A large magnetoinductance effect in La0.67Ba0.33MnO3

We report four probe impedance of La0.67Ba0.33MnO3 at f = 100 kHz under different dc bias magnetic fields. The ac resistance (R) exhibits a peak around Tp = 325 K which is accompanied by a rapid increase and a peak in the reactance (X) in a zero field. The magnetoreactance exhibits a sharp peak close to Tp and its magnitude (= 60% in H = 1 kG) exceeds that of the ac magnetoresistance (= 5 % inH = 1 kG). It is suggested that the magnetoreactance arises from changes in the self inductance of the sample rather than the capacitance.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. accepted in Appl. Phys. Let

Electrical, magnetic, magnetodielectric and magnetoabsorption studies in multiferroic GaFeO3

We report electrical, magnetic, magnetodielectric and magnetoabsorption properties of a polycrystalline GaFeO3. The resistivity measurement shows that the sample is highly insulating below 200 K and the resistivity above 200 K obey the Arrhenius law with an activation energy of Ea = 0.67 eV. An anomaly occurs in the temperature dependence of permittivity (e) near the ferrimagnetic transition temperature (TC = 228 K) in a zero magnetic field and it is suppressed under H = 60 mT which indicates a possible magnetoelectric coupling in GaFeO3 with a fractional change of de/e = -1.8% at 60 mT around TC. The coercivity (HC) of the sample increases dramatically with lowering temperature below 200 K from 0.1 T at 200 K to 0.9 T at 5 K. Magnetoabsorption was studied with a LC resonance technique and we found a close correlation between the shift in the resonance frequency due to applied magnetic field and the coercive field measured using dc magnetization measurements. Our results obtained with multiple techniques suggest that GaFeO3 is an interesting ferrimagnet with potential applications in future multiferroic devices.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figures. submitted to J. Appl. Phy

X-ray properties of the microquasar GRS 1915+105 during a variability class transition

We present a detailed X-ray study of the microquasar GRS 1915+105 during a variability class transition observed in 2000 June with the PPCs of the Indian X-ray Astronomy Experiment. We supplement this observation with data from the RXTE archives. The source made a transition from a steady low-hard state to a regular oscillatory behaviour in the light curve known as bursts or class `rho' (Belloni et al. 2000) between 2000 May 11 and 17 and reverted back to the low-hard state on 2000 June 27. A gradual change in the burst recurrence time from about 75 s to about 40 s was observed which then increased to about 120 s during the ~ 40 days of class `rho'. The regular bursts disappeared from the X-ray light curves and the class transition was observed to occur within 1.5 hours on 2000 June 27 with the PPCs. A correlation is found between the observed QPO frequency at 5-8 Hz in the quiescent phase and the average X-ray intensity of the source during the class `rho'. We notice a strong similarity between the properties of the source during the class `rho' and those during the oscillatory phase of the observations of class `alpha'. From the timing and spectral analysis, it is found that the observed properties of the source over tens of days during the class `rho' are identical to those over a time scale of a few hundreds of seconds in the class `alpha'. Examining the light curves from the beginning of the RXTE/PCA and RXTE/ASM observations, it is found that the change of state from radio-quiet low-hard state to high state occurs through the X-ray classes `rho' and `alpha' which appear together during the state transition. It is further inferred that the source switches from low-hard state to the class `rho' through the intermediate class `alpha'.Comment: 10 pages with 9 figures, LaTex. To be appeared in MNRA

Positive and negative magnetocapacitance in magnetic nanoparticle systems

The dielectric properties of MnFe$_2$O$_4$ and $\gamma$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ magnetic nanoparticles embedded in insulating matrices were investigated. The samples showed frequency dependent dielectric anomalies coincident with the magnetic blocking temperature and significant magnetocapacitance above this blocking temperature, as large as 0.4% at H = 10kOe. For both samples the magnetic field induced change in dielectric constant was proportional to the square of the sample magnetization. These measurements suggest that the dielectric properties of magnetic nanoparticles are closely related to the disposition of magnetic moments in the system. As neither bulk gamma-Fe2O3 nor MnFe2O3 are magnetoelectric materials, this magnetodielectric coupling is believed to arise from extrinsic effects which are discussed in light of recent work relating magnetoresistive and magnetocapacitive behavior.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

Wonder Gift of Nature: Spirulina

Humans have to keep themselves healthy and fit to have a progressive life. A nation with healthy people moves ahead. In this context, it will be apt to be aware of the fact that nature has given India a very precious gift in the form of Spirulina, a blue green alga. Spirulina is very rich in protein content. Its utility as a dietary supplement and a therapeutic substance, not only for animals but also for human beings, is well recognised

QCD Thermodynamics with Improved Actions

The thermodynamics of the SU(3) gauge theory has been analyzed with tree level and tadpole improved Symanzik actions. A comparison with the continuum extrapolated results for the standard Wilson action shows that improved actions lead to a drastic reduction of finite cut-off effects already on lattices with temporal extent $N_\tau=4$. Results for the pressure, the critical temperature, surface tension and latent heat are presented. First results for the thermodynamics of four-flavour QCD with an improved staggered action are also presented. They indicate similarly large improvement factors for bulk thermodynamics.Comment: Talk presented at LATTICE96(finite temperature) 4 pages, LaTeX2e file, 6 eps-file