No Arabic abstract
A compound with very weakly interacting chains, MnCl$_3$(bpy), has attracted a great deal of attention as a possible $S=2$ Haldane chain. However, long-range magnetic order of the chains prevents the Haldane gap from developing below 11.5~K. Based on a four-sublattice model, a description of the antiferromagnetic resonance (AFMR) spectrum up to frequencies of 1.5~THz and magnetic fields up to 50~T indicates that the interchain coupling is indeed quite small but that the Dzaloshinskii-Moriya interaction produced by broken inversion symmetry is substantial (0.12~meV). In addition, the antiferromagnetic, nearest-neighbor interaction within each chain (3.3~meV) is significantly stronger than previously reported. The excitation spectrum of this $S=2$ compound is well-described by a $1/S$ expansion about the classical limit.
The phase transition in the compound LiVGe2O6 has been proposed as a unique example of a spin-Peierls transition in an S=1 antiferromagnetic chain. We report neutron and x-ray diffraction measurements of LiVGe2O6 above and below the phase transition at T=24 K. No evidence is seen for any structural distortion associated with the transition. The neutron results indicate that the low temperature state is antiferromagnetic, driven by ferromagnetic interchain couplings.
We report a combined experimental and theoretical investigation of the magnetic structure of the honeycomb lattice magnet Na$_2$IrO$_3$, a strong candidate for a realization of a gapless spin-liquid. Using resonant x-ray magnetic scattering at the Ir L$_3$-edge, we find 3D long range antiferromagnetic order below T$_N$=13.3 K. From the azimuthal dependence of the magnetic Bragg peak, the ordered moment is determined to be predominantly along the {it a}-axis. Combining the experimental data with first principles calculations, we propose that the most likely spin structure is a novel zig-zag structure.
Macroscopic magnetic properties and microscopic magnetic structure of Rb$_2$Mn$_3$(MoO$_4$)$_3$(OH)$_2$ (space group $Pnma$) are investigated by magnetization, heat capacity and single-crystal neutron diffraction measurements. The compounds crystal structure contains bond-alternating [Mn$_3$O$_{11}$]$^{infty}$ chains along the $b$-axis, formed by isosceles triangles of Mn ions occupying two crystallographically nonequivalent sites (Mn1 site on the base and Mn2 site on the vertex). These chains are only weakly linked to each other by nonmagnetic oxyanions. Both SQUID magnetometry and neutron diffraction experiments show two successive magnetic transitions as a function of temperature. On cooling, it transitions from a paramagnetic phase into an incommensurate phase below 4.5~K with a magnetic wavevector near ${bf k}_{1} = (0,~0.46,~0)$. An additional commensurate antiferromagnetically ordered component arises with ${bf k}_{2} = (0,~0,~0)$, forming a complex magnetic structure below 3.5~K with two different propagation vectors of different stars. On further cooling, the incommensurate wavevector undergoes a lock-in transition below 2.3~K. The experimental results suggest that the magnetic superspace group is $Pnma.1(0b0)s0ss$ for the single-${bf k}$ incommensurate phase and is $Pnma(0b0)00s$ for the 2-${bf k}$ magnetic phase. We propose a simplified magnetic structure model taking into account the major ordered contributions, where the commensurate ${bf k}_{2}$ defines the ordering of the $c$-axis component of Mn1 magnetic moment, while the incommensurate ${bf k}_{1}$ describes the ordering of the $ab$-plane components of both Mn1 and Mn2 moments into elliptical cycloids
Recently, several putative quantum spin liquid (QSL) states were discovered in ${tilde S} = 1/2$ rare-earth based triangular-lattice antiferromagnets (TLAF) with the delafossite structure. A way to clarify the origin of the QSL state in these systems is to identify ways to tune them from the putative QSL state towards long-range magnetic order. Here, we introduce the Ce-based TLAF KCeS$_2$ and show via low-temperature specific heat and $mu$SR investigations that it yields magnetic order below $T_{mathrm N} = 0.38$ K despite the same delafossite structure. We identify a well separated ${tilde S} = 1/2$ ground state for KCeS$_2$ from inelastic neutron scattering and embedded-cluster quantum chemical calculations. Magnetization and electron spin resonance measurements on single crystals indicate a strong easy-plane $g$~factor anisotropy, in agreement with the ab initio calculations. Finally, our specific-heat studies reveal an in-plane anisotropy of the magnetic field-temperature phase diagram which may indicate anisotropic magnetic interactions in KCeS$_2$.
We propose a method for nano-scale characterization of long range magnetic order in diluted magnetic systems to clarify the origins of the room temperature ferromagnetism. The GaN:Mn thin films are grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition with the concentration of Ga-substitutional Mn up to 3.8%. Atomic force microscope (AFM) and magnetic force microscope (MFM) characterizations are performed on etched artificial microstructures and natural dislocation pits. Numerical simulations and theoretical analysis on the AFM and MFM data have confirmed the formation of long range magnetic order and ruled out the possibility that nano-clusters contributed to the ferromagnetism. We suggest that delocalized electrons might play a role in the establishment of this long range magnetic order.