Changes in elastic moduli as evidence for quadrupolar ordering in the rare-earth frustrated magnet Tb2Ti2O7

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Y. Gritsenko - , Chair of Physics of High Magnetic Fields, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Author)
  • S. Mombetsu - , Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Hokkaido University (Author)
  • P. T. Cong - , Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Author)
  • T. Stöter - , Chair of Solid State Physics, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Author)
  • E. L. Green - , Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Florida State University (Author)
  • C. Salazar Mejia - , Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Author)
  • J. Wosnitza - , Chair of Physics of High Magnetic Fields, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Author)
  • M. Ruminy - , Paul Scherrer Institute (Author)
  • T. Fennell - , Paul Scherrer Institute (Author)
  • A. A. Zvyagin - , Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, NASU - B. Verkin Institute for Low Temperature Physics and Engineering, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (Author)
  • S. Zherlitsyn - , Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (Author)
  • M. Kenzelmann - , Paul Scherrer Institute (Author)

Abstract

Numerous materials feature unexplained phases with invisible or hidden order of electronic origin. A particularly mysterious case is that of Tb2Ti2O7, which avoids magnetic order to the lowest temperatures, but nevertheless has an unexplained second-order phase transition near T=0.5 K. Our ultrasound measurements of Tb2Ti2O7 provide direct evidence of a huge softening followed by strong hardening of the structural lattice below T=0.5 K. In the absence of magnetic order at this temperature, our results provide conclusive evidence for the proposed quadrupolar order and emphasize the importance of higher-order multipolar interactions in rare-earth frustrated magnets.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number060403
JournalPhysical Review B
Volume102
Issue number6
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2020
Peer-reviewedYes