77 research outputs found
An X-Ray Induced Structural Transition in La_0.875Sr_0.125MnO_3
We report a synchrotron x-ray scattering study of the magnetoresistive
manganite La_0.875Sr_0.125MnO_3. At low temperatures, this material undergoes
an x-ray induced structural transition at which charge ordering of Mn^3+ and
Mn^4+ ions characteristic to the low-temperature state of this compound is
destroyed. The transition is persistent but the charge-ordered state can be
restored by heating above the charge-ordering transition temperature and
subsequently cooling. The charge-ordering diffraction peaks, which are
broadened at all temperatures, broaden more upon x-ray irradiation, indicating
the finite correlation length of the charge-ordered state. Together with the
recent reports on x-ray induced transitions in Pr_(1-x)Ca_xMnO_3, our results
demonstrate that the photoinduced structural change is a common property of the
charge-ordered perovskite manganites.Comment: 5 pages, 4 embedded EPS figures; significant changes in the data
analysis mad
Approach to the metal-insulator transition in La(1-x)CaxMnO3 (0<x<.2): magnetic inhomogeneity and spin wave anomaly
We describe the evolution of the static and dynamic spin correlations of
LaCaMnO, for x=0.1, 0.125 and 0.2, where the system evolves
from the canted magnetic state towards the insulating ferromagnetic state,
approaching the metallic transition (x=0.22).
In the x=0.1 sample, the observation of two spin wave branches typical of two
distinct types of magnetic coupling, and of a modulation in the elastic diffuse
scattering characteristic of ferromagnetic inhomogeneities, confirms the static
and dynamic inhomogeneous features previously observed at x0.1. The
anisotropic q-dependence of the intensity of the low-energy spin wave suggests
a bidimensionnal character for the static inhomogeneities. At x=0.125, which
corresponds to the occurence of a ferromagnetic and insulating state, the two
spin wave branches reduce to a single one, but anisotropic. At this
concentration, an anomaly appears at {\bf q}=(1.25,1.25,0), that could be
related to an underlying periodicity, as arising from (1.5,1.5,0)
superstructures.
At x=0.2, the spin-wave branch is isotropic. In addition to the anomaly
observed at q, extra magnetic excitations are observed at larger q, forming
an optical branch. The two dispersion curves suggest an anti-crossing behavior
at some {\bf q'} value, which could be explained by a folding due to an
underlying perodicity involving four cubic lattice spacings
Epitaxy and magnetotransport of Sr_2FeMoO_6 thin films
By pulsed-laser deposition epitaxial thin films of Sr_2FeMoO_6 have been pre-
pared on (100) SrTiO_3 substrates. Already for a deposition temperature of 320
C epitaxial growth is achieved. Depending on deposition parameters the films
show metallic or semiconducting behavior. At high (low) deposition temperature
the Fe,Mo sublattice has a rock-salt (random) structure. The metallic samples
have a large negative magnetoresistance which peaks at the Curie temperature.
The magnetic moment was determined to 4 mu_B per formula unit (f.u.), in
agreement with the expected value for an ideal ferrimagnetic arrangement. We
found an ordinary Hall coefficient of -6.01x10^{-10} m^3/As at 300 K,
corresponding to an electronlike charge-carrier density of 1.3 per Fe,Mo-pair.
In the semiconducting films the magnetic moment is reduced to 1 mu_B/f.u. due
to disorder in the Fe,Mo sublattice. In low fields an anomalous holelike
contribution dominates the Hall voltage, which vanishes at low temperatures for
the metallic films only.Comment: Institute of Physics, University of Mainz, Germany, 4 pages,
including 5 pictures and 1 Table, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Crystal and magnetic structure of LaCaMnO compound $(0.11\leq x\leq 0.175
We studied the crystal and magnetic structure of the
LaCaMnO compound for using
stoichiometric samples. For the system's ground state is insulating
canted antiferromagnetic. For e below the Jahn Teller
transition temperature () the crystal structure undergoes a
monoclinic distortion. The crystal structure can be described with
space group which permits two Mn sites. The unit cell strain parameter
increases for , taking the maximum value at the
Curie point, and then decreases. Below K
abruptly changes slope and finally approaches T=0 K with nearly zero slope. The
change of at is connected to a characteristic feature
in the magnetic measurements. As increases towards the ferromagnetic
metallic boundary, although is reduced appreciably, the monoclinic
structure is preserved. The monoclinic structure is discussed with relation to
the orbital ordering, which can produce the ferromagnetic insulating ground
state. We also studied samples that were prepared in air atmosphere. This
category of samples shows ferromagnetic insulating behavior without following
the particular variation of the parameter. The crystal structure of these
samples is related to the so-called O () structure
Evidence of anisotropic magnetic polarons in laSrMnO by neutron scattering and comparison with Ca-doped manganites
Elastic and inelastic neutron scattering experiments have been performed in a
LaSrMnO untwinned crystal, which exhibits an
antiferromagnetic canted magnetic structure with ferromagnetic layers.
The elastic small q scattering exhibits a modulation with an anisotropic
q-dependence. It can be pictured by ferromagnetic inhomogeneities or polarons
with a platelike shape, the largest size () and largest
inter-polaron distance ( 38) being within the ferromagnetic
layers. Comparison with observations performed on Ca-doped samples, which show
the growth of the magnetic polarons with doping, suggests that this growth is
faster for the Sr than for the Ca substitution. Below the gap of the spin wave
branch typical of the AF layered magnetic structure, an additional spin wave
branch reveals a ferromagnetic and isotropic coupling, already found in
Ca-doped samples. Its q-dependent intensity, very anisotropic, closely reflects
the ferromagnetic correlations found for the static clusters. All these results
agree with a two-phase electronic segregation occurring on a very small scale,
although some characteristics of a canted state are also observed suggesting a
weakly inhomogeneous state.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figure
Transport and superconducting properties of Fe-based superconductors: SmFeAs(O1-x Fx) versus Fe1+y (Te1-x, Sex)
We present transport and superconducting properties - namely resistivity,
magnetoresistivity, Hall effect, Seebeck effect, thermal conductivity, upper
critical field - of two different families of Fe-based superconductors, which
can be viewed in many respects as end members: SmFeAs(O1-xFx) with the largest
Tc and the largest anisotropy and Fe1+y(Te1-x,Sex), with the largest Hc2, the
lowest Tc and the lowest anisotropy. In the case of the SmFeAs(O1-xFx) series,
we find that a single band description allows to extract an approximated
estimation of band parameters such as carrier density and mobility from
experimental data, although the behaviour of Seebeck effect as a function of
doping demonstrates that a multiband description would be more appropriate. On
the contrary, experimental data of the Fe1+y(Te1-x,Sex) series exhibit a
strongly compensated behaviour, which can be described only within a multiband
model. In the Fe1+y(Te1-x,Sex) series, the role of the excess Fe, tuned by Se
stoichiometry, is found to be twofold: it dopes electrons in the system and it
introduces localized magnetic moments, responsible for Kondo like scattering
and likely pair-breaking of Cooper pairs. Hence, excess Fe plays a crucial role
also in determining superconducting properties such as the Tc and the upper
critical field Bc2. The huge Bc2 values of the Fe1+y(Te1-x,Sex) samples are
described by a dirty limit law, opposed to the clean limit behaviour of the
SmFeAs(O1-xFx) samples. Hence, magnetic scattering by excess Fe seems to drive
the system in the dirty regime, but its detrimental pairbreaking role seems not
to be as severe as predicted by theory. This issue has yet to be clarified,
addressing the more fundamental issue of the interplay between magnetism and
superconductivity
The COSPIX mission: focusing on the energetic and obscured Universe
Tracing the formation and evolution of all supermassive black holes,
including the obscured ones, understanding how black holes influence their
surroundings and how matter behaves under extreme conditions, are recognized as
key science objectives to be addressed by the next generation of instruments.
These are the main goals of the COSPIX proposal, made to ESA in December 2010
in the context of its call for selection of the M3 mission. In addition,
COSPIX, will also provide key measurements on the non thermal Universe,
particularly in relation to the question of the acceleration of particles, as
well as on many other fundamental questions as for example the energetic
particle content of clusters of galaxies. COSPIX is proposed as an observatory
operating from 0.3 to more than 100 keV. The payload features a single long
focal length focusing telescope offering an effective area close to ten times
larger than any scheduled focusing mission at 30 keV, an angular resolution
better than 20 arcseconds in hard X-rays, and polarimetric capabilities within
the same focal plane instrumentation. In this paper, we describe the science
objectives of the mission, its baseline design, and its performances, as
proposed to ESA.Comment: 7 pages, accepted for publication in Proceedings of Science, for the
25th Texas Symposium on Relativistic Astrophysics (eds. F. Rieger & C.
van Eldik), PoS(Texas 2010)25
Optical study of orbital excitations in transition-metal oxides
The orbital excitations of a series of transition-metal compounds are studied
by means of optical spectroscopy. Our aim was to identify signatures of
collective orbital excitations by comparison with experimental and theoretical
results for predominantly local crystal-field excitations. To this end, we have
studied TiOCl, RTiO3 (R=La, Sm, Y), LaMnO3, Y2BaNiO5, CaCu2O3, and K4Cu4OCl10,
ranging from early to late transition-metal ions, from t_2g to e_g systems, and
including systems in which the exchange coupling is predominantly
three-dimensional, one-dimensional or zero-dimensional. With the exception of
LaMnO3, we find orbital excitations in all compounds. We discuss the
competition between orbital fluctuations (for dominant exchange coupling) and
crystal-field splitting (for dominant coupling to the lattice). Comparison of
our experimental results with configuration-interaction cluster calculations in
general yield good agreement, demonstrating that the coupling to the lattice is
important for a quantitative description of the orbital excitations in these
compounds. However, detailed theoretical predictions for the contribution of
collective orbital modes to the optical conductivity (e.g., the line shape or
the polarization dependence) are required to decide on a possible contribution
of orbital fluctuations at low energies, in particular in case of the orbital
excitations at about 0.25 eV in RTiO3. Further calculations are called for
which take into account the exchange interactions between the orbitals and the
coupling to the lattice on an equal footing.Comment: published version, discussion of TiOCl extended to low T, improved
calculation of orbital excitation energies in TiOCl, figure 16 improved,
references updated, 33 pages, 20 figure
The Athena X-ray Integral Field Unit: a consolidated design for the system requirement review of the preliminary definition phase
Instrumentatio
Expectation management
We consider the application of a FleischerâJegerlehner-like treatment of tadpoles to the calculation of neutral scalar masses (including the Higgs) in general theories beyond the Standard Model. This is especially useful when the theory contains new scalars associated with a small expectation value, but comes with its own disadvantages. We show that these can be overcome by combining with effective field theory matching. We provide the formalism in this modified approach for matching the quartic coupling of the Higgs via pole masses at one loop, and apply it to both a toy model and to the NMSSM as prototypes where the standard treatment can break down
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