A novel Kagome uud-ddu spin order in Heisenberg spin-1/2 Clinoatacamite Cu$_4$(OH)$_6$Cl$_2$, the parent compound of Herbertsmithite

X. G. Zheng; M. Hagihala; I. Yamauchi; E. Nishibori; T. Honda; T. Yuasa; C. -N. Xu

paper

A novel Kagome uud-ddu spin order in Heisenberg spin-1/2 Clinoatacamite Cu $_{4}$ (OH) $_{6}$ Cl $_{2}$ , the parent compound of Herbertsmithite

arXiv:2411.01277

Abstract

The newly identified field-induced up-up-down order in Ba $_{3}$ CoSb $_{2}$ O $_{9}$ etc. renewed attention on exotic phases in spin-1/2 triangular-lattice antiferromagnets. Here, we report a unique zero-field noncoplanar up,up,down, down,down,up Kagome spin order in spin-1/2 antiferromagnet Clinoatacamite, Cu $_{4}$ (OH) $_{6}$ Cl $_{2}$ , which consists of weakly-coupled Kagome layers and was known as the parent compound for the most researched spin liquid candidate Herbertsmithite ZnCu $_{3}$ (OH) $_{6}$ Cl $_{2}$ . The two-dimensional uud-ddu Kagome order develops below T $_{N 1}$ = 18.1 K in Clinoatacamite before a further transition into a three-dimensional magnetic order at low temperatures below T $_{N 2}$ ~ 6.4 K with persistent spin fluctuations. The present work reveals a new unpredicted Kagome order in a readily accessible temperature range in the parent compound of a well-studied spin liquid. In addition, it has also solved a puzzling issue for a mysterious magnetic phase.

22 pages, 4 figures and 3 supplementary figures

A novel Kagome uud-ddu spin order in Heisenberg spin-1/2 Clinoatacamite Cu4​(OH)6​Cl2​, the parent compound of Herbertsmithite

Abstract

A novel Kagome uud-ddu spin order in Heisenberg spin-1/2 Clinoatacamite Cu $_{4}$ (OH) $_{6}$ Cl $_{2}$ , the parent compound of Herbertsmithite