Fractional impurity moments in two-dimensional noncollinear magnets.
We study dilute magnetic impurities and vacancies in two-dimensional frustrated magnets with noncollinear order. Taking the triangular-lattice Heisenberg model as an example, we use quasiclassical methods to determine the impurity contributions to the magnetization and susceptibility. Most importantly, each impurity moment is not quantized but receives nonuniversal screening corrections due to local relief of frustration. At finite temperatures, where bulk long-range order is absent, this implies an impurity-induced magnetic response of Curie form, with a prefactor corresponding to a fractional moment per impurity. We also discuss the behavior in an applied magnetic field, where we find a singular linear-response limit for overcompensated impurities.
Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität zu Köln, Germany.
Alexander
A
Wollny
Lars
L
Fritz
Matthias
M
Vojta