arXiv subjects

A. Thamizhavel

Publications and source records attributed to A. Thamizhavel.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

arXiv2012

Multiple Magnetic Structures of Correlated Ce-ions in Intermetallic CeAu2Ge2

Neutron diffraction measurements on a high quality single crystal of CeAu2Ge2 reveal two new magnetic structures that coexist with commensurate long range antiferromagnetic order below the Neel temperature T_N ~ 14 K. The new magnetic structures, which exhibit distinct temperature and field dependencies, are described by both commensurate and incommensurate magnetic structures and introduces new region in the H-T phase diagram. These new experimental observations provide essential information for developing a universal understanding of the magnetic properties of this class of Ce-based CeX2M2 (X = Cu, Ag, Au; M = Ge, Si) compounds, which are prototypes for exploring quantum phase transitions and their interplay with unconventional superconductivity.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Anisotropic magnetic properties and superzone gap formation in CeGe single crystal

Single crystals of CeGe and its non-magnetic analogue LaGe have been grown by Czochralski method. CeGe compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic FeB-type crystal structure with the space group \textit{Pnma} (#62). The anisotropic magnetic properties have been investigated on well oriented single crystals by measuring the magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity and heat capacity. It has been found that CeGe orders antiferromagnetically at 10.5 K. Both transport and magnetic studies have revealed large anisotropy reflecting the orthorhombic crystal structure. The magnetization measurement measured at 2 K revealed metamagnetic transitions along the [010] direction at 4.8 and 6.4 T and along [100] direction at a critical field of 10.7 T, while the magnetiztaion along [001] direction was increasing linearly without any anomaly up to a field of 16 T. From the magnetic susceptibility and the magnetization measurements it has been found that [010] direction is the easy axis of magnetization. The electrical resistivity along the three crystallographic directions exhibited an upturn at $T_{\rm N}$ indicating the superzone gap formation below $T_{\rm N}$ in this compound. We have performed the crystalline electric field (CEF) analysis on the magnetic susceptibility and the heat capacity data and found that the ground state is doublet and the splitting energies from the ground state to the first and second excited doublet states were estimated to be 39 and 111 K, respectively.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Evidence of the influence of magnetism on pseudogap states in the high resolution spectra of EuFe$_2$As$_2$

Employing {\it state of the art} high resolution photoemission spectroscopy, we studied the temperature evolution of the electronic structure of EuFe$_2$As$_2$, an unique pnictide, where antiferromagnetism of Eu layer survives within the superconducting phase due to `FeAs' layers achieved via substitution and/or pressure. High energy and angle resolution helped to reveal pseudogap-quasiparticle features having primarily As 4$p$ character and spin density wave transition induced band folding in the electronic structure. A weakly dispersing feature of dominant As 4$p$ character is discovered around 80 meV that becomes weaker in intensity below 20 K manifesting influence of antiferromagnetic order on conduction electrons. These results provide an evidence of a link between the pseudogap states and magnetism that could be revealed employing high resolutions.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

Direct evidence of intercalation in a topological insulator turned superconductor

A topological insulator Bi2Se3 which shows superconducting property due to Cu doping has been studied using high resolution transmission electron microscopy which provides for the first time, the direct evidence of intercalation sites. A careful study exhibits the presence of two intercalation sites in this material when projected along the [-1-1 2 0] direction. Stoichiometry of the intercalated unit cell was also calculated from the projected potential.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2011

Antiferromagnetic ordering in EuPtGe$_3$ single crystal

The magnetic properties of single crystalline EuPtGe$_3$, crystallizing in the non-centrosymmetric BaNiSn$_3$-type crystal structure, have been studied by means of magnetisation, electrical resistivity, heat capacity and $^{151}$Eu Mössbauer spectroscopy. The susceptibility and heat capacity data indicate a magnetic transition at $T_{\rm N}$ = 11\,K. The Mössbauer data confirm this conclusion, but evidence a slight first order character of the transition. Analysing the magnetisation data using a mean field model with two antiferromagnetically coupled sublattices allows to explain some aspects of the magnetic behaviour, and to derive the first and second neighbour exchange integrals in EuPtGe$_3$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Magnetic properties of the heavy fermion antiferromagnet CeMg$_3$

We have grown the single crystals of CeMg$_3$ and its non-magnetic analogue LaMg$_3$, which crystallize in the cubic crystal structure with the space group \textit{Fm\rm{\={3}}m}, and studied their magnetic properties on well oriented single crystals by measuring the magnetic susceptibility, magnetization and heat capacity. CeMg$_3$ orders antiferromagnetically with a Néel temperature $T_{\rm N}$ of 2.6 K. The specific heat capacity at low temperature exhibits an enhanced Sommerfeld coefficient of 370 mJ/K$^2$$...$ mol indicating the heavy fermion nature of CeMg$_3$. An estimation of Kondo temperature $T_{\rm K}$ was made and found that it is of similar magnitude as that of $T_{\rm N}$. The reduced value of the magnetization below the ordering temperature, together with the reduced entropy at the magnetic ordering temperature and the enhanced low temperature heat capacity indicates that Kondo effect plays a significant role in this compound. We have performed the crystalline electric field (CEF) analysis on the magnetic susceptibility and the heat capacity data and found that the ground state is a $Γ_7$ doublet with an overall splitting of 191 K.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Superconductivity in non-centrosymmetric BiPd system

In this work, we establish the bulk superconductivity of a high quality sample of monoclinic BiPd ($α$-BiPd, space group P2$_1$) below 3.87 K by studying its electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity. We show that it is clean type-II superconductor with moderate electron-phonon coupling and determine its superconducitng and normal state parameters. Although $α$-BiPd is a noncentrosymmetric superconductor with large electronic heat capacity (therefore, large $γ$), the effect of spin-orbit splitting of the electronic bands at the Fermi level is small. This makes little influence on the superconducting properties of $α$-BiPd.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Unusual Coupling Between Field-induced Spin Fluctuations and Spin Density Wave in Intermetallic CeAg2Ge2

We report on the experimental evidences for an unusual coupling between the magnetic field- induced fluctuations of correlated Ce-ions coinciding with the discontinuous movement of the underlying spin density wave in the intermetallic rare earth compound CeAg2Ge2. The measurements performed using neutron scattering and magnetic Gruneisen ratio methods suggest that the coupling onsets at H= 2.7 T, T < 3.8 K and persists to the lowest measurement temperature T ~ 0.05 K. These measurements suggest a new mechanism behind the spin fluctuations which can affect the intrinsic properties of the system.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Search and identification of repeated magnetic compensation in Nd(1-x)R(x)Al(2) (R = Gd, Tb) series

We undertook investigations in polycrystalline R(x)R'(1-x)Al(2) alloys, in particular, explored the stoichiometries, Nd(0.8)Gd(0.2)Al(2) and Nd(0.8)Tb(0.2)Al(2), to study the magnetic compensation behavior in them in the context of contemporary interest. In these admixed rare-earth (RE) intermetallics, the compensation phenomenon is characterized by a crossover of the M = 0 axis in the low field thermomagnetic response, and a turnaround behavior due to the field-induced reversal in the orientations of the RE moments at high fields. While the characteristic attributes are present in Nd(0.8)Gd(0.2)Al(2), a repeated/multiple magnetic compensation behavior stands observed in Nd(0.8)Tb(0.2)Al(2). The ac susceptibility, the heat capacity and the transport measurements in the latter compound reveal the onset of two quasi-antiferromagnetic transitions one after the other on cooling down from the high temperature end. The two magnetic transitions involving competition between the contributions from nearly balanced weighted averages of moments of Nd{3+} and Tb{3+} ions generate the curious multiple crossings of the M = 0 axis. The results are compared and contrasted with repeated compensation behavior reported earlier in admixed Nd(0.8)Gd(0.2)Rh(3)B(2) alloy.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Field induced spin reorientation and giant spin-lattice coupling in EuFe2As2

We have studied a EuFe2As2 single crystal by neutron diffraction under magnetic fields up to 3.5 T and temperatures down to 2 K. A field induced spin reorientation is observed in the presence of a magnetic field along both the a and c axes, respectively. Above critical field, the ground state antiferromagnetic configuration of Eu$^{2+}$ moments transforms into a ferromagnetic structure with moments along the applied field direction. The magnetic phase diagram for Eu magnetic sublattice in EuFe2As2 is presented. A considerable strain ($\sim$0.9%) is induced by the magnetic field, caused by the realignment of the twinning structure. Furthermore, the realignment of the twinning structure is found to be reversible with the rebound of magnetic field, which suggested the existence of magnetic shape-memory effect. The Eu moment ordering exhibits close relationship with the twinning structure. We argue that the Zeeman energy in combined with magnetic anisotropy energy is responsible for the observed spin-lattice coupling.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Magnetic properties of EuPtSi$_3$ single crystals

Single crystals of EuPtSi$_3$, which crystallize in the BaNiSn$_3$-type crystal structure, have been grown by high temperature solution growth method using molten Sn as the solvent. EuPtSi$_3$ which lacks the inversion symmetry and has only one Eu site in the unit cell is found to be an antiferromagnet with two successive magnetic transitions at $T_{\rm N1}$ = 17 K and $T_{\rm N2}$ = 16 K, as inferred from magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity and $^{151}$Eu Mössbauer measurements. The isothermal magnetization data for $H \parallel$ [001] reveal a metamagnetic transition at a critical field $H_{\rm c}$ = 1 T. The magnetization saturates to a moment value of 6.43 $μ_{\rm B}$/Eu above 5.9 T (9.2 T) for $H \parallel $ [001] ([100]), indicating that these fields are spin-flip fields for the divalent Eu moments along the two axes. The origin of this anisotropic behaviour is discussed. A magnetic (H, T) phase diagram has been constructed from the temperature dependence of isothermal magnetization data. The reduced jump in the heat capacity at $T_{\rm N1}$ indicates a transition to an incommensurate, amplitude modulated antiferromagnetic structure. The shape of the hyperfine field split Mössbauer spectrum at $T_{\rm N1}$ provides additional support for the proposed nature of this magnetic transition.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Magnetic Behavior in RRhX (R = rare earths; X=B, C) Compounds

We report on the magnetic behavior of RRhB (R = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Gd, Tb and Tm) and RRhC (R = La, Ce, Pr and Gd) compounds crystallizing in the cubic perovskite type structure with space group Pm3m. The heat capacity data on Pauli-paramagnetic LaRhB and LaRhC indicate a high frequency vibrating motion of boron and carbon atoms in the unit cell. Ce is in -like nonmagnetic state in both the compounds. Pr compounds show a dominant crystal field effect with a nonmagnetic singlet ground state in PrRhB and a nonmagnetic quadrupolar doublet in PrRhC. Compounds with other rare earths order ferromagnetically at low temperatures except TmRhB in which the zero field evolution of magnetic interactions is relatively more complicated. The electrical resistivity of GdRhB decreases with increasing temperature in the paramagnetic state in the vicinity of T, which is rarely seen in ferromagnets. The behavior is discussed to be arising due to the short range spin fluctuation and a possible contribution from Fermi surface geometry.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Pressure dependence of phonon modes across the tetragonal to collapsed tetragonal phase transition in CaFe2As2

The pressure dependence of a large number of phonon modes in CaFe2As2 with energies covering the full range of the phonon spectrum has been studied using inelastic x-ray and neutron scattering. The observed phonon frequency changes are in general rather small despite the sizable changes of the lattice parameters at the phase transition. This indicates that the bonding properties are not profoundly altered by the phase transition. The transverse acoustic phonons propagating along the c-direction are an exception because they stiffen very significantly in response to the large contraction of the c-axis. The lattice parameters are found to change significantly as a function of pressure before, during and after the first-order phase transition. However, the frequencies change nearly uniformly with the change in the lattice parameters due to pressure, with no regard specifically to the first-order phase transition. Density functional theory describes the frequencies in both the zero pressure and in the collapsed phase in a satisfactory way if based on the respective crystal structures.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2009

Evolution of the bulk properties, structure, magnetic order, and superconductivity with Ni doping in CaFe2-xNixAs2

Magnetization, susceptibility, specific heat, resistivity, neutron and x-ray diffraction have been used to characterize the properties of single crystalline CaFe2-xNixAs2 as a function of Ni doping for x varying from 0 to 0.1. The combined first-order structural and magnetic phase transitions occur together in the undoped system at 172 K, with a small decrease in the area of the a-b plane along with an abrupt increase in the length of the c-axis in the orthorhombic phase. With increasing x the ordered moment and transition temperature decrease, but the transition remains sharp at modest doping while the area of the a-b plane quickly decreases and then saturates. Warming and cooling data in the resistivity and neutron diffraction indicate hysteresis of ~2 K. At larger doping the transition is more rounded, and decreases to zero for x=0.06. The susceptibility is anisotropic for all values of x. Electrical resistivity for x = 0.053 and 0.06 shows a superconducting transition with an onset of nearly 15 K which is further corroborated by substantial diamagnetic susceptibility. For the fully superconducting sample there is no long range magnetic order and the structure remains tetragonal at all temperature, but there is an anomalous increase in the area of the a-b plane in going to low T. Heat capacity data show that the density of states at the Fermi level increases for x > 0.053 as inferred from the value of Sommerfeld coefficient. The regime of superconductivity is quite restrictive, with a maximum TC of 15 K and an upper critical field Hc2=14 T. Superconductivity disappears in the overdoped region.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2009

Magnetocrystalline anisotropy in RAu_{2}Ge_{2} (R = La, Ce and Pr) single crystals

Anisotropic magnetic properties of single crystalline RAu_{2}Ge_{2} (R = La, Ce and Pr) compounds are reported. LaAu_{2}Ge_{2} exhibit a Pauli-paramagnetic behavior whereas CeAu_{2}Ge_{2} and PrAu_{2}Ge_{2} show an antiferromagnetic ordering with N\grave{e}el temperatures T_{N} = 13.5 and 9 K, respectively. The anisotropic magnetic response of Ce and Pr compounds establishes [001] as the easy axis of magnetization and a sharp spin-flip type metamagnetic transition is observed in the magnetic isotherms. The resistance and magnetoresistance behavior of these compounds, in particular LaAu_{2}Ge_{2}, indicate an anisotropic Fermi surface. The magnetoresistivity of CeAu_{2}Ge_{2} apparently reveals the presence of a residual Kondo interaction. A crystal electric field analysis of the anisotropic susceptibility in conjunction with the experimentally inferred Schottky heat capacity enables us to propose a crystal electric field level scheme for Ce and Pr compounds. For CeAu_{2}Ge_{2} our values are in excellent agreement with the previous reports on neutron diffraction. The heat capacity data in LaAu_{2}Ge_{2} show clearly the existence of Einstein contribution to the heat capacity.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

EuFe_2As_2 magnetic structure determination

Magnetic resonant X ray scattering experiments have been performed on a single crystal of EuFe_2As_2 at the Eu L_3 absorption edge. This has permitted us to determine for the first time the orientation of Eu magnetic moments in the antiferromagnetic ordered phase below T_N=19 K as parallel to the a-axis. In addition, non-resonant magnetic X ray measurements indicate that Fe magnetic moments align along the same direction in the spin density wave phase (T<T_S~190 K). Temperature dependences indicate that the onset of the Eu AFM phase barely affects the Fe magnetic sublattice.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Magnetic structure of EuFe2As2 determined by single crystal neutron diffraction

Among various parent compounds of iron pnictide superconductors, EuFe2As2 stands out due to the presence of both spin density wave of Fe and antiferromagnetic ordering (AFM) of the localized Eu2+ moment. Single crystal neutron diffraction studies have been carried out to determine the magnetic structure of this compound and to investigate the coupling of two magnetic sublattices. Long range AFM ordering of Fe and Eu spins was observed below 190 K and 19 K, respectively. The ordering of Fe2+ moments is associated with the wave vector k = (1,0,1) and it takes place at the same temperature as the tetragonal to orthorhombic structural phase transition, which indicates the strong coupling between structural and magnetic components. The ordering of Eu moment is associated with the wave vector k = (0,0,1). While both Fe and Eu spins are aligned along the long a axis as experimentally determined, our studies suggest a weak coupling between the Fe and Eu magnetism.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2009

Magnetic Anisotropy in Single Crystalline CeAu$_{2}$In$_{4}$

We have grown the single crystals of LaAu$_{2}$In$_{4}$ and CeAu$_{2}$In$_{4}$ by high temperature solution method and report on the anisotropic magnetic behavior of CeAu$_{2}$In$_{4}$ . The compounds crystallize in an orthorhombic structure with space group \textit {Pnma}. LaAu$_{2}$In$_{4}$ shows a Pauli-paramagnetic behavior. CeAu$_{2}$In$_{4}$ do not order down to 1.8 K. The easy axis of magnetization for CeAu$_{2}$In$_{4}$ is along [010] direction. The magnetization data is analyzed on the basis of crystalline electric field (CEF) model.

cond-mat.str-el↗