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Register a new userFrustrated Magnetism and Caloric Effects in Mn-antiperovskite Nitrides: $Ab~Initio$ Theory
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We model changes of magnetic ordering in Mn-antiperovskite nitrides driven by biaxial lattice strain at zero and at finite temperature. We employ a non-collinear spin-polarised density functional theory to compare the response of the geometrically frustrated exchange interactions to a tetragonal symmetry breaking (the so called piezomagnetic effect) across a range of Mn$_3$AN (A = Rh, Pd, Ag, Co, Ni, Zn, Ga, In, Sn) at zero temperature. Building on the robustness of the effect we focus on Mn$_3$GaN and extend our study to finite temperature using the disordered local moment (DLM) first-principles electronic structure theory to model the interplay between the ordering of Mn magnetic moments and itinerant electron states. We discover a rich temperature-strain magnetic phase diagram with two previously unreported phases stabilised by strains larger than 0.75% and with transition temperatures strongly dependent on strain. We propose an elastocaloric cooling cycle crossing two of the available phase transitions to achieve simultaneously a large isothermal entropy change (due to the first order transition) and a large adiabatic temperature change (due to the second order transition).
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Electric-field control of magnetization promises to substantially enhance the energy efficiency of device applications ranging from data storage to solid-state cooling. However, the intrinsic linear magnetoelectric effect is typically small in bulk materials. In thin films electric-field tuning of spin-orbit interaction phenomena (e.g., magnetocrystalline anisotropy) has been reported to achieve a partial control of the magnetic state. Here we explore the piezomagnetic effect (PME), driven by frustrated exchange interactions, which can induce a net magnetization in an antiferromagnet and reverse its direction via elastic strain generated piezoelectrically. Our $ab~initio$ study of PME in Mn-antiperovskite nitrides identified an extraordinarily large PME in Mn$_3$SnN available at room temperature. We explain the magnitude of PME based on features of the electronic structure and show an inverse-proportionality between the simulated zero-temperature PME and the negative thermal expansion at the magnetic (Neel) transition measured by Takenaka et al. in 9 antiferromagnetic Mn$_3$AN systems.
The anomalous Nernst effect (ANE) - the generation of a transverse electric voltage by a longitudinal heat current in conducting ferromagnets or antiferromagnets - is an appealing approach for thermoelectric power generation in spin caloritronics. The ANE in antiferromagnets is particularly convenient for the fabrication of highly efficient and densely integrated thermopiles as lateral configurations of thermoelectric modules increase the coverage of heat source without suffering from the stray fields that are intrinsic to ferromagnets. In this work, using first-principles calculations together with a group theory analysis, we systematically investigate the spin order-dependent ANE in noncollinear antiferromagnetic Mn-based antiperovskite nitrides Mn$_{3}X$N ($X$ = Ga, Zn, Ag, and Ni). The ANE in Mn$_{3}X$N is forbidden by symmetry in the R1 phase but amounts to its maximum value in the R3 phase. Among all Mn$_{3}X$N compounds, Mn$_{3}$NiN presents the most significant anomalous Nernst conductivity of 1.80 AK$^{-1}$m$^{-1}$ at 200 K, which can be further enhanced if strain, electric, or magnetic fields are applied. The ANE in Mn$_{3}$NiN, being one order of magnitude larger than that in the famous Mn$_{3}$Sn, is the largest one discovered in antiferromagnets so far. The giant ANE in Mn$_{3}$NiN originates from the sharp slope of the anomalous Hall conductivity at the Fermi energy, which can be understood well from the Mott relation. Our findings provide a novel host material for realizing antiferromagnetic spin caloritronics which promises exciting applications in energy conversion and information processing.
Recent developments in twisted and lattice-mismatched bilayers have revealed a rich phase space of van der Waals systems and generated excitement. Among these systems are heterobilayers which can offer new opportunities to control van der Waals systems with strong in plane correlations such as spin-orbit-assisted Mott insulator $alpha$-RuCl$_3$. Nevertheless, a theoretical $textit{ab initio}$ framework for mismatched heterobilayers without even approximate periodicity is sorely lacking. We propose a general strategy for calculating electronic properties of such systems, mismatched interface theory (MINT), and apply it to the graphene/$alpha$-RuCl$_{3}$ (GR/$alpha$-RuCl$_{3}$) heterostructure. Using MINT, we predict uniform doping of 4.77$%$ from graphene to $alpha$-RuCl$_3$ and magnetic interactions in $alpha$-RuCl$_3$ to shift the system toward the Kitaev point. Hence we demonstrate that MINT can guide targeted materialization of desired model systems and discuss recent experiments on GR/$alpha$-RuCl$_{3}$ heterostructures.
We describe magneto-, baro- and elastocaloric effects (MCEs, BCEs and eCEs) in materials which possess both discontinuous (first-order) and continuous (second-order) magnetic phase transitions. Our ab initio theory of the interacting electrons of materials in terms of disordered local moments (DLMs) has produced explicit mechanisms for the drivers of these transitions and here we study associated caloric effects in three case studies where both types of transition are evident. Our earlier work had described FeRhs magnetic phase diagram and large MCE. Here we present calculations of its substantial BCE and eCE. We describe the MCE of dysprosium and find very good agreement with experimental values for isothermal entropy ($Delta S_{iso}$) and adiabatic temperature ($Delta T_{ad}$) changes over a large temperature span and different applied magnetic field values. We examine the conditions for optimal values of both $Delta S_{iso}$ and $Delta T_{ad}$ that comply with a Clausius-Clapeyron analysis, which we use to propose a promising elastocaloric cooling cycle arising from the unusual dependence of the entropy on temperature and biaxial strain found in our third case study - the Mn$_3$GaN antiperovskite. We explain how both $Delta S_{iso}$ and $Delta T_{ad}$ can be kept large by exploiting the complex tensile strain-temperature magnetic phase diagram which we had earlier predicted for this material and also propose that hysteresis effects will be absent from half the caloric cycle. This rich and complex behavior stems from the frustrated nature of the interactions among the Mn local moments.
We show, by means of ab-initio calculations, that electron-electron correlations play an important role in potassium-doped picene ($K_x$-picene), recently characterized as a superconductor with $T_c = 18K$. The inclusion of exchange interactions by means of hybrid functionals reproduces the correct gap for the undoped compound and predicts an antiferromagnetic state for $x=3$, where superconductivity has been observed. The latter finding is compatible with a sizable value of the correlation strength, in agreement with simple estimates. Our results highlight the similarity between potassium-doped picene and alkali-doped fulleride superconductors.
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