Bulk and surface electron transport in topological insulator candidate YbB6–δ

We report the study of transport and magnetic properties of the YbB_6–δsingle crystals grown by inductive zone melting. A strong disparity in the low temperature resistivity, Seebeck and Hall coefficients is established for the samples with the different level of boron deficiency. The effective parameters of the charge transport in YbB_6–δ are shown to depend on the concentration of intrinsic defects, which is estimated to range from 0.09% to 0.6%. The pronounced variation of Hall mobility μ_H found for bulk holes is induced by the decrease of transport relaxation time from τ ≈ 7.7 fs for YbB_5.994 to τ ≈ 2.2 fs for YbB_5.96. An extra contribution to conductivity from electrons with μ_H≈ –1000 cm² V^–1 s^–1 and the very low concentration n /n_Yb≈ 10^–6 discovered below 20 K for all the single crystals under investigation is suggested to arise from the surface electron states appeared in the inversion layer due to the band bending. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Anomalous thermopower in heavy-fermion compounds CeB<Subscript>6</Subscript>, CeAl<Subscript>3</Subscript>, and CeCu<Subscript>6 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Au<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>

High-precision measurements of thermopower have been performed in a wide temperature range (2–300 K) for a series of cerium-based heavy-fermion compounds, including CeB₆, CeAl₃, CeCu₆, and substitutional solid solutions of the CeCu_{6 ? x} Au _x system (x = 0.1, 0.2). All compounds exhibit an unusual (logarithmic) asymptotic behavior of the temperature dependence of the Seebeck coefficient: S ∝ ?lnT. In the case of cerium hexaboride, this anomalous behavior of S(T) is accompanied by the appearance of weak-carrier-localization-mode asymptotics in the conductivity (σ(T) ∝ T ^0.39), while the paramagnetic susceptibility χ(T) and the effective mass of charge carriers m _eff(T) vary according to a power law (χ(T), m _eff(T) ∝ T ^?0.8) in the temperature interval T = 10–80 K. This behavior corresponds to renormalization of the density of states at the Fermi level. The observed anomalous behavior of thermopower in CeB₆ and other cerium-based intermetallic compounds is attributed to the formation of heavy fermions (many-body states in the metal matrix) at low temperatures.     

Strength of water under pulsed loading

Experiments were performed to study the strength of water under conditions of pulsed extension, which is typical of the interaction between a triangular compression pulse and a free surface. The tests were performed in a wide (40–1000 MPa) range of rariation in the amplitude of the compression pulse at deformation rates of 10⁴−10⁵ sec⁻¹. It is found that as the compression-pulse amplitude increases from 150 to 1050 MPa, the strength of water decreases from 46 to 22 MPa. The deformation rate was found to have little effect on the strength. The possibility of using the model of homogenous nucleation (formation of cavitation nuclei) to interpret the data obtained is discussed. Institute of Chemical Physical, Russian Academy of Sciences, Chernogolovka 142432. Translated from Prikladmaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 198–205, July–August, 2000.     

Specific features of magnetoresistance during the antiferromagnet—paramagnet transition in Tm1 − x Yb x B12

The transverse magnetoresistance Δρ/ρ(H, T) of Tm_{1 ? x} Yb _x B₁₂ single crystals is studied in the ytterbium concentration range corresponding to the antiferromagnet-paramagnet transition in a magnetic field up to 80 kOe at low temperatures. A magnetic H-T phase diagram is constructed for the antiferromagnetic state of substitutional Tm_{1 ? x} Yb _x B₁₂ solid solutions with x ≤ 0.1. The contributions to the magnetoresistance in the antiferromagnetic and paramagnetic phases of the dodecaborides under study are separated. Along with negative quadratic magnetoresistance -Δρ/ρ ∝ H ₂, the magnetically ordered phase of these compounds is found to have component Δρ/ρ ∝ H that linearly changes in a magnetic field. The negative contribution to the magnetoresistance of Tm_{1 ? x} Yb _x B₁₂ is analyzed in terms of the Yosida model for a local magnetic susceptibility.     

Separation of the contributions to the magnetization of Tm1 − x Yb x B12 solid solutions in steady and pulsed magnetic fields

The magnetization of substitutional Tm_{1 ? x} Yb _x B₁₂ solid solutions is studied in the composition range 0 < x ≤ 0.81. The measurements are performed at low temperatures (1.9–300 K) in steady (up to 11 T) and pulsed (up to 50 T, pulse duration of 20–100 ms) magnetic fields. An analysis of the experimental data allowed the contributions to the magnetization of the paramagnetic phase of the Tm_{1 ? x} Yb _x B₁₂ compounds to be separated. These contributions include a Pauli component, which corresponds to the response of the heavy-fermion manybody states that appears in the energy gap in the vicinity of the Fermi level (density of states (3?4) × 10²¹ cm^?3 meV^?1), and a contribution with saturation in high magnetic fields attributed to the localized magnetic moments ((0.8–3.7)μ_B per unit cell) of the nanoclusters formed by rare-earth ions with an antiferromagnetic interaction.     

Raman scattering in ZrB<Subscript>12</Subscript> cage glass

High-precision measurements of the Hall effect and Raman scattering have been performed for single crystals of ZrB₁₂ superconductor in the wide temperature range of 5–300 K. For ZrB₁₂, the boson peak with ω_max ~ 100 cm^–1 has been observed for the first time within the low-frequency range of the Raman spectrum I(ω). The sizes of vibrational clusters with the correlation length ranging from 25 to 35 Å are estimated. The relation between the renormalization of the low-frequency density of vibrational states accompanying the transition to the cage-glass phase (T* ~ 90 K) and the enhancement of superconductivity in ZrB₁₂ is discussed.     

Magnetic Properties of Eu0.9Yb0.1B6

Physics of the Solid State - The magnetic properties of substitutional solid solutions Eu0.9Yb0.1B6 have been investigated in the temperature range of 2–300 K in fields up to 5 T. The data...     

Magnetic Anisotropy of the Low-Temperature Specific Heat of Ho0.01Lu0.99B12 with Dynamic Charge Stripes

JETP Letters - The specific heat of Ho0.01Lu0.99B12 single crystals with dynamic charge stripes is studied at low and ultralow temperatures (0.07–20 K) in applied magnetic fields of 0–9...