<p> Field modulation techniques were used to observe the de Haas-van Alphen effect in magnetic fields up to 5.5 tesla and at temperatures below 1.1°K. A data acquisition system recorded on magnetic tape the large amount of data necessary for computer fourier analysis of the oscillations. All of the orbits predicted by Keeton and Loucks' model of the Fermi surface of mercury were at least tentatively identified. The data on the β, τ and α orbits were in essential agreement with previous work. The γ and X-face orbits were also investigated in some detail, while tentative identification was made of the μ and T-face orbits. When the data permitted, the areas were fitted to ellipsoids or hyperboloids of revolution by a least squares calculation.</p> <p> A search was made for modifications to the de Haas-van Alphen theory due to phonons. Accurate torque de Haas-van Alphen amplitude measurements were taken as a function of temperature and magnetic field. The analysis of the results revealed no systematic dependence of either the cyclotron effective mass or the Dingle temperature on temperature from 1.25°K to 4.2°K or on magnetic field from 1.5 tesla to 2.3 tesla. Thus no effects due to phonons were observed.</p> <p> A method of observing the open orbits in metallic single crystals was developed and used to observe the open orbits in mercury. The method utilized the eddy currents induced in the sample by the rotation of a magnetic field. This provided a signal which was dependent on the conductivity in the plane perpendicular to the open orbit. The torque amplitude, which indicated the number of open orbit carriers, was used to detect the angular range of the bands of open orbits in mercury. The method was experimentally simple since no special sample geometry was necessary and no electrical connections to the sample were needed.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The interplay of partially filled d- or f-electron shells with conduction-band electrons is a key ingredient in new rare-earth transition-metal compounds for the emergence of unusual electronic and magnetic properties. Among which unconventional superconductivity is one of the most studied. Despite many years of intensive experimental investigations and plenty promising theoretical models, unconventional superconductivity still remains hotly debated a very rich topic. One of the fundamental unsolved problems for condensed-matter physicists is the mechanism that causes the electrons to form anisotropic superconductivity. Since electrons in the vicinity of the Fermi level are primarily responsible for superconductivity, in order to better understand the mechanism giving rise to this phenomenon and the origin of complex forces between correlated electrons, knowledge of the Fermi surface and band selective effective mass is essential. Of the many techniques used to study electronic band-structure properties, measurements of quantum oscillations in the magnetization, so-called de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) effect, in combination with band-structure calculations is the traditional proven tool for studying Fermi-surface topology and quasiparticle effective mass. In the present work, electronic structure and Fermi-surface properties of Ybsubstituted heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 and iron based ternary phosphides LaFe2P2 and CeFe2P2 have been investigated by means of dHvA measurements. For these measurements, capacitive cantilever-torque magnetometry was utilized. In Ce1−xYbxCoIn5, the evolution of the Fermi surface and effective mass was studied as a function of Yb concentration. The observed topology change is consistent with what is expected from the band-structure calculations. For a small Yb concentration, x = 0.1, the band-structure topology and the effective masses remain nearly unchanged compared to CeCoIn5. This contrasts clearly modified Fermi surfaces and light, almost unrenormalized effective masses for x = 0.2 and above. For LaFe2P2 and CeFe2P2, the obtained effective masses are light. Good agreement between the calculated and measured dHvA frequencies was identified only for LaFe2P2. However, for CeFe2P2 strong disagreement was observed. Moreover, different CeFe2P2 single crystals reveal different experimental results. In order to reconcile the results of the dHvA measurements and density-functional-theory calculations more work is necessary.

The interplay of partially filled d- or f-electron shells with conduction-band electrons is a key ingredient in new rare-earth transition-metal compounds for the emergence of unusual electronic and magnetic properties. Among which unconventional superconductivity is one of the most studied. Despite many years of intensive experimental investigations and plenty promising theoretical models, unconventional superconductivity still remains hotly debated a very rich topic. One of the fundamental unsolved problems for condensed-matter physicists is the mechanism that causes the electrons to form anisotropic superconductivity. Since electrons in the vicinity of the Fermi level are primarily responsible for superconductivity, in order to better understand the mechanism giving rise to this phenomenon and the origin of complex forces between correlated electrons, knowledge of the Fermi surface and band selective effective mass is essential. Of the many techniques used to study electronic band-structure properties, measurements of quantum oscillations in the magnetization, so-called de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) effect, in combination with band-structure calculations is the traditional proven tool for studying Fermi-surface topology and quasiparticle effective mass. In the present work, electronic structure and Fermi-surface properties of Ybsubstituted heavy fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 and iron based ternary phosphides LaFe2P2 and CeFe2P2 have been investigated by means of dHvA measurements. For these measurements, capacitive cantilever-torque magnetometry was utilized. In Ce1−xYbxCoIn5, the evolution of the Fermi surface and effective mass was studied as a function of Yb concentration. The observed topology change is consistent with what is expected from the band-structure calculations. For a small Yb concentration, x = 0.1, the band-structure topology and the effective masses remain nearly unchanged compared to CeCoIn5. This contrasts clearly modified Fermi surfaces and light, almost unrenormalized effective masses for x = 0.2 and above. For LaFe2P2 and CeFe2P2, the obtained effective masses are light. Good agreement between the calculated and measured dHvA frequencies was identified only for LaFe2P2. However, for CeFe2P2 strong disagreement was observed. Moreover, different CeFe2P2 single crystals reveal different experimental results. In order to reconcile the results of the dHvA measurements and density-functional-theory calculations more work is necessary.

Highly correlated electron materials are systems in which many new states of matter can emerge. A particular situation which favours the formation of exotic phases of the electron liquid in complex materials is that where a quantum critical point (QCP) is present in the phase diagram. Neighbouring regions in parameter space reveal unusual physical properties, described as non-Fermi liquid behaviour. One of the important problems in quantum criticality is to find out how the Fermi surface (FS) of a material evolves near a QCP. The traditional method for studying the FS of materials is the de Haas van Alphen effect (dHvA). A quantum critical end point (QCEP) has been reported in the highly correlated metal Sr₃Ru₂O₇, which is tuned using a magnetic field high enough to perform the dHvA experiment. It moreover features a new emergent phase in the vicinity of the QCEP, a nematic type of electron ordering. The subject of this thesis is the study of the FS of Sr₃Ru₂O₇ using the dHvA effect. Three aspects were explored. The first was the determination of the FS at fields both above and below that where the QCEP arises. The second was the search for quantum oscillations inside the nematic phase. The third was a reinvestigation of the behaviour of the quasiparticle effective masses near the FS. In collaboration with angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy experimentalists, a complete robust model for the FS of Sr₃Ru₂O₇ at zero fields was determined. Moreover, the new measurements of the quasiparticle masses revealed that no mass enhancements exist anywhere around the QCEP, in contradiction with previous specific heat data and measurements of the A coefficient of the power law of the resistivity. Finally, we report dHvA oscillations inside the nematic phase, and the temperature dependence of their amplitude suggests strongly that the carriers consist of Landau quasiparticles.

No description available.

No description available.

Stuttgart, Univ., Habil.-Schr., 2004.

In dieser Arbeit berichte ich von meinen Untersuchungen der Fermiflächen der topologischer Semimetalle PtGa, CoSi, CaAuAs und CaCdGe. Dazu habe ich die Quantenoszillationen der einkristallinen Proben mittels Drehmomentmagnetometrie gemessen und vergleiche die Resultate mit denen von Dichtefunktionaltheorie-Rechnungen. Aus diesem Vergleich lassen sich die Bandstruktur und Fermiflächen verlässlich bestimmen und damit deren Topologie verifizieren. PtGa und CoSi kristallisieren in der Raumgruppe P213 (198) und sind damit chiral und nicht zentrosymmetrisch. Sie besitzen eine außergewöhnliche Bandstruktur-Topologie mit hochgradig entarteten Bandberührungspunkten und Bandberührungsflächen, welche empfindlich von der Spin-Bahn-Kopplung abhängt. PtGa unterliegt einer sehr starken Spin-Bahn-Kopplung, welche den experimentellen Nachweis der topologischen Ladung der Bandberührungspunkte ermöglichte. In CoSi ist die Spin-Bahn-Kopplung schwach, sodass ihre experimentelle Signifikanz bisher umstritten ist. In meinen Messungen zeigen beide Materialien eine deutliche Spinaufspaltung der Quantenoszillationsfrequenzen, welche die Auswirkung Spin-Bahn-Kopplung auch für CoSi nachweist. Die Übereinstimmungen der Resultate der Messungen mit denen der Bandstruktur-Rechnungen bestätigen zudem Bandstrukturen und ihre Topologie. CaAuAs und CaCdGe weisen gemäß Bandstruktur-Rechnungen ohne Berücksichtigung der Spin-Bahn-Kopplung Bandberührungslinien auf, welche durch die Spin-Bahn-Kopplung aufgespalten werden. Bei CaAuAs stimmen die Quantenoszillationsfrequenzen sehr gut mit den berechneten Frequenzen unter Beachtung der Spin-Bahn-Kopplung überein. Dies spricht gegen die Existenz von Bandberührungslinien und für ihre Aufspaltung zu Dirac-Punkten. CaCdGe weichen die berechneten und die gemessenen Ergebnisse zum Teil stark von einander ab, sodass Bandstruktur nicht klar bestimmt ist und weitere Untersuchungen notwendig sind.

Die Betrachtung von Schwere-Fermionen-Systemen stellt ein wichtiges Themengebiet im Bereich der Festkörperphysik dar. Das Verhalten von Schwere-Fermionen-Systemen wird durch die starken Korrelationen der magnetischen Momente der ungepaarten Spins der f-Elektronen bestimmt. Experimentell zugängliche Messgrößen sind dadurch bei tiefen Temperaturen stark erhöht, so dass sich diese Systeme besonders gut zur Untersuchung von Grundzustandseigenschaften eignen. Zentrales Thema dieser Arbeit ist die Untersuchung zweier intermetallischer Seltenerd-Verbindungen in Bezug auf Quantenphasenübergänge. Diese treten am absoluten Nullpunkt der Temperatur als Funktion eines anderen Parameters wie Magnetfeld, Druck oder chemischer Substitution auf und sind bei endlicher Temperatur durch Abweichungen physikalischer Messgrößen von der durch L. D. Landau aufgestellten Theorie der Fermi-Flüssigkeiten nachzuweisen. Zu diesem Zweck wurden Tieftemperaturexperimente bis hinab zu 20mK und in Magnetfeldern bis zu 18T durchgeführt. Es wurden elektrischer Widerstand, magnetische Wechselfeldsuszeptibilität, Magnetostriktion und thermische Ausdehnung gemessen. / The investigation of heavy-fermion systems marks an important subject in the research field of solid state physics. The behaviour of heavy-fermion systems is dominated by the strong correlations of the magnetic moments of the unpaired f-electron spins. At low temperatures, experimentally accessible variables are strongly enhanced so that these systems are especially suited to analyse ground state properties. The central topic of this thesis is the investigation of two intermetallic rare-earth compounds with regard to quantum phase transitions. The latter occur at zero temperature as a function of parameters such as magnetic field, pressure or chemical substitution. They are traceable at finite temperature due to deviations of physical variables from the theory of Fermi liquids established by L. D. Landau. For this purpose, low-temperature experiments were performed down to 20mK and in magnetic fields up to 18T. Electrical resistivity, magnetic ac susceptibility, magnetostriction and thermal expansion were measured.

Im Rahmen dieser Doktorarbeit werden de Haas-van Alphen-Untersuchungen an den nichtmagnetischen Borkarbidsupraleitern LuNi2B2C und YNi2B2C präsentiert. Aus den Quantenoszillationen in der normalleitenden Phase in Kombination mit Bandstrukturrechnungen konnten Informationen über die verzweigte Fermiflächenarchitektur und über die Elektron-Phonon-Kopplung der Borkarbide gewonnen werden. Die Kopplung ist stark anisotrop und fermiflächenabhängig. Dies spricht für einen Mehrbandmechanismus der Supraleitung in der Materialklasse. Zusätzlich konnten de Haas-van-Alphen-Oszillationen mehrerer Fermiflächen unterhalb von Bc2 tief in der Shubnikov-Phase beobachtet werden. Das Verhalten dieser Oszillationen lässt sich nicht mit bisher bekannten Theorien beschreiben. Allerdings weist das Bestehen der Oszillationen weit unterhalb von Bc2 auf ein Bestehen von elektronischen Zuständen in der Shubnikov-Phase hin.