Ordered magnetic phases of the frustrated spin-dimer compound Ba3 Mn2 O8

E. C. Samulon, Y. J. Jo, P. Sengupta, C. D. Batista, M. Jaime, L. Balicas, I. R. Fisher

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Scopus citations

Abstract

Ba3 Mn2 O8 is a spin-dimer compound based on pairs of S=1, 3 d2, Mn5+ ions arranged on a triangular lattice. Antiferromagnetic intradimer exchange leads to a singlet ground state in zero field. Here we present the first results of thermodynamic measurements for single crystals probing the high-field ordered states of this material associated with closing the spin gap to the excited triplet states. Specific heat, magnetocaloric effect, and torque magnetometry measurements were performed in magnetic fields up to 32 T and temperatures down to 20 mK. For fields above Hc1 ∼8.7 T, these measurements reveal a single magnetic phase for H c but two distinct phases (approximately symmetric about the center of the phase diagram) for H c. Analysis of the simplest possible spin Hamiltonian describing this system yields candidates for these ordered states corresponding to a simple spiral structure for H c and to two distinct modulated phases for H c. Both single-ion anisotropy and geometric frustration play crucial roles in defining the phase diagram.

Original languageEnglish
Article number214441
JournalPhysical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
Volume77
Issue number21
DOIs
StatePublished - 27 Jun 2008

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Ordered magnetic phases of the frustrated spin-dimer compound Ba3 Mn2 O8'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this