No Arabic abstract
New phases of matter emerge at the edge of magnetic instabilities. In local moment systems, such as heavy fermions, the magnetism can be destabilized by pressure, chemical doping, and, rarely, by magnetic field, towards a zero-temperature transition at a quantum critical point (QCP). Even more rare are instances of QCPs induced by pressure or doping in itinerant moment systems, with no known examples of analogous field-induced textit{T} = 0 transitions. Here we report the discovery of a new itinerant antiferromagnet with no magnetic constituents, in single crystals of Ti$_3$Cu$_4$ with $T_N$ = 11.3 K. Band structure calculations point to an orbital-selective, spin density wave ground state, a consequence of the square net structural motif in Ti$_3$Cu$_4$. A small magnetic field, $H_C$ = 4.87 T, suppresses the long-range order via a continuous second-order transition, resulting in a field-induced QCP. The magnetic Gruneisen ratio diverges as $H rightarrow H_C$ and $Trightarrow0$, with a sign change at $H_C$ and $T^{-1}$ scaling at $H~=~H_C$, providing evidence from thermodynamic measurements for quantum criticality for $H parallel c$. Non-Fermi liquid (NFL) to Fermi liquid (FL) crossover is observed close to the QCP, as revealed by the power law behavior of the electrical resistivity.
A quantum critical point (QCP) of the heavy fermion Ce(Ru_{1-x}Rh_x)_2Si_2 (x = 0, 0.03) has been studied by single-crystalline neutron scattering. By accurately measuring the dynamical susceptibility at the antiferromagnetic wave vector k_3 = 0.35 c^*, we have shown that the energy width Gamma(k_3), i.e., inverse correlation time, depends on temperature as Gamma(k_3) = c_1 + c_2 T^{3/2 +- 0.1}, where c_1 and c_2 are x dependent constants, in a low temperature range. This critical exponent 3/2 +- 0.1 proves that the QCP is controlled by that of the itinerant antiferromagnet.
We report on the experimental results of magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, electron spin resonance (ESR), and high-field magnetization measurements on a polycrystalline sample of the spin-$1/2$ distorted honeycomb-lattice antiferromagnet Cu$_2$(pymca)$_3$(ClO$_4$). Magnetic susceptibility shows a broad peak at about 25~K, which is typical of a low dimensional antiferromagnet, and no long range magnetic order is observed down to 0.6~K in the specific heat measurements. Magnetization curve up to 70~T at 1.4~K shows triple stepwise jumps. Assuming three different exchange bonds $J_{rm A}$, $J_{rm B}$ and $J_{rm C}$ from the structure, the calculated magnetization curve reproduces the observed one when $J_{rm A}/k_{rm B} = 43.7~{rm K}$, $J_{rm B}/J_{rm A} = 1$ and $J_{rm C}/J_{rm A} = 0.2$ except the magnetization near 70~T, where the observed magnetization indicates another step while the calculated magnetization becomes saturated. The relationship between magnetization plateaus and exchange bonds is discussed based on the numerical calculations.
A focus of recent experimental and theoretical studies on heavy fermion systems close to antiferromagnetic (AFM) quantum critical points (QCP) is directed toward revealing the nature of the fixed point, i.e., whether it is an itinerant antiferromagnet [spin density wave (SDW)] type or a locally-critical fixed point. The relevance of the local QCP was proposed to explain the E/T-scaling with an anomalous exponent observed for the AFM QCP of CeCu_{5.9}Au_{0.1}. In this work, we have investigated an AFM QCP of another archetypal heavy fermion system Ce(Ru_{1-x}Rh_x)_2Si_2 with x = 0 and 0.03 (sim x_c) using single-crystalline neutron scattering. Accurate measurements of the dynamical susceptibility Im[chi(Q,E)] at the AFM wave vector Q = 0.35 c^* have shown that Im[chi(Q,E)] is well described by a Lorentzian and its energy width Gamma(Q), i.e., the inverse correlation time depends on temperature as Gamma(Q) = c_1 + c_2 T^{3/2 +- 0.1}, where c_1 and c_2 are x dependent constants, in low temperature ranges.This critical exponent 3/2 proves that the QCP is controlled by the SDW QCP in three space dimensions studied by the renormalization group and self-consistent renormalization theories.
We report the synthesis and basic properties of single crystals of a new binary compound, Yb$_{3}$Pt$_{4}$. The Yb ions in this compound are fully trivalent, and heat capacity measurements show that the crystal field scheme involves a doublet ground state, well separated from the excited states, which are fully occupied above $sim$ 150 K. The heat capacity displays a large, weakly first order anomaly at 2.4 K, where a cusp is observed in the magnetic susceptibility signalling the onset of antiferromagnetic order. The entropy associated with this order is the full Rln2 of the doublet ground state, however the magnetic susceptibility in the ordered phase is dominated by a large and temperature independent component below the Neel temperature. The heat capacity in the ordered state originates with ferromagnetic spin waves, giving evidence for the inherently local moment character of the ordered state. The electrical resistivity is unusually large, and becomes quadratic in temperature exactly at the Neel temperature. The absence of analogous Fermi liquid behavior in the heat capacity and the magnetic susceptibility implies that Yb$_{3}$Pt$_{4}$ is a low electron density system, where the Fermi surface is further gapped by the onset of magnetic order.
In this joint experimental and theoretical work magnetic properties of the Cu$^{2+}$ mineral szenicsite Cu$_3$(MoO$_4$)(OH)$_4$ are investigated. This compound features isolated triple chains in its crystal structure, where the central chain involves an edge-sharing geometry of the CuO$_4$ plaquettes, while the two side chains feature a corner-sharing zig-zag geometry. The magnetism of the side chains can be described in terms of antiferromagnetic dimers with a coupling larger than 200 K. The central chain was found to be a realization of the frustrated antiferromagnetic $J_1$-$J_2$ chain model with $J_1simeq 68$ K and a sizable second-neighbor coupling $J_2$. The central and side chains are nearly decoupled owing to interchain frustration. Therefore, the low-temperature behavior of szenicsite should be entirely determined by the physics of the central frustrated $J_1$-$J_2$ chain. Our heat-capacity measurements reveal an accumulation of entropy at low temperatures and suggest a proximity of the system to the Majumdar-Ghosh point of the antiferromagnetic $J_1$-$J_2$ spin chain, $J_2/J_1=0.5$.