342 research outputs found
Contiguous 3d and 4f magnetism: towards strongly correlated 3d electrons in YbFe2Al10
We present magnetization, specific heat, and 27Al NMR investigations on
YbFe2Al10 over a wide range in temperature and magnetic field. The magnetic
susceptibility at low temperatures is strongly enhanced at weak magnetic
fields, accompanied by a ln(T0/T) divergence of the low-T specific heat
coefficient in zero field, which indicates a ground state of correlated
electrons. From our hard X-ray photo emission spectroscopy (HAXPES) study, the
Yb valence at 50 K is evaluated to be 2.38. The system displays valence
fluctuating behavior in the low to intermediate temperature range, whereas
above 400 K, Yb3+ carries a full and stable moment, and Fe carries a moment of
about 3.1 mB. The enhanced value of the Sommerfeld Wilson ratio and the dynamic
scaling of spin-lattice relaxation rate divided by T [27(1/T1T)] with static
susceptibility suggests admixed ferromagnetic correlations. 27(1/T1T)
simultaneously tracks the valence fluctuations from the 4f -Yb ions in the high
temperature range and field dependent antiferromagnetic correlations among
partially Kondo screened Fe 3d moments at low temperature, the latter evolve
out of an Yb 4f admixed conduction band.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Bulk and surface electronic properties of SmB6: a hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study
We have carried out bulk-sensitive hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
(HAXPES) measurements on in-situ cleaved and ex-situ polished SmB6 single
crystals. Using the multiplet-structure in the Sm 3d core level spectra, we
determined reliably that the valence of Sm in bulk SmB6 is close to 2.55 at ~5
K. Temperature dependent measurements revealed that the Sm valence gradually
increases to 2.64 at 300 K. From a detailed line shape analysis we can clearly
observe that not only the J=0 but also the J=1 state of the Sm 4f 6
configuration becomes occupied at elevated temperatures. Making use of the
polarization dependence, we were able to identify and extract the Sm 4f
spectral weight of the bulk material. Finally, we revealed that the oxidized or
chemically damaged surface region of the ex-situ polished SmB6 single crystal
is surprisingly thin, about 1 nm only.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure
Quantitative study of valence and configuration interaction parameters of the Kondo semiconductors CeM2Al10 (M = Ru, Os and Fe) by means of bulk-sensitive hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
The occupancy of the 4f^n contributions in the Kondo semiconductors
CeM2Al10(M = Ru, Os and Fe) has been quantitatively determined by means of
bulk-sensitive hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) on the Ce 3d core
levels. Combining a configuration interaction scheme with full multiplet
calculations allowed to accurately describe the HAXPES data despite the
presence of strong plasmon excitations in the spectra. The configuration
interaction parameters obtained from this analysis -- in particular the
hybridization strength V_eff and the effective f binding energy Delta_f --
indicate a slightly stronger exchange interaction in CeOs2Al10 compared to
CeRu2Al10, and a significant increase in CeFe2Al10. This verifies the
coexistence of a substantial amount of Kondo screening with magnetic order and
places the entire CeM2Al10 family in the region of strong exchange
interactions.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review
Electronic signature of the vacancy ordering in NbO (Nb3O3)
We investigated the electronic structure of the vacancy-ordered 4d-transition
metal monoxide NbO (Nb3O3) using angle-integrated soft- and hard-x-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy as well as ultra-violet angle-resolved photoelectron
spectroscopy. We found that density-functional-based band structure
calculations can describe the spectral features accurately provided that
self-interaction effects are taken into account. In the angle-resolved spectra
we were able to identify the so-called vacancy band that characterizes the
ordering of the vacancies. This together with the band structure results
indicates the important role of the very large inter-Nb-4d hybridization for
the formation of the ordered vacancies and the high thermal stability of the
ordered structure of niobium monoxide
Evidence for a Nodeless Gap from the Superfluid Density of Optimally Doped Pr_{1.855}Ce_{0.145}CuO_{4-y} Films
We present measurements of the ab-plane magnetic penetration depth,
\lambda(T), in five optimally doped Pr_{1.855}Ce_{0.145}CuO_{4-y} films for 1.6
K \leq T \leq T_c \sim 24 K. Low resistivities, high superfluid densities
n_s(T)\propto \lambda^{-2}(T), high T_c's, and small transition widths are
reproducible and indicative of excellent film quality. For all five films,
\lambda^{-2}(T)/\lambda^{-2}(0) at low T is well fitted by an exponential
temperature dependence with a gap, \Delta_{min}, of 0.85 k_B T_c. This behavior
is consistent with a nodeless gap and is incompatible with d-wave
superconductivity.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, reorganized for clarit
Fluctuating Cu-O-Cu Bond model of high temperature superconductivity in cuprates
Twenty years of extensive research has yet to produce a general consensus on
the origin of high temperature superconductivity (HTS). However, several
generic characteristics of the cuprate superconductors have emerged as the
essential ingredients of and/or constraints on any viable microscopic model of
HTS. Besides a Tc of order 100K, the most prominent on the list include a
d-wave superconducting gap with Fermi liquid nodal excitations, a d-wave
pseudogap with the characteristic temperature scale T*, an anomalous
doping-dependent oxygen isotope shift, nanometer-scale gap inhomogeneity, etc..
The key role of planar oxygen vibrations implied by the isotope shift and other
evidence, in the context of CuO2 plane symmetry and charge constraints from the
strong intra-3d Coulomb repulsion U, enforces an anharmonic mechanism in which
the oxygen vibrational amplitude modulates the strength of the in-plane Cu-Cu
bond. We show, within a Fermi liquid framework, that this mechanism can lead to
strong d-wave pairing and to a natural explanation of the salient features of
HTS
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