8,530 research outputs found
Magnetic transitions in Pr2NiO4 single crystal
The magnetic properties of a stoichiometric Pr2NiO4 single crystal have been examined by means of the temperature dependence of the complex ac susceptibility and the isothermal magnetization in fields up to 200 kOe at T=4.2 K. Three separate phases have been identified and their anisotropic character has been analyzed. A collinear antiferromagnetic phase appears first between TN = 325 K and Tc1 = 115 K, where the Pr ions are polarized by an internal magnetic field. At Tc1 a first modification of the magnetic structure occurs in parallel with a structural phase transition (Bmab to P42/ncm). This magnetic transition has a firstâorder character and involves both the outâofâplane and the inâplane spin components (magnetic modes gx and gxcyfz, respectively). A second magnetic transition having also a firstâorder character is also clearly identified at Tc2 = 90 K which corresponds to a spin reorientation process (gxcyfz to cxgyaz magnetic modes). It should be noted as well that the outâofâphase component of Ïac shows a peak around 30 K which reflects the coexistence of both magnetic configurations in a wide temperature interval. Finally, two fieldâinduced transitions have been observed at 4.2 K when the field is directed along the c axis. We propose that the highâfield anomaly arises from a metamagnetic transition of the weak ferromagnetic component, similarly to La2CuO4
Millimagnitude Photometry for Transiting Extrasolar Planetary Candidates. V. Follow-up of 30 OGLE Transits. New Candidates
We used VLT/VIMOS images in the V band to obtain light curves of extrasolar
planetary transits OGLE-TR-111 and OGLE-TR-113, and candidate planetary
transits: OGLE-TR-82, OGLE-TR-86, OGLE-TR-91, OGLE-TR-106, OGLE-TR-109,
OGLE-TR-110, OGLE-TR-159, OGLE-TR-167, OGLE-TR-170, OGLE-TR-171. Using
difference imaging photometry, we were able to achieve millimagnitude errors in
the individual data points. We present the analysis of the data and the light
curves, by measuring transit amplitudes and ephemerides, and by calculating
geometrical parameters for some of the systems. We observed 9 OGLE objects at
the predicted transit moments. Two other transits were shifted in time by a few
hours. For another seven objects we expected to observe transits during the
VIMOS run, but they were not detected. The stars OGLE-TR-111 and OGLE-TR-113
are probably the only OGLE objects in the observed sample to host planets, with
the other objects being very likely eclipsing binaries or multiple systems. In
this paper we also report on four new transiting candidates which we have found
in the data.Comment: 11 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Crystal and magnetic structure of the oxypnictide superconductor LaO(1-x)FxFeAs: evidence for magnetoelastic coupling
High-resolution and high-flux neutron as well as X-ray powder-diffraction
experiments were performed on the oxypnictide series LaO(1-x)FxFeAs with
0<x<0.15 in order to study the crystal and magnetic structure. The magnetic
symmetry of the undoped compound corresponds to those reported for ReOFeAs
(with Re a rare earth) and for AFe2As2 (A=Ba, Sr) materials. We find an ordered
magnetic moment of 0.63(1)muB at 2 K in LaOFeAs, which is significantly larger
than the values previously reported for this compound. A sizable ordered
magnetic moment is observed up to a F-doping of 4.5% whereas there is no
magnetic order for a sample with a F concentration of x=0.06. In the undoped
sample, several interatomic distances and FeAs4 tetrahedra angles exhibit
pronounced anomalies connected with the broad structural transition and with
the onset of magnetism supporting the idea of strong magneto-elastic coupling
in this material.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, regular articl
Crystal-fields in YbInNi4 determined with magnetic form factor and inelastic neutron scattering
The magnetic form factor of YbInNi4 has been determined via the flipping
ratios R with polarized neutron diffraction and the scattering function S(Q,w)
was measured in an inelastic neutron scattering experiment. Both experiments
were performed with the aim to determine the crystal-field scheme. The magnetic
form factor clearly excludes the possibility of a \Gamma7 doublet as the ground
state. The inelastic neutron data exhibit two, almost equally strong peaks at
3.2 meV and 4.4 meV which points, in agreement with earlier neutron data,
towards a \Gamma8 quartet ground state. Further possibilities like a
quasi-quartet ground state are discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables, submitted to PR
Crystal structure and phonon softening in Ca3Ir4Sn13
We investigated the crystal structure and lattice excitations of the ternary
intermetallic stannide Ca3Ir4Sn13 using neutron and x-ray scattering
techniques. For T > T* ~ 38 K the x-ray diffraction data can be satisfactorily
refined using the space group Pm-3n. Below T* the crystal structure is
modulated with a propagation vector of q = (1/2, 1/2, 0). This may arise from a
merohedral twinning in which three tetragonal domains overlap to mimic a higher
symmetry, or from a doubling of the cubic unit cell. Neutron diffraction and
neutron spectroscopy results show that the structural transition at T* is of a
second-order, and that it is well described by mean-field theory. Inelastic
neutron scattering data point towards a displacive structural transition at T*
arising from the softening of a low-energy phonon mode with an energy gap of
Delta(120 K) = 1.05 meV. Using density functional theory the soft phonon mode
is identified as a 'breathing' mode of the Sn12 icosahedra and is consistent
with the thermal ellipsoids of the Sn2 atoms found by single crystal
diffraction data
MAXI J1659-152: the shortest orbital period black-hole binary
Following the detection of a bright new X-ray source, MAXI J1659-152, a
series of observations was triggered with almost all currently flying
high-energy missions. We report here on XMM-Newton, INTEGRAL and RXTE
observations during the early phase of the X-ray outburst of this transient
black-hole candidate. We confirm the dipping nature in the X-ray light curves.
We find that the dips recur on a period of 2.4139+/-0.0005 hrs, and interpret
this as the orbital period of the system. It is thus the shortest period
black-hole X-ray binary known to date. Using the various observables, we derive
the properties of the source. The inclination of the accretion disk with
respect to the line of sight is estimated to be 60-75 degrees. The companion
star to the black hole is possibly a M5 dwarf star, with a mass and radius of
about 0.15 M_sun and 0.23 R_sun, respectively. The system is rather compact
(orbital separation is about 1.35 R_sun) and is located at a distance of
roughly 7 kpc. In quiescence, MAXI J1659-152 is expected to be optically faint,
about 28 mag in the V-band.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in the proceedings of the 4th
International MAXI Workshop `The First Year of MAXI: Monitoring variable
X-ray sources', 2010 Nov 30 - Dec 2, Tokyo, Japa
Entropy calculation for a toy black hole
In this note we carry out the counting of states for a black hole in loop
quantum gravity, however assuming an equidistant area spectrum. We find that
this toy-model is exactly solvable, and we show that its behavior is very
similar to that of the correct model. Thus this toy-model can be used as a nice
and simplifying `laboratory' for questions about the full theory.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures. v2: Corrected mistake in bibliography, added
appendix with further result
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