2021/01/19 by O. Prokhnenko, G. Marmorini, Giacomo Marmorini +19 · 4 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #Anisotropy #Antiferromagnetism #Condensed matter physics #Coupling (piping) #Diffraction #Field (mathematics) #Geological and Geochemical Analysis #High-pressure geophysics and materials #Magnetic anisotropy #Magnetic field #Magnetic moment #Magnetic structure #Magnetization #Materials science #Neutron diffraction #Order (exchange) #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Spin (aerodynamics) #cond-mat.mtrl-sci #cond-mat.str-el
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.103.014427
published in Physical review. B./Physical review. B 103(1) (American Physical Society) · 12 pages, 12 figures
openalex publication_date 2021/01/19 · arxiv created 2021/01/21 · arxiv updated 2021/01/22 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The high-field magnetic properties and magnetic order of the gem mineral green dioptase Cu6[Si6O18]\ifmmode⋅\else\textperiodcentered\fi6H2O have been studied by means of single-crystal neutron diffraction in magnetic fields up to 21 T and magnetization measurements up to 30 T. In zero field, the Cu2+ moments in the antiferromagnetic chains are oriented along the c axis with a small off-axis tilt. For a field applied parallel to the c axis, the magnetization shows a spin-flop-like transition at B*=12.2 T at 1.5 K. Neutron diffraction experiments show a smooth behavior in the intensities of the magnetic reflections without any change in the periodicity of the magnetic structure. Bulk and microscopic observations are well described by a model of ferromagnetically coupled antiferromagnetic XXZ spin-(1)/(2) chains, taking into account a change of the local easy-axis direction. We demonstrate that the magnetic structure evolves smoothly from a deformed N'eel state at low fields to a deformed spin-flop state in a high field via a strong crossover around B*. The results are generalized for different values of interchain coupling and spin anisotropy.