350 research outputs found
Field-Induced Magnetic and Structural Domain Alignment in PrO2
We present a neutron diffraction study of the magnetic structure of single
crystal PrO2 under applied fields of 0-6 T. As the field is increased, changes
are observed in the magnetic Bragg intensities. These changes are found to be
irreversible when the field is reduced, but the original intensities can be
recovered by heating to T > 122 K, then re-cooling in zero field. The
antiferromagnetic ordering temperature TN = 13.5 K and the magnetic periodicity
are unaffected by the applied field. We also report measurements of the
magnetic susceptibility of single crystal PrO2 under applied fields of 0-7 T.
These show strong anisotropy, as well as an anomaly at T = 122 +/- 2 K which
coincides with the temperature TD = 120 +/- 2 K at which a structural
distortion occurs. For fields applied along the [100] direction the
susceptibility increases irreversibly with field in the temperature range TN <
T < TD. However, for fields along [110] the susceptibility is independent of
field in this range. We propose structural domain alignment, which strongly
influences the formation of magnetic domains below TN, as the mechanism behind
these changes.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, 5 tables. Minor typographical changes in v
Valence modulations in CeRuSn
CeRuSn exhibits an extraordinary room temperature structure at 300~K with
coexistence of two types of Ce ions, namely trivalent Ce and
intermediate valent Ce, in a metallic environment. The ordered
arrangement of these two Ce types on specific crystallographic sites results in
a doubling of the unit cell along the -axis with respect to the basic
monoclinic CeCoAl-type structure. Below room temperature, structural modulation
transitions with very broad hysteresis have been reported from measurements of
various bulk properties. X-ray diffraction revealed that at low temperatures
the doubling of the CeCoAl type structure is replaced by a different modulated
ground state, approximating a near tripling of the basic CeCoAl cell. The
transition is accompanied by a significant contraction of the axis. We
present new x-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy data at the Ce L
absorption edge, measured on a freshly cleaved surface of a CeRuSn single
crystal. In contrast to a previous report, the new data exhibit small but
significant variations as function of temperature that are consistent with a
transition of a fraction of Ce ions to the intermediate valence state,
analogous to the transition in elemental cerium,
when cooling through the structural transitions of CeRuSn. Such results in a
valence-modulated state
Communication Subsystems for Emerging Wireless Technologies
The paper describes a multi-disciplinary design of modern communication systems. The design starts with the analysis of a system in order to define requirements on its individual components. The design exploits proper models of communication channels to adapt the systems to expected transmission conditions. Input filtering of signals both in the frequency domain and in the spatial domain is ensured by a properly designed antenna. Further signal processing (amplification and further filtering) is done by electronics circuits. Finally, signal processing techniques are applied to yield information about current properties of frequency spectrum and to distribute the transmission over free subcarrier channels
Current use pesticides in soil and air from two agricultural sites in South Africa: implications for environmental fate and human exposure
Concerns about the possible negative impacts of current use pesticides (CUPs) for both the environment and human health have increased worldwide. However, the knowledge on the occurrence of CUPs in soil and air and the related human exposure in Africa is limited. This study investigated the presence of 30 CUPs in soil and air at two distinct agricultural sites in South Africa and estimated the human exposure and related risks to rural residents via soil ingestion and inhalation (using hazard quotients, hazard index and relative potency factors). We collected 12 soil and 14 air samples over seven days during the main pesticide application season in 2018. All samples were extracted, purified and analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. In soils, nine CUPs were found, with chlorpyrifos, carbaryl and tebuconazole having the highest concentrations (up to 63.6, 1.10 and 0.212 ng g(-1), respectively). In air, 16 CUPs were found, with carbaryl, tebuconazole and terbuthylazine having the highest levels (up to 25.0, 22.2 and 1.94 pg m(-3), respectively). Spatial differences were observed between the two sites for seven CUPs in air and two in soils. A large dominance towards the particulate phase was found for almost all CUPs, which could be related to mass transport kinetics limitations (non-equilibrium) following pesticide application. The estimated daily intake via soil ingestion and inhalation of individual pesticides ranged from 0.126 fg kg(-1) day(-1) (isoproturon) to 14.7 ng kg(-1) day(-1) (chlorpyrifos). Except for chlorpyrifos, soil ingestion generally represented a minor exposure pathway compared to inhalation (i.e. <5%). The pesticide environmental exposure largely differed between the residents of the two distinct agricultural sites in terms of levels and composition. The estimated human health risks due to soil ingestion and inhalation of pesticides were negligible although future studies should explore other relevant pathways
Lattice collapse and quenching of magnetism in CaFe2As2 under pressure: A single crystal neutron and x-ray diffraction investigation
Single crystal neutron and high-energy x-ray diffraction have identified the
phase lines corresponding to transitions between the ambient-pressure
tetragonal (T), the antiferromagnetic orthorhombic (O) and the non-magnetic
collapsed tetragonal (cT) phases of CaFe2As2. We find no evidence of additional
structures for pressures up to 2.5 GPa (at 300 K). Both the T-cT and O-cT
transitions exhibit significant hysteresis effects and we demonstrate that
coexistence of the O and cT phases can occur if a non-hydrostatic component of
pressure is present. Measurements of the magnetic diffraction peaks show no
change in the magnetic structure or ordered moment as a function of pressure in
the O phase and we find no evidence of magnetic ordering in the cT phase. Band
structure calculations show that the transition results in a strong decrease of
the iron 3d density of states at the Fermi energy, consistent with a loss of
the magnetic moment.Comment: List of authors in metadata and typos in labeling of inset in Fig.
1(a) corrected. One ref. added. No other change
Novel Coexistence of Superconductivity with Two Distinct Magnetic Orders
The heavy fermion Ce(Rh,Ir)In5 system exhibits properties that range from an
incommensurate antiferromagnet on the Rh-rich end to an exotic superconductor
on the Ir-rich end of the phase diagram. At intermediate composition where
antiferromagnetism coexists with superconductivity, two types of magnetic order
are observed: the incommensurate one of CeRhIn5 and a new, commensurate
antiferromagnetism that orders separately. The coexistence of f-electron
superconductivity with two distinct f-electron magnetic orders is unique among
unconventional superconductors, adding a new variety to the usual coexistence
found in magnetic superconductors.Comment: 3 figures, 4 page
Coexistence of different magnetic moments in CeRuSn probed by polarized neutrons
We report on the spin densities in CeRuSn determined at elevated and at low
temperatures using polarized neutron diffraction. At 285 K, where the CeRuSn
crystal structure, commensurate with the CeCoAl type, contains two different
crystallographic Ce sites, we observe that one Ce site is clearly more
susceptible to the applied magnetic field whereas the other is hardly
polarizable. This finding clearly documents that distnictly different local
environment of the two Ce sites causes the Ce ions to split into magnetic Ce3+
and non-magnetic Ce(4-delta)+ valence states. With lowering the temperature,
the crystal structure transforms to a structure incommensurately modulated
along the c axis. This leads to new inequivalent crystallographic Ce sites
resulting in a re-distribution of spin densities. Our analysis using the
simplest structural approximant shows that in this metallic system Ce ions
co-exist in different valence states. Localized 4f states that fulfill the
third Hund's rule are found to be close to the ideal Ce3+ state (at sites with
the largest Ce-Ru interatomic distances) whereas Ce(4-delta)+ valence states
are found to be itinerant and situated at Ce sites with much shorter Ce-Ru
distances. The similarity to the famous alpha-gamma transition in elemental
cerium is discussed.Comment: 3 figures, 1 tabl
Electronic properties of a heavy fermion U Ru0.92Rh0.08 2Si2 single crystal
U Ru0.92Rh0.08 2Si2, prepared using a modified Czochralski method. Our study, that also includes neutron diffraction results, shows all the heavy fermion signatures of pristine URu2Si2; however, the superconductivity, hidden order, and remnant weak antiferromagnetic orders are absent. Instead, the ground state of the doped system can be classified as a spin liquid that preserves the heavy fermion character. U Ru0.92Rh0.08 2Si2 exhibits a short range magnetic order distinguished by reflections of a Lorentzian profile at qIII 1 2 1 2 1 2 positions that disappear above 15 K. The short range order seems to be a precursor of a long range magnetic order that occurs with higher Rh concentration. We indicate that these short range fluctuations involve, at least partially, inelastic scattering processe
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