Observations of Pauli paramagnetic effects on the flux line lattice in CeCoIn5

From small-angle neutron scattering studies of the flux line lattice (FLL) in CeCoIn5, with magnetic field applied parallel to the crystal c-axis, we obtain the field and temperature dependence of the FLL form factor (FF), which is a measure of the spatial variation of the field in the mixed state. We extend our earlier work (Bianchi et al 2008 Science 319 177) to temperatures up to 1250 mK. Over the entire temperature range, paramagnetism in the flux line cores results in an increase of the FF with field. Near H-c2 the FF decreases again, and our results indicate that this fall-off extends outside the proposed Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) region. Instead, we attribute the decrease to a paramagnetic suppression of Cooper pairing. At higher temperatures, a gradual crossover toward more conventional mixed state behavior is observed.

Magnetic-field-induced nonlocal effects on the vortex interactions in twin-free YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{7}

Jonathan White

The vortex lattice (VL) in the high-κ superconductor YBa2Cu3O7, at 2 K and with the magnetic field parallel to the crystal c axis, undergoes a sequence of transitions between different structures as a function of applied magnetic field. However, from structural studies alone, it is not possible to determine precisely the system anisotropy that governs the transitions between different structures. To address this question, here we report new small-angle neutron scattering measurements of both the VL structure at higher temperatures and the field and temperature dependence of the VL form factor. Our measurements demonstrate how the influence of anisotropy on the VL, which in theory can be parameterized as nonlocal corrections, becomes progressively important with increasing magnetic field, and suppressed by increasing the temperature toward Tc. The data indicate that nonlocality due to different anisotropies plays an important role in determining the VL properties.

2011

Ultra Low Temperature Susceptometer and Magnetometer

Julian Piatek

The first part of this thesis discusses technical details relating to measurements of magnetic properties at ultra low temperatures. The implementation of AC susceptibility at temperatures down to 30 mK is introduced and used as a platform to showcase selected quantum magnets measured during the thesis. Each presented system illustrates a particular strength of AC susceptibility. This is followed by in-depth analysis of the design and implementation of a new solution for a SQUID magnetometer capable of running below 100 mK. The system employs a piezomotor to move the sample inside a dilution fridge, rather than the existing designs, which involve moving the entire dilution fridge. Furthermore, the system is completely modular, allowing for rapid removal from the fridge, and opening the possibility to use it on virtually any commercial dilution refrigerator. The latter part of the thesis presents a comprehensive study of a new family of model magnets, LiHox Er1−x F4, which combines the Ising spins of ferromagnetic LiHoF4 with the XY ones of antiferromagnetic LiErF4. The temperature-doping (T − x) phase diagram has been studied using AC susceptibility, and three key regions investigated in detail using additional neutron scattering experiments and mean-field calculations. The first region, x ≳ 0.6, corresponds to an Ising ferromagnet, where Tc (x) decreases linearly and faster than what mean-field predicts. At T < TC a so-called embedded spin-glass state is observed. The second region, 0.6 ≳ x ≳ 0.3, undergoes a spin-glass transition, where needle-like spin clusters form along the Ising axis below Tg (x) ∼ 0.4 − 0.5 K. Applying a field along the Ising axis at T < 200 mK produces a thermal runaway in the x = 0.50 sample, when the field reaches a value of H = 0.029 ± 0.002 T. The final region, x ≲ 0.3, corresponds to an antiferromagnetically coupled spin-glass, which shows archetypal spin-glass behaviour.

EPFL2012

Electric field control of the skyrmion lattice in Cu2OSeO3

Arash Alahgholipour Omrani, Helmuth Berger, Krunoslav Prsa, Henrik Moodysson Rønnow, Jonathan White, Ivica Zivkovic

Small-angle neutron scattering has been employed to study the influence of applied electric (E-) fields on the skyrmion lattice in the chiral lattice magnetoelectric Cu2OSeO3. Using an experimental geometry with the E-field parallel to the [111] axis, and the magnetic field parallel to the [1 (1) over bar0] axis, we demonstrate that the effect of applying an E-field is to controllably rotate the skyrmion lattice around the magnetic field axis. Our results are an important first demonstration for a microscopic coupling between applied E-fields and the skyrmions in an insulator, and show that the general emergent properties of skyrmions may be tailored according to the properties of the host system.

Institute of Physics2012

Ultra Low Temperature Susceptometer and Magnetometer

Julian Piatek

EPFL2012