No Arabic abstract
A single crystal S=3/2 perfect kagome lattice antiferromagnet $mathrm{KCr_3(OH)_6(SO_4)_2}$ (Cr-jarosite) has been studied by X-band and high-frequency electron spin resonance (ESR). The g-values perpendicular to the kagome plane (c-axis) and in the plane are determined to be $g_c=1.9704 pm 0.0002$ and $g_xi=1.9720 pm 0.0003$, respectively, by high-frequency ESR observed at 265 K. Antiferromagnetic resonances (AFMR) with the antiferromagnetic gap of 120 GHz are observed at 1.9 K, which is below $T_N$=4.5 K. The analysis of AFMR modes by the conventional molecular field theory shows $d_p=0.27$ K and $d_z=0.07$ K, where $d_p$ and $d_z$ are in-plane and out-of-plane components of DM d vector, respectively. From these results and the estimated exchange interaction J=6.15 K by Okuta et al., the ground state of Cr-jarosite is discussed in connection with the Monte Carlo simulations result with classical Heisenberg spins on the kagome lattice by Elhajal et al. Finally, the angular dependence of linewidth and the lineshape observed at 296 K by X-band ESR show typical behavior of a two-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet, suggesting a good two-dimensionality of Cr-jarosite.
Spin liquids are exotic phases of quantum matter challenging Landaus paradigm of symmetry-breaking phase transitions. Despite strong exchange interactions, spins do not order or freeze down to zero temperature. While well-established for 1D quantum antiferromagnets, in higher dimension where quantum fluctuations are less acute, realizing and understanding such states represent major issues, both theoretical and experimental. In this respect the simplest nearest-neighbor Heisenberg antiferromagnet Hamiltonian on the highly frustrated kagome lattice has proven to be a fascinating and inspiring model. The exact nature of its ground state remains elusive and the existence of a spin-gap is the first key-issue to be addressed to discriminate between the various classes of proposed spin liquids. Here, through low-temperature Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) contrast experiments on high quality single crystals, we single out the kagome susceptibility and the corresponding dynamics in the kagome archetype, the mineral herbertsmithite, ZnCu$_3$(OH)$_6$Cl$_2$. We firmly conclude that this material does not harbor any spin-gap, which restores a convergence with recent numerical results promoting a gapless Dirac spin liquid as the ground state of the Heisenberg kagome antiferromagnet.
Volborthite compound is one of the very few realizations of S=1/2 quantum spins on a highly frustrated kagome-like lattice. Low-T SQUID measurements reveal a broad magnetic transition below 2K which is further confirmed by a peak in the 51V nuclear spin relaxation rate (1/T1) at 1.4K$pm$0.2K. Through 51V NMR, the ground state (GS) appears to be a mixture of different spin configurations, among which 20% correspond to a well defined short range order, possibly of the $sqrt{3} times sqrt{3}$ type. While the freezing involve all the Cu$^{2+}$ spins, only 40% of the copper moment is actually frozen which suggests that quantum fluctuations strongly renormalize the GS.
We investigated the crystal structure of Rb$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$ and its magnetic properties using single crystals. This compound is composed of Kagome layers of corner-sharing CuF$_{6}$ octahedra with a 2a x 2a enlarged cell as compared with the proper Kagome layer. Rb$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$ is magnetically described as an $S$=1/2 modified Kagome antiferromagnet with four kinds of neighboring exchange interaction. From magnetic susceptibility and high-field magnetization measurements, it was found that the ground state is a disordered singlet with the spin gap, as predicted from a recent theory. Exact diagonalization for a 12-site Kagome cluster was performed to analyze the magnetic susceptibility, and individual exchange interactions were evaluated.
We investigate the antiferromagnetic canting instability of the spin-1/2 kagome ferromagnet, as realized in the layered cuprates Cu$_3$Bi(SeO$_3)_2$O$_2$X (X=Br, Cl, and I). While the local canting can be explained in terms of competing exchange interactions, the direction of the ferrimagnetic order parameter fluctuates strongly even at short distances on account of frustration which gives rise to an infinite ground state degeneracy at the classical level. In analogy with the kagome antiferromagnet, the accidental degeneracy is fully lifted only by non-linear 1/S corrections, rendering the selected uniform canted phase very fragile even for spins-1/2, as shown explicitly by coupled-cluster calculations. To account for the observed ordering, we show that the minimal description of these systems must include the microscopic Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interactions, which we obtain from density-functional band-structure calculations. The model explains all qualitative properties of the kagome francisites, including the detailed nature of the ground state and the anisotropic response under a magnetic field. The predicted magnon excitation spectrum and quantitative features of the magnetization process call for further experimental investigations of these compounds.
The antiferromagnetism in $alpha$-Cu$_3$Mg(OH)$_6$Br$_2$ was studied by magnetic-susceptibility, specific-heat and neutron-diffraction measurements. The crystal structure consists of Cu$^{2+}$ kagome layers with Mg$^{2+}$ ions occupying the centers of the hexagons, separated by Br$^{1-}$ ions. The magnetic system orders antiferromagnetically at 5.4 K with the magnetic moments aligned ferromagnetically within the kagome planes. The ordered moment is 0.94 $mu_B$, suggesting little quantum and geometrical fluctuations. By comparing the magnetic and specific-heat properties with those of the haydeeite, we suggest that $alpha$-Cu$_3$Mg(OH)$_6$Br$_2$ may be described by the two-dimensional spin-$1/2$ Heisenberg kagome model and is in the region of the ferromagnetic-order side of the phase diagram.