Absence of magnetic moments in plutonium

Abstract

Many theories published in the last decade propose that either ordered or disordered local moments are present in elemental plutonium at low temperatures. We present new experimental data and review previous experimental results. None of the experiments provide any evidence for ordered or disordered magnetic moments (either static or dynamic) in plutonium at low temperatures, in either the alpha- or delta-phases. The experiments presented and discussed are magnetic susceptibility,electrical resistivity, NMR, specific heat, and both elastic and inelastic neutronscattering. Many recent calculations correctly predict experimentally observed atomic volumes, including that of delta-Pu. These calculations achieve observed densities by the localization of electrons, which then give rise to magnetic moments. However, localized magnetic moments have never been observed experimentally in Pu. A theory is needed that is in agreement with all the experimental observations. Two theories are discussed that might provide understanding of the ensemble of unusual properties of Pu, including the absence of experimental evidence for localized magnetic moments; an issue that has persisted for over 50 years.

33 pages including 9 figures and 1 table, Submitted to Phys. Rev. B

References in corpus (4)

• Ground State Theory of delta-Pu
• Coulomb-U and magnetic moment collapse in $\delta$-Pu
• Experimental electronic heat capacities of $\alpha -$ and $\delta -$Plutonium; heavy-fermion physics in an element
• Modeling the actinides with disordered local moments

Cited by in corpus (42)

• Electronic Structure Calculations with Dynamical Mean-Field Theory: A Spectral Density Functional Approach
• Nature of the 5f states in actinide metals
• What is the valence of a correlated solid? The double life of delta-plutonium
• Coulomb-U and magnetic moment collapse in $\delta$-Pu
• Multiconfigurational nature of 5f orbitals in uranium and plutonium intermetallics
• The Valence-Fluctuating Ground State of Plutonium
• Electronic structure of Pu and Am metals by self consistent relativistic GW
• Spectral Properties of delta-Plutonium: Sensitivity to 5f Occupancy
• Electronic structure and non-magnetic character of $\delta$-Pu-Am alloys
• An dynamical-mean-field-theory investigation of specific heat and electronic structure of $\alpha$ and $\delta$-plutonium
• Nature of non-magnetic strongly-correlated state in delta-plutonium
• Multiplet effects in the electronic structure of $\delta$-Pu, Am and their compounds
• Self-interaction Corrected Local Spin Density Theory of 5f Electron Localization in Actindes
• An ab initio full potential fully relativistic study of atomic carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen chemisorption on the (111) surface of delta-plutonium
• Unified character of correlation effects in unconventional Pu-based superconductors and δ-Pu
• First-principles phase stability, bonding, and electronic structure of actinide metals
• Synchrotron Radiation Techniques and their Application to Actinide Materials
• Nature of the 5$f$ electronic structure of plutonium
• Neutron magnetic form factor in strongly correlated materials
• Does hybrid density functional theory predict a non-magnetic ground state for delta-Plutonium?
• Effects of Spin Fluctuations and Anomalous Thermal Expansion of delta-Plutonium
• Advances in actinide thin films: synthesis, properties, and future directions
• Emergence of quasiparticle multiplets in curium
• Effective Coulomb interaction in actinides from linear response approach
• Exchange energy dominated by large orbital spin-currents in $\delta$-Pu
• Electronic Correlation Induced Expansion of Compensated Electron and Hole Fermi Pockets in delta-Plutonium
• Pressure-Driven 5$f$ Localized-Itinerant Transition and Valence Fluctuation in Californium
• One-Electron Physics of the Actinides
• Correlation strength and orbital differentiation across the phase diagram of plutonium metal
• Magnetic state and electronic structure of plutonium from ``first principles'' calculations
• Competition between Kondo and RKKY exchange couplings in Pu{1-x}Am{x} alloys
• Phase stabilization by electronic entropy in plutonium
• ${}^{239}$Pu nuclear magnetic resonance in the candidate topological insulator PuB${}_4$
• Site and orbital selective correlations in $\beta$-Pu
• First-principles study of the Kondo physics of a single Pu impurity in a Th host
• Temperature-driven hidden 5f itinerant-localized crossover in heavy-fermion compound PuIn3
• Electronic structure and magnetic state of transuranium metals under pressure
• Atomistic studies of transformation pathways and energetics in plutonium
• Collapse of quasiparticle multiplets and $5f$ itinerant-localized crossovers in cubic phase Pu${}_3$Ga
• The influence of defects on magnetic properties of fcc-Pu
• Reexaming the ground state and magnetic properties of curium dioxide
• Applicability of DFT + U to U metal and U-Zr alloy