In the beginning of the twenty-first century, educational and commercial institutions have driven the demand for cheap and efficient data storage. The storage medium known as magnetic recording media has remained the mainstay for most computer systems due to its large storage capacity per dollar. With the recording media's ever-increasing storage density has come reductions in the magnetic grain size per bit. At the recording bit's density threshold, the magnetic grains become more susceptible to thermal activation, which can render the storage medium unusable. An accurate characterisation of the recording layer's sub-granular structure is essential for understanding the magnetic and thermal mechanisms of high-density recording media. Small-Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) studies have been performed to investigate the magnetic and physical properties of longitudinal and perpendicular recording grains. The SANS studies of longitudinal magnetic recording media have probed the recording layer's magnetic grain size at a sub-nanometer resolution. In conjunction with these studies, SQUID magnetometry was used to characterise the recording grain's bulk magnetism. Measurements showed that the recording grain was composed of a ferromagnetic hard core (Co-enriched) and a weakly magnetic shell (Cr-enriched). These results provided important information on the grain's magnetic anisotropy, which determines the recording media's magnetic stability. The polarised SANS studies were used to characterise the recording layer's physical granular structure. It was shown that the physical grain size was comparable to its magnetic counterpart. These physical measurements provided insight into the recording grain's chemical composition. The magnetic properties of perpendicular magnetic recording media were studied using SANS and VSM measurements. The neutron scattering studies revealed that the recording grain was composed of a hard ferromagnetic centre enriched with cobalt. The VSM studies showed that the magnetic recording grains exhibited a large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. These combined studies provided information on the recording grain's ferromagnetic composition and magnetic stability. The polarised SANS measurements showed the physical grain size to be slightly smaller than its magnetic counterpart. This size difference was attributed to the non-magnetic grain boundary composed of SiO2. The boundary thickness determined the degree of inter-granular exchange coupling. Further polarised studies investigated the recording layers switching behaviour, which revealed more information on the grain's magnetic stability.

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This thesis describes the neutron scattering measurements of magnetic excitations in spin-chains and ladders. The first part discusses an experimental investigation of the copper oxide family Sr₁₄Cu₂₄O₄₁ composed of edge-sharing chains and spin-ladders. The study of La₄Sr₁₀Cu₂₄O₄₁ comprises a slightly hole-doped chain and an undoped ladder structure where the chain can be modeled by a ferromagnetic nearest and an antiferromagnetic next-nearest neighbor coupling. The hole effects are apparent in gaps in the dispersion relation and can be described by a charge-density wave agreeing with the commensuration of the dispersion. Investigating the undoped ladder establishes the exchange constants including a cyclic exchange manifested by the two-magnon continuum and the suppression of the S = 1 bound mode. An orbital consideration provides an explanation for the exchanges including the different sizes of rung and leg coupling. The excitation spectrum of the doped ladder in Ca₂.₅Sr₁₁.₅Cu₂₄O₄₁ can be described by a direct comparison with the undoped ladder and the differences consisting of a higher energy mode and subgap scattering can be successfully modeled by the charge spectrum of the ladder calculated from the free electron model. The second part of the thesis investigates the alternating chain material Cu(NO₃)₂ · 2.5D2O and establishes the gapped one-magnon dispersion, the two-magnon continuum and for the first time the S =1 bound mode. Applying magnetic field drives the system through two critical field transitions, condensation of magnons into the ground state and saturation. The modes beyond saturation can be modeled by spin wave theory and the excitations at the first critical field follow Luttinger Liquid behavior. Additionally investigated are the temperature effects with the excitations being of a different nature but containing the signature of a strong correlated system. For an outlook the measurements including temperature and field are provided with further theoretical descriptions necessary.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi a investigação das propriedades ópticas e estruturais de materiais isolantes contendo metais de transição do grupo do ferro como impurezas substitucionais. As técnicas usadas para o estudo de amostras MgGa2O4, MgGa2O4 + B- Ga2O3 e ZnGa2O4 dopadas com Cr3+e Fe3+ foram: fotoluminescência, excitação, difração de raios-X, espalhamento de nêutrons, método de Rietveld para o refinamento da estrutura e espectroscopia fotoacústica. Estas técnicas permitem a determinação da coordenação do sítio impureza, a atribuição das transições de energia, o cálculo dos parâmetros de energia e a determinação de propriedades cristalográficas. As amostras apresentam largas bandas de energia nas regiões do visível e do infravermelho. Estas transições indicam a relevância deste estudo pelo interesse tecnológico na obtenção de novos materais com bandas sintonizáveis. No primeiro capítulo apresentamos uma introdução à teoria de campo cristalino. No segundo capítulo apresentamos medidas de fotoluminescência e excitação do MgGa2O4 dopado com 0,1, 0,5, 1,0 e 5,0 % de Cr3+ a 77 K e temperatura ambiente. No terceiro capítulo usamos fotoluminescência, excitação, espalhamento de nêutrons, difração de raios X, fotoacústica e método de refino de Rietveld para analisar o sistema MgGa2O4 + B-Ga2O3 contendo 0,1, 0,5, 1,0 e 5,0 % de Cr3+. No quarto capítulo mostramos resultados de fotoacústica para o ZnGa2O4 dopado com 5% e 10% de Fe3+. / The aim of this work was the investigation of optical and structural properties of insulating materials containing iron group metal transition ions as substitutional impurities. The used techniques for the study of MgGa2O4, MgGa2O4 + B-Ga2O3 and ZnGa2O4 samples doped with Cr3+ and Fe3+ were: photoluminescence, excitation, X-ray diffraction, neutron scattering, Rietveld method for structure refinement and photoacoustic spectroscopy. These techniques allow the determination of impurity site coordination, the assignment of energy transitions, the calculation of energy parameters and the determination of crystallographic properties. The samples present broad energy bands at visible and infrared spectral regions. These transitions point to the relevance of this study for being of technological interest. In the first chapter we present an introduction to crystal field theory. In the second chapter we present the photoluminescence and excitation measurements of MgGa2O4 doped with 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 and 5.0 % of Cr3+ at 77 K and room temperature. In the third chapter we used the photoluminescence, excitation, neutrons scattering, X-ray diffraction, photoacoustic and Rietveld method for analysis of the MgGa2O4, MgGa2O4 + B-Ga2O3 system containing 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 and 5.0 % of Cr3+. In the fourth chapter we show the photoacoustic results for ZnGa2O4 doped with 5% and 10% of Fe3+.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi a investigação das propriedades ópticas e estruturais de materiais isolantes contendo metais de transição do grupo do ferro como impurezas substitucionais. As técnicas usadas para o estudo de amostras MgGa2O4, MgGa2O4 + B- Ga2O3 e ZnGa2O4 dopadas com Cr3+e Fe3+ foram: fotoluminescência, excitação, difração de raios-X, espalhamento de nêutrons, método de Rietveld para o refinamento da estrutura e espectroscopia fotoacústica. Estas técnicas permitem a determinação da coordenação do sítio impureza, a atribuição das transições de energia, o cálculo dos parâmetros de energia e a determinação de propriedades cristalográficas. As amostras apresentam largas bandas de energia nas regiões do visível e do infravermelho. Estas transições indicam a relevância deste estudo pelo interesse tecnológico na obtenção de novos materais com bandas sintonizáveis. No primeiro capítulo apresentamos uma introdução à teoria de campo cristalino. No segundo capítulo apresentamos medidas de fotoluminescência e excitação do MgGa2O4 dopado com 0,1, 0,5, 1,0 e 5,0 % de Cr3+ a 77 K e temperatura ambiente. No terceiro capítulo usamos fotoluminescência, excitação, espalhamento de nêutrons, difração de raios X, fotoacústica e método de refino de Rietveld para analisar o sistema MgGa2O4 + B-Ga2O3 contendo 0,1, 0,5, 1,0 e 5,0 % de Cr3+. No quarto capítulo mostramos resultados de fotoacústica para o ZnGa2O4 dopado com 5% e 10% de Fe3+. / The aim of this work was the investigation of optical and structural properties of insulating materials containing iron group metal transition ions as substitutional impurities. The used techniques for the study of MgGa2O4, MgGa2O4 + B-Ga2O3 and ZnGa2O4 samples doped with Cr3+ and Fe3+ were: photoluminescence, excitation, X-ray diffraction, neutron scattering, Rietveld method for structure refinement and photoacoustic spectroscopy. These techniques allow the determination of impurity site coordination, the assignment of energy transitions, the calculation of energy parameters and the determination of crystallographic properties. The samples present broad energy bands at visible and infrared spectral regions. These transitions point to the relevance of this study for being of technological interest. In the first chapter we present an introduction to crystal field theory. In the second chapter we present the photoluminescence and excitation measurements of MgGa2O4 doped with 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 and 5.0 % of Cr3+ at 77 K and room temperature. In the third chapter we used the photoluminescence, excitation, neutrons scattering, X-ray diffraction, photoacoustic and Rietveld method for analysis of the MgGa2O4, MgGa2O4 + B-Ga2O3 system containing 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 and 5.0 % of Cr3+. In the fourth chapter we show the photoacoustic results for ZnGa2O4 doped with 5% and 10% of Fe3+.

Cette étude porte sur la décontamination de matrices textiles en milieu CO2 dense (CO2 liquide ou CO2 supercritique). Elle s'inscrit dans le cadre de la décontamination des textiles utilisés dans l'industrie nucléaire. Le CO2 dense est proposé comme alternative au milieu aqueux utilisé dans le procédé actuel et qui génère une importante quantité d'effluents aqueux contaminés nécessitant un post-traitement. Le contaminant étudié est le cobalt qui peut se présenter sous forme ionique ou particulaire. L'extraction du cobalt en milieu CO2 dense est assurée par un additif : un tensioactif macromoléculaire CO2-phile/CO2-phobe complexant. Plusieurs familles d'additifs ont été synthétisées par polymérisation radicalaire contrôlée : des copolymères à gradient comportant des motifs CO2-philes, siliciés ou fluorés, et des motifs CO2-phobes complexants de types acétoacétoxys, diéthylphosphonates ou acides phosphoniques. Le comportement de ces copolymères dans le CO2 dense a été évalué grâce à la détermination des diagrammes de phases copolymère-CO2 (par la mesure du point de trouble) et grâce à l'étude de leur autoorganisation dans le CO2 dense (par diffusion de neutrons aux petits angles). Les copolymères fluorés se sont avérés être les plus avantageux en termes de solubilité. Néanmoins, les copolymères siliciés présentent une solubilité compatible avec le procédé et ils constituent donc une alternative intéressante pour éviter la présence de fluor gênant pour le conditionnement des déchets nucléaires. L'étude de la complexation du cobalt par les copolymères (par spectrométrie UV-visible et par torche à plasma couplée à un spectromètre d'émission atomique) a permis d'établir des relations entre le type de motif complexant et l'affinité avec le cobalt. La solubilité dans le CO2 dense de ces complexes copolymères-cobalt est comparable à celle des copolymères seuls. De plus, l'étude de l'auto-organisation en milieu CO2 dense a révélé un faible taux d'agrégation des complexes copolymères-cobalt. Enfin, les copolymères synthétisés ont été mis en oeuvre dans les procédés de décontamination particulaire et ionique. Dans le cas du procédé de décontamination ionique, l'emploi du copolymère à gradient poly(acrylate de 1,1,2,2-tétrahydroperfluorodécyle-co-diacide vinylbenzylphosphonique) a permis d'atteindre environ 70% de décontamination grâce à la formation d'une microémulsion d'eau dans le CO2 dense. L'efficacité du procédé dedécontamination a été portée à 97% grâce à l'emploi de pyridine comme tiers additif. / This study is about textile decontamination in dense CO2 (liquid CO2 or supercritical CO2). The study is carried out in the framework of decontamination of textile used in the nuclear industry. The dense CO2 offers an alternative to aqueous medium used in the current process which generates a huge quantity of contaminated aqueous effluent requiring a post-treatment. Cobalt is the targeted contamination and can be found as ionic species or particles. The cobalt extraction in dense CO2 is achieved with an additive : a complexing CO2-philic/CO2-phobic macromolecular surfactant. Several types of additives were synthesized by controlled free radical polymerization : gradient copolymers made with CO2-philic groups (silicone-based or fluorinated moieties) and CO2-phobic complexing groups (acetoacetoxy, diethylphosphonate or phosphonic acid moieties). The copolymer behavior in dense CO2 was determined by phase diagram measurements (cloud point method) and their self-assembly in dense CO2 was investigated by small angle neutron scattering. The fluorinated copolymers were found advantageous in terms of solubility. Nevertheless, the silicone-based copolymers showed solubilities which are compatible with the process, therefore they are a good alternative to avoid fluorinated compounds which are unwanted in the conditioning of nuclear wastes. The study of cobalt complexation by the copolymers (UV-vis spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy) established relations between the type of complexing group and the affinity with the cobalt. The solubility of copolymer-cobalt complexes in dense CO2 is similar to those of copolymers. Moreover, the self-assembly study of the complex revealed a low aggregation. Finally, the synthesized copolymers were used in particle or ionic decontamination processes. In the case of ionic decontamination process, a rate of 70% of decontamination was reached with the use of gradient copolymer poly(1,1,2,2-tetrahydroperfluorodecyle acrylate-covinylbenzylphosphonic diacid) which allowed the formation of water-in-CO2 microemulsion. The efficiency of the decontamination process was even improved up to 97% with the addition of pyridine in the process.

The solution of large and sparse eigenvalue problems arising from the discretization of the diffusion equation is considered. The multigroup<p>diffusion equation is discretized by means of the Nodal expansion Method (NEM) [9, 10]. A new formulation of the higher order NEM variants revealing the true nature of the problem, that is, a generalized eigenvalue problem, is proposed. These generalized eigenvalue problems are solved using the Jacobi-Davidson (JD) method<p>[26]. The most expensive part of the method consists of solving a linear system referred to as correction equation. It is solved using Krylov subspace methods in combination with aggregation-based Algebraic Multigrid (AMG) techniques. In that context, a particular<p>aggregation technique used in combination with classical smoothers, referred to as oblique geometric coarsening, has been derived. Its particularity is that it aggregates unknowns that<p>are not coupled, which has never been done to our<p>knowledge. A modular code, combining JD with an AMG preconditioner, has been developed. The code comes with many options, that have been tested. In particular, the instability of the Rayleigh-Ritz [33] acceleration procedure in the non-symmetric case has been underlined. Our code has also been compared to an industrial code extracted from ARTEMIS. / Doctorat en Sciences de l'ingénieur / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

<p align="justify">Une contribution à l'étude de la dynamique des polymères non enchevêtrés à l'état fondu est apportée, en se focalisant sur les aspects de dynamique locale d'un polymère particulier déjà fort étudié expérimentalement et par simulation, à savoir le polyéthylène.</p> <p><p align="justify">Néanmoins, plusieurs nouveaux résultats spécifiques à cette macromolécule linéaire ou ayant une portée sur les fondus de polymères en général sont obtenus grâce à une approche présentant plusieurs aspects originaux.</p><p><p align="justify">Notre étude par simulation de la phase liquide du polyéthylène est menée sur une large gamme de températures. La nouveauté principale à ce sujet est l'attention particulière portée à la qualité d'équilibration des échantillons à chaque température. A cette fin, des techniques sophistiquées d'échantillonnage Monte Carlo, mises au point récemment, ont été utilisées pour générer des configurations initiales, la phase de polyéthylène à l'état fondu ainsi obtenue pouvant être stable ou métastable. Un programme original de Dynamique Moléculaire a par ailleurs été écrit, en incorporant diverses procédures d'optimisation adaptées au cas du polyéthylène représenté par un modèle atomistique.</p><p><p align="justify">Des observables de diffusion quasi-élastique de neutrons et de résonance magnétique nucléaire sont analysées sur base d'une combinaison linéaire continue d'exponentielles, dont les poids sont donnés par une distribution des temps de relaxation. Cette méthode permet de mieux mettre en évidence les différents processus de relaxation sondés, en évitant les biais induits par un choix particulier de forme analytique servant à une procédure d'ajustement.</p><p><p align="justify">Ayant participé à une expérience de spectroscopie par temps de vol de neutrons, un schéma commun d'analyse est adopté pour les données expérimentales et de simulation concernant le polyéthylène à 450 K. D'autre part, une étude très fouillée de l'évolution de la fonction de diffusion intermédiaire incohérente vers les températures plus basses, suivie par simulation, a permis de distinguer différents processus dynamiques et de déterminer parfois leur origine moléculaire.</p><p><p align="justify">Ces résultats sont combinés à une analyse de la fonction d'auto corrélation d'orientation d'un vecteur C-H en termes d'une description microscopique des processus dynamiques, proposée lors d'une étude récente de fondus de polyéthylène par résonance magnétique nucléaire du 13C. Deux approches complémentaires sont exploitées afin de révéler les caractéristiques essentielles des deux types de relaxation impliqués.</p><p> / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished