210 research outputs found
Valence Instability of YbCuSi through its quantum critical point
We report Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering measurements (RIXS) in
YbCuSi at the Yb L edge under high pressure (up to 22 GPa) and at
low temperatures (down to 7 K) with emphasis on the vicinity of the transition
to a magnetic ordered state. We find a continuous valence change towards the
trivalent state with increasing pressure but with a pronounced change of slope
close to the critical pressure. Even at 22 GPa the Yb state is not fully
achieved. The pressure where this feature is observed decreases as the
temperature is reduced to 9 GPa at 7K, a value close to the critical pressure
(\itshape{p\normalfont{}}\normalfont 7.5 GPa) where magnetic
order occurs. The decrease in the valence with decreasing temperature
previously reported at ambient pressure is confirmed and is found to be
enhanced at higher pressures. We also compare the f electron occupancy between
YbCuSi and its Ce-counterpart, CeCuSi
First-principles calculation of x-ray dichroic spectra within the full-potential linearized augmented planewave method: An implementation into the Wien2k code
X-ray absorption and its dependence on the polarization of light is a
powerful tool to investigate the orbital and spin moments of magnetic materials
and their orientation relative to crystalline axes. Here, we present a program
for the calculation of dichroic spectra from first principles. We have
implemented the calculation of x-ray absorption spectra for left and right
circularly polarized light into the Wien2k code. In this package, spin-density
functional theory is applied in an all-electron scheme that allows to describe
both core and valence electrons on the same footing. The matrix elements, which
define the dependence of the photo absorption cross section on the polarization
of light and on the sample magnetization, are computed within the dipole
approximation. Results are presented for the L2,3 and M4,5 egdes of CeFe2 and
compared to experiments
Structural dichroism in the antiferromagnetic insulating phase of V_2O_3
We performed near-edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XANES) at V K edge in
the antiferromagnetic insulating (AFI) phase of a 2.8% Cr-doped V_2O_3 single
crystal. Linear dichroism of several percent is measured in the hexagonal plane
and found to be in good agreement with ab-initio calculations based on multiple
scattering theory. This experiment definitively proves the structural origin of
the signal and therefore solves a controversy raised by previous
interpretations of the same dichroism as non-reciprocal. It also calls for a
further investigation of the role of the magnetoelectric annealing procedure in
cooling to the AFI phase.Comment: 4 pages 3 figures. To be published in Phys. Rev. B (2005
Electric field control of multiferroic domains in NiVO imaged by X-ray polarization enhanced topography
The magnetic structure of multiferroic NiVO has been investigated
using non-resonant X-ray magnetic scattering. Incident circularly polarized
X-rays combined with full polarization analysis of the scattered beam is shown
to yield high sensitivity to the components of the cycloidal magnetic order,
including their relative phases. New information on the magnetic structure in
the ferroelectric phase is obtained, where it is found that the magnetic
moments on the "cross-tie" sites are quenched relative to those on the "spine"
sites. This implies that the onset of ferroelectricity is associated mainly
with spine site magnetic order. We also demonstrate that our technique enables
the imaging of multiferroic domains through polarization enhanced topography.
This approach is used to image the domains as the sample is cycled by an
electric field through its hysteresis loop, revealing the gradual switching of
domains without nucleation.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Magnetic and resonant X-ray scattering investigations of strongly correlated electron systems
Disentangling multipole resonances through a full x-ray polarization analysis
Complete polarization analysis applied to resonant x-ray scattering at the Cr
K-edge in K2CrO4 shows that incident linearly polarized x-rays can be converted
into circularly polarized x-rays by diffraction at the Cr pre-edge (E = 5994
eV). The physical mechanism behind this phenomenon is a subtle interference
effect between purely dipole (E1-E1) and purely quadrupole (E2-E2) transitions,
leading to a phase shift between the respective scattering amplitudes. This
effect may be exploited to disentangle two close-lying resonances that appear
as a single peak in a conventional energy scan, in this way allowing to single
out and identify the different multipole order parameters involved.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
- …