World's First Observation of Spin Arrangements Using Neutron Transmission

—New Method Offers Greater Flexibility in Equipment Design and Simplifies Spin Arrangement Observation—

2017.11.17


National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS)
Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA)
Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC)

For the first time in the world, NIMS, JAEA and J-PARC jointly succeeded in observing electron spin arrangements in sample materials by applying a neutron beam to a sample and quantifying the neutrons transmitted through it.

(“Magnetic Bragg dip and Bragg edge in neutron transmission spectra of typical spin superstructures,” Hiroaki Mamiya, Yojiro Oba, Noriki Terada, Norimichi Watanabe, Kosuke Hiroi, Takenao Shinohara & Kenichi Oikawa; Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 15516 (2017) doi:10.1038/s41598-017-15850-3)

Abstract

  1. For the first time in the world, NIMS, JAEA and J-PARC jointly succeeded in observing electron spin arrangements in sample materials by applying a neutron beam to a sample and quantifying the neutrons transmitted through it. Conventional methods measuring neutrons scattered by the spins at various angles are principally incompatible with sample environment equipment that blocks the scattered neutrons. The newly developed method measures the linear transmission of neutrons through a sample material from a neutron beam source, minimizing this difficulty. Thus, the new transmission spectroscopy is a promising tool for measurements of spin arrangements under various extreme conditions.
  2. Extreme conditions such as ultra-high pressure, ultra-high magnetic field, and ultra-low temperatures are attractive frontiers in magnetism. Neutron diffractometry measuring neutrons scattered by the spins at various angles has been a unique tool for clarifying the spin arrangements directly. However, it is not easy to measure neutrons scattered at the sample under extreme conditions, because the generations of such extreme conditions are possible in smaller, narrower, or thinner sample space in the sample environment equipment; consequently, the equipment covers almost the whole aspects of the scattered neutrons.
  3. When a neutron beam is applied to a sample material, the neutrons transmitted through the material attenuate in proportion to the extent to which they are scattered. The NIMS-led research team therefore hypothesized that spin arrangements in materials could be characterized by simply measuring the transmitted neutrons. The team applied neutron pulses produced at J-PARC to a nickel oxide sample with known spin arrangements and analyzed the relationship between the intensity and wavelength of neutrons transmitted through the material. The team found that the transmission intensity of neutrons of specific wavelengths—which were expected to respond to known spin arrangements—was very low. Incident neutron beams are always transmitted through a sample material in a linear fashion, hence, the new method requires only one small through-hole in sample environment equipment and greatly improve flexibility in equipment design.
  4. This study demonstrated that neutron transmission measurements are an effective method of characterizing spin arrangements in materials under various extreme conditions. In future studies, we will leverage the working principle of this method to design multi-extreme condition-generating devices, facilitating the search for novel spin arrangements. In addition, application of the new method—linear transmission of incident beams through sample materials—to neutron radiography would enable non-destructive observation of spin state inside magnetic devices, which has been impossible to achieve by known techniques. This could facilitate the development of more advanced magnetic devices.
  5. This study was conducted jointly by a research team led by Hiroaki Mamiya (Principal Researcher, Neutron Scattering Group, Research Center for Advanced Measurement and Characterization, NIMS) and a research team led by Yojiro Oba (Researcher, Materials Sciences Research Center, JAEA) and Kenichi Oikawa (Principal Researcher, J-PARC, JAEA). Part of this study was funded by a JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Project Number: 15K13278).
  6. This study was published in Scientific Reports, an online scientific journal of Springer Nature, on November 14, 2017.

"Figure: Comparison of a conventional method in which an array of detectors is used to measure diffracted neutrons at various angles (left) and the newly developed method in which the time required for neutrons to be transmitted through a sample is measured (right). In the conventional method, it is difficult to position sample environment equipment without obstructing the trajectories of the diffracted neutrons." Image

Figure: Comparison of a conventional method in which an array of detectors is used to measure diffracted neutrons at various angles (left) and the newly developed method in which the time required for neutrons to be transmitted through a sample is measured (right). In the conventional method, it is difficult to position sample environment equipment without obstructing the trajectories of the diffracted neutrons.



Contacts

(Regarding this research)

Hiroaki Mamiya
Principal Researcher, Neutron Scattering Group
Research Center for Advanced Measurement and Characterization
National Institute for Materials Science
Tel: +81-29-859-2755
E-Mail: MAMIYA.Hiroaki=nims.go.jp
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Yojiro Oba
Researcher, Neutron Materials Research Division
Materials Sciences Research Center
Japan Atomic Energy Agency
Tel: +81-29-284-3908
E-Mail: ohba.yojiro=jaea.go.jp
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Kenichi Oikawa
Principal Researcher
Materials & Life Science Division
J-PARC, Japan Atomic Energy Agency
Tel: +81-29-284-3211
E-Mail: kenichi.oikawa=j-parc.jp
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(Regarding public relations)

Public Relations Office
National Institute for Materials Science
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Yoshiaki Sato
General Manager, Media Relations Section, Public Relations Department
Japan Atomic Energy Agency
Tel: +81-2-3592-2346
Fax: +81-3-5157-1950
Saeko Okada
Public Relations Section, J-PARC
Tel: +81-29-284-4578
Fax: +81-29-284-4571
E-Mail: sokada=post.kek.jp
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