2012/04/30 by G. J. MacDougall, V. O. Garlea, V. Ovidiu Garlea +4 · 80 citations
Chemistry · Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #Atomic orbital #Chemistry #Condensed matter physics #Crystal structure #Crystallography #Ferrimagnetism #Inorganic chemistry #Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials #Magnetic field #Magnetization #Materials science #Multiferroics and related materials #Neutron diffraction #Order (exchange) #Phase (matter) #Phase transition #Physics #Pyrochlore #Quantum mechanics #Spin ice #Spinel #Spins #Vanadium #cond-mat.str-el
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.86.060414
published in Physical Review B 86(6) (American Physical Society) · 10 pages, 9 figures, including Supplemental Material
arxiv created 2012/07/25 · openalex publication_date 2012/08/30 · arxiv updated 2012/09/03 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
We present a neutron-diffraction study of FeV2O4, which is rare in exhibiting spin and orbital degrees of freedom on both cation sublattices of the spinel structure. Our data confirm the existence of three structural phase transitions previously identified with x-ray powder diffraction and reveal that the lower two transitions are associated with sequential collinear and canted ferrimagnetic transitions involving both cation sites. Through consideration of local crystal and spin symmetry, we further conclude that Fe2+ cations are ferro-orbitally ordered below 135 K and V3+ orbitals order at 60 K, in accordance with predictions for vanadium spinels with large trigonal distortions and strong spin-orbit coupling. Intriguingly, the direction of ordered vanadium spins at low temperature obey ``ice rules'' more commonly associated with the frustrated rare-earth pyrochlore systems.