Crossover scaling,correlation function and connectivity in dilute low temperature ferromagnets

For quenched dilute ferromagnets with a fractionp of spins (nearest neighbor exchange energyJ) and a fraction 1 —p of randomly distributed nonmagnetic atoms, a crossover assumption similar to tricritical scaling theory relates the critical exponents of zero temperature percolation theory to the low temperature critical amplitudes and exponents near the critical lineT _c (p)>0. For example, the specific heat amplitude nearT _c (p) is found to vanish, the susceptibility amplitude is found to diverge forT _c (p →p _c ) → 0. (Typically,p _c =20%.) AtT=0 the spin-spin correlation function is argued from a droplet picture to obey scaling homogeneity but (at fixed distance) not to vary like the energy; instead it varies as const + (p _c —p)^2β +? for fixed small distances. A generalization of the correlation function to finite temperatures nearT _c (p) allows to estimate the number of effective percolation channels connecting two sites in the infinite (percolating) network forp>p _c ; this in turn gives, via a dynamical scaling argument, a good approximation for theT=0 percolation exponent 1.6 in the conductivity of random three-dimensional resistor networks. This channel approximation also givesΦ=2 for the crossover exponent; i.e. exp(?2J/kT _c (p)) is an analytic function ofp nearp=p _c . An appendix shows that cluster-cluster correlations atT=0 (excluded volume effects) are responsible for the difference between percolation exponents and the (pure) Ising exponents atT _c (p=1).     

Clusters and Ising droplets in the antiferromagnetic lattice gas

A definition of clusters of particles and holes with antiferromagnetic order is given for a lattice gas with coupling constant K < 0. In two dimensions it is shown that the Ising antiferromagnetic critical line is also a percolation line if P_b = 1 - exp(-|K|/2). Along this line these clusters called “droplets” diverge with Ising exponents.     

Antiferromagnetic Resonance in GdB<Subscript>6</Subscript>

The electron spin resonance has been measured for the first time both in the paramagnetic phase of the metallic GdB₆ antiferromagnet (T_N = 15.5K) and in the antiferromagnetic state (T < T_N). In the paramagnetic phase below T* ~ 70 K, the material is found to exhibit a pronounced increase in the resonance linewidth and a shift in the g-factor, which is proportional to the linewidth Δg(T) ~ ΔH(T). Such behavior is not characteristic of antiferromagnetic metals and seems to be due to the effects related to displacements of Gd³⁺ ions from the centrosymmetric positions in the boron cage. The transition to the antiferromagnetic phase is accompanied by an abrupt change in the position of resonance (from μ₀H₀ ≈ 1.9 T to μ₀H₀ ≈ 3.9 T at ν = 60 GHz), after which a smooth evolution of the spectrum occurs, resulting eventually in the formation of the spectrum consisting of four resonance lines. The magnetic field dependence of the frequency of the resonant modes ω₀(H₀) obtained in the range of 28–69 GHz is well interpreted within the model of ESR in an antiferromagnet with the easy anisotropy axis ω/γ = (H ₀ ² +2H_AH_E)^1/2, where H_E is the exchange field and H_A is the anisotropy field. This provides an estimate for the anisotropy field, H_A ≈ 800 Oe. This value can result from the dipole?dipole interaction related to the mutual displacement of Gd³⁺ ions, which occurs at the antiferromagnetic transition.     

Mössbauer characterization of tin dopant ions in the antiferromagnetic ilmenite MnTiO3

Mössbauer parameters of ¹¹⁹Sn diamagnetic dopant cations in an antiferromagnetic compound having the ilmenite structure are for the first time reported. The spectra reveal a well resolved hyperfine splitting pattern of combined magnetic and quadrupole interactions (at 5 K, δ=0.19 mm/s, H₁=52.5 kOe, eV_ZZQ_3/2=−0.80 mm/s, θ≈0°). This spectral component whose contribution (A₁=82%) represents more than four fifths of the total amount of the dopant (Sn/(Mn+Ti)=1/200) is assigned to Sn(IV) ions located in the bulk of MnTiO₃, on the Mn(II) site, and with a Mn(II) vacancy in their nearest surrounding. Two spectral components with minor contributions are also observed: one of them (H₂≈25 kOe, A₂=8%) can be assigned to Sn(IV) ions, in the MnTiO₃ lattice as well, on a site where they exhibit a weaker spin polarization (this site could be the Ti(IV) one) and the other (H₃=0 kOe, A₃=10%) to SnO₂ or/and Ti_1−xSn_xO₂ clusters. The Néel temperature of MnTiO₃ probed by the ¹¹⁹Sn dopant (T_N=69±2 K) agrees well with the values previously provided by ESR and antiferromagnetic resonance measurements. Variation of H₁ with temperature follows close the Brillouin function for S=5/2. No perturbation appears in the Mössbauer spectra around T=90 K where a broad peak, characteristic of 2D magnetic interactions, is observed on the static magnetic susceptibility curve.     

Neutron scattering study on CeAgAs2

CeAgAs₂, an HfCuSi₂ like layered pnictide, orders antiferromagnetically at T_N=6.2(1) K. The ordering process was monitored in neutron diffraction experiments in the temperature range 10 K≥T≥3.5 K. At T=4 K the lattice parameters are a=5.7438(1) Å, b=5.7696(1) Å and c=21.0067(2) Å. The diffraction pattern of the antiferromagnetic phase with a propagation vector k=[0,0,0] point towards ferromagnetically ordered moments in Ce layers stacked along [001], the individual layers are coupled antiferromagnetically with a +− −+type sequence. The alignment of moments within the Ce layers cannot be determined reliably from the experimental data so that two different structure models are discussed. The proposed metamagnetic transition was confirmed by diffraction experiments applying an external magnetic field at T<T_N. In the interval 4 K≤T≤6 K, a relatively small field of μ₀H≈0.3 T suffices to fully suppress the antiferromagnetic ordering. The effect is completely reversible yet subject to hysteresis: After switching off the external field at any T<T_N the magnetic reflections gain their original intensity within several 10 min indicating the restoring of the antiferromagnetic phase.     

Effect of Ca doping on the magnetic properties of Nd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 studied by electron spin resonance

The magnetic properties of Ca-doped Nd_0.5Sr_0.5MnO₃ have been studied by electron spin resonance (ESR) and dc magnetization measurements. The antiferromagnetic order and charge order are found to occur separately at T_N=200 K and T_co=150 K, respectively. Compared to the undoped Nd_0.5Sr_0.5MnO₃, the ferromagnetic correlations are suppressed by doping of the small Ca²⁺ ion. In addition, the antiferromagnetic transition temperature is enhanced to 200 K, which can be explained by an increase of superexchange interaction between Mn³⁺ and Mn⁴⁺ ions as their distance decreases.     

Exchange bias in Co nanoparticles embedded in an Mn matrix

Magnetic properties of Co nanoparticles of 1.8 nm diameter embedded in Mn and Ag matrices have been studied as a function of the volume fraction (VFF). While the Co nanoparticles in the Ag matrix show superparamagnetic behavior with T_B=9.5 K (1.5% VFF) and T_B=18.5 K (8.9% VFF), the Co nanoparticles in the antiferromagnetic Mn matrix show a transition peak at ∼65 K in the ZFC/FC susceptibility measurements, and an increase of the coercive fields at low temperature with respect to the Ag matrix. Exchange bias due to the interface exchange coupling between Co particles and the antiferromagnetic Mn matrix has also been studied. The exchange bias field (H_eb), observed for all Co/Mn samples below 40 K, decreases with decreasing volume fraction and with increasing temperature and depends on the field of cooling (H_fc). Exchange bias is accompanied by an increase of coercivity.     

Charge and lattice dynamics of ordered state in La1/2Ca1/2MnO3: infrared reflection spectroscopy study

We report an infrared reflection spectroscopy study of La_1/2Ca_1/2MnO₃ over a broad frequency range and temperature interval which covers the transitions from the high temperature paramagnetic to ferromagnetic and, upon further cooling, to antiferromagnetic phase. The structural phase transition, accompanied by a ferromagnetic ordering at T_C=234 K, leads to enrichment of the phonon spectrum. A charge ordered antiferromagnetic insulating ground state develops below the Néel transition temperature T_N=163 K. This is evidenced by the formation of charge density waves and opening of a gap with the magnitude of 2Δ₀=(320±15) cm⁻¹ in the excitation spectrum. Several of the infrared active phonons are found to exhibit anomalous frequency softening. The experimental data suggest coexistence of ferromagnetic and antiferromangetic phases at low temperatures.     

Optical spectroscopy of Dysprosium Aluminum Garnet (DAG)

The absorption spectrum of antiferromagnetic dysprosium aluminium garnet (DAG) (T _N =2.50 °K) has been investigated at low temperatures. The groundstate splitting due to all interactions in the antiferromagnetic state is (5.27±0.10) cm^?1 extrapolated to 0 °K. The temperature dependence of the lineshift of the absorption lines is measured. Zeeman effect studies give theg-tensor of the groundstate asg _z =18.4±0.5,g _x =g _y =0.5±0.2. The studies also allow the determination of the critical fields asH _c ^[100] =(5.0±0.1) koe,H _c ^[111] =(3.9±0.2) koe andH _c ^[110] =(4.9±0.6) koe. In addition an investigation of a number of satellite lines is performed. Some of them can be interpreted as spin wave sidebands (Stokes and anti-Stokes); others obviously come from dysprosium ions which have impurity ions on regular lattice sites as neighbours.     

Antiferromagnetic order and spin glass behavior in Dy2CuIn3

The magnetic properties of the intermetallic compound Dy₂CuIn₃ have been investigated. Ac and dc-susceptibility measurements indicate an onset of antiferromagnetic ordering at T_N=19.5 K and an additional frequency dependent transition at T_ds∼9 K. Neutron diffraction studies confirm the ordered transition at 19.5±1 K. The magnetic unit cell can be described by the propagation vector k=(0.25,0.25,0) with the magnetic moment μ=2.63(4)μ_B/Dy³⁺ parallel to the c-axis. Nevertheless, neutron diffraction reveals no additional magnetic phase transition around or below 9 K, which suggests that, at lower temperatures, a spin glass state may be formed in coexistence with the antiferromagnetic mode as a result of frustration and the antagonism between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic exchange interactions.     

Effect of Fe substitution on magnetocaloric effect in La0.7Sr0.3Mn1−xFexO3 (0.05≤x≤0.20)

We have studied the effect of Fe substitution on magnetic and magnetocaloric properties in La_0.7Sr_0.3Mn_1−xFe_xO₃ (x=0.05, 0.07, 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20) over a wide temperature range (T=10-400 K). It is shown that substitution by Fe gradually decreases the ferromagnetic Curie temperature (T_C) and saturation magnetization up to x=0.15 but a dramatic change occurs for x=0.2. The x=0.2 sample can be considered as a phase separated compound in which both short-range ordered ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic phases coexist. The magnetic entropy change (−ΔS_m) was estimated from isothermal magnetization curves and it decreases with increase of Fe content from 4.4 J kg⁻¹ K⁻¹ at 343 K (x=0.05) to 1.3 J kg⁻¹ K⁻¹ at 105 K (x=0.2), under ΔH=5 T. The La_0.7Sr_0.3Mn_0.93Fe_0.07O₃ sample shows negligible hysteresis loss, operating temperature range over 60 K around room temperature with refrigerant capacity of 225 J kg⁻¹, and magnetic entropy of 4 J kg⁻¹ K⁻¹ which will be an interesting compound for application in room temperature refrigeration.     

Critical behavior of the E.S.R. line widths in a quasi two-dimensional antiferromagnet MnTiO3

The critical behavior of the electron paramagnetic resonance line widths have been studied in the quasi two-dimensional antiferromagnet MnTiO₃. Line widths diverge like ΔH∝(T?T_N)^?0.49, which is in good agreement with the theoretical value predicted by Kawasaki.     

Large negative magnetoresistance in thiospinel CuCrZrS4

We report on large negative magnetoresistance observed in ferromagnetic thiospinel compound CuCrZrS₄. The electrical resistivity increased with decreasing temperature according to the exp(T₀/T)^1/2, an expression derived from variable range hopping with strong electron-electron interaction. The resistivity under a magnetic field was expressed by the same form with the characteristic temperature T₀ decreasing with increasing magnetic field. Magnetoresistance ratio ρ(T,0)/ρ(T,H) is 1.5 for H=90 kOe at 100 K and increases divergently with decreasing temperature reaching 80 at 16 K. Results of magnetization measurements are also presented. A possible mechanism of the large magnetoresistance is discussed.     

Measurement of collision broadening of the P1(5) line of (0,0) band of OH AΣ←XΠ transition at high temperatures

Even for the well-studied and ubiquitous species, OH, the current state of theoretical development of broadening theory does not allow extrapolation from low-temperature laboratory measurements to the range of practical combustion devices. We performed a series of experiments at typical combustion conditions to determine the collision broadening of the P₁(5) line of the (0,0) band of OH A²Σ⁺←X²Π transition by Ar in shock-heated H₂-O₂-Ar mixtures and by air in H₂-air flames over a wide range of stoichiometry (φ=0.01-10.0), temperature (T=780-2440 K), and pressure (p=0.7-10.0 atm). The values of the collision width, Δν_C, were acquired by fitting Voigt profiles to the measured spectral line shapes in flames and to the peak absorption coefficients (k_ν0) in shock tube experiments. Collision broadening parameters (2γ_Ar, 2γ_N2, and 2γ_H2O) were then calculated assuming the linear dependence of Δν_C with pressure—the 2γ_N2 and 2γ_H2O values were inferred from 2γ_Air and the equilibrium concentration of N₂ and H₂O of a given flame. The temperature dependences of 2γ_i in our temperature range are, respectively, 1.0, 0.75, and 0.87 for Ar, N₂, and H₂O. The collision broadening cross sections (σ) deduced from 2γ_i values are expressed with an assumed form, σ_i(T)=σ_i,₀(T₀/T)^k, T₀=1000 K: for Ar, σ_Ar,0=63.3 (Ų), k=0.50; for N₂, σ_N2,0=68.0 (Ų), k=0.25; for H₂O, σ_H2O,0=188.8 (Ų), k=0.37.     

Electron-phonon scattering in potassium at high magnetic fields

We have measured the temperature dependence of both the zero-field resistivity and the transverse magnetoresistance of polycrystalline potassium wires (?(300 K)/?(4.2 K)=140 to 6000) in fieldsH?35 kG and at temperaturesT?4.2 K. Our principal findings are: 1) The presence of a large magnetic fieldH=35 kG does not alter the temperature dependence of ? from that observed atH=0; below 4.2 K theT-dependent part of the resistivities,_?T (H=0) and_?T (H=35 kG), fit well to the function exp (?Θ*/T) with the same Θ*=23K. 2) Deviations from Matthiessen's rule are significantly reduced in a strong field so that the magnitude of_?T (H=0) approaches that of_?T (H=35 kG) as sample purity decreases. 3) The slope of the high-field linear magnetoresistance increases slightly (?8%) from 1.5 K to 4.2 K. We attribute the exponential temperature dependence of_?T (H) to the freezing out of electron-phonon umklapp processes as has been shown for the zero-field resistivity. The reduction in deviations from Matthiessen's rule at high fields can be understood within semiclassical theory, but the latter cannot explain the failure of_?T (H) to saturate at high fields. A proposal by Young that electron-phonon umklapp scattering may contribute aT-dependent high-field linear magnetoresistance in potassium is considered.     

Magnetic properties of neptunium diarsenide

The magnetic properties of a collection of single crystals of NpAs₂ have been investigated in the temperature range 4.2-300 K and in applied fields up to 100 kOe. For small magnetic fields (3 kOe), NpAs₂ is ferromagnetic up to T_IC=18 K, antiferromagnetic from 28 K to T_N=52 K, then paramagnetic. Both transitions are first order. When the applied field increases T_IC is shifted towards T_N. The antiferromagnetic phase disappears for H#62;30 kOe. The ferromagnetic range is characterized by a very large anisotropy. In the paramagnetic state, NpAs₂ has an effective moment 1.88 μ_B.     

Spin-assisted photoluminescence of polycrystalline α-MnSe

We have studied photoluminescence of α-MnSe in the antiferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases. Two broad, possibly multi-component emission bands centred at about 1.53 and 1.66 eV are observed at 20 K. The frequencies and intensities of these bands show step-like shift in the vicinity of T_N. On the basis of difference in peak energies at T=1.8 K and T_N the d-p-d superexchange interaction in excited state is estimated to be J_2g(exc)=0.918 meV.     

Temperature dependence of coercivity and metamagnetism in Tb0.5Y0.5Ni

The temperature dependences of magnetic properties of the FeB structure compound Tb_0.5Y_0.5Ni are examined with the aim to elucidate the origin of intrinsic magnetic hardness in this compound. The easy a axis coercivity of an aligned powder sample is found to be strongly temperature dependent. A domain wall activation model is employed to obtain the parameters H₀(0)=30kOe, V_V(0)=0.24K^?1, and β=0.016K^?1, where H₀(0) is the coercive force at absolute zero, V_T(0) the domain wall activation parameter, and β the coefficient for the linear temperature dependence of the reduced anisotropy. From polycrystalline data, we find a strong temperature dependence of the c axis metamagnetic transition only for the ferromagnetic (F) to antiferromagnetic (AF) direction. From the relative constancy of the AF to F c axis metamagnetic transition compound to the a axis coercivity we conclude that the coercive force is not directly related to the local molecular fields as had been previously suggested.     

A search for magnetic resonance of ruthenium in octahedral coordination with oxygen

We have searched, without success, for microwave-frequency magnetic resonance of Ru⁴⁺ and Ru⁵⁺ ions in a number of materials for which the Ru are in octahedral coordination with six oxygen. A number of ruthenates including RuO₂, SrRuO₃, Sr₃Ru₂O₇, Ba₃Ru₂NiO₉, Ba₂GdRuO₆, Sr₂YRuO₆, and Ba₂YRuO₆, which include paramagnetic, antiferromagnetic, and ferromagnetic spin configurations, have been examined. We present analysis which shows that the last material provides an optimized opportunity to detect antiferromagnetic Ru resonance for temperatures less than T_N=39 K; none is detected for frequencies as high as 35 GHz in magnetic fields up to μ_oH=2 T. This result indicates that the antiferromagnetic magnon energy gap exceeds the energy associated with the signal frequency. SrRuO₃ is a known ferromagnetic contaminant phase in the rutheno-cuprates. We report neutron diffraction measurements on SrRuO₃, finding it to have an appreciable local moment at low temperatures, 1.25(0.1)μ_B; this moment vanishes near 165 K. We show that it also fails to exhibit ferromagnetic resonance, at least in the range 10-35 GHz. As a result of the diffraction and resonance studies, it is concluded that the reports of ferromagnetic resonance in superconducting rutheno-cuprates are actually due to antiferromagnetically ordered Cu in these materials, and the presence of even a few percent of SrRuO₃ as a potential contaminant is of little importance.     

Optical investigation of dysprosiumaluminumgarnet (DyAlG)

The absorption spectrum of the transitions⁶ H _15/2→⁶ F _3/2,⁶ F _5/2 in Dysprosiumaluminumgarnet (DyAlG) is investigated. In the antiferromagnetic state (T _N =2,49°K) a splitting of the crystal field levels by an internal magnetic field is observed. The splitting of the lowest crystal field level I of the groundterm in the internal field is (5,2±0,5) cm^?1, extrapolated to 0°K.