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# GIANT MAGNETO-IMPEDANCE AND ITS APPLICATIONS

## I Introduction

Magnetoimpedance (MI) consists of a change of total impedance of a magnetic conductor (usually ferromagnetic) under application of a static magnetic field $`H_{dc}`$. When an ac current, $`I=I_0e^{j\omega t}`$ of magnitude $`I_0`$ and angular frequency $`\omega `$ (= $`2\pi f`$, with $`f`$ the ordinary frequency) flows through the material, it generates, by Ampère’s Law, a transverse magnetic field inducing some magnetization. At low frequency, the change in the transverse magnetization generates an additional inductive voltage $`V_L`$ across the conductor: $`V=RI+V_L`$ where $`R`$ is the resistance. Hence MI can be written as $`Z=R+j\omega \varphi /I`$, where the imaginary part is given by the ratio of magnetic flux to ac current and MI field dependence is related to the transverse permeability. When frequency increases the current gets distributed near the surface of the conductor, changing both resistive and inductive components of the total voltage $`V`$. The field dependence of MI is dictated by skin depth $`\delta _s=\frac{c}{\sqrt{2\pi \omega \sigma \mu }}`$ where $`c`$ is the velocity of light, $`\sigma `$ the conductivity and $`\mu `$ the permeability (For non magnetic ordinary metals, $`\mu =1`$). The current distribution is governed not only by the shape of the conductor and frequency but also the transverse magnetization depending on $`H_{dc}`$.

Typically MI increases with frequency, attains a maximum at frequencies for which the skin effect is strong ($`\delta _s<<a`$ where $`a`$ is a characteristic length scale such as the wire radius or ribbon/film thickness) and then decreases since permeability becomes insensitive to the field at high enough frequency.

MI effect is ordinarily weak and did not attract much attention in the past. Interest in MI was triggered in the early 90’s when Panina et al. panina  and Beach et al. beach94a  reported a very large (Giant) MI effect in amorphous ferromagnetic FeCoSiB wires with small magnetic fields and at relatively low frequencies (see Fig. I). This shows that a large variation of the MI is observable in a finite frequency range for reasons that will be explained in later sections. Later on, Machado et al. machado  observed a smaller effect in Fe4.6Co70.4Si15B15 thin films and Beach et al. beach94b  in ribbons.

The dramatic variation of the MI (that can reach in some cases values larger than 800%) with small magnetic fields (a few Oersteds) and at relatively low frequencies (tens of MHz) in widely available materials is the origin of the interest in the Giant MagnetoImpedance (GMI) effect.

GMI materials share the property of being magnetically soft (easy to magnetize) and are now available as wires (typical diameter of the order of a mm), microwires (typical diameter of the order of a micron), ribbons, magnetically coated metallic (usually nonmagnetic) wires (tubes), thin films and multilayers, albeit, the effect itself occurs with widely differing magnitude depending on the geometry, the constituent materials and their layering.

In order to clearly identify GMI, several observations should be made:

1. A very large change (of the order of at least 100% variation) of the impedance should occur with an external dc magnetic field $`H_{dc}`$. The change expressed in % is defined by the largest value of the ratio:

$$r(H_{dc})=100\times |Z(H_{dc})Z(H_{sat})|/|Z(H_{sat})|$$
(1)
where $`Z(H_{dc})`$ is the impedance measured in the presence of the dc magnetic field $`H_{dc}`$ and $`Z(H_{sat})`$ is the impedance measured at the saturation limit when the magnetization does not change any longer with the applied field.
2. The external dc magnetic field $`H_{dc}`$ should be on the order of a few Oersteds only (see Table I on magnetic units and quantities).
3. The frequency range is on the order of MHz or tens of MHz (excluding any effect based on Ferromagnetic Resonance (FMR) where the frequencies are typically in the GHz range britel ). In many materials this means that the skin depth $`\delta _s`$ (typically microns at these frequencies) is larger than the thickness of the material (typically a fraction of a micron). When the frequency is in the GHz, $`\delta _s`$ is generally very small with respect to the thickness. It should be stressed that in ordinary metals, the skin depth does not depend on permeability, whereas in magnetic materials, the behavior of the permeability on geometry (see for instance section IV), temperature, stress, composition and so on, is reflected in the skin depth. In addition, permeability might be changed by post-processing the material after growth with annealing under presence or absence of magnetic field or mechanical stress…

GMI is a classical phenomenon that can be explained thoroughly on the basis of usual electromagnetic concepts squire ; knobel ; valenzuela  in sharp contrast with Giant Magnetoresistance (GMR) effect where resistance is changed by a magnetic field. GMR requires Quantum Mechanical concepts based on the spin of the carriers and their interactions with the magnetization of the magnetic material. Several general conditions must be satisfied by any material in order to show a GMI.

1. The material should be magnetically soft. That is, it should be easily magnetised or in other words must have a relatively narrow hysteresis curve implying, in general, small losses in the course of the magnetization cycle.
2. The material should have a well defined anisotropy axis. That means there must be a direction along which the magnetization of the material lies on the average (easy axis). However the value of the anisotropy field $`H_k`$ (see Fig. II) should be relatively small (on the order of a few Oersteds). The typical ratio of $`H_k`$ to $`H_c`$ must be about 20. That insures observation of large magnetoimpedance effects, typically.
3. The coercive field $`H_c`$ must be small (fraction of an Oersted) and the hysteresis loop thin and narrow. Since $`H_c`$ and the shape of the hysteresis loop change (see Fig. II) with the angle the magnetic field makes with the easy axis (or Anisotropy axis) of the material, these are taken at the reference point when the field is along the easy axis.
4. The ac current $`I=I_0e^{j\omega t}`$, injected in the material, should be perpendicular to the easy axis (or anisotropy direction) and the magnetic field it creates $`H_{ac}`$ should be small with respect to $`H_k`$ (See Table I on magnetic units and quantities).
5. The material must have a small resistivity ($`100\mu \mathrm{\Omega }`$.cm ) since it carries the ac current. This is important, since many magnetic materials have large resistivities. Amorphous metals are interesting in that respect since, typically, their resistivities at room temperature are in the 100 $`\mu \mathrm{\Omega }`$.cm range.
6. The material should have a large saturation magnetization $`M_s`$ in order to boost the interaction with the external magnetic field.
7. Above arguments are equivalent to a very large permeability at zero frequency (the ratio $`M_s/H_k`$ gives a rough indication for this value). This means several 1000’s (see Table II).
8. The material should have a small magnetostriction (MS). This means, mechanical effects caused by application of a magnetic field should be small. Mechanical stress due to MS alters the soft properties of the material by acting as an effective anisotropy. This alters the direction of the anisotropy, displacing it from the transverse case and thereby reducing the value of the MI. Typical case materials are displayed along with their MS coefficient in Table II.

The general theory of the MI effect is widely available in classic textbooks landau  (for a long cylinder) and it has been shown experimentally that a large MI often occurs at frequencies of a few MHz. Changing the dc biasing field $`H_{dc}`$, the maximum $`|Z|`$ can be as large as a few times the value of $`R_{dc}`$ the dc resistance. At low frequency $`|Z|`$ has a peak around $`H_{dc}0`$ and as the frequency increases, the peak moves toward $`H_{dc}\pm H_k`$ where $`H_k`$ is the anisotropy field. Therefore, $`|Z|`$ as a function of $`H_{dc}`$ possesses a single or a double peak as the frequency increases (Fig. III). When the direction of the anisotropy field is well defined the peaks are sharp.

The behavior of $`|Z|`$ versus $`H_{dc}`$ follows very closely the behavior of the real part of the transverse permeability versus $`H_{dc}`$ as we will show in later sections on wires and ribbons. Therfore it is very important to develop an understanding for the processes controlling the permeability.

Material permeability depends on sample geometry, nature of exciting field, temperature, frequency, stress distribution in the material as well as internal configuration of the magnetization that might be altered by processing or frequency. For instance, some materials should be annealed under the presence of a magnetic field or a mechanical stress in order to favor some direction for the magnetization or to release the stress contained in them.

Regarding frequency, when it is large enough ( $`>`$ 1MHz is sufficient in many materials) Domain Wall Displacements (DWD) are considerably reduced by eddy-currents and therefore magnetization varies by rotation or switching as if in a single domain (see Fig. II). As a consequence, the rotational motion of the magnetization controls the behaviour of the permeability, through the skin depth.

Considering $`a`$ as a typical thickness (in the case of films/ribbons) or radius (in the case of wires or microwires), frequencies in the tens of MHz, lead to $`\delta _s>a`$ for the observation of GMI. This condition depends strongly on geometry. For instance, $`\delta _s>a`$ in 2D structures like films is satisfied at much higher frequencies (GHz) than in 1D structures like wires. This is simply due to the optimal circular shape of wires that contains in an optimal fashion the flux while, simultaneously, carrying the ac current.

In terms of GMI performance, multilayered films (such as F/M/F where F is a ferromagnet and M is metallic non magnetic material) are preferred with respect to single layered films since they allow to inject the ac electric current in the metallic layer and sense the magnetic flux in neighbouring or sandwiching magnetic layers. These can be in direct contact with the metallic layer or separated from it by an insulator or a semiconductor. Flux closure, that increases GMI, occurs when the width of the film (transverse with respect to the ac current) is large or that the metallic layer is entirely buried in the magnetic structure to trap the flux.

The progress of GMI is thrusted towards the increase of the largest value of the ratio $`r(H_{dc})`$ and the sensitivity given by the derivative of the ratio with respect to the field (see Table III for some illustrative values).

This sensitivity is simply estimated by looking at the behaviour of the permeabilty $`\mu _t^{}`$ versus $`H_{dc}`$ as the frequency is changed. We ought to have a large variation of $`\mu _t^{}`$ about $`H_{dc}0`$. This happens, in general, at low frequencies that is when $`\delta _s>a`$. At high frequencies, we will show in later sections that this sensitivity is either lost or one has to go to higher $`H_{dc}`$ to observe it hampering the use of the effect in small magnetic field detection.

Applications of GMI range from tiny magnetic field detection and sensing (such as magnetic recording heads) to magnetic field shielding (to degauss Cathode Ray Tubes (CRT) monitors). The reason is that GMI materials, being soft, possess large permeabilities that are required in magnetic shielding.

This work is organised as follows: In section II, a general discussion on soft materials is presented; in section III, GMI in wires is described. In section IV, GMI in films and ribbons is dicussed. Section V highlights potential applications of GMI effect in Electronic ans Sensing devices while Section VI bears conclusions and perspectives of GMI.

## II Soft ferromagnetic materials for GMI

Soft ferromagnetic materials (SFM) used in GMI applications play a key role in power distribution, make possible the conversion between electrical and mechanical energy, underlie microwave communication, and provide both the transducers and the active storage material for data storage in information systems. The fingerprint of any magnetic material is its hysteresis loop (HL) whose characteristic shape stems from two essential properties of magnetic materials: Non-linearity and delay between input and output signals. Non-linearity is given by the shape of the loop whereas the delay is given by the width of the HL. The quantities associated with the HL are displayed in Fig. II. In general, magnetic materials being anisotropic their HL width varies with the angle the external magnetic field makes with some given direction. The easy axis direction is defined as the direction for which the HL width (or coercive field $`H_c`$) is largest.

The coercive field $`H_c`$ represents the effort to demagnetise any magnetic material. For instance, hard magnetic materials exhibit large resistance to demagnetization and are therefore used in materials requiring permanent magnets whereas SFM are used in devices demanding little effort to demagnetise or remagnetise. Hard magnets are used as permanent magnets for many electrical applications. Some rare-earth alloys based on SmCo5 and Sm(Co, Cu)7.5 are used for small motors and other applications requiring an extremely high energy-product magnetic materials. Fe-Cr-Co alloys are used in telephone receivers and Nd-Fe-B is used for automotive starting motor.

In contrast, SFM possess a narrower loop than hard materials and the area within the hysteresis curve is small. This keeps the energy losses small, during each magnetic cycle, in devices based on these materials.

In order to qualify the different requirements for read heads and storage media in magnetic recording, an area belonging to the application portfolio of SFM (besides sensing and shielding), Table IV displays the desired characteristics.

SFM have high permeability (i.e. easily magnetized) with a low coercivity (i.e. easily demagnetized). Examples of soft ferromagnetic materials include Fe alloys (with 3 to 4% Si) used in motors and power transformers and generators. Ni alloys (with 20 to 50% Fe) used primarily for high-sensitivity communications equipment. This illustrates the versatility of SFM applications that range from mechanical to electrical and from power to communications systems.

SFM exhibit magnetic properties only when they are subject to a magnetizing force such as the magnetic field created when current is passed through the wire surrounding a soft magnetic core. They are generally associated with electrical circuits where they are used to amplify the flux generated by the electric currents. These materials can be used in ac as well as dc electrical circuits.

Several types of SFM exist:

1. Soft mono and polycrystalline ferrites
2. Powder composite magnetic materials
3. Rapidly quenched ferromagnetic materials
4. Amorphous magnetic materials
5. Nanocrystalline magnetic materials

The soft ferromagnetic behavior in these materials arises from a spatial averaging of the magnetic anisotropy of clusters of randomly oriented small particles (typically $`<`$ fraction of a micron). In some cases, the MS of these materials is also reduced to near zero.

Metallic glasses obtained by rapid quench (e.g. splat-cooling) are magnetically very soft. This property is used in multilayered metallic glass power transformer cores.

Amorphous magnetic alloys such as CoP first reported in 1965 and splat-cooled materials with attractive soft ferromagnetic properties are based either on 3d transition metals (T) or on 4f rare-earth metals (R). In the first case, the alloy can be stabilized in the amorphous state with the use of glass forming elements such as boron, phosphorus and silicon: Examples include Fe80 B20, Fe40 Ni40P14 B6, and Co74 Fe5 B18 Si3 (Tx M1-x, with $`15<x<30`$ at %, approximately). The transition metals of late order (TL where TL=Fe, Co, Ni) can be stabilized in the amorphous state by alloying with early order transition metals (TE) of 4d or 5d type (TE= Zr, Nb, Hf): some examples are Co90 Zr10 , Fe84 Nb12 B4 , and Co82 Nb14 B4 (TE1-x TLx, where $`x`$ is roughly $`5<x<15`$ at %).

Nanocrystalline soft magnetic materials are derived from crystallizing amorphous ribbons of a specific composition such as the (Fe, B) based alloy family. This class of materials is characterized by 10-25 nm sized grains of a body-centered-cubic (Fe, X) phase consuming 70-80% of the total volume, homogeneously dispersed in an amorphous matrix.

Two families of alloys show the best performance characteristics and have emerged as the best candidates to major SFM applications: Fe-Cu-Nb-B-Si (the ”Finemet” family, see Table III) and Fe-Zr-(Cu)-B-(Si) (the ”Nanoperm” family). The Finemet family is characterized by an optimum grain size of about 15 nm, exhibits good properties at high frequencies and is comparable to some of the best (and relatively costly) Co based amorphous materials. On the other hand, the grain sizes consistent with optimum performance are larger, around about 25 nm, in the Nanoperm family. The distinguishing feature of the Nanoperm family of alloys is the very low energy loss exhibited at low frequencies (60 Hz), offering the potential for application in electrical power distribution transformers.

A typical amorphous alloy with a small MS coefficient $`\lambda _s`$, is Co70.4 Fe4.6 Si1510. It is obtained by alloying FeSiB that has a positive $`\lambda _s=25.10^6`$ with CoSiB that has a negative $`\lambda _s=3.10^6`$ coefficient. Some materials that result from this alloying can reach a very small value of $`\lambda _s`$. For instance, (Co0.8 Fe0.06)72.5 Si12.5 B 15 has $`\lambda _s10^7`$ that can be considered as zero since typical values of $`\lambda _s`$ are units or tens of $`10^6`$. This was obtained by varying systematically the concentration $`x`$ in the compound (Co1-x Fex)72.5 Si12.5 B15. Starting with $`x=0`$ the MS coefficient $`\lambda _s=3.010^6`$ decreases steadily to a near zero value $`\lambda _s=10^7`$ for $`x=0.06`$. Let us indicate, at this point, that a commercial product exists called Vitrovac 6025 ®with the composition Co66 Fe4 Mo2 Si16 B12 that exhibits a value murillo  of $`\lambda _s=1.410^7`$.

A small negative value of $`\lambda _s`$ is exploited in wires, as discussed in the next section, produces a magnetization profile that is circular in a plane perpendicular to the wire axis whereas a positive $`\lambda _s`$ produces a radial magnetization profile.

## III GMI in wires

The search for GMI in soft magnetic wires and microwires is a topic of interest related to possible applications as tiny field sensors.

At low frequencies (weak skin effect or large skin depth), the first order expansion term of the impedance $`Z=R(\omega )+jX(\omega )`$ versus frequency is responsible for the voltage field dependence. This term is represented by an inductance, which is proportional to the transverse permeability. When the skin effect is strong, the total impedance including resistance $`R`$ and reactance $`X`$ is field dependent through the penetration depth.

The general theory of the MI effect in a long cylinder is widely available in classic textbooks landau  and it has been shown experimentally that a large MI often occurs at frequencies of a few MHz. Changing the dc biasing field $`H_{dc}`$, the maximum $`|Z|`$ can be as large as a few times the value of $`R_{dc}`$ for amorphous wires. Following Beach et al. beach94b  the behaviour of the permeability can be understood on the basis of a simple phenomelogical model based on a single relaxation time $`\tau `$ for the magnetization that yields for the permeability:

$$\mu _t(\omega ,H_{dc})=\mu _t^{}+j\mu \mathrm{"}_t;\mu _t^{}=1+\frac{4\pi \chi _0(H_{dc})}{1+\omega ^2\tau ^2},\mu \mathrm{"}_t=\frac{4\pi \chi _0(H_{dc})\omega \tau }{1+\omega ^2\tau ^2}$$
(2)
The behaviour of $`\mu _t^{}`$ depicted in Fig. IV indicates that the strongest variation of $`\mu _t^{}`$ with $`H_{dc}`$ happens at low frequencies as required for a sensitive sensor whereas the variation gets totally smeared out at large frequencies. It also illustates the existence of a finite frequency range for the GMI effect as already observed in Fig. I. The range is determined by the inverse time 1/$`\tau `$ that controls relaxation processes of the transverse magnetization.

While GMR is usually attributed to the differential scattering of conducting electrons whose spins make particular angles with the local magnetization of different scattering centers, it was believed, like GMR, this effect also resulted from the electron scattering by ac current-induced domain wall oscillations. Many different models exist for the description of permeability of metallic samples. Such models start with a uniform dc permeability throughout the sample, and then consider a class of domain structures with a magnetization process of DWD or domain magnetization rotations (DMR). In the case of ac impedance, standard quantitative models are used without considering domain structures. Therefore, some current explanations of MI have to be made based on usual considerations with some additional modifications to include concepts of DWD, DMR, ferromagnetic resonance, and magnetic relaxation. For a straight wire of radius $`a`$, conductivity $`\sigma `$ and permeability $`\mu `$ (see Fig. V) the expression for impedance is given by landau :

$$\frac{Z}{R_{dc}}=\frac{R+jX}{R_{dc}}=\frac{ka}{2}\frac{J_0(ka)}{J_1(ka)}$$
(3)
where $`J_i`$ is the i-th order Bessel function and $`k=(1+j)/\delta _s`$ where the skin depth is given by $`\delta _s=\frac{c}{\sqrt{2\pi \omega \sigma \mu }}`$. $`c`$ is the speed of light and $`\sigma `$ the conductivity.

Since the ac current is applied along the wire axis perpendicularly to the anisotropy (Fig. V), it is again the transverse permeability $`\mu `$ that is considered here. In order to show that the behavior of $`Z`$ is dictated by the permeability, let us consider firstly the low frequency case, i.e. $`ka<<1`$. Expanding the Bessel functions, yields:

$$\frac{Z}{R_{dc}}=1+\frac{1}{48}(\frac{a}{\delta _s})^4j\frac{1}{4}(\frac{a}{\delta _s})^2$$
(4)
In the opposite high frequency case ($`\delta _s<<a`$ or $`ka>>1`$), taking $`a`$ 1mm whereas $`\delta _s1\mu `$ m, we can expand the Bessel function to obtain:

$$\frac{Z}{R_{dc}}=(1+j)\frac{a}{2\delta _s}$$
(5)
This indicates that $`\frac{Z}{R_{dc}}`$ could reach a value of several 1000’s at high frequencies. The same result is obtained in the case of microwires by rescaling all lengths (since we have, in this case, $`a1\mu `$ m). It should be pointed out that since the ac current is along the wire axis, the magnetic field produced is circular along or against the rotational magnetization profile (see Fig. V). Note that at the frequencies of interest ( $`>`$ 1MHz), where we have the largest sensitivity to $`H_{dc}`$, eddy-currents heavily damp DWD.

In wires made of materials having a small negative $`\lambda _s`$, the magnetization and anisotropy field $`H_k`$ run in a circular fashion in a plane transverse to the ac current as illustrated in Fig. V. The dc field $`H_{dc}`$ acts to realign the magnetization along its direction, decreasing therefore the transverse permeability. Therefore, a positive $`\lambda _s`$ cannot be used for GMI since the magnetization profile is rather radial.

The skin depth dependent classical formula does not account for the presence of domain walls that can alter the scattering of the carriers. Panina et al. panina  and Chen et al. chen  accounted for domain wall scattering and showed that the latter is efficient when the inter-domain distance $`\lambda `$ (see Fig. V) to the wire radius $`a`$ ratio $`\lambda /a0.1`$ for frequencies $``$ 1MHz or greater. Introducing a parameter $`\theta =a\sqrt{\sigma \mu \omega }`$, they argue that a change of MI by a factor of 10 (assuming a change of $`\theta ^2`$ by a factor between 7 and 700) yields a change of $`\mu /\mu _0`$ by a factor of 100 to 10, 000. Using a resistivity $`\rho =1/\sigma =`$125 $`\mu \mathrm{\Omega }.cm`$ and 2$`a`$=0.124 mm, the frequency $`f3.1`$ MHz yields a factor of 4 to 10 change in $`|Z|`$. Chen et al. chen  proved also that the classical limit is recovered when $`\lambda /a0.01`$. The interpretation of a single or a double peak in the MI versus $`H_{dc}`$ is interpreted as resulting from scattering by DMR. The scattering increases as $`H_{dc}`$ gets closer to the anisotropy field $`H_k`$ and then decreases after reaching its maximum for $`H_{dc}\pm H_k`$. Wires with very small anisotropy possess a single peak since the scattering maximum occurs at $`H_{dc}0`$. Frequency effects produce the same result as seen in Fig. III.

In the case of GMI effect in coated tubes such as the electroplated FeNi, FeNiCo, and CoP microwires, Kurlyandskaya et al. kurly  found a huge enhancement factor approaching 800% in Fe20Co6Ni74 layers (1 $`\mu `$ m-thick) electroplated onto CuBe nonmagnetic microwire (100 $`\mu `$m diameter) at a frequency of 1.5 MHz. That shows the way for producing the largest GMI in these systems.

## IV GMI in ribbons and thin films

Sputtered or otherwise produced films or ribbons possess several advantages with respect to wires due to the possibilities of size reduction and increase of efficiency. Nevertheless, oblong or elongated ribbon or thin film geometries are preferred in order to emulate the wire case where the largest GMI ratios were obtained.

Since the main ingredients of GMI are a metal that carries an ac current and a nearby magnetic material that must sense strongly the flux, 2D materials or multilayers offer more flexibility than wires and experimentally, several excitation configuration become possible when we are dealing with a ribbon or a film.

The general MI measurement configuration (longitudinal, perpendicular, transverse) in ribbons and films is shown in Fig. VI. In films and ribbons, the domain wall configuration is similar to what goes on in wires in the sense domain walls are transverse with respect to the ac current. In Fig. VII neighbouring domains have magnetizations pointing in different directions and the magneto-impedance effect result from averaging over transverse domains like in the wire case.

When a probe current $`I_0e^{j\omega t}`$ is applied to a film of thickness $`2a`$, the impedance is written as:

$$\frac{Z}{R_{dc}}=jka\mathrm{coth}(jka),$$
(6)
where $`R_{dc}`$ is the dc resistance of the film and $`k=(1+j)/\delta _s`$ with $`\delta _s`$ the skin depth given by, as before, $`\delta _s=\frac{c}{\sqrt{2\pi \omega \sigma \mu }}`$. Since the current is applied (in the ribbon case) along the ribbon axis, again the transverse permeability is considered. As in the wire case, it is possible to expand $`\frac{Z}{R_{dc}}`$ at low (or $`ka<<1`$) and high frequencies (or $`ka>>1`$) and show that $`\mu _t`$ controls its behavior with $`H_{dc}`$. At low frequencies ($`ka<<1`$), we get:

$$\frac{Z}{R_{dc}}=1\frac{2j}{3}(\frac{a}{\delta _s})^2$$
(7)
whereas, at high frequencies ($`ka>>1`$):

$$\frac{Z}{R_{dc}}=1j\frac{a}{\delta _s}$$
(8)
The domain wall configuration (see Fig. VII) permits to estimate the permeability in the case of weak anisotropy field ($`H_k`$ small but finite). It should be stressed that domains, $`H_k`$ and permeability are all transverse. When $`H_{dc}`$ is longitudinal, it plays the role of a hard axis field since it is acting on the magnetization, to rotate it, hence decreasing the transverse permeability, similarly like in wires.

In order to increase the MI response, multilayers are preferred to single layered films/ribbons. If a sandwiched metallic layer carries the ac current that creates the flux in the neighbouring magnetic layers, the MI effect is considerably enhanced (Table III). Moreover, when the width $`2b`$ is large (Fig. VII) the ac flux loop is closed and stray magnetic fields small paton .

Multilayers of Permalloy (Ni81Fe19 denoted as Py) and Ag of the type $`[`$Py(x Å)/Ag (y Å)$`]_n`$ with thickness x = 107 Å and 88 Å, y= 7 Å and 24 Å and the number of layers n=15 and 100 were grown by Sommer et al. sommer99  with magnetron sputtering techniques. The case n=100 displayed a GMI effect of the order of 5 to 25 %. The thickness of the Py layer has a strong effect on the coercive field and consequently on the softness of the material. The coercive field $`H_c`$ varies from 0.85 Oersted for x=88 Å to reach 13.6 Oersted for x=5000 Å. As the Ag thickness varied from 7 to 24 Å the MI effect changed from single peak to double peak structure in a fashion akin to the effect of frequency. Sommer and Chien sommer95  showed also that in the ribbon case, a double or a single peak structure in the MI results from the direction of the applied magnetic field $`H_{dc}`$. When it is longitudinal (along the ribbon axis, see Fig. VII) a double peak at $`H_{dc}\pm H_k`$is observed, but when it is transverse the demagnetization factor perpendicular to the ribbon axis becomes important. That is responsible of an apparent longitudinal permeability that gives birth to a single peak MI. The ribbon MI is similar to the wire case, however MI in single layer films remains small and it is still an open problem to find ways to increase it dramatically like in coated microwires. Nevertheless, when multilayers are used (see Table III) the GMI ratio may attain 700%. This enhancement is due to the electrical insulation of the metallic layer carrying the ac current by sandwiching it with SiO2 layers, the outer magnetic layers embodying the ac inductance created by the current.

## V Applications of GMI in Electronics and Sensing

Since GMI uses soft magnetic materials possessing a large permeability, the first immediate application is in devices related to magnetic shielding since it requires the soft properties of the material. A host of other applications involves the GMI per se.

The first of these applications are the detection of very small magnetic fields. In order to have a general idea of the scale of current magnetic Fields Table V displays some orders of magnitude of natural and artificial fields.

Detection of magnetic field is also important and magnetic field sensors (see Hauser et al. hauser ) are broadly classified in three categories (see Table VI):

1. Medium to large field detection by Hall and magnetoresistive devices.
2. Small to medium magnetic field detection by magnetoimpedance and Flux Gate sensors.
3. Very small to small magnetic field detection by SQUID’s (Superconducting QUantum Interference Devices).

The possible devices are recording read heads, magnetic guidance devices in vehicles, boats and planes (with or without GPS, i.e. Global Positioning System), brain imaging (magneto-encephalogram or MEG devices) and heart mapping (magneto-cardiogram or MCG devices) etc…
The detection of the Earth magnetic field has a host of applications for instance in Petroleum or minerals exploration or in shielding used for Degaussing of High performance CRT monitors…
The general features required for sensors are not only high sensitivity, flexibility, large bandwidth and lost cost but linearity is also a desired feature. In order to increase the sensitivity of GMI devices with respect to the dc magnetic field, devices were developed kim  possessing non-symmetric variation of the MI with respect to $`H_{dc}`$. The materials used are field annealed Co-based amorphous ribbons (Co66 Fe4 Ni B14 Si15) (see Table III). The asymmetry of the MI profile allows a very sensitive detection of the magnetic field specially around $`H0`$ and when the asymmetry of the profile is so sharp that it becomes step-like, we have a so-called ”GMI valve” based device. In these devices, the sensitivity might be enhanced to reach 1000%/Oe (compare with values in Table III). Asymmetry may also be induced by torsional stress such as in wires of Fe77.5Si7.515 ryu . Altering the GMI response with mechanical stress paves the way toward the development of strain sensors that can be used in several areas of engineering and science.

## VI Conclusion

Good candidates for GMI are amorphous Cobalt rich ribbons, wires, glass covered microwires and multilayers made of a metallic layer sandwiched between ferromagnetic materials (with or without intermediate insulating layers).
Zero-field annealing or annealing under a magnetic field or with the application of some mechanical stress favors orienting the magnetization along a desired direction. In order to get a fast reduction of the transverse permeability (see Fig. IV) under the application of an external field $`H_{dc}`$, there must be an optimal distribution of the magnetization around the desired direction panina  and that can be obtained with suitable growth or annealing conditions. Reduction of the stress contained into the as-grown materials by sputtering or quenching can also be obtained with annealing.
The current activity in GMI studies is oriented toward the development of devices using a built-in magnetic field rather than an applied external field. This is reminescent of the p-n, Schottky, heterojunctions etc… where the built-in field is electrical.
The discovery of magnetic bias produced a revolution in magnetism because of the many potential applications in storage, sensing, spintronics… Nevertheless, there are other ways to produce built-in magnetic fields. For instance Ueno et al. ueno  produced susch an internal field by superposing two sputtered films of Co72 Fe820 with crossed anisotropy axes, i.e. with the anisotropy axis of the bottom layer making angles of opposite sign with some common direction.
While GMI in wires and ribbons is steadily progressing, the case of single layered films is still lagging behind in favor of multilayered films. Ways must be developed in order to increase the sensitivity of single or multilayered structures in order to reach the level observed in wires and microwires. The range of applications will substantially explode once GMI in thin films will be competitive with wires and ribbons.

Acknowledgement
The authors wish to acknowledge correspondance with P. Ripka and his kind providing of re(pre)prints of his work as well as friendly discussions with A. Fessant regarding characterisation and impedance measurements.

FIGURES AND TABLES


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# Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions

## Abstract

A dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensate of a gas of bosonic particles with long-range dipole-dipole interactions in a harmonic trap is studied. Sufficient analytical criteria are found both for catastrophic collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate and for long-time condensate existence. Analytical criteria are compared with variational analysis.

Bose-Einstein condensation of dilute trapped atomic gases Anderson1995 ; Bradley1997  essentially depends on the interpaticle interactions. In most experiments so far the dominated interactions were short-range van der Waals forces which are characterized by the $`s`$wave scattering length $`a`$. Spatially homogeneous condensates with positive scattering length (repuilsive interaction) are stable while condensates with negative scattering length (attractive interaction) are always unstable to local collapses PitaevskiiRevModPhys1999  because the quantum pressure is absent in homogeneous condensates. The presence of trapping field allows to achieve a metastable Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) Bradley1997  for $`a<0`$ if the number of particles is small enough to ensure existence of local minima of energy functional PitaevskiiRevModPhys1999 .

Recent progress in creating of ultra-cold molecular clouds JDWeinstein1998 ; Wynar2000  opens a new prospective for achieving BEC in a dilute gas of polar molecules and stimulates growing interest in study of BEC with dipole-dipole interactions Yi2000 ; Goral2000 ; santosPRL2000 ; Yi2001 ; Yi2002 ; Martikainen2001 ; Pu2001 . Dipole-dipole forces are long-range and essentially anisotropic. Net contribution of dipole-dipole interactions can be either repulsive (positive dipole-dipole interaction energy) or attractive (negative dipole-dipole interaction energy) depending on the form of condensate cloud, its orientation relative to dipole polarization axes and trap geometry. Respectively stability and collapse of BEC strongly depends on clouds anisotropy which opens a whole bunch of new phenomena to be observed and makes task of achieving and control of BEC especially challenging.

Dipole-dipole interactions can dominate provided polar molecules are oriented by strong enough electric field. Similar effects can be achieved for ground-state atoms with electric dipole moments induced by a strong electric field Yi2000 ; Yi2001 . Another possible physical realization is atoms with laser induced electric dipole moments santosPRL2000 . Dipole-dipole interactions can be also essential in BEC of atomic gas with large magnetic dipole moments Goral2000 ; Martikainen2001 . Magnetic interactions are usually dominated by van der Waals forces but effects of magnetic interactions can essentially amplified by reducing of scattering length $`a`$ via a Feshbach resonance Donley2001 ; Yi2002 . Analysis of this Letter can be applied for both cases of electric and magnetic dipole-dipole interactions.

In this letter sufficient analytical criteria are developed both for catastrophic collapse of BEC of a trapped gas of dipolar particles and for long-time condensate existence. Sufficient criteria allows to predict condensate collapse or, opposite, its long-time existence for given condensate energy, E, number of particles, N, initial mean square width of condensate, and initial kinetic energy of condensate. Analytical criteria are compared with results of variational approach santosPRL2000 , where collapse was predicted based on the absence of local minimum of ground state of energy functional provided number of condensate particle exceeds certain critical value. It is shown here that variational calculation gives threshold number of particles and condensate energy which are located between parameters regions where analytical criteria predict collapse and long-time condensate existence, respectively. It is proven in this Letter that collapse certainly occurs provided energy of the condensate exceeds a threshold value which is determined by the number of particles and trap parameters. Collapse of condensate is accompanied with dramatic contraction of the atomic cloud. Collapse is impossible provided number of particles and initial kinetic energy of condensate are below the critical values.

The time-dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPE) for atoms with long-range interactions and for a cylindrical harmonic trap is given by Yi2000 :

$`i\mathrm{}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{\Psi }}{t}}=\{{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}^2^2}{2m}}+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}m\omega _0^2(x_1^2+x_2^2+\gamma ^2x_3^2)`$
$`+g|\mathrm{\Psi }|^2+{\displaystyle }V(𝐫𝐫^{})|\mathrm{\Psi }(𝐫^{})|^2d^3𝐫^{}\}\mathrm{\Psi },`$ (1)
where $`𝐫=(x_1,x_2,x_3),`$ $`\mathrm{\Psi }`$ is the condensate wave function, coupling constant $`g`$ corresponds to short-range forces and is given by $`g=4\pi \mathrm{}^2a/m`$, $`a`$ is the s-wave scattering length, $`m`$ is the atomic mass, $`\omega _0`$ is a trap frequency in $`x_1x_2`$ plane, and $`\gamma `$ is the anisotropy factor of the trap. $`\mathrm{\Psi }(𝐫,t)`$ is normalized to the total number of atoms in condensate: $`N=|\mathrm{\Psi }|^2d^3𝐫.`$ It is assumed that the system is away from shape resonances of $`V(𝐫)`$ Yi2000  and that the long-range potential is due to the dipole-dipole interaction, and is given by

$$V(𝐫𝐫^{})=\frac{[𝐝_1(𝐫)𝐝_2(𝐫^{})]3[𝐝_1(𝐫)𝐮][𝐝_2(𝐫^{})𝐮]}{|𝐫𝐫^{}|^2},$$
(2)
where $`𝐮=(𝐫𝐫^{})/|𝐫𝐫^{}|`$. All the dipoles are assumed to point in the direction of trap axes ($`\widehat{x}_3`$-direction), i.e., $`𝐝_1=𝐝_2=d\widehat{x_3}`$. Potential $`(\text{2})`$ with no dependence of $`d`$ on $`𝐫`$ is a good approximation provided a typical interparticle distance exceeds a few Bohr radii.

GPE $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$ can be also obtained from variation of energy functional, $`E:`$ $`i\mathrm{}\frac{\mathrm{\Psi }}{t}=\frac{\delta E}{\delta \mathrm{\Psi }^{}}`$, where the condensate energy,

$`E=E_K+E_P+E_{NL}+E_{DD},`$ (3)
is an integral of motion: $`\frac{dE}{dt}=0`$, and

$`E_K={\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2m}|\mathrm{\Psi }|^2d^3𝐫},`$
$`E_P={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}m\omega _0^2(x_1^2+x_2^2+\gamma ^2x_3^2)|\mathrm{\Psi }|^2d^3𝐫},`$
$`E_{NL}={\displaystyle \frac{g}{2}}{\displaystyle |\mathrm{\Psi }|^4d^3𝐫},`$
$`E_{DD}={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}{\displaystyle |\mathrm{\Psi }(𝐫)|^2V(𝐫𝐫^{})|\mathrm{\Psi }(𝐫^{})|^2d^3𝐫d^3𝐫^{}}.`$ (4)
Consider time evolution of the mean square radius of the wave function, $`r^2r^2|\mathrm{\Psi }|^2d^3𝐫/N.`$ Using $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions}),`$ integrating by parts, and taking into account vanishing boundary conditions at infinity one gets for the first time derivative

$`_tr^2={\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}}{2mN}}{\displaystyle 2ix_j(\mathrm{\Psi }_{x_j}\mathrm{\Psi }^{}\mathrm{\Psi }^{}_{x_j}\mathrm{\Psi })d^3𝐫},`$ (5)
where $`_t\frac{}{t}`$, $`_{x_j}\frac{}{x_j}`$ and repeated index $`j`$ means summation over all space coordinates, $`j=1,\mathrm{},3`$.

In a similar way, after a second differentiation over $`t`$, one gets

$`_t^2r^2={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2mN}}[8E_K8E_P+12E_{NL}`$
$`2{\displaystyle }|\mathrm{\Psi }(𝐫|^2|\mathrm{\Psi }(𝐫^{}|^2(x_j_{x_j}+x_j^{}_{x_j^{}})V(𝐫𝐫^{})d^3𝐫].`$ (6)
Note that, in the case $`E_P=0,V(𝐫)0`$, Eq. $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$ coincides with the so-called virial theorem for the GPE with local interactions vlas ; zakh1972 ; lush1995 ; Pitaevskii1995 ; LushnikovSaffman2000  thus it is natural to call Eq. $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$ by a virial theorem for GPE $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$.

Using Eq. $`(\text{2})`$ one gets $`(x_j_{x_j}+x_j^{}_{x_j^{}})V(𝐫𝐫^{})=3V(𝐫𝐫^{})`$ and using Eq. $`(\text{3})`$ one can rewrite virial theorem $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$ as follows:

$`_t^2r^2={\displaystyle \frac{1}{2mN}}[12E4E_K10m\omega _0^2Nr^2`$
$`10m\omega _0^2N(\gamma ^21)x_3^2].`$ (7)
It is essential here that both local nonlinear term and nonlocal term are included into the energy $`E`$ which is a conserved quantity. Catastrophic collapse of BEC occurs while $`r^20`$. From mathematical point of view it means that if, according to virial theorem $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$, the positive-definite quantity $`r^2`$ becomes negative in finite time then singularity in solution of Eq. $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$ appears in a finite time before $`r^2`$ becomes negative and singularity in solution of GPE occurs together with catastrophic squeezing of the distribution of $`|\mathrm{\Psi }|.`$ Near singularity formation GPE is not applicable and another physical mechanisms are important such as inelastic two- and three-body collisions which can cause a loss of atoms from the condensate PitaevskiiRevModPhys1999 . In addition, long term interactions are described by the dipole-dipole potential $`(\text{2})`$ provided typical distance between atoms in condensate exceeds a few Bohr radii. Note that regularization of potential $`(\text{2})`$ to avoid singularity at $`𝐫=0`$ allows to prevent singularity formation in GPE Turitsyn1985 ; Perez2000 . However GPE $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$ can still describe significant contraction of atomic cloud.

Thus condition $`r^20`$ provides a sufficient criterion of collapse of BEC. E.g. one immediately obtains from Eq. $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$ that $`_t^2r^2<\frac{6E}{mN}`$ and collapse is inevitable for $`E<0`$. One can obtain however much more strict sufficient condition for collapse using generalized uncertainty relations between $`E_K,N,r^2,_tr^2`$ lush1995  which follows from Cauchy-Schwarz inequality and Eq. $`(\text{5})`$ with use of integration by parts $`(\mathrm{\Psi }Re^{i\varphi },`$ $`R=|\mathrm{\Psi }|)`$:

$`E_K={\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2m}}{\displaystyle \left[(R)^2+(\varphi )^2R^2\right]d^3𝐫},`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{2mN}{\mathrm{}}}|_tr^2|=4|{\displaystyle x_j_{x_j}\varphi R^2d^3𝐫}|`$
$`4\left(Nr^2{\displaystyle (\varphi )^2R^2d^3𝐫}\right)^{1/2},`$
$`N={\displaystyle \frac{2}{3}}{\displaystyle x_jR_{x_j}Rd^3𝐫}{\displaystyle \frac{2}{3}}\left(Nr^2{\displaystyle (R)^2d^3𝐫}\right)^{1/2}.`$ (8)
Using Eqs. $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions}),(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$ one can obtain a basic differential inequality:

$`_t^2r^2{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2mN}}[12E{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2m}}({\displaystyle \frac{9N}{r^2}}+{\displaystyle \frac{m^2N(_tr^2)^2}{\mathrm{}^2r^2}})`$
$`10m\omega _0^2NF(\gamma )r^2],`$ (9)
where $`F(\gamma )=1`$ for $`\gamma 1`$ and $`F(\gamma )=\gamma ^2`$ for $`\gamma <1`$. Change of variable, $`r^2=B^{4/5}/N`$ gives the differential inequality:

$`_t^2B{\displaystyle \frac{5}{2m}}\left[3EB^{1/5}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}^2}{8m}}{\displaystyle \frac{9N^2}{B^{3/5}}}{\displaystyle \frac{5}{2}}m\omega _0^2F(\gamma )B\right],`$ (10)
which can be rewritten as

$`B_{tt}={\displaystyle \frac{U(B)}{B}}f^2(t),`$ (11)
where

$`U={\displaystyle \frac{25}{4m}}EB^{6/5}+{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}^2225N^2}{32m^2}}B^{2/5}+{\displaystyle \frac{25}{8}}\omega _0^2F(\gamma )B^2,`$ (12)
and $`f^2(t)`$ is some unknown nonnegative function of time. Equation $`(\text{11})`$ has a simple mechanical analogy lush1995  with the motion of a “particle” with coordinate $`B`$ under the influence of the potential force $`\frac{U(B)}{B}`$ in addition to the force $`f^2(t)`$. Due to the influence of the nonpotential force $`f^2(t)`$ the total energy $``$ of the “particle” is time dependent: $`(t)=\frac{B_t^2}{2}+U(B)`$. Collapse certainly occurs if the “particle” reaches the origin $`B=0.`$ It is clear that if the particle were to reach the origin without the influence of the force $`f^2(t)`$ then it would reach the origin even faster under the additional influence of this nonpositive force. Therefore one can consider below the particle dynamics without the influence of the nonconservative force $`f^2(t)`$ to prove sufficient collapse conditions.

It follows from Eq. $`(\text{12})`$ that potential $`U(B)`$ is a monotonic function for $`E\mathrm{}\omega _0N[F(\gamma )5]^{1/2}/2E_{critical}`$ (see curve 1 in Fig. 1)

while for $`E>E_{critical}`$ potential $`U(B)`$ has a barrier at $`B_m^{4/5}=3\left(E\left[E^2E_{critical}^2\right]^{1/2}\right)/\left[5m\omega _0^2F(\gamma )\right]`$ with particle energy $`_m=U(B_m)`$ at the top (see curve 2 in Fig. 1). One can separate sufficient collapse condition into three different cases:

(a) for $`EE_{critical}`$ the particle reaches the origin in a finite time irrespective of the initial value of $`B|_{t=0}`$;

(b) for $`E>E_{critical}`$ and $`(0)>_m`$, the particle is able to overcome the barrier thus it always falls to the origin in a finite time irrespective of the initial value of $`B|_{t=0}`$;

(c) for $`E>E_{critical}`$ and $`(0)<_m`$, the particle is not able to overcome the barrier thus it falls to the origin in a finite time only if $`B|_{t=0}<B_m.`$

Note that it is proven here analytically only sufficient collapse conditions. It means that even if none of conditions a,b,c are satisfied one can not exclude collapse formation for some particular values of the initial conditions of Eq. $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions}).`$ Generally it is determined by nonpotential force $`f^2(t)`$. However inequality $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$ reduces to equality for a Gaussian initial condition and $`\gamma =1`$:

$`\mathrm{\Psi }_0=N^{1/2}\pi ^{3/4}(L_\rho ^2L_3)^{1/2}e^{(x_1^2+x_2^2)/2L_\rho ^2}e^{x_3^2/2L_3^2}`$ (13)
in particular case with $`L_3=L_\rho `$.

One can compare sufficient collapse condition with results of Ref. santosPRL2000  where collapse was predicted from variational analysis using Gaussian ansatz $`(\text{13})`$ to approximate ground state of GPE for $`g=0`$ $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$. It was concluded that collapse should occur provided energy functional $`E`$ has no local minima. A critical point was determined from the condition that local minimum of energy functional $`E`$ becomes a saddle point: $`(^2E/L_3^2)(^2E/L_\rho ^2)=(^2E/L_3L_\rho )^2,E/L_3=^2E/L_\rho =0.`$ This allows to find critical number of particle, $`N_{c,var}`$ and critical value of energy functional, $`E_{c,var}`$, as a function of system parameters $`L_\rho ,L_3,\gamma ,d.`$. Fig. 2 shows dependence of $`E_{c,var}`$ (curve 1) and $`E_{critical}`$ (curve 2) on trap aspect ratio $`\gamma `$ for $`N=N_{c,var}`$ and $`g=0`$.

Note that the expression for $`E_{c,var}`$, used in this Letter to draw curve 2 in Fig. 2, differs from Eq. $`(3)`$ of Ref. santosPRL2000 . The authors of Ref. santosPRL2000  already mentioned in the erratum santosPRL2002E ) that Eq. $`(3)`$ of santosPRL2000  is incorrect. However a corrected formula was not given in the erratum santosPRL2002E . Explicit expression for $`E_{c,var}`$ is not given in this Letter also because it is very bulky and will be given elsewhere. Gaussian ansatz $`(\text{13})`$ is not an exact solution of GPE $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$ thus one can expect that actual critical value of energy $`E`$ of ground state solution is lower. $`E_{critical}`$ is determined here from sufficient collapse condition meaning that critical value of energy $`E`$ of ground state solution is always above curve 2. One can conclude that actual critical value of energy is located between curves 1 and 2. Accuracy of variation approximation can generally be obtained only from comparison with direct simulation of GPE $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$.

The Fourier transform of dipole-dipole interaction potential $`(\text{2})`$ allows to find a sufficient condition of global existence (for arbitrary large time) of solution of GPE $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$. The dipole-dipole interaction energy $`E_{DD}`$ can be rewritten in $`𝐤`$-space as $`E_{DD}=(1/2)|R_𝐤|^2V_𝐤d^3𝐤/(2\pi )^3`$, where $`R_𝐤`$ is a Fourier transform of $`|\mathrm{\Psi }|^2`$ and the Fourier transform of the dipole-dipole interaction in the limit of small atomic overlap distance is given by Goral2000 : $`V_𝐤=\frac{4\pi }{3}d^2(13\mathrm{cos}^2\alpha ).`$ Here $`\alpha `$ is the angle between $`𝐤`$ and $`𝐝`$. Using inequality $`V_𝐤\frac{4\pi }{3}d^2`$ one gets $`E_{DD}\frac{2\pi }{3}d^2Y`$, where $`Y|\mathrm{\Psi }|^4d^3𝐫`$. Condition $`4\pi d^23g`$ results in $`E>0`$ for any particle number and collapse is impossible. Below it is assumed that $`4\pi d^2>3g`$. $`Y`$ can be bounded as follows: $`Y\frac{4}{3^{3/2}N_0}N^{1/2}X^{3/2},`$ where $`X|\mathrm{\Psi }|^2d^3𝐫`$, and $`N_0=18.94`$ is determined from a ground state solution, $`\varphi _0=\lambda R(\lambda 𝐫)e^{i\lambda ^2t}`$, of nonlinear Schrödinger equation: $`\lambda ^2R+^2R+R^3=0,`$ $`N_0R^2d^3𝐫`$ (see Ref. KuznetsovRasmussen1995 ). Using these inequalities and Eqs. $`(\text{3}),(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions}),(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$ one gets lower bound of energy functional:

$`E{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2m}}X+{\displaystyle \frac{9m\omega ^2}{8X}}F(\gamma )N^2{\displaystyle \frac{2(4\pi d^23g)}{3^{5/2}N_0}}N^{1/2}X^{3/2}`$
$`E_l(X).`$ (14)
For $`N>N_c,`$ $`N_c2^{3/2}3\mathrm{}^{5/2}N_0/[5^{5/4}(4\pi d^23g)F(\gamma )^{1/4}m^{3/2}\omega ^{1/2}],`$ the function $`E_l(X)`$ is a monotonic one (curve 1 in Fig. 3). For $`N<N_c`$ the function $`E_l(X)`$ has a local minimum, $`E_{min}`$ (curve 2 in Fig. 3).

Consider initial condition with

$$N<N_c,E_{min}<E<E_{max},X_1<X|_{t=0}<X_2,$$
(15)
where $`E_{max}`$ is a local maximum of $`E_l(X)`$, and $`X_1,X_2`$ are two of total three roots $`(X_1<X_2<X_3)`$ of Eq. $`E=E_l(X)`$. Any solution of GPE, corresponding to conditions $`(\text{15})`$, will stay in the range $`X_1<X<X_2`$ at any time because regions below curves 1,2 in Fig. 3 are forbidden for solution of GPE. One concludes that collapse is impossible in that case because collapse and singularity formation in GPE requires singularity in kinetic energy Weinstein1983 , $`X\mathrm{}`$. That could be understood e.g. from uncertainty relations $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$. Eq. $`(\text{15})`$ gives a sufficient condition of absence of collapse and in that case one can expect that energy functional $`E`$ has a local minimum and supports stable steady-state solutions. In original quantum mechanical problem that steady state is metastable one because of finite probability of tunneling of condensate from local minimum which is outside the applicability of GPE and is not considered in this Letter.

In conclusion, sufficient analytical criteria are developed both for catastrophic collapse of BEC of gas with nonlocal long-range dipole-dipole interactions and for long-time collapse existence in the framework of GPE $`(\text{Collapse of Bose-Einstein condensate with dipole-dipole interactions})`$.

The author thanks M. Chertkov and I.R. Gabitov for helpful discussions.

Support was provided by the Department of Energy, under contract W-7405-ENG-36.


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# Hydrodynamic excitations of trapped dipolar fermions

## Abstract

A single-component Fermi gas of polarized dipolar particles in a harmonic trap can undergo a mechanical collapse due to the attractive part of the dipole-dipole interaction. This phenomenon can be conveniently manipulated by the shape of the external trapping potential. We investigate the signatures of the instability by studying the spectrum of low-lying collective excitations of the system in the hydrodynamic regime. To this end, we employ a time-dependent variational method as well as exact numerical solutions of the hydrodynamic equations of the system.

Following a spectacular series of experimental achievements with Bose-Einstein condensates in dilute trapped atomic gases (for a review see, e.g., natureAnglin ; natureRolston ), dilute gaseous atomic Fermi systems have drawn intensified interest only very recently. After the first successful realization of quantum degeneracy in a potassium gas fermions , several other groups have cooled fermionic 6Li below the Fermi temperature and trapped it magnetically or optically fermionsHulet ; fermionsENS ; OHara . Very recently, two-species Fermi-Bose mixtures have been also achieved in 6Li–23Na fermionsMIT  and in 40K–87Rb modugno . Much emphasis has been put on the attainment of the transition to a superfluid Cooper-paired state fermionsHolland ; fermionsEddy ; cirac .

In a single-component Fermi gas at very low energies s-wave scattering is excluded by the statistics. Therefore, such a system behaves as a nearly ideal one. However, in this situation other types of interactions, usually negligible, come into play. A good candidate is a dipole-dipole force. Its effects might be seen in the behavior of atoms with large permanent magnetic moments (such as chromium chromiumPfau ; chromiumHarvard ) and should be evident in the case of heteronuclear molecules possessing permanent electric dipoles (an example is ND3, which has been cooled in a Stark decelerator down to the millikelvin range MeijerNature1 ). Another option is to induce electric dipoles with the help of strong DC fields Marinescu  or by optical admixing of large dipole moments of Rydberg states Santos .

The ground state of a harmonically trapped polarized single-component dipolar Fermi gas in the normal phase has been investigated in fermionsGoral . An interesting possibility of mechanical instability of the system has been investigated in detail. Using the Thomas-Fermi theory (together with the Dirac correction) the authors have shown that when the critical values of the total particle number $`N`$ or of the dipole moment $`d`$ are reached, the system collapses (for an analogous discussion of a dipolar Bose condensate see Santos ). It has been shown that this behavior is governed by a parameter $`N^{\frac{1}{6}}\epsilon `$, where

$$\epsilon =\left(\omega m^3/\mathrm{}^5\right)^{\frac{1}{2}}d^2.$$
(1)
In Eq.(1) $`\omega `$ is the transverse frequency of an axially symmetric harmonic trap (the trap axis being parallel to the dipole polarization) and $`m`$ is the particle mass. The critical value of $`N^{\frac{1}{6}}\epsilon `$ depends on the trap aspect ratio $`\beta =\omega _z/\omega `$ ($`\omega _z`$ is the axial frequency of the trap). A detailed stability diagram is presented in Fig.1 of Ref.fermionsGoral . Here we summarize its main features pertinent to the following discussion. The most striking finding is the existence of a characteristic value of the aspect ratio $`\beta 5.2`$ above which (i.e., in sufficiently oblate traps) the system is always stable, for any number of particles and any dipole moment. Away from this region the critical values of $`N^{\frac{1}{6}}\epsilon `$, above which the system is unstable, tend to lie between 2 and 10. Generally, the critical $`N^{\frac{1}{6}}\epsilon `$ is smaller for traps elongated in the direction of polarization, i.e., for $`\beta <1`$ (with an exception region for extremely stiff traps with $`\beta 1`$, where the critical value of $`N^{\frac{1}{6}}\epsilon `$ grows again). As regards the experimental prospects of observing the predicted instability, one can say that it will definitely not affect weak magnetic dipoles chromiumPfau ; chromiumHarvard . However, polar molecules and strong electrically induced atomic dipoles may very well be located in the vicinity of the unstable region.

At this point, a discussion of p-wave induced collapse in a single-component Fermi gas should also be mentioned Roth . Another interesting aspect of the physics of trapped dipolar fermions, an issue of superfluid pairing induced by the dipole-dipole interactions, has also been addressed recently in Refs.dipolesBCS ; physica .

The issue of collective excitations of degenerate Fermi gases is important and its studies have the same motivations as in the case of Bose condensates – the spectrum of collective excitations determines the system dynamics in the low-energy regime. This way, the analysis of the excitations brings yet another important piece of information about quantum degenerate fermionic gases. A few works have been concerned with the problem. Amoruso et al. Amoruso  as well as Bruun and Clark fermionsClark  have investigated hydrodynamic excitations in non-interacting Fermi gases, mainly in spherically symmetric traps. Their work has been extended to the case of anisotropic trapping potentials by Csordás and Graham Csordas . Some experimental work should be mentioned in the context of collective excitations – DeMarco and Jin have investigated spin excitations in a fermionic gas of atoms SpinExc .

In the case of degenerate bosons, the spectrum of the collective excitations strongly depends on the particle interactions. In the mean-field picture, this amounts to the dependence on both the number of particles and the scattering length. As single-component degenerate fermions at low energies are virtually non-interacting, the problem of interactions is less important and appears in two contexts only: either one deals with a two-component gas (where inter-component scattering takes place) Vichi  or, in the single-component case, one takes into account dipole-dipole forces. In this paper we study the latter case.

In the hydrodynamic regime, i.e., when collisions ensure local equilibrium, the dynamics of a Fermi gas is governed by the hydrodynamic equations for the fields of velocity $`𝐯(𝐫,t)`$ and density $`n(𝐫,t)`$:

$`{\displaystyle \frac{n(𝐫,t)}{t}}=\left[n(𝐫,t)𝐯(𝐫,t)\right]`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{𝐯(𝐫,t)}{t}}=[{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2m^2}}\left[6\pi ^2n(𝐫,t)\right]^{2/3}+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}𝐯^2(𝐫,t)`$
$`+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}\omega ^2[x^2+y^2+(\beta z)^2]+{\displaystyle \frac{1}{m}}{\displaystyle }d𝐫^{}n(𝐫,t)V_{\mathrm{dd}}(𝐫𝐫^{})],`$
(2)
where $`V_{\mathrm{dd}}(𝐫)`$ is the dipole-dipole potential

$$V_{\mathrm{dd}}(𝐫)=\frac{d^2}{r^3}3\frac{(𝐝𝐫)^2}{r^5}.$$
(3)
In the second of Eqs.(2) one can recognize various components of the Thomas-Fermi formulation for trapped dipolar fermions fermionsGoral : the first term on the right-hand side is the quantum pressure (microscopic kinetic energy) resulting from Fermi statistics; the next term describes the macroscopic part of the kinetic energy; the first term in the last line is the harmonic trapping potential and the last term in this line is the dipole-dipole interaction energy.

In order to study low-lying collective excitations, in the following we propose to merge the variational approach (used to find the ground state of a dipolar Fermi gas in Ref.fermionsGoral ) with the time-dependent variational method used to study bosonic oscillations (see, e.g., Refs. Perez ; Yi2 ; ExcBosons ). A related approach has been developed by Zaremba and Tso Zaremba  to model a parabolically confined electron gas.

First, we introduce the Lagrangian density

$`(𝐫,t)=\mathrm{}n(𝐫,t){\displaystyle \frac{\chi (𝐫,t)}{t}}{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}^2}{m}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{20\pi ^2}}\left[6\pi ^2n(𝐫,t)\right]^{5/3}`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}^2}{2m}}n(𝐫,t)(\chi (𝐫,t))^2{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}m\omega ^2\left[x^2+y^2+(\beta z)^2\right]n(𝐫,t)`$
$`{\displaystyle \frac{1}{2}}{\displaystyle 𝑑𝐫^{}n(𝐫,t)V_{\mathrm{dd}}(𝐫𝐫^{})n(𝐫^{},t)},`$ (4)
where $`𝐯(𝐫,t)=(\mathrm{}/2m)lim_{\stackrel{}{r}_1\stackrel{}{r}_2}(\stackrel{}{}_1\stackrel{}{}_2)\chi (\stackrel{}{r}_1,\stackrel{}{r}_2,t)`$ and $`n(𝐫,t)`$ is the spatial one-particle density. $`\chi `$ is usually termed the potential of the velocity field. The Lagrangian density $`(𝐫,t)`$ is chosen such that the Lagrange equations for the conjugate variables $`n`$ and $`\chi `$, following from the Lagrangian $`L=𝑑𝐫(𝐫,t)`$, reproduce the hydrodynamic equations (2) for the Fermi gas.

From this point we proceed in a close analogy to the procedure employed for bosons in Ref.ExcBosons . We introduce a Gaussian variational ansatz for the density $`n(𝐫,t)`$ :

$$n(x,y,z,t)=\frac{N}{\pi ^{3/2}w_x(t)w_y(t)w_z(t)}\underset{\eta =x,y,z}{}e^{\left[\eta \eta _0(t)\right]^2/w_\eta ^2(t)},$$
(5)
where $`w_\eta (t)`$ are time-dependent widths, and a variational form for the phase:

$$\chi (𝐫,t)=\underset{\eta =x,y,z}{}\left[\eta \alpha _\eta (t)+\eta ^2\beta _\eta (t)\right],$$
(6)
where $`\alpha _\eta (t)`$ and $`\beta _\eta (t)`$ are variational parameters – see also Perez ; Yi2 . The linear part of the phase ansatz describes the drift of the Fermi fluid (a constant part of the velocity field) whereas the quadratic term corresponds to oscillations (a linear part of the velocity). This kind of ansatz has proved to work very well in reproducing the static properties of trapped dipolar fermions fermionsGoral . It was also used successfully to model the dynamical behavior of trapped dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates Yi2 ; ExcBosons . This way, the problem is reduced to the study of a few Lagrange equations for the variational parameters $`w_\eta (t)`$, $`\eta _0(t)`$, $`\alpha _\eta (t)`$, and $`\beta _\eta (t)`$:

$`\ddot{w_\eta }=c{\displaystyle \frac{\mathrm{}^2}{m^2}}{\displaystyle \frac{1}{w_\eta }}\left[{\displaystyle \frac{N}{w_xw_yw_z}}\right]^{2/3}\omega _\eta ^2w_\eta +{\displaystyle \frac{2}{Nm}}{\displaystyle \frac{I}{w_\eta }},`$ (7)
$`\ddot{\eta _0}+\omega _\eta ^2\eta _0=0,`$ (8)
$`\alpha _\eta ={\displaystyle \frac{m}{\mathrm{}}}\left[\dot{\eta _0}{\displaystyle \frac{\eta _0\dot{w_\eta }}{w_\eta }}\right],`$ (9)
$`\beta _\eta ={\displaystyle \frac{m}{2\mathrm{}}}{\displaystyle \frac{\dot{w_\eta }}{w_\eta }},`$ (10)
where $`c=6^{5/3}\sqrt{3/5}\pi ^{1/3}/25`$ is a numerical factor and

$$I=\frac{1}{2}𝑑𝐫𝑑𝐫^{}n(𝐫,t)V_{\mathrm{dd}}(𝐫𝐫^{})n(𝐫^{},t).$$
(11)
Again, we can recognize various terms of the Thomas-Fermi theory in Eqs.(7-10): the first term of the right-hand side of Eq.(7) corresponds to the quantum pressure, the second term comes from the trapping potential, and the last term results from the dipole-dipole interaction energy.

As we see from Eq.(8), the center-of-mass motion (described by $`\eta _0(t)`$) is decoupled and follows simple harmonic oscillations, just as in the case of bosons Perez ; ExcBosons . The only independent variables are the widths $`w_\eta (t)`$. Their dynamics, governed by Eq.(7), can be viewed as a motion of a fictitious particle in the following potential:

$$U(w_x,w_y,w_z)=\frac{1}{2}\underset{\eta }{}\omega _\eta ^2w_\eta ^2+c\frac{3\mathrm{}^2}{2m^2}\left[\frac{N}{w_xw_yw_z}\right]^{2/3}\frac{2I}{Nm}$$
(12)
By diagonalizing the matrix of second derivatives of this potential (evaluated at the stationary point, i.e., for the ground state values of the widths – as calculated in Ref.fermionsGoral ) one can obtain the frequencies and the shapes of three low-lying eigenmodes of the cloud. These modes have the same structure as in the bosonic case – see Fig.1.

An interesting question in the analysis of the instability induced by dipole-dipole interactions concerns the identification of the mode that becomes unstable (which is indicated by its frequency approaching zero) at the critical value of the dipolar parameter $`N^{\frac{1}{6}}\epsilon `$. We have analyzed this problem for different cylindrically symmetric traps.

Let us first concentrate on cigar-shaped traps ($`\beta <1`$). For $`0.42<\beta <1`$, the lowest mode is always the quadrupole mode (mode 3 in Fig.1) and its frequency goes to zero as the critical value of $`N^{\frac{1}{6}}\epsilon `$ is approached. At the characteristic value of $`\beta 0.42`$ two avoided crossings are present – see Fig.2. Away from the instability (i.e., for $`N^{\frac{1}{6}}\epsilon <2.40`$) and below both crossings the breathing mode (mode 2) has the highest frequency. The quadrupole mode is the lowest one and mode 1 (2D quadrupole) is the intermediate one. At the first crossing, the nature of two higher modes is exchanged – now mode 1 (2D quadrupole) is the highest one. This first crossing is present in all traps with $`\beta <1`$. At the second crossing the breathing mode 2 acquires the lowest frequency and becomes unstable. For $`N^{\frac{1}{6}}\epsilon `$ slightly below the second crossing, the oscillation of the quadrupole (lowest) mode is almost purely axial (the eigenmode is $`(\delta ,+\delta ,1)`$, where $`\delta `$ indicates a very small value). Just above the crossing, the shape of the lowest (breathing) mode remains very axial with no phase difference between the oscillations in the X and Y directions (the eigenmode is now $`(+\delta ,+\delta ,1)`$). This is always the case for $`\beta 0.42`$. For smaller values of the trap aspect ratio, the positions of the two crossings merge (e.g., for $`\beta =0.031`$ the crossings are at $`N^{\frac{1}{6}}\epsilon =2.99`$, very close to the instability). For pancake traps ($`\beta >1`$), the mode that drives the instability (which takes place as long as $`\beta <5.2`$) is always the quadrupole mode. For clarity, the results are summarized in Table 1.

The time-dependent variational method employed thus far provides approximate solutions of the hydrodynamic equations of the system. To confirm their validity, we have performed exact numerical simulations of the hydrodynamic equations (2). First, we find the ground state of the system by the propagation in imaginary time and use it as an initial condition for the simulations. Then, we perturb the trapping potential for a fraction of a trap period and let the system evolve while monitoring the resultant oscillations. Finally, we extract the frequency of the oscillations and identify the corresponding modes. The results are presented in Fig.2 and agree very well with the variational solutions.

To summarize, we have investigated the signatures of the mechanical instability in a single-component Fermi gas of polarized dipolar particles confined in a harmonic trap by studying the spectrum of its low-lying hydrodynamic collective excitations. We have employed a time-dependent variational method, not previously used in the context of excitations of dilute atomic Fermi gases, as well as exact solutions of the hydrodynamic equations of the system. We have identified modes driving the instability for various geometries of the trapping potential. In a rough classification, for oblate and slightly prolate traps ($`\beta >0.42`$) it is the quadrupole mode that drives the instability, while for cigar-shaped traps with $`\beta <0.42`$ the breathing mode is an unstable one. Finally, one should note that the presented analysis describes the zero-temperature situation. It would be very interesting, although very challenging, to include the effects of temperature in the treatment.

K.G. acknowledges support by the Polish KBN grant No. 5 P03B 102 20 and by the Foundation for Polish Science. Part of the results has been obtained using computers at Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling of Warsaw University.