Novel ordering of an S = 1/2 quasi-1d Ising-like antiferromagnet in magnetic field

High-field specific heat measurements on BaCo(2)V(2)O(8), which is a good realization of an S=1/2 quasi-one-dimensional (1D) Ising-like antifferomagnet, have been performed in magnetic fields up to 12 T along the chain and at temperature down to 200 mK. We have found a new magnetic ordered state in the field-induced phase above H(c) approximately 3.9 T. We suggest that a novel type of the incommensurate order, which is caused by the quantum effect inherent in the S=1/2 quasi-1D Ising-like antiferromagnet, appears in the field-induced phase.     

Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid in a quasi-one-dimensional S = 1 antiferromagnet observed by specific heat measurements

Specific-heat experiments on single crystals of the S = 1 quasi-one-dimensional bond-alternating antiferromagnet Ni(C9H24N4)(NO2)ClO2 (NTENP) have been performed in magnetic fields applied both parallel and perpendicular to the spin chains. We have found for the parallel field configuration that the magnetic specific heat (C(mag)) is proportional to temperature (T) above a critical field H(c), at which the energy gap vanishes, in a temperature region above that of the long-range ordered state. The ratio C(mag)/T increases as the magnetic field approaches H(c) from above. The data are in good quantitative agreement with the prediction of the c= 1 conformal field theory in conjunction with the velocity of the excitations calculated by a numerical diagonalization, providing conclusive evidence for a Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid.     

Magnetic properties of the S = 1/2 one-dimensional antiferromagnet MgVO

The magnetic susceptibility and the electron spin resonance in the X-band of the transition metal oxide compound MgVO₃ are reported. We show that this compound, made of weakly coupled infinite chains of VO₅ pyramids, behaves as a S =1/2 one-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet. From the ESR and magnetic experiments we deduce the Néel temperature K, the in-chain coupling constant K and the g-factor values g x = g z =1.972(2), g y =1.946(1) for V⁴⁺ ions in MgVO₃. Received 14 July 1999     

Direct determination of the magnetic ground state in the square lattice S = 1/2 antiferromagnet Li2VOSiO4

Powder neutron diffraction and resonant x-ray scattering measurements from a single crystal have been performed to study the low-temperature state of the 2D frustrated, quantum-Heisenberg system Li2VOSiO4. Both techniques indicate a collinear antiferromagnetic ground state, with propagation vector k=(1 / 2 1 / 2 0), and magnetic moments in the a-b plane. Contrary to previous reports, the ordered moment at 1.44 K, m=0.63(3)micro(B), is very close to the value expected for the square lattice Heisenberg model ( approximately 0.6micro(B)). The magnetic order is three dimensional, with antiferromagnetic a-b layers stacked ferromagnetically along the c axis. Neither x-ray nor neutron diffraction shows evidence for a structural distortion between 1.6 and 10 K.     

Electron paramagnetic resonance linewidth in a two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet (S=1/2) with skyrmeons

Electron magnetic relaxation was studied in a two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet (S=1/2) with skyrmeons. The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) linewidth (Г_⊥) was calculated at temperatures T≤J (J is the nearest-neighbor interaction constant). The magnitude of Г_⊥ caused by the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction is shown to grow as r ₀/a with decreasing temperature, whereas the anisotropic symmetric interaction leads to the (r ₀/a)³ dependence, where r ₀ is the average size of a skyrmeon and a is the lattice parameter. The results obtained agree qualitatively with calculations performed on the basis of a renormalization-group (RG) analysis of the nonlinear σ model at .     

Magnetic ground state of an experimental S=1/2 kagome antiferromagnet

We present a detailed analysis of the heat capacity of a near-perfect S=1/2 kagome antiferromagnet, zinc paratacamite Zn(x)Cu(4-x)(OH)(6)Cl(2), as a function of stoichiometry x-->1 and for fields of up to 9 T. We obtain the heat capacity intrinsic to the kagome layers by accounting for the weak Cu2+/Zn2+ exchange between the Cu and the Zn sites, which was measured independently for x=1 using neutron diffraction. The evolution of the heat capacity for x=0.8...1 is then related to the hysteresis in the magnetic susceptibility. We conclude that for x>0.8 zinc paratacamite is a spin liquid without a spin gap, in which unpaired spins give rise to a macroscopically degenerate ground state manifold with increasingly glassy dynamics as x is lowered.     

Elementary spin excitations in a Heisenberg S=1/2 antiferromagnet with Skyrmions

The elementary spin excitations in two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnets with spin S=1/2 in a metastable, spatially inhomogeneous state are investigated. The energy spectrum of the excitations, the local order parameter, and the temperature dependence of the spin correlation length are found. It is shown that the results obtained can be used to explain the experimental data on neutron scattering in La₂CuO₄ at temperatures T>T _N. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 656–659 (April 1997)     

Low-energy dynamics of the two-dimensional S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on percolating clusters

We investigate the quantum dynamics of site diluted S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic clusters at the 2D percolation threshold. We use Lanczos diagonalization to calculate the lowest excitation gap Delta and, to reach larger sizes, use quantum Monte Carlo simulations to study an upper bound for Delta obtained from sum rules involving the staggered structure factor and susceptibility. Scaling the gap distribution with the cluster length L, Delta approximately L(-), we obtain a dynamic exponent z approximately 2D(f), where D(f)=91/48 is the fractal dimensionality of the percolating cluster. This is in contrast with previous expectations of z=D(f). We argue that the low-energy excitations are due to weakly coupled effective moments formed due to local imbalance in sublattice occupation.     

Structure and magnetic properties of the S=3/2 zigzag spin chain antiferromagnet BaCoTe_2O_7

We report a study of the structure and magnetic properties of the S=3/2 zigzag spin chain compound BaCoTe_2O_7.Neutron diffraction measurements show that it crystallizes in the noncentrosymmetric space group Ama2 with a canted↑↑↓↓spin structure along the quasi-one-dimensional zigzag chain and a moment size of 1.89(2)μ_Bat 2 K.Both magnetic susceptibility and specific heat measurements yield an antiferromagnetic phase transition at T_N=6.2 K.A negative Curie-Weiss temperature,Θ_(CW)=-74.7(2) K,and an empirical frustration parameter,f=|Θ_(CW)|/T_N≈12,are obtained by fitting the magnetic susceptibility,indicating antiferromagnetic interactions and strong magnetic frustration.From ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy and first-principles calculations,an indirect band gap of 2.68(2) eV is determined.We propose that the canted zigzag spin chain of BaCoTe_2O_7 may produce a change in the polarization via the exchange-striction mechanism.     

Magnetotransport of the low-carrier density one-dimensional S=1/2 antiferromagnet Yb4As3

The transport properties of the semimetallic quasi-one-dimensional S=1/2 antiferromagnet Yb₄As₃ have been studied by performing low-temperature (T≥0.02 K) and high magneticfield (B≤60 T) measurements of the electrical resistivity ρ(T, B). For T ≿ 2 K a ‘heavy-fermion’-like behavior Δρ(T)=AT ² with huge and nearly field-independent coefficient A ≈ 3 μΩ cm/K² is observed, whereas at lower temperatures ρ(T) deviates from this behavior and slightly increases to the lowest T. In B>0 and T ≾ 6 K the resistivity shows an anomalous magnetic-history dependence together with an unusual relaxation behavior. In the isothermal resistivity Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations, arising from a low-density system of mobile As-4p holes, with a frequency of 25 T have been recorded. From the T- and B-dependence of the SdH oscillations an effective carrier mass of (0.275±0.005)m ₀ and a charge-carrier mean-free path of 215 ? are determined. Furthermore, in B≥15 T, the system is near the quantum limit and spin-splitting effects are observed.