Diamond-based quantum magnetometers are more sensitive to oscillating (AC) magnetic fields than static (DC) fields because the crystal impurity-induced ensemble dephasing time $T_2^*$, the relevant sensing time for a DC field, is much shorter than th
e spin coherence time $T_2$, which determines the sensitivity to AC fields. Here we demonstrate measurement of DC magnetic fields using a physically rotating ensemble of nitrogen-vacancy centres at a precision ultimately limited by $T_2$ rather than $T_2^*$. The rotation period of the diamond is comparable to $T_2$ and the angle between the NV axis and the target magnetic field changes as a function of time, thus upconverting the static magnetic field to an oscillating field in the physically rotating frame. Using spin-echo interferometry of the rotating NV centres, we are able to perform measurements for over a hundred times longer compared to a conventional Ramsey experiment. With modifications our scheme could realise DC sensitivities equivalent to demonstrated NV center AC magnetic field sensitivities of order $0.1$,nT,Hz$^{-1/2}$.
The degree of contact between a system and the external environment can alter dramatically its proclivity to quantum mechanical modes of relaxation. We show that controlling the thermal coupling of cubic centimeter-sized crystals of the Ising magnet
$LiHo_xY_{1-x}F_4$ to a heat bath can be used to tune the system between a glassy state dominated by thermal excitations over energy barriers and a state with the hallmarks of a quantum spin liquid. Application of a magnetic field transverse to the Ising axis introduces both random magnetic fields and quantum fluctuations, which can retard and speed the annealing process, respectively, thereby providing a mechanism for continuous tuning between the destination states. The non-linear response of the system explicitly demonstrates quantum interference between internal and external relaxation pathways.
When performed in the proper low field, low frequency limits, measurements of the dynamics and the nonlinear susceptibility in the model Ising magnet in transverse field, $text{LiHo}_xtext{Y}_{1-x}text{F}_4$, prove the existence of a spin glass trans
ition for $x$ = 0.167 and 0.198. The classical behavior tracks for the two concentrations, but the behavior in the quantum regime at large transverse fields differs because of the competing effects of quantum entanglement and random fields.
The inability of systems of interacting objects to satisfy all constraints simultaneously leads to frustration. A particularly important consequence of frustration is the ability to access certain protected parts of a system without disturbing the ot
hers. For magnets such protectorates have been inferred from theory and from neutron scattering, but their practical consequences have been unclear. We show that a magnetic analogue of optical hole-burning can address these protected spin clusters in a well-known, geometrically frustrated Heisenberg system, gadolinium gallium garnet. Our measurements additionally provide a resolution of a famous discrepancy between the bulk magnetometry and neutron diffraction results for this magnetic compound.
Landau Fermi liquid theory, with its pivotal assertion that electrons in metals can be simply understood as independent particles with effective masses replacing the free electron mass, has been astonishingly successful. This is true despite the Coul
omb interactions an electron experiences from the host crystal lattice, its defects, and the other ~1022/cm3 electrons. An important extension to the theory accounts for the behaviour of doped semiconductors1,2. Because little in the vast literature on materials contradicts Fermi liquid theory and its extensions, exceptions have attracted great attention, and they include the high temperature superconductors3, silicon-based field effect transistors which host two-dimensional metals4, and certain rare earth compounds at the threshold of magnetism5-8. The origin of the non-Fermi liquid behaviour in all of these systems remains controversial. Here we report that an entirely different and exceedingly simple class of materials - doped small gap semiconductors near a metal-insulator transition - can also display a non-Fermi liquid state. Remarkably, a modest magnetic field functions as a switch which restores the ordinary disordered Fermi liquid. Our data suggest that we have finally found a physical realization of the only mathematically rigourous route to a non-Fermi liquid, namely the undercompensated Kondo effect, where there are too few mobile electrons to compensate for the spins of unpaired electrons localized on impurity atoms9-12.
Transition-metal perovskite oxides exhibit a wide range of extraordinary but imperfectly understood phenomena. Charge, spin, orbital, and lattice degrees of freedom all undergo order-disorder transitions in regimes not far from where the best-known o
f these phenomena, namely high-temperature superconductivity of the copper oxides, and the colossal magnetoresistance of the manganese oxides, occur. Mostly diffraction techniques, sensitive either to the spin or the ionic core, have been used to measure the order. Unfortunately, because they are only weakly sensitive to valence electrons and yield superposition of signals from distinct mesoscopic phases, they cannot directly image mesoscopic phase coexistence and charge ordering, two key features of the manganites. Here we describe the first experiment to image charge ordering and phase separation in real space with atomic-scale resolution in a transition metal oxide. Our scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) data show that charge order is correlated with structural order, as well as with whether the material is locally metallic or insulating, thus giving an atomic-scale basis for descriptions of the manganites as mixtures of electronically and structurally distinct phases.
Some recent neutron scattering works on CeRhIn5 and Ce2RhIn8, together with related resistivity and specific heat measurements, are summarized. In spite of its layered crystal structure, CeRhIn5 is shown to be 3-dimensional both magnetically and in t
ransport. We also find that the Fisher-Langer behavior is closely followed in CeRhIn5. This may circumvent the Kondo lattice model and support applying established Fermi-liquid superconductivity theory to heavy fermion superconductors.
We demonstrate that X-ray irradiation can be used to induce an insulator-metal transition in Si-doped Al$_{0.35}$Ga$_{0.65}$As, a semiconductor with {it DX} centers. The excitation mechanism of the {it DX} centers into their shallow donor state was r
evealed by studying the photoconductance along with fluorescence. The photoconductance as a function of incident X-ray energy exhibits an edge both at the Ga and As K-edge, implying that core-hole excitation of Ga and As are efficient primary steps for the excitation of {it DX} centers. A high quantum yield ($gg 1$) suggests that the excitation is indirect and nonlocal, due to secondary electrons, holes, and fluorescence photons.
One of the most striking universal properties of the high-transition-temperature (high-$T_c$) superconductors is that they are all derived from the hole-doping of their insulating antiferromagnetic (AF) parent compounds. From the outset, the intimate
relationship between magnetism and superconductivity in these copper-oxides has intrigued researchers. Evidence for this link comes from neutron scattering experiments that show the unambiguous presence of short-range AF correlations (excitations) in cuprate superconductors. Even so, the role of such excitations in the pairing mechanism and superconductivity is still a subject of controversy. For YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+x}$, where $x$ controls the hole-doping level, the most prominent feature in the magnetic excitations spectra is the ``resonance. Here we show that for underdoped YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.6}$, where $x$ and $T_c$ are below the optimal values, modest magnetic fields suppress the resonance significantly, much more so for fields approximately perpendicular rather than parallel to the CuO$_2$ planes. Our results indicate that the resonance measures pairing and phase coherence, suggesting that magnetism plays an important role in the superconductivity of cuprates. The persistence of a field effect above $T_c$ favors mechanisms with preformed pairs in the normal state of underdoped cuprates.
The magnetic excitations of the square-lattice spin-1/2 antiferromagnet and high-Tc parent La2CuO4 are determined using high-resolution inelastic neutron scattering. Sharp spin waves with absolute intensities in agreement with theory including quantu
m corrections are found throughout the Brillouin zone. The observed dispersion relation shows evidence for substantial interactions beyond the nearest-neighbor Heisenberg term, which can be understood in terms of a cyclic or ring exchange due to the strong hybridization path around the Cu4O4 square plaquettes.
