Thermal and quantum depletion of superconductivity in narrow junctions created by controlled electromigration.

Superconducting nanowires currently attract great interest due to their application in single-photon detectors and quantum-computing circuits. In this context, it is of fundamental importance to understand the detrimental fluctuations of the superconducting order parameter as the wire width shrinks. In this paper, we use controlled electromigration to narrow down aluminium nanoconstrictions.

Desolvation-Driven 100-Fold Slow-down of Tunneling Relaxation Rate in Co(II)-Dy(III) Single-Molecule Magnets through a Single-Crystal-to-Single-Crystal Process.

Single-molecule magnets (SMMs) are regarded as a class of promising materials for spintronic and ultrahigh-density storage devices. Tuning the magnetic dynamics of single-molecule magnets is a crucial challenge for chemists. Lanthanide ions are not only highly magnetically anisotropic but also highly sensitive to the changes in the coordination environments.

Molcas 8: New capabilities for multiconfigurational quantum chemical calculations across the periodic table.

In this report, we summarize and describe the recent unique updates and additions to the Molcas quantum chemistry program suite as contained in release version 8. These updates include natural and spin orbitals for studies of magnetic properties, local and linear scaling methods for the Douglas-Kroll-Hess transformation, the generalized active space concept in MCSCF methods, a combination of multiconfigurational wave functions with density functional theory in the MC-PDFT method, additional methods for computation of magnetic properties, methods for diabatization, analytical gradients of state average complete active space SCF in association with density fitting, methods for constrained fragment optimization, large-scale parallel multireference configuration interaction including analytic gradients via the interface to the Columbus package, and approximations of the CASPT2 method to be used for computations of large systems. In addition, the report includes the description of a computational machinery for nonlinear optical spectroscopy through an interface to the QM/MM package Cobramm.

Tuning the Magnetic Interactions and Relaxation Dynamics of Dy2 Single-Molecule Magnets.

Efficient modulation of single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior was realized by deliberate structural modification of the Dy2 cores of [Dy2(a'povh)2(OAc)2(DMF)2] (1) and [Zn2Dy2(a'povh)2(OAc)6]⋅4 H2O (2; H2a'povh = N'-[amino(pyrimidin-2-yl)methylene]-o-vanilloyl hydrazine). Compound 1 having fourfold linkage between the two dysprosium ions shows high-performance SMM behavior with a thermal energy barrier of 322.1 K, whereas only slow relaxation is observed for compound 2 with only twofold connection between the dysprosium ions.

Local destruction of superconductivity by non-magnetic impurities in mesoscopic iron-based superconductors.

The determination of the pairing symmetry is one of the most crucial issues for the iron-based superconductors, for which various scenarios are discussed controversially. Non-magnetic impurity substitution is one of the most promising approaches to address the issue, because the pair-breaking mechanism from the non-magnetic impurities should be different for various models. Previous substitution experiments demonstrated that the non-magnetic zinc can suppress the superconductivity of various iron-based superconductors.

A radio-frequency coil for the microwave characterization of vortex dynamics in thin film superconductors.

A radio-frequency coil for the experimental investigation of the magnetic properties of thin superconducting films under microwave fields at different values of temperature and dc magnetic field has been developed. The system has been used for low-temperature microwave frequency-dependent magnetization measurements in a Pb thin film with an engineered periodical antidot array. The characteristic frequencies and the electric and magnetic fields of the resonant system formed by a multi-turn coil with a sample loaded in its core are estimated using the helical approach.

Influence of Guest Exchange on the Magnetization Dynamics of Dilanthanide Single-Molecule-Magnet Nodes within a Metal-Organic Framework.

Multitopic organic linkers can provide a means to organize metal cluster nodes in a regular three-dimensional array. Herein, we show that isonicotinic acid N-oxide (HINO) serves as the linker in the formation of a metal-organic framework featuring Dy2 single-molecule magnets as nodes. Importantly, guest solvent exchange induces a reversible single-crystal to single-crystal transformation between the phases Dy2(INO)4(NO3)2⋅2 solvent (solvent=DMF (Dy2-DMF), CH3CN (Dy2-CH3CN)), thereby switching the effective magnetic relaxation barrier (determined by ac magnetic susceptibility measurements) between a negligible value for Dy2-DMF and 76 cm(-1) for Dy2-CH3CN.

Heterometallic 3d-4f single-molecule magnets: ligand and metal ion influences on the magnetic relaxation.

Six tetranuclear 3d–4f single-molecule magnet (SMM) complexes formed using N-n-butyldiethanolamine and N-methyldiethanolamine in conjunction with ortho- and para-substituted benzoic acid and hexafluoroacetoacetone ligands yield two families, both having a butterfly metallic core. The first consists of four complexes of type {Co2(III)Dy2(III)} and {Co2(III)Co(II)Dy(III)} using N-n-butyldiethanolamine with variation of the carboxylate ligand. The anisotropy barriers are 80 cm–1, (77 and 96 cm–1—two relaxation processes occur), 117 and 88 cm–1, respectively, each following a relaxation mechanism from a single DyIII ion.

Bound vortex dipoles generated at pinning centres by Meissner current.

One of the phenomena that make superconductors unique materials is the Meissner-Ochsenfeld effect. This effect results in a state in which an applied magnetic field is expelled from the bulk of the material because of the circulation near its surface of resistance-free currents, also known as Meissner currents. Notwithstanding the intense research on the Meissner state, local fields due to the interaction of Meissner currents with pinning centres have not received much attention.

Fine-tuning the local symmetry to attain record blocking temperature and magnetic remanence in a single-ion magnet.

Remanence and coercivity are the basic characteristics of permanent magnets. They are also tightly correlated with the existence of long relaxation times of magnetization in a number of molecular complexes, called accordingly single-molecule magnets (SMMs). Up to now, hysteresis loops with large coercive fields have only been observed in polynuclear metal complexes and metal-radical SMMs.

Lateral magnetic near-field imaging of plasmonic nanoantennas with increasing complexity.

The design of many promising, newly emerging classes of photonic metamaterials and subwavelength confinement structures requires detailed knowledge and understanding of the electromagnetic near-field interactions between their building blocks. While the electric field distributions and, respectively, the electric interactions of different nanostructures can be routinely measured, for example, by scattering near-field microscopy, only recently experimental methods for imaging the magnetic field distributions became available. In this paper, we provide direct experimental maps of the lateral magnetic near-field distributions of variously shaped plasmonic nanoantennas by using hollow-pyramid aperture scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM).

Dynamic visualization of nanoscale vortex orbits.

Due to the atomic-scale resolution, scanning tunneling microscopy is an ideal technique to observe the smallest objects. Nevertheless, it suffers from very long capturing times in order to investigate dynamic processes at the nanoscale. We address this issue, for vortex matter in NbSe2, by driving the vortices using an ac magnetic field and probing the induced periodic tunnel current modulations.

Theory of the kinetics of luminescence and its temperature dependence for Ag nanoclusters dispersed in a glass host.

We have measured and fitted the kinetics of luminescence of Ag nanoclusters homogeneously dispersed within the bulk of an oxyfluoride glass, with various sample temperatures. The balance equations for the populations of the excited singlet and triplet states of the Ag nanoclusters are proposed and used in this fitting while taking into account inter-system crossing between the singlet and triplet states and their wavelength dependent spontaneous decay to the ground singlet state. The involved energy barriers and rate constants and spontaneous emission cross-sections for the excited singlet and triplet states are evaluated.

Ag nanocluster functionalized glasses for efficient photonic conversion in light sources, solar cells and flexible screen monitors.

An ever growing demand for efficient energy conversion, for instance in luminescent lamps, flexible screens and solar cells, results in the current significant growth of research on functionalized nanomaterials for these applications. This paper reviews recent developments of a new class of optically active nanostructured materials based on glasses doped with luminescent Ag nanoclusters consisting of only a few Ag atoms, suitable for mercury-free white light generation and solar down-shifting. This new approach, based solely on Ag nanocluster doped glasses, is compared to other alternatives in the field of Ag and rare-earth ion co-doped materials.

Rendering dark modes bright by using asymmetric split ring resonators.

We have studied both theoretically and experimentally symmetric and asymmetric planar metallic Split Ring Resonators. We demonstrate that introducing structural asymmetry makes it possible to excite several higher order modes of both even (l = 2) and odd (l = 3, 5) order, which are otherwise inaccessible for a normally incident plane wave in symmetric structures. Experimentally we observe that the even mode resonances of asymmetric resonators have a quality factor 5.

Mapping magnetic near-field distributions of plasmonic nanoantennas.

We present direct experimental mapping of the lateral magnetic near-field distribution in plasmonic nanoantennas using aperture scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM). By means of full-field simulations it is demonstrated how the coupling of the hollow-pyramid aperture probe to the nanoantenna induces an effective magnetic dipole which efficiently excites surface plasmon resonances only at lateral magnetic field maxima. This excitation in turn affects the detected light intensity enabling the visualization of the lateral magnetic near-field distribution of multiple odd and even order plasmon modes with subwavelength spatial resolution.

Method for the solution of the nucleation problem in arbitrary mesoscopic superconductors: theory and application.

We present a method for finding the condensate distribution at the nucleation of superconductivity for arbitrary polygons. The method is based on conformal mapping of the analytical solution of the linearized Ginzburg-Landau problem for the disk and uses the superconducting gauge for the magnetic potential proposed earlier. As a demonstration of the method's accuracy, we calculate the distribution of the order parameter in regular polygons and compare the obtained solutions with available numerical results.

Origin of visible photoluminescence from arrays of vertically arranged Si-nanopillars decorated with Si-nanocrystals.

Arrays of vertically aligned Si-nanopillars, with average diameters of 100 nm and 5 μm length, have been prepared by wet chemical etching of crystalline silicon in a special manner. Samples with smooth- and porous-walled nanopillars have been studied. In the case of the latter, Si-nanocrystals, passivated with SiO(x), decorating the surface of the nanopillars are identified by the means of TEM and FTIR.

Polarization memory of white luminescence of Ag nanoclusters dispersed in glass host.

A mechanism for white luminescence of Ag nanoclusters dispersed in oxyfluoride glass host has been revealed by studying a temperature dependence of its polarization memory. The spectral dependence of the polarization memory indicates the presence of a variety of Ag nanoclusters, particularly emitting in the blue, green and red. Temperature activated intercluster energy transfer has been found responsible for white luminescence.

Spin dynamics and relaxation in graphene nanoribbons: electron spin resonance probing.

Here we report the results of a multifrequency (~9, 20, 34, 239.2, and 336 GHz) variable-temperature continuous wave (cw) and X-band (~9 GHz) pulse electron spin resonance (ESR) measurement performed at cryogenic temperatures on potassium split graphene nanoribbons (GNRs). Important experimental findings include the following: (a) The multifrequency cw ESR data infer the presence of only carbon-related paramagnetic nonbonding states, at any measured temperature, with the g value independent of microwave frequency and temperature.

Energy level diagram and kinetics of luminescence of Ag nanoclusters dispersed in a glass host.

A site-selective spectroscopy study of Ag nanoclusters dispersed in oxyfluoride glass hosts has been carried out. The nano- to millisecond, essentially non-exponential, luminescence kinetics of Ag nanoclusters has been detected in the spectral range from 450 to 1000 nm, when excited at discrete wavelengths in the range 250 to 450 nm. Based on these experimental observations, the energy level configuration coordinate diagram for the involved ground and excited singlet/triplet states of the Ag nanoclusters has been proposed and confirmed by the density functional theory (DFT).

The harmonic analysis of cylindrically symmetric proteins: a comparison of Dronpa and a DNA sliding clamp.

The harmonic analysis of two types of proteins with cylindrical symmetry is performed by the Standard Force Field Normal Mode Analysis and by the elastic network model. For both proteins the global elastic modes are assigned to their characteristic topologies. Dronpa is a rigid β-barrel structure, presenting the twisting, bending and breathing motion of a cylindrical rod.

Electron spin resonance investigation of ultra-small double walled carbon nanotubes embedded in zeolite nanochannels.

We report on the low temperature electron spin resonance (ESR) properties of ultra-small (0.45 nm) double walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) embedded in zeolite nanochannels. An isotropic ESR signal is observed at g(c) = 2.

Magnetic anisotropy in the excited states of low symmetry lanthanide complexes.

Ab initio investigation of multiplet spectrum of lanthanides in archetypal coordination geometries shows an unexpected regular structure consisting of (i) mirror symmetry of anisotropic magnetic properties of doublet states, (ii) high magnetic axiality of low-lying and high-lying doublets, comparable to complexes with ideal axial symmetry, and (iii) the strong rotation of the anisotropy axes of individual doublets. The obtained high axiality of the ground doublet states explains the SMM behaviour of low-symmetry lanthanide complexes.