RESUMEN
Single-crystal diffuse scattering data have been collected at room temperature on synthetic titanite using both neutrons and high-energy x-rays. A simple ball-and-springs model reproduces the observed diffuse scattering well, confirming its origin to be primarily due to thermal motion of the atoms. Ab initio phonons are calculated using density-functional perturbation theory and are shown to reproduce the experimental diffuse scattering. The observed diffuse x-ray and neutron scattering patterns are consistent with a summation of mode frequencies and displacement eigenvectors associated with the entire phonon spectrum, rather than with a simple, short-range static displacement. A band gap is observed between 600 and 700 cm(-1) with only two modes crossing this region, both associated with antiferroelectric Ti-O motion along a. One of these modes (of Bu symmetry), displays a large LO-TO mode-splitting (562-701.4 cm(-1)) and has a dominant component coming from Ti-O bond-stretching and, thus, the mode-splitting is related to the polarizability of the Ti-O bonds along the chain direction. Similar mode-splitting is observed in piezo- and ferroelectric materials. The calculated phonon dispersion model may be of use to others in future to understand the phase transition at higher temperatures, as well as in the interpretation of measured phonon dispersion curves.
RESUMEN
Theory predicts the low temperature magnetic excitations in spin ices consist of deconfined magnetic charges, or monopoles. A recent transverse-field (TF) muon spin rotation (µSR) experiment [S. T. Bramwell et al., Nature (London) 461, 956 (2009)] reports results claiming to be consistent with the temperature and magnetic field dependence anticipated for monopole nucleation-the so-called second Wien effect. We demonstrate via a new series of µSR experiments in Dy(2)Ti(2)O(7) that such an effect is not observable in a TF µSR experiment. Rather, as found in many highly frustrated magnetic materials, we observe spin fluctuations which become temperature independent at low temperatures, behavior which dominates over any possible signature of thermally nucleated monopole excitations.
RESUMEN
We report high resolution single crystal x-ray diffraction measurements of the frustrated pyrochlore magnet Tb2Ti2O7, collected using a novel low temperature pulsed magnet system. This instrument allows characterization of structural degrees of freedom to temperatures as low as 4.4 K, and in applied magnetic fields as large as 30 T. We show that Tb2Ti2O7 manifests intriguing structural effects under the application of magnetic fields, including strongly anisotropic giant magnetostriction, a restoration of perfect pyrochlore symmetry in low magnetic fields, and ultimately a structural phase transition in high magnetic fields. It is suggested that the magnetoelastic coupling thus revealed plays a significant role in the spin liquid physics of Tb2Ti2O7 at low temperatures.
RESUMEN
Infrared ( 20-120 and 900-1100 cm(-1)) Faraday rotation and circular dichroism are measured in high- T(c) superconductors using sensitive polarization modulation techniques. Optimally doped YBa2Cu3O7 thin films are studied at temperatures in the range ( 15
