We have measured temperature and magnetic field dependencies of the sound velocities and the sound attenuation in HoNi2B2C single crystals. The main result is a huge softening the velocity of C66 mode due to a cooperative Jahn-Teller effect, resulting in a tetragonal-orthorhombic structural phase transition. Anomalies in the behavior of the C66 mode through various magnetic phase transitions permit us to revise the low temperature H-T phase diagrams of this compound.
The temperature dependence of the elastic properties of antiferroelectric PbHfO3 was investigated by Brillouin scattering. The two structural phase transitions of antiferroelectric-antiferroelectric-paraelectric phases were clearly identified by discontinuous changes in the acoustic mode frequencies and the hypersonic damping. The substantial softening of the mode frequency along with the remarkable increase in the acoustic damping observed in the paraelectric phase indicated the formation of precursor noncentrosymmetric (polar) clusters and their coupling to the acoustic waves. This was corroborated by the observation of quasi-elastic central peaks, the intensity of which grew upon cooling toward the Curie point. The obtained relaxation time exhibited a slowing-down behavior, suggesting that the dynamics of precursor clusters becomes more sluggish on approaching the phase transition temperature.
The elastic response of BaTiO$_3$ single crystals during electric field cycling at room temperature has been studied using in-situ Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy (RUS), which allows monitoring of both the elastic and anelastic changes caused by ferroelectric polarization switching. We find that the first ferroelectric switching of a virgin single crystal is dominated by ferroelastic 90{deg} switching. In subsequent ferroelectric switching, ferroelastic switching is reduced by domain pinning and by the predominance of 180{deg} ferroelectric domains, as confirmed by polarized light microscopy. RUS under in-situ electric field therefore demonstrates to be an effective technique for the investigation of electromechanical coupling in ferroelectrics.
We report on transport and ac susceptibility studies below the peak effect in twinned YBa2Cu3O7 single crystals. We find that disorder generated at the peak effect can be partially inhibited by forcing vortices to move with an ac driving current. The vortex system can be additionally ordered below a well-defined temperature where elastic interactions between vortices overcome pinning-generated stress and a plastic to elastic crossover seems to occur. The combined effect of these two processes results in vortex structures with different mobilities that give place to history effects.
The electrical resistivity rho(T) and heat capacity C(T) on single crystals of SrNi2As2 and EuNi2As2 are reported. While there is no evidence for a structural transition in either compound, SrNi2As2 is found to be a bulk superconductor at T_c=0.62 K with a Sommerfeld coefficient of gamma= 8.7 mJ/mol K^2 and a small upper critical field H_{c2} sim 200 Oe. No superconductivity was found in EuNi2As2 above 0.4 K, but anomalies in rho and C reveal that magnetic order associated with the Eu^{2+} magnetic moments occurs at T_m = 14 K.
Single crystals of the compound LaFePO were prepared using a flux growth technique at high temperatures. Electrical resistivity measurements reveal metallic behavior and a resistive transition to the superconducting state at a critical temperature T_c ~ 6.6 K. Magnetization measurements also show the onset of superconductivity near 6 K. In contrast, specific heat measurements manifest no discontinuity at T_c. These results lend support to the conclusion that the superconductivity is associated with oxygen vacancies that alter the carrier concentration in a small fraction of the sample, although superconductivity characterized by an unusually small gap value can not be ruled-out. Under applied magnetic fields, T_c is suppressed anisotropically for fields perpendicular and parallel to the ab-plane, suggesting that the crystalline anisotropy strongly influences the superconducting state. Preliminary high-pressure measurements show that T_c passes through a maximum of nearly 14 K at ~ 110 kbar, demonstrating that significantly higher T_c values may be achieved in the phosphorus-based oxypnictides.