Resonant x-ray scattering reveals possible disappearance of magnetic order under hydrostatic pressure in the Kitaev candidate γ -Li2IrO3
Resonant x-ray scattering reveals possible disappearance of magnetic order under hydrostatic pressure in the Kitaev candidate γ -Li2IrO3
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DOI：
10.1103/physrevb.96.020402
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发表时间：
2017-07-05
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Analytis, James G.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Breznay, Nicholas P.;Ruiz, Alejandro;Analytis, James G.
蜂窝状铱酸盐，如γ-Li 2 IrO 3被认为是实现Kitaev自旋各向异性磁交换，沿着海森堡和可能的其他耦合。虽然具有纯Kitaev相互作用的系统是实现量子自旋液体基态的候选者，但在γ-Li 2 IrO 3中，已经表明竞争磁相互作用的存在导致在低于38 K的环境压力下的无公度螺旋自旋序。我们研究的压力敏感性，这种磁有序状态在单晶的γ-Li 2 IrO 3使用共振X射线散射（RXS）下施加的静水压力高达3 GPa。RXS是电子序的直接探针，我们观察到q（sp）=（0.57，0，0）螺旋顺序在临界压力P-c = 1.4 GPa的突然消失，没有伴随的晶格对称性的变化。
Honeycomb iridates such as gamma-Li2IrO3 are argued to realize Kitaev spin-anisotropic magnetic exchange, along with Heisenberg and possibly other couplings. While systems with pure Kitaev interactions are candidates to realize a quantum spin-liquid ground state, in gamma-Li2IrO3 it has been shown that the presence of competing magnetic interactions leads to an incommensurate spiral spin order at ambient pressure below 38 K. We study the pressure sensitivity of this magnetically ordered state in single crystals of gamma-Li2IrO3 using resonant x-ray scattering (RXS) under applied hydrostatic pressures of up to 3 GPa. RXS is a direct probe of electronic order, and we observe the abrupt disappearance of the q(sp) = (0.57, 0, 0) spiral order at a critical pressure P-c = 1.4 GPa with no accompanying change in the symmetry of the lattice.