96 research outputs found
Evidence for impurity-induced frustration in La2CuO4
Zero-field muon spin rotation and magnetization measurements were performed
in La2Cu{1-x}MxO4, for 0<x< 0.12, where Cu2+ is replaced either by M=Zn2+ or by
M=Mg2+ spinless impurity. It is shown that while the doping dependence of the
sublattice magnetization (M(x)) is nearly the same for both compounds, the
N\'eel temperature (T_N(x)) decreases unambiguously more rapidly in the
Zn-doped compound. This difference, not taken into account within a simple
dilution model, is associated with the frustration induced by the Zn2+ impurity
onto the Cu2+ antiferromagnetic lattice. In fact, from T_N(x) and M(x) the spin
stiffness is derived and found to be reduced by Zn doping more significantly
than expected within a dilution model. The effect of the structural
modifications induced by doping on the exchange coupling is also discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Field evolution of the magnetic structures in ErTiO through the critical point
We have measured neutron diffraction patterns in a single crystal sample of
the pyrochlore compound ErTiO in the antiferromagnetic phase
(T=0.3\,K), as a function of the magnetic field, up to 6\,T, applied along the
[110] direction. We determine all the characteristics of the magnetic structure
throughout the quantum critical point at =2\,T. As a main result, all Er
moments align along the field at and their values reach a minimum. Using
a four-sublattice self-consistent calculation, we show that the evolution of
the magnetic structure and the value of the critical field are rather well
reproduced using the same anisotropic exchange tensor as that accounting for
the local paramagnetic susceptibility. In contrast, an isotropic exchange
tensor does not match the moment variations through the critical point. The
model also accounts semi-quantitatively for other experimental data previously
measured, such as the field dependence of the heat capacity, energy of the
dispersionless inelastic modes and transition temperature.Comment: 7 pages; 8 figure
Evidence for impurity-induced frustration in La2CuO4
Zero-field muon spin rotation and magnetization measurements were performed
in La2Cu{1-x}MxO4, for 0<x< 0.12, where Cu2+ is replaced either by M=Zn2+ or by
M=Mg2+ spinless impurity. It is shown that while the doping dependence of the
sublattice magnetization (M(x)) is nearly the same for both compounds, the
N\'eel temperature (T_N(x)) decreases unambiguously more rapidly in the
Zn-doped compound. This difference, not taken into account within a simple
dilution model, is associated with the frustration induced by the Zn2+ impurity
onto the Cu2+ antiferromagnetic lattice. In fact, from T_N(x) and M(x) the spin
stiffness is derived and found to be reduced by Zn doping more significantly
than expected within a dilution model. The effect of the structural
modifications induced by doping on the exchange coupling is also discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Mesoscopic correlations in Tb2Ti2O7 spin liquid
We have studied the spin correlations with = (, ,
) propagation vector which appear below 0.4\, K in \tbti\ spin liquid
by combining powder neutron diffraction and specific heat on
TbTiO samples with =0, 0.01, -0.01. The =
(, , ) order clearly appears on all neutron patterns
by subtracting a pattern at 1.2(1)\,K. Refining the subtracted patterns at
0.07\,K yields two possible spin structures, with spin-ice-like and
monopole-like correlations respectively. Mesoscopic correlations involve Tb
moments of 1 to 2 \mub\ ordered on a length scale of about 20 \AA. In addition,
long range order involving a small spin component of 0.1 to 0.2 \mub\ is
detected for the = 0 and 0.01 samples showing a peak in the specific heat.
Comparison with previous single crystals data suggests that the (,
, ) order settles in through nanometric spin textures with
dominant spin ice character and correlated orientations, analogous to
nanomagnetic twins
Highly efficient and selective extraction of uranium from aqueous solution by a magnetic device: succinyl-ß-cyclodextrin-APTES@maghemite nanoparticles
The removal of radio-elements, notably uranium, from waste-waters is crucial for public health and environmental remediation. To this end, succinyl-ß-cyclodextrin (SßCD) is grafted onto maghemite nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized by the polyol method. The nanocomposite was well characterized. The adsorption of U(VI) by SßCD-APTES@Fe2O3 is pH-dependent with a maximum at pH 6. Adsorption occurs mainly by complex formation and displays a very good selectivity for U(VI) compared to other cations such as Cs+, K+, Na+, Mg2+ and Al3+. The data were plotted according to the Langmuir, Freundlich, Elovich, Temkin and Halsey isotherms. The Langmuir isotherm maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) is 286 mg U g-1 and higher than for other reported sorbents. Moreover, Cs-corrected STEM visualizes the uranium on the NP surface, which is consistent with the Halsey isotherm model for multilayer adsorption. The U(VI) adsorbed on SßCD-APTES@Fe2O3 is easily recovered by magnetic sedimentation and desorption performed in a small volume in order to concentrate the extract. The nanocomposite can be regenerated and re-used at least tenfold
Magnetic properties and crystal field in Pr2Zr2O7
In this work, we revisit the crystal field acting on the non-Kramers Pr3+ ion (4f2) in the quantum spin ice candidate Pr2Zr2O7 using both a standard calculation restricted to the ground spin-orbit multiplet and intermediate coupling states in the full basis of the f 2 configuration. Analysis of the thermal variation of the polycrystal magnetic susceptibility and of the local susceptibilities χ⊥ and χ// determined by means of polarized neutron diffraction experiments reveals that the effective antiferromagnetic exchange is strongly depleted at low temperature with respect to its high-temperature value.We then discuss the influence of crystal field imperfections arising from residual strains, which are especially important for a non-Kramers ion. We find that they are an essential ingredient to account for the very low temperature M(H) magnetization curves, showing that the saturation is not achieved even at 8 T. Furthermore, as possible candidates to qualitatively understand the Curie-like behavior observed below 0.5 K, we discuss the influence of the magnetic hyperfine interaction
Magnetic structure in the spin liquid TbTiO induced by a [111] magnetic field: Search for a magnetization plateau
We have studied the field-induced magnetic structures of Tb2Ti2O7 pyrochlore by single-crystal neutron diffraction under a field applied along the [111] axis, up to H=12 T and down to T=40 mK. We refined the magnetic structures with k=0 propagation vector by performing a symmetry analysis in the space group R3¯m, reducing the number of free parameters to three only. The Tb moments gradually reorient towards the field direction, keeping close to a “3-in, 1-out / 1-in, 3-out” spin structure (magnetic space group R3¯m′) in the whole measured field range 0.05–12 T. Our results rule out the “all-in/all-out” structure previously proposed and do not support the existence of a magnetization plateau. We perform a quantitative comparison with mean-field calculations and we propose the presence of a low-temperature dynamic symmetry breaking of the local trigonal symmetry, akin to a dynamic Jahn-Teller effect, i.e., preserving the overall cubic symmetry. We discuss the possible origin of this off-diagonal mixing term in the crystal field Hamiltonian in terms of quadrupole-quadrupole interaction or magnetoelastic effects
Order by Disorder and Energetic Selection of the Ground State in the XY Pyrochlore Antiferromagnet Er2Ti2O7. An Inelastic Neutron Scattering Study
Examples of materials where an "order by disorder" mechanism is at play to
select a particular ground state are scarce. It has recently been proposed,
however, that the antiferromagnetic XY pyrochlore Er2Ti2O7, reveals a most
convincing case of this mechanism. Observation of a spin gap at zone centers
has recently been interpreted as a corroboration of this physics. In this
paper, we argue, however, that the anisotropy generated by the
interaction-induced admixing between the crystal-field ground and excited
levels provides for an alternative mechanism. It especially predicts the
opening of a spin gap of about 15 micro-eV, which is of the same order of
magnitude as the one observed experimentally. We report new high resolution
inelastic neutron scattering data which can be well understood within this
scenario.Comment: This version corrects a mistake on the numerical values of the
exchange couplings in relation to the published versio
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