RESUMO
We demonstrate that the nontrivial magnetic texture of antiferromagnetic Skyrmions (AFM Sks) promotes a nonvanishing topological spin Hall effect (TSHE) on the flowing electrons. This effect results in a substantial enhancement of the nonadiabatic torque and, hence, improves the Skyrmion mobility. This nonadiabatic torque increases when decreasing the Skyrmion size, and, therefore, scaling down results in a much higher torque efficiency. In clean AFM Sks, we find a significant boost of the TSHE close to the van Hove singularity. Interestingly, this effect is enhanced away from the band gap in the presence of nonmagnetic interstitial defects. Furthermore, unlike their ferromagnetic counterpart, the TSHE in AFM Sks increases with an increase in the disorder strength, thus opening promising avenues for materials engineering of this effect.
RESUMO
The real-space spin texture and the relevant magnetic parameters were investigated for an easy-axis noncentrosymmetric ferromagnet Cr_{11}Ge_{19} with Nowotny chimney ladder structure. Using Lorentz transmission electron microscopy, we report the formation of bi-Skyrmions, i.e., pairs of spin vortices with opposite magnetic helicities. The quantitative evaluation of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) proves that the magnetic dipolar interaction plays a more important role than the DMI on the observed bi-Skyrmion formation. Notably, the critical magnetic field value required for the formation of bi-Skyrmions turned out to be extremely small in this system, which is ascribed to strong easy-axis anisotropy associated with the characteristic helix crystal structure. The family of Nowotny chimney ladder compounds may offer a unique material platform where two distinctive Skyrmion formation mechanisms favoring different topological spin textures can become simultaneously active.
RESUMO
Previous research has established that Pseudomonas sp. strain KC rapidly transforms carbon tetrachloride (CT) to carbon dioxide (45 to 55%), a nonvolatile fraction (45 to 55%), and a cell-associated fraction ((equiv)5%) under denitrifying, iron-limited conditions. The present study provides additional characterization of the nonvolatile fraction, demonstrates that electron transfer plays a role in the transformation, and establishes the importance of both extracellular and intracellular factors. Experiments with (sup14)C-labeled CT indicate that more than one nonvolatile product is produced during CT transformation by strain KC. One of these products, accounting for about 20% of the [(sup14)C]CT transformed, was identified as formate on the basis of its elution time from an ion-exchange column, its boiling point, and its conversion to (sup14)CO(inf2) when incubated with formate dehydrogenase. Production of formate requires transfer of two electrons to the CT molecule. The role of electron transfer was also supported by experiments demonstrating that stationary-phase cells that do not transform CT can be stimulated to transform CT when supplemented with acetate (electron donor), nitrate (electron acceptor), or a protonophore (carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone). The location of transformation activity was also evaluated. By themselves, washed cells did not transform CT to a significant degree. Occasionally, CT transformation was observed by cell-free culture supernatant, but this activity was not reliable. Rapid and reliable CT transformation was only obtained when washed whole cells were reconstituted with culture supernatant, indicating that both extracellular and intracellular factors are normally required for CT transformation. Fractionation of culture supernatant by ultrafiltration established that the extracellular factor or factors are small, with an apparent molecular mass of less than 500 Da. The extracellular factor or factors were stable after lyophilization to powder and were extractable with acetone. Addition of micromolar levels of iron inhibited CT transformation in whole cultures, but the level of iron needed to inhibit CT transformation was over 100-fold higher for washed cells reconstituted with a 10,000-Da supernatant filtrate. Thus, the inhibitory effects of iron are exacerbated by a supernatant factor or factors with a molecular mass greater than 10,000 Da.
RESUMO
Under denitrifying conditions, Pseudomonas sp. strain KC transforms carbon tetrachloride (CT) to carbon dioxide via a complex but as yet undetermined mechanism. Transformation rates were first order with respect to CT concentration over the CT concentration range examined (0 to 100 micrograms/liter) and proportional to protein concentration, giving pseudo-second-order kinetics overall. Addition of ferric iron (1 to 20 microM) to an actively transforming culture inhibited CT transformation, and the degree of inhibition increased with increasing iron concentration. By removing iron from the trace metals solution or by removing iron-containing precipitate from the growth medium, higher second-order rate coefficients were obtained. Copper also plays a role in CT transformation. Copper was toxic at neutral pH. By adjusting the medium pH to 8.2, soluble iron and copper levels decreased as a precipitate formed, and CT transformation rates increased. However, cultures grown at high pH without any added trace copper (1 microM) exhibited slower growth rates and greatly reduced rates of CT transformation, indicating that copper is required for CT transformation. The use of pH adjustment to decrease iron solubility, to avoid copper toxicity, and to provide a selective advantage for strain KC was evaluated by using soil slurries and groundwater containing high levels of iron. In samples adjusted to pH 8.2 and inoculated with strain KC, CT disappeared rapidly in the absence or presence of acetate or nitrate supplements. CT did not disappear in pH-adjusted controls that were not inoculated with strain KC.
