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At least 271 records · Page 15

Temperature Dependence of Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance and the Observation of Metal–Ligand Covalency in Actinide Complexes: 35 Cl in Cs 2 UO 2 Cl 4

We report a study of the temperature dependence of 35 Cl nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) transition energies and spin–lattice relaxation times (T 1 ) for 235 U-depleted dicesium uranyl tetrachloride (Cs 2 UO 2 Cl 4 ) aimed at elucidating electronic interactions between the uranium center and atoms in the equatorial plane of the UO 2 2+ ion. The transition frequency decreases slowly with temperature below 75 K and with a more rapid linear dependence above this temperature. The spin–lattice relaxation time becomes shorter with temperature, and as temperatures increase, the T 1 decrease becomes nearly quadratic. The observed trends are reproduced by a model that assumes phonon-induced fluctuations of the electric field gradient tensor and partial electron delocalization from Cl to U. The fit of the theoretical model to experimental data allows a Debye temperature of 96 K to be estimated. Finally, the generalization of this approach to investigations of covalency in actinide–ligand bonding is examined.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Dalitz plots and lineshape of a 1 ( 1260 ) from a relativistic three-body unitary approach

We formulate the final-state interaction of the a 1 ( 1260 ) resonance decay in a manifestly three-body unitary parametrization and fit it to the a 1 ( 1260 ) line shape measured by the ALEPH experiment. Dalitz plots calculated from this fit are presented. The work demonstrates the feasibility to numerically solve a previously derived amplitude and its generalization to isobars with spin and coupled channels. The model can also be applied to other meson decays and modified for the finite-volume problem as it arises in lattice QCD due to its manifest unitarity.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Absence of magnetoelastic deformation in the spin-chain compound CuBr 2

Here, we investigate a spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ antiferromagnet, CuBr 2 , which has quasi-one-dimensional structural motifs. The system has previously been observed to exhibit unusual Raman modes possibly due to a locally deformed crystal structure driven by the low-dimensional magnetism. Using hard x-ray scattering and neutron total scattering, here we aim to verify a specific form of tetramerizing deformation proposed in the previous study. Apart from diffuse scattering signals, which we can reproduce by performing a thorough modeling of the lattice's thermal vibrations, we do not observe evidence for a tetramerized lattice structure within our detection sensitivity. Consequently, we consider it unlikely that the unusual Raman modes in CuBr 2 arise from quantum spin-singlet-driven lattice deformations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Experimental Quantification of Spin–Phonon Coupling in Molecular Qubits Using Inelastic Neutron Scattering

Electronic spin superposition states enable nanoscale sensing through their sensitivity to the local environment, yet their sensitivity to vibrational motion also limits their coherence times. In molecular spin systems, chemical tunability and atomicscale resolution are accompanied by a dense, thermally accessible phonon spectrum that introduces efficient spin relaxation pathways. Despite extensive theoretical work, there is little experimental consensus on which vibrational energies dominate spin relaxation or how molecular structure controls spin−phonon coupling (SPC). We present a fully experimental method to quantify SPC coefficients by combining temperature-dependent vibrational spectra from inelastic neutron scattering with spin relaxation rates measured by electron paramagnetic resonance. We apply this framework to two model S = 1/2 systems, copper(II) phthalocyanine (CuPc) and copper(II) octaethylporphyrin (CuOEP). Two distinct relaxation regimes emerge: below 40 K, weakly coupled lattice modes below 50 cm −1 dominate, whereas above 40 K, optical phonons above ∼185 cm −1 become thermally populated and drive relaxation with SPC coefficients nearly 3 orders of magnitude larger. Structural distortions in CuOEP that break planar symmetry soften the crystal lattice and enhance anharmonic scattering but also raise the energy of stretching modes at the molecular core where the spins reside. This redistributes vibrational energy toward the molecular periphery and out of plane, ultimately reducing SPC relative to CuPc and enabling room-temperature spin coherence in CuOEP. Although our method does not provide mode-specific SPC coefficients, it quantifies contributions from distinct spectral regions and establishes a broadly applicable, fully experimental link between crystal structure, lattice dynamics, and spin relaxation.

Lohaus, Stefan H. [California Institute of Technol↗

String-based parametrization of nucleon GPDs at any skewness: A comparison to lattice QCD

We introduce a string-based parametrization for nucleon quark and gluon generalized parton distributions (GPDs) valid at all skewness values. The conformal moments of the GPDs are expressed as sums of the spin-j nucleon A-form factor and the skewness-dependent spin-j nucleon D-form factor. This representation, which fulfills the polynomiality condition (due to Lorentz invariance) and does not rely on model-specific assumptions, is derived from t-channel string exchanges in anti-de Sitter spaces. The spin-j nucleon D-form factor is closely related to the spin-j nucleon A-form factor. We use the Mellin moments from empirical parton distributions to model the spin-j nucleon A-form factors. Using only five Regge slope parameters, fixed from the electromagnetic and gravitational form factors, our string-based parametrization generates accurate singlet, nonsinglet, isovector, and flavor-separated nucleon quark GPDs, along with symmetric nucleon gluon GPDs from their Mellin-Barnes integral representations. Our isovector nucleon quark GPD is in agreement with existing lattice data. Our string-based parametrization should facilitate the empirical extraction and global analysis of nucleon GPDs in exclusive processes, bypassing the deconvolution challenge.

Electron-ion collisions↗

Plasmons in Z 2 topological insulators

Here, we study plasmonic excitations in the Kane-Mele model, a two-dimensional Z 2 topological insulator on the honeycomb lattice, using the random phase approximation (RPA). In the topologically nontrivial phase, the model has conducting edge states that traverse the bulk energy gap and display spin-momentum locking. Such a state of matter is called the quantum spin hall (QSH) phase, which is robust against time-reversal (TR) invariant perturbations. We find that in the QSH phase, gapless spin-polarized plasmons can be excited on the edges of the system. The propagation of these plasmons is chiral for each individual spin component and shows spin-momentum locking for both spin components on the same edge. Moreover, we study the effect of external magnetic fields on the gapless edge plasmons. Specifically, out-of-plane magnetic fields delocalize edge plasmons propagating in one direction without affecting the other one, while an in-plane magnetic field can be applied to selectively excite a specific spin-plasmon branch with proper doping or gating to the system. Our findings may have potential applications in novel plasmonic and spintronic devices. We also investigate plasmons in the Kane-Mele model on a finite-sized diamond-shaped nanoflake and observe low-energy plasmons circulating the boundary of the material.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Chemical compression and ferroic orders in La substituted BiFe O 3

Chemical compression effects on the ferroic orders in La substituted BiFeO 3 are studied by atomic pair distribution function analysis and structure modeling. While rhombohedral BiFeO 3 exhibits ferroelectricity and antiferromagnetism (AF) with a cycloidal Fe spin arrangement leading to zero magnetization, La substituted BiFeO 3 exhibits a reduced lattice polarization, strengthened AF order, and an apparently suppressed spin cycloid leading to nonzero magnetization. Furthermore, the observed changes in the ferroic orders arise from the chemical compression induced changes in the octahedral rotation and ferroelectric displacement of Bi atoms, which appear as lattice degrees of freedom entangling the electronic and magnetic orders in BiFeO 3 .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Instability of Nagaoka State and Quantum Phase Transition via Kinetic Frustration Control

We investigate the Nagaoka-Thouless (NT) ferromagnetic instability in the strongly interacting t-t' Hubbard model by continuously breaking particle-hole symmetry on a tunable square-triangular lattice geometry. We use an analytic approach to show that the fully spin-polarized state becomes unstable to a metastable spin-polaron when the kinetic frustration t'/t exceeds a critical, dimension-dependent value. Large-scale density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) simulations reveal a quantum phase transition from the NT ferromagnet to a spiral spin-density wave, which evolves continuously into the Haerter-Shastry antiferromagnet in the large-frustration limit. Remarkably, this transition remains robust at low but finite hole density, making it accessible in cold-atom and moiré Hubbard platforms under strong interactions. A variational analysis further captures the instability mechanism at finite density via frustration-induced magnon band deformation.

FOS: Physical sciences↗

Size- and temperature-dependent magnetization of iron nanoclusters

In this paper, the magnetic behavior of bcc iron nanoclusters, with diameters between 2 and 8 nm, is investigated by means of spin dynamics simulations coupled to molecular dynamics, using a distance-dependent exchange interaction. Finite-size effects in the total magnetization as well as the influence of the free surface and the surface/core proportion of the nanoclusters are analyzed in detail for a wide temperature range, going beyond the cluster and bulk Curie temperatures. Comparison is made with experimental data and with theoretical models based on the mean-field Ising model adapted to small clusters, and taking into account the influence of low coordinated spins at free surfaces. Our results for the temperature dependence of the average magnetization per atom M (T), including the thermalization of the transnational lattice degrees of freedom, are in very good agreement with available experimental measurements on small Fe nanoclusters. In contrast, significant discrepancies with experiment are observed if the translational degrees of freedom are artificially frozen. The finite-size effects on M (T) are found to be particularly important near the cluster Curie temperature. Simulated magnetization above the Curie temperature scales with cluster size as predicted by models assuming short-range magnetic ordering. Analytical approximations to the magnetization as a function of temperature and size are proposed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Coupled Hubbard ladders at weak coupling: Pairing and spin excitations

The Hubbard model provides a simple framework in which one can study how certain aspects of the electronic structure of strongly interacting systems can be tuned to optimize the superconducting pairing correlations and how these changes affect the mechanisms giving rise to them. Here we use a weak-coupling random phase approximation to study a two-dimensional Hubbard model with a unidirectional modulation of the hopping amplitudes as the system evolves from the uniform square lattice to an array of weakly coupled two-leg ladders. We find that the pairing correlations retain their dominant d x 2 - y 2- wavelike structure and that they are significantly enhanced for a slightly modulated lattice. This enhancement is traced backed to an increase in the strength of the spin-fluctuation pairing interaction due to favorable Fermi surface nesting in the modulated system. We then use a random-phase approximation BCS framework to examine the evolution of the neutron resonance in the superconducting state. We find that it changes only weakly for moderate modulations, but breaks up into two distinct resonances at incommensurate wave vectors in the limit of weakly coupled ladders.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Unitary Bethe-Salpeter Methods in Two- and Three-Body Systems

The study of resonances, unstable particles formed in particle scattering, is motivated by the questions about the strong interaction and the composition of hadrons. In order to advance this study in the intermediate energy region, a variety of techniques are used. In this thesis, we present work done on two different analyses that use the principle of unitarity and the Bethe-Salpeter equation to study the resonances Lambda(1405), Sigma(1385), and a1(1260). Firstly, we perform a simultaneous analysis of Sand P-waves of the Strangeness = -1 two-body meson-baryon scattering amplitude using all low-energy data. For the first time, differential cross section data are included for chiral unitary coupled-channel models. From this model, S- and P-wave amplitudes are extracted and we observe both well-known I(JP)=0(1/2^-) S-wave states as well as a new I(JP)=1(1/2^+) state absent in quark models and lattice QCD results. Multiple statistical and phenomenological tests suggest that, while the data clearly require an I =1 P-wave resonance, the new state just accounts for the absence of the decuplet Sigma(1385)3/2+ in the model which is subsequently included in the parameterization. Secondly, we formulate the final state interaction of the a1(1260) resonance decay in a manifestly three-body-unitary parameterization and fit it to the a1(1260) lineshape measured by the ALEPH experiment. Dalitz plots calculated from this fit are presented. The work demonstrates the feasibility to numerically solve a previously derived amplitude and its generalization to isobars with spin and coupled channels. The model is a good test case because it can also be applied to other meson decays including exotic states and modified for the finite-volume problem as it arises in lattice QCD due to its manifest unitarity. The understanding of the resonances being analyzed in both the two-body work and the three-body work gives a better understanding of intermediate energy QCD.

Sadasivan, Daniel↗

Spectroscopy of Spinons in Coulomb Quantum Spin Liquids

We calculate the effect of the emergent photon on threshold production of spinons in U(1) Coulomb spin liquids such as quantum spin ice. The emergent Coulomb interaction modifies the threshold production cross-section dramatically, changing the weak turn-on expected from the density of states to an abrupt onset reflecting the basic coupling parameters. The slow photon typical in existing lattice models and materials suppresses the intensity at finite momentum and allows profuse Cerenkov radiation beyond a critical momentum. Furthermore, these features are broadly consistent with recent numerical and experimental results.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Expanded View of NMR Spin–Lattice Relaxation in Fluorine-Containing Ionic Liquids

Fluorine-containing anions are widely used in ionic liquids due to their unique physicochemical properties. However, the local dynamics of both cations and anions and their associated relaxation mechanisms remain incompletely understood. Here, we present a 1 H and 19 F spin–lattice relaxation rate (R1) study as a function of frequency over a broad frequency range from 30 kHz to 800 MHz for ionic liquids containing BF 4 – , PF 6 – , TFSI – , and FSI – anions and EMIM + cation. By combining experimental R 1 H and R 1 F NMR dispersion (NMRD) profiles with relaxation models for both dipolar spin interactions and chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) contributions, we demonstrate that CSA is needed to accurately describe the R 1 F relaxation behavior above ∼300 MHz, the extent of which depends on the anion structure. These findings challenge the long-standing assumption that dipolar contribution is the main source of 19 F relaxation in these systems and highlight the importance of including CSA to accurately interpret 19 F relaxation in ionic liquids, particularly at high frequencies. This work provides new insights into the molecular dynamics of fluorine-containing species.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Spin excitations in the kagome-lattice metallic antiferromagnet Fe 0.89 Co 0.11 Sn

Kagome-lattice materials have attracted tremendous interest due to the broad prospect for seeking superconductivity, quantum spin liquid states, and topological electronic structures. Among them, the transition-metal kagome lattices are high-profile objects for the combination of topological properties, rich magnetism, and multiple-orbital physics. Here we report an inelastic neutron scattering study on the spin dynamics of a kagome-lattice antiferromagnetic metal Fe 0.89 Co 0.11 Sn. Although the magnetic excitations can be observed up to ~250 meV, well-defined spin waves are only identified below ~90 meV and can be modeled using Heisenberg exchange with ferromagnetic in-plane nearest-neighbor coupling J 1 , in-plane next-nearest-neighbor coupling J 2 , and antiferromagnetic (AFM) interlayer coupling J c under linear spin-wave theory. Above ~90 meV, the spin waves enter the itinerant Stoner continuum and become highly damped particle-hole excitations. At the K point of the Brillouin zone, we reveal a possible band crossing of the spin wave, which indicates a potential Dirac magnon. Finally, our results uncover the evolution of the spin excitations from the planar AFM state to the axial AFM state in Fe 0.89 Co 0.11 Sn, solve the magnetic Hamiltonian for both states, and confirm the significant influence of the itinerant magnetism on the spin excitations.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Strong influence of nonmagnetic ligands on the momentum-dependent spin splitting in antiferromagnets

Here, recent studies show the nonrelativistic antiferromagnetic ordering could generate momentum-dependent spin splitting analogous to the Rashba effect but free from the requirement of relativistic spin-orbit coupling. Whereas the classification of such compounds can be illustrated by different spin-splitting prototypes (SSTs) from symmetry analysis and density-functional-theory calculations, the huge variation in chemical bonding and structures of these diverse compounds possibly clouds the issue of how much of the variation in spin splitting can be traced back to the symmetry-defined characteristics, rather to the underlining chemical and structural diversity. The alternative model Hamiltonian approaches do not confront the issues of chemical and structural complexity but often consider only the magnetic sublattice, dealing with the all-important effects of the nonmagnetic ligands via renormalizing the interactions between the magnetic sites. To this end, we constructed a DFT model Hamiltonian that allows us to study SSTs at constant chemistry while retaining the realistic atomic-scale structure including ligands. This is accomplished by using a single, universal magnetic skeletal lattice (Ni 2+ ions in rocksalt NiO) and designing small displacements of the nonmagnetic (oxygen) sublattice which produce, by design, the different SST magnetic symmetries. We show that (i) even similar crystal structures having very similar band structures can lead to contrasting behavior of spin splitting vs momentum, and (ii) even subtle deformations of the nonmagnetic ligand sublattice could cause a giant spin splitting in AFM-induced SST. This is a paradigm shift relative to the convention of modeling magnets without considering the nonmagnetic ligand that mediates indirect magnetic interaction (e.g., superexchange).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Dipolar molecule emulator of lattice gauge theories (Final Report)

The quantum many-body problem is a great unsolved, cross-cutting challenge in physics that is of fundamental importance. Our understanding of phenomena related to dense quark matter, in particular, is challenged by this practical intractability of classical simulations. Because of the sheer cost and challenge of performing experiments that probe the length and energy scales relevant to such physics, there are practical motivations for finding theoretical methods to address the many-body problem. One promising approach is based on the use of a programmable and controllable analog quantum systems to emulate the physics of many-body problems of interest. While there are currently broad efforts to develop mid- to large-scale quantum computers, we are still likely many years away from such devices outperforming classical supercomputers for useful calculations. Even though digital quantum computers are still at a stage too premature for such tasks, approaches based on analog quantum simulators have advanced rapidly over the past two decades and can now treat many-body problems of interest on small- to medium-scale systems. Tackling the challenging many-body problems of relevance to high energy physics represents one of the great new opportunities and challenges for the field of analog quantum simulation. To address this challenge, this award brought together an interdisciplinary team of physicists with expertise in high energy theory (El-Khadra and Draper), computational and condensed matter physics (Clark), and experimental quantum and atomic, molecular, optical (AMO) science (DeMarco and Gadway), with the goal of developing realistic and optimized strategies for the analog quantum simulation of lattice gauge theories using cold atoms and molecules. This track 1 project included both theoretical and experimental goals, stated as follows. The theory goals were to "develop and verify a novel approach to quantum emulation of (1+1)d quantum link models, based on arrays of trapped quantum spins with long-range interactions." This final project report details the progress made under this award, as well as new research directions developed under this award.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Intrinsic Thermal Hall Effect in Mott Insulators

Here, in light of recent experimental data indicating a substantial thermal Hall effect in square lattice antiferromagnetic Mott insulators, we investigate whether a simple Mott insulator can sustain a finite thermal Hall effect. We verify that the answer is “no” if one performs calculations within a spin-only low-energy effective spin model with noninteracting magnons. However, by performing determinant quantum Monte Carlo simulations, we show the single-band 𝑡−𝑡′−𝑈 Hubbard model coupled to an orbital magnetic field does support a finite thermal Hall effect when 𝑡′ ≠0 and 𝐵 ≠0 in the Mott insulating phase. We argue that the (carrier agnostic) necessary conditions for observing a finite thermal Hall effect are time-reversal and particle-hole symmetry breaking. By considering magnon-magnon scattering using a semiclassical Boltzmann analysis, we illustrate a physical mechanism by which finite transverse thermal conductivity may arise, consistent with our symmetry argument and numerical results. Our results indicate that square and triangular lattices with SU(2) symmetry can support a finite thermal Hall effect and call for a critical reexamination of thermal Hall effect data in insulating magnets, as the magnon contribution should not be excluded a priori .

Mott insulators↗

Superconducting valence bond fluid in lightly doped eight-leg $t-J$ cylinders

Superconductivity in doped quantum paramagnets has been a subject of long theoretical inquiry. In this work, we report a density matrix renormalization group study of lightly doped $t-J$ models on the finite-width square lattice (doped hole densities $δ$ = 1/12 and 1/8) with parameters for which previous studies have suggested that the undoped system in 2D is either a quantum spin liquid or a valence bond crystal. Our studies are performed on cylinders with width up to 8. Here, ground-state correlations are found to be nearly identical for the “doped quantum spin liquid” and “doped valence bond crystal.” Upon increasing the cylinder widths from 4 to 8, we observed a significant strengthening of the quasi-long-range superconducting correlations and a dramatic suppression of any “competing” charge density wave order. Extrapolating from the observed behavior of the width eight cylinders, we speculate that the system has a nodeless $d$-wave superconducting ground state in the 2D limit.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗