Expansion of the Vortex Cores in YBa2Cu3O6.95 at Low Magnetic Fields

Muon spin rotation spectroscopy has been used to measure the effective size of the vortex cores in optimally doped YBa2Cu3O6.95 as a function of temperature and magnetic field deep in the superconducting state. While the core size at H=2T is close to 20 angstroms and consistent with that measured by STM at 6T, we find a striking increase in the core size at lower magnetic fields, where it approaches an extraordinarily large value of about 100 angstroms. This suggests that the average value of the superconducting coherence length in cuprate superconductors may be larger than previously thought at low magnetic fields.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, 1 text fil

Persistent Spin Dynamics in the S=1/2S=1/2 V15_{15} Molecular Nano-Magnet

We present muon spin lattice relaxation measurements in the V15 spin 1/2 molecular nano-magnet. We find that the relaxation rate in low magnetic fields (<5 kG) is temperature independent below ~10 K, implying that the molecular spin is dynamically fluctuating down to 12 mK. These measurements show that the fluctuation time increases as the temperature is decreased and saturates at a value of ~6 nsec at low temperatures. The fluctuations are attributed to V15 molecular spin dynamics perpendicular to the applied magnetic field direction, induced by coupling between the molecular spin and nuclear spin bath in the system.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B, 5 pages, 5 figur

Correlations Between Charge Ordering and Local Magnetic Fields in Overdoped YBa2_2Cu3_3O6+x_{6+x}

Zero-field muon spin relaxation (ZF-$\mu$SR) measurements were undertaken on under- and overdoped samples of superconducting YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+x}$ to determine the origin of the weak static magnetism recently reported in this system. The temperature dependence of the muon spin relaxation rate in overdoped crystals displays an unusual behavior in the superconducting state. A comparison to the results of NQR and lattice structure experiments on highly doped samples provides compelling evidence for strong coupling of charge, spin and structural inhomogeneities.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, new data, new figures and modified tex

Hyperfine Fields in an Ag/Fe Multilayer Film Investigated with 8Li beta-Detected Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Low energy $\beta$-detected nuclear magnetic resonance ($\beta$-NMR) was used to investigate the spatial dependence of the hyperfine magnetic fields induced by Fe in the nonmagnetic Ag of an Au(40 \AA)/Ag(200 \AA)/Fe(140 \AA) (001) magnetic multilayer (MML) grown on GaAs. The resonance lineshape in the Ag layer shows dramatic broadening compared to intrinsic Ag. This broadening is attributed to large induced magnetic fields in this layer by the magnetic Fe layer. We find that the induced hyperfine field in the Ag follows a power law decay away from the Ag/Fe interface with power $-1.93(8)$, and a field extrapolated to $0.23(5)$ T at the interface.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure. To be published in Phys. Rev.

β\beta-NMR of Isolated 8^{8}Li+^{+} Implanted into a Thin Copper Film

Depth-controlled $\beta$-NMR was used to study highly spin-polarized $^8$Li in a Cu film of thickness 100 nm deposited onto a MgO substrate. The positive Knight Shifts and spin relaxation data show that $^8$Li occupies two sites at low temperatures, assigned to be the substitutional ($S$) and octahedral ($O$) interstitial sites. Between 50 to 100 K, there is a site change from $O$ to $S$. The temperature dependence of the Knight shifts and spin-lattice relaxation rates at high temperatures, i.e. when all the Li are in the $S$ site, is consistent with the Korringa Law for a simple metal.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.