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At least 19 records

Spin and Orbital Effects on Asymmetric Exchange Interaction in Polar Magnets: M(IO 3 ) 2 (M = Cu and Mn)

We report magnetic polar materials feature an astonishing range of physical properties, such as magnetoelectric coupling, chiral spin textures, and related new spin topology physics. This is primarily attributable to their lack of space inversion symmetry in conjunction with unpaired electrons, potentially facilitating an asymmetric Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya (DM) exchange interaction supported by spin–orbital and electron–lattice coupling. However, engineering the appropriate ensemble of coupled degrees of freedom necessary for enhanced DM exchange has remained elusive for polar magnets. Here, we study how spin and orbital components influence the capability of promoting the magnetic interaction by studying two magnetic polar materials, α-Cu(IO 3 ) 2 ( 2 D) and Mn(IO 3 ) 2 ( 6 S), and connecting their electronic and magnetic properties with their structures. The chemically controlled low-temperature synthesis of these complexes resulted in pure polycrystalline samples, providing a viable pathway to prepare bulk forms of transition-metal iodates. Rietveld refinements of the powder synchrotron X-ray diffraction data reveal that these materials exhibit different crystal structures but crystallize in the same polar and chiral P2 1 space group, giving rise to an electric polarization along the b-axis direction. The presence and absence of an evident phase transition to a possible topologically distinct state observed in α-Cu(IO 3 ) 2 and Mn(IO 3 ) 2 , respectively, imply the important role of spin–orbit coupling. Neutron diffraction experiments reveal helpful insights into the magnetic ground state of these materials. While the long-wavelength incommensurability of α-Cu(IO 3 ) 2 is in harmony with sizable asymmetric DM interaction and low dimensionality of the electronic structure, the commensurate stripe AFM ground state of Mn(IO 3 ) 2 is attributed to negligible DM exchange and isotropic orbital overlapping. The work demonstrates connections between combined spin and orbital effects, magnetic coupling dimensionality, and DM exchange, providing a worthwhile approach for tuning asymmetric interaction, which promotes evolution of topologically distinct spin phases.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Observation of Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect and Exchange Interaction in Topological Insulator/Antiferromagnet Heterostructure

Integration of a quantum anomalous Hall insulator with a magnetically ordered material provides an additional degree of freedom through which the resulting exotic quantum states can be controlled. Here, an experimental observation is reported of the quantum anomalous Hall e?ect in a magnet-ically-doped topological insulator grown on the antiferromagnetic insulator Cr?O?. The exchange coupling between the two materials is investigated using ?eld-cooling-dependent magnetometry and polarized neutron re?ec-tometry. Both techniques reveal strong interfacial interaction between the antiferromagnetic order of the Cr?O? and the magnetic topological insulator, manifested as an exchange bias when the sample is ?eld-cooled under an out-of-plane magnetic ?eld, and an exchange spring-like magnetic depth pro?le when the system is magnetized within the ?lm plane. These results identify antiferromagnetic insulators as suitable candidates for the manipula-tion of magnetic and topological order in topological insulator ?lms.

Pan, Lei↗

Electronic structure and exchange interactions in altermagnetic MnGeP 2 in the quasiparticle self-consistent G W approach

The quasiparticle self-consistent 𝐺⁡𝑊 method is used to study the electronic band structure, optical dielectric function, and exchange interactions in chalcopyrite, 𝐼⁢ ‾ 4 ⁢2⁢𝑑, structure MnGeP 2 . The material is found to be an antiferromagnetic semiconductor with a lowest direct gap of 2.44 eV at the Γ point and a lower indirect gap of 1.87 eV from Γ to 𝑀. The material is an altermagnet because the two magnetic atoms of opposite spin are related by a twofold rotation operation perpendicular to the main fourfold rotation inversion axis. The spin splittings along a low symmetry line like 𝑃⁢𝑁 is sizable while at k points on the diagonal mirror planes or on the twofold symmetry axes the spin splitting is zero. The exchange interactions are calculated using a linear response approach. The antiferromagnetic exchange interaction between nearest neighbors in the primitive unit cell is dominating and found to be slightly decreasing upon carrier doping but not sufficiently to change the interaction to become ferromagnetic. The bare (noninteracting) and interacting transverse spin susceptibilities, which provide interatomic site exchange interactions after averaging over the muffin-tin spheres, are calculated from the 𝐺⁡𝑊 band structure and wave functions. From these exchange interactions, the spin wave spectra are obtained along the high symmetry lines and the Néel temperature is calculated using the mean-field and Tyablikov estimations. The dielectric function and the optical absorption spectra are calculated including excitonic effects using the Bethe Salpeter equation. The exchange interactions around Mn Ge defect sites is also studied. While we find it can generate ferromagnetic interactions with neighboring spins, we did not find direct evidence of producing an overall ferromagnetic phase. First, if Mn antisites are introduced by exchanging Mn with a nearby Ge, the interactions stay largely antiferromagnetic. Second, when we add additional Mn, in other words in Mn-rich stoichiometry, the Mn Ge antisites produce a strong ferromagnetic interaction primarily with the Mn in the same basal plane but weaker ferromagnetic interaction with adjacent plane Mn. The interactions between regular lattice Mn stay antiferromagnetic as before and thus favor keeping the antiferromagnetic order along the [001] direction. Adding Mn antisites, however, does lead to a metallic band structure.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Topological edge conduction induced by strong anisotropic exchange interactions

Here, we predict that an interplay between isotropic and anisotropic exchange interactions in a honeycomb lattice structure can lead to topological edge conduction when the anisotropic interaction is at least twice the strength of the isotropic interaction. For materials like Na 2 ⁢IrO 3 , such a strong anisotropic exchange interaction simultaneously induces a zigzag type of antiferromagnetic order that breaks the time-reversal symmetry of the topological edge conductor. We show that the electronic transport in such topological conductors will exhibit a quantized Hall conductance without any external magnetic field when the Fermi energy lies within a particular energy range.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Controlling Antiferromagnetic Magnon Polarization by Interfacial Exchange Interaction

We demonstrate highly efficient control of antiferromagnetic (AFM) magnon spins by the interfacial exchange interaction in heterostructures of ferrimagnetic yttrium iron garnet (YIG) and AFM Cr 2 O 3 . At low temperatures, Cr 2 O 3 is antiferromagnetically ordered. The interfacial exchange interaction exerted by YIG lifts the degeneracy between the AFM magnon modes in Cr 2 O 3 , resulting in a net spin polarization and a spin current dominated by left-handed magnons, even at zero magnetic field, which is detected by the spin Seebeck effect with a 5-nm-thick Pt film. In the AFM magnon-dominated region, even if the magnetic field is not sufficiently strong to induce the spin-flop transition in Cr 2 O 3 , the total spin Seebeck signal polarity flips when the YIG magnetization switches. It clearly indicates that the Cr 2 O 3 magnon polarization is controlled by YIG magnetization through the interfacial exchange interaction. The demonstration of the efficient control of AFM magnon polarization opens a pathway to manipulate AFM magnon quantum states using FM-AFM heterostructures.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Impurity states and indirect exchange interaction in irradiated graphene

We theoretically investigate the impurity levels and exchange interaction between magnetic impurities in graphene driven by an off-resonant circularly polarized light field. Our analysis captures the non-perturbative effects resulting from scattering with magnetic impurities with a strong onsite potential. Under irradiation, a dynamical band gap opens up at the Dirac point, allowing impurity levels to exist inside the gap. These impurity levels are shown to give rise to a resonance feature in the exchange energy for impurities located either at the same or different sublattices. The exchange interaction also shows a wider spatial range of antiferromagnetic behavior due to irradiation. Furthermore, our work demonstrates that the exchange energy of magnetic impurities in graphene is extensively tunable by light irradiation in the presence of strong potential scattering.

2-dimensional systems↗

Exchange‐Interaction‐Like Behavior in Ferroelectric Bilayers

Abstract Interlayer coupling in materials, such as exchange interactions at the interface between an antiferromagnet and a ferromagnet, can produce exotic phenomena not present in the parent materials. While such interfacial coupling in magnetic systems is widely studied, there is considerably less work on analogous electric counterparts (i.e., akin to electric “exchange‐bias‐like” or “exchange‐spring‐like” interactions between two polar materials) despite the likelihood that such effects can also engender new features associated with anisotropic electric dipole alignment. Here, electric analogs of such exchange interactions are reported, and their physical origins are explained for bilayers of in‐plane polarized Pb 1−x Sr x TiO 3 ferroelectrics. Variation of the strontium content and thickness of the layers provides for deterministic control over the switching properties of the bilayer system resulting in phenomena analogous to an exchange‐spring interaction and, leveraging added control of these interactions with an electric field, the ability to realize multistate‐memory function. Such observations not only hold technological promise for ferroelectrics and multiferroics but also extend the similarities between ferromagnetic and ferroelectric materials to include the manifestation of exchange‐interaction‐like phenomena.

Kavle, Pravin↗

Momentum-exchange interactions in a Bragg atom interferometer suppress Doppler dephasing

Large ensembles of laser-cooled atoms interacting through infinite-range photon-mediated interactions are powerful platforms for quantum simulation and sensing. Here we realize momentum-exchange interactions in which pairs of atoms exchange their momentum states by collective emission and absorption of photons from a common cavity mode, a process equivalent to a spin-exchange or XX collective Heisenberg interaction. The momentum-exchange interaction leads to an observed all-to-all Ising-like interaction in a matter-wave interferometer. A many-body energy gap also emerges, effectively binding interferometer matter-wave packets together to suppress Doppler dephasing in analogy to Mössbauer spectroscopy. The tunable momentum-exchange interaction expands the capabilities of quantum interaction–enhanced matter-wave interferometry and may enable the realization of exotic behaviors, including simulations of superconductors and dynamical gauge fields.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗

Strain-tuned incompatible magnetic exchange-interaction in La2NiO4

Abstract Magnetic frustration is a route for novel ground states, including spin liquids and spin ices. Such frustration can be introduced through either lattice geometry or incompatible exchange interactions. Here, we find that epitaxial strain is an effective tool for tuning antiferromagnetic exchange interactions in a square-lattice system. By studying the magnon excitations in La 2 NiO 4 films using resonant inelastic x-ray scattering, we show that the magnon displays substantial dispersion along the antiferromagnetic zone boundary, at energies that depend on the lattice of the film’s substrate. Using first principles simulations and an effective spin model, we demonstrate that the antiferromagnetic next-nearest neighbour coupling is a consequence of the two-orbital nature of La 2 NiO 4 . Altogether, we illustrate that compressive epitaxial strain enhances this coupling and, as a result, increases the level of incompatibility between exchange interactions within a model square-lattice system.

Physics↗

Noncentrosymmetric Triangular Magnet CaMnTeO 6 : Strong Quantum Fluctuations and Role of s 0 versus s 2 Electronic States in Competing Exchange Interactions

Abstract Noncentrosymmetric triangular magnets offer a unique platform for realizing strong quantum fluctuations. However, designing these quantum materials remains an open challenge attributable to a knowledge gap in the tunability of competing exchange interactions at the atomic level. Here, a new noncentrosymmetric triangular S = 3/2 magnet CaMnTeO 6 is created based on careful chemical and physical considerations. The model material displays competing magnetic interactions and features nonlinear optical responses with the capability of generating coherent photons. The incommensurate magnetic ground state of CaMnTeO 6 with an unusually large spin rotation angle of 127°(1) indicates that the anisotropic interlayer exchange is strong and competing with the isotropic interlayer Heisenberg interaction. The moment of 1.39(1) µB , extracted from low‐temperature heat capacity and neutron diffraction measurements, is only 46% of the expected value of the static moment 3 µB . This reduction indicates the presence of strong quantum fluctuations in the half‐integer spin S = 3/2 CaMnTeO 6 magnet, which is rare. By comparing the spin‐polarized band structure, chemical bonding, and physical properties of AMnTeO 6 ( A = Ca, Sr, Pb), how quantum‐chemical interpretation can illuminate insights into the fundamentals of magnetic exchange interactions, providing a powerful tool for modulating spin dynamics with atomically precise control is demonstrated.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Competing and Anisotropic Exchange Interactions in the Kagome Lattice Ferromagnet Co 3 Sn 2 S 2

The kagome lattice ferromagnet, Co 3 Sn 2 S 2 , serves as template for a host of materials that exhibit exotic topological states, as well as a giant anomalous Hall state—a momentous realization in condensed matter physics. The anisotropic exchange interactions are probed by applying external magnetic fields in various directions along major crystal axes and the magneto-optical response is recorded. When magnetic fields are applied along the a–b plane, long-range magnetism forms and grows with increasing temperature. This counterintuitive behavior does not take place when the magnetic field is applied at a slight angle off the a–b plane. In fact, the opposite effect is observed for this exact configuration, as well as for other fields arrangements. Ab initio theoretical calculations reveal that anisotropic exchange interactions are the underlying mechanism leading to this peculiar behavior. Furthermore, the long-range ferromagnetic order along the c-axis is thought to coexist with an antiferromagnetic, or spin glass, state in the a–b plane, before becoming paramagnetic above the Curie temperature (T c ). These two coexisting magnetic states are thought to compete as the temperature approaches T c , with the antiferromagnetic state gaining strength compared to the ferromagnetic order.

Barua, Arup [University of South Florida, Tampa, F↗

Proximity-Induced Exchange Interaction: A New Pathway for Quantum Sensing Using Spin Centers in Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Defects in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), a two-dimensional van der Waals material, have attracted a great deal of interest because of its potential in various quantum applications. Due to hBN’s two-dimensional nature, the spin center in hBN can be engineered in the proximity of the target material, providing advantages over its three-dimensional counterparts, such as the nitrogen-vacancy center in diamond. Here, in this work, we propose a novel quantum sensing protocol driven by exchange interaction between the spin center in hBN and the underlying magnetic substrate induced by the magnetic proximity effect. By first-principles calculation, we demonstrate that the induced exchange interaction dominates over the dipole–dipole interaction by orders of magnitude when in the proximity. The interaction remains antiferromagnetic across all stacking configurations between the spin center in hBN and the target van der Waals magnets. Additionally, we explored the scaling behavior of the exchange field as a function of the spatial separation between the spin center and the targets.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Magnetic structure and exchange interactions in the Heisenberg pyrochlore antiferromagnet Gd 2 Pt 2 O 7

In this report the Heisenberg pyrochlore antiferromagnet Gd 2 Pt 2 O 7 is one of a series of gadolinium pyrochlore compounds with a variety of B-site cations. Despite the expected simplicity of a spin-only Gd 3+ Heisenberg interaction model, the gadolinium pyrochlore series exhibits various complex magnetic ground states at low temperature. Gd 2 Pt 2 O 7 displays the highest temperature magnetic order of the series with $T_N$=1.6 K, which has been attributed to enhanced superexchange pathways facilitated by empty $5d$ $e_g$ Pt orbitals. In this study, we use various neutron scattering techniques on an isotopically enriched polycrystalline 160 Gd 2 Pt 2 O 7 sample to examine the magnetic structure and spin-wave excitation spectrum below $T_N$ in order to extract the dominant exchange interactions. We find that the ground-state magnetic structure is the Palmer-Chalker state previously seen in Gd 2 Sn 2 O 7 with an associated gapped excitation spectrum consistent with enhanced exchange interactions between further near-neighbor Gd 3+ ions. We confirm this exchange model with analysis of the magnetic diffuse scattering in the paramagnetic regime using polarized neutrons.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Floquet-driven indirect exchange interaction mediated by topological insulator surface states

Light drives offer a potential tool for the dynamical control of magnetic interactions in matter. We theoretically investigate the indirect exchange coupling between two parallel chains of magnetic impurities on the surface of a topological insulator, driven by a time-periodic circularly polarized light field in the high-frequency, off-resonant regime. We derive a closed-form analytic expression for the spin susceptibility of the photon-dressed topological insulator surface states and obtain the irradiation dependence of the Ising, Heisenberg, and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya exchange couplings between the impurity chains. Our results show a two-pronged modification of these exchange couplings by periodic drives. First, the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida (RKKY) oscillation period of the exchange couplings can be extended by enhancing the driving strength. Second, increasing driving strength enhances the envelope of RKKY oscillations of the Ising type while suppressing those of the Heisenberg type and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya type. Furthermore, our work provides useful insights for realizing Floquet engineering of collinear and noncollinear indirect exchange interactions in topological insulating systems.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Magnetic exchange interactions in binuclear and tetranuclear iron(III) complexes described by spin‐flip DFT and Heisenberg effective Hamiltonians

Abstract Low‐energy spectra of single‐molecule magnets (SMMs) are often described by Heisenberg Hamiltonians. Within this formalism, exchange interactions between magnetic centers determine the ground‐state multiplicity and energy separation between the ground and excited states. In this contribution, we extract exchange coupling constants ( J ) for a set of iron (III) binuclear and tetranuclear complexes from all‐electron calculations using non‐collinear spin‐flip time‐dependent density functional theory (NC‐SF‐TDDFT). For 12 binuclear complexes with J ‐values ranging from −6 to −132 cm −1 , our benchmark calculations using the short‐range hybrid ω PBEh functional and 6‐31G(d,p) basis set agree well with the experimentally derived values (mean absolute error of 4.7 cm −1 ). For the tetranuclear SMMs, the computed J constants are within 6 cm −1 from the experimentally derived values. We explore the range of applicability of the Heisenberg model by analyzing bonding patterns in these Fe(III) complexes using natural orbitals (NO), their occupations, and the number of effectively unpaired electrons. The results illustrate the efficiency of the spin‐flip protocol for computing the exchange couplings and the utility of the NO analysis in assessing the validity of effective spin Hamiltonians.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Floquet control of indirect exchange interaction in periodically driven two-dimensional electron systems

We present a theory for the Ruderman–Kittel–Kasuya–Yosida (RKKY) interaction mediated by a two-dimensional (2D) electron system subjected to periodic driving. This is demonstrated for a 2D metal with two ferromagnetic chains deposited in parallel. Our calculations reveal new non-analytic features in the time-averaged spin susceptibility. For weak light–matter coupling, the RKKY interaction shows oscillations with a period tunable by the light amplitude and frequency. For stronger light–matter coupling, the interaction becomes non-oscillatory and remains purely ferromagnetic. Our findings open a path forward for realizing dynamic control of the indirect exchange interaction in 2D magnetic structures.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Donor–Acceptor Conjugated Copolymers Containing Transition-Metal Complex: Intrachain Magnetic Exchange Interactions and Magneto-Optical Activity

A donor-acceptor conjugated copolymer containing thienothiophene (TT) (Donor) units and Co(II) complexes (Acceptor) has been synthesized and characterized. The studies of magnetic properties of the polymers by SQUID and EPR measurements showed antiferromagnetic exchange interaction between neighboring spin centers along with the polymer backbone through intrachain in-teractions. It is the first time that D-A conjugated polymer backbone serving as bridging ligands for magnetic couplings, making this type of polymers promising as magnetic materials. Moreover, the magneto-optical activity (MOA) of polymer LCP1 was char-acterized using magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy. It was found that the material exhibits a large magneto-optic rotation with a peak Verdet constant of 2980 deg*T -1 *m -1 at 590 nm.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗