Magnetism of ErAgSn studied by 119Sn Mössbauer spectroscopy

Antiferromagnetic ErAgSn compound was investigated in detail by ¹¹⁹Sn Mössbauer spectroscopy in a temperature range between 2.2 and 300 K. The ¹¹⁹Sn spectra recorded below 4.2 K can be well fitted with a single main magnetic component in agreement with recent neutron diffraction studies [1]. A broad distribution of magnetic hyperfine fields observed above 4.2 K and enhanced spin correlations among Er³⁺ ions at T > T _N = 5.6 K are the remarkable features of the investigated system.     

Mössbauer study of Lu2Fe3O7: A two-dimensional antiferromagnet on a triangular lattice

Mössbauer studies reveal that there are two kinds of Fe³⁺ spins with completely different characteristics in Lu₂Fe₃O₇: one is an Ising-like property and the other is a Heisenberg-like property in a two-dimensional antiferromagnet on a triangular lattice. The former spin orders ferrimagnetically along thec-axis at around 220 K. The latter spin is lying in thec-plane and a corresponding hyperfine magnetic field is observed at temperatures below 50 K. At very low temperatures, however, the latter spin has a component parallel to thec-axis and couples with the former spin. This finding is consistent with the modulated profile of the magnetic scattering in neutron diffraction and the result of a magnetization measurement.     

Magnetic structure determined by nuclear orientation

Conclusion In conclusion we suggest that nuclear orientation is a useful technique for determining nuclear spin structures. For a known hyperfine interaction atomic magnetic structures may also be deduced. Measurements on antiferromagnets and the rare earth magnet holmium demonstrate the method, although in the latter case the turn angle cannot be determined because of the limitation of L2 radiation. These experiments show that nuclear orientation can at least complement neutron diffraction and at best furnish information about magnetic structure when the latter technique is not applicable. We intend to study other rare earth magnets and more complicated antiferromagnetic structures.     

<Superscript>209</Superscript>Bi NMR spectrum of BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript> in the presence of spatial modulation of hyperfine fields

A complicated spin-echo spectrum was observed for ²⁰⁹Bi nuclei in a ferroelectric antiferromagnet BiFeO₃ in zero external field. This spectrum is the first example of nuclear quadrupole resonance of a system of diamagnetic atoms in a hyperfine magnetic field produced by the spatially modulated Fe³⁺ spin system and varying in orientation and magnitude. An attempt is undertaken to theoretically simulate the spectrum.     

Direct evidence for the magnetic ordering of Nd ions in NdMn2Si2 and NdMn2Ge2 by high resolution inelastic neutron scattering

We have investigated the low energy nuclear spin excitations in NdMn₂Si₂ and NdMn₂Ge₂ by high resolution inelastic neutron scattering. Previous neutron diffraction investigations gave ambiguous results about Nd magnetic ordering at low temperatures. The present element-specific technique gave direct evidence for the magnetic ordering of Nd ions. We found considerable difference in the process of the Nd magnetic ordering at low temperature in NdMn₂Si₂ and NdMn₂Ge₂. Our results are consistent with those of magnetization and recent neutron diffraction measurements.     

Temperature-scanned magnetic resonance and the evidence of two-way transfer of a nitrogen nuclear spin hyperfine interaction in coupled NV-N pairs in diamond

New method for the detection of magnetic resonance signals versus temperature is developed on the basis of the temperature dependence of the spin Hamiltonian parameters of the paramagnetic system under investigation. The implementation of this technique is demonstrated on the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamonds. Single NV defects and their ensembles are suggested to be almost inertialess temperature sensors. The hyperfine structure of the ¹⁴N nitrogen nuclei of the nitrogen-vacancy center appears to be resolved in the hyperfine structure characteristic of the hyperfine interaction between NV and an N _s center (substitutional nitrogen impurity) in the optically detected magnetic resonance spectra of the molecular NV-N _s complex. Thus, we show that a direct evidence of the two-way transfer of a nitrogen nuclear spin hyperfine interaction in coupled NV-N _s pairs was observed. It is shown that more than 3-fold enhancement of the NV optically detected magnetic resonance signal can be achieved by using water as a collection optics medium.     

Rescaling of 2D ESEEM Data as a Tool for Inverse Problem Solving

A rescaling procedure is proposed for electron spin echo envelope modulation spectra observed at several electron paramagnetic resonance transitions. Analytical expressions describing the relations between the rescaled frequencies and hyperfine and quadrupole parameters of the remote nucleus are obtained. The dependences of the rescaled data on the external magnetic field and spin projections of the ion nucleus and the remote nuclei are used to derive the parameters of the nuclear state in the crystals Y₂SiO₅ and YVO₄ doped by ion Nd³⁺.     

Application of M?ssbauer spectroscopy in magnetism

An overview is provided on our recent work that applies ⁵⁷Fe M?ssbauer spectroscopy to specific problems in nanomagnetism. ⁵⁷Fe conversion electron M?ssbauer spectroscopy (CEMS) in conjunction with the ⁵⁷Fe probe layer technique as well as ⁵⁷Fe nuclear resonant scattering (NRS) were employed for the study of various nanoscale layered systems: (i) metastable fct-Fe; a strongly enhanced hyperfine magnetic field B_hf of ～39?T at 25?K was observed in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) on uncoated three-monolayers thick epitaxial face-centered tetragonal (fct) ⁵⁷Fe(110) ultrathin films grown by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) on vicinal Pd(110) substrates; this indicates the presence of enhanced Fe local moments, μ_Fe, as predicted theoretically; (ii) Fe spin structure; by applying magnetic fields, the Fe spin structure during magnetization reversal in layered (Sm–Co)/Fe exchange spring magnets and in exchange-biased Fe/MnF₂ bilayers was proven to be non-collinear and depth-dependent; (iii) ferromagnet/semiconductor interfaces for electrical spin injection; CEMS was used as a diagnostic tool for the investigation of magnetism at the buried interface of Fe electrical contacts on the clean surface of GaAs(001) and GaAs(001)-based spin light-emitting diodes (spin LED) with in-plane or out-of-plane Fe spin orientation; the measured rather large average hyperfine field of ～27?T at 295?K and the distribution of hyperfine magnetic fields, P(B_hf), provide evidence for the absence of magnetically “dead” layers and the existence of relatively large Fe moments (μ_Fe ～ 1.8?μ_B) at the ferromagnet/semiconductor interface. - Finally, a short outlook is given for potential applications of M?ssbauer spectroscopy on topical subjects of nanomagnetism/spintronics.     

Pulsed ESR investigations of anisotropic interactions in M@C82 (M=Sc,Y,La)

82 , Y@C₈₂, and La@C₈₂ in frozen solutions. We were able to determine the g tensors of these molecules by analysing magnetic field spectra at X-band (9.5 GHz) and W-band (94 GHz) frequencies. Moreover, in Y@C₈₂ we have investigated the hyperfine interaction of the ⁸⁹Y nuclear spin (I=1/2) with the electron spin on the C₈₂ cage. The principal values of the hyperfine tensor A and the relative orientation of g and A tensors were determined by applying three- and four-pulse electron spin echo envelope modulation techniques (ESEEM). Received: 3 September 1997/Accepted: 10 November 1997     

Magnetic phase transitions and iron valence in the double perovskite Sr 2 FeOsO 6

The insulating and antiferromagnetic double perovskite Sr₂FeOsO₆ has been studied by ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy between 5 and 295 K. The iron atoms are essentially in the Fe^3?+? high spin $( {t_{2\mathrm{g}}{^3} e_\mathrm{g}{^2} } )$ and thus the osmium atoms in the Os $^{5+} ( {t_{2\mathrm{g}}{^3} } )$ state. Two magnetic phase transitions, which according to neutron diffraction studies occur below T _N?= 140 K and T ₂?= 67 K, give rise to magnetic hyperfine patterns, which differ considerably in the hyperfine fields and thus, in the corresponding ordered magnetic moments. The evolution of hyperfine field distributions, average values of the hyperfine fields, and magnetic moments with temperature suggests that the magnetic state formed below T _N is strongly frustrated. The frustration is released by a magneto-structural transition which below T ₂ leads to a different spin sequence along the c-direction of the tetragonal crystal structure.     

μSR study of the S=1/2 triangular lattice antiferromagnet AgNiO2

AgNiO₂, a model compound of an S=1/2 triangular lattice, was studied by muon spin relaxation in addition to ac, dc susceptibility, electrical resistivity and neutron diffraction. The relaxation rate shows a sharp peak at around T_N=28 K followed by a sudden decrease of initial asymmetry indicating a magnetic ordering. Three internal fields ranging from 0.2 to 0.3 T were obtained from the muon precession period. However, a neutron diffraction experiment failed to detect any magnetic order at low temperatures. From these results, it was concluded that magnetic coherence is confined to small domain compared with the coherence length of neutron diffraction due to spin frustration. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Hyperfine interaction in a quantum spin chain

From an electron spin resonance measurement on a single crystal sample of theS=1 linear chain Heisenberg antiferromagnet Ni(C₃H₁₀N₂)₂NO₂ClO₄ (NINO) containing a small amount of Cu impurity atoms, we have observed two sets of four hyperfine lines, one of which has almost three times larger field splitting than the other. The hyperfine lines are well explained as arising from the hyperfine interaction between the Cu nuclear spin andthe Cu electron spin which interact with theS=1/2 degrees of freedom induced at the Ni sites by the quantum effect. A large anisotropy in the hyperfine constant is observed andanalyzed using a ligand field theory with covalency effects.     

Spontaneous nuclear magnetic ordering in copper and silver at nano- and picokelvin temperatures

Owing to the weak mutual interactions, spontaneous nuclear magnetic ordering in metallic copper and silver occurs at 60 nK and 560 pK, respectively. These extremely low spin temperatures can be reached by two-stage adiabatic nuclear demagnetization. Spin ordering has been investigated by employing magnetic susceptibility measurements on copper and silver and by using neutron diffraction techniques on copper. Three antiferromagnetic phases in the field-entropy plane have been discovered in copper, caused by competition between the dipolar and Ruderman-Kittel exchange interactions; only one ordered state has been found in silver. Negative spin temperatures have been produced in silver as well, and a clear ferromagnetic tendency was observed when T < 0. The theoretically calculated spin-spin interactions, ordering temperatures, magnetic phase diagrams and ordered spin structures are in good overall agreement with experimental data for these two metals.     

Magnetic field dependence of 11B NMR in CeB6

The ¹¹B nuclear magnetic resonance in a dense Kondo system CeB₆ has been observed by the spin echo technique below 4.2 K at fixed frequencies of 2.5, 6.5, 13.33 and 18.00 MHz, which correspond to magnetic fields of 1.83, 4.76, 9.76 and 13.18 KOe for the free ¹¹B nucleus, respectively. The spectra in the phase II appeared to have two peaks in the magnetic field applied in the [111] direction, the spacing of which was found to be very small in zero external field and increased monotonically (up to 0.11 kOe at 2.6 K) with increasing field. On the other hand, the spectra in the phase III were complex. Especially, the spectra observed for [111] at 6.5 MHz were found to spread over 1.9 KOe and to have several peaks. From comparison between the experiments and the dipolar field calculation based on the recent neutron diffraction measurements, possible magnetic structures were examined for the phases II and III.     

Magnetic hyperfine interactions and compositional short range order in the Heusler alloys Cu2MnIn1-xSnx

A comprehensive study of the magnetic hyperfine interactions and the processes of crystallographic ordering in the Heusler alloy system Cu₂MnIn_1-xSn_x has been made. We report the results of Mössbauer effect experiments, X-ray diffraction studies, electrical transport, and Curie temperature measurements. By a rapid quenching, low temperature annealing technique we have been able to extend the ordered L2₁ structure to high Sn concentration. Observations of inequivalent Sn sites and nonunique ¹¹⁹Sn hyperfine field values in these alloys are shown to be due to difficulties in ordering the L2₁ structure and a basic instability of this phase for high Sn concentrations. The compositional variation of ¹¹⁹Sn hyperfine fields in the ordered L2₁ phase of the Cu₂MnIn_1-xSn_x system reveals a systematic increase with Sn composition. Calculations of these fields based on a homogeneously spin polarized electron gas model reproduce the observed field systematics quite well. The implications of these results on the nature of magnetic interactions in Heusler alloys are discussed.     

Hyperfine Fields of 181Ta in UFe4Al8

The γ–γ Perturbed Angular Correlation technique was used to study the hyperfine interaction of ¹⁸¹Ta at the Hf site(s) in UFe₄Al₈ at room temperature and 12 K. The data at room temperature are well described by two electric field gradients, while at low temperature two combined hyperfine interactions have to be considered, one with the magnetic hyperfine field collinear with the c-axis and another with the magnetic hyperfine field in the basal plane. The results are compared with previous Mössbauer and neutron diffraction experiments and the lattice site of Hf is discussed.

     

Effect of the nuclear hyperfine field on the 2D electron conductivity in the quantum Hall regime

The effect of the nuclear hyperfine interaction on the dc conductivity of 2D electrons under quantum Hall effect conditions at filling factor ν=1 is observed for the first time. The local hyperfine field enhanced by dynamic nuclear polarization is monitored via the Overhauser shift of the 2D conduction electron spin resonance in AlGaAs/GaAs multiquantum-well samples. The experimentally observed change in the dc conductivity resulting from dynamic nuclear polarization is in agreement with a thermal activation model incorporating the Zeeman energy change due to the hyperfine interaction. The relaxation decay time of the dc conductivity is, within experimental error, the same as the relaxation time of the nuclear spin polarization determined from the Overhauser shift. These findings unequivocally establish the nuclear spin origins of the observed conductivity change. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 69, No. 1, 58–63 (10 January 1999) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Edited by Steve Torstveit.     

Hyperfine switching triggered by resonant tunneling for the detection of a single nuclear spin qubit

A novel detection mechanism and a robust control of a single nuclear spin-flip by hyperfine interactions between the nuclear spin and tunneling electron spin are proposed on the basis of ab initio non-equilibrium Green's function calculations. The calculated relaxation times of the nuclear spin of proton in a nano-contact system, Pd(electrode)-H₂-Pd(electrode), show that ON/OFF switching of hyperfine interactions is effectively triggered by resonant tunneling mediated through the d-orbitals of Pd. The relaxation times at ON-resonance are ∼¹⁰³ times faster than those at OFF-resonance, indicating that ON-resonance is suitable for the detection (read-out) of nuclear spin states. In addition, the effectiveness of bias voltage applications at OFF-resonance for selective operations on the proton qubit is demonstrated in the calculations of the resonant frequencies of proton using the gauge-invariant atomic orbital method.     

Effective hyperfine temperature in frustrated Gd 2Sn 2O 7: two level model and 155Gd Mössbauer measurements

Using ¹⁵⁵Gd M?ssbauer spectroscopy down to 27 mK, we show that, in the geometrically frustrated pyrochlore Gd₂Sn₂O₇, the Gd³⁺ hyperfine levels are populated out of equilibrium. From this, we deduce that the hyperfine field, and the correlated Gd³⁺ moments which produce this field, continue to fluctuate as T ↦ 0. With a model of a spin 1/2 system experiencing a magnetic field which reverses randomly in time, we obtain an analytical expression for the steady state probability distribution of the level populations. This distribution is a simple function of the ratio of the nuclear spin relaxation time to the average electronic spin-flip time. In Gd₂Sn₂O₇, we find the two time scales are of the same order of magnitude. We discuss the mechanism giving rise to the nuclear spin relaxation and the influence of the electronic spin fluctuations on the hyperfine specific heat. The corresponding low temperature measurements in Gd₂Ti₂O₇ are presented and discussed. Received 17 October 2001 Published online 6 June 2002     

A neutron diffraction and Mössbauer study of NdFe9.25Si1.75Cx compounds

The crystallographic structures, magnetic properties and hyperfine interactions of NdFe_9.25Si_1.75C_x have been studied using neutron diffraction, magnetic and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectra measurements. The refinement of the powder neutron diffraction demonstrates that NdFe_9.25Si_1.75C_1.5 crystallizes in the BaCd₁₁-type structure with space group I4₁/amd and four formula units per unit cell. Nd atoms occupy 4a sites, and Fe atoms distribute on 4b, 8d and 32i sites. Si and C atoms occupy 8d and 8c sites, respectively. The saturation magnetization, the isomer shift (IS) and the hyperfine field reach their highest values at the carbon content x=1.0. With a set of phenomenological formulas, the contribution of the magneto-volume effect and the chemical bonding effect to the hyperfine parameters are successfully separated. The pure magneto-volume effect and the pure chemical bonding effect influence the hyperfine field and the IS differently. The former one increases both of them and the latter one decreases them. This is consistent with the rather strong bond between Fe(32i) and C(8c).