Magnetic order in pyrochlore iridate Nd2_2Ir2_2O7_7 probed by muon spin relaxation

Muon-spin relaxation results on the pyrochlore iridate Nd$_2$Ir$_2$O$_7$ are reported. Spontaneous coherent muon-spin precession below the metal-insulator transition (MIT) temperature of about 33 K is observed, indicating the appearance of a long-ranged magnetic ordering of Ir$^{4+}$ moments. With further decrease in temperature, the internal field at the muon site increases again below about 9 K. The second increase of internal field suggests the ordering of Nd$^{3+}$ moments, which is consistent with a previous neutron experiment. Our results suggest that the MIT and magnetic ordering of Ir$^{4+}$ moments have a close relationship and that the large spin-orbit coupling of Ir 5\textit{d} electrons plays a key role for both MIT and the mechanism of the magnetic ordering in pyrochlore iridates in the insulting ground state.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted by Physical Review B (rapid communications

Emergent order in the spin-frustrated system DyxTb2-xTi2O7 studied by ac susceptibility measurements

We report the a.c. susceptibility study of Dy_xTb_{2-x}Ti_2O_7 with x in [0, 2]. In addition to the single-ion effect at Ts (single-ion effect peak temperature) corresponding to the Dy3+ spins as that in spin ice Dy_2Ti_2O_7 and a possible spin freezing peak at Tf (Tf < 3 K), a new peak associated with Tb^{3+} is observed in $\chi_{ac}(T)$ at nonzero magnetic field with a characteristic temperature T^* (Tf < T^* < Ts). T^* increases linearly with x in a wide composition range (0 < x < 1.5 at 5 kOe). Both application of a magnetic field and increasing doping with Dy3+ enhance T^*. The T^* peak is found to be thermally driven with an unusually large energy barrier as indicated from its frequency dependence. These effects are closely related to the crystal field levels, and the underlying mechanism remains to be understood.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Synthesis and physical properties of Ce2_2Rh3+δ_{3+\delta}Sb4_4 single crystals

Millimeter-sized Ce$_2$Rh$_{3+\delta}$Sb$_4$ ($\delta\approx 1/8$) single crystals were synthesized by a Bi-flux method and their physical properties were studied by a combination of electrical transport, magnetic and thermodynamic measurements. The resistivity anisotropy $\rho_{a,b}/\rho_{c}\sim2$, manifesting a quasi-one-dimensional electronic character. Magnetic susceptibility measurements confirm $\mathbf{ab}$ as the magnetic easy plane. A long-range antiferromagnetic transition occurs at $T_N=1.4$ K, while clear short-range ordering can be detected well above $T_N$. The low ordering temperature is ascribed to the large Ce-Ce distance as well as the geometric frustration. Kondo scale is estimated to be about 2.4 K, comparable to the strength of magnetic exchange. Ce$_2$Rh$_{3+\delta}$Sb$_4$, therefore, represents a rare example of dense Kondo lattice whose Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida exchange and Kondo coupling are both weak but competing.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 2 table

Ba6RE2Ti4O17 (RE= Nd, Sm,Gd, Dy-Yb): A family of quasi-two-dimensional triangular lattice magnets

Rare-earth-based triangular-lattice magnets provide the fertile ground to explore the exotic quantum magnetic state. Herein, we report a new family of RE-based triangular-lattice magnets Ba6RE2Ti4O17(RE= rare earth ions) crystallized into the hexagonal structure with space group of P63 mmc, where magnetic rare earth ions form an ideal triangular lattice within the ab-plane and stack in an AA -type fashion along the c-axis. The low-temperature magnetic susceptibility results reveal all the serial compounds have the dominant antiferromagnetic interactions and an absence of magnetic ordering down to 1.8 K. The magnetization and electron spin resonance results indicate distinct magnetic anisotropy for the compounds with different RE ions. Moreover, Ba6Nd2Ti4O17 single crystal is successfully grown and it exhibits strong Ising like anisotropy with magnetic easy-axis perpendicular to the triangle-lattice plane, being a candidate to explore quantum spin liquid state with dominant Ising-type interaction.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figure

Magnetic Moments and Ordered States in Pyrochlore Iridates Nd2Ir2O7 and Sm2Ir2O7 Studied by Muon-Spin Relaxation

Magnetic-ordered states of the pyrochlore iridates Nd2Ir2O7 (Nd227) and Sm2Ir2O7 (Sm227), showing metal–insulator transitions at 33 and 117 K, respectively, were studied by both the muon-spin-relaxation (μSR) method and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. A long-range magnetic ordering of Ir moments appeared in conjunction with the metal insulator transition, and additional long-range-ordered states of Nd/Sm moments were confirmed at temperatures below about 10 K. We found that the all-in all-out spin structure most convincingly explained the present μSR results of both Nd227 and Sm227. Observed internal fields were compared with values derived from DFT calculations. The lower limits of the sizes of magnetic moments were estimated to be 0.12 μB and 0.2 μB for Ir and Nd moments in Nd227, and 0.3 μB and 0.1 μB for Ir and Sm moments in Sm227, respectively. Further analysis indicated that the spin coupling between Ir and Nd/Sm moments was ferromagnetic for Nd227 and antiferromagnetic for Sm227

Single crystal growth and superconductivity in RbNi2_2Se2_2

We report the synthesis and characterization of RbNi$_2$Se$_2$, an analog of the iron chalcogenide superconductor Rb$_x$Fe$_2$Se$_2$, via transport, angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations. A superconducting transition at $T_{c}$ = 1.20 K is identified. In normal state, RbNi$_2$Se$_2$ shows paramagnetic and Fermi liquid behaviors. A large Sommerfeld coefficient yields a heavy effective electron mass of $m^{*}\approx6m_{e}$. In the superconducting state, zero-field electronic specific-heat data $C_{es}$ can be described by a two-gap BCS model, indicating that RbNi$_2$Se$_2$ is a multi-gap superconductor. Our density functional theory calculations and angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements demonstrate that RbNi$_2$Se$_2$ exhibits relatively weak correlations and multi-band characteristics, consistent with the multi-gap superconductivity.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure