Experimental study of Gamow-Teller transitions via the high-energy-resolution O(He,)F reaction; Identification of the low-energy "super" -Gamow-Teller state

Fujita, Hirohiko*; Fujita, Yoshitaka*; Utsuno, Yutaka; Yoshida, Kenichi*; Adachi, Tatsuya*; Algora, A.*; Csatls, M.*; Deaven, J. M.*; Estevez-Aguado, E.*; Guess, C. J.*; et al.

Physical Review C, 100(3), p.034618_1 - 034618_13, 2019/09

AA2019-0318.pdf:1.1MB

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.100.034618

no abstracts in English

Deep microbial life in high-quality granitic groundwater from geochemically and geographically distinct underground boreholes

Ino, Kohei*; Konno, Yuta*; Kozuka, Mariko*; Hirota, Akinari*; Togo, Yoko*; Fukuda, Akari*; Komatsu, Daisuke*; Tsunogai, Urumu*; Tanabe, Akifumi*; Yamamoto, Satoshi*; et al.

Environmental Microbiology Reports (Internet), 8(2), p.285 - 294, 2016/04

https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-2229.12379

To understand the subsurface biosphere, borehole investigation was conducted for 300-m deep granitic rocks at the Mizunami underground research laboratory, Japan. The initial biomass was the highest with the flourish of aerobic H-oxidizing Hydrogenophaga spp., whereas an uncultivated lineage of the phylum Nitrospirae became predominant after three years with decreasing biomass. The common occurrence of many species of Nitrospirae and Chlorobi phyla at the geographically distinct sites and the exclusive detection of their phylogenetically related environmental sequences from deep groundwaters and terrestrial hot springs, suggest that these bacteria are indigenous and potentially adapted to the deep terrestrial subsurface.

Damped soft phonons and diffuse scattering in (BiNa)TiO

Matsuura, Masato*; Iida, Hiroyuki*; Hirota, Kazuma*; Owada, Kenji; Noguchi, Yuji*; Miyayama, Masaru*

Physical Review B, 87(6), p.064109_1 - 064109_10, 2013/02

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.87.064109

Neutron-scattering studies of (BiNa)TiO (BNT) have been performed to elucidate the microscopic mechanism of the broad maximum in the temperature dependence of the dielectric constant at Tm 600 K and the reduction in the piezoelectric properties above the depolarization temperature, 460 480 K. We observed diffuse scattering near the point below 700 K, which competes with the superlattice peak at the M point of the tetragonal phase but coexists with the superlattice peak at the R point of the rhombohedral phase. The diffuse scattering shows an anisotropic Q shape extending along the 100 direction transverse to the scattering vector Q, which is explained by atomic shifts bridging the tetragonal and rhombohedral structures. We propose that the broad maximum in the dielectric constant is associated with a diffusive first-order transition between the competing tetragonal and rhombohedral phases. In addition, we found that the diffuse scattering is reduced for single crystals grown under high oxygen pressure, which suggests an analogy with the central peak in hydrogen-reduced SrTiO. Inelastic neutron scattering near the point reveals a heavily overdamped soft mode similar to those reported in lead-based relaxors, the "waterfall" feature. Moreover, a damped soft transverse acoustic mode is observed for the 100 direction as the anisotropic diffuse scattering, indicating phase instabilities with the same origin as that of the diffuse scattering. The recovery of the soft mode is observed near the depolarization temperature, which coincides with the disappearance of the superlattice peak at the M point. These results indicate that the depolarization and the waterfall feature originate in the dynamic nature of ferroelectric clusters in the coexisting tetragonal/rhombohedral phase.

Contribution of intermediate submicrometer structures to physical properties near in Pb(ZnNb)O-9%PbTiOPbTiO

Owada, Kenji; Mizuki, Junichiro; Namikawa, Kazumichi*; Matsushita, Mitsuyoshi*; Shimomura, Susumu*; Nakao, Hironori*; Hirota, Kazuma*

Physical Review B, 83(22), p.224115_1 - 224115_7, 2011/06

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.83.224115

Complementary use of coherent X-ray diffraction (CXD), X-ray diffuse scattering, conventional X-ray diffraction techniques and dielectric measurements has enabled us to investigate Pb(ZnNb)O-9%PbTiO with a multiple-length-scale approach from the macroscale (lattice constants, bulk averaged) and microscale to the nanoscale (polar nanoregions (PNRs)) and discuss the contribution of each scale to the dielectric permittivity.

Unconventional ferroelectric transition in the multiferroic compound TbMnO revealed by the absence of an anomaly in -polarized phonon dispersion

Kajimoto, Ryoichi; Sagayama, Hajime*; Sasai, Kenzo*; Fukuda, Tatsuo; Tsutsui, Satoshi*; Arima, Takahisa*; Hirota, Kazuma*; Mitsui, Yukari*; Yoshizawa, Hideki*; Baron, A. Q. R.*; et al.

Physical Review Letters, 102(24), p.247602_1 - 247602_4, 2009/06

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.247602

Intrinsic ferroelectric instability in Pb(InNb)O revealed by changing B-site randomness; Inelastic X-ray scattering study

Owada, Kenji; Hirota, Kazuma*; Terauchi, Hikaru*; Fukuda, Tatsuo; Tsutsui, Satoshi*; Baron, A. Q. R.*; Mizuki, Junichiro; Owa, Hidehiro*; Yasuda, Naohiko*

Physical Review B, 77(9), p.094136_1 - 094136_8, 2008/03

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.77.094136

Antiferroelectric (AFE), ferroelectric (FE) or relaxor states can appear in Pb(InNb)O (PIN) depending upon the perovskite B-site randomness. We studied the effects of this randomness on the dynamics of PIN by high resolution inelastic X-ray scattering using ordered PIN (AFE) and disordered PIN (relaxor) single crystals. We have found a clear softening of a transverse optic mode at the point in both the samples, indicating a robust and intrinsic ferroelectric instability regardless of the actual ground state. We interpret that AFE is stabilized only when In and Nb ions are spatially ordered enough to overwhelm the FE instability. As the B-site randomness becomes larger, AFE is suppressed and the hidden FE state starts appearing. Ultimately, the randomness begins to predominate over the development of FE regions and blocks a long range FE order, which we believe yields polar nanoregions resulting in relaxor behaviors.

Spatial distribution of the B-site inhomogeneity in an Pb(InNb)O single crystal studied by a complementary use of X-ray and neutron scatterings

Owada, Kenji; Hirota, Kazuma*; Terauchi, Hikaru*; Owa, Hidehiro*; Yasuda, Naohiko*

Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 75(2), p.024606_1 - 024606_6, 2006/12

https://doi.org/10.1143/JPSJ.75.024606

Structural properties of Pb(InNb)O (PIN) single crystals at room temperature (RT) were investigated by X-ray and neutron scattering techniques, taking much account of the difference in the penetration depth and spatial resolution of X-rays and those of neutrons. A strong diffuse scattering was observed by X-ray while h/4, k/4, 0 superlattice reflections were found by neutron, indicating a relaxor state in the outer-layer of the crystal and an antiferroelectric (AFE) state in the bulk. The phonon dispersion was measured for the first time for the PIN series. Two transverse optic (TO1 and TO2) modes were clarified near the zone center though neither water-fall behavior nor folding of phonon branches was confirmed. We have thus concluded that a major part of the PIN crystal at RT is ferroelectric (FE). These results imply that the -site chemical ordering, i.e. inhomogeneity, which controls the structural properties of PIN, is unevenly distributed throughout the crystal. We speculate that small AFE grains coexist with the FE matrix while the outer-layer is in a relaxor state in the PIN.

Single crystal synchrotron X-ray diffraction study under pressure in UGe

Aso, Naofumi*; Owada, Kenji; Watanuki, Tetsu; Machida, Akihiko; Omura, Ayako; Inami, Toshiya; Homma, Yoshiya*; Shiokawa, Yoshinobu*; Hirota, Kazuma*; Sato, Noriaki*

Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 75(Suppl.), p.88 - 90, 2006/08

no abstracts in English

Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering study of the hole-doped manganites LaSrMnO (, )

Ishii, Kenji; Inami, Toshiya; Owada, Kenji; Kuzushita, Kaori; Mizuki, Junichiro; Murakami, Yoichi; Ishihara, Sumio*; Endo, Yasuo*; Maekawa, Sadamichi*; Hirota, Kazuma*; et al.

Physical Review B, 70(22), p.224437_1 - 224437_6, 2004/12

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.70.224437

Electronic excitations in the hole doped manganese oxides (LaSrMnO, and ) have been elucidated by using the resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) method. A doping effect in the strongly correlated electron systems has been observed for the first time. The scattering spectra show that a salient peak appears in low energies indicating the persistence of the Mott gap. At the same time, the energy gap is partly filled by doping holes and the spectral weight energy shifts toward lower energies. The excitation spectra show little change in the momentum space as is in undoped LaMnO. On the other hand, the scattering intensities in the low energy excitations of are anisotropic in temperature dependence, which indicates an anisotropy of magnetic interaction and underlying effect of the orbital.

Orbital excitations in LaMnO studied by resonant inelastic X-ray scattering

Inami, Toshiya; Fukuda, Tatsuo; Mizuki, Junichiro; Ishihara, Sumio*; Kondo, Hiroshi*; Nakao, Hironori*; Matsumura, Takeshi*; Hirota, Kazuma*; Murakami, Yoichi*; Maekawa, Sadamichi*; et al.

Physical Review B, 67(4), p.045108_1 - 045108_6, 2003/01

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.67.045108

We report resonant inelastic x-ray scattering experiments of the orbitally ordered manganite LaMnO. When incident photon energy is tuned near the Mn absorption edge, the spectra reveal three features at 2.5 eV, 8 eV and 11 eV. The 8 eV and 11 eV peaks are ascribed to transitions from the O 2 bands to the empty Mn 3 and / bands, respectively. On the other hand, the 2.5 eV peak is considered an orbital excitation across the Mott gap, an electron excitation from the effective lower Hubbard band with the and orbital characters to the upper Hubbard band with the and ones. The weak dispersion and characteristic azimuthal angle dependence of this excitation are well reproduced by a theory which includes orbital degeneracy and strong electron correlation.