Quantum and classical mode softening near the charge-density-wave-superconductor transition of CuxTiSe2

Temperature- and x-dependent Raman scattering studies of the charge-density-wave (CDW) amplitude modes in Cu(x)TiSe(2) show that the amplitude mode frequency omega(0) exhibits identical power-law scaling with the reduced temperature T/T(CDW) and the reduced Cu content x/x(c), i.e., omega(0) approximately (1-p)(0.15) for p=T/T(CDW) or x/x(c), suggesting that mode softening is independent of the control parameter used to approach the CDW transition. We provide evidence that x-dependent mode softening in Cu(x)TiSe(2) is associated with the reduction of the electron-phonon coupling constant, and that x-dependent "quantum" (T approximately 0) mode softening suggests the presence of a quantum critical point within the superconductor phase of Cu(x)TiSe(2).     

Coupling of the CDW and the water mode in K2Pt(CN)4Br0.3⋯3.2H2O

In previous work we have observed the amplitude mode of the charge density wave (CDW) in K₂Pt(CN)₄Br_0.3?3.2H₂O (KCP) by means of Raman scattering. New measurements made on deuterated material, K₂Pt(CN)₄Br_0.3?3.2D₂O (KCP1), show the same mode but shifted from 44 to 38 cm_?1, maintaining the symmetry properties and temperature dependence of frequency and linewidth. This considerable isotope effect is interpreted in terms of a coupling of the CDW with the water stretching mode, which by the deuteration is shifted from 3494 cm^?1 in KCP to 2560 cm^?1 in KCP1 according to the change in atomic mass. Both of these modes exhibit A₁(z) symmetry. At 5 K the resulting decoupled frequency of the CDW amplitude mode is 57 cm^?1, and the coupling energy about 140 cm^?1. A discussion of the temperature dependence of various important quantities is given. The present results show that the water molecules, which are located in between the Pt chains are strongly involved in the eigenvector of the CDW amplitude mode.     

Pressure-induced structural phase transition in ReO3

We have investigated the pressure-induced structural phase transition in ReO₃ by neutron diffraction on a single crystal. We collected neutron diffraction intensities from the ambient and high pressure phases at P=7 kbar and refined the crystal structures. We have determined the stability of the high pressure phase as a function temperature down to T=2 K and have constructed the (P-T) phase diagram. The critical pressure is P_c=5.2 kbar at T=300 K and decreases almost linearly with decreasing temperature to become P_c=2.5 kbar at T=50 K. The phase transition is driven by the softening of the M₃ phonon mode. The high pressure phase is formed by the rigid rotation of almost undistorted ReO₆ octahedra and the Re-O-Re angle deviates from 180°. We do not see any evidence for the existence of the tetragonal (P4/mbm) intermediate pressure phase reported earlier.     

Temperature dependence of the Raman bandwidths and intensities of a lattice mode near the tricritical and second order phase transitions in NH4Cl

We calculate here the temperature dependence of the damping constant using the expressions derived from the Matsushita's theory and the temperature dependence of the order parameter from the molecular field theory for the tricritical (1.5?kbar) and second order (2.8?kbar) phase transitions in NH₄Cl. Our calculations are performed for the ν ₅ (174?cm^?1) Raman mode of NH₄Cl for the pressures studied. Predictions for the damping constant are in good agreement with our observed Raman bandwidths of this lattice mode for both pressures. The Raman intensities calculated from the molecular field theory by means of the order parameter are also in good agreement with our observed Raman intensities of the ν ₅ (174?cm^?1) mode for both tricritical (1.5?kbar) and second order (2.8?kbar) phase transitions in NH₄Cl. In this study our observed Raman intensities of this lattice mode are analysed using a power-law formula with the critical exponent β for the order parameter at those two pressures considered in NH₄Cl. From our analysis, the value of β?=?0.5 is obtained as the mean field value.     

Charge density wave transport in NbSe<Subscript>3</Subscript> at low temperatures under high magnetic field

Charge density wave (CDW) depinning and sliding regimes have been studied in NbSe₃ at low temperatures down to 1.5 K under magnetic field of 19 T oriented along the c-axis. We found that the threshold field for CDW depinning becomes temperature independent below T ₀ ≈ 15 K. Also CDW current to frequency ratio characterizing CDW sliding regime increases by factor 1.7 below this temperature. The results are discussed as a crossover from thermal fluctuation to tunneling CDW depinning at T < T ₀. Besides, we found that CDW sliding strongly suppresses the amplitude of Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations of magnetoresistance.     

Thermoelectric power of TTF[Ni(dmit)2]2

The 1D organic salt TTF[Ni(dmit)₂]₂ becomes superconductor with T_c=1.6 K under an applied hydrostatic pressure of 7 kbar. Structural determinations in this system lead us to suspect that superconductivity (SC) coexists with a charge density wave (CDW) instability at low pressure. In order to better understand how SC emerge from a CDW and to revisit the pressure–temperature phase diagram of the TTF[Ni(dmit)₂]₂ we performed transport and thermoelectric power measurements under pressure.     

Ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy of (TaSe4)2I

The vacuum ultraviolet photoemission spectra of quasi-one-dimensional charge density wave ( CDW ) system, (TaSe₄)₂I, were measured for photon energies between 32 and 100 eV at room temperature ( in the normal phase ) and at about 100 K ( in the CDW phase ). The spectrum of Ta 4f core-levels has shown no additional splitting due to the two different Ta sites. The spectra of the valence and conduction bands have revealed the resonant enhancement for the excitation of the Ta 5p core states, which demonstrates the remarkable hybridization of Ta 5d orbitals with Se 4p orbitals with binding energies smaller than 4 eV. In the CDW phase, the partial cross section decreases for both Ta 5d bands and Se 4p bands with Ta 5d components.     

Use of smoke samples in diamond-anvil cells to measure pressure dependence of optical spectra: Application to the ZnO exciton

We present measurements of ZnO exciton peak energies, E₀, at pressures up to 107.3 kbar. Smoke samples consisting of randomly oriented single crystal particles were prepared by oxidizing metallic zinc in air and were collected on one diamond face of a Merrill-Bassett pressure cell. Pressures were measured by the ruby fluorescence technique. In the pressure range between 5 and 90 kbar, our results indicate a consistent linear dependence with dE₀/dP = 2.33 × 10^?3 eV kbar^?1 for both increasing and decreasing pressures. A mixed phase structure is suggested by the observed irregular peak shapes and measured pressure dependence for the sample that had been taken beyond ? 90 kbar where the transformation to the NaCl structure has been reported.     

Pressure dependence of the weak itinerant ferromagnetism of Y(Co1-xAlx)2

Abstract

Y(Co_1-xAl_x)₂ is a weak itinerant ferromagnet for 0.12 < x < 0.20 with a maximum Curie point of about 25 K near x = 0.15. The pressure dependence of the Curie point for samples with 0.14 < x < 0.18 was measured in the temperature and pressure range 5–25 K and 0–8 kbar using a liquid filled lock cell. It was found that T_c was linear in pressure and extrapolated to OK at P_c = 9 ± 1 kbar for all samples. The volume expansion from YCo₂ to x = 0.15 is equivalent to a chemical pressure of -40 kbar so ferromagnetism cannot occur at the lattice constant of YCo₂.     

Die Supraleitung von Zinn und Blei unter sehr hohem Druck

The dependence of the critical temperatureT _c upon pressureP is measured in the pressure range up to 160 kbar. The experimental technique developed for very high pressure-low temperature experiments (preceding article) is improved by introducing a double-sample electrical resistance cell. An internal pressure calibration is therefore possible at some well-established room temperature pressure reference points commonly used. Both metals, tetragonal white tin and fcc-lead, show a monotonic decrease ofT _c vs.P with upward curvature. The results recommend the use of Pb as a secondary standard for very high pressure experiments at Helium temperatures. In addition, high pressure polymorphic modifications of Sn and Pb are found to show superconductivity withT _c =(5.30±0.10) ?K for Sn III atP=113 kbar andT _c =(3.55±0.10) ?K for Pb II atP=160 kbar.     

Atomic displacements in the incommensurable charge-density wave in alpha-uranium

We present a detailed examination of the incommensurable charge-density wave (ICDW) in α-uranium below 43 K. We have measured the q vectors as a function of temperature and the structure factors of a large number of first-order satellites with neutron diffraction. From the structure factors the atomic displacements that occur at the onset of the CDW have been determined in all three independent crystallographic directions. Uniaxial stress up to 3.5 kbar has been applied along 2 directions but does not change the satellite intensities, thus leaving ambiguity whether the structure is single or multi q. We discuss the relationship between the present results and the observations of Smith et al.     

New states in SmS ?

Quasihydrostatic pressure resistivity experiments on a single crystal of SmS are reported up to 27.5 kbar. At low temperature, a regime change occurs at P ～ 20 kbar, between a “quasiinsulating” behavior (P < 20 kbar) and a metallic ground state (P 20 kbar). Striking similarities appear with TmSe and TmS cases.     

Absorption measurements at high pressure (0–10kbar) on strained superlattices

Absorption data on strained GaAs_1?xP_x-GaAs superlattices (SL, 128-period, barrier size L_B≈75 Å, quantum-well size L_z≈75 Å, alloy composition x≈0.25) are presented in the range 0–10 kbars. The absorption curves obtained show no exciton show no exciton peaks such as seen in lattice- matched Al_xGa_1?xAs-GaAs SL's, and the pressure coefficient decreases from 11.5 meV/kbar to ≈ 10.5 meV/kbar in the wells and ≈6.5 meV/kbar at energies approaching and above the barrier energies. This behavior is attributed to the fluctuations in strain caused by the alloy disorder, and clustering, of the barriers.     

Scanning-tunneling microscope imaging of single-electron solitons in a material with incommensurate charge-density waves

We report on scanning-tunneling microscopy experiments in a charge-density wave (CDW) system allowing visually capturing and studying in detail the individual solitons corresponding to the self-trapping of just one electron. This "Amplitude Soliton" is marked by vanishing of the CDW amplitude and by the π shift of its phase. It might be the realization of the spinon--the long-sought particle (along with the holon) in the study of science of strongly correlated electronic systems. As a distinct feature we also observe one-dimensional Friedel oscillations superimposed on the CDW which develop independently of solitons.     

Luminescence of CaWO4:Pr3+ and CaWO4:Tb3+ at ambient and high hydrostatic pressures

Photoluminescence spectra of CaWO₄ doped with Pr³⁺ and Tb³⁺ obtained at high hydrostatic pressures up to 315 kbar applied in a diamond anvil cell (DAC) are presented. The intensities of the luminescence from the ³P₀ state of Pr³⁺ and from the ⁵D₃ state of Tb³⁺ decreased with increasing pressure. At pressures greater than 50 kbar, the ¹D₂ → ³H_J transitions in Pr³⁺ and the ⁵D₄ → ⁷F_J transitions in Tb³⁺ dominated the spectra. At pressures greater than 100 kbar, only emissions from the lower excited states were observed. At pressures greater than 150 kbar, luminescence from the ¹D₂ and ⁵D₄ states also decreased with increasing pressure, and at a pressure of 315 kbar for CaWO₄:Pr³⁺ and 190 kbar for CaWO₄:Tb³⁺, the emissions related to the Pr³⁺ and Tb³⁺ were quenched. These effects were related to the influence of impurity trapped excitons (ITEs) on the efficiency of the f–f emission in the Pr³⁺ and Tb³⁺ ions. Analysis of the emission spectra collected at different pressures allowed the energies of the ground states of the Pr³⁺ and Tb³⁺ ions with respect to the band edges of the CaWO₄ host to be estimated.     

New phases of zinc under pressure from first principles

A procedure for finding the many stable phases of an element under hydrostatic pressure p is discussed and applied to zinc. Five new phases are found with several different Bravais symmetries under the constraint of one atom per cell and their stabilities as functions of p calculated. The procedure seems generalizable to find all the phases in all Bravais symmetries in a given range of pressure. In particular fcc Zn, which is unstable at p = 0, is shown to be very stable above 320 kbar to at least 1000 kbar. In agreement with Müller et al. [Phys. Rev. B 60, 16448 (1999)], a rhombohedral (rh) phase is found to be stable at p = 0, and several more rh phases are found at pressures up to 320 kbar. The Gibbs free energies of all phases are evaluated as functions of p, and the pressures of thermodynamically favored phase transitions are found. The behavior of Zn is compared to similar behavior of vanadium, which also shows stable rh phases and cubic phase instability in a range of pressure; the bcc phase instability is also healed by additional pressure.     

Pressure enhancement of charge density wave formation in VSe2; The role of coulomb correlations

We have followed the pressure dependence of the onset and lock-in CDW transitions in VSe₂ by measurements of resistivity and Hall effect up to 30 kbar. (The onset transition appears as a break in the slope of the resistivity, and the lock-in as ≈ 1% temperature hysteresis). Both transition temperatures rise at 0.8 K kbar^?. We attribute this behaviour to pressure broadening of the d conduction band in the presence of strong electron Coulomb repulsion.     

Phases of silicon at high pressure

X-ray diffraction studies are reported on silicon at pressures up to 250 kbar (25 GPa). A transition to the β-Sn structure (II) initiates at 112 ± 2 kbar and two phases (I + II) coexist to 125 ± 2 kbar. At 132 ± 2 kbar a new phase (V) initiates, and the transition is complete at 164 ± 5 kbar. This phase persists to 250 kbar. Its structure is tentatively assigned as primitive hexagonal with c/a = 0.941 ± 0.002 at 250 kbar. On release of pressure, the sequence is V → (V + II) (145 - 110 kbar) → II → (II + III) (108 - 85 kbar) → III, the last phase persisting to room pressure.     

The pressure effect on the CDW-transition temperatures in 1T-TaS2

The pressure dependence of the two CDW transition temperatures (T_d1? 350 K and T_d2 ～ 190 K) in 1T-TaS₂ has been investigated by measuring the resistivity up to 5 kbar. It is found that the thermal hysteresis of the phase transition at T_d2 is very sensitive to the pressure and is interpreted by the phenomenological Landau theory including cubic term.