Magnetic order in the quasi-one-dimensional Ising system RbCoCl${}_3$

Abstract

The dynamical properties of free and bound domain-wall excitations in Ising-chain materials have recently become the focus of intense research interest. New materials and spectrometers have made it possible to control the environment of coupled Ising chains by both effective internal and applied external fields, which can be both longitudinal and transverse, and thus to demonstrate how the resulting magnetic phase transitions and the nature of the associated excited states obey fundamental symmetry properties. In RbCoCl${}_3$, the weakly coupled Ising chains form a triangular lattice whose frustrated geometry and magnetic ordering transitions at low temperature open new possibilities for the Ising-chain environment. We have investigated the structure and magnetism in RbCoCl${}_3$ by high-resolution x-ray diffraction and neutron scattering measurements on powder and single crystal samples between 1.5 K and 300 K. Upon cooling, the Co${}^{2+}$ spins develop one-dimensional antiferromagnetic correlations along the chain axis ($c$-axis) below 90 K. Below the first Néel temperature, $T_{N1}$ = 28 K, a partial 3D magnetic order sets in, with propagation vector ${\vec{k}}_1$ = (1/3,1/3,1), the moments aligned along the $c$-axis and every third chain uncorrelated from its neighbours. Only below a second magnetic phase transition at $T_{N2}$ = 13 K does the system achieve a fully ordered state, with two additional propagation vectors: ${\vec{k}}_2$ = (0,0,1) establishes a "honeycomb" $c$-axis order, in which 1/3 of the chains are subject to a strong effective mean field due to their neighbours whereas 2/3 experience no net field, while ${\vec{k}}_3$ = (1/2,0,1) governs a small, staggered in-plane ordered moment. We conclude that RbCoCl${}_3$ is an excellent material to study the physics of Ising chains in a wide variety of temperature-controlled environments.

arXiv comment23+3 pages, 10+2 figures, 6+4 tables

References in corpus (15)

• Quantum criticality in an Ising chain: experimental evidence for emergent E8 symmetry
• Experimental Observation of Bethe Strings
• Topological quantum phase transition in the Ising-like antiferromagnetic spin chain BaCo${}_2$V${}_2$O${}_8$
• A hierarchy of bound states in the 1D ferromagnetic Ising chain CoNb${}_2$O${}_6$ investigated by high resolution time-domain terahertz spectroscopy
• Spinon confinement in a quasi one dimensional anisotropic Heisenberg magnet
• Longitudinal and Transverse Zeeman Ladders in the Ising-Like Chain Antiferromagnet BaCo2V2O8
• Spinon Confinement in the One-Dimensional Ising-Like Antiferromagnet SrCo2V2O8
• Excitations in the quantum paramagnetic phase of the quasi-one-dimensional Ising magnet CoNb${}_2$O${}_6$ in a transverse field: Geometric frustration and quantum renormalization effects
• From confined spinons to emergent fermions: Observation of elementary magnetic excitations in a transverse-field Ising chain
• "Quasi-particle breakdown" in the quasi-one-dimensional Ising ferromagnet CoNb${}_2$O${}_6$
• A cluster heat bath method on a quasi-onedimensional Ising model
• Cluster Heat Bath Algorithm in Monte Carlo Simulations of Ising Models
• Thermal control of spin excitations in the coupled Ising-chain material RbCoCl3
• Study of Field-Induced Magnetic Order in Singlet-Ground-State Magnet CsFeCl${}_3$
• Quenched chirality in RbNiCl${}_3$

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Na${}_5$Co${}_{15.5}$Te${}_6$O${}_{36}$: an $S$ = 1/2 stacked Ising kagome antiferromagnet with a partially disordered ground state
• Magnetic properties of the quasi-one-dimensional S = 1 spin chain antiferromagnet BaNiTe2O7
• Zero-field magnetic structure and metamagnetic phase transitions of the cobalt chain compound Li${}_2$CoCl${}_4$
• Singular transport in non-equilibrium strongly internal-coupled 1D tilted field spin-1/2 chain