0.25 eV in RTiO3. Further calculations are called for which take into account the exchange interactions between the orbitals and the coupling to the lattice on an equal footing.
- ItemModulated martensite: Why it forms and why it deforms easily(Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2011) Kaufmann, S.; Niemann, R.; Thersleff, T.; Rößler, U.K.; Heczko, O.; Buschbeck, J.; Holzapfel, B.; Schultz, L.; Fähler, S.Diffusionless phase transitions are at the core of the multifunctionality of (magnetic) shape memory alloys, ferroelectrics and multiferroics. Giant strain effects under external fields are obtained in low symmetric modulated martensitic phases. We outline the origin of modulated phases, their connection with tetragonal martensite and consequences owing to their functional properties by analysing the martensitic microstructure of epitaxial Ni–Mn–Ga films from the atomic to the macroscale. Geometrical constraints at an austenite–martensite phase boundary act down to the atomic scale. Hence, a martensitic microstructure of nanotwinned tetragonal martensite can form. Coarsening of twin variants can reduce twin boundary energy, a process we could observe from the atomic to the millimetre scale. Coarsening is a fractal process, proceeding in discrete steps by doubling twin periodicity. The collective defect energy results in a substantial hysteresis, which allows the retention of modulated martensite as a metastable phase at room temperature. In this metastable state, elastic energy is released by the formation of a 'twins within twins' microstructure that can be observed from the nanometre to the millimetre scale. This hierarchical twinning results in mesoscopic twin boundaries. Our analysis indicates that mesoscopic boundaries are broad and diffuse, in contrast to the common atomically sharp twin boundaries of tetragonal martensite. We suggest that the observed extraordinarily high mobility of such mesoscopic twin boundaries originates from their diffuse nature that renders pinning by atomistic point defects ineffective.
- ItemMagnetic quantum oscillations of diagonal conductivity in a two-dimensional conductor with a weak square superlattice modulation under conditions of the integer quantum Hall effect(Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2009) Gvozdikov, V.M.; Taut, M.We report on analytical and numerical studies of the magnetic quantum oscillations of the diagonal conductivity σxx in a two-dimensional conductor with a weak square superlattice modulation under conditions of the integer quantum Hall (IQHE) effect. The quantum Hall effect in such a system differs from the conventional IQHE, in which the finite width of the Landau bands is due to disorder only. The superlattice modulation potential yields a fractal splitting of the Landau levels into Hofstadter minibands. For rational flux through a unit cell, the minibands have a finite width and intrinsic dispersion relations. We consider a regime, now accessible experimentally, in which disorder does not wash out the fractal internal gap structure of the Landau bands completely. We found the following distinctions from the conventional IQHE produced by the superlattice: (i) the peaks in diagonal conductivity are split due to the Hofstadter miniband structure of Landau bands; (ii) the number of split peaks in the bunch, their positions and heights depend irregularly on the magnetic field and the Fermi energy; (iii) the gaps between the split Landau bands (and related quantum Hall plateaus) become narrower with the superlattice modulation than without it.
- ItemHigh-field phase diagram of the heavy-fermion metal YbRh2Si2(Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2006) Gegenwart, P.; Tokiwa, Y.; Westerkamp, T.; Weickert, F.; Custers, J.; Ferstl, J.; Krellner, C.; Geibel, C.; Kerschl, P.; Müller, K.-H.; Steglich, F.The tetragonal heavy-fermion (HF) metal YbRh2Si2 (Kondo temperature TK≈ 25 K) exhibits a magnetic field-induced quantum critical point related to the suppression of very weak antiferromagnetic (AF) ordering (TN = 70 mK) at a critical field of Bc = 0.06 T (B⊥ c). To understand the influence of magnetic fields on quantum criticality and the Kondo effect, we study the evolution of various thermodynamic and magnetic properties upon tuning the system by magnetic field. At B > Bc, the AF component of the quantum critical fluctuations becomes suppressed, and FM fluctuations dominate. Their polarization with magnetic field gives rise to a large increase of the magnetization. At B* = 10 T, the Zeeman energy becomes comparable to kB TK, and a steplike decrease of the quasi-particle mass deduced from the specific-heat coefficient indicates the suppression of HF behaviour. The magnetization M(B) shows a pronounced decrease in slope at B* without any signature of metamagnetism. The field dependence of the linear magnetostriction coefficient suggests an increase of the Yb-valency with field, reaching 3+ at high fields. A negative hydrostatic pressure dependence of B* is found, similar to that of the Kondo temperature. We also compare the magnetization behaviour in pulsed fields up to 50 T with that of the isoelectronic HF system YbIr2Si2, which, due to a larger unit-cell volume, has an enhanced TK of about 40 K.
- ItemIntroducing artificial length scales to tailor magnetic properties(Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2009) Fassbender, J.; Strache, T.; Liedke, M.O.; Markó, D.; Wintz, S.; Lenz, K.; Keller, A.; Facsko, S.; Mönch, I.; McCord, J.Magnetism is a collective phenomenon. Hence, a local variation on the nanoscale of material properties, which act on the magnetic properties, affects the overall magnetism in an intriguing way. Of particular importance are the length scales on which a material property changes. These might be related to the exchange length, the domain wall width, a typical roughness correlation length, or a length scale introduced by patterning of the material. Here we report on the influence of two artificially created length scales: (i) ion erosion templates that serve as a source of a predefined surface morphology (ripple structure) and hence allow for the investigation of roughness phenomena. It is demonstrated that the ripple wave length can be easily tuned over a wide range (25–175 nm) by varying the primary ion erosion energy. The effect of this ripple morphology on the induced uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in soft magnetic Permalloy films is studied. Only below a ripple wavelength threshold (≈60 nm) is a significant induced magnetic anisotropy found. Above this threshold the corrugated Permalloy film acts as a flat film. This cross-over is discussed in the frame of dipolar interactions giving rise to the induced anisotropies. (ii) Ion implantation through a lithographically defined mask, which is used for a magnetic property patterning on various length scales. The resulting magnetic properties are neither present in non-implanted nor in homogeneously implanted films. Here new insight is gained by the comparison of different stripe patterning widths ranging from 1 to 10 μm. In addition, the appearance of more complicated magnetic domain structures, i.e. spin-flop domain configurations and head-on domain walls, during hard axis magnetization reversal is demonstrated. In both cases the magnetic properties, the magnetization reversal process as well as the magnetic domain configurations depend sensitively on the artificially introduced length scale.
- ItemOrbital and spin effects for the upper critical field in As-deficient disordered Fe pnictide superconductors(Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2009) Fuchs, G.; Drechsler, S.-L.; Kozlova, N.; Bartkowiak, M.; Hamann-Borrero, J.E.; Behr, G.; Nenkov, K.; Klauss, H.-H.; Maeter, H.; Amato, A.; Luetkens, H.; Kwadrin, A.; Khasanov, R.; Freudenberger, J.; Köhler, A.; Knupfer, M.; Arushanov, E.; Rosner, H.; Büchner, B.; Schultz, L.We report upper critical field Bc2(T) data for LaO0.9F0.1FeAs1- δ in a wide temperature and field range up to 60 T. The large slope of Bc2≈- 5.4 to -6.6 T K-1 near an improved Tc≈28.5 K of the in-plane Bc2(T) contrasts with a flattening starting near 23 K above 30 T we regard as the onset of Pauli-limited behaviour (PLB) with Bc2(0)≈63–68 T. We interpret a similar hitherto unexplained flattening of the Bc2(T) curves reported for at least three other disordered closely related systems, Co-doped BaFe2As2, (Ba,K) Fe2As2 and NdO0.7F0.3FeAs (all single crystals), for applied fields H∥(a,b), also as a manifestation of PLB. Their Maki parameters have been estimated by analysing their Bc2(T) data within the Werthamer–Helfand–Hohenberg approach. The pronounced PLB of (Ba, K)Fe2As2 single crystals obtained from an Sn flux is attributed also to a significant As deficiency detected by wavelength dispersive x-ray spectroscopy as reported by Ni et al (2008 Phys. Rev. B 78 014507). Consequences of our results are discussed in terms of disorder effects within conventional superconductivity (CSC) and unconventional superconductivity (USC). USC scenarios with nodes on individual Fermi surface sheets (FSS), e.g. p- and d-wave SC, can be discarded for our samples. The increase of dBc2/dT|Tc by sizeable disorder provides evidence for an important intraband (intra-FSS) contribution to the orbital upper critical field. We suggest that it can be ascribed either to an impurity-driven transition from s± USC to CSC of an extended s++-wave state or to a stabilized s±-state provided As-vacancies cause predominantly strong intraband scattering in the unitary limit. We compare our results with Bc2 data from the literature, which often show no PLB for fields below 60–70 T probed so far. A novel disorder-related scenario of a complex interplay of SC with two different competing magnetic instabilities is suggested.
- ItemTuning functional properties by plastic deformation(Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2009) Kwon, A.R.; Neu, V.; Matias, V.; Hänisch, J.; Hühne, R.; Freudenberger, J.; Holzapfel, B.; Schultz, L.; Fähler, S.It is well known that a variation of lattice constants can strongly influence the functional properties of materials. Lattice constants can be influenced by external forces; however, most experiments are limited to hydrostatic pressure or biaxial stress. Here, we present an experimental approach that imposes a large uniaxial strain on epitaxially grown films in order to tune their functional properties. A substrate made of a ductile metal alloy covered with a biaxially oriented MgO layer is used as a template for growth of epitaxial films. By applying an external plastic strain, we break the symmetry within the substrate plane compared to the as-deposited state. The consequences of 2% plastic strain are examined for an epitaxial hard magnetic Nd2Fe14B film and are found to result in an elliptical distortion of the in-plane anisotropy below the spin-reorientation temperature. Our approach is a versatile method to study the influence of large plastic strain on various materials, as the MgO(001) layer used is a common substrate for epitaxial growth.
- ItemReversible shift in the superconducting transition for La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 and BaFe1.8Co0.2As2 using piezoelectric substrates(Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2010) Trommler, S.; Hühne, R.; Iida, K.; Pahlke, P.; Haindl, S.; Schultz, L.; Holzapfel, B.The use of piezoelectric substrates enables dynamic observation of the strain-dependent properties of functional materials. Based on studies with La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 (LSCO), we extended this approach to the iron arsenic superconductors represented by BaFe2− xCoxAs2 to investigate strain-driven changes in detail. We demonstrate that epitaxial thin films can be prepared on (001) Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)0.72Ti0.28O3 substrates using pulsed laser deposition. The structural and electric properties of grown films were characterized in detail. A reversible shift of the superconducting transition of 0.4 K for LSCO and 0.2 K for BaFe1.8Co0.2As2 was observed on applying biaxial strains of 0.022 and 0.017%, respectively.