The doctoral dissertations of the former Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) and Aalto University Schools of Technology (CHEM, ELEC, ENG, SCI) published in electronic format are available in the electronic publications archive of Aalto University - Aaltodoc.
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Nuclear Magnetism and Superconductivity: Investigations on Lithium and Rhodium

Kirsi Juntunen

Dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Science in Technology to be presented with due permission of the Department of Engineering Physics and Mathematics for public examination and debate in Auditorium F1 at Helsinki University of Technology (Espoo, Finland) on the 19th of February, 2005, at 12 o'clock noon.

Overview in PDF format (ISBN 951-22-7487-6)   [2054 KB]
Dissertation is also available in print (ISBN 951-22-7486-8)

Abstract

This thesis describes low temperature experiments on lithium. The experiments concentrate on investigating low temperature phase transitions of two subsystems in this metal: its nuclear spin and electronic systems. These phenomena were investigated in two separate sets of samples, each designed to meet the experimental requirements for the phenomena under investigation.

The electronic ground state of lithium at ambient pressures is expected to be superconducting, but earlier experiments show that the metal remains normal at least down to 4 mK. In this thesis research, a lithium sample was cooled down to 0.1 mK, B < 10 nT, but no superconductivity was observed. A new upper limit for the superconducting transition temperature was established, over an order of magnitude lower than the earlier upper limit. Many theoretical estimates predict superconductivity already at higher temperatures, and its absence remains a puzzle. The superconductivity in lithium has been under considerable interest recently, since the superconducting phase was observed in the highly compressed state.

The nuclear spin system of lithium was investigated as well. The large magnetic moment of the lithium-7 nuclei made lithium an interesting target for studies of nuclear magnetism. The spin system was cooled down by a two stage adiabatic nuclear demagnetization cryostat. The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra, the spin temperature, and the static susceptibility were measured. The NMR spectra revealed the appearance of an anomalous peak at low frequencies. Also, the spin system was found to behave in an irreversible manner at low fields and high nuclear polarizations. These effects give evidence for the existence of a magnetically ordered state of the lithium nuclei. The type of the order was not resolved unambiguously, but some facts point to a ferromagnetic ordering. A tentative phase diagram was constructed for the system.

Previously, nuclear magnetism and superconductivity in rhodium metal have been investigated. This thesis also includes some numerical and analytical modeling on the nuclear spin system of rhodium, aimed at the interpretation of the experimental data.

This thesis consists of an overview and of the following 7 publications:

  1. T. A. Knuuttila, J. T. Tuoriniemi, K. Lefmann, K. I. Juntunen, F. B. Rasmussen, and K. K. Nummila. 2001. Polarized nuclei in normal and superconducting rhodium. Journal of Low Temperature Physics 123, numbers 1-2, pages 65-102.
  2. K. I. Juntunen, K. Lefmann, J. T. Tuoriniemi, and T. A. Knuuttila. 2001. High temperature expansion and exact diagonalization of the rhodium nuclear spin system compared to experimental results. Journal of Low Temperature Physics 124, pages 271-289. © 2001 by authors and © 2001 Springer Science+Business Media. By permission.
  3. J. T. Tuoriniemi, K. I. Juntunen, and J. M. Uusvuori. 2003. Thermal contact to lithium metal. Physica B 329-333, pages 1294-1295. © 2003 Elsevier Science. By permission.
  4. J. T. Tuoriniemi and K. I. Juntunen. 2004. Nuclei in cooperation. Journal of Low Temperature Physics 135, pages 513-543. © 2004 by authors and © 2004 Springer Science+Business Media. By permission.
  5. K. I. Juntunen and J. T. Tuoriniemi. 2005. NMR spectra of highly polarized lithium. Journal of Low Temperature Physics 138, pages 759-764. © 2005 by authors and © 2005 Springer Science+Business Media. By permission.
  6. K. I. Juntunen and J. T. Tuoriniemi. 2004. Nuclear ordering in lithium and an upper limit on its ambient pressure superconducting transition temperature. Physical Review Letters 93, number 15, 157201 : pages 1-4. © 2004 American Physical Society. By permission.
  7. K. I. Juntunen and J. T. Tuoriniemi. 2004. Experiment on nuclear ordering and superconductivity in lithium. Helsinki University of Technology, Low Temperature Laboratory publications, Report 12 (TKK-KYL-012). 52 pages. © 2004 by authors.

Errata of publication 7

Keywords: lithium, rhodium, ultralow temperatures, nuclear magnetic ordering, nuclear magnetism, superconductivity

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© 2005 Helsinki University of Technology

Last update 2011-05-26