175 research outputs found
Effect of two gaps on the flux lattice internal field distribution: evidence of two length scales from muSR in Mg1-xAlxB2
We have measured the transverse field muon spin precession in the flux
lattice (FL) state of the two gap superconductor MgB2 and of the electron doped
compounds Mg1-xAlxB2 in magnetic fields up to 2.8T. We show the effect of the
two gaps on the internal field distribution in the FL, from which we determine
two coherence length parameters and the doping dependence of the London
penetration depth. This is an independent determination of the complex vortex
structure already suggested by the STM observation of large vortices in a MgB2
single crystal. Our data agrees quantitatively with STM and we thus validate a
new phenomenological model for the internal fields.Comment: now in press Phys. Rev. Lett., small modifications required by the
edito
Quantum Statistics of Interacting Dimer Spin Systems
The compound TlCuCl3 represents a model system of dimerized quantum spins
with strong interdimer interactions. We investigate the triplet dispersion as a
function of temperature by inelastic neutron scattering experiments on single
crystals. By comparison with a number of theoretical approaches we demonstrate
that the description of Troyer, Tsunetsugu, and Wuertz [Phys. Rev. B 50, 13515
(1994)] provides an appropriate quantum statistical model for dimer spin
systems at finite temperatures, where many-body correlations become
particularly important.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Physical Review Letter
Multiferroicity in the generic easy-plane triangular lattice antiferromagnet RbFe(MoO4)2
RbFe(MoO4)2 is a quasi-two-dimensional (quasi-2D) triangular lattice
antiferromagnet (TLA) that displays a zero-field magnetically-driven
multiferroic phase with a chiral spin structure. By inelastic neutron
scattering, we determine quantitatively the spin Hamiltonian. We show that the
easy-plane anisotropy is nearly 1/3 of the dominant spin exchange, making
RbFe(MoO4)2 an excellent system for studying the physics of the model 2D
easy-plane TLA. Our measurements demonstrate magnetic-field induced
fluctuations in this material to stabilize the generic finite-field phases of
the 2D XY TLA. We further explain how Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions can
generate ferroelectricity only in the zero field phase. Our conclusion is that
multiferroicity in RbFe(MoO4)2, and its absence at high fields, results from
the generic properties of the 2D XY TLA.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted in PRB as a Rapid Communicatio
NaxCoO2: Enhanced low-energy excitations of electrons on a 2D triangular lattice
To elucidate the low-energy excitation spectrum of correlated electrons on a
2D triangular lattice, we have studied the electrical resistance and specific
heat down to 0.5 K and in magnetic fields up to 14 T, in NaxCoO2 samples with a
Na content ranging from x \approx 0.5 to 0.82. Two distinct regimes are
observed: for x from about 0.6 to x \approx 0.75 the specific heat is strongly
enhanced, with a pronounced upturn of C/T below about 10 K, reaching 47 mJ/(mol
K^2). This enhancement is suppressed in a magnetic field indicative of strong
low-energy spin fluctuations. At higher Na content the fluctuations are reduced
and mu-SR data confirm the SDW ground state below 22 K and the much reduced
heat capacity is field independent.Comment: Accepted in Physica
Multiple Magnon Modes and Consequences for the Bose-Einstein Condensed Phase in BaCuSi2O6
The compound BaCuSi2O6 is a quantum magnet with antiferromagnetic dimers of S
= 1/2 moments on a quasi-2D square lattice. We have investigated its spin
dynamics by inelastic neutron scattering experiments on single crystals with an
energy resolution considerably higher than in an earlier study. We observe
multiple magnon modes, indicating clearly the presence of magnetically
inequivalent dimer sites. This more complex spin Hamiltonian leads to a
distinct form of magnon Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) phase with a spatially
modulated condensate amplitude.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev. Let
Staging superstructures in high- Sr/O co-doped LaSrCuO
We present high energy X-ray diffraction studies on the structural phases of
an optimal high- superconductor LaSrCuO tailored by
co-hole-doping. This is specifically done by varying the content of two very
different chemical species, Sr and O, respectively, in order to study the
influence of each. A superstructure known as staging is observed in all
samples, with the staging number increasing for higher Sr dopings . We
find that the staging phases emerge abruptly with temperature, and can be
described as a second order phase transition with transition temperatures
slightly depending on the Sr doping. The Sr appears to correlate the
interstitial oxygen in a way that stabilises the reproducibility of the staging
phase both in terms of staging period and volume fraction in a specific sample.
The structural details as investigated in this letter appear to have no direct
bearing on the electronic phase separation previously observed in the same
samples. This provides new evidence that the electronic phase separation is
determined by the overall hole concentration rather than specific Sr/O content
and concommittant structural details.Comment: 8 pages, incl. 4 figure
Flux pinning and phase separation in oxygen rich La2-xSrxCuO4+y system
We have studied the magnetic characteristics of a series of super-oxygenated
La2-xSrxCuO4+y samples. As shown in previous work, these samples spontaneously
phase separate into an oxygen rich superconducting phase with a TC near 40 K
and an oxygen poor magnetic phase that also orders near 40 K. All samples
studied are highly magnetically reversible even to low temperatures. Although
the internal magnetic regions of these samples might be expected to act as
pinning sites, our present study shows that they do not favor flux pinning.
Flux pinning requires a matching condition between the defect and the
superconducting coherence length. Thus, our results imply that the magnetic
regions are too large to act as pinning centers. This also implies that the
much greater flux pinning in typical La2-xSrxCuO4 materials is the result of
nanoscale inhomogeneities that grow to become the large magnetic regions in the
super-oxygenated materials. The superconducting regions of the phase separated
materials are in that sense cleaner and more homogenous than in the typical
cuprate superconductor.Comment: 4 figures 8 pages Submitted to PR
Coexistence of ferromagnetism and superconductivity in the hybrid ruthenate-cuprate compound RuSr_2GdCu_2O_8 studied by muon spin rotation (\mu SR) and DC-magnetization
We have investigated the magnetic and the superconducting properties of the
hybrid ruthenate-cuprate compound RuSr_{2}GdCu_{2}O_{8} by means of zero-field
muon spin rotation- (ZF-SR) and DC magnetization measurements. The
DC-magnetisation data establish that this material exhibits ferromagnetic order
of the Ru-moments () below T_{Curie} = 133 K and
becomes superconducting at a much lower temperature T_c = 16 K. The ZF-SR
experiments indicate that the ferromagnetic phase is homogeneous on a
microscopic scale and accounts for most of the sample volume. They also suggest
that the magnetic order is not significantly modified at the onset of
superconductivity.Comment: improved version submitted to Phys. Rev.
Coexistence and competition of magnetism and superconductivity on the nanometer scale in underdoped BaFe1.89Co0.11As2
We report muon spin rotation (muSR) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy
experiments on underdoped BaFe1.89Co0.11As2 which show that bulk magnetism and
superconductivity (SC) coexist and compete on the nanometer length scale. Our
combined data reveal a bulk magnetic order, likely due to an incommensurate
spin density wave (SDW), which develops below Tmag \approx 32 K and becomes
reduced in magnitude (but not in volume) below Tc = 21.7 K. A slowly
fluctuating precursor of the SDW seems to develop alrady below the structural
transition at Ts \approx 50 K. The bulk nature of SC is established by the muSR
data which show a bulk SC vortex lattice and the IR data which reveal that the
majority of low-energy states is gapped and participates in the condensate at T
<< Tc
Muon-spin-relaxation study of the magnetic penetration depth in MgB2
The magnetic vortex lattice (VL) of polycrystalline MgB2 has been
investigated by transverse-field muon-spin-relaxation (TF-MuSR). The evolution
of TF-MuSR depolarization rate, sigma, that is proportional to the second
moment of the field distribution of the VL has been studied as a function of
temperature and applied magnetic field. The low temperature value s exhibits a
pronounced peak near Hext = 75 mT. This behavior is characteristic of strong
pinning induced distortions of the VL which put into question the
interpretation of the low-field TF-MuSR data in terms of the magnetic
penetration depth lambda(T). An approximately constant value of sigma, such as
expected for an ideal VL in the London-limit, is observed at higher fields of
Hext > 0.4 T. The TF-MuSR data at Hext = 0.6 T are analyzed in terms of a
two-gap model. We obtain values for the gap size of D1 = 6.0 meV (2D1/kBTc =
3.6), D2 = 2.6 meV (2D2/kBTc = 1.6), a comparable spectral weight of the two
bands and a zero temperature value for the magnetic penetration depth of lambda
= 100 nm. In addition, we performed MuSR-measurements in zero external field
(ZF-MuSR). We obtain evidence that the muon site (at low temperature) is
located on a ring surrounding the center of the boron hexagon. Muon diffusion
sets in already at rather low temperature of T > 10 K. The nuclear magnetic
moments can account for the observed relaxation rate and no evidence for
electronic magnetic moments has been obtained.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure
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