429 research outputs found
Observation of an incoherent thermally activated proton hopping process in calix-[4]-arene by means of anelastic spectroscopy
The anelastic spectrum of calix[4]arene was measured at two different
vibrational frequencies. Three thermally activated peaks were detected. The
lowest temperature peak can be described considering a continous distribution
function of activation energies for the relaxation. This anelastic peak can be
ascribed to a thermally activated hopping process of H atoms of the OH groups,
corresponding to a flip-flop of the OH bond. From the results of the present
study, it seems that anelastic spectroscopy is a good experimental technique to
study atomic motion inside molecules at a mesoscopic (few molecules) level.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
A perturbative approach to J mixing in f-electron systems: Application to actinide dioxides
We present a perturbative model for crystal-field calculations, which keeps
into account the possible mixing of states labelled by different quantum number
J. Analytical J-mixing results are obtained for a Hamiltonian of cubic symmetry
and used to interpret published experimental data for actinide dioxides. A
unified picture for all the considered compounds is proposed by taking into
account the scaling properties of the crystal-field potential.Comment: 16 pages + 4 figures; will appear http://prb.aps.or
Triple-q octupolar ordering in NpO_2
We report the results of resonant X-ray scattering experiments performed at
the Np M_4,5 edges in NpO_2. Below T_0 = 25 K, the development of long-range
order of Np electric quadrupoles is revealed by the growth of superlattice
Bragg peaks. The electronic transition is not accompanied by any measurable
crystallographic distortion, either internal or external, so the symmetry of
the system remains cubic. The polarization and azimuthal dependence of the
intensity of the resonant peaks is well reproduced assuming Templeton
scattering from a triple-q longitudinal antiferroquadrupolar structure.
Electric quadrupole order in NpO_2 could be driven by the ordering at T_0 of
magnetic octupoles of Gamma_5 symmetry, splitting the Np ground state quartet
and leading to a singlet ground state with zero dipole magnetic moment.Comment: 4 Pages, 3 Figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. v2: resubmitted
after referee report
Enhancement of rare-earth--transition-metal exchange interaction in PrFe probed by inelastic neutron scattering
The fundamental magnetic interactions of PrFe are studied by
inelastic neutron scattering and anisotropy field measurements. Data analysis
confirms the presence of three magnetically inequivalent sites, and reveals an
exceptionally large value of the exchange field. The unexpected importance of
-mixing effects in the description of the ground-state properties of
PrFe is evidenced, and possible applications of related compounds
are envisaged.Comment: 4 RevTeX pages, 4 EPS figures. Accepted for publication by Appl.
Phys. Lett. (will be found at http://apl.aip.org
Unified character of correlation effects in unconventional Pu-based superconductors and \delta-Pu
Electronic structure calculations combining the local-density approximation
with an exact diagonalization of the Anderson impurity model show an
intermediate 5f^5-5f^6-valence ground state and delocalization of the 5f^5
multiplet of the Pu atom 5f-shell in PuCoIn_5, PuCoGa_5, and \delta-Pu. The
5f-local magnetic moment is compensated by a moment formed in the surrounding
cloud of conduction electrons. For PuCoGa_5 and \delta-Pu the compensation is
complete and the Anderson impurity ground state is a singlet. For PuCoIn_5 the
compensation is partial and the Pu ground state is magnetic. We suggest that
the unconventional d-wave superconductivity is likely mediated by the 5f-states
antiferromagnetic fluctuations in PuCoIn_5, and by valence fluctuations in
PuCoGa_5.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Unexpected phase locking of magnetic fluctuations in the multi-k magnet USb
The spin waves in the multi-k antiferromagnet USb soften and become quasielastic well below the antiferromagnetic ordering temperature TN. This occurs without a magnetic or structural transition. It has been suggested that this change is in fact due to dephasing of the different multi-k components: a switch from 3-k to 1-k behavior. In this work, we use inelastic neutron scattering with tridirectional polarization analysis to probe the quasielastic magnetic excitations and reveal that the 3-k structure does not dephase. More surprisingly, the paramagnetic correlations also maintain the same clear phase correlations well above TN (up to at least 1.4TN)
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