Sperimagnetism in Fe(78)Er(5)B(17) and Fe(64)Er(19)B(17) metallic glasses: II. Collinear components and ferrimagnetic compensation

Magnetization measurements on an Fe(64)Er(19)B(17) glass and polarized-beam neutron scattering measurements on Fe(78)Er(5)B(17) and Fe(64)Er(19)B(17) were described in part I. The finite spin-flip neutron scattering cross sections were calculated using a sperimagnetic structure based on random cone arrangements of the magnetic moments. The temperature variation of the cross sections of Fe(64)Er(19)B(17) suggested that a compensated sperimagnetic phase existed at T(comp). The analysis of the non-spin-flip neutron scattering cross sections is described here in part II. Two spin-dependent total structure factors S(+/-+/-). (Q) were defined from these cross sections and, despite the limited range of the data 0.5 angstrom(-1) , are zero on both sublattices in the compensated sperimagnetic structure at T(comp). The pre-peak in the spin-dependent total structure factors at 112 K showed that it originated in the atomic structure and it may involve Fe-Er-Fe 'collineations' at a radial distance of approximate to 6.0 angstrom. Finally, the RDF(+/-+/-) (r) of Fe(64)Er(19)B(17) at 180 K and of Fe(78)Er(5)B(17) at 2 K show that both glasses have the (mu(Fe) UP:mu(Er) DOWN) structure like the (Fe, Tb)(83)B(17) collinear ferrimagnets

The magnetic exchange parameters and anisotropy of the quasi-two dimensional antiferromagnet NiPS3_3

Neutron inelastic scattering has been used to measure the magnetic excitations in powdered NiPS$_3$, a quasi-two dimensional antiferromagnet with spin $S = 1$ on a honeycomb lattice. The spectra show clear, dispersive magnons with a $\sim 7$ meV gap at the Brillouin zone center. The data were fitted using a Heisenberg Hamiltonian with a single-ion anisotropy assuming no magnetic exchange between the honeycomb planes. Magnetic exchange interactions up to the third intraplanar nearest-neighbour were required. The fits show robustly that NiPS$_3$ has an easy axis anisotropy with $\Delta = 0.3$ meV and that the third nearest-neighbour has a strong antiferromagnetic exchange of $J_3 = -6.90$ meV. The data can be fitted reasonably well with either $J_1 < 0$ or $J_1 > 0$, however the best quantitative agreement with high-resolution data indicate that the nearest-neighbour interaction is ferromagnetic with $J_1 = 1.9$ meV and that the second nearest-neighbour exchange is small and antiferromagnetic with $J_2 = -0.1$ meV. The dispersion has a minimum in the Brillouin zone corner that is slightly larger than that at the Brillouin zone center, indicating that the magnetic structure of NiPS$_3$ is close to being unstable.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, 33 reference

Evidence for biquadratic exchange in the quasi-two-dimensional antiferromagnet FePS3_3

FePS$_3$ is a van der Waals compound with a honeycomb lattice that is a good example of a two-dimensional antiferromagnet with Ising-like anisotropy. Neutron spectroscopy data from FePS3 were previously analysed using a straight-forward Heisenberg Hamiltonian with a single-ion anisotropy. The analysis captured most of the elements of the data, however some significant discrepancies remained. The discrepancies were most obvious at the Brillouin zone boundaries. The data are subsequently reanalysed allowing for unequal exchange between nominally equivalent nearest-neighbours, which resolves the discrepancies. The source of the unequal exchange is attributed to a biquadratic exchange term in the Hamiltonian which most probably arises from a strong magnetolattice coupling. The new parameters show that there are features consistent with Dirac magnon nodal lines along certain Brillouin zone boundaries.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. The following article has been accepted by the Journal of Applied Physics. After it is published, it will be found at (https://publishing.aip.org/resources/librarians/products/journals/). The article was submitted as part of a special topic edition (https://publishing.aip.org/publications/journals/special-topics/jap/2d-quantum-materials-magnetism-and-superconductivity/

Observation of magnetic fragmentation in spin ice

Fractionalised excitations that emerge from a many body system have revealed rich physics and concepts, from composite fermions in two-dimensional electron systems, revealed through the fractional quantum Hall effect, to spinons in antiferromagnetic chains and, more recently, fractionalisation of Dirac electrons in graphene and magnetic monopoles in spin ice. Even more surprising is the fragmentation of the degrees of freedom themselves, leading to coexisting and a priori independent ground states. This puzzling phenomenon was recently put forward in the context of spin ice, in which the magnetic moment field can fragment, resulting in a dual ground state consisting of a fluctuating spin liquid, a so-called Coulomb phase, on top of a magnetic monopole crystal. Here we show, by means of neutron scattering measurements, that such fragmentation occurs in the spin ice candidate Nd$_2$Zr$_2$O$_7$. We observe the spectacular coexistence of an antiferromagnetic order induced by the monopole crystallisation and a fluctuating state with ferromagnetic correlations. Experimentally, this fragmentation manifests itself via the superposition of magnetic Bragg peaks, characteristic of the ordered phase, and a pinch point pattern, characteristic of the Coulomb phase. These results highlight the relevance of the fragmentation concept to describe the physics of systems that are simultaneously ordered and fluctuating.Comment: accepted in Nature Physic

Coupled Magnetic Excitations in Single Crystal PrBa2Cu3O6.2

The dispersion of the low-energy magnetic excitations of the Pr sublattice in PrBa2Cu3O6.2 is determined by inelastic neutron scattering measurements on a single crystal. The dispersion, which shows the effect of interactions with the Cu spin-waves, is well described by a model of the coupled Cu-Pr magnetic system. This enables values for the principal exchange constants to be determined, which suggest that both Pr-Pr and Cu-Pr interactions are important in producing the anomalously high ordering temperature of the Pr sublattice. Measurements of the Cu optic spin wave mode show that the inter-layer Cu-Cu exchange is significantly lower than in YBa2Cu3O6.2.Comment: To be published Phys. Rev. Let

Epitaxial Growth of Thin Films -- a Statistical Mechanical Model

A theoretical framework is developed to describe experiments on the structure of epitaxial thin films, particularly niobium on sapphire. We extend the hypothesis of dynamical scaling to apply to the structure of thin films from its conventional application to simple surfaces. We then present a phenomenological continuum theory that provides a good description of the observed scattering and the measured exponents. Finally the results of experiment and theory are compared.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, minor revisions. accepted for publication in J Phys Condense Matte