Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “paramagnets”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 685 records · Page 38

Generation of the Thermal Scattering Law of Uranium Dioxide with Ab Initio Lattice Dynamics to Capture Crystal Binding Effects on Neutron Interactions

Scattering of thermal neutrons and Doppler broadening of epithermal neutron resonances in uranium and its compounds may be sensitive to crystal binding. The thermal scattering law (TSL) for uranium dioxide, which captures crystal binding effects, has been reevaluated for ENDF/B-VIII.0. Phonon spectra were generated using ab initio lattice dynamics for the paramagnetic phase and validated against experiment. Improved agreement with the Debye-Waller coefficient as a function of temperature is found relative to the spectrum used for the ENDF/B-VII.1 evaluation. The TSL was generated using the phonon expansion method within the NJOY nuclear data processing package and was found to be in reasonable agreement with inelastic neutron scattering measurements. The present evaluation predicts a reduction in the inelastic scattering cross section relative to ENDF/B-VII.1 and a total scattering cross section consistent with neutron transmission experiments

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Rapid Quenching of Molten Salts as an Approach for the Coordination Characterization of Corrosion Products

A new apparatus was built to rapidly cool molten salts in liquid argon to prevent contamination during quenching and enable new insight into the structure in the liquid state. To test the applicability of the apparatus, several industrially relevant chloride salt compositions were first melted, rapidly solidified, and then characterized. The design proved applicable for the rapid quenching of molten salt. Furthermore, the structure of the apparatus prevented exposure of the rapidly quenched salt to impurities (humidity, oxygen, etc.). X-ray diffraction of salt specimens cooled with and without liquid argon showed differences including a structure further from the expected stoichiometric equilibrium with rapid cooling. Of particular interest is the chemical state of metallic impurities, and this may be probed using electron paramagnetic resonance.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

The 2022 magneto-optics roadmap

Abstract Magneto-optical (MO) effects, viz. magnetically induced changes in light intensity or polarization upon reflection from or transmission through a magnetic sample, were discovered over a century and a half ago. Initially they played a crucially relevant role in unveiling the fundamentals of electromagnetism and quantum mechanics. A more broad-based relevance and wide-spread use of MO methods, however, remained quite limited until the 1960s due to a lack of suitable, reliable and easy-to-operate light sources. The advent of Laser technology and the availability of other novel light sources led to an enormous expansion of MO measurement techniques and applications that continues to this day (see section 1). The here-assembled roadmap article is intended to provide a meaningful survey over many of the most relevant recent developments, advances, and emerging research directions in a rather condensed form, so that readers can easily access a significant overview about this very dynamic research field. While light source technology and other experimental developments were crucial in the establishment of today’s magneto-optics, progress also relies on an ever-increasing theoretical understanding of MO effects from a quantum mechanical perspective (see section 2), as well as using electromagnetic theory and modelling approaches (see section 3) to enable quantitatively reliable predictions for ever more complex materials, metamaterials, and device geometries. The latest advances in established MO methodologies and especially the utilization of the MO Kerr effect (MOKE) are presented in sections 4 (MOKE spectroscopy), 5 (higher order MOKE effects), 6 (MOKE microscopy), 8 (high sensitivity MOKE), 9 (generalized MO ellipsometry), and 20 (Cotton–Mouton effect in two-dimensional materials). In addition, MO effects are now being investigated and utilized in spectral ranges, to which they originally seemed completely foreign, as those of synchrotron radiation x-rays (see section 14 on three-dimensional magnetic characterization and section 16 on light beams carrying orbital angular momentum) and, very recently, the terahertz (THz) regime (see section 18 on THz MOKE and section 19 on THz ellipsometry for electron paramagnetic resonance detection). Magneto-optics also demonstrates its strength in a unique way when combined with femtosecond laser pulses (see section 10 on ultrafast MOKE and section 15 on magneto-optics using x-ray free electron lasers), facilitating the very active field of time-resolved MO spectroscopy that enables investigations of phenomena like spin relaxation of non-equilibrium photoexcited carriers, transient modifications of ferromagnetic order, and photo-induced dynamic phase transitions, to name a few. Recent progress in nanoscience and nanotechnology, which is intimately linked to the achieved impressive ability to reliably fabricate materials and functional structures at the nanoscale, now enables the exploitation of strongly enhanced MO effects induced by light–matter interaction at the nanoscale (see section 12 on magnetoplasmonics and section 13 on MO metasurfaces). MO effects are also at the very heart of powerful magnetic characterization techniques like Brillouin light scattering and time-resolved pump-probe measurements for the study of spin waves (see section 7), their interactions with acoustic waves (see section 11), and ultra-sensitive magnetic field sensing applications based on nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond (see section 17). Despite our best attempt to represent the field of magneto-optics accurately and do justice to all its novel developments and its diversity, the research area is so extensive and active that there remains great latitude in deciding what to include in an article of this sort, which in turn means that some areas might not be adequately represented here. However, we feel that the 20 sections that form this 2022 magneto-optics roadmap article, each written by experts in the field and addressing a specific subject on only two pages, provide an accurate snapshot of where this research field stands today. Correspondingly, it should act as a valuable reference point and guideline for emerging research directions in modern magneto-optics, as well as illustrate the directions this research field might take in the foreseeable future.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Short-range ferromagnetic order due to Ir substitutions in single-crystalline Ba(Co 1-x Ir x ) 2 As 2 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.25)

The ternary-arsenide compound BaCo 2 As 2 was previously proposed to be in proximity to a quantum-critical point where long-range ferromagnetic (FM) order is suppressed by quantum fluctuations. In this paper we report the effect of Ir substitutions for Co on the magnetic and thermal properties of Ba(Co 1-x Ir x ) 2 As 2 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.25) single crystals. These compositions all crystallize in an uncollapsed body-centered-tetragonal ThCr 2 Si 2 structure with space group I4/mmm. Magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal clear signatures of short-range FM ordering for x ≥ 0.11 below a nearly composition-independent characteristic temperature T cl ≈ 13 K. The small variation of T cl with x, thermomagnetic irreversibility between zero-field-cooled and field-cooled magnetic susceptibility versus T, the occurrence of hysteresis in magnetization versus field isotherms at low field and temperature, and very small spontaneous and remanent magnetizations <0.01 μ B /f.u. together indicate that the FM response arises from short-range FM ordering of FM spin clusters as previously inferred to occur in Ca(Co 1–x Ir x ) 2–y As 2 . Heat-capacity Cp(T) data do not exhibit any clear feature around Tcl, consistent with the very small moments of the FM clusters. The Cp(T) in the paramagnetic temperature regime 25–300 K is well described by the sum of a Sommerfeld electronic contribution and Debye and Einstein lattice contributions where the latter lattice contribution suggests the presence of low-frequency optic modes associated with the heavy Ba atoms in the crystals.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Absence of long-range magnetic order in lithium-containing honeycombs in the Li–Cr–Sb(Te)–O phases

Li 3 ((LiCr)(Te/Sb))O 6 compounds where Cr atoms along with Li and Te or Sb are part of a honeycomb and are studied using magnetic susceptibility, specific heat, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and neutron diffraction. The oxides stoichiometries as determined from the neutron diffraction studies are Li 4.47 Cr 0.53 TeO 6 and Li 3.88 Cr 1.12 SbO 6 with a stable oxidation state of +3 for Cr. Both the compounds crystallize in space group C2/m with intermixing of cations at the 4g sites leaving the 2a sites preferentially for Te or Sb. Again, the Li + ions alone predominantly occur in the interlayer sites. Both the compounds show a broad anomaly in specific heat at 8 K, which is robust against 8 T. A corresponding anomaly is absent in the magnetic susceptibility but recovers from its derivative, dχ(T)/dT. Here, we ascertain the magnetic anomaly temperatures (T a ) of Li 4.47 Cr 0.53 TeO 6 and Li 3.88 Cr 1.12 SbO 6 as 5.9 K and 6.7 K respectively from specific heat. Although the physical properties indicated a low temperature anomaly, neutron diffraction data did not reveal a magnetic signal or a structural anomaly down to 1.5 K. This rules out a conventional long-range ordered magnetic ground state in either compounds. Combining the results from specific heat, neutron diffraction and electron paramagnetic resonance, we put forth a scenario of depleted honeycomb lattice of Cr 3+ with predominant short-range magnetic correlations as the magnetic ground states of the title compounds.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Static and dynamic magnetic properties of the spiin-$\frac{5}{2}$triangle lattice antiferromagnet Na 3 Fe(PO 4 ) 2 studied by 31 P NMR

We report 31 P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements have been carried out to investigate the magnetic properties and spin dynamics of Fe 3+ (S = 5/2) spins in the two-dimensional triangular lattice (TL) compound Na 3 Fe(PO 4 ) 2 . The temperature (T) dependence of nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rates (1/T 1 ) shows a clear peak around Néel temperature, T N = 10.9 K, corresponding to an antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition. From the temperature dependence of NMR shift (K) above T N , an exchange coupling between Fe 3+ spins was estimated to be J/k B ≃ 1.9 K using the spin-5/2 Heisenberg isotropic-TL model. The temperature dependence of 1/T 1 T divided by the magnetic susceptibility (χ), 1/T 1 T χ , above T N proves the AFM nature of spin fluctuations below ~50 K in the paramagnetic state. In the magnetically ordered state below T N , the characteristic rectangular shape of the NMR spectra is observed, indicative of a commensurate AFM state in its ground state. The strong temperature dependence of 1/T 1 in the AFM state is well explained by the two-magnon (Raman) process of the spin waves in a 3D antiferromagnet with a spin-anisotropy energy gap of 5.7 K. The temperature dependence of sublattice magnetization is also well reproduced by the spin waves. Those results indicate that the magnetically ordered state of Na 3 Fe(PO 4 ) 2 is a conventional 3D AFM state, and no obvious spin frustration effects were detected in its ground state

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Lattice instability and magnetic phase transitions in strongly correlated MnAs

Using variable temperature x-ray total scattering in magnetic field, we study the interaction between lattice and magnetic degrees of freedom in MnAs, which loses its ferromagnetic order and hexagonal ('H') lattice symmetry at 318 K to recover the latter and become a true paramagnet when the temperature is increased to 400 K. Our results show that the 318 K transition is accompanied by highly anisotropic displacements of Mn atoms that appear as a lattice degree of freedom bridging the 'H' and orthorhombic phases of MnAs. This is a rare example of a lowering of an average crystal symmetry due to an increased displacive disorder emerging on heating. Furthermore, our results also show that magnetic and lattice degrees of freedom appear coupled but not necessarily equivalent control variables for triggering phase transitions in strongly correlated systems in general and in particular in MnAs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Ultrafast optical induction of magnetic order at a quantum critical point

Abstract Time-resolved ultrafast spectroscopy has emerged as a promising tool to dynamically induce and manipulate non-trivial electronic states of matter out-of-equilibrium. Here we theoretically investigate light pulse driven dynamics in a Kondo lattice system close to quantum criticality. Based on a time-dependent auxiliary fermion mean-field calculation we show that light can dehybridize the local Kondo screening and induce oscillating magnetic order out of a previously paramagnetic state. Depending on the laser pulse field amplitude and frequency the Kondo singlet can be completely deconfined, inducing a dynamic Lifshitz transition that changes the Fermi surface topology. These phenomena can be identified in harmonic generation and time-resolved angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy spectra. Our results shed new light on non-equilibrium states in heavy fermion systems.

Fauseweh, Benedikt (ORCID:0000000248617101)↗

Multiferroicity and phase diagram of ferro-rotational magnet RbFe(SO 4 ) 2

Ferro-rotational magnet RbFe(SO 4 ) 2 has attracted attention for its stable ferro-rotational phase and electric-field-controlled magnetic chirality. This work presents the multiferroic properties and H–T phase diagram of RbFe(SO 4 ) 2 , which have been underexplored. Our measurements of magnetic susceptibility, ferroelectric polarization, and dielectric constant under various magnetic fields reveal four distinct phases: (I) a ferroelectric and helical magnetic phase below 4 K and 6 T, (II) a paraelectric and collinear magnetic phase below 4 K and above 6 T, (III) a paraelectric and non-collinear magnetic phase below 4 K and above 9 T, and (IV) a paraelectric and paramagnetic above 4 K. This study clarifies the multiferroic behavior and H–T phase diagram of RbFe(SO 4 ) 2 , providing valuable insights into ferro-rotational magnets.

ferro-rotation↗

Ice rule breakdown and frustrated antiferrotoroidicity in an artificial colloidal Cairo ice

Abstract We combine experiments and numerical simulations to investigate the low energy states and the emergence of topological defects in an artificial colloidal ice in the Cairo geometry. This type of geometry is characterized by a mixed coordination ( z ), with coexistence of both z = 3 and z = 4 vertices. We realize this particle ice by confining field tunable paramagnetic colloidal particles within a lattice of topographic double wells at a one to one filling using optical tweezers. By raising the interaction strength via an applied magnetic field, we find that the ice rule breaks down, and positive monopoles with charge q = + 2 accumulate in the z = 4 vertices and are screened by negative ones ( q = − 1 ) in the z = 3. The resulting, strongly coupled state remains disordered. Further, via analysis of the mean chirality associated to each pentagonal plaquette, we find that the disordered ensemble for this geometry is massively degenerate and it corresponds to a frustrated antiferrotoroid.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Experimental and theoretical investigation of FeCrVAl and related compounds

Abstract We have carried out a combined theoretical and experimental investigation of FeCrVAl, and the effect of Mn and Co doping on its structural, magnetic, and electronic band properties. Our first principles calculations indicate that FeCrVAl, FeCr 0.5 Mn 0.5 VAl, and FeCr 0.5 Co 0.5 VAl exhibit nearly perfect spin polarization, which may be further enhanced by mechanical strain. At the same time, FeCrV 0.5 Mn 0.5 Al and FeCrV 0.5 Co 0.5 Al exhibit a relatively small value of spin polarization, making them less attractive for practical applications. Using arc melting and high vacuum annealing, we synthesized three compounds FeCrVAl, FeCr 0.5 Mn 0.5 VAl, and FeCr 0.5 Co 0.5 VAl, which are predicted to exhibit high spin polarization. The room temperature x-ray diffraction patterns of all samples are fitted with full B2 type disorder with a small amount of FeO 2 secondary phase. All samples show very small saturation magnetizations at room temperature. The thermomagnetic curves M(T) of FeCrVAl and FeCr 0.5 Co 0.5 VAl are similar to that of a paramagnetic material, whereas that of FeCr 0.5 Mn 0.5 VAl indicates ferrimagnetic behavior with the Curie temperature of 135 K. Our findings may be of interest for researchers working on Heusler compounds for spin-based electronic applications.

Physics↗

Local lattice distortions and electronic phases in perovskite manganite Pr 0.5 Sr 0.5 MnO 3

We use variable temperature and magnetic field total x-ray scattering to study the crystal structure of the strongly correlated Pr 0.5 Sr 0.5 MnO 3 perovskite, which is a paramagnetic insulator at room temperature, becomes a ferromagnetic metal at 272 K and, upon further decreasing the temperature, turns into an antiferromagnetic insulator at 105 K. We find that a model featuring a monoclinic symmetry captures the structure and its temperature and field evolution well, eliminating the need to evoke a phase segregation scenario as done in prior studies. It appears that coupled variations in Mn–oxygen bonding distances and angles from their values in an undistorted perovskite lattice, i.e., coupled local lattice distortions, assist the phase transitions in Pr 0.5 Sr 0.5 MnO 3 , contributing to its unique physical properties. Local structural distortions thus emerge as an important degree of freedom in strongly correlated systems, in particular perovskite manganates, and, therefore, they should be fully accounted for when their fascinating physics is considered.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Mitigation of nitrogen vacancy photoluminescence quenching from material integration for quantum sensing

The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color center in diamond has demonstrated great promise in a wide range of quantum sensing. Recently, there have been a series of proposals and experiments using NV centers to detect spin noise of quantum materials near the diamond surface. This is a rich complex area of study with novel nano-magnetism and electronic behavior, that the NV center would be ideal for sensing. However, due to the electronic properties of the NV itself and its host material, getting high quality NV centers within nanometers of such systems is challenging. Band bending caused by space charges formed at the metal-semiconductor interface force the NV center into its insensitive charge states. Here, we investigate optimizing this interface by depositing thin metal films and thin insulating layers on a series of NV ensembles at different depths to characterize the impact of metal films on different ensemble depths. We find an improvement of coherence and dephasing times we attribute to ionization of other paramagnetic defects. The insulating layer of alumina between the metal and diamond provide improved photoluminescence and higher sensitivity in all modes of sensing as compared to direct contact with the metal, providing as much as a factor of 2 increase in sensitivity, decrease of integration time by a factor of 4, for NV T 1 relaxometry measurements.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

EPR Investigation of Temporal and Thermal Stability of Irradiated Sweeteners

Abstract Electron paramagnetic resonance was used to study the dosimetric properties of commercial sweeteners (sucrose, saccharin, and stevia). The results concluded that sugar has dosimetric properties of interest, which makes it suitable for dose reconstruction, emergency response, and nuclear forensics applications. The radiation dose response was investigated by irradiating samples up to 10 Gy and found to be linear. The post-irradiation stability of samples was observed to be useful for the intended applications. The results showed that the post-irradiation intensities vary from one sample to another, with the general trend demonstrating a small increase in intensities shortly after irradiation followed by an approximately constant leveling out. Finally, the effect of isochronal annealing was studied by heating samples to various temperatures. The results showed an overall stable behavior of the signal below melting temperature.

Environmental Sciences & Ecology↗

Significance of the structural configuration of B2 disorder in Co and Ti based Heusler alloys

We investigate here structural (at local and global levels) and transport properties for 𝑋 2 ⁢MnAl (𝑋= Co and Ti). Additionally, the magnetic properties were also studied for Ti 2 ⁢MnAl. Our x-ray diffraction results show that both the compounds stabilize in B2 disordered phase with cubic structure of 𝑃⁢𝑚⁢$\overline{3}$⁢𝑚 space group. Further, the structural configuration of the above disordered phase for both the compounds was identified using combined studies of x-ray absorption spectroscopy and multiple scattering calculations at the transition metal 𝐾 edges. Upon such identification, in the case of Co 2 ⁢Mn 1−𝑦⁢ Cr 𝑦 ⁢Al (𝑦= 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2) with change in 𝑦, we are able to establish a better connection quantitatively between the inverse of Mn-Co bonds and peak in the temperature-dependent resistivity. This highlights the crucial importance of a detailed understanding of the nature of B2 disorder. In the case of 𝑦=0, in the temperature range of study, the resistivity is driven by the functional form associated with (a) three-dimensional enhanced electron-electron Coulomb interaction scattering mechanism and (b) an unconventional one-magnon process. For Ti 2 ⁢MnAl, the transport shows metallic glasslike behavior at high temperature, while at low temperature it follows both the Cote-Meisel's model and quantum correction model. In this compound, the magnetic studies suggest the formation of superparamagnetic clusters in the paramagnetic matrix at low temperatures. Our density functional theory results are in line with the transport and magnetic properties. In literature, the spin polarization percentage (𝑃) for 𝑋= Co in B2 disordered phase is 76%. However, the present results emphasize the fact that in B2 disordered phase, the value of 𝑃 can range from 90% to 71% depending on the structural configuration introduced by swapping of the atomic positions of Mn and Al. For the compound under study, the value of percentage spin polarization obtained ranges between 82% to 85%. In addition, we also identify the origin of the difference in the shape of the Mn 3⁢𝑑 density of states for both the alloys. In conclusion, our results for 𝑋= Co alloy highlights the importance of identifying the specific structural configuration associated with a particular disorder category especially in the estimation of 𝑇 𝑐 and 𝑃 and for 𝑋= Ti, the physical properties can be tuned by varying the position of 𝐸 𝐹 and thereby its utilization in device applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Magnetism of single crystalline breathing pyrochlore spinel AgInCr 4 ⁢S 8

Single crystals of Ag⁢In⁢Cr 4⁢ S 8 are grown by chemical vapor transport and crystallographic ordering of Ag/In that results in a breathing pyrochlore motif of Cr 3+ is verified by x-ray and neutron diffraction. Long-range antiferromagnetic order is observed below a Néel temperature of 𝑇 N ≈ 9.6 K. The magnetic properties are characterized using ac and dc magnetization, specific heat capacity, and single crystal neutron diffraction measurements. The specific heat data are characterized by a small lambda anomaly near 9.5 K and the estimated magnetic entropy reaches ≈ $\frac{1}{3}$ of the expected value by 3⁢𝑇 N , suggesting significant short-range order in the paramagnetic phase. Single crystal neutron diffraction evidences an incommensurate spin structure with propagation vector 𝒌 = (0,0,𝛿) and 𝛿 = 0.343 at 5 K. The minimal model that accounts for the data consists of ferromagnetic layers of Cr atoms, with magnetic moments lying in the plane of the layers and modulating in the perpendicular direction to form a helical structure propagating along 𝒌. Furthermore, this study represents a rare investigation of single crystals within the family of breathing pyrochlore materials.

Frustrated magnetism↗

Environment-imposed selection rules for nuclear-spin conversion of H 2 in molecular crystals

Nuclear-spin conversion in molecular hydrogen is governed by strict symmetry rules that typically require magnetic fields or catalytic surfaces to break. Here we demonstrate that the intrinsic tensor composition of a non-magnetic molecular crystal field can impose and relax these rules without external fields. High-resolution infrared spectra of H 2 in crystalline CO 2 reveal large rank-2 (quadrupolar) crystal-field splittings of the 𝑚 sublevels, while nuclear-spin conversion occurs only through 𝛥𝑚 = 0 channels. Replacing CO 2 with polar N 2 O introduces rank-1 (dipole) components that partially open 𝛥⁢𝑚 ≠ 0 pathways, while incorporation of paramagnetic NO 2 fully lifts the restriction. Furthermore, these results establish a direct correspondence between crystal-field tensor rank and nuclear-spin dynamics, introducing a general symmetry-based framework for designing and controlling spin-isomer populations and quantum-state connectivity in molecular solids.

McLane, Nathan [University of Maryland, College Pa↗

Half-ice, half-fire-driven ultranarrow phase crossover in one-dimensional decorated 𝑞-state Potts ferrimagnets: An AI-co-led exploration

OpenAI’s reasoning model o3-mini-high was used to carry out an exact analytic study of one-dimensional ferrimagnetic site- and bond-decorated 𝑞-state Potts models. We demonstrate that the finite-temperature ultranarrow phase crossover (UNPC), driven by a hidden “half-ice, half-fire” state recently discovered in the 𝑞=2 case (Ising model), persists for 𝑞>2. Moreover, we identify unique features for 𝑞>2, including the dome structure in the field-temperature phase diagram, and for large 𝑞 a secondary high-temperature UNPC to the fully disordered paramagnetic state. As the UNPC quickly approaches a genuine transition by enhancing 𝐽, the interaction between the backbone spins, two distinct behaviors emerge: In the site-decorated Potts model, 𝑇 0 is independent of 𝐽 and thus remains unchanged (Type-I UNPC), and in the bond-decorated Potts model with 𝑞>2, 𝑇 0 depends on 𝐽 and quickly shifts toward a finite temperature as 𝐽 increases (Type-II UNPC). These results establish a versatile framework for engineering controlled fast state-flipping switches in low-dimensional systems. Our nine-dan artificial intelligence (AI)-contribution framework assigns AI the meritorious status of AI-co-led discovery in this work.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗