No Arabic abstract
Ac and dc magnetization and heat-capacity (C) measurements performed on the pseudo-one-dimensional compound Sr$_3$CuIrO$_6$ reveal a competition between antiferromagnetic (AF) and ferromagnetic (F) exchange couplings, as evidenced by frequency dependence of ac susceptibility and by the absence of a C anomaly at the magnetic transition. The value of the saturation moment (about 0.35 $mu_B$/formula unit) is much smaller than expected for ferromagnetism from the two S=1/2 ions (Cu and Ir). Thus, this compound is not a ferromagnet in zero magnetic field, in contrast to earlier beliefs. Of particular importance is the finding that the value of the magnetic ordering temperature is sample dependent, sensitive to synthetic conditions resulting from deviations in oxygen/Cu content. We propose that this compound serves as a unique model system to test theories on random AF-F interaction in a chain system, considering that this competition can be tuned without any chemical substitution.
We report the signatures of dynamic spin fluctuations in the layered honeycomb Li$_3$Cu$_2$SbO$_6$ compound, with a 3$d$ S = 1/2 $d^9$ Cu$^{2+}$ configuration, through muon spin rotation and relaxation ($mu$SR) and neutron scattering studies. Our zero-field (ZF) and longitudinal-field (LF)-$mu$SR results demonstrate the slowing down of the Cu$^{2+}$ spin fluctuations below 4.0 K. The saturation of the ZF relaxation rate at low temperature, together with its weak dependence on the longitudinal field between 0 and 3.2 kG, indicates the presence of dynamic spin fluctuations persisting even at 80 mK without static order. Neutron scattering study reveals the gaped magnetic excitations with three modes at 7.7, 13.5 and 33 meV. Our DFT calculations reveal that the next nearest neighbors (NNN) AFM exchange ($J_{AFM}$ = 31 meV) is stronger than the NN FM exchange ($J_{FM}$ = -21 meV) indicating the importance of the orbital degrees of freedom. Our results suggest that the physics of Li$_3$Cu$_2$SbO$_6$ can be explained by an alternating AFM chain rather than the honeycomb lattice.
We report the results of ac and dc magnetization (M) and heat-capacity (C) measurements on the solid solution, Sr$_3$Cu$_{1-x}$Zn$_x$IrO$_6$. While the Zn end member is known to form in a rhombohedral pseudo one-dimensional K$_4$CdCl$_6$ structure with an antiferromagnetic ordering temperature of (T$_N$ =) 19 K, the Cu end member has been reported to form in a monoclinically distorted form with a Curie temperature of (T$_C$ =) 19 K. The magnetism of the Zn compound is found to be robust to synthetic conditions and is broadly consistent with the behavior known in the literature. However, we find a lower magnetic ordering temperature (T$_o$) for our Cu compound (~ 13 K), thereby suggesting that T$_o$ is sensitive to synthetic conditions. The Cu sample appears to be in a spin-glass-like state at low temperatures, judged by a frequency dependence of ac magnetic susceptibility and a broadening of the C anomaly at the onset of magnetic ordering, in sharp contrast to earlier proposals. Small applications of magnetic field, however, drive this system to ferromagnetism as inferred from the M data. Small substitutions for Cu/Zn (x = 0.75 or 0.25) significantly depress magnetic ordering; in other words, T$_o$ varies non-monotonically with x (T$_o$ ~ 6, 3 and 4 K for x = 0.25, 0.5, and 0.67 respectively). The plot of inverse susceptibility versus temperature is non-linear in the paramagnetic state as if correlations within (or among) the magnetic chains continuously vary with temperature. The results establish
We have studied the field and temperature dependence of the magnetization of single crystals of Sr3NiIrO6. These measurements evidence the presence of an easy axis of anisotropy and two anomalies in the magnetic susceptibility. Neutron powder diffraction realized on a polycrystalline sample reveals the emergence of magnetic reflections below 75 K with magnetic propagation vector k ~ (0, 0, 1), undetected in previous neutron studies [T.N. Nguyen and H.-C zur Loye, J. Solid State Chem., 117, 300 (1995)]. The nature of the magnetic ground state, and the presence of two anomalies common to this family of material, are discussed on the basis of the results obtained by neutron diffraction, magnetization measurements, and symmetry arguments.
Double-perovskite oxides that contain both 3d and 5d transition metal elements have attracted growing interest as they provide a model system to study the interplay of strong electron interaction and large spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Here, we report on experimental and theoretical studies of the magnetic and electronic properties of double-perovskites (La$_{1-x}$Sr$_x$)$_2$CuIrO$_6$ ($x$ = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3). The undoped La$_2$CuIrO$_6$ undergoes a magnetic phase transition from paramagnetism to antiferromagnetism at T$_N$ $sim$ 74 K and exhibits a weak ferromagnetic behavior below $T_C$ $sim$ 52 K. Two-dimensional magnetism that was observed in many other Cu-based double-perovskites is absent in our samples, which may be due to the existence of weak Cu-Ir exchange interaction. First-principle density-functional theory (DFT) calculations show canted antiferromagnetic (AFM) order in both Cu$^{2+}$ and Ir$^{4+}$ sublattices, which gives rise to weak ferromagnetism. Electronic structure calculations suggest that La$_2$CuIrO$_6$ is an SOC-driven Mott insulator with an energy gap of $sim$ 0.3 eV. Sr-doping decreases the magnetic ordering temperatures ($T_N$ and $T_C$) and suppresses the electrical resistivity. The high temperatures resistivity can be fitted using a variable-range-hopping model, consistent with the existence of disorders in these double-pervoskite compounds.
Sr$_{3}$ZnIrO$_{6}$ is an effective spin one-half Mott insulating iridate belonging to a family of magnets which includes a number of quasi-one dimensional systems as well as materials exhibiting three dimensional order. Here we present the results of an extensive investigation into the magnetism including heat capacity, a.c. susceptibility, muon spin rotation ($mu$SR), neutron diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering on the same sample. It is established that the material exhibits a transition at about $17$ K into a three-dimensional antiferromagnetic structure with propagation vector $boldsymbol{k}=(0,frac{1}{2},1)$ in the hexagonal setting of R$bar{3}$c and non-collinear moments of $0.87$$mu_B$ on Ir$^{4+}$ ions. Further we have observed a well defined powder averaged spin wave spectrum with zone boundary energy of $sim 5$ meV at $5$ K. We stress that a theoretical analysis shows that the observed non-collinear magnetic structure arises from anisotropic inter- and intra- chain exchange which has its origin in significant spin-orbit coupling. The model can satisfactorily explain the observed spin wave excitations.