arXiv subjects

Yejun Feng

Publications and source records attributed to Yejun Feng.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

Two-step stabilization of orbital order and the dynamical frustration of spin in the model charge-transfer insulator KCuF3

We report a combined experimental and theoretical study of KCuF3, which offers - because of this material's relatively simple lattice structure and valence configuration (d9, i.e., one hole in the d-shell) - a particularly clear view of the essential role of the orbital degree of freedom in governing the dynamical coupling between the spin and lattice degrees of freedom. We present Raman and x-ray scattering evidence that the phase behaviour of KCuF3 is dominated above the Neel temperature (T_N = 40 K) by coupled orbital/lattice fluctuations that are likely associated with rotations of the CuF6 octahedra, and we show that these orbital fluctuations are interrupted by a static structural distortion that occurs just above T_N. A detailed model of the orbital and magnetic phases of KCuF3 reveals that these orbital fluctuations - and the related frustration of in-plane spin-order-are associated with the presence of nearly degenerate low-energy spin-orbital states that are highly susceptible to thermal fluctuations over a wide range of temperatures. A striking implication of these results is that the ground state of KCuF3 at ambient pressure lies near a quantum critical point associated with an orbital/spin liquid phase that is obscured by emergent Neel ordering of the spins; this exotic liquid phase might be accessible via pressure studies.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2009

Pressure-induced Spin-Peierls to Incommensurate Charge-Density-Wave Transition in the Ground State of TiOCl

The ground state of the spin-Peierls system TiOCl was probed using synchrotron x-ray diffraction on a single-crystal sample at T = 6 K. We tracked the evolution of the structural superlattice peaks associated with the dimerized ground state as a function of pressure. The dimerization along the b axis is rapidly suppressed in the vicinity of a first-order structural phase transition at Pc = 13.1(1) GPa. The high-pressure phase is characterized by an incommensurate charge density wave perpendicular to the original spin chain direction. These results show that the electronic ground state undergoes a fundamental change in symmetry, indicating a significant change in the principal interactions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Chromium at High Pressures: Weak Coupling and Strong Fluctuations in an Itinerant Antiferromagnet

The spin- and charge-density-wave order parameters of the itinerant antiferromagnet chromium are measured directly with non-resonant x-ray diffraction as the system is driven towards its quantum critical point with high pressure using a diamond anvil cell. The exponential decrease of the spin and charge diffraction intensities with pressure confirms the harmonic scaling of spin and charge, while the evolution of the incommensurate ordering vector provides important insight into the difference between pressure and chemical doping as means of driving quantum phase transitions. Measurement of the charge density wave over more than two orders of magnitude of diffraction intensity provides the clearest demonstration to date of a weakly-coupled, BCS-like ground state. Evidence for the coexistence of this weakly-coupled ground state with high-energy excitations and pseudogap formation above the ordering temperature in chromium, the charge-ordered perovskite manganites, and the blue bronzes, among other such systems, raises fundamental questions about the distinctions between weak and strong coupling.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Exciton spectroscopy of hexagonal boron nitride using non-resonant x-ray Raman scattering

We report non-resonant x-ray Raman scattering (XRS) measurements from hexagonal boron nitride for transferred momentum from 2 to 9 $\mathrmÅ^{-1}$ along directions both in and out of the basal plane. A symmetry-based argument, together with real-space full multiple scattering calculations of the projected density of states in the spherical harmonics basis, reveals that a strong pre-edge feature is a dominantly $Y_{10}$-type Frenkel exciton with no other \textit{s}-, \textit{p}-, or \textit{d}- components. This conclusion is supported by a second, independent calculation of the \textbf{q}-dependent XRS cross-section based on the Bethe-Salpeter equation.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

Pressure-Tuned Spin and Charge Ordering in an Itinerant Antiferromagnet

Elemental chromium orders antiferromagnetically near room temperature, but the ordering temperature can be driven to zero by applying large pressures. We combine diamond anvil cell and synchrotron x-ray diffraction techniques to measure directly the spin and charge order in the pure metal at the approach to its quantum critical point. Both spin and charge order are suppressed exponentially with pressure, well beyond the region where disorder cuts off such a simple evolution, and they maintain a harmonic scaling relationship over decades in scattering intensity. By comparing the development of the order parameter with that of the magnetic wavevector, it is possible to ascribe the destruction of antiferromagnetism to the growth in electron kinetic energy relative to the underlying magnetic exchange interaction.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Direct measurement of antiferromagnetic domain fluctuations

Measurements of magnetic noise emanating from ferromagnets due to domain motion were first carried out nearly 100 years ago and have underpinned much science and technology. Antiferromagnets, which carry no net external magnetic dipole moment, yet have a periodic arrangement of the electron spins extending over macroscopic distances, should also display magnetic noise, but this must be sampled at spatial wavelengths of order several interatomic spacings, rather than the macroscopic scales characteristic of ferromagnets. Here we present the first direct measurement of the fluctuations in the nanometre-scale spin- (charge-) density wave superstructure associated with antiferromagnetism in elemental Chromium. The technique used is X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy, where coherent x-ray diffraction produces a speckle pattern that serves as a "fingerprint" of a particular magnetic domain configuration. The temporal evolution of the patterns corresponds to domain walls advancing and retreating over micron distances. While the domain wall motion is thermally activated at temperatures above 100K, it is not so at lower temperatures, and indeed has a rate which saturates at a finite value - consistent with quantum fluctuations - on cooling below 40K. Our work is important because it provides an important new measurement tool for antiferromagnetic domain engineering as well as revealing a fundamental new fact about spin dynamics in the simplest antiferromagnet.

cond-mat.str-el↗