Spin reorientation transition in the incommensurate stripe-ordered phase of La3/2Sr1/2NiO4

The spin ordering of La3/2Sr1/2NiO4 was investigated by magnetization measurements, and by unpolarized- and polarized-neutron diffraction. Spin ordering with an incommensurability epsilon ~ 0.445 is observed below T_so ~ 80 K. On cooling, a spin reorientation is observed at 57 +/- 1 K, with the spin axes rotating from 52 +/- 4 degrees to 78 +/- 3 degrees. This is the first time a spin reorientation has been observed in a La2-xSrxNiO4+delta compound having incommensurate stripe order.Comment: REVTex 4. 4 pages including 4 figures. Minor changes to text. Accepted to be published in Physical Review

Haydeeite: a spin-1/2 kagome ferromagnet

The mineral haydeeite, alpha-MgCu3(OD)6Cl2, is a S=1/2 kagome ferromagnet that displays long-range magnetic order below TC=4.2 K with a strongly reduced moment. Our inelastic neutron scattering data show clear spin-wave excitations that are well described by a Heisenberg Hamiltonian with ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor exchange J1=-38 K and antiferromagnetic exchange Jd=+11 K across the hexagons of the kagome lattice. These values place haydeeite very close to the quantum phase transition between ferromagnetic order and non-coplanar twelve-sublattice cuboc2 antiferromagnetic order. Diffuse dynamic short-range ferromagnetic correlations observed above TC persist well into the ferromagnetically ordered phase with a behavior distinct from critical scattering

Low dimensional ordering and fluctuations in methanol-β\beta-hydroquinone-clathrate studied by X-ray and neutron diffraction

Methanol-$\beta$-hydroquinone-clathrate has been established as a model system for dielectric ordering and fluctuations and is conceptually close to magnetic spin systems. In X-ray and neutron diffraction experiments, we investigated the ordered structure, the one-dimensional (1D) and the three-dimensional (3D) critical scattering in the paraelectric phase, and the temperature dependence of the lattice constants. Our results can be explained by microscopic models of the methanol pseudospin in the hydroquinone cage network, in consistency with previous dielectric investigations

Magnetic Order and Dynamics in Stripe-Ordered La2-xSrxNiO4

We have studied magnetic correlations in several compositions of stripe-ordered La2-xSrxNiO4. In this paper we show how polarized-neutron scattering has helped uncover important features of the magnetic ordering and spin dynamics. In particular, polarization analysis has enabled us (1) to characterize a spin reorientation transition, (2) to identify anisotropy gaps in the spin excitation spectrum, and (3) to investigate an anomalous dip in the spin-wave intensity suggestive of coupling between collective spin and charge excitations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figs. Presented at PNSXM, Venice. To appear in Physica

Electronic structure and magnetic properties of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg system CuSe2O5

A microscopic magnetic model for the spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain compound CuSe2O5 is developed based on the results of a joint experimental and theoretical study. Magnetic susceptibility and specific heat data give evidence for quasi-1D magnetism with leading antiferromagnetic (AFM) couplings and an AFM ordering temperature of 17 K. For microscopic insight, full-potential DFT calculations within the local density approximation (LDA) were performed. Using the resulting band structure, a consistent set of transfer integrals for an effective one-band tight-binding model was obtained. Electronic correlations were treated on a mean-field level starting from LDA (LSDA+U method) and on a model level (Hubbard model). In excellent agreement of experiment and theory, we find that only two couplings in CuSe2O5 are relevant: the nearest-neighbour intra-chain interaction of 165 K and a non-frustrated inter-chain coupling of 20 K. From a comparison with structurally related systems (Sr2Cu(PO4)2, Bi2CuO4), general implications for a magnetic ordering in presence of inter-chain frustration are made.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, 3 table

Spin correlations among the charge carriers in an ordered stripe phase

We have observed a diffuse component to the low-energy magnetic excitation spectrum of stripe-ordered La5/3Sr1/3NiO4 probed by neutron inelastic scattering. The diffuse scattering forms a square pattern with sides parallel and perpendicular to the stripe directions. The signal is dispersive, with a maximum energy of ~10 meV. Probed at 2 meV the scattering decreases in strength with increasing temperature, and is barely visible at 100 K. We argue that the signal originates from dynamic, quasi- one-dimensional, antiferromagnetic correlations among the stripe electrons.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. To be published in Physical Review Letter

The critical behavior of frustrated spin models with noncollinear order

We study the critical behavior of frustrated spin models with noncollinear order, including stacked triangular antiferromagnets and helimagnets. For this purpose we compute the field-theoretic expansions at fixed dimension to six loops and determine their large-order behavior. For the physically relevant cases of two and three components, we show the existence of a new stable fixed point that corresponds to the conjectured chiral universality class. This contradicts previous three-loop field-theoretical results but is in agreement with experiments.Comment: 4 pages, RevTe

Jahn-Teller versus quantum effects in the spin-orbital material LuVO3

We report on combined neutron and resonant x-ray scattering results, identifying the nature of the spin-orbital ground state and magnetic excitations in LuVO3 as driven by the orbital parameter. In particular, we distinguish between models based on orbital Peierls dimerization, taken as a signature of quantum effects in orbitals, and Jahn-Teller distortions, in favor of the latter. In order to solve this long-standing puzzle, polarized neutron beams were employed as a prerequisite in order to solve details of the magnetic structure, which allowed quantitative intensity-analysis of extended magnetic excitation data sets. The results of this detailed study enabled us to draw definite conclusions about classical vs quantum behavior of orbitals in this system and to discard the previous claims about quantum effects dominating the orbital physics of LuVO3 and similar systems.Comment: Phys. Rev. B 91, 161104(R) (2015

Magnetic-field-induced spin excitations and renormalized spin gap of the underdoped superconductor La1.895_{1.895}Sr0.105_{0.105}CuO4_{4}

High-resolution neutron inelastic scattering experiments in applied magnetic fields have been performed on La$_{1.895}$Sr$_{0.105}$CuO$_{4}$ (LSCO). In zero field, the temperature dependence of the low-energy peak intensity at the incommensurate momentum-transfer $\mathbf{Q}^{\ }_{\mathrm{IC}}=(0.5,0.5\pm\delta,0),(0.5\pm\delta,0.5,0)$exhibits an anomaly at the superconducting$T^{\}_{c}$ which broadens and shifts to lower temperature upon the application of a magnetic field along the c-axis. A field-induced enhancement of the spectral weight is observed, but only at finite energy transfers and in an intermediate temperature range. These observations establish the opening of a strongly downward renormalized spin gap in the underdoped regime of LSCO. This behavior contrasts with the observed doping dependence of most electronic energy features.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let