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Electronic structures of multiferroic RMnO$_3$ (R=Y, Er) have been investigated by employing photoemission spectroscopy (PES) and x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). We have found that Mn ions in RMnO$_3$ are in the trivalent high-spin state with the total spin of S=2. The occupied Mn ($d_{xz} - d_{yz}$) states lie deep below $\rm E_F$, while the occupied Mn ($d_{xy} - d_{x^2 -y^2}$) states overlap very much with the O $2p$ states. It is observed that the PES spectral intensity of Mn 3d states is negligible above the occupied O $2p$ bands, suggesting that YMnO$_3$ is likely to be a charge-transfer insulator. The Mn $d_{3z^2 -r^2}$ state is mostly unoccupied in the ferroelectric phase of YMnO$_3$., Comment: 3 figures

Although materials that exhibit nearest-neighbor-only antiferromagnetic interactions and geometrical frustration theoretically should not magnetically order in the absence of disorder, few such systems have been observed experimentally. One such system appears to be the pyrochlore Tb2Ti2O7. However, previous structural studies indicated that Tb2Ti2O7 is an imperfect pyrochlore. To clarify the situation, we performed neutron powder diffraction (NPD) and x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) measurements on samples that were prepared identically to those that show no magnetic order. The NPD measurements show that the long-range structure of Tb2Ti2O7 is well ordered with no structural transitions between 4.5 and 600 K. In articular, mean-squared displacements (u^2's) for each site follow a Debye model with no offsets. No evidence for Tb/Ti site interchange was observed within an upper limit of 2%. Likewise, no excess or deficiency in the oxygen stoichiometry was observed, within an upper limit of 2% of the nominal pyrochlore value. Tb L3- and Ti K-edge XAFS measurements from 20-300 K similarly indicate a well-ordered local structure. Other aspects of the structure are considered. We conclude that Tb2Ti2O7 has, within experimental error, an ideal, disorder-free pyrochlore lattice, thereby allowing the system to remain in a dynamic, frustrated spin state to the lowest observed temperatures., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures

The electronic structure of La0.7Ce0.3MnO3 (LCeMO) thin film has been investigated using photoemission spectroscopy (PES) and x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The Ce 3d core-level PES and XAS spectra of LCeMO are very similar to those of CeO2, indicating that Ce ions are far from being trivalent. A very weak 4f resonance is observed around the Ce 4d $\to$ 4f absorption edge, suggesting that the localized Ce 4f states are almost empty in the ground state. The Mn 2p XAS spectrum reveals the existence of the Mn(2+) multiplet feature, confirming the Mn(2+)-Mn(3+) mixed-valent states of Mn ions in LCeMO. The measured Mn 3d PES/XAS spectra for LCeMO agrees reasonably well with the calculated Mn 3d PDOS using the LSDA+U method. The LSDA+U calculation predicts a half-metallic ground state for LCeMO., Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures

Electronic structures of Zn$_{1-x}$Co$_x$O have been investigated using photoemission spectroscopy (PES) and x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The Co 3d states are found to lie near the top of the O $2p$ valence band, with a peak around $\sim 3$ eV binding energy. The Co $2p$ XAS spectrum provides evidence that the Co ions in Zn$_{1-x}$Co$_{x}$O are in the divalent Co$^{2+}$ ($d^7$) states under the tetrahedral symmetry. Our finding indicates that the properly substituted Co ions for Zn sites will not produce the diluted ferromagnetic semiconductor property., Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures

Electronic structures of very dilute Cr- or Ru-doped Nd_{1/2}A_{1/2}MnO_{3} (NAMO; A=Ca, Sr) manganites have been investigated using the Mn and Cr 2p -> 3d resonant photoemission spectroscopy (PES). All the Cr- and Ru-doped NAMO systems exhibit the clear metallic Fermi edges in the Mn e_g spectra near E_F, consistent with their metallic ground states. The Cr 3d states with t^3_{2g} configuration are at ~ 1.3 eV below E_F, and the Cr e_{g} states do not participate in the formation of the band near E_F. Cr- and Ru-induced ferromagnetism and insulator-to-metal transitions can be understood with their measured electronic structures., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

Electronic structures of Sr_2FeMoO_6 (SFMO) and Ba_2FeMoO_6 (BFMO) double perovskites have been investigated using the Fe 2p->3d resonant photoemission spectroscopy (PES) and the Cooper minimum in the Mo 4d photoionization cross section. The states close to the Fermi level are found to have strongly mixed Mo-Fe t_{2g} character, suggesting that the Fe valence is far from pure 3+. The Fe 2p_{3/2} XAS spectra indicate the mixed-valent Fe^{3+}-Fe^{2+} configurations, and the larger Fe^{2+} component for BFMO than for SFMO, suggesting a kind of double exchange interaction. The valence-band PES spectra reveal good agreement with the LSDA+U calculation., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures

We present the studies of non-uniformly distributed vortices in Nb/Al multilayers at applied field near parallel to film surface by using spin-polarized neutron reflectivity (SPNR) and DC magnetization measurements. We have observed peaks above the lower critical field, Hc1, in the M-H curves from the multilayers. Previous works with a model calculation of minimizing Gibbs free energy have suggested that the peaks could be ascribed to vortex line transitions for spatial commensuration in a thin film superconductor. In order to directly determine the distribution of vortices, we performed SPNR measurements on the multilayer and found that the distribution and density of vortices are different at ascending and descending fields. At ascending 2000 Oe which is just below the first peak in the M-H curve, SPNR shows that vortices are mostly localized near a middle line of the film meanwhile the vortices are distributed in broader region at the descending 2000 Oe. That is related to the observation of more vortices trapped at the descending field. As the applied field is sightly tilted (< 3.5degree), we observe another peak at a smaller field. The peak position is consistent with the parallel lower critical field (Hc1||). We discuss that the vortices run along the applied field below Hc1|| and rotate parallel to the surface at Hc1||., Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures

We present a quantitative comparison of the magnetization measured by spin-polarized neutron reflectivity (SPNR) and DC magnetometry on a 1370 \AA\ -thick Nb superconducting film. As a function of magnetic field applied in the film plane, SPNR exhibits reversible behavior whereas the DC magnetization shows substantial hysteresis. The difference between these measurements is attributed to a rotation of vortex magnetic field out of the film plane as the applied field is reduced. Since SPNR measures only the magnetization parallel to the film plane whereas DC magnetization is strongly influenced by the perpendicular component of magnetization when there is a slight sample tilt, combining the two techniques allows one to distinguish two components of magnetization in a thin film., Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, It will be printed in PRB, Oct. 2000