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At least 469 records · Page 26
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Spin-lattice entanglement in CoPS 3

Complex chalcogenides in the 𝑀⁢PS 3 family of materials (𝑀 =Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni) display remarkably different phase progressions depending upon the metal center orbital filling, character of the P–P linkage, and size of the van der Waals gap. There is also a stacking pattern and spin-state difference between the “lighter” and “heavier” transition-metal-containing systems that places CoPS 3 at the nexus of these activities. Despite these unique properties, this compound is underexplored. Here, we bring together Raman scattering spectroscopy and infrared absorption spectroscopy with x-ray techniques to identify a structural component to the 119 K magnetic ordering transition. With temperature-dependent Raman scattering, we discover a set of magnon-phonon pairs that engages in avoided crossings below 𝑇 Néel . Lastly, these findings point to strong spin-phonon entanglement as well as opportunities to control these effects under external stimuli.

Magnetism↗
DOE OSTI2020

High-temperature Majorana fermions in magnet-superconductor hybrid systems

Magnet-superconductor hybrid (MSH) structures represent one of the most promising platforms to realize, control, and manipulate Majorana modes using scanning tunneling methods. By depositing either chains or islands of magnetic atoms on the surface of a conventional, elemental superconductor such as Pb or Re, topological superconducting phases can emerge. They feature either localized Majorana bound states at the chain ends or dispersing chiral Majorana modes at the island's boundary. However, some of these experiments have not reached the spectral resolution to clearly distinguish between topological Majorana and trivial Shiba states due to very small superconducting gap sizes and experiments performed at sub-Kelvin temperatures. Here we consider superconducting substrates with unconventional spin-singlet pairing, including high-temperature d -wave and extended s -wave superconductors. We derive topological phase diagrams and compute edge states for cylinder and island geometries and discuss their properties. Several time-reversal invariant topological superconducting phases of the Zhang-Kane-Mele type are found and discussed. Addiotnally, we review one-dimensional MSH structures and show that parameters to realize topologically nontrivial magnetic chains embedded into a larger, two-dimensional substrate differ from the purely one-dimensional case. Quite generally we find that unconventional superconducting substrates work as well as the conventional s -wave substrates to realize topological phases. In particular, iron-based pnictide and chalcogenide superconductors are the most promising class of substrates for future high-temperature MSH systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Exotic bonding interactions and coexistence of chemically distinct periodic lattice distortions in the charge density wave compound TaTe2

The superstructure of TaTe 2 is examined by total high-energy x-ray scattering and large-scale structure modeling over a broad temperature range. At room temperature, it features double zigzag chains of Ta atoms exhibiting metallic bonding. The chains are sandwiched between planes of weakly interacting Te atoms. Below 170 K, the chains appear broken to “butterflylike” clusters and single zigzag chains of covalently bonded Te atoms emerge while Ta-Te interactions remain largely ionic. This is a rare example of a charge density wave compound stabilized by bonding that is a mix of covalent, ionic, and metallic character giving rise to chemically distinct periodic lattice distortions. We argue that the formation of periodic lattice distortions in the Te sublattice in addition to those in the Ta sublattice favors charge delocalization, which may explain the unusually diminished resistivity and increased magnetic susceptibility exhibited by the low-temperature charge density wave phase of TaTe 2 . The effect may be common for 5d transition metal chalcogenides containing Te because of the extended electronic orbitals of the constituent atoms.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2020

Mapping the unoccupied state dispersions in Ta 2 NiSe 5 with resonant inelastic x-ray scattering

The transition metal chalcogenide Ta 2 NiSe 5 undergoes a second-order phase transition at T c = 328 K involving a small lattice distortion. Below T c , a band gap at the center of its Brillouin zone increases up to about 0.35 eV. In this work, we study the electronic structure of Ta 2 NiSe 5 in its low-temperature semiconducting phase, using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) at the Ni L 3 -edge. In addition to a weak fluorescence response, we observe a collection of intense Raman-like peaks that we attribute to electron-hole excitations. Using density functional theory calculations of its electronic band structure, we identify the main Raman-like peaks as interband transitions between valence and conduction bands. Further, by performing angle-dependent RIXS measurements, we uncover the dispersion of these electron-hole excitations that allows us to extract the low-energy boundary of the electron-hole continuum. From the dispersion of the valence band measured by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we derive the effective mass of the lowest unoccupied conduction band.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Three-dimensional Ising ferrimagnetism of Cr-Fe-Cr trimers in FeCr2Te4

We carried out a comprehensive study of magnetic critical behavior in single crystals of ternary chalcogenide Fe Cr 2 Te 4 that undergoes a ferrimagnetic transition below T c ~ 123 K. Detailed critical behavior analysis and scaled magnetic entropy change indicate a second-order ferrimagnetic transition. Critical exponents β = 0.30 ( 1 ) with T c = 122.4 ( 5 ) K , γ = 1.22 ( 1 ) with T c = 122.8 ( 1 ) K , and δ = 4.24 ( 2 ) at T c ~ 123 K suggest that the spins approach the three-dimensional Ising ( β = 0.325 , γ = 1.24 , and δ = 4.82 ) model coupled with attractive long-range interactions between spins that decay as J ( r ) ≈ r - 4.88 . Our results suggest that the ferrimagnetism in Fe Cr 2 Te 4 is due to itinerant ferromagnetism among the antiferromagnetically coupled Cr-Fe-Cr trimers.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Measurement of electronic structure and surface reconstruction in the superionic Cu 2-x Te

Recently, layered copper chalcogenides Cu 2 X family (X=S, Se, Te) has attracted tremendous research interests due to their high thermoelectric performance, which is partly due to the superionic behavior of mobile Cu ions, making these compounds "phonon liquids."Here, we systematically investigate the electronic structure and its temperature evolution of the less studied single crystal Cu 2-x Te by the combination of angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and scanning tunneling microscope/spectroscopy (STM/STS) experiments. While the band structure of the Cu 2-x Te shows agreement with the calculations, we clearly observe a 2×2 surface reconstruction from both our low temperature ARPES and STM/STS experiments which survives up to room temperature. Interestingly, our low temperature STM experiments further reveal multiple types of reconstruction patterns, which suggests the origin of the surface reconstruction being the distributed deficiency of liquidlike Cu ions. Our findings reveal the electronic structure and impurity level of Cu 2 Te, which provides knowledge about its thermoelectric properties from the electronic degree of freedom.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Empty perovskites as Coulomb floppy networks: Entropic elasticity and negative thermal expansion

Floppy networks (FNs) provide valuable insight into the origin of anomalous mechanical and thermal properties in soft matter systems, from polymers, rubber, and biomolecules to glasses and granular materials. Here, we use the same FN concept to construct a quantitative microscopic theory of empty perovskites, a family of crystals with ReO 3 structure, which exhibit a number of unusual properties. One remarkable example is ScF 3 , which shows a near-zero-temperature structural instability and large negative thermal expansion (NTE). Furthermore, we trace these effects to an FN-like crystalline architecture formed by strong nearest-neighbor bonds, which is stabilized by net electrostatic repulsion that plays a role similar to osmotic pressure in polymeric gels. NTE in these crystalline solids, which we conceptualize as Coulomb floppy networks, emerges from the tension effect of Coulomb repulsion combined with the FN's entropic elasticity and has the same physical origin as in gels and rubber. Our theory provides an accurate, quantitative description of phonons, thermal expansion, compressibility, and structural phase diagram, all in excellent agreement with experiments. The entropic stabilization of critical soft modes, which play only a secondary role in NTE, explains the observed phase diagram. Significant entropic elasticity resolves the puzzle of a marked, ≈50% discrepancy between the experimentally observed bulk modulus and ab initio calculations. The Coulomb FN approach is potentially applicable to other important materials with markedly covalent bonds, from perovskite oxides to iron chalcogenides, whose anomalous vibrational and structural properties are still poorly understood.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Flat-band-induced itinerant ferromagnetism in RbCo 2 Se 2

ACo 2 Se 2 (A=K,Rb,Cs) is a homologue of the iron-based superconductor, AFe 2 Se 2 . From a comprehensive study of RbCo 2 Se 2 via measurements of magnetization, transport, neutron diffraction, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, and first-principle calculations, we identify a ferromagnetic order accompanied by an orbital-dependent spin-splitting of the electronic dispersions. However, we identify the ordered moment to be dominated by a d x 2 –y 2 flatband near the Fermi level, which exhibits the largest spin splitting across the ferromagnetic transition, suggesting an itinerant origin of the ferromagnetism. In the broader context of the iron-based superconductors, we find this d x 2 –y 2 flatband to be a common feature in the band structures of both iron chalcogenides and iron pnictides, accessible via heavy electron doping.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Nearly hyperuniform, nonhyperuniform, and antihyperuniform density fluctuations in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides with defects

Hyperuniform many-body systems in d-dimensional Euclidean space R d are characterized by completely suppressed (normalized) infinite-wavelength density fluctuations, and appear to be endowed with novel exotic physical properties. Recently, hyperuniform systems of disordered varieties have been observed in the context of various atomic-scale two-dimensional (2D) materials. Here, we analyze the effects of localized defects on the density fluctuations across length scales and on the hyperuniformity property of experimental samples of two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides. In particular, we extract atomic coordinates from time series annular dark field-scanning transmission electron microscopy (ADF-STEM) imaging data of 2D tungsten chalcogenides with the 2H structure (Te-doped 2H-WSe 2 ) showing continuous development and evolution of electron-beam induced defects, and construct the corresponding chemical-bonding informed coordination networks between the atoms. We then compute a variety of pair statistics and bond-orientational statistics to characterize the samples. At low defect concentrations, the corresponding materials are nearly hyperuniform, characterized by significantly suppressed scattering at the zero wave-number limit (omitting forward/ballistic scattering). As more defects are introduced, the (approximate) hyperuniformity of the materials is gradually destroyed, and the system becomes non-hyperuniform even when the material still contains a significant amount of crystalline regions. At high defect concentrations, the structures become antihyperuniform with diverging (normalized) large-scale density fluctuations, mimicking those typically observed at the thermal critical points associated with phase transitions. Overall, the defected materials possess varying degrees of orientation order, and there is apparently no intermediate hexatic phase emerging. To understand the observed nearly hyperuniform density fluctuations in the slightly defected materials, we construct a minimalist structural model and demonstrate that the experimental samples can be essentially viewed as perturbed honeycomb crystals with small correlated displacements and double chalcogen vacancies. Moreover, the small correlated displacements alone can significantly degrade hyperuniformity of the perfect honeycomb structure. Therefore, even a small amount of vacancies, when coupled with correlated displacements, can completely destroy hyperuniformity of the system.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Quantum magnetism of iron-based ladders: Blocks, spirals, and spin flux

Motivated by increasing experimental evidence of exotic magnetism in low-dimensional iron-based materials, we present a comprehensive theoretical analysis of magnetic states of the multiorbital Hubbard ladder in the orbital-selective Mott phase (OSMP). Here, the model we used is relevant for iron-based compounds of the AFe 2 X 3 family (where A=Cs, Rb, Ba, K are alkali metals and X=S, Se are chalcogenides). To reduce computational effort, and obtain almost exact numerical results in the ladder geometry, we utilize a low-energy description of the Hubbard model in the OSMP—the generalized Kondo-Heisenberg Hamiltonian. Our main result is the doping vs interaction magnetic phase diagram. We reproduce the experimental findings on the AFe 2 X 3 materials, especially the exotic block magnetism of BaFe 2 Se 3 (antiferromagnetically coupled 2×2 ferromagnetic islands of the ↑↑↓↓ form). As in recent studies of the chain geometry, we also unveil block magnetism beyond the 2×2 pattern (with block sizes varying as a function of the electron doping) and also an interaction-induced frustrated block-spiral state (a spiral order of rigidly rotating ferromagnetic islands). Moreover, we predict new phases beyond the one-dimensional system: a robust regime of phase separation close to half filling, incommensurate antiferromagnetism for weak interaction, and a quantum spin-flux phase of staggered plaquette spin currents at intermediate doping. Finally, exploiting the bonding/antibonding band occupations, we provide an intuitive physical picture giving insight into the structure of the phase diagram.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Effect of iron vacancies on magnetic order and spin dynamics of the spin ladder BaFe 2-δ S 1.5 Se 1.5</sub

Quasi-one-dimensional iron chalcogenides possess various magnetic states depending on the lattice distortion, electronic correlations, and presence of defects. Here we present neutron diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering experiments on the spin ladder compound BaFe 2-δ S 1.5 Se 1.5 with ~6% iron vacancies. The data reveal that long-range magnetic order is absent, while the characteristic magnetic excitations that correspond to both the stripe- and block-type antiferromagnetic correlations are observed. First-principles calculations support the existence of both stripe- and block-type antiferromagnetic short-range orders in the experimental sample. The disappearance of long-range magnetic order may be due to the competition between these two magnetic orders, which is greatly enhanced for a certain concentration of iron vacancies, which we calculate to be about 6%, consistent with the measured iron vacancy concentration. Our results highlight how iron vacancies in the iron-based spin ladder system strongly influence the magnetic ground state.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Single-crystal growth and superconductivity in RbNi 2 Se 2

Herein we report the synthesis and characterization of RbNi 2 Se 2 , an analog of the iron chalcogenide superconductor Rb x Fe 2 Se 2 , via transport, angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations. A superconducting transition at T c =1.20 K is identified. In the normal state, RbNi 2 Se 2 shows paramagnetic and Fermi-liquid behaviors. A large Sommerfeld coefficient yields an effective electron mass of m* ≈ 6m e . In the superconducting state, zero-field electronic specific-heat data C es can be described by a two-gap BCS model, indicating that RbNi 2 Se 2 is a possible multigap superconductor. Our density functional theory calculations and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements demonstrate that RbNi 2 Se 2 exhibits relatively weak correlations and multiband characteristics, consistent with the multigap superconductivity.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Accidental persistent spin textures in the proustite mineral family

Persistent spin textures (PSTs) in momentum space have the potential to enable spintronic devices which are currently limited by spin lifetimes in nonmagnetic spin-orbit coupled materials. We perform a first-principles study on the proustite mineral family, Ag 3 ⁢B⁢Q 3 (B = As, Sb; Q = S, Se), and show these chalcogenides exhibit nonsymmetry-protected PSTs, which we refer to as symmetry-assisted PSTs. Chemical substitution can be used to tune the PST quality and properties, e.g., spin lifetime, and we find that a Rashba anisotropy criterion correlates with the PST area and spin lifetime for two of the three proustites examined. Last, we show that a first-order effective SOC Hamiltonian, often used in two-dimensional systems, is insufficient to describe the PST state in all proustites, suggesting that higher order models are necessary to fully describe PSTs in bulk three-dimensional materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Hund bands in spectra of multiorbital systems

Spectroscopy experiments are routinely used to characterize the behavior of strongly correlated systems. An in-depth understanding of the different spectral features is thus essential. Here, we show that the spectrum of the multiorbital Hubbard model exhibits unique Hund bands that occur at energies given only by the Hund coupling J H , as distinct from the Hubbard satellites following the interaction U. We focus on experimentally relevant single-particle and optical spectra that we calculate for a model related to iron chalcogenide ladders. The calculations are performed via the density-matrix renormalization group and Lanczos methods. Finally, the generality of the implications is verified by considering a generic multiorbital model within dynamical mean-field theory.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Superstructures and magnetic order in heavily Cu-substituted ( Fe 1 – x Cu x ) 1 + y Te

Most iron-based superconductors exhibit stripe-type magnetism, characterized by the ordering vector Q = ($\frac{1}{2},\frac{1}{2}$). In contrast, Fe 1+y Te, the parent compound of the Fe 1+y Te 1–x Se x superconductors, exhibits double-stripe magnetic order associated with the ordering vector Q = ($\frac{1}{2},0$). Here, we use elastic neutron scattering to investigate heavily Cu-substituted (Fe 1–x Cu x ) 1+y Te compounds and reveal that (1) for x ≳ 0.4, short-range magnetic order emerges around the stripe-type vector at Q = ($\frac{1}{2}$ ± δ, $\frac{1}{2}$ ± δ, $\frac{1}{2}$) with δ ≈ 0.05; (2) the short-range magnetic order is associated with a superstructure modulation at Q = ($\frac{1}{3},\frac{1}{3},\frac{1}{2}$), with the magnetic correlation length shorter than that for the superstructure; and (3) for x ≳ 0.55, we observe an additional intergrown phase with higher Cu content, characterized by a superstructure modulation vector Q = ($\frac{1}{3},\frac{1}{3},0$) and magnetic peaks at Q = ($\frac{2}{3},\frac{1}{3},\frac{1}{2}$)/($\frac{1}{3},\frac{2}{3},\frac{1}{2}$). The positions of superstructure peaks suggest that relative to the tetragonal unit cell of Fe 1+y Te, heavy Cu substitution leads to Fe-Cu orderings that expand the unit cell by $\sqrt{2}$ × 3$\sqrt{2}$ times in the ab plane, corroborated by first-principles calculations that suggest the formation of spin chains and spin ladders. Finally, our findings show that stripe-type magnetism is common in magnetically diluted iron pnictides and chalcogenides, despite the varying associated atomic orderings

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Large negative magnetoresistance in antiferromagnetic G⁡d 2 ⁢S⁢e 3

Rare earth chalcogenides provide a great platform to study exotic quantum phenomena such as superconductivity and charge density waves. Among various interesting properties, the coupling between magnetism and electronic transport has attracted significant attention. Here, we report the investigation of such coupling in α-G⁡d 2⁢ S⁢e 3 single crystals through magnetic, calorimetric, and transport property measurements. α-G⁡d 2 ⁢S⁢e 3 is found to display an antiferromagnetic ground state below 11 K with metamagnetic spin-flop transitions. The magnetic fluctuations remain strong above the transition temperature. Transport measurements reveal an overall metallic transport behavior with a large negative magnetoresistance of approximately 65% near the magnetic transition temperature, together with positive magnetoresistance near the field-induced spin-flop transitions, which can be understood in terms of the suppression of spin scattering by the magnetic field.

electrical properties↗
DOE OSTI2025

First-order preemptive Ising-nematic transition in K5Fe4Ag6Te10

Employing inelastic x-ray scattering and neutron scattering techniques, we observed nematic and magnetic phase transitions with distinct characters in K5Fe4Ag6Te10. Upon cooling, the nematic order undergoes a strongly first-order phase transition followed by a magnetic transition at TN≈34.7K that is consistent with a second-order transition. The temperature difference between these two phase transitions is ∼1.0(8) K. The observed phenomenon can be attributed to a distinctive first-order preemptive Ising-nematic transition, a characteristic unique to a quasi-two-dimensional scenario marked by strong out-of-plane spatial anisotropy due to weak coupling. Our studies establish K5Fe4Ag6Te10 as the first material in the family of iron pnictides and chalcogenides that possesses a nematic tricritical point preceding the magnetic one upon decreasing nematic coupling.

Giles-Donovan, N↗
DOE OSTI2020

Observation of a C -type short-range antiferromagnetic order in layer spacing expanded FeS

Here, we report neutron diffraction studies of FeS single crystals obtained from Rb x Fe 2-y S 2 single crystals via a hydrothermal method. While no $\sqrt{5}$×$\sqrt{5}$ iron vacancy order or block antiferromagnetic order typical of Rb x Fe 2-y S 2 is found in our samples, we observe C-type short-range antiferromagnetic order with moments pointed along the c axis hosted by a different phase of FeS with an expanded interlayer spacing. The Néel temperature for this magnetic order is determined to be 170 ± 4 K. Our finding of a variant FeS structure hosting this C-type antiferromagnetic order demonstrates that the known FeS phase synthesized in this method is in the vicinity of a magnetically ordered ground state, providing insights into understanding a variety of phenomena observed in FeS and the related FeSe 1-x S x iron chalcogenide system.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗