Paramagnetic rare-earth oxide Nd 2O 3 investigated by muon spin spectroscopy
Abstract
In the context of a systematic study of oxide materials with the muon spin spectroscopy (μ SR ) technique, we report here on an investigation of paramagnetic Nd2O3 . The question was whether the magnetism of Nd3 + has an influence on the observed signals. In Nd2O3 , as in the other oxides, a weakly paramagnetic component is observed besides the pure diamagnetic fraction. The paramagnetic part is assigned to a transient state formed between the initial atomic and the final bound muonium configuration. In addition, a fast relaxing signal (λ ∼7 μ s-1 ) with 10% to 20% fraction is seen in longitudinal field. Contrary to this general behavior of the oxide materials, in the present magnetic compound, a resonancelike structure is seen in the temperature range around 40 K. We assign it tentatively to a dynamical process related to the population of the first excited Kramers doublet of the Nd3 + ion at 2.6 meV.
- Publication:
-
Physical Review B
- Pub Date:
- November 2019
- DOI:
- 10.1103/PhysRevB.100.205203
- Bibcode:
- 2019PhRvB.100t5203V