TY - JOUR
T1 - One-third magnetization plateau with a preceding novel phase in volborthite
AU - Ishikawa, H.
AU - Yoshida, M.
AU - Nawa, K.
AU - Jeong, M.
AU - Krämer, S.
AU - Horvatić, M.
AU - Berthier, C.
AU - Takigawa, M.
AU - Akaki, M.
AU - Miyake, A.
AU - Tokunaga, M.
AU - Kindo, K.
AU - Yamaura, J.
AU - Okamoto, Y.
AU - Hiroi, Z.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 American Physical Society.
PY - 2015/6/1
Y1 - 2015/6/1
N2 - We have synthesized high-quality single crystals of volborthite, a seemingly distorted kagome antiferromagnet, and carried out high-field magnetization measurements up to 74 T and V51 NMR measurements up to 30 T. An extremely wide 1/3 magnetization plateau appears above 28 T and continues over 74 T at 1.4 K, which has not been observed in previous studies using polycrystalline samples. NMR spectra reveal an incommensurate order (most likely a spin-density wave order) below 22 T and a simple spin structure in the plateau phase. Moreover, a novel intermediate phase is found between 23 and 26 T, where the magnetization varies linearly with magnetic field and the NMR spectra indicate an inhomogeneous distribution of the internal magnetic field. This sequence of phases in volborthite bears a striking similarity to those of frustrated spin chains with a ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor coupling J1 competing with an antiferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbor coupling J2.
AB - We have synthesized high-quality single crystals of volborthite, a seemingly distorted kagome antiferromagnet, and carried out high-field magnetization measurements up to 74 T and V51 NMR measurements up to 30 T. An extremely wide 1/3 magnetization plateau appears above 28 T and continues over 74 T at 1.4 K, which has not been observed in previous studies using polycrystalline samples. NMR spectra reveal an incommensurate order (most likely a spin-density wave order) below 22 T and a simple spin structure in the plateau phase. Moreover, a novel intermediate phase is found between 23 and 26 T, where the magnetization varies linearly with magnetic field and the NMR spectra indicate an inhomogeneous distribution of the internal magnetic field. This sequence of phases in volborthite bears a striking similarity to those of frustrated spin chains with a ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor coupling J1 competing with an antiferromagnetic next-nearest-neighbor coupling J2.
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U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.227202
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.227202
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84935906850
VL - 114
JO - Physical Review Letters
JF - Physical Review Letters
SN - 0031-9007
IS - 22
M1 - 227202
ER -