Neutron scattering investigation of magnetic excitations at high energy transfers (invited)

Abstract

With the advance of pulsed spallation neutron sources, neutron scattering investigation of elementary excitations in magnetic materials can now be extended to energies up to several hundreds of meV. We have measured, using chopper spectrometers and time-of-flight techniques, the magnetic response functions of a series of d and f transition metals and compounds over a wide range of energy and momentum transfer. In PrO2, UO2, BaPrO3, and CeB6 we observed crystal-field transitions between the magnetic ground state and the excited levels in the energy range from 40 to 260 meV. In materials exhibiting spin-fluctuation or mixed-valent character such as Ce0.74Th0.26, on the other hand, no sharp crystal-field lines but a broadened quasielastic magnetic peak was observed. The line width of the quasielastic component is thought to be connected to the spin-fluctuation energy of the 4f electrons. The significance of the neutron scattering results in relation to the ground state level structure of the magnetic ions and the spin dynamics of the f electrons is discussed. Recently, in a study of the spin-wave excitations in itinerant magnetic systems, we have extended the spin-wave measurements in ferromagnetic iron up to about 160 meV. Neutron scattering data at high energy transfers are of particular interest because they provide direct comparison with recent theories of itinerant magnetism.