Spin Dynamics in S=1/2S=1/2 Chains with Next-Nearest-Neighbor Exchange Interactions

Low-energy magnetic excitations in the spin-1/2 chain compound (C$_6$H$_9$N$_2$)CuCl$_3$ [known as (6MAP)CuCl$_3$] are probed by means of tunable-frequency electron spin resonance. Two modes with asymmetric (with respect to the $h\nu=g\mu_B B$ line) frequency-field dependences are resolved, illuminating the striking incompatibility with a simple uniform $S=\frac{1}{2}$ Heisenberg chain model. The unusual ESR spectrum is explained in terms of the recently developed theory for spin-1/2 chains, suggesting the important role of next-nearest-neighbor interactions in this compound. Our conclusion is supported by model calculations for the magnetic susceptibility of (6MAP)CuCl$_3$, revealing a good qualitative agreement with experiment

Character of magnetic excitations in a quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnet near the quantum critical points: Impact on magneto-acoustic properties

We report results of magneto-acoustic studies in the quantum spin-chain magnet NiCl$_2$-4SC(NH$_2$)$_2$ (DTN) having a field-induced ordered antiferromagnetic (AF) phase. In the vicinity of the quantum critical points (QCPs) the acoustic $c_{33}$ mode manifests a pronounced softening accompanied by energy dissipation of the sound wave. The acoustic anomalies are traced up to $T > T_N$, where the thermodynamic properties are determined by fermionic magnetic excitations, the "hallmark" of one-dimensional (1D) spin chains. On the other hand, as established in earlier studies, the AF phase in DTN is governed by bosonic magnetic excitations. Our results suggest the presence of a crossover from a 1D fermionic to a 3D bosonic character of the magnetic excitations in DTN in the vicinity of the QCPs.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication by Phys. Rev

Magnetoacoustics of the Low-Dimensional Quantum Antiferromagnet Cs2CuCl4 with Spin Frustration

We report on results of sound-velocity and sound-attenuation measurements in the triangular-lattice spin-1/2 antiferromagnet Cs₂CuCl₄ (T_N = 0.6 K), in external magnetic fields up to 14 T, applied along the <em>b</em> axis, and at temperatures down to 300 mK. The results are analyzed with a quasi-two-dimensional hard-core boson theory based on exchange-striction coupling. There is a good qualitative agreement between theoretical and experimental results.Citation: Sytcheva, A. et al. (2010). 'Magnetoacoustics of the low-dimensional quantum antiferromagnet Cs₂CuCl₄', Journal of Low Temperature Physics, 159(1-2), 109-113. [Available at http://www.springer.com/materials/journal/10909]. © The Authors 2010. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are credited.

Field-Induced Gap in a Quantum Spin-1/2 Chain in a Strong Magnetic Field

Magnetic excitations in copper pyrimidine dinitrate, a spin-1/2 antiferromagnetic chain with alternating $g$-tensor and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions that exhibits a field-induced spin gap, are probed by means of pulsed-field electron spin resonance spectroscopy. In particular, we report on a minimum of the gap in the vicinity of the saturation field $H_{sat}=48.5$ T associated with a transition from the sine-Gordon region (with soliton-breather elementary excitations) to a spin-polarized state (with magnon excitations). This interpretation is fully confirmed by the quantitative agreement over the entire field range of the experimental data with the DMRG investigation of the spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain with a staggered transverse field

Spin-strain coupling in NiCl2-4SC(NH2)2

We report results of ultrasonic investigations of the quantum S = 1 spin-chain magnet NiCl2-4SC(NH2)2, also known as DTN, in magnetic fields up to 18 T and temperatures down to 0.3 K. A field H along the [001] direction induces a transition into an antiferromagnetic phase with T(N)max ≈ 1.2 K. Accordingly, at T = 0 there are two quantum critical points at ~2.1 T and at ~12.6 T. The acoustic c33 mode, propagating along the spin chains, shows a pronounced softening close to the phase transition, accompanied by energy dissipation of the sound wave. The H-T phase diagram obtained from our measurements is compared with results from other experimental investigations and the low-temperature acoustic anomalies are traced up to T > T(N). We also report frequency-dependent effects, which open the possibility to investigate the spin fluctuations in the critical regions. Our observations show an important role of the spin-phonon coupling in DTN

Electron Spin Resonance in a Spin-1/2 Heisenberg Strong-rung Ladder

Cu(C$_8$H$_6$N$_2$)Cl$_2$, a strong-rung spin-1/2 Heisenberg ladder compound, is probed by means of electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy in the field-induced gapless phase above $H_{c1}$. The temperature dependence of the ESR linewidth is analyzed in the quantum field theory framework, suggesting that the anisotropy of magnetic interactions plays a crucial role, determining the peculiar low-temperature ESR linewidth behavior. In particular, it is argued that the uniform Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (which is allowed on the bonds along the ladder legs) can be the source of this behavior in Cu(C$_8$H$_6$N$_2$)Cl$_2$

Magnetic Excitations in the Spin-1 Anisotropic Heisenberg Antiferromagnetic Chain System NiCl2_2-4SC(NH2_2)2_2

NiCl$_2$-4SC(NH$_2$)$_2$ (DTN) is a quantum S=1 chain system with strong easy-pane anisotropy and a new candidate for the Bose-Einstein condensation of the spin degrees of freedom. ESR studies of magnetic excitations in DTN in fields up to 25 T are presented. Based on analysis of the single-magnon excitation mode in the high-field spin-polarized phase and previous experimental results [Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 077204 (2006)], a revised set of spin-Hamiltonian parameters is obtained. Our results yield $D=8.9$ K, $J_c=2.2$ K, and $J_{a,b}=0.18$ K for the anisotropy, intrachain, and interchain exchange interactions, respectively. These values are used to calculate the antiferromagnetic phase boundary, magnetization and the frequency-field dependence of two-magnon bound-state excitations predicted by theory and observed in DTN for the first time. Excellent quantitative agreement with experimental data is obtained

Ultrasonic investigations of spin-ices Dy2_2Ti2_2O7_7 and Ho2_2Ti2_2O7_7 in and out of equilibrium

We report ultrasound studies of spin-lattice and single-ion effects in the spin-ice materials Dy$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$ (DTO) and Ho$_2$Ti$_2$O$_7$ (HTO) across a broad field range up to 60 T, covering phase transformations, interactions with low-energy magnetic excitations, as well as single-ion effects. In particular, a sharp dip observed in the sound attenuation in DTO at the gas-liquid transition of the magnetic monopoles is explained based on an approach involving negative relaxation processes. Furthermore, quasi-periodic peaks in the acoustic properties of DTO due to non-equilibrium processes are found to be strongly affected by {\em macroscopic} thermal-coupling conditions: the thermal runaway observed in previous studies in DTO can be suppressed altogether by immersing the sample in liquid helium. Crystal-electric-field effects having higher energy scale lead to a renormalization of the sound velocity and sound attenuation at very high magnetic fields. We analyze our observations using an approach based on an analysis of exchange-striction couplings and single-ion effects

ESR modes in a Strong-Leg Ladder in the Tomonaga-Luttinger Liquid Phase

Magnetic excitations in the strong-leg quantum spin ladder compound (C$_7$H$_{10}$N)$_2$CuBr$_4$ (known as DIMPY) in the field-induced Tomonaga-Luttinger spin liquid phase are studied by means of high-field electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The presence of a gapped ESR mode with unusual non-linear frequency-field dependence is revealed experimentally. Using a combination of analytic and exact diagonalization methods, we compute the dynamical structure factor and identify this mode with longitudinal excitations in the antisymmetric channel. We argue that these excitations constitute a fingerprint of the spin dynamics in a strong-leg spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic ladder and owe its ESR observability to the uniform Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction