Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Single-Ion Properties of the Seff = 1/2 XY Antiferromagnetic Pyrochlores NaA'Co2F7 (A' = Ca2+, Sr2+)

Published

Author(s)

K. A. Ross, J. M. Brown, R. J. Cava, J. W. Krizan, S. E. Nagler, Jose Rodriguez Rivera, M. B. Stone

Abstract

The antiferromagnetic pyrochlore material NaCaCo2F7 is a thermal spin liquid over a broad temperature range (approximately equal} 140 K down to TF = 2.4K), in which magnetic correlations between Co2+ dipole moments explore a continuous manifold of antiferromagnetic XY states. ^1^ The thermal spin liquid is interrupted by spin freezing at a temperature that is 2% of the mean field interaction strength, leading to short range static XY clusters with distinctive relaxation dynamics. Here we report the low energy inelastic neutron scattering response from the related compound NaSrCo2F7, confirming that it hosts the same static and dynamic spin correlations as NaCaCo2F7. We than present the single-ion levels of Co2+ in these materials as measured by inelastic neutron scattering. An intermediate spin orbit coupling model applied to an ensemble of trigonally distorted octahedral crystal fields accounts for the observed transitions. The single-ion ground state of Co2+ is a Kramers doublet with a strongly XY-like g-tensor (gxy/gz3). The local disorder inherent from the mixed pyrochlore A sites (Na+/Ca2+ and Na+/Sr2+) is evident in these measurements as exaggerated broadening of some of the levels. A simple model that reproduces the salient features of the single-ion spectrum produces approximately 8.4% and 4.1% variation in the z and xy components of the g-tensor, respectively. This study confirms that an Seff = 1/2 model with XY antiferromagnetic exchange and weak exchange disorder serves as a basic starting point in understanding the low temperature magnetic behavior of these strongly frustrated magnets.
Citation
Physical Review B
Volume
95
Issue
14

Keywords

Neutron Scattering, Magnetism, Spin liquids

Citation

Ross, K. , Brown, J. , Cava, R. , Krizan, J. , Nagler, S. , Rodriguez Rivera, J. and Stone, M. (2017), Single-Ion Properties of the S<sub>eff</sub> = 1/2 XY Antiferromagnetic Pyrochlores NaA'Co<sub>2</sub>F<sub>7</sub> (A' = Ca<sup>2+</sup>, Sr<sup>2+</sup>), Physical Review B, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=922702 (Accessed October 10, 2024)

Issues

If you have any questions about this publication or are having problems accessing it, please contact reflib@nist.gov.

Created April 12, 2017, Updated October 12, 2021