TY - JOUR
T1 - Magnetic correlations in HoxTb2-xTi2O 7
AU - Chang, L. J.
AU - Schweika, W.
AU - Kao, Y. J.
AU - Chou, Y. Z.
AU - Perßon, J.
AU - Brückel, Th
AU - Yang, H. C.
AU - Chen, Y. Y.
AU - Gardner, J. S.
PY - 2011/4/18
Y1 - 2011/4/18
N2 - Polycrystalline samples of HoxTb2-xTi 2O7 (0 < x < 2) have been prepared and characterized for their structural and magnetic properties. The parent compounds of this solid solution are the spin ice Ho2Ti2O7 and the spin liquid Tb2Ti2O7. Specific-heat measurements on HoTbTi2O7 (x = 1.0) reveal the absence of a long-range order state above 0.5 K. The integrated entropies of all Ho xTb2-xTi2O7 specimens up to 30 K scale well with the ratio of spin ice and spin liquid in the composition. The neutron diffraction spectrum of HoTbTi2O7 exhibits a dipolar spin-ice pattern and can be well described by mean-field theory for 111 Ising spins, nearest-neighbor exchange, and dipolar interactions. Inelastic neutron scattering on HoTbTi2O7 reveals two dispersionless excitations, one of ∼2.5 meV out of the ground state, and a 4-meV transition out of an excited state. We argue that these data suggest that the very strong single-ion effects of Ho2Ti2O7 and Tb2Ti2O7 persist in the HoxTb 2-xTi2O7(0< x< 2) solid solution, whereas the Tb-Ho correlations are weak, resulting in small shifts in the energy scales but with no dramatic effect on the bulk properties.
AB - Polycrystalline samples of HoxTb2-xTi 2O7 (0 < x < 2) have been prepared and characterized for their structural and magnetic properties. The parent compounds of this solid solution are the spin ice Ho2Ti2O7 and the spin liquid Tb2Ti2O7. Specific-heat measurements on HoTbTi2O7 (x = 1.0) reveal the absence of a long-range order state above 0.5 K. The integrated entropies of all Ho xTb2-xTi2O7 specimens up to 30 K scale well with the ratio of spin ice and spin liquid in the composition. The neutron diffraction spectrum of HoTbTi2O7 exhibits a dipolar spin-ice pattern and can be well described by mean-field theory for 111 Ising spins, nearest-neighbor exchange, and dipolar interactions. Inelastic neutron scattering on HoTbTi2O7 reveals two dispersionless excitations, one of ∼2.5 meV out of the ground state, and a 4-meV transition out of an excited state. We argue that these data suggest that the very strong single-ion effects of Ho2Ti2O7 and Tb2Ti2O7 persist in the HoxTb 2-xTi2O7(0< x< 2) solid solution, whereas the Tb-Ho correlations are weak, resulting in small shifts in the energy scales but with no dramatic effect on the bulk properties.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79961061401&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevB.83.144413
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevB.83.144413
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79961061401
SN - 1098-0121
VL - 83
JO - Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
JF - Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics
IS - 14
M1 - 144413
ER -