1,523 research outputs found
Fractional spinon excitations in the quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain
Assemblies of interacting quantum particles often surprise us with properties
that are difficult to predict. One of the simplest quantum many-body systems is
the spin 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain, a linear array of interacting
magnetic moments. Its exact ground state is a macroscopic singlet entangling
all spins in the chain. Its elementary excitations, called spinons, are
fractional spin 1/2 quasiparticles; they are created and detected in pairs by
neutron scattering. Theoretical predictions show that two-spinon states exhaust
only 71% of the spectral weight while higher-order spinon states, yet to be
experimentally located, are predicted to participate in the remaining. Here, by
accurate absolute normalization of our inelastic neutron scattering data on a
compound realizing the model, we account for the full spectral weight to within
99(8)%. Our data thus establish and quantify the existence of higher-order
spinon states. The observation that within error bars, the entire weight is
confined within the boundaries of the two-spinon continuum, and that the
lineshape resembles a rescaled two-spinon one, allow us to develop a simple
physical picture for understanding multi-spinon excitations.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, Supplementary material
Spin reorientation transition in the incommensurate stripe-ordered phase of La3/2Sr1/2NiO4
The spin ordering of La3/2Sr1/2NiO4 was investigated by magnetization
measurements, and by unpolarized- and polarized-neutron diffraction. Spin
ordering with an incommensurability epsilon ~ 0.445 is observed below T_so ~ 80
K. On cooling, a spin reorientation is observed at 57 +/- 1 K, with the spin
axes rotating from 52 +/- 4 degrees to 78 +/- 3 degrees. This is the first time
a spin reorientation has been observed in a La2-xSrxNiO4+delta compound having
incommensurate stripe order.Comment: REVTex 4. 4 pages including 4 figures. Minor changes to text.
Accepted to be published in Physical Review
Evidence of a bond-nematic phase in LiCuVO4
Polarized and unpolarized neutron scattering experiments on the frustrated
ferromagnetic spin-1/2 chain LiCuVO4 show that the phase transition at HQ of 8
Tesla is driven by quadrupolar fluctuations and that dipolar correlations are
short-range with moments parallel to the applied magnetic field in the
high-field phase. Heat-capacity measurements evidence a phase transition into
this high-field phase, with an anomaly clearly different from that at low
magnetic fields. Our experimental data are consistent with a picture where the
ground state above HQ has a next-nearest neighbour bond-nematic order along the
chains with a fluid-like coherence between weakly coupled chains.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. To appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Haydeeite: a spin-1/2 kagome ferromagnet
The mineral haydeeite, alpha-MgCu3(OD)6Cl2, is a S=1/2 kagome ferromagnet
that displays long-range magnetic order below TC=4.2 K with a strongly reduced
moment. Our inelastic neutron scattering data show clear spin-wave excitations
that are well described by a Heisenberg Hamiltonian with ferromagnetic
nearest-neighbor exchange J1=-38 K and antiferromagnetic exchange Jd=+11 K
across the hexagons of the kagome lattice. These values place haydeeite very
close to the quantum phase transition between ferromagnetic order and
non-coplanar twelve-sublattice cuboc2 antiferromagnetic order. Diffuse dynamic
short-range ferromagnetic correlations observed above TC persist well into the
ferromagnetically ordered phase with a behavior distinct from critical
scattering
Field-induced commensurate long-range order in the Haldane-gap system NDMAZ
High-field neutron diffraction studies of the new quantum-disordered S=1
linear-chain antiferromagnet Ni(CHN)N(ClO) (NDMAZ)
are reported. At T=70 mK, at a critical field T applied along the
(013) direction, a phase transition to a commensurate N\'{e}el-like ordered
state is observed. The results are discussed in the context of existing
theories of quantum phase transitions in Haldane-gap antiferromagnets, and in
comparions with previous studies of the related system
Ni(CHN)N(PF)
Magnetic excitations in coupled Haldane spin chains near the quantum critical point
Two quasi-1-dimensional S=1 quantum antiferromagnetic materials, PbNi2V2O8
and SrNi2V2O8, are studied by inelastic neutron scattering on powder samples.
While magnetic interactions in the two systems are found to be very similar,
subtle differences in inter-chain interaction strengths and magnetic anisotropy
are detected. The latter are shown to be responsible for qualitatively
different ground state properties: magnetic long-range order in SrNi2V2O8 and
disordered ``spin liquid'' Haldane-gap state in PbNi2V2O8.Comment: 15 figures, Figs. 5,9, and 10 in color. Some figures in JPEG format.
Complete PostScript and PDF available from
http://papillon.phy.bnl.gov/publicat.ht
Spin correlations among the charge carriers in an ordered stripe phase
We have observed a diffuse component to the low-energy magnetic excitation
spectrum of stripe-ordered La5/3Sr1/3NiO4 probed by neutron inelastic
scattering. The diffuse scattering forms a square pattern with sides parallel
and perpendicular to the stripe directions. The signal is dispersive, with a
maximum energy of ~10 meV. Probed at 2 meV the scattering decreases in strength
with increasing temperature, and is barely visible at 100 K. We argue that the
signal originates from dynamic, quasi- one-dimensional, antiferromagnetic
correlations among the stripe electrons.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. To be published in Physical Review Letter
Using a Geographical Information System to Evaluate Contributing Factors to Deer-Vehicle Collisions
An expanding human population combined with a growing white-tailed deer (Odocoifeus virginianus) population has resulted in an increase of deer-vehicle collisions in Arkansas. In response to this increase, we are using spatially explicit datasets integrated within a geographic information system (GIS) to identify county-level and site-specific factors contributing to deer-vehicle collisions. County-level information, such as human population densities /urbanization, deer density indices, and road densities, is being evaluated for use in identifying potential aggregations of deer-vehicle collisions. Site-specific information being evaluated includes physical factors such as landcover composition and arrangement, topography, and road characteristics. By incorporating these multi-scale data sets in a GIS, spatial intersections of variables indicating potential current or future hotspots of deer-vehicle collisions can be identified and mapped. This information can then be used to aid administrators and natural resource managers in identifying locations where deer-vehicle collisions may be concentrated
Electronic structure and magnetic properties of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg system CuSe2O5
A microscopic magnetic model for the spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain compound
CuSe2O5 is developed based on the results of a joint experimental and
theoretical study. Magnetic susceptibility and specific heat data give evidence
for quasi-1D magnetism with leading antiferromagnetic (AFM) couplings and an
AFM ordering temperature of 17 K. For microscopic insight, full-potential DFT
calculations within the local density approximation (LDA) were performed. Using
the resulting band structure, a consistent set of transfer integrals for an
effective one-band tight-binding model was obtained. Electronic correlations
were treated on a mean-field level starting from LDA (LSDA+U method) and on a
model level (Hubbard model). In excellent agreement of experiment and theory,
we find that only two couplings in CuSe2O5 are relevant: the nearest-neighbour
intra-chain interaction of 165 K and a non-frustrated inter-chain coupling of
20 K. From a comparison with structurally related systems (Sr2Cu(PO4)2,
Bi2CuO4), general implications for a magnetic ordering in presence of
inter-chain frustration are made.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, 3 table
Magnetic-field-induced spin excitations and renormalized spin gap of the underdoped superconductor LaSrCuO
High-resolution neutron inelastic scattering experiments in applied magnetic
fields have been performed on LaSrCuO (LSCO). In zero
field, the temperature dependence of the low-energy peak intensity at the
incommensurate momentum-transfer $\mathbf{Q}^{\
}_{\mathrm{IC}}=(0.5,0.5\pm\delta,0),(0.5\pm\delta,0.5,0)T^{\}_{c}$ which broadens and shifts to lower
temperature upon the application of a magnetic field along the c-axis. A
field-induced enhancement of the spectral weight is observed, but only at
finite energy transfers and in an intermediate temperature range. These
observations establish the opening of a strongly downward renormalized spin gap
in the underdoped regime of LSCO. This behavior contrasts with the observed
doping dependence of most electronic energy features.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
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