No Arabic abstract
The dynamic structure factor of lithium-diborate glass has been measured at several values of the momentum transfer $Q$ using high resolution inelastic x-ray scattering. Much attention has been devoted to the low $Q$-range, below the observed Ioffe-Regel crossover qco{}$simeq$ 2.1 nm$^{-1}$. We find that below qco{}, the linewidth of longitudinal acoustic waves increases with a high power of either $Q$, or of the frequency $Omega$, up to the crossover frequency OMco{} $simeq$ 9 meV that nearly coincides with the center of the boson peak. This new finding strongly supports the view that resonance and hybridization of acoustic waves with a distribution of rather local low frequency modes forming the boson peak is responsible for the end of acoustic branches in strong glasses. Further, we present high resolution Brillouin light-scattering data obtained at much lower frequencies on the same sample. These clearly rule out a simple $Omega^2$-dependence of the acoustic damping over the entire frequency range.
We present a combined oxygen $K$-egde x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) study of the bilayer ruthenate Ca$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$. Our RIXS experiments on Ca$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$ were carried out on the overlapping in-plane and inner apical oxygen resonances, which are distinguishable from the outer apical one. Comparison to equivalent oxygen $K$-edge spectra recorded on band-Mott insulating Ca$_2$RuO$_4$ is made. In contrast to Ca$_2$RuO$_4$ spectra, which contain excitations linked to Mott physics, Ca$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$ spectra feature only intra-$t_{2g}$ ones that do not directly involve the Coulomb energy scale. As found in Ca$_2$RuO$_4$, we resolve two intra-$t_{2g}$ excitations in Ca$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$. Moreover, the lowest lying excitation in Ca$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$ shows a significant dispersion, revealing a collective character differently from what is observed in Ca$_2$RuO$_4$. Theoretical modelling supports the interpretation of this lowest energy excitation in Ca$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$ as a magnetic transverse mode with multi-particle character, whereas the corresponding excitation in Ca$_2$RuO$_4$ is assigned to combined longitudinal and transverse spin modes. These fundamental differences are discussed in terms of the inequivalent magnetic ground-state manifestations in Ca$_2$RuO$_4$ and Ca$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$.
We use resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the Cu L$_3$ edge to measure the charge and spin excitations in the half-stuffed Cu--O planes of the cuprate antiferromagnet Ba$_2$Cu$_3$O$_4$Cl$_2$. The RIXS line shape reveals distinct contributions to the $dd$ excitations from the two structurally inequivalent Cu sites, which have different out-of-plane coordinations. The low-energy response exhibits magnetic excitations. We find a spin-wave branch whose dispersion follows the symmetry of a CuO$_2$ sublattice, similar to the case of the fully-stuffed planes of tetragonal CuO (T-CuO). Its bandwidth is closer to that of a typical cuprate material, such as Sr$_2$CuO$_2$Cl$_2$, than it is to that of T-CuO. We interpret this result as arising from the absence of the effective four-spin inter-sublattice interactions that act to reduce the bandwidth in T-CuO.
Chiral multiferroic langasites have attracted attention due to their doubly-chiral magnetic ground state within an enantiomorphic crystal. We report on a detailed resonant soft X-ray diffraction study of the multiferroic Ba$_3$TaFe$_3$Si$_2$O$_{14}$ at the Fe $L_{2,3}$ and oxygen $K$ edges. Below $T_N$ ($approx27K$) we observe the satellite reflections $(0,0,tau)$, $(0,0,2tau)$, $(0,0,3tau)$ and $(0,0,1-3tau)$ where $tau approx 0.140 pm 0.001$. The dependence of the scattering intensity on X-ray polarization and azimuthal angle indicate that the odd harmonics are dominated by the out-of-plane ($mathbf{hat{c}}$-axis) magnetic dipole while the $(0,0,2tau)$ originates from the electron density distortions accompanying magnetic order. We observe dissimilar energy dependences of the diffraction intensity of the purely magnetic odd-harmonic satellites at the Fe $L_3$ edge. Utilizing first-principles calculations, we show that this is a consequence of the loss of threefold crystal symmetry in the multiferroic phase.
Room-temperature optical constants of crystalline Bi$_2$Sr$_2$CaCu$_2$O$_{8+delta}$ were determined using data extracted from Brillouin light scattering spectra. Optical extinction coefficient-to-refractive index ratios at a wavelength of 532 nm were obtained from bulk phonon peak linewidth and frequency shift measurements and range from $0.19 leq 2kappa/n leq 0.29$ for directions close to the crystallographic $c$-axis. These ratios, and optical extinction coefficients, absorption coefficients, and imaginary parts of the dielectric function determined from these ratios and known refractive index, are in general agreement with values found in optical reflectance studies, but are 5-7 times larger than those extracted from optical interference measurements.
We used a micromechanical torsional oscillator to measure the magnetic response of a twinned YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-delta}$ single crystal disk near the Bose glass transition. We observe an anomaly in the temperature dependence of the magnetization consistent with the appearance of a magnetic shielding perpendicular to the correlated pinning of the twin boundaries. This effect is related to the thermodynamic transition from the vortex liquid phase to a Bose glass state.