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Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Nesting-driven multipolar order in CeB6 from photoemission tomography
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2016) Koitzsch, A.; Heming, N.; Knupfer, M.; Büchner, B.; Portnichenko, P.Y.; Dukhnenko, A.V.; Shitsevalova, N.Y.; Filipov, V.B.; Lev, L.L.
    Some heavy fermion materials show so-called hidden-order phases which are invisible to many characterization techniques and whose microscopic origin remained controversial for decades. Among such hidden-order compounds, CeB6 is of model character due to its simple electronic configuration and crystal structure. Apart from more conventional antiferromagnetism, it shows an elusive phase at low temperatures, which is commonly associated with multipolar order. Here we show that this phase roots in a Fermi surface instability. This conclusion is based on a full 3D tomographic sampling of the electronic structure by angle-resolved photoemission and comparison with inelastic neutron scattering data. The hidden order is mediated by itinerant electrons. Our measurements will serve as a paradigm for the investigation of hidden-order phases in f-electron systems, but also generally for situations where the itinerant electrons drive orbital or spin order.
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    Ab initio based study of finite-temperature structural, elastic and thermodynamic properties of FeTi
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2014) Zhu, L.-F.; Friák, M.; Udyansky, A.; Ma, D.; Schlieter, A.; Kühn, U.; Eckert, J.; Neugebauer, J.
    We employ density functional theory (DFT) to calculate pressure dependences of selected thermodynamic, structural and elastic properties as well as electronic structure characteristics of equiatomic B2 FeTi. We predict ground-state single-crystalline Young's modulus and its two-dimensional counterpart, the area modulus, together with homogenized polycrystalline elastic parameters. Regarding the electronic structure of FeTi, we analyze the band structure and electronic density of states. Employing (i) an analytical dynamical matrix parametrized in terms of elastic constants and lattice parameters in combination with (ii) the quasiharmonic approximation we then obtained free energies, the thermal expansion coefficient, heat capacities at constant pressure and volume, as well as isothermal bulk moduli at finite temperatures. Experimental measurements of thermal expansion coefficient complement our theoretical investigation and confirm our theoretical predictions. It is worth mentioning that, as often detected in other intermetallics, some materials properties of FeTi strongly differ from the average of the corresponding values found in elemental Fe and Ti. These findings can have important implications for future materials design of new intermetallic materials.
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    Nonlocal dielectric function and nested dark excitons in MoS2
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2019) Koitzsch, A.; Pawlik, A.-S.; Habenicht, C.; Klaproth, T.; Schuster, R.; Büchner, B.; Knupfer, M.
    Their exceptional optical properties are a driving force for the persistent interest in atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides such as MoS2. The optical response is dominated by excitons. Apart from the bright excitons, which directly couple to light, it has been realized that dark excitons, where photon absorption or emission is inhibited by the spin state or momentum mismatch, are decisive for many optical properties. However, in particular the momentum dependence is difficult to assess experimentally and often remains elusive or is investigated by indirect means. Here we study the momentum dependent electronic structure experimentally and theoretically. We use angle-resolved photoemission as a one-particle probe of the occupied valence band structure and electron energy loss spectroscopy as a two-particle probe of electronic transitions across the gap to benchmark a single-particle model of the dielectric function ϵ(q, ω) against momentum dependent experimental measurements. This ansatz captures key aspects of the data surprisingly well. In particular, the energy region where substantial nesting occurs, which is at the origin of the strong light–matter interaction of thin transition metal dichalcogenides and crucial for the prominent C-exciton, is described well and spans a more complex exciton landscape than previously anticipated. Its local maxima in (q≠0,ω) space can be considered as dark excitons and might be relevant for higher order optical processes. Our study may lead to a more complete understanding of the optical properties of atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides.
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    Heavy fermion properties of the Kondo Lattice model
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2013) Sykora, Steffen; Becker, Klaus W.
    We study the S = 1/2 Kondo lattice model which is widely used to describe heavy fermion behavior. In conventional treatments of the model the Kondo interaction is decoupled in favour of a hybridization of conduction and localized f electrons. However, such an approximation breaks the local gauge symmetry and implicates that the local f-occupation is no longer conserved. To avoid these problems, we use in this work an alternative approach to the model based on the Projective Renormalization Method (PRM). Thereby, within the conduction electron spectral function we identify the lattice Kondo resonance as an almost flat excitation near the Fermi surface which is composed of conduction electron creation operators combined with localized spin fluctuations. This leads to an alternative description of the Kondo resonance without having to resort to an artificial symmetry breaking.
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    Kitaev exchange and field-induced quantum spin-liquid states in honeycomb α-RuCl3
    (London : Nature Publishing Group, 2016) Yadav, Ravi; Bogdanov, Nikolay A.; Katukuri, Vamshi M.; Nishimoto, Satoshi; van den Brink, Jeroen; Hozoi, Liviu
    Large anisotropic exchange in 5d and 4d oxides and halides open the door to new types of magnetic ground states and excitations, inconceivable a decade ago. A prominent case is the Kitaev spin liquid, host of remarkable properties such as protection of quantum information and the emergence of Majorana fermions. Here we discuss the promise for spin-liquid behavior in the 4d5 honeycomb halide α-RuCl3. From advanced electronic-structure calculations, we find that the Kitaev interaction is ferromagnetic, as in 5d5 iridium honeycomb oxides, and indeed defines the largest superexchange energy scale. A ferromagnetic Kitaev coupling is also supported by a detailed analysis of the field-dependent magnetization. Using exact diagonalization and density-matrix renormalization group techniques for extended Kitaev-Heisenberg spin Hamiltonians, we find indications for a transition from zigzag order to a gapped spin liquid when applying magnetic field. Our results offer a unified picture on recent magnetic and spectroscopic measurements on this material and open new perspectives on the prospect of realizing quantum spin liquids in d5 halides and oxides in general.