arXiv subjects

A. V. Mahajan

Publications and source records attributed to A. V. Mahajan.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Magnetic ground state of distorted 6H perovskite Ba$_3$CdIr$_2$O$_9$

Perovskite iridates of 6H hexagonal structure present a plethora of possibilities in terms of the variety of ground states resulting from a competition between spin-orbit coupling (SOC), hopping, noncubic crystal field ($Δ_{CFE}^{NC}$) and superexchange energy scales within the Ir$_2$O$_9$ dimers. Here we have investigated one such compound Ba$_3$CdIr$_2$O$_9$ by x-ray diffraction, dc magnetic susceptibility($χ$), heat capacity($C_p$) and also ${}^{113}$Cd nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. We have established that the magnetic ground state has a small but finite magnetic moment on Ir$^{5+}$ in this system, which likely arises from intradimer Ir-Ir hopping and local crystal distortions. Our heat capacity, NMR, and dc magnetic susceptibility measurements further rule out any kind of magnetic long-/short-range ordering among the Ir moments down to at least 2K. In addition, the magnetic heat capacity data shows linear temperature dependence at low temperatures under applied high fields ($>$ 30 kOe), suggesting gapless spin-density of states in the compound.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Structural, thermodynamic, and local probe investigations of a honeycomb material Ag$_{3}$LiMn$_{2}$O$_{6}$

The system Ag[Li$_{1/3}$Mn$_{2/3}$]O$_{2}$ belongs to a quaternary 3R-delafossite family and crystallizes in a monoclinic symmetry with space group $C\,2/m$ and the magnetic Mn$^{4+}$($S=3/2$) ions form a honeycomb network in the $ab$-plane. An anomaly around 50 K and the presence of antiferromagnetic (AFM) coupling (Curie-Weiss temperature $θ_{CW}\sim-51$ K) were inferred from our magnetic susceptibility data. The magnetic specific heat clearly manifests the onset of magnetic ordering in the vicinity of 48\,K and the recovered magnetic entropy, above the ordering temperature, falls short of the expected value, implying the presence of short-range magnetic correlations. The (ESR) line broadening on approaching the ordering temperature $T_{\rm N}$ could be described in terms of a Berezinski-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) scenario with $T_{\rm KT}=40(1)$ K. $^{7}$Li NMR line-shift probed as a function of temperature tracks the static susceptibility (K$_{iso}$) of magnetically coupled Mn$^{4+}$ ions. The $^{7}$Li spin-lattice relaxation rate (1/$T$$_{1}$) exhibits a sharp decrease below about 50 K. Combining our bulk and local probe measurements, we establish the presence of an ordered ground state for the honeycomb system Ag$_{3}$LiMn$_{2}$O$_{6}$.Our ab-initio electronic structure calculations suggest that in the $ab$-plane, the nearest neighbor (NN) exchange interaction is strong and AFM, while the next NN and the third NN exchange interactions are FM and AFM respectively. In the absence of any frustration the system is expected to exhibit long-range, AFM order, in agreement with experiment.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Unconventional magnetism in the 4d$^{4}$ based ($S=1$) honeycomb system Ag$_{3}$LiRu$_{2}$O$_{6}$

We have investigated the thermodynamic and local magnetic properties of the Mott insulating system Ag$_{3}$LiRu$_{2}$O$_{6}$ containing Ru$^{4+}$ (4$d$$^{4}$) for novel magnetism. The material crystallizes in a monoclinic $C2/m$ structure with RuO$_{6}$ octahedra forming an edge-shared two-dimensional honeycomb lattice with limited stacking order along the $c$-direction. The large negative Curie-Weiss temperature ($θ_{CW}$ = -57 K) suggests antiferromagnetic interactions among Ru$^{4+}$ ions though magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity show no indication of magnetic long-range order down to 1.8 K and 0.4 K, respectively. $^{7}$Li nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) shift follows the bulk susceptibility between 120-300 K and levels off below 120 K. Together with a power-law behavior in the temperature dependent spin-lattice relaxation rate between 0.2 and 2 K, it suggest dynamic spin correlations with gapless excitations. Electronic structure calculations suggest an $S = 1$ description of the Ru-moments and the possible importance of further neighbour interactions as also bi-quadratic and ring-exchange terms in determining the magnetic properties. Analysis of our $μ$SR data indicates spin freezing below 5 K but the spins remain on the borderline between static and dynamic magnetism even at 20 mK.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Structural and magnetic properties of a new cubic spinel LiRhMnO$_{4}$

We report the structural and magnetic properties of a new system LiRhMnO$_{4}$ (LRMO) through x-ray diffraction, bulk magnetization, heat capacity and $^{7}$Li nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements. LRMO crystallizes in the cubic space group $\mathit{Fd}$$\bar{3}$$\mathit{m}$. From the DC susceptibility data, we obtained the Curie-Weiss temperature $\mathrmθ_{\mathrm{CW}}$ = -26 K and Curie constant $\mathit{C}$ = 1.79 Kcm$^{3}$/mol suggesting antiferromagnetic correlations among the magnetic Mn$^{4+}$ ions with an effective spin $\mathit{S}$ = $\frac{3}{2}$. At $\mathit{H}$ = 50 Oe, the field cooled and zero-field cooled magnetizations bifurcate at a freezing temperature, $T_{f}$ = 4.45 K, which yields the frustration parameter $\mathit{f=\frac{\midθ_{CW}\mid}{T_{f}}}>$5. AC susceptibility, shows a cusp-like peak at around $T_{f}$, with the peak position shifting as a function of the driving frequency, confirming a spin-glass-like transition in LRMO. LRMO also shows typical spin-glass characteristics such as memory effect, aging effect and relaxation. In the heat capacity, there is no sharp anomaly down to 2 K indicative of long-range ordering. The field sweep $^{7}$Li NMR spectra show broadening with decreasing temperature without any spectral line shift. The $^{7}$Li NMR spin-lattice and spin-spin relaxation rates also show anomalies due to spin freezing near $T_{f}$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Synthesis and magnetic properties of a quantum magnet PbCuTeO5

We report the structural and magnetic properties of a quantum magnet PbCuTeO5. The triclinic structure of PbCuTeO5 comprises of alternating layers (ab-planes), in which one layer is composed of S = 1/2 dimer chains and another layer is composed of S = 1/2 trimer chains formed by corner-shared CuO4 units. Magnetic susceptibility data show a Curie-Weiss behavior with an antiferromagnetic Curie-Weiss temperature (Theta_CW) of -165 K. At low temperature, both the heat capacity Cp(T) and susceptibility data show an anomaly at Tc = 6 K with a weak ferromagnetic (WFM) moment suggesting the appearance of long-range order. The magnetization vs. field M(H) data at 2 K also provide evidence for WFM behavior. Magnetic frustration with a frustration parameter f = Theta_CW/Tc of about 27 is observed. Magnetic specific heat data suggest the presence of a large entropy in the paramagnetic region, well above Tc, suggesting the presence of short-range spin correlations. The observed results might originate from the frustrated network of S = 1/2 distorted checkerboard lattice formed due to the coupling of the spin chains via TeO6 octahedral units in the ab-plane.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Bose-Einstein condensation of triplons in the S=1 tetramer antiferromagnet K2Ni2(MoO4)3: A compound close to quantum critical point

The structure of K2Ni2(MoO4)3 consists of S=1 tetramers formed by Ni^{2+} ions. The magnetic susceptibility chi(T) and specific heat Cp(T) data on a single crystal show a broad maximum due to the low-dimensionality of the system with short-range spin correlations. A sharp peak is seen in chi(T) and Cp(T) at about 1.13 K, well below the broad maximum. This is an indication of magnetic long-range order i.e., the absence of spin-gap in the ground state. Interestingly, the application of a small magnetic field (H>0.1 T) induces magnetic behavior akin to Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of triplon excitations observed in some spin-gap materials. Our results demonstrate that the temperature-field (T-H) phase boundary follows a power-law (T-T_{N})propotional to H^(1/alpha) with the exponent 1/alpha close to 2/3, as predicted for BEC scenario. The observation of BEC of triplon excitations in small H infers that K2Ni2(MoO4)3 is located in the proximity of a quantum critical point, which separates the magnetically ordered and spin-gap regions of the phase diagram.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Singlet ground state in the spin-$1/2$ weakly coupled dimer compound NH$_4$[(V$_2$O$_3$)$_2$(4,4$^\prime$-$bpy$)$_2$(H$_2$PO$_4$)(PO$_4$)$_2$]$\cdot$0.5H$_2$O

We present the synthesis and a detailed investigation of structural and magnetic properties of polycrystalline NH$_4$[(V$_2$O$_3$)$_2$(4,4$^\prime$-$bpy$)$_2$(H$_2$PO$_4$)(PO$_4$)$_2$]$\cdot$0.5H$_2$O by means of x-ray diffraction, magnetic susceptibility, electron spin resonance, and $^{31}$P nuclear magnetic resonance measurements. Temperature dependent magnetic susceptibility could be described well using a weakly coupled spin-$1/2$ dimer model with an excitation gap $Δ/k_{\rm B}\simeq 26.1$ K between the singlet ground state and triplet excited states and a weak inter-dimer exchange coupling $J^\prime/k_{\rm B} \simeq 4.6$ K. A gapped chain model also describes the data well with a gap of about 20 K. The ESR intensity as a function of temperature traces the bulk susceptibility nicely. The isotropic Land$\acute{\rm e}$ $g$-factor is estimated to be about $g \simeq 1.97$, at room temperature. We are able to resolve the $^{31}$P NMR signal as coming from two inequivalent P-sites in the crystal structure. The hyperfine coupling constant between $^{31}$P nucleus and V$^{4+}$ spins is calculated to be $A_{\rm hf}(1) \simeq 2963$ Oe/$μ_{\rm B}$ and $A_{\rm hf}(2) \simeq 1466$ Oe/$μ_{\rm B}$ for the P(1) and P(2) sites, respectively. Our NMR shift and spin-lattice relaxation rate for both the $^{31}$P sites show an activated behaviour at low temperatures, further confirming the singlet ground state. The estimated value of the spin gap from the NMR data measured in an applied field of $H = 9.394$ T is consistent with the gap obtained from the magnetic susceptibility analysis using the dimer model. Because of a relatively small spin gap, NH$_4$[(V$_2$O$_3$)$_2$(4,4$^\prime$-$bpy$)$_2$(H$_2$PO$_4$)(PO$_4$)$_2$]$\cdot$0.5H$_2$O is a promising compound for further experimental studies under high magnetic fields.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2016

Ba$_{3}$M$_{x}$Ti$_{3-x}$O$_{9}$(M = Ir, Rh): A family of 5\textit{\textcolor{black}{d}}/4\textit{\textcolor{black}{d}}-based, diluted quantum spin liquids

We report the structural and magnetic properties of the 4}\textit{\textcolor{black}{d }}\textcolor{black}{(M = Rh) based and 5}\textit{\textcolor{black}{d }}\textcolor{black}{(M = Ir) based systems Ba$_{3}$M$_{x}$Ti$_{3-x}$O$_{9}$ (nominally $x$ = 0.5, 1). The studied compositions were found to crystallize in a hexagonal structure with the centrosymmetric space group }$P6_{3}/mmc$.\textcolor{black}{{} The structures comprise of A$_{2}$O$_{9}$ polyhedra (with the A site (possibly) statistically occupied by M and Ti) in which pairs of transition metal ions are stacked along the crystallographic }\textit{\textcolor{black}{c}}\textcolor{black}{-axis. These pairs form triangular bilayers in the $ab$-plane. The magnetic Rh and Ir ions occupy these bilayers, diluted by Ti ions even for $x$ = 1. These bilayers are separated by a triangular layer which is dominantly occupied by Ti ions. From magnetization measurements we infer strong antiferromagnetic couplings for all of the materials but the absence of any spin-freezing or spin-ordering down to 2~K. Further, specific heat measurements down to 0.35~K show no sign of a phase transition for any of the compounds. Based on these thermodynamic measurements we propose the emergence of a quantum spin liquid ground state for Ba$_{3}$Rh$_{0.5}$Ti$_{2.5}$O$_{9}$, and Ba$_{3}$Ir$_{0.5}$Ti$_{2.5}$O$_{9}$, in addition to the already reported Ba$_{3}$IrTi$_{2}$O$_{9}$. }

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Quantum Spin Liquid State in the Disordered Triangular Lattice Sc2Ga2CuO7

We present microscopic magnetic properties of a two dimensional triangular lattice Sc2Ga2CuO7, consisting of single and double triangular Cu planes. A Curie-Weiss temperature theta_CW = --44 K and an antiferromagnetic (AFM) exchange interaction J/KB = 35 K between Cu2+ (S = 1/2) spins in the triangular bi-plane are obtained from the analysis of magnetic susceptibility data. The intrinsic magnetic susceptibility extracted from 71Ga NMR shift data displays the presence of AFM short range spin correlations and remains finite down to 50 mK suggesting an non-singlet ground state. The nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate (1/T1) reveals a slowing down of Cu2+ spin fluctuations with decreasing T down to 100 mK. Magnetic specific heat (Cm) and 1/T1 exhibit a power law behavior at low temperatures implying gapless nature of the spin excitation spectrum. Absence of long range magnetic ordering down to ~ J/700, nonzero spin susceptibility at low T, and power law behavior of Cm and 1/T1 suggest a gapless quantum spin liquid (QSL) state. Our results demonstrate that persistent spin dynamics induced by frustration maintain a quantum-disordered state at T -> 0 in this triangular lattice antiferromagnet. This suggests that the low energy modes are dominated by spinon excitations in the QSL state due to randomness engendered by disorder and frustration.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Spin Liquid State in the 3D Frustrated Antiferromagnet PbCuTe2O6: NMR and muSR Studies

PbCuTe2O6 is a rare example of a spin liquid candidate featuring a three dimensional magnetic lattice. Strong geometric frustration arises from the dominant antiferromagnetic interaction which generates a hyperkagome network of Cu2+ ions although additional interactions enhance the magnetic lattice connectivity. Through a combination of magnetization measurements and local probe investigation by NMR and muSR down to 20 mK, we provide a robust evidence for the absence of magnetic freezing in the ground state. The local spin susceptibility probed by the NMR shift hardly deviates from the macroscopic one down to 1 K pointing to a homogeneous magnetic system with a low defect concentration. The saturation of the NMR shift and the sublinear power law temperature (T) evolution of the 1/T1 NMR relaxation rate at low T point to a non-singlet ground state favoring a gapless fermionic description of the magnetic excitations. Below 1 K a pronounced slowing down of the spin dynamics is witnessed, which may signal a reconstruction of spinon Fermi surface. Nonetheless, the compound remains in a fluctuating spin liquid state down to the lowest temperature of the present investigation.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Sc_{2}Ga_{2}CuO_{7}: A possible Quantum spin liquid near the percolation threshold

Sc$_{2}$Ga$_{2}$CuO$_{7}$ (SGCO) crystallizes in a hexagonal structure (space group: $P$$6$$_{3}/mmc$),\textcolor{black}{{} which can be seen as an alternating stacking of single and double triangular layers. Combining neutron, x-ray, and resonant x-ray diffraction we establish that the single triangular layers are mainly populated by non-magnetic Ga$^{3+}$ ions (85\% Ga and 15\% Cu), while the bi-layers have comparable population of Cu$^{2+}$ and Ga$^{3+}$} ions \textcolor{black}{(43\% Cu and 57\% Ga)}. Our susceptibility measurements in the temperature range 1.8 - 400 K give no indication of any spin-freezing or magnetic long-range order (LRO). We infer an effective paramagnetic moment $μ_{eff}=1.79\pm0.09$ $μ_{B}$ and a Curie-Weiss temperature $θ_{CW}$ of about $-44$ K, suggesting antiferromagnetic interactions between the Cu$^{2+}$($S=1/2$) ions. Low-temperature neutron powder diffraction data showed no evidence for LRO down to 1.5 K. In our specific heat data as well, no anomalies were found down to 0.35 K, in the field range 0-140 kOe.\textcolor{black}{{} The magnetic specific heat, $C_{m}$, exhibits a broad maximum at around 2.5 K followed by a nearly power law $C$$_{m}$$\propto$ $T$$^α$ behavior at lower temperatures, with $α$ increasing from }0.3\textcolor{black}{{} to} 1.9\textcolor{black}{{} as a function of field for fields upto 90 kOe and then remaining at 1.9 for fields upto 140 kOe. Our results point to a disordered ground state in SGCO. }

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Antiferromagnetism of Zn$_2$VO(PO$_4)_2$ and the dilution with Ti$^{4+}$

We report static and dynamic properties of the antiferromagnetic compound Zn$_{2}$(VO)(PO$_{4}$)$_{2}$, and the consequences of non-magnetic Ti$^{4+}$ doping at the V$^{4+}$ site. $^{31}$P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra and spin-lattice relaxation rate ($1/T_1$) consistently show the formation of the long-range antiferromagnetic order below $T_N= 3.8-3.9$\,K. The critical exponent $β=0.33 \pm 0.02$ estimated from the temperature dependence of the sublattice magnetization measured by $^{31}$P NMR at 9.4\,MHz is consistent with universality classes of three-dimensional spin models. The isotropic and axial hyperfine couplings between the $^{31}$P nuclei and V$^{4+}$ spins are $A_{\rm hf}^{\rm iso} = (9221 \pm 100)$ Oe/$μ_{\rm B}$ and $A_{\rm hf}^{\rm ax} = (1010 \pm 50)$ Oe/$μ_{\rm B}$, respectively. Magnetic susceptibility data above 6.5\,K and heat capacity data above 4.5\,K are well described by quantum Monte-Carlo simulations for the Heisenberg model on the square lattice with $J\simeq 7.7$\,K. This value of $J$ is consistent with the values obtained from the NMR shift, $1/T_1$ and electron spin resonance (ESR) intensity analysis. Doping Zn$_2$VO(PO$_4)_2$ with non-magnetic Ti$^{4+}$ leads to a marginal increase in the $J$ value and the overall dilution of the spin lattice. In contrast to the recent \textit{ab initio} results, we find neither evidence for the monoclinic structural distortion nor signatures of the magnetic one-dimensionality for doped samples with up to 15\% of Ti$^{4+}$. The Néel temperature $T_{\rm N}$ decreases linearly with increasing the amount of the non-magnetic dopant.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2015

Observation of S = 1/2 quasi-one-dimensional magnetic and magneto-dielectric behavior in a cubic SrCuTe2O6

We investigate magnetic, thermal, and dielectric properties of SrCuTe2O6, which is isostructural to PbCuTe2O6, a recently found, Cu-based 3D frustrated magnet with a corner sharing triangular spin network having dominant first and second nearest neighbor (nn) couplings [B. Koteswararao, et al. Phys. Rev. B 90, 035141 (2014)]. Although SrCuTe2O6 has a structurally similar spin network, but the magnetic data exhibit the characteristic features of a typical quasi -one-dimensional magnet, which mainly resulted from the magnetically dominant third nn coupling, uniform chains. The magnetic properties of this system are studied via magnetization (M), heat capacity (Cp), dielectric constant, measurements along with ab-initio band structure calculations. Magnetic susceptibility chi(T) data show a broad maximum at 32 K and the system orders at low temperatures TN1=5.5 K and TN2=4.5 K, respectively. The analysis of chi(T) data gives an intra-chain coupling, J3/kB, to be about - 42 K with non-negligible frustrated inter-chain couplings (J1/kB and J2/kB). The hopping parameters obtained from LDA band structure calculations also suggest the presence of coupled uniform chains. The observation of simultaneous anomalies in dielectric constant at TN1 and TN2 suggests the presence of magneto-dielectric effect in SrCuTe2O6. A magnetic phase diagram is also built based on M, C p, and dielectric constant results.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Magnetic properties and heat capacity of the three-dimensional frustrated S=1/2 antiferromagnet PbCuTe2O6

We report magnetic susceptibility (chi) and heat capacity Cp measurements along with ab-initio electronic structure calculations on PbCuTe2O6, a compound made up of a three dimensional 3D network of corner-shared triangular units. The presence of antiferromagnetic interactions is inferred from a Curie-Weiss temperature (theta_CW) of about -22 K from the chi(T) data. The magnetic heat capacity (Cm) data show a broad maximum at T^max ~ 1.15 K (i.e. T^max/theta_CW ~ 0.05), which is analogous to the the observed broad maximum in the Cm/T data of a hyper-Kagome system, Na4Ir3O8. In addition, Cm data exhibit a weak kink at T^* ~ 0.87 K. While the T^max is nearly unchanged, the T^* is systematically suppressed in an increasing magnetic field (H) up to 80 kOe. For H > 80 kOe, the Cm data at low temperatures exhibit a characteristic power-law (T^α) behavior with an exponent α slightly less than 2. Hopping integrals obtained from the electronic structure calculations show the presence of strongly frustrated 3D spin interactions along with non-negligible unfrustrated couplings. Our results suggest that PbCuTe2O6 is a candidate material for realizing a 3D quantum spin liquid state at high magnetic fields.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

A S=1/2 vanadium-based geometrically frustrated spinel system Li2ZnV3O8

We report the synthesis and characterization of Li2ZnV3O8, which is a new Zn-doped LiV2O4 system containing only tetravalent vanadium. A Curie-Weiss susceptibility with a Curie-Weiss temperature of CW ~214 K suggests the presence of strong antiferromagnetic correlations in this system. We have observed a splitting between the zero-field cooled ZFC and field cooled FC susceptibility curves below 6 K. A peak is present in the ZFC curve around 3.5 K suggestive of spin-freezing . Similarly, a broad hump is also seen in the inferred magnetic heat capacity around 9 K. The consequent entropy change is only about 8% of the value expected for an ordered S = 1=2 system. This reduction indicates continued presence of large disorder in the system in spite of the large CW, which might result from strong geometric frustration in the system. We did not find any temperature T dependence in our 7Li nuclear magnetic resonance NMR shift down to 6 K (an abrupt change in the shift takes place below 6 K) though considerable T-dependence has been found in literature for LiV2O4- undoped or with other Zn/Ti contents. Consistent with the above observation, the 7Li nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T1 is relatively small and nearly T-independent except a small increase close to the freezing temperature, once again, small compared to undoped or 10% Zn or 20% Ti-doped LiV2O4.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Unconventional magnetism in the spin-orbit driven Mott insulators Ba3MIr2O9 (M=Sc,Y)

We have carried out detailed bulk and local probe studies on the hexagonal oxides Ba3MIr2O9 (M=Sc,Y) where Ir is expected to have a fractional oxidation state of +4.5. In the structure, Ir-Ir dimers are arranged in an edge shared triangular network parallel to the ab plane. Whereas only weak anomalies are evident in the susceptibility data, clearer anomalies are present in the heat capacity data. Our 45Sc nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) lineshape (first order quadrupole split) is symmetric at room temperature but becomes progressively asymmetric with decreasing temperatures. This is suggestive of distortions in the structure which could arise from progressive tilt/rotation of the IrO6 octahedra with a decrease in temperature T. The 45Sc NMR spectral weight shifts near the reference frequency with decreasing T indicating the development of magnetic singlet regions. Around 10K, a significant change in the spectrum takes place with a large intensity appearing near the reference frequency but with the spectrum remaining multi-peak. It appears from our 45Sc NMR data that in Ba3ScIr2O9 significant disorder is still present below 10K. In the case of Ba3YIr2O9, the 89Y NMR spectral lines are asymmetric at high temperatures but become nearly symmetric (single magnetic environment) below T~70K. Our 89Y spectra and T1 measurements confirm the onset of long range ordering (LRO) from a bulk of the sample at 4K in this compound. Our results suggest that Ba3YIr2O9 might be structurally distorted at room temperature (via, for example, tilt/rotations of the IrO6 octahedra) but becomes progressively a regular triangular lattice with decreasing T. The effective magnetic moments and magnetic entropy changes are strongly reduced in Ba3YIr2O9 as compared to those expected for a S=1/2 system. Similar effects have been found in other iridates which naturally have strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC).

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Possible spin-orbit driven spin-liquid ground state in the double perovskite phase of Ba3YIr2O9

We report the structural transformation of hexagonal Ba3YIr2O9 to a cubic double perovskite form (stable in ambient conditions) under an applied pressure of 8GPa at 1273K. While the ambient pressure (AP) synthesized sample undergoes long-range magnetic ordering at 4K, the high pressure(HP) synthesized sample does not order down to 2K as evidenced from our susceptibility, heat capacity and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements. Further, for the HP sample, our heat capacity data have the form gamma*T+beta*T3 in the temperature (T) range of 2-10K with the Sommerfeld coefficient gamma=10mJ/mol-Ir K2. The 89Y NMR shift has no T-dependence in the range of 4-120K and its spin-lattice relaxation rate varies linearly with T in the range of 8-45K (above which it is T-independent). Resistance measurements of both the samples confirm that they are semiconducting. Our data provide evidence for the formation of a 5d based, gapless, quantum spin-liquid (QSL) in the cubic (HP) phase of Ba3YIr2O9. In this picture, the T term in the heat capacity and the linear variation of 89Y 1/T1 arises from excitations out of a spinon Fermi surface. Our findings lend credence to the theoretical suggestion [G. Chen, R. Pereira, and L. Balents, Phys. Rev. B 82, 174440 (2010)] that strong spin-orbit coupling can enhance quantum fluctuations and lead to a QSL state in the double perovskite lattice.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

75As NMR local probe study of magnetism in (Eu1-xKx)Fe2As2

75As NMR measurements were performed as a function of temperature and doping in (Eu1-xKx)Fe2As2 (x=0,0.38,0.5,0.7) samples. The large Eu2+ moments and their fluctuations are found to dominate the 75As NMR properties. The 75As nuclei close to the Eu2+ moments likely have a very short spin-spin relaxation time (T2) and are wiped out of our measurement window. The 75As nuclei relatively far from Eu2+ moments are probed in this study. Increasing the Eu content progressively decreases the signal intensity with no signal found for the full-Eu sample (x=0). The large 75As NMR linewidth arises from an inhomogeneous magnetic environment around them. The spin lattice relaxation rate (1/T1) for x=0.5 and 0.7 samples is nearly independent of temperature above 100K and results from a coupling to paramagnetic fluctuations of the Eu2+ moments. The behavior of 1/T1 at lower temperatures has contributions from the antiferromagnetic fluctuations of the Eu2+ moments as also the fluctuations intrinsic to the FeAs planes and from superconductivity.

cond-mat.supr-con↗