arXiv subjects

T. J. Hicken

Publications and source records attributed to T. J. Hicken.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2023

Band-filling-controlled magnetism from transition metal intercalation in $N_{1/3}$NbS$_2$ revealed with first-principles calculations

We present a first-principles study of the effect of 3$d$ transition metal intercalation on the magnetic properties of the 2H-NbS$_2$ system, using spin-resolved density functional theory calculations to investigate the electronic structure of $N_{1/3}$NbS$_2$ ($N$ = Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni). We are able to accurately determine the magnetic moments and crystal field splitting, and find that the magnetic properties of the materials are determined by a mechanism based on filling rigid bands with electrons from the intercalant. We predict the dominant magnetic interaction of these materials by considering Fermi surface nesting, finding agreement with experiment where data are available.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2022

Magnetism in the Néel skyrmion host GaV$_4$S$_8$ under pressure

We present magnetization and muon-spin spectroscopy measurements of Néel skyrmion-host GaV$_4$S$_8$ under the application of hydrostatic pressures up to $P=2.29$ GPa. Our results suggest that the magnetic phase diagram is altered with pressure via a reduction in the crossover temperature from the cycloidal (C) to ferromagnetic-like state with increasing $P$, such that, by 2.29 GPa, the C state appears to persist down to the lowest measured temperatures. With the aid of micromagnetic simulations, we propose that the driving mechanism behind this change is a reduction in the magnetic anisotropy of the system, and suggest that this could lead to an increase in stability of the skyrmion lattice.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Energy-gap driven low-temperature magnetic and transport properties in Cr$_{1/3}M$S$_2$ ($M$ = Nb or Ta)

The helimagnets Cr$_{1/3}M$S$_2$ ($M$ = Nb or Ta) have attracted renewed attention due to the discovery of a chiral soliton lattice (CSL) stabilized in an applied magnetic field, but reports of unusual low-temperature transport and magnetic properties in this system lack a unifying explanation. Here we present electronic structure calculations that demonstrate the materials are half-metals. There is also a gap-like feature (width in range 40-100 meV) in the density of states of one spin channel. This electronic structure explains the low-temperature electronic and magnetic properties of Cr$_{1/3}M$S$_2$ ($M$ = Nb or Ta), with the gap-like feature particularly important for explaining the magnetic behavior. Our magnetometry measurements confirm the existence of this gap. Dynamic spin fluctuations driven by excitations across this gap are seen over a wide range of frequencies (0.1 Hz to MHz) with AC susceptibility and muon-spin relaxation ($μ^+$SR) measurements. We show further how effects due to the CSL in Cr$_{1/3}$NbS$_2$, as detected with $μ^+$SR, dominate over the gap-driven magnetism when the CSL is stabilized as the majority phase.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Spin dynamics in bulk MnNiGa and Mn$_{1.4}$Pt$_{0.9}$Pd$_{0.1}$Sn investigated by muon spin relaxation

We report muon spin relaxation and magnetometry studies of bulk Mn$_{1.4}$Pt$_{0.9}$Pd$_{0.1}$Sn and MnNiGa, two materials which have recently been proposed to host topological magnetic states in thin lamella (antiskyrmions for Mn$_{1.4}$Pt$_{0.9}$Pd$_{0.1}$Sn and biskyrmions for MnNiGa), and show spin reorientation transitions in bulk. These measurements shed light on the magnetic dynamics surounding the two magnetic phase transitions in each material. In particular, we demonstrate that the behaviour approaching the higher temperature transition in both samples is best understood by considering a slow decrease in the frequency of dynamics with temperature, rather than the sharp critical slowing down typical of second order transitions. Furthermore, at low temperatures the two samples both show spin dynamics over a broad range of frequencies that persist below the spin reorienation transition. The dynamic behavior we identify gives new insight into the bulk magnetism of these materials that may help underpin the stabilization of the topologically non-trivial phases that are seen in thin lamellae.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

MuFinder: A program to determine and analyse muon stopping sites

Significant progress has recently been made in calculating muon stopping sites using density functional theory. The technique aims to address two of the most common criticisms of the muon-spin spectroscopy ($μ^+$SR) technique, namely, where in the sample does the muon stop, and what is its effect on its local environment. We have designed and developed a program called MuFinder that enables users to carry out these calculations through a simple graphical user interface (GUI). The procedure for calculating muon sites by generating initial muon positions, relaxing the structures, and then clustering and analysing the resulting candidate sites, can be done entirely within the GUI. The local magnetic field at the muon site can also be computed, allowing the connection between the muon sites obtained and experiment to be made. MuFinder will make these computations significantly more accessible to non-experts and help to establish muon site calculations as a routine part of $μ^+$SR experiments.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Magnetic order and disorder in a quasi-two-dimensional quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet with randomized exchange

We present an investigation of the effect of randomizing exchange strengths in the $S=1/2$ square lattice quasi-two-dimensional quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet (QuinH)$_2$Cu(Cl$_{x}$Br$_{1-x}$)$_{4}\cdot$2H$_2$O (QuinH$=$Quinolinium, C$_9$H$_8$N$^+$), with $0\leq x \leq 1$. Pulsed-field magnetization measurements allow us to estimate an effective in-plane exchange strength $J$ in a regime where exchange fosters short-range order, while the temperature $T_{\mathrm{N}}$ at which long range order (LRO) occurs is found using muon-spin relaxation, allowing us to construct a phase diagram for the series. We evaluate the effectiveness of disorder in suppressing $T_{\mathrm{N}}$ and the ordered moment size and find an extended disordered phase in the region $0.4 \lesssim x \lesssim 0.8$ where no magnetic order occurs, driven by quantum effects of the exchange randomness.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Megahertz dynamics in skyrmion systems probed with muon-spin relaxation

We present longitudinal-field muon-spin relaxation (LF $μ$SR) measurements on two systems that stabilize a skyrmion lattice (SkL): Cu$_2$OSeO$_3$, and Co$_x$Zn$_y$Mn$_{20-x-y}$ for $(x,y)~=~(10,10)$, $(8,9)$ and $(8,8)$. We find that the SkL phase of Cu$_2$OSeO$_3$ exhibits emergent dynamic behavior at megahertz frequencies, likely due to collective excitations, allowing the SkL to be identified from the $μ$SR response. From measurements following different cooling protocols and calculations of the muon stopping site, we suggest that the metastable SkL is not the majority phase throughout the bulk of this material at the fields and temperatures where it is often observed. The dynamics of bulk Co$_8$Zn$_9$Mn$_3$ are well described by $\simeq~2$ GHz excitations that reduce in frequency near the critical temperature, while in Co$_8$Zn$_8$Mn$_4$ we observe similar behavior over a wide range of temperatures, implying that dynamics of this kind persist beyond the SkL phase.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Stability and Metastability of Skyrmions in Thin Lamellae of Cu$_2$OSeO$_3$

We report small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements of the skyrmion lattice in two 200~nm thick Cu$_2$OSeO$_3$ lamellae aligned with the applied magnetic field parallel to the out of plane [110] or [100] crystallographic directions. Our measurements show that the equilibrium skyrmion phase in both samples is expanded significantly compared to bulk crystals, existing between approximately 30 and 50~K over a wide region of magnetic field. This skyrmion state is elliptically distorted at low fields for the [110] sample, and symmetric for the [100] sample, possibly due to crystalline anisotropy becoming more important at this sample thickness than it is in bulk samples. Furthermore, we find that a metastable skyrmion state can be observed at low temperature by field cooling through the equilibrium skyrmion pocket in both samples. In contrast to the behavior in bulk samples, the volume fraction of metastable skyrmions does not significantly depend on cooling rate. We show that a possible explanation for this is the change in the lowest temperature of the skyrmion state in this lamellae compared to bulk, without requiring different energetics of the skyrmion state.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Magnetism and Néel skyrmion dynamics in GaV$_{4}$S$_{8-y}$Se$_{y}$

We present an investigation of the influence of low-levels of chemical substitution on the magnetic ground state and N{\' e}el skyrmion lattice (SkL) state in GaV$_4$S$_{8-y}$Se$_y$, where $y =0, 0.1, 7.9$, and $8$. Muon-spin spectroscopy ($μ$SR) measurements on $y=0$ and 0.1 materials reveal the magnetic ground state consists of microscopically coexisting incommensurate cycloidal and ferromagnetic environments, while chemical substitution leads to the growth of localized regions of increased spin density. $μ$SR measurements of emergent low-frequency skyrmion dynamics show that the SkL exists under low-levels of substitution at both ends of the series. Skyrmionic excitations persist to temperatures below the equilibrium SkL in substituted samples, suggesting the presence of skyrmion precursors over a wide range of temperatures.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Magnetic order and ballistic spin transport in a sine-Gordon spin chain

We report the results of muon-spin spectroscopy ($μ^+$SR) measurements on the staggered molecular spin chain [pym-Cu(NO$_3$)$_2$(H$_2$O)$_2$] (pym = pyrimidine), a material previously described using sine-Gordon field theory. Zero-field $μ^+$SR reveals a long range magnetically-ordered ground state below a transition temperature $T_\mathrm{N}=0.22(1)$ K. Using longitudinal-field (LF) $μ^+$SR we investigate the dynamic response in applied magnetic fields $0< B < 500$ mT and find evidence for ballistic spin transport. Our LF $μ^+$SR measurements on the chiral spin chain [Cu(pym)(H$_2$O)$_4$]SiF$_6 \cdot $H$_2$O instead demonstrate one-dimensional spin diffusion and the distinct spin transport in these two systems likely reflects differences in their magnetic excitations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Origin of skyrmion lattice phase splitting in Zn-substituted Cu$_{2}$OSeO$_{3}$

We present an investigation into the structural and magnetic properties of Zn-substituted Cu$_{2}$OSeO$_{3}$, a system in which the skyrmion lattice (SkL) phase in the magnetic field-temperature phase diagram was previously seen to split as a function of increasing Zn concentration. We find that splitting of the SkL is only observed in polycrystalline samples and reflects the occurrence of several coexisting phases with different Zn content, each distinguished by different magnetic behaviour. No such multiphase behaviour is observed in single crystal samples.

cond-mat.str-el↗