Coexistence of long-range order and spin fluctuation in geometrically frustrated clinoatacamite Cu2Cl(OH)3.
Muon spin rotation experiments are carried out on clinoatacamite, Cu2Cl(OH)3, which is a new geometrically frustrated system featuring a three-dimensional network of corner-sharing tetrahedral 3d Cu2+ spins. A long-range antiferromagnetic order occurs below 18.1 K with a surprisingly small entropy release of about 0.05Rln2/Cu. Below 6.5 K, the static long-range order transforms abruptly into a metastable state with nearly complete depolarization of muon spins which suggests strong fluctuation. The system then enters a state in which partial long-range order and spin fluctuation coexist down to the lowest experimentally attainable temperature of 20 mK. This work presents a novel system for studying geometric frustration.
Zheng
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Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Saga University, Saga 840-8502, Japan. zheng@cc.saga-u.ac.jp
Kubozono
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H
Nishiyama
K
K
Higemoto
W
W
Kawae
T
T
Koda
A
A
Xu
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CN