No Arabic abstract
Magnetic and magnetoelectric excitations in the multiferroic TbMnO_3 have been investigated at terahertz frequencies. Using different experimental geometries we can clearly separate the electro-active excitations (electromagnons) from the magneto-active modes, i.e. antiferromagnetic resonances (AFMR). Two AFMR resonances were found to coincide with electromagnons. This indicates that both excitations belong to the same mode and the electromagnons can be excited by magnetic ac-field as well. In external magnetic fields and at low temperatures distinct fine structure of the electromagnons appears. In spite of the 90^o rotation of the magnetic structure, the electromagnons are observable for electric ac-fields parallel to the a-axis only. Contrary to simple expectations, the response along the c-axis remains purely magnetic in nature.
We calculate spectra of magnetic excitations in the spin-spiral state of perovskite manganates. The spectra consist of several branches corresponding to different polarizations and different ways of diffraction from the static magnetic order. Goldstone modes and opening of gaps at zero and non-zero energies due to the crystal field and the Dzyaloshinski-Moriya anisotropies are discussed. Comparing results of the calculation with available experimental data we determine values of effective exchange parameters and anisotropies. To simplify the spin-wave calculation and to get a more clear physical insight in the structure of excitations we use the {sigma}-model-like effective field theory to analyze the Heisenberg Hamiltonian and to derive the spectra.
We have performed Raman scattering investigations on the high energy magnetic excitations in a BiFeO$_3$ single crystal as a function of both temperature and laser excitation energy. A strong feature observed at 1250 cm$^{-1}$ in the Raman spectra has been previously assigned to two phonon overtone. We show here that its unusual frequency shift with the excitation energy and its asymmetric temperature dependent Fano lineshape reveal a strong coupling to magnetic excitations. In the same energy range, we have also identified the two-magnon excitation with a temperature dependence very similar to $alpha$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ hematite.
The interactions between elementary excitations such as phonons, plasmons, magnons, or particle-hole pairs, drive emergent functionalities and electronic instabilities such as multiferroic behaviour, anomalous thermoelectric properties, polar order, or superconductivity. Whereas various hybrid excitations have been studied extensively, the feed-back of prototypical elementary excitations on the crystal electric fields (CEF), defining the environment in which the elementary excitations arise, has been explored for very strong coupling only. We report high-resolution neutron spectroscopy and ab-initio phonon calculations of {ceaual}, an archetypal fluctuating valence compound. The high resolution of our data allows us to quantify the energy scales of three coupling mechanisms between phonons, CEF-split localized 4f electron states, and conduction electrons. Although these interactions do not appear to be atypically strong for this class of materials, we resolve, for the first time, a profound renormalization of low-energy quasiparticle excitations on all levels. The key anomalies of the spectrum we observe comprise (1) the formation of a CEF-phonon bound state with a comparatively low density of acoustic phonons reminiscent of vibronic modes observed in other materials, where they require a pronounced abundance of optical phonons, (2) an anti-crossing of CEF states and acoustic phonons, and (3) a strong broadening of CEF states due to the hybridization with more itinerant excitations. The fact that all of these features are well resolved in CeAuAl$_3$ suggests that similar hybrid excitations should also be dominant in a large family of related materials. This promises a predictive understanding towards the discovery of new magneto-elastic functionalities and instabilities.
We report the results of inelastic neutron scattering experiments on NpCoGa$_{5}$, an isostructural analogue of the PuCoGa$_{5}$ superconductor. Two energy scales characterize the magnetic response in the antiferromagnetic phase. One is related to a non-dispersive excitation between two crystal field levels. The other at lower energies corresponds to dispersive fluctuations emanating from the magnetic zone center. The fluctuations persist in the paramagnetic phase also, although weaker in intensity. This supports the possibility that magnetic fluctuations are present in PuCoGa$_{5}$, where unconventional d-wave superconductivity is achieved in the absence of magnetic order.
The magnetic structures which endow TbMnO$_3$ with its multiferroic properties have been reassessed on the basis of a comprehensive soft x-ray resonant scattering (XRS) study. The selectivity of XRS facilitated separation of the various contributions (Mn $L_2$ edge, Mn 3d moments; Tb M$_4$ edge, Tb 4f moments), while its variation with azimuth provided information on the moment direction of distinct Fourier components. When the data are combined with a detailed group theory analysis, a new picture emerges of the ferroelectric transition at 28 K. Instead of being driven by the transition from a collinear to a non-collinear magnetic structure, as has previously been supposed, it is shown to occur between two non-collinear structures.