Non-spherical magnetic moment in MnAlGe

The magnetic structure factors of MnAlGe (space groupP4/nmm) measured with polarised neutrons have been expressed in terms of the magnetic moment of the Mn atom (site symmetry tetrahedral with tetragonal distortion), the Bessel transforms 〈j _n〉 of the Mn radial functions and the fractional occupancies of the moment density in the various crystal field orbitals. The measured structure factors were least-squares fitted with the theoretical expression involving 〈j _n〉 appropriate to the Mn⁰, Mn⁺ and Mn²⁺ atoms. The best fit was got using Mn⁰ transforms, yielding 1·45µ _B as the Mn magnetic moment. The fractional occupancies of the moment density in the crystal field orbitalsA _1g,B _1g E _g andB _2g were obtained. This analysis shows the magnetic moment to be highly non-spherical with a large fractional occupancy (38%) in theA _1g orbital directed along the tetragonal axis while the fractional occupancies ofB _1g andB _2g are found to be 31% and 30% respectively. The fractional occupancy of the moment in theE _g orbital directed towards the Ge and Al atoms is very low (1%). The spatially averaged moment density of Mn in MnAlGe is more diffuse than that of Mn I and Mn II in isostructural Mn₂Sb.     

Quasiparticle lifetime of electron–electron interactions for two-dimensional electron gases with magnetic field

We theoretically study the electron–electron scattering rate τ_ee⁻¹for electrons in a two-dimensional electron gas with a perpendicular magnetic field, within theGWand plasmon-pole approximations, as functions of temperatureT, impurity scattering rate Γ and magnetic fieldB. The τ_ee⁻¹increases with increasingTand increasing Γ, and shows the structure of the Landau levels asBis changed.     

Low temperature heat capacity and magnetic excitation of HoAl2 in a magnetic field

The specific heat of single crystalline HoAl₂ in magnetic fields up to 7.5 T has been measured for the temperature range 1.5–16 K. In addition the energy of a magnetic excitation in a magnetic field of 5 T at 4.2 K has been determined by inelastic neutron scattering. The results have been interpreted with a cubic crystalline electric field and an exchange interaction using the same parameter set B₄=-0.85×10^-4 meV, B₆=+0.71× 10^-6 meV and T_C=31.5 K previously obtained by magnetization measurements.     

Galvanomagnetic properties of n-type Hg0.8Cd0.2Te

Galvanomagnetic properties of low and high mobility n-Hg_0.8Cd_0.2Te are reported. The experiments were carried out in magnetic fields up to 60 kG and between 1.8 and 77 K. The Hall coefficient does not show thermal and magnetic freeze-out of carriers. At 77 K the transversal magnetoresistance shows a proportionality ?⊥ ∝ B as was predicted by Gurevich and Firsov for the case of polar optical scattering in non-degenerated semiconductors. At 4 K where the mobility is governed by impurity scattering ?⊥ ∝ B^2.4 was observed in the extreme quantum limit. A negative longitudinal magnetoresistance was found at 77 K. The experimental results of high and low mobility samples show significant differences.     

Magnetic phase diagrams of Ho1−xDyxNi2B2C

We performed the magnetization measurement on Ho_1−xDy_xNi₂B₂C single crystals (x=0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.6) with magnetic field applied perpendicular and parallel to the c-axis. But only for the magnetic field perpendicular to the c-axis, the increase of Dy³⁺ concentration affects the magnetically ordered states of HoNi₂B₂C compound and makes the phase diagram more complicated. The antiferromagnetic ordering state attributed to Dy³⁺ sublattice starts to appear from a case of x=0.2 and finally the magnetic phase diagram becomes analogous to that of DyNi₂B₂C as x is increased which is consistent with the neutron scattering result.     

High-pressure effect on the crystal and magnetic structures of the frustrated antiferromagnet YMnO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

The high-pressure (to 5 GPa) effect on the crystal and magnetic structures of the hexagonal manganite YMnO₃ is studied by neutron diffraction in the temperature range 10–295 K. A spin-liquid state due to magnetic frustration on the triangular lattice formed by Mn ions is observed in this compound at normal pressure and T > T_N = 70 K, and an ordered triangular antiferromagnetic state with the symmetry of the irreducible representation Γ₁ arises at T < T_N. The high-pressure effect leads to a spin reorientation of Mn magnetic moments and a change in the symmetry of the antiferromagnetic structure, which can be described by a combination of the irreducible representations Γ₁ and Γ₂. In addition, it is observed that the ordered magnetic moment of Mn ions decreases from 3.27 μ_B (5 GPa) to 1.52 μ_B (5 GPa) at T = 10 K and diffuse scattering is enhanced at temperatures close to T_N. These effects can be explained within the model of the coexistence of the ordered antiferromagnetic phase and the spin-liquid state, whose volume fraction increases with pressure due to the enhancement of frustration effects.     

Manganese-doped CdGeAs2, ZnGeAs2 and ZnSiAs2 chalcopyrites: New materials for spintronics

New diluted magnetic semiconductors (CdGeAs₂:Mn, ZnGeAs₂: Mn, and ZnSiAs₂: Mn chalcopyrites) were synthesized. Magnetization M, electrical resistivity, magnetoresistance, and the Hall effect of these compositions were examined. Although the M(T) curves are complicated, they are similar in shape, for which the concentration and mobility of the charge bearers. Their Curie points are higher than 300 K, the highest in systems of the A ^II B ^IV C ₂ ^V : Mn type.     

Electronic and magnetic properties and their response to pressure in Ni2MnB

The electronic structure and magnetic properties of Ni₂MnB upon pressure up to 20 GPa have been studied by using the density functional theory (DFT) method. The results indicate that ferromagnetic ordered Ni₂MnB in L2₁ structure is more stable than the nonmagnetic one. The magnetic moments of Ni and Mn atoms as well as the total magnetic moment of Ni₂MnB are found to decrease weakly with increasing pressure. The pressure derivative of the total magnetic moment is −3.07×10⁻³ GPa⁻¹. The equilibrium bulk modulus and its derivative from the Murnaghan equation of state (EOS) are B₀=247.7 GPa, B′=4.98.     

Ab-initio calculation of electronic structure of partially inverted manganese ferrite

Electronic structure of manganese ferrite is calculated using the density functional theory. Partially inverted structure with the inversion parameter y=0.0625 is considered, using four different supercells (Mn₁₅Fe)_A[Fe₃₁Mn]_BO₆₄ that differ in relative position of Fe_A and Mn_B. The crystal structure was optimized by minimizing the forces acting on the atoms. The spin magnetic moments m of Mn and Fe ions depend to some extent on their position in the supercell, but we found that in all cases m(Mn_B) is considerably smaller (by approx. one Bohr magneton) than m(Mn_A). This indicates strongly that the formal valence of Mn_B is 3+. Trivalent manganese in an octahedral position is expected to exhibit a Jahn–Teller effect and corresponding analysis was performed. No pronounced localization of the extra electron in the octahedral sublattice that would represent the Fe²⁺ ion was found.     

Spin-glass-like behaviour and magnetic order in Mn[Cr0.5Ga1.5]S4 spinels

Magnetization and susceptibility were investigated as a function of temperature and magnetic field in polycrystalline Mn[Cr_0.5Ga_1.5]S₄ spinel. The dc susceptibility measurements at 919 Oe showed a disordered ferrimagnetic behaviour with a Curie-Weiss temperature θ_CW=−55 K and an effective magnetic moment of 5.96 μ_B close to the spin-only value of 6.52 μ_B for Cr³⁺ and Mn²⁺ ions in the 3d³ and 3d⁵ configurations, respectively. The magnetization measured at 100 Oe revealed the multiple magnetic transitions with a sharp maximum at the Néel temperature T_N=3.9 K, a minimum at the Yafet-Kittel temperature T_YK=5 K, a broad maximum at the freezing temperature T_f=7.9 K, and an inflection point at the Curie temperature T_C=48 K indicating a transition to paramagnetic phase. A large splitting between the zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled (FC) magnetizations at a temperature smaller than T_C suggests the presence of spin-glass-like behaviour. This behaviour is considered in a framework of competing interactions between the antiferromagnetic ordering of the A(Mn) sublattice and the ferromagnetic ordering of the B(Cr) sublattice.     

Photogeneration of neutrinos and axions under the stimulating effect of a strong magnetic field

Photogeneration of neutrinos and axions at nuclei, $\gamma (Ze) \uparrow \gamma (\nu \bar \nu ),\gamma a$ , and inelastic photon-photon scattering, $\gamma \gamma \uparrow \gamma (\nu \bar \nu ),\gamma a$ , are considered in the 2D covariant theory being developed for calculating matrix elements of Feynman diagrams in a strong magnetic field. Since the matrix elements of four-pole diagrams are linear functions of the magnetic induction B, the contribution of the radiative photogeneration of neutrinos at nuclei to the luminosity of magnetic neutron stars at early stages of their evolution may compete with URCA processes for values of B ～ (10³–10⁴)B ₀ (B ₀ = m ₂ ^e /|e| = 4.41 × 10¹³ G). The upper estimate of the axion mass obtained from the condition of dominance of the neutrino luminosity over the axion luminosity for the proposed values of temperature and magnetic induction is in accord with other independent results.     

Electronic structure of MnSb

On the basis of a two center tight binding model the recursion method of Haydock et al. was applied to calculate spin polarized and non-polarized electronic densities of states and magnetic moments for the B8₁ crystal structure and a fictitious B32 structure of MnSb. The model implies the itinerant nature of the Mn d-states hybridizing with Sb p-states. For the non-polarized densities of states the self-consistent charge transfer amounts to 0.6 electrons from Mn to Sb with a band center difference of E_p ? E_d = - 0.75 eV. For the magnetic moments, which were also calculated self-consistently, 3.5 μ_B for the d-band and 3.34 μ_B in total were obtained for the B8₁ crystal structure. For the B31 structure bigger moments of 3.67 μ_B and 3.53 μ_B were obtained, correspondingly. The results for MnSb are also discussed with respect to very recent results for MnAs calculated within the same model. The local densities of states as obtained for MnSb are in good agreement with experimental XPS results.     

Nuclear orientation study of low temperature magnetization of54Mn impurity in ferromagnetic PtFe alloys

Low-temperature nuclear orientation of⁵⁴Mn in ferromagnetic Pt₉₅Fe₅ and Pt₉₀Fe₁₀ hosts has been investigated in 12–50 mK temperature range at external magnetic fields up to 1.2 T. Temperature dependence of the effective magnetic field B_eff on Mn has been observed and interpreted as an effect of misalignment of Mn magnetic moments with respect to the macroscopic magnetization direction at host magnetic saturation.     

Magnetic properties of heusler alloys Ni3−xMnxSn

Heusler alloys with composition corresponding to x = 1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.5, 1.65, 1.8 and 1.9 have been prepared. The saturation magnetization and the paramagnetic moment show a maximum at x = 1.3. The manganese atoms are distributed over octahedral and tetrahedral sites with different magnetic moments (μ_ferro(oct.) = 4μ_B, μ_ferro(tetr.) = 0μ_B). Furthermore there is a certain degree of Mn/Sn disorder with Mn atoms on Sn-sites coupled antiferromagnetically to the Mn sublattice. Using a x_g versus 1/H plot, considerable temperature independent paramagnetism is found far below the Curie-temperature (80 K).     

Magnetic properties of Mn doped BN compound

Electronic and magnetic properties of diluted B_1−xMn_xN alloys are calculated by means of the full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method and the generalized gradient approximation (GGA). A half-metallic state is predicted for a composition of 6.25%. The spin majority being metallic and minority being semiconducting. We found a total magnetic moment of 2 μ_B (Bohr-magnetons) per supercell, in agreement with the half-metallic behaviour. The main contribution of the cell magnetic moment is localized at the transition metal site Mn, with a local moment of 1.24 μ_B.     

Electroexcitation of 58ni: A sutdy of the fragmentation of the magnetic dipole strength

The distribution of the magnetic dipole strength in ⁵⁸Ni in the excitation energy range E_x = 6–15 MeV has been studied with high resolution inelastic electron scattering. Altogether 47 J^π = 1⁺ states have been determined. The summed Ml strength is Σ B(M1)↑ = 16.9_−3.3^+4.6μN². A shell model calculation including 1p-1h excitations is used to discuss the fragmentation, the summed strength and the relative importance of spin versus orbital magnetism. By comparison with inelastic proton scattering and charge exchange reactions the isospin structure of the M l strength distribution is analysed.     

Muon hyperfine fields in iron and its dilute alloys

The temperature dependence (240 to 633 K) of the interstitial magnetic field, B_μ, as determined by the rotation of the spin of the μ⁺, has been measured for dilute polycrystalline iron alloys with Mo, Ti and Nb additions. In all cases the behaviours differ from one another and from the Fe(A1) alloys previously studied. B_μ, which is negative with respect to the magnetization, is increased in magnitude by A1 and Mo, and decreased greatly by Ti. The addition of Nb creates a two- phase alloy from which we can assess the role of heterogeneity and/or strain on B_μ in iron. If the temperature dependence of the hyperfine field B_hf extracted from B_μ for Fe(Mo) alloys is interpreted on the model previously used to discuss the Fe(A1) data, we would conclude that the muon is attracted to the Mo atom while repelled by the A1 atoms as the temperature decreases. Measurements giving room temperature values of B_μ for iron alloys with Mn, Cr, V and W taken after annealing above the recrystallization temperature are also reported.     

Magnetic coupling between the different phases in nanocrystalline Fe-Si-B studied by small angle neutron scattering

The magnetic coupling in the two-phase nanostructure of Fe_73.5Si_15.5B₇Nb₃Cu₁ has been investigated by SANS technique. The scattering function for partially aligned magnetic moments of ferromagnetic single domain particles following the Langevin statistics of superparamagnetism has been derived which describes the field and temperature dependency of the SANS profiles. Above the Curie temperature of the amorphous phase T _c ^am the nanocrystals show superparamagnetic scattering behaviour whereas below T _c ^am they interact by magnetostatic forces only and not by exchange coupling via the amorphous matrix.     

Structural and magnetic ordering in La0.6Ca0.4MnO3

The structural and magnetic ordering in La_0.6Ca_0.4MnO₃ has been studied by neutron powder diffraction as a function of temperature between 15 and 300 K. The para-ferromagnetic transition at T∼250 K is accompanied by significant structural distortions in the form of octahedral Mn–O₆ rotations. At 15 K, the total refined ferromagnetic moment on the Mn site was obtained as 3.1 μ_B, in reasonable agreement with the total expected average moment of mixed Mn³⁺/Mn⁴⁺ matrix.     

Polarised neutron diffraction study of Mn1.09Sb

In order to study the influence of interstitial site occupancy on the electronic structure of MnSb, a polarised neutron diffraction experiment was performed on Mn_1.09Sb. The composition of the sample was obtained from the refinement of single crystal neutron diffraction data. The polarised neutron diffraction experiment yielded unpaired electron populations of the levels a^t_1g, e_g^t and e_g as follows: μ_x0 = 0.57 μ_B, μ_x± = 1.60 μ_B, μ_u± = 1.28μ_B. The comparison of these numbers with results of Yamaguchi et al shows that the spin density for this composition is reduced for the low energy level a^t_1g. This finding is interpreted by an occupation of minority spin states by electrons of the interstitial Mn atoms. In agreement with this, increasing Mn excess leads to a decreasing magnetic moment magnitude/Mn-atom and to a contraction of the lattice parameter c, indicating the strengthening of the Mn-Mn bond in [001].