Spin-liquid-like state in a spin-1/2 square-lattice antiferromagnet perovskite induced by d 10 -d 0 cation mixing

A quantum spin liquid state has long been predicted to arise in spin-1/2 Heisenberg square-lattice antiferromagnets at the boundary region between Néel (nearest-neighbor interaction dominates) and columnar (next-nearest-neighbor interaction dominates) antiferromagnetic order. However, there are no k...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2018-03, Vol.9 (1), p.1085
Main Authors: Mustonen, O, Vasala, S, Sadrollahi, E, Schmidt, K P, Baines, C, Walker, H C, Terasaki, I, Litterst, F J, Baggio-Saitovitch, E, Karppinen, M
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:A quantum spin liquid state has long been predicted to arise in spin-1/2 Heisenberg square-lattice antiferromagnets at the boundary region between Néel (nearest-neighbor interaction dominates) and columnar (next-nearest-neighbor interaction dominates) antiferromagnetic order. However, there are no known compounds in this region. Here we use d -d cation mixing to tune the magnetic interactions on the square lattice while simultaneously introducing disorder. We find spin-liquid-like behavior in the double perovskite Sr Cu(Te W )O , where the isostructural end phases Sr CuTeO and Sr CuWO are Néel and columnar type antiferromagnets, respectively. We show that magnetism in Sr Cu(Te W )O is entirely dynamic down to 19 mK. Additionally, we observe at low temperatures for Sr Cu(Te W )O -similar to several spin liquid candidates-a plateau in muon spin relaxation rate and a strong T-linear dependence in specific heat. Our observations for Sr Cu(Te W )O highlight the role of disorder in addition to magnetic frustration in spin liquid physics.
ISSN:2041-1723