The Quasi-1D S=1/2 Antiferromagnet Cs2CuCl4 in a Magnetic Field

Magnetic excitations of the quasi-1D S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet (HAF) Cs2CuCl4 have been measured as a function of magnetic field using neutron scattering. For T<0.62 K and B=0 T the weak inter-chain coupling produces 3D incommensurate ordering. Fields greater than Bc =1.66 T, but less than the field (~8 T) required to fully align the spins, are observed to decouple the chains, and the system enters a disordered intermediate-field phase (IFP). The IFP excitations are in agreement with the predictions of Muller et al. for the 1D S=1/2 HAF, and Talstra and Haldane for the related 1/r^2 chain (the Haldane-Shastry model). This behaviour is inconsistent with linear spin-wave theory.Comment: 10 pages, 4 encapsulated postscript figures, LaTeX, to be published in PRL, e-mail comments to [email protected]

Group 13 Decamethylmetallocenium Cations

Salts containing the decamethylmetallocenium cations, [( C5Me5) M-2](+) ( or Cp*M-2(+)) of the group 13 "metals" B, Al and Ga have been prepared using a variety of synthetic routes. Precursor molecules of the type Cp*2MX ( X = Cl, Br, Me) exhibit structural features that vary significantly depending on the size and electronegativity of the central atom. While salt metathesis, halide abstraction and methanide abstraction methods represent viable routes for the preparation of salts of Cp*B-2(+) and Cp*Al-2(+), acidolysis of a Cp* group from Cp*Ga-3 is the most reliable method for the synthesis of the analogous gallium cation. Gallocenium cations are less stable than either of the lighter congeneric cations since they prove to be susceptible to decomposition reactions involving the "back-transfer" of ligands from the counter anion. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that, whereas Cp*Ga-2(+) is predicted to adopt a molecular structure more similar to that of Cp*B-2(+), the electronic structure of the gallium cation bears a greater resemblance to that of Cp*Al-2(+).Chemistr

Optical Conductivity in a Two-Band Superconductor: Pb

We demonstrate the effect of bandstructure on the superconducting properties of Pb by calculating the strong-coupling features in the optical conductivity, $\sigma(\omega)$, due to the electron-phonon interaction. The importance of momentum dependence in the calculation of the properties of superconductors has previously been raised for MgB$_2$. Pb resembles MgB$_2$ in that it is a two band superconductor in which the bands' contributions to the Fermi surface have very different topologies. We calculate $\sigma(\omega)$ by calculating a memory function which has been recently used to analyze $\sigma(\omega)$ of Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$. In our calculations the two components of the Fermi surface are described by parameterizations of de Haas--van Alphen data. We use a phonon spectrum which is a fit to neutron scattering data. By including the momentum dependence of the Fermi surface good agreement is found with the experimentally determined strong-coupling features which can be described by a broad peak at around 4.5 meV and a narrower higher peak around 8 meV of equal height. The calculated features are found to be dominated by scattering between states within the third band. By contrast scattering between states in the second band leads to strong-coupling features in which the height of the high energy peak is reduced by $\sim 50$ compared to that of the low energy peak. This result is similar to that in the conventional isotropic (momentum independent) treatment of superconductivity. Our results show that it is important to use realistic models of the bandstructure and phonons, and to avoid using momentum averaged quantities, in calculations in order to get quantitatively accurate results

FUSE Spectra of the Black Hole Binary LMC X-3

Far-ultraviolet spectra of LMC X-3 were taken covering photometric phases 0.47 to 0.74 in the 1.7-day orbital period of the black-hole binary (phase zero being superior conjunction of the X-ray source). The continuum is faint and flat, but appears to vary significantly during the observations. Concurrent RXTE/ASM observations show the system was in its most luminous X-ray state during the FUSE observations. The FUV spectrum contains strong terrestrial airglow emission lines, while the only stellar lines clearly present are emissions from the O VI resonance doublet. Their flux does not change significantly during the FUSE observations. These lines are modelled as two asymmetrical profiles, including the local ISM absorptions due to C II and possibly O VI. Velocity variations of O VI emission are consistent with the orbital velocity of the black hole and provide a new constraint on its mass.Comment: 12 pages including 1 table, 4 diagrams To appear in A

AGN in the XMM-Newton first-light image as probes for the interstellar medium in the LMC

The XMM-Newton first-light image revealed X-ray point sources which show heavily absorbed power-law spectra. The spectral indices and the probable identification of a radio counterpart for the brightest source suggest AGN shining through the interstellar gas of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The column densities derived from the X-ray spectra in combination with HI measurements will allow to draw conclusions on HI to H_2 ratios in the LMC and compare these with values found for the galactic plane.Comment: 4 pages, LaTex, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in A&A Letter

Isotopic Production Cross Sections in Proton-Nucleus Collisions at 200 MeV

Intermediate mass fragments (IMF) from the interaction of $^{27}$Al, $^{59}$Co and $^{197}$Au with 200 MeV protons were measured in an angular range from 20 degree to 120 degree in the laboratory system. The fragments, ranging from isotopes of helium up to isotopes of carbon, were isotopically resolved. Double differential cross sections, energy differential cross sections and total cross sections were extracted.Comment: accepted by Phys. Rev.

Steady Hall Magnetohydrodynamics Near a X-type Magnetic Neutral Line

Hall magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) properties near a two-dimensional (2D) X-type magnetic neutral line in the steady state are considered via heuristic and rigorous developments. Upon considering the steady-state as the asymptotic limit of the corresponding \textit{time-dependent} problem and using a rigorous development, Hall effects are shown to be able to sustain the hyperbolicity of the magnetic field (and hence a more open X-point configuration) near the neutral line in the steady state. The heuristic development misses this subtle connection of the steady state with the corresponding \textit{time-dependent} problem and predicts only an elongated current-sheet configuration (as in resistive MHD). However, the heuristic development turns out to be useful in providing insight into the lack of dependence of the reconnection rate on the mechanism breaking the frozen-in condition of the magnetic field lines. The latter result can be understood in terms of the ability of the ions and electrons to transport equal amounts of magnetic flux per unit time out of the reconnection region.Comment: 1-10 page

On stability of the three-dimensional fixed point in a model with three coupling constants from the ϵ\epsilon expansion: Three-loop results

The structure of the renormalization-group flows in a model with three quartic coupling constants is studied within the $\epsilon$-expansion method up to three-loop order. Twofold degeneracy of the eigenvalue exponents for the three-dimensionally stable fixed point is observed and the possibility for powers in $\sqrt{\epsilon}$ to appear in the series is investigated. Reliability and effectiveness of the $\epsilon$-expansion method for the given model is discussed.Comment: 14 pages, LaTeX, no figures. To be published in Phys. Rev. B, V.57 (1998

Two and Three Dimensional Incommensurate Modulation in Optimally-Doped Bi2_2Sr2_2CaCu2_2O8+δ_{8+\delta}

X-ray scattering measurements on optimally-doped single crystal samples of the high temperature superconductor Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$ reveal the presence of three distinct incommensurate charge modulations, each involving a roughly fivefold increase in the unit cell dimension along the {\bf b}-direction. The strongest scattering comes from the well known (H, K$\pm$ 0.21, L) modulation and its harmonics. However, we also observe broad diffraction which peak up at the L values complementary to those which characterize the known modulated structure. These diffraction features correspond to correlation lengths of roughly a unit cell dimension, $\xi_c$$\sim$20 $\AA$ in the {\bf c} direction, and of $\xi_b$$\sim$ 185 $\AA$ parallel to the incommensurate wavevector. We interpret these features as arising from three dimensional incommensurate domains and the interfaces between them, respectively. In addition we investigate the recently discovered incommensuate modulations which peak up at (1/2, K$\pm$ 0.21, L) and related wavevectors. Here we explicitly study the L-dependence of this scattering and see that these charge modulations are two dimensional in nature with weak correlations on the scale of a bilayer thickness, and that they correspond to short range, isotropic correlation lengths within the basal plane. We relate these new incommensurate modulations to the electronic nanostructure observed in Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+\delta}$ using STM topography.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure