Possible options for efficient wide-band polychromatic measurements using chopper spectrometers at pulsed sources

Nakajima, Kenji; Kikuchi, Tatsuya*; Kawamura, Seiko; Kambara, Wataru*

EPJ Web of Conferences, 272, p.02012_1 - 02012_8, 2022/11

https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202227202012

We will present some of attempts on AMATEAS, a cold-neutron chopper spectrometer at a pulsed source, to increase time-windows at a single-measurement condition. One of ways is that, by allowing interveined trajectories on the time-of-flight diagram, the usable width selectable for is can be increased. Based on our experiences, the conditions of pulse repetition rate multiplication based polychromatic measurements on chopper spectrometers at pulsed sources will be discussed. Optimization of wide-band polychromatic measurements and a generalized formulated condition will be proposed. Application of our idea to existing spectrometers and to the criteria design of an optimized chopper spectrometer will be also discussed with suggesting further possibility to improve efficiency by modifying the pulse shaping chopper.

Breakdown of linear spin-wave theory and existence of spinon bound states in the frustrated kagome-lattice antiferromagnet

Mattan, K.*; Ono, Toshio*; Kawamura, Seiko; Nakajima, Kenji; Nambu, Yusuke*; Sato, Taku*

Physical Review B, 105(13), p.134403_1 - 134403_8, 2022/04

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.105.134403

Spin dynamics of the spin-1/2 kagome-lattice antiferromagnet CsCuSnF was studied using high-resolution, time-of-flight inelastic neutron scattering. The flat mode, a characteristic of the frustrated kagome antiferromagnet, and the low-energy dispersive mode, which is dominated by magnons, can be well described by the linear spin-wave theory. However, the theory fails to describe three weakly dispersive modes between 9 and 14 meV. These modes could be attributed to two-spinon bound states, which decay into free spinons away from the zone center and at a high temperature, giving rise to continuum scattering.

Mictomagnetism and suppressed thermal conduction of the prototype high-entropy alloy CrMnFeCoNi

Yang, J.*; Ren, W.*; Zhao, X.*; Kikuchi, Tatsuya*; Miao, P.*; Nakajima, Kenji; Li, B.*; Zhang, Z.*

Journal of Materials Science & Technology, 99, p.55 - 60, 2022/02

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmst.2021.04.077

High-entropy alloys are characteristic of extensive atomic occupational disorder on high-symmetric lattices, differing from traditional alloys. Here, we investigate magnetic and thermal transport properties of the prototype face-centered-cubic high-entropy alloy CrMnFeCoNi by combining physical properties measurements and neutron scattering. Direct-current (dc) and alternating-current (ac) magnetizations measurements indicate a mictomagnetic behavior with coexisting antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic interactions in the entire temperature region and three anomalies are found at about 80, 50, and 20 K, which are related to the paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic transition, the antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic transition, and the spin freezing, respectively. The electrical and thermal conductivities are significantly reduced compared to Ni and the temperature dependence of lattice thermal conductivity exhibits a glass-like plateau. Inelastic neutron scattering measurements suggest weak anharmonicity so that the thermal transport is expected to be dominated by the defect scattering.

Experimental analysis on dynamics of liquid molecules adjacent to particles in nanofluids

Hashimoto, Shunsuke*; Nakajima, Kenji; Kikuchi, Tatsuya*; Kamazawa, Kazuya*; Shibata, Kaoru; Yamada, Takeshi*

Journal of Molecular Liquids, 342, p.117580_1 - 117580_8, 2021/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2021.117580

Quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) and pulsed-field-gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (PFGNMR) analyses of a nanofluid composed of silicon dioxide (SiO) nanoparticles and a base fluid of ethylene glycol aqueous solution were performed. The aim was to elucidate the mechanism increase in the thermal conductivity of the nanofluid above its theoretical value. The obtained experimental results indicate that SiO particles may decrease the self-diffusion coefficient of the liquid molecules in the ethylene glycol aqueous solution because of their highly restricted motion around these nanoparticles. At a constant temperature, the thermal conductivity increases as the self-diffusion coefficient of the liquid molecules decreases in the SiO nanofluids.

Spin glass behavior and magnetic boson peak in a structural glass of a magnetic ionic liquid

Kofu, Maiko; Watanuki, Ryuta*; Sakakibara, Toshiro*; Kawamura, Seiko; Nakajima, Kenji; Matsuura, Masato*; Ueki, Takeshi*; Akutsu, Kazuhiro*; Yamamuro, Osamu*

Scientific Reports (Internet), 11(1), p.12098_1 - 12098_8, 2021/06

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-91619-z

Recent update of AMATERAS; A Cold-neutron disk-chopper spectrometer

Nakajima, Kenji; Kawamura, Seiko; Kofu, Maiko; Murai, Naoki; Inamura, Yasuhiro; Kikuchi, Tatsuya*; Wakai, Daisuke*

JPS Conference Proceedings (Internet), 33, p.011089_1 - 011089_7, 2021/03

https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSCP.33.011089

The recent update of AMATERAS, a cold-neutron disk-chopper spectrometer at Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC), is reported. AMATERAS has been operating for a decade. Since 2017, some updates have been done or are underway, which include installing new detectors, replacing the vacuum system of the scattering chamber, and other works. We are also working on the re-investigation of the resolution function. Demonstration measurements were carried out at 1MW test operations done in 2018 and 2019. Plans of upgrading the spectrometer are currently being considered.

Freezable and unfreezable hydration water; Distinct contributions to protein dynamics revealed by neutron scattering

Yamamoto, Naoki*; Kofu, Maiko; Nakajima, Kenji; Nakagawa, Hiroshi; Shibayama, Naoya*

Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (Internet), 12(8), p.2172 - 2176, 2021/03

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c03786

Hydration water plays a crucial role for activating the protein dynamics required for functional expression. Yet, the details are not understood about how hydration water couples with protein dynamics. A temperature hysteresis of the ice formation of hydration water is a key phenomenon to understand which type of hydration water, unfreezable or freezable hydration water, is crucial for the activation of protein dynamics. Using neutron scattering, we observed a temperature-hysteresis phenomenon in the diffraction peaks of the ice of freezable hydration water, whereas protein dynamics did not show any temperature hysteresis. These results show that the protein dynamics is not coupled with freezable hydration water dynamics, and unfreezable hydration water is essential for the activation of protein dynamics.

Neutron spin-echo studies of the structural relaxation of network liquid ZnCl at the structure factor primary peak and prepeak

Luo, P.*; Zhai, Y.*; Leao, J. B.*; Kofu, Maiko; Nakajima, Kenji; Faraone, A.*; Zhang, Y.*

Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (Internet), 12(1), p.392 - 398, 2021/01

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c03146

Using neutron spin-echo spectroscopy, we studied the microscopic structural relaxation of a prototypical network ionic liquid ZnCl at the structure factor primary peak and prepeak. The results show that the relaxation at the primary peak is faster than the prepeak and that the activation energy is % higher. A stretched exponential relaxation is observed even at temperatures well-above the melting point . Surprisingly, the stretching exponent shows a rapid increase upon cooling, especially at the primary peak, where it changes from a stretched exponential to a simple exponential on approaching the . These results suggest that the appearance of glassy dynamics typical of the supercooled state even in the equilibrium liquid state of ZnCl as well as the difference of activation energy at the two investigated length scales are related to the formation of a network structure on cooling.

Strong lattice anharmonicity exhibited by the high-energy optical phonons in thermoelectric material

Wu, P.*; Fan, F.-R.*; Hagihara, Masato*; Kofu, Maiko; Peng, K.*; Ishikawa, Yoshihisa*; Lee, S.*; Honda, Takashi*; Yonemura, Masao*; Ikeda, Kazutaka*; et al.

New Journal of Physics (Internet), 22(8), p.083083_1 - 083083_9, 2020/08

https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/aba98f

Thermoelectric material SnSe has aroused world-wide interests in the past years, and its inherent strong lattice anharmonicity is regarded as a crucial factor for its outstanding thermoelectric performance. However, the understanding of lattice anharmonicity in SnSe system remains inadequate, especially regarding how phonon dynamics are affected by this behavior. In this work, we present a comprehensive study of lattice dynamics on NaSnSeS by means of neutron total scattering, inelastic neutron scattering, Raman spectroscopy as well as frozen-phonon calculations. Lattice anharmonicity is evidenced by pair distribution function, inelastic neutron scattering and Raman measurements. By separating the effects of thermal expansion and multi-phonon scattering, we found that the latter is very significant in high-energy optical phonon modes. The strong temperature-dependence of these phonon modes indicate the anharmonicity in this system. Moreover, our data reveals that the linewidths of high-energy optical phonons become broadened with mild doping of sulfur. Our studies suggest that the thermoelectric performance of SnSe could be further enhanced by reducing the contributions of high-energy optical phonon modes to the lattice thermal conductivity via phonon engineering.

=0 long-range magnetic order in centennialite CaCu(OD)Cl 0.6DO; A Spin- perfect kagome antiferromagnet with --

Iida, Kazuki*; Yoshida, Hiroyuki*; Nakao, Akiko*; Jeschke, H. O.*; Iqbal, Y.*; Nakajima, Kenji; Kawamura, Seiko; Munakata, Koji*; Inamura, Yasuhiro; Murai, Naoki; et al.

Physical Review B, 101(22), p.220408_1 - 220408_6, 2020/06

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.101.220408

Crystal and magnetic structures of the mineral centennialite CaCu(OD)Cl 0.6DO are investigated by means of synchrotron X-ray diffraction and neutron diffraction measurements complemented by density functional theory (DFT) and pseudofermion functional renormalization group (PFFRG) calculations. In CaCu(OD)Cl 0.6DO, Cu ions form a geometrically perfect kagome network with antiferromagnetic . No intersite disorder between Cu and Ca ions is detected. CaCu(OD)Cl 0.6DO enters a magnetic long-range ordered state below = 7.2 K, and the =0 magnetic structure with negative vector spin chirality is obtained. The ordered moment at 0.3 K is suppressed to 0.58(2)B. Our DFT calculations indicate the presence of antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic superexchange couplings of a strength which places the system at the crossroads of three magnetic orders (at the classical level) and a spin- PFFRG analysis shows a dominance of =0 type magnetic correlations, consistent with and indicating proximity to the observed =0 spin structure. The results suggest that this material is located close to a quantum critical point and is a good realization of a -- kagome antiferromagnet.