Unconventional magnetic phase separation in γ-CoV2O6

We have explored the magnetism in the nongeometrically frustrated spin-chain system γ−CoV2O6 which possesses a complex magnetic exchange network. Our neutron diffraction patterns at low temperatures (T≤TN=6.6 K) are best described by a model in which two magnetic phases coexist in a volume ratio 65(...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. B 2017-08, Vol.96 (5)
Main Authors: Shen, L, Jellyman, E, gan, E M, Blackburn, E, Laver, M, Canévet, E, Schefer, J, He, Z, Itoh, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Diffraction
Diffraction patterns
Magnetism
Magnets
Neutron diffraction
Phase separation
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Summary:We have explored the magnetism in the nongeometrically frustrated spin-chain system γ−CoV2O6 which possesses a complex magnetic exchange network. Our neutron diffraction patterns at low temperatures (T≤TN=6.6 K) are best described by a model in which two magnetic phases coexist in a volume ratio 65(1) : 35(1), with each phase consisting of a single spin modulation. This model fits previous studies and our observations better than the model proposed by Lenertz et al. [J. Phys. Chem. C 118, 13981 (2014)], which consisted of one phase with two spin modulations. By decreasing the temperature from TN, the minority phase of our model undergoes an incommensurate-commensurate lock-in transition at T*=5.6 K. Based on these results, we propose that phase separation is an alternative approach for degeneracy-lifting in frustrated magnets.
ISSN:2469-9950
2469-9969
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevB.96.054420