Anomalous phase of MnP at very low field

Manganese phosphide MnP has been investigated for decades because of its rich magnetic phase diagram. It is well known that the MnP exhibits the ferromagnetic phase transition at \Tc=292 K and the helical magnetic phase below \TN=47 K at zero field. Recently, a novel magnetic phase transition was observed at $T^* = 282$ K when the magnetic field is lower than 5 Oe. However, the nature of the new phase has not been illuminated yet. In order to reveal it, we performed the AC and the DC magnetization measurements for a single crystal MnP at very low field. A divergent behavior of the real and the imaginary part of the AC susceptibility and a sharp increase of the DC magnetization was observed at $T^*$, indicating the magnetic phase transition at $T^*$. Furthermore a peculiar temperature hysteresis was observed: namely, the magnetization depends on whether cooling sample to the temperature lower than \TN or not before the measurements. This hysteresis phenomenon suggests the complicated nature of the new phase and a strong relation between the magnetic state of the new phase and the helical structure.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Equilibrium configurations for quark-diquark stars and the problem of Her X-1 mass

We report new calculations of the physical properties of a quark-diquark plasma. A vacuum contribution is taken into account and is responsible for the appearance of a stable state at zero pressure and at a baryon density of about 2.2 times the nuclear matter density in this model. The resulting equation of state was used to integrate numerically the Tolman-Oppenheimer-Volkoff equations. The mass-radius relationship has been derived from a series of equilibrium configurations constituted by a mixture of quarks and diquarks. These stellar models, which are representative of a whole class, may be helpful to understand the possible compactness of the X-ray source Her X-1 and related objects.Comment: 15 pp., PlainTex file + 3 figures available upon request at [email protected]. Submitted to Int. Jour. Mod. Phys.

Atomic Spectral Features During Thermonuclear Flashes on Neutron Stars

The gravitational redshift measured by Cottam, Paerels and Mendez for the neutron star (NS) in the low-mass X-ray binary EXO 0748-676 depends on the identification of an absorption line during a type I burst as the H$\alpha$ line from hydrogenic Fe. We show that Fe is present above the photosphere as long as $\dot M>4\times 10^{-13}M_\odot {\rm yr^{-1}}$ during the burst. In this limit, the total Fe column is $N_{\rm Fe}\approx 3\times 10^{19}{\rm cm^{-2}}$ for incident material of solar abundances and only depends on the nuclear physics of the proton spallation. The Fe destruction creates many heavy elements with $Z<26$ which may imprint photo-ionization edges on the NS spectra during a radius expansion event or in a burst cooling tail. Detecting these features in concert with those from Fe would confirm a redshift measurement. We also begin to address the radiative transfer problem, and find that a concentrated Fe layer with $kT=1.2-1.4 {\rm keV}$ and column $N_{\rm Fe}= 7-20 \times 10^{20} {\rm cm}^{-2}$ (depending on the line depth) above the hotter continuum photosphere is required to create the H$\alpha$ line of the observed strength. This estimate must be refined by considerations of non-LTE effects as well as resonant line transport. Until these are carried out, we cannot say whether the Fe column from accretion and spallation is in conflict with the observations. We also show that hydrogenic Fe might remain in the photosphere due to radiative levitation from the high burst flux.Comment: Substantially revised version, to appear in Ap J Letter

Non-Detection of Gravitationally Redshifted Absorption Lines in the X-ray Burst Spectra of GS 1826-24

During a 200 ks observation with the XMM-Newton Reflection Grating Spectrometer, we detected 16 type-I X-ray bursts from GS 1826-24. We combined the burst spectra in an attempt to measure the gravitational redshifts from the surface of the neutron star. We divided the composite GS 1826-24 burst spectrum into three groups based on the blackbody temperature during the bursts. The spectra do not show any obvious discrete absorption lines. We compare our observations with those of EXO 0748-676.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ

Structural phase transitions in multipole traps

A small number of laser-cooled ions trapped in a linear radiofrequency multipole trap forms a hollow tube structure. We have studied, by means of molecular dynamics simulations, the structural transition from a double ring to a single ring of ions. We show that the single-ring configuration has the advantage to inhibit the thermal transfer from the rf-excited radial components of the motion to the axial component, allowing to reach the Doppler limit temperature along the direction of the trap axis. Once cooled in this particular configuration, the ions experience an angular dependency of the confinement if the local adiabaticity parameter exceeds the empirical limit. Bunching of the ion structures can then be observed and an analytic expression is proposed to take into account for this behaviour

Interplay between quantum criticality and geometrical frustration in Fe3Mo3N with stella quadrangula lattice

In the eta-carbide-type correlated-electron metal Fe3Mo3N, ferromagnetism is abruptly induced from a nonmagnetic non-Fermi-liquid ground state either when a magnetic field (~14 T) applied to it or when it is doped with a slight amount of impurity (~5% Co). We observed a peak in the paramagnetic neutron scattering intensity at finite wave vectors, revealing the presence of the antiferromagnetic (AF) correlation hidden in the magnetic measurements. It causes a new type of geometrical frustration in the stellla quadrangula lattice of the Fe sublattice. We propose that the frustrated AF correlation suppresses the F correlation to its marginal point and is therfore responsible for the origin of the ferromagnetic (F) quantum critical behavior in pure Fe3Mo3N

Local spin and charge properties of beta-Ag0.33V2O5 studied by 51V NMR

Local spin and charge properties were studied on beta-Ag0.33V2O5, a pressure-induced superconductor, at ambient pressure using 51V-NMR and zero-field-resonance (ZFR) techniques. Three inequivalent Vi sites (i=1, 2, and 3) were identified from 51V-NMR spectra and the principal axes of the electric-field-gradient (EFG) tensor were determined in a metallic phase and the following charge-ordering phase. We found from the EFG analysis that the V1 sites are in a similar local environment to the V3 sites. This was also observed in ZFR spectra as pairs of signals closely located with each other. These results are well explained by a charge-sharing model where a 3d1 electron is shared within a rung in both V1-V3 and V2-V2 two-leg ladders.Comment: 12pages, 16figure

1^1H-NMR Study of the Random Bond Effect in the Quantum Spin System (CH3_3)2_2CHNH3_3Cu(Clx_xBr1−x_{1-x})3_3

Spin-lattice relaxation rate $T_1^{-1}$ of $^1$H-NMR has been measured in (CH$_3$)$_2$CHNH$_3$Cu(Cl$_x$Br$_{1-x}$)$_3$ with $x=0.88$, which has been reported to be gapped system with singlet ground state from the previous macroscopic magnetization and specific heat measurements, in order to investigate the bond randomness effect microscopically in the gapped composite Haldane system (CH$_3$)$_2$CHNH$_3$CuCl$_3$. It was found that the spin-lattice relaxation rate $T_1^{-1}$ in the present system includes both fast and slow relaxation parts indicative of the gapless magnetic ground state and the gapped singlet ground state, respectively. We discuss the obtained results with the previous macroscopic magnetization and specific heat measurements together with the microscopic $\mu$SR experiments.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, to be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. vol.76 (2007) No.

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Sympathetic Crystallization of Molecular Ions

It is shown that the translational degrees of freedom of a large variety of molecules, from light diatomic to heavy organic ones, can be cooled sympathetically and brought to rest (crystallized) in a linear Paul trap. The method relies on endowing the molecules with an appropriate positive charge, storage in a linear radiofrequency trap, and sympathetic cooling. Two well--known atomic coolant species, ${}^9{\hbox{Be}}^+$ and ${}^{137}{\hbox{Ba}}^+$, are sufficient for cooling the molecular mass range from 2 to 20,000 amu. The large molecular charge required for simultaneous trapping of heavy molecules and of the coolant ions can easily be produced using electrospray ionization. Crystallized molecular ions offer vast opportunities for novel studies.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.