37 research outputs found
Surface properties of SmB6 from x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
We have investigated the properties of cleaved SmB single crystals by
x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. At low temperatures and freshly cleaved
samples a surface core level shift is observed which vanishes when the
temperature is increased. A Sm valence between 2.5 - 2.6 is derived from the
relative intensities of the Sm and Sm multiplets. The B/Sm
intensity ratio obtained from the core levels is always larger than the
stoichiometric value. Possible reasons for this deviation are discussed. The B
signal shows an unexpected complexity: an anomalous low energy component
appears with increasing temperature and is assigned to the formation of a
suboxide at the surface. While several interesting intrinsic and extrinsic
properties of the SmB surface are elucidated in this manuscript no clear
indication of a trivial mechanism for the prominent surface conductivity is
found
Magnetic-field and doping dependence of low-energy spin fluctuations in the antiferroquadrupolar compound Ce(1-x)La(x)B(6)
CeB(6) is a model compound exhibiting antiferroquadrupolar (AFQ) order, its
magnetic properties being typically interpreted within localized models. More
recently, the observation of strong and sharp magnetic exciton modes forming in
its antiferromagnetic (AFM) state at both ferromagnetic and AFQ wave vectors
suggested a significant contribution of itinerant electrons to the spin
dynamics. Here we investigate the evolution of the AFQ excitation upon the
application of an external magnetic field and the substitution of Ce with
non-magnetic La, both parameters known to suppress the AFM phase. We find that
the exciton energy decreases proportionally to T_N upon doping. In field, its
intensity is suppressed, while its energy remains constant. Its disappearance
above the critical field of the AFM phase is preceded by the formation of two
modes, whose energies grow linearly with magnetic field upon entering the AFQ
phase. These findings suggest a crossover from itinerant to localized spin
dynamics between the two phases, the coupling to heavy-fermion quasiparticles
being crucial for a comprehensive description of the magnon spectrum.Comment: Extended version with a longer introduction and an additional figure.
6 pages and 5 figure
Raman study of coupled electronic and phononic excitations in LuB12
Electronic Raman scattering and optical phonon self-energies are studied on single crystals of LuB12with different isotopic composition in the temperature region 10–650 K and at pressures up to 10 GPa. The shape and energy position of the spectral peaks depend on the magnitude of the probed wave vector, temperature, and symmetry of excitations. We simulated experimental spectra using electronic structure obtained in the density functional theory and taking into account the electron-phonon scattering. The emergence of a broad continuum in the spectra is identified with the inelastic scattering of light from the electronic intraband excitations. Their coupling to non-fully symmetric phonon modes is the source of both the Fano interference and temperature-dependent phonon self-energies. In addition, long wavelength vibrations of the boron atoms are in nonadiabatic regime, so the electronic contribution to their self-energies provides a temperature dependence that is similar to the anharmonic contribution. Comparison of calculation and experiment allowed us to determine the coupling constant λ = 0.32, which gives correct critical temperature of the transition to the superconducting state. © 2017 Elsevier B.V
Raman study of coupled electronic and phononic excitations in LuB12
Electronic Raman scattering and optical phonon self-energies are studied on single crystals of LuB12with different isotopic composition in the temperature region 10–650 K and at pressures up to 10 GPa. The shape and energy position of the spectral peaks depend on the magnitude of the probed wave vector, temperature, and symmetry of excitations. We simulated experimental spectra using electronic structure obtained in the density functional theory and taking into account the electron-phonon scattering. The emergence of a broad continuum in the spectra is identified with the inelastic scattering of light from the electronic intraband excitations. Their coupling to non-fully symmetric phonon modes is the source of both the Fano interference and temperature-dependent phonon self-energies. In addition, long wavelength vibrations of the boron atoms are in nonadiabatic regime, so the electronic contribution to their self-energies provides a temperature dependence that is similar to the anharmonic contribution. Comparison of calculation and experiment allowed us to determine the coupling constant λ = 0.32, which gives correct critical temperature of the transition to the superconducting state. © 2017 Elsevier B.V
Magnetic field dependence of the neutron spin resonance in CeB6
In zero magnetic field, the famous neutron spin resonance in the f-electron
superconductor CeCoIn5 is similar to the recently discovered exciton peak in
the non-superconducting CeB6. Magnetic field splits the resonance in CeCoIn5
into two components, indicating that it is a doublet. Here we employ inelastic
neutron scattering (INS) to scrutinize the field dependence of spin
fluctuations in CeB6. The exciton shows a markedly different behavior without
any field splitting. Instead, we observe a second field-induced magnon whose
energy increases with field. At the ferromagnetic zone center, however, we find
only a single mode with a non-monotonic field dependence. At low fields, it is
initially suppressed to zero together with the antiferromagnetic order
parameter, but then reappears at higher fields inside the hidden-order phase,
following the energy of an electron spin resonance (ESR). This is a unique
example of a ferromagnetic resonance in a heavy-fermion metal seen by both ESR
and INS consistently over a broad range of magnetic fields.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures including one animation, accepted to Phys. Rev.
Superconductivity mediated by a soft phonon mode: specific heat, resistivity, thermal expansion and magnetization of YB6
The superconductor YB6 has the second highest critical temperature Tc among
the boride family MBn. We report measurements of the specific heat,
resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and thermal expansion from 2 to 300 K,
using a single crystal with Tc = 7.2 K. The superconducting gap is
characteristic of medium-strong coupling. The specific heat, resistivity and
expansivity curves are deconvolved to yield approximations of the phonon
density of states, the spectral electron-phonon scattering function and the
phonon density of states weighted by the frequency-dependent Grueneisen
parameter respectively. Lattice vibrations extend to high frequencies >100 meV,
but a dominant Einstein-like mode at ~8 meV, associated with the vibrations of
yttrium ions in oversized boron cages, appears to provide most of the
superconducting coupling and gives rise to an unusual temperature behavior of
several observable quantities. A surface critical field Hc3 is also observed.Comment: 29 pages, 5 tables, 17 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys.
Rev.