Weak Ferromagnetism and Field-Induced Spin Reorientation in K2V3O8

Magnetization and neutron diffraction studies of the 2D S = 1/2 antiferromagnet, K2V3O8, indicate an ordered state exhibiting weak ferromagnetism and field-induced spin reorientations. Of particular interest is the behavior in a basal plane magnetic field where a unique spin reorientation is observed in which the spins rotate from the easy c axis to the basal plane while remaining normal to the applied field. The experimental observations are well described by a two spin exchange model incorporating Heisenberg and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions with an additional c-axis anisotropy.