arXiv subjects

M. E. Zhitomirsky

Publications and source records attributed to M. E. Zhitomirsky.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Antiferromagnetic resonance in the cubic iridium hexahalides (NH$_4$)$_2$IrCl$_6$ and K$_2$IrCl$_6$

We report on high-field electron spin resonance studies of two iridium hexahalide compounds, (NH$_4$)$_2$IrCl$_6$ and K$_2$IrCl$_6$. In the paramagnetic state, our measurements reveal isotropic $g$-factors $g = 1.79$(1) for the Ir$^{4+}$ ions, in agreement with their cubic symmetries. Most importantly, in the magnetically ordered state, we observe two magnon modes with zero-field gaps of 11.3 and 14.2 K for (NH$_4$)$_2$IrCl$_6$ and K$_2$IrCl$_6$, respectively. Based on that and using linear spin-wave theory, we estimate the nearest-neighbor exchange couplings and anisotropic Kitaev interactions, $J_1/k_B=10.3$ K, $K/k_B=0.7$ K for (NH$_4$)$_2$IrCl$_6$, and $J_1/k_B=13.8$ K, $K/k_B=0.9$ K for K$_2$IrCl$_6$, revealing the nearest-neighbor Heisenberg coupling as the leading interaction term, with only a weak Kitaev anisotropy.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Spin dynamics of the quantum dipolar magnet Yb$_3$Ga$_5$O$_{12}$ in an external field

We investigate ytterbium gallium garnet Yb$_{3}$Ga$_{5}$O$_{12}$ in the paramagnetic phase above the supposed magnetic transition at $T_λ \approx 54$ mK. Our study combines susceptibility and specific heat measurements with neutron scattering experiments and theoretical calculations. Below 500 mK, the elastic neutron response is strongly peaked in the momentum space. Along with that the inelastic spectrum develops flat excitation modes. In magnetic field, the lowest energy branch follows a Zeeman shift in accordance with the field-dependent specific heat data. An intermediate state with spin canting away from the field direction is evidenced in small magnetic fields. In the field of 2 T, the total magnetization almost saturates and the measured excitation spectrum is well reproduced by the spin-wave calculations taking into account solely the dipole-dipole interactions. The small positive Curie-Weiss temperature derived from the susceptibility measurements is also accounted for by the dipole spin model. Altogether, our results suggest that Yb$_{3}$Ga$_{5}$O$_{12}$ is a quantum dipolar magnet.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Spin texture induced by non-magnetic doping and spin dynamics in 2D triangular lattice antiferromagnet h-Y(Mn,Al)O3

Novel effects induced by nonmagnetic impurities in frustrated magnets and quantum spin liquid represent a highly nontrivial and interesting problem. A theoretical proposal of extended modulated spin structures induced by doping of such magnets, distinct from the well-known skyrmions has attracted significant interest. Here, we demonstrate that nonmagnetic impurities can produce such extended spin structures in h-YMnO3, a triangular antiferromagnet with noncollinear magnetic order. Using inelastic neutron scattering (INS), we measured the full dynamical structure factor in Al-doped h-YMnO3 and confirmed the presence of magnon damping with a clear momentum dependence. Our theoretical calculations can reproduce the key features of the INS data, supporting the formation of the proposed spin textures. As such, our study provides the first experimental confirmation of the impurity-induced spin textures. It offers new insights and understanding of the impurity effects in a broad class of noncollinear magnetic systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Quantum versus thermal fluctuations in the fcc antiferromagnet: alternative routes to order by disorder

In frustrated magnetic systems with competing interactions fluctuations can lift the residual accidental degeneracy. We argue that the state selection may have different outcomes for quantum and thermal order by disorder. As an example, we consider the semiclassical Heisenberg fcc antiferromagnet with only the nearest-neighbor interactions. Zero-point oscillations select the type 3 collinear antiferromagnetic state at T=0. Thermal fluctuations favor instead the type 1 antiferromagnetic structure. The opposite tendencies result in a finite-temperature transition between the two collinear states. Competition between effects of quantum and thermal order by disorder is a general phenomenon and is also realized in the J1-J2 square-lattice antiferromagnet at the critical point J2 = 0.5 J1.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Evidence for biquadratic exchange in the quasi-two-dimensional antiferromagnet FePS$_3$

FePS$_3$ is a van der Waals compound with a honeycomb lattice that is a good example of a two-dimensional antiferromagnet with Ising-like anisotropy. Neutron spectroscopy data from FePS3 were previously analysed using a straight-forward Heisenberg Hamiltonian with a single-ion anisotropy. The analysis captured most of the elements of the data, however some significant discrepancies remained. The discrepancies were most obvious at the Brillouin zone boundaries. The data are subsequently reanalysed allowing for unequal exchange between nominally equivalent nearest-neighbours, which resolves the discrepancies. The source of the unequal exchange is attributed to a biquadratic exchange term in the Hamiltonian which most probably arises from a strong magnetolattice coupling. The new parameters show that there are features consistent with Dirac magnon nodal lines along certain Brillouin zone boundaries.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2019

Electron spin resonance in spiral antiferromagnet linarite: theory and experiment

We present combined experimental and theoretical investigation of the low-frequency ESR dynamics in the ordered phases of magnetic mineral linarite. This material consists of weakly coupled spin-1/2 chains of copper ions with frustrated ferro- and antiferromagnetic interactions. In zero magnetic field, linarite orders into a spiral structure and exhibits a peculiar magnetic phase diagram sensitive to the field orientation. The resonance frequencies and their field dependence are analyzed combining microscopic and macroscopic theoretical approaches and precise values of magnetic anisotropy constants are obtained. We conclude that possible realization of exotic multipolar quantum states in this material is greatly influenced by the biaxial anisotropy.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2019

Multiple superconducting phases in a nearly ferromagnetic system

Multiple superconducting order parameters are extremely rare. Here we show that a very small pressure can induce this phenomenon in the recently discovered heavy fermion superconductor UTe2. This nearly ferromagnetic system shows several intriguing phenomena, including an extraordinary reinforcement of superconductivity in very strong magnetic fields. We find that pressure can tune the system to a more correlated state and probable magnetic order. The superconducting critical temperature is strongly enhanced, reaching almost 3K, a new record for Ce- and U-based heavy fermion superconductors. Most spectacularly under pressure we find a transition within the superconducting state, putting UTe2 among the very rare systems having multiple superconducting phases. UTe2 under pressure is a treasure trove of several of the most fascinating phenomena in unconventional superconductivity and may well be a keystone in their understanding.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2017

Superconducting spin valves controlled by spiral re-orientation in B20-family magnets

We propose a superconducting spin-triplet valve, which consists of a superconductor and an itinerant magnetic material, with the magnet showing an intrinsic non-collinear order characterized by a wave vector that may be aligned in a few equivalent preferred directions under control of a weak external magnetic field. Re-orienting the spiral direction allows one to controllably modify long-range spin-triplet superconducting correlations, leading to spin-valve switching behavior. Our results indicate that the spin-valve effect may be noticeable. This bilayer may be used as a magnetic memory element for cryogenic nanoelectronics. It has the following advantages in comparison to superconducting spin valves proposed previously: (i) it contains only one magnetic layer, which may be more easily fabricated and controlled, (ii) its ground states are separated by a potential barrier, which solves the "half-select" problem of the addressed switch of memory elements.

cond-mat.supr-con↗

arXiv2017

Order by quenched disorder in the model triangular antiferromagnet RbFe(MoO4)2

We observe a disappearance of the 1/3 magnetization plateau and a striking change of the magnetic configuration under a moderate doping of the model triangular antiferromagnet RbFe(MoO4)2. The reason is an effective lifting of degeneracy of mean-field ground states by a random potential of impurities, which compensates, in the low temperature limit, the fluctuation contribution to free energy. These results provide a direct experimental confirmation of the fluctuation origin of the ground state in a real frustrated system. The change of the ground state to a least collinear configuration reveals an effective positive biquadratic exchange provided by the structural disorder. On heating, doped samples regain the structure of a pure compound thus allowing for an investigation of the remarkable competition between thermal and structural disorder.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Field-induced decays in $XXZ$ triangular-lattice antiferromagnets

We investigate field-induced transformations in the dynamical response of the $XXZ$ model on the triangular lattice that are associated with the anharmonic magnon coupling and decay phenomena. A set of concrete theoretical predictions is made for a close physical realization of the spin-1/2 $XXZ$ model, Ba$_3$CoSb$_2$O$_9$. We demonstrate that dramatic modifications in magnon spectrum must occur in low out-of-plane fields that are easily achievable for this material. The hallmark of the effect is a coexistence of the clearly distinct well-defined magnon excitations with significantly broadened ones in different regions of the ${\bf k}-ω$ space. The field-induced decays are generic for this class of models and become more prominent at larger anisotropies and in higher fields.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Helicity, anisotropies and their competition in a multiferroic magnet: insight from the phase diagram

Motivated by the complex phase diagram of MnWO4, we investigate competition between anisotropy, magnetic field, and helicity for the anisotropic next-nearest-neighbor Heisenberg model. Apart from two competing exchanges, which favor a spiral magnetic structure, the model features the bi-axial single-ion anisotropy. The model is treated in the real-space mean-field approximation and the phase diagram containing various incommensurate and commensurate states is obtained for different field orientations. We discuss similarities and differences of the theoretical phase diagram and the experimental diagram of MnWO4.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Dynamical structure factor of triangular-lattice antiferromagnet

We elucidate the role of magnon interaction and spontaneous decays in the spin dynamics of the triangular-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet by calculating its dynamical structure factor within the spin-wave theory. Explicit theoretical results for neutron-scattering intensity are provided for spins S=1/2 and S=3/2. The dynamical structure factor exhibits unconventional features such as quasiparticle peaks broadened by decays, non-Lorentzian lineshapes, and significant spectral weight redistribution to the two-magnon continuum. This rich excitation spectrum illustrates the complexity of the triangular-lattice antiferromagnet and provides distinctive qualitative and quantitative fingerprints for experimental observation of decay-induced magnon dynamics.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Low-field behavior of an XY pyrochlore antiferromagnet: emergent clock anisotropies

Using $\rm Er_2Ti_2O_7$ as a motivation, we investigate finite-field properties of $XY$ pyrochlore antiferromagnets. In addition to a fluctuation-induced six-fold anisotropy present in zero field, an external magnetic field induces a combination of two-, three-, and six-fold clock terms as a function of its orientation providing for a rich and controllable magnetothermodynamics. For $\rm Er_2Ti_2O_7$, we predict a new phase transition for ${\bf H}\parallel [001]$. Re-entrant transitions are also found for ${\bf H}\parallel [111]$. We extend these results to the whole family the $XY$ pyrochlore antiferromagnets and show that presence and number of low-field transitions for different orientations can be used for locating a given material in the parameter space of anisotropic pyrochlores. Finite-temperature classical Monte Carlo simulations serve to confirm and illustrate these analytic predictions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Magnetic excitations in the spin-1/2 triangular-lattice antiferromagnet Cs$_2$CuBr$_4$

We report on high-field electron spin resonance (ESR) studies of magnetic excitations in the spin-1/2 triangular-lattice antiferromagnet Cs$_2$CuBr$_4$. Frequency-field diagrams of ESR excitations are measured for different orientations of magnetic fields up to 25 T. We show that the substantial zero-field energy gap, $Δ\approx9.5$ K, observed in the low-temperature excitation spectrum of Cs$_2$CuBr$_4$ [Zvyagin $et~al.$, Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 077206 (2014)], is present well above $T_N$. Noticeably, the transition into the long-range magnetically ordered phase does not significantly affect the size of the gap, suggesting that even below $T_N$ the high-energy spin dynamics in Cs$_2$CuBr$_4$ is determined by short-range-order spin correlations. The experimental data are compared with results of model spin-wave-theory calculations for spin-1/2 triangle-lattice antiferromagnet.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Order and excitations in large-$S$ kagomé-lattice antiferromagnets

We systematically investigate the ground-state and the spectral properties of antiferromagnets on a kagomé lattice with several common types of the planar anisotropy: $XXZ$, single-ion, and out-of-plane Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya. Our main focus is on the role of nonlinear, anharmonic terms, which are responsible for the quantum order-by-disorder effect and for the corresponding selection of the ground-state spin structure in many of these models. The $XXZ$ and the single-ion anisotropy models exhibit a quantum phase transition between the ${\bf q}\!=\!0$ and the $\sqrt{3}\times\!\sqrt{3}$ states as a function of the anisotropy parameter, offering a rare example of the quantum order-by-disorder fluctuations favoring a ground state which is different from the one selected by thermal fluctuations. The nonlinear terms are also shown to be crucial for a very strong near-resonant decay phenomenon leading to the quasiparticle breakdown in the kagomé-lattice antiferromagnets whose spectra are featuring flat or weakly dispersive modes. The effect is shown to persist even in the limit of large spin values and should be common to other frustrated magnets with flat branches of excitations. Model calculations of the spectrum of the $S=5/2$ Fe-jarosite with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya anisotropy provide a convincing and detailed characterization of the proposed scenario.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2015

Spin-waves in triangular lattice antiferromagnet: decays, spectrum renormalization, and singularities

We present a comprehensive study of the dynamical properties of the quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a triangular lattice within the framework of spin-wave theory. The distinct features of spin-wave excitations in the triangular-lattice antiferromagnet are (i) finite lifetime at zero temperature due to spontaneous two-magnon decays, (ii) strong renormalization of magnon energies with respect to the harmonic result, and (iii) logarithmic singularities in the decay rate Gamma_k. Quantum corrections to the magnon spectrum are obtained using both the on-shell and off-shell solutions of the Dyson equation with the lowest-order magnon self-energy. At low-energies magnon excitations remain well-defined albeit with the anomalous decay rate Gamma_k ~ k^2 at k->0 and Gamma_k ~ |k-Q_AF|^7/2 at k->Q_AF. At high energies, magnons are heavily damped with the decay rate reaching (2 Gamma_k/E_k) ~ 0.3 for the case S=1/2. The on-shell solution shows logarithmic singularities in Gamma_k with the concomitant jump-like discontinuities in E_k along certain contours in the momentum space. Such singularities are even more prominent in the magnon spectral function A(k,w). Although the off-shell solution removes such log-singularities, the decay rates remain strongly enhanced. We also discuss the role of higher-order corrections and show that such singularities may lead to complete disappearance of the spectrum in the vicinity of certain k-points. The kinematic conditions for two-magnon decays are analyzed for various generalizations of the triangular-lattice antiferromagnet as well as for the XXZ model on a kagome lattice. Our results suggest that decays and singularities in the spin-wave spectra must be ubiquitous in all these systems.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Real-space perturbation theory for frustrated magnets: application to magnetization plateaus

We present a unified approach to the problem of degeneracy lifting in geometrically frustrated magnets with and without an external field. The method treats fluctuations around a classical spin configuration in terms of a real-space perturbation expansion. We calculate two lowest-order contributions for the Heisenberg spin Hamiltonian and use them to study the magnetization processes of spin-$S$ triangular and kagomé antiferromagnets.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Quantum Selection of Order in an $XXZ$ Antiferromagnet on a Kagomé Lattice

Selection of the ground state of the kagomé-lattice $XXZ$ antiferromagnet by quantum fluctuations is investigated by combining non-linear spin-wave and real-space perturbation theories. The two methods unanimously favor ${\bf q}=0$ over $\sqrt{3}\times\sqrt{3}$ magnetic order in a wide range of the anisotropy parameter $0\leq Δ\leq 0.72$. Both approaches are also in an accord on the magnitude of the quantum order-by-disorder effect generated by topologically non-trivial, loop-like spin-flip processes. A tentative $S-Δ$ phase diagram of the model is proposed.

cond-mat.str-el↗