The Z=82 shell closure in neutron-deficient Pb isotopes

Recent mass measurements show a substantial weakening of the binding energy difference delta_{2p} (Z,N) = E(Z-2,N) - 2 E(Z,N) + E(Z+2,N) in the neutron-deficient Pb isotopes. As delta_{2p} is often attributed to the size of the proton magic gap, it might be speculated that the reduction in delta_{2p} is related to a weakening of the spherical Z=82 shell. We demonstrate that the observed trend is described quantitatively by self-consistent mean-field models in terms of deformed ground states of Hg and Po isotopes.Comment: submitted to Eur. Phys. J.

Heat capacity studies of Ce and Rh site substitution in the heavy fermion antiferromagnet CeRhIn_5;: Short-range magnetic interactions and non-Fermi-liquid behavior

In heavy fermion materials superconductivity tends to appear when long range magnetic order is suppressed by chemical doping or applying pressure. Here we report heat capacity measurements on diluted alloyes of the heavy fermion superconductor CeRhIn_5;. Heat capacity measurements have been performed on CeRh_{1-y}Ir_{y}In_5; (y <= 0.10) and Ce_{1-x}La_{x}Rh_{1-y}Ir_{y}In_5; (x <= 0.50) in applied fields up to 90 kOe to study the affect of doping and magnetic field on the magnetic ground state. The magnetic phase diagram of CeRh_{0.9}Ir_{0.1}In_5; is consistent with the magnetic structure of CeRhIn_5; being unchanged by Ir doping. Doping of Ir in small concentrations is shown to slightly increase the antiferromagnetic transition temperature T_{N} (T_{N}=3.8 K in the undoped sample). La doping which causes disorder on the Ce sublattice is shown to lower T_{N} with no long range order observed above 0.34 K for Ce_{0.50}La_{0.50}RhIn_5;. Measurements on Ce_{0.50}La_{0.50}RhIn_5; show a coexistence of short range magnetic order and non-Fermi-liquid behavior. This dual nature of the Ce 4f-electrons is very similar to the observed results on CeRhIn_5; when long range magnetic order is suppressed at high pressure.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figure

Localized f electrons in CexLa1-xRhIn5: dHvA Measurements

Measurements of the de Haas-van Alphen effect in CexLa1-xRhIn5 reveal that the Ce 4f electrons remain localized for all x, with the mass enhancement and progressive loss of one spin from the de Haas-van Alphen signal resulting from spin fluctuation effects. This behavior may be typical of antiferromagnetic heavy fermion compounds, inspite of the fact that the 4f electron localization in CeRhIn5 is driven, in part, by a spin-density wave instability.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PR

Three-dimensional diffraction mapping by tuning the X-ray energy

Three-dimensional reciprocal-space maps of a single SiGe island around the Si(004) Bragg peak are recorded using an energy-tuning technique with a microfocused X-ray beam with compound refractive lenses as focusing optics

Compressibility of CeMIn5Ce M In_5 and Ce2MIn8Ce_2 M In_8 (M = Rh, Ir and Co) Compounds

The lattice parameters of the tetragonal compounds Ce$M$In$_{5}$ and Ce$_{2}M$In$_{8}$($M=$Rh, Ir and Co) have been studied as a function of pressure up to 15 GPa using a diamond anvil cell under both hydrostatic and quasihydrostatic conditions at room temperature. The addition of $M$In$_{2}$ layers to the parent CeIn$_{3}$ compound is found to stiffen the lattice as the 2-layer systems (average of bulk modulus values $B_{0}$ is 70.4 GPa) have a larger $B_{0}$ than CeIn$_{3}$ (67 GPa), while the 1-layer systems with the are even stiffer (average of $B_{0}$ is 81.4 GPa). Estimating the hybridization using parameters from tight binding calculations shows that the dominant hybridization is $fp$ in nature between the Ce and In atoms. The values of $V_{pf}$ at the pressure where the superconducting transition temperature $T_{c}$ reaches a maximum is the same for all Ce$M$In$_{5}$ compounds. By plotting the maximum values of the superconducting transition temperature $T_{c}$ versus $c/a$ for the studied compounds and Pu-based superconductors, we find a universal $T_{c}$ versus $c/a$ behavior when these quantities are normalized appropriately. These results are consistent with magnetically mediated superconductivity.Comment: Updated version resubmitted to Phys. Rev.

Absence of Hybridization Gap in Heavy Electron Systems and Analysis of YbAl3 in terms of Nearly Free Electron Conduction Band

In the analysis of the heavy electron systems, theoretical models with c-f hybridization gap are often used. We point out that such a gap does not exist and the simple picture with the hybridization gap is misleading in the metallic systems, and present a correct picture by explicitly constructing an effective band model of YbAl_3. Hamiltonian consists of a nearly free electron model for conduction bands which hybridize with localized f-electrons, and includes only a few parameters. Density of states, Sommerfeld coefficient, f-electron number and optical conductivity are calculated and compared with the band calculations and the experiments.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figures, submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jp

Unusual giant magnetostriction in the ferrimagnet Gd2/3_{2/3}Ca1/3_{1/3}MnO3_3

We report an unusual giant linear magnetostrictive effect in the ferrimagnet Gd$_{2/3}$Ca$_{1/3}$MnO$_3$ ($T_{c} \approx$80 K). Remarkably, the magnetostriction, negative at high temperature ($T \approx T_{c}$), becomes positive below 15 K when the magnetization of the Gd sublattice overcomes the magnetization of the Mn sublattice. A rather simple model where the magnetic energy competes against the elastic energy gives a good account of the observed results and confirms that Gd plays a crucial role in this unusual observation. Unlike previous works in manganites where only striction associated with 3$d$ Mn orbitals is considered, our results show that the lanthanide 4$f$ orbitals related striction can be very important too and it cannot be disregarded.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Prevalence of plant-parasitic nematodes associated with tomatoes in three agro-ecological zones of Ghana

A study was conducted between August 2014 and May 2015 to identify plant-parasitic nematodes taxa associated with tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and to assess the knowledge, perceptions and experiences of growers of the crop on occurrence and management of the parasites on their farms in nine communities within the semi-deciduous forest, the forest/savanna transitional and the savanna agro-ecological zones of Ghana. Semi-structured questionnaires were designed and administered to 54 randomly selected growers from the nine communities. Composite rhizosphere soil and tomato root samples were collected from two farms in each of the nine communities, and nematodes extracted, identified and recorded. The study revealed that many growers (73%) could not distinguish between nematode infestation, nutrient deficiency and moisture stress and, therefore, lacked knowledge on nematode control. Most of the growers (63%) continually cropped their land to tomato for periods of 4 –7 years without fallowing. All growers applied only inorganic fertilizer to their crops. Symptoms of nematode infestation were widespread in fields with high yield losses. Tomato was a host to Helicotylenchus spp. (11.5% in soil), Hoplolaimus spp. (1.0 % in soil), Meloidogyne spp. (37.4% in soil and 69.3% in roots), Pratylenchus spp. (20.6% in soil and 13.7% in roots), Rotylenchulus spp. (11.0% in soil and 12.2% in roots), Scutellonema spp. (9.5% in soil and 4.9% in roots), Tylenchus spp.(7.6% in soil) and Xiphinema spp.(1.4% in soil) across the nine communities surveyed. Semi-deciduous forest and Savanna agro-ecological zones had the highest and least population densities of nematodes, respectively. These nematodes, if not managed efficiently, could also serve as constraint to tomato production in the country

Magnetic-Field-Induced Antiferromagnetism in Two-Dimensional Hubbard Model: Analysis of CeRhIn5_5

We propose the mechanism for the magnetic-field-induced antiferromagnetic (AFM) state in a two-dimensional Hubbard model in the vicinity of the AFM quantum critical point (QCP), using the fluctuation-exchange (FLEX) approximation by taking the Zeeman energy due to the magnetic field $B$ into account. In the vicinity of the QCP, we find that the AFM correlation perpendicular to $B$ is enhanced, whereas that parallel to $B$ is reduced. This fact means that the finite magnetic field increases $T_N$, with the AFM order perpendicular to $B$. The increment in $T_N$ can be understood in terms of the reduction of both quantum and thermal fluctuations due to the magnetic field, which is caused by the self-energy effect within the FLEX approximation. The present study naturally explains the increment in $T_N$ in CeRhIn_5 under the magnetic field found recently.Comment: 5 page