42 research outputs found
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
Canted antiferromagnetism in phase-pure CuMnSb
We report the low-temperature properties of phase-pure single crystals of the
half-Heusler compound CuMnSb grown by means of optical float-zoning. The
magnetization, specific heat, electrical resistivity, and Hall effect of our
single crystals exhibit an antiferromagnetic transition at and a second anomaly at a temperature . Powder and single-crystal neutron diffraction establish an
ordered magnetic moment of ,
consistent with the effective moment inferred from the Curie-Weiss dependence
of the susceptibility. Below , the Mn sublattice displays
commensurate type-II antiferromagnetic order with propagation vectors and
magnetic moments along (magnetic space group ).
Surprisingly, below , the moments tilt away from by
a finite angle , forming a canted antiferromagnetic
structure without uniform magnetization consistent with magnetic space group
. Our results establish that type-II antiferromagnetism is not the
zero-temperature magnetic ground state of CuMnSb as may be expected of the
face-centered cubic Mn sublattice.Comment: 14 pages, 15 figure
Phase diagram of Eu magnetic ordering in Sn-flux-grown Eu(FeCo)As single crystals
The magnetic ground state of the Eu moments in a series of
Eu(FeCo)As single crystals grown from the Sn flux has
been investigated in detail by neutron diffraction measurements. Combined with
the results from the macroscopic properties (resistivity, magnetic
susceptibility and specific heat) measurements, a phase diagram describing how
the Eu magnetic order evolves with Co doping in
Eu(FeCo)As is established. The ground-state magnetic
structure of the Eu spins is found to develop from the A-type
antiferromagnetic (AFM) order in the parent compound, via the A-type canted AFM
structure with some net ferromagnetic (FM) moment component along the
crystallographic direction at intermediate Co doping levels,
finally to the pure FM order at relatively high Co doping levels. The ordering
temperature of Eu declines linearly at first, reaches the minimum value of
16.5(2) K around = 0.100(4), and then reverses upwards with
further Co doping. The doping-induced modification of the indirect
Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) interaction between the Eu moments,
which is mediated by the conduction electrons on the (Fe,Co)As
layers, as well as the change of the strength of the direct interaction between
the Eu and Fe moments, might be responsible for the change of the
magnetic ground state and the ordering temperature of the Eu sublattice. In
addition, for Eu(FeCo)As single crystals with 0.10
0.18, strong ferromagnetism from the Eu
sublattice is well developed in the superconducting state, where a spontaneous
vortex state is expected to account for the compromise between the two
competing phenomena.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure
Yb-Yb correlations and crystal-field effects in the Kondo insulator YbB12 and its solid solutions
We have studied the effect of Lu substitution on the spin dynamics of the
Kondo insulator YbB12 to clarify the origin of the spin-gap response previously
observed at low temperature in this material. Inelastic neutron spectra have
been measured in Yb1-xLuxB12 compounds for four Lu concentrations x = 0, 0.25,
0.90 and 1.0. The data indicate that the disruption of coherence on the Yb
sublattice primarily affects the narrow peak structure occurring near 15-20 meV
in pure YbB12, whereas the spin gap and the broad magnetic signal around 38 meV
remain almost unaffected. It is inferred that the latter features reflect
mainly local, single-site processes, and may be reminiscent of the inelastic
magnetic response reported for mixed-valence intermetallic compounds. On the
other hand, the lower component at 15 meV is most likely due to dynamic
short-range magnetic correlations. The crystal-field splitting in YbB12
estimated from the Er3+ transitions measured in a Yb0.9Er0.1B12 sample, has the
same order of magnitude as other relevant energy scales of the system and is
thus likely to play a role in the form of the magnetic spectral response.Comment: 16 pages in pdf format, 9 figures. v. 2: coauthor list updated; extra
details given in section 3.2 (pp. 6-7); one reference added; fig. 5 axis
label change
Collective magnetic excitations in mixed-valence Sm0.83Y0.17S
The magnetic spectral response of black-phase mixed-valence Sm0.83Y0.17S has
been measured by inelastic neutron scattering on a single crystal. Two magnetic
peaks are observed in the energy range of the Sm2+ spin-orbit transition (25-40
meV). Both of them exhibit significant dispersion along the three main symmetry
directions, reminiscent of the spin-orbit exciton branch found in pure divalent
SmS. The results can be reproduced by a simple phenomenological model
accounting for the existence of sizeable Sm-Sm exchange interactions, and a
microscopic mechanism is proposed on the basis of the "local-bound-state"
theory developed previously for SmB6.Comment: 6 pages in pdf format, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Orphan spins in the antiferromagnet
is an anisotropic antiferromagnet with two competing and magnetic order parameters separated by static antiphase boundaries at low temperatures. Neutron diffraction and bulk susceptibility measurements, show that the spins near these boundaries are weakly correlated and a carry an uncompensated ferromagnetic moment that can be tuned with a magnetic field. Spectroscopic measurements find these spins are bound with excitation energies less than the bulk magnetic spin waves and resemble the spectra from isolated spin clusters. Localized bound orphaned spins separate the two competing magnetic order parameters in
Hall effect in the vicinity of quantum critical point in Tm1-xYbxB12
The angular, temperature and magnetic field dependences of Hall resistance
roH for the rare-earth dodecaboride solid solutions Tm1-xYbxB12 have been
studied in a wide vicinity of the quantum critical point (QCP) xC~0.3. The
measurements performed in the temperature range 1.9-300 K on high quality
single crystals allowed to find out for the first time in these fcc compounds
both an appearance of the second harmonic contribution in ro2H at QCP and its
enhancement under the Tm to ytterbium substitution and/or with increase of
external magnetic field. When the Yb concentration x increases a negative
maximum of a significant amplitude was shown to appear on the temperature
dependences of Hall coefficient RH(T) for the Tm1-xYbxB12 compounds. Moreover,
a complicated activation type behavior of the Hall coefficient is observed at
intermediate temperatures for x>0.5 with activation energies Eg~200K and
Ea~55-75K in combination with the sign inversion of RH(T) at low temperatures
in the coherent regime. The density of states renormalization effects are
analyzed within the variation of Yb concentration and the features of the
charge transport in various regimes (charge gap formation, intra-gap manybody
resonance and coherent regime) are discussed in detail in Tm1-xYbxB12 solid
solutions.Comment: 38 pages including 10 figures, 70 reference
Cation distribution and magnetic properties of Zn-substituted CoCr 2 O 4 nanoparticles
CoCr2O4 is a normal spinel where Co occupies the tetrahedral (A) site and Cr occupies the octahedral (B) site; it is important to examine the cation distribution and magnetic properties by substituting a non-magnetic ion like Zn. In this context, we have synthesized pure phase ZnxCo1-xCr2O4 (x = 0.05, 0.1) of crystallite size 10 nm through conventional co-precipitation technique. Fourier transform of Co, Zn, and Cr K-edge spectra obtained from extended X-ray absorption fine structure demonstrates that while Co and Zn prefer the A site, Cr strongly occupies the B site. The paramagnetic to long range ferrimagnetic transition, TC, decreases from 97 K in CoCr2O4 (bulk) to 87.4 K at x = 0.1 with an intermediate TC of 90 K at x = 0.05. The decrease in TC is ascribed to decrease in A-B exchange interaction confirming the preferential occupation of Zn2+ ions towards the A site. The spin-spiral transition, TS, decreases from 27 K in bulk (CoCr2O4) to 24 K at x = 0.1 followed by a spin lock-in transition, TL, observed at 10 K which remains unchanged with increase in Zn concentration. The diffuse neutron scattering in both compositions shows the evidence of long range spiral ordering in contrast to the simultaneous formation of long and short range order in single crystals of CoCr2O4. The decrease in maximum magnetization from 9 to 8 emu/g and an increase in coercivity from 3.2 to 5.2 kOe at 2 K with an increasing Zn concentration from 0.05 to 0.1 have been explained by considering the Yafet-Kittel mode
Intermediate-valence state of the Sm and Eu in SmB and EuCuSi_{2}$ : neutron spectroscopy data and analysis
Magnetic neutron scattering data for Sm (SmB6, Sm(Y)S) and Eu (EuCu2Si2−x Ge x ) intermediate-valence compounds have been analysed in terms of a generalized model of the intermediate-radius exciton. Special attention is paid to the correlation between the average ion's valence and parameters of the low-energy excitation in the neutron spectra, such as the resonance mode, including its magnetic form factor. Along with specific features of the formation of the intermediate-valence state for Sm and Eu ions, common physical mechanisms have been revealed for systems based on these elements from the middle of the rare-earth series. A consistent description of the existing experimental data has been obtained by using the concept of a loosely bound hole for the Eu f-electron shell in the intermediate-valence state, in analogy with the previously established loosely bound electron model for the Sm ion
Noncollinear magnetism in nanosized cobalt chromite
Using a combination of neutron diffraction with XYZ polarization analysis and magnetization measurements,
the noncollinear magnetism in nanosized cobalt chromite, a potential multiferroic material, is revealed. For
noninteracting 26.9(1) nm nanoparticles, a bulklike behavior is identified, including a ferrimagnetic Curie
temperature of 99 K and a transition to the spin spiral magnetic phase at 27 K with a temperature-dependent,
incommensurate propagation vector. A lock-in transition towards a commensurate propagation vector is not
observed. Much smaller, 3.1(2) nm, nanoparticles reveal a strong cluster glass behavior, characterized by
ferrimagnetic behavior below the Curie temperature of 43 K and a transition to asperomagnetic behavior at
18 K, with the absence of any magnetic reflections at a base temperature of 5 K