We study the interplay between correlation, itinerant ferromagnetism and local moment formation on the electron doped triangular lattice of sodium cobaltates Na$_x$CoO$_2$. We find that strong correlation renormalizes the Stoner criterion and stabilizes the paramagnetic state for $x<x_c\simeq0.67$. For $x>x_c$, ferromagnetic (FM) order emerges. The enhanced Na dopant potential fluctuations play a crucial role in the sodium rich phases and lead to an inhomogeneous FM state, exhibiting nonmagnetic Co$^{3+}$ patches, antiferromagnetic (AF) correlated regions, and FM clusters with AF domains. Hole doping the band insulator at x=1 leads to the formation of local moments near the Na vacancies and AF correlated magnetic clusters. We explain recent observations by neutron, $μ$SR, and NMR experiments on the evolution of the magnetic properties in the sodium rich phases.
Temperature-driven sodium-ion dynamical-to-static crossover in the zig-zag ordered phase of Na$_{0.5}$CoO$_2$
Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences(北京量子信息科学研究院);Key Laboratory of Artificial Structures and Quantum Control (Ministry of Education), School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University(上海交通大学物理与天文学院人工结构与量子控制教育部重点实验室);School of Physical Science and Technology, Lanzhou University(兰州大学物理科学与技术学院);International Center for Quantum Materials, School of Physics, Peking University(北京大学物理学院物质科学量子创新中心);Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences(中国科学院物理研究所北京凝聚态物理国家实验室)
The layered cobaltite [Ca$_2$CoO$_3$]$_{0.62}$[CoO$_2$], often expressed as the approximate formula Ca$_3$Co$_4$O$_9$, is a promising candidate for efficient oxide thermoelectrics but an origin of its unusual thermoelectric transport is still in debate. Here we investigate \textit{in-plane} anisotropy of the transport properties in a broad temperature range to examine the detailed conduction mechanism. The in-plane anisotropy between $a$ and $b$ axes is clearly observed both in the resistivity and the thermopower, which is qualitatively understood with a simple band structure of the triangular…
Enhanced Pressure Dependence of Magnetic Exchange in A2+[V2]O4 Spinels Approaching the Itinerant Electron Limit
我们报告了一个系统的增强TN的压力依赖性在A2+[V2] O 4尖晶石的V-V分离接近临界分离的过渡到巡回电子的行为。在Zn[V2] O 4和Mg[V2] O 4中,确定了局域化和巡回电子行为之间的中间相,其表现出作为大极化子的移动空穴。在Zn[V_2] O_4中,低于Ts=TN的V-V对的协同有序并不能完全抑制V ~(3+)离子在常压下的自旋,而是使TN随压力的增加而减小。我们的研究结果表明,Zn[V2] O 4和Mg[V2] O 4的本地化程度比以前认为的要低。
In this study, we synthesized single crystals of Na$_{x}$CoO$_{2}$ with $x\sim0.8$ using the optical floating zone technique. A thorough electrochemical treatment of the samples permitted us to control the de-intercalation of Na to obtain single crystal samples of stable Na ordered phases with $x=0.5-0.8$. Comparisons of the bulk magnetic properties with those observed in the Na ordered powder samples confirmed the high quality of these single crystal phases. The ab plane resistivity was measured for the Na ordered samples and it was quite reproducible for different sample batches. The data we…
Engineered $Na_{0.75}CoO_2$ is considered a prime candidate to achieve high-efficiency thermoelectric systems to regenerate electricity from waste heat. In this work, three elements with outmost electronic configurations, (1) an open d shell (Ni), (2) a closed d shell (Zn), and (3) a half filled f shell (Eu) with maximum unpaired electrons, were selected to outline the dopants' effects on electronic and crystallographic structures of $Na_{0.75}CoO_2$. Systematic $ab$ $initio$ density functional calculations with $DMOL^3$ package showed that the Ni and Zn were more stable when substituting Co w…
Whereas magnetic frustration is typically associated with local-moment magnets in special geometric arrangements, here we show that SrCo$_{2}$As$_{2}$ is a candidate for frustrated itinerant magnetism. Using inelastic neutron scattering (INS), we find that antiferromagnetic (AF) spin fluctuations develop in the square Co layers of SrCo$_{2}$As$_{2}$ below $T\approx100$ K centered at the stripe-type AF propagation vector of $(\frac{1}{2},~\frac{1}{2})$, and that their development is concomitant with a suppression of the uniform magnetic susceptibility determined via magnetization measurements. …
Around discontinuous (first-order) magnetic phase transitions the strong caloric response of materials to the application of small fields is widely studied for the development of solid-state refrigeration. Typically strong magnetostructural coupling drives such transitions and the attendant substantial hysteresis dramatically reduces the cooling performance. In this context we describe a purely electronic mechanism which pilots a first-order paramagnetic-ferromagnetic transition in divalent lanthanide compounds and which explains the giant non-hysteretic magnetocaloric effect recently discover…
Ordered states in itinerant magnets may be related to magnetic moments displaying some weak local moment characteristics, as in intermetallic compounds hosting transition metal coordination complexes. In this paper, we report on the Fe $K$-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) of the itinerant magnets $R$Fe$_{4}$Sb$_{12}$ ($R=$ Na, K, Ca, Sr, Ba), aiming at exploring the electronic and structural properties of the octahedral building block formed by Fe and the Sb ligands. We find evidence for strong hybridization between the Fe $3d$ and Sb $5p$ states at the Fermi level, giving experimental…
We present a unified theory of magnetism and superconductivity of $UGe_2$. To this end, we consider part of $5f$ uranium electrons as mostly itinerant and other ones as mostly localized. The main feature that distinguishes the localized from the itinerant electrons is the effect of the pressure on them. The pressure strongly screens the itinerant electrons while the localized ones are almost unaffected. The screening of itinerant electrons leads to decreasing of their Coulomb repulsion, therefore to formation of doubly occupied and empty states. These states are spin-singlet and the effective …