Abstract
We present electron-spin-resonance data of ions in single crystals of the novel layered quantum spin magnet TiOCl. The analysis of the g tensor yields direct evidence that the orbital from the set is predominantly occupied and owing to the occurrence of orbital order a linear spin chain forms along the crystallographic b axis. This result corroborates recent theoretical local-density approximation + U calculations of the band structure. The temperature dependence of the parameters of the resonance signal suggests a strong coupling between spin and lattice degrees of freedom and gives evidence for a transition to a nonmagnetic ground state at 67 K.
- Received 14 May 2003
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.68.140405
©2003 American Physical Society