arXiv subjects

A. Almeida

Publications and source records attributed to A. Almeida.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

QUIJOTE scientific results XIX. New constraints on the synchrotron spectral index using a semi-blind component separation method

We introduce a novel approach to estimate the spectral index, $\beta_s$, of polarised synchrotron emission, combining the moment expansion of CMB and the constrained-ILC. We reconstructed the maps of the first two synchrotron moments, combining multi-frequency data, and applied the `T-T plot' technique between two moment maps to estimate the synchrotron spectral index. This approach offers a new technique for mapping the foreground spectral parameters, complementing the model-based parametric component separation methods. Applying this technique, we derived a new constraint on the spectral index of polarised synchrotron emission using QUIJOTE MFI wide-survey 11 and 13 GHz data, Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe data at K and Ka bands, and Planck LFI 30 GHz data. In the Galactic plane and North Polar Spur regions, we obtained an inverse-variance-weighted mean synchrotron index of $\beta_s = -3.11$ with a standard deviation of $0.21$ due to intrinsic scatter, consistent with previous results based on parametric methods using the same dataset. We find that the inverse-variance-weighted mean spectral index, including both statistical and systematic uncertainties, is $\beta_s^{\rm plane} = -3.05 \pm 0.01$ in the Galactic plane and $\beta_s^{\rm high\text{-}lat} = -3.13 \pm 0.02$ at high latitudes, indicating a moderate steepening of the spectral index from low to high Galactic latitudes. Our analysis indicates that, within the current upper limit on the Anomalous Microwave Emission polarisation fraction, our results are not subject to any appreciable bias. Furthermore, we infer the spectral index over the entire QUIJOTE survey region, partitioning the sky into 21 patches. This technique can be further extended to constrain the synchrotron spectral curvature by reconstructing higher-order moments when better-quality data become available.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2025

Spectral Properties of Anomalous Microwave Emission in 144 Galactic Clouds

Anomalous Microwave Emission (AME) is a diffuse microwave component thought to arise from spinning dust grains, yet remains poorly understood. We analyze AME in 144 Galactic clouds by combining low-frequency maps from S-PASS (2.3 GHz), C-BASS (4.76 GHz), and QUIJOTE (10-20 GHz) with 21 ancillary maps. Using aperture photometry and parametric SED fitting via MCMC methods without informative priors, we measure AME emissivity, peak frequency, and spectral width. We achieve peak frequency constraints nearly three times tighter than previous work and identify 83 new AME sources. AME spectra are generally broader than predicted by spinning dust models for a single phase of the interstellar medium, suggesting either multiple spinning dust components along the line of sight or incomplete representation of the grain size distribution in current models. However, the narrowest observed widths match theoretical predictions, supporting the spinning dust hypothesis. The AME amplitude correlates most strongly with the thermal dust peak flux and radiance, showing $\sim30$% scatter and sublinear scaling, which suggests reduced AME efficiency in regions with brighter thermal dust emission. AME peak frequency increases with thermal dust temperature in a trend current theoretical models do not reproduce, indicating that spinning dust models must incorporate dust evolution and radiative transfer in a self-consistent framework where environmental parameters and grain properties are interdependent. PAH tracers correlate with AME emissivity, supporting a physical link to small dust grains. Finally, a log-Gaussian function provides a good empirical description of the AME spectrum across the sample, given current data quality and frequency coverage.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Effect of Pt bottom electrode texture selection on the tetragonality and physical properties of Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 thin films produced by pulsed laser deposition

The effect of platinum (Pt) bottom electrode texture on the tetragonality, dielectric, ferroelectric, and polarization switching response of pulsed laser deposited Ba0.8Sr0.2TiO3 (BST) thin films has been studied. The x-ray diffraction and Raman analysis revealed the higher tetragonality of BST films when they were grown on higher (111) textured Pt layer. The properties like dielectric permittivity, polarization, switching time, and leakage currents were found to be correlated to tetragonality and orientation of the BST films. The polarization current was observed to be higher in BST films on Pt epitaxial layer and it exhibits exponential dependence on the electric field. The voltage-current measurements displayed Ohmic behavior of leakage current irrespective of Pt texture for low voltages (up to 1 V), whereas at higher voltages the conduction mechanism was found to be dependent on texture selection of bottom Pt electrode.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2024

Tuning Electric Polarization via Exchange Striction Interaction in CaMn$_7$O$_{12}$ by Sr-Doping

Magnetoelectric (ME) materials displaying strong magnetically induced polarization have attracted considerable interest due to their potential applications in spintronics and various fast electrically controlled magnetic devices. CaMn$_7$O$_{12}$ (CMO) stands out for its giant spin-induced ferroelectric polarization. However, the origin of the induced electric polarization in CMO remains highly controversial and continues to be a subject of ongoing debate. In this paper, through room temperature X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility, and thermally stimulated depolarizing current (TSDC) measurements, we provide experimental evidence for a route to tune the magnetically induced polarization by modifying the exchange-striction in CMO via Sr-doping. Our findings demonstrate that the large and broad current peaks observed near the first magnetic phase transition ($T_N1 \sim 90$ K) indicate contributions to the TSDC density from both extrinsic thermally stimulated depolarization processes and intrinsic pyroelectric current arising from magnetically induced polarization changes. We suggest that this reduction in induced electric polarization in CMO originates from the increase in the Mn$^{3+}$ -- O -- Mn$^{4+}$ bond angle due to Sr$^{2+}$ doping, weakening the exchange-striction interaction. Meanwhile, the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) effect determines the direction of the induced electric polarization. Our result sheds light on understanding the intriguing giant-induced polarization in CMO and similar compounds with complex magnetic structures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Scaling solutions of wiggly cosmic strings: II. Time-varying coarse-graining scale solutions

We continue our exploration of the wiggly generalisation of the Velocity-Dependent One Scale Model for cosmic strings, through the study of its allowed asymptotic scaling solutions. We extend the work of a previous paper [Almeida $\&$ Martins, Phys. Rev. D 104 (2021) 043524] by considering the more comprehensive case of a time-varying coarse-graining scale for the string wiggles. The modeling of the evolution of the network therefore relies on three main mechanisms: Hubble expansion, energy transfer mechanisms (e.g., the production of loops and wiggles) and the choice of the scale at which wiggles are coarse-grained. We analyse the role of each of them on the overall behaviour of the network, and thus in the allowed scaling solutions. In Minkowski space, we find that linear scaling, previously observed in numerical simulations without expansion, is not possible with a changing averaging scale. For expanding universes, we find that the three broad classes of scaling solutions -- with the wiggliness disappearing, reaching scaling, or growing -- still exist but are differently impacted by the time evolution of the coarse-graining scale. Nambu-Goto type solutions (without wiggles) are unaffected, growing wiggliness solutions are trivially generalized, while for solutions where wiggliness reaches scaling the expansion rate for which the solution exists is decreased with respect to the one for a fixed coarse-graining scale. Finally, we also show that the inclusion of a time-varying coarse-graining scale allows, in principle, for additional scaling solutions which, although mathematically valid, are not physical. Overall, our mapping of the landscape of the allowed scaling solutions of the wiggly Velocity-Dependent One Scale Model paves the way for the detailed testing of the model, to be done by forthcoming high-resolution field theory and Nambu-Goto simulations.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2019

H-band discovery of additional Second-Generation stars in the Galactic Bulge Globular Cluster NGC 6522 as observed by APOGEE and Gaia

We present elemental abundance analysis of high-resolution spectra for five giant stars, deriving Fe, Mg, Al, C, N, O, Si and Ce abundances, and spatially located within the innermost regions of the bulge globular cluster NGC 6522, based on H-band spectra taken with the multi-object APOGEE-north spectrograph from the SDSS-IV Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) survey. Of the five cluster candidates, two previously unremarked stars are confirmed to have second-generation (SG) abundance patterns, with the basic pattern of depletion in C and Mg simultaneous with enrichment in N and Al as seen in other SG globular cluster populations at similar metallicity. } In agreement with the most recent optical studies, the NGC 6522 stars analyzed exhibit (when available) only mild overabundances of the s-process element Ce, contradicting the idea of the NGC 6522 stars being formed from gas enriched by spinstars and indicating that other stellar sources such as massive AGB stars could be the primary intra-cluster medium polluters. The peculiar abundance signature of SG stars have been observed in our data, confirming the presence of multiple generations of stars in NGC 6522.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Crossover in the pressure evolution of elementary distortions in RFeO3 perovskites and its impact on their phase transition

This work reports on the pressure dependence of the octahedra tilts and mean Fe-O bond lengths in RFeO3 (R=Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb and Dy), determined through synchrotron X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering, and their role on the pressure induced phase transition displayed by all of these compounds. For larger rare-earth cations (Nd-Sm), both anti- and in-phase octahedra tilting decrease as pressure increases, whereas the reverse behavior is observed for smaller ones (Gd-Dy). EuFeO3 stands at the borderline, as the tilts are pressure independent. For the compounds where the tilts increase with pressure, the FeO6 octahedra are compressed at lower rates than for those ones exhibiting opposite pressure tilt dependence. The crossover between the two opposite pressure behaviors is discussed and faced with the rules grounded on the current theoretical approaches. The similarity of the pressure-induced isostructural insulator-to-metal phase transition, observed in the whole series, point out that the tilts play a minor role in its driving mechanisms. A clear relationship between octahedra compressibility and critical pressure is ascertained.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

On the ferroelectric and magnetoelectric mechanisms in low Fe$^{3+}$ doped TbMnO$_3$

This work addresses the effect of substituting Mn$^{3+}$ by Fe$^{3+}$ at the octahedral site of TbMnO$_3$ on the magnetic phase sequence, ferroelectric and magnetoelectric properties, keeping the Fe$^{3+}$ concentration below 5%. The temperature dependence of the specific heat, dielectric permittivity and electric polarization was studied as a function of Fe$^{3+}$ concentration and applied magnetic field. From the experimental results a strong decrease of the electric polarization with increasing Fe$^{3+}$ substitution is observed, vanishing above a concentration of 4%. However, within this range, a significant increase of the magnetic sensitivity of the electric polarization is obtained by increasing Fe$^{3+}$ concentration. Above that value, a non-polar, weak ferromagnetic phase emerges, in good agreement with the predictions of the Dzyalowshinskii-Moriya model. This behavior reveals the crucial effect of Fe$^{3+}$ substitution in octahedral sites on the magnetic phase sequence, polar and magnetoelectric behavior of the TbMn$_{1-x}$Fe$_x$O$_3$ system. From the results obtained in this work, it is understood that this behavior is not associated with the eg electronic configuration, but instead to the competition between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions, which is very sensitive to both local fields and distortions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Magnetic phase diagram of TbMn$_{1-x}$Fe$_x$O$_3$ $(0 \leq x \leq 1)$ substitutional solid solution

We present the magnetic phase diagram of TbMn1-xFexO3 substitutional solid solution in the whole concentration range 0 <= x <= 1 as determined from magnetization and specific heat measurements. We have found that the dominant magnetic ion in the concentration range 0 <= x < 0.3 is manganese, while iron ions do not create independent magnetic structure, but strongly affect magnetic properties of the parent compound by reducing transition to magnetically ordered state and transition into a cycloidal phase. The magnetism in the concentration range 0.3 < x <= 1 is driven by the Fe sublattice. The manganese ions again do not order in long range magnetic ordered state, but stabilize four different magnetic structures of Fe sublattice above 2 K. The magnetic ordering of Tb sublattice was observed only on parent compounds TbMnO3 and TbFeO3 and for doping level below 0.1, or over 0.9.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Ferroelectric imprint in annealed Bi0.9La0.1Fe0.9Mn0.1O3 thin films

The present work reports the study of the optimized processing conditions of Bi0.9La0.1Fe0.9Mn0.1O3 thin films, grown by RF sputtering on platinum metalized silicon substrates. The combination of deposition at relatively low substrate temperature followed by adequate ex situ annealing leads to thin films with smooth surface morphology and the formation of a high-quality monophasic layer, with the (100)c preferable orientation. The annealed films show ferroelectric imprint.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2015

Analytical Determination of the Attack Transient in a Clarinet With Time-Varying Blowing Pressure

This article uses a basic model of a reed instrument , known as the lossless Raman model, to determine analytically the envelope of the sound produced by the clarinet when the mouth pressure is increased gradually to start a note from silence. Using results from dynamic bifur-cation theory, a prediction of the amplitude of the sound as a function of time is given based on a few parameters quantifying the time evolution of mouth pressure. As in previous uses of this model, the predictions are expected to be qualitatively consistent with simulations using the Raman model, and observations of real instruments. Model simulations for slowly variable parameters require very high precisions of computation. Similarly, any real system, even if close to the model would be affected by noise. In order to describe the influence of noise, a modified model is developed that includes a stochastic variation of the parameters. Both ideal and stochastic models are shown to attain a minimal amplitude at the static oscillation threshold. Beyond this point, the amplitude of the oscillations increases exponentially, although some time is required before the oscillations can be observed at the '' dynamic oscillation threshold ''. The effect of a sudden interruption of the growth of the mouth pressure is also studied, showing that it usually triggers a faster growth of the oscillations.

physics.class-ph↗

arXiv2014

Structural properties and spin-phonon coupling in orthorhombic Y-substituted GdMnO$_{3}$

We present a systematic study of the structure and lattice dynamics at room temperature, and the phonon behavior at low temperatures in orthorhombic Gd$_{1-x}$Y$_{x}$MnO$_{3}$ manganites, with 0 $\leq$ x $\leq$ 0.4, using powder x-ray diffraction and Raman scattering. A thorough analysis towards the correlation between both structural and Raman modes parameters was undertaken. The data obtained at room temperature reveal structural distortions arising from the Jahn-Teller distortion and octahedra tilting. The Jahn-Teller distortion is apparently x-independent, while an increase of Mn-O1-Mn bond angle of about 0.5° could be ascertain when x changes from 0 to 0.4. Spin-phonon coupling was evidenced from the Raman results. The temperature dependence of the B1g in-plane O2 stretching mode of the MnO6 octahedron has revealed either a positive or negative shift regarding the pure anharmonic temperature dependence of the phonon frequency, which strongly depends on the Y-concentration. The frequency renormalization is explained in terms of a competition between ferro and antiferromagnetic interactions. The ratio between the spin-phonon coupling constant and the effective magnetic exchange integral per spin was determined from the renormalized wave number of the in-plane O2 stretching mode, associated with the spin-spin correlation function.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya nature of ferroelectric ordering in magnetoelectric Gd$_{1-x}$Y$_{x}$MnO$_{3}$ system

This work reports on magnetic, dielectric, thermodynamic and magnetoelectric properties of Gd$_{1-x}$Y$_{x}$MnO$_{3}$, with 0 \leq x \leq 0.4, with emphasis on the (x, T) phase diagram, towards unraveling the role of the driving mechanisms in stabilizing both magnetic and ferroelectric orderings. The (x, T) phase diagram reflects the effect of lattice distortions induced by the substitution of $Gd^{3+}$ ion by smaller $Y^{3+}$ ion, which gradually unbalances the antiferromagnetic against the ferromagnetic exchange interactions, enabling the emergence of ferroelectricity for higher concentrations of yttrium. For $x \leq 0.1$, the paramagnetic phase is followed by a presumably incommensurate collinear antiferromagnetic phase, then a weak ferromagnetic canted A-type antiferromagnetic ordering is established at lower temperatures.For $0.2 \leq x \leq 0.4$, a different phase sequence is obtained. The canted A-type antiferromagnetic arrangement is no more stable, and instead a pure antiferromagnetic ordering is stabilized below T$_{lock}$ $\approx$ 14 - 17 K, with an improper ferroelectric character. From these results, a cycloid modulated spin arrangement at low temperatures is proposed, accordingly to the inverse Dzyaloshinskii Moriya model. Anomalous temperature dependence of the dipolar relaxation energy and magnetization evidence for structural and magnetic changes occurring at $T* \approx 22 - 28 K$, for $0.1 \leq x \leq 0.4$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Dynamic and structural properties of orthorhombic rare-earth manganites under high pressure

We report a high-pressure study of orthorhombic rare-earth manganites AMnO3 using Raman scattering (for A = Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb and Dy) and synchrotron X-ray diffraction (for A = Pr, Sm, Eu, and Dy). In all cases, a structural and insulator-to-metal transition was evidenced, with a critical pressure that depends on the A-cation size. We analyze the compression mechanisms at work in the different manganites via the pressure dependence of the lattice parameters, the shear strain in the a-c plane, and the Raman bands associated with out-of-phase MnO6 rotations and in-plane O2 symmetric stretching modes. Our data show a crossover across the rare-earth series between two different kinds of behavior. For the smallest A-cations, the compression is nearly isotropic in the ac plane, with presumably only very slight changes of tilt angles and Jahn-Teller distortion. As the radius of the A-cation increases, the pressure-induced reduction of Jahn-Teller distortion becomes more pronounced and increasingly significant as a compression mechanism, while the pressure-induced bending of octahedra chains becomes conversely less pronounced. We finally discuss our results in the light of the notion of chemical pressure, and show that the analogy with hydrostatic pressure works quite well for manganites with small A-cations but can be misleading with large A-cations.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2014

Unravelling the effect of SrTiO3 antiferrodistortive phase transition on the magnetic properties of La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 thin films

Epitaxial La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) thin films, with different thickness ranging from 20 nm up to 330 nm, were deposited on (100)-oriented strontium titanate (STO) substrates by pulsed laser deposition, and their structure and morphology characterized at room temperature. Magnetic and electric transport properties of the as-processed thin films reveal an abnormal behavior in the temperature dependent magnetization M(T) below the antiferrodistortive STO phase transition (TSTO) and also an anomaly in the magnetoresistance and electrical resistivity close to the same temperature. Up to 100 nm LSMO thin films, an in-excess magnetization and pronounced changes in the coercivity are evidenced, achieved through the interface-mediated magnetoelastic coupling with antiferrodistortive domain wall movement occurring below TSTO. Contrarily, for thicker LSMO thin films, above 100 nm, an in-defect magnetization is observed. This reversed behavior can be understood within the emergence in the upper layer of the film, observed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy, of a branched structure needed to relax elastic energy stored in the film which leads to randomly oriented magnetic domain reconstructions. For enough high-applied magnetic fields, as thermodynamic equilibrium is reached, a fully suppression of the anomalous magnetization occurs, wherein the temperature dependence of the magnetization starts to follow the expected Brillouin behavior.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Structural, electrical and magnetic properties of magnetoelectric GdMnO3 thin films prepared by sol-gel method

In this work, we analysed GdMnO3 magnetoelectric thin films prepared by a general sol-gel method. The film formation temperature is analysed by termogravimetric analysis, while the lattice parameters of the Pbnm orthorhombic films are determined from the analysis of the x-ray spectra. The x-ray results also reveal that GdMnO3 films are under compression along the b axis. The lattice dynamic analysis carried out by Raman spectroscopy confirms the formation of films with a Pbnm orthorhombic structure. Moreover, the analysis of the Raman spectra suggests that besides film-substrate interaction, texture and grain size influence can alters lattice dynamics relative to bulk ones. Magnetic measurements shows that the films response is different of the observed in ceramic and single crystal; mainly, in the shape and temperature where the transitions taking place. The magnetic study also reveals that GdMnO3 films are paramagnetic above 80 K, showing a ferromagnetic response at low temperatures (T=<15 K). The dielectric analysis carried out in the 850C annealed films shows the formation of a relaxation process at low temperature, which is associated with a polaronic process. Moreover, it is also observed a small anomaly at T~27 K that might be related with the magnetic transition taking place in this temperature range.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Competing exchanges and spin-phonon coupling in Eu1-xRxMnO3 (R=Y,Lu)

This work is focused on the phase diagrams and physical properties of Y-doped and Lu-doped EuMnO3. The differences in the corresponding phase boundaries in the (x,T) phase diagram could be overcome by considering a scaling of the Y3+ and Lu3+ concentrations to the tolerance factor. This outcome evidences that the tolerance factor is in fact a more reliable representative of the lattice deformation induced by doping. The normalization of the phase boundaries using the tolerance factor corroborates previous theoretical outcomes regarding the key role of competitive FM and AFM exchanges in determining the phase diagrams of manganite perovskites. Though, significant differences in the nature and number of phases at low temperatures and concentrations could not be explained by just considering the normalization to the tolerance factor. The vertical phase boundary observed just for Lu-doped EuMnO3, close to 10%Lu, is understood considering a low temperature Peierls-type spin-phonon coupling, which stabilizes the AFM4 phase in Lu-doped EuMnO3.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Structural and insulator-to-metal phase transition at 50 GPa in GdMnO3

We present a study of the effect of very high pressure on the orthorhombic perovskite GdMnO3 by Raman spectroscopy and synchrotron x-ray diffraction up to 53.2 GPa. The experimental results yield a structural and insulator-to-metal phase transition close to 50 GPa, from an orthorhombic to a metrically cubic structure. The phase transition is of first order with a pressure hysteresis of about 6 GPa. The observed behavior under very high pressure might well be a general feature in rare-earth manganites.

cond-mat.str-el↗