On the anomalous H dependence of the amplitude of de Haas-van Alphen oscillations in CeCu2Si2

The de Haas-van Alphen effect is studied in heavy-fermion antiferromagnets near the spin-flip transition is studied. It is shown that the strong increase occurring in the amplitude of oscillations near the spin-flip point in an increasing magnetic field, as observed experimentally in CeCu₂Si₂, can be explained by strong single-site correlations and magnetic ordering in the subsystem of localized electronic states. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 67, No. 4, 270–275 (25 February 1998)     

Advances in the study of intermediate-valence and heavy-fermion effects in rare-earth and uranium systems

Summary Three intermetallic systems, Yb−Al, U−Au and Ce−Co, are studied as most typical examples of intermediate-valence, heavy-fermion and coexistence of both intermediate-valence and heavy-fermion effects, respectively. YbAl₂ and YbAl₃, the two phases stable at low temperatures in the equilibrium phase diagram of Yb−Al, are both intermediate-valence systems with Yb valence values of 2.33 and 2.79 at room temperature. The modulation of these values by variations of external parameters like temperature, pressure and chemical substitutions with proper atoms was studied by structural, magnetic and spectroscopical techniques. Two phases are given also by U with Au at low temperatures with compositions UAu₂ and U₁₄Au₅₁: both systems exhibit heavy-fermion properties although with different ordering mechanisms. U₁₄Au₅₁ is an antiferromagnetic heavy-fermion system with a Nèel temperature around 23 K, UAu₂ shows spin-fluctuating behaviour with a saturation in theT→0 K magnetic susceptibility. Effects of substitutions with thorium were investigated only in U₁₄Au₅₁: competition between strong antiferromagnetic coupling and Kondo-like behaviours is observed. The Ce-rich side of the Ce−Co phase diagram shows a single Ce₂₄Co₁₁ phase stable at room temperature interest in the present work but in CeCo₂, which was demonstrated to be intermediate valent by resonant photoemission and XAS experiments and to exibit low magnetic moment and superconducting transition. The coexistence of intermediate-valence and heavy-fermion behaviours observed in Ce₂₄Co₁₁ and of intermediate valence and superconductivity in CeCo₂ is shown by the analyses of XPS, XAS and magnetic experiments with suitable phenomenological models. In honour of Prof. Fausto Fumi on the occasion of his retirement from teaching.     

Are heavy-fermion metals Fermi liquids?

We present the results of specific-heat and resistivity measurements as a function of temperature, magnetic field and hydrostatic pressure on the Kondo lattice CeNi₂Ge₂, the heavy-fermion superconductors CeCu₂Si₂ and UBe₁₃ as well as the low-carrier-density system Yb₄As₃. “Non-Fermi-liquid” effects in the low-temperature normalstate properties of the three former systems are consistent with the existence of a “nearby” quantum critical point, presumably of antiferromagnetic type. Yb₄As₃, though showing the outward appearance of a Landau-type heavy-fermion metal, behaves very differently, i.e. as an extreme two-fluid system.     

Investigations of a quasi two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnetic system. Nondeuterated and deuterated alkyl-ammonium-tetrachloromanganate

By neutron diffraction and susceptibility measurements the crystallographic and magnetic structures of (CH₃NH₃)₂MnCl₄ and (CD₃ND₃)₂MnCl₄ have been investigated. These compounds belong to a system of quasi two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnets. At 96K a structural first order phase transition from the tetragonal high-temperature structure to an orthorhombic low-temperature structure was found. A magnetic phase transition from a two-dimensional antiferromagnetic preorder to a three-dimensional magnetic order occurs at 44.5K. The three-dimensional magnetic structure is characterized by antiferromagnetic (MnCl₄)^2- — layers perpendicular to the c-axis, with a ferromagnetic coupling between interacting next nearest (MnCl₄)^2- layers. The magnetic moments of the Mn-ions lie in the antiferromagnetic planes.     

Low-temperature specific heat of GdCu,GdCu<Subscript>2</Subscript>, and GdCu<Subscript>5</Subscript> antiferromagnets

It is found that the expansion of the low-temperature specific heat C _p of the antiferromagnetic metallic compounds GdCu, GdCu₂, and GdCu₅ contains a large term that is proportional to the square of temperature (δT ²). The value of δ is inversely proportional to the Néel temperature T _N. The GdCu₂ compound exhibits a strong dependence of the specific heat anomaly at T _N on an external magnetic field. The results obtained are compared with the data for other metal antiferromagnets, for example, the CuMnSb Heusler alloy.     

Cubic magnetic anisotropy of the antiferromagnetically ordered Cu3TeO6

A combination of highly sensitive torque magnetometry in low magnetic fields and a phenomenological approach to magnetic anisotropy is used to probe the symmetry of the antiferromagnetically ordered state of spin S=1/2 system Cu₃TeO₆. The results show that the ordered state has four antiferromagnetic domains with spin axis in the 〈1±1±1〉 directions, in agreement with the previously reported neutron measurements. These results show that this approach, previously applied to ferromagnets and highly anisotropic antiferromagnets, is also successful in determining the symmetry of weakly anisotropic Heisenberg antiferromagnets with multiple spin domains. Possible microscopic origin of magnetic anisotropy is briefly discussed.     

Local-moment and itinerant antiferromagnetism in the heavy-fermion system Ce(Cu1−xNix)2Ge2

Elastic and inelastic neutron-scattering studies on the system Ce(Cu_1?xNi_x)₂Ge₂ are reported. These measurements are complemented by measurements of the magnetic susceptibility, high-field magnetization, heat capacity, thermal expansion, electrical resistivity and thermopower. The results reveal an interesting T-x phase diagram consisting of two different antiferromagnetic phases for x < 0.2 and 0.2 < x < 0.75, respectively, and a heavy-Fermi-liquid regime at higher Ni concentrations. The experimental results are interpreted in terms of an alloying-induced transition from local-moment to itinerant heavy-fermion magnetism. Fingerprints of this latter phase are a strongly reduced ordered moment and a short incommensurate ordering wave vector, in accord with theoretical predictions. A surprisingly good agreement between theory and experiment is found for x > 0.5. Further experimental evidence for different types of antiferromagnetic ordering derives from a line-shape analysis of the quasielastic neutron-scattering intensity, from magnetization and thermopower experiments.     

Heat capacity of Heusler alloys: Ferromagnetic Ni2MnSb,Ni2MnSn,NiMnSb and antiferromagnetic CuMnSb

We report the results of the investigation of the specific heat of the ferromagnetic Heusler Ni₂MnSn, Ni₂MnSb, NiMnSb and antiferromagnetic CuMnSb alloys. The low-temperature behaviour of the specific heat may be described as C=γT+βT³ for ferromagnetic compounds and as C=γT+δ T²+βT³ for antiferromagnetic CuMnSb. The values of the density of states from the heat capacity measurements are higher than those from electronic band structure calculations. Debye temperatures are in a good agreement with those obtained from thermal expansion measurements. The Grüneisen parameter is calculated for Ni₂MnSn and CuMnSb from the magnetic contribution to the specific heat in the vicinity of T_C or T_N.     

Nonlinear magnetic susceptibility and microwave spin dynamics of R2CuO4 quasi-2D antiferromagnets (R=Eu, Pr, Gd)

An experimental study of nonlinear ac magnetic susceptibility and microwave spin dynamics of R₂CuO₄ quasi-2D Heisenberg antiferromagnets (R=Eu, Pr, Gd) has been carried out. The data obtained can be accounted for if one assumes the existence of a random-field (RF) state in the Eu₂CuO₄ and Pr₂CuO₄ tetragonal crystals within the 77⩽T⩽350 K range covered. If this is so, 3D antiferromagnetic order persists only within limited regions, while in CuO₂ layers there are 2D Heisenberg antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations with large correlation lengths. In the Gd₂CuO₄ crystal there exists, besides uniform 3D antiferromagnetic long-range order with weak ferromagnetism, an admixture of an RF-type state. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 1437–1444 (August 1999)     

AC-susceptibility measurements under high pressure for the determination of the magnetic phase diagrams of heavy-fermion compounds: ferromagnetic CePd2Ga3 and antiferromagnetic CePd2Al3

A conventional setup for the determination of magnetic ac-susceptibilities has been adapted to a piston-cylinder high pressure technique in order to serve as a quick and sensitive method to investigate magnetic phase diagrams. It can be used under pressures up to 1 GPa and at temperatures from 1.2 to 15 K. An application to isostructural heavy-fermion compounds of the CePd₂M₃ system has demonstrated that both ferromagnetic (CePd₂Ga₃, T _C?6.3 K) and antiferromagnetic transitions (CePd₂Al₃, T _N?2.5 K) can be observed over the entire pressure range. In the Ga compound T _C is lowered by pressure, the slope increasing beyond 0.3 GPa. In CePd₂Al₃, on the other hand, the variation of T _N is nonmonotonic, reaching its maximum value close to 0.5 GPa.     

Simulation of the magnetic properties of manganese oxide Pb<Subscript>3</Subscript>Mn<Subscript>7</Subscript>O<Subscript>15</Subscript>

The magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity, and spin-spin correlation functions of manganese oxide Pb₃Mn₇O₁₅ are calculated by the Monte Carlo method. Two critical temperatures are determined: T ₁ ≈ 20 K, above which a modulated structure along the hexagonal axis is formed, and T ₂ ≈ 70 K, at which the long-range magnetic order disappears. The antiferromagnetic exchange interaction constant in a hexagonal plane is estimated to be J ₁ ～ 7 K, and the antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic exchange interaction constants between hexagonal planes are calculated to be J ₂ ～ 3 K and K ～ 50 K, respectively.     

Thermodynamics of 3He solid monolayers in the Heisenberg model

The two-dimensional Heisenberg model is applied to the interpretation of the experimental data on the thermodynamic and magnetic properties of ³He monoatomic films in the millikelvin temperature range, i.e., under conditions when these properties are completely governed by the dynamics of the nuclear spin subsystem. The theoretical results obtained make it possible to describe the internal energy E, the heat capacity C _s, and the magnetic susceptibility χ of the two-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg ferromagnets and antiferromagnets on a triangular lattice within the unified approach over the entire range of temperatures. The data available in the literature on the heat capacity and magnetic susceptibility of ³He films are interpreted in the framework of the advanced theory. Most attention is concentrated on the layers characterized by the ferromagnetic exchange. Comparative analysis of theoretical and experimental data is carried out with the use of two fitting parameters: the exchange interaction constant J and the number of “active” spins n ₂ in the layer that is determined from the entropy of the system in the limit T → ∞. It is demonstrated that, for the ferromagnetic layers, the theoretical results obtained within the Heisenberg model are in very good agreement with the experimental data reported by different authors.     

Strongly correlated Fermi-systems: Non-Fermi liquid behavior, quasiparticle effective mass and their interplay

Basing on the density functional theory of fermion condensation, we analyze the non-Fermi liquid behavior of strongly correlated Fermi-systems such as heavy-fermion metals. When deriving equations for the effective mass of quasiparticles, we consider solids with a lattice and homogeneous systems. We show that the low-temperature thermodynamic and transport properties are formed by quasiparticles, while the dependence of the effective mass on temperature, number density, magnetic fields, etc., gives rise to the non-Fermi liquid behavior. Our theoretical study of the heat capacity, magnetization, energy scales, the longitudinal magnetoresistance and magnetic entropy are in good agreement with the remarkable recent facts collected on the heavy-fermion metal YbRh₂Si₂.     

The influence of magnetic and electric coupling properties on the magnetocaloric effect in quantum paraelectric EuTiO3

We report on the magnetic and magnetocaloric effect calculations in antiferromagnetic perovskite-type EuTiO₃. From the isothermal magnetic entropy change calculated upon low magnetic field changes (below 1 T) several results were predicted: inverse magnetocaloric effect, latent heat associated to spin AFM-FM reorientation transition and a temperature interval (controlled by magnetic field) where the EuTiO₃ does not change heat in an isothermic process. The magnetocaloric effect described through magnetic entropy change was correlated with magnetocapacitance formula. The theoretical investigation was carried out using a Heisenberg Hamiltonian considering the G-type antiferromagnetic structure with exchange interactions, in mean field approximation, between nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor magnetic Eu⁺² ions.     

The electrodynamic response of heavy-electron materials with magnetic phase transitions

We have investigated the electrodynamic response of the heavy-electron compounds U₂Zn₁₇, UPd₂Al₃, UCu₅ and URu₂Si₂. Particular emphasis has been devoted to the optical evidence of the antiferromagnetic phase transitions at T_N = 9.7 K, 14 K, 15 K and 17 K for U₂Zn₁₇, UPd₂Al₃, UCu₅ and URu₂Si₂, respectively. In the excitation spectrum of UCu₅ and URu₂Si₂, we found an absorption in the far-infrared, which develops below T_N and is ascribed to the excitation across a spin-density-wave type gap, suggesting that the antiferromagnetic phase transition might be itinerant in nature, and invokes a Fermi surface instability. Since this gap-like feature is absent in U₂Zn₁₇ and UPd₂Al₃, we argue that these latter compounds belong to a characteristically different class of antiferromagnets, representative of the heavy-electron compounds with an ordering of essentially localized magnetic moments. The antiferromagnetic ordering then leads to a suppression of the spin-flip mechanism below T_N. At low temperatures, we observe for all compounds the formation of a narrow Drude-like resonance in the optical conductivity, which is ascribed to the electrodynamic response of the heavy-quasiparticles, and is indicative of the progressive development of the manybody coherent Kondo state, coexisting with both types of magnetic ordering. In this review, we also present the evolution of the optical properties due to Ni- and Redoping in UCu₅ and URu₂Si₂, respectively. The optical evidence of the itinerant antiferromagnetic ordering is suppressed in both compounds upon doping and particularly for the URu₂Si₂ compound this is consistent with a crossover to a ferromagnetic ground state upon Re-doping.     

Interplay between unconventional superconductivity and heavy-fermion quantum criticality: CeCu2Si2 versus YbRh2Si2

In this paper the low-temperature properties of two isostructural canonical heavy-fermion compounds are contrasted with regards to the interplay between antiferromagnetic (AF) quantum criticality and superconductivity. For CeCu₂Si₂, fully-gapped d-wave superconductivity forms in the vicinity of an itinerant three-dimensional heavy-fermion spin-density-wave (SDW) quantum critical point (QCP). Inelastic neutron scattering results highlight that both quantum critical SDW fluctuations as well as Mott-type fluctuations of local magnetic moments contribute to the formation of Cooper pairs in CeCu₂Si₂. In YbRh₂Si₂, superconductivity appears to be suppressed at T???10?mK by AF order (T_N?=?70?mK). Ultra-low temperature measurements reveal a hybrid order between nuclear and 4f-electronic spins, which is dominated by the Yb-derived nuclear spins, to develop at T_A slightly above 2?mK. The hybrid order turns out to strongly compete with the primary 4f-electronic order and to push the material towards its QCP. Apparently, this paves the way for heavy-fermion superconductivity to form at T_c?=?2?mK. Like the pressure – induced QCP in CeRhIn₅, the magnetic field – induced one in YbRh₂Si₂ is of the local Kondo-destroying variety which corresponds to a Mott-type transition at zero temperature. Therefore, these materials form the link between the large family of about fifty low-T unconventional heavy – fermion superconductors and other families of unconventional superconductors with higher T_cs, notably the doped Mott insulators of the cuprates, organic charge-transfer salts and some of the Fe-based superconductors. Our study suggests that heavy-fermion superconductivity near an AF QCP is a robust phenomenon.     

Thermodynamics of spin ice in staggered and direct (along the [111] axis) fields in the cluster approximation

We have analyzed the low-temperature thermodynamic properties of spin ice in the staggered and direct (acting along the [111] axis) fields for rare-earth oxides with the chalcolamprite structure and general formula Re₂ ³⁺Me₂ ⁴⁺O₇ ^2-. Calculations have been performed in the cluster approximation. The results have been compared with experimental temperature dependences of heat capacity and entropy for Dy₂Ti₂O₇ compound for different values of the external field in the [111] direction. The experimental data and calculated results have also been compared for the Pr₂Ru₂O₇ compound with the antiferromagnetic ordering of magnetic moments of ruthenium ions, which gives rise to the staggered field acting on the system of rare-earth ions. The calculated temperature dependences of heat capacity and entropy are in good agreement with experimental data.     

Magnetic properties of undoped YBa 2 Cu 3 O 6 + x system

In the present paper, we study the magnetic properties of bilayer cuprate antiferromagnets. In order to evaluate the expressions for spin-wave dispersion, sublattice magnetization, Néel temperature and the magnetic contribution to the specific heat, the double time Green's function technique has been employed in the random phase approximation (RPA). The spin wave dispersion curve for a bilayer antiferromagnetic system is found to consist of one acoustic and one optic branch. The “optical magnon gap” has been attributed solely to the intra-bilayer exchange coupling (J _⊥ ) as its magnitude does not change significantly with the inter-bilayer exchange coupling (J_z). However J_z is essential to obtain the acoustic mode contribution to the magnetization. The numerical calculations show that the Néel temperature (T _N ) of the bilayer antiferromagnetic system increases with the J_z and a small change in J_z gives rise to a large change in the Néel temperature of the system. The magnetic specific heat of the system follows a T² behaviour but in the presence of J_z it varies faster than T². Received 13 July 2000 and Received in final form 14 May 2001     

Magnetic properties of UT2Si2 and UT2Ge2 (T = Co,Ni, Cu) intermetallic systems

Neutron diffraction and magnetization measurements indicate that, at low temperatures, long-range magnetic order is present in UCO₂Si₂, UNi₂Si₂, UCu₂Si₂, UNi₂Ge₂, and UCo₂Ge₂. UCo₂Si₂ and UNi₂Ge₂ are simple collinear antiferromagnets of +-+- type, UCu₂Si₂ a simple collinear ferromagnet. In UNi₂Si₂, a magnetic phase transition from a LSW type structure to collinear antiferromagnetism of +-+- type was found, while in UCu₂Ge₂, the antiferromagnetic structure of ++-- transforms into collinear ferromagnetism. Crystal structure and magnetic parameters are given. No magnetic moment on transition metal ions was found within the accuracy of a powder neutron diffraction experiment. The stability of particular magnetic ordering schemes is discussed in terms of an isotropic RKKY mechanism.