Magnetic octupole order in : A polarized neutron diffraction study

Recently, in phase IV of Ce_xLa_1-xB₆, weak but distinct superlattice reflections from the order parameter of phase IV have been detected by our unpolarized neutron scattering experiment [K. Kuwahara, K. Iwasa, M. Kohgi, N. Aso, M. Sera, F. Iga, J. Phys. Soc. Japan 76 (2007) 093702]. The scattering vector dependence of the intensity of superlattice reflections is quite unusual; the intensity is stronger for high scattering vectors. This result strongly indicates that the order parameter of phase IV is the magnetic octupole. However, the possibility that the observed superlattice reflections are due to lattice distortions could not be completely ruled out only on the basis of the unpolarized neutron scattering experiment. To confirm that the superlattice reflections are magnetic, therefore, we have performed a single crystal polarized neutron diffraction experiment on Ce_0.7La_0.3B₆. The obtained result has clearly shown that the time reversal symmetry is broken by the order parameter of phase IV. This is further evidence for the magnetic octupole order in Ce_xLa_1-xB₆.     

Small-angle neutron scattering study of dynamically polarized polyethylenes

We carried out a small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) study of dynamically polarized polyethylene (PE) samples doped with 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine 1-oxyl (TEMPO). The transmission of the PE with almost fully polarized neutrons (98.5%) increased with increasing the proton polarization, P. The incoherent scattering cross section decreased with increasing P. The effect of P on the polarized neutrons’ transmission and the incoherent scattering cross section agreed well with the theory. The q-dependence of the coherent scattering, which reflects a two-phase structure of PE composed of crystalline and amorphous domains, was kept unchanged by the proton polarization, but the intensity increased by a factor of 3 and 6 for P=+23% and −23%, respectively. The results mean that the contrast between the two phases was successfully enhanced by a dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) technique. However, the enhancement is only 1/13–1/16 of the enhancement calculated by assuming a homogeneous polarization through the PE sample. The discrepancy suggests that P in amorphous domains (25%) should be higher than that in crystalline domains (22%) by 3%, which in turn may suggest the partial depolarization of proton spins on the way of the spin diffusion from amorphous domains, where TEMPO radicals localize, to crystalline domains.     

VITESS polarized neutron suite: allows for the simulation of performance of any existing polarized neutron scattering instrument

As neutron simulations packages are used for analysis of the expected performance for practically all newly built neutron instruments, possibilities for simulations with polarized neutrons have been relatively underdeveloped.During the last years we developed a new approach for the representation of time-dependent magnetic fields (both in magnitude and direction) for the VITESS simulation package. This allowed us to simulate the neutron spin dynamics in practically all polarized neutron devices (RF neutron flipper, adiabatic gradient RF flipper, the Drabkin resonator, etc.). In this article the above-mentioned VITESS instrument components (modules) will be presented and the simulated performance of a number of polarized neutron scattering instruments (NRSE, MIEZE, SESANS, etc.) will be demonstrated.Thus, we practically complete the polarized neutron suite of the VITESS, which seems sufficient for the simulation of performance of any existing polarized neutron scattering instrument. Future work will be concentrated on developments of dedicated sample modules (kernels) to allow for virtual experiments with VITESS.     

Stimulated Raman scattering in three-dimensional photonic crystals

The results of experimental studies of stimulated Raman scattering of light (SRS) excited in three-dimensional photonic crystals — synthetic opal matrices infiltrated with Raman active media are presented. It is shown that the SRS threshold in such structures decreases with respect to the SRS threshold in Raman active bulk materials. The influence of the photonic-band structure of the active materials used on the SRS properties is estimated.     

Magnetic properties of SiO2-coated iron oxide nanoparticles studied by polarized small angle neutron scattering

The structural and magnetic properties of non-coated and SiO₂-coated iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles (NPs) were investigated by a polarized small-angle neutron scattering (P-SANS) method. Measurement of the P-SANS allowed us to obtain nuclear and magnetic scattering cross sections of the NPs under applied magnetic field. The analysis of the scattering intensity provided the structural parameters and the spatial magnetization distribution of the non-coated and the SiO₂ coated core–shell NPs. The measured radius of both NPs and the shell thickness of the core–shell NPs were in consistent with those measured by the transmission electron microscopy. In comparison, the magnetic core radii of both NPs were 0.12–0.6 nm smaller than the nuclear radii, indicating the magnetization reduction in the surface region of core Fe₃O₄ in both NPs. However, the reduced magnetization region, which is the surface spin canting region, of the SiO₂-coated NPs was relatively narrower than that of the non-coated NPs. We suggest that the SiO₂ coating on the Fe₃O₄ NPs may stabilize the spin order of atoms and prohibit the oxidation or defect formation at the surface region of the Fe₃O₄ NPs, and enhance the corresponding magnetization of the Fe₃O₄ NPs by the reduction of the spin canting layer thickness.     

Magnetic order in a Kondo lattice: A neutron scattering study of CeCu2Ge2

Elastic and inelastic neutron scattering studies of the Kondo lattice CeCu₂Ge₂ were performed. AtT _N=4.1 K an incommensurate magnetic order develops with an ordering wave vectorq ₀=(0.28, 0.28, 0.54) and an ordered moment µ _s =0.74 µB. The crystalline electric field splits the 4f ¹-J-multiplet of the Ce ion into a ground state doublet and a quartet at 191 K. The wave function of the ground state yields an ordered moment of 1.54µB. Thus, due to the onset of the formation of a Kondo singlet the magnetic moment is considerably reduced. The magnetic relaxation rate was investigated via quasielastic neutron scattering. The temperature dependence of (T) is characteristic of heavy-fermion systems with a high temperature square root dependence and a limiting low temperature value, yielding a Kondo temperatureT _K10K. The quasielastic component of the scattered neutron intensities persists down to the lowest temperatures, well belowT _N. This quasielastic line is regarded as a characteristic feature of heavy-fermion systems and corresponds to the enhanced value of the linear term of the specific heat.     

Bragg scattering induces Fano resonance in photonic crystals

We present a study of a Fano resonance between a narrow Bragg band and disorder-induced continuum in photonic crystals where the continuum is either of the broad band Fabry-Pérot scattering in an imperfect one-dimensional photonic crystal or Mie scattering in an imperfect three-dimensional photonic crystal. Our experimental studies of synthetic opals have demonstrated how the Fano resonance may lead to a transmission spectrum exhibiting a Bragg dip with an asymmetric profile or a Bragg rise.     

Magnetic surface plasmon-induced tunable photonic bandgaps in two-dimensional magnetic photonic crystals

We experimentally studied magnetically controllable photonic band gaps (PBGs) in two-dimensional magnetic photonic crystals consisting of ferrite rods. Besides the conventional PBG that relates to Bragg scattering, two other types of PBG, resulting from magnetic surface plasmon (MSP) resonance and spin-wave resonance, respectively, are observed. The PBG due to MSP resonance is particularly interesting because of its analogy to surface plasmon in metal; furthermore, it is shown to be completely tunable by an external static magnetic field from both an experimental and a theoretical point of view.     

Some applications of polarized inelastic neutron scattering in magnetism

A brief account of applications of polarized inelastic neutron scattering in condensed matter research is given. We show that full polarization analysis is the only tool allowing to discriminate unambiguously between different magnetic modes in various magnetic materials. We show by means of recent results in the Heisenberg ferromagnet EuS that the effects of dipolar interactions can be studied on a microscopic scale. Moreover, we have found for the first time indications for the divergence of the longitudinal fluctuations belowT _c. In the itinerant antiferromagnet chromium we demonstrate that the dynamics of the longitudinal and transverse excitations are very different, resolving a long standing puzzle concerning the slope of their dispersion. Finally, we show that a measurement of the polarization-dependent part of the cross section of non-centrosymmetric MnSi proves directly that the chirality of the magnetic fluctuations is left-handed.     

A study of optoelectronics in photonic nanowires made from photonic crystals

We have studied optoelectronic properties of photonic nanowires doped with an ensemble of four-level nanoparticles. Nanowires are made from two photonic crystals A and B where crystal A is embedded in B. Photons are confined with the photonic nanowire due to the band structure engineering of crystals A and B. A probe field is applied to monitor the absorption spectrum, and a control field is applied to shift the position of absorption peak. It is considered that nanoparticles are interacting with bound photon states of the nanowire. It is found that the number of bound states in the wire depends on the size and the energy depth of the wire. It is also found that when the resonance energy lies near the bound state, the system goes from absorbing state to the transparent state. This is due to the strong coupling between nanoparticles and bound photons in the wire. The control field switches the system from the transparent state to the absorbing state by changing the location of the resonance energy. The present findings can be used to make new types of optoelectronic switches.     

Propagation dynamic of a Gaussian in the inverted nonlinear photonic crystals

In this work, we study the evolution of a Gaussian beam inside a one-dimensional inverted nonlinear photonic crystals (INPC) with a Kerr nonlinearity. The INPC is a kind of virtual crystals which is generated by the optical induction via the electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). The propagation dynamics of the Gaussian with different total power are identified. Four types of propagation behavior are found. They are collapse beam, breather beam, soliton and symmetry-breaking beam, respectively. The border between these four behavior types are given. For symmetry-breaking beam, an asymmetric profile of the beam is evolving from the symmetry Gaussian, which can be termed as a kind of dynamical symmetry breaking (DSB). The influences on the appearance of the symmetry breaking point are studied by varying input parameters of the Gaussian. The results of this work are both suitable in nonlinear optics and Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC).     

Magnetic chirality as probed by neutron scattering

We review the concept of chirality, at first briefly in a general context then in the specific framework of the spin networks. We next discuss to what extent neutron scattering appears as an unconvertible tool to probe magnetic chirality in the static and dynamical regimes of the spins. The remarkable chiral ground state and excitations of the Fe?langasite compound finally serves to illustrate the use of neutron polarimetry in the experimental studies of the magnetic chirality.     

Quasielastic neutron scattering and correlated self-diffusion in crystals

The effect of correlations between successive jumps of atoms during self-diffusion on the quasielastic neutron-scattering line wodth is investigated. Temporal and spatial aspects of these correlations are described in terms of the so-called “encounter model”, which had originally been developed for the interpretation of nuclear-magnetic resonance studies on self-diffusion. Owing to the rather high temperatures (i.e. large diffusivities) to which quasielastic neutron-scattering experiments on self-diffusion in crystals are restricted, the effect of both mono- and divacancies is considered. It is found that the line width associated with a correlated mechanism is smaller and in single crystals shows a different orientation dependence than expected for a random-walk diffusion mechanism. Numerical results are presented for (i) the monovacancy and two divacancy mechanisms of self-diffusion in a b.c.c. lattice, a situation likely to be encountered in sodium metal, and (ii) mono- and divacancies in the f.c.c. lattice. In the random-walk limit earlier results of Gissler and Rother and Chudley and Elliot are reproduced. All of the results derived also apply to the diffusion-induced broadening of Mössbauer lines. The article therefore presents a generalization of a recent theory in which only the effect of monovacancies on the Mössbauer line broadening has been considered.     

Structure of light scattering spectra in opal photonic crystals

Spectra of light losses are studied at a fixed angle of incidence of a collimated beam on the surface of an opal anisotropic photon crystal at various observation angles. It is shown that the structure of the forward-and backscattered light spectra is connected with the existence of several directional photonic forbidden bands. It is demonstrated that back scattering is enhanced and forward scattering is suppressed in the frequency region of photonic forbidden bands. It is suggested that a scattering band associated with photon localization at the photonic gap edge is observed.     

Cross section of inelastic polarized neutron scattering by superconducting rings

A general expression for the cross section of inelastic magnetic scattering of cold polarized neutrons by superconducting rings has been derived. In this scattering process, the metastable superconducting current changes via quantum jumps corresponding to a decrease in the number of fluxoids in the superconducting ring by one or several units and the change in the energy of the ring is transferred to the kinetic energy of the scattered neutron. For rings from type-II superconductors with a thickness smaller than the field penetration depth but larger than the electron mean free path, the cross sections of inelastic scattering with neutron spin flip have been obtained for the first time. The possibility of increasing the cross section of neutron scattering by a system of rings has been discussed.     

Stimulated globular scattering of laser radiation in photonic crystals: Temperature dependences

The characteristics of stimulated globular scattering such as the frequency shift, threshold, and conversion efficiency are studied in photonic crystals (synthetic opal matrices and opal nanocomposites) at different temperatures. The results are compared with the study of stimulated Raman scattering in calcite single crystals. In both cases, a decrease in temperature from +20° C to −196° C resulted in an increase in the energy of stimulated scattering energy and its redistribution into the higher-order components.     

Graded index photonic crystals: A review

A new type of photonic crystal (PC) named graded index (GRIN) PC was proposed by E. Centeno in 2005. It is obtained by appropriately modifying the parameters of a regular PC, thus resulting in gradual index variation. Many applications are inspired by this notion. This review will introduce different ways of designing GRIN PCs from both theoretical and experimental point of views. Some typical applications based on GRIN PCs are presented, followed by the focusing mechanism of GRIN PC.