arXiv subjects

Ursula B. Hansen

Publications and source records attributed to Ursula B. Hansen.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Observation of Switchable Chiral Magnons in an Altermagnet

Chiral magnons, the quanta of handed spin waves, transport spin angular momentum without energy loss due to Joule heating. The recently discovered altermagnets were proposed to host chiral magnons arising from a non-relativistic exchange mechanism, similar to that in ferromagnets but without net magnetization, offering a stray-field-free platform for efficient magnon spin-current manipulation. In this work, we directly observed chiral magnons in the altermagnetic prototype MnTe using polarized inelastic neutron scattering. Furthermore, the magnon chirality was found to be reversibly switched by magnetic-field control, establishing a robust foundation for functional altermagnetic magnonics.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Emergence of low-energy spin waves in superconducting electron-doped cuprates

In order to fully utilize the technological potential of unconventional superconductors, an enhanced understanding of the superconducting mechanism is necessary. In the best performing superconductors, the cuprates, superconductivity is intimately linked with magnetism, although the details of this coupling remain elusive. In search of clarity in the magnetism-superconductivity relationship, we focus on the electron-doped cuprate $\mathrm{Nd}_{1.85}\mathrm{Ce}_{0.15}\mathrm{CuO}_{4-δ}$ (NCCO). NCCO has an antiferromagnetic ground state when synthesized, and only becomes superconducting after a reductive annealing process. This makes NCCO an ideal template to study how the magnetism differs in the superconducting and non-superconducting state, while keeping the material template as constant as possible. Using neutron spectroscopy, we reveal that the as-grown crystal exhibits a large spin pseudogap in the magnetic fluctuation spectrum. Upon annealing, defects that are introduced by the commonly employed synthesis method are removed and the spin pseudogap is significantly reduced. While the spin pseudogap in the annealed sample is likely an effect of superconductivity, we argue that the spin pseudogap in the as-grown sample is caused by the absence of long-wavelength spin waves. The defects in as-grown NCCO thus play the dual role of suppressing both superconductivity and low-energy spin waves, highlighting a potential connection between these two phenomena.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2025

Refined spin Hamiltonian on the Cairo pentagonal lattice of Bi2Fe4O9

The frustrated magnet Bi2Fe4O9 has been reported to exhibit complex spin dynamics coexisting with conventional spin wave excitations. The magnetic Fe3+ (S = 5/2) ions are arranged into a distorted two-dimensional Cairo pentagonal lattice with weak couplings between the layers, developing long-ranged non-collinear antiferromagnetic order below 245 K. In order to enable studies and modelling of the complex dynamics close to TN, we have reexamined the magnetic excitations across the complete energy scale (0 < E < 90 meV) at 10 K. We discover two distinct gaps, which can be explained by introducing, respectively, easy axis and easy plane anisotropy on the two unequivalent Fe-sites. We develop a refined spin Hamiltonian that accurately accounts for the dispersion of essentially all spin-wave branches across the full spectral range, except around 40 meV, where a splitting and dispersion are observed. We propose that this mode is derived from phonon hybridization. Polarisation analysis shows that the system has magnetic anisotropic fluctuations, consistent with our model. A continuum of scattering is observed above the spin wave branches and is found to principally be explained by an instrumental resolution effect. The full experimental mapping of the excitation spectrum and the refined spin Hamiltonian provides a foundation for future quantitative studies of spin waves coexisting with unconventional magnetic fluctuations in this frustrated magnet found at higher temperatures.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Magnetic Bloch Oscillations and domain wall dynamics in a near-Ising ferromagnetic chain

When charged particles in periodic lattices are subjected to a constant electric field, they respond by oscillating. Here we demonstrate that the magnetic analogue of these Bloch oscillations are realised in a one-dimensional ferromagnetic easy axis chain. In this case, the "particle" undergoing oscillatory motion in the presence of a magnetic field is a domain wall. Inelastic neutron scattering reveals three distinct components of the low energy spin-dynamics including a signature Bloch oscillation mode. Using parameter-free theoretical calculations, we are able to account for all features in the excitation spectrum, thus providing detailed insights into the complex dynamics in spin-anisotropic chains.

cond-mat.str-el↗