High-energy photoemission on Fe3O4: Small polaron physics and the Verwey transition

We have studied the electronic structure and charge ordering (Verwey) transition of magnetite (Fe3O4) by soft x-ray photoemission. Due to the enhanced probing depth and the use of different surface preparations we are able to distinguish surface and volume effects in the spectra. The pseudogap behavior of the intrinsic spectra and its temperature dependence give evidence for the existence of strongly bound small polarons consistent with both dc and optical conductivity. Together with other recent structural and theoretical results our findings support a picture in which the Verwey transition contains elements of a cooperative Jahn-Teller effect, stabilized by local Coulomb interaction

Magnetic Properties of Non-Stoichiometric UNiGa

Magnetization measurements of alloys based on the intermetallic compound UNiGa with deviation from the exact 1:1:1 stoichiometry, namely Ux(Ni0.5Ga0.5)3-x with 0.8 ≤ x ≤ 1.2 and UNi1.1Ga, have been performed. The obtained results suggest that the antiferromagnetic ground state of UNiGa can be easily transformed into a ferromagnetic one not only by external magnetic fields but also by changes of the composition. © 1995.The work was supported in part by the International Science Foundation (grant RG-1000) and by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (Project no. 202/93.0184)

First-principles study of the inversion thermodynamics and electronic structure of FeM2X4 (thio)spinels (M = Cr, Mn, Co, Ni; X = O, S)

FeM2X4 spinels, where M is a transition metal and X is oxygen or sulfur, are candidate materials for spin filters, one of the key devices in spintronics. We present here a computational study of the inversion thermodynamics and the electronic structure of these (thio)spinels for M = Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, using calculations based on the density functional theory with on-site Hubbard corrections (DFT+U). The analysis of the configurational free energies shows that different behaviour is expected for the equilibrium cation distributions in these structures: FeCr2X4 and FeMn2S4 are fully normal, FeNi2X4 and FeCo2S4 are intermediate, and FeCo2O4 and FeMn2O4 are fully inverted. We have analyzed the role played by the size of the ions and by the crystal field stabilization effects in determining the equilibrium inversion degree. We also discuss how the electronic and magnetic structure of these spinels is modified by the degree of inversion, assuming that this could be varied from the equilibrium value. We have obtained electronic densities of states for the completely normal and completely inverse cation distribution of each compound. FeCr2X4, FeMn2X4, FeCo2O4 and FeNi2O4 are half-metals in the ferrimagnetic state when Fe is in tetrahedral positions. When M is filling the tetrahedral positions, the Cr-containing compounds and FeMn2O4 are half-metallic systems, while the Co and Ni spinels are insulators. The Co and Ni sulfide counterparts are metallic for any inversion degree together with the inverse FeMn2S4. Our calculations suggest that the spin filtering properties of the FeM2X4 (thio)spinels could be modified via the control of the cation distribution through variations in the synthesis conditions

The pseudo‐brookite spin‐glass system studied by means of muon spin relaxation

Zero-field muon spin relaxation (µSR) experiments have been performed on the spin glass Fe1.75Ti1.25O5. Above the spin-glass temperature of 44 K a distinct exponential µSR rate (¿) is observed, while below Tg a square-root exponential decay occurs, indicating fast spin fluctuations. Near 8 K, a maximum in ¿ is indicative of transverse spin ordering. The low ¿ values and the sharp ¿ peak at Tg are very promising for the study of spin freezing models like the Vogel–Fulcher law or the power law