No Arabic abstract
We have investigated magnetic excitations for a mixed phase of hidden order (HO) and the antiferromagnetic (AF) order in U(Ru_{1-x}Rh_x)_2Si_2 (x <= 0.03) by means of inelastic neutron scattering. The inelastic peaks observed at Q=(1,0,0) and (1,0.4,0) in the HO phase for x=0 and 0.015 at 1.4 K are found to be strongly reduced in the AF dominant compositions of x=0.02 and 0.03. Similar behavior is observed as the HO is replaced by the AF order upon cooling for x=0.02. The x-T region in which the strong reduction of inelastic peaks is observed corresponds to the AF-rich region, indicating that the magnetic excitations typical for the HO-phase vanish in the AF phase.
We have performed elastic and inelastic neutron scattering experiments on the solid solutions U(Ru_{1-x}Rh_x)_2Si_2 for the Ru rich concentrations: x=0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.025, 0.03, 0.04 and 0.05. Hidden order is suppressed with increasing x, and correspondingly the onset temperature T_m (~ 17.5 K at x=0) of weak antiferromagnetic (AF) Bragg reflection decreases. For x=0.04 and 0.05, no magnetic order is detected in the investigated temperature range down to 1.4 K. In the middle range, 0.02 <= x <= 0.03, we found that the AF Bragg reflection is strongly enhanced. At x=0.02, this takes place at ~ 7.7 K (=T_M), which is significantly lower than T_m (~ 13.7 K). T_M increases with increasing x, and seems to merge with T_m at x=0.03. If the AF state is assumed to be homogeneous, the staggered moment mu_o estimated at 1.4 K increases from 0.02(2) mu_B/U (x=0) to 0.24(1) mu_B/U (x=0.02). The behavior is similar to that observed under hydrostatic pressure (mu_o increases to ~ 0.25 mu_B/U at 1.0 GPa), suggesting that the AF evolution induced by Rh doping is due to an increase in the AF volume fraction. We also found that the magnetic excitation observed at Q=(1,0,0) below T_m disappears as T is lowered below T_M.
A focus of recent experimental and theoretical studies on heavy fermion systems close to antiferromagnetic (AFM) quantum critical points (QCP) is directed toward revealing the nature of the fixed point, i.e., whether it is an itinerant antiferromagnet [spin density wave (SDW)] type or a locally-critical fixed point. The relevance of the local QCP was proposed to explain the E/T-scaling with an anomalous exponent observed for the AFM QCP of CeCu_{5.9}Au_{0.1}. In this work, we have investigated an AFM QCP of another archetypal heavy fermion system Ce(Ru_{1-x}Rh_x)_2Si_2 with x = 0 and 0.03 (sim x_c) using single-crystalline neutron scattering. Accurate measurements of the dynamical susceptibility Im[chi(Q,E)] at the AFM wave vector Q = 0.35 c^* have shown that Im[chi(Q,E)] is well described by a Lorentzian and its energy width Gamma(Q), i.e., the inverse correlation time depends on temperature as Gamma(Q) = c_1 + c_2 T^{3/2 +- 0.1}, where c_1 and c_2 are x dependent constants, in low temperature ranges.This critical exponent 3/2 proves that the QCP is controlled by the SDW QCP in three space dimensions studied by the renormalization group and self-consistent renormalization theories.
We have made an extensive study of the magnetic and electrical properties of double-hexagonal closepacked NpPd3 and a range of U(1-x)Np(x)Pd3 compounds with x=0.01, 0.02, 0.05, and 0.50 using magnetization, magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity, and heat capacity measurements on polycrystalline samples, performed in the temperature range 2-300 K and in magnetic fields up to 9 T. Two transitions are observed in NpPd3 at T=10 and 30 K. Dilute Np samples (x<0.05) exhibit quadrupolar transitions, with the transition temperatures reduced from those of pure UPd3.
Low temperature magnetic and thermal (C_m) properties of the ferromagnetic (FM) alloys Ce_2.15 (Pd_1-x Rh_x)_1.95 In_0.9 were investigated in order to explore the possibility for tuning a quantum critical point (QCP) by doping Pd with Rh. As expected, the magnetic transition observed at T = 4.1K in the parent alloy decreases with increasing Rh concentration. Nevertheless it splits into two transitions, the upper being antiferromagnetic (AF) whereas the lower FM. The AF phase boundary extrapolates to T_N = 0 for x_cr ~ 0.65 whereas the first order FM transition vanishes at x ~ 0.3. The QC character of the T_N => 0 point arises from the divergent T dependence of the tail of C_m/T observed in the x = 0.5 and 0.55 alloys, and the tendency to saturation of the maximum of C_m(T_N)/T as observed in exemplary Ce compounds for T_N => 0. Beyond the critical concentration the unit cell volume deviates from the Vegards law in coincidence with a strong increase of the Kondo temperature.
The interplay between non-trivial topological states of matter and strong electronic correlations is one of the most compelling open questions in condensed matter physics. Due to experimental challenges, there is an increasing desire to find more microscopic techniques to complement the results of more traditional experiments. In this work, we locally explore the Kondo insulator Sm$_{1-x}$Gd$_{x}$B$_{6}$ by means of electron spin resonance (ESR) of Gd$^{3+}$ ions at low temperatures. Our analysis reveals that the Gd$^{3+}$ ESR line shape shows an anomalous evolution as a function of temperature, wherein for highly dilute samples (x $approx$ 0.0002) the Gd$^{3+}$ ESR line shape changes from a localized ESR local moment character to a diffusive-like character. Upon manipulating the sample surface with a focused ion beam we demonstrate, in combination with electrical resistivity measurements, that the localized character of the Gd$^{3+}$ ESR line shape is recovered by increasing the penetration of the microwave in the sample. This provides compelling evidence for the contribution of surface or near-surface excitations to the relaxation mechanism in the Gd$^{3+}$ spin dynamics. Our work brings new insights into the importance of non-trivial surface excitations in ESR, opening new routes to be explored both theoretically and experimentally.