arXiv subjects

I. A. Zaliznyak

Publications and source records attributed to I. A. Zaliznyak.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Photoinduced ultrafast dynamics of local nematicity and lattice distortions in FeSe crystals

Formation of electronic nematicity is a common thread of unconventional superconductors. In iron-based materials, the long-range nematic order is revealed by the orthorhombic lattice distortion, which importance is a highly controversial topic due the small magnitude of the distortion. Here, we study the local crystal structure of FeSe and its interaction with electronic degrees of freedom using ultrafast electron diffraction, x-ray pair distribution function analysis, and transmission electron microscopy and find a significant lattice response to local nematicity. The study demonstrates how local lattice distortions, which exist even at temperatures above the nematic phase transition, can be released by photoexcitation, leading to an enhancement of the crystalline order. The observed local atomic structures and their out-of-equilibrium behavior unravel a sophisticated coupling between the lattice and nematic order parameter in FeSe.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2018

Low-energy antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations limit the coherent superconducting gap in cuprates

Motivated by recent attention to a potential antiferromagnetic quantum critical point at $x_c\sim 0.19$, we have used inelastic neutron scattering to investigate the low-energy spin excitations in crystals of La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CuO$_4$ bracketing $x_c$. We observe a peak in the normal-state spin-fluctuation weight at $\sim20$~meV for both $x=0.21$ and 0.17, inconsistent with quantum critical behavior. The presence of the peak raises the question of whether low-energy spin fluctuations limit the onset of superconducting order. Empirically evaluating the spin gap $Δ_{\rm spin}$ in the superconducting state, we find that $Δ_{\rm spin}$ is equal to the coherent superconducting gap $Δ_c$ determined by electronic spectroscopies. To test whether this is a general result for other cuprate families, we have checked through the literature and find that $Δ_c\leΔ_{\rm spin}$ for cuprates with uniform $d$-wave superconductivity. We discuss the implications of this result.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

A Local Quantum Phase Transition in YFe$_{2}$Al$_{10}$

A phase transition occurs when correlated regions of a new phase grow to span the system and the fluctuations within the correlated regions become long-lived. Here we present neutron scattering measurements showing that this conventional picture must be replaced by a new paradigm in \boldmath$\mathrm{YFe}_2\mathrm{Al}_{10}$, a compound that forms naturally very close to a \boldmath$T=0$ quantum phase transition. Fully quantum mechanical fluctuations of localized moments are found to diverge at low energies and temperatures, however the fluctuating moments are entirely without spatial correlations. Zero temperature order in \boldmath$\mathrm{YFe}_2\mathrm{Al}_{10}$ is achieved by a new and entirely local type of quantum phase transition that may originate with the creation of the moments themselves.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Magnons in Sr$_2$CuO$_3$: possible evidence for Goldstone-Higgs interaction in a weakly ordered spin-1/2 chain antiferromagnet

The Goldstone theorem mandates that a spontaneous symmetry breaking entails the emergence of gap(mass)less excitations. In the case where a rotational invariance of a system of spin magnetic moments is broken by an antiferromagnetic order, these are well-known transverse spin waves. The interaction of such Goldstone magnons with the Higgs amplitude mode of the order parameter is usually discarded, even though glimpses of Higgs physics have recently been reported in a quantum magnet, a topological insulator, and ferroelectric and disordered superconductor systems. The Goldstone-Higgs interactions could be expected to grow in importance near a quantum critical point (QCP), where the symmetry-breaking order is weak, and its amplitude fluctuations are significant. Here we report an electron spin resonance (ESR) study of a nearly one-dimensional spin-1/2 chain system, Sr$_2$CuO$_3$, which presents exactly such a case. The ESR spectra at $T > T_N$, in the disordered Luttinger-spin-liquid phase with unconfined spinons reveal ideal Heisenberg-chain behavior with only very small, field-independent linewidth, $\sim 1/T$. In the ordered state, below $T_N$, we identify antiferromagnetic resonance (AFMR) modes, which are well described by pseudo-Goldstone magnons in the model of a collinear biaxial antiferromagnet with two gaps, $Δ_1 = 23.0$ GHz and $Δ_2 = 13.3$ GHz. Additionally, we observe a major resonant response of special nature, which we attribute to magnon interaction with the Higgs amplitude mode in a weakly ordered antiferromagnet. Its unusual field dependence indicates the presence of a quantum phase transition at $μ_0 H \simeq 9.4$ T.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Orbital-Exchange and Fractional Quantum Number Excitations in an f-electron Metal Yb$_2$Pt$_2$Pb

Exotic quantum states and fractionalized magnetic excitations, such as spinons in one-dimensional chains, are generally viewed as belonging to the domain of 3d transition metal systems with spins 1/2. Our neutron scattering experiments on the 4f-electron metal Yb$_2$Pt$_2$Pb overturn this common wisdom. We observe broad magnetic continuum dispersing in only one direction, which indicates that the underlying elementary excitations are spinons carrying fractional spin-1/2. These spinons are the quantum dynamics of the anisotropic, orbital-dominated Yb moments, and thus these effective quantum spins are emergent variables that encode the electronic orbitals. The unique birthmark of their unusual origin is that only longitudinal spin fluctuations are measurable, while the transverse excitations such as spin waves are virtually invisible to magnetic neutron scattering. The proliferation of these orbital-spinons strips the electrons of their orbital identity, and we thus report here a new electron fractionalization phenomenon, charge-orbital separation.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Heisenberg Necklace Model in Magnetic Field

Motivated by the experimental realizations of nearly one-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg model found in chain cuprates SrCuO$_2$ and Sr$_2$CuO$_3$, which remain in a quantum-critical Luttinger liquid state down to temperatures that are much lower than in-chain exchange coupling, we consider the perturbation to this state caused by interactions with nuclear spins on the same sites. We study the low-energy sector of the Heisenberg Necklace model and estimate the effect of the coupling between the nuclear and the electronic spins on the overall spins dynamics and its dependence on the magnetic field. We find that the Necklace model has a characteristic energy scale, $Λ\sim J^{1/3}(γI)^{2/3}$, at which the coupling between spins of the necklace and the spins of the Heisenberg chain becomes strong. In the strong magnetic field $μ_B B > Λ$ the low energy spectrum is gapless, but two gapless bosonic modes have different velocities whose ratio at strong fields approaches a universal number, $\sqrt 2 +1$. In the case of Sr$_2$CuO$_3$ the energy scale $Λ$ is sizable and comparable to the Neel ordering temperature induced by the inter-chain coupling, and thus could noticeably modify the low temperature magnon dynamics. We further find that the above energy scale is insensitive to strong magnetic field, $μ_B B \gg Λ\sim J^{1/3}(γI)^{2/3}$, and therefore the interaction with nuclear spins cannot lead to unusually strong magnetic field dependence of the magnon spectrum observed by ESR in Sr$_2$CuO$_3$, which has been attributed to the magnon interaction with the Higgs mode.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Thermal evolution of antiferromagnetic correlations and tetrahedral bond angles in superconducting FeTe$_{1-x}$Se$_x$

It has recently been demonstrated that dynamical magnetic correlations measured by neutron scattering in iron chalcogenides can be described with models of short-range correlations characterized by particular {choices of four-spin plaquettes, where the appropriate choice changes as the} parent material is doped towards superconductivity. Here we apply such models to describe measured maps of magnetic scattering as a function of two-dimensional wave vectors obtained for optimally superconducting crystals of FeTe$_{1-x}$Se$_x$. We show that the characteristic antiferromagnetic wave vector evolves from that of the bicollinear structure found in underdoped chalcogenides (at high temperature) to that associated with the stripe structure of antiferromagnetic iron arsenides (at low temperature); {these can both be described with the same local plaquette, but with different inter-plaquette correlations}. While the magnitude of the low-energy magnetic spectral weight is substantial at all temperatures, it actually weakens somewhat at low temperature, where the charge carriers become more itinerant. The observed change in spin correlations is correlated with the dramatic drop in the electronic scattering rate and the growth of the bulk nematic response on cooling. Finally, we also present powder neutron diffraction results for lattice parameters in FeTe$_{1-x}$Se$_x$ indicating that the tetrahedral bond angle tends to increase towards the ideal value on cooling, in agreement with the increased screening of the crystal field by more itinerant electrons and the correspondingly smaller splitting of the Fe $3d$ orbitals.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

Neutron scattering study of spin ordering and stripe pinning in superconducting La$_{1.93}$Sr$_{0.07}$CuO$_4$

The relationships among charge order, spin fluctuations, and superconductivity in underdoped cuprates remain controversial. We use neutron scattering techniques to study these phenomena in La$_{1.93}$Sr$_{0.07}$CuO$_4$, a superconductor with a transition temperature of $T_c = 20$~K. At $T\ll T_c$, we find incommensurate spin fluctuations with a quasielastic energy spectrum and no sign of a gap within the energy range from 0.2 to 15 meV. A weak elastic magnetic component grows below $\sim10$~K, consistent with results from local probes. Regarding the atomic lattice, we have discovered unexpectedly strong fluctuations of the CuO$_6$ octahedra about Cu-O bonds, which are associated with inequivalent O sites within the CuO$_2$ planes. Furthermore, we observed a weak elastic $(3\bar{3}0)$ superlattice peak that implies a reduced lattice symmetry. The presence of inequivalent O sites rationalizes various pieces of evidence for charge stripe order in underdoped \lsco. The coexistence of superconductivity with quasi-static spin-stripe order suggests the presence of intertwined orders; however, the rotation of the stripe orientation away from the Cu-O bonds might be connected with evidence for a finite gap at the nodal points of the superconducting gap function.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2015

CaMn$_2$Sb$_2$: Spin waves on a frustrated antiferromagnetic honeycomb lattice

We present inelastic neutron scattering measurements of the antiferromagnetic insulator CaMn$_2$Sb$_2$, which consists of corrugated honeycomb layers of Mn. The dispersion of magnetic excitations has been measured along the H and L directions in reciprocal space, with a maximum excitation energy of $\approx$ 24 meV. These excitations are well described by spin waves in a Heisenberg model, including first and second neighbor exchange interactions, J$_{1}$ and J$_{2}$, in the Mn plane and also an exchange interaction between planes. The determined ratio J$_{2}$/J$_{1}$ $\approx$ 1/6 suggests that CaMn$_2$Sb$_2$ is the first example of a compound that lies very close to the mean field tricritical point, known for the classical Heisenberg model on the honeycomb lattice, where the Néel phase and two different spiral phases coexist. The magnitude of the determined exchange interactions reveal a mean field ordering temperature $\approx$ 4 times larger than the reported Néel temperature T$_{N}$ = 85 K, suggesting significant frustration arising from proximity to the tricritical point.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Continuous magnetic and structural phase transitions in Fe1+yTe

We report a sequence of continuous phase transformations in iron telluride, Fe1+yTe (y~0.1), which is observed by combining neutron diffraction, magnetic susceptibility, and specific heat measurements on single crystal samples. While a gradual increase of magnetic scattering near the wave vector (0.5, 0, 0.5) is seen below T = 70 K, a temperature where the discontinuous first order magneto-structural phase transition is found in systems with small y (< 0.06), the reduction of the lattice symmetry in Fe1.1Te only occurs at Ts = 63 K. Below TN = 57.5 K the long-range magnetic order develops, whose incommensurate wave vector Qm varies with temperature. Finally, at Tm ~ 45 K the system enters the low-T phase, where Qm is locked at (0.48, 0, 0.5). We conclude that these instabilities are weak compared to the strength of the underlying interactions, and we suggest that the impact of the Fe interstitials on the transitions can be treated with random-field models.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Absence of localized-spin magnetism in the narrow-gap semiconductor FeSb2

We report inelastic neutron scattering measurements aimed at investigating the origin of the temperature-induced paramagnetism in the narrow-gap semiconductor FeSb2. We find that inelastic response for energies up to 60 meV and at temperatures 4.2 K, 300 K and 550 K is essentially consistent with the scattering by lattice phonon excitations. We observe no evidence for a well-defined magnetic peak corresponding to the excitation from the non-magnetic S = 0 singlet ground state to a state of magnetic multiplet in the localized spin picture. Our data establish the quantitative limit of S_{eff}^2 < 0.25 on the fluctuating local spin. However, a broad magnetic scattering continuum in the 15 meV to 35 meV energy range is not ruled out by our data. Our findings make description in terms of the localized Fe spins unlikely and suggest that paramagnetic susceptibility of itinerant electrons is at the origin of the temperature-induced magnetism in FeSb2.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

The experimental observation of quantum Hall effect of l = 3 chiral charge carriers in trilayer graphene

Low-energy electronic states in monolayer and bilayer graphenes present chiral charge carriers with unique and unusual properties of interest for electronic applications. Here, we report the magnetotransport measurements in the ABC-stacked trilayer graphene as a function of charge carrier density, magnetic field, and temperature, which show clear evidence of l = 3 chiral quasiparticles with cubic dispersion, existing in a large, 20x60 sq. microns device. Shubnikov-deHaas oscillations (SdHO) reveal the Berry's phase 3π, and the marked increase of cyclotron mass near charge neutrality, consistent with divergent behavior expected for l = 3 quasiparticles. We also observe the predicted unconventional sequence of quantum Hall effect (QHE) plateaus, +/-6e^2/h, +/-10e^2/h, ... .

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Metal to insulator transition on the N = 0 Landau level in graphene

The magnetotransport in single layer graphene has been experimentally investigated in magnetic fields up to 18 T as a function of temperature. A pronounced T-dependence is observed for T < 50 K, which is either metallic, or insulating, depending on the filling factor nu. The metal-insulator transition (MIT) occurs at nu_c ~ 0.65 and in the regime of the dissipative transport, where the longitudinal resistance Rxx > R_K/2. The critical resistivity (Rxx per square) is rho_xx(nu_c) ~ R_K/2 and is correlated with the appearance of zero plateau in Hall conductivity sigma_xy(nu) and peaks in sigma_xx(nu). This leads us to construct a universal low-T (n, B) phase diagram of this quantum phase transition.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Breakdown of the N=0 Quantum Hall State in graphene: two insulating regimes

We studied the unusual Quantum Hall Effect (QHE) near the charge neutrality point (CNP) in high-mobility graphene sample for magnetic fields up to 18 T. We observe breakdown of the delocalized QHE transport and strong increase in resistivities $ρ_{xx},|ρ_{xy}|$ with decreasing Landau level filling for $ν< 2$, where we identify two insulating regimes. For $1 \gtrsim |ν| \gtrsim 1/2$ we find an exponential increase of $ρ_{xx,xy} \sim e^{a(H-H_c)}$ within the range up to several resistance quanta $R_K$, while the Hall effect gradually disappears, consistent with the Hall insulator (HI) with local transport. Then, at $ν\approx 1/2$ a cusp in $ρ_{xx}(H)$ followed by an onset of even faster growth indicates transition to a collective insulator (CI) state. The likely candidate for this state is a pinned Wigner crystal.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2009

Spin-polarized transport through domain wall in magnetized graphene

Atomically thin two-dimensional layer of honeycomb crystalline carbon known as graphene is a promising system for electronics. It has a point-like Fermi surface, which is very sensitive to external potentials. In particular, Zeeman magnetic field parallel to the graphene layer splits electron bands and creates fully spin-polarized and geometrically congruent circular Fermi surfaces of particle and hole type. In the presence of electric field, particles and holes with opposite spins drift in opposite direction. These phenomena are likely to be of interest for developing graphene-based spintronic devices. A domain wall (DW) separating regions with opposite spin polarizations is a basic element of such a device. Here we consider a ballistic passage of spin-polarized charge carriers through DW in graphene. We also discuss the analogy between the generation of spin currents in graphene and in relativistic quark-gluon plasma, where the spin-polarized current is responsible for the phenomenon of charge separation studied recently at RHIC.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2008

Covalent bonding and magnetism in cuprates

The importance of covalent bonding for the magnetism of 3d metal complexes was first noted by Pauling in 1931. His point became moot, however, with the success of the ionic picture of Van Vleck, where ligands influence magnetic electrons of 3d ions mainly through electrostatic fields. Anderson's theory of spin superexchange later established that covalency is at the heart of cooperative magnetism in insulators, but its energy scale was believed to be small compared to other inter-ionic interactions and therefore it was considered a small perturbation of the ionic picture. This assertion fails dramatically in copper oxides, which came to prominence following the discovery of high critical temperature superconductors (HTSC). Magnetic interactions in cuprates are remarkably strong and are often considered the origin of the unusually high superconducting transition temperature, Tc. Here we report a detailed survey of magnetic excitations in the one-dimensional cuprate Sr2CuO3 using inelastic neutron scattering (INS). We show that although the experimental dynamical spin structure factor is well described by the model S=1/2 nearest-neighbour Heisenberg Hamiltonian typically used for cuprates, the magnetic intensity is modified dramatically by strong hybridization of Cu 3d states with O p states, showing that the ionic picture of localized 3d Heisenberg spin magnetism is grossly inadequate. Our findings provide a natural explanation for the puzzle of the missing INS magnetic intensity in cuprates and have profound implications for understanding current and future experimental data on these materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Short-range Charge and Spin Superstructures in Doped Layered Co Perovskites

We have investigated cobaltite relatives of the layered perovskite cuprates and nickelates, Pr$_{2-x}$Ca$_x$CoO$_4$ ($0.39 \leq x \leq 0.73$) and La$_{2-x}$Sr$_x$CoO$_4$ ($x = 0.61$), using elastic neutron scattering. We have discovered doping-dependent incommensurate short-range ordering of charges and magnetic moments, which in cobaltites occur in the range of heavy doping, $ 0.5 \lesssim x \lesssim 0.75$. The charge order exists already at room temperature and shows no change on cooling. The incommensurability of its propagation vector, ${\bf Q}_c = (ε_c,0,l)$, roughly scales with the concentration of Co$^{2+}$ ions, $ε_c \sim (1-x)$. Magnetic order is only established at low T$\lesssim 40$ K and has twice larger periodicity, indicating a dominant antiferromagnetic correlation between the nearest Co$^{2+}$ spins.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

A Luttinger Liquid Coupled to a Quantum Spin Bath: Flow Equation Approach to the Kondo Necklace Model

We study a lattice realization of a Luttinger liquid interacting with a bath of quantum spins in terms of an antiferromagnetic S=1/2 Heisenberg chain, where each spin is also coupled to a σ=1/2 Kondo spin degree of freedom. This model describes the low-energy spin dynamics in quasi one dimensional materials, where the electronic spins of the magnetic ions interact with those of impurities, nuclei and possibly other spin species present in their environment. For large ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic Kondo interaction J' there are two phases corresponding to an effective spin-1 Heisenberg chain and a dimerised spin-1/2 ladder, respectively. For weak Kondo interaction we establish that the Kondo interaction drives the system to a strong coupling regime. This suggests that J'=0 is the only critical point in the system.

cond-mat.str-el↗