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arXiv · 1510.02373

Nematic ordering in pyrochlore antiferromagnets: high-field phase of chromium spinel oxides

Emika Takata·Tsutomu Momoi·Masaki Oshikawa
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Abstract

Motivated by recent observation of a new high field phase near saturation in chromium spinels $A$Cr$_2$O$_4$ ($A=$ Zn, Cd, Hg), we study the $S = 3/2$ pyrochlore Heisenberg antiferromagnet with biquadratic interactions. Magnon instability analysis at the saturation field reveals that a very small biquadratic interaction can induce magnon pairing in pyrochlore antiferromagnets, which leads to the emergence of a ferro-quadrupolar phase, or equivalently a spin nematic phase, below the saturation field. We present the magnetic phase diagram in an applied field, studying both $S=3/2$ and $S=1$ spin systems. The relevance of our result to chromium spinels is discussed.

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Emika Takata, Tsutomu Momoi, Masaki Oshikawa. 2015-10-08. Nematic ordering in pyrochlore antiferromagnets: high-field phase of chromium spinel oxides. https://arxiv.org/abs/1510.02373

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