arXiv subjects

V. Gnezdilov

Publications and source records attributed to V. Gnezdilov.

18 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2017

Optical phonon dynamics and electronic fluctuations in the Dirac semimetal Cd3As2

Raman scattering in the three-dimensional Dirac semimetal Cd3As2 shows an intricate interplay of electronic and phonon degrees of freedom. We observe resonant phonon scattering due to interband transitions, an anomalous anharmonicity of phonon frequency and intensity, as well as quasielastic (E~0) electronic scattering. The latter two effects are governed by a characteristic temperature scale T* ~ 100 K that is related to mutual fluctuations of lattice and electronic degrees of freedom. A refined analysis shows that this characteristic temperature corresponds to the energy of optical phonons which couple to interband transitions in the Dirac states of Cd3As2. As electron-phonon coupling in a topological semimetal is primarily related to phonons with finite momenta, the back action on the optical phonons in only observed as anharmonicities via multi-phonon processes involving a broad range of momenta. The resulting energy density fluctuations of the coupled system have previously only been observed in low dimensional or frustrated spin systems with suppressed long range ordering.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Phase separation in iron chalcogenide superconductor Rb0.8+xFe1.6+ySe2 as seen by Raman light scattering and band structure calculations

We report Raman light scattering in the phase separated superconducting single crystal Rb0.77Fe1.61Se2 with Tc = 32 K. The spectra have been measured in a wide temperature range 3K -500K. The observed phonon lines from the majority vacancy ordered Rb2Fe4Se5 (245) antiferromagnetic phase with TN= 525 K demonstrate modest anomalies in frequency, intensity and halfwidth at the superconductive phase transition. We identify phonon lines from the minority compressed RbδFe2Se2 (122) conductive phase. The superconducting gap with dx2-y2 symmetry is also detected in our spectra. In the range 0-600 cm-1 we observed the low intensive but highly polarized B1g-type background which becomes well structured under cooling. The possible magnetic or multiorbital origin of this background has been discussed. We argue that phase separation in M0.8+xFe1.6+ySe2 has pure magnetic origin. It occurs below Neel temperature when iron magnetic moment achieves some critical magnitude. We state that there is a spacer between the majority 245 and minority 122 phases. Using ab-initio spin polarized band structure calculations we demonstrate that compressed vacancy ordered Rb2Fe4Se5 phase can be conductive and therefore may serve as a protective interface spacer between the pure metallic RbδFe2Se2 phase and the insulating Rb2Fe4Se5 phase providing the percolative Josephson-junction like superconductivity in the whole sample of Rb0.8+xFe1.6+ySe2 Our lattice dynamics calculations show significant difference in the phonon spectra of the conductive and insulating Rb2Fe4.Se5 phases.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2016

Longitudinal magnon, inversion breaking and magnetic instabilities in the pseudo-Kagome francisites Cu3Bi(SeO3)2O2X with X=Br, Cl

We performed Raman studies and a dielectric characterization of the pseudo-kagome Cu3Bi(SeO3)2O2X (X = Cl, Br). These compounds share competing nearest-neighbour ferromagnetic exchange and frustrating next-nearest-neighbour antiferromagnetic exchange as well as highly noncollinear magnetic ground state. However, at low temperature they differ with respect to the existence of inversion symmetry. For both compounds there exists a pronounced interplay of polar phonon modes with quantum magnetic fluctuations. A novel Raman mode appears for temperatures below the Neel temperature with a Fano lineshape and an enormous intensity that exceeds most of the phonon lines. We discuss a possible contribution of longitudinal magnons to this signal. In contrast, one magnon scattering based on linear transvers magnons is excluded based on a symmetry analysis of spin wave representations and Raman tensor calculations. There exists evidence that in these pseudo-kagome compounds magnetic quantum fluctuations carry an electric dipole moment. Our data as well as a comparison with previous far-infrared spectra allow us to conclude that Cu3Bi(SeO3)2O2Cl changes its symmetry most likely from Pmmn to P21mn with a second order structural phase transition at T*=120 K and becomes multiferroic. Cu3Bi(SeO3)2O2Br represents an interesting counter part as it does not show this instability and stays inversion symmetric down to lowest temperatures, investigated.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Enhanced quasiparticle dynamics of quantum well states: the giant Rashba system BiTeI and topological insulators

In the giant Rashba semiconductor BiTeI electronic surface scattering with Lorentzian linewidth is observed that shows a strong dependence on surface termination and surface potential shifts. A comparison with the topological insulator Bi2Se3 evidences that surface confined quantum well states are the origin of these processes. We notice an enhanced quasiparticle dynamics of these states with scattering rates that are comparable to polaronic systems in the collision dominated regime. The Eg symmetry of the Lorentzian scattering contribution is different from the chiral (RL) symmetry of the corresponding signal in the topological insulator although both systems have spin-split surface states.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Enhanced low energy fluctuations and increasing out-of-plane coherence in vacancy ordered NaxCoO2

We report Raman scattering experiments on the strongly correlated electron system NaxCoO2 with x= 0.71 and ordered Na vacancies. In this doping regime, NaxCoO2 exhibits a large and unusual thermopower and becomes superconducting upon hydration. Our Raman scattering data reveal pronounced low energy fluctuations that diverge in intensity at low temperatures. Related to these fluctuations is a drastic decrease of an electronic scattering rate from 50 to 3 cm-1. This observation is quite different from the behavior of Na disordered samples that have a larger and temperature independent scattering rate. Simultaneously with the evolution of the scattering rate, phonon anomalies point to an increasing out-of-plane coherence of the lattice with decreasing temperature. These observations may indicate the condensation of spin polarons into an unusual, highly dynamic ground state.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Dynamical lattice instability versus spin liquid state in a frustrated spin chain system

The low-dimensional s=1/2 compound (NO)[Cu(NO3)3] has recently been suggested to follow the Nersesyan-Tsvelik model of coupled spin chains. Such a system shows unbound spinon excitations and a resonating valence bond ground state due spin frustration. Our Raman scattering study demonstrates phonon anomalies as well as the suppression of a broad magnetic scattering continuum for temperatures below a characteristic temperature, T<T*=100K. We interpret these effects as evidence for a dynamical interplay of spin and lattice degrees of freedom that might lead to a further transition into a dimerized or structurally distorted phase at lower temperatures.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Helical fluctuations in the Raman response of the topological insulator Bi2Se3

The topological insulator Bi2Se3 shows a Raman scattering response related to topologically protected surface states amplified by a resonant interband transition. Most significantly this signal has a characteristic Lorentzian lineshape and spin-helical symmetry due to collision dominated scattering of Dirac states at the Fermi level E_F on bulk valence states. Its resonance energy, temperature and doping dependence points to a high selectivity of this process. Its scattering rate (Gamma=40 cm-1=5 meV) is comparable to earlier observations, e.g. in spin-polaron systems. Although the observation of topological surface states in Raman scattering is limited to resonance conditions, this study represents a quite clean case which is not polluted by symmetry forbidden contributions from the bulk

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Evidence for local lattice distortions in giant magnetocapacitive CdCr2S4

Raman scattering experiments on CdCr2S4 single crystals show pronounced anomalies in intensity and frequency of optical phonon modes with an onset temperature T*=130 K that coincides with the regime of giant magnetocapacitive effects. A loss of inversion symmetry and Cr off-centering are deduced from the observation of longitudinal optical and formerly infrared active modes for T<T_c=84 K. The intensity anomalies are attributed to the enhanced electronic polarizability of displacements that modulate the Cr-S distance and respective hybridization. Photo doping leads to an annihilation of the symmetry reduction. Our scenario of multiferroic effects is based on the near degeneracy of polar and nonpolar modes and the additional low energy scale due to hybridization.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Anomalous optical phonons in FeTe pnictides: spin state, magnetic order, and lattice anharmonicity

Polarized Raman-scattering spectra of non-superconducting, single-crystalline FeTe are investigated as function of temperature. We have found a relation between the magnitude of ordered magnetic moments and the linewidth of A1g phonons at low temperatures. This relation is attributed to the intermediate spin state (S=1) and the orbital degeneracy of the Fe ions. Spin-phonon coupling constants have been estimated based on microscopic modeling using density-functional theory and analysis of the local spin density. Our observations show the importance of orbital degrees of freedom for the Fe-based superconductors with large ordered magnetic moments, while small magnetic moment of Fe ions in some iron pnictides reflects the low spin state of Fe ions in those systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Dynamical Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction in KCuF3: Raman evidence for an antiferrodistortive lattice instability

In the orbitally ordered, quasi-one dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet KCuF3 the low-energy Eg and B1g phonon modes show an anomalous softening (25% and 13%) between room temperature and the characteristic temperature T_S = 50 K. In this temperature range a freezing-in of F ion dynamic displacements is proposed to occur. In addition, the Eg mode at about 260 cm-1 clearly splits below T_S. The width of the phonon lines above T_S follows an activated behavior with an activation energy of about 50 K. Our observations clearly evidence a reduction of the structural symmetry below T_S and indicate a strong coupling of lattice and spin fluctuations for T>T_S.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Optical phonons, spin correlations, and spin-phonon coupling in the frustrated pyrochlore magnets CdCr2O4 and ZnCr2O4

We report on infrared, Raman, magnetic susceptibility, and specific heat measurements on CdCr2O4 and ZnCr2O4 single crystals. We estimate the nearest-neighbor and next-nearest neighbor exchange constants from the magnetic susceptibility and extract the spin-spin correlation functions obtained from the magnetic susceptibility and the magnetic contribution to the specific heat. By comparing with the frequency shift of the infrared optical phonons above TN , we derive estimates for the spin-phonon coupling constants in these systems. The observation of phonon modes which are both Raman and infrared active suggest the loss of inversion symmetry below the Neel temperature in CdCr2O4 in agreement with theoretical predictions by Chern and coworkers [Phys. Rev. B 74, 060405 (2006)]. In ZnCr2O4 several new modes appear below TN, but no phonon modes could be detected which are both Raman and infrared active indicating the conservation of inversion symmetry in the low temperature phase.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Spectral sensitive phonon wipeout due to a fluctuating spin state in a Fe2+ coordination polymer

Raman scattering in the spin-crossover system [Fe(pmd)(H2O){Au(CN)2}2]*H2O reveals a complex three-phase spin-state transition in contrast to earlier observations in magnetization measurements. We observe different spin state phases as function of temperature and electromagnetic radiation in the visible spectral range. There exists a fluctuating spin state phase with an unexpected wipeout of the low frequency phonon scattering intensity. Furthermore we observe one phase with reduced symmetry that is attributed to a cooperative Jahn-Teller effect. Pronounced electron-phonon interaction manifests itself as a strong Fano-resonance of phonons related to {FeN6} and {FeN4O2} coordination octahedra. Density functional theory supports this interpretation.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Magnetic crossover and complex excitation spectrum of the ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 chain system alpha-TeVO4

We report magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, and Raman scattering investigations of alpha-TeVO4 containing V-O edge-sharing chains. These chains promote a system of ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 Heisenberg alternating exchange chains with pronounced spin frustration. The magnetic susceptibility and Raman scattering evidence a crossover at T* = 85 K with different slopes of the reciprocal susceptibility and a magnetic phase transition into a long-range-ordered state at Tc = 16 K. From Raman scattering data a strong mutual coupling between lattice and magnetic degrees of freedom is deduced. A comparison to model calculations and prior Raman scattering on other chain systems yield a plausible interpretation of the microscopic mechanism for the crossover behavior.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Electron-phonon interaction in the lamellar cobaltate Na$_x$CoO$_2$

We study theoretically and experimentally the dependence of the electron-phonon interaction in Na$_x$CoO$_2$ on the sodium concentration $x$. For the two oxygen phonon modes found in Raman experiments, $A_{1g}$ and $E_{1g}$, we calculate the matrix elements of the electron-phonon interaction. Analyzing the feedback effect of the conduction electrons on the phonon frequency we compare the calculated and experimentally observed doping dependence of the $A_{1g}$ mode. Furthermore, due to the momentum dependence of the electron-phonon coupling for the $E_{1g}$ symmetry we find no renormalization of the corresponding phonon frequency which agrees with experiment. Our results shed light on the possible importance of the electron-phonon interaction in this system.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2006

Low temperature mixed spin state of Co3+ in LaCoO3 evidenced from Jahn-Teller lattice distortions

One- and multi-phonon excitations of the single crystalline LaCoO3 were studied using Raman spectroscopy in the temperature region of 5 K - 300 K. First-order Raman spectra show a larger number of phonon modes than allowed for the rhombohedral structure. Additional phonon modes are interpreted in terms of activated modes due to lattice distortions, arising from the Jahn-Teller (JT) activity of the intermediate-spin (IS) state of Co3+ ions. In particular, the 608-cm-1 stretching-type mode shows anomalous behavior in peak energy and scattering intensity as a function of temperature. The anomalous temperature dependence of the second-order phonon excitations spectra is in accordance with the Franck-Condon mechanism that is characteristic for a JT orbital order.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2005

Anomalous electronic Raman scattering in Na_xCoO_2 H_2O

Raman scattering experiments on Na_{x}CoO_2 yH_2O single crystals show a broad electronic continuum with a pronounced peak around 100 cm-1 and a cutoff at approximately 560 cm-1over a wide range of doping levels. The electronic Raman spectra in superconducting and non-superconducting samples are similar at room temperature, but evolve in markedly different ways with decreasing temperature. For superconducting samples, the low-energy spectral weight is depleted upon cooling below T* sim 150K, indicating a opening of a pseudogap that is not present in non-superconducting materials. Weak additional phonon modes observed below T* suggest that the pseudogap is associated with charge ordering.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2004

Phonon scattering and stability of Na_0.5CoO_2

Raman scattering experiments have been performed on Na_xCoO_2 as function of temperature at the composition x=0.5 where a structural instability and a metal-insulator transition have been observed. Three additional phonon modes are observed compared to samples with larger x. An in-situ annealing study (T_max=550 K) with the initial presence of water vapor at ambient conditions reveals an irreversible structural instability of this composition.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2003

Effect of Na content and hydration on the excitation spectrum of the cobaltite Na_xCoO_2 yH_2O

We report on a Raman scattering study on the superconducting cobaltite $Na_xCoO_2\cdot yH_2O$ as function of Na content and hydration (x$\approx$1/3, 3/4 and y$\approx$0, 2/3, 4/3). The observed phonon scattering and scattering continua are analyzed in terms of lattice strain due to the structural misfit and disorder. Hydration, due to the intercalation of one or two $H_2O$ layers, releases a part of this strain. Our Raman data suggest a connection between disorder on the partly occupied Na sites, the split off of the $a_{1g}$ level from the other $t_{2g}$ states of $Co^{4+}$ and superconductivity.

cond-mat.str-el↗