Robust pinning of magnetic moments in pyrochlore iridates

Pyrochlore iridates A2Ir2O7 (A = rare earth elements, Y or Bi) hold great promise for realizing novel electronic and magnetic states owing to the interplay of spin-orbit coupling, electron correlation and geometrical frustration. A prominent example is the formation of all-in/all-out (AIAO)antiferromagnetic order in the Ir4+ sublattice that comprises of corner-sharing tetrahedra. Here we report on an unusual magnetic phenomenon, namely a cooling-field induced shift of magnetic hysteresis loop along magnetization axis, and its possible origin in pyrochlore iridates with non-magnetic Ir defects (e.g. Ir3+). In a simple model, we attribute the magnetic hysteresis loop to the formation of ferromagnetic droplets in the AIAO antiferromagnetic background. The weak ferromagnetism originates from canted antiferromagnetic order of the Ir4+ moments surrounding each non-magnetic Ir defect. The shift of hysteresis loop can be understood quantitatively based on an exchange-bias like effect in which the moments at the shell of the FM droplets are pinned by the AIAO AFM background via mainly the Heisenberg (J) and Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya (D) interactions. The magnetic pinning is stable and robust against the sweeping cycle and sweeping field up to 35 T, which is possibly related to the magnetic octupolar nature of the AIAO order.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure

Electronic structure and polymerization of a self-assembled monolayer with multiple arene rings

We find evidence of intermolecular interactions for a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) formed from a large molecular adsorbate, [1,1′;4′,1′′-terphenyl]-4,4′′-dimethanethiol, from the dispersion of the molecular orbitals with changing wave vector k. With the formation self-assembled molecular (SAM) layer, the molecular orbitals hybridize to electronic bands, with indications of significant band dispersion of the unoccupied molecular orbitals. The electronic structure is also seen to be dependent upon temperature, and cross linking between the neighbor molecules, indicating that the electronic structure may be subtly altered by changes in molecular conformation and packing

The structure of the CoS\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e (100)-(1 × 1) surface

Quantitative low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) has been used to determine the structure of the cubic CoS2 (100)-(1 × 1) surface. The clearly favored structural model from the LEED analysis is the 1S-terminated (1 × 1) surface, in which the S–S dimer is intact and the terminal surface layer retains a complete S–Co–S sandwich structure. The surface S atoms move outwards towards the vacuum while the subsurface Co atoms move towards the bulk, by approximately 0.03 and 0.11 Å, respectively. In addition, the S atoms in the third sublayer relax outwards by about 0.12 Å, thus providing an indication of a stronger S–S dimer bond and a denser surface region. The complete atomic coordinates of the S–Co–S surface layers are determined in this analysis

New view of the occupied band structure of Mo(112)

We present a comprehensive examination of the occupied surface-weighted band structure of Mo(112) along the two high-symmetry directions of the surface Brillouin zone, both from theoretical and experimental perspectives. The band structures are found to be significantly different for the states along the two high-symmetry directions and for the states with even and odd reflection parities with respect to the mirror planes. The present study suggests the existence of a number of surface-weighted bands along both high-symmetry directions. The complexity of the band structure near the Fermi level may impose potential difficulties in experimental determination of the electron-phonon coupling parameters based on the effective mass enhancement distortion (or kink) in the energy-band dispersion, in the vicinity of the Fermi level, for several surface resonance bands of Mo(112)

Semiconductor-half metal transition at the Fe3O4(001) surface upon hydrogen adsorption

The adsorption of H on the magnetite (001) surface was studied with photoemission spectroscopies, scanning tunneling microscopy, and density-functional theory. At saturation coverage the insulating (√2×√2)R45° reconstruction is lifted and the surface undergoes a semiconductor-half metal transition. This transition involves subtle changes in the local geometric structure linked to an enrichment of Fe2+ cations at the surface. The ability to manipulate the electronic properties by surface engineering has important implications for magnetite-based spintronic devices

Rare earth 4f hybridization with the GaN valence band

The placement of the Gd, Er and Yb 4f states within the GaN valence band has been explored by both experiment and theory. The 4d–4f photoemission resonances for various rare-earth(RE)-doped GaN thin films (RE = Gd, Er, Yb) provide an accurate depiction of the occupied 4f state placement within the GaN. The resonant photoemission show that the major Er and Gd RE 4f weight is at about 5–6 eV below the valence band maximum, similar to the 4f weights in the valence band of many other RE-doped semiconductors. For Yb, there is a very little resonant enhancement of the valence band of Yb-doped GaN, consistent with a large 4f14-δ occupancy. The placement of the RE 4f levels is in qualitative agreement with theoretical expectations