Abstract
We report the crystal field levels of several newly discovered rare-earth kagome compounds: Nd3Sb3Mg2O14, Nd3Sb3Zn2O14, and Pr3Sb3Mg2O14. We determine the crystal electric field (CEF) Hamiltonian by fitting to neutron scattering data using a point charge Hamiltonian as an intermediate fitting step. The fitted Hamiltonians accurately reproduce bulk susceptibility measurements, and the results indicate easy-axis ground-state doublets for Nd3Sb3Mg2O14 and Nd3Sb3Zn2O14 and a singlet ground state for Pr3Sb3Mg2O14. These results provide the groundwork for future investigations of these compounds and a template for CEF analysis of other low-symmetry materials.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 134401 |
| Journal | Physical Review B |
| Volume | 98 |
| Issue number | 13 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 1 2018 |
Funding
This work was supported through the Institute for Quantum Matter at Johns Hopkins University, by the U.S. Department of Energy, Division of Basic Energy Sciences, Grant No. DE-FG02-08ER46544. A.S. and C.B. were supported through the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation under the EPIQS program GBMF4532. A.D.C. was partially supported by the U.S. DOE, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division. This research at the High Flux Isotope Reactor and Spallation Neutron Source was supported by the DOE Office of Science User Facilities Division. A.S. acknowledges helpful discussions with A. Boothroyd.