arXiv subjects

Yoshihiko Okamoto

Publications and source records attributed to Yoshihiko Okamoto.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

Magnetic Properties of the Spin-1/2 Deformed Kagome Antiferromagnet Edwardsite

We prepared a powder sample of edwardsite Cd2Cu3(SO4)2(OH)6 4H2O, which is a new candidate compound for the spin-1/2 kagome antiferromagnet, and studied its magnetic properties by magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity measurements. Edwardsite has a deformed kagome lattice with an average antiferromagnetic interaction of 51 K between nearby spins and shows an antiferromagnetic order accompanied by a small ferromagnetic moment below 4.3 K. The weak ferromagnetism is likely due to spin canting caused by sizable Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interactions, which may stabilize the long-range magnetic order instead of a spin-liquid state expected for the kagome antiferromagnet.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Breathing Pyrochlore Lattice Realized in A-Site Ordered Spinel Oxides LiGaCr4O8 and LiInCr4O8

A unique type of frustrated lattice is found in two A-site ordered spinel oxides, LiGaCr4O8 and LiInCr4O8. Because of the large size mismatch between Li+ and Ga3+/In3+ ions at the A site, the pyrochlore lattice, made up of Cr3+ ions carrying spin 3/2, becomes an alternating array of small and large tetrahedra, i.e., a "breathing" pyrochlore lattice. We introduce a parameter, the breathing factor Bf, which quantifies the degree of frustration in the pyrochlore lattice: Bf is defined as J'/J, where J' and J are nearest-neighbor magnetic interactions in the large and small tetrahedra, respectively. LiGaCr4O8 with Bf ~ 0.6 shows magnetic susceptibility similar to that of conventional Cr spinel oxides such as ZnCr2O4. In contrast, LiInCr4O8 with a small Bf ~ 0.1 exhibits a spin-gap behavior in its magnetic susceptibility, suggesting a proximity to an exotic singlet ground state. Magnetic long-range order occurs at 13.8 and 15.9 K for LiGaCr4O8 and LiInCr4O8, respectively, in both cases likely owing to the coupling to structural distortions.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2013

Distorted Kagome Lattice Generated by a Unique Orbital Arrangement in the Copper Mineral KCu3As2O7(OH)3

We study polycrystalline samples of KCu3As2O7(OH)3, a new candidate spin-1/2 kagome antiferromagnet, by magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity measurements above 2 K. The unique arrangement of the 3z2 - r2 and x2 - y2 orbitals on the Cu2+ kagome net is noted and compared to the orbital patterns found in other kagome minerals. It is suggested that this orbital arrangement gives rise to one antiferromagnetic and two ferromagnetic interactions on isosceles triangles forming a highly distorted kagome lattice. KCu3As2O7(OH)3 is found to show an antiferromagnetic long-range order at T_N = 7.2 K. Remarkably, a spin entropy is more gradually released upon cooling below T_N compared with a conventional magnetic long-range order, which may originate from the geometrical frustration still present in this highly distorted kagome lattice.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

YCr6Ge6 as a Candidate Compound for a Kagome Metal

We show that YCr6Ge6, comprising a kagome lattice made up of Cr atoms, is a plausible candidate compound for a kagome metal that is expected to exhibit anomalous phenomena such as flat-band ferromagnetism. Resistivity, magnetization, and heat capacity are measured on single crystals of YCr6Ge6, and band structure calculations are performed to investigate the electronic structure. Curie-Weiss-like behavior in magnetic susceptibility, T2 dependence in resistivity, and a Sommerfeld coefficient doubly enhanced from a calculated value indicate a moderately strong electron correlation. Interestingly, the in-plane resistivity is twice as large as the interplane resistivity, which is contrary to the simple expectation from the layered structure. Band structure calculations demonstrate that there are partially flat bands slightly below the Fermi level near the Γ point, which is ascribed to Cr 3d3z2-r2 bands and may govern the properties of this compound.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Magnetic Order in the Spin-1/2 Kagome Antiferromagnet Vesignieite

We report results of magnetic susceptibility and 51V- and 63,65Cu-NMR measurements on a high-quality powder sample of vesignieite BaCu3V2O8(OH)2, a candidate for the spin-1/2 kagome antiferromagnet. We observed a twostep magnetic transition: the appearance of spatially inhomogeneous static moments below 13 K and a long-range order below 9 K. The NMR data indicate a Q = 0 magnetic structure at 1.4 K with the in-plane spin components of three sublattices oriented at nearly 120 degrees to each other and the magnitude of the ordered moments of at least 0.6 muB

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Large Diamagnetism of AV2Al20 (A = Y and La)

We find anomalously large diamagnetic responses in the cage compounds AV2Al20 where A = Y and La, not A = Al0.3, Sc0.4, and Lu, despite the apparent similarities in crystal and electronic structures among these compounds. The magnetic susceptibilities of the Y and La compounds become -1.94 and -7.44 x 10-4 cm3 mol-1 at 10 K, respectively, the latter of which corresponds to approximately one-quarter of that of bismuth, a well-known diamagnetic material, in terms of unit volume. The origin is not clear but may be related to a specific evolution in the band structure, as the diamagnetic response increases with increasing lattice constant.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2012

Rattling and Superconducting Properties of the Cage Compound GaxV2Al20

Low-energy rattling modes and their effects on superconductivity are studied in the cage compound GaxV2Al20. A series of polycrystalline samples of 0 < x =< 0.6 are examined through resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and heat capacity measurements. A weak-coupling BCS superconductivity is observed below Tc = 1.4-1.7 K for all the samples. For small Ga contents below 0.20, approximately 30% of the cages are occupied by rattling Al atoms having an Einstein temperature TE of 23 K, probably with most Ga atoms substituting for the cage-forming Al atoms. For higher Ga contents, approximately 0.05 Ga and 0.25-0.35 Al atoms coexist statistically inside the cages and behave as rattlers with TE ~ 8 and 23 K, respectively. A significant effect of Ga rattling on the superconductivity is clearly evidenced by the observation of a sharp rise in Tc by 8% at x = 0.20 when 0.05 Ga atoms are introduced into the case. Probably, the electron-phonon interaction is significantly enhanced by an additional contribution to the phonon density of states from the extremely low energy rattling modes of Ga atoms. In addition, a large softening of the acoustic modes is observed for x => 0.20, suggesting that the cage itself becomes anomalously soft in the presence of low-energy Ga rattling modes.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2012

A novel crystal polymorph of volborthite, Cu3V2O7(OH)2 2H2O

A new polymorph of volborthite [tricopper(II) divanadium(V) heptaoxide dihydroxide dihydrate], Cu3V2O7(OH)2 2H2O, has been discovered in a single crystal prepared by hydrothermal synthesis. X-ray analysis reveals that the monoclinic structure has the space group C2/c at room temperature, which is different from that of the previously reported C2/m structure. Both structures have Cu3O6(OH)2 layers composed of edge-sharing CuO4(OH)2 octahedra, with V2O7 pillars and water molecules between the layers. The Cu atoms occupy two and three independent crystallographic sites in the C2/m and C2/c structures, respectively, likely giving rise to different magnetic interactions between CuII spins in the kagome lattices embedded in the Cu3O6(OH)2 layers.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

Crystal Chemistry and Magnetic Properties of Manganese Zinc Alloy "YMn2Zn20" Comprising a Mn Pyrochlore Lattice

The chemical composition, crystal structure, and magnetic properties of a manganese zinc alloy with an ideal composition of YMn2Zn20, which comprises a pyrochlore lattice made of Mn atoms, are reported. The compound is stable only when In or Al is partially substituted for Zn. We have determined the actual chemical formula as YMn2+dZn20-x-dMx, with M = In or Al, and have identified the characteristic preferences with which the incorporated M and excess Mn atoms occupy the three crystallographic sites for Zn atoms. The Mn atoms in the pyrochlore lattice possess small magnetic moments that interact with each other antiferromagnetically but exhibit no long-range order above 0.4 K, probably owing to the geometrical frustration of the pyrochlore lattice. As a result, the effective mass of the conduction electrons is considerably enhanced, as observed in the related pyrochlore-lattice compounds (Y,Sc)Mn2 and LiV2O4. However, the presence of excess Mn atoms with large localized magnetic moments comparable to spin 5/2 tends to mask the inherent magnetism of the pyrochlore Mn atoms. It is suggested that "YMn2Zn18In2" with neither excess Mn atoms nor site disorder would be an ideal compound for further study.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2012

High-field Phase Diagram and Spin Structure of Volborthite Cu3V2O7(OH)2/2H2O

We report results of 51V NMR experiments on a high-quality powder sample of volborthite Cu3V2O7(OH)2/2H2O, a spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a distorted kagome lattice. Following the previous experiments in magnetic fields $B$ below 12 T, the NMR measurements have been extended to higher fields up to 31 T. In addition to the two already known ordered phases (phases I and II), we found a new high-field phase (phase III) above 25 T, at which a second magnetization step has been observed. The transition from the paramagnetic phase to the antiferromagnetic phase III occurs at 26 K, which is much higher than the transition temperatures from the paramagnetic to the lower field phases I (B < 4.5 T) and II (4.5 < B < 25 T). At low temperatures, two types of the V sites are observed with different relaxation rates and line shapes in phase III as well as in phase II. Our results indicate that both phases II and III exhibit a heterogeneous spin state consisting of two spatially alternating Cu spin systems, one of which exhibits anomalous spin fluctuations contrasting with the other showing a conventional static order. The magnetization of the latter system exhibits a sudden increase upon entering into phase III, resulting in the second magnetization step at 26 T.We discuss the possible spin structure in phase III.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Superconductivity in an Einstein Solid AxV2Al20 (A = Al and Ga)

A cage compound AxV2Al20 (Al10V), that was called an Einstein solid by Caplin and coworkers 40 years ago, is revisited to investigate the low-energy, local vibrations of the A atoms and their influence on the electronic and superconducting properties of the compound. Polycrystalline samples with A = Al, Ga, Y, and La are studied through resistivity and heat capacity measurements. Weak-coupling BCS superconductivity is observed below Tc = 1.49, 1.66, and 0.69 K for Ax = Al0.3, Ga0.2, and Y, respectively, but not above 0.4 K for Ax = La. Low-energy modes are detected only for A = Al and Ga, which are approximately described by the Einstein model with Einstein temperatures of 24 and 8 K, respectively. A weak but significant coupling between the low-energy modes, which are almost identical to those called rattling in recent study, and conduction electrons manifests itself as anomalous enhancement in resistivity at around low temperatures corresponding to the Einstein temperatures.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

Superconductivity and Rattling under High Pressure in the beta-Pyrochlore Oxide RbOs2O6

Rattling-induced superconductivity in the beta-pyrochlore oxide RbOs2O6 is investigated under high pressures up to 6 GPa. Resistivity measurements in a high-quality single crystal show that the superconducting transition temperature Tc increases gradually from 6.3 K at ambient pressure to 8.8 K at 3.5 GPa, surprisingly remains almost constant at 8.8 \pm 0.1 K in a wide pressure range between 3.5 (Po) and 4.8 GPa, and suddenly drops to 6.3 K at Ps = 4.9 GPa, followed by a gradual decrease with further pressure increase. Two anomalies in the temperature dependence of the normal-state resistivity are observed at Po < P < Ps and P > Ps, revealing the presence of two high-pressure phases corresponding to the changes in Tc. The rattling of the Rb ion inside a cage made of Os and O atoms may be slightly and seriously modified in these high-pressure phases that probably have cages of reduced symmetry, respectively, so that electron-rattler interactions that govern the superconducting and transport properties of beta-RbOs2O6 are significantly affected.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2011

A Magnetic Transition Probed by the Ce Ion in Square-Lattice Antiferromagnet CeMnAsO

We examined the magnetic properties of the square-lattice antiferromagnets CeMnAsO and LaMnAsO and their solid solutions La1-xCexMnAsO by resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and heat capacity measurements below room temperature. A first-order phase transition is observed at 34.1 K, below which the ground-state doublet of the Ce ion splits by 3.53 meV. It is likely that Mn moments already ordered above room temperature are reoriented at the transition, as reported for related compounds, such as NdMnAsO and PrMnSbO. This transition generates a large internal magnetic field at the Ce site in spite of the fact that simple Heisenberg interactions should be cancelled out at the Ce site owing to geometrical frustration. The transition takes place at nearly the same temperature with the substitution of La for Ce up to 90%. The Ce moment does not undergo long-range order by itself, but is parasitically induced at the transition, serving as a good probe for detecting the magnetism of Mn spins in a square lattice.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2011

Magnetization Plateaus in the Spin-1/2 Kagome Antiferromagnets: Volborthite and Vesignieite

The magnetization of two spin-1/2 kagome antiferromagnets, volborthite and vesignieite, has been measured in pulsed magnetic fields up to 68 T. A magnetization plateau is observed for each compound near the highest magnetic field. Magnetizations at saturation are approximately equal to 0.40Ms for both compounds, where Ms is the fully saturated magnetization, irrespective of a difference in the distortion of the kagome lattice between the two compounds. It should be noted that these values of magnetizations are significantly larger than Ms/3 predicted theoretically for the one-third magnetization plateau in the spin-1/2 kagome antiferromagnet. The excess magnetization over Ms/3 is nearly equal to the sum of the magnetizations gained at the second and third magnetization steps in volborthite, suggesting that there is a common origin for the excess magnetization and the magnetization steps.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Superconducting and Structural Transitions in the β-Pyrochlore Oxide KOs2O6 under High Pressure

Rattling-induced superconductivity in the β-pyrochlore oxide KOs2O6 is investigated under high pressure up to 5 GPa. Resistivity measurements in a high-quality single crystal reveal a gradual decrease in the superconducting transition temperature Tc from 9.7 K at 1.0 GPa to 6.5 K at 3.5 GPa, followed by a sudden drop to 3.3 K at 3.6 GPa. Powder X-ray diffraction experiments show a structural transition from cubic to monoclinic or triclinic at a similar pressure. The sudden drop in Tc is ascribed to this structural tran-sition, by which an enhancement in Tc due to a strong electron-rattler interaction present in the low-pressure cubic phase is abrogated as the rattling of the K ion is completely suppressed or weakened in the high-pressure phase of reduced symmetry. In addition, we find two anomalies in the temperature dependence of resistivity in the low-pressure phase, which may be due to subtle changes in rattling vibration.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2010

Thermodynamic Properties of the Kagome Lattice in Volborthite

Thermodynamic investigations on volborthite (Cu3V2O7(OH)2 2H2O), which possesses a two-dimensional kagome structure of S-1/2 spins, are presented. The low-temperature heat capacities of volborthite and its Zn analogue compound were measured by the relaxation calorimetry technique between 0.8 and 45 K. The magnetic heat capacity of volborthite is characterized by two contributions of T-linear and T2 dependences, the former of which is large above 1 K, giving evidence of dense gapless excitations. We find a distinct kink in Cp T-1 at T* = 1 K, which demonstrates a thermodynamic phase transition of short-range nature to a novel ground state as reported in previous 51V-NMR experiments. The T-linear term becomes smaller but remains finite even in the low-temperature state below T*, while it is gradually reduced with increasing magnetic field and vanishes at 5 T, which is close to the critical field for the field-induced transition observed in the first magnetization step.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Itinerant-Electron Magnet of the Pyrochlore Lattice: Indium-Doped YMn2Zn20

We report on a ternary intermetallic compound, "YMn2Zn20", comprising a pyrochlore lattice made of Mn atoms. A series of In-doped single crystals undergo no magnetic long-range order down to 0.4 K, in spite of the fact that the Mn atom carries a local magnetic moment at high temperatures, showing Curie-Weiss magnetism. However, In-rich crystals exhibit spin-glass transitions at approximately 10 K due to a disorder arising from the substitution, while, with decreasing In content, the spin-glass transition temperature is reduced to 1 K. Then, heat capacity divided by temperature approaches a large value of 280 mJ K-2 mol-1, suggesting a significantly large mass enhancement for conduction electrons. This heavy-fermion-like behavior is not induced by the Kondo effect as in ordinary f-electron compounds, but by an alternative mechanism related to the geometrical frustration on the pyrochlore lattice, as in (Y,Sc)Mn2 and LiV2O4, which may allow spin entropy to survive down to low temperatures and to couple with conduction electrons.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2010

Discontinuous Lifshitz Transition Achieved by Band-Filling Control in NaxCoO2

Precise band-filling control is performed on a strongly correlated electron system NaxCoO2, by changing the Na content, and the influence of this on the magnetic and thermodynamic properties is studied. It has been discovered that a phase boundary between a Pauli paramagnetic metal appearing at small x and a Curie-Weiss metal at large x is located within an extremely narrow range of 0.620 < x < 0.621. The transition between these is a Lifshitz transition of the pocket-vanishing type, exceptionally achieved by band-filling control. Abrupt changes in various properties across the boundary are remarkably observed, suggesting that the Lifshitz transition occurs discontinuously in NaxCoO2, differently from the conventional Lifshitz transition defined at T = 0.

cond-mat.str-el↗