Low frequency acoustic and dielectric measurements on glasses

The acoustic and dielectric properties of different glasses at audio frequencies and temperatures below 1 K have been investigated with the vibrating reed and a capacitance bridge technique. We found the temperature dependence of the absorption of vitreous silica (Suprasil W) to agree with the predictions of the tunneling model which is commonly used to explain the low temperature behaviour of amorphous materials. The variation of the sound velocity and of the dielectric constant, however, shows significant deviations from the expected behaviour which cannot be accounted for by a simple modification of the model. Instead, it seems to be necessary to introduce a temperature dependence of some relevant model parameters. Moreover, at very low temperatures (T < 0.1 K) the sound velocity strongly depends on the excitation levels. The absence of this effect at higher temperatures proves that it can be ascribed to a nonlinear response of tunneling systems. Similar results were found in sound velocity measurements on a cover glass and on a superconducting metallic glass (Pd₃₀Zr₇₀, T_c = 2.6 K), which indicates that these features are a general aspect of the dynamics of tunneling states in glasses. In contrast to the insulating glasses we found that in Pd₃₀Zr₇₀ also the internal friction is strain dependent.     

Low temperature thermal properties and intrinsic defects in vitreous silica

Measurements of the low temperature specific heatC _p (0.04KT2.4K) and thermal conductivityk (0.5KT20K) of high purity vitreous silica (Suprasil W) in the as-received and electron-irradiated states are reported. In the temperature range where the localized excitations inherent in glasses dominateC _p (T0.5K) no change is observed upon electron irradiation of up to 10¹⁹e^– (total dose). An anomalyC around 1.8K is observed inC _p which is reduced by 40% upon irradiation. However, ask is not affected by electron irradiation, localized excitations as origin forC can be ruled out. The density of paramagnetic centers in the most heavily irradiated sample is 510¹⁷cm^–3 as obtained from the ESR signal. It has been suggested that these centers have diamagnetic precursors in the unirradiated glass. Our measurements indicate that those defects are not associated with the localized excitations.     

Acoustic properties of amorphous SiO2 and PdSiCu,and of crystalline Ag,NbTi and Ta at very low temperatures

With the vibrating reed and vibrating wire techniques we have investigated the acoustic properties of vitreous silica (SiO₂, Suprasil I) and of amorphous PdSiCu as well as of polycrystalline Ag, NbTi and Ta at frequencies of 100 Hz/2<6 kHz and at temperatures of 0.1 mKT1 K. The relative change of sound velocity v/v of SiO₂ shows saturation effects, strain amplitude dependence, as well as an unexpected temperature dependence below its maximum atT<50 mK. For PdSiCu we observe that below a certain temperature, which depends on the applied strain, the temperature dependence of the sound velocityv deviates from the logarithmic behavior observed at higher temperatures and reaches an almost constant value atT<1 mK. In the same temperature rangeQ ^–1 does not remain constant but steadily decreases. The acoustic properties of the two amorphous materials at finite strain show substantial deviations from the standard tunneling model. Some of the observed anomalies can be explained taking into account the change of population of the tunneling systems energy states and a nonlinear relaxation absorption. For polycrystalline Ag we find v/v lnT andQ ^–1T ^1/3 over three decades inT atT<100 mK; it shows low-temperature acoustic properties which are strikingly similar to those of amorphous materials. The temperature and strain dependencies of the acoustic properties of polycrystalline superconducting NbTi and Ta resemble those obtained for SiO₂. These results indicate that there are basically no differences in the low-temperature acoustic properties of polycrystals and amorphous materials.     

Boson peak measurements in neutron-irradiated quartz crystals

We have measured the low-frequency Raman scattering in neutron-irradiated quartz crystals with four different irradiation doses from 4.7×10¹⁹ n/cm² to 1×10²⁰ n/cm² and for 2 different crystallographic directions. For the used doses the range of density change of the investigated samples was 12% (the maximum change during amorphization is 14%) and the amorphous fraction varied from 35% to 100%. The same measurement was done in neutron-irradiated amorphous silica with a maximal dose 2×10²⁰ n/cm². In all cases we observed the boson peak in the Raman spectra. The position of the peak, at 67±3 cm^-1, was found to be the same for all the investigated samples independent of the dose. The shape of the peak for doses 6.8× 10¹⁹ n/cm² and higher was also found to be the same for 5 investigated samples (including irradiated vitreous silica). We found that the position of the boson peak in neutron-irradiated quartz crystals and vitreous silica corresponds to the Ioffe-Regel crossover frequency for phonons. The origin of the boson peak in neutron-irradiated quartz and vitreous silica can be attributed to local soft optic modes, which are analogous to the soft optic mode that drives the α–β transition in quartz.     

Magnetic circular dichroism in the absorption of theF A centre in KCl doped with Li and Na

Summary The spin-orbit structure ofF _A centres in KCl:Li and KCl:Na have been studied by means of the magnetic circular dichroism. Due to theirC _4V symmetry theF _A centres have two different spin-orbit parameters, Δ^‖ and Δ^⊥, which only in the KCl:Li case follow the relation: Δ^‖ < Δ_F < Δ^⊥ as expected from the theory. For a close comparison we have also reported our measurement of the spin-orbit coupling ofF centre in KCl. The spin-orbit parameters of theF andF _A centres have been determined using the method of moment.     

Coexistence curve and rectilinear diameter in the critical liquid system carbon disulphide+nitromethane

The phase boundary of the binary liquid system CS₂+CH₃NO₂ is studied over nearly six decades in reduced temperature 3×10⁻⁶<ε=(T _C−T)/T _C<2×10⁻¹ and over the composition range 8-98 mole % of CS₂. The critical parameters areT _C=335.13₂K andx _C=57.3₄ mole % of CS₂. A single critical exponentβ=0.315±0.004 fits the observations over the entire range with no indication ofβ increasing to the classical value of 1/2 far away fromT _C. The diameter of the coexistence curve shows a rectilinear behaviour only far away fromT _C. NearT _C, the deviation ΔX from the rectilinear law seems to fit a curve of the form ΔX=fε^7/8 exp (−gε ^h), the derivative of which has a singularity like that of specific heat. An ambiguity in the analysis of the data in terms of mole fractions and volume fractions is pointed out. It is also suggested that the curvature of the diameter may be much weaker in a liquid-gas system and hence might have escaped detection.     

Low-temperature specific heat of icosahedral and amorphous Pd−U−Si alloys

Icosahedral (I) Pd_0.588U_0.206Si_0.206 can be obtained from melt-spun amorphous (A) ribbons by annealing. The specific heatC (measured betweenT=0.1 K and 20 K) shows very similar behavior for both phases. The main features ofC are as follows. (i) The vibrational heat capacityC _ph dominatesC at highT.C _ph is almost identical in both phases, in agreement with recent inelastic neutron scattering data. (ii) Shallow maxima in (C–C _ph)/T vs.T are found at 5.4 and 4.3 K forI andA phases, respectively, associated with magnetic order. These maxima are suppressed by 20% in an applied magnetic field of 6 T. (iii) A large quasi-linear contribution is observed with a low-T coefficient =165 mJ/mole U K² for theI phase and =120 mJ/mole U K² for theA phase. In the low-T region,C is hardly affected by a field of 6 T. This hints at the formation of a narrow 5f band with a comparable density of states for bothI andA phases.     

Effects of impurity on the entanglement of the three-qubit Heisenberg XXX spin chain

We investigate the entanglement of the three-qubit Heisenberg XXX chain in the presence of impurity and obtain the analytical expressions of the concurrence C. It is found that for impurity entanglement, C appears only when J ₁ > J for J > 0, and J ₁ > 0 for J < 0, and in these two regions C increases with the increase of J ₁, so is the critical temperature T _c. When J ₁ ≫ | J |, C reaches its maximum value 0.5 and T _c reaches the asymptotic value T _c = 3.41448J ₁. For entanglement between the normal lattices, C appears only when J > 0 and −2J < J ₁ < J, and initially increases with the increase of J ₁ and arrives at the maximum value C _max = (e^4J/T −3)/(e^4J/T + 3) before it decays to zero gradually, so is the critical temperature T _c with, however, the maximum value T _cmax = 4J/In3. Supported by the Natural Science Research Project of Shaanxi Province (Grant No. 2004A15)     

Temperaturabhängigkeit von Knight-shift und Suszeptibilität von Vanadium und Niob

Knight-shiftK and susceptibility have been investigated on single-crystals of vanadium and niobium between 4 K and 290 K.In the case ofV the changes ofK and are found to be of opposite sign and proportional toT ² with good approximation. This can be explained by theT-dependence of spin-paramagnetism of 3d-electrons. The hyperfine field due to oned-electron spin is found to be — 90 kG. Small deviations from theT ²-law are explained by minor changes in the orbital susceptibility, which gives the main constituents toK and. In the case of Nb only is found to be proportional toT ². TheT-dependence ofK is very small and shows a maximum at 140 K. This can be explained by theT-dependence of spinparamagnetism of 4d-electrons as well as 5s-electrons.     

Hebel-Slichter peak and superconducting energy gap in Rb3C60 observed by muon spin relaxation

Muon spin relaxation has been observed in both the normal and superconducting states of Rb₃C₆₀ (T _c=29.3K). The field dependence of theT ₁ spin relaxation rate is due to muonium undergoing spin-exchange scattering with conduction electrons, making this the first observation of muonium in a metal. The temperature dependence ofT ₁ ^–1 shows a Hebel-Slichter coherence peak just belowT _c which is not seen in¹³C spin relaxation. The peak can be fit assuming spin relaxation due to interaction with the quasiparticle excitations of a BCS superconductor provided the density of states is broadened relative to that of BCS. Such fits yield a value for the zero temperature energy gap, ₀/k _B , of 53(4)K, consistent with weak-coupling BCS.     

2H-NMR study of ammonium ion rotational tunneling and reorientation in (ND4)2SnCl6 single crystal: II.T levels structure

In the preceding paper (Z. Phys. B — Condensed Matter66, 363 (1987)) we had shown that²H-NMR spectra of ND ₄ ⁺ in a cubic potential were separable into components originating fromA, E andT symmetry species. Separations of theA andE doublets supply currently an unique way to measure theA–T tunneling splitting up to about 10 MHz. Now we analyse tunneling effects and angular dependence ofT spectral components. Calculated spectra show angular dependence which varies withT levels structure. The spectra depend on theT–T splittings, allowing their evaluation up to about 1 MHz. The threeT levels of ND ₄ ⁺ in (ND₄)₂SnCl₆ are found to be split asymmetrically by 91.5 kHz and 49.5 kHz at 4.2 K. The isotope reduction for theT level splittings amounts to about 670, in contrast to a factor 100 found for theA–T splitting.     

Structural relaxation effects on the low-temperature properties of vitreous silica

Measurements of the low-temperature specific heatC and thermal conductivity of vitreous silica after heat treatment at temperaturesT _a between 900°C and 1,400°C are reported. A decrease ofC and an increase of are observed over the whole temperature range studied (C0.06K<T<6K; 0.5 K<T<20 K). Below 1 K the changes inC and (10%) are attributed to a dependence of the density of tunneling states on the fictive temperature. Measurements of the thermal conductivity show that these changes are reversible, thus strongly supporting the evidence for a connection between the tunneling states and the quasi-equilibrium state which is frozen in when an undercooled liquid drops out of thermal equilibrium. Our results are compared to predictions of the free-volume theory of the glass transition. At higher temperaturesC decreases by roughly the same amount as below 1 K while increases by up to 30%. The dependence ofC and onT _a cannot be explained unambigously in terms of a phonon-fraction crossover in the vibrational density of states. Instead, a recently proposed model of coupled SiO₄ rotations is favored.Dedicated to B. Mühlschlegel on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

The classification of superconductors using muon spin rotation

In this paper we explore the role of muon spin rotation (μSR) techniques in the characterization and classification of superconducting materials. In particular we focus upon the Uemura classification scheme which considers the correlation between the superconducting transition temperature,T _c, and the effective Fermi temperature,T _F, determined from μSR measurements of the penetration depth. Within this scheme strongly correlated “exotic” superconductors, i.e, hightT _C cuprates, heavy fermions, Chevrel phases and the organic superconductors, form a common but distinct group, characterized by a universal scaling ofT _C withT _F such that 1/100 <T _C/T _F<1/10. For conventional BCS superconductorsT _C/T _F<1/1000. The results of new μSR measurements of the penetration depth in superconducting Y(Ni_1?x Co _x )₂B₂C and YB₆ are also presented. In Y(Ni_1?x Co _x )₂B₂C the decrease ofT _C with increasing Co concentration is linked to a marked decrease in the carrier density from 2.9·10²⁸ m^?3 atx=0 to 0.6·10²⁸ m^?3, atx=0.1, while the carrier mass enhancement remains almost constant at approximately 10. For YB₆ we find evidence of a modest enhancement of the carrier mass (m ^*/m=3), and a relatively low carrier density of 0.24·10²⁸ m^?3. These results are discussed within the Uemura classification scheme. It is found that neither Y(Ni_1?x Co _x )₂B₂C withT _c/T _F>>1/250 nor YB₆ withT _C/T _F>>1/340 can be definitively classified as either “exttic” or “conventional”, but instead the compounds display behavior which interpolates between the two regimes.     

Mössbauer study of spin states in amorphous Fe100−x Zr x alloys

Spin states in amorphous Fe_100–x Zr_x (7x12) are investigated using hyperfine field distributions (HFDs) as derived from⁵⁷Fe transmission Mössbauer experiments. The existence of low-, medium- and high-spin states is demonstrated by three-dimensional projections of HFDs. Temperature dependences of the corresponding average values revealed anomalous behaviour in the vicinity ofT _fc. An increase in the hyperfine magnetic fields observed towards low temperatures is discussed in terms of a ferromagnet-to-spin-glass transition. Utilizing also theT _c values, which were obtained from a thermal scanning Mössbauer technique, we propose a diagram of spin states in amorphous Fe-Zr.     

TDPAC studies of Hf doped YBCO

Time differential perturbed angular correlation measurements of the 133–482 keVγ-γ cascade of¹⁸¹Ta in Hf-doped YBa₂Cu₃O_7−x are presented. The¹⁸¹Hf precurser nuclei are incorporated into the sample by thermal neutron irradiation. Two quadrupole interaction frequencies are observed in the as-irradiated sample:v _Q1=161±10 MHz with intensityf ₁=75%, asymmetry parameterη ₁=0.32 and damping parameter Λ₁=0.42, andv _Q2=1108±40 MHz withf ₂=25%,η ₂=0.62, and Λ₂=0.60. On annealing the sample in air at various temperaturesT _a and quenching to room temperature,f ₁ remained nearly constant forT _a<600°C andv _Q1 for all annealing temperatures indicating that these are insensitive to oxygen stoichiometry. This frequency is interpreted to be due to¹⁸¹Hf substitutingY sites. BeyondT _a=600°C,f ₁ increased and reached a constant value of 90% forT _a=800°C. The value ofv _Q2 showed a slight variation between 1086 and 1160 MHz, whilef ₂ remained nearly constant at 25% forT _a<600°C. This component is identified to be due to¹⁸¹Hf substituting Cu 1 sites in the Cu-O chains of YBCO. Above 600°Cv _Q2 decreased and reached a value of 808 MHz beyond 750°C.     

On quark matter in a strong magnetic field

The effect of strong magnetic field on the bulk properties of quark matter is reinvestigated takingu, d ands-quarks as well as electrons in the presence of magnetic field. Here the bag pressure is chosen such that in the absence of magnetic field and at zero temperature the binding energy of theuds-system is <930 MeV while that ofud-system is greater than 940 MeV. It is observed that the equation of state changes significantly in a strong magnetic field. At finite temperature the electron chemical potential varies between 6 and 50 MeV. Thus the expansion of thermodynamical quantities in powers ofT/(Μ _i ² -M _v ⁽ⁱ⁾² )^1/2 is valid only up to few MeV. For high temperatures ∼40 MeV the exact integral expressions are to be taken.     

Influence of collisional coupling on the energy extraction from theB,C, andD state in KrF

Collisional coupling between theB, C, andD states of KrF is measured in a discharge pumped KrF laser. Detection of the time resolved populations in the three states via measurement of the side fluorescence in theB→X, C→A, andD→X bands is used to record the collisional relaxation from theC andD state to theB state during laser emission. The experimentally determined limits for the collisional coupling times are τ_B-C≦1 ns and τ_B-D,τ_C-D<20 ns at total pressures of 2 bar. Investigation of theB→X fluorescence band shows that the vibrational manifold of theB state is not thermalized during laser emission. TheV-V,T coupling time is estimated to be τ_V-V,T=4±2 ns. The influence of collisional coupling on energy extraction in the KrF laser is discussed.     

Proton NMR study of molecular motion in bulk and in highly drawn fiber polyamide-6

The proton motion in bulk and highly drawn fiber polyamide-6 has been studied by field cycling relaxometry and proton line shape measurements. The dips in theT ₁ dispersion allowed for the determination of the¹⁴N quadrupole coupling tensor. The fact that only one set of¹⁴N nuclear quadrupole resonance lines, has been found shows that all N-H groups in nylon-6 are H-bonded. A striking difference in the main line width transition and the low-frequency molecular dynamics has been observed between a slowly cooled “bulk” polyamide-6 sample and a rapidly cooled and highly drawn “fiber” sample by wide line proton nuclear magnetic resonance line shape and spin-lattice relaxation time measurements. This result is consistent with the picture that shearing melt processing procedures, such as spinning, plant stable and long-lived crystallization nuclei into the amorphous phase which impose additional motional constraints on the surroundings and inhibit the self-diffusion process.     

<Superscript>1</Superscript>H NMR study of molecular dynamics of acetylcholine chloride

The longitudinal relaxation timeT ₁ and the second momentM ₂ of¹H nuclear magnetic resonance line in a wide temperature range have been measured for acetylcholine chloride. Two different types of the methyl groups reorientation occurred. The first type was the hindered rotation of the methyl group denoted as C(1)H₃ about the threefold symmetry axis. The second type was the reorientation of the trimethyl group-N(CH₃)₃ around the pseudo C₃^′ axis of C(6)-N(7) bond, which accompanied the standard C₃ motion of the methyl group. The Dunn-McDowell model was applied to analyze the dynamics observed.     

NMR study of the magnetic properties and electronic structure of amorphous Ni−B−P alloys

The¹¹B and³¹P NMR Knight shift (K) and Korringa spin-lattice relaxation rate (1/T ₁ T) have been measured for amorphous Ni_81.5B_18.5−x P _x alloys with 0≤x≤18.5. In accordance with previous bulk measurements, the³¹P NMR parameters vary markedly with composition whereas the¹¹B NMR parameters remain almost constant except for small P-contents. It is suggested that the d-band contribution toK(³¹P) is positive and that toK(¹¹B) is negative. The data further support our previous conclusion that amorphous Ni_81.5B_18.5 is a Pauli paramagnet rather than a weak itinerant ferromagnet.