In:
Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, IOP Publishing, Vol. 33, No. 42 ( 2021-10-20), p. 425802-
Abstract:
Yb- and Ce-based delafossites were recently identified as effective spin-1/2 antiferromagnets on the triangular lattice. Several Yb-based systems, such as NaYbO 2 , NaYbS 2 , and NaYbSe 2 , exhibit no long-range order down to the lowest measured temperatures and therefore serve as putative candidates for the realization of a quantum spin liquid. However, their isostructural Ce-based counterpart KCeS 2 exhibits magnetic order below T N = 400 mK, which was so far identified only in thermodynamic measurements. Here we reveal the magnetic structure of this long-range ordered phase using magnetic neutron diffraction. We show that it represents the so-called ‘stripe- yz ’ type of antiferromagnetic order with spins lying approximately in the triangular-lattice planes orthogonal to the nearest-neighbor Ce–Ce bonds. No structural lattice distortions are revealed below T N , indicating that the triangular lattice of Ce 3+ ions remains geometrically perfect down to the lowest temperatures. We propose an effective Hamiltonian for KCeS 2 , based on a fit to the results of ab initio calculations, and demonstrate that its magnetic ground state matches the experimental spin structure.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0953-8984
,
1361-648X
DOI:
10.1088/1361-648X/ac15d6
Language:
Unknown
Publisher:
IOP Publishing
Publication Date:
2021
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1472968-4
detail.hit.zdb_id:
228975-1
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