1,182 research outputs found
Theory for the ultrafast ablation of graphite films
The physical mechanisms for damage formation in graphite films induced by
femtosecond laser pulses are analyzed using a microscopic electronic theory. We
describe the nonequilibrium dynamics of electrons and lattice by performing
molecular dynamics simulations on time-dependent potential energy surfaces. We
show that graphite has the unique property of exhibiting two distinct laser
induced structural instabilities. For high absorbed energies (> 3.3 eV/atom) we
find nonequilibrium melting followed by fast evaporation. For low intensities
above the damage threshold (> 2.0 eV/atom) ablation occurs via removal of
intact graphite sheets.Comment: 5 pages RevTeX, 3 PostScript figures, submitted to Phys. Re
Theory for the Ultrafast Structural Response of optically excited small clusters: Time-dependence of the Ionization Potential
Combining an electronic theory with molecular dynamics simulations we present
results for the ultrafast structural changes in small clusters. We determine
the time scale for the change from the linear to a triangular structure after
the photodetachment process Ag. We show that the
time-dependent change of the ionization potential reflects in detail the
internal degrees of freedom, in particular coherent and incoherent motion, and
that it is sensitive to the initial temperature. We compare with experiment and
point out the general significance of our results.Comment: 10 pages, Revtex, 3 postscript figure
Local moments and symmetry breaking in metallic PrMnSbO
We report a combined experimental and theoretical investigation of the
layered antimonide PrMnSbO which is isostructural to the parent phase of the
iron pnictide superconductors. We find linear resistivity near room temperature
and Fermi liquid-like T^{2} behaviour below 150 K. Neutron powder diffraction
shows that unfrustrated C-type Mn magnetic order develops below \sim 230 K,
followed by a spin-flop coupled to induced Pr order. At T \sim 35 K, we find a
tetragonal to orthorhombic (T-O) transition. First principles calculations show
that the large magnetic moments observed in this metallic compound are of local
origin. Our results are thus inconsistent with either the itinerant or
frustrated models proposed for symmetry breaking in the iron pnictides. We show
that PrMnSbO is instead a rare example of a metal where structural distortions
are driven by f-electron degrees of freedom
The monoclinic crystal structure of -RuCl and the zigzag antiferromagnetic ground state
The layered honeycomb magnet alpha-RuCl3 has been proposed as a candidate to
realize a Kitaev spin model with strongly frustrated, bond-dependent,
anisotropic interactions between spin-orbit entangled jeff=1/2 Ru4+ magnetic
moments. Here we report a detailed study of the three-dimensional crystal
structure using x-ray diffraction on untwinned crystals combined with
structural relaxation calculations. We consider several models for the stacking
of honeycomb layers and find evidence for a crystal structure with a monoclinic
unit cell corresponding to a stacking of layers with a unidirectional in-plane
offset, with occasional in-plane sliding stacking faults, in contrast with the
currently-assumed trigonal 3-layer stacking periodicity. We report electronic
band structure calculations for the monoclinic structure, which find support
for the applicability of the jeff=1/2 picture once spin orbit coupling and
electron correlations are included. We propose that differences in the
magnitude of anisotropic exchange along symmetry inequivalent bonds in the
monoclinic cell could provide a natural mechanism to explain the spin gap
observed in powder inelastic neutron scattering, in contrast to spin models
based on the three-fold symmetric trigonal structure, which predict a gapless
spectrum within linear spin wave theory. Our susceptibility measurements on
both powders and stacked crystals, as well as neutron powder diffraction show a
single magnetic transition at TN ~ 13K. The analysis of the neutron data
provides evidence for zigzag magnetic order in the honeycomb layers with an
antiferromagnetic stacking between layers. Magnetization measurements on
stacked single crystals in pulsed field up to 60T show a single transition
around 8T for in-plane fields followed by a gradual, asymptotic approach to
magnetization saturation, as characteristic of strongly anisotropic exchange
interactions.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, published in Physical Review
Electronic structure studies of BaFe2As2 by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy
We report high resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES)
studies of the electronic structure of BaFeAs, which is one of the
parent compounds of the Fe-pnictide superconductors. ARPES measurements have
been performed at 20 K and 300 K, corresponding to the orthorhombic
antiferromagnetic phase and the tetragonal paramagnetic phase, respectively.
Photon energies between 30 and 175 eV and polarizations parallel and
perpendicular to the scattering plane have been used. Measurements of the Fermi
surface yield two hole pockets at the -point and an electron pocket at
each of the X-points. The topology of the pockets has been concluded from the
dispersion of the spectral weight as a function of binding energy. Changes in
the spectral weight at the Fermi level upon variation of the polarization of
the incident photons yield important information on the orbital character of
the states near the Fermi level. No differences in the electronic structure
between 20 and 300 K could be resolved. The results are compared with density
functional theory band structure calculations for the tetragonal paramagnetic
phase.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure
Critical Phenomena at the Antiferromagnetic Phase Transition of Azurite
We report on high-resolution acoustic, specific-heat and thermal expansion
measurements in the vicinity of the antiferromagnetic phase transition at T_N =
1.88 K on a high-quality single crystal of the natural mineral azurite. A
detailed investigation of the critical contribution to the various quantities
at T_N is presented. The set of critical exponents and amplitude ratios of the
singular contributions above and below the transition indicate that the system
can be reasonably well described by a three-dimensional Heisenberg
antiferromagnet.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, proceedings of ICM 2012, JKP
Q-band EPR cryoprobe
Following the success of cryogenic EPR signal preamplification at X-band, we present a Q-band EPR cryoprobe compatible with a standard EPR resonator. The probehead is equipped with a cryogenic ultra low-noise microwave amplifier and its protection circuit that are placed close to the sample in the same cryostat. Our cryoprobe maintains the same sample access and tuning which is typical in Q-band EPR, as well as supports high-power pulsed experiments on typical samples. The performance of our setup is benchmarked against that of existing commercial and home-built Q-band spectrometers, using CW EPR and pulsed EPR/ENDOR experiments to reveal a significant sensitivity improvement which reduces the measurement time by a factor of about 40Ă at 6 K temperature at reduced power levels
Hubbard band or oxygen vacancy states in the correlated electron metal SrVO?
We study the effect of oxygen vacancies on the electronic structure of the
model strongly correlated metal SrVO. By means of angle-resolved
photoemission (ARPES) synchrotron experiments, we investigate the systematic
effect of the UV dose on the measured spectra. We observe the onset of a
spurious dose-dependent prominent peak at an energy range were the lower
Hubbard band has been previously reported in this compound, raising questions
on its previous interpretation. By a careful analysis of the dose dependent
effects we succeed in disentangling the contributions coming from the oxygen
vacancy states and from the lower Hubbard band. We obtain the intrinsic ARPES
spectrum for the zero-vacancy limit, where a clear signal of a lower Hubbard
band remains. We support our study by means of state-of-the-art ab initio
calculations that include correlation effects and the presence of oxygen
vacancies. Our results underscore the relevance of potential spurious states
affecting ARPES experiments in correlated metals, which are associated to the
ubiquitous oxygen vacancies as extensively reported in the context of a
two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) at the surface of insulating
transition metal oxides.Comment: Manuscript + Supplemental Material, 12 pages, 9 figure
Band structure of semimagnetic Hg1-yMnyTe quantum wells
The band structure of semimagnetic Hg_1-yMn_yTe/Hg_1-xCd_xTe type-III quantum
wells has been calculated using eight-band kp model in an envelope function
approach. Details of the band structure calculations are given for the Mn free
case (y=0). A mean field approach is used to take the influence of the sp-d
exchange interaction on the band structure of QW's with low Mn concentrations
into account. The calculated Landau level fan diagram and the density of states
of a Hg_0.98Mn_0.02Te/Hg_0.3Cd_0.7Te QW are in good agreement with recent
experimental transport observations. The model can be used to interpret the
mutual influence of the two-dimensional confinement and the sp-d exchange
interaction on the transport properties of Hg_1-yMn_yTe/Hg_1-xCd_xTe QW's.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
Modulation of pairing interaction in BiSrCaCuO by an O dopant: a density functional theory study
Scanning tunneling spectroscopy measurements on the high temperature
superconductor BiSrCaCuO have reported an enhanced
spectral gap in the neighborhood of O dopant atoms. We calculate, within
density functional theory (DFT), the change in electronic structure due to such
a dopant. We then construct and discuss the validity of several tight binding
(TB) fits to the DFT bands with and without an O dopant. With the
doping-modulated TB parameters, we finally evaluate the spin susceptibility and
pairing interaction within spin fluctuation theory. The d-wave pairing
eigenvalues are enhanced above the pure system without O dopant, supporting the
picture of enhanced local pairing around such a defect
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