No Arabic abstract
Heavy transition metal magnets with $J_{rm eff}$ $=$ 1/2 electronic ground states have attracted recent interest due to their penchant for hosting new classes of quantum spin liquids and superconductors. Unfortunately, model systems with ideal $J_{rm eff}$ $=$ 1/2 states are scarce due to the importance of non-cubic local distortions in most candidate materials. In this work, we identify a family of iridium halide systems [i.e. K$_2$IrCl$_6$, K$_2$IrBr$_6$, (NH$_4$)$_2$IrCl$_6$, and Na$_2$IrCl$_6 cdotp $ 6(H$_2$O)] with Ir$^{4+}$ electronic ground states in extremely close proximity to the ideal $J_{rm eff}$ $=$ 1/2 limit, despite a variation in the low-temperature global crystal structures. We also find ordered magnetic ground states for the three anhydrous systems, with single crystal neutron diffraction on K$_2$IrBr$_6$ revealing Type-I antiferromagnetism. This spin configuration is consistent with expectations for significant Kitaev exchange in a face-centered-cubic magnet.
We have performed inelastic neutron scattering (INS) experiments to investigate the magnetic excitations in the weakly distorted face-centered-cubic (fcc) iridate double perovskites La$_2$ZnIrO$_6$ and La$_2$MgIrO$_6$, which are characterized by A-type antiferromagnetic ground states. The powder inelastic neutron scattering data on these geometrically frustrated $j_{rm eff}=1/2$ Mott insulators provide clear evidence for gapped spin wave excitations with very weak dispersion. The INS results and thermodynamic data on these materials can be reproduced by conventional Heisenberg-Ising models with significant uniaxial Ising anisotropy and sizeable second-neighbor ferromagnetic interactions. Such a uniaxial Ising exchange interaction is symmetry-forbidden on the ideal fcc lattice, so that it can only arise from the weak crystal distortions away from the ideal fcc limit. This may suggest that even weak distortions in $j_{rm eff}=1/2$ Mott insulators might lead to strong exchange anisotropies. More tantalizingly, however, we find an alternative viable explanation of the INS results in terms of spin models with a dominant Kitaev interaction. In contrast to the uniaxial Ising exchange, the highly-directional Kitaev interaction is a type of exchange anisotropy which is symmetry-allowed even on the ideal fcc lattice. The Kitaev model has a magnon gap induced by quantum order-by-disorder, while weak anisotropies of the Kitaev couplings generated by the symmetry-lowering due to lattice distortions, can pin the order and enhance the magnon gap. Our findings highlight how even conventional magnetic orders in heavy transition metal oxides may be driven by highly-directional exchange interactions rooted in strong spin-orbit coupling.
By means of density functional theory plus dynamical mean-field theory (DFT+DMFT) calculations and resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) experiments, we investigate the high-pressure phases of the spin-orbit-coupled $J_{rm{eff}}=3/2$ insulator GaTa$_4$Se$_8$. Its metallic phase, derived from the Mott state by applying pressure, is found to carry $J_{rm{eff}}=3/2$ moments. The characteristic excitation peak in the RIXS spectrum maintains its destructive quantum interference of $J_{rm{eff}}$ at the Ta $L_2$-edge up to 10.4 GPa. Our exact diagonalization based DFT+DMFT calculations including spin-orbit coupling also reveal that the $J_{rm{eff}}=3/2$ character can be clearly identified under high pressure. These results establish the intriguing nature of the correlated metallic magnetic phase, which represents the first confirmed example of $J_{rm{eff}}$=3/2 moments residing in a metal. They also indicate that the pressure-induced superconductivity is likely unconventional and influenced by these $J_{rm{eff}}=3/2$ moments. Based on a self-energy analysis, we furthermore propose the possibility of doping-induced superconductivity related to a spin-freezing crossover.
The low-energy electronic structure of the J_{eff}=1/2 spin-orbit insulator Sr3Ir2O7 has been studied by means of angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. A comparison of the results for bilayer Sr3Ir2O7 with available literature data for the related single-layer compound Sr2IrO4 reveals qualitative similarities and similar J_{eff}=1/2 bandwidths for the two materials, but also pronounced differences in the distribution of the spectral weight. In particuar, photoemission from the J_{eff}=1/2 states appears to be suppressed. Yet, it is found that the Sr3Ir2O7 data are in overall better agreement with band-structure calculations than the data for Sr2IrO4.
Polycrystalline samples of NaYbO$_2$ are investigated by bulk magnetization and specific-heat measurements, as well as by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electron spin resonance (ESR) as local probes. No signatures of long-range magnetic order are found down to 0.3~K, evidencing a highly frustrated spin-liquid-like ground state in zero field. Above 2,T, signatures of magnetic order are observed in thermodynamic measurements, suggesting the possibility of a field-induced quantum phase transition. The $^{23}$Na NMR relaxation rates reveal the absence of magnetic order and persistent fluctuations down to 0.3~K at very low fields and confirm the bulk magnetic order above 2~T. The $H$-$T$ phase diagram is obtained and discussed along with the existing theoretical concepts for layered spin-$frac{1}{2}$ triangular-lattice antiferromagnets
In this work we study the complex entanglement between spin interactions, electron correlation and Janh-Teller structural instabilities in the 5d$^1$ $J_{eff}=frac{3}{2}$ spin-orbit coupled double perovskite $rm Ba_2NaOsO_6$ using first principles approaches. By combining non-collinear magnetic calculations with multipolar pseudospin Hamiltonian analysis and many-body techniques we elucidate the origin of the observed quadrupolar canted antifferomagnetic. We show that the non-collinear magnetic order originates from Jahn-Teller distortions due to the cooperation of Heisenberg exchange, quadrupolar spin-spin terms and both dipolar and multipolar Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions. We find a strong competition between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic canted and collinear quadrupolar magnetic phases: the transition from one magnetic order to another can be controlled by the strength of the electronic correlation ($U$) and by the degree of Jahn-Teller distortions.