Incorporation of palladium into pyrite: Insights from X-ray absorption spectroscopy analysis and modelling.

Pyrite (FeS) often accommodates elevated concentrations of platinum-group elements in ores of magmatic and hydrothermal origin. In order to elucidate the role of pyrite in concentrating Pd, Pd-doped synthetic crystals were studied via X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Crystals were obtained by salt-flux method in the system saturated with respect to Pd at the temperature of 580 °C and sulphur fugacity of log f (S) = -0.

Non-Fermi liquid behavior below the Néel temperature in the frustrated heavy fermion magnet UAu.

The term Fermi liquid is almost synonymous with the metallic state. The association is known to break down at quantum critical points (QCPs), but these require precise values of tuning parameters, such as pressure and applied magnetic field, to exactly suppress a continuous phase transition temperature to the absolute zero. Three-dimensional non-Fermi liquid states, apart from superconductivity, that are unshackled from a QCP are much rarer and are not currently well understood.

Field-Induced Modulated State in the Ferromagnet PrPtAl.

The theory of quantum order-by-disorder (QOBD) explains the formation of modulated magnetic states at the boundary between ferromagnetism and paramagnetism in zero field. PrPtAl has been argued to provide an archetype for this. Here, we report the phase diagram in magnetic field, applied along both the easy a axis and hard b axis.

Stress-Assisted Thermal Diffusion Barrier Breakdown in Ion Beam Deposited Cu/W Nano-Multilayers on Si Substrate Observed by GISAXS and Transmission EDX.

The thermal stability of Cu/W nano-multilayers deposited on a Si substrate using ion beam deposition was analyzed by GISAXS and transmission EDX-a combination of methods permitting the observation of diffusion processes within buried layers. Further supporting techniques such as XRR, TEM, WAXS, and AFM were employed to develop an extensive microstructural understanding of the multilayer before and during heating. It was found that the pronounced in-plane compressive residual stress and defect population induced by ion beam deposition result in low thermal stability driven by thermally activated self-interstitial and vacancy diffusion, ultimately leading to complete degradation of the layered structure at moderate temperatures.

Synchrotron X-ray diffraction investigation of the surface condition of artefacts from King Henry VIII's warship the Mary Rose.

Synchrotron X-ray diffraction (XRD) measured on the XMaS beamline at the ESRF was used to characterize the alloy composition and crystalline surface corrosion of three copper alloy Tudor artefacts recovered from the undersea wreck of King Henry VIII's warship the Mary Rose. The XRD method adopted has a dynamic range ∼1:10 and allows reflections <0.002% of the height of major reflections in the pattern to be discerned above the background without smoothing.