We synthesized single crystals of the new hexagonal compounds A$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$ with A=Cs and Rb, and investigated their magnetic properties. These compounds are composed of Kagomé layers of corner-sharing CuF$_6$-octahedra. Cs$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$ has the proper Kagomé layer at room temperature, and undergoes structural phase transition at $T_\mathrm{t}\simeq 185$ K. The temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility in Cs$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$ agrees well with the result of the numerical calculation for $S=1/2$ two-dimensional Heisenberg Kagomé antiferromagnet down to $T_\mathrm{t}$ with the nearest exchange interaction $J/k_\mathrm{B}\simeq 240$ K. Although the magnetic susceptibility deviates from the calculated result below $T<T_\mathrm{t}$, the rounded maxima were observed at approximately $T\simeq (1/6)J/k_\mathrm{B}$ as predicted by the theory. Cs$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$ undergoes three-dimensional magnetic ordering at $T_\mathrm{N} = 20$ K.
We investigated the crystal structure of Rb$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$ and its magnetic properties using single crystals. This compound is composed of Kagome layers of corner-sharing CuF$_{6}$ octahedra with a 2a x 2a enlarged cell as compared with the proper Kagome layer. Rb$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$ is magnetically described as an $S$=1/2 modified Kagome antiferromagnet with four kinds of neighboring exchange interaction. From magnetic susceptibility and high-field magnetization measurements, it was found that the ground state is a disordered singlet with the spin gap, as predicted from a recent theory. …
Magnetic excitations in the spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ distorted kagome lattice antiferromagnet Cs$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$, which has an ordered ground state owing to the strong Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, were studied using inelastic neutron scattering. Although the spin-wave dispersion can be qualitatively understood in terms of linear spin-wave theory (LSWT), the excitation energies are renormalized by a factor of approximately 0.6 from those calculated by LSWT, almost irrespective of the momentum transfer. This inadequacy of LSWT, which is attributed to quantum fluctuations, provides evidence o…
We show the structures of magnetic excitations in spin-1/2 kagome-lattice antiferromagnets Cs$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$ and Rb$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$ investigated by inelastic neutron scattering in wide energy and momentum ranges. For Cs$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$, four single-magnon excitation modes were observed. Low-energy three modes are assigned to be transverse modes and the high-energy fourth mode is suggested to be an amplitude mode. It was found that the broad excitation continuum without a marked structure spreads in a wide energy range from $0.15J$ to approximately $2.5J$ in contrast to the clearly…
We have systematically investigated the variation of the exchange parameters and the ground state in the $S = 1/2$ kagome-lattice antiferromagnet (Rb$_{1-x}$Cs$_{x}$)$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$, via magnetic measurements using single crystals. One of the parent compounds, Rb$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$, which has a distorted kagome lattice accompanied by four sorts of nearest-neighbor exchange interaction, has a disordered ground state described by a pinwheel valence-bond-solid state. The other parent compound, Cs$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$, which has a uniform kagome lattice at room temperature, has an ordered gro…
High intensity pulsed neutron scattering reveals a new set of magnetic excitations in the pinwheel valence bond solid state of the distorted kagome lattice antiferromagnet Rb$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$. The polarization of the dominant dispersive modes (2 meV $<\hbarω< $7 meV) is determined and found consistent with a dimer series expansion with strong Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions ($D/J=0.18$). A weakly dispersive mode near 5 meV and shifted "ghosts" of the main modes are attributed to the enlarged unit cell below a $T=215$ K structural transition. Continuum scattering between 8 meV and 10 meV …
Discovery of BKT correlations in the quantum kagome compound Cs$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$
University of Zagreb（萨格勒布大学）；Institute of Science Tokyo（东京科学研究所）；Laboratoire National des Champs Magnétiques Intenses, LNCMI-CNRS (UPR3228), EMFL, Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Toulouse, INSA-T（强磁场国家实验室，LNCMI-CNRS（UPR3228），EMFL，格勒诺布尔阿尔卑斯大学，图卢兹大学，INSA-T）
Hexagonal antiferromagnets Cs$_2$Cu$_3$MF$_{12}$ (M = Zr, Hf and Sn) have uniform Kagome lattices of Cu$^{2+}$ with S = 1/2, whereas Rb$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$ has a 2a by 2a enlarged cell as compared with the uniform Kagome lattice. The crystal data of Cs$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$ synthesized first in the present work are reported. We performed magnetic susceptibility measurements on this family of Kagome antiferromagnet using single crystals. In the Cs$_2$Cu$_3$MF$_{12}$ systems, structural phase transitions were observed at $T_t = 225$ K, 172 K and 185 K for M = Zr, Hf and Sn, respectively. The magne…
A Series Expansion Study for Large Negative Quantum Renormalization of Magnon Spectra in the $S=1/2$ Kagome-Lattice Heisenberg Antiferromagnet Cs$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$SnF$_{12}$
Magnetic structure and high-field magnetization of the distorted kagome lattice antiferromagnet Cs$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$
Mahidol University（玛希隆大学）；ThEP, Commission of Higher Education（高等教育委员会理论物理中心）；Osaka Prefecture University（大阪府立大学）；Phranakhon Rajabhat University（佛统皇家大学）；Radboud University（拉德堡德大学）；Neutron Science Laboratory, Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK)（高能加速器研究机构物质结构科学研究所中子科学实验室）
Spin dynamics of the spin-1/2 kagome lattice antiferromagnet Cs$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$ was studied using high-resolution, time-of-flight inelastic neutron scattering. The flat mode, a characteristic of the frustrated kagome antiferromagnet, and the low-energy dispersive mode, which is dominated by magnons, can be well described by the linear spin-wave theory. However, the theory fails to describe three weakly dispersive modes between 9 and 14 meV. These modes could be attributed to two-spinon bound states, which decay into free spinons away from the zone center and at a high temperature, giving r…
A brief review is provided of earlier work on the low temperature phases of $S=1$ kagome and triangular lattice antiferromagnets in which there is sufficiently strongly single-ion anisotropy $D$ that dominates over the antiferromagnetic exchange $J$.
We investigate the zero-temperature phase diagram of the nearest-neighbor kagome antiferromagnet in the presence of Dzyaloshinksii-Moriya interaction. We develop a theory for the transition between Z2 spin liquids with bosonic spinons and a phase with antiferromagnetic long-range order. Connections to recent numerical studies and experiments are discussed.
The magnetization process of the isotropic Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the kagome lattice is studied. Data obtained from the numerical-diagonalization method are reexamined from the viewpoint of the derivative of the magnetization with respect to the magnetic field. We find that the behavior of the derivative at approximately one-third of the height of the magnetization saturation is markedly different from that for the cases of typical magnetization plateaux. The magnetization process of the kagome-lattice antiferromagnet reveals a new phenomenon, which we call the "magnetization ramp".
We study the ground state of a spin-half Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the stacked kagome lattice by using a spin-rotation-invariant Green's-function method. Since the pure two-dimensional kagome antiferromagnet is most likely a magnetically disordered quantum spin liquid, we investigate the question whether the coupling of kagome layers in a stacked three-dimensional system may lead to a magnetically ordered ground state. We present spin-spin correlation functions and correlation lengths. For comparison we apply also linear spin wave theory. Our results provide strong evidence that the system…
A clear thermal Hall signal ($κ_{xy}$) was observed in the spin liquid phase of the $S=1/2$ kagomé antiferromagnet Ca kapellasite (CaCu$_3$(OH)$_6$Cl$_2\cdot 0.6$H$_2$O). We found that $κ_{xy}$ is well reproduced, both qualitatively and quantitatively, using the Schwinger-boson mean-field theory with the Dzyaloshinskii--Moriya interaction of $D/J \sim 0.1$. In particular, $κ_{xy}$ values of Ca kapellasite and those of another kagomé antiferromagnet, volborthite, converge to one single curve in simulations modeled using Schwinger bosons, indicating a common temperature dependence of $κ_{xy}$ fo…
Within the t-J model, we study the electronic properties of the doped antiferromagnet on the kagome lattice based on the framework of the self-consistent mean-field theory. At the half-filling, the spin-liquid ground-state energy per site of the kagome antiferromagnet is Eg/NJ=-0.859, which is in very good agreement with the numerical estimates. Away from the half-filling, the electron photoemission spectroscopy and density of states are discussed, and the results indicate that there is a gap in the normal-state of the system.
The frustration of antiferromagnetic interactions on the loosely connected kagome lattice associated to the enhancement of quantum fluctuations for S=1/2 spins was acknowledged long ago as a keypoint to stabilize novel ground states of magnetic matter. Only very recently, the model compound Herbersmithite, ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2, a structurally perfect kagome antiferromagnet, could be synthesized and enables a close comparison to theories. We review and classify various experimental results obtained over the past years and underline some of the pending issues.
Employing complementary torque magnetometry and electron spin resonance on single crystals of herbertsmithite, the closest realization to date of a quantum kagome antiferromagnet featuring a spin-liquid ground state, we provide novel insight into different contributions to its magnetism. At low temperatures, two distinct types of defects with different magnetic couplings to the kagome spins are found. Surprisingly, their magnetic response contradicts the three-fold symmetry of the ideal kagome lattice, suggesting the presence of a global structural distortion that may be related to the establi…
The recent NMR experiments on ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2 motivate our study of the effect of non- magnetic defects on the antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 kagome lattice. We use exact diagonalization methods to study the effect of two such defects on finite size systems. Our results, obtained without adjustable parameters, are in good quantitative agreement with recent Oxygen 17 NMR data. They provide support for the experimental interpretation of the presence of defects within the kagome layers due to Zn/Cu substitutions. Our results also show that disorder effects become relevant at lower temperatures, raising…
We propose a general non-perturbative scheme that quantitatively maps the low-energy sector of spin-1/2 frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnets to effective Generalized Quantum Dimer Models. We develop the formal lattice independent frame and establish some important results on (i) the locality of the generated Hamiltonians (ii) how full resummations can be performed in this renormalization scheme. The method is then applied to the much debated kagome antiferromagnet for which a fully resummed effective Hamiltonian - shown to capture the essential properties and provide deep insights on the mic…
Herbertsmithite (ZnCu3(OH)6Cl2) is often discussed as the best realization of the highly frustrated antiferromagnetic kagome lattice known so far. We employ density functional theory calculations to determine eight exchange coupling constants of the underlying Heisenberg Hamiltonian. We find the nearest neighbour coupling J1 to exceed all other couplings by far. However, next-nearest neighbour kagome layer couplings of 0.019 J1 and interlayer couplings of up to -0.035 J1 slightly modify the perfect antiferromagnetic kagome Hamiltonian. Interestingly, the largest interlayer coupling is ferromag…
In this Letter, we identify a noncoplanar chiral spin texture on the distorted kagomé-lattice antiferromagnets induced by the presence of a magnetic field applied perpendicular to the distorted kagomé plane. The noncoplanar chiral spin texture has a nonzero scalar spin chirality similar to a chiral quantum spin liquid with broken time-reversal symmetry. In the noncoplanar regime we observe nontrivial topological magnetic excitations and thermal Hall response through the emergent field-induced scalar spin chirality in contrast to collinear ferromagnets in which the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) sp…
We argue that the S=1/2 kagome antiferromagnet undergoes a quantum phase transition when the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya coupling is increased. For $D<D_c$ the system is in a moment-free phase and for $D>D_c$ the system develops antiferromagnetic long-range order. The quantum critical point is found to be $D_c \simeq 0.1J$ using exact diagonalizations and finite-size scaling. This suggests that the kagome compound ZnCu$_3(OH)$_6$Cl$_3$ may be in a quantum critical region controlled by this fixed point.
We have studied the effect of the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction on kagome Heisenberg anti-ferromagnet using Schwinger boson mean field theory (SBMFT). Within SBMFT framework, Messio et al had argued that the ground state of kagome antiferromagnet is possibly a chiral topological spin liquid (Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 207204 (2012)). Thus, we have computed zero-temperature ground state phase diagram considering the time-reversal breaking states as well as fully symmetric Ansätze. We discuss the relevance of these results in experiments and other studies. Finally, we have computed the static and…
Dynamical magnetic correlations in the geometrically frustrated Nd$\_3$Ga$\_5$SiO$\_{14}$ compound were probed by inelastic neutron scattering on a single crystal. A scattering signal with a ring shape distribution in reciprocal space and unprecedented dispersive features was discovered. Comparison with calculated static magnetic scattering from models of correlated spins suggests that the observed phase is a spin liquid inherent to an antiferromagnetic kagomé-like lattice of anisotropic Nd moments.
An effective spin-orbit Hamiltonian is derived for a spin-1/2 trimerized kagome antiferromagnet in the second-order of perturbation theory in the ratio of two coupling constants. Low-energy singlet states of the obtained model are mapped to a quantum dimer model on a triangular lattice. The quantum dimer model is dominated by dimer resonances on a few shortest loops of the triangular lattice. Characteristic energy scale for the dimer model constitutes only a small fraction of the weaker exchange coupling constant.
The ground state of the S=1/2 Heisenberg antiferomagnet on kagome can be viewed as a collection of fermionic spinons bound into small, heavy singlet pairs. Low-energy magnetic excitations in this system correspond to breaking the pairs into individual spinons. We calculate the structure factor for inelastic neutron scattering from independent spinon pairs.
We performed inelastic neutron scattering measurements on a polycrystalline sample of a classical kagome antiferromagnet NaBa$_{2}$Mn$_{3}$F$_{11}$ to investigate the possibility of a dispersionless zero-energy excitation associated with rotation of spins along the chains. The observed spectra indeed exhibit such an excitation with strong intensity at low energy, as well as dispersive excitations with weak intensity at high energy. Combining the measurements with calculations from linear spin-wave theory reveals that NaBa$_{2}$Mn$_{3}$F$_{11}$ is a good realization of the classical kagome anti…
Using $^{63,65}$Cu nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in magnetic fields up to 30 T we study the microscopic properties of the 12-site valence-bond-solid ground state in the "pinwheel" kagome compound Rb$_2$Cu$_3$SnF$_{12}$. We find that the ground state is characterized by a strong transverse staggered spin polarization whose temperature and field dependence points to a mixing of the singlet and triplet states. This is further corroborated by the field dependence of the gap $Δ(H)$, which has a level anticrossing with a large minimum gap value of $\approx Δ(0)/2$, with no evidence of a phase tra…
The spin wave excitations of the ideal S=5/2 Kagome lattice antiferromagnet KFe3(OH)6(SO4)2 have been measured using high-resolution inelastic neutron scattering. We directly observe a flat mode which corresponds to a lifted "zero energy mode," verifying a fundamental prediction for the Kagome lattice. A simple Heisenberg spin Hamiltonian provides an excellent fit to our spin wave data. The antisymmetric Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction is the primary source of anisotropy and explains the low temperature magnetization and spin structure.
Motivated by recent experiments on ZnCu$_3$(OH)$_6$Cl$_2$, we study the inhomogeneous Knight shifts (local susceptibilities) of spin 1/2 Kagome antiferromagnet in the presence of nonmagnetic impurities. Using high temperature series expansion, we calculate the local susceptibility and its histogram down to about T=0.4J. At low temperatures, we explore a Dirac spin liquid proposal and calculate the local susceptibility in the mean field and beyond mean field using Gutzwiller projection, finding the overall picture to be consistent with the NMR experiments.
By using the density matrix renormalization group, we study the spin-liquid phases of spin-$1/2$ XXZ kagome antiferromagnets. We find that the emergence of spin liquid phase does not depend on the anisotropy of the XXZ interaction. In particular, the two extreme limits---Ising (strong $S^z$ interaction) and XY (zero $S^z$ interaction)---host the same spin-liquid phases as the isotropic Heisenberg model. Both the time-reversal-invariant spin liquid and the chiral spin liquid with spontaneous time-reversal symmetry breaking are obtained. We show they evolve continuously into each other by tuning…
We clarify the existence of several magnetization plateaux for the kagome $S=1/2$ antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model in a magnetic field. Using approximate or exact localized magnon eigenstates, we are able to describe in a similar manner the plateau states that occur for magnetization per site $m=1/3$, $5/9$, and $7/9$ of the saturation value. These results are confirmed using large-scale Exact Diagonalization on lattices up to 63 sites.
We study the quasi-one-dimensional limit of the spin-1/2 quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the kagome lattice. The lattice is divided into antiferromagnetic spin-chains (exchange J) that are weakly coupled via intermediate "dangling" spins (exchange J'). Using one-dimensional bosonization, renormalization group methods, and current algebra techniques the ground state is determined in the limit J'<<J. We find that the dangling spins and chain spins form a spiral with O(1) and O(J'/J) static moments, respectively, atop of which the chain spins exhibit a smaller O[(J'/J)^2] antiferromagnetica…
We construct a phenomenological Z_2 lattice gauge theory to describe the spin-liquid state of the S=1/2 kagome Heisenberg antiferromagnet in the sector with zero total spin. The model is a natural generalization of the Misguich-Serban-Pasquier Hamiltonian with added interactions that are strongly constrained by lattice symmetries. We are able to reproduce qualitatively many of the characteristic features observed in recent numerical studies. We also make connections to the previous works along similar lines.
We report the crystal structure and unconventional magnetic ordering of Cs_2Cu_3CeF_{12}, which is composed of buckled kagome lattice of Cu^{2+} ions. The exchange network in the buckled kagome lattice is fairly anisotropic, so that the present spin system can be divided into two subsystems: alternating Heisenberg chains with strong antiferromagnetic exchange interactions and dangling spins. Although the direct exchange interactions between neighboring spins were found to be all antiferromagnetic, ferromagnetic magnetic ordering of the dangling spins was observed. Magnetization exhibits a plat…
The dc-magnetization of the unique S=1/2 kagome antiferromagnet Herbertsmithite has been measured down to 0.1K. No sign of spin freezing is observed in agreement with former muSR and ac-susceptibility results. The low temperature magnetic response is dominated by a defect contribution which exhibits a new energy scale $\simeq 1$ K, likely reflecting the coupling of the defects. The defect component is saturated at low temperature by H>8T applied magnetic fields which enables us to estimate an upper bound for the non saturated intrinsic kagome susceptibility at T=1.7K.
Topological magnon insulators in insulating Kagomé ferromagnets have been extensively studied in a series of papers. It has been established that Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) is the key ingredient to observe a nontrivial topological magnon with edge modes. However, insulating antiferromagnets on the Kagomé lattice are frustrated systems considered as a playground for studying quantum spin liquid physics. In these systems the DMI can induce a coplanar but noncollinear magnetic orders with a $\mathbf{q}=0$ propagating wavevector. We show that topological magnon bands are absent in thi…
The antiferromagnetism in $α$-Cu$_3$Mg(OH)$_6$Br$_2$ was studied by magnetic-susceptibility, specific-heat and neutron-diffraction measurements. The crystal structure consists of Cu$^{2+}$ kagome layers with Mg$^{2+}$ ions occupying the centers of the hexagons, separated by Br$^{1-}$ ions. The magnetic system orders antiferromagnetically at 5.4 K with the magnetic moments aligned ferromagnetically within the kagome planes. The ordered moment is 0.94 $μ_B$, suggesting little quantum and geometrical fluctuations. By comparing the magnetic and specific-heat properties with those of the haydeeite,…
We propose in this work an effective field theory description of the chiral spin liquid state in Heisenberg spin system on kagomé lattice.To this end, we derive the low-energy effective theory of kagomé (isotropic) Heisenberg antiferromagnet around its ordered ground states found numerically and show that quantum fluctuations induced by further neighbor spin exchanges are equally strong as those from first neighbor.We use a chiral order parameter theory to argue for the occurrence of finite temperature chiral symmetry breaking transition into chiral ordered state in kagomé antiferromagnet with…
Density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) calculations on large systems (up to 3096 spins) indicate that the ground state of the Heisenberg model on a 3-chain Kagome strip is spontaneously dimerized. This system has degenerate ground states and a gap to triplet and singlet excitations. These results are in direct contradiction with recent results of Azaria et al (Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 1694 (1998)) and suggest a need for a reexamination of the underlying field theory.
Following Huse and Rutenberg [Phys. Rev. B 45, 7536 (1992)], I argue the classical Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the kagomé lattice has long-range spin order of the $\sqrt{3}\times\sqrt{3}$ type (modulo gradual orientation fluctuations of the spins' plane). I start from the effective quartic Hamiltonian for the soft (out of plane) spin fluctuation modes, and treat as a perturbation those terms which depend on the discrete coplanar state. Soft mode correlations, which become the coefficients of a discrete effective Hamiltonian, are estimated analytically.
Impurities, which are inherently present in any real material, may play an important role in the magnetism of frustrated spin systems with spin-liquid ground states. We address the impurity issue in quantum kagome antiferromagnets by investigating ZnCu$_3$(OH)$_6$SO$_4$ (Zn-brochantite) by means of muon spin spectroscopy. We show that muons couple to the impurity magnetism, originating from Cu-Zn intersite disorder, and that the impurities are highly correlated with the kagome spins, allowing us to probe the intrinsic kagome physics via a Kondo-like effect. The low-temperature plateau in local…
The anyonic excitations of a spin-liquid can feature fractional quantum numbers under space-group symmetries. Detecting these fractional quantum numbers, which are analogs of the fractional charge of Laughlin quasiparticles, may prove easier than the direct observation of anyonic braiding and statistics. Motivated by the recent numerical discovery of spin-liquid phases in the kagome Heisenberg antiferromagnet, we theoretically predict the pattern of space group symmetry fractionalization in the kagome lattice chiral spin liquid. We provide a method to detect these fractional quantum numbers in…
We study the phase diagram of the spin-1 quantum bilinear-biquadratic antiferromagnet on the kagome lattice using exact diagonalization and the density matrix renormalization group algorithm. The SU(3)-symmetric point of this model Hamiltonian is a spontaneously trimerized state whose qualitative nature persists even at the Heisenberg point, a finding that contrasts previous proposals. We report the ground state energy per site of the Heisenberg model to be -1.410(2) and establish the presence of a spin gap.
The spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ kagome antiferromagnet is an archetypal frustrated system predicted to host a variety of exotic magnetic states. We show using neutron scattering measurements that deuterated vesignieite BaCu$_{3}$V$_{2}$O$_{8}$(OD)$_{2}$, a fully stoichiometric $S=1/2$ kagome magnet with $<$1% lattice distortion, orders magnetically at $T_{\mathrm{N}}=9$K into a multi-k coplanar variant of the predicted triple-k octahedral structure. We find this structure is stabilized by a dominant antiferromagnetic 3$^{\mathrm{rd}}$-neighbor exchange $J_3$ with minor 1$^{\mathrm{st}}$- or 2$^{\mathrm…
The antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on an anisotropic kagome lattice may be a good minimal model for real magnetic systems as well as a limit from which the isotropic case can be better understood. We therefore study the nearest-neighbor Heisenberg antiferromagnet on an anisotropic kagome lattice in a magnetic field. Such a system should be well described by weakly interacting spin chains, and we motivate a general form for the interaction by symmetry considerations and by perturbatively projecting out the inter-chain spins. In the spin 1/2 case, we find that the system exhibits a quantum p…
We report bulk magnetization, and elastic and inelastic neutron scattering measurements under an external magnetic field, $H$, on the weakly coupled distorted kagome system, Cu_{2}(OD)_3Cl. Our results show that the ordered state below 6.7 K is a canted antiferromagnet and consists of large antiferromagnetic $ac$-components and smaller ferromagnetic $b$-components. By first-principle calculations and linear spin wave analysis, we present a simple spin hamiltonian with non-uniform nearest neighbor exchange interactions resulting in a system of coupled spin trimers with a single-ion anisotropy t…
Motivated by recent experiments on Nd-langasite, we consider the effect of strong easy axis single-ion anisotropy $D$ on $S > 3/2$ spins interacting with antiferromagnetic exchange $J$ on the Kagome lattice. When $T \ll DS^2$, the collinear low energy states selected by the anisotropy map on to configurations of the classical Kagome lattice Ising antiferromagnet. However, the low temperature limit is quite different from the cooperative Ising paramagnet that obtains classically for $T \ll JS^2$. We find that sub-leading ${\mathcal O}(J^3S/D^2)$ multi-spin interactions arising from the transver…
We report magnetization and neutron scattering measurements down to 60 mK on a new family of Fe based kagome antiferromagnets, in which a strong local spin anisotropy combined with a low exchange path network connectivity lead to domain walls intersecting the kagome planes through strings of free spins. These produce unfamiliar slow spin dynamics in the ordered phase, evolving from exchange-released spin-flips towards a cooperative behavior on decreasing the temperature, probably due to the onset of long-range dipolar interaction. A domain structure of independent magnetic grains is obtained t…
The magnetization of two spin-1/2 kagome antiferromagnets, volborthite and vesignieite, has been measured in pulsed magnetic fields up to 68 T. A magnetization plateau is observed for each compound near the highest magnetic field. Magnetizations at saturation are approximately equal to 0.40Ms for both compounds, where Ms is the fully saturated magnetization, irrespective of a difference in the distortion of the kagome lattice between the two compounds. It should be noted that these values of magnetizations are significantly larger than Ms/3 predicted theoretically for the one-third magnetizati…
We study the ground state properties of a quantum antiferromagnet in the kagome lattice in the presence of a magnetic field, paying particular attention to the stability of the plateau at magnetization 1/3 of saturation. While the plateau is reinforced by certain deformations of the lattice, like the introduction of structural defect lines and against an Ising anisotropy, ground state correlations are seen to be quite different and the undistorted SU(2) case appears to be rather special.
The coupled cluster method is applied to a spin-half model at zero temperature ($T=0$), which interpolates between Heisenberg antiferromagnets (HAF's) on a kagome and a square lattice. With respect to an underlying triangular lattice the strengths of the Heisenberg bonds joining the nearest-neighbor (NN) kagome sites are $J_{1} \geq 0$ along two of the equivalent directions and $J_{2} \geq 0$ along the third. Sites connected by $J_{2}$ bonds are themselves connected to the missing NN non-kagome sites of the triangular lattice by bonds of strength $J_{1}' \geq 0$. When $J_{1}'=J_{1}$ and $J_{2}…
We consider the spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the two-dimensional square-kagome lattice with almost dispersionless lowest magnon band. For a general exchange coupling geometry we elaborate low-energy effective Hamiltonians which emerge at high magnetic fields. The effective model to describe the low-energy degrees of freedom of the initial frustrated quantum spin model is the (unfrustrated) square-lattice spin-1/2 $XXZ$ model in a $z$-aligned magnetic field. For the effective model we perform quantum Monte Carlo simulations to discuss the low-temperature properties of the squa…
We report thermodynamic measurements of the S=1/2 kagome lattice antiferromagnet ZnCu$_{3}$(OH)$_{6}$Cl$_{2}$, a promising candidate system with a spin-liquid ground state. Using single crystal samples, the magnetic susceptibility both perpendicular and parallel to the kagome plane has been measured. A small, temperature-dependent anisotropy has been observed, where $χ_{z}/ χ_{p} > 1$ at high temperatures and $χ_{z}/ χ_{p} < 1$ at low temperatures. Fits of the high-temperature data to a Curie-Weiss model also reveal an anisotropy. By comparing with theoretical calculations, the presence of a s…
Magnetization plateaus in quantum spin systems emerges in two-dimensional frustrated systems such as kagome lattice. The spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on square-kagome lattice is also appropriate for the study of magnetization plateau. Motivated by recent experimental finding of such a square-kagome lattice with nonequivalent three bonds, we investigate the phase diagrams and magnetization plateaus of the lattice by the exact diagonalization method. In addition to previously reported the 1/3 and 2/3 plateaus in the model with two equivalent bonds, we find a new 2/3 plateau whose …
A preponderance of evidence suggests that the ground state of the nearest-neighbor $S = 1/2$ antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on the kagome lattice is a gapless spin liquid. Many candidate materials for the realization of this model possess in addition a Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya (DM) interaction. We study this system by tensor-network methods and deduce that a weak but finite DM interaction is required to destabilize the gapless spin-liquid state. The critical magnitude, $D_c/J \simeq 0.012(2)$, lies well below the DM strength proposed in the kagome material herbertsmithite, indicating a need t…
