Magnetic correlations in oxides: Neutron diffraction and neutron depolarization study

We have studied magnetic correlations in several oxide materials that belong to colossal magnetoresistive, naturally occurring layered oxide showing low-dimensional magnetic ordering, solid oxide fuel cell interconnect materials, and magnetic nanoparticles using neutron diffraction and neutron depolarization techniques. In this paper, an overview of some of these results is given.      

Neutron diffraction study of quasi-one-dimensional spin-chain compounds Ca<Subscript>3</Subscript>Co<Subscript>2–<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Fe<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>O<Subscript>6</Subscript>

We report the results of the DC magnetization, neutron powder diffraction and neutron depolarization studies on the spin-chain compounds Ca₃Co_2–x Fe _x O₆ (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4). Rietveld refinement of neutron powder diffraction patterns at room temperature confirms the single-phase formation for all the compounds in rhombohedral structure with space group Rc. Rietveld refinement also confirms that Fe was doped at the trigonal prism site, 6a (0, 0, 1/4) of Co. The high temperature magnetic susceptibility obeys the Curie-Weiss law; the value of the paramagnetic Curie temperature (θ _p) decreases as the concentration of iron increases and it becomes negative for x = 0.4. No extra Bragg peak as well as no observable enhancement in the intensity of the fundamental (nuclear) Bragg peaks has been observed in the neutron diffraction patterns down to 30 K. No depolarization of neutron beam has been observed down to 3 K confirming the absence of ferro- or ferrimagnetic-like correlation.      

极化中子技术

极化中子技术是利用中子的自旋与样品及磁场的相互作用进行测量的一种技术,是中子散射技术中的重要组成部分。极化中子技术已经成功地应用于磁性、强关联、纳米、自旋电子、高分子和生物等材料中,为前沿材料学研究与工业应用提供了所亟需的探测与表征手段。另外,极化中子也被广泛应用于核物理和粒子物理相关领域的基础测量。文章对极化中子技术的发展进行了简要的介绍,概括了极化中子实验所涉及的理论知识,以及在实验中所使用的主要技术,并在此基础上展示了当前极化中子技术在科研中的应用及其所使用的实验装置。     

Temperature dependent small-angle neutron scattering of CTABr—magnetic fluid emulsion

Small-angle neutron scattering studies have been carried out to check the structural integrity of citryltrimethylammonium bromide (CTABr) micelles in a magnetic fluid for different magnetic fluid concentrations at two different temperatures 303 and 333 K. It is found that the CTABr micelles grow with increasing magnetic fluid concentration and there is a decrease in the micellar size with increase in temperature.     

Analysis of the magnetic domain structure of electrodeposited nickel studied by neutron depolarization

A polarized monochromatic neutron beam is transmitted through a nickel sheet which has been electrodeposited onto a copper backing. The polarization direction of the incoming beam may be adjusted in three orthogonal directions, while the polarization after transmission through the sample can be analyzed in three independent directions. In this way a (3×3) depolarization matrix can be determined, of which the diagonal elements give the depolarization factors in the successive directions. At zero applied magnetic field and perpendicular transmission no depolarization is observed when the polarization vector is perpendicular to the sheet. The depolarization factors in the other two directions nearly follow a cosine dependence on the neutron wavelength. A structure consisting of domains with magnetization directions perpendicular to the sheet could explain the results. By varying the angle of transmission of the neutron beam with respect to the plane of the sheet one can determine the mean domain size and to some extent the nature of the distribution function of the domain size in the plane of the sheet. In addition, the depolarization has been studied as a function of a magnetic field applied in a direction in the plane of the sheet. The results are compared with magnetization measurements performed in a magnetic field applied in the same direction.     

A neutron polarization analysis study of Ce2Fe17 in its paramagnetic phase

Spin-flip (paramagnetic) scattering and neutron depolarization studies were performed on Ce₂Fe₁₇ in its paramagnetic phase on the Dhruva neutron polarization analysis spectrometer. The absence of normalQ dependence of the scattered spin flip intensity shows that Ce₂Fe₁₇ is not a normal paramagnetic and there exist superparamagnetic clusters of sufficiently large dimensions (～100Å). The observed neutron depolarization gives an indication of the dynamics of these Ce₂Fe₁₇ superparamagnetic clusters.     

Observation of small changes in the energy of a neutron in an alternating magnetic field

A method for measuring small changes in the energy of a neutron has been proposed on the basis of the anomalous behavior of the dispersion of the neutron in the crystal near Bragg “resonance.” A high sensitivity of the method allows the observation of the acceleration of the neutron in the alternating magnetic field. It has been found that the small difference between the energies of two spin states of the neutron (parallel and antiparallel to the magnetic field) leads to significant spatial splitting of wave packets and, correspondingly, to the depolarization of the neutron beam.     

Neutron Scattering and a.c. Susceptibility Studies on the Geometrically Frustrated Tb2Ti2O7

We have performed neutron scattering and a.c. susceptibility _a.c. studies on polycrystallline Tb₂Ti₂O₇ to investigate the magnetic correlations in this antiferromagnetic pyrochlores. Evidence of changes in the magnetic correlation length has been observed by neutron diffraction in different parts of an applied field/temperature phase diagram. This cooperative paramagnet has been shown to increase its magnetic correlations, from nearest neighbour to 100 Å, in modest fields (<7 T) and temperatures (T>2 K); however, in zero field the system does not order above 15 mK, even with its large moment.     

中子散射在磁性材料研究中的应用

中子具有天然磁矩,穿透能力强且对轻元素敏感等独特的优势,是目前研究材料中磁结构最有力的工具。发展中子散射技术对开发新型磁性材料和研究磁性物理机理等方面具有重大意义。文章介绍了几种常用的中子散射技术(如粉末衍射、小角散射、反射等),并通过典型的实例来说明它们在磁性材料研究中的具体应用。针对国内介绍中子反射技术的资料相对较少,尤其是极化中子反射技术在精确定量表征薄膜磁性大小和分布方面的研究极度匮乏的现状,文章重点介绍了这一特色技术以及应用实例。     

磁荷对中子星质量半径比的约束

讨论了荷电(磁)质点的量子力学波方程及其解. 由磁场中解的奇异性讨论了磁单极的存在; 由Rubakov-Callan模型推知中子星可能含有大量磁单极. 然后采用中子星的结构方程, 讨论了磁荷对中子星质量半径比的约束, 分别得到了磁荷对中子星质量半径比上限的影响 和磁荷对中子星质量半径比下限的影响的数学表达式. 关键词： 磁单极 中子星 质量半径比     

中子星中简并电子气体的临界磁化

中子星内部的电子处于高度简并或完全简并的状态,电子磁矩(包括内禀磁矩和朗道反磁矩)的取向不是随机的,而是呈现出极强的磁化行为.考虑了磁化后的磁诱导方程要改写,改写后的方程添加了新的磁场生成项,更重要的改变是等效磁扩散系数变小了(顺磁情况),在临界情况(等效扩散系数等于零),磁场在磁生成项的作用下增加直到抑制机理出现,朗道反磁矩就是在这个时候变得越来越重要.磁场增加的最终结果使中子星局域磁场成为振荡的,对外看来有可能成为磁星. 关键词： 中子星 简并 磁化     

Local canted spin behaviour in Co1.4−x Zn x Ge0.4Fe1.2O4 spinels: A macroscopic, mesoscopic and microscopic study

DC magnetization, neutron depolarization and neutron diffraction (with both polarized and unpolarized neutrons) measurements have been reported for the Co_1.1−x Zn _x Ge_0.1Fe_1.2O₁ spinels with x=0.5, 0.6 and 0.7. Neutron depolarization and neutron diffraction measurements confirm the presence of a long range ferrimagnetic ordering of the local canted spins in these ferrite samples. The observed features of low field magnetization have been explained under the framework of thermally activated domain wall movement of ferrimagnetic arrangement of local canted spins. An important role of magnetic anisotropy (due to the presence of Co²⁺ ions) in establishing the magnetic ordering and domain kinetics in these ferrites has been observed.     

Interaction of neutrons with layered magnetic media in oscillating magnetic field

New experimental possibilities of investigating layered magnetic structures in oscillating magnetic fields are discussed. Spin-flip and nonspin-flip neutron reflection and transmission probabilities show a frequency dependency near the magnetic neutron resonance condition. This allows to increase the precision of the static magnetic depth profile measurements of the magnetized matter. Moreover, this opens new possibilities of measuring the induction of the oscillating field inside the matter and determining the magnetic susceptibility of the oscillating magnetic field. Refraction of neutrons as they pass through a magnetic prism in the presence of an oscillating magnetic field is also investigated. A non-polarized neutron beam splits into eight spatially separated neutron beams, whose intensity and polarization depend on the strength and frequency of the oscillating field. Also, it is shown that the oscillating magnetic permeability of an angstrom-thick layer can be measured with a neutron wave resonator.     

Structure of Rotating Neutron Stars in Uniform Strong Magnetic Field

Properties and deformations of the rotating neutron stars in uniform strong magnetic field are calculated. The magnetic field will soften the equation of state of the neutron star matters and make an obvious effect on the structure of the rotating neutron star. If the magnetic field is superstrong （B=10^17 T）, the mass, radius, and the deformation will become smaller effectively.     

聚变中子能谱测量系统脉冲中子灵敏度的实验研究

为多种复杂环境下的稳态和脉冲DT聚变中子能谱测量建立了一种灵敏度优化反冲质子磁谱仪. 使用成像板和同位素α源测量了谱仪的反冲质子能量-位置投影关系. 利用稳态加速器中子源平台、通过单粒子计数方法结合三维带电粒子输运程序模拟,研究了谱仪脉冲中子灵敏度能量响应. 通过高探测效率参数设置使谱仪对DT中子的探测效率达到2×10^-5 cm²水平,从而在较弱中子源上获得了较高统计精度实验数据. 程序模拟结果与谱仪α粒子刻度和DT中子标定实验结果取得了良好的一致性,可由此发展精细解谱技术,以提高脉冲中子能谱测量的灵敏度和能量分辨. 关键词： 聚变中子能谱 磁反冲质子 脉冲中子灵敏度 粒子输运     

A theory of neutron depolarization from random magnetic materials

We have developed a rigorous density matrix formalism to calculate the effects of neutron depolarization in transmission through random magnetic materials. This approach has the advantage of being general enough to be applicable to dilute alloys, random anisotropy systems etc. for which the conventional neutron depolarization theory may not be relevant.     

装置极化效率对极化中子成像质量的影响及修正分析

极化中子照相技术通过分析极化中子束的自旋相移对样品磁场进行成像, 自旋极化/分析装置是照相系统的主要组成部分. 引入中子自旋极化/分析装置的极化效率参数, 从中子极化矢量与磁场相互作用机理出发, 重新推导探测中子强度与磁场分布的定量关系, 利用谱仪模拟软件VITESS, 选取bender型超镜极化器和 ³He 自旋过滤器作为极化/分析装置, 对量化修正式进行验证, 并综合装置极化效率、单色器能量分辨精度和bender型极化器的几何结构等参数, 初步分析极化中子照相技术的磁场定量检测能力, 相关结果可为极化中子照相的实验数据处理技术研究及装置设计提供参考. 关键词： 极化效率 中子照相 磁场成像     

On neutron depolarization in magnetized media

The neutron depolarization in magnetized samples is considered as a result of scattering in the case of arbitrary orientations between the incident polariztion, the sample field and the direction of polarization analysis. It is shown that the depolarization is determined by the small-angle magnetic scattering within the angular beam width and by an additional contribution arising from the spin-dependent scattering outside the passing beam. The latter follows from the consideration of the interference between the scattered and the transmitted beams. Special attention is paid to the analysis of several measuring regimes for the depolarization and its dependence on neutron wavelength. The depolarization in multidomain ferromagnets is considered.     

Magnetization distribution in magnetic films studied with Larmor-encoding

Additional information about the magnetization distribution in magnetic films is obtained with a 3D-polarimetry set-up. A pilot experiment was performed with the neutron polarization aligned perpendicular to the surface of a Fe-film in a magnetic field parallel to its surface. The Larmor-precession in the magnetic field between two current sheets was used to adjust the neutron polarization perpendicular to the sample surface. This new polarization-magnetization configuration was probed with a Fe-film in specular and off-specular scattering. The off-specular scattering is created by the magnetic domain structure of the Fe-film in remanence. The results of specular and off-specular scattering are reproduced by calculations for the configuration of the incoming neutron polarization parallel to the sample surface and the magnetic field and for the configuration of the incoming neutron polarization perpendicular to the sample surface and the magnetic field.     

122~125Sn中子谱因子的实验研究

多个Sn同位素位于慢速中子俘获（s-）过程路径上,其中子谱因子可用于计算ASn（n,γ） A+1Sn直接辐射俘获的天体物理反应率,并可研究Sn同位素对s-过程核合成的贡献。本工作在中国原子能科学研究院HI-13串列加速器Q3D磁谱仪上,对实验室系下8°~66°范围内的122,124Sn（d,p）和（p,d）单中子转移反应角分布进行了测量。利用DWBA理论计算了转移反应角分布,并提取了122-125Sn的基态以及123,125Sn第一激发态的中子谱因子。其中,122Sn和124Sn的基态中子谱因子是首次从实验上获得。由于本工作成功鉴别开了123,125Sn的基态和第一激发态的效应,因此给出的谱因子比前人的结果更可信。Several Tin isotopes are on the path of slow neutron capture (s-) process, and the direct components of (n, γ) reactions can be derived from their neutron spectroscopic factors. In the present work, the angular distributions of 122,124Sn(p, d) and (d, p) reactions are obtained using the high-precision Q3D magnetic spectrograph in Beijing HI-13 tandem accelerator in China Institute of Atomic Energy. The distorted-wave Born approximation (DWBA) calculations are performed to extract the neutron spectroscopic factors of the ground state of 122-125Sn and the first excited state of 123,125Sn. The neutron spectroscopic factors of the ground state of 122Sn and 124Sn are firstly obtained in this work. As the events of the ground state and first excited state of 123,125Sn can be distinguished clearly by our experiment, the neutron spectroscopic factories of 123,125Sn are more reliable.