Fluctuating magnetic moments in liquid metals

We reanalyze literature data on neutron scattering by liquid metals and show that there is an additional broad (in energy) quasielastic mode present that is absent in x-ray scattering. This mode cannot be accounted for by the standard coherent and incoherent scattering mechanisms. We argue that this mode indicates that nonmagnetic liquid metals possess a magnetic moment which fluctuates on a picosecond time scale. This time scale is the same as the time scale of the cage-diffusion process in which an ion rattles around in the cage formed by its neighbors. We find that these fluctuating magnetic moments are present in liquid Hg, Al, Ga, and Pb and possibly also in the alkali metals.Acknowledgment is made to the donors of the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund for support of this research Grant No. ACS PRF 42615-G10 . K.S. is supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology No. DEFG07-03ID14531 to the Midwest Nuclear Science and Engineering Consortium under the Innovations in Nuclear Infrastructure and Education program

Fluctuating magnetic moments in liquid metals

We re-analyze literature data on neutron scattering by liquid metals to show that non-magnetic liquid metals possess a magnetic moment that fluctuates on a picosecond time scale. This time scale follows the motion of the cage-diffusion process in which an ion rattles around in the cage formed by its neighbors. We find that these fluctuating magnetic moments are present in liquid Hg, Al, Ga and Pb, and possibly also in the alkali metals.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR

Polarized neutron scattering investigation of excitations at low momentum transfer in liquid Ga : The mystery continues

New polarized neutron scattering experiments are presented on liquid gallium just above the melting transition of 303 K in order to shed light on the origin of the observed increased Ga cross-section at small scattering angles that has previously been reported in the literature. Our polarized neutron scattering experiments show that this increased cross-section cannot be linked to any magnetic or incoherent process, a linkage that was needed to justify the interpretation of this broad mode as being part of the cage-diffusion process. Instead, the increased cross-section has to be attributed to a coherent process, in violation of the measured sum-rules.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye