678 research outputs found
Spectroscopic Constraints on the Surface Magnetic Field of the Accreting Neutron Star EXO 0748-676
Gravitationally redshifted absorption lines of Fe XXVI, Fe XXV, and O VIII
were inferred recently in the X-ray spectrum of the bursting neutron star EXO
0748-676. We place an upper limit on the stellar magnetic field based on the
iron lines. The oxygen absorption feature shows a multiple component profile
that is consistent with Zeeman splitting in a magnetic field of ~(1-2)x10^9
gauss, and for which the corresponding Zeeman components of the iron lines are
expected to be blended together. In other systems, a field strength >5x10^{10}
gauss could induce a blueshift of the line centroids that would counteract
gravitational redshift and complicate the derivation of constraints on the
equation of state of the neutron star.Comment: 5 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Field-Dependent Hall Effect in Single Crystal Heavy Fermion YbAgGe below 1K
We report the results of a low temperature (T >= 50 mK) and high field (H <=
180 kOe) study of the Hall resistivity in single crystals of YbAgGe, a heavy
fermion compound that demonstrates field-induced non-Fermi-liquid behavior near
its field-induced quantum critical point. Distinct features in the anisotropic,
field-dependent Hall resistivity sharpen on cooling down and at the base
temperature are close to the respective critical fields for the field-induced
quantum critical point. The field range of the non-Fermi-liquid region
decreases on cooling but remains finite at the base temperature with no
indication of its conversion to a point for T -> 0. At the base temperature,
the functional form of the field-dependent Hall coefficient is field direction
dependent and complex beyond existing simple models thus reflecting the
multi-component Fermi surface of the material and its non-trivial modification
at the quantum critical point
Kondo Insulator to Semimetal Transformation Tuned by Spin-Orbit Coupling
Recent theoretical studies of topologically nontrivial electronic states in
Kondo insulators have pointed to the importance of spin-orbit coupling (SOC)
for stabilizing these states. However, systematic experimental studies that
tune the SOC parameter in Kondo insulators remain elusive.
The main reason is that variations of (chemical) pressure or doping strongly
influence the Kondo coupling and the chemical potential --
both essential parameters determining the ground state of the material -- and
thus possible tuning effects have remained unnoticed. Here
we present the successful growth of the substitution series
CeBi(PtPd) () of the archetypal
(noncentrosymmetric) Kondo insulator CeBiPt. The Pt-Pd substitution
is isostructural, isoelectronic, and isosize, and therefore likely to leave
and essentially unchanged. By contrast, the large mass
difference between the element Pt and the element Pd leads to a large
difference in , which thus is the dominating tuning
parameter in the series. Surprisingly, with increasing (decreasing
), we observe a Kondo insulator to semimetal transition,
demonstrating an unprecedented drastic influence of the SOC. The fully
substituted end compound CeBiPd shows thermodynamic signatures of a
recently predicted Weyl-Kondo semimetal.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures plus Supplemental Materia
Magnetic field-induced quantum critical point in YbPtIn and YbPtIn single crystals
Detailed anisotropic (Hab and Hc) resistivity and
specific heat measurements were performed on online-grown YbPtIn and
solution-grown YbPtIn single crystals for temperatures down to 0.4 K,
and fields up to 140 kG; Hab Hall resistivity was also measured on
the YbPtIn system for the same temperature and field ranges. All these
measurements indicate that the small change in stoichiometry between the two
compounds drastically affects their ordering temperatures (T
K in YbPtIn, and K in YbPtIn). Furthermore, a field-induced
quantum critical point is apparent in each of these heavy fermion systems, with
the corresponding critical field values of YbPtIn (H around
35-45 kG and H kG) also reduced compared to the analogous
values for YbPtIn (H kG and H kG
Thermoelectric transport through strongly correlated quantum dots
The thermoelectric properties of strongly correlated quantum dots, described
by a single level Anderson model coupled to conduction electron leads, is
investigated using Wilson's numerical renormalization group method. We
calculate the electronic contribution, , to the thermal conductance,
the thermopower, , and the electrical conductance, , of a quantum dot as
a function of both temperature, , and gate voltage, , for strong,
intermediate and weak Coulomb correlations, , on the dot. For strong
correlations and in the Kondo regime, we find that the thermopower exhibits two
sign changes, at temperatures and with
. Such sign changes in are particularly sensitive
signatures of strong correlations and Kondo physics. The relevance of this to
recent thermopower measurements of Kondo correlated quantum dots is discussed.
We discuss the figure of merit, power factor and the degree of violation of the
Wiedemann-Franz law in quantum dots. The extent of temperature scaling in the
thermopower and thermal conductance of quantum dots in the Kondo regime is also
assessed.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures; published versio
Anisotropic Hall Effect in Single Crystal Heavy Fermion YbAgGe
Temperature- and field-dependent Hall effect measurements are reported for
YbAgGe, a heavy fermion compound exhibiting a field-induced quantum phase
transition, and for two other closely related members of the RAgGe series: a
non-magnetic analogue, LuAgGe and a representative, ''good local moment'',
magnetic material, TmAgGe. Whereas the temperature dependent Hall coefficient
of YbAgGe shows behavior similar to what has been observed in a number of heavy
fermion compounds, the low temperature, field-dependent measurements reveal
well defined, sudden changes with applied field; in specific for a
clear local maximum that sharpens as temperature is reduced below 2 K and that
approaches a value of 45 kOe - a value that has been proposed as the
quantum critical point. Similar behavior was observed for where a
clear minimum in the field-dependent Hall resistivity was observed at low
temperatures. Although at our base temperatures it is difficult to distinguish
between the field-dependent behavior predicted for (i) diffraction off a
critical spin density wave or (ii) breakdown in the composite nature of the
heavy electron, for both field directions there is a distinct temperature
dependence of a feature that can clearly be associated with a field-induced
quantum critical point at persisting up to at least 2 K.Comment: revised versio
Optical investigation of the metal-insulator transition in
We present a comprehensive optical study of the narrow gap
semiconductor. From the optical reflectivity, measured from the far infrared up
to the ultraviolet spectral range, we extract the complete absorption spectrum,
represented by the real part of the complex optical
conductivity. With decreasing temperature below 80 K, we find a progressive
depletion of below cm, the
semiconducting optical gap. The suppressed (Drude) spectral weight within the
gap is transferred at energies and also partially piles up over a
continuum of excitations extending in the spectral range between zero and
. Moreover, the interaction of one phonon mode with this continuum leads
to an asymmetric phonon shape. Even though several analogies between
and were claimed and a Kondo-insulator scenario was also invoked for
both systems, our data on differ in several aspects from those of
. The relevance of our findings with respect to the Kondo insulator
description will be addressed.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figure
Magneto-optical Kerr effect in
We have measured the magneto-optical Kerr rotation of ferromagnetic
with x=0.2 and 0.4, as well as of serving as
the non-magnetic reference material. As previously for , we could
identify a feature at 1 in the Kerr response which is related with
electronic transitions involving the localized 4f electron states. The absence
of this feature in the data for confirms the relevance of the
partially occupied 4f states in shaping the magneto-optical features of
-based hexaborides. Disorder by -doping broadens the itinerant charge
carrier contribution to the magneto-optical spectra
Modelling the incomplete Paschen-Back effect in the spectra of magnetic Ap stars
We present first results of a systematic investigation of the incomplete
Paschen-Back effect in magnetic Ap stars. A short overview of the theory is
followed by a demonstration of how level splittings and component strengths
change with magnetic field strength for some lines of special astrophysical
interest. Requirements are set out for a code which allows the calculation of
full Stokes spectra in the Paschen-Back regime and the behaviour of Stokes I
and V profiles of transitions in the multiplet 74 of FeII is discussed in some
detail. It is shown that the incomplete Paschen-Back effect can lead to
noticeable line shifts which strongly depend on total multiplet strength,
magnetic field strength and field direction. Ghost components (which violate
the normal selection rule on J) show up in strong magnetic fields but are
probably unobservable. Finally it is shown that measurements of the integrated
magnetic field modulus are not adversely affected by the Paschen-Back
effect, and that there is a potential problem in (magnetic) Doppler mapping if
lines in the Paschen-Back regime are treated in the Zeeman approximation.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, to appear in MNRA
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