We discuss various methods to obtain the resolution volume for neutron scattering experiments, in order to perform absolute normalization on inelastic magnetic neutron scattering data. Examples from previous experiments are given. We also try to provide clear definitions of a number of physical quantities which are commonly used to describe neutron magnetic scattering results, including the dynamic spin correlation function and the imaginary part of the dynamic susceptibility. Formulas that can be used for general purposes are provided and the advantages of the different normalization processes are discussed.
We report measurements of the neutron diffuse scattering in a single crystal of the relaxor ferroelectric material 95.5%Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-4.5%PbTiO3 (PZN-4.5%PT). We show that the diffuse scattering at high temperatures has a quasielastic component with energy width $agt$ 0.1 meV. On cooling the total diffuse scattering intensity increases, but the intensity and the energy width of the quasielastic component gradually diminish. At 50 K the diffuse scattering is completely static (i.e.the energy width lies within the limits of our instrumental resolution). This suggests that the dynamics of the short-range correlated atomic displacements associated with the diffuse scattering freeze at low temperature. We find that this depends on the wave vector q as the quasielastic diffuse scattering intensities associated with <001> (T1-type) and <110> (T2-type) atomic displacements vary differently with temperature and electric field.
Spin excitations are one of the top candidates for mediating electron pairing in unconventional superconductors. Their coupling to superconductivity is evident in a large number of systems, by the observation of an abrupt redistribution of magnetic spectral weight at the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, for energies comparable to the superconducting gap. Here we report inelastic neutron scattering measurements on Fe-based superconductors, Fe1-x (Ni/Cu)x Te0.5 Se0.5, that emphasize an additional signature. The overall shape of the low energy magnetic dispersion changes from two incommensurate vertical columns at T >> Tc to a distinctly different U-shaped dispersion at low temperature. Importantly, this spectral reconstruction is apparent for temperature up to ~3Tc. If the magnetic excitations are involved in the pairing mechanism, their surprising modification on the approach to Tc demonstrates that strong interactions are involved.
The superconducting system La2-xBaxCuO4 is known to show a minimum in the transition temperature, Tc, at x = 1/8 where maximal stripe order is pinned by the anisotropy within the CuO2 planes that occurs in the low-temperature-tetragonal (LTT) crystal structure. For x = 0.095, where Tc reaches its maximum value of 32 K, there is a roughly coincident structural transition to a phase that is very close to LTT. Here we present a neutron scattering study of the structural transition, and demonstrate how features of it correlate with anomalies in the magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity, thermal conductivity, and thermoelectric power. We also present measurements on a crystal with 1% Zn substituted for Cu, which reduces Tc to 17 K, enhances the spin stripe order, but has much less effect on the structural transition. We make the case that the structural transition correlates with a reduction of the Josephson coupling between the CuO2 layers, which interrupts the growth of the superconducting order. We also discuss evidence for two-dimensional superconducting fluctuations in the normal state, analyze the effective magnetic moment per Zn impurity, and consider the significance of the anomalous thermopower often reported in the stripe-ordered phase.
The nature of the magnetic correlations in Fe-based superconductors remains a matter of controversy. To address this issue, we use inelastic neutron scattering to characterize the strength and temperature dependence of low-energy spin fluctuations in FeTe$_{0.35}$Se$_{0.65}$ ($T_c sim 14$ K). Integrating magnetic spectral weight for energies up to 12 meV, we find a substantial moment ($agt 0.26 mu_B/$Fe) that shows little change with temperature, from below T$_c$ to 300 K. Such behavior cannot be explained by the response of conduction electrons alone; states much farther from the Fermi energy must have an instantaneous local spin polarization. It raises interesting questions regarding the formation of the spin gap and resonance peak in the superconducting state.
We report neutron scattering studies on static magnetic orders and spin excitations in the Fe-based chalcogenide system Fe$_{1+delta}$Se$_{x}$Te$_{1-x}$ with different Fe and Se compositions. Short-range static magnetic order with the bicollinear spin configuration is found in all non-superconducting samples, with strong low-energy magnetic excitations near the $(0.5,0)$ in-plane wave-vector (using the two-Fe unit cell) for Se doping up to 45%. When the static order disappears and bulk superconductivity emerges, the spectral weight of the magnetic excitations shifts to the region of reciprocal space near the in-plane wave-vector $(0.5,0.5)$, corresponding to the collinear spin configuration. Our results suggest that spin fluctuations associated with the collinear magnetic structure appear to be universal in all Fe-based superconductors, and there is a strong correlation between superconductivity and the character of the magnetic order/fluctuations in
We report on neutron-scattering results on the impact of a magnetic field on stripe order in the cuprate La$_{1.875}$Ba$_{0.125}$CuO$_4$. It is found that a 7 T magnetic field applied along the {it c} axis causes a small but finite enhancement of the spin-order peak intensity and has no observable effect on the peak width. Inelastic neutron-scattering measurements indicate that the low-energy magnetic excitations are not affected by the field, within experimental error. In particular, the small energy gap that was recently reported is still present at low temperature in the applied field. In addition, we find that the spin-correlation length along the antiferromagnetic stripes is greater than that perpendicular to them.
