The crystal structures of Ni$X_2$(pyz)$_2$ ($X$ = Cl (textbf{1}), Br (textbf{2}), I (textbf{3}) and NCS (textbf{4})) were determined at 298~K by synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction. All four compounds consist of two-dimensional (2D) square arrays se
lf-assembled from octahedral NiN$_4$$X_2$ units that are bridged by pyz ligands. The 2D layered motifs displayed by textbf{1}-textbf{4} are relevant to bifluoride-bridged [Ni(HF$_2$)(pyz)$_2$]$Z$F$_6$ ($Z$ = P, Sb) which also possess the same 2D layers. In contrast, terminal $X$ ligands occupy axial positions in textbf{1}-textbf{4} and cause a staggering of adjacent layers. Long-range antiferromagnetic order occurs below 1.5 (Cl), 1.9 (Br and NCS) and 2.5~K (I) as determined by heat capacity and muon-spin relaxation. The single-ion anisotropy and $g$ factor of textbf{2}, textbf{3} and textbf{4} are measured by electron spin resonance where no zero--field splitting was found. The magnetism of textbf{1}-textbf{4} crosses a spectrum from quasi-two-dimensional to three-dimensional antiferromagnetism. An excellent agreement was found between the pulsed-field magnetization, magnetic susceptibility and $T_textrm{N}$ of textbf{2} and textbf{4}. Magnetization curves for textbf{2} and textbf{4} calculated by quantum Monte Carlo simulation also show excellent agreement with the pulsed-field data. textbf{3} is characterized as a three-dimensional antiferromagnet with the interlayer interaction ($J_perp$) slightly stronger than the interaction within the two-dimensional [Ni(pyz)$_2$]$^{2+}$ square planes ($J_textrm{pyz}$).
The longitudinal electrical resistivity and the transverse Hall resistivity of CeFeAsO are simultaneously measured up to a magnetic field of 45T using the facilities of pulsed magnetic field at Los Alamos. Distinct behaviour is observed in both the m
agnetoresistance Rxx({mu}0H) and the Hall resistance Rxy({mu}0H) while crossing the structural phase transition at Ts approx 150K. At temperatures above Ts, little magnetoresistance is observed and the Hall resistivity follows linear field dependence. Upon cooling down the system below Ts, large magnetoresistance develops and the Hall resistivity deviates from the linear field dependence. Furthermore, we found that the transition at Ts is extremely robust against the external magnetic field. We argue that the magnetic state in CeFeAsO is unlikely a conventional type of spin-density-wave (SDW).
We determine the upper critical field $mu_0 H_{c2}(T_c)$ of non-centrosymmetric superconductor $Y_2 C_3$ using two distinct methods: the bulk magnetization M(T) and the tunnel-diode oscillator (TDO) based impedance measurements. It is found that the
upper critical field reaches a value of 30T at zero temperature which is above the weak-coupling Pauli paramagnetic limit. We argue that the observation of such a large $mu_0 H_{c2}(0)$ in $Y_2 C_3$ could be attributed to the admixture of spin-singlet and spin-triplet pairing states as a result of broken inversion symmetry.
We report unexpected behaviour in a family of Cu spin- 1/2 systems, in which an apparent gap in the low energy magneto-optical absorption spectrum opens at low temperature. This previously unreported collective phenomenon arises at temperatures where
the energy of the dominant exchange interaction exceeds the thermal energy. Simulations of the observed shifts in electron paramagnetic resonance spectral weight, which include spin anisotropy, reproduce this behavior yielding the magnitude of the spin anisotropy in these compounds.
Although the isotope effect in superconducting materials is well-documented, changes in the magnetic properties of antiferromagnets due to isotopic substitution are seldom discussed and remain poorly understood. This is perhaps surprising given the p
ossible link between the quasi-two-dimensional (Q2D) antiferromagnetic and superconducting phases of the layered cuprates. Here we report the experimental observation of shifts in the N{e}el temperature and critical magnetic fields ($Delta T_{rm N}/T_{rm N}approx 4%$; $Delta B_{rm c}/B_{rm c}approx 4%$) in a Q2D organic molecular antiferromagnets on substitution of hydrogen for deuterium. These compounds are characterized by strong hydrogen bonds through which the dominant superexchange is mediated. We evaluate how the in-plane and inter-plane exchange energies evolve as the hydrogens on different ligands are substituted, and suggest a possible mechanism for this effect in terms of the relative exchange efficiency of hydrogen and deuterium bonds.
Pulsed-field magnetization experiments (fields $B$ of up to 85 T and temperatures $T$ down to 0.4 K) are reported on nine organic Cu-based two-dimensional (2D) Heisenberg magnets. All compounds show a low-$T$ magnetization that is concave as a functi
on of $B$, with a sharp ``elbow transition to a constant value at a field $B_{rm c}$. Monte-Carlo simulations including a finite interlayer exchange energy $J_{perp}$ quantitatively reproduce the data; the concavity indicates the effective dimensionality and $B_{rm c}$ is an accurate measure of the in-plane exchange energy $J$. Using these values and Neel temperatures measured by muon-spin rotation, it is also possible to obtain a quantitative estimate of $|J_{perp}/J|$. In the light of these results, it is suggested that in magnets of the form [Cu(HF$_2$)(pyz)$_2$]X, where X is an anion, the sizes of $J$ and $J_{perp}$ are controlled by the tilting of the pyrazine (pyz) molecule with respect to the 2D planes.
The so-called stripe phase of the manganites is an important example of the complex behaviour of metal oxides, and has long been interpreted as the localisation of charge at atomic sites. Here, we demonstrate via resistance measurements on La_{0.50}C
a_{0.50}MnO_3 that this state is in fact a prototypical charge density wave (CDW) which undergoes collective transport. Dramatic resistance hysteresis effects and broadband noise properties are observed, both of which are typical of sliding CDW systems. Moreover, the high levels of disorder typical of manganites result in behaviour similar to that of well-known disordered CDW materials. Our discovery that the manganite superstructure is a CDW shows that unusual transport and structural properties do not require exotic physics, but can emerge when a well-understood phase (the CDW) coexists with disorder.
Comprehensive magnetic-field-orientation dependent studies of the susceptibility and de Haas-van Alphen effect have been carried out on single crystals of the filled skutterudites PrOs$_4$As$_{12}$ and LaOs$_4$As$_{12}$ using magnetic fields of up to
40~T. Several peaks are observed in the low-field susceptibility of PrOs$_4$As$_{12}$, corresponding to cascades of metamagnetic transitions separating the low-field antiferromagnetic and high-field paramagnetic metal (PMM) phases. The de Haas-van Alphen experiments show that the Fermi-surface topologies of PrOs$_4$As$_{12}$ in its PMM phase and LaOs$_4$As$_{12}$ are very similar. In addition, they are in reasonable agreement with the predictions of bandstructure calculations for LaOs$_4$As$_{12}$ on the PrOs$_4$As$_{12}$ lattice. Both observations suggest that the Pr 4$f$ electrons contribute little to the number of itinerant quasiparticles in the PMM phase. However, whilst the properties of LaOs$_4$As$_{12}$ suggest a conventional nonmagnetic Fermi liquid, the effects of direct exchange and electron correlations are detected in the PMM phase of PrOs$_4$As$_{12}$. For example, the quasiparticle effective masses in PrOs$_4$As$_{12}$ are found to decrease with increasing field, probably reflecting the gradual suppression of magnetic fluctuations associated with proximity to the low-temperature, low-field antiferromagnetic state.
