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Title: Field-induced intermediate ordered phase and anisotropic interlayer interactions in α-RuCl3

Abstract

In α-RuCl3, an external magnetic field applied within the honeycomb plane can induce a transition from a magnetically ordered state to a disordered state that is potentially related to the Kitaev quantum spin liquid. In zero field, single crystals with minimal stacking faults display a low-temperature state with in-plane zigzag antiferromagnetic order and a three-layer periodicity in the direction perpendicular to the honeycomb planes. In this work, we present angle-dependent magnetization, ac susceptibility, and thermal transport data that demonstrate the presence of an additional intermediate-field ordered state at fields below the transition to the disordered phase. Neutron-diffraction results show that the magnetic structure in this phase is characterized by a six-layer periodicity in the direction perpendicular to the honeycomb planes. Theoretically, the intermediate ordered phase can be accounted for by including spin-anisotropic couplings between the layers in a three-dimensional spin model. Together, this demonstrates the importance of interlayer exchange interactions in α-RuCl3.

Authors:
 [1]; ORCiD logo [2];  [3]; ORCiD logo [4]; ORCiD logo [5]; ORCiD logo [5];  [3];  [2]; ORCiD logo [5]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot (United Kingdom)
  2. Dresden Univ. of Technology (Germany)
  3. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  4. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)
  5. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Materials Sciences & Engineering Division; German Research Foundation (DFG); Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
OSTI Identifier:
1785194
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-00OR22725; GBMF4416; SFB 1143; EXC 2147; JA2306/4-1
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Physical Review B
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 103; Journal Issue: 17; Journal ID: ISSN 2469-9950
Publisher:
American Physical Society (APS)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; frustrated magnetism; magnetism; quantum spin liquid; honeycomb lattice; neutron diffraction; susceptibility measurements

Citation Formats

Balz, Christian, Janssen, Lukas, Lampen-Kelley, Paige, Banerjee, Arnab, Liu, Yaohua, Yan, Jiaqiang, Mandrus, David, Vojta, Matthias, and Nagler, Stephen. Field-induced intermediate ordered phase and anisotropic interlayer interactions in α-RuCl3. United States: N. p., 2021. Web. doi:10.1103/physrevb.103.174417.
Balz, Christian, Janssen, Lukas, Lampen-Kelley, Paige, Banerjee, Arnab, Liu, Yaohua, Yan, Jiaqiang, Mandrus, David, Vojta, Matthias, & Nagler, Stephen. Field-induced intermediate ordered phase and anisotropic interlayer interactions in α-RuCl3. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.103.174417
Balz, Christian, Janssen, Lukas, Lampen-Kelley, Paige, Banerjee, Arnab, Liu, Yaohua, Yan, Jiaqiang, Mandrus, David, Vojta, Matthias, and Nagler, Stephen. Thu . "Field-induced intermediate ordered phase and anisotropic interlayer interactions in α-RuCl3". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.103.174417. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1785194.
@article{osti_1785194,
title = {Field-induced intermediate ordered phase and anisotropic interlayer interactions in α-RuCl3},
author = {Balz, Christian and Janssen, Lukas and Lampen-Kelley, Paige and Banerjee, Arnab and Liu, Yaohua and Yan, Jiaqiang and Mandrus, David and Vojta, Matthias and Nagler, Stephen},
abstractNote = {In α-RuCl3, an external magnetic field applied within the honeycomb plane can induce a transition from a magnetically ordered state to a disordered state that is potentially related to the Kitaev quantum spin liquid. In zero field, single crystals with minimal stacking faults display a low-temperature state with in-plane zigzag antiferromagnetic order and a three-layer periodicity in the direction perpendicular to the honeycomb planes. In this work, we present angle-dependent magnetization, ac susceptibility, and thermal transport data that demonstrate the presence of an additional intermediate-field ordered state at fields below the transition to the disordered phase. Neutron-diffraction results show that the magnetic structure in this phase is characterized by a six-layer periodicity in the direction perpendicular to the honeycomb planes. Theoretically, the intermediate ordered phase can be accounted for by including spin-anisotropic couplings between the layers in a three-dimensional spin model. Together, this demonstrates the importance of interlayer exchange interactions in α-RuCl3.},
doi = {10.1103/physrevb.103.174417},
journal = {Physical Review B},
number = 17,
volume = 103,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu May 13 00:00:00 EDT 2021},
month = {Thu May 13 00:00:00 EDT 2021}
}

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