Magnetocaloric effect in La(Fe<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Si<Subscript>1 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>)<Subscript>13</Subscript> ferromagnets

The isothermal changes in the magnetic entropy and the lattice entropy and the adiabatic temperature change in La(Fe_0.88Si_0.12)₁₃ and La(Fe_0.86Si_0.14)₁₃ ferromagnets in a magnetic field are calculated. The calculations are performed with a generalized magnetostriction model of a ferromagnet; the calculation results are compared to experimental data. It is shown that the change in the lattice entropy decreases the magnetocaloric effect and makes it possible to explain the experimental data obtained for La(Fe _x Si_{1 − x} )₁₃ (x = 0.86, 0.88) ferromagnets. The temperature dependences of the bulk compression moduli of these ferromagnets are calculated, and these dependences indicate a strong lattice softening in the vicinity of the magnetic phase transition in them. The thermal expansion coefficient and some magnetic properties of the ferromagnet with x = 0.86 are measured to determine the numerical values of the parameters entering into calculation formulas.     

Magnetostriction of Fe<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Mn<Subscript>1 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>S (<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis> = 0.27) crystals

The magnetostriction of Fe _x Mn_{1 − x} S (x = 0.27) single crystals in strong magnetic fields up to 120 kOe has been investigated. It has been found that the magnetostriction reaches colossal values (±3 × 10⁻⁴) atypical of compounds of 3d elements. It has been found that the magnetostriction changes sign when varying temperature and magnetic field; this behavior indicates an important role of the spin-phonon interactions in the formation of the magnetic order in solid solutions of iron-manganese sulfides.     

Magnetism and superconductivity in Eu(Fe<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Ni<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>)As<Subscript>2</Subscript> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis> = 0, 0.04)

We report Eu-local-spin magnetism and Ni-doping-induced superconductivity (SC) in a 112-type ferroarsenide system Eu(Fe_1?xNi_x)As₂. The non-doped EuFeAs₂ exhibits two primary magnetic transitions at ~100 and ~40 K, probably associated with a spin-density-wave (SDW) transition and an antiferromagnetic ordering in the Fe and Eu sublattices, respectively. Two additional successive transitions possibly related to Eu-spin modulations appear at 15.5 and 6.5 K. For the Ni-doped sample with x = 0.04, the SDW transition disappears, and SC emerges at T_c = 17.5 K. The Eu-spin ordering remains at around 40 K, followed by the possible reentrant magnetic modulations with enhanced spin canting. Consequently, SC coexists with a weak spontaneous magnetization below 6.2 K in Eu(Fe_0.96Ni_0.04)As₂, which provides a complementary playground for the study of the interplay between SC and magnetism.     

High-temperature study of SrFe<Subscript>1 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Mo<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>O<Subscript>3−<Emphasis Type="Italic">z</Emphasis></Subscript> perovskites

The structure of high-temperature SrFe_{1 − x} Mo _x O_{3 − z} (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5) phases was studied. Such studies are necessary to understand the mechanism of oxygen transport in membrane materials used for high-temperature oxygen separation.     

Thermal expansion and permittivity of (Ba<Subscript>1 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Bi<Subscript>2<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>/3</Subscript>)TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> solid solutions

The strain, the thermal expansion coefficient, and the permittivity of ceramic samples of (Ba_{1 − x} Bi_2x/3)TiO₃ solid solutions with x = 0, 0.01, 0.03, and 0.05 have been studied in the temperature range 120–700 K. Based on an analysis of the results, the temperature-composition phase diagram has been refined, and the temperature dependence of the polarization has been calculated.     

Structure and dielectric characteristics of (1 – <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>)BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript>–<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>PbTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> solid solutions

Undoped (1 – x)BiFeO₃–xPbTiO₃ binary solid solutions (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.50, Δx = 0.1) are obtained via a solid-state reaction combined with sintering in accordance with conventional ceramic technology. Features of their crystal structure formation and dielectric properties are studied in a wide range of temperatures and frequencies.     

Phase transitions and dielectric relaxation in (1 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>)SrTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>BiFeO<Subscript>3</Subscript> (0 ≤ <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis> ≤ 0.04)

The dielectric and acoustic properties of (1 − x)SrTiO₃-xBiFeO₃ (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.04) solid solutions have been studied in the temperature range 10–300 K. The polar state exhibiting permittivity dispersion and dielectric hysteresis loops has been revealed at temperatures of 40–100 K. At 20–40 K, we have observed one more dielectric relaxation, which is not associated with the polar state and vanishes at a concentration of the second solid-solution component x = 0.04. The antiferrodistorsive transition has been found to vary with increasing concentration x. At temperatures below the antiferrodistorsive transition point, the polar (relaxor) state has been shown to persist in all the measured solid solutions.     

Dual structures and transition regions in <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>PbTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>-(1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>)Pb(Zn<Subscript>1/3</Subscript>Nb<Subscript>2/3</Subscript>)O<Subscript>3</Subscript> crystals

Model concepts of dual structures are developed as applied to crystals of xPbTiO₃-(1?x)Pb(Zn_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃ solid solutions in the range 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.08. The conditions of the formation of dual structures upon partial and complete relaxation of internal mechanical stresses are considered. A new model of transition regions is proposed for analyzing several variants of changing the unit cell parameters that satisfy the condition of complete stress relaxation inside the transition regions in crystals at concentrations x = 0.045 and 0.08. The influence of the intermediate phase P4mm and stability of its 90° domain structure on the formation of dual structures at x ≥ 0.045 is discussed.     

Structural phase transition in (1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>)SrTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript>+<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>SrMg<Subscript>1/3</Subscript>Nb<Subscript>2/3</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> solid solutions

The temperature dependences of the shear modulus and internal friction in ceramic samples of (1?x)SrTiO₃+xSrMg_1/3Nb_2/3O₃ solid solutions were studied by the torsional vibration method in the range 80–300 K. It was established that the temperature T _a of the O _h ¹ -D _4h ¹⁸ structural phase transition in these solid solutions increases with increasing x, although the lattice constant also increases. A discussion is presented of the contributions to the T _a (x) dependence due to a change in the volume and changes caused by the presence of a second solid-solution component (the impurity contribution). It is also shown that the defect-induced relaxation revealed earlier in a study of the dielectric properties of these materials manifests itself in internal friction peaks.     

Higher <Emphasis Type="Italic">η</Emphasis><Subscript>c</Subscript>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">nS</Emphasis>) and <Emphasis Type="Italic">η</Emphasis><Subscript>b</Subscript>(<Emphasis Type="Italic">nS</Emphasis>) mesons

The hyperfine splittings in heavy quarkonia are studied in a model-independent way using experimental data on dielectron widths. Relativistic correlations are taken into account together with the smearing of spin-spin interaction. The radius of smearing is fixed by known G/ψ−η _c(1S), ψ(2S)−η _c′(2S) splittings, which appears to be small, r _ss ≅ 0.06 fm. Nevertheless, even with such a small radius, substantial suppression of hyperfine splittings (∼50%) is observed in bottomonium. For nS b states (n = 1, 2, ..., 6), our predicted splittings (in MeV) are 28, 12, 10, 5, 6, 3. For the 3S and 4S charmonium states, the splittings 16(2) and 12(4) MeV are obtained. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Structure and dielectric response of (1–<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>)NaNO<Subscript>2</Subscript> + <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>BaTiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> composites at <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis> = 0.05 and 0.1

The (1–x)NaNO₂ + xBaTiO₃ composites of two compositions (x = 0.05 and 0.1) have been studied by powder neutron diffraction and broadband dielectric spectroscopy (frequency region 10^–1–10⁷ Hz). The temperature dependences of the ferroelectric order parameter of NaNO₂ in the composites and pure NaNO₂ have been measured. The frequency dependences of the real and imaginary parts of the permittivities of the composites and pure NaNO₂ have been analyzed in the temperature range 25–187°C. The anomaly of the dielectric response observed at T ~ 147°C is assumed to be related to the processes of accumulation and “resolution” of charges at the BaTiO₃ particle boundaries.     

Non-linear optical properties of (Pb<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Sr<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>)TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> thin films

Thin films of (Pb_1−x Sr _x )TiO₃, x=0,0.5,1.0 have been prepared on glass substrates by the chemical-solution method using the spin-coating technique. The optical nonlinearity in the visible spectral region is investigated using short (5 ns) laser pulses at the off-resonant wavelength of 532 nm employing the open aperture z-scan technique. It is found that the third order nonlinear absorption is dependent on the lead content of the films, with the compositions x=0, 0.5 exhibiting large values (β∼10⁻⁷ m/W), thereby suggesting the possible use of these materials as optical limiters. No optical nonlinearity is observed for the composition with x=1.0.     

Magnetocaloric properties of La<Subscript>1 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>K<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> manganites

A technology for obtaining single-phase ceramic samples of La_{1 − x} K _x MnO₃ manganites, as well as the dependence of their structure parameters on the potassium content, is described. The magnetocaloric effect in the samples has been measured by two direct methods, the classical method and the magnetic field modulation method, and has been calculated from the specific heat data. The values of the magnetocaloric effect obtained by these methods are significantly different. The observed discrepancies have been explained. Correlation between the doping level and the value of the effect has been found. It has been shown that the magnetic-field dependence of variation of the magnetic entropy near T _C in weak fields corresponds to theoretical calculations and that the value of the magnetocaloric effect in high magnetic fields can be predicted using this dependence.     

Crystal structure and magnetic susceptibility of (CuInSe<Subscript>2</Subscript>)<Subscript>1 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>(2MnSe)<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>

The crystal structure of samples in the (CuInSe₂)_{1 ? x} (2MnSe) _x system at room temperature and their magnetic susceptibility in the temperature range 77–1000 K are investigated. It is established that compositions with concentrations 0≤ x ≤ 0.2 form solid solutions with a tetragonal structure, space group I \(\bar 4\)2d (122). The specific magnetic susceptibility χ of samples with 0.1 ≤ x ≤ 0.4 at 77 K lies in the range 9 × 10^?4?1.6 × 10^t-3cm³/g. The temperature dependence of the inverse magnetic susceptibility of the sample with x = 0.4 suggests the presence of a component with antiferromagnetic ordering and a reliably measured Néel temperature that is characteristic of MnSe. The dependences χ = f(T) of the compositions with x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 indicate the occurrence of magnetic phase transitions with a change in the spin state.     

Electronic structure and ground state parameters of Ru<Subscript>1 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">Me</Emphasis><Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Al refractory alloys

The electronic structure and ground state parameters of B2 RuAl-based refractory alloys have been investigated in the framework of the density functional theory using the exact muffin-tin orbital method in combination with the coherent potential approximation. It has been demonstrated that the number of states at the Fermi level for the Ru_{1 − x} Me _x Al alloys as a function of the alloying metal content has a minimum, which indicates a change in the Fermi surface topology and the presence of specific features in the behavior of elastic constants. It has been concluded that the electronic structure of the alloys can be described in terms of the rigid band model. The nonlinear variations of the lattice parameters of the alloys has been explained.     

Hall effect in the Ce(Al<Subscript>1 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Co<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>)<Subscript>2</Subscript> heavy-fermion system

The influence of substitution on the binding energy of many-body states and the formation of the magnetically ordered state in a heavy-fermion compound (CeAl₂) have been studied by measuring the transport characteristics (Hall effect, resistivity) in intermetallic compounds of the Ce(Al_1?x M _x )₂ system (M = Ni, Co; x ≤ 0.08). It is established that the Hall coefficient R _H in Ce(Al_1?x Co _x )₂ intermetallides with x = 0.05 and 0.08 grows by more than an order of magnitude as the temperature decreases from 1.8 to 300 K. The experimental data are used to estimate the effective mass of charge carriers, the relaxation time, and the localization radius of many-body states.     

Metal-insulator transition in Fe<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Mn<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>S crystals

Results of an experimental study of MnS, FeS, and Fe _x Mn_1?x S single crystals are presented. The phase composition, the lattice parameters, and the state of paramagnetic ions in Fe _x Mn_1?x S have been determined by x-ray diffraction analysis and Mössbauer spectroscopy. A sequence of transitions have been found in iron manganese sulfide with x = 0.29 at temperatures T ₁ ≈ 25–50 K, T ₂ ≈ 125 K, and T ₃ ≈ 190 K with a change in kinetic properties and the formation of a metallic state at low temperatures T ≈ 2 K. The possibility of a Mott-Hubbard transition in Fe _x Mn_1?x S sulfides with variation of the composition and the temperature is discussed.     

Physical properties of Fe<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Dy<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Si crystals

The results of experimental investigation of magnetic and electric properties of Fe_1?x Dy _x Si crystals are reported. It is shown that the magnitude and position of the anomaly observed in the temperature dependences of magnetization are controlled to a considerable extent by the external magnetic field. It is found that the introduction of Dy ions leads to a weak magnetoresistive effect.     

The magnetic properties of nanosized La<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Ca<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript> (0.5 ≤ <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis> ≤ 0.8)

Magnetic properties of La_1−x Ca _x MnO₃ (0.5 ≤ x ≤ 0.8) samples with an equivalent average particle size ~50 nm prepared by a sol–gel method were investigated. The charge ordering (CO) transition that is observed in the bulks disappears and the ferromagnetic (FM) transition occurs in all the prepared samples. For all the samples, the spontaneous magnetization (M _S) value is much lower than the corresponding theoretic value, which shows that the majority of the sample is antiferromagnetic (AFM). However, the M _S value is much larger than the corresponding value reported by some other groups. The invisible of CO transition and the large M _S value can be attributed to the good connection among the adjacent particles. Moreover, the exchange bias (EB) phenomenon is observed except the x = 0.5 sample. With x increasing, the M _S value decreases and the EB field increases, which can be understood by considering the coexistence of FM phase with Mn³⁺–Mn⁴⁺ spin clusters in the shell and the AFM phase in the core of the nanoparticles.     

Magnetocapacitance effect in Gd<Subscript> <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis> </Subscript>Mn<Subscript>1–<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis> </Subscript>S

The capacitance and dielectric loss tangent of Gd_xMn_1–xS (x ≤ 0.2) solid solutions have been measured at a frequency of 10 kHz without magnetic field and in a magnetic field of 8 kOe in the temperature range of 90–450 K. An increase in the permittivity and a dielectric loss maximum have been detected in the low-temperature region. It has been found that the temperature of the maximum of the imaginary part of the permittivity shifts to higher temperatures with increasing concentration. The magnetocapacitance effect has been revealed for two compositions. The dielectric loss has been described in the Debye model with “freezing” dipole moments and in the orbital-charge ordering model.