Planetary magnetospheres

A concise overview is presented of our understanding of planetary magnetospheres (and in particular, of that of the Earth), as of the end of 1981. Emphasis is placed on processes of astrophysical interest, e.g., on particle acceleration, collision-free shocks, particle motion, parallel electric fields, magnetic merging, substorms, and large scale plasma flows. The general morphology and topology of the Earth's magnetosphere are discussed, and important results are given about the magnetospheres of Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury, including those derived from the Voyager 1 and 2 missions and those related to Jupiter's satellite Io. About 160 references are cited, including many reviews from which additional details can be obtained

Spitzer Observations of High Redshift Radio Galaxies

We present the results of a comprehensive Spitzer survey of 70 radio galaxies across 1<z<5.2. Using IRAC, IRS and MIPS imaging we determine the rest-frame AGN contribution to the stellar emission peak at 1.6um. The stellar luminosities are found to be consistent with that of a giant elliptical with a stellar mass of 10^11-12Msun. The mean stellar mass remains constant at \~10^11.5Msun up to z=3 indicating that the upper end of the mass function is already in place by this redshift. The mid-IR luminosities imply bolometric IR luminosities that would classify all sources as ULIRGs. The mid-IR to radio luminosity generally correlate implying a common origin for these emissions. The ratio is higher than that found for lower redshift, ie z<1, radio galaxies.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the proceedings of "The Spitzer Science Center 2005 Conference: Infrared Diagnostics of Galaxy Evolution", held in Pasadena, November 200

Antiferromagnetic s-d exchange coupling in GaMnAs

Measurements of coherent electron spin dynamics in Ga(1-x)Mn(x)As/Al(0.4)Ga(0.6)As quantum wells with 0.0006% < x < 0.03% show an antiferromagnetic (negative) exchange bewteen s-like conduction band electrons and electrons localized in the d-shell of the Mn2+ impurities. The magnitude of the s-d exchange parameter, N0 alpha, varies as a function of well width indicative of a large and negative contribution due to kinetic exchange. In the limit of no quantum confinement, N0 alpha extrapolates to -0.09 +/- 0.03 eV indicating that antiferromagnetic s-d exchange is a bulk property of GaMnAs. Measurements of the polarization-resolved photoluminescence show strong discrepancy from a simple model of the exchange enhanced Zeeman splitting, indicative of additional complexity in the exchange split valence band.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures and one action figur

Current-Induced Polarization and the Spin Hall Effect at Room Temperature

Electrically-induced electron spin polarization is imaged in n-type ZnSe epilayers using Kerr rotation spectroscopy. Despite no evidence for an electrically-induced internal magnetic field, current-induced in-plane spin polarization is observed with characteristic spin lifetimes that decrease with doping density. The spin Hall effect is also observed, indicated by an electrically-induced out-of-plane spin polarization with opposite sign for spins accumulating on opposite edges of the sample. The spin Hall conductivity is estimated as 3 +/- 1.5 Ohms**-1 m**-1/|e| at 20 K, which is consistent with the extrinsic mechanism. Both the current-induced spin polarization and the spin Hall effect are observed at temperatures from 10 K to 295 K.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Room temperature electron spin coherence in telecom-wavelength quaternary quantum wells

Time-resolved Kerr rotation spectroscopy is used to monitor the room temperature electron spin dynamics of optical telecommunication wavelength AlInGaAs multiple quantum wells lattice-matched to InP. We found that electron spin coherence times and effective g-factors vary as a function of aluminum concentration. The measured electron spin coherence times of these multiple quantum wells, with wavelengths ranging from 1.26 microns to 1.53 microns, reach approximately 100 ps at room temperature, and the measured electron effective g-factors are in the range from -2.3 to -1.1.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Drift and Diffusion of Spins Generated by the Spin Hall Effect

Electrically generated spin accumulation due to the spin Hall effect is imaged in n-GaAs channels using Kerr rotation microscopy, focusing on its spatial distribution and time-averaged behavior in a magnetic field. Spatially-resolved imaging reveals that spin accumulation observed in transverse arms develops due to longitudinal drift of spin polarization produced at the sample boundaries. One- and two-dimensional drift-diffusion modeling is used to explain these features, providing a more complete understanding of observations of spin accumulation and the spin Hall effect.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure