arXiv subjects

S. Chillal

Publications and source records attributed to S. Chillal.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Crystal growth and magnetic properties of spin-$1/2$ distorted triangular lattice antiferromagnet CuLa$_2$Ge$_2$O$_8$

CuLa$_2$Ge$_2$O$_8$ forms a distorted triangular lattice of quantum spin-1/2 Cu$^{2+}$ ions. A crystal growth method was developed using the traveling-solvent floating zone technique resulting in the synthesis of a large single crystal (4 mm$\times$4 mm$\times$10 mm). The crystal was characterized with regard to phase purity and crystallinity using powder X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and Laue diffraction, and found to be of excellent quality. The magnetic properties were characterized using dc-susceptibility, magnetization, and heat capacity measurements which revealed weak magnetic frustration with long-range magnetic order occurring below $T_N=1.14(1)$~K. The magnetic structure determined using neutron powder diffraction is a commensurate, noncollinear antiferromagnetic, different from the 120$^{\circ}$ order of an equilateral triangular antiferromagnet. The ordered moments lie in the {\bf bc}-plane, with components $m_b=0.50(3)$~$\mu_{B}$ and $m_c= 0.73(5)$~$\mu_{B}$ along the {\bf b}- and {\bf c}-axes respectively, giving a total ordered moment of $M_{total}$= 0.89(6)$\mu_{B}/$Cu$^{2+}$ at 20~mK.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2023

Magnetic excitation spectrum and Hamiltonian of the quantum spin chain BaCuTe2O6

The magnetic excitation spectrum and Hamiltonian of the quantum magnet BaCuTe2O6 is studied by inelastic neutron scattering (INS) and density functional theory (DFT). INS on powder and single crystal samples reveals overlapping spinon continuua - the spectrum of an antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 spin chain - due to equivalent chains running along the a, b, and c directions. Long-range magnetic order onsets below TN = 6.3 K due to interchain interactions, and is accompanied by the emergence of sharp spin-wave excitations which replace the continuua at low energies. The spin-wave spectrum is highly complex and was successfully modelled achieving excellent agreement with the data. The extracted interactions reveal an intrachain interaction, J3 = 2.9 meV, while the antiferromagnetic hyperkagome interaction J2, is the sub-leading interaction responsible for coupling the chains together in a frustrated way. DFT calculations reveal a similar picture for BaCuTe2O6 of dominant J3 and sub-leading J2 antiferromagnetic interactions and also indicate a high sensitivity of the interactions to small changes of structure which could explain the very different Hamiltonians observed in the sister compounds SrCuTe2O6 and PbCuTe2O6.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Crystal growth, characterization and phase transition of PbCuTe$_2$O$_6$

Single crystals of the three-dimensional frustrated magnet and spin liquid candidate compound PbCuTe$_2$O$_6$ were grown using both the Travelling Solvent Floating Zone (TSFZ) and the Top-Seeded Solution Growth (TSSG) techniques. The growth conditions were optimized by investigating the thermal properties. The quality of the crystals was checked by polarized optical microscopy, X-ray Laue and X-ray powder diffraction, and compared to the polycrystalline samples. Excellent quality crystals were obtained by the TSSG method. Magnetic measurements of these crystals revealed a small anisotropy for different crystallographic directions in comparison with the previously reported data. The heat capacity of both single crystal and powder samples reveal a transition anomaly around 1 K. Curiously the position and magnitude of the transition are strongly dependent on the crystallite size and it is almost entirely absent for the smallest crystallites. A structural transition is suggested which accompanies the reported ferroelectric transition, and a scenario whereby it becomes energetically unfavourable in small crystallites is proposed.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2021

Weak three-dimensional coupling of Heisenberg quantum spin chains in SrCuTe$_{2}$O$_{6}$

The magnetic Hamiltonian of the Heisenberg quantum antiferromagnet SrCuTe$_{2}$O$_{6}$ is studied by inelastic neutron scattering technique on powder and single crystalline samples above and below the magnetic transition temperatures at 8 K and 2 K. The high temperature spectra reveal a characteristic diffuse scattering corresponding to a multi-spinon continuum confirming the dominant quantum spin-chain behavior due to the third neighbour interaction J$_{intra}$ = 4.22 meV (49 K). The low temperature spectra exhibits sharper excitations at energies below 1.25 meV which can be explained by considering a combination of weak antiferromagnetic first nearest neighbour interchain coupling J$_1$ = 0.17 meV (1.9 K) and even weaker ferromagnetic second nearest neighbour J$_2$ = -0.037 meV (-0.4 K) or a weak ferromagnetic J$_2$ = -0.11 meV (-1.3 K) and antiferromagnetic J$_6$ = 0.16 meV (1.85 K) giving rise to the long-range magnetic order and spin-wave excitations at low energies. These results suggest that SrCuTe$_{2}$O$_{6}$ is a highly one-dimensional Heisenberg system with three mutually perpendicular spin-chains coupled by a weak ferromagnetic J$_2$ in addition to the antiferromagnetic J$_1$ or J$_6$ presenting a contrasting scenario from the highly frustrated hyper-hyperkagome lattice (equally strong antiferromagnetic J$_1$ and J$_2$) found in the iso-structural PbCuTe$_{2}$O$_{6}$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Structural and magnetic properties of the new quantum magnet BaCuTe$_2$O$_6$

We investigate the structural and magnetic properties of the new quantum magnet BaCuTe$_2$O$_6$. This compound is synthesized for the first time in powder and single crystal form. Synchrotron X-ray and neutron diffraction reveal a cubic crystal structure (P4$_1$32) where the magnetic Cu$^{2+}$ ions form a complex network. Physical properties measurements suggest the presence of antiferromagnetic interactions with a Curie-Weiss temperature of -33K, while long-range magnetic order occurs at the much lower temperature of ~6.3K. The magnetic structure, solved using neutron diffraction, reveals antiferromagnetic order along chains parallel to the a, b and c crystal axes. This is consistent with the magnetic excitations which resemble the multispinon continuum typical of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain. A consistent intrachain interaction value of ~34K is achieved from the various techniques. Finally the magnetic structure provides evidence that the chains are coupled together in a non-colinear arrangement by a much weaker antiferromagnetic, frustrated hyperkagome interaction.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Magnetic structure of a new quantum magnet SrCuTe$_2$O$_6$

SrCuTe$_2$O$_6$ consists of a 3-dimensional arrangement of spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ Cu$^{2+}$ ions. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd neighbor interactions respectively couple Cu$^{2+}$ moments into a network of isolated triangles, a highly frustrated hyperkagome lattice consisting of corner sharing triangles and antiferromagnetic chains. Of these, the chain interaction dominates in SrCuTe$_2$O$_6$ while the other two interactions lead to frustrated inter-chain coupling giving rise to long range magnetic order at suppressed temperatures. In this paper, we investigate the magnetic properties in SrCuTe$_2$O$_6$ using muon relaxation spectroscopy and neutron diffraction and present the low temperature magnetic structure.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Strongly coupled charge, orbital and spin order in TbTe$_{3}$

We report a ground state with strongly coupled magnetic and charge density wave orders mediated via orbital ordering in the layered compound \tbt. In addition to the commensurate antiferromagnetic (AFM) and charge density wave (CDW) orders, new magnetic peaks are observed whose propagation vector equals the sum of the AFM and CDW propagation vectors, revealing an intricate and highly entwined relationship. This is especially interesting given that the magnetic and charge orders lie in different layers of the crystal structure where the highly localized magnetic moments of the Tb$^{3+}$ ions are netted in the Tb-Te stacks, while the charge order is formed by the conduction electrons of the adjacent Te-Te layers. Our results, based on neutron diffraction and resonant x-ray scattering reveal that the charge and magnetic subsystems mutually influence each other via the orbital ordering of Tb$^{3+}$ ions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2020

Evidence for a three-dimensional quantum spin liquid in PbCuTe$_{2}$O$_{6}$

The quantum spin liquid (QSL) is a highly entangled magnetic state characterized by the absence of static magnetism in its ground state. Instead, the spins fluctuate in a highly correlated way down to the lowest temperatures. The QSL is very rare and is confined to a few specific cases where the interactions between the magnetic ions cannot be simultaneously satisfied (known as frustration). Lattices with magnetic ions in triangular or tetrahedral arrangements which interact via isotropic antiferromagnetic interactions can generate such a frustration. Three-dimensional isotropic spin liquids have mostly been sought in materials where the magnetic ions form pyrochlore or hyperkagome lattices. Here we present a three-dimensional lattice called the hyper-hyperkagome that enables spin liquid behaviour and manifests in the compound PbCuTe$_{2}$O$_{6}$. Using a combination of experiment and theory we show that this system exhibits signs of being a quantum spin liquid with no detectable static magnetism together with the presence of diffuse continua in the magnetic spectrum suggestive of fractional spinon excitations.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2014

Magnetic short and long range order in PbFe$_{1/2}$Ta$_{1/2}$O$_{3}$

PbFe$_{1/2}$Ta$_{1/2}$O$_{3}$ (PFT) belongs to the family of PbB$'_{x}$B$"_{1-x}$O$_{3}$ which have inherent chemical disorder at the B-site. Due to this disorder, a complex magnetic phase diagram is expected in the material. In this paper, we report experimental results of magnetic properties in PFT through macroscopic characterization, neutron scattering and Mössbauer spectroscopy techniques. With these results we show for the first time that PbFe$_{1/2}$Ta$_{1/2}$O$_{3}$ behaves very similar to PbFe$_{1/2}$Nb$_{1/2}$O$_{3}$, i.e, it undergoes AF transition at 153 K and has a spinglass transition at 10 K, below which the antiferromagnetism coexists with spinglass. We suggest that the mechanism which is responsible for such a non-trivial ground state can be explained by a speromagnet-like spin arrangement similar to the one proposed for PbFe$_{1/2}$Nb$_{1/2}$O$_{3}$.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2013

Microscopic Coexistence of Antiferromagnetic and Spin-Glass States

The disordered antiferromagnet \pfn (\pfns) is investigated in a wide temperature range by combining Mössbauer spectroscopy and neutron diffraction experiments. It is demonstrated that the magnetic ground state is a {\it microscopic} coexistence of antiferromagnetic and a spin-glass orders. This speromagnet-like phase features frozen-in short-range fluctuations of the Fe$^{3+}$ magnetic moments that are transverse to the long-range ordered antiferromagnetic spin component.

cond-mat.str-el↗