463 research outputs found
Alternating commensurate-incommensurate structures in the magnetic phase diagram of CsNiF3
The magnetic phase diagram of the quasi one-dimensional spinchain system
CsNiF below the N\'eel temperature is determined. For magnetic fields
perpendicular to the spin chains incommensurate phases are predicted. From
linear spin-wave theory we obtain the instability line of the paramagnetic
phase as a function of the strength and the direction of the field. The system
undergoes a transition to a commensurate or an incommensurate phase depending
on the direction of the magnetic field. In the commensurate phase the
characterizing wave vector is locked to values describing a two-sublattice
structure, whereas in the incommensurate phase the wave vector changes
continuously between the corresponding two-sublattice wave vectors.Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX, 5 figures, sent to PRB Rapid Communicatio
Critical properties of the unconventional spin-Peierls system TiOBr
We have performed detailed x-ray scattering measurements on single crystals
of the spin-Peierls compound TiOBr in order to study the critical properties of
the transition between the incommensurate spin-Peierls state and the
paramagnetic state at Tc2 ~ 48 K. We have determined a value of the critical
exponent beta which is consistent with the conventional 3D universality
classes, in contrast with earlier results reported for TiOBr and TiOCl. Using a
simple power law fit function we demonstrate that the asymptotic critical
regime in TiOBr is quite narrow, and obtain a value of beta_{asy} = 0.32 +/-
0.03 in the asymptotic limit. A power law fit function which includes the first
order correction-to-scaling confluent singularity term can be used to account
for data outside the asymptotic regime, yielding a more robust value of
beta_{avg} = 0.39 +/- 0.05. We observe no evidence of commensurate fluctuations
above Tc1 in TiOBr, unlike its isostructural sister compound TiOCl. In
addition, we find that the incommensurate structure between Tc1 and Tc2 is
shifted in Q-space relative to the commensurate structure below Tc1.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures. Submitted to Physical Review
Sex Differences in the Relationship of Dietary Fatty Acids to Cognitive Measures in American Children
Because the first neurons evolved in an environment high in the n−3 (omega-3) fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), this fatty acid became a major component of neural structure and function and makes up 10% of the dry weight of the human brain. Since n−3 fatty acids must come from the diet, this suggests a possible positive role for dietary n−3 fatty acids in cognition and a possible negative role for n−6 fatty acids, which compete with n−3 for access to critical enzymes. Because human females must provide DHA for the growth of the unusually large brains of their offspring from maternal fat stored during childhood, their need for DHA is especially great. We used stepwise regression to determine whether particular dietary fatty acids and other nutrients were related to cognitive performance in over 4000 American children aged 6–16 from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; a variety of possible biological, social, and environmental risk factors were statistically controlled. In this context the only dietary factors related to cognitive performance were n−3 and n−6 fatty acids. Dietary n−3 fatty acids were positively related to cognitive test scores in male and female children, while n−6 showed the reverse relationship, significantly so in females. In female children the positive effects of n−3 intake were twice as strong as in males and exceeded the negative effects of lead exposure. This suggests that increasing dietary intake of n−3 and decreasing n−6 fatty acids may have cognitive benefits in children, especially in females
Commensurate Fluctuations in the Pseudogap and Incommensurate spin-Peierls Phases of TiOCl
X-ray scattering measurements on single crystals of TiOCl reveal the presence
of commensurate dimerization peaks within both the incommensurate spin-Peierls
phase and the so-called pseudogap phase above T_c2. This scattering is
relatively narrow in Q-space indicating long correlation lengths exceeding ~
100 A below T* ~ 130 K. It is also slightly shifted in Q relative to that of
the commensurate long range ordered state at the lowest temperatures, and it
coexists with the incommensurate Bragg peaks below T_c2. The integrated
scattering over both commensurate and incommensurate positions evolves
continuously with decreasing temperature for all temperatures below T* ~ 130 K.Comment: To appear in Physical Review B: Rapid Communications. 5 page
Suppression of the commensurate spin-Peierls state in Sc-doped TiOCl
We have performed x-ray scattering measurements on single crystals of the
doped spin-Peierls compound Ti(1-x)Sc(x)OCl (x = 0, 0.01, 0.03). These
measurements reveal that the presence of non-magnetic dopants has a profound
effect on the unconventional spin-Peierls behavior of this system, even at
concentrations as low as 1%. Sc-doping suppresses commensurate fluctuations in
the pseudogap and incommensurate spin-Peierls phases of TiOCl, and prevents the
formation of a long-range ordered spin-Peierls state. Broad incommensurate
scattering develops in the doped compounds near Tc2 ~ 93 K, and persists down
to base temperature (~ 7 K) with no evidence of a lock-in transition. The width
of the incommensurate dimerization peaks indicates short correlation lengths on
the order of ~ 12 angstroms below Tc2. The intensity of the incommensurate
scattering is significantly reduced at higher Sc concentrations, indicating
that the size of the associated lattice displacement decreases rapidly as a
function of doping.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
Definitive Evidence for Order-by-Quantum-Disorder in Er2Ti2O7
Here we establish the systematic existence of a U(1) degeneracy of all
symmetry-allowed Hamiltonians quadratic in the spins on the pyrochlore lattice,
at the mean-field level. By extracting the Hamiltonian of Er2Ti2O7 from
inelastic neutron scattering measurements, we then show that the
U(1)-degenerate states of Er2Ti2O7 are its classical ground states, and
unambiguously show that quantum fluctuations break the degeneracy in a way
which is confirmed by experiment. This is the first definitive observation of
order-by-disorder in any material. We provide further verifiable consequences
of this phenomenon, and several additional comparisons between theory and
experiment.Comment: 4.5 pages, 3 figures, 7.5 pages of Supplemental Material, 8
supplemental figure
Quantum phase transitions and decoupling of magnetic sublattices in the quasi-two-dimensional Ising magnet Co3V2O8 in a transverse magnetic field
The application of a magnetic field transverse to the easy axis, Ising
direction in the quasi-two-dimensional Kagome staircase magnet, Co3V2O8,
induces three quantum phase transitions at low temperatures, ultimately
producing a novel high field polarized state, with two distinct sublattices.
New time-of-flight neutron scattering techniques, accompanied by large angular
access, high magnetic field infrastructure allow the mapping of a sequence of
ferromagnetic and incommensurate phases and their accompanying spin
excitations. At least one of the transitions to incommensurate phases at \mu
0Hc1~6.25 T and \mu 0Hc2~7 T is discontinuous, while the final quantum critical
point at \mu 0Hc3~13 T is continuous.Comment: 5 pages manuscript, 3 pages supplemental materia
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