Realization of a large J(2) quasi-2D spin-half Heisenberg system: Li(2)VOSiO(4)

Pressure-induced structural and magnetic ordering transitions in the J1-J2 square lattice antiferromagnets AMoOPO4Cl (A = K, Rb)

By means of ab initio density functional theory calculations taking into account electronic correlation and van der Waals force, we conducted comprehensive studies of the electronic and magnetic properties, as well as structural and magnetic ordering evolution under pressure of the square lattice antiferromagnets AMoOPO4Cl (A = K, Rb) containing Mo5+ ions with , theoretically predicted as the potential candidates for achieving quantum phases, existing in the boundary regimes for square lattice magnets. Our results indicate that the columnar antiferromagnetic ordering, experimentally determined, is the magnetic ground state of the ambient P4/nmm phase, stabilized by the predominant antiferromagnetic next nearest neighbor interaction J2 in the diagonal directions of the square lattice, regardless of the effective Hubbard amendment values. More importantly, the P4/n phase, involving the mutual twisting of the MoO5Cl and PO4 polyhedra, satisfactorily reproduces the experimentally observed structural transition and the subsequent magnetic ordering transition from columnar antiferromagnetic ordering to Néel antiferromagnetic one, identified to be the appropriate high pressure structure. Furthermore, the mechanism underlined responsible for the magnetic ordering transition at high pressure has been disclosed in terms of density of states and spin density isosurface analysis across the transition. The loss of mirror plane symmetry in the P4/n phase activates the P 3s orbitals to participate in the magnetic interaction, giving rise to a competitive ferromagnetic superexchange interaction, in addition to antiferromagnetic direct one, and consequently initiating the magnetic ordering transition. The insights revealed here not only deepen our understanding of the electronic properties and structural and magnetic ordering transitions under high pressure of square lattice antiferromagnets AMoOPO4Cl (A = K, Rb), but also push the boundaries of knowledge by recognizing the role of nonmagnetic ions P 3s in magnetic exchange coupling.

BaCo4(OH)2(H2PO4)(HPO4)2(PO4): Archimedean lattice T11 in distorted layers built from Co4O12(OH)4 squares

The family of Archimedean lattices has eleven numbers, yet several of these lattices have not been reported for transition metal oxides. Here, the last number of Archimedean lattice was firstly realized in a layered phosphate.

A frustrated three-dimensional antiferromagnet: stacked J1-J2 layers

We study a frustrated 3D antiferromagnet of stacked J(1)-J(2) layers. The intermediate 'quantum spin liquid' phase, present in the 2D case, narrows with increasing interlayer coupling and vanishes at a triple point. Beyond this, there is a direct first-order transition from Néel to columnar order. Possible applications to real materials are discussed.

Spin-wave energy dispersion of a frustrated spin-½ Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a stacked square lattice

The effects of interlayer coupling and spatial anisotropy on the spin-wave excitation spectra of a three-dimensional spatially anisotropic, frustrated spin-½ Heisenberg antiferromagnet (HAFM) are investigated for the two ordered phases using second-order spin-wave expansion. We show that the second-order corrections to the spin-wave energies are significant and find that the energy spectra of the three-dimensional HAFM have similar qualitative features to the energy spectra of the two-dimensional HAFM on a square lattice. We also discuss the features that can provide experimental measures for the strength of the interlayer coupling, spatial anisotropy parameter, and magnetic frustration.

Magnetic phase diagram of a spatially anisotropic, frustrated spin-¹/₂ Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a stacked square lattice

The magnetic phase diagram of a spatially anisotropic, frustrated spin-[Formula: see text] Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a stacked square lattice is investigated using a second-order spin-wave expansion. The effects of interlayer coupling and the spatial anisotropy on the magnetic ordering of two ordered ground states are explicitly studied. It is shown that with increase in next nearest neighbor frustration the second-order corrections play a significant role in stabilizing the magnetization. We obtain two ordered magnetic phases (Néel and stripe) separated by a paramagnetic disordered phase. Within the second-order spin-wave expansion we find that the width of the disordered phase diminishes with increase in the interlayer coupling or with decrease in spatial anisotropy but it does not disappear. Our obtained phase diagram differs significantly from the phase diagram obtained using linear spin-wave theory.

Ferromagnetically coupled Shastry-Sutherland quantum spin singlets in (CuCl)LaNb₂O₇

A thorough crystal structure determination at very low temperature of (CuCl)LaNb₂O₇, originally proposed as a spin-1/2 square-lattice antiferromagnet, is reported thanks to the use of single-crystal x-ray diffraction and powder neutron diffraction. State-of-the-art calculations (maximum entropy method) reveal that (CuCl)LaNb₂O₇ is orthorhombic with Pbam symmetry. First-principles calculations demonstrate that the dominant magnetic interactions are antiferromagnetic between fourth nearest neighbors with a Cu-Cl-Cl-Cu exchange path, which lead to the formation of spin singlets. The two strongest interactions between the singlets are ferromagnetic, which makes (CuCl)LaNb₂O₇ the first system of ferromagnetically coupled Shastry-Sutherland quantum spin singlets.

The quantum spin-1/2 J1-J2 antiferromagnet on a stacked square lattice: a study of effective-field theory in a finite cluster

The ground state phase diagram of the quantum spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet in the presence of nearest-neighbor (J(1)) and next-nearest-neighbor (J(2)) interactions (J(1)-J(2) model) on a stacked square lattice, where we introduce an interlayer coupling through nearest-neighbor bonds of strength J(<perpendicular>), is studied within the framework of the differential operator technique. The Hamiltonian is solved by effective-field theory in a cluster with N=4 spins (EFT-4). We obtain the sublattice magnetization m(A) for the ordered phases: antiferromagnetic (AF) and collinear (CAF-collinear antiferromagnetic). We propose a functional for the free energy Ψ(μ)(m(μ)) (μ=A, B) to obtain the phase diagram in the λ-α plane, where λ=J(<perpendicular>)/J(1) and α=J(2)/J(1). Depending on the values of λ and α, we found different ordered states (AF and CAF) and a disordered state (quantum paramagnetic (QP)). For an intermediate region α(1c)(λ) < α < α(2c)(λ) we observe a QP phase that disappears for λ below some critical value λ(1)≈0.67. For α < α(1c)(λ) and α > α(2c)(λ), and below λ(1), we have the AF and CAF semi-classically ordered states, respectively. At α=α(1c)(λ) a second-order transition between the AF and QP states occurs and at α=α(2c)(λ) a first-order transition between the AF and CAF phases takes place. The boundaries between these ordered phases merge at the critical end point CEP≡(λ(1), α(c)), where α(c)≈0.56. Above this CEP there is again a direct first-order transition between the AF and CAF phases, with a behavior described by the point α(c) independent of λ ≥ λ(1).

Quantum J1-J2 antiferromagnet on a stacked square lattice: influence of the interlayer coupling on the ground-state magnetic ordering

Using the coupled-cluster method and the rotation-invariant Green's function method, we study the influence of the interlayer coupling Jperpendicular on the magnetic ordering in the ground state of the spin-1/2 J1-J2 frustrated Heisenberg antiferromagnet (J1-J2 model) on the stacked square lattice. In agreement with known results for the J1-J2 model on the strictly two-dimensional square lattice (Jperpendicular=0), we find that the phases with magnetic long-range order at small J2<Jc1 and large J2>Jc2 are separated by a magnetically disordered (quantum paramagnetic) ground-state phase. Increasing the interlayer coupling Jperpendicular >0, the parameter region of this phase decreases, and, finally, the quantum paramagnetic phase disappears for quite small Jperpendicular approximately (0.2-0.3)J1.

Na2V3O7: a frustrated nanotubular system with spin-1/2 diamond ring geometry

Following the recent discussion on the puzzling nature of the interactions in the nanotubular system Na(2)V(3)O(7), we present a detailed ab initio microscopic analysis of its electronic and magnetic properties. By means of a nontrivial downfolding study we propose an effective model in terms of tubes of nine-site rings with the geometry of a spin-diamond necklace with frustrated inter-ring interactions. We show that this model provides a quantitative account of the observed magnetic behavior.

Direct determination of the magnetic ground state in the square lattice S = 1/2 antiferromagnet Li2VOSiO4

Powder neutron diffraction and resonant x-ray scattering measurements from a single crystal have been performed to study the low-temperature state of the 2D frustrated, quantum-Heisenberg system Li2VOSiO4. Both techniques indicate a collinear antiferromagnetic ground state, with propagation vector k=(1 / 2 1 / 2 0), and magnetic moments in the a-b plane. Contrary to previous reports, the ordered moment at 1.44 K, m=0.63(3)micro(B), is very close to the value expected for the square lattice Heisenberg model ( approximately 0.6micro(B)). The magnetic order is three dimensional, with antiferromagnetic a-b layers stacked ferromagnetically along the c axis. Neither x-ray nor neutron diffraction shows evidence for a structural distortion between 1.6 and 10 K.

Ising transition in the two-dimensional quantum J1-J2 Heisenberg model

We study the thermodynamics of the spin-S two-dimensional quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the square lattice with nearest (J1) and next-nearest (J2) neighbor couplings in its collinear phase (J(2)/J(1)>0.5), using the pure-quantum self-consistent harmonic approximation. Our results show the persistence of a finite-temperature Ising phase transition for every value of the spin, provided that the ratio J(2)/J(1) is greater than a critical value corresponding to the onset of collinear long-range order at zero temperature. We also calculate the spin and temperature dependence of the collinear susceptibility and correlation length, and we discuss our results in light of the experiments on Li2VOSiO4 and related compounds.

Nonlinear sigma model method for the J1-J2 Heisenberg model: disordered ground state with plaquette symmetry

A novel nonlinear sigma model method is proposed for the two-dimensional J1-J2 model, which is extended to include plaquette-type distortion. The nonlinear sigma model is properly derived without spoiling the original spin degrees of freedom. The method shows that a single disordered phase continuously extends from a frustrated uniform regime to an unfrustrated distorted regime. By the continuity and Oshikawa's commensurability condition, the disordered ground states for the uniform J1-J2 model are plaquette states with fourfold degeneracy.

Ising transition driven by frustration in a 2D classical model with continuous symmetry

We study the thermal properties of the classical antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model with both nearest (J1) and next-nearest (J2) exchange couplings on the square lattice by extensive Monte Carlo simulations. We show that, for J2/J1>1/2, thermal fluctuations give rise to an effective Z2 symmetry leading to a finite-temperature phase transition. We provide strong numerical evidence that this transition is in the 2D Ising universality class, and that T(c)-->0 with an infinite slope when J2/J1-->1/2.

Symmetry breaking in the collinear phase of the J1-J2 Heisenberg model

The large J2 limit of the square-lattice J1-J2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet is a classic example of order by disorder where quantum fluctuations select a collinear ground state. Here, we use series expansion methods and a mean-field spin-wave theory to study the excitation spectra in this phase and look for a finite-temperature Ising-like transition, corresponding to a broken symmetry of the square lattice, as first proposed by Chandra et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 64, 88 (1990)]]. We find that the spectra reveal the symmetries of the ordered phase. However, we do not find evidence for a finite-T transition. We suggest a scenario for a T=0 transition based on quantum fluctuations.

Peierls-like transition induced by frustration in a two-dimensional antiferromagnet

We show that the introduction of frustration into the spin- 1/2 two-dimensional (2D) antiferromagnetic Heisenberg model on a square lattice via a next-nearest-neighbor exchange interaction can lead to a Peierls-like transition, from a tetragonal to an orthorhombic phase, when the spins are coupled to adiabatic phonons. The two different orthorhombic ground states define an Ising order parameter, which is expected to lead to a finite temperature transition. Implications for Li(2)VOSiO(4), the first realization of that model, will be discussed.