Magnetic-Field-Induced 4f-Octupole in CeB6 Probed by Resonant X-ray Diffraction

CeB6, a typical Gamma_8-quartet system, exhibits a mysterious antiferroquadrupolar ordered phase in magnetic fields, which is considered as originating from the T_{xyz}-type magnetic octupole moment induced by the field. By resonant x-ray diffraction in magnetic fields, we have verified that the T_{xyz}-type octupole is indeed induced in the 4f-orbital of Ce with a propagation vector (1/2, 1/2, 1/2), thereby supporting the theory. We observed an asymmetric field dependence of the intensity for an electric quadrupole (E2) resonance when the field was reversed, and extracted a field dependence of the octupole by utilizing the interference with an electric dipole (E1) resonance. The result is in good agreement with that of the NMR-line splitting, which reflects the transferred hyperfine field at the Boron nucleus from the anisotropic spin distribution of Ce with an O_{xy}-type quadrupole. The field-reversal method used in the present study opens up the possibility of being widely applied to other multipole ordering systems such as NpO2, Ce_{x}La_{1-x}B_{6}, SmRu_{4}P_{12}, and so on.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitte

Evidence for short-range antiferromagnetic fluctuations in Kondo-insulating YbB12

The spin dynamics of mixed-valence YbB12 has been studied by inelastic neutron scattering on a high-quality single crystal. In the Kondo-insulating regime realized at low temperature, the spectra exhibit a spin-gap structure with two sharp, dispersive, in-gap excitations at E = 14.5 and approximately 20 meV. The lower mode is shown to be associated with short-range correlations near the antiferromagnetic wave vector q0 = (1/2, 1/2, 1/2). Its properties are in overall agreement with those expected for a "spin exciton'' branch in an indirect hybridization gap semiconductor.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures ; submitted to Physical Review Letter

On the porosity of barrier layers

Barrier layers are defined as the layer between the pycnocline and the thermocline when the latter are different as a result of salinity stratification. We present a revisited 2-degree resolution global climatology of monthly mean oceanic Barrier Layer (BL) thickness first proposed by de Boyer Montégut et al. (2007). In addition to using an extended data set, we present a modified computation method that addresses the observed porosity of BLs. We name porosity the fact that barrier layers distribution can, in some areas, be very uneven regarding the space and time scales that are considered. This implies an intermittent alteration of air-sea exchanges by the BL. Therefore, it may have important consequences for the climatic impact of BLs. Differences between the two computation methods are small for robust BLs that are formed by large-scale processes. However, the former approach can significantly underestimate the thickness of short and/or localized barrier layers. This is especially the case for barrier layers formed by mesoscale mechanisms (under the intertropical convergence zone for example and along western boundary currents) and equatorward of the sea surface salinity subtropical maxima. Complete characterisation of regional BL dynamics therefore requires a description of the robustness of BL distribution to assess the overall impact of BLs on the process of heat exchange between the ocean interior and the atmosphere

Spontaneous deformation of the Fermi surface due to strong correlation in the two-dimensional t-J model

Fermi surface of the two-dimensional t-J model is studied using the variational Monte Carlo method. We study the Gutzwiller projected d-wave superconducting state with an additional variational parameter t'_v corresponding to the next-nearest neighbor hopping term. It is found that the finite t'_v<0 gives the lowest variational energy in the wide range of hole-doping rates. The obtained momentum distribution function shows that the Fermi surface deforms spontaneously. It is also shown that the van Hove singularity is always located very close to the Fermi energy. Using the Gutzwiller approximation, we show that this spontaneous deformation is due to the Gutzwiller projection operator or the strong correlation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figures, revte

Pressure Evolution of the Magnetic Field induced Ferromagnetic Fluctuation through the Pseudo-Metamagnetism of CeRu2Si2

Resistivity measurements performed under pressure in the paramagnetic ground state of CeRu2Si2 are reported. They demonstrate that the relative change of effective mass through the pseudo metamagnetic transition is invariant under pressure. The results are compared with the first order metamagnetic transition due to the antiferromagnetism of Ce0.9La0.1Ru2Si2 which corresponds to the "negative" pressure of CeRu2Si2 by volume expansion. Finally, we describe the link between the spin-depairing of quasiparticles on CeRu2Si2 and that of Cooper pairs on the unconventional heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn5.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in J. Phys. Soc. Jp

Magnetic order and multipole interactions in CexPr1-xB6 solid solutions

Magnetic ordering phenomena in CexPr1-xB6 solid solutions have been studied using both powder and single-crystal neutron diffraction. A variety of magnetic structures are observed depending on temperature and Ce concentration. Over a broad composition range (x $\le$ 0.7), Pr-Pr interactions play a dominant role, giving rise to incommensurate structures with wave vectors of the form k{IC1}=(1/4-delta, 1/4, 1/2) or k{IC2}=(1/4-delta, 1/4-delta, 1/2). The crossover to a CeB6-like regime takes place near x = 0.7-0.8. For the latter composition, the antiferroquadrupolar phase transition observed in transport measurements precedes the onset, at lower temperature, of a commensurate magnetic order similar to that existing in CeB6. However, unlike in the pure compound, an incommensurate magnetic order is formed at even higher temperature and persists in the antiferroquadrupolar phase down to the lock-in transition. These results are shown to reflect the interplay between various type of dipole exchange and higher multipole interactions in this series of compounds.Comment: Abstract of submission changed to get rid of LaTeX code Minor differences exist between this version and that published in PRB (corrections introduced by publisher