No Arabic abstract
Using {it ab initio} density functional theory and single-orbital Hubbard model calculations via the density matrix renormalization group method, we systematically studied the monolayer VOI$_2$ with a $3d^1$ electronic configuration. Our phonon calculations indicate that the orthorhombic $Pmm2$ FE-II phase is the most likely ground state, involving a ferroelectric distortion along the $a$-axis and V-V dimerization along the $b$-axis. Specifically, the pseudo Jahn-Teller effect caused by the coupling between empty V ($d_{xz/yz}$ and $d_{3z^2-r^2}$) and O $2p$ states is proposed as the mechanism that stabilizes the ferroelectric distortion from the paraelectric phase. Moreover, the half-filled metallic $d_{xy}$ band displays a Peierls instability along the $b$-axis, inducing a V-V dimerization. We also found very short-range antiferromagnetic coupling along the V-V chain due to the formation of nearly-decoupled spin singlets in the ground state.
We have investigated the low-temperature magnetism of sodium superoxide (NaO$_{2}$), in which spin, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom are closely entangled. The magnetic susceptibility shows anomalies at $T_{1}=220$ K and $T_{2}=190$ K, which correspond well to the structural phase transition temperatures, and a sudden decrease below $T_{3}=34$ K. At 4.2 K, the magnetization shows a clear stepwise anomaly around 30 T with a large hysteresis. In addition, the muon spin relaxation experiments indicate no magnetic phase transition down to $T=0.3$ K. The inelastic neutron scattering spectrum exhibits magnetic excitation with a finite energy gap. These results confirm that the ground state of NaO$_{2}$ is a spin-singlet state. To understand this ground state in NaO$_{2}$, we performed Raman scattering experiments. All the Raman-active libration modes expected for the marcasite phase below $T_{2}$ are observed. Furthermore, we find that several new peaks appear below $T_{3}$. This directly evidences the low crystal symmetry, namely, the presence of the phase transition at $T_{3}$. We conclude the singlet-ground state of NaO$_{2}$ due to the spin-Peierls instability.
We investigated the infrared reflectivity of several Mg- and Si-substituted CuGeO3 single crystals. The temperature dependent b-axis and c-axis optical response is reported. For T<Tsp we detected the activation of zone-boundary phonons along the b axis of the crystal on the pure sample and for 1% Mg and 0.7% Si concentrations. From a detailed analysis of the phonon parameters the redshift of the B2u mode at 48 cm^-1 is observed and discussed in relation to the soft mode expected to drive the spin-Peierls phase transition in CuGeO3. Moreover, the polarization dependence of a magnetic excitation measured in transmission at 44 cm^-1 has been investigated.
We report high-pressure x-ray diffraction and magnetization measurements combined with ab-initio calculations to demonstrate that the high-pressure optical and transport transitions recently reported in TiOCl, correspond in fact to an enhanced Ti3+-Ti3+ dimerization existing already at room temperature. Our results confirm the formation of a metal-metal bond between Ti3+ ions along the b-axis of TiOCl, accompanied by a strong reduction of the electronic gap. The evolution of the dimerization with pressure suggests a crossover from the spin-Peierls to a conventional Peierls situation at high pressures.
Low dimensional ferroelectrics are highly desired for applications and full of exotic physics. Here a functionalized MXene Hf$_2$CF$_2$ monolayer is theoretically studied, which manifests a nonpolar to polar transition upon moderate biaxial compressive strain. Accompanying this structural transition, a metal-semiconductor transition occurs. The in-plane shift of unilateral fluorine layer leads to a polarization pointing out-of-plane. Such ferroelectricity is unconventional, similar to the recently-proposed interlayer-sliding ferroelectricity but not identical. Due to its specific hexapetalous potential energy profile, the possible ferroelectric switching paths and domain walls are nontrivial, which are mediated via the metallic paraelectric state. In this sense, the metallic walls can be manipulated by reshaping the ferroelectric domains.
We report an investigation of charge, spin and lattice effects in the spin-Peierls state of the organic compound MEM(TCNQ)$_2$. The 16.5 GHz dielectric function along the chain axis shows an enhancement below the spin-Peierls transition temperature near 18 K consistent with the charge coupling to the elastic strain involved in the transition. The velocity of two elastic modes perpendicular to the chain axis presents anomalies at the transition which can be explained with a Landau free energy model including a linear-quadratic coupling energy term between the appropriate elastic strain $e$ and the spin-Peierls magnetic gap $Delta_q$. The analysis of the dielectric and elastic features aims toward an order parameter with an associated critical exponent $beta sim$ 0.36, which is similar to the three-dimensional behavior seen in other spin-Peierls materials. All these effects studied in a magnetic field up to 18 Teslas appear also compatible with a mean-field model of a quasi-one-dimensional spin-Peierls system.