Quantum magnets represent an ideal playground for the controlled realization of novel quantum phases and of quantum phase transitions. The Hamiltonian of the system can be indeed manipulated by applying a magnetic field or pressure on the sample. When doping the system with non-magnetic impurities, novel inhomogeneous phases emerge from the interplay between geometric randomness and quantum fluctuations. In this paper we review our recent work on quantum phase transitions and novel quantum phases realized in disordered quantum magnets. The system inhomogeneity is found to strongly affect phase transitions by changing their universality class, giving the transition a novel, quantum percolative nature. Such transitions connect conventionally ordered phases to unconventional, quantum disordered ones - quantum Griffiths phases, magnetic Bose glass phases - exhibiting gapless spectra associated with low-energy localized excitations.
We report the single-crystal growth and the fundamental magnetic and thermodynamic properties of a rare-earth triangular lattice antiferromagnet CeCd$_3$As$_3$. In this rare-earth antiferromagnet, the Ce local moments form a perfect triangular lattice. Due to the spin-orbital-entangled nature of the Ce local moments, the compound exhibits extremely anisotropic antiferromagnetic couplings along the c direction and in the ab plane respectively. We show that CeCd$_3$As$_3$ represents a {\it rare} experimental realization of an antiferromagnetic Ising model on a two dimensional triangular lattice …
Antiferromagnetic spintronics actively introduces new principles of magnetic memory, in which the most fundamental spin-dependent phenomena, i.e. anisotropic magnetoresistance effects, are governed by an antiferromagnet instead of a ferromagnet. A general scenario of the antiferromagnetic anisotropic magnetoresistance effects mainly stems from the magnetocrystalline anisotropy related to spin-orbit coupling. Here we demonstrate magnetic field driven contour rotation of the fourfold anisotropic magnetoresistance in bare antiferromagnetic Sr2IrO4/SrTiO3 (001) thin films hosting a strong spin-orb…
Strong coupling between magnon and electromagnetic wave can lead to the formation of a coupled spinphoton quasiparticle named as magnon-polariton. The phenomenon is well studied for ferromagnetic systems inside microwave cavities in recent years. However, formation of magnon-polariton is rarely seen for an antiferromagnet (AFM) because the strong coupling condition is not easily fulfilled. Here we present time-domain terahertz measurement on a multiferroic polar antiferromagnet Fe2Mo3O8. We find clearly beating between two modes at frequencies above and below the electric-active magnon frequen…
The magnetic ground state phase diagram of the disordered Hubbard model at half-filling is computed in dynamical mean-field theory supplemented with the spin resolved, typical local density of states. The competition between many-body correlations and disorder is found to stabilize paramagnetic and antiferromagnetic metallic phases at weak interactions. Strong disorder leads to Anderson localization of the electrons and suppresses the antiferromagnetic long-range order. Slater and Heisenberg antiferromagnets respond characteristically different to disorder. The results can be tested with cold …
The ground state properties of random-exchange spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnets on the square lattice are investigated using a combination of quantum Monte Carlo simulations, exact numerical diagonalizations, and spin wave calculations. Whereas arbirarily weak disorder has a drastic effect on 1d Heisenberg AFM, we find that in two dimensions the characteristics of the ground state like long-range order is robust even against strong disorder. While the antiferromagnetic order parameter and the spin stiffness are exponentially reduced for singular exchange distributions, they vanish only in …
High-frequency ESR results on the S=1/2 Heisenberg hexagonal antiferromagnet InCu2/3V1/3O3 are reported. This compound appears to be a rare model substance for the honeycomb lattice antiferromagnet with very weak interlayer couplings. The high-temperature magnetic susceptibility can be interpreted by the S=1/2 honeycomb lattice antiferromagnet, and it shows a magnetic-order-like anomaly at TN=38 K. Although, the resonance field of our high-frequency ESR shows the typical behavior of the antiferromagnetic resonance, the linewidth of our high-frequency ESR continues to increase below TN, while i…
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 apply the coupled cluster method and exact diagonalzation to study the uniform susceptibility and the ground-state magnetization curve of the triangular-lattice spin-1 Heisenberg antiferromagnet. Comparing our theoretical data for the magnetization curve with recent measurements on the s=1 triangular lattice antiferromagnet Ba3NiSb2O9 we find a very good agreement.
Ag2CrO2 is an S=3/2 frustrated triangular lattice antiferromagnet without orbital degree of freedom. With decreasing temperature, a 4-sublatice spin state develops. However, a long-range partially disordered state with 5 sublattices abruptly appears at TN=24 K, accompanied by a structural distortion, and persists at least down to 2 K. The spin-lattice coupling stabilizes the anomalous state, which is expected to appear only in limited ranges of further-neighbor interactions and temperature. It was found that the spin-lattice coupling is a common feature in triangular lattice antiferromagnets w…
New frustrated antiferromagnetic compounds CuRE2Ge2O8 (RE=Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu) have been investigated using high-resolution x-ray diffraction, magnetic and heat capacity measurements. These systems show different magnetic lattices depending on rare-earth element. The nonmagnetic Eu compound is a S=1/2 two-dimensional triangular antiferromagnetic lattice oriented in the ac plane with geometrical frustration. On the other hand, the Pr, Nd, and Sm compounds show a three-dimensional honeycomb-tunnel-like lattice made of RE^3+ running along the a axis with the characteristic behavior of frustrated antif…
We propose a microscopic physical mechanism that stabilizes coexistence of the Kondo effect and antiferromagnetism in heavy-fermion systems. We consider a two-dimensional quantum Kondo-Heisenberg lattice model and show that long-range electron hopping leads to a robust antiferromagnetic Kondo state. By using a modified slave-boson mean-field approach we analyze the stability of the heavy antiferromagnetic phase across a range or parameters, and discuss transitions between different phases. We also address connection to experiments on heavy fermion compounds.
We investigate the zero- and finite-temperature properties of the bond-random $s=1/2$ Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the pyrochlore lattice by the exact diagonalization and the Hams--de Raedt methods. We find that the randomness induces the gapless quantum spin liquid (QSL) state, the random-singlet state. Implications to recent experiments on the mixed-anion pyrochlore-lattice antiferromagnet Lu$_2$Mo$_2$O$_5$N$_2$ exhibiting gapless QSL behaviors are discussed.
Lattice-coupled antiferromagnetic spin model is analyzed for a number of frustrated lattices: triangular, Kagome, and pyrochlore. In triangular and Kagome lattices where ground state spins are locally ordered, the spin-lattice interaction does not lead to a static deformation of the lattice. In the pyrochlore structure, spin-lattice coupling supports a picture of the hexagon spin cluster proposed in the recent experiment[S. H. Lee et al. Nature, 418, 856 (2002)]. Through spin-lattice interaction a uniform contraction of the individual hexagons in the pyrochlore lattice can take place and reduc…
We find evidence for decaying magnons at strong magnetic field in the square lattice spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet. The results are obtained using Quantum Monte Carlo simulations combined with a Bayesian inference technique to obtain dynamics and are consistent with predictions from spin wave theory.
We have realized that our results have a strong overlap with those previously published in J Chovan, N Papanicolaou, and S Komineas, Phys.Rev.B65,064433(2002).
We investigate quantum phase transitions for the $s=1/2$ antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on a pyrochlore lattice. By means of a series expansion starting from isolated tetrahedra, the ground-state phase diagram is determined. When the ratio of the two competing exchange couplings is varied, the first-order (second-order) quantum phase transition occurs between the two spin gap phases (the spin-gap and the antiferromagnetic phases). We also discuss some properties expected for the s=1 pyrochlore spin system.
Interplay between Kondo effect and trends to antiferromagnetic and spin glass ordering in perfect and disordered bipartite Kondo lattices is considered. Ginzburg-Landau equation is derived from the microscopic effective action written in three mode representation (Kondo screening, antiferromagnetic correlations and spin liquid correlations). The problem of local constraint is resolved by means of Popov-Fedotov representation for localized spin operators. It is shown that the Kondo screening enhances the trend to a spin liquid crossover and suppresses antiferromagnetic ordering in perfect Kondo…
As a model for the B 2pz bands of MgB$_2$, a half-filled Hubbard model on a honeycomb lattice is studied, and a possibility of an antiferromagnetism (AF) at the ground state is examined by Monte Carlo calculations as well as a random phase approximation method. On a single-layer honeycomb lattice, a paramagnetic to AF phase transition occurs at a finite value of the repulsion energy $U_c/t \simeq 3.6$, due to the loss of the density of states at the fermi level. On a layered honeycomb lattice, however, inter-layer hopping term creates a perfect nesting of the fermi surface, and leads the AF wi…
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 theoretically propose possible magnetism-induced negative thermal expansion in honeycomb-lattice antiferromagnets with edge-sharing networks of $MX_6$ octahedra where $M$ and $X$ are transition-metal and ligand ions, respectively. In this crystal structure, the nearest-neighbor exchange interaction is composed of two competing contributions, i.e., the antiferromagnetic contribution from a direct 180$^\circ$ $M$-$M$ bond and the ferromagnetic contribution from 90$^\circ$ $M$-$X$-$M$ bonds, amplitudes of which have different bond-length dependence. Numerical analysis of the spin-lattice model…
CuCrS2 is a triangular lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet with a rhombohedral crystal structure. We report on neutron and synchrotron powder diffraction results which reveal a monoclinic lattice distortion at the magnetic transition and verify a magnetoelastic coupling. CuCrS2 is therefore an interesting material to study the influence of magnetism on the relief of geometrical frustration.
In a strongly frustrated square-lattice antiferromagnet with diagonal coupling J', for J/(2J') < 1, an incommensurate spiral state with propagation vector Q = (π+/- δ, π+/- δ) near (π,π) competes closely with the Neel collinear antiferromagnetic ground state. For classical Heisenberg spins the energy of the spiral state can be lowered as it adapts to the distortion of the crystal lattice. As a result, a weak superstructural modulation such as exist in doped cuprates might stabilize an incommensurate spiral phase for some range of the parameter J/(2J') close to 1.
The Berry phase due to the spin wavefunction gives rise to the orbital ferromagnetism and anomalous Hall effect in the non-coplanar antiferromagnetic ordered state on face centered cubic (fcc) lattice once the crystal is distorted perpendicular to (1,1,1) or (1,1,0)- plane. The relevance to the real systems $γ$-FeMn and NiS$_2$ is also discussed.
We study a model of a spin S = 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a one dimensional lattice with the local symmetry of the two dimensional kagom{é} lattice. Using three complementary approaches, it is shown that the low energy spectrum can be described by two critical Ising models with different velocities. One of these velocities is small, leading to a strongly localized Majorana fermion. These excitations are singlet ones whereas the triplet sector has a spectral gap.
We analyze the zero temperature phase diagrams of the spin S quantum antiferromagnet on square and triangular lattices with competing nearest and next-nearest exchange interactions as well as biquadratic couplings. We approach the problem from the large S limit. Our primary focus is on determining the extent to which the existence and character of any quantum disordered phases can be inferred from this approach.
Quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnets on pyrochlore and checkerboard lattices in a strong external magnetic field are mapped onto hard-core lattice gases with an extended exclusion region. The effective models are studied by the exchange Monte Carlo simulations and by the transfer matrix method. The transition point and the critical exponents are obtained numerically for a square-lattice gas of particles with the second-neighbor exclusion, which describes a checkerboard antiferromagnet. The exact structure of the magnon crystal state is determined for a pyrochlore antiferromagnet.
Antiferromagnetically coupled moments on the frustrated triangular lattice typically order in a coplanar state at low temperature. Here, we demonstrate that the presence of not-very-large easy axis single ion anisotropy leads to an interesting orientationally ordered collinear state in triangular lattice antiferromagnets with moments $S \ge 3/2$. This ordered state breaks the symmetry of $π/3$ rotations about a lattice site, while leaving intact the translational symmetry of the lattice.
This paper discusses the ground state of quantum spins interacting via Heisenberg antiferromagnetic exchange, in two dimensional lattices having several different local environments. In unfrustrated lattices, when a Néel type order exists, quantum fluctuations lead to an inhomogeneous order parameter. I consider the effects of adding frustration to such a system by including next nearest neighbor antiferromagnetic interactions. Within linear spin wave theory, it is found that as the frustration parameter increases, the local order parameters decrease at a rate that depends on the type of sites…
Bi3Mn4O12(NO3), in which the Mn4+ ions carry S=3/2, is the first honeycomb lattice system that shows no long-range magnetic order. Using neutron scattering, we have determined that short-range antiferromagnetic correlations develop at low temperatures. Applied magnetic fields induce a magnetic transition, in which the short-range order abruptly expands into a long-range order.
Using a lattice-gas description of the low-energy degrees of freedom of the quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the frustrated two-leg ladder and bilayer lattices we examine the magnetization process at low temperatures for these spin models. In both cases the emergent discrete degrees of freedom implicate a close relation of the frustrated quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet to the classical lattice gas with finite nearest-neighbor repulsion or, equivalently, to the Ising antiferromagnet in a uniform magnetic field. Using this relation we obtain analytical results for thermodynamically large…
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.
Motivated by multiple possible physical realizations, we study the SU(4) quantum antiferromagnet with a fundamental representation on each site of the triangular lattice. We provide evidence for a gapless liquid ground state of this system with an emergent Fermi surface of fractionalized fermionic partons coupled with a U(1) gauge field. Our conclusions are based on numerical simulations using the density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) method, which we support with a field theory analysis.
With a mean field approach, the heavy Fermi liquid in the two-dimensional Kondo lattice model is carefully considered in the presence of short-range antiferromagnetic correlations. As the ratio of the local Heisenberg superexchange coupling to the Kondo coupling increases, the Fermi surface structure changes dramatically. From the analysis of the ground state energy density, multiple Lifshitz type phase transitions occur at zero temperature.
We review the mechanism of spin-lattice coupling in relieving the geometrical frustration of pyrochlore antiferromagnets, in particular spinel oxides. The tetrahedral unit, which is the building block of the pyrochlore lattice, undergoes a spin-driven Jahn-Teller instability when lattice degrees of freedom are coupled to the antiferromagnetism. By restricting our considerations to distortions which preserve the translational symmetries of the lattice, we present a general theory of the collective spin-Jahn-Teller effect in the pyrochlore lattice. One of the predicted lattice distortions breaks…
Motivated by puzzling characteristics of spin-glass transitions widely observed in pyrochlore-based frustrated materials, we investigate effects of coupling to local lattice distortions in a bond-disordered antiferromagnet on the pyrochlore lattice by extensive Monte Carlo simulations. We show that the spin-glass transition temperature $\TSG$ is largely enhanced by the spin-lattice coupling, and furthermore, becomes almost independent of $Δ$ in a wide range of the disorder strength $Δ$. The critical property of the spin glass transition is indistinguishable from that of the canonical Heisenber…
We study the quantum phase transition from an antiferromagnetic metal to a heavy fermion metal in the Kondo lattice model. Based on the strong coupling approach we {\it first} diagonalize the Kondo coupling term. Since this strong coupling approach makes the resulting Kondo term {\it relevant}, the Kondo hybridization persists even in the antiferromagnetic metal, indicating that fluctuations of Kondo singlets are not critical in the phase transition. We find that the quantum transition in our strong coupling approach results from {\it softening of antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations of localiz…
We report the results of magnetization and specific heat measurements on Ba$_3$CoSb$_2$O$_9$, in which the magnetic Co$^{2+}$ ion has a fictitious spin-1/2, and show evidence that a spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a regular triangular lattice is actually realized in Ba$_3$CoSb$_2$O$_9$. We found that the entire magnetization curve including the one-third quantum magnetization plateau is in excellent agreement with theoretical calculations at a quantitative level.
The topological properties of massive and massless fermionic quasiparticles have been intensively investigated over the past decade in topological materials without magnetism. Recently, the bosonic analogs of such quasiparticles arising from spin waves have been reported in the two-dimensional (2D) honeycomb lattice ferromagnet/antiferromagnet and the 3D antiferromagnet. Here we use time-of-flight inelastic neutron scattering to study spin waves of the S = 1 honeycomb lattice antiferromagnet BaNi2(AsO4)2, which has a zig-zag antiferromagnetic (AF) ground state identical to that of the Kitaev q…
The 'proof' of the possibility of the slab or stripe phase separation in polar semiconductors, proposed recently by E. L. Nagaev (Phys. Rev. B64 (2001) 014401) is shown to be erroneous. The fundamental error originates in the double-counting of the electron-phonon interaction with optical phonons.
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.
Simple mean-field approach for frustrated antiferromagnets on hexagonal lattices, aimed to describe the high-temperature part of the temperature-magnetic field phase diagram, is proposed. It is shown, that an interplay between modulation vector symmetry, Zeeman energy and magneto-dipolar interaction leads to stabilization of the triple-$Q$ skyrmion lattice in a certain region of the phase diagram. Corresponding analytical expressions for phase boundaries are derived. It is argued that the developed theory can be applied for the description of the high-temperature part of the phase diagram obse…
Magnetic excitations in the triangular-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet (TLHA) CuCrO2 were studied using single-crystal inelastic neutron scattering. A diffusive quasielastic component that persisted without developing a correlation length over a wide temperature range both below and above the ordering temperature was observed. Furthermore, characteristic momentum dependence was observed that was reproduced using minimum spin clusters. The robust spin clusters contrast with conventional magnetic ordering and may be universal in TLHAs.
The possibility of the slab or stripe phase separation (alternating ferromagnetic highly- conductive and insulating antiferromagnetic layers) is proved for isotropic degenerate antiferromagnetic semiconductors. This type of phase separation competes with the droplet phase separation (ferromagnetic droplets in the antiferromagnetic host or vice versa). The interaction of electrons with optical phonons alone cannot cause phase-separated state with alternating highly-conductive and insulating regions but it stabilizes the magnetic phase separation. The magnetostriction deformation of the lattice …
We calculate the two-magnon Raman scattering spectra in antiferromagnetic phases of several frustrated spin models defined on the honeycomb lattice. These include the Néel antiferromagnetic phase of a $J_1$-$J_2$-$J_3$ model and the stripe phase of the Heisenberg-Kitaev model. We show that both the magnetic frustration and the anisotropy of interactions may significantly affect the Raman spectra. We further discuss the implications of our results to the magnetic excitations of the iron-based compound BaFe$_2$Se$_2$O and show how the magnetic interactions can be extracted from fit to the Raman …
We discuss the paramagnetic and Neel-ordered phases of the Kondo lattice Hamiltonian on the 2D square lattice by means of bond Fermions. In the doped case we find two antiferromagnetic solutions, the first one with small ordered moment, heavy bands, and an antiferromagetically folded large Fermi surface - i.e. including the localized spins - the second one with large ordered moment, light bands and an antiferromagnetically folded conduction electron-only Fermi surface. The zero temperature phase diagram as a function of Kondo coupling and conduction electron density shows first and second orde…
Spin wave theory is applied to a quantum antiferromagnetic XXZ model on a triangle lattice in the presence of an in-plane magnetic field. The effect of the field is found to enhance the quantum fluctuation and to reduce the sublattice magnetization at the intermediate field strength in the anisotropic case. The possible implication to the field driven quantum phase transition from a spin solid to a spin liquid is discussed.
The spin liquid state of the antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on a triangular lattice is studied within the self-consistent Green's function method. It is shown that the spin excitation spectra is gapless, and ground-state energy per site is $E_{g}/NJ=-0.966$, which is in very good agreement with the results obtained within the variational Monte Carlo method based on the resonating-valence-bond state. Some thermodynamic properties are also discussed.
It is shown that the semimetallic state of the two-dimensional honeycomb lattice with a point-like Fermi surface is unstable towards a canted antiferromagnetic insulator upon application of an in-plane magnetic field. This instability is already present at the mean-field level; the magnetic field shifts the up- and the down-spin cones in opposite directions thereby generating a finite density of states at the Fermi surface and a perfect nesting between the up- and the down-spin Fermi sheets. This perfect nesting triggers a canted antiferromagnetic insulating state. Our conclusions, based on me…
A linear spin-wave approach, a variational method and exact diagonlization are used to investigate the magnetic long-range order (LRO) of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a two-dimensional 1/7-depleted triangular (maple leaf) lattice consisting of triangles and hexagons only. This lattice has z=5 nearest neighbors and its coordination number z is therefore between those of the triangular (z=6) and the kagome (z=4) lattices. Calculating spin-spin correlations, sublattice magnetization, spin stiffness, spin-wave velocity and spin gap we find that the classical 6-sublattice LRO is stron…
We use $^{79}$Br nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) to demonstrate that ultra slow lattice dynamics set in below the temperature scale set by the Cu-Cu super-exchange interaction $J$~($\simeq160$~K) in the kagome lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet Zn-barlowite. The lattice completely freezes below 50~K, and $^{79}$Br NQR lineshapes become twice broader due to increased lattice distortions. Moreover, the frozen lattice exhibits an oscillatory component in the transverse spin echo decay, a typical signature of pairing of nuclear spins by indirect nuclear spin-spin interaction. This indicates tha…
The $S=1/2$ kagome- and triangular-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnets are investigated using the numerical exact diagonalization and the finite-size scaling analysis. The behaviour of the field derivative at zero magnetization is examined for both systems. The present result indicates that the spin excitation is gapless for each system.
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.
Dynamical properties of the square-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet in applied magnetic field are studied for arbitrary value S of the spin. Above the threshold field for two-particle decays, the standard spin-wave theory yields singular corrections to the excitation spectrum with logarithmic divergences for certain momenta. We develop a self-consistent approximation applicable for S >= 1, which avoids such singularities and provides regularized magnon decay rates. Results for the dynamical structure factor obtained in this approach are presented for S = 1 and S = 5/2.
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…
We have investigated spin-wave excitations in a magnetic-field-induced 1/5-magnetization plateau phase in a triangular lattice antiferromagnet CuFeO2 (CFO), by means of inelastic neutron scattering measurements under applied magnetic fields of up to 13.4 T. Comparing the observed spectra with the calculations in which spin-lattice coupling effects for the nearest neighbor exchange interactions are taken into account, we have determined the Hamiltonian parameters in the field-induced 1/5- plateau phase, which directly show that CFO exhibits a bond order associated with the magnetic structure in…
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…
Effects of local lattice distortions on the spin ordering are investigated for the antiferromagnetic classical Heisenberg model on the pyrochlore lattice. It is found by Monte Carlo simulations that the spin-lattice coupling (SLC) originating from site phonons induces a first-order transition into two different types of collinear magnetic ordered states. The state realized at stronger SLC is cubic symmetric characterized by the magnetic (1/2,1/2,1/2) Bragg peaks, while that at weaker SLC is tetragonal symmetric characterized by the (1,1,0) ones, each accompanied by the commensurate local latti…
