The honeycomb antiferromagnet BaCo2(AsO4)2, in which small in-plane magnetic fields (H1 = 0.26 T and H2 = 0.52 T at T = 1.8 K < TN = 5.4 K) induce two magnetic phase transitions, has attracted attention as a possible candidate material for the realization of Kitaev physics based on the 3d element Co2+. Here, we report on the change of the transition temperature TN and the critical fields H1 and H2 of BaCo2(AsO4)2 with hydrostatic pressure up to ~ 20 kbar, as determined from magnetization and specific heat measurements. Within this pressure range, a marginal increase of the magnetic ordering temperature is observed. At the same time, the critical fields are changed significantly (up to ~ 25-35 %). Specifically, we find that H1 is increased with hydrostatic pressure, i.e., the antiferromagnetic state is stabilized with hydrostatic pressure, whereas H2, which was previously associated with a transition into a proposed Kitaev spin liquid state, decreases with increasing pressure. These results put constraints on the magnetic models that are used to describe the low-temperature magnetic properties of BaCo2(AsO4)2.
The low-temperature magnetic properties of \tcr{polycrystalline} Na$_2$IrO$_3$, a candidate material for the realization of a quantum spin-liquid state, were investigated by means of muon-spin relaxation and nuclear magnetic resonance methods under chemical and hydrostatic pressure. The Li-for-Na chemical substitution promotes an inhomogeneous magnetic order, whereas hydrostatic pressure (up to 3.9\,GPa) results in an enhancement of the ordering temperature $T_\mathrm{N}$. In the first case, the inhomogeneous magnetic order suggests either short- or long-range correlations of broadly distribut…
Hydrostatic pressure effects on the temperature- and magnetic field dependencies of the in-plane and out-of-plane magnetization of the bi-layered perovskite Sr3Ru2O7 have been studied by SQUID magnetometer measurements under a hydrostatic helium-gas pressure. The anomalously enhanced low-temperature value of the paramagnetic susceptibility has been found to systematically decrease with increasing pressure. The effect is accompanied by an increase of the temperature Tmax of a pronounced peak of susceptibility. Thus, magnetization measurements under hydrostatic pressure reveal that the lattice c…
We investigate spinon band topology and engineering from the interplay between long-ranged magnetic order and fractionalized spinons, as well as Zeeman coupling under external magnetic fields, in honeycomb lattice magnets. The synergism of Néel order and magnetic fields could reconstruct the spinon bands and drive a topological phase transition from the coexisting phase of long-ranged order and chiral spin liquid with semion topological order to the conventional magnetic order. Our prediction can be immediately tested through thermal Hall transport measurements among the honeycomb lattice magn…
The honeycomb Mott insulator $α$-RuCl$_3$ loses its low-temperature magnetic order by pressure. We report clear evidence for a dimerized structure at $P>1$ GPa and observe the breakdown of the relativistic $j_{\rm eff}$ picture in this regime strongly affecting the electronic properties. A pressure-induced Kitaev quantum spin liquid cannot occur in this broken symmetry state. We shed light on the new phase by broad-band infrared spectroscopy of the low-temperature properties of $α$-RuCl$_{3}$ and ab initio density functional theory calculations, both under hydrostatic pressure.
Honeycomb iridates such as $γ$-Li$_2$IrO$_3$ are argued to realize Kitaev spin-anisotropic magnetic exchange, along with Heisenberg and possibly other couplings. While systems with pure Kitaev interactions are candidates to realize a quantum spin liquid ground state, in $γ$-Li$_2$IrO$_3$ it has been shown that the balance of magnetic interactions leads to the incommensurate spiral spin order at ambient pressure below 38 K. We study the fragility of this state in single crystals of $γ$-Li$_2$IrO$_3$ using resonant x-ray scattering (RXS) under applied hydrostatic pressures of up to 3.0 GPa. RXS …
We study the spin-1 honeycomb lattice magnets with frustrated exchange interactions. The proposed microscopic spin model contains first and second neighbor Heisenberg interactions as well as the single-ion anisotropy. We establish a rich phase diagram that includes a featureless quantum paramagnet and various spin spiral states induced by the mechanism of order by quantum disorder. Although the quantum paramagnet is dubbed featureless, it is shown that, the magnetic excitations develop a contour degeneracy in the reciprocal space at the band minima. These contour degenerate excitations are res…
Spin-orbit coupled honeycomb magnets with the Kitaev interaction have received a lot of attention due to their potential of hosting exotic quantum states including quantum spin liquids. Thus far, the most studied Kitaev systems are 4d/5d-based honeycomb magnets. Recent theoretical studies predicted that 3d-based honeycomb magnets, including Na2Co2TeO6 (NCTO), could also be a potential Kitaev system. Here, we have used a combination of heat capacity, magnetization, electron spin resonance measurements alongside inelastic neutron scattering (INS) to study NCTO's quantum magnetism, and we have fo…
The possible application of the barocaloric effect to produce solid state refrigerators is a topic of interest in the field of applied physics. In this work, we present experimental data about the influence of external pressure on the magnetic properties of a manganite with phase separation. Using the Jahn Teller effect associated with the presence of the charge ordering we were able to follow the transition to the ferromagnetic state induced by pressure. We also demonstrated that external pressure can assist the ferromagnetic state, decreasing the magnetic field necessary to generate the magn…
By combining single crystal x-ray and neutron diffraction, and the magnetodielectric measurements on single crystal Fe4Nb2O9, we present the magnetic structure and the symmetry-allowed magnetoelectric coupling in Fe4Nb2O9. It undergoes an antiferromagnetic transition at TN=93 K, followed by a displacive transition at TS=70 K. The temperature-dependent dielectric constant of Fe4Nb2O9 is strongly anisotropic with the first anomaly at 93 K due to the exchange striction as a result of the long range spin order, and the second one at 70 K emanating from the structural phase transition primarily dri…
The magnetic and magnetocaloric (MCE) properties were studied in a stuffed honeycomb antiferromagnet GdInO3 polycrystalline. No long-range magnetic ordering was observed with only a sharp upturn in the temperature dependent magnetization curves at TN ~ 2.1 K. The large value of frustration index value ~ 5.0 suggests short-range antiferromagnetic interactions existing between the Gd3+ moments in this frustrated magnetic system. Negligible thermal and magnetic hysteresis suggest a second-order feature of phase transition and a reversible magnetocaloric effect (MCE) in GdInO3 compound. In the mag…
Magnetoelectric effects in honeycomb antiferromagnet Co4Nb2O9 are investigated on the basis of symmetry analyses of Co ions in trigonal P-3c1 space group. For each Co ion, the possible spin dependence is classified by C3 point-group symmetry. This accounts for the observed main effect that an electric polarization rotates in the opposite direction at the twice speed relative to the rotation of the external magnetic field applied in the ab-plane. Inversion centers and twofold axes in the unit cell restrict the active spin-dependence of the electric polarization, which well explains the observed…
Motivated by recent experiments, we consider a generic spin model in the $j_{\text{eff}}=1/2$ basis for the hyperhoneycomb and harmonic-honeycomb iridates. Based on microscopic considerations, the effect of an additional bond-dependent anisotropic spin exchange interaction ($Γ$) beyond the Heisenberg-Kitaev model is investigated. We obtain the magnetic phase diagrams of the hyperhoneycomb and harmonic-honeycomb ($\mathcal{H}\text{--}1$) lattices via a combination of the Luttinger-Tisza approximation, single-$\mathbf{Q}$ variational ansatz, and classical Monte Carlo simulated annealing. The res…
The honeycomb antiferromagnet Co4Nb2O9 is known to exhibit an interesting magnetoelectric effect that the electric polarization rotates at the twice speed in the opposite direction relative to the rotation of the external magnetic field applied in the basal ab-plane. The spin-dependent electric dipole can be an origin of the magnetoelectric effect. It is described by the product of spin operators at different sites (type-I theory) or at the same site (type-II theory). We examine the electric polarization for the two cases on the basis of the symmetry analysis of the crystal structure of Co4Nb2…
We use powder x-ray diffraction to study the effect of pressure on the crystal structure of the honeycomb rhodate Li$_2$RhO$_3$. We observe low-pressure ($P$$<$$P_{c1}$ = 6.5 GPa) and high-pressure ($P$$>$$P_{c2}$ = 14 GPa) regions corresponding to the monoclinic $C2/m$ symmetry, while a phase mixture is observed at intermediate pressures. At $P$$>$$P_{c2}$, the honeycomb structure becomes distorted and features short Rh--Rh bonds forming zigzag chains stretched along the crystallographic $a$ direction. This is in contrast to dimerized patterns observed in triclinic high-pressure polymorphs of…
Spin $\frac{1}{2}$ honeycomb materials have gained substantial interest due to their exotic magnetism and possible application in quantum computing. However, in all current materials out-of-plane interactions are interfering with the in-plane order, hence a true 2D magnetic honeycomb system is still of demand. Here, we report the exfoliation of the magnetic semiconductor $α$-RuCl$_3$ into the first halide monolayers and the magnetic characterization of the spin $\frac{1}{2}$ honeycomb arrangement of turbostratically stacked RuCl$_3$ monolayers. The exfoliation is based on a reductive lithiatio…
We report the structure, magnetic, and thermal property measurements on single crystalline and polycrystalline samples of Ru substituted honeycomb lattice iridate Na$_2$Ir$_x$Ru$_{1-x}$O$_3$ (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5). The evolution of magnetism in Na$_2$Ir$_x$Ru$_{1-x}$O$_3$ has been studied using dc and ac magnetic susceptibility, and heat capacity measurements. The parent compound Na$_2$IrO$_3$ is a spin-orbit driven Mott insulator with magnetic order of reduced moments below $T_N = 15$~K\@. In the Ru substituted samples the antiferromagnetic long range state is replaced by a s…
We investigated the electronic structure of layered Mn oxide Bi3Mn4O12(NO3) with a Mn honeycomb lattice by x-ray absorption spectroscopy. The valence of Mn was determined to be 4+ with a small charge-transfer energy. We estimated the values of superexchange interactions up to the fourth nearest neighbors (J1, J2, J3, and J4) by unrestricted Hartree-Fock calculations and a perturbation method. We found that the absolute values of J1 through J4 are similar with positive (antiferromagnetic) J1 and J4, and negative (ferromagnetic) J2 and J3, due to Mn-O-O-Mn pathways activated by the smallness of …
Recent theoretical studies have suggested that Kitaev physics and such effects as formation of a mysterious spin-liquid state can be expected not only in RuCl3 and iridates, but also in conventional $3d$ transition metal compounds. Using DC and AC magnetometry, thermodynamic and $^{23}$Na nuclear magnetic resonance measurements (NMR) we studied such a candidate material Na3Co2SbO6. A full phase diagram of Na3Co2SbO6 in a wide range of magnetic fields and temperatures is presented. The results demonstrate transformation of the antiferromagnetic structure under the external magnetic field, gradu…
Through analysis of single crystal neutron diffraction data, we present the magnetic structures of magnetoelectric Co4Nb2O9 under various magnetic fields. In zero-field, neutron diffraction experiments below TN=27 K reveal that the Co2+ moments order primarily along the a* direction without any spin canting along the c axis, manifested by the magnetic symmetry C2/c'. The moments of nearest neighbor Co atoms order ferromagnetically with a small cant away from the next nearest neighbor Co moments along the c axis. In the applied magnetic field H//a, three magnetic domains were aligned with their…
We investigated the static and dynamic magnetic properties of the polar ferrimagnet Mn$_2$Mo$_3$O$_8$ in three magnetically ordered phases via magnetization, magnetic torque, and THz absorption spectroscopy measurements. The observed magnetic field dependence of the spin-wave resonances, including Brillouin zone-center and zone-boundary excitations, magnetization, and torque, are well described by an extended two-sublattice antiferromagnetic classical mean-field model. In this orbitally quenched system, the competing weak easy-plane and easy-axis single-ion anisotropies of the two crystallogra…
We report on band structure calculations and a microscopic model of the low-dimensional magnet beta-Cu2V2O7. Magnetic properties of this compound can be described by a spin-1/2 anisotropic honeycomb lattice model with the averaged coupling \bar J1=60-66 K. The low symmetry of the crystal structure leads to two inequivalent couplings J1 and J1', but this weak spatial anisotropy does not affect the essential physics of the honeycomb spin lattice. The structural realization of the honeycomb lattice is highly non-trivial: the leading interactions J1 and J1' run via double bridges of VO4 tetrahedra…
We investigated the magnetic properties of the ilmenite-type iridate CdIrO$_3$ with a honeycomb lattice formed by Ir$^{4+}$ ions prepared via a solid-state metathesis. The magnetization measurements with using the powder sample reveal a large effective magnetic moment and a fairly strong antiferromagnetic interaction, indicating a deviation from the Kitaev model. Considering the relationship between magnetism and crystal structure in CdIrO$_3$ with comparing with the other ilmenite-type iridates ZnIrO$_3$ and MgIrO$_3$, we conclude that insulating CdIrO$_3$ cannot be describe as a $J_{\rm eff}…
Motivated by recent experimental observations in $α$-RuCl$_3$, we study the $K$-$Γ$ model on the honeycomb lattice in an external magnetic field. By a slave-particle representation and Variational Monte Carlo calculations, we reproduce the phase transition from zigzag magnetic order to a field-induced disordered phase. The nature of this state depends crucially on the field orientation. For particular field directions in the honeycomb plane, we find a gapless Dirac spin liquid, in agreement with recent experiments on $α$-RuCl$_3$. For a range of out-of-plane fields, we predict the existence of…
YMnO3 exhibits a ferroelectric transition at high temperature (~ 900 K) and magnetic ordering at T_N ~ 70 K where the dielectric constant shows an anomaly indicative of the magneto-dielectric effect. Here we report powder neutron diffraction experiments in this compound that show that the magnetic moment at saturation is reduced by application of hydrostatic pressure. Our results yield further insight about the nature of the spin-lattice interaction in ferroic materials.
This paper reports recent progress of ultrasonic measurements on URu$_2$Si$_2$, including ultrasonic measurements under hydrostatic pressure, in pulsed-magnetic fields, and the effect of Rh-substitution. The observed changes of the elastic responses shed light on the orthorhombic-lattice instability with $Γ_3$-symmetry existing within the hidden order and the hybridized 5$f$-electron states of URu$_2$Si$_2$.
We study themagnetism of a spin-1 substance Li2Ni2Mo3O12. The spin system consists of distorted honeycomb lattices and linear chains of Ni2+ spins. Li+ ions enter about 25% and 50% of the honeycomb and chain Ni sites, respectively, creating disorder in both spin subsystems. A magnetic phase transition occurs at Tc = 8.0 K in the zero magnetic field. In low magnetic fields, the magnetization increases rapidly below Tc, decreases below 7 K, and finally becomes negative at low temperatures. We determine the magnetic structure using neutron powder diffraction results. The honeycomb lattices and li…
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.
The layered honeycomb magnet $α$-Li$_2$IrO$_3$ has been theoretically proposed as a candidate to display novel magnetic behaviour associated with Kitaev interactions between spin-orbit entangled $j_{\rm eff}=1/2$ magnetic moments on a honeycomb lattice. Here we report single crystal magnetic resonant x-ray diffraction combined with powder magnetic neutron diffraction to reveal an incommensurate magnetic order in the honeycomb layers with Ir magnetic moments counter-rotating on nearest-neighbour sites. This type of magnetic structure has not been reported experimentally before in honeycomb magn…
We synthesize and study single crystals of the layered honeycomb lattice Mott insulators Na2RuO3 and Li2RuO3 with magnetic Ru4+(4d4) ions. The newly found Na2RuO3 features a nearly ideal honeycomb lattice and orders antiferromagnetically at 30 K. Single-crystals of Li2RuO3 adopt a honeycomb lattice with either C2/m or more distorted P21/m below 300 K, depending on detailed synthesis conditions. We find that Li2RuO3 in both structures hosts a well-defined magnetic state, in contrast to the singlet ground state found in polycrystalline Li2RuO3. A phase diagram generated based on our results unco…
We examine the presence and evolution of magnetic Dirac nodes in the Heisenberg honeycomb lattice. Using linear spin theory, we evaluate the collinear phase diagram as well as the change in the spin dynamics with various exchange interactions. We show that the ferromagnetic structure produces bosonic Dirac and Weyl points due to the competition between superexchange interactions. Furthermore, it is shown that the criteria for magnetic Dirac nodes are coupled to the magnetic structure and not the overall crystal symmetry, where the breaking of inversion symmetry greatly affects the antiferromag…
We measure Raman scattering in an interacting spin-dimer system KCuCl3 under hydrostatic pressures up to 5 GPa mediated by He gas. In the pressure-induced quantum phase, we observe a one-magnon Raman peak, which originates from the longitudinal magnetic excitationand is observable through the second-order exchange interaction Raman process. We report the pressure dependence of the frequency, halfwidth and Raman intensity of this mode.
We study numerically a bosonic analog of the Kitaev honeycomb model, which is a minimal model for $4d^4/5d^4$ quantum magnets with honeycomb lattice geometry. We construct its phase diagram by a combination of Landau theory analysis and quantum Monte Carlo simulations. In particular, we show that the phase boundaries between the paramagnetic state and magnetically ordered states are generically fluctuation-induced first order phase transitions. Our results are potentially applicable to Ru$^{4+}$- and Ir$^{5+}$-based honeycomb magnets.
Frustrated bilayer quantum magnets have attracted attention as flat-band spin systems with unconventional thermodynamic properties. We study the low-temperature properties of a frustrated honeycomb-lattice bilayer spin-$\frac{1}{2}$ isotropic ($XXX$) Heisenberg antiferromagnet in a magnetic field by means of an effective low-energy theory using exact diagonalizations and quantum Monte Carlo simulations. Our main focus is on the magnetization curve and the temperature dependence of the specific heat indicating a finite-temperature phase transition in high magnetic fields.
The temperature-magnetic-field phase diagram of the mixed honeycomb triangular lattice system K$_{2}$Mn$_{3}$(VO$_{4}$)$_{2}$CO$_{3}$ is investigated by means of magnetization, heat capacity and neutron scattering measurements. The results indicate that triangular and honeycomb magnetic layers undergo sequential magnetic orderings and act as nearly independent magnetic sublattices. The honeycomb sublattice orders at about 85 K in a Neél-type antiferromagnetic structure, while the triangular sublattice displays two consecutive ordered states at much lower temperatures, 3 K and 2.2 K. The ground…
We report magnetic and thermodynamic properties of single crystal $α$-RuCl$_3$, in which the Ru$^{3+}$ ($4d^5$) ion is in its low spin state and forms a honeycomb lattice. Two features are observed in both magnetic susceptibility and specific heat data; a sharp peak at 7~K and a broad hump near 10-15K. In addition, we observe a metamagnetic transition between 5~T and 10~T. Our neutron diffraction study of single crystal samples confirms that the low temperature peak in the specific heat is associated with a magnetic order with unit cell doubling along the honeycomb (100) direction, which is co…
We report on the anomalous magnetization reversal under hydrostatic pressure in the lightly electron-doped manganite compound (Ca$_{1-x}$Sr$_{x}$)Mn$_{0.95}$Sb$_{0.05}$O$_{3}$ with its fixed carrier content. In a weakly magnetic field cooled measurement, diamagnetic magnetization is observed for $x\leq 15\%$, which changes to positive values for $x>15\%$. However, on an application of pressure on the samples with $x=16\%$ and 17$\%$, magnetization reverses sign and diamagnetism is restored. We present a magnetic phase diagram as a function of Sr concentration, under both ambient and hydrostati…
An exact solution (incomplete) of the ground-state problem for an Ising model in an external field on a 3D honeycomb zigzag-ladder lattice with two types of sites is found. It is shown that the geometrical frustration due to the presence of triangle elements leads to the emergence of a variety of magnetic phases. The majority of these are partially disordered (highly degenerate). The theoretical results are used to explain the sequence of experimentally observed phase transitions in the honeycomb zigzag-ladder magnets and to predict the appearance of new phases.
We have studied the magnetic properties of Na$_2$Co$_2$TeO$_6$, which features a honeycomb lattice of magnetic Co$^{2+}$ ions, through macroscopic characterization and neutron diffraction on a powder sample. We have shown that this material orders in a zig-zag antiferromagnetic structure. In addition to allowing a linear magnetoelectric coupling, this magnetic arrangement displays very peculiar spatial magnetic correlations, larger in the honeycomb planes than between the planes, which do not evolve with the temperature. We have investigated this behavior by Monte Carlo calculations using the …
We study the rare-earth magnets on a honeycomb lattice, and are particularly interested in the experimental consequences of the highly anisotropic spin interaction due to the spin-orbit entanglement. We perform a high-temperature series expansion using a generic nearest-neighbor Hamiltonian with anisotropic interactions, and obtain the heat capacity, the parallel and perpendicular spin susceptibilities, and the magnetic torque coefficients. We further examine the electron spin resonance linewidth as an important signature of the anisotropic spin interactions. Due to the small interaction energ…
Lattice Wigner crystal states stabilized by long-range Coulomb interactions have recently been realized in two-dimensional moiré materials. We employ large-scale unrestricted Hartree-Fock techniques to unveil the magnetic phase diagrams of honeycomb lattice Wigner crystals. For the three lattice filling factors with the largest charge gaps, n = 2/3, 1/2, 1/3, the magnetic phase diagrams contain multiple phases, including ones with non-collinear and non-coplanar spin arrangements. We discuss magnetization evolution with external magnetic field, which has potential as an experimental signature o…
Using a hybrid method based on fermionic diagonalization and classical Monte Carlo, we investigate the interplay between itinerant and localized spins, with competing double- and super-exchange interactions, on a honeycomb lattice. For moderate superexchange, a geometrically frustrated triangular lattice of hexagons forms spontaneously. For slightly larger superexchange a dimerized groundstate is stable that has macroscopic degeneracy. The presence of these states on a non-frustrated honeycomb lattice highlights a novel phenomenon in this itinerant electron system: emergent geometrical frustra…
We explore the magnetic properties of isolated a-b planes of trinuclear organometallic crystals, Mo3S7(dmit)3, in which an interplay of strong electronic correlations and spin molecular-orbital coupling (SMOC) occurs. The magnetic properties can be described by a XXZ+120, S=1 Heisenberg model on a honeycomb lattice with single-spin anisotropy, D, which depends strongly on SMOC. Based on ab initio estimates of SMOC in Mo3S7(dmit)3 crystals, we predict that the honeycomb layers of Mo3S7(dmit)3 are Neel ordered. However, in materials with a greater degree of magnetic frustration, Neel order can g…
We report magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity measurements on single-crystalline PrCu2 under hydrostatic pressure, up to 2 GPa, which pressure range covers the pressure-induced Van Vleck paramagnet-to-antiferromagnet transition at 1.2 GPa. The measured anisotropy in the susceptibility shows that in the pressure-induced magnetic state the ordered 4f-moments lie in the ac-plane. We propose that remarkable pressure effects on the susceptibility and resistivity are due to changes in the quadrupolar state of O22 and/or O20 under pressure. We present a simple analysis in terms of the …
The structural and magnetic properties of a new series of iridium-based honeycomb lattices with the formula Na3-delta(Na1-xMgx)Ir2O6 (x = 0 to 1) are reported. As x and delta are increased, the honeycomb lattice contracts and the strength of the antiferromagnetic interactions decreases systematically due to a reduction in Ir-O-Ir bond angles. Samples with imperfect stoichiometry exhibit disordered magnetic freezing at temperatures Tf between 3.4 K and 5 K. This glassy magnetism likely arises due to the presence of non-magnetic Ir3+, which are distributed randomly throughout the lattice, with a…
In this Letter, we study the magnetic transport in AA-stacked bilayer honeycomb chiral magnets coupled either ferromagnetically or antiferromagnetically. For both couplings, we observe chirality-induced gaps, chiral protected edge states, magnon Hall and magnon spin Nernst effects of magnetic spin excitations. For ferromagnetically coupled layers, thermal Hall and spin Nernst conductivities do not change sign as function of magnetic field or temperature similar to single-layer honeycomb ferromagnetic insulator. In contrast, for antiferromagnetically coupled layers, we observe a sign change in …
Layered honeycomb magnets are of interest as potential realizations of the Kitaev quantum spin liquid (KQSL), a quantum state with long-range spin entanglement and an exactly solvable Hamiltonian. Conventional magnetically ordered states are present for all currently known candidate materials, however, because non-Kitaev terms in the Hamiltonians obscure the Kitaev physics. Current experimental studies of the KQSL are focused on 4d- or 5d-transition-metal-based honeycombs, in which strong spin-orbit coupling can be expected, yielding Kitaev interaction that dominate in an applied magnetic fiel…
Topological spin textures, such as a skyrmion crystal, are a source of unusual physical phenomena owing to the interplay between magnetism and topology. Since physical phenomena depend on the topological property and the symmetry of underlying spin structures, the search for new topological spin textures and emergent phenomena is one of the challenges in condensed matter physics. In this letter, we theoretically explore new topological spin textures arising from the synergy between spin, charge, and sublattice degrees of freedom in an itinerant magnet. By performing simulated annealing for an …
Recently, there have been increasingly hot debates on whether there exists a quantum spin liquid in the Kitaev honeycomb magnet $α$-RuCl$_3$ in high magnetic field. To investigate this issue, we perform the ultralow-temperature thermal conductivity measurements on the single crystals of $α$-RuCl$_3$ down to 80 mK and up to 9 T. Our experiments clearly show a field-induced phase transition occurring at $H_c$ $\approx$ 7.5 T, above which the zigzag magnetic order is completely suppressed. The minimum of thermal conductivity at 7.5 T is attributed to the strong scattering of phonons by the magnet…
We report magnetic properties of a 4f-honeycomb iodide SmI3 made up of edge-shared network of SmI6 octahedra. High temperature magnetic susceptibility indicates Γ7 Kramers doublet ground state of Sm3+ (4f5) ions stabilized by the spin-orbit coupling and octahedral crystal electric field, which interact with Sm-I-Sm bond angle nearly 90 degree. Magnetization measurements down to 0.1 K detected antiferromagnetic correlations and an anomaly in the magnetization curve before saturation without a sign of long-range order. Relevance between SmI3 and the antiferromagnetic Kitaev material proposed in …
Layered antiferromagnetic spin density wave (LAF) state is one of the plausible ground states of charge neutral Bernal stacked bilayer graphene. In this paper, we use determinant quantum Monte Carlo method to study the effect of the electric field on the magnetic order in bilayer Hubbard model on a honeycomb lattice. Our results qualitatively support the LAF ground state found in the mean field theory. The obtained magnetic moments, however, are much smaller than what are estimated in the mean field theory. As electric field increases, the magnetic order parameter rapidly decreases.
The electronic ground state in many iridate materials is described by a complex wave-function in which spin and orbital angular momenta are entangled due to relativistic spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Such a localized electronic state carries an effective total angular momentum of $J_{eff}=1/2$. In materials with an edge-sharing octahedral crystal structure, such as the honeycomb iridates Li2IrO3 and Na2IrO3, these $J_{eff}=1/2$ moments are expected to be coupled through a special bond-dependent magnetic interaction, which is a necessary condition for the realization of a Kitaev quantum spin liqui…
