Takashi Suzuki

Superconductivity and Structural Phase Transitions in Caged Compounds RT2Zn20 (R = La, Pr, T = Ru, Ir)

Electrical resistivity ρ, specific heat C , magnetization M measurements are reported on four compounds, LaRu 2 Zn 20 , PrRu 2 Zn 20 , LaIr 2 Zn 20 , and PrIr 2 Zn 20 , which crystallize in a cubic CeCr 2 Al 20 -type structure. LaRu 2 Zn 20 , LaIr 2 Zn 20 , and PrIr 2 Zn 20 show superconducting transitions at T C = 0.2, 0.6, and ∼0.05 K, respectively, whereas PrRu 2 Zn 20 remains a normal state down to 0.04 K. This is the first observation of superconductivity in the family of RT 2 X 20 (T = transition metal; X = Al and Zn). Furthermore, structural phase transitions manifest themselves at T s = 150, 138, and 200 K for LaRu 2 Zn 20 , PrRu 2 Zn 20 , and LaIr 2 Zn 20 , respectively. No magnetic transition is found in PrRu 2 Zn 20 and PrIr 2 Zn 20 down to 1.8 K. On cooling PrIr 2 Zn 20 below 2 K, the specific heat divided by temperature, C / T , continuously increases and reaches 5 J/(K 2 ·mol) at 0.4 K, suggesting that Pr 4 f 2 electrons are involved in the heavy-fermion state, as observed in a related compo...

Antiferro-Quadrupolar Ordering at the Lowest Temperature and Anisotropic Magnetic Field–Temperature Phase Diagram in the Cage Compound PrIr2Zn20

The cage compound PrIr 2 Zn 20 with the non-Kramers doublet ground state shows a phase transition at T Q ∼0.11 K. To investigate the origin of the phase transition, we have carried out ultrasonic m...

Electric-field-induced metal maintained by current of the Mott insulator Ca2RuO4.

Recently, “application of electric field (E-field)” has received considerable attention as a new method to induce novel quantum phenomena since application of E-field can tune the electronic states directly with obvious scientific and industrial advantages over other turning methods. However, E-field-induced Mott transitions are rare and typically require high E-field and low temperature. Here we report that the multiband Mott insulator Ca2RuO4 shows unique insulator-metal switching induced by applying a dry-battery level voltage at room temperature. The threshold field Eth ~40u2005V/cm is much weaker than the Mott gap energy. Moreover, the switching is accompanied by a bulk structural transition. Perhaps the most peculiar of the present findings is that the induced metal can be maintained to low temperature by a weak current.

Successive Phase Transitions and Anisotropic Magnetic Field–Temperature Phase Diagram in NdRu2Al10

To investigate the successive phase transitions in NdRu 2 Al 10 , we carried out ultrasonic measurements on single-crystalline samples. We found that the elastic moduli show an abrupt hardening at 2.4 K without hysteresis and a two-step softening at 1.3 and 1.0 K with clear hysteresis in the temperature sweep. The hardening at 2.4 K is very similar to that observed in CeRu 2 Al 10 and CeOs 2 Al 10 , suggesting that the second-order transition at 2.4 K originates from a similar mechanism of the transitions in CeRu 2 Al 10 and CeOs 2 Al 10 . Both transitions at 1.3 and 1.0 K would originate from an antiferromagnetic first-order spin ordering. We also clarified the anisotropic magnetic field H dependences of the transition temperatures in H along the a -, b -, and c -axes, and found a new phase above 2.5 T in H ∥ a .

Ultrasonic Dispersion in All Elastic Moduli and Softening at Low Temperatures in Filled Skutterudite LaFe4Sb12

To clarify the origin of ultrasonic dispersion due to the so-called rattling motion in LaFe 4 Sb 12 , we measured the temperature dependences of elastic moduli and ultrasonic attenuation. We found the ultrasonic dispersion to be between 35 and 80 K in all elastic moduli, suggesting no-mode-selectivity of ultrasound. Experimental results and theoretically calculated density of states indicate that the d -electronic states of transition metal ions play an important role in ultrasonic dispersion. The theory based on the coupling between an acoustic phonon and some optical phonons interacting with electrons is compatible with no-mode-selective ultrasonic dispersion, and it suggests a stronger electron–phonon coupling in all elastic modes in LaFe 4 Sb 12 . Low-temperature elastic softening was observed in all elastic moduli, and it continues down to 0.4 K. There is a possibility that low-temperature softening originates from quantum tunneling motion or a novel quantum effect of rattling motion.

Coupling of Magnetic and Elastic Domains in the Organic–Inorganic Layered Perovskite‐Like (C6H5C2H4NH3)2FeIICl4 Crystal

Multiferroic materials coupling ferroelasticity and ferromagnetism show strong magnetoelastic effects as magnetization is induced by mechanical stress or alternately strain induced by applying a magnetic field. These effects were reported for inorganic multiferroics such as LaCox Sr1-x O3 . (C6 H5 C2 H4 NH3 )2 FeII Cl4 is the first example of an organic-inorganic perovskite to exhibit such effects below the canted antiferromagnetism at TC =98u2005K and ferroelasticity at TC =433u2005K. This is shown by switching the magnetic hysteresis on and off by uniaxial pressure through the strong coupling of the magnetic and elastic domains. The spin-canting direction was controlled by mechanical stress in the heating and cooling cycles. This unique observation gives additional impetus in the search for coupled hysteretic effect in organic-inorganic multiferroics.

Antiferrodistortive phase transition in pseudorhombohedral (Pb0.94Sr0.06)(Zr0.550Ti0.450)O3: A combined synchrotron x-ray and neutron powder diffraction study

The controversies about the structure of the true ground state of pseudorhombohedral compositions of Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O3 (PZT) are addressed using a 6% Sr2+ substituted sample with x=0.550. Sound velocity measurements reveal a phase transition at Tc~279K. The temperature dependence of FWHM of (h00)pc peaks and the unit cell volume also show anomalies around 279K even though there is no indication of any change of space group in the synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction (SXRD) patterns. The neutron powder diffraction patterns reveal appearance of superlattice peaks below Tc~279K confirming the existence of an antiferrodistortive phase transition. The Rietveld analysis of the room temperature and low temperature SXRD data below Tc shows that the structure corresponds to single monoclinic phase in the Cm space group while the analysis of neutron powder diffraction data reveals that the structure of the ground state phase below Tc corresponds to the Cc space group. Our analysis shows that the structural models for the ground state phase based on R3c space group with or without the coexistence of the room temperature monoclinic phase in the Cm space group can be rejected.

Elastic Anomalies of TbB4 in Pulsed High Magnetic Fields

In this paper we first introduce a measurement method for the elastic moduli in a pulsed magnetic field. By using this method, we measured the elastic moduli in a pulsed magnetic field for the rare earth tetraborides TbB 4 . We observed elastic anomalies at most of the magnetization jumps.

Elastic Softening in HoFe2Al10 due to the Quadrupole Interaction under an Orthorhombic Crystal Electric Field

To investigate 4f electronic states in HoFe2Al10 under an orthorhombic crystal electric field (CEF), we measured the specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, and elastic modulus of single-crystalline samples. We found elastic softening of the transverse elastic moduli C55 and C66 below 20 and 130 K, respectively. With further decreasing temperature, C66 shows further elastic softening below 5 K. We observed two Schottky peaks in the specific heat at 2.2 and 20 K and small anisotropy of the magnetic susceptibility and magnetization in the paramagnetic region. By analyzing these experimental data, we obtained the CEF parameters of HoFe2Al10. From the analysis, we clarified that the softening of C55 and C66 originates from indirect quadrupole interactions of Ozx and Oxy, and propose that the overall CEF splitting is about 85 K.

Anomalous Elastic Softening due to the Crystal Electric Field Effect and Successive Phase Transitions in the Yb-Based Heavy-Fermion Antiferromagnet YbIrGe

To investigate the crystal electric field effect and antiferromagnetic transitions at 2.4 and 1.4 K, we carried out ultrasonic measurements on the Yb-based heavy-fermion antiferromagnet YbIrGe. We found characteristic softening of the elastic moduli originating from a quadrupole interaction. By theoretical analyses of the transverse elastic moduli, the magnetic susceptibility, and the Schottky specific heat between 10 and 300 K, we determined the crystal electric field: the ground doublet and an excited doublet separated by 138 K. The moduli exhibit elastic hardening below both 2.4 and 1.4 K, suggesting a strong coupling between a strain and magnetic order parameters. We estimated the strain dependence of the transition temperature at 2.4 K along the a- and c-axes from the Ehrenfest relation for the first time.