Absent pinch points and emergent clusters: further neighbour interactions in the pyrochlore Heisenberg antiferromagnet

Abstract

We discuss the origin of spin correlations observed in neutron scattering experiments on the paramagnetic phase of a number of frustrated spinel compounds, most notably ZnCr2O4. These correlations are striking for two reasons. First, they have been interpreted as evidence for the formation of weakly interacting hexagonal clusters of spins. Second, they are very different from those calculated for the nearest neighbour Heisenberg pyrochlore antiferromagnet, in which Coulomb phase correlations generate sharp scattering features known as pinch points. Using large-$n$ calculations and Monte Carlo simulations, we show that very weak further neighbour exchange interactions can account for both the apparent formation of clusters and the suppression of pinch points.

12 pages, 9 figures, published version. Expanded section on dynamics + new short section on general J3a,J3b combinations + other minor alterations

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• Electronic band structure and exchange coupling constants in ACr2X4 spinels
• Dy2Ti2O7 Spin Ice: a Test Case for Emergent Clusters in a Frustrated Magnet
• Molecular spin resonance in the geometrically frustrated MgCr2O4 magnet by inelastic neutron scattering
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• Partial order from disorder in a classical pyrochlore antiferromagnet
• Unconventional continuous phase transition in a three dimensional dimer model
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