arXiv subjects

B. Ouladdiaf

Publications and source records attributed to B. Ouladdiaf.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Competing Ordering Modes in the Distorted Quantum Kagome Material Clinoatacamite Cu$_2$Cl(OH)$_3$

We have studied the magnetic properties of clinoatacamite Cu$_2$Cl(OH)$_3$, the parent compound of the quantum spin liquid candidate herbertsmithite and a longstanding puzzle among frustrated quantum magnets. As we reveal using density-functional theory, clinoatacamite belongs to the class of distorted kagome antiferromagnets with the kagome plane being embedded into a low-symmetry crystal structure. By means of thermodynamic measurements, muon spin rotation/relaxation as well as neutron diffraction on single crystals, we find in zero magnetic field complex behavior below $T_\mathrm{I}$ = 18.1 K which unfolds in three temperature regions I-III. We propose this complexity in multicritical clinoatacamite to arise from the competition of antiferromagnetic ordering modes from the underconstrained manifold of modes, which can lead to a metamagnetic texture in zero field.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Spin-density wave of ferrimagnetic building blocks masking the ferromagnetic quantum-critical point in NbFe2

In the metallic magnet NbFe2, the low temperature threshold of ferromagnetism can be investigated by varying the Fe concentration within a narrow homogeneity range. NbFe2 is one of a number of compounds where modulated order is found to mask the ferromagnetic quantum critical point. However, here we report the rare case where the masking modulated magnetic order has been fully refined. Spherical neutron polarimetry and high-intensity single-crystal neutron diffraction reveal the first case of a longitudinal spin-density wave masking the ferromagnetic quantum critical point. The spin-density wave is characterised by a large-wavelength incommensurate modulation of its low average moment. It is formed from ferrimagnetic building blocks with antiparallel ferromagnetic sheets. The existence of ferromagnetic sheets and cancellation of the magnetisation only over mesoscopic length scales show local similarity between the spin-density wave and the ferromagnetic parent phase and indicate the spin-density wave's unconventional nature as emerging from underlying ferromagnetic quantum criticality.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Magnetic properties of the zigzag ladder compound SrTb2O4

We report on the properties of SrTb2O4, a frustrated zigzag ladder antiferromagnet, studied by single crystal neutron diffraction (with polarised neutrons in zero field and unpolarised neutrons in an applied magnetic field), as well as by neutron spectroscopy on a polycrystalline sample. The neutron scattering results are supported by single crystal magnetisation and heat capacity measurements. In zero field, neutron diffraction data show no transition to a magnetically ordered state down to the lowest experimentally available temperature of 35 mK, and the material remains magnetically disordered down to this temperature. Polarised neutron diffraction measurements reveal the presence of a diffuse scattering signal suggesting only very weak spin-spin correlations in the ground state. For H // c (the easy magnetisation direction), we followed the magnetisation process using neutron diffraction measurements and observed the appearance of field-induced magnetic Bragg peaks with integer h and k indices in the (hk0) scattering plane. No magnetic peaks with a non-zero propagation vector were detected. The observed in-field data fit well to a simple two-sublattice model with magnetic moments aligned along the field direction but being significantly different in magnitude for the two inequivalent Tb3+ sites in the unit cell. Overall, the collected data point to a nonmagnetic ground state in SrTb2O4 despite the presence of strong interactions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2024

Helical Spin Dynamics in Commensurate Magnets: a Study on Brochantite, Cu$_4$SO$_4$(OH)$_6$

We report the direct observation of a commensurate-ordered antiferromagnetic (AFM) state but incommensurate helical spin dynamics in the natural mineral brochantite Cu$_4$SO$_4$(OH)$_6$ through neutron diffraction and neutron spectroscopy measurements. Inelastic neutron scattering measurements reveal magnon-like excitations with considerable dispersion along the c-axis and almost flat branches in other principal directions, indicating the strong one-dimensional character of the magnetic correlations. We experimentally observe the effect of the uniform Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction, which elevates the degeneracy of the spin-wave modes shifting them in opposite directions in reciprocal space. The system has a commensurate AFM ground state, stabilized by the anisotropic symmetric Heisenberg exchange interactions, and quasi-one-dimensional chiral spin dynamics due to the antisymmetric DM interaction. Employing linear spin-wave theory, we were able to construct an effective Heisenberg Hamiltonian. We quantify both the symmetric exchange parameters and the DM vector components in Cu$_4$SO$_4$(OH)$_6$ and determine the mechanism of the magnetic frustration. Our work provides detailed insights into the complex dynamics of the spin chain in the presence of uniform DM interaction.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Inhomogeneous spin excitations in weakly coupled spin-1/2 chains

We present a systematic inelastic neutron scattering and neutron diffraction study of the magnetic structure of the quasi-1D spin-1/2 magnet SrCo2V2O8, where the interchain coupling in the Neel-type antiferromagnetic ground state breaks the static spin lattice into two independent domains. At zero magnetic field, we observe two new spin excitations with small spectral weights inside the gapped region defined by the spinon bound states. In an external magnetic field along the chain axis, the Neel order is partially destabilized above 2 T and completely suppressed at 3.9 T, above which a quantum disordered Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid (TLL) prevails. We propose that the two new modes at zero field are spinon excitations inside the domain walls. Since they have a smaller gap than those excited in the Neel domains, the underlying spin chains enter the TLL state via a local quantum phase transition at 2 T, making a stable Neel / TLL coexistence until the excitation gap closes in the Neel state at 3.9 T.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Magnetic structures of geometrically frustrated SrGd$_2$O$_4$ derived from powder and single-crystal neutron diffraction

We present the low-temperature magnetic structures of SrGd$_2$O$_4$ combining neutron diffraction methods on polycrystalline and single-crystal samples containing the $^{160}$Gd isotope. In contrast to other members of the Sr$Ln_2$O$_4$ family ($Ln$ = lanthanide) this system reveals two long-range ordered magnetic phases, which our diffraction data unambiguously identify. Below $T_{\rm N1}$ = 2.73~K, a $\mathbf{q}_1$ = (0 0 0) magnetic structure is stabilized where ferromagnetic chains along the $c$~axis (space group $Pnam$) are coupled antiferromagnetically with neighboring chains. On cooling below $T_{\rm N2}$ = 0.48~K, an additional incommensurate component modulated by $\mathbf{q}_2$ = (0~0~0.42) evolves and aligned along either of the perpendicular axes for the two different Gd sites, resulting in a fan-like magnetic structure. The identification of the particular Gd sites with the magnetic order observed with neutron diffraction is facilitated by a detailed analysis of the crystal fields acting on the sites. The observed ordering phenomena underline the complex multiaxial anisotropy in this system.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Crystallographic and magnetic structure of UNi$_4$$^{11}$B

We present an extensive powder and single-crystal neutron scattering investigation of the crystallographic structure and magnetic order of the frustrated metallic $f$-electron magnet UNi$_4$B. We carry out a full refinement of the crystallographic structure and conclude that the low-temperature lattice symmetry is orthorhombic (space group Pmm2; cell parameters: $a = 6.963(4)~Å$ , $b = 14.793(9)~Å$ , $c = 17.126(8)~Å$). We determine the magnetically ordered structure, concluding that below $T_\mathrm{N} = 19.5~\mathrm{K}$ the material undergoes a transition into a partially ordered antiferromagnetic state. The magnetic structure is consistent with the existence of toroidal order in this material. We further test the proposal of a second magnetic transition occurring at $330~\mathrm{mK}$, concluding that the thermodynamic anomalies observed at these temperatures do not reflect modifications of the magnetic structure. Our study provides a consistent picture of the interrelationship of structural and magnetic properties in the frustrated magnet UNi$_4$B previously unresolved.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Universal critical behavior in the ferromagnetic superconductor Eu(Fe$_{0.75}$Ru$_{0.25}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$

The study of universal critical behavior is a crucial issue in a continuous phase transition, which groups various critical phenomena into universality classes for revealing microscopic electronic behaviors. The understanding of the nature of magnetism in Eu-based ferromagnetic superconductors is largely impeded by the infeasibility of performing inelastic neutron scattering measurements to deduce the microscopic magnetic behaviors and the effects on the superconductivity, due to the significant neutron absorption effect of natural $^{152}$Eu and unavailability of large single crystals. However, by systematically combining the neutron diffraction experiment, the first-principles calculations, and the quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we have obtained a perfectly consistent universal critical exponent value of $β=0.385(13)$ experimentally and theoretically for Eu(Fe$_{0.75}$Ru$_{0.25}$)$_{2}$As$_{2}$, from which the magnetism in the Eu-based ferromagnetic superconductors is identified as the universal class of a three-dimensional anisotropic quantum Heisenberg model with long-range magnetic exchange coupling. This study not only clarifies the nature of microscopic magnetic behaviors in the Eu-based ferromagnetic superconductors, but also opens a new avenue of systemic methodology for studying the universal critical behaviors associated with magnetic phase transitions in the area of magnetism and the spin fluctuations effects on the unconventional superconductivity.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Layer dependent antiferromagnetism in the Sr4Ru3O10 ruthenate at the metamagnetic-like transition

We have investigated the metamagnetic-like transition in the triple layer ruthenate Sr4Ru3O10 by means of neutron diffraction from single crystals. The magnetic structure of the compound appears to be determined in a complex way by the two substructures of inequivalent ruthenium ions. At Tc=105K the system has a sharp transition into a ferromagnetic state along the c-axis which is driven by the ruthenium atoms in the central octahedra of the triple layers whereas the substructure of the outer ruthenium atoms tend to align in the ab plane achieving an antiferromagnetic order at the metamagnetic transition T*~50K. Below T* the strong anisotropy along c prevails, the outer ruthenium tend to align along the c-axis and the in-plane antiferromagnetic order disappears. This finding confirms the delicate balance between antiferro and ferromagnetic couplings in the (Sr,Ca)n+1RunO3n+1 family of compounds, and proves the layer dependence of the magnetic anisotropy in Sr4Ru3O10.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

The magnetic phase diagram of the frustrated spin chain compound linarite, PbCuSO$_4$(OH)$_2$, as seen by neutron diffraction and $^1$H-NMR

We report on a detailed neutron diffraction and $^1$H-NMR study on the frustrated spin-1/2 chain material linarite, PbCuSO$_4$(OH)$_2$, where competing ferromagnetic nearest neighbor and antiferromagnetic next-nearest neighbor interactions lead to frustration. From the magnetic Bragg peak intensity studied down to 60 mK, the magnetic moment per Cu atom is obtained within the whole magnetic phase diagram for $H \parallel b$ axis. Further, we establish the detailed configurations of the shift of the SDW propagation vector in phase V with field and temperature. Finally, combining our neutron diffraction results with those from a low-temperature/high-field NMR study we find an even more complex phase diagram close to the quasi-saturation field suggesting that bound two-magnon excitations are the lowest energy excitations close to and in the quasi-saturation regime. Qualitatively and semi-quantitatively, we relate such behavior to $XYZ$ exchange anisotropy and contributions from the Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction to affect the magnetic properties of linarite.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Complex field-induced states in Linarite PbCuSO$_4$(OH)$_2$ with a variety of high-order exotic SDW$_p$ states

Low-temperature neutron diffraction and NMR studies of field-induced phases in linarite are presented for magnetic fields $H \parallel b$ axis. A two-step spin-flop transition is observed as well as a transition transforming a helical magnetic ground state into an unusual magnetic phase with sine-wave modulated moments $\parallel H$. An effective $\tilde{J}_1$-$\tilde{J}_2$ single-chain model with a magnetization-dependent frustration ratio $α_{\rm eff} = -\tilde{J}_2/\tilde{J}_1$ is proposed. The latter is governed by skew interchain couplings and shifted to the vicinity of the ferromagnetic critical point. It explains qualitatively the observation of a rich variety of exotic (for strongly correlated cuprate spin-1/2 Heisenberg systems) longitudinal collinear spin-density wave SDW$_p$ states ($9 \geq p \geq 2$).

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Thermodynamic Properties of the Anisotropic Frustrated Spin-chain Compound Linarite PbCuSO$_4$(OH)$_2$

We present a comprehensive macroscopic thermodynamic study of the quasi-one-dimensional (1D) $s = \tfrac{1}{2}$ frustrated spin-chain system linarite. Susceptibility, magnetization, specific heat, magnetocaloric effect, magnetostriction, and thermal-expansion measurements were performed to characterize the magnetic phase diagram. In particular, for magnetic fields along the b axis five different magnetic regions have been detected, some of them exhibiting short-range-order effects. The experimental magnetic entropy and magnetization are compared to a theoretical modelling of these quantities using DMRG and TMRG approaches. Within the framework of a purely 1D isotropic model Hamiltonian, only a qualitative agreement between theory and the experimental data can be achieved. Instead, it is demonstrated that a significant symmetric anisotropic exchange of about 10% is necessary to account for the basic experimental observations, including the 3D saturation field, and which in turn might stabilize a triatic (three-magnon) multipolar phase.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Highly frustrated magnetism in SrHo2O4: Coexistence of two types of short-range order

SrHo2O4 is a geometrically frustrated magnet in which the magnetic Ho3+ ions form honeycomb layers connected through a network of zigzag chains. At low-temperature two distinct types of short-range magnetic order can be inferred from single crystal diffraction data, collected using both polarized and unpolarized neutrons. In the (hk0) plane the diffuse scattering is most noticeable around the k = 0 positions and its intensity rapidly increases at temperatures below 0.7 K. In addition, planes of diffuse scattering at Q = (hk +/- l/2) are visible at temperatures as high as 4.5 K. These planes coexist with the broad peaks of diffuse scattering in the (hk0) plane at low-temperatures. Correlation lengths associated with the broad peaks are L ~ 150 Å in the a-b plane and L ~ 190 Å along c axis, while the correlation length associated with the diffuse scattering planes is L ~ 230 Å along the c axis at the lowest temperature. Both types of diffuse scattering are elastic in nature. The highly unusual coexistance of the two types of diffuse scattering in SrHo2O4 is likely to be the result of the presence of two crystallographically inequivalent sites for Ho3+ in the unit cell.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Neutron diffraction study of spin and charge ordering in SrFeO(3-delta)

We report a comprehensive neutron diffraction study of the crystal structure and magnetic order in a series of single-crystal and powder samples of SrFeO$_{3-δ}$ in the vacancy range $0 \leq δ\leq 0.23$. The data provide detailed insights into the interplay between the oxygen vacancy order and the magnetic structure of this system. In particular, a crystallographic analysis of data on Sr8Fe8O23 revealed a structural transition between the high-temperature tetragonal and a low-temperature monoclinic phase with a critical temperature T = 75 K, which originates from charge ordering on the Fe sublattice and is associated with a metal-insulator transition. Our experiments also revealed a total of seven different magnetic structures of SrFeO$_{3-δ}$ in this range of $δ$, only two of which (namely an incommensurate helix state in SrFeO3 and a commensurate, collinear antiferromagnetic state in Sr4Fe4O11) had been identified previously. We present a detailed refinement of some of the magnetic ordering patterns and discuss the relationship between the magneto-transport properties of SrFeO$_{3-δ}$ samples and their phase composition and magnetic microstructure.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Tuning in magnetic modes in Tb(Co_{x}Ni_{1-x})_{2}B_{2}C: from longitudinal spin-density waves to simple ferromagnetism

Neutron diffraction and thermodynamics techniques were used to probe the evolution of the magnetic properties of Tb(Co_{x}Ni_{1-x})_{2}B_{2}C. A succession of magnetic modes was observed as x is varied: the longitudinal modulated k=(0.55,0,0) state at x=0 is transformed into a collinear k=([nicefrac] \nicefrac{1}{2} ,0,[nicefrac] \nicefrac{1}{2} ) antiferromagnetic state at x= 0.2, 0.4; then into a transverse c-axis modulated k=(0,0,[nicefrac] \nicefrac{1}{3} ) mode at x= 0.6, and finally into a simple ferromagnetic structure at x= 0.8 and 1. Concomitantly, the low-temperature orthorhombic distortion of the tetragonal unit cell at x=0 is reduced smoothly such that for x >= 0.4 only a tetragonal unit cell is manifested. Though predicted theoretically earlier, this is the first observation of the k=(0,0,[nicefrac] \nicefrac{1}{3} ) mode in borocarbides; our findings of a succession of magnetic modes upon increasing x also find support from a recently proposed theoretical model. The implication of these findings and their interpretation on the magnetic structure of the RM_{2}B_{2}C series are also discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Multiferroic coupling in nanoscale BiFeO3

Using the results of x-ray and neutron diffraction experiments, we show that the ferroelectric polarization, in ~22 nm particles of BiFeO3, exhibits a jump by ~30% around the magnetic transition point T_N (~635 K) and a suppression by ~7% under 5T magnetic field at room temperature (<<T_N). These results confirm presence of strong multiferroic coupling even in nanoscale BiFeO3 and thus could prove to be quite useful for applications based on nanosized devices of BiFeO3.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2011

The magnetic and crystal structure of azurite Cu$_3$(CO$_3$)$_2$(OH)$_2$ as determined by neutron diffraction

Here we present neutron diffraction results on the mineral azurite. We have found that the crystal structure of azurite can be described in the space group $P2_1$ which is the next lower symmetric group of $P2_1/c$ as found in earlier work. This small change in symmetry does not greatly influence the lattice parameters or atomic fractional coordinates which are presented here for single crystal diffraction refinements. The ordered magnetic moment structure of this material has been determined and is comprised of two inequivalent magnetic moments on copper sites of magnitude 0.68(1) and 0.25(1) $μ_{B}$. This result is discussed in terms of the anisotropic exchange and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions. It is found that the system is likely governed by one-dimensional behaviour despite the long-range ordered ground state. We also highlight the significance of strain in this material which is strongly coupled to the magnetism.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Spin-ordering and magnetoelastic coupling in the extended Kagome system YBaCo4O7

Low temperature magnetic and structural behavior of the extended Kagome system YBaCo4O7 has been studied by single crystal neutron diffraction and high-resolution powder X-ray diffraction. Long-range magnetic ordering associated with a structural transition from orthorhombic Pbn2_1 to monoclinic P2_1 symmetry has been found at T_1 ~ 100 K. The interplay between the structural and magnetic degrees of freedom testifies that the degeneracy of the magnetic ground state, present in the orthorhombic phase, is lifted through a strong magnetoelastic coupling, as observed in other frustrated systems. At T_2 ~ 60 K, an additional magnetic transition is observed, though iso-symmetric. Models for the magnetic structures below T_1 and T_2 are presented, based on refinements using a large number of independent reflections. The results obtained are compared with previous single crystal and powder diffraction studies on this and related compositions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗