Temperature Dependence of the Magnetic Hyperfine Field at 140Ce on Gd Sites in GdAg Compound

Perturbed gamma–gamma angular correlation technique was used to measure the magnetic hyperfine field at Gd sites in the intermetallic compound GdAg using the ¹⁴⁰La→¹⁴⁰Ce nuclear probe. A major and well-defined magnetic interaction is observed at ¹⁴⁰Ce substituting Gd sites in GdAg below 130 K, corresponding to a ferromagnetic ordering of Gd moments. The temperature dependence of magnetic hyperfine field, however, shows a sharp deviation from an expected Brillouin-like behavior for temperatures below 75 K. This additional magnetic interaction is believed to result from the polarization of Ce spin moments induced by the magnetic field from Gd atoms.     

Hyperfine Interactions in CeT2Ge2 (T = Mn,Co) Heavy Fermions Compounds Measured by TDPAC

Time Differential Perturbed γ–γ Angular Correlation (TDPAC) technique was used to measure the magnetic hyperfine field at both Ge and Ce sites in CeMn₂Ge₂ and CeCo₂Ge₂ intermetallic compounds. The ¹¹¹In (¹¹¹Cd) probe nuclei was used to investigate the hyperfine interaction at Ge sites, while the ¹⁴⁰La (¹⁴⁰Ce) nuclei was used to measure the magnetic hyperfine field at Ce site. The present measurements cover the temperature ranges from 10–460 K for CeMn₂Ge₂ and 9–295 K for CeCo₂Ge₂, respectively. The result for ¹¹¹Cd probe showed two distinct electric quadrupole frequencies above magnetic transition temperatures, in both compounds and a combined interaction in the magnetic region. The temperature dependence of the magnetic hyperfine field at ¹¹¹Cd at Mn site for the CeMn₂Ge₂ compound showed a transition from ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic phase around 320 K and from antiferromagnetic to paramagnetic phase at 420 K. While a small magnetic field was measured on ¹¹¹Cd at Co site, no magnetic field on ¹⁴⁰Ce site was observed in CeCo₂Ge₂. This revised version was published online in September 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Magnetization studies of TbFeO3

The spontaneous magnetization and principal magnetic susceptibilities of TbFeO₃ were measured from 4.2 to 300 K. The weak ferromagnetic moment is along the c crystallographic axis in the entire temperature range. The field dependence of the magnetization at 4.2 K was also studied. The magnetic behavior is interpreted in terms of an interaction between the ordered Fe³⁺ spin system and the electrons occupying the lowest lying “accidental” doublet of the Tb³⁺ ions. The FeTb interaction and the Tb³⁺ Van Vl eck susceptibility along the c axis play significant roles in determining the magnetic configuration of the Fe³⁺ spin system. No indication was found that the TbTb interaction plays a significant role in the magnetic behavior of TbFeO₃ at temperature above 4.2 K.     

Hyperfine interactions at R and In sites in RNiIn (R = Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho) compounds measured by perturbed angular correlation spectroscopy

Perturbed gamma–gamma angular correlation (PAC) technique was used to measure the magnetic hyperfine field (mhf) in RNiIn (R = Gd, Dy, Tb, Ho) intermetallic compounds using the ¹¹¹In→¹¹¹Cd and ¹⁴⁰La→¹⁴⁰Ce probe nuclei. The PAC spectra for ¹¹¹Cd measured above magnetic transition temperature show a major fraction with a well defined quadrupole interaction for all compounds except GdNiIn where a single frequency was observed. PAC measurements below T _C showed a combined electric quadrupole plus magnetic dipole interaction for ¹¹¹Cd probe at In sites, and a pure magnetic interaction for ¹⁴⁰Ce at R sites. The temperature dependence of mhf measured with ¹⁴⁰Ce at R sites shows that the values of fields drop to zero at temperatures around the expected T _C for each compound. However, in the measurements with ¹¹¹Cd at In sites, the mhf values become zero at temperatures which are smaller than T _C . The difference between the temperatures at which mhf is zero for ¹⁴⁰Ce and ¹¹¹Cd probes correlates with T _C . For each compound this difference decreases with T _C . The results are discussed in terms of the RKKY model for magnetic interactions and the existence of two magnetic systems, with distinct exchange interaction energies due to different types of atomic layers in these compounds.     

Magnetic hyperfine fields at Gd and in sites in GdPdIn compound

Perturbed gamma-gamma angular correlation (PAC) technique was used to measure the hyperfine interactions in the intermetallic compound GdPdIn using ¹¹¹In→ ¹¹¹Cd and ¹⁴⁰La→ ¹⁴⁰Ce probe nuclei at the In and Gd sites, respectively. The PAC results for ¹¹¹Cd show two well-defined electric quadrupole frequencies above T _C assigned to probes occupying Gd and In sites, with ~50% of site occupation each. The fraction corresponding to In sites increases with temperature reaching 95% around 500 K. Below T _C the measurements for ¹¹¹Cd probe showed combined electric quadrupole plus magnetic dipole interaction with sharp increase in the magnetic field below around 80 K. A pure magnetic interaction with lower hyperfine field values was observed at the Gd sites occupied by ¹⁴⁰Ce below 100 K.     

Mössbauer study of the magnetic and electric hyperfine interaction of dilute57Fe impurities in rare earth metal hosts

The hyperfine interaction of dilute⁵⁷Fe in the rare earth (RE)metals Gd to Lu was investigated by Mössbauer measurements with⁵⁷Co doped RE sources. In all hosts well split, 2-lines spectra were observed at room temperature, with slight asymmetries of the line intensities in some cases. The quadrupole splitting eQV_zz/2 increases from 0.29 mm/sec for Gd to 0.50 mm/sec for Tb, and decreases by less than 10 % between Tb and Lu. Only about 10 % of the corresponding electric fieldgradient (EFG) can be accounted for by the ionic EFG on a substitutional RE site. The temperature dependence of the EFG was measured in the case of Tb. No variation within 3 percent was found between 300 K and 700 K. Measurements of the magnetic hyperfine interaction at low temperatures were carried out in Tb. The saturation field of⁵⁷Fe in this host is H_hf(FeTb;4.2 K)=25(2) KOe. The temperature dependence of the magnetic hyperfine field does not follow the host magnetization (T_c=220K) but vanishes at about 80 K. Similar anomalies of H_hf(T) have previously been observed for other transition element impurities in the RE ferromagnets.     

Investigation of Hyperfine Interactions in GdNiIn Compound

Perturbed gamma–gamma angular correlation technique was used to measure the hyperfine interactions in the compound GdNiIn using the ¹¹¹InCd → and ¹⁴⁰La¹⁴⁰Ce probe nuclei at the In and Gd sites, respectively. A unique quadrupole frequency with asymmetry parameter η = 0.78 was observed for ¹¹¹Cd probe at In sites for the measurements above Curie temperature. Below T _C , the spectra for ¹¹¹Cd show combined magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole interaction. Below 85 K, a unique magnetic interaction is observed at ¹⁴⁰Ce. A linear relationship between the saturated magnetic hyperfine field and the magnetic transition temperature was observed for both probes, indicating that the main contribution to the mhf comes from the conduction electron polarization.     

Susceptibility measurements on some R5In3 compounds

The magnetic susceptibility of some rare earth-indium compounds has been measured in the temperature range 4.2–300 K under a constant field of 1 kOe. The compounds with R = Gd, Tb and Dy are antiferromagnetic, having Néel temperatures between 4.2 and 78 K ; those with R = Ho, Er and Tm seem to be ferromagnetic with ordering temperatures probably below 4.2 K. Y₅In₃ presents a temperature independent susceptibility.     

Investigation of the Magnetic Hyperfine Field at 140Ce on Gd Sites in GdCo2 Compound

Perturbed angular correlation experiments on ¹⁴⁰La–¹⁴⁰Ce probes substituting for the Gd positions on GdCo2 demonstrate that the magnetic hyperfine field (MHF) on Ce atoms follows an expected Brillouin function but with a substantially reduced saturation value as compared with the MHF acting on free Ce⁺³ ions. The results were interpreted with the aid of first principles electronic structure calculations showing that the reduced value of the MHF is a consequence of a small orbital contribution to the MHF which was attributed to the de-localization of the Ce 4f electronic state.     

Temperature dependence of the magnetic hyperfine field at cerium impurity in Co

Perturbed gamma-gamma angular correlation (PAC) technique was used to measure the magnetic hyperfine field (B _hf ) at Ce impurity in Co using ¹⁴⁰La→ ¹⁴⁰Ce probe. The radioactive ¹⁴⁰La produced by neutron irradiation of lanthanum metal with thermal neutrons was introduced in Co by arc melting in argon atmosphere. The present measurements cover the temperature range from 4.2– 1300 K. Two pure magnetic interactions were observed at impurity sites, corresponding to a ferromagnetic ordering of Co moments in hcp and fcc phases. The temperature dependence of B _hf for both phases, however, shows a sharp deviation from an expected standard Brillouin-like behavior for the host magnetization. The results are discussed in terms of a simple molecular-field model where the localized moment at impurity ions as well as the conduction electron contributions to the hyperfine field are taken into account.     

μ+SR study of heavy-fermion magnetism in Ce(Cu1-xNix)2Ge2

We report muon spin relaxation (μ⁺SR) studies on the magnetic phase diagram of Ce(Cu_1-xNi_x)₂Ge₂ polycrystals for 0.5≤ x ≤ 0.8. A sharp magnetic transition, evidenced by the appearance of a fast Gaussian relaxation component σ, has been observed in the x = 0.5 alloy at 4.0 K in zero applied field. The average local field < B_μ> at the stopping sites of the muons, extracted from σ, exhibits a linear temperature dependence. We associate these features with an incommensurate spin density wave (SDW) ordering. Magnetic ordering, either long range or short range, and signatures of non-Fermi liquid behaviour have not been observed down to 2.0 K at x = 0.8. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects in Tb6Co1.67Si3 compound

Magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effects of Tb₆Co_1.67Si₃ have been investigated by magnetization measurement. This compound is of a hexagonal Ce$_{6}$Ni$_{2}$Si$_{3}$-type structure with a saturation magnetization of 187\,emu/g at 5\,K and a reversible second-order magnetic transition at Curie temperature $T_{\rm C} = 186$\,K. A magnetic entropy change $\Delta S = 7$\,J\,$\cdot$\,kg$^{-1}$\,$\cdot$\,K$^{-1}$ is observed for a magnetic field change from 0 to 5\,T. A large value of refrigerant capacity (RC) is found to be 330\,J/kg for fields ranging from 0 to 5\,T. The large RC, the reversible magnetization around $T_{\rm C}$ and the easy fabrication make the Tb₆Co_1.67Si₃ compound a suitable candidate for magnetic refrigerants in a corresponding temperature range.     

Magnetization,AC susceptibility and microwave absorption in Tb and Gd70Tb30

Measurements of magnetization, ac susceptibility and microwave absorption at 9.5 and 35 GHz, have been carried out with single crystals of Tb and Gd₇₀Tb₃₀. The critical temperatures for Tb were in agreement with previous published results. The Curie Temperature for Gd₇₀Tb₃₀ was measured to be (275 ± 2) K. Anisotropy constants have been derived from the microwave measurements. The value of K₂ at 0 K is estimated to 8.8 × 10⁸ erg cm^-3 (Tb) and 1.3 × 10⁸ erg cm^-3 (Gd₇₀Tb₃₀). At 77 K, the value of K₆ is estimated to be 6 × 10⁴ erg cm^-3 (Gd₇₀Tb₃₀.     

Local magnetic susceptibility in γ- and α-Ce

The local susceptibility, below and above the γ-α transition, was measured with the DPAC method using the¹⁴⁰Ce probe. The ratio β between the local and the applied field was β_γ=1.20(2) and β_α=1.13(1) at 295 K. The latter value is larger than expected for a completely delocalized 4f electron.     

EPR of Cu2+-doped Cs2CO3 and CsHCO3: evidence of the Jahn–Teller effect

Cu²⁺-doped Cs₂CO₃ and CsHCO₃ single crystals were investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance between 113–273 and 173–313 K, respectively. For both single crystals, two sites were observed for the Cu²⁺ at ambient temperature for arbitrary orientations of the single crystals in the magnetic field. However, when the temperature is varied, the spectra indicate the equivalence of the two sites at 225 and 240 K for the single crystals, respectively, to the above order. Below and above these temperatures two sites for Cu²⁺ appear, and below 133 and 173 K the signals do not vary and two sites were always observed. This is attributed to the transition of the dynamic Jahn–Teller effect to a static situation at lower temperatures. Cu²⁺ seems to replace Cs⁺ and the charge compensation is fulfilled by another Cs⁺. Spin-Hamiltonian parameters for both single crystals at ambient temperature are reported and discussed.     

Ferromagnetic resonance of magnetic field oriented Fe3O4 nanoparticles in frozen ferrofluids

Measurements of the orientational dependence of the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectra are made on Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles in ferrofluids solidified in dc magnetic fields. The in field solidification locks the direction of magnetization parallel to the direction of the cooling field enabling measurements as a function of orientation with respect to the direction of magnetization in the frozen state. The g value of the FMR spectra at 77 K is 2.16 and the anisotropy constant is −1.23 J/m³. A marked reduction of the difference between the field position in the parallel and perpendicular orientation onsets on warming to 140 K well below the melting temperature of the fluid carrier and is attributed to the onset of fluctuations in the direction of the magnetization in the solid phase. The phase transition of the magnetic symmetry observed in bulk Fe₃O₄ occurs at much lower temperature in the nanoparticles.     

Investigation of Hyperfine Interactions in CeIn3 byTDPAC

Magnetic hyperfine fields (mhf) at ¹¹¹Cd and ¹⁴⁰Ce nuclei, dilutely substituting the In and Ce sites, respectively, have been measured in the intermetallic compound CeIn₃ using perturbed angular correlation technique. A pure electric quadrupole interaction with an axially symmetric electric field gradient was observed at ¹¹¹In(EC)¹¹¹Cd probe nuclei at room temperature while a combined magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole interaction is observed below 10K. Below the ordering temperature, only a magnetic interaction is observed at ¹⁴⁰La(^–)¹⁴⁰Ce probe. The values of mhf measured experimentally as a function of temperature are discussed in terms of critical behavior.     

Effect of indium addition on the structure and magnetic properties of YIG

In this work we report the structure and magnetic properties of a series of single-phase indium-substituted yttrium iron garnet (In-YIG) nanoparticles with nominal composition of Y₃In_xFe_5−xO₁₂ (x=0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4) prepared by conventional mixed oxide route. Based on XRD results, the lattice parameters of the samples increased with increase in In³⁺ content due to its larger ionic radius. Mössbauer results confirmed the substitution of In³⁺ for Fe³⁺ in [a] site of YIG structure. Further, the magnitudes of the magnetic hyperfine field (MHF) were seen to reduce due to indium substitution. Moreover, a rising trend was observed for saturation magnetization (M_S) of the samples with x>0.2 owing to the substitution of non-magnetic In³⁺ for Fe³⁺. However, the observed initial drop of M_S for the sample with x=0.2 compared to that with x=0.1 is possibly attributed to the dominance of spin canting over the net magnetization rise caused by In³⁺ in [a] sites.     

Investigation of the different nature of magnetic hyperfine fields of Ce probes in Gd and Co matrices

The magnetic hyperfine fields (MHF) acting on ¹⁴⁰Ce probes diluted in Gd and Co matrices, measured at low temperatures, were compared with those obtained from first-principles electronic structure calculations. It was found that the origin of the MHF for these two situations is completely different even though the total MHF presents similar values on both the cases. For Ce diluted in Gd, the Ce 4f shell is localized and the orbital MHF dominates. On the other hand, for Ce probes in Co matrix the Ce 4f shell is delocalized and, as a consequence, the MHF is dominated by the Fermi-contact contribution.     

Optical absorption spectra and magnetic phase transitions in TbFe<Subscript>3</Subscript>(BO<Subscript>3</Subscript>)<Subscript>4</Subscript>

Optical absorption spectra of the trigonal crystal of TbFe₃(BO₃)₄ in the vicinity of the ⁷F₆ → ⁵D₄ transition in a Tb³⁺ ion were studied as a function of temperature (2–70 K) and magnetic field strength (0–60 kOe) at 2 K. The splitting of the excited states of Tb³⁺ due to both the magnetic ordering of iron and an external magnetic field was determined. Abrupt splitting of the absorption lines of Tb³⁺ at temperature T_N of the magnetic ordering of the subsystem of iron was revealed, suggesting that the nature of such splitting is not entirely magnetic.