Synthesis and crystal growth

Abstract:

Through powder x-ray diffraction we have investigated the structural behavior of SmVO 3, in which orbital and magnetic degrees of freedom are believed to be closely coupled to the crystal lattice. We have found, contrary to previous reports, that SmVO 3 exists in a single, monoclinic phase below 200 K. The associated crystallographic distortion is then stabilized through the magnetostriction that occurs below 134 K. The crystal structure has been refined using synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction data measured throughout the structural phase diagram, showing a substantial Jahn-Teller distortion of the VO 6 octahedra in the monoclinic phase, compatible with the expected G-type orbital order. Changes in the vanadium ion crystal field due to the structural and magnetic transitions have then been probed by resonant x-ray diffraction. © 2012 American Physical Society.

Abstract:

We report on a detailed x-ray resonant scattering study of the bilayer iridate compound Sr 3Ir 2O 7 at the Ir L 2 and L 3 edges. Resonant scattering at the Ir L 3 edge has been used to determine that Sr 3Ir 2O 7 is a long-range ordered antiferromagnet below T N 230K with an ordering wave vector q=(12,12,0). The energy resonance at the L 3 edge was found to be a factor of ∼30 times larger than that at the L 2 edge. This remarkable effect has been seen in the single-layer compound Sr 2IrO 4 and has been linked to the observation of a J eff=12 spin-orbit insulator. Our result shows that despite the modified electronic structure of the bilayer compound, caused by the larger bandwidth, the effect of strong spin-orbit coupling on the resonant magnetic scattering persists. Using the program sarah, we have determined that the magnetic order consists of two domains with propagation vectors k 1=(12,12,0) and k 2=(12,-12,0), respectively. A raster measurement of a focused x-ray beam across the surface of the sample yielded images of domains of the order of 100μm, with odd and even L components, respectively. Fully relativistic, monoelectronic calculations using the Green's function technique for a muffin-tin potential have been employed to calculate the relative intensities of the L 2,3 edge resonances, comparing the effects of including spin-orbit coupling and the Hubbard U term. A large L 3 to L 2 edge intensity ratio (∼5) was found for calculations including spin-orbit coupling. Adding the Hubbard U term had no significant effect on the calculated spectra. © 2012 American Physical Society.

Abstract:

The critical behavior of the paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic transition in RMnO 3 (R = Sm, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Y) has been studied with an ac photopyroelectric calorimeter, which gives simultaneously the thermal diffusivity and specific heat as a function of temperature with high resolution around the Néel temperature. RMnO 3 (R = Sm, Tb, Dy) has an orthorhombic perovskite structure, whereas the other manganites are hexagonal, thus revealing a strong thermal anisotropy. SmMnO 3 with type-A antiferromagnetic ordering exhibits a 3D-XY critical behavior, which could be attributed to the peculiar site anisotropy of Sm3 + and the exchange interaction between Mn3 + and Sm3 + ions. The sinusoidal spin ordering in TbMnO 3 and DyMnO 3 can be phenomenologically described by the 3D-Heisenberg model. Finally, the hexagonal manganites RMnO 3 (R = Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Y) are close to the 3D-Heisenberg universality class, ruling out the chiral models predicted by the renormalization group theory. © 2012 American Physical Society.

Abstract:

We report the results of muon-spin relaxation measurements on the low-dimensional antiferromagnet Rb 4Cu(MoO 4) 3. No long-range magnetic order is observed down to 50 mK implying a ratio T N/J<0.005 (where J is the principal exchange strength along the spin chains) and an effective ratio of interchain to intrachain exchange of |J ⊥/J|<2×10 -3, making the material an excellent realization of a one-dimensional quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet. We probe the persistent spin excitations at low temperatures and find that ballistic spin transport dominates the excitations detected below 0.3 K. © 2012 American Physical Society.

Abstract:

We have studied the high-temperature multiferroic cupric oxide using polarized neutron diffraction as a function of temperature and applied electric field. We find that the chiral domain population can be varied using an external electric field applied along the b axis. With the aid of representation analysis, we deduce the incommensurate magnetic structure in the multiferroic phase. We conclude that the origin of the magnetoelectric coupling is consistent with recently proposed models which are based on the inverse Dzyaloshinskii - Moriya interaction. © 2012 American Physical Society.