No Arabic abstract
The hexagonal ZrNiAl-type (space group: P-62m) and the tetragonal Mo2FeB2-type (space group: P4/mbm) structures, which are frequently formed in the same Yb-based alloys and exhibit physical properties related to valence-fluctuation, can be regarded as approximants of a hypothetical dodecagonal quasicrystal. Using Pd-Sn-Yb system as an example, a model of quasicrystal structure has been constructed, of which 5-dimensional crystal (space group: P12/mmm, aDD=5.66 {AA} and c=3.72 {AA}) consists of four types of acceptance regions located at the following crystallographic sites; Yb [00000], Pd[1/3 0 1/3 0 1/2], Pd[1/3 1/3 1/3 1/3 0] and Sn[1/2 00 1/2 1/2]. In the 3-dimensional space, the quasicrystal is composed of three types of columns, of which c-projections correspond to a square, an equilateral triangle and a 3-fold hexagon. They are fragments of two known crystals, the hexagonal {alpha}-YbPdSn and the tetragonal Yb2Pd2Sn structures. The model of the hypothetical quasicrystal may be applicable as a platform to treat in a unified manner the heavy fermion properties in the two types of Yb-based crystals.
Dodecagonal bilayer graphene quasicrystal has 12-fold rotational order but lacks translational symmetry which prevents the application of band theory. In this paper, we study the electronic and optical properties of graphene quasicrystal with large-scale tight-binding calculations involving more than ten million atoms. We propose a series of periodic approximants which reproduce accurately the properties of quasicrystal within a finite unit cell. By utilizing the band-unfolding method on the smallest approximant with only 2702 atoms, the effective band structure of graphene quasicrystal is derived. Novel features, such as the emergence of new Dirac points (especially the mirrored ones), the band gap at M point and the Fermi velocity are all in agreement with recent experiments. The properties of quasicrystal states are identified in the Landau level spectrum and optical excitations. Importantly, our results show that the lattice mismatch is the dominant factor determining the accuracy of layered approximants. The proposed approximants can be used directly for other layered materials in honeycomb lattice, and the design principles can be applied for any quasi-periodic incommensurate structures.
We study the electronic structure of Tsai-type cluster-based quasicrystalline approximants, Au$_{64}$Ge$_{22}$Yb$_{14}$ (AGY-I), Au$_{63.5}$Ge$_{20.5}$Yb$_{16}$ (AGY-II), and Zn$_{85.4}$Yb$_{14.6}$ (Zn-Yb), by means of photoemission spectroscopy. In the valence band hard x-ray photoemission spectra of AGY-II and Zn-Yb, we separately observe a fully occupied Yb 4$f$ state and a valence fluctuation derived Kondo resonance peak, reflecting two inequivalent Yb sites, a single Yb atom in the cluster center and its surrounding Yb icosahedron, respectively. The fully occupied 4$f$ signal is absent in AGY-I containing no Yb atom in the cluster center. The results provide direct evidence for a heterogeneous valence state in AGY-II and Zn-Yb.
Quantum criticality has been considered to be specific to crystalline materials such as heavy fermions. Very recently, however, the Tsai-type quasicrystal Au51Al34Yb15 has been reported to show unusual quantum critical behavior. To obtain a deeper understanding of this new material, we have searched for other Tsai-type cluster materials. Here, we report that the metal alloys Au44Ga41Yb15 and Ag47Ga38Yb15 are members of the 1/1 approximant to the Tsai-type quasicrystal and that both possess no localized magnetic moment. We suggest that the Au-Al-Yb system is located near the border of the divalent and trivalent states of the Yb ion; we also discuss a possible origin of the disappearance of magnetism, associated with the valence change, by the substitution of the constituent elements.
The electronic structure of (Ce,Yb)CoIn5 has been studied by a combination of photoemission, x-ray absorption and bulk property measurements. Previous findings of a Ce valence near 3+ for all x and of an Yb valence near 2.3+ for x>0.3 were confirmed. One new result of this study is that the Yb valence for x<0.2 increases rapidly with decreasing x from 2.3+ toward 3+, which correlates well with de Haas van Alphen results showing a change of Fermi surface around x=0.2. Another new result is the direct observation by angle resolved photoemission Fermi surface maps of about 50% cross sectional area reductions of the alpha- and beta-sheets for x=1 compared to x=0, and a smaller, essentially proportionate, size change of the alpha-sheet for x=0.2. These changes are found to be in good general agreement with expectations from simple electron counting. The implications of these results for the unusual robustness of superconductivity and Kondo coherence with increasing x in this alloy system are discussed.
X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) at the Eu L-edge (2p->5d) in two compounds exhibiting valence fluctuation, namely EuNi2(Si0.18Ge0.82)2 and EuNi2P2, has been investigated at pulsed high magnetic fields of up to 40 T. A distinct XMCD peak corresponding to the trivalent state (Eu3+; f6), whose ground state is nonmagnetic (J=0), was observed in addition to the main XMCD peak corresponding to the magnetic (J=7/2) divalent state (Eu2+; f7). This result indicates that the 5d electrons belonging to both valence states are magnetically polarized. It was also found that the ratio P5d(3+)/P5d(2+) between the polarization of 5d electrons (P5d) in the Eu3+ state and that of Eu2+ is ~ 0.1 in EuNi2(Si0.18Ge0.82)2 and ~ 0.3 in EuNi2P2 at magnetic fields where their macroscopic magnetization values are the same. The possible origin of the XMCD of the Eu3+ state and an explanation of the dependence of P5d(3+)/P5d(2+) on the material are discussed in terms of hybridization between the conduction electrons and the f electrons.