Absence of Spin Liquid Behavior in Nd3Ga5SiO14 Using Magneto-Optical Spectroscopy

Authors

X. S. Xu, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
T. V. Brinzari, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
S. McGill, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
H. D. Zhou, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
C. R. Wiebe, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
J. L. Musfeldt, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Date of this Version

2009

Document Type

Article

Citation

PRL 103, 267402 (2009)

Comments

Used by permission.

Abstract

We measured the low-lying crystal field levels of Nd³⁺ in Nd₃Ga₅SiO₁₄ via magneto-optical spectroscopy and employed the extracted energies, magnetic moments, and symmetries to analyze the magnetic properties and test the spin liquid candidacy of this material. The exchange interaction is surprisingly small, a discovery that places severe constraints on models used to describe the ground state of this system. Further, it demonstrates the value of local-probe photophysical techniques for rare-earthcontaining materials where bulk property measurements can be skewed by low-lying electronic structure.