Abstract
Single crystals of a honeycomb lattice antiferromagnet, Tb2Ir3Ga9, were synthesized, and the physical properties have been studied. From magnetometry, a long-range antiferromagnetic ordering at ≈12.5 K with highly anisotropic magnetic behavior was found. Neutron powder diffraction confirms that the Tb spins lie along the a-axis, parallel to the shortest Tb-Tb contact. Two field-induced spin-flip transitions are observed when the field is applied parallel to this axis, separated by a plateau corresponding roughly to M≈Ms/2. Transport measurements show the resistivity to be metallic with a discontinuity at the onset of Néel order. Heat capacity shows a λ-like transition confirming the bulk nature of the magnetism. We propose a phenomenological spin Hamiltonian that describes the magnetization plateau as a result of strong Ising character arising from a quasidoublet ground state of the Tb3+ ion in a site of Cs symmetry and expressing a significant bond-dependent anisotropy.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 114411 |
| Journal | Physical Review Materials |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 21 2019 |
Funding
This work was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division. A portion of this research used resources at Spallation Neutron Source, a DOE Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Work performed at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, USA, was supported by NSF Cooperative Agreements No. DMR-1157490 and No. DMR-1644779, the State of Florida, U.S. DOE, and through the DOE Basic Energy Science Field Work Project Science in 100 T. Work at the APS was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. A.S.B. thanks ASU for startup funds. The authors would like to thank David Parker, ORNL, for useful discussions. This work was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division. A portion of this research used resources at Spallation Neutron Source, a DOE Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Work performed at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, USA, was supported by NSF Cooperative Agreements No. DMR-1157490 and No. DMR-1644779, the State of Florida, U.S. DOE, and through the DOE Basic Energy Science Field Work Project Science in 100 T. Work at the APS was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. A.S.B. thanks ASU for startup funds. The authors would like to thank David Parker, ORNL, for useful discussions.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| DOE Basic Energy Science Field | |
| DOE Office of Science | |
| NSF Cooperative | |
| State of Florida | |
| U.S. DOE | |
| National Science Foundation | DMR-1644779, DMR-1157490 |
| U.S. Department of Energy | DE-AC02-06CH11357 |
| Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences | 1157490 |
| Office of Science | |
| Basic Energy Sciences | |
| Oak Ridge National Laboratory | |
| American Pain Society | |
| Adams State University | |
| National High Magnetic Field Laboratory | |
| Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering |