Magnon interactions in a moderately correlated Mott insulator.

Quantum fluctuations in low-dimensional systems and near quantum phase transitions have significant influences on material properties. Yet, it is difficult to experimentally gauge the strength and importance of quantum fluctuations. Here we provide a resonant inelastic x-ray scattering study of magnon excitations in Mott insulating cuprates.

Weak signal extraction enabled by deep neural network denoising of diffraction data.

The removal or cancellation of noise has wide-spread applications in imaging and acoustics. In applications in everyday life, such as image restoration, denoising may even include generative aspects, which are unfaithful to the ground truth. For scientific use, however, denoising must reproduce the ground truth accurately.

Designing the stripe-ordered cuprate phase diagram through uniaxial-stress.

The ability to efficiently control charge and spin in the cuprate high-temperature superconductors is crucial for fundamental research and underpins technological development. Here, we explore the tunability of magnetism, superconductivity, and crystal structure in the stripe phase of the cuprate La[Formula: see text]Ba[Formula: see text]CuO[Formula: see text], with [Formula: see text] = 0.115 and 0.

In situ uniaxial pressure cell for x-ray and neutron scattering experiments.

We present an in situ uniaxial pressure device optimized for small angle x-ray and neutron scattering experiments at low-temperatures and high magnetic fields. A stepper motor generates force, which is transmitted to the sample via a rod with an integrated transducer that continuously monitors the force. The device has been designed to generate forces up to 200 N in both compressive and tensile configurations, and a feedback control allows operating the system in a continuous-pressure mode as the temperature is changed.

On single-crystal total scattering data reduction and correction protocols for analysis in direct space. Corrigendum.

The name of the third author of the article by Koch et al. [Acta Cryst. (2021).

Unveiling Unequivocal Charge Stripe Order in a Prototypical Cuprate Superconductor.

In the cuprates, high-temperature superconductivity, spin-density-wave order, and charge-density-wave (CDW) order are intertwined, and symmetry determination is challenging due to domain formation. We investigated the CDW in the prototypical cuprate La_{1.88}Sr_{0.

On single-crystal total scattering data reduction and correction protocols for analysis in direct space.

Data reduction and correction steps and processed data reproducibility in the emerging single-crystal total-scattering-based technique of three-dimensional differential atomic pair distribution function (3D-ΔPDF) analysis are explored. All steps from sample measurement to data processing are outlined using a crystal of CuIrS as an example, studied in a setup equipped with a high-energy X-ray beam and a flat-panel area detector. Computational overhead as pertains to data sampling and the associated data-processing steps is also discussed.

Real-Time Observation of "Soft" Magic-Size Clusters during Hydrolysis of the Model Metallodrug Bismuth Disalicylate.

Colloidal bismuth therapeutics have been used for hundreds of years, yet remain mysterious. Here we report an X-ray pair distribution function (PDF) study of the solvolysis of bismuth disalicylate, a model for the metallodrug bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol). This reveals catalysis by traces of water, followed by multistep cluster growth.

X-ray studies bridge the molecular and macro length scales during the emergence of CoO assemblies.

The key to fabricating complex, hierarchical materials is the control of chemical reactions at various length scales. To this end, the classical model of nucleation and growth fails to provide sufficient information. Here, we illustrate how modern X-ray spectroscopic and scattering in situ studies bridge the molecular- and macro- length scales for assemblies of polyhedrally shaped CoO nanocrystals.

Origin of the quasi-quantized Hall effect in ZrTe.

The quantum Hall effect (QHE) is traditionally considered to be a purely two-dimensional (2D) phenomenon. Recently, however, a three-dimensional (3D) version of the QHE was reported in the Dirac semimetal ZrTe. It was proposed to arise from a magnetic-field-driven Fermi surface instability, transforming the original 3D electron system into a stack of 2D sheets.

In situ correlation between metastable phase-transformation mechanism and kinetics in a metallic glass.

A combination of complementary high-energy X-ray diffraction, containerless solidification during electromagnetic levitation and transmission electron microscopy is used to map in situ the phase evolution in a prototype Cu-Zr-Al glass during flash-annealing imposed at a rate ranging from 10 to 10 K s and during cooling from the liquid state. Such a combination of experimental techniques provides hitherto inaccessible insight into the phase-transformation mechanism and its kinetics with high temporal resolution over the entire temperature range of the existence of the supercooled liquid. On flash-annealing, most of the formed phases represent transient (metastable) states - they crystallographically conform to their equilibrium phases but the compositions, revealed by atom probe tomography, are different.

synchrotron XRD measurements during solidification of a melt in the CaO-SiOsystem using an aerodynamic levitation system.

Phase formation and evolution was investigated in the CaO-SiOsystem in the range of 70-80 mol% CaO. The samples were container-less processed in an aerodynamic levitation system and crystallization was followedby synchrotron x-ray diffraction at the beamline P21.1 at the German electron synchrotron (DESY).

Elastic stiffness coefficients of thiourea from thermal diffuse scattering.

The complete elastic stiffness tensor of thiourea has been determined from thermal diffuse scattering (TDS) using high-energy photons (100 keV). Comparison with earlier data confirms a very good agreement of the tensor coefficients. In contrast with established methods to obtain elastic stiffness coefficients ( Brillouin spectroscopy, inelastic X-ray or neutron scattering, ultrasound spectroscopy), their determination from TDS is faster, does not require large samples or intricate sample preparation, and is applicable to opaque crystals.

Fast-current-heating devices to study in situ phase formation in metallic glasses by using high-energy synchrotron radiation.

Details of fast-resistive-heating setups, controlled heating ranging from ∼10 K s to ∼10 K s, to study in situ phase transformations (on heating and on cooling) in metallic glasses by high-energy synchrotron x-ray diffraction are discussed. Both setups were designed and custom built at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (IFW Dresden) and have been implemented at the P02.1 Powder Diffraction and Total Scattering Beamline and the P21.

High-Temperature Charge-Stripe Correlations in La_{1.675}Eu_{0.2}Sr_{0.125}CuO_{4}.

We use resonant inelastic x-ray scattering to investigate charge-stripe correlations in La_{1.675}Eu_{0.2}Sr_{0.

Spatially inhomogeneous competition between superconductivity and the charge density wave in YBaCuO.

The charge density wave in the high-temperature superconductor YBaCuO (YBCO) has two different ordering tendencies differentiated by their c-axis correlations. These correspond to ferro- (F-CDW) and antiferro- (AF-CDW) couplings between CDWs in neighbouring CuO bilayers. This discovery has prompted several fundamental questions: how does superconductivity adjust to two competing orders and are either of these orders responsible for the electronic reconstruction? Here we use x-ray diffraction to study YBaCuO as a function of magnetic field and temperature.

Strain-engineering Mott-insulating LaCuO.

The transition temperature T of unconventional superconductivity is often tunable. For a monolayer of FeSe, for example, the sweet spot is uniquely bound to titanium-oxide substrates. By contrast for LaSrCuO thin films, such substrates are sub-optimal and the highest T is instead obtained using LaSrAlO.

Charge-Stripe Order and Superconductivity in IrPtTe.

A combined resistivity and hard x-ray diffraction study of superconductivity and charge ordering in Ir IrPtTe, as a function of Pt substitution and externally applied hydrostatic pressure, is presented. Experiments are focused on samples near the critical composition x  ~ 0.045 where competition and switching between charge order and superconductivity is established.

Magnetic field controlled charge density wave coupling in underdoped YBa2Cu3O6+x.

The application of magnetic fields to layered cuprates suppresses their high-temperature superconducting behaviour and reveals competing ground states. In widely studied underdoped YBa2Cu3O6+x (YBCO), the microscopic nature of field-induced electronic and structural changes at low temperatures remains unclear. Here we report an X-ray study of the high-field charge density wave (CDW) in YBCO.