English

Spin-lattice order in frustrated ZnCr2O4

Strongly Correlated Electrons 2009-05-14 v1

Abstract

Using synchrotron X-rays and neutron diffraction we disentangle spin-lattice order in highly frustrated ZnCr2_2O4_4 where magnetic chromium ions occupy the vertices of regular tetrahedra. Upon cooling below 12.5 K the quandary of anti-aligning spins surrounding the triangular faces of tetrahedra is resolved by establishing weak interactions on each triangle through an intricate lattice distortion. The resulting spin order is however, not simply a N\'{e}el state on strong bonds. A complex co-planar spin structure indicates that antisymmetric and/or further neighbor exchange interactions also play a role as ZnCr2_2O4_4 resolves conflicting magnetic interactions.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.0905.2127,
  title  = {Spin-lattice order in frustrated ZnCr2O4},
  author = {S. Ji and S. -H. Lee and C. Broholm and T. Y. Koo and W. Ratcliff and S-W. Cheong and P. Zschack},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0905.2127},
  year   = {2009}
}
R2 v1 2026-06-21T13:01:50.090Z