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![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090825011152im_/http://www.als.lbl.gov/pics/clear.gif) |
Towards
Heavy Fermions in Europium Intermetallic Compounds
For decades, intermetallic compounds of rare-earth
metals have been favorite systems of the research community studying
strong electron correlations in solids. Nowadays rare-earth intermetallics
are often treated as model systems for studies of zero-temperature
quantum critical phase transitions, since heavy-fermion rare-earth
compounds (in which the electron effective mass is orders of
magnitude larger than the bare electron mass) have provided the
clearest evidence for these continuous phase transitions, which
are controlled by such parameters as chemical composition, magnetic
field, and pressure, rather than temperature. A new study of
a europium-based compound by an international team led by researchers
from the Technische Universität Dresden in Germany hints
that this compound could join well-known compounds of cerium,
ytterbium, and uranium as a new material suitable for research
on quantum critical transitions. This finding is exciting, since
physicists hope that the use of a new material will give an additional
degree of freedom for researching quantum critical behavior. Full
story.
![Playing the Eu 4f Strings](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090825011152im_/http://www.als.lbl.gov/pics/189fermionsfig0.png)
Publication about this research: S. Danzenbacher,
D.V. Vyalikh, Y. Kucherenko, A. Kade, C. Laubschat, N. Caroca-Canales,
C. Krellner, C. Geibel, A.V. Fedorov, D.S. Dessau, R. Follath,
W. Eberhardt, and S.L. Molodtsov, "Hybridization phenomena
in nearly half-filled f-shell electron systems: Photoemission study
of EuNi2P2," Phys. Rev. Lett. 102,
026403 (2009).
Serguei Molodtsov |
Stochastic
Domain-Wall Depinning in Magnetic Nanowires
Reliably controlling the motion of magnetic
domain walls along magnetic nanowires is a key requirement for
current technological development of novel classes of logic and
storage devices, but understanding the nature of non-deterministic
domain-wall motion remains a scientific challenge. A statistical
analysis of high-resolution magnetic soft x-ray microscopy images
by a Berkeley Lab–University of Hamburg group has now revealed
that the stochastic behavior of the domain-wall depinning field
in notch-patterned Ni80Fe20 (permalloy)
nanowires depends strongly on the wire width and the notch depth.
This result both provides valuable insight into the motion of
magnetic-domain walls and opens a path to further technological
developments in spintronics applications. Full
story.
![Mangetic Domain Walls](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090825011152im_/http://www.als.lbl.gov/pics/190domain-wallsfig0.png)
Publication about this research: M.-Y. Im, L.
Bocklage, P. Fischer, and G. Meier, "Direct observation of
stochastic domain-wall depinning in magnetic nanowires," Phys.
Rev. Lett. 102, 147204 (2009).
Peter Fischer
Mi-Young Im |
ALS
Gets $11.3 M in Stimulus Funds for Facility Improvements
The ALS is receiving $11.3 million to help
it maintain its position as one of the world's premier soft x-ray
light sources. Four items from the ALS strategic plan have been
approved for funding though the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act (ARRA).
First,
the ALS will receive $5.8 million to increase brightness by replacing
existing corrector magnets with hybrid multifunction sextupole
magnets. This lattice upgrade would increase brightness by a factor
of three in the center-bend-magnet beamlines and up to a factor
of two in the insertion-device straights. Second, the ALS will
receive $2 million to construct and install an elliptically polarizing
undulator for the femtosecond soft x-ray Beamline 6.0.2, effectively
doubling its capacity by enabling soft and hard x-ray branchlines
to operate simultaneously. Third, the ALS will receive $2 million
to equip beamlines with advanced CCD-based detectors developed
at Berkeley Lab. These detectors, which are well beyond the commercially
available state of the art, will dramatically increase the reach
and scientific productivity of each of the beamlines where they
are deployed. Fourth, the ALS will receive $1.5 million to develop
a superconducting vector magnetometer with a magnetic field of
over 5 Tesla in any orientation relative to the sample and photon
polarization. The high magnetic field will allow experiments leading
to novel insights into the magnetic structure of engineered magnetic
nanostructures and materials not accessible by any other technique.
It is estimated that the funding will create the equivalent of
more than 19 jobs at the Lab and 65 jobs externally.
Beyond the items described above, several ALS-related
infrastructure projects will also receive ARRA funds. The ALS User
Support Building, currently under construction, has been forwarded
$14.6 million for FY10 funding. The project, which has had funding
challenges in the past, can now proceed uninterrupted and be completed
in the most efficient way possible. Building 6, which houses the
ALS experiment floor as well as offices, labs, and conference rooms,
will receive $1.5 million to replace three aging air handling units
that had some vibration issues, negatively impacting scientific
studies, with higher-capacity and higher-efficiency units. Building
2, which provides office, laboratory, and conference-room space
adjacent to the ALS, will receive $2.9 million for upgrades to
its cooling system.
Visit recovery.lbl.gov for
more details on all Berkeley Lab's ARRA projects.
Steve Rossi |
UEC
Corner: Users' Meeting Workshops, Deadlines, and Elections
The
16th annual ALS Users' Meeting is just a few weeks away: October
15–17, 2009. As in 2007, this year's meeting will be held
jointly with The Molecular Foundry with a joint plenary, workshops,
poster session, and banquet. Information will be posted on this
site as it becomes available.
WORKSHOPS: This year's meeting will have a primary
focus on research to further the United States' and the world's
energy agenda. Workshops cover that theme and a broad spectrum
of other issues, including detectors; x-ray diffraction; graphene;
influenza; nanomagnetism; next generation light sources; numerical
modeling; quantum systems, clusters, and assembled materials; spectroscopy;
tailored materials; and polymers. The complete
list can be found online.
AWARDS: Nominations for the Shirley (Science),
Halbach (Instrumentation), and Renner (Service) Awards will be
accepted until Monday, August 31, 2009. This year's nomination
process is different than in previous years. Nominators fill out
a simple
form.
POSTERS: The deadline for poster abstract submissions
is also Monday, August 31, 2009. Students submitting posters have
the opportunity to compete for three poster awards, with the winner
being given an opportunity to speak at the Friday morning session.
LODGING: The Berkeley Lab Guest House is nearing
completion, and we expect that it will be ready to accept guests
by the time of the meeting. However, reservations are not being
accepted just yet. Check this
Web site frequently if you would like to be one of the first
guests. A block of rooms has also been reserved at the Hotel Durant.
UEC ELECTIONS: Finally, the ALS Users' Executive
Committee will be electing three new members and one student representative
this fall. Nominations will be accepted until October 15, 2009,
and voting will begin on October 16, 2009, on the second day of
the meeting. Nomination instructions will be provided on the ALS Users'
Meeting Web site in August.
Ken Goldberg (UEC Chair)
Yayoi Takamura (Users' Meeting Co-Chair)
David Osborn (Users' Meeting Co-Chair) |
DOE,
UC Berkeley, and City of Berkeley Officials Visit
It's been a busy month for the ALS and Berkeley
Lab, with several high-profile visits from federal, state, and
local government representatives. Department of Energy (DOE)
Secretary Stephen Chu visited both the SLAC National Accelerator
Laboratory and Berkeley Lab on a West Coast trip in late June.
At SLAC, Chu spoke to a crowd of 700 about the energy challenges
facing our country and how science can contribute solutions.
Across the bay, at Berkeley Lab where he served as Director from
2004 through 2008, Chu attended a small reception and heard presentations
on a variety of research projects underway at the Lab, from carbon
dioxide fixation to hydrogen storage to graphene breakthroughs,
the latter given by the ALS's own Eli Rotenberg. Also in attendance
were Berkeley Lab Director Paul Alivisatos, Lab Chief Operating
Officer Jim Krupnick, ALS Division Director Roger Falcone, and
Physical Biosciences Acting Division Director Paul Adams.
![Chu and Rotenberg](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090825011152im_/http://www.als.lbl.gov/pics/vol300b.png)
Chu and Rotenberg
On July 15, members of the University of California
(UC) President's Associates visited Berkeley Lab for briefings
on biosciences work at the Lab. The President's Associates include
the spouses of UC Chancellors and Mrs. Judy Yudof, wife of UC President
Mark Yudof. Roger Falcone welcomed the group and gave them an overview
of the diverse research capabilities of the ALS. Beamline scientist
Corie Ralston followed with a short presentation on structural
biology research at the ALS with implications for diseases such
as Alzheimer's and autism. Also, as part of a regular meeting with
Lab leadership, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates toured the ALS and the
Old Town area just up the hill. He also met with Berkeley High
teachers and students who are participating in internships at the
Lab this summer. Discussion topics also included Lab construction
and truck traffic, the East Bay Green Corridor program, and possible
collaboration on projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act. |
Deadline
for ALS Doctoral Fellowships Extended to Aug. 14
The application deadline for ALS Doctoral Fellowships
for the 2009–10 academic year has been extended to August
14, 2009.
ALS
Doctoral Fellowships enable students who have passed their Ph.D.
qualifying or comprehensive verbal and written exams to acquire
hands-on scientific training and develop professional maturity
for independent research. Applicants must be full-time, currently
enrolled students in a Ph.D. program in the physical or biological
sciences pursuing thesis research based on the use of synchrotron
radiation. The fellowships are offered as one-year appointments
with the possibility of renewal. Successful applicants will be
compensated with an $18,000 annual stipend. Additionally, fellows
will be matched with an on-site mentor and have access to ALS resources,
including beam time. Fellows are expected to present their results
at a meeting or as a seminar at the end of the fellowship year.
For more information, go to the ALS
Doctoral Fellowships Web page.
Adriana Reza |
New
Faces: Angel Hernandez Joins User Services Office
by Emma Floyd
The ALS User Services Office has a new member
of the team. Administrator Angel Hernandez moved to the ALS last
month from the Berkeley Lab Badge Office and is here to help new
users settle in. He works on everything from guest processing to
travel, and will also be dealing with parking, stipends, and other
miscellaneous administrative needs. Angel is excited to be here,
saying, "I have always admired what goes on at ALS and it
makes me proud to support the world-class science here."
Angel
graduated from University of California, Berkeley, with a degree
in philosophy and has since worked for two security companies contracted
by the Lab. At the ALS, Angel explains, "I'll be working with
a combination of a lot of different departments, but [I'll see]
mostly ALS users." He goes on to say, "I really enjoy
working with people, and welcoming new guests to their new home,
in a manner of speaking, is a delight."
His coworkers are happy to have him, and as Sharon
Fujimura notes, "He's very soft spoken, but behind that, he's
a firecracker." Inside sources also say Angel loves all kinds
of food, enjoys cooking, and is getting married this winter. So
if you have a question about parking, guest processing, or a great
dessert recipe, contact Angel Hernandez at (510) 486-5268, or drop
by his office, Building 6, Room 2212H.
[Editorial note: Emma Floyd is a journalism
major working at the ALS this summer.] |
Introducing:
ALS Science Briefs
Members of the ALS Communications Section promote
the scientific research going on around the ring by producing
two or three science highlights per month. In order to keep up
with the increasing number of scientific and technical accomplishments
that we would like to present to our audiences, we are creating
a new Web page called "Science
Briefs," which will feature scientist-submitted highlights
that contain a short description (200 words maximum) of recently
published ALS-related work. These scientist-submitted "brief" highlights
will also include one image, a caption, and the publication citation.
All ALS users and beamline scientists are invited to download
the template,
which includes submission instructions, and submit at will!
Liz Moxon
![ALS Communications](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090825011152im_/http://www.als.lbl.gov/pics/vol299d.png)
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Operations |
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For the user runs
from June 16 to July 13, the beam reliability [(time scheduled
– time lost)/time scheduled)] was 98.9%. For this period, the
mean time between failures (MTBF) was 86.8 hours, and the mean time
to recovery (MTTR) was 60 minutes. There were no significant interruptions.
More detailed information on reliability is
available on the ALS reliability bulletin board, which is located
in the hallway between the ALS and the control room in Building
80. Questions about beam reliability should be directed to David Richardson (x4376
).
Long-term and weekly operations
schedules are available here.
Requests for special operations use of the "scrubbing" shift
should be sent to Rick Bloemhard (ALS-CR@lbl.gov,
x4738) by 1:00 p.m. Friday. View the ring status in real time here. |
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