Spin Liquid State in the 3D Frustrated Antiferromagnet PbCuTe2O6: NMR and Muon Spin Relaxation Studies

P. Khuntia, F. Bert, P. Mendels, B. Koteswararao, A. V. Mahajan, M. Baenitz, F. C. Chou, C. Baines, A. Amato, and Y. Furukawa
Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 107203 – Published 11 March 2016
PDFHTMLExport Citation

Abstract

PbCuTe2O6 is a rare example of a spin liquid candidate featuring a three-dimensional magnetic lattice. Strong geometric frustration arises from the dominant antiferromagnetic interaction that generates a hyperkagome network of Cu2+ ions although additional interactions enhance the magnetic lattice connectivity. Through a combination of magnetization measurements and local probe investigations by NMR and muon spin relaxation down to 20 mK, we provide robust evidence for the absence of magnetic freezing in the ground state. The local spin susceptibility probed by the NMR shift hardly deviates from the macroscopic one down to 1 K pointing to a homogeneous magnetic system with a low defect concentration. The saturation of the NMR shift and the sublinear power law temperature (T) evolution of the 1/T1 NMR relaxation rate at low T point to a nonsinglet ground state favoring a gapless fermionic description of the magnetic excitations. Below 1 K a pronounced slowing down of the spin dynamics is witnessed, which may signal a reconstruction of spinon Fermi surface. Nonetheless, the compound remains in a fluctuating spin liquid state down to the lowest temperature of the present investigation.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 10 December 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.116.107203

© 2016 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Condensed Matter, Materials & Applied Physics

Authors & Affiliations

P. Khuntia1,2,*, F. Bert2, P. Mendels2, B. Koteswararao3,4, A. V. Mahajan5, M. Baenitz6, F. C. Chou4, C. Baines7, A. Amato7, and Y. Furukawa1,8

  • 1Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
  • 2Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS, Univ. Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France
  • 3School of Physics, University of Hyderabad, Central University PO, Hyderabad 500046, India
  • 4Center of Condensed Matter Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
  • 5Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai-400076, India
  • 6Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids, 01187 Dresden, Germany
  • 7Laboratory for Muon Spin Spectroscopy, Paul Scherrer Institute, CH-5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
  • 8Department of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA

  • *khuntia@lps.u-psud.fr

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

Supplemental Material (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 116, Iss. 10 — 11 March 2016

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
CHORUS

Article Available via CHORUS

Download Accepted Manuscript

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×