Absence of moment fragmentation in the mixed B-site pyrochlore Nd2GaSbO7

• Published in: Physical review. B 2021-06, Vol.103 (21)
• Main Authors: Gomez, S. J., Sarte, P. M., Zelensky, M., Hallas, A. M., Gonzalez, B. A., Hong, K. H., Pace, E. J., Calder, S., Stone, M. B., Su, Y., Feng, E., Le, M. D., Stock, C., Attfield, J. P., Wilson, S. D., Wiebe, C. R., Aczel, A. A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: antiferromagnets; CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; DC susceptibility measurements; frustrated magnetism; inelastic neutron scattering; MATERIALS SCIENCE; neutron diffraction; pyrochlore; specific heat measurements
• ISSN: 2469-9950; 2469-9969
• DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.103.214419

Nd-based pyrochlore oxides of the form Nd2GaSbO7 have garnered a significant amount of interest owing to the moment fragmentation physics observed in Nd2GaSbO7 and speculated in Nd2GaSbO7. Notably this phenomenon is not ubiquitous in this family, as it is absent in Nd2GaSbO7, which features a smaller ionic radius on the B site. Here, we explore the necessary conditions for moment fragmentation in the Nd pyrochlore family through a detailed study of the mixed B-site pyrochlore Nd2GaSbO7. Furthermore, the B site of this system is characterized by significant disorder and an extremely small average ionic radius. Similarly to Nd2GaSbO7, we find no evidence for moment fragmentation through our bulk characterization and neutron scattering experiments, indicating that chemical pressure (and not necessarily the B-site disorder) plays a key role in the presence or absence of this phenomenon in this material family. Surprisingly, the presence of significant B-site disorder in Nd2GaSbO7 does not generate a spin-glass ground state and instead the same all-in-all-out magnetic order identified in other Nd pyrochlores is found here.