1,039 research outputs found
Magneto-elastic coupling and unconventional magnetic ordering in triangular multiferroic AgCrS2
The temperature evolution of the crystal and magnetic structures of
ferroelectric sulfide AgCrS2 have been investigated by means of neutron
scattering. AgCrS2 undergoes at TN = 41.6 K a first-order phase transition,
from a paramagnetic rhombohedral R3m to an antiferromagnetic monoclinic
structure with a polar Cm space group. In addition to being ferroelectric below
TN, the low temperature phase of AgCrS2 exhibits an unconventional collinear
magnetic structure that can be described as double ferromagnetic stripes
coupled antiferromagnetically, with the magnetic moment of Cr+3 oriented along
b within the anisotropic triangular plane. The magnetic couplings stabilizing
this structure are discussed using inelastic neutron scattering results.
Ferroelectricity below TN in AgCrS2 can possibly be explained in terms of
atomic displacements at the magneto-elastic induced structural distortion.
These results contrast with the behavior of the parent frustrated
antiferromagnet and spin-driven ferroelectric AgCrO2
Transferable Pair Potentials for CdS and ZnS Crystals
A set of interatomic pair potentials is developed for CdS and ZnS crystals.
We show that a simple energy function, which has been used to describe the
properties of CdSe [J. Chem. Phys. 116, 258 (2002)], can be parametrized to
accurately describe the lattice and elastic constants, and phonon dispersion
relations of bulk CdS and ZnS in the wurtzite and rocksalt crystal structures.
The predicted coexistence pressure of the wurtzite and rocksalt structures, as
well as the equation of state are in good agreement with experimental
observations. These new pair potentials enable the study of a wide range of
processes in bulk and nanocrystalline II-VI semiconductor materials
Self-consistency over the charge-density in dynamical mean-field theory: a linear muffin-tin implementation and some physical implications
We present a simple implementation of the dynamical mean-field theory
approach to the electronic structure of strongly correlated materials. This
implementation achieves full self-consistency over the charge density, taking
into account correlation-induced changes to the total charge density and
effective Kohn-Sham Hamiltonian. A linear muffin-tin orbital basis-set is used,
and the charge density is computed from moments of the many body
momentum-distribution matrix. The calculation of the total energy is also
considered, with a proper treatment of high-frequency tails of the Green's
function and self-energy. The method is illustrated on two materials with
well-localized 4f electrons, insulating cerium sesquioxide Ce2O3 and the
gamma-phase of metallic cerium, using the Hubbard-I approximation to the
dynamical mean-field self-energy. The momentum-integrated spectral function and
momentum-resolved dispersion of the Hubbard bands are calculated, as well as
the volume-dependence of the total energy. We show that full self-consistency
over the charge density, taking into account its modification by strong
correlations, can be important for the computation of both thermodynamical and
spectral properties, particularly in the case of the oxide material.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures (submitted in The Physical Review B
Phase Decomposition and Chemical Inhomogeneity in Nd2-xCexCuO4
Extensive X-ray and neutron scattering experiments and additional
transmission electron microscopy results reveal the partial decomposition of
Nd2-xCexCuO4 (NCCO) in a low-oxygen-fugacity environment such as that typically
realized during the annealing process required to create a superconducting
state. Unlike a typical situation in which a disordered secondary phase results
in diffuse powder scattering, a serendipitous match between the in-plane
lattice constant of NCCO and the lattice constant of one of the decomposition
products, (Nd,Ce)2O3, causes the secondary phase to form an oriented,
quasi-two-dimensional epitaxial structure. Consequently, diffraction peaks from
the secondary phase appear at rational positions (H,K,0) in the reciprocal
space of NCCO. Additionally, because of neodymium paramagnetism, the
application of a magnetic field increases the low-temperature intensity
observed at these positions via neutron scattering. Such effects may mimic the
formation of a structural superlattice or the strengthening of
antiferromagnetic order of NCCO, but the intrinsic mechanism may be identified
through careful and systematic experimentation. For typical reduction
conditions, the (Nd,Ce)2O3 volume fraction is ~1%, and the secondary-phase
layers exhibit long-range order parallel to the NCCO CuO2 sheets and are 50-100
angstromsthick. The presence of the secondary phase should also be taken into
account in the analysis of other experiments on NCCO, such as transport
measurements.Comment: 15 pages, 17 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Phonon dispersion and electron-phonon coupling in MgB_2 and AlB_2
We present a first principles investigation of the lattice dynamics and
electron-phonon coupling of the superconductor MgB_2 and the isostructural
AlB_2 within the framework of density functional perturbation theory using a
mixed-basis pseudopotential method. Complete phonon dispersion curves and
Eliashberg functions \alpha^2F are calculated for both systems. We also report
on Raman measurements, which support the theoretical findings. The calculated
generalized density-of-states for MgB_2 is in excellent agreement with recent
neutron-scattering experiments. The main differences in the calculated phonon
spectra and \alpha^2F are related to high frequency in-plane boron vibrations.
As compared to AlB_2, they are strongly softened in MgB_2 and exhibit an
exceptionally strong coupling to electronic states at the Fermi energy. The
total coupling constants are \lambda_{MgB_2}=0.73 and \lambda_{AlB_2}=0.43.
Implications for the superconducting transition temperature are briefly
discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
The Distribution, Excitation and Formation of Cometary Molecules: Methanol, Methyl Cyanide and Ethylene Glycol
We present an interferometric and single dish study of small organic species
toward Comets C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) and C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) using the BIMA
interferometer at 3 mm and the ARO 12m telescope at 2 mm. For Comet Hale-Bopp,
both the single-dish and interferometer observations of CH3OH indicate an
excitation temperature of 105+/-5 K and an average production rate ratio
Q(CH3OH)/Q(H2O)~1.3% at ~1 AU. Additionally, the aperture synthesis
observations of CH3OH suggest a distribution well described by a spherical
outflow and no evidence of significant extended emission. Single-dish
observations of CH3CN in Comet Hale-Bopp indicate an excitation temperature of
200+/-10 K and a production rate ratio of Q(CH3CN)/Q(H2O)~0.017% at ~1 AU. The
non-detection of a previously claimed transition of cometary (CH2OH)2 toward
Comet Hale-Bopp with the 12m telescope indicates a compact distribution of
emission, D<9'' (<8500 km). For the single-dish observations of Comet T7
LINEAR, we find an excitation temperature of CH3OH of 35+/-5 K and a CH3OH
production rate ratio of Q(CH3OH)/Q(H2O)~1.5% at ~0.3 AU. Our data support
current chemical models that CH3OH, CH3CN and (CH2OH)2 are parent nuclear
species distributed into the coma via direct sublimation off cometary ices from
the nucleus with no evidence of significant production in the outer coma.Comment: accepted for publication in Ap
Ab initio Green's function formalism for band structures
Using the Green's function formalism, an ab initio theory for band structures
of crystals is derived starting from the Hartree-Fock approximation. It is
based on the algebraic diagrammatic construction scheme for the self-energy
which is formulated for crystal orbitals (CO-ADC). In this approach, the poles
of the Green's function are determined by solving a suitable Hermitian
eigenvalue problem. The method is not only applicable to the outer valence and
conduction bands, it is also stable for inner valence bands where strong
electron correlations are effective. The key to the proposed scheme is to
evaluate the self-energy in terms of Wannier orbitals before transforming it to
a crystal momentum representation. Exploiting the fact that electron
correlations are mainly local, one can truncate the lattice summations by an
appropriate configuration selection scheme. This yields a flat configuration
space; i.e., its size scales only linearly with the number of atoms per unit
cell for large systems and, under certain conditions, the computational effort
to determine band structures also scales linearly. As a first application of
the new formalism, a lithium fluoride crystal has been chosen. A minimal basis
set description is studied, and a satisfactory agreement with previous
theoretical and experimental results for the fundamental band gap and the width
of the F 2p valence band complex is obtained.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, RevTeX4, new section on lithium
fluorid
Simulation of thermal conductivity and heat transport in solids
Using molecular dynamics (MD) with classical interaction potentials we
present calculations of thermal conductivity and heat transport in crystals and
glasses. Inducing shock waves and heat pulses into the systems we study the
spreading of energy and temperature over the configurations. Phonon decay is
investigated by exciting single modes in the structures and monitoring the time
evolution of the amplitude using MD in a microcanonical ensemble. As examples,
crystalline and amorphous modifications of Selenium and are
considered.Comment: Revtex, 8 pages, 11 postscript figures, accepted for publication in
PR
High real-space resolution measurement of the local structure of Ga_1-xIn_xAs using x-ray diffraction
High real-space resolution atomic pair distribution functions (PDF)s from the
alloy series Ga_1-xIn_xAs have been obtained using high-energy x-ray
diffraction. The first peak in the PDF is resolved as a doublet due to the
presence of two nearest neighbor bond lengths, Ga-As and In-As, as previously
observed using XAFS. The widths of nearest, and higher, neighbor pairs are
analyzed by separating the strain broadening from the thermal motion. The
strain broadening is five times larger for distant atomic neighbors as compared
to nearest neighbors. The results are in agreement with model calculations.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Three dimensional hysdrodynamic lattice-gas simulations of binary immiscible and ternary amphiphilic flow through porous media
We report the results of a study of multiphase flow in porous media. A
Darcy's law for steady multiphase flow was investigated for both binary and
ternary amphiphilic flow. Linear flux-forcing relationships satisfying Onsager
reciprocity were shown to be a good approximation of the simulation data. The
dependence of the relative permeability coefficients on water saturation was
investigated and showed good qualitative agreement with experimental data.
Non-steady state invasion flows were investigated, with particular interest in
the asymptotic residual oil saturation. The addition of surfactant to the
invasive fluid was shown to significantly reduce the residual oil saturation.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev.
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