Magnetism and Superconductivity in LCMO/YBCO bilayers

超导性描述了电流可以在没有阻力的情况下流动的现象，它在广泛的材料中发生，但通常只在非常低的温度下发生。即使是所谓的高温超导体，在它们开始超导之前，也需要先用液氮冷却。然而，这些在20多年前首次被发现的高温超导体，继续吸引着我们。特别是，人们认为，如果我们能够理解为什么这些材料超导性，那么有一天可能设计出一种在室温下超导性的材料。然而，这样的理论还没有被接受。最耐人寻味的事情之一是超导状态与磁性的密切关系，许多人认为磁性可能是将超导电子捆绑在一起的粘合剂。通过在超导和铁磁层的顶部生长薄膜，迫使磁性和超导结构结合在一起，可以有效地研究磁性和超导的相互作用。然后，可以通过各种技术来研究两者之间的相互作用和影响，其中一种技术是通过观察X射线是如何被吸收的，这取决于样品中的磁性。同步加速器是一种产生强烈X射线的设备，而X射线反过来又可以用于探测材料。目前的提案寻求为一项实验提供资金，该实验已在日本的同步加速器(称为Spring-8)上获得同行评议的光束时间，并访问京都大学物理系，Dugdale已被邀请在那里举办研讨会，以发展合作联系。

Superconductivity, which describes the phenomenon whereby electricity can flow without resistance, occurs in a wide range of materials, but normally only at very low temperatures. Even the so-called high-temperature superconductors need to be cooled down, for example with liquid nitrogen, before they start to superconduct. However, these high-temperature superconductors, first discovered more than 20 years ago, continue to intrigue us. In particular, it is thought that if we can understand why these materials superconduct then it might be possible one day to design a material which will superconduct at room temperature. However, no such theory has been accepted. One of the most intriguing things is the close-relationship of the superconducting state to magnetism, and many believe that magnetism might be the glue that bindsthe superconducting electrons together. The interaction of magnetism with superconductivity can usefully be investigated by forcing magnetic and superconducting structures together by growing thin films of superconducting and ferromagnetic layers on top of each other. Then the interactions and effects of one on the other can be studied by various techniques, one of which is by looking at how x-rays are absorbed depending on the magnetism in the sample.A synchrotron is a device for producing intense x-rays which can in turn be used to probe materials. The current proposal seeks funding for an experiment which has been given peer-reviewed beamtime at a synchrotron in Japan (called SPring-8), and also to visit the Department of Physics at the University of Kyoto, where Dugdale has been invited to give a seminar, in order to develop collaborative links.