Magnetic ordering in the frustrated J1-J2 Ising chain candidate BaNd2O4

Abstract

The AR${}_2$O${}_4$ family (R = rare earth) have recently been attracting interest as a new series of frustrated magnets, with the magnetic R atoms forming zigzag chains running along the $c$-axis. We have investigated polycrystalline BaNd${}_2$O${}_4$ with a combination of magnetization, heat capacity, and neutron powder diffraction (NPD) measurements. Magnetic Bragg peaks are observed below $T_N$ $=$ 1.7 K, and they can be indexed with a propagation vector of $\vec{k}$ $=$ (0 1/2 1/2). The signal from magnetic diffraction is well described by long-range ordering from only one of the two types of Nd zigzag chains, with collinear up-up-down-down intrachain spin configurations. Furthermore, low temperature magnetization and heat capacity measurements reveal two field-induced spin transitions at 2.5 T and 4 T for $T$ $=$ 0.46 K. The high field phase is paramagnetic, while the intermediate field state may arise from a spin transition of the long-range ordered Nd chains, resulting in an up-up-down intrachain spin configuration. The proposed intermediate field state is consistent with the magnetic structure determined in zero field for these chains by NPD, as both phases are predicted for the classical Ising chain model with nearest neighbor and next nearest neighbor interactions.

7 pages, 6 figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev. B

References in corpus (4)

• Spin Dynamics of the Spin-1/2 Kagome Lattice Antiferromagnet ZnCu_3(OH)_6Cl_2
• Low-temperature magnetic ordering in SrEr${}_2$O${}_4$
• Universal emergence of the one-third plateau in the magnetization process of frustrated quantum spin chains
• Incommensurate antiferromagnetic order in the manifoldly-frustrated SrTb${}_2$O${}_4$ with transition temperature up to 4.28 K

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• Super-Necking Crystal Growth and Structural and Magnetic Properties of SrTb${}_2$O${}_4$ Single Crystals
• Mechanism of magnetostructural transformation in multifunctional Mn${}_3$GaC