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arXiv · 1706.08409

Classical Spin Nematic Transition in LiGa$_{0.95}$In$_{0.05}$Cr$_4$O$_8$

R. Wawrzyńczak·Y. Tanaka·M. Yoshida·Y. Okamoto·P. Manuel·N. Casati·Z. Hiroi·M. Takigawa·G. J. Nilsen
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Abstract

We present the results of a combined $^7$Li NMR and diffraction study on LiGa$_{0.95}$In$_{0.05}$Cr$_4$O$_8$, a member of LiGa$_{1-x}$In$_{x}$Cr$_4$O$_8$ "breathing" pyrochlore family. Via specific heat and NMR measurements, we find that the complex sequence of first-order transitions observed for $x=0$ is replaced by a single, apparently second-order transition at $T_f=11$ K. Neutron and X-ray diffraction rule out both structural symmetry lowering and magnetic long-range order as the origin of this transition. Instead, reverse Monte Carlo fitting of the magnetic diffuse scattering indicates that the low temperature phase may be described as a collinear spin nematic state, characterized by a quadrupolar order parameter. This state also shows signs of short range order between collinear spin arrangements on tetrahedra, revealed by mapping the reverse Monte Carlo spin configurations onto a three-state color model describing the manifold of nematic states.

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R. Wawrzyńczak, Y. Tanaka, M. Yoshida, Y. Okamoto, P. Manuel, N. Casati, Z. Hiroi, M. Takigawa, G. J. Nilsen. 2017-06-26. Classical Spin Nematic Transition in LiGa$_{0.95}$In$_{0.05}$Cr$_4$O$_8$. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.119.087201

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