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.     

Magnetoresistance of superconducting grains in ceramic YBa2Cu3O7 − δ high-temperature superconductors in weak magnetic fields

The current-voltage characteristics $E(j)_{H_{treat} } = const$ of ceramic (granular) YBa₂Cu₃O_6.95 samples preliminarily magnetized in different transverse magnetic fields H _treat have been measured in a zero field (H _ext = 0) at T = 77.3 K for elucidating specific features of dissipation in superconducting grains of high-temperature superconductors (HTSCs). The current-voltage curves measured in the range 0 ≤ H _trap ≤ H _c2J (where H _trap is the magnetic field trapped as a result of the pretreatment in H _treat and H _c2J is the upper critical field of the Josephson weak links) have been used to construct the field dependences of the magnetoresistance ρ_A(H _treat) _{j = const} of superconducting grains. It has been established that the magnetoresistance ρ_A of the superconducting grains is significantly lower than the magnetoresistance ρ_J for the Josephson medium. The dependence of ρ_A on H _treat and on the transport current density j has been investigated. It has been shown that the dependences ρ_A(H _treat) _{j = const} exhibit a clearly pronounced tendency to saturation, ρ_satur, and the value of ρ_satur increases with increasing j. It has been found that the lower critical field H _c1A of the superconducting grains strongly depends on the transport current density.     

Magnetoresistance hysteresis in granular HTSCs as a manifestation of the magnetic flux trapped by superconducting grains in YBCO + CuO composites

Hysterestic behavior of the magnetoresistance of granular HTSCs and its interaction with the magnetic hysteresis are studied by measuring magnetoresistance R(H) and critical current I _c(H) of composites formed by HTSC Y_0.75Lu_0.25Ba₂Cu₃O₇ and CuO. A network of Josephson junctions is formed in such composites, in which the nonsuperconducting component plays the role of barriers between HTSC grains. Hysteretic dependences R(H) of magnetoresistance are studied in a wide range of transport current density j and are analyzed in the framework of the two-level model of a granular superconductor, in which dissipation takes place in the Josephson medium and the magnetic flux can be pinned both in grains and in the Josephson medium. The interrelation between the hysteresis of critical current I _c(H) and the evolution of the hysterestic dependence R(H) of the magnetoresistance upon transport current variation is demonstrated experimentally. The effect of the magnetic past history on the hysteretic behavior of R(H) and the emergence of a segment with a negative magnetoresistance are analyzed. It is shown for the first time that the R(H) dependences are characterized by a parameter that is independent of the transport current, viz., the width of the R(H) hysteresis loop.     

Magnetoresistance hysteresis of bulk textured Bi1.8Pb0.3Sr1.9Ca2Cu3Ox + Ag ceramics and its anisotropy

Magnetoresistance of bulk textured Bi_1.8Pb_0.3Sr_1.9Ca₂Cu₃O_x + Ag ceramics has been studied in the magnetic fields applied parallel and perpendicular to a–b planes of Bi2223 crystallites. Besides well known anisotropy of magnetoresistance of textured superconductors (R_H || c > R_H || a–b), anisotropic hysteresis of R(H) dependences was investigated. Parameters characterizing hysteretic R(H) curves differ for the cases H || c and H || a–b. This behavior is explained within the model of a granular superconductor where the total magnetic induction in the intercrystallite boundaries is superposition of the external field and the magnetic field induced by dipole magnetic moments of neighbor crystallites.     

Anisotropy of the magnetoresistive properties of granular high-temperature superconductors resulting from magnetic flux compression in the intergrain medium

To elucidate the origin of the well-known anisotropy of the magnetoresistive properties of granular high-temperature superconductors (HTSs), which is related to the mutual orientation of magnetic field H and transport current j, we investigate the hysteretic dependences of magnetoresistance R(H) of the yttrium HTS sample at the perpendicular (H ⊥ j) and parallel (H || j) configurations. The hysteretic R(H) dependences are analyzed using the concept of the effective field in the intergrain boundaries through which superconducting current carriers tunnel. The effective degree of magnetic flux compression in the intergrain medium at the perpendicular configuration was found to be twice as much as at the parallel one. This approach explains well the anisotropy of the magnetoresistive properties of granular HTSs, which was previously reported by many authors, and the temperature dependences of the resistance in the resistive transition region.     

Possible explanation of magnetic dependence of the bragg peak intensity in the modulated phase of HoNo6S8

The possible explanation for the observed, by Lynn et al. [1], existence of the maximum in the magnetic field dependence of the Bragg peak intensity I_Q(H) in the modulated phase of HoMo₆S₈ is given. It is based on the so-called EX-model - the dominance of the exchange interaction between superconducting electrons and localized moments in the formation and destruction of the coexistence phase. In this approach the maximum in I_Q(H) results from the (zero wave-vector) electronic spin susceptibility dependence, in superconducting state, on the spin-orbit scattering time τ_So. The in [1] observed anisotropic character of I_Q(H), for H|Q and H⊥Q, is also explained.     

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.     

Critical state of Josephson medium

A model of the critical state of a Josephson medium is developed on the basis of the Sonin theory of averaged Josephson medium. The model is used to explain the experimental data on the differential magnetic susceptibility _χd (H) and magnetoresistance R(H) of polycrystalline YBa₂Cu₃O_7?x samples in fields H<100 Oe.     

Vortex structure and magnetoresistance of granular YBa2Cu3O7 − δ high-temperature superconductors

The transverse magnetoresistance $ \frac{{\Delta \rho }} {\rho } $ (H _ext) of several series of YBa₂Cu₃O_6.95 high-temperature superconductor samples has been measured in external magnetic fields with a strength of up to H _ext = H _ext ^max ～ 500 Oe over a wide range of transport current strengths (～10 ≤ I ≤ ～1000 mA) at the temperature T = 77.3 K. It has been revealed that there are three different types of field dependences of the magnetoresistance at H _ext ⊥ I with the following typical features: (1) low critical fields of the Josephson weak links H _c2J , a high level of the magnetoresistance, and the appearance of a remanent magnetoresistance Δρ_rem/ρ with a decrease in H _ext to zero; (2) high fields H _c2J and a low level of the magnetoresistance (Δρ_rem/ρ ≡ 0); and (3) relatively high fields H _c2J and the presence of jumps in the dependences $ \frac{{\Delta \rho }} {\rho } $ (H _ext). A comparative analysis of the dependences $ \frac{{\Delta \rho }} {\rho } $ (H _ext) has made it possible to establish the nature of the revealed differences: the first type of behavior corresponds to the existence of a relatively ordered vortex structure of the Bragg-glass type over the entire range of fields H _ext, the second type corresponds to the existence of a disordered vortex structure of the vortex-glass type over the entire range of fields H _ext, and the third type corresponds to the occurrence of Bragg-glass-vortex-glass first-order phase transition in the magnetic field in the range 0 < H _BG-VG < H _ext ^max .     

Galvanomagnetic properties of atomically disordered Sr<Subscript>2</Subscript>RuO<Subscript>4</Subscript> single crystals

The effect of neutron-bombardment-induced atomic disorder on the galvanomagnetic properties of Sr₂RuO₄ single crystals has been experimentally studied in a broad range of temperatures (1.7–380 K) and magnetic fields (up to 13.6 T). The disorder leads to the appearance of negative temperature coefficients for both the in-plane electric resistivity (ρ_a) and that along the c axis (ρ_c), as well as the negative magnetoresistance Δρ, which is strongly anisotropic to the magnetic field orientation (H ∥ a and H ∥ c), with the easy magnetization direction along the c axis and a weak dependence on the probing current direction in the low-temperature region. The experimental ρ_a(T) and ρ_c(T) curves obtained for the initial and radiation-disordered samples can be described within the framework of a theoretical model with two conductivity channels. The first channel corresponds to the charge carriers with increased effective masses (～10m _e , where m _e is the electron mass) and predominantly electron-electron scattering, which leads to the quadratic temperature dependences of ρ_a and ρ_c. The second channel corresponds to the charge carriers with lower effective masses exhibiting magnetic scattering at low temperatures, which leads to the temperature dependence of the ρ_{a, c}(T) ∝ 1/T type.     

Crossover effects in scheelite DyLiF4

The Zeeman effect, magnetization, and differential susceptibility of a DyLiF₄ crystal in a pulsed magnetic field are studied experimentally and theoretically. It is found that Dy³⁺ ion levels in DyLiF₄ approach each other and a crossover occurs in a magnetic field H ‖ [001], which leads to a smearing of peaks in the differential magnetic susceptibility dM/dH and to inflection points in the magnetization curves M(H) at low temperatures. It is demonstrated that magnetic anomalies that accompany the crossover in DyLiF₄ in a field H ‖[001] are sensitive to the electronic structure of the Dy³⁺ ion. Therefore, these anomalies can be used to refine the crystal-field parameters. The effects of variations in the crystal field and temperature and of a deviation of the direction of the magnetic field from the symmetry axis on the magnitude and character of the magnetic anomalies associated with the crossover are investigated. The crystal field and crossover effects in the scheelite structure are compared with those in the zircon structure.     

Field Confinement Energy at a Nonlinear Interface between Nonlinear Defocusing Media

The dependences of the resistance of the layered quasi-one-dimensional semiconductor TiS₃ on the direction and magnitude of the magnetic field B have been measured. The anisotropy and angular dependences of the magnetoresistance indicate the two-dimensional character of the conductivity at T < 100 K. Below T₀ ≈ 50 K, the magnetoresistance for the directions of the field in the plane of the layers (ab plane) increases sharply, whereas the transverse magnetoresistance (B ∥ c) becomes negative. The results confirm the possibility of an electron phase transition to a collective state at T₀. The negative magnetoresistance (at B ∥ c) below T₀ is explained by the magnetic-field-induced suppression of two-dimensional weak localization. The positive magnetoresistance (at B ∥ ab) is explained by the effect of the magnetic field on the spectrum of electronic states.     

Relaxation of the remanent resistance of granular HTSC Y-Ba-Cu-O + CuO composites after magnetic field treatment

The hysteresis of magnetoresistance R(H) and relaxation of the remanent resistance R _rem with time after magnetic field treatment of HTSC (Y-Ba-Cu-O) + CuO composites are studied. Such a composite constitutes a network of Josephson junctions wherein the nonsuperconducting component (CuO) forms Josephson barriers between HTSC grains. By comparing the experimental R _rem(t) and R(H) dependences, it is shown that the relaxation of the remanent resistance is caused by the decreased magnetic field in the intergrain medium due to relaxation of magnetization. The reason is uncovered for the differences between the published values of pinning potentials determined by measuring the relaxation of magnetization or resistance and fitting them by the Anderson law.     

Low-field peak effect in type II superconductors

The combined effect of a surface (edge) barrier and volume pinning on the dependence of critical current I _c on the magnetic field (I⊥H ₀) in bulk type II superconductors is investigated. In low magnetic fields, there is a portion of the curve I _c(H ₀) where I _c grows with H ₀, causing a nontrivial peak effect in this field range. Such behavior is explained by the combined effect of a surface (edge) barrier and volume pinning, the latter being rather sensitive to the transport current density distribution in a superconductor.     

Contribution of superconducting grains and grain boundaries to the magnetoresistance of ceramic YBa<Subscript>2</Subscript>Cu<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>7 − δ</Subscript> high-temperature superconductors in weak magnetic fields

The current-voltage characteristics of granular YBa₂Cu₃O_6.95 high-temperature superconductor samples have been measured at a temperature of 77.3 K in external transverse magnetic fields H _ext with a strength of up to H _ext ≈ 500 Oe for low transport current densities (0.1 A/cm² ≤ j ≤ 0.6 A/cm²). The current-voltage characteristics obtained have been used to construct dependences of the magnetoresistance ρ on the quantities j (ρ(j) _Hext=const) and H _ext(ρ(H _ext) _{j = const}). It has been revealed that the current and field dependences of the magnetoresistance exhibit anomalies at H _ext ≥ H _c1g , where H _c1g is the lower critical field of superconducting grains. A comparative analysis of the dependences ρ(j)H _{ext = const} and ρ(H _ext) _{j = const} has made it possible to develop concepts regarding the influence of the processes of redistribution of the magnetic field between grain boundaries and superconducting grains on the transport and galvanomagnetic properties of granular high-temperature superconductors. It has been established that the field dependences of the magnetoresistance exhibit specific features associated with the beginning of penetration of Josephson vortices into grain boundaries in the magnetic field H _c1J and with the breaking of a continuous chain of Josephson junctions in the magnetic field H _c2J .     

Magnetoresistance and magnetic phase transitions in a Pr11B6 antiferromagnet

In isotopically pure praseodymium hexaboride (Pr¹¹B₆) single-crystal samples, the transverse magnetoresistance Δρ/ρ has been measured in a temperature range of 2–20 K in magnetic fields up to 80 kOe. The field and angular dependences Δρ/ρ(H, ?, T ₀) reveal a new magnetic phase in the AFM state of Pr¹¹B₆ which is observable only for the external magnetic field orientation in a narrow angular range near H ‖ 〈110〉. The data remove the previous contradictions in the Pr11B6 magnetic phase diagram representation and can be explained under the assumption that the spin-polarized regions (ferrons) are involved in the formation of the complex magnetic structure in the Pr¹¹B₆ AFM state in the 5d band in the vicinity of the rare-earth ions.     

Specific features of magnetoresistance during the antiferromagnet—paramagnet transition in Tm1 − x Yb x B12

The transverse magnetoresistance Δρ/ρ(H, T) of Tm_{1 ? x} Yb _x B₁₂ single crystals is studied in the ytterbium concentration range corresponding to the antiferromagnet-paramagnet transition in a magnetic field up to 80 kOe at low temperatures. A magnetic H-T phase diagram is constructed for the antiferromagnetic state of substitutional Tm_{1 ? x} Yb _x B₁₂ solid solutions with x ≤ 0.1. The contributions to the magnetoresistance in the antiferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases of the dodecaborides under study are separated. Along with negative quadratic magnetoresistance -Δρ/ρ ∝ H ₂, the magnetically ordered phase of these compounds is found to have component Δρ/ρ ∝ H that linearly changes in a magnetic field. The negative contribution to the magnetoresistance of Tm_{1 ? x} Yb _x B₁₂ is analyzed in terms of the Yosida model for a local magnetic susceptibility.     

Effect of an external magnetic field and a trapped magnetic flux on the current-voltage characteristics of a granular high-temperature superconductor YBa2Cu3O7−δ

A comparative study of the current-voltage characteristics of the high-temperature ceramic superconductor YBa₂Cu₃O_～6.95 at T = 77.3 K is performed over wide ranges of external magnetic fields H _ext and “treatment” fields H _treat. It is found that the field dependences of the parameters a and j _c involved in the exponential equation E = a(j ? j _c)^v describing the current-voltage characteristics depend substantially on the method used for applying the magnetic field, whereas the exponent v ～ 2 depends on neither the method of application nor on the magnetic field strength. The field dependence of the trapped magnetic field H _trap is determined.     

Magnetoresistance of a ferromagnetic metal nanocomposite with nonspherical granules

It is experimentally established that the magnetoresistance of a Fex(SiO₂)_1?x nanocomposite (x≈0.6) in a strong magnetic field is described by a logarithmic function of the field strength. This field dependence is inconsistent with the well-known theory of the giant magnetoresistance in ferromagnetic nanocomposites. A model is developed according to which the unusual behavior of the magnetoresistance is explained by nonsphericity of the material grains, exhibiting a broad variety of shapes. The experimental results agree with conclusions and predictions of the proposed model.