arXiv subjects

Thomas Keller

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas Keller.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

$d$-spacing distributions as a probe of nematoelastic response in iron-based superconductors

Electronic nematicity in iron-based superconductors (FeSCs) couples bilinearly to orthorhombic strain, allowing nematic correlations to appear in the lattice response. Here we use neutron Larmor diffraction to measure the temperature-dependent distribution of relative $d$ spacings in electron-doped Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$, hole-doped Ba$_{0.83}$K$_{0.17}$Fe$_2$As$_2$, FeSe, and Fe$_{1.07}$Te. In Ba(Fe$_{1-x}$Co$_x$)$_2$As$_2$ crystals without intentionally applied uniaxial stress, the in-plane distribution width, $\varepsilon_{\rm FWHM}$, increases on cooling in the tetragonal phase and can be described phenomenologically by a Curie--Weiss-like form. The fitted scale $T^*$ decreases with Co doping and evolves similarly to the nematic phase diagram inferred from elastoresistance, although the two experiments probe different response functions. Related broadening in Ba$_{0.83}$K$_{0.17}$Fe$_2$As$_2$ and FeSe supports extending this interpretation beyond electron-doped BaFe$_2$As$_2$. By contrast, Fe$_{1.07}$Te shows no extended Curie--Weiss-like regime without applied stress, whereas uniaxial pressure produces a strongly anisotropic broadening that can contain contributions from both the field-biased lattice response and inhomogeneous loading. A mean-field model with bilinear nematoelastic coupling and spatially varying symmetry-breaking stress explains the Curie--Weiss-like broadening in terms of the renormalized orthorhombic compliance. Neutron Larmor diffraction therefore provides a bulk-sensitive probe of nematic-related lattice broadening that complements electronic and elastic measurements.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

Lattice dynamics of the infinite-layer nickelate LaNiO$_2$

Infinite-layer (IL) nickelates have rapidly emerged as a new class of superconductors. However, due to the technical challenges of their topotactic synthesis, they have so far been realized primarily as thin films or polycrystalline powder samples, limiting comprehensive investigations of fundamental physical properties such as the lattice dynamics. Here, we present a time-of-flight inelastic neutron scattering study on a sample composed of a large number of co-aligned bulk crystals of the IL nickelate LaNiO$_2$. We observe several dispersive phonon branches, which are in good agreement with lattice dynamical calculations based on density-functional perturbation theory. In addition, we compare the characteristics of selected LaNiO$_2$ phonon modes to those of isostructural cuprate superconductors. Our findings provide a reference point for future experimental and theoretical efforts aimed at understanding the interplay between lattice dynamics and electronic properties in IL nickelates.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2025

Soft phonon and the central peak at the cubic-to-tetragonal phase transition in SrTiO$_3$

The continuous displacive phase transition in SrTiO$_3$ near $T_c \approx 105$ K features a central elastic peak in neutron scattering investigations at temperatures above $T_c$, i.e., before the corresponding soft phonon mode is overdamped upon cooling. The origin of this central peak is still not understood. Here, we report an inelastic x-ray scattering investigation of the cubic-to-tetragonal phase transition in SrTiO$_3$. We compare quantitatively measurements of the soft phonon mode on two differently grown samples and discuss the findings regarding results from thermodynamic and transport probes such as specific heat and thermal conductivity. Furthermore, we use inelastic x-ray scattering to perform elastic scans with both high momentum- and milli-electronvolt energy-resolution and, thus, be able to separate elastic intensities of the central peak from low-energy quasielastic phonon scattering. Our results indicate that the evolution of the soft mode is similar in both samples though the intensities of the central peak differ by a factor of four. Measurements revealing anisotropic correlation lengths on cooling towards $T_c$, indicate that local properties of the crystals to which collective lattice excitations are insensitive are likely at the origin of the central elastic line in SrTiO$_3$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Bounding the number of p'-degrees from below

Let $G$ be a finite group of order divisible by a prime $p$ and let $P\in\Syl_p(G)$. We prove a recent conjecture by Hung stating that $|\Irr_{p'}(G)|\geq \frac{\exp(P/P')-1}{p-1}+2\sqrt{p-1}-1.$ Let $a\geq 2$ be an integer and suppose that $p^a$ does not exceed the exponent of the center of $P$. We then also show that the number of conjugacy classes of elements of $G$ for which $p^a$ is the exact $p$-part of their order is at least $p^{a-1}$.

math.GR↗

arXiv2022

Extending MIEZE spectroscopy towards thermal wavelengths

We propose a Modulation of intensity with zero effort (MIEZE) set-up for high-resolution neutron spectroscopy at momentum transfers up to 3Å$^{-1}$,energy transfers up to ~ 20 meV, and an energy resolution in the $μ$eV-range using both thermal and cold neutrons. MIEZE has two prominent advantages compared to classical neutron spin-echo. The first one is the possibility to investigate spin-depolarizing samples or samples in strong magnetic fields without loss of signal amplitude and intensity. This allows for the study of spin fluctuations in ferromagnets, and facilitates the study of samples with strong spin-incoherent scattering. The second advantage is that multi-analyzer setups can be implemented with comparatively small effort. The use of thermal neutrons increases the range of validity of the spin-echo approximation towards shorter spin-echo times. In turn, the thermal MIEZE option for greater ranges (TIGER) closes the gap between classical neutron spin-echo spectroscopy and conventional high-resolution neutron spectroscopy techniques such as triple-axis, time-of-flight, and back-scattering. To illustrate the feasibility of TIGER we present the details of an implementation at the beamline RESEDA at FRM II by means of an additional velocity selector, polarizer and analyzer.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Influence of Contacts and Applied Voltage on a Structure of a Single GaN Nanowire

Semiconductor nanowires (NWs) have a broad range of applications for nano- and optoelectronics. The strain field of gallium nitride (GaN) NWs could be significantly changed when contacts are applied to them to form a final device, especially considering the piezoelectric properties of GaN. Investigation of influence of the metallic contacts on the structure of the NWs is of high importance for their applications in real devices. We have studied a series of different type of contacts and influence of the applied voltage bias on the contacted GaN NWs with the length of about 3 to 4 micrometers and with two different diameters of 200 nm and 350 nm. It was demonstrated that the NWs with the diameter of 200 nm are bend already by the interaction with the substrate. For all GaN NWs, significant structural changes were revealed after the contacts deposition. The results of our research may contribute to the future optoelectronic applications of the GaN nanowires.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Hidden Charge Order in an Iron Oxide Square-Lattice Compound

Since the discovery of charge disproportionation in the FeO$_2$ square-lattice compound Sr$_3$Fe$_2$O$_7$ by Mössbauer spectroscopy more than fifty years ago, the spatial ordering pattern of the disproportionated charges has remained "hidden" to conventional diffraction probes, despite numerous x-ray and neutron scattering studies. We have used neutron Larmor diffraction and Fe K-edge resonant x-ray scattering to demonstrate checkerboard charge order in the FeO$_2$ planes that vanishes at a sharp second-order phase transition upon heating above 332 K. Stacking disorder of the checkerboard pattern due to frustrated interlayer interactions broadens the corresponding superstructure reflections and greatly reduces their amplitude, thus explaining the difficulty to detect them by conventional probes. We discuss implications of these findings for research on "hidden order" in other materials.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Tunable perpendicular exchange bias in oxide heterostructures

The exchange bias effect is an essential component of magnetic memory and spintronic devices. Whereas recent research has shown that anisotropies perpendicular to the device plane provide superior stability against thermal noise, it has proven remarkably difficult to realize perpendicular exchange bias in thin-film structures. Here we demonstrate a strong perpendicular exchange bias effect in heterostructures of the quasi-two-dimensional canted antiferromagnet La$_2$CuO$_4$ and ferromagnetic (La,Sr)MnO$_3$ synthesized by ozone-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The magnitude of this effect can be controlled via the doping level of the cuprate layers. Canted antiferromagnetism of layered oxides is thus a new and potentially powerful source of uniaxial anisotropy in magnetic devices.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Local orthorhombic lattice distortions in the paramagnetic tetragonal phase of superconducting NaFe$_{1-x}$Ni$_x$As

Understanding the interplay between nematicity, magnetism and superconductivity is pivotal for elucidating the physics of iron-based superconductors. Here we use neutron scattering to probe magnetic and nematic orders throughout the phase diagram of NaFe$_{1-x}$Ni$_x$As, finding that while both static antiferromagnetic and nematic orders compete with superconductivity, the onset temperatures for these two orders remain well-separated approaching the putative quantum critical points. We uncover local orthorhombic distortions that persist well above the tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural transition temperature $T_{\rm s}$ in underdoped samples and extend well into the overdoped regime that exhibits neither magnetic nor structural phase transitions. These unexpected local orthorhombic distortions display Curie-Weiss temperature dependence and become suppressed below the superconducting transition temperature $T_{\rm c}$, suggesting they result from a large nematic susceptibility near optimal superconductivity. Our results account for observations of rotational symmetry-breaking above $T_{\rm s}$, and attest to the presence of significant nematic fluctuations near optimal superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Class 2 quotients of solvable linear groups

Let $G$ be a finite group, and let $V$ be a completely reducible faithful $G$-module. By a result of Glauberman it has been known for a long time that if $G$ is nilpotent of class 2, then $|G| < |V|$. In this paper we generalize this result as follows. Assuming $G$ to be solvable, we show that the order of the maximal class 2 quotient of $G$ is strictly bounded above by $|V|$.

math.GR↗

arXiv2017

Screened moments in a Kondo insulator

Long known to have thermodynamic properties at odds with its insulating electrical transport, SmB6 has been the subject of great debate as it is unclear whether its unusual properties are related to the bulk or novel metallic surface states. We have observed a bulk moment-screening effect in nominally pure and Gd-doped SmB6 via heat capacity, magnetization, and resistivity measurements, and show this new Kondo-impurity like effect provides an unexpected but intuitive explanation for metal-like phenomena stemming from the strongly interacting host system. This affords a coherent understanding for decades of mysteries in strongly-correlated insulators, reveals the expanded utility of techniques previously only utilized for metals, and presents the novel effect of even highly-dilute impurities in strongly correlated insulators.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Anomalous thermal decoherence in a quantum magnet measured with neutron spin-echo spectroscopy

The effect of temperature dependent asymmetric line broadening is investigated in Cu(NO$_3$)$_2\cdot$2.5D$_2$O, a model material for a 1-D bond alternating Heisenberg chain, using the high resolution neutron-resonance spin-echo (NRSE) technique. Inelastic neutron scattering experiments on dispersive excitations including phase sensitive measurements demonstrate the potential of NRSE to resolve line shapes, which are non-Lorentzian, opening up a new and hitherto unexplored class of experiments for the NRSE method beyond standard line width measurements. The particular advantage of NRSE is its direct access to the correlations in the time domain without convolution with the resolution function of the background spectrometer. This novel application of NRSE is very promising and establishes a basis for further experiments on different systems, since the results for Cu(NO$_3$)$_2\cdot$2.5D$_2$O are applicable to a broad range of quantum systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

A Characterization of the Prime Graphs of Solvable Groups

Let π(G) denote the set of prime divisors of the order of a finite group G. The prime graph of G is the graph with vertex set π(G) with edges {p,q} if and only if there exists an element of order pq in G. In this paper, we prove that a graph is isomorphic to the prime graph of a solvable group if and only if its complement is 3-colorable and triangle free. We then introduce the idea of a minimal prime graph. We prove that there exists an infinite class of solvable groups whose prime graphs are minimal. We prove the 3k-conjecture on prime divisors in element orders for solvable groups with minimal prime graphs, and we show that solvable groups whose prime graphs are minimal have Fitting length 3 or 4.

math.GR↗