Zn and Ni doping effects on the low-energy spin excitations in La1.85_{1.85}Sr0.15_{0.15}CuO4_{4}

Impurity effects of Zn and Ni on the low-energy spin excitations were systematically studied in optimally doped La1.85Sr0.15Cu1-yAyO4 (A=Zn, Ni) by neutron scattering. Impurity-free La1.85Sr0.15CuO4 shows a spin gap of 4meV below Tc in the antiferromagnetic(AF) incommensurate spin excitation. In Zn:y=0.004, the spin excitation shows a spin gap of 3meV below Tc. In Zn:y=0.008 and Zn:y=0.011, however, the magnetic signals at 3meV decrease below Tc and increase again at lower temperature, indicating an in-gap state. In Zn:y=0.017, the low-energy spin state remains unchanged with decreasing temperature, and elastic magnetic peaks appear below 20K then exponentially increase. As for Ni:y=0.009 and Ni:y=0.018, the low-energy excitations below 3meV and 2meV disappear below Tc. The temperature dependence at 3meV, however, shows no upturn in constrast with Zn:y=0.008 and Zn:y=0.011, indicating the absence of in-gap state. In Ni:y=0.029, the magnetic signals were observed also at 0meV. Thus the spin gap closes with increasing Ni. Furthermore, as omega increases, the magnetic peak width broadens and the peak position, i.e. incommensurability, shifts toward the magnetic zone center (pi pi). We interpret the impurity effects as follows: Zn locally makes a non-superconducting island exhibiting the in-gap state in the superconducting sea with the spin gap. Zn reduces the superconducting volume fraction, thus suppressing Tc. On the other hand, Ni primarily affects the superconducting sea, and the spin excitations become more dispersive and broaden with increasing energy, which is recognized as a consequence of the reduction of energy scale of spin excitations. We believe that the reduction of energy scale is relevant to the suppression of Tc.Comment: 13pages, 14figures; submitted to Phys. Rev.

Oxidation resistance of silicon ceramics

Oxidation resistance, and examples of oxidation of SiC, Si3N4 and sialon are reviewed. A description is given of the oxidation mechanism, including the oxidation product, oxidation reaction and the bubble size. The oxidation reactions are represented graphically. An assessment is made of the oxidation process, and an oxidation example of silicon ceramics is given

Spin Dynamical Properties of the Layered Perovskite La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7

Inelastic neutron-scattering measurements were performed on a single crystal of the layered colossal magnetoresistance (CMR) material La1.2Sr1.8Mn2O7 (Tc ~ 120K). We found that the spin wave dispersion is almost perfectly two-dimensional with the in-plane spin stiffness constant D ~ 151meVA. The value is similar to that of similarly doped La1-xSrxMnO3 though its Tc is three times higher, indicating a large renormalization due to low dimensionality. There exist two branches due to a coupling between layers within a double-layer. The out-of-plane coupling is about 30% of the in-plane coupling though the Mn-O bond lengths are similar.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures J. Phys. Chem. Solids in pres

Novel in-gap spin state in Zn-doped La_1.85Sr_0.15CuO_4

Low-energy spin excitations of La1.85Sr0.15Cu1-yZnyO4 were studied by neutron scattering. In y=0.004, the incommensurate magnetic peaks show a well defined ``spin gap'' below Tc. The magnetic signals at omega=3 meV decrease below Tc=27 K for y=0.008, also suggesting the gap opening. At lower temperatures, however, the signal increases again, implying a novel in-gap spin state. In y=0.017, the spin gap vanishes and elastic magnetic peaks appear. These results clarify that doped Zn impurities induce the novel in-gap state, which becomes larger and more static with increasing Zn.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

An integrable generalization of the Toda law to the square lattice

We generalize the Toda lattice (or Toda chain) equation to the square lattice; i.e., we construct an integrable nonlinear equation, for a scalar field taking values on the square lattice and depending on a continuous (time) variable, characterized by an exponential law of interaction in both discrete directions of the square lattice. We construct the Darboux-Backlund transformations for such lattice, and the corresponding formulas describing their superposition. We finally use these Darboux-Backlund transformations to generate examples of explicit solutions of exponential and rational type. The exponential solutions describe the evolution of one and two smooth two-dimensional shock waves on the square lattice.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. E http://pre.aps.org

Spin Dynamics of a Canted Antiferromagnet in a Magnetic Field

The spin dynamics of a canted antiferromagnet with a quadratic spin-wave dispersion near \vq =0 is shown to possess a unique signature. When the anisotropy gap is negligible, the spin-wave stiffness \dsw (\vq, B) = (\omega_{\vq}-B)/q^2 depends on whether the limit of zero field or zero wavevector is taken first. Consequently, \dsw is a strong function of magnetic field at a fixed wavevector. Even in the presence of a sizeable anisotropy gap, the field dependence of both \dsw and the gap energy distinguishes a canted antiferromagnet from a phase-separated mixture containing both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic regions.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Spin dynamical properties and orbital states of the layered perovskite La_2-2x_Sr_1+2x_Mn_2_O_7 (0.3 <= x < 0.5)

Low-temperature spin dynamics of the double-layered perovskite La_2-2x_Sr_1+2x_Mn_2_O_7 (LSMO327) was systematically studied in a wide hole concentration range (0.3 <= x < 0.5). The spin-wave dispersion, which is almost perfectly 2D, has two branches due to a coupling between layers within a double-layer. Each branch exhibits a characteristic intensity oscillation along the out-of-plane direction. We found that the in-plane spin stiffness constant and the gap between the two branches strongly depend on x. By fitting to calculated dispersion relations and cross sections assuming Heisenberg models, we have obtained the in-plane (J_para), intra-bilayer (J_perp) and inter-bilayer (J') exchange interactions at each x. At x=0.30, J_para=-4meV and J_perp=-5meV, namely almost isotropic and ferromagnetic. Upon increasing x, J_perp rapidly approaches zero while |J_para| increases slightly, indicating an enhancement of the planar magnetic anisotropy. At x=0.48, J_para reaches -9meV, while J_perp turns to +1meV indicating an antiferromagnetic interaction. Such a drastic change of the exchange interactions can be ascribed to the change of the relative stability of the d_x^2-y^2 and d_3z^2-r^2 orbital states upon doping. However, a simple linear combination of the two states results in an orbital state with an orthorhombic symmetry, which is inconsistent with the tetragonal symmetry of the crystal structure. We thus propose that an ``orbital liquid'' state realizes in LSMO327, where the charge distribution symmetry is kept tetragonal around each Mn site.Comment: 10 pages including 7 figure