205 research outputs found
Surface properties of SmB6 from x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
We have investigated the properties of cleaved SmB single crystals by
x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. At low temperatures and freshly cleaved
samples a surface core level shift is observed which vanishes when the
temperature is increased. A Sm valence between 2.5 - 2.6 is derived from the
relative intensities of the Sm and Sm multiplets. The B/Sm
intensity ratio obtained from the core levels is always larger than the
stoichiometric value. Possible reasons for this deviation are discussed. The B
signal shows an unexpected complexity: an anomalous low energy component
appears with increasing temperature and is assigned to the formation of a
suboxide at the surface. While several interesting intrinsic and extrinsic
properties of the SmB surface are elucidated in this manuscript no clear
indication of a trivial mechanism for the prominent surface conductivity is
found
Paramagnetic Meissner effect in ZrB12 single crystal with non-monotonic vortex-vortex interactions
The magnetic response related to paramagnetic Meissner effect (PME) is
studied in a high quality single crystal ZrB12 with non-monotonic vortex-vortex
interactions. We observe the expulsion and penetration of magnetic flux in the
form of vortex clusters with increasing temperature. A vortex phase diagram is
constructed which shows that the PME can be explained by considering the
interplay among the flux compression, the different temperature dependencies of
the vortex-vortex and the vortex-pin interactions, and thermal fluctuations.
Such a scenario is in good agreement with the results of the magnetic
relaxation measurements.Comment: accepted by New Journal of Physic
Magnetic-field and doping dependence of low-energy spin fluctuations in the antiferroquadrupolar compound Ce(1-x)La(x)B(6)
CeB(6) is a model compound exhibiting antiferroquadrupolar (AFQ) order, its
magnetic properties being typically interpreted within localized models. More
recently, the observation of strong and sharp magnetic exciton modes forming in
its antiferromagnetic (AFM) state at both ferromagnetic and AFQ wave vectors
suggested a significant contribution of itinerant electrons to the spin
dynamics. Here we investigate the evolution of the AFQ excitation upon the
application of an external magnetic field and the substitution of Ce with
non-magnetic La, both parameters known to suppress the AFM phase. We find that
the exciton energy decreases proportionally to T_N upon doping. In field, its
intensity is suppressed, while its energy remains constant. Its disappearance
above the critical field of the AFM phase is preceded by the formation of two
modes, whose energies grow linearly with magnetic field upon entering the AFQ
phase. These findings suggest a crossover from itinerant to localized spin
dynamics between the two phases, the coupling to heavy-fermion quasiparticles
being crucial for a comprehensive description of the magnon spectrum.Comment: Extended version with a longer introduction and an additional figure.
6 pages and 5 figure
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