arXiv subjects
I. Sheikin
Publications and source records attributed to I. Sheikin.
Quantum Phase Interference and Neel-Vector Tunneling in Antiferromagnetic Molecular Wheels
The antiferromagnetic molecular wheel Fe18 of eighteen exchange-coupled Fe(III) ions has been studied by measurements of the magnetic torque, the magnetization, and the inelastic neutron scattering spectra. The combined data show that the low-temperature magnetism of Fe18 is very accurately described by the Neel-vector tunneling (NVT) scenario, as unfolded by semiclassical theory. In addition, the magnetic torque as a function of applied field exhibits oscillations that reflect the oscillations in the NVT tunnel splitting with field due to quantum phase interference.
Upper critical field and fluctuation conductivity in the critical regime of doped SmFeAsO
We measure magnetotransport of F doped SmFeAsO samples up to 28T and we extract the upper critical fields, using different criteria. In order to circumvent the problem of criterion-dependence Hc2 values, we suggest a thermodynamic estimation of the upper critical field slope dHc2/dT based on the analysis of conductivity fluctuations in the critical regime. A high field slope as large as -12T/K is thus extracted for the optimally doped sample. We find evidence of a two-dimensional lowest Landau level (LLL) scaling for applied fields larger than mu_0H_LLL=8T. Finally, we estimate the coherence length values and we observe that they progressively increase with decreasing Tc. In all cases, the coherence length values along the c axis are smaller than the interplanar distance, confirming the two-dimensional nature of superconductivity in this compound.
Transport anomalies across the quantum limit in semimetallic Bi$_{0.96}$Sb$_{0.04}$
We report on a study of electronic transport in semi-metallic Bi$_{0.96}$Sb$_{0.04}$. At zero field, the system is a very dilute Fermi liquid displaying a T$^{2}$ resistivity with an enhanced prefactor. Quantum oscillations in resistivity as well as in Hall, Nernst and Seebeck responses of the system are detectable and their period quantifies the shrinking of the Fermi surface with antimony doping. For a field along the trigonal axis, the quantum limit was found to occur at a field as low as 3T. An ultraquantum anomaly at twice this field was detected in both charge transport and Nernst response. Its origin appears to lie beyond the one-particle picture and linked to unidentified many-body effects.
Field-induced charge-density-wave transitions in the organic metal $α$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$KHg(SCN)$_4$ under hydrostatic pressure
Successive magnetic-field-induced charge-density-wave transitions in the molecular conductor $α$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$KHg(SCN)$_4$ are studied in the hydrostatic pressure regime, in which the zero field charge-density wave (CDW)state is completely suppressed. The orbital effect of the magnetic field is demonstrated to restore the density wave, while the orbital quantization induces different CDW states in different field intervals. In particular, we have found that at certain field orientations the hysteretic first order transitions between field-induced CDW subphases become visible at much higher temperatures. This observation is very well in line with the existing theories of field-induced CDW transitions.
Field dependence of the quantum ground state in the Shastry-Sutherland system SrCu$_2$(BO$_3$)$_2$
We present magnetic torque measurements on the Shastry-Sutherland quantum spin system SrCu$_2$(BO$_3$)$_2$ in fields up to 31 T and temperatures down to 50 mK. A new quantum phase is observed in a 1 T field range above the 1/8 plateau, in agreement with recent NMR results. Since the presence of the DM coupling precludes the existence of a true Bose-Einstein condensation and the formation of a supersolid phase in SrCu$_2$(BO$_3$)$_2$, the exact nature of the new phase in the vicinity of the plateau remains to be explained. Comparison between magnetization and torque data reveals a huge contribution of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction to the torque response. Finally, our measurements demonstrate the existence of a supercooling due to adiabatic magnetocaloric effects in pulsed field experiments.
The de Haas - van Alphen Effect Study of the Fermi Surface of ZrB12
The de Haas - van Alphen (dHvA) effect in the cluster superconductor ZrB12 was studied by magnetic torque measurements in magnetic fields up to 28 T at temperatures down to 0.35 K. The dHvA oscillations due to orbits from the Neck sections and "Cubic Box" of the Fermi surface were detected. We measured cyclotron effective masses of 0.5m_0 for Neck section of the FS. The dHvA frequencies as well as the cyclotron effective masses were calculated using the full potential Linear Muffin-Tin Orbital (LMTO) method within the Generalized Gradient Approximation. Comparison of the angular dependence of the dHvA frequencies with the band-structure calculations implies overall agreement with theoretical model, while one section could not be definitely identified.
Probing the electron-phonon coupling in MgB2 through magnetoresistance measurements in neutron irradiated thin films
We report magnetoresistance (MR) measurements on MgB2 and the corresponding full account from ab-initio calculations; we suggest that this combination can be a useful tool to probe electron- phonon coupling. We obtain good quantitative agreement between high field measurements on neutron irradiated epitaxial thin films and calculations within Bloch-Boltzmann transport theory over a wide range of magnetic fields (0-28 T) and temperatures (40-300 K), and as a function of the field orientation. The crossovers between in-plane and out-of-plane MR, experimentally observed as a function of either disorder or temperature are well reproduced indicating that disorder and interaction with phonons strongly affect the scattering rate of s-carriers.
Uniform and staggered magnetizations induced by Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions in isolated and coupled spin 1/2 dimers in a magnetic field
We investigate the interplay of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions and an external field in spin 1/2 dimers. For isolated dimers and at low field, we derive simple expressions for the staggered and uniform magnetizations which show that the orientation of the uniform magnetization can deviate significantly from that of the external field. In fact, in the limit where the ${\bf D}$ vector of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction is parallel to the external field, the uniform magnetization actually becomes {\it perpendicular} to the field. For larger fields, we show that the staggered magnetization of an isolated dimer has a maximum close to one-half the polarization, with a large maximal value of $0.35 gμ_B$ in the limit of very small Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. We investigate the effect of inter-dimer coupling in the context of ladders with Density Matrix Renormalization Group (DMRG) calculations and show that, as long as the values of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya and of the exchange interaction are compatible with respect to the development of a staggered magnetization, the simple picture that emerges for isolated dimers is also valid for weakly coupled dimers with minor modifications. The results are compared with torque measurements on Cu$_{2}$(C$_{5}$H$_{12}$N$_{2}$)$_{2}$Cl$_{4}$.
Systematic study of disorder induced by neutron irradiation in MgB2 thin films
The effects of neutron irradiation on normal state and superconducting properties of epitaxial magnesium diboride thin films are studied up to fluences of 1020 cm-2. All the properties of the films change systematically upon irradiation. Critical temperature is suppressed and, at the highest fluence, no superconducting transition is observed down to 1.8 K. Residual resistivity progressively increases from 1 to 190 microohmcm; c axis expands and then saturates at the highest damage level. We discuss the mechanism of damage through the comparison with other damage procedures. The normal state magnetoresistivity of selected samples measured up to high fields (28 and 45T) allows to determine unambiguously the scattering rates in each band; the crossover between the clean and dirty limit in each sample can be monitored. This set of samples, with controlled amount of disorder, is suitable to study the puzzling problem of critical field in magnesium diboride thin films. The measured critical field values are extremely high (of the order of 50T in the parallel direction at low fluences) and turns out to be rather independent on the experimental resistivity, at least at low fluences. A simple model to explain this phenomenology is presented.
Effects of neutron irradiation on polycrystalline Mg11B2
We studied the influence of the disorder introduced in polycrystalline MgB2 samples by neutron irradiation. To circumvent self shielding effects due to the strong interaction between thermal neutrons and 10B we employed isotopically enriched 11B which contains 40 times less 10B than natural B. The comparison of electrical and structural properties of different series of samples irradiated in different neutron sources, also using Cd shields, allowed us to conclude that, despite the low 10B content, the main damage mechanisms are caused by thermal neutrons, whereas fast neutrons play a minor role. Irradiation leads to an improvement in both upper critical field and critical current density for an exposure level in the range 1-2x1018 cm-2. With increasing fluence the superconducting properties are depressed. An in-depth analysis of the critical field and current density behaviour has been carried out to identify what scattering and pinning mechanisms come into play. Finally the correlation between some characteristic lengths and the transition widths is analysed.
Angle-dependent magnetoresistance in the weakly incoherent interlayer transport regime
We present comparative studies of the orientation effect of a strong magnetic field on the interlayer resistance of $α$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$KHg(SCN)$_4$ samples characterized by different crystal quality. We find striking differences in their behavior which is attributed to the breakdown of the coherent charge transport across the layers in the lower quality sample. In the latter case, the nonoscillating magnetoresistance background is essentially a function of only the out-of-plane field component, in contradiction to the existing theory.
Field-induced magnetoelastic instabilities in antiferromagnetic molecular wheels
The magnetic torque of the antiferromagnetic molecular wheel CsFe8 was studied down to 50 mK and in fields up to 28 T. Below ca. 0.5 K phase transitions were observed at the field-induced level-crossings (LCs). Intermolecular magnetic interactions are very weak excluding an explanation in terms of field-induced magnetic ordering. A magneto-elastic coupling was considered. A generic model shows that the wheel structure is unconditionally unstable at the LCs, and the predicted torque curves explain the essential features of the data well.
Magnetism and superconductivity of heavy fermion matter
The interplay of magnetism and unconventional superconductivity (d singlet wave or p triplet wave) in strongly correlated electronic system (SCES) is discussed with recent examples found in heavy fermion compounds. A short presentation is given on the formation of the heavy quasiparticle with the two sources of a local and intersite enhancement for the effective mass. Two cases of the coexistence or repulsion of antiferromagnetism and superconductivity are given with CeIn3 and CeCoIn5. A spectacular example is the emergence of superconductivity in relatively strong itinerant ferromagnets UGe2 and URhGe. The impact of heavy fermion matter among other SCES as organic conductor or high Tc oxide is briefly pointed out.
Evidence for a new magnetic field scale in CeCoIn5
The Nernst coefficient of CeCoIn5 displays a distinct anomaly at H_K ~ 23 T. This feature is reminiscent of what is observed at 7.8 T in CeRu2Si2, a well-established case of metamagnetic transition. New frequencies are observed in de Haas-van Alphen oscillations when the field exceeds 23 T, which may indicate a modification of the Fermi surface at this field.
Topology and spin dynamics in magnetic molecules
We investigate the role of topology and distortions in the quantum dynamics of magnetic molecules, using a cyclic spin system as reference. We consider three variants of antiferromagnetic molecular ring, i.e. Cr$_8$, Cr$_7$Zn and Cr$_7$Ni, characterized by low lying states with different total spin $S$. We theoretically and experimentally study the low-temperature behavior of the magnetic torque as a function of the applied magnetic field. Near level crossings, this observable selectively probes quantum fluctuations of the total spin (''$S$ mixing") induced by lowering of the ideal ring symmetry. We show that while a typical distortion of a model molecular structure is very ineffective in opening new $S$-mixing channels, the spin topology is a major ingredient to control the degree of $S$ mixing. This conclusion is further substantiated by low-temperature heat capacity measurements.
Neutron Irradiation of Mg11B2 : From the Enhancement to the Suppression of Superconducting Properties
In this letter we present the effect of neutron irradiation up to fluences of 3.9 1019 n/cm2 on the superconducting properties of MgB2. In order to obtain a disorder structure homogeneously distributed, the experiment was carried out on bulk samples prepared with the 11B isotope. Up to fluences of 1018 n/cm2 the critical temperature is slightly diminished (36 K) and the superconducting properties are significantly improved; the upper critical field is increased from 13.5 T to 20.3 T at 12 K and the irreversibility field is doubled at 5 K. For larger neutron fluences the critical temperature is suppressed down to 12 K and the superconducting properties come out strongly degraded.
Effect of two bands on critical fields in MgB2 thin films with various resistivity values
Upper critical fields of four MgB2 thin films were measured up to 28 Tesla at Grenoble High Magnetic Field Laboratory. The films were grown by Pulsed Laser Deposition and showed critical temperatures ranging between 29.5 and 38.8 K and resistivities at 40 K varying from 5 to 50 mWcm. The critical fields in the perpendicular direction turned out to be in the 13-24 T range while they were estimated to be in 42-57 T the range in ab-planes. In contrast to the prediction of the BCS theory, we did not observe any saturation at low temperatures: a linear temperature dependence is exhibited even at lowest temperatures at which we made the measurements. Moreover, the critical field values seemed not to depend on the normal state resistivity value. In this paper, we analyze these data considering the multiband nature of superconductivity in MgB2 We will show how the scattering mechanisms that determine critical fields and resistivity can be different.