arXiv subjects

T. Takabatake

Publications and source records attributed to T. Takabatake.

71 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2005

Direct observation of Fe spin reorientation in single crystalline YbFe6Ge6

We have grown single crystals of YbFe6Ge6 and LuFe6Ge6 and characterized their anisotropic behaviour through low field magnetic susceptibility, field-dependent magnetization, resistivity and heat capacity measurements. The Yb+3 valency is confirmed by LIII XANES measurements. YbFe6Ge6 crystals exhibit a field-dependent, sudden reorientation of the Fe spins at about 63 K, a unique effect in the RFe6Ge6 family (R = rare earths) where the Fe ions order anti-ferromagnetically with Neel temperatures above 450 K and the R ions' magnetism appears to behave independently. The possible origins of this unusual behaviour of the ordered Fe moments in this compound are discussed.

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arXiv2005

Indirect and direct energy gaps in the Kondo semiconductor YbB12

Optical conductivity [$σ(ω)$] of the Kondo semiconductor YbB$_{12}$ has been measured over wide ranges of temperature ($T$=8$-$690 K) and photon energy ($\hbar ω\geq$ 1.3 meV). The $σ(ω)$ data reveal the entire crossover of YbB$_{12}$ from a metallic electronic structure at high $T$ into a semiconducting one at low $T$. Associated with the gap development in $σ(ω)$, a clear onset is newly found at $\hbarω$=15 meV for $T \leq$ 20 K. The onset energy is identified as the gap width of YbB$_{12}$ appearing in $σ(ω)$. This gap in σ(ω)$ is interpreted as the indirect gap, which has been predicted in the band model of Kondo semiconductor. On the other hand, the strong mid-infrared (mIR) peak observed in $σ(ω)$ is interpreted as arising from the direct gap. The absorption coefficient around the onset and the mIR peak indeed show characteristic energy dependences expected for indirect and direct optical transitions in conventional semiconductors.

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arXiv2005

Evidence for short-range antiferromagnetic fluctuations in Kondo-insulating YbB12

The spin dynamics of mixed-valence YbB12 has been studied by inelastic neutron scattering on a high-quality single crystal. In the Kondo-insulating regime realized at low temperature, the spectra exhibit a spin-gap structure with two sharp, dispersive, in-gap excitations at E = 14.5 and approximately 20 meV. The lower mode is shown to be associated with short-range correlations near the antiferromagnetic wave vector q0 = (1/2, 1/2, 1/2). Its properties are in overall agreement with those expected for a "spin exciton'' branch in an indirect hybridization gap semiconductor.

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arXiv2005

Magnetic-field induced band-structure change in CeBiPt

We report on a field-induced change of the electronic band structure of CeBiPt as evidenced by electrical-transport measurements in pulsed magnetic fields. Above ~25 T, the charge-carrier concentration increases nearly 30% with a concomitant disappearance of the Shubnikov-de Haas signal. These features are intimately related to the Ce 4f electrons since for the non-4f compound LaBiPt the Fermi surface remains unaffected. Electronic band-structure calculations point to a 4f-polarization-induced change of the Fermi-surface topology.

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arXiv2004

Ferromagnetic Instability in AFe4Sb12 (A = Ca, Sr, and Ba)

Magnetic, transport and thermal properties of AFe4Sb12 (A = Ca, Sr, Ba) are reported. All three compounds show a maximum in both the magnetic susceptibility and thermopower at 50 K, and a large electronic specific heat coefficient of 100 mJ/mol K2. These properties are the characteristics of a nearly ferromagnetic metal. Furthermore, a remanent moment of the order of 10-3muB/Fe was observed below 54, 48, and 40 K for A = Ca, Sr, and Ba, respectively. The volume fraction of the ferromagnetic component was estimated to be 10-20% by zero-field muSR measurements.

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arXiv2004

High-resolution soft x-ray photoemission study of a Kondo semiconductor and related compounds

We have performed the bulk-sensitive high-resolution soft x-ray photoemission study of a Kondo semiconductor CeRhAs and related compounds CeNiSn and CePdSn. The comparison of the spectra of polycrystalline CePdSn on the fractured and scraped surfaces shows that the fracturing of the samples is much better than the scraping in order to obtain intrinsic photoemission spectra. The Ce 4d core-level spectra show clear differences in the electronic states among the materials.

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arXiv2004

Structural, transport, and thermal properties of single crystalline type-VIII clathrate Ba8Ga16Sn30

We report the electrical resistivity, Hall coefficient, thermoelectric power, specific heat, and thermal conductivity on single crystals of the type-VIII clathrate Ba8Ga16Sn30 grown from Sn-flux. Negative S and R_H over a wide temperature range indicate that electrons dominate electrical transport properties. Both rho(T) and S(T) show typical behavior of a heavily doped semiconductor. The absolute value of S increases monotonically to 243 uV/K with increasing temperature up to 550 K. The large S may originate from the low carrier concentration n=3.7x10^19 cm^(-3). Hall mobility u_H shows a maximum of 62 cm^2/Vs around 70 K. The analysis of temperature dependence of u_H suggests a crossover of dominant scattering mechanism from ionized impurity to acoustic phonon scattering with increasing temperature. The existence of local vibration modes of Ba atoms in cages composed of Ga and Sn atoms is evidenced by analysis of experimental data of structural refinement and specific heat, which give an Einstein temperature of 50 K and a Debye temperature of 200 K. This local vibration of Ba atoms should be responsible for the low thermal conductivity (1.1 W/m K at 150 K). The potential of type-VIII clathrate compounds for thermoelectric application is discussed.

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arXiv2004

YbNiSi3: a new antiferromagnetic Kondo lattice with strong exchange interaction

We report on the structural, thermodynamic and transport properties of high-quality single crystals of YbNiSi3 grown by the flux method. This compound crystallizes in the SmNiGe3 layered structure type of the Cmmm space group. The general physical behavior is that of a Kondo lattice showing an antiferromagnetic ground state below T_N = 5.1 K. This is among the highest ordering temperatures for a Yb-based intermetallic, indicating strong exchange interaction between the Yb ions, which are close to +3 valency based on the effective moment of 4.45 mu_B/f.u. The compound has moderately heavy-electron behavior with Sommerfeld coefficient 190 mJ/mol K^2. Resistivity is highly anisotropic and exhibits the signature logarithmic increase below a local minimum, followed by a sharp decrease in the coherent/magnetically ordered state, resulting in residual resistivity of 1.5 micro Ohm cm and RRR = 40. Fermi-liquid behavior consistent with a ground-state doublet is clearly observed below 1 K.

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arXiv2004

Magnetic, electrical resistivity, heat-capacity and thermopower anomalies in CeCuAs2

The results of magnetic susceptibility, electrical resistivity ($ρ$), heat-capacity (C) and thermopower (S) measurements on CeCuAs2, forming in ZrCuSi2-type tetragonal structure, are reported. Our investigations reveal that Ce is trivalent and there is no clear evidence for long range magnetic ordering down to 45 mK. The $ρ$ behavior is notable in the sense that (i) the temperature (T)-coefficient of $ρ$ is negative in the entire range of measurement (45 mK to 300 K) with large values of $ρ$, while S behavior is typical of metallic Kondo lattices, and (ii) $ρ$ is proportional to T-0.6 at low temperatures, without any influence on the exponent by the application of a magnetic field, which does not seem to classify this compound into hither-to-known non-Fermi liquid (NFL) systems. In contrast to the logarithmic increase known for NFL systems, C/T measured down to 0.5 K exhibits a fall below 2 K. The observed properties of this compound are unusual among Ce systems.

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arXiv2003

Pressure effect on magnetism in CeTe$_{1.82}$

We report the normal-state transport and magnetic properties of a pressure-induced superconductor CeTe$_{1.82}$. We found that the applied pressure is required to increase the Kondo temperature scale ($T^*_{\rm K} \sim$ 170 K), associated with the two-dimensional motion of the carriers confined within the Te plane. Both the short-range ferromagnetic ordering temperature ($T_{\rm SRF} \sim$ 6 K) and the long-range antiferromagnetic transition temperature ($T_{\rm N} \sim$ 4.3 K) are slightly increased with pressure. We suggest that the application of pressure enhances a coupling between the 4$f$ and conduction electrons. We also found that the field effect on the transport under pressure is analogous to that at ambient pressure, where a large magnetoresistance is observed in the vicinity of $T_{\rm SRF}$.

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arXiv2002

Resistivity, Hall effect and Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in CeNiSn

The resistivity and Hall effect in CeNiSn are measured at temperatures down to 35 mK and in magnetic fields up to 20 T with the current applied along the {\it b} axis. The resistivity at zero field exhibits quadratic temperature dependence below $\sim$0.16 K with a huge coefficient of the $T^2$ term (54 $μ$$Ω$cm/K$^2$). The resistivity as a function of field shows an anomalous maximum and dip, the positions of which vary with field directions. Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations with a frequency {\it F} of $\sim$100 T are observed for a wide range of field directions in the {\it ac} and {\it bc} planes, and the quasiparticle mass is determined to be $\sim$10-20 {\it m}$_e$. The carrier density is estimated to be $\sim10^{-3}$ electron/Ce. In a narrow range of field directions in the {\it ac} plane, where the magnetoresistance-dip anomaly manifests itself clearer than in other field directions, a higher-frequency ($F=300\sim400\text{T}$) SdH oscillation is found at high fields above the anomaly. This observation is discussed in terms of possible field-induced changes in the electronic structure.

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arXiv2002

Superconductivity in Magnetically Ordered CeTe$_{1.82}$

We report the discovery of pressure-induced superconductivity in a semimetallic magnetic material CeTe$_{1.82}$. The superconducting transition temperature $T_{SC}$ = 2.7 K (well below the magnetic ordering temperatures) under pressure ($>$ 2 kbar) is remarkably high, considering the relatively low carrier density due to a charge-density-wave transition associated with lattice modulation. The coexisting magnetic structure of a mixed ferromagnetism and antiferromagnetism can provide a clue for this high $T_{SC}$. We discuss a theoretical model for its possible pairing symmetry and pairing mechanism.

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arXiv2002

The Metal-Insulator Transition in Y1-xCaxTiO3 Caused by Phase Separation

In order to explore the origin of the Metal-Insulator (M-I) transition, the precise crystal structures of the hole-doped Mott insulator system, Y1-XCaXTiO3 (x=0.37, 0.39 and 0.41), are studied for the temperature range between 20K and 300K by the synchrotron radiation (SR) X-ray powder diffraction. For both Y0.63Ca0.37TiO3 and Y0.61Ca0.39TiO3 compositions, the orthorhombic (Pbnm) - monoclinic (P21/n) structural phase transition occurs at around 230K, which is much higher than their own M-I transition temperatures, i.e. 60K and 130K, respectively. For these compositions, the significant phase separation (low-temperature orthorhombic + monoclinic) is also found in the vicinity of the M-I transition temperature. On the other hand, Y0.59Ca0.41TiO3, which dose not exhibit M-I transition and preserve a metallic behavior down to 1.5K, is in two phases state from 20K to 300K. It is concluded that the existence of the phase separation causes the M-I transition in Y1-xCaxTiO3, and the low-temperature orthorhombic phase contributes to the metallic property of this system.

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arXiv2001

Magnetic and transport properties of the new antiferromagnetic Kondo-lattice CeNiBi2

We report results of the first studies on the magnetic and transport properties of a new material CeNiBi_2. The magnetic susceptibility exhibits a sharp peak at T_N = 6K, indicating an antiferromagnetic phase transition. This antiferromagnetic order below T_N is confirmed by magnetization measurement, which displays a metamagnetic-like transition at H_m = 5 T. Both low-temperature susceptibility and high-field magnetization are suggestive of strong crystalline-electric-field effect in CeNiBi_2. The electrical resistivity shows the presence of Kondo and crystal-field effects with a sharp drop below TN due to the antiferromagnetic ordering. This sharp drop below T_N in the electrical resistivity is suppressed slightly to higher temperatures by an applied magnetic field to 18 T. With increasing magnetic field, the slope of magnetoresistance changes from positive to negative, being indicative of the transition to a ferromagnetic state.

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arXiv2001

Is CeNiSn the Kondo semiconductor?: break-junction data

IVC characteristics as well as their derivatives were recorded for contacts on the base of CeNiSn, known as Kondo semiconductor, in the metallic and the tunnelling regime at temperatures between 0.1-8 K and in magnetic fields up to 8 T using mechanically controllable break junctions (MCBJ). It was found that CeNiSn behaves like a compound with typical metallic properties instead of the expected semiconducting behaviour. The main spectral feature is a pronounced zero-bias conductance minimum of about 10 meV width both for metallic and tunnel regime, which appears to be of magnetic nature. The experiments provide no clear-cut evidence for an energy (pseudo)gap in this compound.

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arXiv2000

Anomalous temperature dependence of magnetic quantum oscillations in CeBiPt

Shubnikov--de Haas (SdH) and Hall-effect measurements of CeBiPt and LaBiPt reveal the presence of simple and very small Fermi surfaces with hole-like charge carriers for both semimetals. In the magnetic material, CeBiPt, we observe a strong temperature dependence of the SdH frequency. This highly unusual effect might be connected with an internal exchange field within the material and a strongly spin-dependent scattering of the charge carriers.

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arXiv1998

Optical conductivity of the Kondo insulator YbB_12: Gap formation and low-energy excitations

Optical reflectivity experiments have been conducted on single crystals of the Kondo insulator YbB_12 in order to obtain its optical conductivity, σ(ω). Upon cooling below 70 K, a strong supression of σ(ω) is seen in the far-infrared region, indicating the opening of an energy gap of ~ 25 meV. This gap development is coincident with a rapid decrease in the magnetic susceptibility, which shows that the gap opening has significant influence on magnetic properties. A narrow, asymmetric peak is observed at ~40 meV in σ(ω), which is attributed to optical transitions between the Yb 4f-derived states across the gap. In addition, a broad peak is observed at ~0.25 eV. This peak is attributed to transitions between Yb 4f-derived states and p-d band, and is reminiscent of similar peaks previously observed for rare-earth hexaborides.

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