Frustrated Heisenberg J1–J2 Model within the Stretched Diamond Lattice of LiYbO2

Published

January 14, 2021

Author(s)

Mitchell M. Bordelon, Chunxiao Liu, Lorenzo Posthuma, Eric Kenney, M. J. Graf, Nicholas Butch, Arnab Banerjee, Stuart Calder, Leon Balents, Stephen Wilson

Abstract

We investigate the magnetic properties of LiYbO₂, containing a three-dimensionally frustrated, diamondlike lattice via neutron scattering, magnetization, and heat capacity measurements. The stretched diamond network of Yb³⁺ ions in LiYbO₂ enters a long-range incommensurate, helical state with an ordering wave vector k = (0.384, plus or minus} 0.384, 0) that "locks-in" to a commensurate k = (1/3, plus or minus} 1/3, 0) phase under the application of a magnetic field. The spiral magnetic ground state of LiYbO₂ can be understood in the framework of a Heisenberg J₁–J₂ Hamiltonian on a stretched diamond lattice, where the propagation vector of the spiral is uniquely determined by the ratio of J₂/|J₁|. The pure Heisenberg model, however, fails to account for the relative phasing between the Yb moments on the two sites of the bipartite lattice, and this detail as well as the presence of an intermediate, partially disordered, magnetic state below 1 K suggests interactions beyond the classical Heisenberg description of this material.

Citation

Physical Review B

Volume

103

Issue

1

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

magnetic frustration, helimagnet

Citation

Bordelon, M. , Liu, C. , Posthuma, L. , Kenney, E. , Graf, M. , Butch, N. , Banerjee, A. , Calder, S. , Balents, L. and Wilson, S. (2021), Frustrated Heisenberg J₁–J₂ Model within the Stretched Diamond Lattice of LiYbO₂, Physical Review B (Accessed April 26, 2024)