ALSNews is a biweekly electronic newsletter to keep users and other interested parties informed about developments at the Advanced Light Source, a national user facility located at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California. We welcome suggestions for topics and content.
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Getting a clearer picture of surface magnetic behavior has important implications in the study of materials for the computer and data storage industry, where the decreasing size of magnetic components increases the proportion of each component's atoms that are at surfaces or buried interfaces. In these magnetic phase transitions, ferromagnetic materials become paramagnetic. This work took advantage of the ALS's high brightness to resolve the two spin states. Their work confirms measurements by other researchers suggesting the unusual result of a higher Curie temperature for the surface atoms. This verification enhances materials scientists' understanding of how changes in temperature affect the magnetic properties of surfaces.