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At least 127 records · Page 7

A compact in situ polarized 3He neutron spin filter for the diffractometer VULCAN at the Spallation Neutron Source

We have built and commissioned a compact in situ 3He polarizer based on spin-exchange optical pumping for the engineering materials diffractometer, named VULCAN, at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The system achieved 78% 3He polarization with a short pump-up time constant of 2.2 h. Its first deployment in an in situ half-polarized neutron diffraction experiment on a magnetic shape memory alloy, Ni–Mn–Ga, revealed changes in magnetization coupled to deformation twinning under compression. With this new capability, VULCAN has become the first diffractometer at SNS capable of performing polarized neutron experiments, opening new opportunities to study a wider range of magnetism-related material behaviors under varied thermal, mechanical, electrical, and/or magnetic fields.

Fu, Sichao [ORNL] (ORCID:0009000846771640)↗

Magnetic Properties Tuning via Broad Range Site Deficiency in Square Net Material UCu x Bi 2

HfCuSi 2 -type pnictogen compounds have recently been shown to be a versatile platform for designing materials with topologically nontrivial band structures. However, these phases require strict control over the electron count to tune the Fermi level, which can only be achieved in compositions with A 2+ M 2+ Pn 2 and A 3+ M + Pn 2 (A = lanthanides, M = transition metals, Pn = pnictogens P–Bi) charge distribution. While such lanthanide compounds have been thoroughly studied as candidate magnetic topological materials, their heavy element analogs with uranium and bismuth remain largely underexplored. In this report, we present the synthesis of UCu x Bi 2 single crystals and study their magnetic properties. Detailed structural analysis revealed that flux-grown crystals always form as a site-deficient UCu x Bi 2 composition, where x varies between 0.20 and 0.64. Magnetic property measurements revealed a dependence of the magnetic coupling on the Cu site deficiency, linearly changing the Néel temperature from 51 K for UCu 0.60 Bi 2 to 118 K for UCu 0.30 Bi 2 . Moreover, higher Cu concentration promotes a metamagnetic transition in highly magnetically anisotropic UCu 0.60 Bi 2 single crystals. We show that DFT calculations can successfully model site deficiency in the UCu x Sb 2 and UCu x Bi 2 systems. This work paves the way toward using the site deficiency to tune the Fermi level in more ubiquitous A 3+ M 2+ x Pn 2 phases, which previously have not been considered topological candidate materials due to unfavorable electron count.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Ferromagnetic Exchange and Slow Magnetic Relaxation in Cobalt Bis(1,2-dithiolene)-Bridged Dilanthanide Complexes

The construction of multinuclear lanthanide-based molecules with significant magnetic exchange interactions represents a key challenge in the realization of single-molecule magnets with high operating temperatures. Here, we report the synthesis and magnetic characterization of two series of heterobimetallic compounds, (Cp* 2 Ln) 2 (μ-Co(pdt) 2 ) (Ln = Y 3+ , Gd 3+ , Dy 3+ ; pdt 2– = 1,2-diphenylethylenedithiolate) and [K(18-crown-6)][(Cp* 2 Ln) 2 (μ-Co(pdt) 2 )] (Ln = Y 3+ , Gd 3+ ), featuring two lanthanide centers bridged by a cobalt bis(1,2-dithiolene) complex. Dc magnetic susceptibility data collected for the Gd congeners indicate significant Gd–Co ferromagnetic exchange interactions with fits affording J = +11.5 and +7.33 cm –1 , respectively. Magnetization decay and ac magnetic susceptibility measurements carried out on the single-molecule magnet (Cp* 2 Dy) 2 (μ-Co(pdt) 2 ) reveal full suppression of quantum tunneling and open-loop hysteresis persisting up to 3.5 K. These results, along with those of high-field EPR spectroscopy, suggest that transition metalloligands can enforce strong exchange interactions with adjacent lanthanide centers while maintaining a geometry that preserves molecular anisotropy. Furthermore, the magnetic properties of [K(18-crown-6)][(Cp* 2 Gd) 2 (μ-Co(pdt) 2 )] show that increasing the spin of the ground state of the bridging complex may be a viable alternative to increasing J in obtaining well-isolated, strongly coupled magnetic ground states.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Piezomagnetic switching and complex phase equilibria in uranium dioxide

Abstract Actinide materials exhibit strong spin–lattice coupling and electronic correlations, and are predicted to host new emerging ground states. One example is piezomagnetism and magneto-elastic memory effect in the antiferromagnetic Mott-Hubbard insulator uranium dioxide, though its microscopic nature is under debate. Here, we report X-ray diffraction studies of oriented uranium dioxide crystals under strong pulsed magnetic fields. In the antiferromagnetic state a [888] Bragg diffraction peak follows the bulk magnetostriction that expands under magnetic fields. Upon reversal of the field the expansion turns to contraction, before the [888] peak follows the switching effect and piezomagnetic ‘butterfly’ behaviour, characteristic of two structures connected by time reversal symmetry. An unexpected splitting of the [888] peak is observed, indicating the simultaneous presence of time-reversed domains of the 3-k structure and a complex magnetic-field-induced evolution of the microstructure. These findings open the door for a microscopic understanding of the piezomagnetism and magnetic coupling across strong magneto-elastic interactions.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Discovery of Charge Order and Corresponding Edge State in Kagome Magnet FeGe

Kagome materials often host exotic quantum phases, including spin liquids, Chern gap, charge density wave, and superconductivity. Existing scanning microscopy studies of the kagome charge order have been limited to nonkagome surface layers. Here, we tunnel into the kagome lattice of FeGe to uncover features of the charge order. Our spectroscopic imaging identifies a 2×2 charge order in the magnetic kagome lattice, resembling that discovered in kagome superconductors. Spin mapping across steps of unit cell height demonstrates the existence of spin-polarized electrons with an antiferromagnetic stacking order. We further uncover the correlation between antiferromagnetism and charge order anisotropy, highlighting the unusual magnetic coupling of the charge order. Finally, we detect a pronounced edge state within the charge order energy gap, which is robust against the irregular shape fluctuations of the kagome lattice edges. Here, we discuss our results with the theoretically considered topological features of the kagome charge order including unconventional magnetism and bulk-boundary correspondence.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Sudden Collapse of Magnetic Order in Oxygen-Deficient Nickelate Films

Antiferromagnetic order is a common and robust ground state in the parent (undoped) phase of several strongly correlated electron systems. The progressive weakening of antiferromagnetic correlations upon doping paves the way for a variety of emergent many-electron phenomena including unconventional superconductivity, colossal magnetoresistance, and collective charge-spin-orbital ordering. In this study, we explored the use of oxygen stoichiometry as an alternative pathway to modify the coupled magnetic and electronic ground state in the family of rare earth nickelates ( RENiO 3 - x ). Using a combination of x-ray spectroscopy and resonant soft x-ray magnetic scattering, we find that, while oxygen vacancies rapidly alter the electronic configuration within the Ni and O orbital manifolds, antiferromagnetic order is remarkably robust to substantial levels of carrier doping, only to suddenly collapse beyond 0.21 e - / Ni without an accompanying structural transition. Our work demonstrates that ordered magnetism in RENiO 3 - x is mostly insensitive to carrier doping up to significant levels unseen in other transition-metal oxides. The sudden collapse of ordered magnetism upon oxygen removal may provide a new mechanism for solid-state magnetoionic switching and new applications in antiferromagnetic spintronics.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Spin-orbit quantum impurity in a topological magnet

Quantum states induced by single-atomic impurities are at the frontier of physics and material science. While such states have been reported in high-temperature superconductors and dilute magnetic semiconductors, they are unexplored in topological magnets which can feature spin-orbit tunability. Here we use spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/S) to study the engineered quantum impurity in a topological magnet Co 3 Sn 2 S 2 . We find that each substituted In impurity introduces a striking localized bound state. Our systematic magnetization-polarized probe reveals that this bound state is spin-down polarized, in lock with a negative orbital magnetization. Moreover, the magnetic bound states of neighboring impurities interact to form quantized orbitals, exhibiting an intriguing spin-orbit splitting, analogous to the splitting of the topological fermion line. Our work collectively demonstrates the strong spin-orbit effect of the single-atomic impurity at the quantum level, suggesting that a nonmagnetic impurity can introduce spin-orbit coupled magnetic resonance in topological magnets.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Growth and characterization of ferromagnetic Ga 2 O 3 :(Cr, Mn)

The goal of this Exploratory Express project was to explore the possibility of tunable ferromagnetism in Mn or Cr incorporated epitaxial Ga 2 O 3 films. Tunability of magnetic properties can enable novel applications in spintronics, quantum computing, and magnetism-based logics by allowing control of magnetism down to the nanoscale. Carriers (electrons or holes) mediated ferromagnetic ordering in semiconductor can lead to tunable ferromagnetism by leveraging the tunability of carrier density with doping level, gate electric field, or optical pumping of the carriers. The magnetic ions (Cr or Mn) in Ga 2 O 3 act as localized spin centers which can potentially be magnetically coupled through conduction electrons to enable ferromagnetic ordering. Here we investigated tunable ferromagnetism in beta Ga 2 O 3 semiconductor host with various n-doping levels by incorporating 2.4 atomic percent Mn or Cr. The R&D approach involved growth of epitaxial Ga 2 O 3 film on sapphire or Ga 2 O 3 substrate, implantation of Mn or Cr ions, annealing of the samples post implantation, and magnetic measurements. We studied magnetic behavior of Mn:Ga 2 O 3 as a function of different n-doping levels and various annealing temperatures. The vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) measurement exhibited strong ferromagnetic signals from the annealed Mn:Ga 2 O 3 sample with n-doping level of 5E19 cm -3 . This ferromagnetic behavior disappears from Mn:Ga 2 O 3 when the n-doping level is reduced to 5E16 cm -3 . Although these results are to be further verified by other measurement schemes due to the observation of background ferromagnetism from the growth substrate, these results indicate the possibility of tunable ferromagnetism in Mn:Ga 2 O 3 mediated by conduction electrons.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Pervasive beyond Room-Temperature Ferromagnetism in a Doped van der Waals Magnet

The existence of long-range magnetic order in low-dimensional magnetic systems, such as the quasi-two-dimensional van der Waals (vdW) magnets, has attracted intensive studies of new physical phenomena. The vdW Fe N GeTe 2 (N = 3, 4, 5; FGT) family is exceptional, owing to its vast tunability of magnetic properties. In particular, a ferromagnetic ordering temperature (T C ) above room temperature at N = 5 (F5GT) is observed. Here, our work shows that, by nickel (Ni) substitution of iron in F5GT, a record high T C =478(6) K is achieved. Importantly, pervasive, beyond room-temperature ferromagnetism exists in almost the entire doping range of the phase diagram of Ni-F5GT. We argue that this striking observation in Ni-F5GT can be possibly due to several contributing factors, including increased 3D magnetic couplings due to the structural alterations.

2-dimensional systems↗

The Localized Active Space Method with Unitary Selective Coupled Cluster

Here, we introduce a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm, the localized active space unitary selective coupled cluster singles and doubles (LAS-USCCSD) method. Derived from the localized active space unitary coupled cluster (LAS-UCCSD) method, LAS-USCCSD first performs a classical LASSCF calculation, then selectively identifies the most important parameters (cluster amplitudes used to build the multireference UCC ansatz) for restoring interfragment interaction energy using this reduced set of parameters with the variational quantum eigensolver method. We benchmark LAS-USCCSD against LAS-UCCSD by calculating the total energies of (H 2 ) 2 , (H 2 ) 4 , and trans-butadiene, and the magnetic coupling constant for a bimetallic compound [Cr 2 (OH) 3 (NH 3 ) 6 ] 3+ . For these systems, we find that LAS-USCCSD reduces the number of required parameters and thus the circuit depth by at least 1 order of magnitude, an aspect which is important for the practical implementation of multireference hybrid quantum-classical algorithms like LAS-UCCSD on near-term quantum computers.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Supervised Learning-Based Spatial Position Estimation with Vertical Displacement for Hovering UAV Wireless Power Transfer

This study presents a supervised learning-based spatial position estimation approach for wireless power transfer (WPT) systems supporting hovering unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) charging. Unlike stationary charging scenarios, hovering UAVs introduce continuous lateral misalignment and vertical displacement, leading to variations in magnetic coupling and reduced power transfer efficiency. To address this challenge, the proposed method estimates the relative spatial position of the receiver coil using only electrical measurements obtained at the secondary side. A supervised learning model is trained to map output voltage and current features to spatial coordinates, enabling position awareness without requiring external sensors, vision systems, or communication links. The sensing functionality is inherently integrated into the WPT system, allowing simultaneous power transfer and localization through the same magnetic interface. Experimental validation is conducted on a laboratory-scale prototype under varying lateral offsets and air-gap conditions. In addition, spline-based interpolation is employed to increase spatial data density for training. The results demonstrate that the proposed framework can capture spatial variations associated with both lateral and vertical displacement, providing reliable position estimation under hovering conditions. This work establishes a hardware-efficient, sensorless solution for UAV wireless charging and serves as a baseline for advanced data-driven position estimation methods in dynamic WPT systems.

Asa, Erdem [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000190884812)↗

Ferromagnetic MnBi 4 Te 7 obtained with low-concentration Sb doping: A promising platform for exploring topological quantum states

The tuning of the magnetic phase, chemical potential, and structure is crucial to observe diverse exotic topological quantum states in Mn Bi 2 Te 4 (Bi 2 Te 3 ) m (m = 0–3). Here we show a ferromagnetic (FM) phase with a chiral crystal structure in Mn (Bi 1–x Sb x ) 4 Te 7 , obtained via tuning the growth conditions and Sb concentration. Unlike previously reported Mn (Bi 1–x Sb x ) 4 Te 7 , which exhibits FM transitions only at high Sb doping levels, our samples show FM transitions (T C = 13.5 K) at 15%–27% doping levels. Furthermore, our single-crystal x-ray-diffraction structure refinements find Sb doping leads to a chiral structure with the space group of P3, contrasted with the centrosymmetric $P\bar{3}m1$ crystal structure of the parent compound MnBi 4 Te 7 . Through angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements, we also demonstrated that the nontrivial band topology is preserved in the Sb-doped FM samples. Given that the nontrivial band topology of this system remains robust for low Sb doping levels, our success in making FM Mn(Bi 1–x Sb x ) 4 Te 7 with x = 0.15, 0.175, 0.2, and 0.27 paves the way for realizing the predicted topological quantum states, such as the axion insulator and Weyl semimetals. Additionally, we also observed magnetic glassy behavior in both antiferromagnetic MnBi 4 Te 7 and FM Mn (Bi 1–x Sb x )4 Te 7 samples, which we believe originates from cluster spin-glass phases coexisting with long-range antiferromagnetic/FM orders. Further, we have also discussed how the antisite Mn ions impact the interlayer magnetic coupling and how FM interlayer coupling is stabilized in this system.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Subtle metastability of the layered magnetic topological insulator MnBi 2 Te 4 from weak interactions

Abstract Layered quantum materials can host interesting properties, including magnetic and topological, for which enormous computational predictions have been done. Their thermodynamic stability is much less visited computationally, which however determines the existence of materials and can be used to guide experimental synthesis. MnBi 2 Te 4 is one of such layered quantum materials that was predicted to be an intrinsic antiferromagnetic topological insulator, and later experimentally realized but in a thermodynamically metastable state. Here, using a combined first-principles-based approach that considers lattice, charge, and spin degrees of freedom, we investigate the metastability of MnBi 2 Te 4 by calculating the Helmholtz free energy for the reaction Bi 2 Te 3 + MnTe → MnBi 2 Te 4 . We identify a temperature range (~500–873 K) in which the compound is stable with respect to the competing binary phases, consistent with experimental observation. We validate the predictions by comparing the calculated specific heats contributed from different degrees of freedom with experimental results. Our findings indicate that the degrees of freedom responsible for the van der Waals interaction, lattice vibration, magnetic coupling, and nontrivial band topology in MnBi 2 Te 4 not only enable emergent phenomena but also play a crucial role in determining its thermodynamic stability. This conclusion lays the foundation for the future computational material synthesis of novel layered systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Possible coexistence of antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic spin fluctuations in the spin-triplet superconductor UTe 2 revealed by 125 Te NMR under pressure

We report a spin-triplet superconducting state mediated by ferromagnetic (FM) spin fluctuations has been suggested to occur in the newly discovered heavy-fermion superconductor UTe 2 . However, the recent neutron scattering measurements revealed the presence of antiferromagnetic (AFM) spin fluctuations in UTe 2 . Here, we report the 125 Te nuclear magnetic resonance studies of a single-crystal UTe 2 , suggesting the coexistence of FM and AFM spin fluctuations in UTe 2 . Owing to the two different Te sites in the compound, we conclude that the FM spin fluctuations are dominant within ladders and the AFM spin fluctuations originate from the interladder magnetic coupling. Although AFM spin fluctuations exist in the system, the FM spin fluctuations in the ladders may play an important role in the appearance of the spin-triplet superconducting state of UTe 2 .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Optical and Magneto-Optical Properties of Donor-Bound Excitons in Vacancy-Engineered Colloidal Nanocrystals

Controlled insertion of electronic states within the band gap of semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) is a powerful tool for tuning their physical properties. One compelling example is II–VI NCs incorporating heterovalent coinage metals in which hole capture produces acceptor-bound excitons. To date, the opposite donor-bound exciton scheme has not been realized because of the unavailability of suitable donor dopants. Here, we produce a model system for donor-bound excitons in CdSeS NCs engineered with sulfur vacancies (V S ) that introduce a donor state below the conduction band (CB), resulting in long-lived intragap luminescence. V S -localized electrons are almost unaffected by trapping, and suppression of thermal quenching boosts the emission efficiency to 85%. Magneto-optical measurements indicate that the V S are not magnetically coupled to the NC bands and that the polarization properties are determined by the spin of the valence-band photohole, whose spin flip is massively slowed down due to suppressed exchange interaction with the donor-localized electron.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Polynomial Scaling Localized Active Space Unitary Selective Coupled Cluster Singles and Doubles

We present a polynomial-scaling algorithm for the localized active space unitary selective coupled cluster singles and doubles (LAS-USCCSD) method. In this approach, cluster excitations are selected based on a threshold ϵ determined by the absolute gradients of the LAS-UCCSD energy with respect to cluster amplitudes. Using the generalized Wick’s theorem for multireference wave functions, we derive the gradient expression as a polynomial function of one-, two-, and three-body reduced density matrices and 1- and 2-electron integrals, valid for any multireference wave function. The resulting gradient implementation exhibits a memory scaling of 𝒪(N 6 ), with N spin orbitals in the combined active space of all fragments. The variational quantum eigensolver is used to optimize the selected cluster excitations on a quantum simulator. Furthermore, by plotting the energy error, defined as the difference between the LAS-USCCSD and corresponding CASCI energies, against the inverse cluster amplitude selection threshold (ϵ –1 ) for polyene chains containing 2 to 5 π-bond units, we establish a relationship between the energy error and the threshold. To further validate the accuracy of LAS-USCCSD, we computed the cis–trans isomerization energy of stilbene (a 20-qubit system) and the magnetic coupling constant of the tris-hydroxo-bridged chromium dimer [Cr 2 (OH) 3 (NH 3 ) 6 ] 3+ (evaluated as both 12- and 20-qubit systems) using the Qiskit-Qulacs simulator. Assessing such examples is important to determine the practical feasibility of quantum simulations for chemically realistic systems. Toward this goal, with the LAS-USCCSD algorithm we estimated the quantum resources required for simulating an active space of (30e,22o) in [Cr 2 (OH) 3 (NH 3 ) 6 ] 3+ , a size that remains beyond the reach of current quantum simulators for accurate treatment.

Algorithms↗

Strongly anisotropic electronic and magnetic structures in oxide dichlorides RuOCl 2 and OsOCl 2

The van der Waals oxide dichlorides MOX 2 (M=V, Ta, Nb, Ru, and Os; X=halogen element), with different electronic densities, are attracting considerable attention. Ferroelectricity, spin-singlet formation, and orbital-selective Peierls phases were reported in this family with d 1 or d 2 electronic configurations, all believed to be caused by the strongly anisotropic electronic orbital degree of freedom. Here, using density functional theory and density matrix renormalization group methods, we investigate the electronic and magnetic properties of RuOCl 2 and OsOCl 2 with d 4 electronic configurations. Different from a previous study using VOI 2 with d 1 configuration, these systems with 4d4 or 5d4 do not exhibit a ferroelectric instability along the a axis. Due to the fully occupied dxy orbital in RuOCl 2 and OsOCl 2 , the Peierls instability distortion disappears along the b axis, leading to an undistorted Immm phase (No. 71). Furthermore, we observe strongly anisotropic electronic and magnetic structures along the a axis. For this reason, the materials of our focus can be regarded as “effective one-dimensional” systems even when they apparently have a dominant two-dimensional lattice geometry. The large crystal-field splitting energy (between dxz/yz and dxy orbitals) and large hopping between nearest-neighbor Ru and Os atoms suppresses the J = 0 singlet state in MOCl 2 (M=Ru or Os) with electronic density n = 4, resulting in a spin-1 system. Moreover, we find staggered antiferromagnetic order with π wave vector along the M-O chain direction (a axis) while the magnetic coupling along the b axis is weak. Based on Wannier functions from first-principles calculations, we calculated the relevant hopping amplitudes and crystal-field splitting energies of the t 2g orbitals for the Os atoms to construct a multiorbital Hubbard model for the M-O chains. Staggered AFM with ↑|-|↓-↑|-|↓ spin structure dominates in our density matrix renormalization group calculations, in agreement with density functional theory calculations. Our results for RuOCl 2 and OsOCl 2 provide guidance to experimentalists and theorists working on this interesting family of oxide dichlorides.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Spin Waves in Dirac Semimetal Ca 0.6⁢ Sr 0.4⁢ MnSb 2 Investigated with Neutrons by the Diffraction Method

The tunability of Dirac semimetals with antiferromagnetic Mn layers is of great interest. The observed sign change of interlayer magnetic coupling between CaMnBi 2 and SrMnBi 2 suggests ionic substitution as a potential tuning mechanism. If so, novel behavior near the compensation point could be expected. Here, to explore this, we study a mixed-cation analog, Ca 0.6⁢ Sr 0.4⁢ MnSb 2 , where Bi is replaced by Sb. Conventional inelastic neutron scattering is impractical due to the small crystal size (m ≈ 0.28 g) available for compositional studies; however, we find that using a neutron diffractometer with a wide-angle area detector we can obtain a good quality spin-wave signal, which is shaped by energy-momentum conservation and retains spectroscopic information even without direct energy analysis. Spin-wave modeling reveals an interlayer coupling quantitatively similar to SrMnSb 2 , indicating it is not directly tuned by ionic size and that the sign change in Bi-based compounds likely arises from the observed change in lattice symmetry. Beyond this key insight, our results present an efficient method for parametric and compositional studies of spin dynamics in small crystals.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗