9,746 research outputs found
Weak magnetism phenomena in heavy-fermion superconductors: selected SR studies
The behavior of the so-called weak moment antiferromagnetic states, observed
in the heavy-fermion superconductors UPt and URuSi, is discussed in
view of recent SR results obtained as function of control parameters like
chemical substitution and external pressure. In UPt, the Pd substitution
for Pt reveals the dynamical character of the weak moment order. On the other
hand, SR measurements performed on samples in which Th substitutes U
suggest that crystallographic disorder on the magnetic sites deeply affects the
fluctuation timescale. In URuSi, a phase separation between the
so-called hidden order state, present at ambient pressure, and an
antiferromagnetic state, occurring under pressure, is observed. In view of the
pressure-temperature phase diagram obtained by SR, it is deduced that the
respective order parameters have different symmetries.Comment: To appear in: J. Phys.: Cond. Matte
Determination of the zero-field magnetic structure of the helimagnet MnSi at low temperature
Below a temperature of approximately 29 K the manganese magnetic moments of
the cubic binary compound MnSi order to a long-range incommensurate helical
magnetic structure. Here, we quantitatively analyze a high-statistic zero-field
muon spin rotation spectrum recorded in the magnetically ordered phase of MnSi
by exploiting the result of representation theory as applied to the
determination of magnetic structures. Instead of a gradual rotation of the
magnetic moments when moving along a axis, we find that the angle of
rotation between the moments of certain subsequent planes is essentially
quenched. It is the magnetization of pairs of planes which rotates when moving
along a axis, thus preserving the overall helical structure.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
The new versatile general purpose surface-muon instrument (GPS) based on silicon photomultipliers for SR measurements on a continuous-wave beam
We report on the design and commissioning of a new spectrometer for muon-spin
relaxation/rotation studies installed at the Swiss Muon Source (SS) of the
Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI, Switzerland). This new instrument is essentially
a new design and replaces the old general-purpose surface-muon instrument (GPS)
which has been for long the workhorse of the SR user facility at PSI. By
making use of muon and positron detectors made of plastic scintillators read
out by silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs), a time resolution of the complete
instrument of about 160 ps (standard deviation) could be achieved. In addition,
the absence of light guides, which are needed in traditionally built SR
instrument to deliver the scintillation light to photomultiplier tubes located
outside magnetic fields applied, allowed us to design a compact instrument with
a detector set covering an increased solid angle compared to the old GPS.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figure
Muon spin rotation study of the topological superconductor SrxBi2Se3
We report transverse-field (TF) muon spin rotation experiments on single
crystals of the topological superconductor SrBiSe with nominal
concentrations and ( K). The TF spectra (
mT), measured after cooling to below in field, did not show any
additional damping of the muon precession signal due to the flux line lattice
within the experimental uncertainty. This puts a lower bound on the magnetic
penetration depth m. However, when we induce disorder in
the vortex lattice by changing the magnetic field below a sizeable
damping rate is obtained for . The data provide microscopic
evidence for a superconducting volume fraction of in the
crystal and thus bulk superconductivity.Comment: 6 pages, includes 4 figure
Probing the phase diagram of CeRu_2Ge_2 by thermopower at high pressure
The temperature dependence of the thermoelectric power, S(T), and the
electrical resistivity of the magnetically ordered CeRu_2Ge_2 (T_N=8.55 K and
T_C=7.40 K) were measured for pressures p < 16 GPa in the temperature range 1.2
K < T < 300 K. Long-range magnetic order is suppressed at a p_c of
approximately 6.4 GPa. Pressure drives S(T) through a sequence of temperature
dependences, ranging from a behaviour characteristic for magnetically ordered
heavy fermion compounds to a typical behaviour of intermediate-valent systems.
At intermediate pressures a large positive maximum develops above 10 K in S(T).
Its origin is attributed to the Kondo effect and its position is assumed to
reflect the Kondo temperature T_K. The pressure dependence of T_K is discussed
in a revised and extended (T,p) phase diagram of CeRu_2Ge_2.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Evidence for Cooper Pair Diffraction on the Vortex Lattice of Superconducting Niobium
We investigated the Abrikosov vortex lattice (VL) of a pure Niobium single
crystal with the muon spin rotation (\mu SR) technique. Analysis of the \mu SR
data in the framework of the BCS-Gor'kov theory allowed us to determine
microscopic parameters and the limitations of the theory. With decreasing
temperature the field variation around the vortex cores deviates substantially
from the predictions of the Ginzburg-Landau theory and adopts a pronounced
conical shape. This is evidence of partial diffraction of Cooper pairs on the
VL predicted by Delrieu for clean superconductors.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Muon spin rotation and relaxation in the superconducting ferromagnet UCoGe
We report zero-field muon spin rotation and relaxation measurements on the
superconducting ferromagnet UCoGe. Weak itinerant ferromagnetic order is
detected by a spontaneous muon spin precession frequency below the Curie
temperature K. The precession frequency persists below the
bulk superconducting transition temperature K, where it measures
a local magnetic field T. The amplitude of the SR signal
provides unambiguous proof for ferromagnetism present in the whole sample
volume. We conclude ferromagnetism coexists with superconductivity on the
microscopic scale.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in PR
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