416 research outputs found
Dimensional reduction by pressure in the magnetic framework material CuF(DO)pyz: from spin-wave to spinon excitations
Metal organic magnets have enormous potential to host a variety of electronic
and magnetic phases that originate from a strong interplay between the spin,
orbital and lattice degrees of freedom. We control this interplay in the
quantum magnet CuF(DO)pyz by using high pressure to drive the
system through a structural and magnetic phase transition. Using neutron
scattering, we show that the low pressure state, which hosts a two-dimensional
square lattice with spin-wave excitations and a dominant exchange coupling of
0.89 meV, transforms at high pressure into a one-dimensional spin-chain
hallmarked by a spinon continuum and a reduced exchange interaction of 0.43
meV. This direct microscopic observation of a magnetic dimensional crossover as
a function of pressure opens up new possibilities for studying the evolution of
fractionalised excitations in low dimensional quantum magnets and eventually
pressure-controlled metal--insulator transitions
Quantum and classical criticality in a dimerized quantum antiferromagnet
A quantum critical point (QCP) is a singularity in the phase diagram arising
due to quantum mechanical fluctuations. The exotic properties of some of the
most enigmatic physical systems, including unconventional metals and
superconductors, quantum magnets, and ultracold atomic condensates, have been
related to the importance of the critical quantum and thermal fluctuations near
such a point. However, direct and continuous control of these fluctuations has
been difficult to realize, and complete thermodynamic and spectroscopic
information is required to disentangle the effects of quantum and classical
physics around a QCP. Here we achieve this control in a high-pressure,
high-resolution neutron scattering experiment on the quantum dimer material
TlCuCl3. By measuring the magnetic excitation spectrum across the entire
quantum critical phase diagram, we illustrate the similarities between quantum
and thermal melting of magnetic order. We prove the critical nature of the
unconventional longitudinal ("Higgs") mode of the ordered phase by damping it
thermally. We demonstrate the development of two types of criticality, quantum
and classical, and use their static and dynamic scaling properties to conclude
that quantum and thermal fluctuations can behave largely independently near a
QCP.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Original version, published version available
from Nature Physics websit
Microscopic model for the magnetization plateaus in NH4CuCl3
A simple model consisting of three distinct dimer sublattices is proposed to
describe the magnetism of NH4CuCl3. It explains the occurrence of magnetization
plateaus only at 1/4 and 3/4 of the saturation magnetization. The field
dependence of the excitation modes observed by ESR measurements is also
explained by the model. The model predicts that the magnetization plateaus
should disappear under high pressure.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, REVTeX
Ehrenfest relations and magnetoelastic effects in field-induced ordered phases
Magnetoelastic properties in field-induced magnetic ordered phases are
studied theoretically based on a Ginzburg-Landau theory. A critical field for
the field-induced ordered phase is obtained as a function of temperature and
pressure, which determine the phase diagram. It is found that magnetic field
dependence of elastic constant decreases discontinuously at the critical field,
Hc, and that it decreases linearly with field in the ordered phase (H>Hc). We
found an Ehrenfest relation between the field dependence of the elastic
constant and the pressure dependence of critical field. Our theory provides the
theoretical form for magnetoelastic properties in field- and pressure-induced
ordered phases.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Spinon localization in the heat transport of the spin-1/2 ladder compound (CHN)CuBr
We present experiments on the magnetic field-dependent thermal transport in
the spin-1/2 ladder system (CHN)CuBr. The thermal
conductivity is only weakly affected by the field-induced
transitions between the gapless Luttinger-liquid state realized for and the gapped states, suggesting the absence of a direct
contribution of the spin excitations to the heat transport. We observe,
however, that the thermal conductivity is strongly suppressed by the magnetic
field deeply within the Luttinger-liquid state. These surprising observations
are discussed in terms of localization of spinons within finite ladder segments
and spinon-phonon umklapp scattering of the predominantly phononic heat
transport.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Role of multiple subband renormalization in the electronic transport of correlated oxide superlattices
Metallic behavior of band-insulator/ Mott-insulator interfaces was observed
in artificial perovskite superlattices such as in nanoscale SrTiO3/LaTiO3
multilayers. Applying a semiclassical perspective to the parallel electronic
transport we identify two major ingredients relevant for such systems: i) the
quantum confinement of the conduction electrons (superlattice modulation) leads
to a complex, quasi-two dimensional subband structure with both hole- and
electron-like Fermi surfaces. ii) strong electron-electron interaction requires
a substantial renormalization of the quasi-particle dispersion. We characterize
this renormalization by two sets of parameters, namely, the quasi-particle
weight and the induced particle-hole asymmetry of each partially filled
subband. In our study, the quasi-particle dispersion is calculated
self-consistently as function of microscopic parameters using the slave-boson
mean-field approximation introduced by Kotliar and Ruckenstein. We discuss the
consequences of strong local correlations on the normal-state free-carrier
response in the optical conductivity and on the thermoelectric effects.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
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
Anisotropy of Magnetic Interactions in the Spin-Ladder Compound (CHN)CuBr
Magnetic excitations in the spin-ladder material (CHN)CuBr
[BPCB] are probed by high-resolution multi-frequency electron spin resonance
(ESR) spectroscopy. Our experiments provide a direct evidence for a biaxial
anisotropy ( of the dominant exchange interaction), that is in
contrast to a fully isotropic spin-ladder model employed for this system
previously. It is argued that this anisotropy in BPCB is caused by spin-orbit
coupling, which appears to be important for describing magnetic properties of
this compound. The zero-field zone-center gap in the excitation spectrum of
BPCB, K, is detected directly. Furthermore, an ESR
signature of the inter-ladder exchange interactions is obtained. The detailed
characterization of the anisotropy in BPCB completes the determination of the
full spin hamiltonian of this exceptional spin-ladder material and shows ways
to study anisotropy effects in spin ladders.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
Thermodynamics of the Spin Luttinger-Liquid in a Model Ladder Material
The phase diagram in temperature and magnetic field of the metal-organic,
two-leg, spin-ladder compound (C5H12N)2CuBr4 is studied by measurements of the
specific heat and the magnetocaloric effect. We demonstrate the presence of an
extended spin Luttinger-liquid phase between two field-induced quantum critical
points and over a broad range of temperature. Based on an ideal spin-ladder
Hamiltonian, comprehensive numerical modelling of the ladder specific heat
yields excellent quantitative agreement with the experimental data across the
complete phase diagram.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, updated refs and minor changes to the text,
version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
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