arXiv subjects

M. Lang

Publications and source records attributed to M. Lang.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

Structural and magnetic transition in CeFeAsO: separated or connected?

Using an adapted Sn-flux growth technique we obtained comparatively large CeFeAsO single crystals of better quality than previously reported polycrystals or single crystals, as evidenced by much sharper anomalies at the structural and magnetic phase transitions as well as a much higher residual resistivity ratio of 12. In the magnetically ordered phase we observe a very pronounced metallic behavior of the in-plane resistivity, which excludes a Mott insulator regime at low temperature. The separation Delta_T = T_0 - T_N between structural and magnetic ordering temperatures decreases with increasing sample quality, from 18 K in the initial reports to 6 K in the present single crystals, demonstrating that this separation is not an intrinsic property of the RFeAsO systems. Our results indicate that the coupling between magnetic ordering and structural distortion is very similar in AFe2As2 and RFeAsO type of compounds, much more similar than previously thought. The implications of our experimental results give arguments both in favor and against the nematic phase model.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Photoproduction of meson pairs: First measurement of the polarization observable I^s

The polarization observable I^s, a feature exclusive to the acoplanar kinematics of multi-meson final states produced via linearly polarized photons, has been measured for the first time. Results for the reaction g p -> p pi0 eta are presented for incoming photon energies between 970 MeV and 1650 MeV along with the beam asymmetry I^c. The comparably large asymmetries demonstrate a high sensitivity of I^s to the dynamics of the reaction. Fits using Bonn-Gatchina partial wave analysis demonstrate that the new polarization observables carry significant information on the contributing partial waves.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2010

Radiative pi0 photoproduction on protons in the Delta+(1232) region

The reaction gamma p -> p pi0 gamma' has been measured with the Crystal Ball / TAPS detectors using the energy-tagged photon beam at the electron accelerator facility MAMI-B. Energy and angular differential cross sections for the emitted photon gamma' and angular differential cross sections for the pi0 have been determined with high statistics in the energy range of the Delta+(1232) resonance. Cross sections and the ratio of the cross section to the non-radiative process gamma p -> p pi0 are compared to theoretical reaction models, having the anomalous magnetic moment kappa_Delta+ as free parameter. As the shape of the experimental distributions is not reproduced in detail by the model calculations, currently no extraction of kappa_Delta+ is feasible.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2010

Lattice effects and entropy release at the low-temperature phase transition in the spin-liquid candidate $κ$-(BEDT-TTF)$_{2}$Cu$_{2}$(CN)$_{3}$

The spin-liquid candidate $κ$-(BEDT-TTF)$_{2}$Cu$_{2}$(CN)$_{3}$ has been studied by measuring the uniaxial expansion coefficients $α_{i}$, the specific heat, and magnetic susceptibility. Special emphasis was placed on the mysterious anomaly around 6 K - a potential spin-liquid instability. Distinct and strongly anisotropic lattice effects have been observed at 6 K, clearly identifying this feature as a second-order phase transition. Owing to the large anomalies in $α_{i}$, the application of Grüneisen scaling has enabled us to determine the corresponding specific heat contribution and the entropy release. Comparison of the latter with available spin models suggests that spin degrees of freedom alone cannot account for the phase transition. Scenarios, involving charge degrees of freedom, are discussed. charge degrees of freedom, are discussed.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Rare earth magnetism in CeFeAsO: A single crystal study

Single crystals of CeFeAsO, large enough to study the anisotropy of the magnetic properties, were grown by an optimized Sn-flux technique. The high quality of our single crystals is apparent from the highest residual resistivity ratio, RRR = 12, reported among undoped RFeAsO compounds (R=rare earth) as well as sharp anomalies in resistivity, specific heat, C(T), and thermal expansion at the different phase transitions. The magnetic susceptibility chi(T) presents a large easy-plane anisotropy consistent with the lowest crystal electric field doublet having a dominant Gamma_6 character. Curie-Weiss like susceptibilities for magnetic field parallel and perpendicular to the crystallographic c-axis do not reveal an influence of a staggered field on the Ce site induced by magnetic ordering of the Fe. Furthermore, the standard signatures for antiferromagnetic order of Ce at T_N = 3.7 K observed in chi(T) and C(T) are incompatible with a Zeeman splitting Delta = 10 K of the CEF ground state doublet at low temperature due to the Fe-magnetic order as previously proposed. Our results can be reconciled with the earlier observation by assuming a comparatively stronger effect of the Ce-Ce exchange leading to a reduction of this Zeeman splitting below 15 K.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2009

Low temperature properties of the Electron Spin Resonance in YbRh2Si2

We present the field and temperature behavior of the narrow Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) response in YbRh2Si2 well below the single ion Kondo temperature. The ESR g factor reflects a Kondo-like field and temperature evolution of the Yb3+ magnetism. Measurements towards low temperatures (>0.5K) have shown distinct crossover anomalies of the ESR parameters upon approaching the regime of a well defined heavy Fermi liquid. Comparison with the field dependence of specific heat and electrical resistivity reveal that the ESR parameters can be related to quasiparticle mass and cross section and, hence, contain inherent heavy electron properties.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Beam-Helicity Asymmetries in Double Pion Photoproduction off the Proton

Beam-helicity asymmetries have been measured at the MAMI accelerator in Mainz in the three isospin channels $\vecγp\to π^{+}π^0n$, $\vecγp\to π^{0}π^0p$ and $\vecγp\to π^{+}π^{-}p$ . The circularly polarized photons, produced from bremsstrahlung of longitudinally polarized electrons, were tagged with the Glasgow magnetic spectrometer. Charged pions and the decay photons of $π^0$ mesons were detected in a $~4π$ electromagnetic calorimeter which combined the Crystal Ball detector with the TAPS detector. The precisely measured asymmetries are very sensitive to details of the production processes and are thus key observables in the modeling of the reaction dynamics.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2009

Measurement of the Slope Parameter $α$ for the $η\to 3π^0$ decay with the Crystal Ball detector at the Mainz Microtron (MAMI-C)

The dynamics of the $η\to 3π^0$ decay have been studied with the Crystal Ball multiphoton spectrometer and the TAPS calorimeter. Bremsstrahlung photons produced by the 1.5-GeV electron beam of the Mainz microtron MAMI-C and tagged by the Glasgow photon spectrometer were used for $η$-meson production. The analysis of $3 \times 10^6$ $γp \to ηp \to 3π^0 p \to 6γp$ events yields the value $α=-0.032\pm0.003$ for the $η\to 3π^0$ slope parameter, which agrees with the majority of recent experimental results and has the smallest uncertainty. The $π^0π^0$ invariant-mass spectrum was investigated for the occurrence of a cusplike structure in the vicinity of the $π^+π^-$ threshold. The observed effect is small and does not affect our measured value for the slope parameter.

hep-ex↗

arXiv2009

Determination of the Dalitz plot parameter alpha for the decay eta->3pi^0 with the Crystal Ball at MAMI-B

A precise measurement of the Dalitz plot parameter, alpha, for the eta->3pi^0 decay is presented. The experiment was performed with the Crystal Ball and TAPS large acceptance photon detectors at the tagged photon beam facility of the MAMI-B electron accelerator in Mainz. High statistics of 1.8*10^6 eta->3pi^0 events were obtained, giving the result alpha = -0.032 +/- 0.002(stat) +/- 0.002(syst).

hep-ex↗

arXiv2008

Evidence for Lattice Effects at the Charge-Ordering Transition in (TMTTF)$_2$X

High-resolution thermal expansion measurements have been performed for exploring the mysterious "structureless transition" in (TMTTF)$_{2}$X (X = PF$_{6}$ and AsF$_{6}$), where charge ordering at $T_{CO}$ coincides with the onset of ferroelectric order. Particularly distinct lattice effects are found at $T_{CO}$ in the uniaxial expansivity along the interstack $\textbf{\textit{c*}}$-direction. We propose a scheme involving a charge modulation along the TMTTF stacks and its coupling to displacements of the counteranions X$^{-}$. These anion shifts, which lift the inversion symmetry enabling ferroelectric order to develop, determine the 3D charge pattern without ambiguity. Evidence is found for another anomaly for both materials at $T_{int}$ $\simeq$ 0.6 $\cdot$ $T_{CO}$ indicative of a phase transition related to the charge ordering.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Photoproduction of eta-mesons off nuclei for Eg < 2.2 GeV

Photoproduction of $η$ mesons off $^{12}$C, $^{40}$Ca, $^{93}$Nb, and $^{nat}$Pb nuclei has been measured with a tagged photon beam with energies between 0.6 and 2.2 GeV. The experiment was performed at the Bonn ELSA accelerator with the combined setup of the Crystal Barrel and TAPS calorimeters. It aimed at the in-medium properties of the S$_{11}$(1535) nucleon resonance and the study of the absorption properties of nuclear matter for $η$ mesons. Careful consideration was given to contributions from $ηπ$ final states and secondary production mechanisms of $η$-mesons e.g. from inelastic $πN$ reactions of intermediate pions. The analysis of the mass number scaling shows that the nuclear absorption cross section $σ_{Nη}$ for $η$ mesons is constant over a wide range of the $η$ momentum. The comparison of the excitation functions to data off the deuteron and to calculations in the framework of a BUU-model show no unexplained in-medium modifications of the S$_{11}$(1535).

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2008

Quasi-free photoproduction of eta-mesons of the neutron

Quasi-free photoproduction of eta-mesons off nucleons bound in the deuteron has been measured with the CBELSA/TAPS detector for incident photon energies up to 2.5 GeV at the Bonn ELSA accelerator. The eta-mesons have been detected in coincidence with recoil protons and recoil neutrons, which allows a detailed comparison of the quasi-free n(gamma,eta)n and p(gamma,eta)p reactions. The excitation function for eta-production off the neutron shows a pronounced bump-like structure at W=1.68 GeV (E_g ~ 1 GeV), which is absent for the proton.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2008

Effects of Two Energy Scales in Weakly Dimerized Antiferromagnetic Quantum Spin Chains

By means of thermal expansion and specific heat measurements on the high-pressure phase of (VO)$_2$P$_2$O$_7$, the effects of two energy scales of the weakly dimerized antiferromagnetic $S$ = 1/2 Heisenberg chain are explored. The low energy scale, given by the spin gap $Δ$, is found to manifest itself in a pronounced thermal expansion anomaly. A quantitative analysis, employing T-DMRG calculations, shows that this feature originates from changes in the magnetic entropy with respect to $Δ$, $\partial S^{m}/ \partial Δ$. This term, inaccessible by specific heat, is visible only in the weak-dimerization limit where it reflects peculiarities of the excitation spectrum and its sensitivity to variations in $Δ$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Anomalous Lattice Response at the Mott Transition in a Quasi-2D Organic Conductor

Discontinuous changes of the lattice parameters at the Mott metal-insulator transition are detected by high-resolution dilatometry on deuterated crystals of the layered organic conductor $κ$-(BEDT-TTF)$_{2}$Cu[N(CN)$_{2}$]Br. The uniaxial expansivities uncover a striking and unexpected anisotropy, notably a zero-effect along the in-plane c-axis along which the electronic interactions are relatively strong. A huge thermal expansion anomaly is observed near the end-point of the first-order transition line enabling to explore the critical behavior with very high sensitivity. The analysis yields critical fluctuations with an exponent $\tildeα \simeq$ 0.8 $\pm$ 0.15 at odds with the novel criticality recently proposed for these materials [Kagawa \textit{et al.}, Nature \textbf{436}, 534 (2005)]. Our data suggest an intricate role of the lattice degrees of freedom in the Mott transition for the present materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Incoherent pion photoproduction on $^{12}$C

We present the first detailed measurement of incoherent photoproduction of neutral pions to a discrete state of a residual nucleus. The $^{12}$C$(γ,π^{0})^{12}$C$^{*}_{4.4MeV}$ reaction has been studied with the Glasgow photon tagger at MAMI employing a new technique which uses the large solid angle Crystal Ball detector both as a $π^{0}$ spectrometer and to detect decay photons from the excited residual nucleus. The technique has potential applications to a broad range of future nuclear measurements with the Crystal Ball and similar detector systems elsewhere. The data are sensitive to the propagation of the $Δ$ in the nuclear medium and will give the first information on matter transition form factors from measurements with an electromagnetic probe. The incoherent cross sections are compared to two theoretical predictions including a $Δ$-hole model.

nucl-ex↗

arXiv2007

Nature of the spin dynamics and 1/3 magnetization plateau in azurite

We present a specific heat and inelastic neutron scattering study in magnetic fields up into the 1/3 magnetization plateau phase of the diamond chain compound azurite Cu$_3$(CO$_3$)$_2$(OH)$_2$. We establish that the magnetization plateau is a dimer-monomer state, {\it i.e.}, consisting of a chain of $S = 1/2$ monomers, which are separated by $S = 0$ dimers on the diamond chain backbone. The effective spin couplings $J_{mono}/k_B = 10.1(2)$ K and $J_{dimer}/k_B = 1.8(1)$ K are derived from the monomer and dimer dispersions. They are associated to microscopic couplings $J_1/k_B = 1(2)$ K, $J_2/k_B = 55(5)$ K and a ferromagnetic $J_3/k_B = -20(5)$ K, possibly as result of $d_{z^2}$ orbitals in the Cu-O bonds providing the superexchange pathways.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2006

Determining ethylene group disorder levels in $κ$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$Cu[N(CN)$_2$]Br

We present a detailed structural investigation of the organic superconductor $κ$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$Cu[N(CN)$_2$]Br at temperatures $T$ from 9 to 300 K. Anomalies in the $T$ dependence of the lattice parameters are associated with a glass-like transition previously reported at $T_g$ = 77 K. From structure refinements at 9, 100 and 300 K, the orthorhombic crystalline symmetry, space group {\it Pnma}, is established at all temperatures. Further, we extract the $T$ dependence of the occupation factor of the eclipsed conformation of the terminal ethylene groups of the BEDT-TTF molecule. At 300 K, we find 67(2) %, with an increase to 97(3) % at 9 K. We conclude that the glass-like transition is not primarily caused by configurational freezing-out of the ethylene groups.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2006

Secondary Beam Monitors for the NuMI Facility at FNAL

The Neutrinos at the Main Injector (NuMI) facility is a conventional neutrino beam which produces muon neutrinos by focusing a beam of mesons into a long evacuated decay volume. We have built four arrays of ionization chambers to monitor the position and intensity of the hadron and muon beams associated with neutrino production at locations downstream of the decay volume. This article describes the chambers' construction, calibration, and commissioning in the beam.

physics.ins-det↗