arXiv subjects

Zhilun Lu

Publications and source records attributed to Zhilun Lu.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Spin Fluctuations in the Rare-Earth Doped Bilayer Nickelates

Spin fluctuations have been generally believed as the pairing glue of high-$T_c$ superconductivity. Recent inelastic neutron scattering (INS) studies have revealed a weak flat spin-fluctuation signal around 45 meV in the bilayer nickelate La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_{7-δ}$, suggesting strong interlayer and weak intralayer magnetic couplings ($SJ_{\perp}\approx$ 60 meV, $SJ_{\parallel}\leq$ 3.5 meV) in contrast to cuprate and pnictide superconductors. Here, we report further INS studies on the Pr and Nd doped La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_{7-δ}$ powder samples at ambient pressure. Besides the crystalline electric field excitations at low energies, we have found that the 45 meV flat mode splits into two modes in doped compounds, along with another weak mode at about 60 meV, where the spin fluctuations in La$_2$NdNi$_2$O$_{7-δ}$ are stronger than La$_3$Ni$_2$O$_{7-δ}$ and La$_2$PrNi$_2$O$_{7-δ}$. Our results are consistent with an enhanced interlayer coupling $SJ_{\perp}$ within the stripe-type Heisenberg model framework, where the estimated $SJ_{\perp}$ value is in the range of about 69 to 73 meV for the rare-earth doped bilayer nickelates.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2022

Neutron spectroscopy evidence for a possible magnetic-field-induced gapless quantum-spin-liquid phase in a Kitaev material $α$-RuCl$_3$

As one of the most promising Kitaev quantum-spin-liquid (QSL) candidates, $α$-RuCl$_3$ has received a great amount of attention. However, its ground state exhibits a long-range zigzag magnetic order, which defies the QSL phase. Nevertheless, the magnetic order is fragile and can be completely suppressed by applying an external magnetic field. Here, we explore the evolution of magnetic excitations of $α$-RuCl$_3$ under an in-plane magnetic field, by carrying out inelastic neutron scattering measurements on high-quality single crystals. Under zero field, there exist spin-wave excitations near the $M$ point and a continuum near the $\mitΓ$ point, which are believed to be associated with the zigzag magnetic order and fractional excitations of the Kitaev QSL state, respectively. By increasing the magnetic field, the spin-wave excitations gradually give way to the continuous excitations. On the verge of the critical field $μ_0H_{\rm c}=7.5$ T, the former vanish and only the latter is left, indicating the emergence of a pure QSL state. By further increasing the field strength, the excitations near the $\mitΓ$ point become more intense. By following the gap evolution of the excitations near the $\mitΓ$ point, we are able to establish a phase diagram composed of three interesting phases, including a gapped zigzag order phase at low fields, possibly-gapless QSL phase near $μ_0H_{\rm c}$, and gapped partially polarized phase at high fields. These results demonstrate that an in-plane magnetic field can drive $α$-RuCl$_3$ into a long-sought QSL state near the critical field.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2022

Evidence for magnetic fractional excitations in a Kitaev quantum-spin-liquid candidate $α$-RuCl$_3$

$α$-RuCl$_3$ has been studied extensively because of its proximity to the Kitaev quantum-spin-liquid (QSL) phase and the possibility of approaching it by tuning the competing interactions. Here we present the first polarized inelastic neutron scattering study on $α$-RuCl$_3$ single crystals to explore the scattering continuum around the $Γ$ point at the Brillouin zone center, which was hypothesized to be resulting from the Kitaev QSL state but without concrete evidence. With polarization analyses, we find that while the spin-wave excitations around the M point vanish above the transition temperature $T_{\rm N}$, the pure magnetic continuous excitations around the $Γ$ point are robust against temperature. Furthermore, by calculating the dynamical spin-spin correlation function using the cluster perturbation theory, we derive magnetic dispersion spectra based on the $K$-$Γ$ model, which involves with a ferromagnetic Kitaev interaction of -7.2 meV and an off-diagonal interaction of 5.6 meV. We find this model can reproduce not only the spin-wave excitation spectra around the M point, but also the non-spin-wave continuous magnetic excitations around the $Γ$ point. These results provide evidence for the existence of fractional excitations around the $Γ$ point originating from the Kitaev QSL state, and further support the validity of the $K$-$Γ$ model as the effective minimal spin model to describe $α$-RuCl$_3$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Field-induced quantum spin disordered state in spin-1/2 honeycomb magnet Na2Co2TeO6

Spin-orbit coupled honeycomb magnets with the Kitaev interaction have received a lot of attention due to their potential of hosting exotic quantum states including quantum spin liquids. Thus far, the most studied Kitaev systems are 4d/5d-based honeycomb magnets. Recent theoretical studies predicted that 3d-based honeycomb magnets, including Na2Co2TeO6 (NCTO), could also be a potential Kitaev system. Here, we have used a combination of heat capacity, magnetization, electron spin resonance measurements alongside inelastic neutron scattering (INS) to study NCTO's quantum magnetism, and we have found a field-induced spin disordered state in an applied magnetic field range of 7.5 T < B (vertical to b-axis) < 10.5 T. The INS spectra were also simulated to tentatively extract the exchange interactions. As a 3d-magnet with a field-induced disordered state on an effective spin-1/2 honeycomb lattice, NCTO expands the Kitaev model to 3d compounds, promoting further interests on the spin-orbital effect in quantum magnets.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Nature of the field-induced magnetic incommensurability in multiferroic Ni$_3$TeO$_6$

Using single crystal neutron scattering we show that the magnetic structure Ni$_3$TeO$_6$ at fields above 8.6 T along the $c$ axis changes from a commensurate collinear antiferromagnetic structure with spins along c and ordering vector $Q_C$= (0 0 1.5), to a conical spiral with propagation vector $Q_{IC}$= (0 0 1.5$\pmδ$),$δ\sim$0.18, having a significant spin component in the ($a$,$b$) plane. We determine the phase diagram of this material in magnetic fields up to 10.5 T along $c$ and show the phase transition between the low field and conical spiral phases is of first order by observing a discontinuous jump of the ordering vector. $Q_{IC}$ is found to drift both as function of magnetic field and temperature. Preliminary inelastic neutron scattering reveals that the spin wave gap in zero field has minima exactly at $Q_{IC}$ and a gap of about 1.1 meV consisting with a cross-over around 8.6 T. Our findings excludes the possibility of the inverse Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction as a cause for the giant magneto-electric coupling earlier observed in this material and advocates for the symmetric exchangestriction as the origin of this effect.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Spin fluctuation anisotropy as a probe of orbital-selective hole-electron quasiparticle excitations in detwinned Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2

We use inelastic neutron scattering to study spin excitation anisotropy in mechanically detwinned Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2 with x = 0.048 and 0.054. Both samples exhibit a tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural transition at Ts, a collinear static antiferromagnetic (AF) order at wave vector Q1 = QAF = (1, 0) below the Neel temperature TN, and superconductivity below Tc (Ts > TN > Tc). In the high temperature paramagnetic tetragonal phase (T > Ts), spin excitations centered at Q1 and Q2 = (0, 1) are gapless and have four-fold (C4) rotational symmetry. On cooling to below TN but above Tc, spin excitations become highly anisotropic, developing a gap at Q2 but still are gapless at Q1. Upon entering into the superconducting state, a neutron spin resonance appears at Q1 with no magnetic scattering at Q2. By comparing these results with those from angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy experiments, we conclude that the anisotropic shift of the dyz and dxz bands in detwinned Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2 below Ts is associated with the spin excitation anisotropy, and the superconductivity-induced resonance arises from the electron-hole Fermi surface nesting of quasiparticles with the dyz orbital characters.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2019

Finite field regime for a quantum spin liquid in $α$-RuCl$_3$

An external magnetic field can induce a transition in $α$-RuCl$_3$ from an ordered zigzag state to a disordered state that is possibly related to the Kitaev quantum spin liquid. Here we present new field dependent inelastic neutron scattering and magnetocaloric effect measurements implying the existence of an additional transition out of the quantum spin liquid phase at an upper field limit $B_u$. The neutron scattering shows three distinct regimes of magnetic response. In the low field ordered state the response shows magnon peaks; the intermediate field regime shows only continuum scattering, and above $B_u$ the response shows sharp magnon peaks at the lower bound of a strong continuum. Measurable dispersion of magnon modes along the $(0,0,L)$ direction implies non-negligible inter-plane interactions. Combining the magnetocaloric effect measurements with other data a $T-B$ phase diagram is constructed. The results constrain the range where one might expect to observe quantum spin liquid behavior in $α$-RuCl$_3$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Evolution of the propagation vector of antiferroquadrupolar phases in Ce3Pd20Si6 with magnetic field

Hidden-order phases that occur in a number of correlated f-electron systems are among the most elusive states of electronic matter. Their investigations are hindered by the insensitivity of standard physical probes, such as neutron diffraction, to the order parameter that is usually associated with higher-order multipoles of the f-orbitals. The heavy-fermion compound Ce3Pd20Si6 exhibits magnetically hidden order at subkelvin temperatures, known as phase II. Additionally, for magnetic field applied along the [001] cubic axis, another phase II' was detected, but the nature of the transition from phase II to phase II' remained unclear. Here we use inelastic neutron scattering to demonstrate that this transition is associated with a change in the propagation vector of the antiferroquadrupolar order from (111) to (100). Despite the absence of magnetic Bragg scattering in phase II', its ordering vector is revealed by the location of an intense magnetic soft mode at the (100) wave vector, orthogonal to the applied field. At the II-II' transition, this mode softens and transforms into quasielastic and nearly Q-independent incoherent scattering, which is likely related to the non-Fermi-liquid behavior recently observed at this transition. Our experiment also reveals sharp collective excitations in the field-polarized paramagnetic phase, after phase II' is suppressed in fields above 4 T.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Crystal growth and phase diagram of 112-type iron pnictide superconductor Ca1-yLayFe1-xNixAs2

We report a systematic crystal growth and characterization of Ca$_{1-y}$La$_{y}$Fe$_{1-x}$Ni$_{x}$As$_{2}$, the newly discovered 112-type iron-based superconductor. After substituting Fe by a small amount of Ni, bulk superconductivity is successfully obtained in high quality single crystals sized up to 6 mm. Resistivity measurements indicate common features for transport properties in this 112-type iron pnictide, suggest strong scattering from chemical dopants. Together with the superconducting transition temperature $T_c$, and the Neel temperature $T_N$ determined by the elastic neutron scattering, we sketch a three-dimensional phase diagram in the combination of both Ni and La dopings.

cond-mat.supr-con↗