Local nuclear and magnetic order in the two-dimensional spin glass, Mn${}_{0.5}$Fe${}_{0.5}$PS${}_3$

Abstract

We present a comprehensive study of the short-ranged nuclear and magnetic order in the two-dimensional spin glass, Mn${}_{0.5}$Fe${}_{0.5}$PS${}_3$. Nuclear neutron scattering data reveal a random distribution of Mn${}^{2+}$ and Fe${}^{2+}$ ions within the honeycomb layers, which gives rise to a spin glass state through inducing competition between neighbouring exchange interactions, indicated in magnetic susceptibility data by a cusp at the glass transition, $T_g=35$ K. Analysis of magnetic diffuse neutron scattering data collected for both single crystal and polycrystalline samples gives further insight into the origin of the spin glass phase, with spin correlations revealing a mixture of satisfied and unsatisfied correlations between magnetic moments within the honeycomb planes, which can be explained by considering the magnetic structures of the parent compounds, MnPS${}_3$ and FePS${}_3$. We found that, on approaching $T_g$ from above, an ensemble-averaged correlation length of $\xi =5.5(6)$ Å developed between satisfied correlations, and below $T_g$, the glassy behaviour gave rise to a distance-independent correlation between unsatisfied moments. Correlations between the planes were found to be very weak, which mirrored our observations of rod-like structures parallel to the c* axis in our single crystal diffraction measurements, confirming the two-dimensional nature of Mn${}_{0.5}$Fe${}_{0.5}$PS${}_3$.

9 pages, 8 figures, accepted manuscript in PRM

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