Magnetic impurity effects inAgMn,AuFe, andCuCr studied by tunneling in superconducting proximity layers

Magnetic interactions were studied by superconducting tunneling into diluteAgMn,AuFe, andCuCr alloys in which superconductivity had been induced by a proximity effect. A detailed investigation ofAgMn, for concentrations up to 0.4 at.% Mn and at temperatures down to 0.05 K, revealed a weak impurity band within the energy gap of the density of excited states at about 0.68 of the half energy gap . The amplitude of the band, however, was twenty times smaller than expected from the theory by Müller-Hartmann and Zittartz. This makes the interpretation of the effect as being due to bulkAgMn doubtful. The localisation of the band would imply a Kondo temperature,T _K , of about 1 mK for an impurity spinS=5/2. No effect of spin-glass ordering was seen in the temperature dependence of the tunneling density of states inAgMn which contradicts a report by Schuller et al. The zero bias conductance could instead be reproduced from low temperature measurements if the temperature variation in was taken into account. InCuCr, the shape of the impurity band was found to be temperature dependent. The location of an impurity band at about 0.68 inAuFe indicates. together with previous observations, the presence of two impurity bands in this alloy. The one found here, might be due to long-range Fe pairs.     

I. XPS study of 3d-metal ions dissolved in aluminium

The core and valence band spectra of diluteAlMn,AlNi andAlCu alloys have been investigated by x-ray induced photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). The 2p levels of Mn and Cu inAlMn andAlCu change only slightly compared to their properties in the pure metals, whereas those of Ni inAlNi lose both their asymmetry and the two hole satellite. The 3s spectra of Mn inAlMn show a splitting of 2.9 eV, as compared to 4.3 eV in Mn metal. This indicates that inAlMn the Mn ion is magnetic, at least in the time scale of the XPS measurement. The valence band spectra of the alloys (and ofAlFe andAlCo) show virtual bound states with a width of about 1.5 eV and a distance relative to the Fermi energy which increases with increasingd-occupancy. The energy of the Al plasmons increase with increasingd-metal content.     

Electric field gradient in transitional dilute alloys

The electric field gradient (EFG) and the asymmetry parameter (η) due to transition metal impurities in the host metals Al, Cu and V are investigated. The valence EFG is formulated using dielectric screening theory in conjunction with pseudopotential theory. The size EFG is evaluated in the elastic continuum limit for a screened point charge model of the host metal. The detailed calculations are carried out forAl (Sc, Fe, Cr),Cu (Ni, Pd, Pt) andV (Ti, Cr, Fe, Nb, Ta, W) alloys.     

The Hall coefficient and other transport properties of dilute alloys of copper and silver

The low field Hall coefficient of a number of polycrystalline foils of dilute (2%) alloys of copper and silver has been measured in the temperature range 1.5–50°K, and at room temperature. The alloys chosen wereCu-Au andAg-Au (uncharged impurity),Cu Ge andAg-Sn (charged impurity), andCu-Ni andAg-Pd (transition metal impurity). At 20°K and below, the Hall coefficients of the different copper alloys differ widely from each other,Cu-Ge giving the highest (negative) values (up to twice the room temperature value for pure copper), andCu-Au the lowest (down to 0.7 of this value). There are also significant concentration dependences. The silver alloys show corresponding but smaller changes. A relationship, due to Tsuji, gives the Hall coefficient as a function of the Fermi velocityν and the mean curvature 1/ϱ of the Fermi surface, for the case of an isotropic relaxation time. The integrals over the Fermi surface have been numerically estimated using the known Fermi surface and electron velocities. For both Cu and Ag the results agree with the experimental room temperature values, which we take as evidence thatτ(k) for phonon scattering is here close to isotropic. On the other hand, to account for the Hall coefficients of the alloys, it is necessary to assume that the relaxation timeτ varies over the Fermi surface. It is seen that in Cu and Ag the neck regions contribute relatively little toR since both 1/ϱ andν are small there. The main change inR in different alloys arises from the variation in the relative weighting given to the belly regions by different kinds of impurity scattering. A closer analysis shows that the bulges in the Fermi surface of copper in the 〈100〉 directions contribute relatively heavily because of their high positive curvature. The anisotropy ofτ deduced from the Hall coefficient is compared with that deduced from other measurements.     

Kondo effect in spin glasses: Electrical resistivity

We investigate the influence of the Kondo effect on the electrical resistivity of spin glasses. Our approximation reduces in the limit of vanishing impurity concentrations to the Suhl-Nagaoka theory for the Kondo effect. The magnetic impurity interactions are taken into account in the form of time dependent two-spin correlation functions which can be measured by neutron scattering. The dynamics of the impurity spins leads to a partial destruction of the Kondo effect. For the resistivity this can be described by a temperature dependent effective spinS _eff ² (T) withS _eff ² 0 forT0 andS _eff ² S(S+1) forT, and by a reduction of the Kondo temperatureT _K. Sufficiently strong interactions lead toT _K=0. We obtain a resistivity maximum at a temperatureT _m due to the interplay of the Kondo effect and the spin dynamics;T _m depends onT _K and on the excitation spectrum, and therefore on parameters such as impurity concentration or pressure. The ratioT _m/T_f (T _f is the freezing temperature) is calculated for a single relaxation time and for a square density of relaxation modes and is compared with experimental data forAuCr,AuMn,AgMn, andCuMn. The influence of other possible modes on various spin glass properties is discussed.SFB 125 Aachen-Jülich-Köln     

Local magnetization of Co andMn impurities in the reentrant spin glass Au0.82Fe0.18

The low-temperature nuclear orientation technique has been used to study the magnetic behaviour of⁶⁰Co and⁵⁴Mn impurity atoms in the reentrant spin glass Au_0.82Fe_0.18. The results obtained for⁶⁰Co indicate that Co moments follow the distribution of Fe directions. In contrast, Mn moments show a spread directional distribution. These results are the consequence of the different character of Mn-Fe andFe-Fe interactions at short distances.     

Mössbauer and Nuclear orientation study of magnetic atom behaviour in AuFe below the percolation threshold

An⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer study and⁶⁰Co and⁵⁴Mn nuclear orientation (NO) studies of the Au₈₆Fe₁₄ alloy have been performed. A transition to the spin glass state was observed below approximately 50 K. NO of the⁶⁰Co impurity showed absence of the polarization of the⁶⁰Co nuclei. For⁵⁴Mn impurities the dependence of the Mn effective magnetic field on external field andtemperature was found.     

Kondo effect and heavy fermions in Yb compounds

The Kondo properties of Yb dilute alloys and intermetallics have been investigated using Mössbauer spectroscopy on¹⁷⁰Yb. In the dilute alloysAuYb andLaBe Yb, the Kondo logarithmic anomaly of the impurity relaxation rate has been detected, and in the concentrated Yb compounds YbBe₁₃, YbP and YbAs, and YbCuAl, the manifestations of the interplay between the Kondo effect and the magnetic ordering due to the RKKY interaction have been characterized.     

Antiferromagnetic correlations in the cubic heavy fermion compound CeInCu2

CeInCu₂ is a heavy fermion compound close to magnetic instability. The electrical resistivity has aT ² behaviour between 1 and 2.5 K. and the AC field susceptibility has a faint maximum at 0.9 K, indicating the onset of coherence near 1 K for this compound. The magnetoresistance keeps a negative sign down to 0.3 K. Neutron inelastic scattering give a crystal field splitting of 90 K, with a doublet ground state, and a residual quasielastic linewidth of 0.3 meV.We have studied the resistivity, susceptibility and specific heat of some dilute solutions La_1–xCe_xInCu₂ and Y_1–xCe_xInCu₂. The spin-dependent part of the resistivity may be decomposed into a single impurity term plus a pair interaction term, the magnitude of which folows a Curie-Weiss law, as in classical spin glassesCuMn orAuFe.The magnetisation and susceptibility at low temperatures may be represented within the resonant level model, taking into account antiferromagnetic interactions. Finally, the specific heat of CeInCu₂ shows a bump near 2.3 K, absent for dilute solutions, which may also be interpreted by introducing a magnetic interaction term.     

Hall effect in dilute magnetic alloys

We review the theory and the experimental results on the Hall effect in noble metals containing magnetic impurities of transition metals. In order to illustrate the various types of observed effects, we focus succesively on selected systems: $\text{Cu}$Mn, with only enhancement of the ordinary Hall effect due to the existance of different spin-up and spin-down currents; $\text{Au}$Fe and $\text{Au}$Cr, with skew scattering by magnetic impurities; $\text{Cu}$MnT ternary alloys (where T is a non-magnetic impurity), with skew scattering effects due to combined spin—orbit scattering by non-magnetic impurities and spin scattering by Mn impurities. The skew scattering in $\text{Au}$Fe and $\text{Au}$Cr can be ascribed to the orbital character of the impurity moments and accounted for in an orbitally degenerate virtual bound state model. However, the anomalous temperature dependence of the skew scattering in Kondo alloys at low temperature is not well understood. We also present some magnetoresistance data in order to describe the links between the Hall effect and the magnetoresistance in magnetic alloys. In particular, we relate the skew scattering and the magnetoresistance anisotropy observed in $\text{Au}$Cr alloys.     

Mössbauer emission study of57Co: YBa2Cu3O7−y HTSC

Mössbauer emission spectroscopy is performed on⁵⁷Co:YBa₂Cu₃O_7–y oxides in a temperature range from 300 K to 77 K. The spectra show, at least two different location for the⁵⁷Co(⁵⁷Fe) impurities. The isomer shift and quadrupole splitting values of the⁵⁷Fe daughter are coincident with those observed in⁵⁷Fe absorption experiments. From the analysis of theIS andQS values as well as from the relative location of Fe impurity levels in the HTSC matrix it is argued that:a) Co impurities enters into the lattice mainly in the Cu1 sites, but some of them have a higher coordination number.b) The daughter⁵⁷Fe exists as localized Fe⁴⁺ state.c) The parent⁵⁷Co enter as a localized Co³⁺ state. These conclusions appear consistent with the observed increase ofN(0) on doping with Fe or Co ions and with the existence of localized magnetic moments as determined from paramagnetic susceptibility measurements.     

Neutron-proton transfer reactions leading toT=1 particle-hole states of56Co

Zero range DWBA analysis for two-particle (neutron and proton) transfer reactions is carried out, using simple shell model structure wave functions for⁵⁴Fe,⁵⁶Co and⁵⁸Ni, with⁵⁶Ni inert core. In this structure calculation, a microscopic set of two-body interaction matrix elements derived from the non-local separable potential of Tabakin are employed. These matrix elements include in the perturbation theory two corrections (i) the second-order Börn term and (ii) the appropriate core excitations. Unlike the situation in many two-particle transfer reactions, the fragmentation of the reaction strengths to the excited states with respect to the lowest states of same spin and parity in the above transfer processes is satisfactorily borne out from this analysis.     

Electric field gradients created by near neighbour impurity atoms in a cubic silver host

The electric quadrupole interactions produced by near neighbour impurity atoms of Cu, Au, Zn, In, Sn and Bi on¹¹¹Cd probe nuclei in a cubic Ag lattice were studied by the TDPAC method. The effects of the type of impurity and its concentration have been investigated. The results show the presence of a high-frequency interactionv _Q ^h superimposed to a smeared out low frequencyv _Q ^l . The high frequency interaction, in the range 20 to 600 MHz, is attributed to impurity atoms located in nearest neighbour sites, while the low frequency interaction, in the range 2 to 12 MHz, is generated by impurities distributed at various different atomic distances from the probe nuclei. Bothv _Q ^h andv _Q ^l increase with impurity concentration leaving the ratiov _Q ^h /v _Q ^l almost constant. The results show that the high frequencyv _Q ^h is linearly dependent on the solute valence, and a logarithmic function of the impurity concentration, in the range 0.5 to 4.5 at. %. Large size effects have been observed in CuAg and BiAg alloys. Instead for ZnAg and SnAg, thev _Q ^h andv _Q ^l variation is attributed basically to charge effects.Work supported in part by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP).     

A CEMS investigation of57Fe implanted in Al and Cu at low temperature

A new type of CEM-spectrometer allows in situ measurements on metal foils implanted at low temperatures. It has been used to study defect association and clustering of⁵⁷Fe in Al and Cu. For⁵⁷FeAl, the substitutional fraction (f _s) in samples implanted at 120 K is somewhat smaller than expected for a random impurity distribution but much larger than after room temperature implantation. For⁵⁷FeCu,f _s for samples implanted at 120 K is less than 0.5 of the value expected for a random distribution and it falls to zero after annealing at 600 K, where more extensive Fe clustering occurs. Vacancy trapping in stage III does not contribute significantly to the observed defect sites.     

Electronic structure ofCuNi,CuCo andAgNi alloys

Summary The pseudo Green's function theory for dilute alloys ofd-band metals is used to study the electronic structure ofCuNi,CuCo andAgNi alloys. The calculated densities of state are found in agreement with other available results. The virtual bound states with double-hump structure are found at 0.514, 0.54 and 0.4 Ryd forCuNi,CuCo andAgNi alloys, respectively.

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Riassunto La teoria della pseudo funzione di Green per leghe diluite di metalli nella bandad è usata per studiare la struttura elettronica delle legheCuNi,CuCo eAgNi. Si trova che le densità di stato calcolate sono in accordo con altri risultati disponibili. Gli stati legati virtuali con struttura a doppia sporgenza si trovano a 0.514, 0.54 e 0.4 Ryd per leghe diCuNi,CuCo eAgNi.

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Резуме Используется теория псевдо-гриновских функций для разбавленных сплавов металловd-зоны, чтобы исследовать злектронную структуруCuNi,CuCo иAgNi. Получено, что вычисленная плотность состояния согласуется с другими имеющимися результатами. Обнаружены виртуальные связанные состояния, имеюшие структуру с двойным максимумом, при 0.514, 0.54, 0.4 Ry соответственно для сплавовCuNi,CuCo иAgNi.

     

A giant enhancement of magnetic moment in a ternary three-shell icosahedral cluster: Fe@Mn12@Au20

ABSTRACT

The average magnetic moment per atom of Mn₁₃ cluster is expected to be enhanced by doping or coating with a shell. Several ternary core–shell icosahedral clusters TM@Mn₁₂@Au₂₀ were constructed by combining substituting the central Mn with VIII elements (Fe, Co, Ni, Ru, Rh, Pd and Pt) and coating with a icosahedral Au₂₀ shell, and systematically studied by using the first-principles density functional method. Compared to Mn₁₃, Fe@Mn₁₂@Au₂₀ cluster shows a giant enhancement on total magnetic moment (52?µ_B) which can be greatly attributed to the ferromagnetic coupling between spin moments of atoms. Coating with Au₂₀ shell enlarged the average distances of TM-Mn and Mn-Mn and is a useful way to change the magnetic coupling style. By analysis of density of states and electron localisation functional, we can conclude that the weak hybridisation between Fe and Mn in Fe@Mn₁₂@Au₂₀ is propitious to maintain their original direction of spin moments of atoms and then form ferromagnetic coupling.     

High spin states of some nuclei around the N=Z=28 double closed shell

A spectroscopic study is performed for high spin states of⁵⁵Fe,⁵⁵Co and⁵⁷Ni. To populate the investigated residues with a relevant cross section, the fusion evaporation reactions of³⁰Si(²⁸Si, 2pn)⁵⁵Fe,³⁰Si(²⁸Si, 2np)⁵⁵Co and⁴He(⁵⁴Fe,n)⁵⁷Ni were chosen. To identify the newγ transitions and to build the energy level schemes,γ — γ coincidence techniques together with excitation functions were employed. Angular distributions andγ — γ angular correlations allowed us to assign the spin values of the nuclear states. The previous level scheme of⁵⁵Fe is extended into the region between 6.5–11 MeV of excitation energy, up to spin 27/2, while the yrast decay paths of⁵⁷Ni and⁵⁵Co are reported here for the first time. Experimental data are fairly well reproduced by Glaudemans' shell model calculations.     

Evaluation of electric hyperfine interactions inAuFe andCrFe

A detailed analysis of room temperature⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectra ofAuFe (5 at.% Fe) andCrFe (5, 10 at.% Fe) samples is presented. The deviation from Lorentzian line shape observed in the spectra indicates both thickness effects and structural disorder in these systems. The thickness effect has been taken into account using a new fitting technique that solves the transmission integral numerically rather than relying on the thin absorber approximation. The present results and analyses using both the thin absorber approximation and the full transmission integral methods on these alloy systems are compared with earlier results obtained on these alloy systems using only the thin absorber approximation.     

All-electron relativistic calculation on Au5X (X = Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn) clusters

All-electron scalar relativistic calculations on Au₅X (X = Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn) clusters have been performed by using density functional theory with the generalized gradient approximation. Our calculation results indicate that all the lowest energy geometries of Au₅X clusters have planar structures; the doped X atoms prefer to occupy the fourfold coordination site. Except Au₅Fe, Au₅Co and Au₅Zn, for other clusters including pure Au₆ cluster, the HOMO are delocalized obviously with a contribution from all atoms in the cluster. On the contrary, the electron localization in Au₅Zn is very strong resulting in the least stability of this cluster. Au₅Cu cluster with six delocalized electrons being defined as magic number for two-dimensional system has the largest VIP and deepest HOMO energy level. With the substitution Au for X atoms, the metallicity of all Au₅X clusters is reinforced.     

Local spin correlations in partially frustrated amorphous Fe-Mn

Mössbauer measurements in a-(Fe_0.765Mn_0.235)₇₈Sn₂Si₆B₁₄ have been performed with⁵⁷Fe and¹¹⁹Sn. Both hyperfine fields show a kink near 70 K, indicating a freezing of the transverse spins. The ratio of the two hyperfine fields contains information about the correlation of the transverse spins. The ratioB _hf(Sn)/B _hf(Fe) stays constant aboveT _xy and rises belowT _xy . This indicates an alignment of the transverse spins on a local scale, as was also found inAuFe and a-FeZr.