Signatures of a magnetic field-induced unconventional nematic liquid in the frustrated and anisotropic spin-chain cuprate LiCuSbO4

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • H. J. Grafe - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • S. Nishimoto - , Chair of Experimental Solid State Physics, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • M. Iakovleva - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden, RAS - Zavoisky Physical-Technical Institute, Kazan Scientific Center (Author)
  • E. Vavilova - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden, RAS - Zavoisky Physical-Technical Institute, Kazan Scientific Center (Author)
  • L. Spillecke - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden, TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • A. Alfonsov - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • M. I. Sturza - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • S. Wurmehl - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • H. Nojiri - , Tohoku University (Author)
  • H. Rosner - , Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (Author)
  • J. Richter - , Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg (Author)
  • U. K. Rößler - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • S. L. Drechsler - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • V. Kataev - , Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)
  • B. Büchner - , Chair of Experimental Solid State Physics, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)

Abstract

Modern theories of quantum magnetism predict exotic multipolar states in weakly interacting strongly frustrated spin-1/2 Heisenberg chains with ferromagnetic nearest neighbor (NN) inchain exchange in high magnetic fields. Experimentally these states remained elusive so far. Here we report strong indications of a magnetic field-induced nematic liquid arising above a field of ~13 T in the edge-sharing chain cuprate LiSbCuO4 = LiCuSbO4. This interpretation is based on the observation of a field induced spin-gap in the measurements of the 7Li NMR spin relaxation rate T 1 -1 as well as a contrasting field-dependent power-law behavior of T 1 -1 vs. T and is further supported by static magnetization and ESR data. An underlying theoretical microscopic approach favoring a nematic scenario is based essentially on the NN XYZ exchange anisotropy within a model for frustrated spin-1/2 chains and is investigated by the DMRG technique. The employed exchange parameters are justified qualitatively by electronic structure calculations for LiCuSbO4.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number6720
JournalScientific reports
Volume7
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2017
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 28751668

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas