Local probe (170Yb3+) measurements of magnetic fields in YBa2Cu3Ox

We introduce the technique of studying the field dependence of the electro-nuclear energy levels of a rare earth to measure the magnetic field present at the rare earth/yttrium site in YBa₂Cu₃O_x. Measurements were made by¹⁷⁰Yb Mössbauer spectroscopy. The hyperfine spectrum of the ground state Kramers doublet for Yb³⁺ ions diluted into this matrix is sensitive to fields in the range 100 to 2000G. Flux penetration and trapping at the local site level have been measured in superconducting samples. A molecular field exists on the rare earth site in non superconducting samples suggesting that the ordered Cu2 magnetic moments are intrinsically non colinear.     

Originalarbeiten / Travaux originaux / Original Papers

An account is given of a variational calculation to estimate the amplitudes of resonance factorsɛ in a recent theory to describe the enhancement of crystalline field potentials by conduction electrons in heavy rare earth metals. It is demonstrated that the values ofɛ obtained by minimising the energy of interaction between conduction electrons and rare earth ions are consistent with those previously used to form a comparison with experiment. These latter values were obtained by maximising theA ₂ ⁰ crystal field coefficient with respect toɛ. Consistency is exhibited in both the sign and order of magnitude of the resonance amplitudes and renders the theory parameterless. The values ofɛ show an approximate linear dependence with the number of electrons in the incompletef shell of the rare earth ions.     

Superconductivity

The superconducting and normal state properties are reviewed for exemplary matrix-impurity systems in the three distinct regimes of magnetic character of the impurity which have been identified. It is shown that these three regimes can be distinguished by thedetailed behavior of the depressions of 1) the superconducting transition temperatureT _c as a function of impurity concentrationn and 2) the specific heat jump ΔC atT _c as a function ofT _c . These systematics of superconductivity in the presence of local moments appear to be sufficiently well established that it is possible to 1) ascertain whether the solute spin is long-lived (magnetic) or short-lived (nonmagnetic) compared to thermal fluctuation lifetimes at superconducting temperatures, 2) determine the sign and magnitude of the conduction electron-impurity spin exchange interaction parameter ϑ and the temperature dependence of the exchange scattering of conduction electrons bylong-lived solute spins, 3) derive, in favorable cases, information pertaining to the energy level structure of rare earth ions in the crystalline electric field of their superconducting metallic host, and 4) observe magnetic-nonmagnetic transitions of an impurity induced by the application of an external pressure or variation of the composition of a binary alloy matrix. This article is based upon an invited presentation at the 1973 Summer meeting of the American Physical Society in East Lansing, Michigan, 18–20 June 1973 [Bull. Amer. Phys. Soc.18, 779 (1973)]. Supported by the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration under Contract No. ERDA E(04-3)-34 PA 227.     

Enhancement of the upper critical magnetic field in La1.2−xEuxMo6S8 compounds

Measurements of the upper critical magnetic field (H_c2) of the pseudoternary system La_1.2?xEu_xMo₆S₈ were made at temperatures above 1.5 K. An enhancement of the value of H_c2 was found for 0 < x ? 0.6. The results are attributed to an increase of the orbital critical field with increasing x, compensation of the applied magnetic field by a negative exchange field due to an antiferromagnetic exchange interaction between the conduction electron spins and the Eu magnetic moments (Jaccarino-Peter effect), and exchange scattering of conduction electrons by the rare earth magnetic moments.     

Enhanced superconductivity by correlations between two Kondo impurities

We study the interplay between magnetic correlations of two Kondo impurities and superconducting singlet pairing. Performing a Schrieffer-Wolff transformation in the zero-bandwidth limit of the two-impurity Anderson model we obtain the Hamiltonian of two magnetic impurities and we add a superconducting term to the conduction electrons. The model allows us to study the effect of the magnetic correlation between the impurities on the superconducting ground state. At zero temperature, different superconducting ground states can be obtained depending on the magnitude of magnetic coupling between S₁ and S₂. For increasing coupling, the superconducting region is enlarged showing an interesting result: in the strong coupling limit, where the impurities are in a very strong ferromagnetic correlation state, half of the conduction electrons are decoupled from the local moments of the impurities and take advantage of the superconducting pairing lowering the ground state energy. On the contrary, when the coupling between S₁and S₂ decreases, the scenario of the two independent Kondo impurities in presence of superconductivity emerges and all the conduction electrons are involved in the pair breaking physics. At finite temperature, we obtain the phase diagram and we observe a region of parameters where the re-entrance phenomenon occurs.     

Possible reconstruction of the ferromagnetic state under the influence of superconductivity in epitaxial V/Pd1−x Fe x bilayers

Epitaxial V/Pd_1−x Fe _x (001) bilayers with a V thickness of the order of 40 nm and with a Pd_1−x Fe _x thickness in the range from 0.8 nm to 4.4 nm were prepared by molecular beam epitaxy techniques. The Curie temperature of the Pd_1−x Fe _x layers varies between 90 and 250 K. For a bilayer with a Pd_1−x Fe _x thickness of 1.2 nm the ferromagnetic resonance measurements revealed a decrease of the effective magnetization 4πM _eff of the ferromagnetic layer below the superconducting transition temperature of V. As a possible explanation for this decrease we suggest a spatial modulation of the ferromagnetic order in the Pd_1−x Fe _x layer due to modifications of the indirect exchange interaction of magnetic ions via conduction electrons in the superconducting state. A comparison with a recent theoretical investigation supports this possibility.     

Some crystalline field effects in metals

We discuss different physical effects which are caused by the crystalline electric field splitting of rare earth ions in metals. Thus, the rare earth ions may be impurities dissolved in a metallic matrix or they may form a regular lattice. In the former case we distinguish between the cases of a normal conducting and a superconducting matrix. The influence of the crystalline field splitting on the properties of the conduction electrons is calculated. In the case of a normal matrix anomalous behaviour of the thermoelectric power is found due to the impurity levels. If the matrix is superconducting large deviations result from the theory of Abrikosov and Gorkov which describes the influence of non-split magnetic impurities on superconductivity. A comparison of the theory with available experiments is presented.

For the case that the rare earth ions form a regular lattice we discuss various aspects of the collective excitations in the paramagnetic state. Special attention is paid to the soft mode problem of exchange induced ferromagnets. Furthermore we discuss the influence of impurities on the excitation spectrum (localized modes, resonant modes etc.) and on the magnetic ordering temperature.     

Crystal field spectroscopy by inelastic neutron scattering

We present a review of inelastic neutron scattering results on very diluted rare earth (RE)-Laves phases. A systematic investigation to study crystal electric fields, experienced by single rare earth ions in a metallic environment, was done on (RE,R)Al₂, with RE=Pr, Nd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm andR=Sc, Y, La. We show the influence of the 4f-ions on the crystal fields as well as the influence of the host lattices. The rare earth atoms in ScAl₂ have been studied for the first time and most of the other alloys, with LaAl₂ and YAl₂ as hosts, have been studied for the first time with magnetic atom concentrations below 1 at% and/or with good resolution for low energy excitations. Furthermore we studied the dynamics of 4f-moments, which are coupled to the conduction electrons by determining the coupling constants. We present a comprehensive set of crystal field parameters and coupling constants from these systematic studies and discuss them qualitatively within the available theoretical models. The influence of magnetic atom concentration on crystal field spectra will be shown in part II.     

de Haas–van Alphen effect in strongly correlated electron systems

We present the Fermi surface properties in strongly correlated electron systems of rare earth and uranium compounds via de Haas–van Alphen experiments. The conduction electrons with large cyclotron effective masses over 100m₀ (m₀: rest mass of an electron) are detected in CeRu₂Si₂, CeCoIn₅ and UPt₃. These electrons move slowly in the crystal. The topology of the Fermi surface and the cyclotron mass are compared to those of energy band calculations.     

Superconductivity in the RexMo6S8

The rare earth molybdenum sulfides RE_xMo₆S₈ (RE = rare earth) have been synthesized and are found to be superconducting with a few exceptions. This result, which is surprising in view of the high concentration of magnetic ions, is correlated with the particular structure of these compounds based on on units of Mo₆S₈.     

Influence of unstable valence of cerium ions on the crystal field in ReNi compounds

To examine the effect of hybridization of 4f electrons with conduction electrons on the crystal field potential using neutron spectroscopy, we studied the effects of the crystal electric field (CEF) in intermetallic compounds of the type ReNi, in which chemical substitution is followed by a transition of the cerium ions from an intermediate valence state to the Kondo state. Measurements were performed both on cerium ions in the compounds Ce_1−x La_xNi (x=0.5, 0.8), where they have a whole-number population of the 4f shell, and on the paramagnetic impurity ion Nd in the series of compounds Re_1−x Nd_xNi (Re=Ce, La, Y), in which the cerium ions are found either in an intermediate valence state or in the Kondo state. From the neutron inelastic magnetic scattering spectra on Nd ions, we have reconstructed the crystal field parameters in ReNi compounds and calculated the CEF level diagram of Ce ions in these compounds as functions of the interion distances Re-Ni. The results of our calculations are in good agreement with the experimentally determined splitting diagram of the ground-state multiplet of the Ce ions. We have determined that as the degree of hybridization with the conduction electrons grows the CEF potential varies considerably and the effective splitting of the 4f shell of the cerium ions increases. The estimated energy scale of the splitting of the ground-state multiplet of the Ce³⁺ ions in the ReNi CEF (Δ_CEF∼15 meV) turns out to be commensurate with the Kondo temperature (T _K ;140 K for CeNi. Analysis indicates that the CEF potential has a substantial effect on the formation of the valence-unstable ground state of the f shell in this compound. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 113, 1731–1747 (May 1998)     

Anomalous thermoelectric power of rare earth metals and their compounds

We propose a new mechanism for an anomalous thermoelectric power (ATP) in the paramagnetic state of certain rare earth metals and their compounds, in which the ions possess a nonmagnetic ground state in a given crystal field. The ATP is found to be due to higher order inelastic scattering (second Born approximation) of the conduction electrons by the crystal field split rare earth ions. It has a peak at a temperatureΔ/3 ~Δ/2, whereΔ is the splitting energy between the ground state and the first excited state. Our main result is that the appearance of an ATP requires interactions between the conduction electrons and the ions of other than the simple isotropic exchange type. This implies that the ATP may serve as a valuable tool to detect more complicated types of thek-f interaction than the isotropic exchange.     

Mössbauer measurements on170Yb3+ substituted into YBa2Cu3O7

We present some results obtained by Mössbauer spectroscopy on Yb³⁺ when substituted into YBa₂Cu₃O _x -like compounds. For the fully substituted compound YbBa₂Cu₃O₇, we describe the properties of the rare earth sublattice magnetic ordering which coexists with superconductivity. From measurements at the dilute substitution level, we study the Yb³⁺ crystal field properties and the thermal dependence of the Yb³⁺ paramagnetic relaxation rate. By making use of the molecular field produced on the Yb³⁺ probe by the magnetically correlated Cu(2), we examine the evolution of the Cu(2)-based magnetism as a function of carrier density and study the phase separation which occurs in the superconducting samples with intermediate oxygen levels. We also examine how the properties of the Yb³⁺ probe are influenced by the substitution of Pr³⁺ or Zn²⁺ (these substitutions are known to considerably influence the superconducting properties).     

Evidence of local structural transition during oxidation process of RBCO epitaxial films using time resolved reflexafs measurements

We report results of a time resolved X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) experiment on the oxidation process of epitaxial Y₁(Nd_0.05Ba_1.95)Cu₃O_x superconducting thin films. For the first time Cu K-edge XAS technique has been used to explore local structural changes around the Cu ions during the oxidation process of a high critical temperature superconducting film. The results show that during the oxygenation of a tetragonal Y₁(Nd_0.05Ba_1.95)Cu₃O_x additional local transitions appear in the orthorhombic I phase, which are not linked to long range order transformations as shown by in situ X-ray diffraction experiment. New questions concerning the dynamic microscopic process leading to the oxygenation and eventually to superconductivity of the complex R_1+xBa_2-xCu₃O_x (R = Y or rare earth) compounds arose from these results. Received 21 December 2001 Published online 25 June 2002     

Transport studies of Kondo behavior,ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic order in U1−xThxSb

We report electrical resistivity, Hall effect and magnetization measurements in the system U_1?xTh_xSb for magnetic fields up to 100 kOe. In U_0.14Th_0.86Sb a Kondo-like behavior of the resistivity is detected and the interaction J_df between the conduction d electrons and the uranium f electrons is found to be about ?0.2 eV. The dilution of USb by ThSb leads to large modifications of the electrical transport properties, reflecting the change from antiferromagnetism to ferromagnetism and simultaneously a decrease of the ordered magnetic moment per uranium atom occurs. A simple model is presented which accounts for this decrease assuming that all the conduction electrons added by thorium are polarized antiparallel to the remaining uranium f electrons due to the negative J_df. The Kondo temperature is used to estimate the band width and the binding energy of the 5f state.     

Superconductivity and ferromagnetism in the orthorhombic system (TbxLu1−x)RuB2

The pseudoternary orthorhombic system Tb_xLu_1?xRuB₂) (0 ? x ? 0.1 andx = 1.0) has been investigated by static magnetization, ac susceptibility and resistivity measurements down to 1.5 K. Superconductivity occurs for 0 ? x ? 0.1, while ferromagnetic order occurs for x = 1.0. For each sample studied, the Tb ion maintains a configurationally stable trivalent state. The initial linear depression of the superconducting transition temperature yields a coupling constant value N(0)Γ² between conduction electrons and magnetic Tb³⁺ moments of 3.5 x 10^-4 ev-atom-states/spin-direction.     

Reentrant superconductivity in the orthorhombic system (Tm1−xLux)RuB2

The boundaries between the paramagnetic, superconducting and magnetically ordered phases in the orthorhombic pseudoternary system (Tm_1?xLu_x)RuB₂ have been established by means of ac magnetic susceptibility measurements down to 1.2 K. Reentrant superconductivity occurs between x = 0.52 and x ? 0.68. The absence of coexistence between superconductivity and long range magnetic order in this region suggests a ferromagnetic-like nature of the magnetic state. The initial linear depression of superconducting transition temperature (T_c) gives a coupling constant value N(E_F)$\text{J}$² between conduction electrons and magnetic Tm³⁺ moments of 6.7 × 10^?4 eV-atom-states/ spin direction.     

Excitation gap in the normal and superconducting state of underdoped Bi2Sr2Ca1-xDyxCu2O8+\delta thin film and single crystals

We summarize photoemission data from underdoped Bi₂Sr₂Ca_1-xDy_xCu₂O_8+\delta that revealed anomalous properties: i) We observed an excitation gap in the normal state of underdoped samples, and this normal state gap closes in overdoped samples; ii) The normal state gap has similar magnitude and momentum dependence as the superconducting gap, which is consistent with a d_x ² _-y ² order parameter; iii) The normal state gap persists to a temperature range much higher than T_c; iv) The superconducting gap in the underdoped regime does not scale with T_c. These results are consistent with theoretical models that suggest the underdoped regime can be characterized by two temperatures, a mean‐field temperature below which there is pairing, and a lower superconducting transition temperature at which the pairs become phase coherent. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Superconductors containing impurities with crystal-field split energy levels

We investigate theoretically the problem of a superconducting matrix containing paramagnetic rare earth impurities with crystal-field split energy levels. There are two competing mechanisms which change the superconducting transition temperatureT _c. One is inelastic charge scattering of conduction electrons from the aspherical part of the 4f charge distribution, which leads to an increase inT _c similar to that of optical phonons. The other and often predominant mechanism comes from the exchange interaction, which depressesT _c and can be very effective even among non-magnetic levels via off-diagonal matrix elements. Crystalline fields serve to alter the effectiveness of the two kinds of scattering depending upon the symmetry character of the low-lying levels, and in favorable cases one may study separately the effects of the two types of scattering by adding different impurities to a given host. We find that crystal-field levels at energies quite high compared tok _B·T_c can still have an important effect onT _c. It is shown that the crystalline-field splitting should be directly observable as structure in the tunneling characteristics.     

Very high upper critical fields of F-doped Fe-based layered superconductors NdO0.88F0.12FeAs and CeO0.88F0.12FeAs

Using the solid state reaction method, we have synthesized the polycrystalline F-doped NdO_0.88F_0.12FeAs and CeO_0.88F_0.12FeAs with the superconducting transition temperatures at about 48 and 40 K, respectively. To obtain the upper critical field H _c2 of Nd(Ce)O_0.88F_0.12FeAs samples, we measured the electrical resistivity under magnetic field up to 14 T. Based on the Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg (WHH) relation together with the H _c2(T) curves in a relatively high field, we estimated that these superconductors have a rather high upper critical field of about 115 T for Nd-based and 107 T for Ce-based samples, indicating the similarities between these ReO_1−x F _x FeAs (Re = rare earth element) superconductors and high T _c cuprate superconductors. Recommended by Prof. Nie Yuxin, Executive Editor of Science in China Series G-Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program)(Grant No. 2006CB9213001) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10774181)