arXiv subjects

Z. Yamani

Publications and source records attributed to Z. Yamani.

49 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2008

Spin Waves in the Ferromagnetic Ground State of the Kagome Staircase System Co3V2O8

Inelastic neutron scattering measurements were performed on single crystal Co3V2O8 wherein magnetic cobalt ions reside on distinct spine and cross-tie sites within kagome staircase planes. This system displays a rich magnetic phase diagram which culminates in a ferromagnetic ground state below Tc~6 K. We have studied the low-lying magnetic excitations in this phase within the kagome plane. Despite the complexity of the system at higher temperatures, linear spin-wave theory describes most of the quantitative detail of the inelastic neutron measurements. Our results show two spin-wave branches, the higher energy of which displays finite spin-wave lifetimes well below Tc, and negligible magnetic exchange coupling between Co moments on the spine sites.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2008

Incommensurate Spin Ordering and Fluctuations in underdoped La_{2-x}Ba_{x}CuO_{4}

Using neutron scattering techniques, we have studied incommensurate spin ordering as well as low energy spin dynamics in single crystal underdoped \LBCO with x$\sim$0.095 and 0.08; high temperature superconductors with T$_C \sim$ 27 K and 29 K respectively. Static two dimensional incommensurate magnetic order appears below T$_N$=39.5 $\pm$ 0.3 K in \LBCO (x=0.095) and a similar temperature for x=0.08 within the low temperature tetragonal phase. The spin order is unaffected by either the onset of superconductivity or the application of magnetic fields of up to 7 Tesla applied along the c-axis in the x=0.095 sample. Such magnetic field {\it independent} behaviour is in marked contrast with the field induced enhancement of the staggered magnetisation observed in the related \LSCO system, indicating this phenomenon is not a universal property of cuprate superconductors. Surprisingly, we find that incommensurability $δ$ is only weakly dependent on doping relative to \LSCO. Dispersive excitations in \LBCO (x=0.095) at the same incommensurate wavevector persist up to at least 60 K. The dynamical spin susceptibility of the low energy spin excitations saturates below \tc, in a similar manner to that seen in the superconducting state of La$_2$CuO$_{4+y}$.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2008

Three Dimensional Magnetic Correlations in Multiferroic LuFe2O4

We present single-crystal neutron diffraction measurements on multiferroic LuFe2O4 showing phase transitions at 240 and 175 K. Magnetic reflections are observed below each transition indicating that the magnetic interactions in LuFe2O4 are 3-dimensional (3D) in character. The magnetic structure is refined as a ferrimagnetic spin configuration below the 240 K transition. While 3D magnetic correlations persists below 175 K, a significant broadening of the magnetic peaks is observed along with the build up of a diffuse component to the magnetic scattering.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2008

Spin dynamics near the critical doping in weakly-superconducting underdoped YBa2Cu3O6.35 (Tc=18K)

Using neutron scattering we have determined the magnetic structure and fluctuations in the YBa2Cu3O6.35 superconductor (Tc=18 K). The long-range ordered collinear spins of the insulating antiferromagnet are replaced by a commensurate central mode arising from slow, isotropically polarized, short-range spin correlations. The inelastic spectrum up to 30 meV is broad in wave vector and commensurate. In contrast to the the resonance peak of higher Tc superconductors, the spins exhibit a single overdamped spectrum whose rate of relaxation decreases on cooling and saturates at 5 meV below 50 K. As the relaxation rate saturates the quasi-static spin correlations grow and become resolution limited in energy. The spin susceptibility at high temperatures illustrates that the dominant energy scale is set by the temperature. At low temperatures, the scale length is geometric and not linked by velocity to dynamic widths. There is no observable suppression of the spin fluctuations or central mode upon the onset of superconductivity. The spins respond not to coherent charge pairs but to hole doping allowing coexistence of glassy short range spin order with superconductivity. Since the physics of the weakly superconducting system YBCO6.35 must connect continuously with that in more strongly superconducting YBCO6.5, we find that neither incommensurate stripe-like spin modulations nor a well-defined neutron spin resonance are essential for the onset with doping of pairing in a high temperature cuprate superconductor.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2007

Gapped itinerant spin excitations account for missing entropy in the hidden order state of URu$_2$Si$_2$

One of the primary goals of modern condensed matter physics is to elucidate the nature of the ground state in various electronic systems. Many correlated electron materials, such as high temperature superconductors, geometrically frustrated oxides, and low-dimensional magnets are still the objects of fruitful study because of the unique properties which arise due to poorly understood many-body effects. Heavy fermion metals - materials which have high effective electron masses due to these effects - represent a class of materials with exotic properties, such as unusual magnetism, unconventional superconductivity, and "hidden order" parameters. The heavy fermion superconductor URu2Si2 has held the attention of physicists for the last two decades due to the presence of a "hidden order" phase below 17.5 K. Neutron scattering measurements indicate that the ordered moment is 0.03 $μ_{B}$, much too small to account for the large heat capacity anomaly at 17.5 K. We present recent neutron scattering experiments which unveil a new piece of this puzzle - the spin excitation spectrum above 17.5 K exhibits well-correlated, itinerant-like spin excitations up to at least 10 meV emanating from incommensurate wavevectors. The gapping of these excitations corresponds to a large entropy release and explains the reduction in the electronic specific heat through the transition.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Neutron and X-ray Scattering Studies of the Lightly-Doped Spin-Peierls System Cu(1-x)Cd(x)GeO3

Single crystals of the lightly-doped spin-Peierls system Cu(1-x)Cd(x)GeO3 have been studied using bulk susceptibility, x-ray diffraction, and inelastic neutron scattering techniques. We investigate the triplet gap in the magnetic excitation spectrum of this quasi-one dimensional quantum antiferromagnet, and its relation to the spin-Peierls dimerisation order parameter. We employ two different theoretical forms to model the inelastic neutron scattering cross section and chi''(Q,omega), and show the sensitivity of the gap energy to the choice of chi''(Q,omega). We find that a finite gap exists at the spin-Peierls phase transition.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Orbital and Spin Excitations in Cobalt Oxide

By means of neutron scattering we have determined new branches of magnetic excitations in orbitally active CoO (TN=290 K) up to 15 THz and for temperatures from 6 K to 450 K. Data were taken in the (111) direction in six single-crystal zones. From the dependence on temperature and Q we have identified several branches of magnetic excitation. We describe a model for the coupled orbital and spin states of Co2+ subject to a crystal field and tetragonal distortion.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2007

Antiferromagnetic correlations near the lower edge of superconducting dome in YBCO6+x

Neutron scattering from high-quality YBCO6.334 single crystals with a T$_c$ of 8.4 K shows that there is no coexistence with long-range antiferromagnetic order at this very low, near-critical doping of $\sim$0.055, in contrast to claims based on local probe techniques. We find that the neutron resonance seen in optimally doped YBCO7 and underdoped YBCO6.5, has undergone large softening and damping. It appears that the overdamped resonance, with a relaxation rate of 2 meV, is coupled to a zero-energy central mode that grows with cooling and eventually saturates with no change at or below T$_c$. Although a similar qualitative behaviour is found for YBCO6.35, our study shows that the central mode is stronger in YBCO6.334 than YBCO6.35. The system remains subcritical with short-ranged three dimensional correlations.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2007

Quantum phase transitions in magnetism and superconductivity: emergent spin topology seen with neutrons

Magnetic spins and charges interact strongly in high-temperature superconductors. New physics emerges as layers of copper oxide are tuned towards the boundary of the superconducting phase. As the pseudogap increases the characteristic spin excitation energy decreases. We show that our well-annealed YBa2Cu3O6+x (YBCO6+x) single crystals are orthorhombic and superconducting but not antiferromagnetically ordered. Near the critical concentration for superconductivity for x = 0.35 the spins fluctuate on two energy scales, one a relaxational spin response at ~2 meV and the other a slow central mode that is resolution-limited in energy (<0.08 meV) but broad in momentum. The gradual formation on cooling of a central mode over a range of momenta suggests that the spin ground state from which coherent superconducting pairing emerges may be quantum disordered. We show that YBCO6.35 adopts a homogeneous state that consists of highly-organized frozen sub-critical three-dimensional spin correlations. The continuous spin evolution indicates that a single quantum state occurs in contrast to claims from site-based probes that lightly doped YBCO undergoes a transition to antiferromagnetic Bragg order followed by a sharp transition to a cluster glass phase. For x = 0.35, where Tc = 18 K is reduced to 1/5 of Tcmax, the spin ground state is reached without a sharp transition and consists of short correlations extending over only 8 Angstrom between cells and 42 Angstrom within the planes. Polarized neutrons show the angular spin distribution to be isotropic unlike the AF insulator. Since moment is conserved we interpret this as evidence for hole-induced spin rotations rather than decay.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2006

NMR evidence for Friedel-like oscillations in the CuO chains of ortho-II YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.5}$

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements of CuO chains of detwinned Ortho-II YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6.5}$ (YBCO6.5) single crystals reveal unusual and remarkable properties. The chain Cu resonance broadens significantly, but gradually, on cooling from room temperature. The lineshape and its temperature dependence are substantially different from that of a conventional spin/charge density wave (S/CDW) phase transition. Instead, the line broadening is attributed to small amplitude static spin and charge density oscillations with spatially varying amplitudes connected with the ends of the finite length chains. The influence of this CuO chain phenomenon is also clearly manifested in the plane Cu NMR.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2006

Central mode and spin confinement near the boundary of the superconducting phase in YBa2Cu3O6.353 (Tc=18 K)

We have mapped the neutron scattering spin spectrum at low-energies in YBa2Cu3O6.353 (Tc=18 K) where the doping ~0.06 is near the critical value (pc=0.055) for superconductivity. No coexistence with long range ordered antiferromagnetism is found. The spins fluctuate on two energy scales, one a damped spin response with a ~2 meV relaxation rate and the other a central mode with a relaxation rate that slows to less than 0.08 meV below Tc. The spectrum mirrors that of a soft mode driving a central mode. Extremely short correlation lengths, 42+-5 Angstrom in-plane and 8+-2 Angstrom along the c direction, and isotropic spin orientations for the central mode indicate that the correlations are subcritical with respect to any second order transition to Neel order. The dynamics follows a model where damped spin fluctuations are coupled to the slow fluctuations of regions with correlations shortened by the hole doping.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Cu NMR Study of Detwinned Single Crystals of Ortho--II YBCO6.5

Copper NMR has been used as a local probe of the oxygen ordering in Ortho--II YBa2Cu3O6.5 crystals grown in BaZrO3 crucibles. Line assignments have been made to each of the expected crystallographically inequivalent sites. The presence of distinct and narrow lines for these sites as well as the lack of a line known to be associated with oxygen defects indicates that these crystals are highly stoichiometric. Our estimate of the lower limit on the chain length is consistent with that derived from X-ray diffraction measurements. In addition, we have found no evidence for static magnetic moments, in contrast to some previous results.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2003

Hidden orbital currents and spin gap in the heavy fermion superconductor URu$_2$Si$_2$

We have performed neutron scattering experiments on the heavy fermion superconductor URu$_2$Si$_2$ to search for the orbital currents predicted to exist in the ordered phase below {\Tn} = 17.5 K. Elastic scans in the (H, K, 0) and (H, 0, L) planes revealed no such order parameter at low temperatures. This does not completely rule out orbital current formation, because our detection limit for a ring of scattering is 0.06(1) {\ub}, which is greater than the size of the predicted moment of ~0.02 {\ub}. However, on heating, a ring of quasielastic scattering does exist in the (H, K, 0) plane centered at the (1, 0, 0) antiferromagnetic Bragg position and of incommensurate radius {$τ$} = 0.4 r.l.u.. The intensity of this ring is thermally activated below {\Tn} with a characteristic energy scale of {$Δ$} = 110 K: the coherence temperature. We believe that these incommensurate spin fluctuations compete with the AF spin fluctuations, and drive the transition to a disordered magnetic state above {\Tn}. The significance of this higher energy scale with respect to {\Tn} suggests that these fluctuations also play a crucial role in the formation of the heavy fermion state.

cond-mat.str-el↗