Vector chiral spin liquid phase in quasi-one-dimensional incommensurate helimagnets

Journal Article · Sun May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PHYSREVB.83.174415· OSTI ID:21544754

Cinti, Fabio ^[1]; Cuccoli, Alessandro; Rettori, Angelo ^[2]

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1. Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2J1 (Canada)
2. Department of Physics, University of Florence and CNISM, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Finland) (Italy)

Making use of detailed classical Monte Carlo simulations, we study the critical properties of a two-dimensional planar spin model on a square lattice composed by weakly interacting helimagnetic chains. We find a large temperature window where the vector chirality order parameter, <{kappa}{sub jk}> = <S{sub j}xS{sub k}>, the key quantity in multiferroic systems, takes nonzero value in the absence of long-range order or quasi-long-range order. The phase diagram we obtain for different strengths of the interchain coupling clearly shows that the weakness of the interchain interaction plays an essential role in order to observe the vector chiral spin liquid phase in a temperature range of up to now unattained width ({approx_equal}7%, to be compared with {approx_equal}1% or less previously reported for fully frustrated models, the only well-investigated systems unambiguously displaying spin-chirality decoupling). The relevance of our results for three-dimensional models is also discussed.

• OSTI ID: 21544754
• Journal Information: Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, Vol. 83, Issue 17; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.83.174415; (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 1098-0121
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
CHAINS
CHIRALITY
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
COUPLING
DECOUPLING
INTERACTIONS
LIQUIDS
MAGNETIC MATERIALS
MONTE CARLO METHOD
ORDER PARAMETERS
PHASE DIAGRAMS
SPIN
TETRAGONAL LATTICES
THREE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
WEAK INTERACTIONS
ANGULAR MOMENTUM
BASIC INTERACTIONS
CALCULATION METHODS
CRYSTAL LATTICES
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
DIAGRAMS
DIMENSIONLESS NUMBERS
FLUIDS
INFORMATION
MATERIALS
PARTICLE PROPERTIES
SIMULATION