arXiv subjects

Kenshin Kurauchi

Publications and source records attributed to Kenshin Kurauchi.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

Acoustic phonon softening and lattice instability driven by on-site $f$-$d$ hybridization in CeCoSi

Soft phonon modes in tetragonal CeCoSi, which undergoes a structural transition at $T_0=12$ K followed by antiferromagnetic order at $T_{\text{N}}=9.5$ K, have been investigated using high-resolution inelastic x-ray scattering. Pronounced softening was detected in the transverse acoustic modes corresponding to the $(yz+zx)$-type monoclinic distortion, consistent with the experimentally determined triclinic structure. Remarkably, the softening persists up to the zone boundary along (0, 0, $q$), indicating a short correlation length of the lattice instability. This instability, characterized by a Curie-type strain susceptibility, is interpreted as a consequence of the on-site $4f$-$5d$ hybridization, which is intrinsic to this crystal structure due to the lack of inversion symmetry at the two Ce sites.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Discovery of antiferromagnetic chiral helical ordered state in trigonal GdNi$_3$Ga$_9$

We have performed magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, and specific heat measurements on a chiral magnet GdNi$_3$Ga$_9$, belonging to the trigonal space group $R32$ (\#155). A magnetic phase transition takes place at $T_{\rm N}$ = 19.5 K. By applying a magnetic field along the $a$ axis at 2 K, the magnetization curve exhibits two jumps at $\sim$ 3 kOe and = 45 kOe. To determine the magnetic structure, we performed a resonant X-ray diffraction experiment by utilizing a circularly polarized beam. It is shown that a long-period antiferromagnetic (AFM) helical order is realized at zero field. The Gd spins in the honeycomb layer are coupled in an antiferromagnetic manner in the $c$ plane and rotate with a propagation vector $q$ = (0, 0, 1.485). The period of the helix is 66.7 unit cells ($\sim 180$~nm). In magnetic fields above 3~kOe applied perpendicular to the helical $c$ axis, the AFM helical order changes to an AFM order with $q$ = (0, 0, 1.5).

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Distorted triangular skyrmion lattice in a noncentrosymmetric tetragonal magnet

Magnetic skyrmions are particle-like spin-swirling objects ubiquitously realized in magnets. They are topologically stable chiral kinks composed of multiple modulation waves of spiral spin structures, where the helicity of each spiral is usually selected by antisymmetric exchange interactions in noncentrosymmetric crystals. We report an experimental observation of a distorted triangular lattice of skyrmions in the polar tetragonal magnet EuNiGe$_3$, reflecting a strong coupling with the lattice. Moreover, through resonant x-ray diffraction, we find that the magnetic helicity of the original spiral at zero field is reversed when the skyrmion lattice is formed in a magnetic field. This means that the energy gain provided by the skyrmion lattice formation is larger than the antisymmetric exchange interaction. Our findings will lead us to a further understanding of emergent magnetic states.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Helicity Selection of the Cycloidal Order in Noncentrosymmetric EuIrGe$_3$

The magnetic helicities of the cycloidal ordering in EuIrGe$_3$, with a noncentrosymmetric tetragonal structure, have been studied by circularly polarized resonant X-ray diffraction. It is shown that the helicity of each cycloidal domain is uniquely determined and satisfies the symmetry relations of the $C_{4v}$ point group of the crystal structure. The result shows that the cycloidal helicity is determined by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya type antisymmetric exchange interaction. The domain selection and the phase transition by the external magnetic field along [100] and [110] have also been studied. It is shown that the cycloidal plane prefers to be perpendicular to the field and the transverse conical state is realized.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Crystal field excitation in the chiral helimagnet YbNi$_3$Al$_9$

Crystal field level scheme of a uniaxial chiral helimagnet YbNi$_3$Al$_9$, exhibiting a chiral magnetic soliton lattice state by Cu substitution for Ni, has been determined by inelastic neutron scattering. The ground and the first excited doublets are separated by 44 K and are simply expressed as $α|\pm 7/2\rangle + β|\mp 5/2\rangle$ with $α$ and $β$ nearly equal to $\pm 1/\sqrt{2}$. The easy axis of the crystal field anisotropy is the $c$ axis when the excited levels are populated at high temperatures and high magnetic fields. On the other hand, the magnetism at low temperatures and low magnetic fields, where only the ground doublet is populated, is described by an easy plane anisotropy which may be treated as an $S=1/2$ system with an anisotropic $g$-factor, $g_{xy}=3.02$ and $g_z=1.14$. An orbital dependent exchange interaction is also discussed to explain the temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility based on this level scheme.

cond-mat.str-el↗