No Arabic abstract
The ferrimagnetic spinel $mathrm{CoV_2O_4}$ has been a topic of intense recent interest, both as a frustrated insulator with unquenched orbital degeneracy and as a near-itinerant magnet which can be driven metallic with moderate applied pressure. Here, we report on our recent neutron diffraction and inelastic scattering measurements on powders with minimal cation site disorder. Our main new result is the identification of a weak ($frac{Delta a}{a} sim 10^{-4}$), first order structural phase transition at $T^*$ = 90 K, the same temperature where spin canting was seen in recent single crystal measurements. This transition is characterized by a short-range distortion of oxygen octahedral positions, and inelastic data further establish a weak $Deltasim 1.25 meV$ spin gap at low temperature. Together, these findings provide strong support for the local orbital picture and the existence of an orbital glass state at temperatures below $T^*$.
By means of neutron scattering we show that the high-temperature precursor to the hidden order state of the heavy fermion superconductor URu$_{2}$Si$_{2}$ exhibits heavily damped incommensurate paramagnons whose strong energy dispersion is very similar to that of the long-lived longitudinal f-spin excitations that appear below T$_{0}$. Since the underlying local f-exchange is preserved we expect only the f-d interactions to change across the phase transition and to cause the paramagnetic damping. The damping exhibits single-ion behavior independent of wave vector and vanishes below the hidden order transition. We suggest that this arises from a transition from valence fluctuations to a hybridized f-d state below T$_{0}$. Here we present evidence that the itinerant excitations, like those in chromium, are due to Fermi surface nesting of hole and electron pockets so that the hidden order phase likely originates from a Fermi-surface instability. We identify wave vectors that span nested regions of a band calculation and that match the neutron spin crossover from incommensurate to commensurate on approach to the hidden order phase.
A novel method for mapping the local spin and orbital nature of the ground state of a system via corresponding flip excitations in both sectors is proposed based on angle resolved resonant photoemission and related diffraction patterns, presented here for the first time via an ab-initio modified one-step theory of photoemission. The analysis is done on the paradigmatic weak itinerant ferromagnet bcc Fe, whose magnetism, seen as a correlation phenomenon given by the coexistence of localized moments and itinerant electrons, and the non-Fermi liquid behaviour at ambient and extreme conditions both remain unclear. The results offer a real space imaging of local pure spin flip and entangled spin flip-orbital flip excitations (even at energies where spin flip transitions are hidden in quasiparticle peaks) and of chiral, vortex-like wavefronts of excited electrons, depending on the orbital character of the bands and the direction of the local magnetic moment. Such effects, mediated by the hole polarization, make resonant photoemission a promising tool to perform a full tomography of the local magnetic properties of a system with a high sensitivity to localization/correlation, even in itinerant or macroscopically non magnetic systems.
The magnetic and electronic properties of Sr1-xLaxRuO3 were studied by means of dc-magnetization, ac-susceptibility, specific heat, and electrical resistivity measurements. The dc-magnetization and ac-susceptibility measurements have revealed that the transition temperature and the ordered moment of the ferromagnetic order are strongly suppressed as La is substituted for Sr. The ac-susceptibility exhibits a peak at T* due to the occurrence of spontaneous spin polarization. Furthermore, we observed that T* shows clear frequency variations for x>= 0.3. The magnitude of the frequency shifts of T* is comparable to that of cluster-glass systems, and the frequency dependence is well described in terms of the Vogel-Fulcher law. On the other hand, it is found that the linear specific heat coefficient gamma enhances with the suppression of the ferromagnetic order. The relatively large gamma values reflect the presence of the Ru 4d state at Fermi level, and hence, the magnetism of this system is considered to be tightly coupled with the itinerant characteristics of the Ru 4d electrons. The present experimental results and analyses suggest that the intrinsic coexistence of the spatially inhomogeneous magnetic state and the itinerant nature of the Ru 4d electrons is realized in this system, and such a feature may be commonly involved in La- and Ca-doped SrRuO3.
We study an effective one-dimensional (1D) orbital t-J model derived for strongly correlated e_g electrons in doped manganites. The ferromagnetic spin order at half filling is supported by orbital superexchange prop. to J which stabilizes orbital order with alternating x^2-y^2 and 3z^2-r^2 orbitals. In a doped system it competes with the kinetic energy prop. to t. When a single hole is doped to a half-filled chain, its motion is hindered and a localized orbital polaron is formed. An increasing doping generates either separated polarons or phase separation into hole-rich and hole-poor regions, and eventually polarizes the orbitals and gives a it metallic phase with occupied 3z^2-r^2 orbitals. This crossover, investigated by exact diagonalization at zero temperature, is demonstrated both by the behavior of correlation functions and by spectral properties, showing that the orbital chain with Ising superexchange is more classical and thus radically different from the 1D spin t-J model. At finite temperature we derive and investigate an effective 1D orbital model using a combination of exact diagonalization with classical Monte-Carlo for spin correlations. A competition between the antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic spin order was established at half filling, and localized polarons were found for antiferromagnetic interactions at low hole doping. Finally, we clarify that the Jahn-Teller alternating potential stabilizes the orbital order with staggered orbitals, inducing the ferromagnetic spin order and enhancing the localized features in the excitation spectra. Implications of these findings for colossal magnetoresistance manganites are discussed.
Localized spins and itinerant electrons rarely coexist in geometrically-frustrated spinel lattices. We show that the spinel CoV2O4 stands at the crossover from insulating to itinerant behavior and exhibits a complex interplay between localized spins and itinerant electrons. In contrast to the expected paramagnetism, localized spins supported by enhanced exchange couplings are frustrated by the effects of delocalized electrons. This frustration produces a non-collinear spin state and may be responsible for macroscopic spin-glass behavior. Competing phases can be uncovered by external perturbations such as pressure or magnetic field, which enhance the frustration.