Ising models on the pentagon lattice

Frustrated Ising model on the Cairo pentagonal lattice

Through the direct decoration transformation approach, we obtain a general solution for the pentagonal Ising model, showing its equivalence to the isotropic free-fermion eight-vertex model. We study the ground-state phase diagram, in which one ferromagnetic (FM) state, one ferrimagnetic (FIM) state, and one frustrated state are found. Using the exact solution of the pentagonal Ising model, we discuss the finite-temperature phase diagrams and find a phase transition between the FIM state and the disordered state as well as a phase transition between the disordered state and the FM state. We also discuss some additional remarkable properties of the model, such as the magnetization, entropy, and specific heat, at finite temperature and at its low-temperature asymptotic limit. Because of the influence of the second-order phase transition between the frustrated and ferromagnetic phases, we obtain surprisingly low values of the entropy and the specific heat until the critical temperature is reached.

Magnetic frustration in an iron-based Cairo pentagonal lattice

The Fe3+ lattice in the Bi2Fe4O9 compound is found to materialize the first analogue of a magnetic pentagonal lattice. Because of its odd number of bonds per elemental brick, this lattice, subject to first neighbor antiferromagnetic interactions, is prone to geometric frustration. The Bi2Fe4O9 magnetic properties have been investigated by macroscopic magnetic measurements and neutron diffraction. The observed noncollinear magnetic arrangement is related to the one stabilized on a perfect tiling as obtained from a mean field analysis with direct space magnetic configuration calculations. The peculiarity of this structure arises from the complex connectivity of the pentagonal lattice, a novel feature compared to the well-known case of triangle-based lattices.