Cascade of magnetic field induced spin transitions in LaCoO3

We present magnetization and magnetostriction studies of LaCoO3 in magnetic fields approaching 100 T. In contrast with expectations from single-ion models, the data reveal two distinct first-order transitions and well-defined magnetization plateaus. The magnetization at the higher plateau is only ab...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review letters 2012-07, Vol.109 (3), p.037201-037201
Main Authors: Altarawneh, M M, Chern, G-W, Harrison, N, Batista, C D, Uchida, A, Jaime, M, Rickel, D G, Crooker, S A, Mielke, C H, Betts, J B, Mitchell, J F, Hoch, M J R
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We present magnetization and magnetostriction studies of LaCoO3 in magnetic fields approaching 100 T. In contrast with expectations from single-ion models, the data reveal two distinct first-order transitions and well-defined magnetization plateaus. The magnetization at the higher plateau is only about half the saturation value expected for spin-1 Co3+ ions. These findings strongly suggest collective behavior induced by interactions between different electronic configurations of Co3+ ions. We propose a model that predicts crystalline spin textures and a cascade of four magnetic phase transitions at high fields, of which the first two account for the experimental data.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.037201