33 research outputs found
Surface magnetic canting in a ferromagnet
The surface magnetic canting (SMC) of a semi-infinite film with ferromagnetic
exchange interaction and competing bulk and surface anisotropies is
investigated via a nonlinear mapping formulation of mean-field theory
previously developed by our group [L. Trallori et al., Int. J. Mod. Phys. B 10,
1935-1988 (1996)], and extended to the case where an external magnetic field is
applied to the system. When the field H is parallel to the film plane, the
condition for SMC is found to be the same as that recently reported by Popov
and Pappas [Phys. Rev. B 64, 184401 (2001)]. The case of a field H applied
perpendicularly to the film plane is also investigated. In both cases, the
zero-temperature equilibrium configuration is easily determined by our
theoretical approach.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Photoproduction of Long-Lived Holes and Electronic Processes in Intrinsic Electric Fields Seen through Photoinduced Absorption and Dichroism in Ca_3Ga_{2-x}Mn_xGe_3O_{12} Garnets
Long-lived photoinduced absorption and dichroism in the
Ca_3Ga_{2-x}Mn_xGe_3O_{12} garnets with x < 0.06 were examined versus
temperature and pumping intensity. Unusual features of the kinetics of
photoinduced phenomena are indicative of the underlying electronic processes.
The comparison with the case of Ca_3Mn_2Ge_3O_{12}, explored earlier by the
authors, permits one to finally establish the main common mechanisms of
photoinduced absorption and dichroism caused by random electric fields of
photoproduced charges (hole polarons). The rate of their diffusion and
relaxation through recombination is strongly influenced by the same fields,
whose large statistical straggling is responsible for a broad continuous set of
relaxation components (observed in the relaxation time range from 1 to about
1000 min). For Ca_3Ga_{2-x}Mn_xGe_3O_{12}, the time and temperature dependences
of photoinduced absorption and dichroism bear a strong imprint of structure
imperfection increasing with x.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figure
Magnetic properties of the antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 chain system -TeVO
The magnetic susceptibility and magnetization of high quality single crystal
beta-TeVO4 are reported. We show that this compound, made of weakly coupled
infinite chains of VO5 pyramids sharing corners, behaves as a S = 1/2
one-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet. From magnetic experiments we deduce
the intrachain antiferromagnetic coupling constant J/kB = 21.4 0.2 K.
Below 5 K a series of three phase transitions at 2.26, 3.28 and 4.65 K is
observed.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Interrelation of superconductivity and magnetism in FeSe1-xTex compounds. Pressure effects
Advances in ab-initio theory of Multiferroics. Materials and mechanisms: modelling and understanding
Within the broad class of multiferroics (compounds showing a coexistence of
magnetism and ferroelectricity), we focus on the subclass of "improper
electronic ferroelectrics", i.e. correlated materials where electronic degrees
of freedom (such as spin, charge or orbital) drive ferroelectricity. In
particular, in spin-induced ferroelectrics, there is not only a {\em
coexistence} of the two intriguing magnetic and dipolar orders; rather, there
is such an intimate link that one drives the other, suggesting a giant
magnetoelectric coupling. Via first-principles approaches based on density
functional theory, we review the microscopic mechanisms at the basis of
multiferroicity in several compounds, ranging from transition metal oxides to
organic multiferroics (MFs) to organic-inorganic hybrids (i.e. metal-organic
frameworks, MOFs)Comment: 22 pages, 9 figure