Spin dynamics and magnetic order in magnetically frustrated Tb2Sn2O7

Probing the strongly correlated magnetic state of Co2C nanoparticles at low temperatures usingμSR

Co2C nanoparticles (NPs) are amongst transition metal carbides whose magnetic properties have not been well explored. An earlier study (Royet al2021J. Phys.: Condens. Matter33375804) showed that a pellet made from Co2C NPs exhibits exchange bias (EB) effect below a temperature,TEB= 50 K and a spin glass (SG) feature emerges belowTSG= 5 K. In the current study we use magnetic, electrical transport, specific heat, and muon spin rotation (μSR) measurements to explore further the magnetic properties of a pellet made with 40 nm diameter pure Co2C NPs. We uncover the onset of Kondo localization at Kondo temperatureTK(= 40.1 K), which is close to the onset temperature (TEB) of the EB effect. A crossover from the Kondo-screened scenario to the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction-dominated regime is also observed forT Collapse

Key Words

• Kondo effect
• exchange bias
• magnetic nanoparticles
• muon spin relaxation
• spin glass

Collapse

MESH Headings Collapse

Grants Collapse

Affiliation(s)

Nirmal Roy Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh 208016, India
P C Mahato Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh 208016, India
Suprotim Saha Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh 208016, India
M Telling ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot Oxon OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
J S Lord ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot Oxon OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
D T Adroja ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, Didcot Oxon OX11 0QX, United Kingdom Highly Correlated Matter Research Group, Physics Department, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, South Africa
S S Banerjee Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh 208016, India

Collapse

Signatures of a Spin-1/2 Cooperative Paramagnet in the Diluted Triangular Lattice of Y_{2}CuTiO_{6}

We present a combination of thermodynamic and dynamic experimental signatures of a disorder driven dynamic cooperative paramagnet in a 50% site diluted triangular lattice spin-1/2 system: Y_{2}CuTiO_{6}. Magnetic ordering and spin freezing are absent down to 50 mK, far below the Curie-Weiss scale (-θ_{CW}) of ∼134  K. We observe scaling collapses of the magnetic field and temperature dependent magnetic heat capacity and magnetization data, respectively, in conformity with expectations from the random singlet physics. Our experiments establish the suppression of any freezing scale, if at all present, by more than 3 orders of magnitude, opening a plethora of interesting possibilities such as disorder stabilized long range quantum entangled ground states.

Magnetic Transition in Monolayer VSe2 via Interface Hybridization

Magnetism in monolayer (ML) VSe₂ has attracted broad interest in spintronics, while existing reports have not reached consensus. Using element-specific X-ray magnetic circular dichroism, a magnetic transition in ML VSe₂ has been demonstrated at the contamination-free interface between Co and VSe₂. Through interfacial hybridization with a Co atomic overlayer, a magnetic moment of about 0.4 μ_B per V atom in ML VSe₂ is revealed, approaching values predicted by previous theoretical calculations. Promotion of the ferromagnetism in ML VSe₂ is accompanied by its antiferromagnetic coupling to Co and a reduction in the spin moment of Co. In comparison to the absence of this interface-induced ferromagnetism at the Fe/ML MoSe₂ interface, these findings at the Co/ML VSe₂ interface provide clear proof that the ML VSe₂, initially with magnetic disorder, is on the verge of magnetic transition.

Unveiling spin-glass transition and antiferromagnetic order by μSR studies in spin-chain Sm2BaNiO5

We report the zero-field and longitudinal field muon spin relaxation studies in a spin-chain compound Sm₂BaNiO₅. Two magnetic transitions, that have not been previously detected by the heat capacity and magnetization measurements, are confirmed at 46 and 9 K. The antiferromagnetic order is suggested at 46 K. Analysis of the muon spin polarization unveils the spin-glass transition at 9 K. Time-field scaling relation of the muon spin polarization verifies the spin-spin autocorrelation function following the cut-off power law, which is approximated by the Ogielski form, as employed numerically for characterizing the spin-glasses.

Short-range correlations in the magnetic ground state of Na₄Ir₃O₈

The magnetic ground state of the J(eff)=1/2 hyperkagome lattice in Na₄Ir₃O₈ is explored via combined bulk magnetization, muon spin relaxation, and neutron scattering measurements. A short-range, frozen state comprised of quasistatic moments develops below a characteristic temperature of T(F)=6  K, revealing an inhomogeneous distribution of spins occupying the entirety of the sample volume. Quasistatic, short-range spin correlations persist until at least 20 mK and differ substantially from the nominally dynamic response of a quantum spin liquid. Our data demonstrate that an inhomogeneous magnetic ground state arises in Na₄Ir₃O₈ driven either by disorder inherent to the creation of the hyperkagome lattice itself or stabilized via quantum fluctuations.

Possible spin frustration in Nd2Ti2O7 probed by muon spin relaxation

Muon spin relaxation on Nd2Ti2O7 (NTO) and NdLaTi2O7 (NLTO) compounds are presented. The time spectra for both compounds are as expected for the paramagnetic state at high temperatures, but deviate from the exponential function below around 100 K. Firstly, the muon spin relaxation rate increases with decreasing temperature and then levels off below around 10 K, which is reminiscent of the frustrated systems. An enhancement of the relaxation rate by a longitudinal field in the paramagnetic state is observed for NTO and eliminated by a magnetic dilution for the NLTO sample. This suggests that the spectral density is modified by a magnetic dilution and thus indicates that the spins behave cooperatively rather than individually. The zero-field measurement at 0.3 K indicates that the magnetic ground state for NTO is ferromagnetic.

Dynamical splayed ferromagnetic ground state in the quantum spin ice Yb(2)Sn(2)O(7)

From magnetic, specific heat, (170)Yb Mössbauer effect, neutron diffraction, and muon spin relaxation measurements on polycrystalline Yb(2)Sn(2)O(7), we show that below the first order transition at 0.15 K all of the Yb(3+) ions are long-range magnetically ordered and each has a moment of 1.1 μ(B) which lies at ≃ 10° to a common fourfold cubic axis. The four sublattice moments have four different directions away from this axis and are therefore noncoplanar. We term this arrangement splayed ferromagnetism. This ground state has a dynamical component with a fluctuation rate in the megahertz range. The net ferromagnetic exchange interaction has an anisotropy that favors the local threefold axis. We discuss our results in terms of the phase diagram proposed by Savary and Balents [Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 037202 (2012)] for a pyrochlore lattice of Kramers 1/2 effective spins.

Persistent spin dynamics intrinsic to amplitude-modulated long-range magnetic order

An incommensurate elliptical helical magnetic structure in the frustrated coupled-spin-chain system FeTe(2)O(5)Br is surprisingly found to persist down to 53(3) mK (T/T(N)~1/200), according to neutron scattering and muon spin relaxation. In this state, finite spin fluctuations at T→0 are evidenced by muon depolarization, which is in agreement with specific-heat data indicating the presence of both gapless and gapped excitations. We thus show that the amplitude-modulated magnetic order intrinsically accommodates contradictory persistent spin dynamics and long-range order and can serve as a model structure to investigate their coexistence.

Magnetic frustration in the disordered pyrochlore Yb(2)GaSbO(7)

In the pyrochlore Yb(2)GaSbO(7), the Yb(3+) sublattice forms a network of corner sharing tetrahedra and the second sublattice is made up of disordered, non-magnetic Ga(3+) and Sb(5+) ions. We have examined this compound using magnetic susceptibility, (170)Yb Mössbauer spectroscopy (down to 0.03 K) and muon spin relaxation (μSR) (down to 0.02 K) measurements. We establish the size of the Yb(3+) magnetic moments and that of the Yb(3+)-Yb(3+) coupling. At low temperatures, the correlated moments fluctuate between directions that are well tilted relative to the local [111] axis. The lattice disorder does not quench the frustration induced low temperature spin fluctuations but it does remove the first order dynamic transition that is present in the crystallographically ordered counterpart Yb(2)Ti(2)O(7). Below 1.0 K, the fluctuation rate of the correlated moments decreases progressively as the temperature is reduced and the moments remain dynamic down to 0.02 K where the rate is 7 × 10(7) s(-1). Magnetic frustration is operative in Yb(2)GaSbO(7) where the Yb(3+)-Yb(3+) interaction is antiferromagnetic as it is in Yb(2)Ti(2)O(7) where the interaction is ferromagnetic.

Calculation of the expected zero-field muon relaxation rate in the geometrically frustrated rare earth pyrochlore Gd(2)Sn(2)O(7) antiferromagnet

The magnetic insulator Gd(2)Sn(2)O(7) is one of many geometrically frustrated magnetic materials known to exhibit a nonzero muon spin polarization relaxation rate, λ(T), down to the lowest temperature (T) studied. Such behaviour is typically interpreted as signalling the presence of persistent spin dynamics (PSD) of the host material. In the case of Gd(2)Sn(2)O(7), such PSD comes as a surprise since magnetic specific heat measurements suggest conventional gapped magnons, which would naively lead to an exponentially vanishing λ(T) as T → 0. In contrast to most materials that display PSD, the ordered phase of Gd(2)Sn(2)O(7) is well characterized and both the nature and the magnitude of the interactions have been inferred from the magnetic structure and the temperature dependence of the magnetic specific heat. Based on this understanding, the temperature dependence of the muon spin polarization relaxation through the scattering of spin waves (magnons) is calculated. The result explicitly shows that, despite the unusual extensive number of weakly dispersive (gapped) excitations characterizing Gd(2)Sn(2)O(7), a remnant of the zero modes of the parent frustrated pyrochlore Heisenberg antiferromagnet, the temperature dependence of the calculated λ(T) differs dramatically from the experimental one. Indeed, the calculation conforms to the naive expectation of an exponential collapse of λ(T) at temperatures below ∼ 0.7 K. This result, for the first time, illustrates crisply and quantitatively the paradox that presents itself with the pervasive occurrence of PSD in highly frustrated magnetic systems as evinced by muon spin relaxation measurements.

Anisotropic exchange in frustrated pyrochlore Yb(2)Ti(2)O(7)

The local Yb(3+) magnetic susceptibility tensor was recently measured in the frustrated pyrochlore compound Yb(2)Ti(2)O(7) by means of in-field polarized neutron scattering in a single crystal. A very anisotropic effective exchange tensor was derived for the Yb(3+) ion. Using this result, we reinterpret here the data for the powder susceptibility in Yb(2)Ti(2)O(7). We show that, in the case of a well-isolated Kramers doublet with anisotropic g and exchange tensors, the inverse susceptibility for a powder sample does not strictly obey a Curie-Weiss law at low temperature. We discuss the consequences regarding the paramagnetic Curie temperature, usually taken as a measure of the exchange/dipolar interaction, and the exotic 'slow fluctuation' ground state of Yb(2)Ti(2)O(7).

Neutron scattering investigations of the partially ordered pyrochlore Tb(2)Sn(2)O(7)

Neutron scattering measurements have been performed on polycrystalline Tb(2)Sn(2)O(7) at temperatures above and below that of the phase transition, T(N) = 0.87 K, to investigate further the spin dynamics in the magnetically ordered state. In particular, new neutron spin echo results are presented showing a dependence on Q in the dynamics. We show evidence of the coexistence of static ferromagnetism and dynamically fluctuating spins down to 30 mK and we make a comparison of this partially ordered system to the spin liquid Tb(2)Ti(2)O(7).

Static magnetic order in Tb2Sn2O7 revealed by muon spin relaxation with exterior muon implantation

Tb2Sn2O7 has been proposed as an ordered spin ice, but the precise nature of the low temperature magnetic state remains uncertain. Recent independent muon spin relaxation (microSR) investigations suggest the possibility of exotic ground states with static order precluded on time scales longer than 10(-6) s. Here the more conventional hypothesis of canted ferromagnetism is tested by means of microSR with the muons stopped outside the sample, as well as ultralow field bulk magnetization measurements. The field cooled state shows conventional static order, while the zero field cooled state may be interpreted in terms of conventional closed domains. These results rule out purely dynamical ground states and illustrate the value of exterior muon implantation as a complement to the conventional technique.

Magnetism in geometrically frustrated YMnO3 under hydrostatic pressure studied with muon spin relaxation

The ferroelectromagnet YMnO3 consists of weakly coupled triangular layers of S=2 spins. Below T(N) approximately equal to 70 K muon-spin relaxation data show two oscillatory relaxing signals due to magnetic order, with no purely relaxing signals resolvable (which would require different coexisting spin distributions). The transition temperature T(N) increases with applied hydrostatic pressure, even though the ordered moment decreases. These results suggest that pressure increases both the exchange coupling between the layers and the frustration within the layers.