Putative spin-nematic phase in BaCdVO(PO\(_{4}\))\(_{2}\)

• Published in: arXiv.org 2019-03
• Main Authors: Skoulatos, M, Rucker, F, Nilsen, G J, Bertin, A, Pomjakushina, E, Ollivier, J, Schneidewind, A, Georgii, R, Zaharko, O, Keller, L, Rüegg, Ch, Pfleiderer, C, Schmidt, B, Shannon, N, Kriele, A, Senyshyn, A, Smerald, A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antiferromagnetism; Ferromagnetism; Magnetic permeability; Magnetic saturation; Magnetism; Magnons; Neutron scattering; Variations
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1903.12462

We report neutron scattering and AC magnetic susceptibility measurements of the 2D spin-1/2 frustrated magnet BaCdVO(PO\(_{4}\))\(_{2}\). At temperatures well below \(T_{\sf N}\approx 1K\), we show that only 34 % of the spin moment orders in an up-up-down-down strip structure. Dominant magnetic diffuse scattering and comparison to published \(\mu\)sr measurements indicates that the remaining 66 % is fluctuating. This demonstrates the presence of strong frustration, associated with competing ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions, and points to a subtle ordering mechanism driven by magnon interactions. On applying magnetic field, we find that at \(T=0.1\) K the magnetic order vanishes at 3.8 T, whereas magnetic saturation is reached only above 4.5 T. We argue that the putative high-field phase is a realization of the long-sought bond-spin-nematic state.