Influence of nonlocal damping on the field-driven domain wall motion

We derive the complete expression of nonlocal damping in noncollinear magnetization due to the nonuniform spin current pumped by precessional magnetization and incorporate it into a generalized Thiele equation to study its effects on the dynamics of the transverse and vortex domain walls (DWs) in ferromagnetic nanowires. We demonstrate that the transverse component of nonlocal damping slows down the field-driven DW propagation and increases the Walker breakdown field whereas it is neglected in many previous works in literature. The experimentally measured DW mobility variation with the damping tuned by doping with heavy rare-earth elements that had discrepancy from micromagnetic simulation are now well understood with the nonlocal damping. Our results suggest that the nonlocal damping should be properly included as a prerequisite for quantitative studies of current-induced torques in noncollinear magnetization.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

Breaking the current density threshold in spin-orbit-torque magnetic random access memory

Spin-orbit-torque magnetic random access memory (SOT-MRAM) is a promising technology for the next generation of data storage devices. The main bottleneck of this technology is the high reversal current density threshold. This outstanding problem of SOT-MRAM is now solved by using a current density of constant magnitude and varying flow direction that reduces the reversal current density threshold by a factor of more than the Gilbert damping coefficient. The Euler-Lagrange equation for the fastest magnetization reversal path and the optimal current pulse are derived for an arbitrary magnetic cell. The theoretical limit of minimal reversal current density and current density for a GHz switching rate of the new reversal strategy for CoFeB/Ta SOT-MRAMs are respectively of the order of $10^5$ A/cm$^2$ and $10^6$ A/cm$^2$ far below $10^7$ A/cm$^2$ and $10^8$ A/cm$^2$ in the conventional strategy. Furthermore, no external magnetic field is needed for a deterministic reversal in the new strategy

Multiple solutions in extracting physics information from experimental data

Multiple solutions exist in various experimental situations whenever the sum of several amplitudes is used to fit the experimentally measured distributions, such as the cross section, the mass spectrum, or the angular distribution. We show a few examples where multiple solutions were found, while only one solution was reported in the publications. Since there is no existing rules found in choosing any one of these solutions as the physics one, we propose a simple rule which agrees with what have been adopted in previous literatures: the solution corresponding to the minimal magnitudes of the amplitudes must be the physical solution. We suggest test this rule in the future experiments.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Spectroscopic Observations of Planetary Nebulae in the Northern Spur of M31

We present spectroscopy of three planetary nebulae (PNe) in the Northern Spur of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) obtained with the Double Spectrograph on the 5.1 m Hale Telescope at the Palomar Observatory. The samples are selected from the observations of Merrett et al. Our purpose is to investigate formation of the substructures of M31 using PNe as a tracer of chemical abundances. The [O III] 4363 auroral line is detected in the spectra of two objects, enabling temperature determinations. Ionic abundances are derived from the observed collisionally excited lines, and elemental abundances of nitrogen, oxygen, and neon as well as sulphur and argon are estimated. Correlations between oxygen and the alpha-element abundance ratios are studied, using our sample and the M31 disk and bulge PNe from the literature. In one of the three PNe, we observed relatively higher oxygen abundance compared to the disk sample in M31 at similar galactocentric distances. The results of at least one of the three Northern Spur PNe might be in line with the proposed possible origin of the Northern Spur substructure of M31, i.e. the Northern Spur is connected to the Southern Stream and both substructures comprise the tidal debris of the satellite galaxies of M31.Comment: 5 tables, 17 figures; accepted for publication in Ap