2,316 research outputs found
Local superconducting density of states of ErNi2B2C
We present local tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy measurements at low
temperatures in single crystalline samples of the magnetic superconductor
ErNi2B2C. The electronic local density of states shows a striking departure
from s-wave BCS theory with a finite value at the Fermi level, which amounts to
half of the normal phase density of states.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
Direct observation of Fe spin reorientation in single crystalline YbFe6Ge6
We have grown single crystals of YbFe6Ge6 and LuFe6Ge6 and characterized
their anisotropic behaviour through low field magnetic susceptibility,
field-dependent magnetization, resistivity and heat capacity measurements. The
Yb+3 valency is confirmed by LIII XANES measurements. YbFe6Ge6 crystals exhibit
a field-dependent, sudden reorientation of the Fe spins at about 63 K, a unique
effect in the RFe6Ge6 family (R = rare earths) where the Fe ions order
anti-ferromagnetically with Neel temperatures above 450 K and the R ions'
magnetism appears to behave independently. The possible origins of this unusual
behaviour of the ordered Fe moments in this compound are discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, accepted in J. Phys.: Cond. Matte
Single crystal growth and characterization of the large-unit-cell compound Cu13Ba
Single crystals of CuBa were successfully grown out of Ba-Cu self
flux. Temperature dependent magnetization, , electrical resistivity,
, and specific heat, , data are reported. Isothermal
magnetization measurements, , show clear de Haas-van Alphen oscillations
at = 2 K for applied fields as low as = 1T. An anomalous behavior
of the magnetic susceptibility is observed up to ~ 50K reflecting the
effect of de Haas-van Alphen oscillations at fairly high temperatures. The
field- and temperature-dependencies of the magnetization indicate the presence
of diluted magnetic impurities with a concentration of the order of 0.01at.%.
Accordingly, the minimum and lower temperature rise observed in the electrical
resistivity at and below = 15K is attributed to the Kondo impurity effect.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in J. Alloys Comp
Magnetic ordering in GdNi2B2C revisited by resonant x-ray scattering: evidence for the double-q model
Recent theoretical efforts aimed at understanding the nature of
antiferromagnetic ordering in GdNi2B2C predicted double-q ordering. Here we
employ resonant elastic x-ray scattering to test this theory against the
formerly proposed, single-q ordering scenario. Our study reveals a satellite
reflection associated with a mixed-order component propagation wave vector,
viz., (q_a,2q_b,0) with q_b = q_a approx= 0.55 reciprocal lattice units, the
presence of which is incompatible with single-q ordering but is expected from
the double-q model. A (3q_a,0,0) wave vector (i.e., third-order) satellite is
also observed, again in line with the double-q model. The temperature
dependencies of these along with that of a first-order satellite are compared
with calculations based on the double-q model and reasonable qualitative
agreement is found. By examining the azimuthal dependence of first-order
satellite scattering, we show the magnetic order to be, as predicted,
elliptically polarized at base temperature and find the temperature dependence
of the "out of a-b plane" moment component to be in fairly good agreement with
calculation. Our results provide qualitative support for the double-q model and
thus in turn corroborate the explanation for the "magnetoelastic paradox"
offered by this model.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Drastic annealing effects in transport properties of single crystals of the YbNi2B2C heavy fermion system
We report temperature dependent resistivity, specific heat, magnetic
susceptibility and thermoelectric power measurements made on the heavy fermion
system YbNi2B2C, for both as grown and annealed single crystals. Our results
demonstrate a significant variation in the temperature dependent electrical
resistivity and thermoelectric power between as grown crystals and crystals
that have undergone optimal (150 hour, 950 C) annealing, whereas the
thermodynamic properties: (c_p(T) and chi(T)) remain almost unchanged. We
interpret these results in terms of redistributions of local Kondo temperatures
associated with ligandal disorder for a small (~ 1%) fraction of the Yb sites.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PR
Intrinsic pinning on structural domains in underdoped single crystals of Ba(FeCo)As
Critical current density was studied in single crystals of
Ba(FeCo)As for the values of spanning the entire doping
phase diagram. A noticeable enhancement was found for slightly underdoped
crystals with the peak at . Using a combination of polarized-light
imaging, x-ray diffraction and magnetic measurements we associate this behavior
with the intrinsic pinning on structural domains in the orthorhombic phase.
Domain walls extend throughout the sample thickness in the direction of
vortices and act as extended pinning centers. With the increasing domain
structure becomes more intertwined and fine due to a decrease of the
orthorhombic distortion. This results in the energy landscape with maze-like
spatial modulations favorable for pinning. This finding shows that iron-based
pnictide superconductors, characterized by high values of the transition
temperature, high upper critical fields, and low anisotropy may intrinsically
have relatively high critical current densities.Comment: estimation of Jc correcte
Effects of mixed rare earth occupancy on the low temperature properties of (R, R',R''...)Ni2Ge2 single crystals
Temperature and applied magnetic field dependent magnetization measurements
on 34 single crystalline samples of (R, R',R''...)Ni2Ge2 compounds (R, R', R'',
etc. being primarily Gd-Lu, Y), were made. These measurements reveal that,
despite extremes in local moment anisotropy, the average de Gennes parameter is
a remarkably good predictor of the paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic ordering
temperature. In addition, the pronounced metamagnetic phase transitions seen in
the low temperature phase of TbNi2Ge2 are found to be remarkably robust to high
substitution levels of Gd and 25% substitutions of other heavy rare earths
Angular dependent planar metamagnetism in the hexagonal compounds TbPtIn and TmAgGe
Detailed magnetization measurements, M(T,H,theta), were performed on single
crystals of TbPtIn and TmAgGe (both members of the hexagonal Fe_2P/ZrNiAl
structure type), for the magnetic field H applied perpendicular to the
crystallographic c axis. These data allowed us to identify, for each compound,
the easy-axes for the magnetization, which coincided with high symmetry
directions ([120] for TbPtIn and [110] for TmAgGe). For fixed orientations of
the field along each of the two six-fold symmetry axes, a number of
magnetically ordered phases is being revealed by M(H,T) measurements below T_N.
Moreover, T ~ 2 K, M(H)|_theta measurements for both compounds (with H applied
parallel to the basal plane), as well as T = 20 K data for TbPtIn, reveal five
metamagnetic transitions with simple angular dependencies: H_{ci,j} ~
1/cos(theta +/- phi), where phi = 0^0 or 60^0. The high field magnetization
state varies with theta like 2/3*mu_{sat}(R^{3+})*cos(theta), and corresponds
to a crystal field limited saturated paramagnetic, CL-SPM, state. Analysis of
these data allowed us to model the angular dependence of the locally saturated
magnetizations M_{sat} and critical fields H_c with a three coplanar Ising-like
model, in which the magnetic moments are assumed to be parallel to three
adjacent easy axes. Furthermore, net distributions of moments were inferred
based on the measured data and the proposed model
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