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PubMed2002

Structure of a new dense amorphous ice.

The detailed structure of a new dense amorphous ice, VHDA, is determined by isotope substitution neutron diffraction. Its structure is characterized by a doubled occupancy of the stabilizing interstitial location that was found in high density amorphous ice, HDA. As would be expected for a thermally activated unlocking of the stabilizing "interstitial," the transition from VHDA to LDA (low-density amorphous ice) is very sharp. Although its higher density makes VHDA a better candidate than HDA for a physical manifestation of the second putative liquid phase of water, as for the HDA case, the VHDA to LDA transition also appears to be kinetically controlled.

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PubMed2002

Anion bridges drive salting out of a simple amphiphile from aqueous solution.

Neutron diffraction with isotope substitution has been used to determine the structural changes that occur on the addition of a simple salting-out agent to a dilute aqueous alcohol solution. The striking results obtained demonstrate a relatively simple process occurs in which interamphiphile anionic salt bridges are formed between the polar groups of the alcohol molecules. These ion bridges drive an increase in the exposure of the alcohol molecule nonpolar surface to the solvent water and hence point the way to their eventual salting out by the hydrophobic effect.

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PubMed2002

Structure of high-density amorphous ice under pressure.

We report in situ neutron diffraction studies of high-density amorphous ice (HDA) at 100 K at pressures up to 2.2 GPa. We find that the compression is achieved by a strong contraction ( approximately 20%) of the second neighbor coordination shell, so that at 2.2 GPa it closely approaches the first coordination shell, which itself remains intact in both structure and size. The hydrogen bond orientations suggest an absence of hydrogen bonding between first and second shells and that HDA has increasingly interpenetrating hydrogen bond networks under pressure.

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PubMed2002

Discrete change of spin-density-wave modulation in Cr(100)/Sn multilayers as a function of Cr layer thickness.

Magnetic structures of epitaxial Cr(001)/Sn multilayers, where monatomic Sn layers are periodically embedded in a Cr(001) film, were studied using neutron diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy. It was found that spin-density-wave (SDW) antiferromagnetic structures with the modulation along the perpendicular direction to the film plane are stabilized at low temperatures. The wavelength of the SDW discretely changes as a function of the superlattice period. The enhanced magnetic moments of Cr at the Cr/Sn interfaces are thought to pin the antimode of the SDW modulation at the interface, resulting in the SDW with the modulation harmonic to the superlattice period.

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PubMed2003

Unconventional magnetic correlations in DyB2C and HoB2C.

Layered borocarbides RB2C (R=Dy, Ho, and Er) have been studied by powder neutron diffraction at 2-30 K. ErB2C has two-sublattice antiferromagnetic order below T(N)=16.3 K, but DyB2C and HoB2C show a coexistence of a conventional canted k=(000) ferromagnetic structure and unconventional magnetic correlations. The k=(000) phase orders at T(c)=8.5 K (DyB2C) and 7.1 K (HoB2C), but low-Q diffraction peaks from the unconventional correlations appear above T(c) with different critical temperatures for different peaks: at 8, 10.5, and 15.7 K for HoB2C. This scattering is fitted as diffraction from a Warren-type random magnetic layer lattice and may result from quadrupolar interactions between R3+ spins.

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PubMed2003

Structural transformation induced by magnetic field and "colossal-like" magnetoresistance response above 313 K in MnAs.

MnAs exhibits a first-order phase transition from a ferromagnetic, high-spin metal hexagonal phase to a paramagnetic, lower-spin insulator orthorhombic phase at T(C)=313 K. Here, we report the results of neutron diffraction experiments showing that an external magnetic field, B, stabilizes the hexagonal phase above T(C). The phase transformation is reversible and constitutes the first demonstration of a bond-breaking transition induced by a magnetic field. The field-induced phase transition is accompanied by an enhanced magnetoresistance of about 17% at 310 K. The phenomenon appears to be similar to that of the colossal magnetoresistance response observed in the Mn [corrected] perovskite family.

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PubMed2003

Identification of the relative distribution of rare-earth ions in phosphate glasses.

The relative distribution of rare-earth ions R3+ (Dy3+ or Ho3+) in the phosphate glass RAl(0.30)P(3.05)O(9.62) was measured by employing the method of isomorphic substitution in neutron diffraction. It is found that 7.9(7) R-R nearest neighbors reside at 5.62(6) A in a network made from interlinked PO4 tetrahedra. Provided that the role of Al is explicitly considered, a self-consistent account of the local matrix atom correlations can be developed in which there are 1.68(9) bridging and 2.32(9) terminal oxygen atoms per phosphorus.

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PubMed2003

Incommensurate spin density waves in iron aluminides.

Neutron diffraction in Fe(Al) reveals incommensurate spin density waves (SDWs) in alloys known to be spin glasses. The wave vectors for crystals of Fe(34Al), Fe(40Al), and Fe(43Al) show n varying from 11 to 6 for q-->=2pi(h+/-1/n,k+/-1/n,l+/-1/n)/a(0), where (h,k,l) and a(0) characterize the parent bcc lattice of the CsCl structure. The magnetic reflections are present far above the spin-glass freezing temperatures. These SDWs keep the spins on nearest-neighbor Fe atoms close to parallel, in contrast with SDWs in Cr, which keep nearest-neighbor spins close to antiparallel.

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PubMed2004

Nature of the A phase in CeCu2Si2.

Neutron diffraction experiments have been performed on a magnetically ordered CeCu2Si2 single crystal exhibiting A-phase anomalies in specific heat and thermal expansion. Below T(N) approximately 0.8 K antiferromagnetic superstructure peaks have been detected. The propagation vector of the magnetic order appears to be determined by the topology of the Fermi surface of heavy quasiparticles as indicated by renormalized band-structure calculations. The observation of long-range incommensurate antiferromagnetic order as the nature of the A phase in CeCu2Si2 suggests that a spin-density-wave instability is the origin of the quantum critical point in CeCu2Si2.

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PubMed2004

Competition between helimagnetism and commensurate quantum spin correlations in LiCu2O2.

Neutron diffraction and bulk measurements are used to determine the nature of the low-temperature ordered state in LiCu2O2, a S=1/2 spin-chain compound with competing interactions. The spin structure is found to be helimagnetic, with a propagation vector (0.5,zeta,0), zeta=0.174. The nearest-neighbor exchange constant and frustration ratio are estimated to be J(1)=5.8 meV and J(2)/J(1)=0.29, respectively. For idealized quantum spin chains, these parameter values would signify a gapped spin-liquid ground state with commensurate spin correlations. The observed temperature dependence of the magnetic propagation vector in LiCu2O2 is attributed to a competition between incommensurate helimagnetism in the classical spin model and commensurability in the quantum case. It is also proposed that long-range ordering in LiCu2O2 is facilitated by intrinsic nonstoichiometry.

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PubMed2004

Four-well tunneling States and elastic response of clathrates.

We present resonant ultrasound elastic constant measurements of the Eu8Ga16Ge30 and Sr8Ga16Ge30 clathrates. The elastic response of the Eu clathrate provides clear evidence for the existence of a new type of four-well tunneling states, described by two nearly degenerate four level systems (FLS). The FLS's are closely linked with the fourfold split positions of Eu known from neutron diffraction density profiles. Using a realistic potential we estimate the tunneling frequencies and show that the energy gap between the two FLS's explains the observed harmonic oscillator type specific heat. In addition the quadrupolar interaction of FLS's with elastic strains explains the pronounced depression observed in elastic constant measurements. In the case of the Sr clathrate, we explain the elastic properties assuming the same type of interaction, but with Sr Einstein mode.

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PubMed2004

Direct determination of the magnetic structure of the delta phase of oxygen.

Simple diatomic molecules exhibit a variety of exciting physical phenomena under high pressures, including structural transitions, pressure induced metallization, and superconductivity. Oxygen is of particular interest because it carries a magnetic moment. For the first time we studied the magnetic structure in solid oxygen under very high pressure by a direct method, namely, neutron diffraction. A new type of magnetic order with ferromagnetic stacking of the antiferromagnetic O2 planes was discovered in delta-O2 at P=6.2 GPa. We show that all structural transformations at pressures <7 GPa are driven by spin interactions; therefore, high-pressure oxygen should be considered as a unique "spin-controlled crystal."

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PubMed2004

Formation and structure of a dense octahedral glass.

We have performed in situ x-ray and neutron-diffraction measurements, and molecular dynamics simulations, of GeO2, an archetypal network-forming glass under pressure. Below 5 GPa, additional atoms encroaching on the first tetrahedral shell are seen to be a precursor of local coordination change. Between 6 and 10 GPa, we observe structures with a constant average coordination of approximately 5, indicating a new metastable, intermediate form of the glass. At 15 GPa, the structure of a fully octahedral glass has been measured. This structure is not retained upon decompression and, therefore, must be studied in situ.

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PubMed2004

Finite-size effect on magnetic ordering temperatures in long-period antiferromagnets: holmium thin films.

The thickness dependence of the helical antiferromagnetic ordering temperature T(N) was studied for thin Ho metal films by resonant magnetic soft x-ray and neutron diffraction. In contrast with the Curie temperature of ferromagnets, T(N) was found to decrease with film thickness d according to [T(N)(infinity)-T(N)(d)]/T(N)(d) proportional variant (d-d(0))(-lambda(')), where lambda(') is a phenomenological exponent and d(0) is of the order of the bulk magnetic period L(b). These observations are reproduced by mean-field calculations that suggest a linear relationship between d(0) and L(b) in long-period antiferromagnets.

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PubMed2004

Structural anomalies and multiferroic behavior in magnetically frustrated TbMn2O5.

We have studied the magnetostructural phase diagram of multiferroic TbMn2O5 as a function of temperature and magnetic field by neutron diffraction. Dielectric and magnetic anomalies are found to be associated with steps in the magnetic propagation vector, including a rare example of a commensurate-incommensurate transition on cooling below 24 K, and in the structural parameters. The geometrically frustrated magnetic structure is stabilized by "canted antiferroelectric" displacements of the Mn3+ ions, an example of the magnetic Jahn-Teller effect. The Tb moments order ferromagnetically at low temperatures in an applied field, while the Mn magnetic structure is largely unchanged.

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PubMed2005

Nature of the polyamorphic transition in ice under pressure.

We present a neutron diffraction study of the transition between low-density and high-density amorphous ice (LDA and HDA, respectively) under pressure at approximately 0.3 GPa, at 130 K. All the intermediate diffraction patterns can be accurately decomposed into a linear combination of the patterns of pure LDA and HDA. This progressive transformation of one distinct phase to another, with phase coexistence at constant pressure and temperature, gives direct evidence of a classical first-order transition. In situ Raman measurements and visual observation of the reverse transition strongly support these conclusions, which have implications for models of water and the proposed second critical point in the undercooled region of liquid water.

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PubMed2005

Helimagnetism of Fe: high pressure study of an Y2Fe17 single crystal.

In this Letter we present direct observation of the Fe helimagnetism in an Y2Fe17 single crystal under pressure. Combined neutron diffraction and magnetization measurements under pressure showed that the collinear ferromagnetic phase of Y2Fe17 is substituted by the pressure induced helical incommensurate phases. The complex pressure-temperature-field behavior of the pressure induced helical magnetic phases is attributed to intrinsic properties of the iron sublattice that gives a valuable contribution to the discussion about dominating theoretical models of magnetism in gamma-Fe.

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PubMed2005

Observation of modulated quadrupolar structures in PrPb3.

Neutron diffraction measurements have been performed on the cubic compound PrPb(3) in a [001] magnetic field to examine the quadrupolar ordering. Antiferromagnetic components with q = (1/2 +/- delta 1/2 0), (1/2 1/2 +/- delta 0) (delta approximately 1/8) are observed below the transition temperature T(Q) (0.4 K at H = 0) whose amplitudes vary linear with H and vanish at zero field, providing the first evidence for a modulated quadrupolar phase. For H < 1 T, a nonsquare modulated state persists even below 100 mK suggesting quadrupole moments associated with a Tau(3) doublet ground state to be partially quenched by hybridization with conduction electrons.

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