Solitonic lattice and Yukawa forces in the rare-earth orthoferrite TbFeO3.

The random fluctuations of spins give rise to many interesting physical phenomena, such as the 'order-from-disorder' arising in frustrated magnets and unconventional Cooper pairing in magnetic superconductors. Here we show that the exchange of spin waves between extended topological defects, such as domain walls, can result in novel magnetic states. We report the discovery of an unusual incommensurate phase in the orthoferrite TbFeO(3) using neutron diffraction under an applied magnetic field. The magnetic modulation has a very long period of 340 Å at 3 K and exhibits an anomalously large number of higher-order harmonics. These domain walls are formed by Ising-like Tb spins. They interact by exchanging magnons propagating through the Fe magnetic sublattice. The resulting force between the domain walls has a rather long range that determines the period of the incommensurate state and is analogous to the pion-mediated Yukawa interaction between protons and neutrons in nuclei.

Structure-property relationships in the crystals of the smallest amino acid: an incoherent inelastic neutron scattering study of the glycine polymorphs.

Incoherent inelastic neutron scattering spectra for the three crystalline polymorphs (alpha- P2(1)/n, beta- P2(1), gamma- P3(1)) of glycine (C2H5NO2) at temperatures between 5 and 300 K (using the time-of-flight (ToF) spectrometer NEAT at HMI) and at pressures from ambient up to 1 GPa (using the ToF spectrometer IN6 at the ILL) were measured. Significant differences in the band positions and their relative intensities in the density of states (DoS) were observed for the three polymorphs, which can be related to the different intermolecular interactions. The mean-squared displacement, (T), dependence reveals a change in dynamic properties at about the same temperature (150 K) for all the three forms, which can be related to the reorientation of the NH3 group. Besides, a dynamic transition in beta-glycine at about 230-250 K on cooling was also observed, supporting previously obtained adiabatic calorimetry data. This behavior is similar to that already observed in amorphous solids, on approaching the glass transition temperatures, as well as in biological systems. It suggests the onset of degrees of freedom most likely related to transitions between slightly different conformational orientations. The DoS obtained as a function of pressure has confirmed the stability of the alpha-form with respect to pressure and also depicted a sign of the previously reported reversible beta-beta' glycine phase transition in between 0.6 and 0.8 GPa. Moreover, a remarkable kinetic effect in the pressure-induced phase transition in gamma-glycine was revealed. After the sample was kept at 0.8 GPa for an hour in the neutron beam, an irreversible transition into a high-pressure form (different from the beta'-form) occurred, although previously in X-Ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy experiments a gamma- to delta-glycine phase transition was observed above 3.5 GPa only.

Magnetic ordering in iron tricyanomethanide.

Magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity, and neutron diffraction studies of Fe[C(CN)(3)](2) reveal the existence of two magnetic phase transitions at T(N,I) = 2.45 K and T(N,II) = 1.85 K. Between 1.85 and 2.45 K, the magnetic ordering is incommensurate with a temperature-dependent propagation vector (k(I,x) 0 0), k(I,x) = 0.525-0.540. In zero magnetic field, below 1.85 K the ordered structure is described by the propagation vector k(II) = ((1/2) 0 (1/2)), i.e., a doubling of the unit cell along the a and c directions of the orthorhombic lattice. The ordered moments of 3.4(1) and 3.2(1) micro(B), respectively, are aligned approximately parallel to the principal axis of the elongated Fe coordination octahedron. At T < T(N,II), application of an external magnetic field of about 18 kOe destroys the commensurate phase and the incommensurate phase is established. The latter phase is stable in fields up to about 40 kOe. The magnetic ordering of Fe[C(CN)(3)](2) is discussed in terms of the 2D triangular topology of the lattice, producing partial frustration, and in comparison with the behavior of other compounds of the series M[C(CN)(3)](2), where M is a 3d transition metal.