No Arabic abstract
The magnetic, thermodynamic and electrical/thermal transport properties of the caged-structure quasi-skutterudite Gd$_3$Ir$_4$Sn$_{13}$ are re-investigated. The magnetization $M(T)$, specific heat $C_p(T)$ and the resistivity $rho(T)$ reveal a double-phase transition -- at $T_{N1}sim$ 10~K and at $T_{N2}sim$ 8.8~K -- which was not observed in the previous report on this compound. The antiferromagnetic transition is also visible in the thermal transport data, thereby suggesting a close connection between the electronic and lattice degrees of freedom in this Sn-based quasi-skutterudite. The temperature dependence of $rho(T)$ is analyzed in terms of a power-law for resistivity pertinent to Fermi liquid picture. Giant, positive magnetoresistance (MR) $approx$ 80$%$ is observed in Gd$_3$Ir$_4$Sn$_{13}$ at 2~K with the application of 9~T. The giant MR and the double magnetic transition can be attributed to the quasi-cages and layered antiferromagnetic structure of Gd$_3$Ir$_4$Sn$_{13}$ vulnerable to structural distortions and/or dipolar or spin-reorientation effects. The giant value of MR observed in this class of 3:4:13 type alloys, especially in a Gd-compound, is the highlight of this work.
The robust field-insensitive heavy fermion features in Sm$_3$Ru$_4$Ge$_{13}$ and the magnetic phase transition at $T_N approx$ 5~K are studied using magnetization $M(T)$, specific heat $C_p(T)$, resistivity $rho(T)$ and thermal conductivity $kappa_T(T)$. The average crystal structure of Sm$_3$Ru$_4$Ge$_{13}$ conforms to the cubic space group $Pmbar{3}n$ however, signatures of subtle structural distortions are obtained from the x ray data. The magnetic susceptibility, $chi(T)$, follows a modified Curie-Weiss law indicating the presence of crystal fields of Sm$^{3+}$ and the significance of van Vleck terms. No sign of ferromagnetism is observed in $M(H)$ of Sm$_3$Ru$_4$Ge$_{13}$ which yields only 0.025~$mu_mathrm{B}$/f.u.-Sm at 2~K, 7~T. The Sommerfeld coefficient, $gamma approx$ 220~mJ/mol-Sm K$^2$, estimated from the analysis of low temperature specific heat suggests the formation of heavy quasi particles at low temperature. Though a ln$T$ dependence of $rho(T)$ is observed till 60~K, the resistivity behavior is accounted for by assuming a two-band model for activated behavior of charge carriers. The field scans of resistivity, $rho(H)$, below $T_N$ display significant nonlinearity while those above the $T_N$ are more metal-like. Low values of thermal conductivity, $kappa_T(T)$, are observed in Sm$_3$Ru$_4$Ge$_{13}$ however, displaying an anomaly at $T_N$ which signifies magnetoelastic coupling. A fairly high value of Seebeck coefficient, $S approx$ 40~$mu$V/K is observed at 300~K. We identify Sm$_3$Ru$_4$Ge$_{13}$ as a low charge carrier density system with unusual field-insensitive heavy fermion features very similar to the filled skutterudites.
We report here the magneto-transport properties of the newly synthesized Heusler compound Cr2NiGa which crystallizes in a disordered cubic B2 structure belonging to Pm-3m space group. The sample is found to be paramagnetic down to 2 K with metallic character. On application of magnetic field, a significantly large increase in resistivity is observed which corresponds to magnetoresistance as high as 112% at 150 kOe of field at the lowest temperature. Most remarkably, the sample shows negative temperature coefficient of resistivity below about 50 K under the application of field gretare than or equal to 80 kOe, signifying a field-induced metal to `insulating transition. The observed magnetoresistance follows Kohlers rule below 20 K indicating the validity of the semiclassical model of electronic transport in metal with a single relaxation time. A multi-band model for electronic transport, originally proposed for semimetals, is found to be appropriate to describe the magneto-transport behavior of the sample.
We report the discovery of Ce$_3$Ir$_4$Ge$_{13}$, a new Remeika phase compound with a complex array of structural, electronic, and magnetic properties. Our single crystal x-ray diffraction measurements show that Ce$_3$Ir$_4$Ge$_{13}$ forms in the tetragonally distorted $I4_1/amd$ space group. The electrical resistivity is almost temperature independent over three decades in temperature, from 0.4 K to 400 K, while the Hall coefficient measurements are consistent with a low-carrier semimetal. Magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal an effective moment of $mu^{text{exp}}_{text{eff}} = 1.87 mu_B$/Ce, suggesting that this material has a mixture of magnetic Ce$^{3+}$ and non-magnetic Ce$^{4+}$. Upon cooling, Ce$_3$Ir$_4$Ge$_{13}$ first enters a short range magnetically ordered state below $T_{text{SRO}}=10$ K, marked by a deviation from Curie-Weiss behavior in susceptibility and a broad field-independent heat capacity anomaly. At lower temperatures, we observe a second, sharper peak in the heat capacity at $T^* = 1.7$ K, concurrent with a splitting of the field-cooled and zero-field-cooled susceptibilities. A small resistivity drop at $T^*$ suggests a loss of spin disorder scattering consistent with a magnetic ordering or spin freezing transition. Ce$_3$Ir$_4$Ge$_{13}$ is therefore a rare example of an inhomogeneous mixed valence compound with a complex array of thermodynamic and transport properties.
We report on giant positive magnetoresistance effect observed in VOx thin films, epitaxially grown on SrTiO3 substrate. The MR effect depends strongly on temperature and oxygen content and is anisotropic. At low temperatures its magnitude reaches 70% in a magnetic field of 5 T. Strong electron-electron interactions in the presence of strong disorder may qualitatively explain the results. An alternative explanation, related to a possible magnetic instability, is also discussed.
We present magnetoresistivity measurements in high-quality single crystals of the Nowotny chimney ladder compound Ru$_2$Sn$_3$. We find a linear and nonsaturating magnetoresistance up to 20 T. The magnetoresistance changes with the magnetic field orientation at small magnetic fields, from a positive to a negative curvature. Above 5 T, the magnetoresistance shows no sign of saturation up to 20 T for any measured angle. The shape of the anisotropy in the magnetoresistance remains when increasing temperature and Kohlers rule is obeyed. We associate the linear and nonsaturating magnetoresistance to a small Fermi surface with hot spots, possibly formed as a consequence of the structural transition. We discuss the relevance of electron-electron interactions under magnetic fields and aspects of the topologically nontrivial properties expected in Ru$_2$Sn$_3$.