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D. C. Johnston

Publications and source records attributed to D. C. Johnston.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

First-order transitions at the Neel temperatures of trigonal SrMn2P2 and CaMn2P2 single crystals containing corrugated-honeycomb Mn sublattices

Single crystals of SrMn2P2 and CaMn2P2 were grown using Sn flux and characterized by single-crystal x-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity rho, heat capacity Cp, and magnetic susceptibility chi = M/H measurements versus temperature T and magnetization M versus applied magnetic field H isotherm measurements. The x-ray diffraction results show that both compounds adopt the trigonal CaAl2Si2-type structure. The rho(T) measurements demonstrate insulating ground states for both compounds. The chi(T) and Cp(T) data reveal a weak first-order antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition at the Neel temperature TN = 53(1) K for SrMn2P2 and a strong first-order AFM transition at TN = 69.8(3) K for CaMn2P2. Both compounds show an isotropic and nearly T-independent chi(T < TN). {31}P NMR measurements confirm the strong first-order transition in CaMn2P2 but show critical slowing down near TN for SrMn2P2 thus evidencing second-order character. The NMR measurements also indicate that the AFM structure of CaMn2P2 is commensurate with the lattice whereas that of SrMn2P2 is incommensurate. These first-order AFM transitions are unique among the class of trigonal (Ca, Sr, Ba)Mn2(P, As, Sb, Bi)2 compounds which otherwise exhibit second-order AFM transitions. This result presents a challenge to understand the systematics of magnetic ordering in this class of materials in which magnetically-frustrated antiferromagnetism is quasi-two-dimensional.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Magnetic crystalline-symmetry-protected axion electrodynamics and field-tunable unpinned Dirac cones in EuIn2As2

Knowledge of magnetic symmetry is vital for exploiting nontrivial surface states of magnetic topological materials. EuIn$_{2}$As$_{2}$ is an excellent example, as it is predicted to have collinear antiferromagnetic order where the magnetic moment direction determines either a topological-crystalline-insulator phase supporting axion electrodynamics or a higher-order-topological-insulator phase with chiral hinge states. Here, we use neutron diffraction, symmetry analysis, and density functional theory results to demonstrate that EuIn$_{2}$As$_{2}$ actually exhibits low-symmetry helical antiferromagnetic order which makes it a stoichiometric magnetic topological-crystalline axion insulator protected by the combination of a 180$^{\circ}$ rotation and time-reversal symmetries: $C_{2}\times\mathcal{T}=2^{\prime}$. Surfaces protected by $2^{\prime}$ are expected to have an exotic gapless Dirac cone which is unpinned to specific crystal momenta. All other surfaces have gapped Dirac cones and exhibit half-integer quantum anomalous Hall conductivity. We predict that the direction of a modest applied magnetic field of $H\approx1$ to $2$ T can tune between gapless and gapped surface states.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Magnetic detwinning and biquadratic magnetic interaction in EuFe2As2 revealed by 153Eu NMR

In the nematic state of iron-based superconductors, twin formation often obscures the intrinsic, anisotropic, in-plane physical properties.Relatively high in-plane external magnetic fields $H_{\rm ext}$ greater than the typical lab-scale magnetic fields 10--15 T are usually required to completely detwin a sample. However, recently a very small in-plane $H_{\rm ext} \sim$ 0.1 T was found to be sufficient for detwinning the nematic domains in EuFe$_2$As$_2$. To explain this behavior, a microscopic theory based on biquadratic magnetic interactions between the Eu and Fe spins has been proposed. Here, using $^{153}$Eu nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements below the Eu$^{2+}$ ordering temperature, we show experimental evidence of the detwinning under small in-plane $H_{\rm ext}$. Our NMR study also reveals the evolution of the angles between the Eu and Fe spins during the detwinning process, which provides the first experimental evidence for the existence of biquadratic coupling in the system.

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Zero-field magnetic ground state of EuMg$_2$Bi$_2$

Layered trigonal EuMg$_2$Bi$_2$ is reported to be a topological semimetal that hosts multiple Dirac points that may be gapped or split by the onset of magnetic order. Here, we report zero-field single-crystal neutron-diffraction and bulk magnetic susceptibility measurements versus temperature $χ(T)$ of EuMg$_2$Bi$_2$ that show the intraplane ordering is ferromagnetic (Eu$^{2+},\, S= 7/2$) with the moments aligned in the $ab$-plane while adjacent layers are aligned antiferromagnetically (i.e., A-type antiferromagnetism) below the Néel temperature.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

Magnetic phase transitions in Eu(Co,Ni)2As2 single crystals

The effects of Ni doping in Eu(Co{1-x}Ni{x})2As2 single crystals with x =0 to 1 grown out of self flux are investigated via crystallographic, electronic transport, magnetic, and thermal measurements. All compositions adopt the body-centered-tetragonal ThCr2Si2 structure with space group I4/mmm. We also find 3-4% of randomly-distributed vacancies on the Co/Ni site. Anisotropic magnetic susceptibility chi(T) data versus temperature T show clear signatures of an antiferromagnetic (AFM) c-axis helix structure associated with the Eu{+2} spins-7/2 for x = 0 and x = 1 as previously reported. The chi(T) data for x = 0.03 and 0.10 suggest an anomalous 2q magnetic structure containing two helix axes along the c axis and in the ab plane, respectively, whereas for x = 0.75 and 0.82, a c-axis helix is inferred as previously found for x = 0 and 1. At intermediate compositions x = 0.2, 0.32, 0.42, 0.54, and 0.65 a magnetic structure with a large ferromagnetic (FM) c-axis component is found from magnetization versus field isotherms, suggested to be an incommensurate FM cone structure associated with the Eu spins, which consists of both AFM and FM components. In addition, the chi(T) and heat capacity data for x = 0.2--0.65 indicate the occurrence of itinerant FM order associated with the Co/Ni atoms with Curie temperatures from 60 K to 25 K, respectively. Electrical resistivity measurements indicate metallic character for all compositions with abrupt increases in slope on cooling below the Eu AFM transition temperatures. In addition to this panoply of magnetic transitions, {151}Eu Mossbauer measurements indicate that ordering of the Eu moments proceeds via an incommensurate sine amplitude-modulated structure with additional transition temperatures associated with this effect.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Emergence of ferromagnetism due to Ir substitutions in single-crystalline Ba[Co(1 x)Ir(x)]2As2

The ternary-arsenide compound BaCo2As2 was previously proposed to be in proximity to a quantum-critical point where long-range ferromagnetic (FM) order is suppressed by quantum fluctuations. Here we report the effect of Ir substitution for Co on the magnetic and thermal properties of Ba[Co(1-x)Ir(x)]2As2 (0 <= x <= 0.25) single crystals. These compositions all crystallize in an uncollapsed body-centered-tetragonal ThCr2Si2 structure with space group I4/mmm. Magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal clear signatures of FM ordering for x >= 0.11 with a nearly composition-independent Curie temperature TC = 13 K. The small variation of TC with x, the occurrence of hysteresis in magnetization versus field isotherms at low field and temperature, very small spontaneous and remanent magnetizations < 0.01 muB/f.u., and thermomagnetic irreversibility in the low-temperature region together indicate that the FM response arises from short-range FM ordering of spin clusters as previously inferred to occur in Ca[Co{1-x}Ir{x}]{2-y}As2. Heat-capacity Cp(T) data do not exhibit any clear feature around TC, further indicating that the FM ordering is short-range and/or associated with itinerant moments. The Cp(T) in the paramagnetic temperature regime 25-300 K is well described by the sum of a Sommerfeld electronic contribution and Debye and Einstein lattice contributions where the latter suggests the occurrence of low-frequency optic modes associated with the heavy Ba atoms in the crystals.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Magnetic, thermal, and electronic-transport properties of EuMg2Bi2 single crystals

The trigonal compound EuMg2Bi2 has recently been discussed in terms of its topological band properties. These are intertwined with its magnetic properties. Here detailed studies of the magnetic, thermal, and electronic transport properties of EuMg2Bi2 single crystals are presented. The Eu{+2} spins-7/2 in EuMg2Bi2 exhibit an antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition at a temperature TN = 6.7 K, as previously reported. By analyzing the anisotropic magnetic susceptibility chi data below TN in terms of molecular-field theory (MFT), the AFM structure is inferred to be a c-axis helix, where the ordered moments in the hexagonal ab-plane layers are aligned ferromagnetically in the ab plane with a turn angle between the moments in adjacent moment planes along the c axis of about 120 deg. The magnetic heat capacity exhibits a lambda anomaly at TN with evidence of dynamic short-range magnetic fluctuations both above and below TN. The high-T limit of the magnetic entropy is close to the theoretical value for spins-7/2. The in-plane electrical resistivity rho(T) data indicate metallic character with a mild and disorder-sensitive upturn below Tmin = 23 K. An anomalous rapid drop in rho(T) on cooling below TN as found in zero field is replaced by a two-step decrease in magnetic fields. The rho(T) measurements also reveal an additional transition below TN in applied fields of unknown origin that is not observed in the other measurements and may be associated with an incommensurate to commensurate AFM transition. The dependence of TN on the c-axis magnetic field Hperp was derived from the field-dependent chi(T), Cp(T), and rho(T) measurements. This TN(Hperp) was found to be consistent with the prediction of MFT for a c-axis helix with S = 7/2 and was used to generate a phase diagram in the Hperp-T plane.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Ferromagnetic cluster-glass phase in Ca(Co,Ir)2As2 crystals

Single crystals of Ca[Co_(2-x)Ir_(x)]_(2-y)As2 with 0 <= x <= 0.35 and 0.10 <= y <= 0.14 have been grown using the self-flux technique and characterized by single-crystal x-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, magnetization M and magnetic susceptibility chi measurements versus temperature T, magnetic field H, and time t, and heat capacity Cp(H,T) measurements. The XRD refinements reveal that all the Ir-substituted crystals crystallize in a collapsed-tetragonal structure as does the parent CaCo_(2-y)As2 compound. A small 3.3% Ir substitution for Co in CaCo_(1.86)As2 drastically lowers the A-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition temperature TN from 52 to 23 K with a significant enhancement of the Sommerfeld electronic heat-capacity coefficient. The positive Weiss temperatures obtained from Curie-Weiss fits to the chi(T>TN) data indicate that the dominant magnetic interactions are ferromagnetic (FM) for all x. A magnetic phase boundary is inferred to be present between x = 0.14 and x = 0.17 from a discontinuity in the x dependences of the effective moment and Weiss temperature in the Curie-Weiss fits. FM fluctuations that strongly increase with increasing x are also revealed from the chi(T) data. The magnetic ground state for x >= 0.17 is a spin glass as indicated by hysteresis in chi(T) between field-cooling and zero-field-cooling measurements and from the relaxation of M in a small field that exhibits a stretched-exponential time dependence. The spin glass has a small FM component to the ordering and is hence inferred to be comprised of small FM clusters. A logarithmic T dependence of Cp at low T for x = 0.14 is consistent with the presence of significant FM quantum fluctuations. This composition is near the T = 0 boundary at x = 0.16 between the A-type AFM phase containing ferromagnetically-aligned layers of spins and the FM cluster-glass phase.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Instability and evolution of the magnetic ground state in metallic perovskites GdRh$_3$C$_{1-x}$B$_x$

We report investigations of the structural, magnetic, electrical transport and thermal properties of five compositions of the metallic perovskite GdRh$_3$C$_{1-x}$B$_x$ ($0.00 \le x \le 1.00$). Our results show that all the five compositions undergo magnetic ordering at low temperatures, but the nature of the ordered state is significantly different in the carbon- and the boron-rich compositions, where the former shows signatures of an amplitude-modulated magnetic structure and the latter exhibits evidences of an equal-moment incommensurate antiferromagnetic ordering. We also observe a remarkable field-dependent evolution of conduction carrier polarization in the compositionally disordered compounds. The outcomes indicate that this system is energetically situated in proximity to a magnetic instability where small variations in the control parameter(s), such as lattice constant and/or electron density, lead to considerably different ground states.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Localized Singlets and Ferromagnetic Fluctuations in the Dilute Magnetic Topological Insulator Sn$_{0.95}$Mn$_{0.05}$Te

The development of long-range ferromagnetic (FM) order in dilute magnetic topological insulators can induce dissipationless electronic surface transport via the quantum anomalous Hall effect. We measure the magnetic excitations in a prototypical magnetic topological crystalline insulator, Sn$_{0.95}$Mn$_{0.05}$Te, using inelastic neutron scattering. Neutron diffraction and magnetization data indicate that our Sn$_{0.95}$Mn$_{0.05}$Te sample has no FM long-range order above a temperature of 2 K. However, we observe slow, collective FM fluctuations ($<$~70 $μ$eV), indicating proximity to FM order. We also find a series of sharp peaks originating from local excitations of antiferromagnetically (AF) coupled and isolated Mn-Mn dimers with $J_{\rm AF}=460$~$μ$eV\@. The simultaneous presence of collective and localized components in the magnetic spectra highlight different roles for substituted Mn ions, with competition between FM order and the formation of AF-coupled Mn-Mn dimers.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Helical magnetic ordering in Sr(Co1-xNix)2As2

SrCo2As2 is a peculiar itinerant magnetic system that does not order magnetically, but inelastic neutron scattering experiments observe the same stripe-type antiferromagnetic (AF) fluctuations found in many of the Fe-based superconductors along with evidence of magnetic frustration. Here we present results from neutron diffraction measurements on single crystals of Sr(Co1-xNix)2As2 that show the development of long-range AF order with Ni-doping. However, the AF order is not stripe-type. Rather, the magnetic structure consists of ferromagnetically-aligned (FM) layers (with moments laying in the layer) that are AF arranged along c with an incommensurate propagation vector of (0 0 tau), i.e. a helix. Using high-energy x-ray diffraction, we find no evidence for a temperature-induced structural phase transition that would indicate a collinear AF order. This finding supports a picture of competing FM and AF interactions within the square transition-metal layers due to flat-band magnetic instabilities. However, the composition dependence of the propagation vector suggests that far more subtle Fermi surface and orbital effects control the interlayer magnetic correlations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Competing magnetic phases and itinerant magnetic frustration in SrCo$_{2}$As$_{2}$

Whereas magnetic frustration is typically associated with local-moment magnets in special geometric arrangements, here we show that SrCo$_{2}$As$_{2}$ is a candidate for frustrated itinerant magnetism. Using inelastic neutron scattering (INS), we find that antiferromagnetic (AF) spin fluctuations develop in the square Co layers of SrCo$_{2}$As$_{2}$ below $T\approx100$ K centered at the stripe-type AF propagation vector of $(\frac{1}{2},~\frac{1}{2})$, and that their development is concomitant with a suppression of the uniform magnetic susceptibility determined via magnetization measurements. We interpret this switch in spectral weight as signaling a temperature-induced crossover from an instability towards FM ordering to an instability towards stripe-type AF ordering on cooling, and show results from Monte-Carlo simulations for a $J_{1}$-$J_{2}$ Heisenberg model that illustrate how the crossover develops as a function of the frustration ratio $-J_1/(2J_2)$. By putting our INS data on an absolute scale, we quantitatively compare them and our magnetization data to exact-diagonalization calculations for the $J_{1}$-$J_{2}$ model [N. Shannon et al., Eur. Phys. J. B 38, 599 (2004)], and show that the calculations predict a lower level of magnetic frustration than indicated by experiment. We trace this discrepancy to the large energy scale of the fluctuations ($J_{\text{avg}}\gtrsim75$ meV), which, in addition to the steep dispersion, is more characteristic of itinerant magnetism.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Non-Fermi-liquid behaviors associated with a magnetic quantum-critical point in Sr(Co{1-x}Ni{x})2As2 single crystals

Electron-doped Sr(Co{1-x}Ni{x})2As2 single crystals with compositions x = 0 to 0.9 were grown out of self-flux and SrNi2As2 single crystals out of Bi flux. The crystals were characterized using single-crystal x-ray diffraction (XRD), magnetic susceptibility chi(H,T), isothermal magnetization M(H,T), heat capacity Cp(H,T), and electrical resistivity ho(H,T) measurements versus applied magnetic field H and temperature T. The chi(T) data show that the crystals exhibit an antiferromagnetic (AFM) ground state almost immediately upon Ni doping on the Co site. Ab-initio electronic-structure calculations for x = 0 and x = 0.15 indicate that a flat band with a peak in the density of states just above the Fermi energy is responsible for this initial magnetic-ordering behavior on Ni doping. The Curie-Weiss-like T dependence of χin the paramagnetic (PM) state indicates dominant ferromagnetic (FM) interactions. The small ordered moments ~0.1 muB per transition metal atom and the values of the Rhodes-Wohlfarth ratio indicate that the magnetism is itinerant. The Cp(T) at low T exhibits Fermi-liquid behavior for 0 < x < 0.15 whereas an evolution to a logarithmic non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) behavior is found for x = 0.2 to 0.3. The logarithmic dependence is suppressed in an applied magnetic field. The low- T rho(H = 0,T) data show a T^2 dependence for 0 < x < 0.20 and a power-law dependence with n < 2 for x = 0.20 and 0.30. These low-T NFL behaviors observed in the Cp and rho measurements are most evident near the quantum-critical concentration x ~ 0.3 at which a T = 0 composition-induced transition from the AFM phase to the PM phase occurs.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Antiferromagnetic Stacking of Ferromagnetic Layers and Doping Controlled Phase Competition in Ca$_{1-x}$Sr$_{x}$Co$_{2-y}$As$_{2}$

In search of a quantum phase transition between the two-dimensional ($2$D) ferromagnetism of CaCo$_{2-y}$As$_{2}$ and stripe-type antiferromagnetism in SrCo$_{2}$As$_{2}$, we rather find evidence for $1$D magnetic frustration between magnetic square Co layers. We present neutron diffraction data for Ca$_{1-x}$Sr$_{x}$Co$_{2-y}$As$_{2}$ that reveal a sequence of $x$-dependent magnetic transitions which involve different stacking of $2$D ferromagnetically-aligned layers with different magnetic anisotropy. We explain the $x$-dependent changes to the magnetic order by utilizing classical analytical calculations of a $1$D Heisenberg model where single-ion magnetic anisotropy and frustration of antiferromagnetic nearest- and next-nearest-layer exchange are all composition dependent.

cond-mat.str-el↗

EPR measurements of Eu{+2} spins in metallic EuCo{2-y}As2 single crystals

The Eu{+2} spins S = 7/2 in the metallic compound EuCo{2-y}As2 order into an antiferromagnetic helical structure below a Neel temperature TN = 40 to 45 K. The effective magnetic moment mu_eff of the Eu spins in the paramagnetic state from 100 to 300 K is found from static magnetic susceptibility measurements to be enhanced by about 7% compared to the value expected for spectroscopic splitting factor g = 2, and the saturation moment at high applied fields H and low temperatures T is also sometimes enhanced. Here electron-paramagnetic-resonance (CW EPR) measurements versus applied magnetic field H at fixed X-band rf (microwave) angular frequency omega were carried out using a linearly-polarized rf magnetic field oriented perpendicular to H to study the microscopic magnetic properties of the Eu spins. In order to analyze the data, the complex magnetic susceptibility chi(omega) at fixed H was used that was derived for linearly-polarized rf fields from the modified Bloch equations [M. A. Garstens and J. I. Kaplan, Phys. Rev. 99, 459 (1955)] (GK). It is shown that their formulation when applied to calculate the Dysonian absorptive susceptibility chi_D''(H) of local magnetic moments in metals yields a prediction that can be very different from the traditionally-used form of chi_D''(H). By fitting the derivative of the field-swept CW EPR data for EuCo{2-y}As2 by chi_D''(H) at fixed omega derived from the GK chi_D''(omega) at fixed H, the Eu spin spectroscopic splitting factor (g-factor) is found to be approximately 2.00 from 300 to ~125 K, and then to continuously increase to approximately 2.16 on further cooling to 50 K. We speculate that the enhancement of the Eu g-factor on cooling from 125 to 50 K arises from continuously-increasing local short-range ferromagnetic correlations between the Co 3d-band electrons and the Eu spins.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Orbital- and spin-driven lattice instabilities in quasi-one-dimensional CaV$_2$O$_4$

Calcium vanadate CaV$_2$O$_4$ has a crystal structure of quasi-one-dimensional zigzag chains composed of orbital-active V$^{3+}$ ions and undergoes successive structural and antiferromagnetic phase transitions at $T_s\sim 140$ K and $T_N \sim 70$ K, respectively. We perform ultrasound velocity measurements on a single crystal of CaV$_2$O$_4$. The temperature dependence of its shear elastic moduli exhibits huge Curie-type softening upon cooling that emerges above and below $T_s$ depending on the elastic mode. The softening above $T_s$ suggests the presence of either onsite Jahn-Teller-type or intersite ferro-type orbital fluctuations in the two inequivalent V$^{3+}$ zigzag chains. The softening below $T_s$ suggests the occurrence of a dimensional spin-state crossover, from quasi-one to three, that is driven by the spin-lattice coupling along the inter-zigzag-chain orthogonal direction. The successive emergence of the orbital- and spin-driven lattice instabilities above and below $T_s$, respectively, is unique to the orbital-spin zigzag chain system of CaV$_2$O$_4$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Enhanced moments of Eu in single crystals of the metallic helical antiferromagnet EuCo{2-y}As2

The compound EuCo{2-y}As2 with the tetragonal ThCr2Si2 structure is known to contain Eu{+2} ions with spin S = 7/2 that order below a temperature TN = 47 K into an antiferromagnetic (AFM) proper helical structure with the ordered moments aligned in the tetragonal ab plane, perpendicular to the helix axis along the c axis, with no contribution from the Co atoms. Here we carry out a detailed investigation of the properties of single crystals. Enhanced ordered and effective moments of the Eu spins are found in most of our crystals. Electronic structure calculations indicate that the enhanced moments arise from polarization of the d bands, as occurs in ferromagnetic Gd metal. Electrical resistivity measurements indicate metallic behavior. The low-field in-plane magnetic susceptibilities chi{ab}(T < TN) for several crystals are reported that are fitted well by unified molecular field theory (MFT), and the Eu-Eu exchange interactions Jij are extracted from the fits. High-field magnetization M data for magnetic fields H||ab reveal what appears to be a first-order spin-flop transition followed at higher field by a second-order metamagnetic transition of unknown origin, and then by another second-order transition to the paramagnetic (PM) state. For H||c, the magnetization shows only a second-order transition from the canted AFM to the PM state, as expected. The critical fields for the AFM to PM transition are in approximate agreement with the predictions of MFT. Heat capacity Cp measurements in zero and high H are reported. Phase diagrams for H||c and H||ab versus T are constructed from the high-field M(H,T) and Cp(H,T) measurements. The magnetic part Cmag(T, H = 0) of Cp(T, H = 0) is extracted and is fitted rather well below TN by MFT, although dynamic short-range AFM order is apparent in Cmag(T) up to about 70 K, where the molar entropy attains its high-T limit of R ln8.

cond-mat.str-el↗

Anomalous Composition-Induced Crossover in the Magnetic Properties of the Itinerant-Electron Antiferromagnet Ca{1-x}Sr{x}Co{2-y}As{2}

The inference of Ying et al. [EPL 104, 67005 (2013)] of a composition-induced change from c-axis ordered-moment alignment in a collinear A-type antiferromagnetic (AFM) structure (AFMI) at small x to ab-plane alignment in an unknown AFM structure (AFMII) at larger x in Ca(1-x)Sr(x)Co(2-y)As(2) with the body-centered tetragonal ThCr2Si2 structure is confirmed. Our major finding is an anomalous magnetic behavior in the crossover region 0.2 < x < 0.3 between these two phases. In this region the magnetic susceptibility versus temperature chi_ab(T) measured with magnetic fields H applied in the ab plane exhibit typical AFM behaviors with cusps at the Neel temperatures of about 65 K, whereas chi_c(T) and the low-temperature isothermal magnetization M_c(H) with H aligned along the c axis exhibit extremely soft ferromagnetic-like behaviors.

cond-mat.str-el↗