APS March Meeting 2016
Volume 61, Number 2
Monday–Friday, March 14–18, 2016;
Baltimore, Maryland
Session E3: A New Approach to the Kitaev Quantum Spin Liquid
8:00 AM–11:00 AM,
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Room: Ballroom III
Sponsoring
Units:
GMAG DCMP
Chair: Young-June Kim, Univ of Toronto
Abstract ID: BAPS.2016.MAR.E3.3
Abstract: E3.00003 : Magnetic and Crystal Structure of $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$
9:12 AM–9:48 AM
Preview Abstract
Abstract
Author:
Jennifer Sears
(University of Toronto)
The layered honeycomb material $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ has been proposed as a candidate material to show significant bond-dependent Kitaev type interactions [1]. This has prompted several recent studies of magnetism in this material that have found evidence for multiple magnetic transitions in the temperature range of 8-14 K [2,3,4]. We will present elastic neutron scattering measurements collected using a co-aligned array of $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$ crystals, identifying zigzag magnetic order within the honeycomb planes with an ordering temperature of $\sim$8 K [2]. It has been reported that the ordering temperature depends on the c axis periodicity of the layered structure, with ordering temperatures of 8 and 14 K for three and two-layer periodicity respectively [3]. While the in-plane magnetic order has been identified, it is clear that a complete understanding of magnetic ordering and interactions will depend on the three dimensional structure of the crystal. Evidence of a structural transition at $\sim$150 K has been reported [4] and questions remain about the structural details, in particular the stacking of the honeycomb layers. We will present x-ray diffraction measurements investigating the low and high temperature structures and stacking disorder in $\alpha$-RuCl$_3$. Finally, we will present inelastic neutron scattering measurements of magnetic excitations in this material.
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Work done in collaboration with K. W. Plumb (Johns Hopkins University), J. P. Clancy, Young-June Kim (University of Toronto), J. Britten (McMaster University), Yu-Sheng Chen (Argonne National Laboratory), Y. Qiu, Y. Zhao, D. Parshall, and J. W. Lynn (NCNR). \\[4pt]
[1] K. W. Plumb et al., Phys. Rev. B 90, 041112(R) (2014). \\[0pt]
[2] J. A. Sears et al., Phys. Rev. B 91, 144420 (2015). \\[0pt]
[3] A. Banerjee et al., arXiv:1504.08037 (2015). \\[0pt]
[4] Y. Kubota et al., Phys. Rev. B 91, 094422 (2015).
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2016.MAR.E3.3