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Title: Quenched crystal-field disorder and magnetic liquid ground states in Tb 2 Sn 2 - x Ti x O 7 [Crystal field disorder in the quantum spin ice ground state of Tb2Sn2-xTixO7]

Abstract

Solid-solutions of the "soft" quantum spin ice pyrochlore magnets Tb2B2O7 with B=Ti and Sn display a novel magnetic ground state in the presence of strong B-site disorder, characterized by a low susceptibility and strong spin fluctuations to temperatures below 0.1 K. These materials have been studied using ac-susceptibility and muSR techniques to very low temperatures, and time-of-flight inelastic neutron scattering techniques to 1.5 K. Remarkably, neutron spectroscopy of the Tb3+ crystal field levels appropriate to at high B-site mixing (0.5 < x < 1.5 in Tb2Sn2-xTixO7) reveal that the doublet ground and first excited states present as continua in energy, while transitions to singlet excited states at higher energies simply interpolate between those of the end members of the solid solution. The resulting ground state suggests an extreme version of a random-anisotropy magnet, with many local moments and anisotropies, depending on the precise local configuration of the six B sites neighboring each magnetic Tb3+ ion.

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [2];  [1];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [8];  [8];  [7];  [3]
  1. McMaster Univ., Hamilton, ON (Canada)
  2. Univ. Paris Sud XI, Orsay, (France)
  3. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
  4. Univ. Paris Sud XI, Orsay, (France); Institut Universitaire de France, Paris (France)
  5. McMaster Univ., Hamilton, ON (Canada); Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), (Germany). German Research Centre for Materials and Energy
  6. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  7. Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
  8. Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Spallation Neutron Source (SNS)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
OSTI Identifier:
1185348
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1186723
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-00OR22725; DG-FG02-08ER46544
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 91; Journal Issue: 24; Journal ID: ISSN 1098-0121
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

Citation Formats

Gaulin, B. D., Kermarrec, E., Dahlberg, M. L., Matthews, M. J., Bert, F., Zhang, J., Mendels, P., Fritsch, K., Granroth, G. E., Jiramongkolchai, P., Amato, A., Baines, C., Cava, R. J., and Schiffer, P. Quenched crystal-field disorder and magnetic liquid ground states in Tb2Sn2-xTixO7 [Crystal field disorder in the quantum spin ice ground state of Tb2Sn2-xTixO7]. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.91.245141.
Gaulin, B. D., Kermarrec, E., Dahlberg, M. L., Matthews, M. J., Bert, F., Zhang, J., Mendels, P., Fritsch, K., Granroth, G. E., Jiramongkolchai, P., Amato, A., Baines, C., Cava, R. J., & Schiffer, P. Quenched crystal-field disorder and magnetic liquid ground states in Tb2Sn2-xTixO7 [Crystal field disorder in the quantum spin ice ground state of Tb2Sn2-xTixO7]. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.91.245141
Gaulin, B. D., Kermarrec, E., Dahlberg, M. L., Matthews, M. J., Bert, F., Zhang, J., Mendels, P., Fritsch, K., Granroth, G. E., Jiramongkolchai, P., Amato, A., Baines, C., Cava, R. J., and Schiffer, P. Mon . "Quenched crystal-field disorder and magnetic liquid ground states in Tb2Sn2-xTixO7 [Crystal field disorder in the quantum spin ice ground state of Tb2Sn2-xTixO7]". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.91.245141. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1185348.
@article{osti_1185348,
title = {Quenched crystal-field disorder and magnetic liquid ground states in Tb2Sn2-xTixO7 [Crystal field disorder in the quantum spin ice ground state of Tb2Sn2-xTixO7]},
author = {Gaulin, B. D. and Kermarrec, E. and Dahlberg, M. L. and Matthews, M. J. and Bert, F. and Zhang, J. and Mendels, P. and Fritsch, K. and Granroth, G. E. and Jiramongkolchai, P. and Amato, A. and Baines, C. and Cava, R. J. and Schiffer, P.},
abstractNote = {Solid-solutions of the "soft" quantum spin ice pyrochlore magnets Tb2B2O7 with B=Ti and Sn display a novel magnetic ground state in the presence of strong B-site disorder, characterized by a low susceptibility and strong spin fluctuations to temperatures below 0.1 K. These materials have been studied using ac-susceptibility and muSR techniques to very low temperatures, and time-of-flight inelastic neutron scattering techniques to 1.5 K. Remarkably, neutron spectroscopy of the Tb3+ crystal field levels appropriate to at high B-site mixing (0.5 < x < 1.5 in Tb2Sn2-xTixO7) reveal that the doublet ground and first excited states present as continua in energy, while transitions to singlet excited states at higher energies simply interpolate between those of the end members of the solid solution. The resulting ground state suggests an extreme version of a random-anisotropy magnet, with many local moments and anisotropies, depending on the precise local configuration of the six B sites neighboring each magnetic Tb3+ ion.},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevB.91.245141},
journal = {Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter and Materials Physics},
number = 24,
volume = 91,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}

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