637 research outputs found
Cooperative dynamics in doped manganite films: phonon anomalies in the ferromagnetic state
We present optical measurements of phononic excitations in
LaCaMnO (LCMO) and LaSrMnO (LSMO)
thin films covering the full temperature range from the metallic ferromagnetic
to the insulating paramagnetic phase. All eight phonons expected for the
Rc symmetry in LSMO and 17 out of the expected 25 phonons for the Pnma
symmetry in LCMO have been determined. Close to the
ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic transition both compounds reveal an anomalous
behavior but with different characteristics. Anomalies in the phononic spectra
are a manifestation of the coupling of lattice degrees of freedom (DOF) to
electronic DOF. Specifically, the low-frequency external group proves to be an
indicator for lattice modifications induced by electronic correlations. The
enhanced electron-phonon coupling in LCMO is responsible for Fano-like
interference effects of distinct phonon modes with electronic continuum
excitations: we observe asymmetric phonon line shapes, mode splitting and
spectral weight transfer between modes.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figure
Large and Small Polaron Excitations in La2/3(Sr/Ca)1/3MnO3 Films
We present detailed optical measurements of the mid-infrared (MIR)
excitations in thin films of La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 (LSMO) and La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 (LCMO)
across the magnetic transition. The shape of the excitation at about 0.2 eV in
both samples is analyzed in terms of polaron models. We propose to identify the
MIR resonance in LSMO as the excitation of large polarons and that in LCMO as a
small polaron excitation. A scaling behavior for the low-energy side of the
polaronic MIR resonance in LSMO is established
Spin-phonon coupling in antiferromagnetic chromium spinels
The temperature dependence of eigenfrequencies and intensities of the IR
active modes has been investigated for the antiferromagnetic chromium spinel
compounds CdCr2O4, ZnCr2O4, ZnCr2S4, ZnCr2Se4, and HgCr2S4 by IR spectroscopy
for temperatures from 5 K to 300 K. At the transition into the magnetically
ordered phases, and driven by spin-phonon coupling, most compounds reveal
significant splittings of the phonon modes. This is true for geometrically
frustrated CdCr2O4, and ZnCr2O4, for bond frustrated ZnCr2S4 and for ZnCr2Se4,
which also is bond frustrated, but dominated by ferromagnetic exchange. The
pattern of splitting is different for the different compounds and crucially
depends on the nature of frustration and of the resulting spin order. HgCr2S4,
which is almost ferromagnetic, exhibits no splitting of the eigenfrequencies,
but shows significant shifts due to ferromagnetic spin fluctuations.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figure
Magnetic-field induced multiferroicity in a quantum critical frustrated spin liquid
Dielectric spectroscopy is used to check for the onset of polar order in the
quasi one-dimensional quantum spin system Sul-Cu2Cl4 when passing from the
spin-liquid state into the ordered spiral phase in an external magnetic field.
We find clear evidence for multiferroicity in this material and treat in detail
its H-T phase diagram close to the quantum-critical regime.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Revised according to suggestions of referee
Electronic and phonon excitations in {\alpha}-RuCl
We report on THz, infrared reflectivity and transmission experiments for wave
numbers from 10 to 8000 cm ( 1 meV - 1 eV) and for temperatures
from 5 to 295 K on the Kitaev candidate material {\alpha}-RuCl. As reported
earlier, the compound under investigation passes through a first-order
structural phase transition, from a monoclinic high-temperature to a
rhombohedral low-temperature phase. The phase transition shows an extreme and
unusual hysteretic behavior, which extends from 60 to 166 K. In passing this
phase transition, in the complete frequency range investigated we found a
significant reflectance change, which amounts almost a factor of two. We
provide a broadband spectrum of dielectric constant, dielectric loss and
optical conductivity from the THz to the mid infrared regime and study in
detail the phonon response and the low-lying electronic density of states. We
provide evidence for the onset of an optical energy gap, which is of order 200
meV, in good agreement with the gap derived from measurements of the DC
electrical resistivity. Remarkably, the onset of the gap exhibits a strong blue
shift on increasing temperatures.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure
Coupling of phonons and electromagnons in GdMnO_3
The infrared and Terahertz properties of GdMnO_3 have been investigated as
function of temperature and magnetic field, with special emphasis on the phase
boundary between the incommensurate and the canted antiferromagnetic
structures. The heterogeneous incommensurate phase reveals strong
magnetodielectric effects, characterized by significant magnetoelectric
contributions to the static dielectric permittivity and by the existence of
electrically excited magnons (electromagnons). In the commensurate canted
antiferromagnetic phase the magnetoelectric contributions to the dielectric
constant and electromagnons are suppressed. The corresponding spectral weight
is transferred to the lowest lattice vibration demonstrating the strong
coupling of phonons with electromagnons.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Broadband dielectric response of CaCu3Ti4O12: From dc to the electronic transition regime
We report on phonon properties and electronic transitions in CaCu3Ti4O12, a
material which reveals a colossal dielectric constant at room temperature
without any ferroelectric transition. The results of far- and mid-infrared
measurements are compared to those obtained by broadband dielectric and
millimeter-wave spectroscopy on the same single crystal. The unusual
temperature dependence of phonon eigenfrequencies, dampings and ionic plasma
frequencies of low lying phonon modes are analyzed and discussed in detail.
Electronic excitations below 4 eV are identified as transitions between full
and empty hybridized oxygen-copper bands and between oxygen-copper and
unoccupied Ti 3d bands. The unusually small band gap determined from the
dc-conductivity (~200 meV) compares well with the optical results.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
Phonon anomalies and charge dynamics in Fe_{1-x}Cu_{x}Cr_{2}S_{4} single crystals
A detailed investigation of phonon excitations and charge carrier dynamics in
single crystals of Fe_{1-x}Cu_{x}Cr_{2}S_{4} (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.5) has been
performed by using infrared spectroscopy. In FeCr_{2}S_{4} the phonon
eigenmodes are strongly affected by the onset of magnetic order. Despite
enhanced screening effects, a continuous evolution of the phonon excitations
can be observed in the doped compounds with x = 0.2 (metallic) and x = 0.4, 0.5
(bad metals), but the effect of magnetic ordering on the phonons is strongly
reduced compared to x = 0. The Drude-like charge-carrier contribution to the
optical conductivity in the doped samples indicates that the colossal
magneto-resistance effect results from the suppression of spin-disorder
scattering.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
Plastic-crystalline solid-state electrolytes: Ionic conductivity and orientational dynamics in nitrile mixtures
Many plastic crystals, molecular solids with long-range, center-of-mass
crystalline order but dynamic disorder of the molecular orientations, are known
to exhibit exceptionally high ionic conductivity. This makes them promising
candidates for applications as solid-state electrolytes, e.g., in batteries.
Interestingly, it was found that the mixing of two different
plastic-crystalline materials can considerably enhance the ionic dc
conductivity, an important benchmark quantity for electrochemical applications.
An example is the admixture of different nitriles to succinonitrile, the latter
being one of the most prominent plastic-crystalline ionic conductors. However,
until now only few such mixtures were studied. In the present work, we
investigate succinonitrile mixed with malononitrile, adiponitrile, and
pimelonitrile, to which 1 mol% of Li ions were added. Using differential
scanning calorimetry and dielectric spectroscopy, we examine the phase behavior
and the dipolar and ionic dynamics of these systems. We especially address the
mixing-induced enhancement of the ionic conductivity and the coupling of the
translational ionic mobility to the molecular reorientational dynamics,
probably arising via a "revolving-door" mechanism.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures; revised version as accepted for publication in J.
Chem. Phy
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