Extreme phonon anharmonicity underpins superionic diffusion and ultralow thermal conductivity in argyrodite AgSnSe

Ren, Q.*; Gupta, M. K.*; Jin, M.*; Ding, J.*; Wu, J.*; Chen, Z.*; Lin, S.*; Fabelo, O.*; Rodriguez-Velamazan, J. A.*; Kofu, Maiko; et al.

Nature Materials, 22, p.999 - 1006, 2023/05

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-023-01560-x

Nested antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations and non-Fermi-liquid behavior in electron-doped CeCoNiIn

Sakai, Hironori; Tokunaga, Yo; Kambe, Shinsaku; Zhu, J.-X.*; Ronning, F.*; Thompson, J. D.*; Kotegawa, Hisashi*; To, Hideki*; Suzuki, Kohei*; Oshima, Yoshiki*; et al.

Physical Review B, 106(23), p.235152_1 - 235152_8, 2022/12

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.106.235152

We investigate the electronic state of Ni-substituted CeCoNiIn by nuclear quadrupole and magnetic resonance (NQR/NMR) techniques. The heavy fermion superconductivity below K for is suppressed by Ni substitutions, and reaches zero for . The In NQR spectra for and 0.25 can be explained by simulating the electrical field gradient that is calculated for a virtual supercell with density functional theory. The spin-lattice relaxation rate indicates that Ni substitution weakens antiferromagnetic correlations that are not localized near the substituent but instead are uniform in space. The temperature () dependence of for shows a maximum around K and decreases toward almost zero when temperature is further reduced as if a gap might be opening in the magnetic excitation spectrum; however, the magnetic specific heat and the static magnetic susceptibility evolve smoothly through with a dependence. The peculiar T dependence of and non-Fermi-liquid specific heat and susceptibility can be interpreted in a unified way by assuming nested antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations in a quasi-two-dimensional electronic system.

Solving the puzzles of the decay of the heaviest known proton-emitting nucleus Bi

Doherty, D. T.*; Andreyev, A. N.; Seweryniak, D.*; Woods, P. J.*; Carpenter, M. P.*; Auranen, K.*; Ayangeakaa, A. D.*; Back, B. B.*; Bottoni, S.*; Canete, L.*; et al.

Physical Review Letters, 127(20), p.202501_1 - 202501_6, 2021/11

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.202501

Nanoscale heterogeneity induced by nonmagnetic Zn dopants in the quantum critical metal CeCoIn; In NQR/NMR and Co NMR study

Sakai, Hironori; Tokunaga, Yo; Kambe, Shinsaku; Zhu, J.-X.*; Ronning, F.*; Thompson, J. D.*; Ramakrishna, S. K.*; Reyes, A. P.*; Suzuki, Kohei*; Oshima, Yoshiki*; et al.

Physical Review B, 104(8), p.085106_1 - 085106_12, 2021/08

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.104.085106

Antiferromagnetism in a prototypical quantum critical metal CeCoIn is known to be induced by slight substitutions of non-magnetic Zn atoms for In. In nominally 7% Zn substituted CeCoIn, an antiferromagnetic (AFM) state coexists with heavy fermion superconductivity. Heterogeneity of the electronic states is investigated in Zn doped CeCoIn by means of nuclear quadrupole and magnetic resonances (NQR and NMR). Site-dependent NQR relaxation rates indicate that the AFM state is locally nucleated around Zn substituents in the matrix of a heavy fermion state, and percolates through the bulk at the AFM transition temperature . At lower temperatures, an anisotropic superconducting (SC) gap below the SC transition temperature , and the SC state permeates through the AFM regions via a SC proximity effect. Applying an external magnetic field induces a spin-flop transition near 5 T, reducing the volume of the AFM regions. Consequently, a short ranged inhomogeneous AFM state survives and coexists with a paramagnetic Fermi liquid state at high fields.

-decay properties of Fr

Ghys, L.*; Andreyev, A. N.; Huyse, M.*; Van Duppen, P.*; Antalic, S.*; Barzakh, A.*; Capponi, L.*; Cocolios, T. E.*; Cubiss, J.*; Derkx, X.*; et al.

Physical Review C, 100(5), p.054310_1 - 054310_13, 2019/11

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.100.054310

Pu nuclear magnetic resonance in the candidate topological insulator PuB

Dioguardi, A. P.*; Yasuoka, Hiroshi*; Thomas, S. M.*; Sakai, Hironori; Cary, S. K.*; Kozimor, S. A.*; Albrecht-Schmitt, T. E.*; Choi, H. C.*; Zhu, J.-X.*; Thompson, J. D.*; et al.

Physical Review B, 99(3), p.035104_1 - 035104_6, 2019/01

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.99.035104

We present a detailed nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) study of Pu in bulk and powdered single-crystal plutonium tetraboride (PuB), which has recently been investigated as a potential correlated topological insulator. The Pu NMR spectra are consistent with axial symmetry of the shift tensor showing for the first time that Pu NMR can be observed in an anisotropic environment and up to room temperature. The temperature dependence of the Pu shift, combined with a relatively long spin-lattice relaxation time (), indicate that PuB adopts a nonmagnetic state with gaplike behavior consistent with our density functional theory calculations. The temperature dependencies of the NMR Knight shift and imply bulk gaplike behavior confirming that PuB is a good candidate topological insulator.

Local moments in the heterogeneous electronic state of Cd-substituted CeCoIn; NQR relaxation rates

Sakai, Hironori; Ronning, F.*; Hattori, Takanori; Tokunaga, Yo; Kambe, Shinsaku; Zhu, J.-X.*; Wakeham, N.*; Yasuoka, Hiroshi; Bauer, E. D.*; Thompson, J. D.*

Journal of Physics; Conference Series, 807(3), p.032001_1 - 032001_6, 2017/04

https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/807/3/032001

We have used nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) to probe microscopically the response of a prototypical quantum critical metal CeCoIn to substitutions of small amounts of Cd for In. Approximately half of the Cd substituents induce local Ce moments in their close proximity, as observed by site-dependent longitudinal nuclear spin relaxation rates . To reaffirm that localized moments are induced around the Cd substituents, we find a Gaussian spin-echo decay rate of transverse nuclear spin relaxation. Further, for the NQR subpeak is found to be proportional to temperatures, again indicating local moments fluctuations around the Cd substituents, while that for the NQR main peak shows a -dependence. The latter temperature dependence is close to 0.75 in pure CeCoIn and indicates that the bulk electronic state is located close to a two dimensional quantum critical instability.

Changes in mean-squared charge radii and magnetic moments of Tl measured by in-source laser spectroscopy

Barzakh, A.*; Andreyev, A. N.; Cocolios, T. E.*; de Groote, R. P.*; Fedorov, D. V.*; Fedosseev, V. N.*; Ferrer, R.*; Fink, D. A.*; Ghys, L.*; Huyse, M.*; et al.

Physical Review C, 95(1), p.014324_1 - 014324_12, 2017/01

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.95.014324

Spin excitations in optimally P-doped BaFe(AsP) superconductor

Hu, D.*; Yin, Z.*; Zhang, W.*; Ewings, R. A.*; Ikeuchi, Kazuhiko*; Nakamura, Mitsutaka; Roessli, B.*; Wei, Y.*; Zhao, L.*; Chen, G.*; et al.

Physical Review B, 94(9), p.094504_1 - 094504_7, 2016/09

AA2016-0252.pdf:2.18MB

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.94.094504

The temperature and energy dependence of spin excitations in an optimally P-doped BaFe(AsP) superconductor (T = 30 K) were studied by using inelastic neutron scattering. Experimental results are consistent with calculations from a combined density functional theory and dynamical mean field theory, and suggest that the decreased average pnictogen height in BaFe(AsP) reduces the strength of electron correlations and increases the effective bandwidth of magnetic excitation.

Population and decay of a = 8 two-quasineutron isomer in Pu

Hota, S.*; Tandel, S.*; Chowdhury, P.*; Ahmad, I.*; Carpenter, M. P.*; Chiara, C. J.*; Greene, J. P.*; Hoffman, C. R.*; Jackson, E. G.*; Janssens, R. V. F.*; et al.

Physical Review C, 94(2), p.021303_1 - 021303_5, 2016/08

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevC.94.021303

The decay of a = 8 isomer in Pu and the collective band structure populating the isomer are studied using deep inelastic excitations with Ti and Pb beams, respectively. Precise measurements of branching ratios in the band confirm a clean 9/2[734]7/2[624] for the isomer, validating the systematics of K = 8 two-quasineutron isomers observed in even-, = 150 isotones. These isomers around the deformed shell gap at = 152 provide critical benchmarks for theoretical predictions of single-particle energies in this gateway region to superheavy nuclei.