9 research outputs found
Pseudo-Goldstone magnons in the frustrated S=3/2 Heisenberg helimagnet ZnCr2Se4 with a pyrochlore magnetic sublattice
Low-energy spin excitations in any long-range ordered magnetic system in the
absence of magnetocrystalline anisotropy are gapless Goldstone modes emanating
from the ordering wave vectors. In helimagnets, these modes hybridize into the
so-called helimagnon excitations. Here we employ neutron spectroscopy supported
by theoretical calculations to investigate the magnetic excitation spectrum of
the isotropic Heisenberg helimagnet ZnCr2Se4 with a cubic spinel structure, in
which spin-3/2 magnetic Cr3+ ions are arranged in a geometrically frustrated
pyrochlore sublattice. Apart from the conventional Goldstone mode emanating
from the (0 0 q) ordering vector, low-energy magnetic excitations in the
single-domain proper-screw spiral phase show soft helimagnon modes with a small
energy gap of ~0.17 meV, emerging from two orthogonal wave vectors (q 0 0) and
(0 q 0) where no magnetic Bragg peaks are present. We term them
pseudo-Goldstone magnons, as they appear gapless within linear spin-wave theory
and only acquire a finite gap due to higher-order quantum-fluctuation
corrections. Our results are likely universal for a broad class of symmetric
helimagnets, opening up a new way of studying weak magnon-magnon interactions
with accessible spectroscopic methods.Comment: V3: Final version to be published in Phys. Rev.
Magnonic Weyl states in Cu2OSeO3
The multiferroic ferrimagnet CuOSeO with a chiral crystal structure
attracted a lot of recent attention due to the emergence of magnetic skyrmion
order in this material. Here, the topological properties of its magnon
excitations are systematically investigated by linear spin-wave theory and
inelastic neutron scattering. When considering Heisenberg exchange interactions
only, two degenerate Weyl magnon nodes with topological charges 2 are
observed at high-symmetry points. Each Weyl point splits into two as the
symmetry of the system is further reduced by including into consideration the
nearest-neighbor Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction, crucial for obtaining an
accurate fit to the experimental spin-wave spectrum. The predicted topological
properties are verified by surface state and Chern number analysis.
Additionally, we predict that a measurable thermal Hall conductivity can be
associated with the emergence of the Weyl points, the position of which can be
tuned by changing the crystal symmetry of the material
Magnetic-field dependence of low-energy magnons, anisotropic heat conduction, and spontaneous relaxation of magnetic domains in the cubic helimagnet ZnCr2Se4
Anisotropic low-temperature properties of the cubic spinel helimagnet
ZnCr2Se4 in the single-domain spin-spiral state are investigated by a
combination of neutron scattering, thermal conductivity, ultrasound velocity,
and dilatometry measurements. In an applied magnetic field, neutron
spectroscopy shows a complex and nonmonotonic evolution of the spin-wave
spectrum across the quantum-critical point that separates the spin-spiral phase
from the field-polarized ferromagnetic phase at high fields. A tiny spin gap of
the pseudo-Goldstone magnon mode, observed at wave vectors that are
structurally equivalent but orthogonal to the propagation vector of the spin
helix, vanishes at this quantum critical point, restoring the cubic symmetry in
the magnetic subsystem. The anisotropy imposed by the spin helix has only a
minor influence on the lattice structure and sound velocity but has a much
stronger effect on the heat conductivities measured parallel and perpendicular
to the magnetic propagation vector. The thermal transport is anisotropic at T <
2 K, highly sensitive to an external magnetic field, and likely results
directly from magnonic heat conduction. We also report long-time thermal
relaxation phenomena, revealed by capacitive dilatometry, which are due to
magnetic domain motion related to the destruction of the single-domain magnetic
state, initially stabilized in the sample by the application and removal of
magnetic field. Our results can be generalized to a broad class of helimagnetic
materials in which a discrete lattice symmetry is spontaneously broken by the
magnetic order.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures + Supplemental Materia
Magnon spectrum of the Weyl semimetal half-Heusler compound GdPtBi
The compound GdPtBi is known as a material where the nontrivial topology of electronic bands interplays with an antiferromagnetic order, which leads to the emergence of many interesting magnetotransport phenomena. Although the magnetic structure of the compound was previously reliably determined, the magnetic interactions responsible for this type of order have remained controversial. In the present study, we employed time-of-flight inelastic neutron scattering to map out the low-temperature spectrum of spin excitations in single-crystalline GdPtBi. The observed spectra reveal two spectrally sharp dispersive spin-wave modes, which reflects the multidomain state of the k = (1/2 1/2 1/2) fcc antiferromagnet in the absence of a symmetry-breaking magnetic field. The magnon dispersion reaches an energy of similar to 1.1 meV and features a gap of similar to 0.15 meV. Using linear spin-wave theory, we determine the main magnetic microscopic parameters of the compound that provide good agreement between the simulated spectra and the experimental data. We show that GdPtBi is well within the q phase and is dominated by second-neighbor interactions, thus featuring low frustration
Magnon spectrum of the helimagnetic insulator Cu<sub>2</sub>OSeO<sub>3</sub>
Complex low-temperature-ordered states in chiral magnets are typically governed by a competition between multiple magnetic interactions. The chiral-lattice multiferroic Cu2OSeO3 became the first insulating helimagnetic material in which a long-range order of topologically stable spin vortices known as skyrmions was established. Here we employ state-of-the-art inelastic neutron scattering to comprehend the full three-dimensional spin-excitation spectrum of Cu2OSeO3 over a broad range of energies. Distinct types of high-and low-energy dispersive magnon modes separated by an extensive energy gap are observed in excellent agreement with the previously suggested microscopic theory based on a model of entangled Cu-4 tetrahedra. The comparison of our neutron spectroscopy data with model spin-dynamical calculations based on these theoretical proposals enables an accurate quantitative verification of the fundamental magnetic interactions in Cu2OSeO3 that are essential for understanding its abundant low-temperature magnetically ordered phases
Noncollinear antiferromagnetism of coupled spins and pseudospins in the double perovskite La<sub>2</sub>CuIrO<sub>6</sub>
We report the structural, magnetic, and thermodynamic properties of the double perovskite compound La2CuIrO6 from x-ray, neutron diffraction, neutron depolarization, dc magnetization, ac susceptibility, specific heat, muon-spin-relaxation (mu SR), electron-spin-resonance (ESR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements. Below similar to 113 K, short-range spin-spin correlations occur within the Cu2+ sublattice. With decreasing temperature, the Ir4+ sublattice is progressively involved in the correlation process. Below T = 74 K, the magnetic sublattices of Cu (spin s = 1/2) and Ir (pseudospin j = 1/2) in La2CuIrO6 are strongly coupled and exhibit an antiferromagnetic phase transition into a noncollinear magnetic structure accompanied by a small uncompensated transverse moment. A weak anomaly in ac susceptibility as well as in the NMR and mu SR spin lattice relaxation rates at 54 K is interpreted as a cooperative ordering of the transverse moments which is influenced by the strong spin-orbit coupled 5d ion Ir4+. We argue that the rich magnetic behavior observed in La2CuIrO6 is related to complex magnetic interactions between the strongly correlated spin-only 3d ions with the strongly spin-orbit coupled 5d transition ions where a combination of the spin-orbit coupling and the low symmetry of the crystal lattice plays a special role for the spin structure in the magnetically ordered state