Magnetic-field effects on the fragile antiferromagnetism in YbBiPt.

We present neutron-diffraction data for the cubic-heavy-fermion YbBiPt that show broad magnetic diffraction peaks due to the fragile short-range antiferromagnetic (AFM) order persist under an applied magnetic-field H . Our results for H ⊥ [ 1 ¯ 1 0 ] and a temperature of T = 0.14 1 K show that 1 2 , 1 2 , 3 2 ) magnetic diffraction peak can be described by the same two-peak line shape found for µ 0 H = 0 T below the Néel temperature of T N = 0.4 K . Both components of the peak exist for µ 0 H ≲ 1.4 T , which is well past the AFM phase boundary determined from our new resistivity data. Using neutron-diffraction data taken at T = 0.13 ( 2 ) K for H ∥ 0 0 1 taken at or 1 1 0 , we show that domains of short-range AFM order change size throughout the previously determined AFM and non-Fermi liquid regions of the phase diagram, and that the appearance of a magnetic diffraction peak at 1 2 , 1 2 , 1 2 at µ 0 H ≈ 0.4 T signals canting of the ordered magnetic moment away from 1 1 1 . The continued broadness of the magnetic diffraction peaks under a magnetic field and their persistence across the AFM phase boundary established by detailed transport and thermodynamic experiments present an interesting quandary concerning the nature of YbBiPt's electronic ground state.

Successive Magnetic-Field-Induced Transitions and Colossal Magnetoelectric Effect in Ni_{3}TeO_{6}.

We report the discovery of a metamagnetic phase transition in a polar antiferromagnet Ni_{3}TeO_{6} that occurs at 52 T. The new phase transition accompanies a colossal magnetoelectric effect, with a magnetic-field-induced polarization change of 0.3 µC/cm^{2}, a value that is 4 times larger than for the spin-flop transition at 9 T in the same material, and also comparable to the largest magnetically induced polarization changes observed to date. Via density-functional calculations we construct a full microscopic model that describes the data. We model the spin structures in all fields and clarify the physics behind the 52 T transition. The high-field transition involves a competition between multiple different exchange interactions which drives the polarization change through the exchange-striction mechanism. The resultant spin structure is rather counterintuitive and complex, thus providing new insights on design principles for materials with strong magnetoelectric coupling.

Remarkably Robust and Correlated Coherence and Antiferromagnetism in (Ce(1-x)La(x))Cu2Ge2.

We present magnetic susceptibility, resistivity, specific heat, and thermoelectric power measurements on (Ce(1-x)La(x))Cu2Ge2 single crystals (0≤x≤1). With La substitution, the antiferromagnetic temperature TN is suppressed in an almost linear fashion and moves below 0.36 K, the base temperature of our measurements for x>0.8. Surprisingly, in addition to robust antiferromagnetism, the system also shows low temperature coherent scattering below Tcoh up to ∼0.9 of La, indicating a small percolation limit ∼9% of Ce. Tcoh as a function of magnetic field was found to have different behavior for x<0.9 and x>0.9. Remarkably, (Tcoh)(2) at H=0 was found to be linearly proportional to TN. The jump in the magnetic specific heat δCm at TN as a function of TK/TN for (Ce(1-x)La(x))Cu2Ge2 follows the theoretical prediction based on the molecular field calculation for the S=1/2 resonant level model.

Magnetic field induced transition in vanadium spinels.

We study vanadium spinels AV2O4 (A = Cd,Mg) in pulsed magnetic fields up to 65 T. A jump in magnetization at µ0H≈40 T is observed in the single-crystal MgV2O4, indicating a field induced quantum phase transition between two distinct magnetic orders. In the multiferroic CdV2O4, the field induced transition is accompanied by a suppression of the electric polarization. By modeling the magnetic properties in the presence of strong spin-orbit coupling characteristic of vanadium spinels, we show that both features of the field induced transition can be successfully explained by including the effects of the local trigonal crystal field.

Thermoelectric power of RAgSb(2) (R = Y, La, Ce, and Dy) in zero and applied magnetic fields.

We report the experimental results of measurements of the thermoelectric power on the ternary intermetallic compounds RAgSb(2) (R = Y, La, Ce, and Dy) over the temperature range from 2 to 300 K and in magnetic fields up to 140 kOe. In this work, we present the thermoelectric transport properties of four materials from the same family with different ground states: a non-moment bearing paramagnetic metallic system (YAgSb(2)), a non-moment bearing charge density wave system (LaAgSb(2)), a local moment bearing compound with XY-like antiferromagnetic order in the tetragonal basal plane as well as readily accessible metamagnetism (DyAgSb(2)), and a Kondo lattice system with ferromagnetic order below T(C) = 9.7 K (CeAgSb(2)). The thermoelectric power data from these materials exhibit complex temperature and magnetic field dependences, which are associated with modification of the electronic density of states and changes in magnetic scattering. At low temperatures, quantum oscillations in the thermoelectric power are also observed. These oscillations are associated with the Landau quantization of electronic energy in an applied magnetic field.

Phonon density of states of LaFeAsO(1-x)Fx.

We have studied the phonon density of states (PDOS) in LaFeAsO(1-x)Fx with inelastic neutron scattering methods. The PDOS of the parent compound (x=0) is very similar to the PDOS of samples optimally doped with fluorine to achieve the maximum Tc (x approximately 0.1). Good agreement is found between the experimental PDOS and first-principles calculations with the exception of a small difference in Fe mode frequencies. The PDOS reported here is not consistent with conventional electron-phonon mediated superconductivity.

Momentum dependence of the superconducting gap in NdFeAsO0.9F0.1 single crystals measured by angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy.

We use angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy to study the momentum dependence of the superconducting gap in NdFeAsO0.9F0.1 single crystals. We find that the Gamma hole pocket is fully gapped below the superconducting transition temperature. The value of the superconducting gap is 15+/-1.5 meV and its anisotropy around the hole pocket is smaller than 20% of this value-consistent with an isotropic or anisotropic s-wave symmetry of the order parameter. This is a significant departure from the situation in the cuprates, pointing to the possibility that the superconductivity in the iron arsenic based system arises from a different mechanism.

Six closely related YbT2Zn20 (T = Fe, Co, Ru, Rh, Os, Ir) heavy fermion compounds with large local moment degeneracy.

Heavy fermion compounds represent one of the most strongly correlated forms of electronic matter and give rise to low temperature states that range from small moment ordering to exotic superconductivity, both of which are often in close proximity to quantum critical points. These strong electronic correlations are associated with the transfer of entropy from the local moment degrees of freedom to the conduction electrons, and, as such, are intimately related to the low temperature degeneracy of the (originally) moment bearing ion. Here we report the discovery of six closely related Yb-based heavy fermion compounds, YbT(2)Zn(20), that are members of the larger family of dilute rare earth bearing compounds: RT(2)Zn(20) (T = Fe, Co, Ru, Rh, Os, Ir). This discovery doubles the total number of Yb-based heavy fermion materials. Given these compounds' dilute nature, systematic changes in T only weakly perturb the Yb site and allow for insight into the effects of degeneracy on the thermodynamic and transport properties of these model correlated electron systems.