The magnetization and specific heat measurements have been performed on single-crystalline Gd_3_Ru_4_Al_12_ with a distorted Kagome lattice structure. This spin system is regarded as an antiferromagnetic triangular lattice of XY like Heisenberg model at low temperatures. The magnetic phase diagrams indicate the existence of frustration and Z_2_ degeneracy. The magnetization and specific heat imply the successive phase transitions with partial disorder and a T-shaped spin structure in the ground state.
The magnetic behavior of the compound, Gd3Ru4Al12, which has been reported to crystallize in a hexagonal structure about two decades ago, had not been investigated in the past literature despite interesting structural features (that is, magnetic layers and triangles as well as Kagome-lattice features favouring frustrated magnetism) characterizing this compound. We report here the results of magnetization, heat-capacity, and magnetoresistance studies in the temperature (T) range 1.8-300 K. The results establish that there is a long-range magnetic order of an antiferromagnetic type below (TN= ) 18.5 K, despite a much large value (about 80 K) of paramagnetic Curie temperature with a positive sign characteristic of ferromagnetic interaction. We attribute this to geometric frustration. The most interesting finding is that there is an additional magnetic anomaly below about 55 K before the onset of long range order in the magnetic susceptibility data. Concurrent with this observation, the sign of isothermal entropy change remains positive above TN with a broad peak above TN. This observation indicates the presence of ferromagnetic clusters before the onset of long range magnetic order. Thus, this compound may serve as an example for a situation in which magnetic frustration due to geometrical reasons is faced by competition with such precursor effects. There is also a reversal of the sign of entropy-change in the curves for lower final fields (for H less than 30 kOe) on entering into magnetically ordered state consistent with the entrance into antiferromagnetic state. The magnetoresistance behavior is consistent with above conclusions.
We construct and study quantum trimer models and resonating SU(3)-singlet models on the kagome lattice, which generalize quantum dimer models and the Resonating Valence Bond wavefunctions to a trimer and SU(3) setting. We demonstrate that these models carry a Z_3 symmetry which originates in the structure of trimers and the SU(3) representation theory, and which becomes the only symmetry under renormalization. Based on this, we construct simple and exact parent Hamiltonians for the model which exhibit a topological 9-fold degenerate ground space. A combination of analytical reasoning and numerical analysis reveals that the quantum order ultimately displayed by the model depends on the relative weight assigned to different types of trimers -- it can display either Z_3 topological order or form a symmetry-broken trimer crystal, and in addition possesses a point with an enhanced U(1) symmetry and critical behavior. Our results accordingly hold for the SU(3) model, where the two natural choices for trimer weights give rise to either a topological spin liquid or a system with symmetry-broken order, respectively. Our work thus demonstrates the suitability of resonating trimer and SU(3)-singlet ansatzes to model SU(3) topological spin liquids on the kagome lattice.
High-resolution time-of-flight powder neutron diffraction and high-field magnetization were measured to investigate the magnetic structure and existence of a field-induced magnetic phase transition in the distorted kagome antiferromagnet Cs$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$. Upon cooling from room temperature, the compound undergoes a structural phase transition at $T_textrm{t}=185$ K from the rhombohedral space group $Rbar{3}m$ with the perfect kagome spin network to the monoclinic space group $P2_1/n$ with the distorted kagome planes. The distortion results in three inequivalent exchange interactions among the $S=1/2$ Cu$^{2+}$ spins that magnetically order below $T_textrm{N}=20.2$ K. Magnetization measured with a magnetic field applied within the kagome plane reveals small in-plane ferromagnetism resulting from spin canting. On the other hand, the out-of-plane magnetization does not show a clear hysteresis loop of the ferromagnetic component nor a prominent anomaly up to 170 T, with the exception of the subtle knee-like bend around 90 T, which could indicate the 1/3 magnetization plateau. The combined analysis using the irreducible representations of the magnetic space groups and magnetic structure refinement on the neutron powder diffraction data suggests that the magnetic moments order in the magnetic space group $P2_1/n$ with the all-in-all-out spin structure, which by symmetry allows for the in-plane canting, consistent with the in-plane ferromagnetism observed in the magnetization.
We report bulk magnetization, and elastic and inelastic neutron scattering measurements under an external magnetic field, $H$, on the weakly coupled distorted kagome system, Cu_{2}(OD)_3Cl. Our results show that the ordered state below 6.7 K is a canted antiferromagnet and consists of large antiferromagnetic $ac$-components and smaller ferromagnetic $b$-components. By first-principle calculations and linear spin wave analysis, we present a simple spin hamiltonian with non-uniform nearest neighbor exchange interactions resulting in a system of coupled spin trimers with a single-ion anisotropy that can qualitatively reproduce the spin dynamics of Cu_{2}(OD)_3Cl.
We report magnetization, electron spin resonance (ESR), and muon spin relaxation ($mu $SR) measurements on single crystals of the $S=1/2$ (Cu$% ^{+2}$) kagom{e} compound Cu(1,3-benzendicarboxylate). The $mu $SR is carried to temperatures as low as 45 mK. The spin Hamiltonian parameters are determined from the analysis of the magnetization and ESR data. We find that this compound has anisotropic ferromagnetic interactions. Nevertheless, no spin freezing is observed even at temperatures two orders of magnitude lower than the coupling constants. In light of this finding, the relation between persistent spin dynamics and spin liquid are reexamined.