Electronic structure of insulating salts of the kappa -(BEDT-TTF)2X family studied by low-temperature specific-heat measurements

Spin Vortex Crystal Order in Organic Triangular Lattice Compound

Organic salts represent an ideal experimental playground for studying the interplay between magnetic and charge degrees of freedom, which has culminated in the discovery of several spin-liquid candidates such as κ-(ET)_{2}Cu_{2}(CN)_{3} (κ-Cu). Recent theoretical studies indicate the possibility of chiral spin liquids stabilized by ring exchange, but the parent states with chiral magnetic order have not been observed in this material family. In this Letter, we discuss the properties of the recently synthesized κ-(BETS)_{2}Mn[N(CN)_{2}]_{3} (κ-Mn). Based on analysis of specific heat, magnetic torque, and NMR measurements combined with ab initio calculations, we identify a spin-vortex crystal order. These observations definitively confirm the importance of ring exchange in these materials and support the proposed chiral spin-liquid scenario for triangular lattice organics.

Quasi-continuous transition from a Fermi liquid to a spin liquid in κ-(ET)2Cu2(CN)3

The Mott metal-insulator transition—a manifestation of Coulomb interactions among electrons—is known as a discontinuous transition. Recent theoretical studies, however, suggest that the transition is continuous if the Mott insulator carries a spin liquid with a spinon Fermi surface. Here, we demonstrate the case of a quasi-continuous Mott transition from a Fermi liquid to a spin liquid in an organic triangular-lattice system κ-(ET)₂Cu₂(CN)₃. Transport experiments performed under fine pressure tuning have found that as the Mott transition is approached, the Fermi liquid coherence temperature continuously falls to the scale of kelvins, with a divergent quasi-particle decay rate on the metal side, and the charge gap continuously closes on the insulator side. A Clausius-Clapeyron analysis provides thermodynamic evidence for the extremely weak first-order nature of the transition. These results provide additional support for the existence of a spinon Fermi surface, which becomes an electron Fermi surface when charges are delocalized.

Several organic materials exhibit spin liquid phases, which are predicted to host exotic spinon excitations that emerge from non-local quantum effects. Here, the authors identify a quasi-continuous phase transition in κ-(ET)₂Cu₂(CN)₃ that may be associated with the presence of spinons.

Superconductivity of κ-(BEDT–TTF)2 Cu[N(CN) 2]Br: Isotope Effect Revisited

In 1991, we reported a normal isotope effect in organic superconductor κ-(BEDT–TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br, when all the hydrogen atoms of BEDT – TTF were replaced with deuterium. In other words, Tc was depressed by as much as 0.9 K, in contrast to the “inverse isotope effect” commonly observed in 10K-class organic superconductors. Recently, it was reported that the deuterated κ-(BEDT–TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br shows an insulating nature when cooled very rapidly. Therefore, it is necessary for us to reexamine the superconducting transition of both deuterated and undeuterated κ- (BEDT – TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br by SQUID measurements with special attention to the cooling speed. We studied the effect of cooling rate ranging from 10 K/min down to as slow as 0.02 K/min, and observed a significant effect not only on the superconducting transition temperature Tc but also on the superconducting volume fraction.

Scaling theory of the mott transition and breakdown of the Grüneisen scaling near a finite-temperature critical end point

We discuss a scaling theory of the lattice response in the vicinity of a finite-temperature critical end point. The thermal expansivity is shown to be more singular than the specific heat such that the Grüneisen ratio diverges as the critical point is approached, except for its immediate vicinity. More generally, we express the thermal expansivity in terms of a scaling function which we explicitly evaluate for the two-dimensional Ising universality class. Recent thermal expansivity measurements on the layered organic conductor κ-(BEDT-TTF)2X close to the Mott transition are well described by our theory.

Spin ordering and enhancement of electronic heat capacity in an organic system of (DI-DCNQI)(2)(Ag(1-x)Cu(x))

Thermodynamic measurements on the organic system of (DI-DCNQI)(2)(Ag(1-x)Cu(x)) (x = 0,0.05, 0.71, 0.90) were performed to study the change from the charge-ordered (CO) insulating state to the π-d hybridized metallic state. A thermal anomaly associated with the antiferromagnetic transition that occurred in the charge-ordered lattice was observed at 6.2 K from the temperature dependence of the heat capacity of (DI-DCNQI)(2)Ag. We have found that the magnetic entropy around the peak is only 1.5% of Rln2, corresponding to the full entropy expected for the formula unit of (DI-DCNQI)(2)Ag. This anomaly is suppressed down to about 3 K in the x = 0.05 sample owing to the disorders induced in the CO lattice. In the metallic concentration of x = 0.90, the low-temperature electronic heat capacity coefficient, γ was found to be enhanced by up to about 63.6 mJ K(-2) mol(-1) probably owing to the cooperative effect of π-d hybridization and intersite Coulomb interaction (V).

Thermodynamic investigation of the charge-ordered insulating state of the quasi-one-dimensional organic system (DI-DCNQI)2Ag

Heat capacity measurements of a charge-ordered organic conductor (DI-DCNQI)2Ag have been performed in a temperature range between 0.3 and 14 K. We found no thermal anomaly at the Néel temperature ( T(N) = 5.5 K) but instead a T-linear term suggestive of the spin excitations of one-dimensional character in the charge-ordered insulating state. The analysis of the T-linear term and the excess entropy indicates that the charge fluctuations in the charge-ordered state influence the growth of spin excitations at elevated temperatures, which seems to be a peculiar aspect of a 1D charge-ordered system.

kappa-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)(2)]Br: a fully gapped strong-coupling superconductor

High-resolution specific-heat measurements of the organic superconductor kappa-(BEDT-TTF)(2)-Cu[N(CN)(2)]Br in the superconducting ( B = 0) and normal ( B = 14 T) states show a clearly resolvable anomaly at T(c) = 11.5 K and an electronic contribution, C(es), which can be reasonably well described by strong-coupling BCS theory. Most importantly, C(es) vanishes exponentially in the superconducting state which gives evidence for a fully gapped order parameter.