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arXiv · cond-mat/0112007

Er2Ti2O7: Evidence of Order by Disorder in a Frustrated Antiferromagnet

Abstract

Er_2Ti_2O_7 has been suggested to be a realization of the frustrated < 111 > XY pyrochlore lattice antiferromagnet, for which theory predicts fluctuation-induced symmetry breaking in a highly degenerate ground state manifold. We present a theoretical analysis of the classical model compared to neutron scattering experiments on the real material, both below and above T_N = 1.173(2) K. The model correctly predicts the ordered magnetic structure, suggesting that the real system has order stabilised by zero-point quantum fluctuations that can be modelled by classical spin wave theory. However, the model fails to describe the excitations of the system, which show unusual features.

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J. D. M. Champion, M. J. Harris, P. C. W. Holdsworth, A. S. Wills, G. Balakrishnan, S. T. Bramwell, E. Cizmar, T. Fennell, J. S. Gardner, J. Lago, D. F. McMorrow, M. Orendac, A. Orendacova, D. McK. Paul, R. I. Smith, M. T. F. Telling, A. Wildes. 2003-07-16. Er2Ti2O7: Evidence of Order by Disorder in a Frustrated Antiferromagnet. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.68.020401

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