Non-colinear magnetic structure of U3P4 and U3As4

Neutron diffraction experiments have been performed on single crystal samples of U₃P₄ and U₃As₄. The magnetic ordering is found to be a non-collinear three axial structure in which magnetic moments of U⁴⁺ ions are tilted from the [111] axis by an angle of about twenty degrees within (110) planes.     

180° domain structure in a cubic U3P4 crystal

In a thick plate cut from a U₃P₄ single crystal perpendicularly to the 111 direction, changes in the domain structure under the influence of a strong magnetic field perpendicular to the plate surface were studied. Experiments were carried out at T = 28 K, applying the Kerr effect technique to make the domain structure visible. In the cubic crystal studied, the applied field was found to force the appearance of a 180° branched maze domain structure, typical of thick plates of highly anisotropic uniaxial materials. The Hubert-Bodenberger model of this structure was improved and extended by considering the change in the shape of domains occurring with increase in the distance from the sample surfaces, by describing the sample in a non-zero magnetic field and by analyzing the sample in the state of remanence. The model was applied to the case of U₃P₄ and the energy density of 180° domain walls was estimated (γ = 12 erg/cm²).     

Evidence for p-f mixing in U3P4 and U3As4 from optical spectroscopy

The near normal incidence reflectivity of the ferromagnets U₃P₄ and U₃As₄ and the isostructural but diamagnetic compounds Th₃P₄ and Th₃As₄ has been measured from 0.03 to 12 eV. Trithorium tetraphosphide and tetraarsenide are shown to be indirect gap semiconductors with gap energies of 0.43 and 0.39 eV, respectively. U₃P₄ and U₃As₄ display similar sets of p→d transitions than the corresponding thorium compounds, however, they are shifted by 0.85 eV to lower photon energies. It is concluded that the uranium compounds are metals due to a merging of the valence p band into the 6d conduction band giving direct experimental evidence for a p-f mixing effect of the same size. Energy level schemes are derived.     

Magnetic phase transitions in Nd7Rh3 single crystal

Magnetic phase transitions in rare earth intermetallic compound Nd₇Rh₃ have been investigated using a single crystal. Measurement results of magnetization, magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, and electrical resistivity reveal that Nd₇Rh₃ has two magnetic phase transitions at T_N=34 K, T_t2=9.1 K and a change of the magnetic feature at T_t1=6.8 K in the absence of an external magnetic field. Antiferromagnetic orderings exist in all the three magnetic states; a large magnetic anisotropy between the c-axis and the c-plane is observed. In the magnetic phase below T_t2, an irreversible field-induced magnetic phase transition takes place in the c-plane; after removing external magnetic field, a coexistence state of ferro- and antiferromagnetic ordering or a ferrimagnetic state having a remanent magnetization M_R is stabilized. The M_R decays to a certain value for several hours after the first process; a magnetic field cooling effect was also observed in the c-plane below T_t2. In the antiferromagentic state above T_t2, the irreversibility disappears and an ordinary antiferromagnetic state takes place. As the origin of this phenomenon, a kind of martensitic structural transition that is observed in Gd₅Ge₄ can be considered.     

Magnetic structure of the cubic U2Te3 with a non-stoichiometric Th3P4 type of structure

The neutron diffraction patterns of the cubic U₂Te₃ have been obtained at 15 and 150 K. There are no extrapeaks of magnetic origin below the Curie point T_c = 70 ± 5 K. Thus the ordering corresponds to a collinear ferromagnetic structure. The value of the magnetic moment is 1.78 μ_B which is close to those values determined for a few cubic uranium pnictides and chalcogenides.     

Magnetic and related properties of U4Rh13Si9 and U4Ir13Si9

The compounds U₄Rh₁₃Si₉ and U₄Ir₁₃Si₉ crystallize with the orthorhombic Er₄Ir₁₃Si₉-type structure that contains three non-equivalent positions of uranium atoms. Their magnetic, electrical transport and thermal properties were studied down to liquid helium temperature in magnetic fields up to 9 T. Both compounds have been found to order antiferromagnetically at low temperatures and to exhibit complex magnetic behavior in the ordered state. Some features characteristic of spin fluctuators (U₄Rh₁₃Si₉) and Kondo lattices (U₄Ir₁₃Si₉) indicate that the two ternaries studied are novel strongly correlated electron systems.     

Angle-dependent broadening and anomalies of the resistivity transition in YBa2Cu3O7 single crystal

In a further study of the field-broadening of the resistive transition in high-T_c superconductors, resistivity measurements have been performed as a function of the direction of the applied field with respect to the crystallographic axes on a YBa₂Cu₃O₇ single-crystalline sample for field and current directions within the ab-plane over the full range of field orientations. The angular modulation in resistivity is compared wit predictions of flux-creep and flux-flow theories. Magneto-resistivity measurements have been performed at specific angles of the applied field with respect to the crystallographic directions. Saturation of the Lorentz-force effect for perpendicular field and current directions is found for fields larger than a critical value that is strongly temperature dependent. A complex resistivity anomaly is observed for fields parallel to the twin boundary.     

Peak effect and oxygen ordering in YBa2Cu3O7−δ single crystals

We have investigated the second magnetization peak in pure YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ single crystals with various oxygen contents (6.91<7−δ<6.97) and degrees of oxygen vacancy ordering, as achieved by low (1 bar) and high (100 bar) oxygen pressure annealing. Although the position of the peak changes drastically with oxygen stoichiometry, no dependence on the distribution of oxygen vacancies has been found for temperatures below 70 K. For T>70 K, however, ordering effects become important as demonstrated by the disappearance of the peak for the high pressure annealed samples. These results suggest that while at low temperatures, pinning of the vortex system by clusters or a more homogeneous distribution of oxygen vacancies is similar, at elevated T, the former are much stronger pinning sites leading to larger hysteresis and the presence of the peak.     

Magnetic behavior of HoAl2 single crystal

Heat capacity measurements recently reported on the compound HoAl₂ show an unexplained peak at 20 K. Magnetic measurements on a single crystal of HoAl₂ reveal the existence, at this temperature, of a first order reorientation of the holmium moment.     

Magnetic properties of CeB6 single crystal

Magnetic measurements of CeB₆ have been made in fields up to 80 kOe at temperatures up to 1000 K. Below 2.3 K, each magnetization vs field curve shows several critical points depending on the direction of field, but between 2.3 and 3 K, the curve is smooth. Above about 3 K, the magnetization curve has a break point at a certain field which increases monotonically with increasing temperature. The paramagnetic susceptibility has been analysed by assuming appropriate values of crystal-field splitting and exchange interactions. From these results, a magnetic phase diagram for CeB₆ has been proposed.     

Magnetic ordering in GdH3

In contrast to a previous report, GdH₃ is found to order antiferromagnetically at 1.8 K.     

Magnetic ordering in PrNi2

A peak has been observed in the magnetic susceptibility of the singlet ground state system PrNi₂, indicating a magnetic ordering. The transition is believed to be of a mixed nuclear-electronic type.     

Magnetic ordering in GdI2

GdI₂ powder samples have been investigated by means of a.c. susceptibility and magnetisation measurements indicating magnetic ordering below T_C = 313 K. The structure consists of strongly coupled ferromagnetic layers of Gd³⁺ moments aligned perpendicular to the hexagonal crystal axis. The inter-layer coupling is much weaker and probably antiferromagnetic suggesting that GdI₂ is to a very good approximation a two-dimensional Heisenberg system.     

Magnetic ordering in CeMnCuSi2

Temperature and field-dependent magnetization measurements on polycrystalline CeMnCuSi₂ reveal that the Mn moments in this compound exhibit ordering with a ferromagnetic (FM) component ordered instead of the previously reported purely antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering. The FM ordering temperature, T_c, is about 120 K and almost unchanged with external fields up to 50 kOe. Furthermore, an AFM component (such as in a canted spin structure) is observed to be present in this phase, and its orientation is modified rapidly by the external magnetic field. The Ce L₃-edge X-ray absorption result shows that the Ce ions in this compound are nearly trivalent, very similar to that in the heavy fermion system CeCu₂Si₂. Large thermomagnetic irreversibility is observed between the zero-field-cooled (ZFC) and field-cooled (FC) M(T) curves below T_c indicating strong magnetocrystalline anisotropy in the ordered phase. At 5 K, a metamagnetic-type transition is observed to occur at a critical field of about 8 kOe, and this critical field decreases with increasing temperature. The FM ordering of the Mn moments in CeMnCuSi₂ is consistent with the value of the intralayer Mn–Mn distance R^a_Mn–Mn=2.890 Å, which is greater than the critical value 2.865 Å for FM ordering. Finally, a magnetic phase diagram is constructed for CeMnCuSi₂.     

Magnetic and transport properties of single-crystal Yb3Cu4Ge4

The magnetic and transport properties of single-crystal Yb₃Cu₄Ge₄ with the Gd₃Cu₄Ge₄-type orthorhombic structure are presented. Magnetization along the b-axis at 2 K saturates to 2.8_μB/Yb$2.8{\mu }_{\mathrm{B}}/\mathrm{Yb}$ at 3 kOe, while that along the a- and c-axes at 2 K are gradually increasing to the value of 1.5_μB/Yb$1.5{\mu }_{\mathrm{B}}/\mathrm{Yb}$ and 0.39_μB/Yb$0.39{\mu }_{\mathrm{B}}/\mathrm{Yb}$ at 50 kOe, respectively. The electrical resistivity within the ab-plane shows a metallic behavior in contrast to a broad maximum at around 30 K for that along the c-axis. Each resistivity for the principal axis suddenly decreases below 8 K. The specific heat shows a λ-type$\lambda \mathrm{-}\mathrm{type}$ sharp peak at 7.8 K. The electronic specific heat coefficient is estimated to be 29.4 mJ/mol Yb K² by fitting the magnetic part of the specific heat below 3 K. The magnetic entropy released up to T_C is 68% of that of R ln 2, expected for the doublet ground state. It is revealed that Yb₃Cu₄Ge₄ is categorized to a weak heavy-fermion system showing a ferromagnetic transition at 7.8 K with uniaxial anisotropy along the b-axis.     

Magnetic levitation of YBa2Cu3Oy single crystals

By using an ordinary electric balance, we are able to measure the magnetic levitation forces acting on a superconducting YBa₂Cu₃O_y (YBCO) single crystal. It is found that when the external magnetic field is parallel to the c-axis of the single crystal, the hysteretic levitation curve is similar to that of a melt-processed YBCO superconducting sample. However, when the external magnetic field is perpendicular to the c-axis of the YBCO single crystal, the levitation forces are too small to be measured by our equipment. Also, we have introduced a simple model with the Bean's approximations to explain the levitation forces. The critical current density derived from this model by fitting with experimental data is quite close to the value obtained from magnetization measurements.     

Magnetic ordering in the frustrated system FeSc2S4

The sample of FeSc₂S₄ was prepared by solid reaction method. The crystallographic structure and the magnetic properties of the fabricated compound were investigated by X-ray, and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The polycrystalline FeSc₂S₄ confirmed the normal cubic spinel structure (space group Fd3m). The lattice constants a₀ and anion parameter u are 10.519 Å and 0.255, respectively. The Mössbauer spectroscopy has been studied for the FeSc₂S₄ at various temperatures, ranging from 4.2 K to room temperature. The spectra consist of two doublets at 4.2 K while a single line at room temperature. It is noticeable that the Mössbauer spectra of two doublet patterns with large electric quadrupole splitting (ΔE_Q) remain over the Néel temperature. Those are interpreted as a result of large electric quadrupole interaction compared to magnetic dipole interaction. The magnetic susceptibility measurements were performed with a SQUID magnetometer for temperatures 2<T<320 K, in external fields up to 5 kOe. Magnetic behavior shows antiferromagnetic behavior and the magnetic superexchange interactions between the Fe ions are weakly antiferromagnetic. The paramagnetic susceptibilities follow Curie–Weiss (CW) law with CW temperature Θ_CW=−100 K, and frustration parameter f=−Θ_CW/T_N is of the order of 1000. We conclude that two sublattices are coupled antiferromagnetically, leading to strong frustration effects.     

Magnetic phase transitions and large mass enhancement in single crystal CaFe4As3

High quality single crystal CaFe₄As₃ was grown by using the Sn flux method. Unlike layered CaFe₂As₂, CaFe₄As₃ crystallizes in an orthorhombic three-dimensional structure. Two magnetic ordering transitions are observed at ～90 K and ～27 K, respectively. The high temperature transition is an antiferromagnetic(AF) ordering transition. However, the low temperature transition shows complex properties. It shows a ferromagnetic-like transition when a field is applied along b-axis, while antiferromagnetism-like transition when a field is applied perpendicular to b-axis. These results suggest that the low temperature transition at 27 K is a first-order transition from an AF state to a canted AF state. In addition, the low temperature electron specific heat coefficient reaches as high as 143 mJ/mol·K², showing a heavy fermion behavior.     

Magnetic properties of A DyNi2 single crystal

Magnetic measurements have been performed on a single crystal of DyNi₂ in applied fields up to 135 kOe. In the ferromagnetic range (T_c = 25 K), the easy magnetization direction is [100] and the hardest one is [111]. Crystal field parameters have been determined from the field and temperature dependence of the magnetization measured along the three principal axes. A two-dimensional model has been used to take into account the rotation of magnetization towards the field. The deduced parameters are W = -0.8 K and x = 0.49. The corresponding anisotropy is very large: especially even a field of 135 kOe applied along a difficult magnetization axis cannot rotate the magnetization along this direction.