Domain-wall spin dynamics in kagome antiferromagnets

Orphan Spins in the S=5/2 Antiferromagnet CaFe_{2}O_{4}

CaFe_{2}O_{4} is an anisotropic S=5/2 antiferromagnet with two competing A (↑↑↓↓) and B (↑↓↑↓) magnetic order parameters separated by static antiphase boundaries at low temperatures. Neutron diffraction and bulk susceptibility measurements, show that the spins near these boundaries are weakly correlated and a carry an uncompensated ferromagnetic moment that can be tuned with a magnetic field. Spectroscopic measurements find these spins are bound with excitation energies less than the bulk magnetic spin waves and resemble the spectra from isolated spin clusters. Localized bound orphaned spins separate the two competing magnetic order parameters in CaFe_{2}O_{4}.

Long-Range Order in the Dipolar XY Antiferromagnet Er_{2}Sn_{2}O_{7}

Er_{2}Sn_{2}O_{7} remains a puzzling case among the extensively studied frustrated compounds of the rare-earth pyrochlore family. Indeed, while a first-order transition towards a long-range antiferromagnetic state with the so-called Palmer-Chalker structure is theoretically predicted, it has not yet been observed, leaving the issue as to whether it is a spin-liquid candidate open. We report on neutron scattering and magnetization measurements which evidence a second-order transition towards this Palmer-Chalker ordered state around 108 mK. Extreme care was taken to ensure a proper thermalization of the sample, which has proved to be crucial to successfully observe the magnetic Bragg peaks. At the transition, a gap opens in the excitations, superimposed on a strong quasielastic signal. The exchange parameters, refined from a spin-wave analysis in applied magnetic field, confirm that Er_{2}Sn_{2}O_{7} is a realization of the dipolar XY pyrochlore antiferromagnet. The proximity of competing phases and the strong XY anisotropy of the Er^{3+} magnetic moment might be at the origin of enhanced fluctuations, leading to the unexpected nature of the transition, the low ordering temperature, and the observed multiscale dynamics.

Robust ferromagnetism carried by antiferromagnetic domain walls

Ferroic materials, such as ferromagnetic or ferroelectric materials, have been utilized as recording media for memory devices. A recent trend for downsizing, however, requires an alternative, because ferroic orders tend to become unstable for miniaturization. The domain wall nanoelectronics is a new developing direction for next-generation devices, in which atomic domain walls, rather than conventional, large domains themselves, are the active elements. Here we show that atomically thin magnetic domain walls generated in the antiferromagnetic insulator Cd₂Os₂O₇ carry unusual ferromagnetic moments perpendicular to the wall as well as electron conductivity: the ferromagnetic moments are easily polarized even by a tiny field of 1 mT at high temperature, while, once cooled down, they are surprisingly robust even in an inverse magnetic field of 7 T. Thus, the magnetic domain walls could serve as a new-type of microscopic, switchable and electrically readable magnetic medium which is potentially important for future applications in the domain wall nanoelectronics.

All-in-all-out magnetic domains: x-ray diffraction imaging and magnetic field control

Long-range noncollinear all-in-all-out magnetic order has been directly observed for the first time in real space in the pyrochlore Cd_{2}Os_{2}O_{7} using resonant magnetic microdiffraction at the Os L_{3} edge. Two different antiferromagnetic domains related by time-reversal symmetry could be distinguished and have been mapped within the same single crystal. The two types of domains are akin to magnetic twins and were expected-yet unobserved so far-in the all-in-all-out model. Even though the magnetic domains are antiferromagnetic, we show that their distribution can be controlled using a magnetic field-cooling procedure.

Candidate quantum spin liquid due to dimensional reduction of a two-dimensional honeycomb lattice

As with quantum spin liquids based on two-dimensional triangular and kagome lattices, the two-dimensional honeycomb lattice with either a strong spin-orbital coupling or a frustrating second-nearest-neighbor coupling is expected to be a source of candidate quantum spin liquids. An ammonium salt [(C₃H₇)₃NH]₂[Cu₂(C₂O₄)₃](H₂O)_2.2 containing hexagonal layers of Cu²⁺ was obtained from solution. No structural transition or long-range magnetic ordering was observed from 290 K to 2 K from single crystal X-ray diffraction, specific heat and susceptibility measurements. The anionic layers are separated by sheets of ammonium and H₂O with distance of 3.5 Å and no significant interaction between anionic layers. The two-dimensional honeycomb lattice is constructed from Jahn-Teller distorted Cu²⁺ and oxalate anions, showing a strong antiferromagnetic interaction between S = 1/2 metal atoms with θ = −120 (1) K. Orbital analysis of the Cu²⁺ interactions through the oxalate-bridges suggests a stripe mode pattern of coupling with weak ferromagnetic interaction along the b axis, and strong antiferromagnetic interaction along the a axis. Analysis of the magnetic susceptibility shows that it is dominated by a quasi-one-dimensional contribution with spin chains that are at least as well isolated as those of well-known quasi-one-dimensional spin liquids.