3,745 research outputs found
Temperature-dependent properties of the magnetic order in single-crystal BiFeO3
We report neutron diffraction and magnetization studies of the magnetic order
in multiferroic BiFeO3. In ferroelectric monodomain single crystals, there are
three magnetic cycloidal domains with propagation vectors equivalent by
crystallographic symmetry. The cycloid period slowly grows with increasing
temperature. The magnetic domain populations do not change with temperature
except in the close vicinity of the N{\P}eel temperature, at which, in
addition, a small jump in magneti- zation is observed. No evidence for the
spin-reorientation transitions proposed in previous Raman and dielectric
studies is found. The magnetic cycloid is slightly anharmonic for T=5 K. The
an- harmonicity is much smaller than previously reported in NMR studies. At
room temperature, a circular cycloid is observed, within errors. We argue that
the observed anharmonicity provides important clues for understanding
electromagnons in BiFeO3.Comment: In Press at PR
Spin-lattice order in frustrated ZnCr2O4
Using synchrotron X-rays and neutron diffraction we disentangle spin-lattice
order in highly frustrated ZnCrO where magnetic chromium ions occupy
the vertices of regular tetrahedra. Upon cooling below 12.5 K the quandary of
anti-aligning spins surrounding the triangular faces of tetrahedra is resolved
by establishing weak interactions on each triangle through an intricate lattice
distortion. The resulting spin order is however, not simply a N\'{e}el state on
strong bonds. A complex co-planar spin structure indicates that antisymmetric
and/or further neighbor exchange interactions also play a role as ZnCrO
resolves conflicting magnetic interactions
Singe ferroelectric and chiral magnetic domain of single-crystalline BiFeO in an electric field
We report polarized neutron scattering and piezoresponse force microscopy
studies of millimeter-sized single crystals of multiferroic BiFeO. The
crystals, grown below the Curie temperature, consist of a single ferroelectric
domain. Two unique electric polarization directions, as well as the populations
of equivalent spiral magnetic domains, can be switched reversibly by an
electric field. A ferroelectric monodomain with a single- single-helicity
spin spiral can be obtained. This level of control, so far unachievable in thin
films, makes single-crystal BiFeO a promising object for multiferroics
research.Comment: 4 figures in separate jpg file
Structural Anomalies at the Magnetic and Ferroelectric Transitions in (R=Tb, Dy, Ho)
Strong anomalies of the thermal expansion coefficients at the magnetic and
ferroelectric transitions have been detected in multiferroic . Their
correlation with anomalies of the specific heat and the dielectric constant is
discussed. The results provide evidence for the magnetic origin of the
ferroelectricity mediated by strong spin-lattice coupling in the compounds.
Neutron scattering data for indicate a spin reorientation at the
two low-temperature phase transitions
Spin and Lattice Structure of Single Crystal SrFe2As2
We use neutron scattering to study the spin and lattice structure on single
crystals of SrFe2As2, the parent compound of the FeAs based superconductor
(Sr,K)Fe2As2. We find that SrFe2As2 exhibits an abrupt structural phase
transitions at 220K, where the structure changes from tetragonal with lattice
parameters c > a = b to orthorhombic with c > a > b. At almost the same
temperature, Fe spins in SrFe2As2 develop a collinear antiferromagnetic
structure along the orthorhombic a-axis with spin direction parallel to this
a-axis. These results are consistent with earlier work on the RFeAsO (R = rare
earth elements) families of materials and on BaFe2As2, and therefore suggest
that static antiferromagnetic order is ubiquitous for the parent compound of
these FeAs-based high-transition temperature superconductors.Comment: 14 pages with 4 figure
Magnetic form factor of SrFeAs
Neutron diffraction measurements have been carried out to investigate the
magnetic form factor of the parent SrFe2As2 system of the iron-based
superconductors. The general feature is that the form factor is approximately
isotropic in wave vector, indicating that multiple d-orbitals of the iron atoms
are occupied as expected based on band theory. Inversion of the diffraction
data suggests that there is some elongation of the spin density toward the As
atoms. We have also extended the diffraction measurements to investigate a
possible jump in the c-axis lattice parameter at the structural phase
transition, but find no detectable change within the experimental
uncertainties
Cortico-subthalamic connection predicts individual differences in value-driven choice bias
It has been suggested that a connection between the STN and value-sensitive areas of the prefrontal cortex might mediate value-based actions in perceptual decision making. In this study, we first seek to quantify a structural connection between the STN and a cortical region that was associated with mechanisms underlying bias in choice behavior (vmPFC). Next, we tested whether individual differences in the probabilistic tract-strength of this connection were predictive for individual differences in the magnitude of bias in a perceptual decision-making task. Probabilistic tractography was used to measure the tract-strength between the STN and the vmPFC. Bias was quantified using an accumulation-to-bound model where a shift in the starting point of the accumulation of sensory evidence causes faster and more choices for an alternative that is more likely or more valuable. Results show that vmPFC is structurally connected with the STN and that the strength of this connection is predictive for choice bias towards an alternative that is more valuable, but not for choice bias towards an alternative that is more likely. These findings confirm the involvement of the cortico-subthalamic circuit in mechanisms underlying value-based actions in perceptual decision making
Neel to Spin-Glass-like Phase Transition versus Dilution in Geometrically Frustrated ZnCr_{2-2x}Ga_{2x}O_4
ZnCr2O4 undergoes a first order spin-Peierls-like phase transition at 12.5 K
from a cubic spin liquid phase to a tetragonal Neel state. Using powder
diffraction and single crystal polarized neutron scattering, we determined the
complex spin structure of the Neel phase. This phase consisted of several
magnetic domains with different characteristic wave vectors. This indicates
that the tetragonal phase of ZnCr2O4 is very close to a critical point
surrounded by many different Neel states. We have also studied, using elastic
and inelastic neutron scattering techniques, the effect of nonmagnetic dilution
on magnetic correlations in ZnCr_{2-2x}Ga_{2x}O_4 (x=0.05 and 0.3). For x=0.05,
the magnetic correlations do not change qualitatively from those in the pure
material, except that the phase transition becomes second order. For x= 0.3,
the spin-spin correlations become short range. Interestingly, the spatial
correlations of the frozen spins in the x=0.3 material are the same as those of
the fluctuating moments in the pure and the weakly diluted materials
Short-range incommensurate magnetic order near the superconducting phase boundary in Fe(1+d)Te(1-x)Se(x)
We performed elastic neutron scattering and magnetization measurements on
Fe(1.07)Te(0.75)Se(0.25) and FeTe(0.7)Se(0.3). Short-range incommensurate
magnetic order is observed in both samples. In the former sample with higher Fe
content, a broad magnetic peak appears around (0.46,0,0.5) at low temperature,
while in FeTe(0.7)Se(0.3) the broad magnetic peak is found to be closer to the
antiferromagnetic (AFM) wave-vector (0.5,0,0.5). The incommensurate peaks are
only observed on one side of the AFM wave-vector for both samples, which can be
modeled in terms of an imbalance of ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic
correlations between nearest-neighbor spins. We also find that with higher Se
(and lower Fe) concentration, the magnetic order becomes weaker while the
superconducting temperature and volume increase.Comment: Version as appeared in PR
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