25 research outputs found
Spin-glass ground state in a triangular-lattice compound YbZnGaO
We report on comprehensive results identifying the ground state of a
triangular-lattice structured YbZnGaO to be spin glass, including no
long-range magnetic order, prominent broad excitation continua, and absence of
magnetic thermal conductivity. More crucially, from the ultralow-temperature
a.c. susceptibility measurements, we unambiguously observe frequency-dependent
peaks around 0.1 K, indicating the spin-glass ground state. We suggest this
conclusion to hold also for its sister compound YbMgGaO, which is confirmed
by the observation of spin freezing at low temperatures. We consider disorder
and frustration to be the main driving force for the spin-glass phase.Comment: Version as accepted to PR