Magnetization Process of Atacamite: A Case of Weakly Coupled S=1 /2 Sawtooth Chains

We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of the mineral atacamite Cu2Cl(OH)3. Density-functional theory yields a Hamiltonian describing anisotropic sawtooth chains with weak 3D connections. Experimentally, we fully characterize the antiferromagnetically ordered state. Magnetic order...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Heinze, L., Jeschke, H. O., Mazin, I. I., Metavitsiadis, A., Reehuis, M., Feyerherm, R., Hoffmann, J. U., Bartkowiak, M., Prokhnenko, O., Wolter, A. U. B., Ding, X., Zapf, V. S., Corvalán Moya, Carolina del Huerto, Weickert, F., Jaime, M., Rule, K. C., Menzel, D., Valentí, R., Brenig, W., Süllow, S.
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2021
Country:Argentina
Institution:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repository:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/165437
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/165437
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:ATACAMITE
MAGNETIZATION
ANTIFERROMAGNETISM
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/2.5
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/2
Description
Summary:We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of the mineral atacamite Cu2Cl(OH)3. Density-functional theory yields a Hamiltonian describing anisotropic sawtooth chains with weak 3D connections. Experimentally, we fully characterize the antiferromagnetically ordered state. Magnetic order shows a complex evolution with the magnetic field, while, starting at 31.5 T, we observe a plateaulike magnetization at about Msat/2. Based on complementary theoretical approaches, we show that the latter is unrelated to the known magnetization plateau of a sawtooth chain. Instead, we provide evidence that the magnetization process in atacamite is a field-driven canting of a 3D network of weakly coupled sawtooth chains that form giant moments.

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