No Arabic abstract
In doped CuGeO3 systems, such as (Cu1-xZnx)GeO3 and Cu(Ge1-xSix)O3, the spin-Peierls (SP) ordering (T<Tsp) coexists with the antiferromagnetic (AF) phase (T<TN<Tsp). Tsp decreases while TN increases with increasing x in low doping region. For higher x, however, the SP state disappears and only the AF state remains. These features are common for all the doped CuGeO3 systems so far studied, indicating the existence of universal T-x phase diagram. Recently, Masuda et al. carried out comprehensive magnetic susceptibility (chi) measurements of (Cu1-xMgx)GeO3, in which doping concentration can be controlled significantly better than the Zn doped systems. They found that TN suddenly jumps from 3.43 to 3.98K at the critical concentration xc sim 0.023 and that a drop in chi corresponding to the SP ordering also disappears at x>xc. They thus concluded that there is a compositional phase boundary between two distinct magnetic phases. To clarify the nature of two phases, we performed neutron-scattering measurements on (Cu1-xMgx)GeO3 single crystals with various x. Analysis of the data at fixed temperature points as a function of doping concentration has revealed sudden changes of order parameters at the critical concentration xc=0.027 +- 0.001. At finite temperatures below TN, the drastic increase of the AF moment takes place at xc. The spin-Peierls order parameter delta associated with lattice dimerization shows a precipitous decrease at all temperature below Tsp. However, it goes to zero above xc only at the low temperature limit.
We investigate the temperature-pressure phase diagram of BaTiO_3 using a first-principles effective-Hamiltonian approach. We find that the zero-point motion of the ions affects the form of the phase diagram dramatically. Specifically, when the zero-point fluctuations are included in the calculations, all the polar (tetragonal, orthorhombic, and rhombohedral) phases of BaTiO_3 survive down to 0 K, while only the rhombohedral phase does otherwise. We provide a simple explanation for this behavior. Our results confirm the essential correctness of the phase diagram proposed by Ishidate et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 2397 (1997)).
The complexity of strongly correlated electron physics in vanadium dioxide is exemplified as its rich phase diagrams of all kinds, which in turn shed light on the mechanisms behind its various phase transitions. In this work, we map out the hydrostatic pressure - temperature phase diagram of vanadium dioxide nanobeams by independently varying pressure and temperature with a diamond anvil cell. In addition to the well-known insulating M1 (monoclinic) and metallic R (tetragonal) phases, the diagram identifies the existence at high pressures of the insulating M1 (monoclinic, more conductive than M1) phase, and two metallic phases of X (monoclinic) and O (orthorhombic, at high temperature only). Systematic optical and electrical measurements combined with density functional calculations allow us to delineate their phase boundaries as well as reveal some basic features of the transitions.
The phase diagram of Zn has been explored up to 140 GPa and 6000 K, by combining optical observations, x-ray diffraction, and ab-initio calculations. In the pressure range covered by this study, Zn is found to retain a hexagonal close-packed crystal symmetry up to the melting temperature. The known decrease of the axial ratio of the hcp phase of Zn under compression is observed in x-ray diffraction experiments from 300 K up to the melting temperature. The pressure at which the axial ratio reaches the square root of 3 value, around 10 GPa, is slightly affected by temperature. When this axial ratio is reached, we observed that single crystals of Zn, formed at high temperature, break into multiple polycrystals. In addition, a noticeable change in the pressure dependence of the axial ratio takes place at the same pressure. Both phenomena could be caused by an isomorphic second-order phase transition induced by pressure in Zn. The reported melt curve extends previous results from 24 to 135 GPa. The pressure dependence obtained for the melting temperature is accurately described up to 135 GPa by using a Simon-Glatzel equation. The determined melt curve agrees with previous low-pressure studies and with shock-wave experiments, with a melting temperature of 5060 K at 135 GPa. Finally, a thermal equation of state is reported, which at room-temperature agrees with the literature.
The nuclear and magnetic structure and full magnon dispersions of yttrium iron garnet Y$_3$Fe$_5$O$_{12}$ have been studied by neutron scattering. The refined nuclear structure is distorted to a trigonal space group of $Rbar{3}$. The highest-energy dispersion extends up to 86 meV. The observed dispersions are reproduced by a simple model with three nearest-neighbor-exchange integrals between 16$a$ (octahedral) and 24$d$ (tetrahedral) sites, $J_{aa}$, $J_{ad}$, and $J_{dd}$, which are estimated to be 0.00$pm$0.05, $-$2.90$pm$0.07, and $-$0.35$pm$0.08 meV, respectively. The lowest-energy dispersion below 14 meV exhibits a quadratic dispersion as expected from ferromagnetic magnons. The imaginary part of $q$-integrated dynamical spin susceptibility $chi$($E$) exhibits a square-root energy-dependence in the low energies. The magnon density of state is estimated from the $chi$($E$) obtained on an absolute scale. The value is consistent with a single polarization mode for the magnon branch expected theoretically.
Single crystals of (Ca1-xLax)10(Pt3As8)(Fe2As2)5 (x = 0 to 0.182) superconductors have been grown and characterized by X-ray, microprobe, transport and thermodynamic measurements. Features in the magnetic susceptibility, specific heat and two kinks in the derivative of the electrical resistivity around 100 K in the x = 0 compound support the existence of decoupled structural and magnetic phase transitions. With La doping, the structural/magnetic phase transitions are suppressed and a half-dome of superconductivity with a maximal Tc around 26 K is observed in the temperature-concentration phase diagram.