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Title: Neutron spectroscopic study of crystalline electric field excitations in stoichiometric and lightly stuffed Yb 2 Ti 2 O 7

Journal Article · · Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [4];  [5]
  1. McMaster Univ., Hamilton, ON (Canada)
  2. Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States)
  3. Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research, Hamilton, ON (Canada)
  4. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  5. McMaster Univ., Hamilton, ON (Canada); Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research, Hamilton, ON (Canada); Canadian Institute for Materials Research, Toronto, ON (Canada)

Time-of-flight neutron spectroscopy has been used to determine the crystalline electric field Hamiltonian, eigenvalues and eigenvectors appropriate to the J=7/2 Yb3+ ion in the candidate quantum spin ice pyrochlore magnet Yb2Ti2O7. The precise ground state of this exotic, geometrically frustrated magnet is known to be sensitive to weak disorder associated with the growth of single crystals from the melt. Such materials display weak “stuffing,” wherein a small proportion, approximately 2%, of the nonmagnetic Ti4+ sites are occupied by excess Yb3+. We have carried out neutron spectroscopic measurements on a stoichiometric powder sample of Yb2Ti2O7, as well as a crushed single crystal with weak stuffing and an approximate composition of Yb2+xTi2–xO7+y with x = 0.046. All samples display three crystalline electric field transitions out of the ground state, and the ground state doublet itself is identified as primarily composed of mJ = ±1/2, as expected. However, stuffing at low temperatures in Yb2+xTi2–xO7+y induces a similar finite crystalline electric field lifetime as is induced in stoichiometric Yb2Ti2O7 by elevated temperature. In conclusion, an extended strain field exists about each local “stuffed” site, which produces a distribution of random crystalline electric field environments in the lightly stuffed Yb2+xTi2–xO7+y, in addition to producing a small fraction of Yb ions in defective environments with grossly different crystalline electric field eigenvalues and eigenvectors.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1224753
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1224372
Journal Information:
Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, Vol. 92, Issue 13; ISSN 1098-0121
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 61 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (12)

Ground state selection under pressure in the quantum pyrochlore magnet Yb2Ti2O7 journal March 2017
Nearest-neighbour resonating valence bonds in YbMgGaO4 journal June 2017
Continuous excitations of the triangular-lattice quantum spin liquid YbMgGaO4 journal December 2016
Role of defects in determining the magnetic ground state of ytterbium titanate journal February 2019
A novel type of splayed ferromagnetic order observed in Yb 2 Ti 2 O 7 journal August 2016
Crystal fields and magnetic structure of the Ising antiferromagnet Er 3 Ga 5 O 12 journal November 2019
Magnetic excitations in the ground state of Yb 2 Ti 2 O 7 journal December 2017
Role of defects in determining the magnetic ground state of ytterbium titanate. text January 2019
A novel type of splayed ferromagnetic order observed in Yb2Ti2O7 text January 2016
Continuous excitations of the triangular-lattice quantum spin liquid YbMgGaO4 text January 2016
Nearest-neighbor resonating valence bonds in YbMgGaO4 text January 2017
Effect of Chemical Pressure on the Crystal Electric Field States of Erbium Pyrochlore Magnets text January 2017

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