First excitations of the spin 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the kagomé lattice

We study the exact low energy spectra of the spin 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on small samples of the kagomé lattice of up to N=36 sites. In agreement with the conclusions of previous authors, we find that these low energy spectra contradict the hypothesis of Néel type long range order. Certainly, the ground state of this system is a spin liquid, but its properties are rather unusual. The magnetic () excitations are separated from the ground state by a gap. However, this gap is filled with nonmagnetic () excitations. In the thermodynamic limit the spectrum of these nonmagnetic excitations will presumably develop into a gapless continuum adjacent to the ground state. Surprisingly, the eigenstates of samples with an odd number of sites, i.e. samples with an unsaturated spin, exhibit symmetries which could support long range chiral order. We do not know if these states will be true thermodynamic states or only metastable ones. In any case, the low energy properties of the spin 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the kagomé lattice clearly distinguish this system from either a short range RVB spin liquid or a standard chiral spin liquid. Presumably they are facets of a generically new state of frustrated two-dimensional quantum antiferromagnets. Received: 27 November 1997 / Accepted: 29 January 1998     

Surface functionalisation of polymer nanofibres by sputter coating of titanium dioxide

The surface properties of nanofibres are of importance in various applications. In this work, electrospun polyamide nanofibres were used as substrates for creating functional nanostructures on the nanofibre surfaces. A RF magnetron sputter coating was used to deposit the functional layer of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) onto the nanofibres. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) were employed to study the topography, grain structure and wetting of the nanofibre surfaces, respectively. The AFM results indicated a significant difference in the morphology of the nanofibres before and after the TiO₂ sputter coating. The XRD analysis showed the amorphous structures of the TiO₂ deposition layer. XPS spectra reflected the chemical features of the deposited nanostructures. The ESEM observation revealed that the surface wettability of TiO₂ sputter coated nanofibres was significantly improved after UV irradiation.     

Solitary excitations in antiferromagnet CsFeBr3

With employing the Dyson-Maleev transformation and the coherent-state ansatz, two partial different motion equations are obtained from Hamiltonian of antiferromagnet CsFeBr₃. By using the method of multiple scales and the long-wavelength approximation, these equations are changed into a nonlinear Schrödinger equation. By applying inverse-scattering transformation, solution of the equation is obtained, solitary excitations in antiferromagnet CsFeBr₃ are also investigated.     

Two-dimensional antiferromagnet in an external staggered field

We calculate the temperature-dependent energy gap in the magnetic excitations spectrum of the two-dimensional antiferromagnet in the presence of a staggered magnetic field, using the nonlinear sigma model.     

Unconventional antiferromagnetic correlations of the doped Haldane gapsystem Y 2 BaNi 1 - x Zn x O 5

We make a new proposal to describe the very low temperature susceptibility of the doped Haldane gap compound Y₂BaNi_1-xZn_xO₅. We propose a new mean field model relevant for this compound. The ground state of this mean field model is unconventional because antiferromagnetism coexists with random dimers. We present new susceptibility experiments at very low temperature. We obtain a Curie-Weiss susceptibility χ( T ) ∼ C /(Θ + T ) as expected for antiferromagnetic correlations but we do not obtain a direct signature of antiferromagnetic long range order. We explain how to obtain the “impurity” susceptibility ( T ) by subtracting the Haldane gap contribution to the total susceptibility. In the temperature range [1 K, 300 K] the experimental data are well fitted by T ( T ) = C _imp 1 + T _imp / T . In the temperature range [100 mK, 1 K] the experimental data are well fitted by T ( T ) = A ln( T / T _c ), where T _c increases with x. This fit suggests the existence of a finite Néel temperature which is however too small to be probed directly in our experiments. We also obtain a maximum in the temperature dependence of the ac-susceptibility ( T ) which suggests the existence of antiferromagnetic correlations at very low temperature. Received 17 July 2001     

Theoretical estimates for proton-NMR spin–lattice relaxation rates of heterometallic spin rings

Heterometallic molecular chromium wheels are fascinating new magnetic materials. We reexamine the available experimental susceptibility data on MCr₇ wheels in terms of a simple isotropic Heisenberg Hamiltonian for M=Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn and find in that FeCr₇ needs to be described with an iron–chromium exchange that is different from all other cases. In a second step we model the behavior of the proton spin lattice relaxation rate as a function of applied magnetic field for low temperatures as it is measured in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. It appears that CuCr₇ and NiCr₇ show an unexpectedly reduced relaxation rate at certain level crossings.     

Magnetic properties of Ca-doped SrRuO3 from full-potential calculations

We have carried out accurate generalized-gradient-corrected fully-relativistic full-potential calculations for Sr_1−xCa_xRuO₃ (x=0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1) in para-, ferro-, and A-, C-, and G-type antiferromagnetic configurations. We have performed electronic structure calculations for the experimentally observed orthorhombic structure as well as the hypothetical cubic structure. Our results are analyzed with the help of total, site-, spin-, and orbital-projected density of states. The total-energy studies show that CaRuO₃ stabilizes in the G-type antiferromagnetic state. The octahedral tilting owing to the relatively small radius of Ca²⁺ leads to weak hybridization between Ru 4d and O 2p. This weak hybridization along with exchange splitting causes a pseudogap-like feature close to the Fermi level, which should stabilize G-type antiferromagnetic ordering in CaRuO₃. However, powder neutron diffraction data on CaRuO₃ taken at 8 and do not show any magnetic peaks, implying that CaRuO₃ exhibits a spin-glass-like state with dominant short-range antiferromagnetic interaction. The calculated magnetic ground state of Sr_1−xCa_xRuO₃ is found to be consistent with the experimental findings. We have also calculated optical spectra as well as X-ray and ultra-violet photoemission spectra and Ru and O K-edge X-ray absorption spectra for G-type CaRuO₃ and found good agreement with available experimental spectra.     

Thermodynamic properties of the spin-Peierls transition in CuGeO3

We present an investigation of the spin-Peierls transition atT _SP=14.5 K in polycrystalline CuGeO₃ through specific-heat and thermal-expansion measurements. Clear second-order phase-transition anomalies are found in both properties atT _SP, although only a small entropy of S0.1 Rn2 is released at the transition. Most of the entropy is released atT _SP<T<150 K, where the temperature dependence of the magnetic contribution to the specific heat as well as the thermal expansion exhibit extrema atT ^*40 K. These are caused by one-dimensional antiferromagnetic fluctuations along the Cu chains, possibly accompanied by structural fluctuations. Using Ehrenfest's relation, a hydrostatic pressure coefficient (T _SP/_p)_p0 (0.45±0.06) K/kbar is derived.     

Low-temperature transport properties of UCu5

The electrical resistivity (T) and the thermal conductivity (T) have been measured for UCu₅ in the temperature range between 0.02 and 20 K. Two distinct anomalies in (T) are due to previously established phase transitions at approximately 15 and 1 K, respectively. They indicate considerable changes in the electronic structure of this compound, implying sizeable truncations of the Fermi surface with decreasing temperature at both transitions. In almost the entire covered temperature range the thermal conductivity is dominated by phonon contributions. Its temperature dependence is fairly well reproduced by a calculation considering phonon scattering by electrons and by point defects. At very low temperatures, asT approaches 0 K, the Wiedemann-Franz law _e L ₀ T, where _e is the electronic part of (T) andL ₀ is the Lorenz number, is almost perfectly fulfilled.     

Uniform spin wave modes in antiferromagnetic nanoparticles with uncompensated moments

In magnetic nanoparticles the uniform precession (q = 0 spin wave) mode gives the predominant contribution to the magnetic excitations. We have calculated the energy of the uniform mode in antiferromagnetic nanoparticles with uncompensated magnetic moments, using the coherent potential approximation. In the presence of uncompensated moments, an antiferromagnetic nanoparticle must be considered as a kind of a ferrimagnet. Two magnetic anisotropy terms are considered, a planar term confining the spins to the basal plane, and an axial term determining an easy axis in this plane. Excitation energies are calculated for various combinations of these two anisotropy terms, ranging from the simple uniaxial case to the planar case with a strong out-of-plane anisotropy. In the simple uniaxial case, the uncompensated moment has a large influence on the excitation energy, but in the planar case it is much less important. The calculations explain recent neutron scattering measurements on nanoparticles of antiferromagnetic α-Fe₂O₃ and NiO.